Don’t Be Available 24/7/365!

I was invited to Washington D.C. to mastermind with a group of high-producing real estate agents.  (We’re talking $50 million plus here.)

We went around the table to introduce ourselves.  We were asked to mention a problem we were having and invite the group to help solve it.  What surprised me was that several of the real estate agents mentioned that they were ”sick and tired” of being available 24/7/365.

In chimes a $100 million producer.  She has a written a schedule that she hands out to her clients.  It says she is NOT available during certain times of day.  She also tells her clients that she will not be able to answer her phone during certain times, but they can leave a message.

Here’s a sample of her schedule when she does NOT ANSWER HER PHONE:

Family Time:  7 am to 9 am

Do- Not-Disturb Time to Work on Transactions:  10 am to noon

Family Time:  6 pm to 8 pm

For 6 hours per day—she does not answer her phone.  Her clients know her schedule and respect it.  She does $100M in real estate transactions.  Those who answer the phone all the time do half of that.

Even if you decide NOT to let your clients know your schedule, consider NOT answering your phone during certain hours of the day—to work ON your business and not IN it.

Oh, by the way, she has 6-year-old twins!

Question – What do you think of the idea of giving your clients YOUR schedule?