Productivity Hack: The 4D Approach

This is very simple, and it’s called The 4D Approach. Let’s get into it and break down what each of the 4D’s are and how you can use them in your business.

DITCH IT

Ask yourself, is this something that I actually need to do, or can I ditch it? The value in this first productivity hack will change your business and your life forever.

Let me share with you an example of how this played out in my business…

I was working as a buyer’s specialist and closing over 100 transactions per year. As you can imagine, that took quite a bit of time and I was thinking to myself, “do I really need to be attending these inspections?” Each inspection would take an average of three hours and therefore, with 100 transactions a year, I was spending 300 hours or about 7.5 weeks worth of work that I  was spending waiting for the inspector to do their job, and really if you think about it, I couldn’t have made any impact anyway. “If the furnace was broken, the furnace was broken.” I wasn’t going to be able to do anything about it.

I talked with my broker and he believed that I should be attending inspections as all buyer’s agents do. However, I knew this couldn’t be right, so I asked our council if I needed to attend these inspections. I just couldn’t let it go because I knew if I could ditch this, my productivity would sky-rocket. And sure enough, our council agreed, “Shon, you do not need to attend inspections.” 

And there it was, the answer I was looking for. So, after a little education with my broker and the listing agents, I never went on another home inspection again. I was able to regain 7.5 weeks of my life and reallocate that time to lead generation and lead follow-up.

Now, let’s get to the next of the 4D Approach…

DELEGATE IT

Ask yourself, Is there someone else on your team that can do it for you? If you’re a single agent without a team, think a little deeper. Who else will benefit when you close a transaction? You’ve got your title company, mortgage company, home inspector… all of them would likely bend over backward to help you and ensure you keep sending them more business.

I went to my mortgage lender, as I realized that I was spending an enormous amount of my time following up with buyer and seller prospects that were not ready to buy or sell with me yet. I discussed with my lender and told them, “I’d love to give you the chance to earn the business of all of my buyer prospects. I’d like you to follow up with all of my C-type prospects until they either buy or die.”

Of course, they loved the idea and wanted to earn the business of my prospects, so it worked out well. Not only were my prospects being followed up with, by those I consider partners in my business, but it allowed me to delegate and free even more time.

Next up…

DO IT LATER

The art of letting some things go until later is a hard nut to crack. But, it’s an important productivity hack that will allow you to remain focused and invest your time where it’s most valuable.

As you build your time blocks for your perfect week schedule, you will be confronted with distractions. For example, as you’re busy with lead generation, inevitably, there will be a ping in the lower right corner of your computer screen. This notification says, “Hey Shon, you’ve got a new email.” Now, if I decide to open that and go down that rabbit hole, I will more often than not, be stuck in my email inbox 20-30 minutes later. And even worse, you’re then managing someone else’s priorities, not your own.

Block time, hold that time for it’s for, and “do it later” to things that come up in the middle.

The final D…reserved in the fourth spot as it should be…

DO IT NOW

At times there are tasks or “things” that pop up and must be dealt with in the moment, but it’s imperative for your own sake to limit them to only mandatory tasks. Do your best to use one of the first three D’s and reserve this fifth for only the necessary MUSTS.

If you decide to say yes to any distractions or non-dollar productive tasks, then you need to replace that time block on your calendar. Regain the time that was interrupted to ensure you get every minute of productivity out of your day and week.

We believe this will be a great addition to your business and allow you to get in touch with more prospects, close more transactions and make more money.