You work hard for every client and closing. Don’t let these bad habits be obstacles to your success.

Being Disorganized

Do you keep potential clients’ contact information on scraps of paper? Are you frequently looking for lost emails about transactions or properties? Use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to end the chaos. Load it with names and contact information of everyone you know and everyone you meet. You can then categorize your contacts—leads, past clients, etc.—and set up systems to stay in touch appropriately.

Taking on the Wrong Clients

Your whole business involves attracting clients, so it’s difficult to turn down someone who wants to work with you. However, some people aren’t worth the effort. Maybe their budget doesn’t match their must-have list or they insist on overpricing their listing. If the potential clients won’t take your advice, it’s better to decline their business.

Marketing to Everyone

Would you show a $5 million listing to a recent college graduate with an entry-level job? Then don’t send him a marketing email that features luxury listings. Segmenting your marketing efforts means providing relevant information to prospects and clients. Develop lists based on how you’ve organized the contacts in your CRM to target the right content to the right audience.

Always Being Free

You have plenty of flexibility with your schedule. But just because you don’t have set work hours doesn’t mean that you should be available to anyone at any time for non-work reasons. Make sure you’re blocking enough time each day to do income-producing tasks.

Losing Focus

It’s way more fun to watch a movie or play games on your phone than follow up with potential leads. But letting yourself get sidetracked can turn a 30-minute lead-generating task into an all-afternoon time suck. When it’s time to work, put aside distractions and execute your business plan. And, no, scrolling through Instagram does not count as “working on your social media strategy.”