Christine McLellan - William Raveis Real Estate

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Confessions of a List Maker

Are you a list maker? Do you keep checklists for everything? Do you sometimes add things to a list, just so you can mark them as done? Do you regular rewrite your lists?

I am a lifelong hardcore list keeper. I have written lists, online lists, notebook with lists, and list making apps on my phone - it might be a bit much. In one of my classes, I learned this was a classic behavior of a “High C” on a DISC profile. Ah yup. That’s me. But as a real estate agent, this isn’t a bad thing.

When I started in real estate in 2015 I immediately created checklists to track paperwork for listings and offers - at the time these checklists were simple but effective spreadsheets. Now I don’t call them lists, I call them “Systems” and include calendar reminders for critical dates. These systems are critical for a few reasons:

  1. Keep a transaction on track and in control

  2. Monitor deadlines and deliverables for clients

  3. Provide a consistent level of service to all clients

My systems now include: Researching a Property; Creating a Market Analysis; Listing and Buyer Paperwork; Bringing a Property to market; Marketing a property; Planning a Property Tour; Making an Offer; Comparing Offers; going from Offer to Closing for both Buyers & Sellers.

And as a true list maker, I rewrite or refine a System about once a month. I just can not help myself.

Are you a secret or public list maker? What are you hesitant to admit about your list making habits?

Photo by STIL on Unsplash