Is Your Cell Phone Damaging Your Productivity?

 Let’s face it. Most of us are pretty addicted to our cell phones. In fact, some people have called Blackberry’s “crack-berries” referring to their potential for creating addiction. Certainly, the one technology tool that I would be least likely to live without is my iPhone.  

What few real estate agents realize is how disruptive their cell phones can be to their business. Here’s the reason. Each time you take a call or receive a text message, you're taken off track from what you're doing at the moment. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for your brain to return to full concentration.  

Moreover, if you take calls or read text messages, especially when you’re with older clients, you send them the message they're not as important as that incoming call or text.  

 If you'd like to break this pattern, try this experiment for one week. Turn off your cell phone when you are with clients. If you are showing property, ask your clients if they are comfortable with you checking your text messages every 30 minutes. Your younger clients will probably have no issue, although many older clients expect you to pay full attention them when you are together. Unless you ask about their expectations, you will never know whether it’s all right to check.  

If you’re afraid of missing a lead, just remember the old adage, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” That person you’re with is your TOP priority because they have the potential to sign a contract with you in the next couple of hours. Don’t blow it by making them feel they’re not as important as a text message from one of your friends.

Posted by Bernice Ross. Have you listened to RealEstateCoachRadio yet? Get great tips for your business every day. Best of all, it only takes five minutes. We're available 24-7 online or downloadable at iTunes. In fact, iTunes just named our show "New and Notable." Check us out and find out why!