Whether you are a newly-licensed agent or a seasoned veteran, allocating time efficiently and effectively is an essential skill to master. That’s why we talked to national real estate coach and preferred coach for Real Estate Express Sherri Johnson to learn her philosophy on time allocation. Click here to listen to this insightful interview.

Don’t have time to listen to the interview? Here are some quick takeaways so that you can get the gist.

1. Always Have a Plan
As a busy real estate agent, it’s easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day. That’s why it is so critical to have a plan at the beginning of each week. In fact, Sherri recommends agents spend about 20 percent of their working hours planning and working on the business (i.e., not servicing clients). Otherwise, you may find yourself on a Friday afternoon having not made one call to a prospective client all week—which brings us to her second key takeaway…

2. Set Aside Time for Prospecting
Depending on how many leads you have in your pipeline, Sherri recommends that agents allocate 50-75 percent of their week prospecting for new clients. While it’s important to make sure that you provide excellent customer service to your current clients (they are the ones, after all, who will or will not refer you to their friends and family), you want to know you have business coming in. This will help prevent you from constantly being in feast-or-famine mode, which can be highly stressful and difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

3. Don’t Forget Marketing
Especially if you are a newly-licensed agent, allocating time and money to your marketing is critical. Running digital campaigns via social media and your website/blog is just as important as running print campaigns (such as postcards, flyers, etc.). Just make sure that you are spending your marketing dollars wisely.