The Importance of Time

With my recent career change, I am now presented with a problem of scheduling my day. Formerly I didn't have to think too much into my schedule. 7:30AM up until 5:30PM was covered every day, Monday through Friday, so the only scheduling choices that needed to be made were the weekday PM hours and then how I was going to spend my weekend "free time."

Now that is all gone. Not only do I not have a large chuck of my waking hours predetermined, but there is also not the inherent priority of work hours over social hours or sleep hours. Yes, I still have to work, but no, I do not have to be at a desk before 8AM Monday through Friday. I still schedule appointments, but they are just as likely to be on Saturday afternoon or 6AM on a Tuesday as they are to be during traditional working hours.

I now have to think about my schedule from a whole new light. We have all heard the idiom that time is money. Especially with a commission based job, if I am not working, I am not making money. In a motivated person, this leads to a feeling of "always on" or at the very least feeling guilty for taking personal time when you should be working. I have a few solutions that I am working through and will revisit in the coming months, but will outline here:

1. Operate off of a task list - regardless of the hours spent on a given task, or hours in an office (or at a coffee shop/desk), it is still important to make sure that work is being accomplished. In the corporate environment I kept a list of things that I needed to do every day and then another list of projects and milestones to stay on track and then a third list for personal to-do's outside of work hours. Now that I don't have set work-time versus me-time, I have let the lists blend together. I put a greater emphasis on setting the priority of the list now because I do know that my time is valuable and I do not have the natural stop/start divides inherent in a natural work day.

2. Stay on task - as a natural extension of the task list, there is this self discipline component that needs its own subheading. I have a tendency to half-complete #1 on the list and let my eyes wander down to #3 or #4 and get distracted at completing the task at hand. If #1 is a phone call I'm not excited to make and #4 is to set my fantasy football roster, it isn't hard to see why I might pass the priority I set and take care of #4 first. But I know it is bad, and continued success as a salesperson is dependent on my sticking with completing tasks with the highest priorities.

3. Recognize the scheduling component - some tasks are time independent where as others have an associated time component. I can balance my checkbook at anytime where if I need to schedule a showing, I will be at the mercy of the property owner's schedule AND the client's schedule. All that means is that scheduling priority takes places with the most stringent scheduling needs first and sometimes a task that is more important but with greater scheduling flexibility can get pushed further down the priority list addressed above.

4. Play around with productive times - I know that I am most productive with certain tasks at certain times of the day. I can knock out emails and paperwork type stuff first thing in the morning, where as I tend to zone out on that type of work around lunchtime. I am dynamite on phone calls or in meetings around lunchtime or early afternoon, but talking is the last thing I want to do first thing in the morning. You get the idea though, I am more productive on certain tasks as certain times of the day, so I try my best to plan my daily task list around those productive times.

This is a quickly-hashed-out list, but the ideas are legit. There is a huge learning curve staying active and productive when every minute of the week is "my time" versus the combination of "company time" & "personal time." Now it is all about finding the balance on my own.

Sales Goals - Build the Pipeline

Success in my new career will depend greatly on me improving my sales skills. I have a certain relatability with people, but know that I need work closing the quick sale. My strengths come from getting to know a client, likes and dislikes, and method of approach necessary. I am not hyper-aggressive and have had success in the past when I am heard out in a calm manner versus shouting out my 30-second elevator pitch before getting a door (or phone) slammed in my face. Building a pipeline for future sales allowing for more of a 'slow-burn' sale is the key to future success in this industry.

I don't want to scream out lies and exaggerations only to have my follow-through and reputation based on something that came out of my mouth when I was trying to not get hung up on. Because I know my relative strengths and weaknesses, I am working to build up the parts of my sales pitch that I can control. I may not always be able to control a first impression based on a phone call or chance meeting, but I can improve that initial impression when found through my company website, social networks, or even prior client referrals & past experiences. I know that a polished image and solid information to get through some of the more challenging sells that will lie in my future, so being educated and presentable is also a must-do for improving my sales game.

Buyers what to be informed. I need to be the reliable source to give them that information. Until I can build up a respectable amount of personal referrals and work/deal experience highlights, I will need to project an image of that knowledgeable source that they crave. In order to make that happen, I am currently working on improving my profile in the 'Meet our Agents' section on the company website. The goal is to stand out in a good way with an accurate and warming description of who I am and how I can bring the experiences I do have to the table. The next piece is to reach out via other social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc) and utilize networks that have already been built to further my professional profile.

The third phase is the most important; turn those new acknowledgments of what I am doing now into bonafide new sales. New referrals and further sales come directly out of this phase, building on itself, so converting the new acknowledgments into the initial sales needs to be the focus of the next few weeks. This is the first time in my sales career where my target market is easily relatable to where I am in life. I can gain clients by going out to a party, bar or other social event, point them to the website in addition to a quick overview of what I do then focus on closing a sale from there.

Everyone needs a place to live. My goal isn't to find everyone a new home starting from the time our paths cross. The goal is to have them think of me the next time they need a new place to live, knowing that I am relatable and will be there to answer questions, consult them on their needs and get the job done. The goal is to build the pipeline...the goal is the 'slow-burn.'

New Mission...

I need a chronicle of my life and now is a necessary time to start (finally).

I recently quit my day job as an Operations Manager with a quickly growing logistics company to try my hand at real estate (and subsequently as a bar/restaurant employee). There have been times over the last few weeks where I have wondered what the f@#% I just did giving up a steady paycheck to chase a dream. Answer at the moment is that I have no idea. I just need to trust that I made the right decision for me and move on from here.

Now this isn't meant to be some running diary type blog about my daily waivering on a made decision. I am just writing to chronicle an interesting time in my life. I am reading a lot, trying new things, meeting a ton of new people, and finally perusing a career that will benefit me long-term as opposed to collecting a paycheck at a job where I don't envision a fulfilling future. This forum will focus on things that interest me. There will be some personal comments on the ongoings in my life, but mostly I'll just focus on current events, real estate/sales stuff and generalities of being a 26 year old guy living it up in Chicago.

Enjoy!

Picture of Me

Getting Mobile Blogger up and running!

Another Shot

It has been awhile since I have been active here. I think I went about the thing all wrong. I was trying to get some well-thought-out pieces together and better market myself online, but lost the real intent. That real intent was to THINK and to WRITE and to PUBLISH.

I had a whole list of half-thought-out post idea that never made it to this site and realized that this blog should be about me. It shouldn't need to be contrived and I shouldn't need to be frozen by the notion that something I might write would be sub-par, I just need to get it out there.

So anyway, here is One Gen-Y Perspective, Part 2. I will still work on throwing in a few links and some well thought out pieces, but will also bring the focus back to the original intention. That original intention was to get my thoughts out there, as half-baked as they may be. So starting now, there will be more frequent posts. I will mix it up with links and pictures and random thoughts; and short bursts and Twitter postings redone and comments on news happenings. I hope it will be interesting and I know it will be constantly evolving.

I hope you enjoy!