Close More Sales: 4 Things Successful Real Estate Agents Do by Noon

For real estate agents, every day is different and that can be one of the joys of the career. But whoever you are and however long you've been in real estate, the daily goal remains the same: close as many sales as you can. Top agents are masters of time management and dedicate a number of hours every single day to clearing their desk so they can focus more on income-generating tasks.

Here are four essential tasks the most successful agents accomplish before noon.

1. Follow up immediately with clients and referrals

Communication is the number one thing every successful real estate agent does well. Take the time to return or respond to emails, text messages, tweets and phone calls as soon as possible — grab your coffee and dedicate at least 30 minutes each morning for client communication. If you use cold calling for prospecting, use your morning time to make those calls as well.

Check your calendar for the day’s showings, tours, open houses, photo shoots or other meetings. Use the calendar to chronologically map your day — perhaps even your driving route — and ensure you have everything you need to efficiently move from one venue to the next without having to make any unscheduled stops.

Finish any paperwork on pending deals so that you can enter the homestretch with your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed.

2. Wield technology skillfully and to your advantage

Start your day by leveraging a number of helpful real estate apps — from note-taking and mapping properties to document signing and executing — that can help streamline your day.

Use social media to stay top of mind with clients and leads, and to catch up with friends and followers as well. It takes mere minutes to tweet a new listing, post a photo to Facebook or upload a video.

Leverage the power and reach of email marking. Allot time every day to compile and format a monthly newsletter — it’s easier than ever using free templates you can find online.

Set clients and leads up with market reports and saved search drip campaigns to periodically receive professional real estate market reports or new listings reports that are customized to the city, neighborhood or ZIP code they are interested in. Supplement the campaign with follow-up emails, texts and phone calls. Or set up another campaign: You can have as many going as you want!

Use an IDX solution with your MLS to get maximum exposure for your listings. Take a few minutes to review the listings you currently share or want to share, view any new listings that other agents have enabled, or update your IDX data, settings and filters.

Over breakfast, why not update or annotate the contacts in your CRM (customer relationship management) system, or review the aggregate leads that were pulled in from multiple sites? Parse your database every day and find a set number of past clients you can contact. Any number will work; the point is to make former client outreach a daily habit.

3. Become an expert about your clients’ neighborhoods

Know what’s on the market and what’s happening in your clients’ neighborhoods. Find an online hot sheet you like, then download and scour it every day for anything that might affect your sellers, including new, sold, withdrawn or reduced comps.

Be knowledgeable about what buyers can get for their money from one neighborhood to the next. You already know what each client desires in their next home, now do the research to manage their expectations and successfully match them with the right locale.

You should also know the available amenities and features of each neighborhood in which you have daily showings. For meetings with buyers who have children, acquaint yourself with the local parks, school districts and community centers. If a seller floats an asking price that’s inconsistent with what comparable nearby homes sold for, have a pricing methodology ready as backup when you address the issue.

4. Build and maintain a network of top-notch partners

Don’t forget to touch base with the members in your professional network. Schedule brief meetings with them at a coffee shop or spend some time in their office to get a feel for their work environment and culture. Get better acquainted with your partners and discover how affiliating can mutually benefit you both.

While you’re at it, take time each day to read online customer reviews of your partners to ensure they are still providing five-star service (use review sites such as Yelp and Angie's List). Nothing stinks worse for a referral than cronyism, and a provider who doesn't deliver the same level of service that you do can harm your reputation by association. Make sure your partners merit your endorsement.

Structuring your day can only help you be more efficient and organized. Even compiling a simple “today’s to-do” list first thing in the morning is a step in the right direction. Experts say it takes 21 days to develop a new habit, but the sooner you establish a routine of daily tasks that build your knowledge and expertise, the faster you build your business.