Summer is almost here! You and your family want to go on vacation, but you're worried about what will happen to your business if you leave for a week or two. No one wants to be tied to their cell phone while they're on vacation. So, what should we do? I have four tips that will help your business run smoothly and give YOU a much-needed break. Let's get right into it so you can start making plans for your trip right away.
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1. Scheule Your Vacation(s) Early
This is the golden rule for real estate agents taking vacations, especially if they are not part of a real estate team: plan your vacations very early.
You don't have to book your flights and put a deposit down on a villa in order to plan ahead. It's just a matter of planning: choose your days or weeks, put them on your calendar, and work around them.
So how far ahead do you need to plan? If you can, give it four to eight months. Enough so that your vacation probably won't affect your current clients and you have enough time to get ready for new clients.
2. Vacation Pact
Are you on a real estate team? If the answer is yes, that's great: you already have vacation coverage built in.
One of the benefits of being on a real estate team is that you get to work with other people. If you give them enough notice, someone on your team can help with an open house, an emergency, or a desperate client.
Working for a brokerage as an independent agent? Let's not be worried.
Most of the other agents at your brokerage will be happy to take care of your business while you're gone, as long as:
You've done enough planning to make their job pretty easy, and most importantly, they know you'll cover for them while they're gone.
Don't be afraid to ask for what you need. A simple offer to help each other out will go a long way.
3. Put in Place The Right Tools and Systems
You don't have to find a person to help run your business while you're away. You can also use software. There are also things that can be used to help.
Filtering email. Almost all of the big email providers have tools that let you set up filters for your inbox. (To filter means to use certain rules to decide what to do with emails that meet those rules. This can save you a lot of time and energy when you get back from vacation. It can also help you figure out what's important and what's just noise if you have to check in every now and then.
You could, for example, set up filters that put things like data reports and news updates in one folder, emails from friends in another, and messages from important clients in a third (the one you'll check if you need to).
Autoresponder. This may seem like a no-brainer, but the easiest and most effective way to avoid disappointed clients and impatient leads is to turn on your email autoresponder and write an "out of office" message.
Make sure your message says when you'll be checking your messages and when you'll be back (e.g., "I'm currently on vacation with my kids and won't be checking my emails until I get back on August 8"). and an emergency contact name and numbers, like that of a team member or the person you've asked to fill in for you.
Chatbots. A real estate chatbot on your website or Facebook page is a great way to keep leads coming in while you're away. The chatbot can give information on demand, answer basic questions, and even walk a visitor through a series of questions to try to get their contact information so you can get in touch with them later.
4. Set Boundaries
Another thing that happens when you're responsible for every penny that comes your way is that the word "boundaries" loses its meaning.
Real estate agents almost always put their clients first, which can lead to unhealthy situations where clients take advantage and their agents don't stop them. A lack of boundaries can lead to people calling you late at night, sending you text messages all the time, and making it impossible to take a real vacation.
Setting limits with real estate clients is always important, but if you want to go on vacation without being bothered, it's a must.
So what does that look like?
Giving your clients enough time to prepare. If you don't tell your clients right away that you're going on vacation, they'll start to worry. You might be afraid of losing them if you tell them too soon, especially if you just started working with them, but it's important to give them advance notice.
Sharing your dates and well-thought-out plans for coverage will put their minds at ease and let them know they're in good hands.
Get to know the agent who will take care of your clients before you leave. Set up a quick coffee date or video call, answer any questions, and make sure you exchange contact information.
Letting people know what you want. Make sure your clients know you're not taking a working vacation and that you won't be answering phone calls or emails. If you do plan to check in every so often, let them know what to expect. For example, you could say, "I'll check my emails every other day after 7 p.m."
5. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Your current clients aren't the only ones who need to know you're on vacation.
It’s your brokerage. It’s your social media followers. It's the people who visit your site.
Here's your list of things to say before you go on vacation:
Set up your email autoresponder
Give your clients a quick call the day before you leave to wrap up any loose ends and remind them who they can turn to for help.
Add a message telling leads when they can expect a reply to the contact form on your real estate website.
Send an email to the most important people in your brokerage telling them about your plans and coverage for your trip.
Post about your vacation plans on Instagram or temporarily change your real estate Instagram bio.
Record a new message on your work phone's voicemail.
If you were going to send a newsletter, put a note in it about your trip.
What tactics do you employ to be able to take a vacation as a real estate agent? Let me know below.
🥂To your success,
Tanya❤️
P.S. Those of you who have made it this far deserves a medal; I admire your dedication. Let's take the next 15 minutes to chat through Zoom and introduce ourselves.
Piece by Tanya Gordon, author of over 15 eBooks. She is Certified in NLP (how we operate), Hypnotherapy (unconscious communication) and Timeline Therapy (recognizing your beliefs about mindset and sales (money) – and recognizing that of your customer). She has studied the psychology of human behaviour and has proven absolute authority and a true expert on mindset and sales techniques. She has ‘walked the walk‘ so her content and programs are highly practical and focused on results.
THE REAL ESTATE ™ PLAYGROUND IS A MINDSET AND SALES COACHING FOR FEMALE REAL ESTATE AGENTS.
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