Are you being treated like the professional you are? Here’s what medical professionals know that many real estate professionals do not.

Real estate professionals and medical professionals are both referral-based, with former clients and colleagues often making the referrals.

However, one of the biggest things differentiating medical professionals from real estate professionals is the way that doctors value their own time.

How doctors get it right

Real estate agents and brokers drop everything that they’re doing to follow up a lead, while only the on-call or ER doctors drop what they’re doing to take care of a patient. 

In addition, medical professionals are selective when determining what patients and cases they want to work. The most successful medical professionals are highly specialized, and they review the case before making an in-person appointment. Doctors decline patients if they don’t think that they can effectively help them.

Specialists only work within their area of expertise. A thyroid surgeon is not going to do heart surgery, and a heart surgeon probably isn’t going to do a facelift. This allows them to better control their time and build their reputation within a specific niche.

Medical professionals generally have a robust support staff, including a receptionist, and maintain a separate office phone line so that they aren’t interrupted during personal and family time or while working.

Remember pagers? Doctors still use them, meaning that they are in control of their time and communications. You’re definitely not going to be text messaging with your doctor at all hours of the day and night.

Doctors practically invented time-blocking, including blocking out time for golf and other personal pursuits. They only see new patients on particular days, they do surgeries on specific days, and they set aside particular times for other professional duties and tasks.

What we can learn from top real estate agents

Just like medical professionals, real estate agents who are very successful typically work in a narrow niche or sub-market and by referral. They specialize in a specific transaction or property type. Most commercial agents won’t sell residential and vice-versa.

The best real estate agents value their own time and guard it zealously. They take advantage of productivity platforms to free up time and employ virtual assistants and other support staff to help them build leverage. Over time, they build out a large team to provide even more support.

Many real estate professionals are coming from a place of fear — fear that if they don’t make themselves available 24/7, they will miss out on a career-changing opportunity. In reality, however, the message they convey is that their time is not valuable, and neither is their skill set or expertise.

Take a tip from other professionals, and convey your worth to clients and colleagues through the way that you value your own time and expertise. Set the example for the way you should be treated, and others will follow suit.

Troy Palmquist is the founder and broker of The Address in Southern California. Follow him on Facebook, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×