Do you have the D.P.T Mindset!

For those of you that have been following this blog, you know that I am a big proponent of working through your strengths and the S.W.O.T analysis (soon to be S.C.O.T analysis, Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities and Threats) and how it can have positive impact on your business.  Well today, I am going against the grain and share a challenge (Weakness has such a negative connotation to it that I like to think to use the word challenge, and challenges are something that we can overcome) that I struggled with, and still do today, in my real estate career.  The challenge I’m speaking of is analyzing how my time and lead generation activities was being spent during the week and the direct results that it would have to increase the sales in my business.  I like to call it Dollar Productive Time or D.P.T.  I would go a mile a minute (which has not changed) and feel like a pinball being bounced around all over the place with no direction.  In fact, I was chasing time instead of creating time to be proactive and productive in my business. Being time organized and having a well thought out place for the week is a key in creating a successful business.  Having a Dollar Productive Mindset can mean many different things and it can be overwhelming at times.  What worked best for me was to sit down and qualify the activities that I was doing on a weekly basis and rate them from high priority to low priority.  Here are just a few of the activities that were considered of the up most importance. 

• Lead Generation: Minimum of 2 hours a day. For the successful loan officers and agents, this is an actual appointment that is never moved or changed! It’s the highest priority and importance when it comes to generating new sales for your business. 
• Database Management:  This is going to be ongoing on a daily basis but needs to be consistent.  If new contacts are being created, take time in the day to qualify and add them to the database.  Don’t be in a position of having 64 new business cards (to be exact) in your suite pocket that spill out and create a massive pile on your desk.  This creates an overwhelming and guilty feeling of not doing the due diligence of following up with your new contacts.  Each day that goes by, it becomes more unlikely that you will capture that business.  Don’t let the moment pass you by. (Trust me; this has never happened to me in my career!  In the immortal words of George Strait, “ I have ocean front property in Arizona” )
• Qualified Meetings: Make sure that meetings aren’t going to be a time sucker.  Evaluate why and who you are meeting with.  Make sure you have an objective or goal to come away from the meeting.  Coffee is good, correct that, phenomenal, but don’t walk away empty handed.  Make sure you come away with a commitment or at least another step in the direction of closing the sale. 
• Networking Events, Seminars, etc.: Great way to build new business to business contacts that can refer you the business that you are looking for. 
• Business and Personal Development:  At least 2 hours a week needs to be spent on business and personal growth   Take time to read a book, attend a workshop or seminar, grab coffee with a successful colleague that can give you tips and ideas on how they became successful, or just keep watching and reading my blogs. Now that is D.P.T well spent!

Again, this is something that I have been working on for a long time and still a work in progress.  Life can be hectic, but having a D.P.T mindset can help in harnessing and controlling your time which will create an efficient and productive work week! 

So I ask you, do you have a D.P.T mindset? 

By the way, there may be a D.P.T Seminar coming to your area soon!  I will keep you posted!

Also, Keep a Positive Market Mindset!