5 Things I Wish I Knew/Did When I Was A New Agent

In South Dakota the requirements to get your Broker Associate’s license are 100 hours of class time & two tests; one state & one national. The classes teach you the laws, the agencies, the vernacular to some extent, as well as how to write up contracts. While the laws are different in every state, the one thing that is common in all states is the fact that they do not teach you how to run a successful business. That, my friend, is all on you. 

Life is the best educator we have & in looking back on my career, I was pondering the things I wish I had known that would have helped me scale faster. I hope this helps you navigate your journey better. 

1. Invest in a CRM. For the love of precious baby Jesus, I wish I would have used a CRM from the very beginning. I tell my agents that ALL the time; learn from my mistakes. While I had a very systemized & trackable method for tracking & contacting clients, if I would have gotten out of my own way, I know I could have scaled faster & bigger. A CRM becomes your set it & forget it lead tracking & once you get an ISA, it is the best way to control where & how many leads everyone gets. IT. IS.ULTRA.IMPORTANT. 
   Which CRM is the best one to use, you ask? The answer: THE ONE YOU WILL ACTUALLY USE!!
   But if you are wondering what we use, we use kvCORE.  (Pssstttt....if you want a really great system to help move the needle in your business, click here!)
   
   
2. Know your numbers. I mean every number. Know them upside down, backwards, inside out. Yes, you should ALWAYS know your current real estate market numbers. That is your J.O.B., but that isn’t what I am talking about. Know your business numbers, as they are a main pillar in running your business. The thing about numbers is they bring instant clarity to your path. In my early days, I used to say that I ran my business like a fun hobby that paid me. Not a clear way to run a business. A completely stupid & destructive way actually. 
   I am radically competitive & my biggest opponent is me. I am a hard opponent. I have uber streamlined processes for tracking production, lead generation, expenses, marketing, as well as quarterly seasonality tracking for goal planning & so much more. All of these streamlined processes have made me push & fight harder & smarter. Know your numbers.
3. Hire support staff sooner. I started as a single agent & within 18 months brought on my first buyer's agent, my beautiful sister, Stacy. We hustled. We would run 15-25 open houses a weekend & would spend half the day Friday “out signing” our competition with open house signs & paraphernalia. We worked insane hours, seven days a week & survived on what we called “The Realtor Diet” of beef jerky, sunflower seeds, Mountain Dew & oodles of water (or we would be dead from all the sodium).  My first hire was a part-time assistant. We saw immediate results in our ability to help more clients & frankly, breathe for a little bit. It wasn’t enough though, & within three months I hired us our first full-timer & we soared. I had time to work on my business, but I should have hired again sooner. Once my husband joined us three years later, that is where I started having aha moments. We broke down the cost of my hourly wage based on my last year GCI & how taking me out of the position of sales to do any admin work made no sense. Again, know your numbers (reference #2). Every time I have hired new departments, I have scaled & some hires have let us scale by over 300%. Take the leap, I promise you will thank me. 
   
   
4. Using Video. Granted when I started as a new agent, video was not the thing it is today. However, it took me far too long to join the video movement & if you are new right now, do it. TODAY. We as humans crave connection. Videos are excellent in letting you show up & connect with the other humans that you want to serve. Everyone is self-conscious about something to some extent. I 100% will look up at a camera even if the camera is below my chin; it is just something I do. But, I don’t care anymore. I look just as silly standing in front of a client doing that as I do being videoed, but I have far greater reach doing it on video.
   We were able to carve $25K off our advertising budget in one year when we replaced it with FREE videos we were sharing online & in email funnels. Video works. Period.
   
   
5. Build a Leads Group. The types of lifetime leads generated will explode your business. I started my leads group the first year I went out as a solo agent, BUT I had to create the entire thing from scratch. A BNI was not for me. First of all, it was far too expensive for me at the time & they also had no openings in a time that worked for me. A 7am breakfast BNI didn’t coincide with my babysitter's schedule & my hubby had a banking job that did not look fondly on infants in tow. Also, my personality type didn’t fit the BNI model. Truth. I didn’t want to be in such a rigid platform; it just wasn’t a fit. The time it took to create my Leads Group was elaborate though. From the extensive research time, to trial & error in what industries would be a good fit, to the agenda, best practices to get leads, onboarding & everything in between, it was a lot of work. Once I cracked the code though, it was an INCOME PRODUCING MONSTER that only took one hour a week of my time. The 50 hours a year I spend in this one activity has added over $90K to my GCI consistently EVERY year. I have built one of my game changing, needle moving relationships from this one activity. I want the same for you, but I want you to get there easier & faster. That is why we are creating our Blueprint to Building A Leads Group That Converts course. It is a proven step-by-step roadmap to adding $90K GCI annually with A 1 hour/week activity. The return on investment is over 20,000%. And, yes, that is with four zeros-20,000%. 

Click the link below to be put on the waiting list for the upcoming registration. Also, top secret stuff here, I will be offering a steep discount to my founding members, so keep your eyes open. 

YES-I can use an extra $90K for an hour a week activity

NO-I love being stuck in the Overwhelm Cycle of my biz