Scale or stagnate: a broker’s guide to growing their business

As with every successful endeavor, especially in real estate brokering, there’s the inevitable “fork in the road” moment. For the timid, maintaining the status quo is acceptable, but for the ambitious scaling and achieving more is the only option. Scaling isn’t just about getting bigger as a brokerage and making more money, it’s about providing a high level of customer service to more clients and not allowing for a drop in efficiency no matter how big the expansion becomes.

There are a few metrics that brokerage owners need to stay on top of if they are serious about scaling their business. Constructing a hierarchy within the company, taking advantage of the latest technology, incentivizing top employees, and auditing daily workflows are the four main pillars brokerage owners need to prioritize if their scaling efforts are to remain sustainable.

Scaling starts when less is more

For brokers, especially owners of a brokerage, ceding control can be easier said than done. However, when a broker removes themselves from handling every step of the transaction, they can break past production plateaus and open the floodgates for expansion and scaling. While the logical first step to scaling may appear to be hiring more brokers, there are other positions that must first be created to open up more time for everyone that follows.

Positions such as Transaction Coordinators and Virtual Assistants can be of great value to a broker looking to scale their company. The ability to delegate contracts, schedule deadlines and update compliance agreements can all be handled by a TC. These minor but important checkpoints can eat into a broker’s schedule and prohibit their ability to scale. Virtual assistants can handle data entry, social media management and routine administrative duties to reduce costs of full time employees.

Once these tasks are handled, a broker can hone their focus on business initiatives that lead to scaling and eventually hire other broker agents that can attract more clients and deals.

Technology tips the scale

It’s been mentioned time and time again and has been virtually omnipresent over the past five years, but technological advancements are integral parts of thriving businesses in the 2020s. Brokerages that are using technology efficiently and specifically are the ones that are able to succeed through scaling efforts. It’s when technology isn’t aligned properly where companies can start to crumble under the weight of their own success. Customer Relationship Management systems are the first key to scaling a business. Ensure the use of a robust CRM to organize customer details, track lead progression and employ a standardized procedure for client follow up. Tracking these metrics means the ability to scale these metrics and continue a high level of customer service no matter how large the investor client base gets.

Brokers and brokerage owners can also implement digital contract platforms to ensure consistent document flow and adherence to compliance checklists as volume multiplies.

Marketing technology has also made leaps and bounds that brokers can take advantage of. Brokerage owners can automate email drip campaigns and recurring local market updates to maintain brand presence without manual input. Less human effort in these marketing systems frees up more bandwidth for the sales efforts that scaling creates.

Build a business around retention

Every successful company is anchored and set up for success based on their recruitment and retention. With the help of tracking metrics, brokerage owners can define who their top agents are from a production standpoint and entice them to stay. There must be resources and strategies in place that make producing agents feel taken care of and, as a result, fosters an energy and environment that further convinces them that staying is the best option.

Lead generation is a key tactic in keeping top performers on staff. Brokerage owners that supply leads or marketing systems that attract inbound clients rather than solely relying on outbound lead generation are the ones that can feel confident their best will see no reason to leave the growing company.

Training resources and education about client conversations and conversion tactics are valuable assets that can enhance a feeling of support at a company. It’s important to balance resources that can help the overall business but also mold and improve on an individual level. This way the top performers are invested because it is benefiting themselves and the company as a whole.

Of course, compensation is a big part of keeping the most talented employees. From day one, establishing clear and fair commission splits is vital. The incentivizing of production is what breeds retention.

Every second counts

An often overlooked aspect of scaling is taking accountability of time management. It’s easy to associate a lack of scaling with not working long enough, but it’s burnout and overworking that can detract from scaling efforts as well.

Tracking schedules and finding weak spots throughout a work day is a pivotal part of the process. It may seem tedious at first, but these short-term annoyances can lead to long-term success. Creating tutorials to document repeatable workflows is helpful as well when new employees come on board. This will prevent any drop in production and customer service because everyone will know how to operate and what is expected from them from day one.  

Scaling can start tomorrow

With these tactics and strategies, implementing ways to achieve scaling can be right around the corner for a broker and brokerage owners. When the right parts of a business are prioritized and optimized the rest can fall into place easier than one might think. There’s nothing left for an industry professional to do but choose which path best suits their goals and ambitions: stagnate or scale?

This article was provided by RCN Capital