How Can I Scale My Real Estate Business Without Burning Out?

 

How Can I Scale My Real Estate Business Without Burning Out?

 

In A Nutshell:


Strategically outsourcing background tasks, automating repetitive processes, and maintaining client-facing roles enable real estate agents to scale their businesses sustainably. This approach safeguards well-being while delivering top-notch service and focusing on high-value activities that fuel growth and success.

 
 

Strategies for Sustainable Growth

Scaling a real estate business without burning out requires strategically delegating tasks that don't directly contribute to your vision for yourself and your business.

Barry Jenkins, Realtor in Residence at Ylopo, explains:

"You've gotten to where you are in your business because you pay attention to everything.

You care about everything and you work feverishly for your clients in a way that's probably unhealthy but your clients love you for it.

And that doesn't scale."

Setting Expectations and Maintaining Your Client-Facing Role

When growing your real estate operation, it's crucial to maintain the personalized service your clients expect from you.

However, this doesn't mean handling every aspect yourself.

Barry suggests outsourcing background tasks while remaining the primary face of the business for your clients.

"What you're going to do is all the behind the scenes stuff, you're going to hire people to do," Barry advises.

"And from your client's perspective, all they're going to see is you. They don't know that behind the scenes, you've got five people working for you."

This approach allows you to focus on valuable activities like prospecting and client relationship management while ensuring operational tasks are handled efficiently by your team.

Set clear expectations with clients, communicating that they may receive emails or assistance from other team members, but you remain their primary contact and decision-maker.

Outsourcing Non-Essential Tasks

Barry provides a practical example of outsourcing:

"You should not be sticking your own signs in the yard. If you do the big wooden posts, right? You should not be getting out of your shovel, digging a hole and sticking that post in the dirt.

You should pay a company to come out and do that so that the two hours that you just spent or you would have spent putting that dirt in the ground or that sign in the ground, you've spent prospecting, right?"

Outsourcing tasks like sign installation frees up valuable time for revenue-generating activities.

This principle applies to various aspects of your business, from transaction management to property showings.

Leveraging Transaction Management Services

Transaction management is another area where outsourcing can significantly reduce your workload and prevent exhaustion.

"You should have a transaction manager that's sending emails on your behalf," Barry suggests. And that's scary for a lot of you. But the truth of the matter is I'm not mad that when I call my dentist, he doesn't answer the phone.

I'm not mad when my dentist doesn't file my insurance.

I'm not mad when my dentist doesn't clean my teeth."

Just as dentists focus on their expertise and delegate other tasks to their team, real estate agents can benefit from outsourcing transaction management.

Entrusting this responsibility to a dedicated transaction manager ensures your deals progress smoothly while maintaining your focus on client relationships and business growth.

Utilizing Showing Agents for Flexibility and Efficiency

Dynamic real estate markets make it impossible to personally attend every property showing.

This is where showing agents can transform your business scaling.

Barry explains:

"If you want to see a home and I'm not available, I'm going to have Mary do it. She works for me. Now Mary is not going to be your agent. She's just going to open up the house for me."

Leveraging showing agents provides clients with the flexibility to view properties on their schedule, even when you're unavailable.

This improves the client experience and allows you to take on more clients and grow your business without sacrificing service quality.

Automating Processes to Reduce Errors and Increase Efficiency

Automating processes can also  powerfully scale your real estate business without exhaustion.

Barry shares:

"My rule is kind of silly, but if it was annoying, I didn't like doing it or I made a mistake. I automated it or hired someone to do it for me."

Identify repetitive or error-prone tasks and automate them using technology solutions like customer relationship management (CRM) software, marketing automation platforms, and e-signature tools.

This reduces the risk of mistakes and frees up time for high-value activities.

Automation increases efficiency and ensures consistency and compliance across your business operations.

Embracing a Growth Mindset and Continuous Improvement

Scaling a real estate business without exhaustion requires a growth mindset and willingness to continuously improve your processes and systems.

Barry shares that outsourcing and automation allowed him to follow some of his passions and even do more in the industry.

"I was able to scale my real estate team to 80 agents. I was able to take on a full time position at an AI and digital marketing firm called [Ylopo].

I was able to become a best selling author all by scaling my business so that it could run on its own in certain ways."

By embracing outsourcing, automation, and continuous improvement principles, you too can create a real estate business that supports your personal and professional goals.

Regularly assess your operations, identify areas for optimization, and invest in your own growth and development as a leader and entrepreneur.

Conclusion

Scaling a real estate business without exhaustion requires a strategic approach to outsourcing, automation, and team building.

Delegating non-essential tasks, leveraging specialized services like transaction management and showing agents, and automating repetitive processes frees up your time and energy to focus on high-value activities that drive growth and success.

As you scale your business, maintain the personal touch that has made you successful, and tailor your approach to the unique challenges and opportunities of your chosen niche.

With a growth mindset, commitment to continuous improvement, and willingness to adapt, you can build a thriving real estate business that supports your long-term goals and helps you avoid exhaustion along the way.

 

  • BARRY:

    "You can scale your real estate business without burning out by scaling the parts of your business that aren't giving you the life that you need.

    So a quick example would be you've gotten to where you are in your business because you pay attention to everything.

    You care about everything and you work feverishly for your clients in a way that's probably unhealthy but your clients love you for it.

    And that doesn't scale.

    And you're afraid that if you hire somebody, your clients aren't going to get the same level of experience.

    So what you're going to do is all the behind the scenes stuff, you're going to hire people to do.

    And from your client's perspective, all they're going to see is you.

    They don't know that behind the scenes, you've got five people working for you.

    Great example of this, and I'm going to use an extreme example.

    You should not be sticking your own signs in the yard.

    If you do the big wooden posts, right?

    You should not be getting out of your shovel, digging a hole and sticking that post in the dirt.

    You should pay a company to come out and do that so that the two hours that you just spent or you would have spent putting that dirt in the ground or that sign in the ground, you've spent prospecting, right?

    Transaction management.

    You should have a transaction manager that's sending emails on your behalf.

    And that's scary for a lot of you.

    But the truth of the matter is I'm not mad that when I call my dentist, he doesn't answer the phone.

    I'm not mad when my dentist doesn't file my insurance.

    I'm not mad when my dentist doesn't clean my teeth.

    I'm not mad when my dentist doesn't help me find my chair.

    I'm not mad when my dentist comes in at the very end and says, oh, yeah, OK, that's a cavity.

    Come back in tomorrow and I'll replace your cabinet.

    That dentist does only what he should do.

    So it's about setting expectations with your clients, letting them know you're going to hear from so and so via email.

    She helps manage my transactions.

    If you have a showing agent, that's a fantastic way to scale your business.

    And what you do is you look at your client and say, hey, I'm your agent.

    OK, this market is crazy and I can't be everywhere all the time.

    So if you want to see a home and I'm not available, I'm going to have Mary do it.

    She works for me.

    Now Mary is not going to be your agent.

    She's just going to open up the house for me.

    And if you love it, you're going to call me.

    We're going to talk about it.

    I'm going to help make sure that you write a fantastic offer and I'll come by and look at it if you want as well.

    You just communicate with the clients.

    You set expectations.

    And my rule is kind of silly, but if it was annoying, I didn't like doing it or I made a mistake.

    I automated it or hired someone to do it for me.

    And that in principle is what freed me up to follow some of my passions in the real estate industry.

    I was able to scale my real estate team to 80 agents.

    I was able to take on a full time position at an AI and digital marketing firm called

    I was able to become a best selling author all by scaling my business so that it could run on its own in certain ways."

 

Barry Jenkins

Realtor, Speaker, Coach, Trainer, Author, and Head Realtor in Residence at Ylopo