The COVID-19 outbreak abruptly halted our lively, flourishing housing market, sidelining many of us and giving us the unique opportunity to get our continuing education credits, attend training and pursue coaching. But did we really need something as drastic as a worldwide pandemic to remind us that continued learning and coaching is critical to our success? And did you make the most of that time?
Sharpening our skills should always be a top priority. In our industry, there’s always something new to learn and master. Consumer behaviors constantly shift. Our clients’ expectations of us change, and technology is progressively reshaping real estate almost daily.
That list alone gives us plenty to study — if not every day, then at least several times a week. At my company, we realized that early on during this pandemic. We understood just how critical it was to ensure our real estate professionals had easy access to robust training and education tools.
If you’re a professional looking to grow your business, expand your knowledge and achieve success, here are three practical ways you can further your career by zeroing in on training and education.
1. Time block it into your schedule
Time blocking is a deliberate approach to scheduling out your day as much as possible, allowing space for lead generation, lead nurturing, updating your CRM and even self-care and personal time.
As a part of time blocking, we recommend scheduling time in your week for online learning or webinars. It’s just as important as anything you may do during the week.
Just as you make appointments and coffee meetings, set aside time to better yourself and do more for your career. If something you learn brings you a new lead or referral, then you’ll be able to actually put a dollar value on the time you spent in training.
2. Follow a learning track
Your brokerage or national franchisor should have their pulse on what’s new and trending in the industry, so attending webinars and training sessions they host is a must. What’s more, does your real estate brand have online training where you can track your progress?
Take advantage of any tools they offer that help track your progress so you can see where else you might be able to grow your real estate acumen. This is an excellent way to stay the course and be diligent about training. For things like social media or using video, you can start with the basics and progress through to more advanced classes.
Additionally, having a mentor or coach who will keep you accountable to both your business plan and your career goals might just be one of the best ways to stay on track. Mentoring and coaching are critically important to your overall success and a significant part of your ongoing growth.
3. Make it a priority
We all know that unless we make something a priority in our lives and our careers, we won’t make it happen. Too many other things these days can command our attention. That’s why it’s important to have an accountability partner, business coach or mentor who will see to it that you make learning a part of your plan — and that you stick to it.
You should also create a business plan, and review and refresh it several times during the year. It should include the course you’ll take for training and education with tangible goals and deadlines to meet by the end of the year.
The bottom line is — make learning a priority. Make your career a priority. Make you a priority. While we hope to never experience a health crisis like this current pandemic again, you can and should expect downturns in the housing market if you’re planning on having a long career as a real estate professional.
If you strive to train and grow every day — and if you learn to embrace change — you’ll be ready to shift and adjust when those changes do happen. Ultimately, you’ll experience greater success faster.
Kuba Jewgieniew is the founder and CEO of Realty ONE Group in Las Vegas. Connect with him on Facebook or Instagram.
