Life of a REALTOR: A Typical Day

Are you interested in a real estate career? Need some tips to improve your work in real estate? While most real estate agents will tell you that no two days are exactly alike, some trends are typical of a real estate agent’s day-to-day life. Read more to find out what a typical day in the life of a REALTOR looks like — and how to make the most of your career.

Prospecting Clients is a Daily in the Life of a REALTOR

Generating buyer and seller leads should be at the top of the priority list for every successful real estate agent. Whether it’s prospecting for buyer leads or getting real estate listings, the objective is to capture, and then nurture, as many leads as possible.

Ideally, one hour of every day should be spent following up with prospective clients – responding to emails, returning missed phone calls/text, and engaging with your Sphere of Influence. This is also a great time to review any digital marketing you utilize

If you are an agent that uses social media marketing for real estate, this first hour of the day is to connect with potential clients by liking and commenting on their posts, sending direct messages, and posting frequently.

Earning referrals is another major aspect of prospecting. You can attend networking events and talk to everyone you come in contact with (think: car mechanic, dental hygienist, bartender) about what they do. In these conversations, you might ask if they are interested in buying or listing a home — or if they know anyone who is.

Tips for Generating Real Estate Leads

Spend an hour minimum, but no more than two hours a day, on prospecting or for farming leads. This is where digital ads and real estate postcard campaigns really shine. They only require about an hour per month, which free up more time to focus on other important tasks.
Reach out to prospective clients when you feel at your peak energy. If you are a morning person, spend 1-2 hours in the morning working on your leads. If you prefer evenings, use that time to attend networking events or make phone calls.
Prospecting and generating leads never stops, even when you’re busy. It may seem counter-intuitive to continue looking for clients when you already have a full load, but you never know when a contact turns into a client.

Working with Current Clients

Of course, working with clients is a large portion of the day in the life of a REALTOR. Generally speaking, this includes returning phone calls and emails from clients, other agents, or colleagues; performing market and area research; and working within your MLS (Multiple Listing Services) on listings, offers, and contracts.

If you are a buyer’s agent, you may be scheduling showings for buyers and planning an itinerary for house hunting. You may be assembling documents for buyers to read and sign, and you may be corresponding with sellers, builders, or other brokers throughout the day.

As a seller’s agent, you may be creating a listing for a home, preparing a CMA or Listing Presentation, and scheduling open houses.

Life of a REALTOR: Tips for Working Effectively with Clients in the Office

Be responsive. The best real estate agents don’t leave their clients in the dark about the process. The same can be said about other agents you work with and even the vendors you work with.
Stay organized. Because you will be in and out of the office frequently — and may be working remotely from time to time — have an organization system that works for you. Keep all files on a cloud drive to allow for easy access. Sync up your phone and laptop for streamlined sharing of data and files.
Be patient and generous. Clients who are selling or buying a home are in transition. This means their needs may change, their situations may be demanding, or they have extenuating circumstances that complicate the process. In your office work with clients, be understanding, patient, and supportive.

Working with Clients in the Field

Some of the most fun parts of being a real estate agent are outside of the office! Whether you are driving to showings, facilitating showings, or meeting up with clients for a business lunch, you are often on the go as a real estate agent.

If your focus starting out is as a buyer’s agent, you’ll drive all over your area to help buyers look at homes. You may be looking at homes in proximity to each other or driving all across town.

When you get to a potential home, you let the client in, inform the client of anything that wasn’t included in the original listing (for example, any disclosures the seller has given), and allow them to check out the place. You are there to offer perspective, answer questions, and jot down questions for the seller.

As a seller’s agent, you may be meeting with clients in their homes to discuss the house listing, their sales strategy, and complete paperwork. You may have a hand in staging the property for showings, or you may be present during open houses.

Tips for Working with Clients in the Field

Arrive at all appointments on time, if not a few minutes early. This allows you to greet the client, make them feel at ease, and demonstrate your preparedness.
Plan breaks. Take your client out to lunch, or stop and get coffee. These actions will help you get to know your client better, which will help you meet their needs, and it provides the necessary breaks in a sometimes exhausting situation.
Plan ahead. Check the weather, plan an appropriate route for showings, and make sure everything is set up for open houses.

The frequent tasks of lead prospecting, working in the office with clients, and showing homes will take up the vast majority of your day as a Realtor. With that said, the ability to be effective on a consistent basis will ultimately determine how well you do in the industry in the long-term.

The following sections will highlight some key tips and guidelines to help you make the most of every day.

Good Qualities for Real Estate Agents to Have

Being a real estate agent can be an incredibly rewarding career. You get to build relationships with a variety of people, become involved in your community, and help people fulfill their dreams. However, the demand of clients, the multiple tasks required for every transaction, and the lack of constraint from a timesheet can cause burnout in no time.

A people-person. The vast majority of your time will be spent working with others. Clients, fellow agents, builders, colleagues — you name it. Good real estate agents like making phone calls, meeting new people, interacting with clients, asking questions, and putting themselves out there – a day in the life of a REALTOR will be filled with people!
Flexibilty. The housing market is in flux, and so are clients and their needs. Sometimes you schedule six showings in a day, and four of the houses are already off the market. Sometimes you show up at a house and the owner wasn’t expecting you. Sometimes you get multiple offers on a house and need to work quickly. Being flexible and responsive to the changing nature of the job is key.
Unafraid to negotiate. Whether you are working on behalf of a seller or a buyer, a good real estate agent is ready to engage in negotiations. This means you’ve done your proper preparation and research, have communicated thoroughly with your client, and aren’t intimidated by the other side.
Hard workers. Real estate agents often work from the early morning hours to late evening. You will be at the mercy of your clients, which can mean long days and atypical work weeks. Despite this, good real estate agents have their client’s best interests in mind and will do whatever it takes to help their clients succeed.

Daily Habits of Top-Performing Real Estate Agents

High-producing real estate agents build in daily habits to keep themselves successful, such as:

Make a plan — and stick to it. If you need to follow-up with that one client or research a developing area of town, don’t wait for you to have the time. Successful real estate agents create plans and to-do lists to keep them on track.
Block out your day. Use the morning to check new listings, respond to emails, or other tasks that work for you. As a blueprint, you can use Tom Ferry’s Hour by Hour Plan for a Perfect Day.
Maintain physical and mental health. It’s easy to put your clients’ needs over your own, but in an industry this demanding, your physical and mental health must be a priority. Set aside time for exercise, time with friends, and relaxation.

Key takeaways

No two days are exactly alike for real estate agents, but there are common tasks that routinely occur
New real estate agents will spend more time prospecting when just starting out. After laying the good groundwork and establishing clients, real estate agents may start getting clients to come to them.
Real estate agents spend a healthy mix of their day doing office work and fieldwork. The job can be a desk job at times, but it isn’t supposed to always be!
Good real estate agents invest in building relationships with people. Having good connections with clients, colleagues, builders, and others in the business will keep business steady and pay dividends down the line.