In this instructional video, real‑estate professional Leigh Thomas Brown explains how a simple, low‑tech system using colored paper can prevent lost leads and improve client follow‑up. He describes the problem of mixed white copier paper (MLS sheets, tax cards, septic maps) that makes it hard to locate critical buyer or seller information, leading to missed calls and damaged trust. Brown introduces a color‑coding method: blue paper for buyer leads and yellow paper for seller/listing leads, allowing quick visual identification among stacks of white paper. He demonstrates the technique with visual examples, emphasizing that timely follow‑up is essential for maintaining trust and closing deals. He also discusses keeping question‑sheet prompts in multiple locations (car, office, backpack) to stay on track during calls. Finally, he notes that North Carolina REALTORS® can obtain discounts on office supplies through state‑approved vendors, making the system affordable. The video ends with a call to action for viewers to subscribe, ask questions, and share the video.
Chapters
What is the best way to organize paper trails and piles of paper on your desk? Well, y'all know that I love answering your questions, and the person who asked me this has one of two purposes. They're either trying to judge me because I live in a paper world, or they also live in a paper world and they actually need help. So we're just going to assume that was an honest question and not just somebody judging me for being less than electronic. But when you think about it, a paper life can get really really messy simply because almost all the paper that lands on your desk is some form of white copier paper. In real estate, you're going to have a mix of MLS sheets, tax cards, and septic maps, and everything looks the same. Which means when you start to go thumbing through, you know, lick your finger old style and start poking around looking for something, your phone's going to ring. You'll be on page 43, and then you're going to flip this paper over and start to write notes down. And then the phone's going to end and you're going to turn it back over and keep going. And suddenly you don't have any idea where you wrote down that note. And frankly, this is why salespeople, for as long as sales has been going on, have lost business because they wrote it down in a place where they could not find it. And I'm not even going to mention the fact that most of y'all have written down a name and a phone number on the back of a gas receipt and shoved it in your console, which, by the way, that's why real estate pros always say yes to the receipt. It's not because we're keeping paperwork trails. No, we're not that organized. We keep that because it's notepaper for the car. Mm-hmm. Now, here's the way to get your business somewhat organized. Now, whether you're in real estate or not, you should know what your high priority incoming and outbound phone calls are. That's where you make money in sales is knowing where the traffic is. In real estate, that's somebody calls and says, "Hey, I want to buy a house," or it's, "Hey, come list me." Now, when you're getting that phone call, you need to be prepared at all times to not leave your business in a stack of plain white paper on your desk. I use a system that was created a long time ago. I use colored paper. And yes, it costs a little bit of money to buy colored paper. And no, it is not environmentally friendly, I guess, and I don't care. So if you're the person who's going to start trolling me because of this, just go get a job. So anyway, the blue ones in my desk are for buyers. B, blue, buyers. It's also so I can find it. And so look at it this way, I'll give you a visual demonstration because I am loving like that. If we have a stack of white paper on the desk and I have one buyer lead sheet, look, the Shazam, it's right in the middle. I can find it so easily. Now, that's the most important thing I can find is somebody's information because they were inquiring about buying real estate. This is about loss of business if you don't keep up with it. But more than that, you might be the person that they trusted the most when they called. And so if you lose their name and phone number and don't call them back, you're actually deteriorating that trust factor in you as a professional. That's how big of a deal it is to be able to keep up with people. Now, the other color you'll see frequently on my desk is yellow. What is yellow for? Come list me calls. Somebody wants to sell a property. Why are they yellow? So I can find them. Let's do the same demonstration here. I know that y'all are enjoying the visuals here. So, we'll just stick it in the middle of the white paper again. And what? Look, you can still see it. You can find it because The person who's calling to sell a property is trying to unlock that equity to do something else with it. Whether they're a baby boomer that's downsizing because they're tired of keeping up with the bigger house, the kids are gone, or it's somebody who's owned an investment property and they would like to do a 1031 and roll it up, or it's somebody who's lost their job and the house is too much and they need to get that mortgage off the books. There's lots of reasons people sell. And so when we lose their information, it looks like we don't care about their best outcome. I mean, honestly, it sounds kind of crazy, but there's a big psychological disaster that happens when salespeople don't follow up with their potential customers. And I'm as guilty of it as anybody. I have lost names and phone numbers. I have forgotten things in my medium age, and I'm always trying to do better. This is one of the ways that I try to do better all the time. And because I am medium-aged and lose things from time to time, that's why these live everywhere. They live in my car. They live in the driver's side and the passenger side. They live in my husband's car. They live in my home office, my real office. They live in my pocketbook and my backpack. They're everywhere because I may have written all the questions that are on here, but I get distracted when somebody calls me and they turn out to be likable. I'm like, oh, well, hey, I went to Northwest. You went to Northwest? And then we have a conversation and 20 minutes later, I have failed to ask them all the right real estate questions. However, when my question sheet is right in front of me, I can stay on track and give that person the professional experience they were seeking. So frankly, if you're looking to provide a better professional experience, the colored paper might be your trick. If you're looking to stop losing business, the colored paper might be your trick. And if you're just tired of drowning in a sea of paper, colored paper is the trick. And by the way, if you happen to be a North Carolina REALTOR®, did you know we have discounts? Through Office Max or Depot, whatever they call themselves now. So you should go to the State Realtor website and save a few bucks if you can. I'm not above that myself. But just think about how it's the simple solutions that can make everything better in life. Check it out, see what you think. And if you want me to answer any questions for you, drop it below. Make sure you subscribe and tell a friend, and I'll be back.
