How to Scale and Build

You have a greater capacity for growth than you think. In this month’s Growth Leadership and Management Tip I explain how to scale and build your business through clarity of vision, organisation, and building a quality team.

Most agents think in limited terms of layered growth, simply improving exiting systems and resources a little bit each year to make 2 times their current numbers. But what if you could achieve 10 times your current success rate? That’s a 2X vs. 10X mindset. Real growth requires getting clarity on what you want to achieve and projecting on what it would take to make that happen.

Getting clarity begins with focusing on the Big 3 activities you should be doing. Then look at the tasks you actually spend most of your time on. The problem with doing too many tasks yourself is that you can’t do any of them well, and you won’t get the work done that you really should be focusing on. You need to hire people to do those necessary secondary tasks for you.

An organizational chart helps you visualize everything that must get done and who you need on board to do them. The most important position is an office manager who coordinates all your daily operations so you don’t have to. Review the chart periodically, and add positions and people as your business expands. Always be thinking ahead about roles you need to hire for and talent you want to recruit. This will help you make better decisions toward building your team.

Once you have clarity around your Big 3 and your organisational structure you can focus on projects you want to work on throughout the year and over the next 90 days. Put together an execution team of people who are not directly selling or managing properties. Meet with them to establish each role’s Big 3 and their part in your long and short-term goals, and have them chart their own plans for the next 5 years

This is not going to come together in a day, so allow time for everyone to get clear on your proposed goals and expectations. Once everyone is on the same track your momentum will really take off.

Examining what other successful agencies are doing can help you decide how to scale and build your own business, but don’t focus on externals like branding and marketing. You want to know how they’ve structured their internal organization and what kind of people they hire because it’s your people who will drive your operations and allow you the freedom to focus and achieve your true potential.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Growth, Leadership and Management Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next month.

The Hierarchy of Work

Just one listing can change everything, yet so few agents follow a hierarchy of work to get it. Today in my Coaching Tip I’ll show you how to structure your prospecting and discover the opportunities you’re missing.

When you first start out in real estate your prospecting goals are mostly based around getting new clients. At some point your focus needs to shift to working more with the people you already know. These people already see you as a trusted advisor and they would rather work with an agent they know than take a chance with your competitors. Not only are they potential buyers and sellers, they are also your key referrers.

You may think you won’t work with a recent client again for years, but sometimes people turn over a property within days, or even hours, of settlement. Life can switch from red to orange to green in seconds. You want to be top of the list to handle that client’s next transaction whenever it happens. Past clients and key referrers are at the top of your hierarchy.

Landlords are often overlooked as multidimensional customers. Most agents only consider the properties they manage, but landlords have homes, too, and they may live in some of your most lucrative markets. Find out where they own property and put them inside of your database for targeted marketing in those categories.

Buyer work comes next with follow-ups to people you’ve met at open for inspections or who have made online inquiries. Then look at potential sellers such as market appraisals you’ve spoken with.

It’s common to target new potential markets from a geographic base, but think about your relationship areas where you already know a significant number of people. This is a market where you are already relevant and can quickly expand your influence.

There are usually only a couple of things you need to focus on to really boon your business and those activities involve keeping current with people you already know, including your personal relationships. Following a system for contacting all your prospects will ensure you have consistent opens and listings. Always be thinking of people you know but haven’t reached out to and put them into your hierarchy of work.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 45 — Narrowing Your Focus

This High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on narrowing your focus to areas where you bring the most value to your business. Alexander talks about building a solid team to do other tasks and Josh cites listing stock and lead generation as primary business growth factors. Alexander advises new agents on ways to manage all aspects of your business until you can hire your first assistant and let go of tasks they can manage. Josh notes the importance of systems, checklists and forms for staying on track and training team members, and they discuss how you should be spending most of your day. Josh ends with emphasis on hiring an assistant as soon as you can.

How important are checklists?

There are so many things you have to accomplish in your business every day that you can’t possibly remember them all, especially when things get really busy. In today’s Coaching Tip I’ll show you the importance of running your business as a system and just how simple it is to do that.

First, I want you to realize that a good system isn’t complex or difficult. Systems are checklists — that’s all. And systems are scalable, expanding and evolving as tasks change. A system assures that everyone on your team always knows what needs to be done, in detail. Your business system will be a checklist of checklists, and you create them before events occur.

Having a checklist for each task removes the stress of trying to remember everything under pressure. Details like pens, forms, displays and name badges, table decor and complimentary water, what time to show up, what time to leave, and having the right key for the right address are all handled.

Being prepared and presenting well are all about the small things. Checklists help you remember every single detail for every meeting or event without fail. They standardise operations and are especially effective when onboarding new hires. Giving your team access to your business systems minimises risk, improves performance, and relieves anxiety.

You can use a shared system like ASANA (click here to check it out) so everyone has access from their phones, or even a printed booklet for each task, but systems must be centralised and standardised.

Here are just a few areas of your business that will benefit from checklisting:
• Open for inspections
• Listings
• Appraisals
• Going to market
• Sold at auction
• Settlement

Even a checklist of recurring tasks for each day of the week will keep everyone on track and getting things done, right down to making coffee and tea.

Systems and checklists make operations and expectations clear for everyone, and assure that performance goals are met consistently. This is how the best agents stay focused and keep their teams coordinated. This is how you’ll become a top-level agent as well.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 44 — Database Maintenance

In today’s High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips stress the need for regular database maintenance. Josh notes the difference between a fat vs. fit database and Alexander describes ways to keep your database clean and functional. They discuss how to use the database for scheduling tasks around clients, and which clients to maintain or drop out. Josh points out the advantages of working categories rather than individual clients and Alexander expands on that idea, then continues into how he structures his call lists. They reinforce the importance of database structure and usability for maintaining relationships and progressing clients, Alexander touches on generating referrals and keeping current data, and Josh ends with a reminder that everyone in the database was a buyer at some point.

Can you deal with success?

One day soon your business is going to take off in a big way, and you’re probably not ready. That sudden rapid expansion in your business will either carry you or bury you. What do you do when you get really successful? In my Coaching Tip today I’ll tell you how to prepare for that next level of success.

Building capacity allows you to do more with less. The 3 core activities you must dial in are your fitness, your systems and your people.

Fitness is not just about going to the gym. It’s about your business fitness: prospecting, listing, sales, and everything in between. Systems are structured teachable processes that keep your business on track and productive. And it all ultimately depends on your people being better than you are at the tasks you need them to perform so that you can stay focused on your own work that’s most important.

When you think of putting on an assistant you know you want someone who can handle things like scheduling and emails, but there’s more to it than administrative tasks. This person will represent you and your brand to your customers, so you want someone with a high level of maturity and capability. Those qualities will not come cheap, but they will make an invaluable difference to your success. As you build your team you’ll want to hire people who can scale with your growth and add to your capacity.

Keeping your team current and aware of special challenges you face will help them help you. To make sure everyone in your business stays focused and on track, schedule a daily directions meeting. There are 5 key questions to address each morning:
1. Where are the biggest opportunities?
2. What are the next 5 deals?
3. Who are the top 5 people to go after?
4. What one action will give us the most leverage?
5. What didn’t get done yesterday that must be done today?

No matter how much new business you’re generating, prospecting is still your most important task. Let your team do their jobs for you so you can keep yourself focused and energized. Make sure you’re working in 45-minute sessions, prospect in the mornings, meet appointments in the afternoons, and stay consistent with your commitments. You’ll set a good example, and be the agent your clients and your team want to work with.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 43 – Pacing Against the Marketplace

In this High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents, Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips discuss pacing your business against trends in the marketplace. Alexander tells why it’s important to know what’s coming up during stages of the year such as holidays and other events that affect the overall market, and Josh notes the effect media has on consumers. Alexander relates how staying current makes you a better advisor and discussion continues around analysis and research for timing listings and sales. Alexander offers his view of the coming year, and how he will maintain momentum and maximise pricing throughout. Josh closes with tools and methods the best agents will employ to make the right decisions as the market changes.

What To Do If You’re Off Track

Everybody comes off track sometimes, so it’s critical that you learn how to snap back and keep going. In my Coaching Tip today I’m giving you some tips and tricks for what to do if you’re off track that really work.

You don’t lose momentum for no reason, so the first thing is to identify what happened. It’s usually something completely under your control that affects your energy, from diet, exercise or sleep to not having a routine. Maybe you’ve lost sight of your “why” or you’re just not feeling very effective.

“Feeling” is a key word because it’s emotion that throws you off, so it’s good to understand that you can change the way you feel. One of the best ways to keep emotions from ruling your life is routine.

Following a routine removes thinking and feeling from action. It becomes automatic for you to do the things you need to. Set up a routine using the cue – action – result method. For example, have a call list waiting when you arrive at the office as a cue to make those calls immediately. The result is appointments you then go meet.

Measuring and managing what you do is basic, but the key is to only measure what really matters. Don’t obsess over every step of each task, just track your results. Your most important number is bookings and getting in front of the customer every day. Keep it simple and focus on that.

Often there are only a few things making you feel overwhelmed. Write down all the things that make you feel pressured. If you can see them you can deal with them one by one. Also make sure you are on schedule and getting set tasks done on time. Take note if something isn’t working, look at how you’re doing it and correct that action quickly.

It’s equally important to make sure you’re not trying to do too much in too little time. Maintain high energy by allowing for the time each task requires to do quality work and present at your best to each client.

Nothing is more motivational than successful results. You achieve those by knowing what to do when you’re off track and attending to the work that matters. The more you accomplish the better you will feel about your business and yourself.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 42 — Role Transitions: Lead Sales Agent, Principal, Owner and Director 

This High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips talking about transitioning roles throughout your career, from lead sales agent to principal, owner and director. Alexander tells how his office functions with an open, non-hierarchical plan. Josh talks about understanding and focusing on the core tasks of your position and Alexander addresses outsourcing tasks so you can focus on your primary work. They discuss the advantages of experience in each role as you advance. Alexander describes running productive sales meetings as a director and states his views on caravans. Josh notes the importance of knowing why you do certain tasks while learning new skills, and Alexander tells why having a title isn’t so important to what you actually do as a leader. Josh ends with getting clear on roles and knowing what each actually needs to get done.

Don’t get crushed by Rapid growth

Many businesses fail when they enter a rapid growth phase. Their leadership becomes overwhelmed and can’t keep up with the expansion. You don’t have to be one of them. In this month’s Growth, Leadership and Management tip I’ll tell you how to build the capacity to sustain growth and thrive.

Growth capacity begins with alignment, which means everyone inside of your business knows your vision, and they’re clear on what they need to do and how their position contributes value to the overall success of the business.

Establishing alignment requires that you know your Big Three primary functions:
1. You have to be good at what you do or the business will fail.
2. You must be able to clearly communicate your vision, direction and expectations.
3. You must build the capacity to scale so your business can grow consistently without stalling out.

Scaling your business relies on hiring enough capable people to handle the tasks that take you away from performing your primary roles. Don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed with accelerated demands – have a recruitment plan for bringing in new talent before you desperately need them, and build a quality execution team with the right people in place.

These three leadership functions are critical:
• Your clarity of vision sets the direction your company will take.
• The capability of each new hire determines your ability to scale successfully.
• Your systems for recruitment and onboarding must assure alignment and scalability.

Sustainable growth requires highly functional people, regular team planning, capacity for growth and systems that work. With these elements in place you can’t grow too fast to keep up because you are prepared in advance for every leap forward. You can now do the work that matters most and enjoy your success.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Growth, Leadership and Management tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next month.