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3 Breakthroughs Learned From Three 7-Figure Agents

By
Education & Training with MyOutDesk

If you asked three 7-figure agents a single burning question and they all answered it the exact same way, would you apply their insight?

 

Well, that’s exactly what happened to me recently.

 

I was able to interview a line-up of rock star agents. Including three 7-figure heavy hitters - Amanda Howard, Kris Weaver, and Jeff Cohn.

 

And while I asked them a lot of questions, I also asked each of them the same question:

 

“Looking back to the beginning of your career, what were the major things you learned or mastered such that once you did your business grew dramatically?”

 

...and all three answered it the exact same way, without having heard the other’s answers.

 

Interested in know their answer to such a challenging question?

 

Each of their answers had the same three breakthroughs...

 

Breakthrough #1: Mastering High ROI Productivity

 

The first thing each of them shared as their first breakthrough was learning how to master productivity.

 

Specifically, time management.

 

Now, here I am, talking to agents who did 600-710 deals last year (2016) and the first thing they open with is “time management”.

 

It felt a bit underwhelming, ya know?

 

But that’s exactly what they said.

 

Each of their first big breakthroughs came when they learned how to manage their time to prioritize for revenue producing activity. And just as importantly, stuck to their planned schedule no matter what.

 

One of their pro tips for accomplishing this was “making the first things first”.

 

Meaning, whatever your most productive ROI activity goals or tasks are for the day, do them earlier in the day. Because as the day goes on, you’ll get pulled in all sorts of directions, and you will be less likely to accomplish your revenue critical priorities.

 

Breakthrough #2: Building a Team

 

The next thing they each shared as their biggest breakthrough was building a team.

 

Specifically, hiring for two types of roles quickly:

 

  •     Non-revenue producing, repetitive tasks
  •     Revenue critical management positions

 

The first was just about freeing up their time as much as possible to focus on getting revenue producing time into the day.

 

But that has it’s limits.

 

Even after hiring assistants, they could only squeeze out a few more revenue productive hours per day at maximum.

 

The key growth came from the second types of hires, the revenue critical management positions.

 

The three specific positions were:

 

  • “Client to Closing” admin roles - which were transaction coordinator managers, listing managers, and operations managers.
  • Inbound “Client Producing” marketing and sales roles - which were marketing managers focused on activities like social media marketing, and ISA’s focused on answering inbound calls.
  • Outbound “Client Producing” marketing and sales roles - which were marketing managers focused on things like launching and managing direct mail campaigns and database marketing, and ISA’s doing Circle, Expireds, and FSBO prospecting.

 

Their pro tip for hiring for revenue critical roles is to make a list of two things:

 

  •     List out where you’re feeling the most personal pain in your business
  •     List out where you are having your biggest bottlenecks in your business

 

Anything that pops up on both lists needs to be hired for and solved for by the related role.

 

To help figure out what you should be getting from any specific hire, you can download our free team member cheat sheets that will show you exactly what you should be getting out of your hires.

 

Breakthrough #3: Harnessing Leadership

 

The final point of massive growth for each of these heavy hitters came through learning and applying leadership.

 

Shifting their role from a lot of client interaction to team building and development.

 

Specifically focusing on making sure they had all the right people in the right seats. And that each of those team members was equipped with whatever tools, training, and resources they needed to be effective.

 

Their pro tip leadership is to understand that your team members aren’t going to ever get excited about growing your personal bank account.

 

The key is to create a vision, mission, and culture with:

 

  •     A sense of purpose and contribution.
  •     A path for personal growth, development, and fulfillment for each team member.

 

Amanda Howard, as one culture shift tweak, focuses on “how many families they serve every year” instead of how many transactions they will do.

 

And they served 710 families in 2016.

 

You also want to keep team members engaged by always making opportunities available for them to grow into.

 

Great teams are constantly promoting internally those who want to grow, and hiring externally to replace them. Since your existing team already knows your process, systems, culture, vision, and mission best.

 

If you want to see how your current teams org chart compares to how our 7-figure clients like Ben Kinney, Lisa Archer, and Tristan Ahumada are building their businesses, so you can model what they’re doing, you can attend one of our free weekly webinars on building high performance teams.

Comments (52)

Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Three important breakthroughs for all of us to learn from, thanks for sharing these Andrey.

Jun 16, 2017 08:13 PM
Dusty Rhoton CLHMS, ABR, SRES, GRI
RE/MAX Fine Properties - Flagstaff, AZ
Northern Arizona Real Estate

Time management is key, but I don't think I would want to give up the personal attention and constant contact with my clients.   This part of my business brings me referral and repeat business time and time again and I wouldn't want to lose that.   Great post and I LOVED "serving families" vs. "deals each year" which sounds much more caring and personal.

Jun 23, 2017 06:57 AM
Laura Filip
Laura Filip Broker , Opening doors for All Seasons of Life - Whitesboro, TX
What can we do for you today?

Great post , time management is important. Staying on top of the day as it moves quickly to find the 5 pm bell has rang and there are still more items on the table to be done. So 10 pm comes quickly. 

Jun 23, 2017 01:45 PM
Michael J. Perry
KW Elite - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

Thanks for the summary . All great ideas to learn to master Anne implements

Jul 12, 2017 03:25 AM
Steve Bracero
Heisler and Mattson - Shrewsbury, MA
First Time Homebuyer and Investor Specialist

Great read.. I agree time mangement is crucial, and needed for continuous success. Sticking to a scheudle or having a plan on attack daily is needed as well 

Jul 12, 2017 04:04 AM
Dorie Dillard Austin TX
Coldwell Banker Realty ~ 512.750.6899 - Austin, TX
NW Austin ~ Canyon Creek and Spicewood/Balcones

Definitely a good read and time management is the key to success whether your one agent or on a team. The wonderful thing about real estate you get to choose how you want to work and utilize your time.

Jul 12, 2017 04:23 AM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Congratulations on the well deserved featured post. Thanks for sharing. 

Jul 12, 2017 05:08 AM
Sybil Campbell
Fernandina Beach, FL
Referral Agent Amelia Island Florida

I think breakthrough rule number one is the most vital one for real estate.

Jul 12, 2017 07:19 AM
Ginger Harper
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage~ Ginger Harper Real Estate Team - Southport, NC
Your Southport~Oak Island Agent~Brunswick County!

Great information to help one break thru..

 

Jul 12, 2017 07:40 AM
Jerry Murphy, CRS, SRES
Long Realty West Valley - Anthem, AZ
Anthem, Phoenix, and Scottsdale AZ Real Estate

Hi Andrey, Did you happen to find out at what point, production wise, revenue wise these agents began the hiring process?  Or was their decision just based on a sense of need?  Thanks.

Jul 12, 2017 05:53 PM
Daniel Ramsey

A sense of need and a sense of want. For most as soon as they had set aside enough to pay someone for 6 months they moved forward. It is a business development move and you want to be able to give the changes time to positively affect revenue. A killer month 3 or 4 can justify hiring someone for the whole year, but you have to be able to get that far.

Jul 13, 2017 09:06 AM
Mega Team Real Estate
Realty ONE Group Alliance - San Mateo, CA
San Francisco and Peninsula Real Estate Concierge

Thank you for sharing great information. 

Jul 12, 2017 09:30 PM
Wayne L. Brown
Franklin Advantage Inc. - Alpine, CA

Outstanding post Daniel.

I will have to send the link to this to my Realtor partners.

Thanks for the post...very insightful.

Jul 28, 2017 01:50 PM
Hella M. Rothwell, Broker/Realtor®
Carmel by the Sea, CA
Rothwell Realty Inc. CA#01968433 Carmel-by-the-Sea

There is a lot of excellent information here and time management is at the top with me, especially starting with the most important items to be done first thing in the morning. Having said that, I really get frustrated when I read about agents who supposedly close 700+ or whatever transactions a year. There probably aren't that many closed on the whole of the Monterey Peninsula every year! You can't compare apple and orange markets! And not everyone is a team leader forking out big bucks for employees and mega marketing. Like others commenting here, that's not the type of real estate business we aspire to. To my way of thinking, our type of brokerage IS successful and we should not be made to feel as less successful, you know what I mean? I have many repeat clients who love the way I do business, paying lots of attention to them, not handing them over to a team member.

Jul 28, 2017 08:28 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

These are always good to put on the blogs because everybody needs a breakthrough

Jul 28, 2017 11:35 PM
Sharon Kowitz
CRS-SRES-ABR-GRI-E-Pro-CREN ~ COMPASS RE - Cary, NC
Cary, NC Relocation Specialist ~ Buying or Selling

Your article offers great advice and a step by step guide to teams. Leadership is the key ~ a great leader can create positive and productive people. 

Aug 30, 2017 04:22 AM
Sam Shueh
(408) 425-1601 - San Jose, CA
mba, cdpe, reopro, pe

Get these top producers close 400 transactions a year and get them to more competitive place like SF or NYC.  What worked in Vegas will not work elsewhere. First of all no investor can ask you to unload 10 homes you find 10 people to list. But having people skills help.

To lead one needs be generous and trust his people first. Those team having lots of turn over often hints the team is struggling. This is the case in the capital.    

Aug 30, 2017 06:22 AM
Marie-Denise Kratsios
Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty - Huntington, NY
Where ever you are, that's where I'll be!

Thanks for the great and substantive post on attaining success as a Realtor. The greatest obstacle for just about everyone in our business is time management.  Whether you are a team leader, part of a team, or flyig solo, the advice from these three agents will help set a great foundation for a successful business.

Aug 30, 2017 06:53 AM
Ginger Harper
Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage~ Ginger Harper Real Estate Team - Southport, NC
Your Southport~Oak Island Agent~Brunswick County!

Great post.  I will share with others..

 

Aug 30, 2017 07:41 AM
Sheldon Haywood
McGraw Realtors - Tulsa, OK
Your Realtor For Life!

Great post! I have troubles with time management but working on it. Thank you 

Aug 30, 2017 09:44 AM
Pat Braithwaite
Braithwaite Realty - Marietta, GA
E-Pro

I can't wait to apply some of your tips.  Thank you.

Aug 30, 2017 05:47 PM