Brokers, pat yourselves on the back — you’ve almost made it to Christmas, which means another year of growing, learning, and achieving! We bet you’re itching to wind down and take a load off (we know we are), but before you close your doors, it’s time to prepare your brokerage for Christmas closure.
If you’re unsure where to start — we’ve got you covered. Our tips will help you take care of general housekeeping, prioritise family time, manage working over the break, and alleviate any pesky, unnecessary vacation guilt.
Let’s go!
Think about your brokerage’s day-to-day operations
Before your brain switches into ‘holiday mode’, we highly recommend taking care of your brokerage’s practical considerations. Are you tempted to leave this task until the final hour? Trust us, it’s a recipe for disaster!
Think about it; many of our day-to-day operations are automated or are performed on auto-pilot, so we don’t give them much thought. Typically, that’s a brilliant, time-saving thing, but we can forget simple (but essential) details when stepping away for a break.
We recommend writing a Christmas closure checklist so that you can take a break with confidence. We’ve jotted down a few tasks below to get you started.
Email your clients
An end-of-year wrap-up email is a perfect way to connect with your clients before closing for Christmas. You can share client highlights, business wins, or tips for the year ahead. Of course, this is also an excellent opportunity to remind your clients that you’ll be stepping away for a break and when they can expect your return.
Update your trading hours
This is a common culprit around the holidays; just because your current clients are in the know about your holiday plans, that doesn’t mean prospective ones are. Don’t forget to update your brokerage’s trading hours on your website, Google, social media — and anywhere else they’re listed!
Set an out-of-office reminder
Is there anything more frustrating than sending multiple emails and receiving zero replies? You’d be surprised how many people forget to set up an email office reminder. We get it – you’re eager to kick-start the holidays, but don’t forget this important step! Include a friendly message that details when people can expect to hear from you — it’s all about managing expectations.
Schedule your content marketing
Finally, just because you’re taking a break doesn’t mean that your blog or social media channels have to. In fact, keeping your brokerage front of mind throughout the holidays is important for brand awareness and bringing in new business. Be sure to leverage content channels or third-party platforms to schedule your content marketing over the holidays.
Reflect on the past and prepare for the future
One of our favourite ways to prepare for Christmas closure is by taking stock of the year that was. What did we set out to achieve? Did we do it? How can we make next year even bigger and better?
Think of this as your New Year’s resolution prelude.
Before you can set new goals, you need to reflect on your brokerage journey and decide where you’d like to go — personally and professionally. At Success & Broker, we’re big fans of an ‘always learning, always growing’ mindset and have enjoyed working with many like-minded brokers this year in our Proventus Program and The Broker Bootcamp. Check out our services if you’re considering ramping up your broker skills in the new year.
Choose a ‘fighting day’
Okay, if you decide that you really have to work in some capacity over the holidays, you need a game plan — we call this a ‘fighting day.’ This is the day (or days) that you get in the zone and tackle whatever it is that you need to do efficiently. Rather than working ‘here and there’ over multiple days, on ‘fighting days’, you bring your A-game, commit, and get it done.
We’ve written in detail on the blog about the family plan and maintaining a healthy work-life balance to avoid broker burnout; that’s why fighting days matter. If it’s not a fighting day, you are 100% committed — both mentally and physically — to your family.
We encourage you to use this time to check in with your family, organise outings, and gather with your loved ones. Recharging your batteries by doing the things you love with the people you love is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success next year.
Say ‘no’ to vacation guilt!
We wish we didn’t need to say this, but sometimes a reminder is necessary for our ‘hustle culture’ society. You’re entitled to a holiday, and it’s not something you should feel guilty about. Remember, most businesses will take a break this time of year — even banks will be working with a skeleton crew.
You’re not missing out or slacking off by taking time out; in fact, studies show that extended leave from work is critical for your long-term health and productivity! Those who take holidays have lower stress, less risk of heart attacks, a better outlook on life and more motivation to tackle goals — need we go on?
Over to you!
Alright, folks, it’s time to start preparing your brokerage for Christmas closure! We hope you feel empowered to set yourself up for a successful end-of-year wind-down; if you have more tips, we’d love to hear from you. But for now, we’ll leave you with the key takeaways from this post:
- Do your housekeeping
- Prioritise your family
- Choose your fighting days
- Enjoy yourself — guilt free!
