Delegation: Your Secret Weapon!
One thing that successful real estate agents have in common is the ability to delegate. When we see successful agents who are busy and thriving, one question we might ask ourselves is how they do it all.
The truth is that they don't do it all and that is what helps them to be successful. Learning how to delegate is an essential part of growing your business, reaching your full potential, and is a crucial indicator of your success. When an agent insists on maintaining control of everything their effectiveness is diluted. A smart agent knows that they cannot do everything themselves and that building a strong "delegating muscle" can be their pathway to success.
Why Is It Important to Delegate?
Too many agents believe that they are the only person who can handle all aspects of the client relationship, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Imagine you woke up today and were unable to get to work because the bridge that led to your house was temporarily closed. There was no other way to the office or to see your clients and you had a client that really needed to have you show them a house. The bottom line is that you would have someone else show them that house with an explanation about your inability to work with them directly that day. Most clients would understand and be satisfied with that.
So if it works in an instance like this, couldn't this work in a broader way in your business? It could, but you have to be willing to let some things go and entrust those tasks to someone else.
Too many agents feel that they are the only one who can handle every aspect of their business but it is exhausting to run a real estate business like this. The other challenge is that you can be so busy in the "doing" of the "right now" activities in your business that you don't leave any time for planning, marketing, lead generation or client care. You are too busy "mopping" everything up.
A good delegator knows that they need to steer the boat and monitor the tasks that are being delegated but they don't actually need to perform each task themselves.
What Is the Right Way to Delegate?
When you delegate a task to someone it is essential to let them run with it. Initially you will have to make sure they know exactly what you expect of them, but then you have to give them the freedom to complete the task. It is one thing to oversee a task or project and it is another to micromanage.
When you ask someone to do a task for you and then you look over their shoulder every step of the way you are sending a message that you do not trust them to do the task. When you first start delegating you have to accept that not everything will be done perfect every time and you have to give people the freedom to complete the task their way. It is important that you build trust and mutual respect when delegating. You will never achieve this by micromanaging.
Delegating Can Increase Your Bottom Line
I can't tell you how many times I have heard an agent say "there are never enough hours in the day" or "if only I could clone myself."
You can with effective delegation!
I have also heard agents say that they don't have any time to train an assistant or to delegate because it requires so much time. Well if you are short on time, you NEED to learn how to delegate. And while it may require time up front, your long term investment and return on investment when you delegate is monumental.
Imagine you spent 10 minutes a day doing something that could be delegated to someone else. Initially you may spend 4 hours training the person to know exactly how you want that task done. But over a five year period you would have saved 43 hours of time! WOW! That is quite the return on investment!
And there is no fun being a successful agent if you are too busy to enjoy it and exhausted from all the work you are doing. Delegating can give you your life back.
Delegating can come in many different forms including:
- Assistants
- Transaction Coordinators
- Photographers
- Videographers
- Bookkeepers
- Graphic Designers
- Writers
And don't forget delegating in your personal world!
- Housekeepers
- Cooks (even a few nights a week!)
- Gardeners
- Organizers
- Babysitters
Strive to bring the best people onto your bus and remember that delegation is the only way you can effectively duplicate yourself.
By Denise Lones CSP, M.I.R.M., CDEI - The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings over two decades of experience in the real estate industry. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding, new home project planning, product development, and agent/broker training, Denise is nationally recognized as the source for all things real estate. With a passion for improvement, Denise has helped thousands of real estate agents, brokers, and managers build their business to unprecedented levels of success, while helping them maintain balance and quality of life.
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