Run Your Business Like a Business

Focus on finding the right people

Most agents focus on “how” they will get something done rather than “who” to hire to do it for them. Think of your service partners (photographers, stagers, handymen, appraisers, home inspectors, cleaners, landscapers) as part of your extended team. Every contact your client has with them is a reflection on you, so only recommend the best people.

Learn to delegate

You can’t do $15/hour administrative work and expect to earn a six-figure income. You also can’t make wise financial decisions unless you hire the right accountant. When it comes to marketing, you are not a graphic designer or a copywriter, so why would you do it yourself? I realize that hiring outside help costs money, but in the long run, you will save time and money by hiring the right people. It will allow you to focus on being a rainmaker. The more time you have for prospecting better clients, the more money you will make. Surround yourself with experts and your business will skyrocket. The question you must ask yourself is: Are you hiring the BEST people for your team? If you had to hire them again, would you, or are you settling? It is easier to stick with GOOD than it is to spend time searching for GREAT, but great people are what you need!

Hire a great coach

To really improve your business, you should consider investing in coaching. When you work with a business coach one-on-one, they give you specific advice for your business based on your specific market, your strengths, weaknesses, and personal goals. The earning potential in our business is too high to go it alone. You need someone to bounce ideas off of who will ask you the tough questions and encourage you to see things differently. When you have a business coach, your life gets easier because they do all the strategy work for you. Rather than trying to do everything yourself, they get you to focus on the activities that drive the most income, and they recommend which services you need to delegate and how to find the right person to do it. They become a trusted partner in your business.

Focus on long-term and short-term

Most agents wake up every day and wing it. Running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Every decision you make should focus on future benefits rather than short-term wins. Some strategies that help you succeed long-term may actually hurt your short-term business. The energy that you would typically spend on NOW business must be refocused on doing activities that you don’t see immediate benefit from. This is why most agents are not good with marketing. It is a long-term strategy to generate leads. Most agents don’t have the perseverance to spend time and money on marketing when they don’t see immediate results. Is marketing a necessary strategy for long-term growth? Absolutely. Do most agents do it well? Absolutely not.  A good starting place is to write a list of your long-term strategies for every part of your business (lead generation, marketing, customer follow-up, finances, market research, etc.). If you don’t have strategies for every part of business, you will have weak spots. You are only as good as the weakest link in your chain.

Review your strategies quarterly

Be a student of the market. Pay attention to trends and cycles and continually ask yourself if the strategies you are using are as effective as you want them to be. Will your strategies continue to work if the market changes? If your answer is no, it’s time to change things up. Don’t run your business on autopilot. Review your strategies quarterly to make sure you are focusing on the right activities, and you have hired the right people to perform them. This is where a coach can be invaluable.