TIME IS MONEY

WELCOME 

Spring Ahead

Happy spring, y’all! It’s seventy degrees and sunny here in Atlanta, so I don’t care that the calendar says it’s still winter. It’s spring in my book, which means spring flowers are just around the corner! Soon we’re going to be surrounded by a riot of colors and sweet perfume and I could not be more excited.

I won’t mince words because today we’re going to talk about how time is money, and strategies to maximize it. So let’s dive right on in!

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

It’s Not Cliché

Here’s the thing about clichés—they’re always rooted in truth, like how it’s better to be safe than sorry or how a leopard doesn’t change its spots. So the saying “time is money” isn’t just an expression, it’s a guiding principle on how I run my business and my life.

I never waste time because nothing has a greater impact on my bottom line. Every second can count in real estate. Yet I also understand how precious time is in my personal life—my sweet grandbabies are only going to be tiny for the blink of an eye and I do not want to deny them one minute away from their Glitter. (Can y’all think of a better name for “Grandma?” I sure can’t!) So if those boys want to play superheroes or get ice cream, I’m there.

I cannot tell y’all how many big breaks I’ve gotten by simply making myself available when others weren’t. I saw that over the holidays yet again. Conventional wisdom says, “No one does business over the Christmas break,” but I have a dozen buyers and sellers who beg to differ. We’re not even done with March and we’re already on track for our best year ever.

That’s the dilemma many of us face. We don’t want to miss out on something big, but more and more, real estate has become 24/7. Buyers and sellers aren’t on a 9 to 5 schedule, so neither are we. And it can be hard to juggle it all, between our work life and our families and our waiting in a queue to get tickets for the Eras tour once and for all.

So what do we sacrifice to get it all done? Sleep? Fun? Our standing appointment for a blow out? Let me tell you this, no one wants a tired Glennda, all work and no play makes for an unhappy Glennda, and I apologize to all the children who are frightened by seeing Glennda’s hair’s natural texture. (Or as Taylor says, my hair’s factory settings.)

The good news is, I never talk about a problem without offering a solution. That’s why I am pleased as a pig in a puddle to tell y’all about my friends at SignMore. They understand just as much as we all do that time is money, which is why they’re a 24/7 solution for your property business. With SignMore’s virtual team of 5-star property receptionists, they are available around the clock with call answering, lead capturing, appointment scheduling, and more! They give you the benefits of having a team at your side 24/7, without the cost and management. I love SignMore because they help me maximize every minute of my day.

Wherever I am, whether in the middle of a closing or watching my grandson play the very important role of Tree #3 in his school play, I can be in the moment because I know that SignMore has me covered. I can focus because I know my callers will always speak to a real person and I’ll never miss another call. The best part is, SignMore connects with those callers based on my set criteria, plus they’ll send me a follow-up message, which allows me to catch-up whenever I’m available.

If this sounds like a relief wrapped in a blessing, y’all are completely right. And as a loyal SignMore partner, I am positively delighted to offer everyone a promo. Get 30% off your first three months on SignMore’s Best Value Plan.

Simply visit signmore.com/glennda.

Because SignMore will save you time and we all know that your time is money in the bank.

glenndabaker

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STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

Get in Front of It

Everybody knows that the secret sauce in real estate is to spend your time focusing on the high-income-producing tasks. The best use of my time is, say, taking listing appointments or doing my research. What is not a great use of my time is tracking down someone else’s documents.

That said, lately I’ve been stuck with a bunch of buyers’ agents who are doing nothing but causing friction by not getting their paperwork filed in a timely manner and this is so frustrating. Normally it’s the buyers’ agents who schedule the closing because they’re the ones in touch with the lenders involved in the closing. This scheduling is not a difficult process—and it’s one that SignMore can automate for you—but somehow these buyers’ agents are missing the memo and I am having to chase after them like a herding dog in a field full of surly sheep.

All of the dates in the closing are contingent on one thing happening after the other. Some of these younger agents make fun of me, saying that I’m bossy and demanding but I’m bossy and demanding because they’re not doing their jobs and it’s our collective clients who are paying the price with delayed closings. I swear to you, it’s happened enough lately that the snot has been flying out of my nose and my head has been spinning around. It’s just such terrible customer service and a tremendous waste of time. And my time is my money.

I plan my time to the minute. I don’t just go into my day with an idea of how my time is spent—I go in with a set schedule. I never say, “Why don’t we circle back this week?” Instead, I say, “Let’s have a call on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.” We put it on the books then and there. And then I set alarms to go off every time I’m supposed to be doing something because if you handle something when you think of it, you are 56% more effective.

Y’all, it’s so important to respect everyone’s time, including and especially your own, I can’t stress this enough. For example, I had a seller who listed their townhouse with me. We didn’t have a ton of showings on that townhome, so the seller said, “Can we schedule a call every other Monday?” I said, “Yes, and why don’t we do 8:30 a.m. because you seem to be a morning person.” The benefit is, the seller knows I’m being proactive, knows their listing is at the top of my mind, and this helps keep them calm.

Think of it like this—let’s say you’re on an airplane. If the pilot comes on and says, “We’re expecting to run into a little turbulence in the next 15 minutes, so I’m going to ask the flight attendants to take their seats and suspend cabin service at this time. Once we’re through the turbulence, which should take about 10 minutes, the flight attendants will be up and I’ll turn off the seatbelt sign. But for right now, I need you to take your seat and buckle up.” Now, that plane could start bouncing around like a beachball and passengers will remain relatively copasetic because they were forewarned.

It doesn’t matter if the news is good or bad, as long as you’re expressing yourself with frequency, clarity, and certainty you’re going to transfer that energy to the listener. If that same pilot came on all freaked out, crying, “Holy crap, we’re gonna die!” the entire plane is going to have a nervous breakdown. Pandemonium is guaranteed. This happened to me not long ago. (Not the panicked pilot part, the danger part.) I was flying from Las Vegas to Atlanta and we blew tires on takeoff. Fortunately, our pilot was calm as could be, saying, “Here’s the situation and here’s what I need y’all to do. Buckle up and brace for the unlikely event of impact because we lost two tires on takeoff. I’m not sure how rough the landing will be, but we are prepared for it and we are going to get you on the ground safely.” And when we looked out the window as we circled the airport, we saw 10 firetrucks and 13 ambulances. The landing was rough, but I wasn’t afraid. Ultimately, we were fine because we were briefed the entire time.

Now, I wish this were a message some of my buyers’ agents would take to heart because we’re all on this plane together and we’re all going to have a much better ride if we know for sure that in fifteen days, our clients are going to be able to close. I can’t control them (even though I try), so all I can do is to use my time and make sure my sellers are prepared for what comes next because I’ll keep my sellers from having to be stressed out, if they know what to expect. Because we all want our Google reviews to say that as an agent we were proactive, not reactive.

Now, I do not want to nip after the other agents like a deranged Border collie because it’s not the best use of my time.

But if I do, y’all had best believe my fangs are sharp.

GLENNDAISM

And If You Don’t Do It, I’ll Do It for You

FINAL THOUGHT

One More Thing

The best part about SignMore is that you’re in control of the caller experience. This is your place, you make the rules. SignMore works with you to fully customize your script so those conversations will flow naturally, based on your criteria. Remember, time is money, and that’s why with SignMore, you never have to worry about missing a call when your stylist is trying to de-pouf your hair, or your grandbaby steals the show at his performance. SignMore takes pride in providing top of the line service , which will translate to your callers. The real estate game is built on service because it creates loyalty, spurs referrals, and ensures repeat business and you can take that to the bank. So be sure to get your 30% off your first three months of service on SignMore’s Best Value Plan!

^{This post is sponsored by my friends at SignMore, but as always, the thoughts are all mine. And here’s what we covered last year!}