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When I tell people I work from home scheduling appointments for wholesalers they usually nod and say how nice it is that I can make my own schedule and work a little. But in reality, they don’t realize that even though I can sit on my couch and make calls if I’d like that there is a lot of hard work, time management, and organization that goes into being a good wholesaler scheduler. Especially if you are scheduling for more than one client or in different time zones.
Not your typical work week
Depending on your wholesaler you may or may not work everyday. That isn’t necessarily because your client only wants you scheduling for a certain amount of hours per week, it could be for a number of reasons. One of my clients, for example, specifically wanted me to limit the amount of calling I did on Monday and Friday because he felt those were the days most people were less willing to speak on the phone, wouldn’t be in the office, or typically would have team or office meetings. The other reason was because Friday was his office day and that was the day he liked to review his week, make follow-up calls, and prepare for his upcoming week without having to be interrupted with potential problems.
Organization is key
Being a successful and effective scheduler comes down to organization. You have to have separate folders and notepads for jotting down notes for each client. All the information needed for each person each day should be within a fingertip’s reach.
Between Friday and Sunday before the start of each new week, I would prepare by mapping out the territory I planned on calling. If you have a wholesaler who is well organized, then the planning of your week is fairly simple. One of my clients had his territories on his calendar for every day each week until the start of the new year. All I had to do was coordinate my list with his calendar when calling and make sure the appointments were scheduled so that he could travel from one place to another efficiently. Having a calendar mapped out well in advance is key to effectively scheduling because clients may want to set up future appointments while on the phone. It also allows you to give options that may better suit their needs if the dates you initially present don’t work for the client.
I worked for a wholesaler that only had a week at a time on their calendar and that presented really tough problems for me because I could not give options when people weren’t available for the dates I presented. I was able to take that problem to my wholesaler and explain why future planning was important to me, to them, and their prospective clients.
Breakdown of daily routine
Now that I have given you a little background on the job I’ll quickly run through a typical day. You want to make sure you get started before the market opens at 9:30am EST and try not to call the first half hour or so after it opens. My day starts out with triple checking the list I am going to call and making sure I have all the available dates and times for that territory.
Once I get started on my calls a few different things can happen. The first scenario (and the option that I wish always happens) is that the person I am calling answers or is available to talk and they accept the meeting time I propose. Clearly, that doesn’t always happen. So if they are not available to talk, I leave a voicemail or a message with the secretary. Once the message has been left I record what happen on the call and if an appointment was made in my Google Sheet. Once the information is recorded I send a follow-up email detailing the information that I left on the voicemail along with some options for dates and times to meet. If my call resulted in an appointment I will send a confirmation email and record the meeting in my wholesaler’s calendar.
I try and make between six to ten calls an hour. That is just an average. If you have a really good day and you are making a lot of appointments that number can go down. Just the opposite can happen if you are having a rough day your call number per hour may be significantly higher. I typically break for lunch around noon and my day usually ends with the last call around 3:00pm. I use any remaining time for follow-ups and checking emails and messages.
Being a scheduler is a job that is different every day. The day above is a pretty typical day but there may be days that your wholesaler needs to rearrange a whole week of appointments and that could really keep you busy and throw you for a loop. No matter what happens being a scheduler is a great job. It always keeps you on your toes and reinforces the need to be organized!