Most of us discover leverage on the playground when we wonder at our ability to lift a parent, sibling or friend into the air with the help of a seesaw. What a powerful concept: Using something outside ourselves to accomplish more than we could alone. The truth is – even though we drive cars we didn’t build and wear clothes we didn’t sew – most of us are unaware of how leveraged we are and overlook opportunities to consciously apply leverage in other areas of our life. In my experience, this is especially true in the business of real estate sales.

Leverage comes in three forms: systems, tools and people, and it helps you build your business beyond what you could accomplish alone. Systems (such as scripts, marketing plans or presentations) and tools (like computers, answering services and contact management software) are obviously important; however, people leverage probably has the greatest influence on your eventual success. People leverage boils down to using other people’s talents to free up your time so you can focus on growing your business. For the real estate sales professional, this leverage usually comes first in the form of an administrative assistant who handles communications and paperwork so that you can concentrate on generating leads and buying and selling homes.

Every mega agent we interviewed while researching The Millionaire Real Estate Agent reported their production increased dramatically as soon as they began hiring help. As a result, these millionaire real estate agents made a point of surrounding themselves with a team of talented people. Our experience shows that an agent can expect their production to as much as double after hiring administrative help.

Before rushing out to place a want ad, it’s important for you to make an honest self-assessment. Are you doing all you can do? The time to hire help is when you’re red-lining it daily and bumping against a ceiling in production. Leverage isn’t like tricking Huck Finn into painting the fence for you. You need to be giving 100 percent. If you’re there, then you’re ready to expand your business through leverage.

A key mental step of this is having the awareness and the faith, if you will, to understand that by paying part of your income to another person, you will earn more. You’re paying to get something in return. It’s an investment and you have to treat it as such. Dollar for dollar investments are a waste of time. Your hire should bring you a multiple return. So once you’ve made the leap into people leverage, evaluate your hires regularly and hold them accountable to the returns you expect.

We advocate hiring administrative help first because they free you up by sending out your mailings, updating your database, placing ads in the newspaper, and pulling down the expired list off the MLS. This is all important work but work that can be delegated. This gives you more time to generate leads, convert them to seller and buyer contracts and then guide your clients through to closed sales. You remain focused on the sales end of the business (driving growth), not the administrative end (supporting growth.)

The number one issue you must keep in mind when you hire your first assistant is: Hire talent. Talent gets more done, saves you time and brings opportunities. Every millionaire agent we interviewed agreed that the cost of a bad hire is significant – bad hires cost you time, money and opportunities. So you must be selective, because it’s one of those “pay me now, or pay me later” situations. You either put the time in getting the right person, or you put that time in later in getting rid of the wrong person and trying to find the right person, again.

So take a close look at your business. Are you maxed out and doing all you can? If so, then maybe it’s time to seesaw your business to a higher place by leveraging other people’s talents.

Published: July 28, 2003

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