Do you struggle with waking up early? Many people do. But waking up early is good advice, especially useful for those in the business of selling real estate. A broker or team leader’s challenge doesn’t end with finding the motivation to be an early riser, though–they have to set an example to inspire their agents to do the same.
Lisa Cozzi, founder and CEO of The Lisa Cozzi Team Berkshire Hathaway New England Properties in Glastonbury, Connecticut, says that she “reverse engineers (her) day–I do not procrastinate. Essentially, I use my email inbox as my checklist.”
As for how Cozzi instill this same mindset in her team, she said:
“I encourage my agents to create a schedule inclusive of working at least 40-50 hours a week if they are committed to making 6 figures in 6 months. I believe in working at the office to foster energy and broker more real estate deals. Working with heart and hustle, purpose and passion, and taking ownership of the opportunity are the critical characteristics of success.”
Cozzi also shared more about how she plots her daily schedule. Even if you don’t copy her model exactly, you can apply its principles to ensure your team always makes the most of their day. Here are her five tips:
Forge a consistent schedule
One of the biggest keys to a successful business comes down to time management. While selling real estate can come with a flexible schedule, that means it’s even more important to use your time wisely–and for you to set a good example for your team.
If time management is not a natural skill of yours, force your body to manage your time for you. If you’re not sleeping at consistent hours, then it becomes hard to keep a schedule; after all, you can’t predict when you’ll be working and for how long. If you wake up early, though, it’s because you went to bed early, as well. Having your sleep blocked out like this makes it easier to schedule your other activities too.
Create more time for prospecting
Getting an early start to the day allows your team members to spend some extra time working the phones and prospecting potential new clients. After all, you can’t close sales without clients and you can’t get clients without prospecting. If you’re active throughout the day, you’ll have a better chance at calling a lead when they actually have time to talk. A win for one agent is a win for their entire team–be sure your agents know that.
Spend more time with clients too
In addition to finding new clients, agents also have to make time for existing ones. If you and your team are up early with a clearer schedule, odds are good there’ll be more overlap with your clients’ free time. If you’re on the job for more of the day, you can also hold more open houses per day and close more sales. According to Cozzi, “Starting the day with 2 hours of client cultivation then booking appointments from 10-6 … is the perfect schedule.”
Spend the day to its fullest
Let’s paint the scene. You tell yourself you’re going to get up early the next day, be productive and cut down your to-do list. If you wind up not following through on that and those list items remain unchecked, you may feel disappointed, which can affect your mood and inspiration for your team. If you do get up early though, you’ll have time to see those goals through and set a great example.
Cozzi’s alarm goes off at 6:20, she says.
“I wake up, work for 20 minutes then prepare my daughters for school. One leaves at 7:15, one at 8:05. While I am connecting with my daughters, I make dinner while they eat breakfast and make sure everything is set for the rest of the day. I see them, listen to them and I make sure I start the day giving them my love.”
Then it’s on to the business of real estate–and also mixing in some life balance.
“From 8:15-3 I cultivate my business, coach my team and pivot to perform,” said Cozzi. “3-4, I pick kids up and bring them to rock climbing and I work 4-6:30. Most evenings I am done working by 7:30. I Incorporate my agent coaching calls with lengthy walks to ensure I stay active and move my body. I also teach and take yoga 4-5 days per week.”
For Cozzi, being so productive makes her feel proud of herself and her leisure time later in the day feels earned. To create a full schedule, you may have to push yourself at first to be an early riser, but the rewards for both you and your team will be worth it.
You’ll feel better
Selling real estate can be a taxing career, physically and mentally. That makes it both easy to neglect your health and twice as important that you don’t. Everything from scholarly articles to listicles point out: waking up early comes with health benefits. Be an early riser and you’ll improve your health for the long-term, all while being an inspiration and great motivator to your team and business.
