Jess Lenouvel

6 Levers to Massive Real Estate Growth in 2023

February 8, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Are you ready to make 2023 the year you experience massive real estate growth?

If so, there are six levers you need to pull to make it happen.

These are the six areas of focus you must master if you’re ready to scale your business from six to seven figures.

A lot of agents tend to think the only thing they need to focus on is lead generation and marketing.

While those are definitely important components that will lead to increased growth, there’s so much more that goes into scaling a real estate business.

These pillars are going to change the game…but before I share them with you, I need to mention a quick caveat…

These are the pillars that are going to help to build a million-dollar real estate business sustainably.

I have no interest in teaching you how to build a seven-figure business that has you chained to your laptop and phone.

I want to show you that it’s possible to make loads more money while working fewer hours than ever before.

Trust me…I’ve hustled my way to seven figures once and I do not recommend it.

There are a lot of burnt-out, exhausted agents out there who might look successful on paper.

But that’s not what these six pillars are all about.

When you’re able to master all six of these areas, you’ll have built a scalable real estate business that offers you true freedom.

Mindset

I wanted to list mindset first because your mindset really is the foundation for your entire business.

A lot of people tend to think they have a problem with the strategy around something, when in reality, it’s the mindset piece.

For example, you might say that you don’t want to make real estate videos for your business because you feel you don’t have the technical know-how to set them up with the proper structure, lighting, and editing techniques.

But beneath all of that, there’s a deep fear of being judged by others and a desire to avoid the potential discomfort that putting yourself out there may bring.

It’s tempting to want to focus on the “sexier” parts of growing a real estate business – like signing deals and landing clients.

But if you’re not able to rewire your brain for high performance and master your mindset, it won’t matter what kind of strategy you use to try and grow your business.

You will always find yourself hitting a plateau.

Once you reach a certain level of business, you don’t have business problems.

You have personal problems that show up in your business.

The key to figuring out which problems are hindering your success is self-awareness.

You might want to incorporate a mindset ritual into your day such as journaling or meditation in order to show up as the CEO you need to be for your team.

Sales

A lot of people have this preconceived notion that sales is somehow pushy or sleazy…

But when you do it right, it’s really nothing like that.

At the end of the day, being good at sales simply comes down to understanding human psychology.

It’s not about using some fancy sales script that makes you sound like a carbon copy of another agent.

Being truly excellent at sales starts with understanding your ideal client inside-out.

What drives their decision-making?

Another huge piece when it comes to sales psychology is being able to overcome objections.

I actually have a whole post on this where I outline a winning objection-handling formula for real estate agents.

Operations

Having proper systems in place is incredibly important for your real estate business.

Your systems are the backbone of your business – they’re what enable you to scale.

By building repeatable systems, you allow others to duplicate your success. You’re no longer dependent on one talented agent or team member…you’re able to plug different people into your systems and get similar results.

Your operational systems should include clear and scalable standard operating procedures (SOPs) for your team to follow. When you get these set up, you’ll finally have the ability to step away from your business while it continues to run smoothly. No more putting out fires on vacation or coming home to frantic messages from your team.

Here’s another pro tip to keep expenses low and profits high.

Instead of outsourcing right away, consider eliminating and automating tasks first, and only outsourcing tasks that must be done by humans.

For example, instead of hiring an administrator for $25 an hour, maybe you can use a computer program for $15 a month. This way, you keep costs low and are able to hire light.

Marketing & Lead Generation

When we think about lead generation, we can divide it into two categories:

Organic lead generation
And paid lead generation

Organic social media is a great way to start while you’re honing your message and figuring out *exactly* what your ideal clients want to hear.

Ideally, you want to get to a place where you can bring in 5-10 extra inbound deals each month just by leveraging your social media presence.

And if you’re thinking you’d need a massive audience to do this….you don’t.

It’s all about building trust and authority through your social media channels, like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

You don’t need 10,000 followers to do that.

I’ve seen clients hit multiple-6 and even 7-figures with less than 1,000 followers.

Once you know your message is resonating with the right people, you’re able to scale your marketing efforts through paid ads.

Clients & The Signature System

As an agent, it’s easy to fall into the trap of positioning yourself as the only one who can help clients while building a reputation around that.

But this approach can quickly become a problem when it comes to scaling your business.

I know this from personal experience; I built a business where everyone knew my name and clients only wanted to speak to me directly.

This made everything single-threaded through me…every conversation, every email, every phone call.

My mistake was that I didn’t have a repeatable system.

When you position yourself as the only agent who can get your clients results, you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’ve built a great reputation, but you have no repeatable system or intellectual property.

To solve this problem, you need to develop a Signature System – a standardized client process that is named, branded, and marketed.

This will give you a much easier time sharing your leads and clients among the people on your team because your clients have bought into the system – not just you.

Using that system, you can build out all of your standard operating procedures. This means that your team has the ability to execute your system at a very high level – no babysitting necessary.

Every single client is taken care of, maybe even better than you could have taken care of them on your own.

Team & Leadership

I made a big mistake when building my team in the past…and I want you to learn from it.

I realized that I was essentially the assistant to everyone on my team, doing all the tasks that no one else wanted to do, and cleaning up all of their messes. I was operating with the mentality that this was my business and no one would care for it the way I would.

My first mistake was that I hired when I was desperate, waiting until it hurt and then hiring in haste, which is the exact opposite of what you should do.

I was gullible, taking people at their word that they could do the job, but that wasn’t the case. I wound up with people who weren’t in value alignment with me, and it was a poor fit for the company’s vision and growth.

I found myself with an assistant who was pushy with clients, disorganized and didn’t care about the quality of her work. I was afraid to let her go and kept her on for a year.

This is a common mistake many agents make. They hire out of desperation, waiting until they are in so much pain that they end up with the wrong people on their team.

The key to a successful, high-functioning team that you’re excited to lead?

Don’t settle. Hire slowly, fire fast, and don’t just hire based on likability.

Everyone can find amazing, high-quality team members, you just have to know how.

By mastering these six areas of focus, you can set yourself up for massive real estate growth in 2023.

From developing a high-performance mindset and understanding the psychology of sales to building efficient systems and generating leads, these areas of focus will help you build a sustainable, seven-figure business that offers true freedom.

Ready to get your step-by-step plan to put these pillars into action?

Be sure to apply for The Listings Lab and book a call with our team to discuss our mentorship program to sign more clients and explode your income.

Should You Hire A Real Estate Closer? Here’s The Number One Sign You’re Ready

February 1, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Have you considered hiring a real estate closer or salesperson for your team – but fear is holding you back?

Maybe you worry they won’t be able to close leads at the same rate you will
Maybe you’re scared hiring will dip into your bottom line, diminishing your profits
Or maybe you’re just overwhelmed with the belief that it would be impossible to step away from sales.

The reality is, there is a specific moment in time when it makes sense to hire a real estate closer.

Once you’ve hit a certain threshold, adding another salesperson to your real estate team will give you immense leverage.

So how do you know when it’s the right time?

In this post, I’ll reveal the #1 thing that you need to look into so you can delegate your real estate sales!

A Reality Check For Real Estate CEOs & Founders

Have you ever thought to yourself…

“I can’t hire another salesperson…they’re not going to be able to close at the same rate I can!”

My response to this might surprise you.

You’re right.

Your new real estate closer might not be able to convert leads at the same rate that you can.

Nobody is going to be as good at being you as you.

Knowing this, you have two choices…

Delegation = The Key To A Freedom-Filled Business

You can continue to resist hiring another salesperson, clinging to the excuse that no one else will do it as well as you.

OR (and this is the option I recommend!) you accept that a slight, temporary drop in conversions is a small price to pay if you want to build a scaleable, freedom-filled business.

If you have dreams of building a 7-figure business, eventually, you have to learn to let go.

It might sound scary to have your conversion rate drop, but you need to think about this logically.

Say your conversion rate drops by 10-20%.

Maybe you hire Nancy as your next remote closer and she’s only able to close 80% of what you’re able to close.

If you’re in the right position, this minor drop in conversions shouldn’t be the end of the world.

Here’s The #1 Indicator Of Readiness For A Real Estate Closer

So here it is, the telltale sign that you’re ready to bring on support with your sales.

If you have this thing, a minor dip in conversions will barely be a blip on your radar.

That thing is predictability in your lead flow.

If you have an abundance of qualified, ideal clients coming to you on autopilot…

A minor drop in conversions really won’t be such a big deal, will it?

The only situation in which hiring a real estate closer might seriously hurt your business is if you have a lead generation problem.

If your business is barely generating enough leads as it is, then every lead counts. You don’t want to mess up even one or two calls. Every sales conversation feels like it’s a make-or-break moment.

If You’re Not Generating Enough Leads…

Before you go out and hire sales help, you must fix your lead generation problem.

You want to have a predictable method to generate leads on tap.

Sure – referrals and word of mouth are nice. But agents who rely on these tactics are often the ones in feast and famine mode.

One month you might have a ton of people sent your way, and the next, your leads have gone dry.

Don’t let this happen to you – instead, take control of your lead flow.

The best way to predictably, and consistently bring leads to YOU is by embracing online real estate marketing.

When you build a marketing machine that brings qualified leads to you on autopilot…

That’s when you’re ready to scale.

That’s when you’re ready to actually experience freedom in your business by slowly replacing yourself.

You’re able to run your business from Malta, Croatia, or even your cottage – because you’re not responsible for every single transaction.

You can step into the role of CEO of the business rather than the grinder or the doer.

Whether it’s admin, marketing, or even closing deals…

You CAN train someone to do what you do in every part of your business.

You just need to outsource at the right time.

Want to master your marketing and attract a steady stream of leads so you can be ready to hire your first real estate closer?

Download The Listings Lab Guide to learn how to fill your calendar with appointments – all without using sleazy or fake tactics!

Real Estate Lead Generation Vs Brand Awareness: What’s Most Important For Agents?

January 18, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Are you stuck trying to figure out whether you want to increase your real estate lead generation and get more leads…

OR focus on building brand awareness for the long term?

As a real estate agent, it’s hard to know where to put all of your energy and resources when it comes to marketing.

But you know what?

You don’t have to choose between lead generation and brand awareness.

For some reason, a ton of agents I talk to tend to think of lead generation and brand awareness as two distinctly separate entities.

But in reality, you need to learn how to weave both of these objectives together into a well-thought-out marketing strategy.

In this post, you’ll learn about which one is most important and how they work together (hint: they do!). Read on to get tips and insights into each one and understand why having both is ideal!

What is real estate lead generation?

When we talk about real estate lead generation, it’s essentially thinking about how many people are coming into your world.

How well are you able to take someone from not having any idea who you are up until becoming a contact?

Becoming a contact usually means they exchange some sort of information with you. Maybe they give you an email address or phone number. They might reach out and ask for information about your services, or maybe they opt-in for a lead magnet and give you their email.

Obviously, everyone wants leads for their real estate business. Lead generation is the sexier objective.

But the reality is, you can’t have lead generation without brand awareness…

What is brand awareness?

Brand awareness, on the other hand, is simple.

It’s essentially just making people aware of you within your ideal target market.

How visible are you and how much are you consistently getting in front of those people?

The goal of brand awareness is to take up market space in their brain.

At the end of the day, it’s noisy in the minds of our ideal clients.

It all goes back to basic psychology.

Did you know that your brain is only hardwired to easily remember only two brands in any industry?

Try it – close your eyes and think of two shoe brands.

Chances are you’ll say “Nike” or “Adidas.”

Through brand awareness, you can occupy this top spot in your ideal client’s mind.

That way, you’ll be top of mind when they ARE ready to hire.

Brand Awareness Methods

Traditionally, agents have used billboards for brand awareness.

If I go to a specific geographic area, I’m going to think of the guy who has a million billboards there.

But that same kind of brand awareness can be created online.

Social media offers a cost-effective way to be more visible to your ideal clients without investing thousands of dollars in billboards or physical advertising.

Another plus?

Developing an online presence allows you to create deeper connections and longer relationships with your ideal clients.

The human brain is incredibly talented at filtering out anything that’s not relevant to them.

So unless your ideal client is specifically wanting to buy a house or list their home at the exact time they see your billboard…they’ll most likely filter it out as noise.

Social media, on the other hand, allows us to build a true relationship with people that goes beyond just closing deals.

The key to brand awareness is connection.

Are you giving that person a reason to follow you between your transactions? Do you give value, tell stories and showcase the human side of your brand?

Because if you’re *only* throwing real estate content at them 24/7, you’re not going to be relevant to them for the long term.

People move every three to seven years. You have to give them a reason to follow you for the rest of that time. If not, you’ll have a high audience churn.

This is probably the hardest part of creating content as a real estate agent.

You have to learn the strategy to keep people engaged…even when they’re not buying or selling a home.

To keep people engaged for life, read this post about mastering real estate content for social media with three core post types.

So, what’s more important – real estate lead generation or brand awareness?

I actually don’t think that brand awareness and lead generation should be separated.

It’s not a question of one or the other.

There’s a certain amount of brand awareness that has to happen in order for that lead to become a client.

Here’s why I think agents get confused.

They might get a lead and then they focus exclusively on manually converting that lead into a client.

They email them.

They try to go back and forth in the DMs.

They try to get on the phone with them or set up a consult.

When in reality, they should be increasing their brand awareness with this person as well.

They should be presenting content to this person on social media, over email sequences, and through retargeting ads that showcase their authority and social proof.

This way, there’s no need to manually chase your lead.

They essentially convert themselves.

Real estate branding is so much more than just your colors and logo.

Your brand should be the answer to the question:

“What does your ideal client think about when they think about you?”

What do they associate with you? Are you top of mind at all? When they think real estate, does your name pop into their heads?

Brand awareness encompasses all of that, and cannot be taken out of the equation when we’re talking about lead generation.

Brand awareness and the customer journey

Some people might need more exposure to your brand depending on their buyer persona.

Everyone has a slightly different customer journey.

Certain clients might find you and be ready to book with you within a week or two.

Others might follow you for months or even years before finally feeling like they trust you enough to reach out about listing their home.

Everyone is different, but as long as you’re putting out relevant, engaging content and getting in front of the right people at the right time…your leads will become clients in due time.

Want to learn more about creating relevance, omnipresence, and intimacy with your ideal clients?

Download The Listings Lab Guide to master both brand awareness and lead generation and create a marketing machine that helps you scale to seven figures.

How To Create A Real Estate Vision And Mission That Catapults You To 7 Figures

January 11, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Do you have a clearly defined real estate vision and mission?

Or are you just chasing the next deal?

Unfortunately, for many agents today, hustling for their next deal is often their driving focus.

Initially, we got into this business for so many reasons.

The unlimited income potential
Flexibility of schedule
And the chance to make an impact in people’s lives

But the truth is, many of us lose sight of these goals along the way.

If that rings true for you, it’s okay. You’re going to uncover how to get back on track in this blog post.

A lot of the time, agents find themselves unconsciously stuck in a cycle of hustling, until one day, maybe decades into their career, they wake up and ask themselves:

What happened? How did I get here? How did my priorities and my life plan become so unbalanced?

Sure, the rush of closing a deal can feel fun. But eventually, you have to realize that you can’t build a life on the highs and lows of the deal chase.

Your business was created to serve your life, not the other way around.

If you live to serve your business, you’re going to be a slave to it – because you’re operating without intentionality. You don’t really have an idea of where you’re going. You’re running your business day to day, quarter by quarter.

You haven’t taken the time to properly craft your real estate vision and mission.

While entrepreneurs are visionaries, visioning is the number-one thing that many business owners overlook.

The real estate industry as a whole is relatively unpredictable. We’re at the mercy of market changes, seasons, interest rates, and government decisions. As a result, most agents run their business by simply putting one foot in front of the other.

But your real estate vision is also the number-one thing that can move the needle forward in your business. When you have a solid, compelling vision, not only does it help you attract A-players for your team, but it also helps you dominate your marketplace.

There are four core components that go into this important visioning work for your real estate business.

They are as follows:

Your real estate core values
Your core purpose (or real estate mission)
Your brand story
Your real estate goals, plans, and targets (these are broken down into your ten-year plan, three-year vision, and your quarterly rocks!)

Let’s get into each component so you have everything you need to develop a real estate vision that lays a strong foundation for your seven-figure business.

Real Estate Core Values

Core values are the foundation of building a thriving culture within your business.

Not only do they help guide you as the CEO, but they also serve as signposts for your team members, too.

By telling people in your company what you stand for as a business, they can base their decisions on those values.

This is crucial because it’ll prevent you from having to be available to answer every single question. Core values also determine practices for hiring and firing, reviews, rewards, and recognition.

Real Estate Mission (Your Core Purpose)

Once you’ve got your core values dialed in, your core purpose comes next.

Most coaches will refer to this as your real estate mission.

But I’m talking about something different than the standard generic mission statement you’ll see on nearly every agent’s website.

This is not “we strive for excellence” or “we take the stress out of finding a home”.

I’m inviting you to go deeper.

If you don’t feel 100% clear on your core purpose yet, that’s okay.

Do not feel pressure to nail down your mission right away. It’s normal if it takes you some time to figure it out.

In essence, your core purpose is why you do what you do – and why it matters.

Part of my core purpose for The Listings Lab is to help agents feel less alone.

I remember struggling in isolation as I tried to get my real estate business off the ground.

It wasn’t until I started building my own tribe, when I found people that cared about me and cared about my success, that I was able to truly see what was possible.

It was then that I realized that connecting with others was the core purpose of my business. And when I transitioned into The Listings Lab, my core purpose became helping agents to build relationships at scale.

You have to have a central idea about why you do what you do.

Your Real Estate Brand Story

As you start to bring people into your world, you have to tell a story around your mission.

This is your brand story.

It’s the origin story of who you are, where you came from, and why you’re here today, doing what you do. It should help people to understand your core purpose.

Your brand story should also increase your like, know, and trust factor with your audience.

So many agents only care about being credible and professional with their brand. Of course, those qualities are important, but the vital piece most agents get very wrong—if not completely ignore—is likeability.

When your clients see you as an authority, that means they trust you to provide a service…but they don’t want to buy those services from a robot.

They want to buy them from a person.

Whether or not those clients like you as a person plays a huge part in whether or not they choose you as their agent—and keep choosing you, as well as telling their friends to choose you.

But you can’t communicate your likeability as a bulleted list of benefits.

Let’s face it—any time we see someone list a bunch of great adjectives about themselves, the less likely we are to like that person. So, the best and only way to communicate your true likeability?

Your brand story.

Your Real Estate Goals

While your core values, core purpose, and brand story set the tone for your vision, you need real estate goals to flesh out what that looks like in practice.

We can break these down into longer-term goals (your ten-year target and three-year picture) and shorter-term goals (your one-year plan and your quarterly rocks).

Ten-Year Target

The ten-year target is actually very simple—where do you want your business to be a decade from now?

The ten-year target is your North Star. It’s your “big, hairy, audacious goal,” as Jim Collins put it in his book Built to Last.

To create that target, meet with your core team to discuss where you want to take the business.

First, ask them where they think the organization could be in ten years—it should be something crazy. The whole idea here is to inspire the hell out of everyone on your team to hit that goal. The goal shouldn’t just be revenue-based. Maybe some aspect of social change could come as a result of the revenue earned.

Whatever the goal, it should be something that gets everyone motivated and inspired. It should make everyone believe they have a purpose—and that they know where everyone is going.

Three-Year Picture

Now, it’s time to get a bit more granular with your real estate business goals.

What do you and the team expect the company to look like and to have achieved in three years?

The three-year picture is a terrific recruiting tool. It helps you ask: “Do you want to be a part of a business that looks like this in three years?” If a candidate’s answer is no, you know immediately that they won’t be a good fit.

Why three years?

There is little value in detailed strategic planning more than three years out.

Yes, you still do the ten-year target because you want to know where the ship is heading. But a vivid three-year picture will let your business attract top-quality team members and drive what all agents want, which is market domination.

Your three-year picture should involve a few things:

Annual revenue over three years
Profit margins
And what I like to call your “painting”

Your painting should help you visualize exactly what your business will look like in three years.

The number and quality of the people on your team, the systems and tech you’re using, the clients you’re serving – the whole lot.

You want to get your entire real estate team included in this exercise, if you have one. A 2-hour team meeting should be enough time to get everyone together and on the same page!

When your three-year picture is clear, it improves your one-year planning process because you can easily figure out what you have to do over the next twelve months to stay on track for the three-year picture.

One-Year Plan

The one-year plan brings the long-range vision down to earth and makes it real. It makes your three-year and ten-year goals possible.

Again, the best way to do this is with a two-hour team meeting. I know all of this seems to require a lot of meetings, but they’re worth it because they remove the possibility of people not being on the same page.

Hold the one-year plan meeting at the end of the current year you’re in, even if you’re planning in the middle of the year, just so everyone’s on the same schedule.

In this meeting, determine your yearly revenue picture by asking your team to estimate the annual revenue one year from that day. Once again, the answers will range, but pick a number.

Then, as before, agree on the profit number. Both answers should fall in line with your three-year picture.

Next, set up three to seven priorities or goals to hit your longer-term real estate goals.

Remember, if you make everything important, then nothing is important, so don’t create too many priorities. Those priorities should be what has to be completed this year for you to be on track for your three-year picture.

Quarterly Rocks

Next, set rocks—ninety-day priorities and goals to keep you on track for your one-year plan.

The rock metaphor comes from author Gino Wickman, and it’s one of my favorites.

The idea is you start with an empty jar. Throughout the quarter, the jar gets filled with your day-to-day activities, represented by sand, water, and mud. However, if you don’t put in your priorities—the rocks—first, they won’t fit in the jar and they won’t get done.

At the start of every quarter, put in three to five rocks for your best chance of hitting those goals, which feed into your one-year plan, and so on.

Establishing these priorities lets you maintain focus even when other unexpected situations pop up. You can still execute new ideas and initiatives, but get those three to five things done first, and everything else after that is gravy.

Again, assemble your core team for a one- to two-hour meeting that starts with a brain dump about everything you want to close out in the next ninety days. The list can be anywhere from ten to twenty items. Then make a decision on each one—do you kill it, keep it, or combine it as a quarterly rock?

Narrow it down to no fewer than three rocks and no more than five. Then set the dates when the rocks are due.

Make the quarterly rock objectives super clear, and like other goals, SMART. A good example of a quarterly rock is hiring a new buyer’s agent. A bad example is starting work on the referral process.

Make sure each ‘rock’ has an owner to make sure the project gets completed and that you’re using some sort of project management system to map out the timelines and individual steps necessary for each rock to happen!

Remember, visioning allows you to create the life and business you actually want.

Vision drives your goals.

Goals drive your planning.

Planning drives your resources.

Resources drive your execution.

Execution drives your results.

Your results will become more natural when they come from a place of vision.

So often we build for the sake of building. When you do this, you’ll end up resentful of your business or fall off track, and you won’t even care because your vision wasn’t created from a real place.

So, give yourself that space to work out your real estate vision. The more detailed you can be, the better results you’ll achieve!

If you want support in crafting a real estate business vision that offers you financial AND time freedom – apply to join us in The Listings Lab.

We’ll help you set the foundation for a 7-figure business and teach you step-by-step, the proven strategies and systems you need to dominate your marketplace in just 90 days.

Apply For The Listings Lab Here

3 Of The Biggest Differences Between Real Estate Side Hustlers and Top Real Estate Agents

January 4, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Everyone wants to be a top real estate agent, but not many understand that building a real estate empire requires you to shift the ENTIRE way you do business.

I used to think I had a successful real estate business.

But I didn’t.

I had a successful hustle.

Everything in my business relied on ME.

If I didn’t answer my phone, deals didn’t happen.

If I wanted to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon, the day was shot.

If I got sick or burnt out, the business would crumble.

The Biggest Difference Between A Real Estate Business And A Real Estate Side Hustle

The biggest difference between top real estate agents running profitable businesses and people who have a real estate hustle is this…

A real estate hustle is entirely dependent on one agent.

If you’re not hustling and putting in hours – the business doesn’t bring in revenue.

Everything must go through you.

You become the bottleneck of your business very quickly.

I still vividly remember the exact moment I decided I needed to stop settling for a real estate hustle and start building a freedom-focused business.

I was on a much-needed date night with my husband and we were deep in conversation, eating spaghetti, and my phone starts to buzz.

Without even thinking, I spit out my spaghetti in a napkin, pick up my phone, and walk away from my lovely husband to answer the call.

I walk out on my husband only to answer a call from a lead who’s telling me he’s not interested. He was one of the 200 calls I’d made that day.

When I walked back into the restaurant and looked at my husband, he looked broken.

I couldn’t blame him.

What was I doing?

I realized something needed to change.

I knew I needed to get serious about my business model if I wanted to make time for the things that mattered most in my life.

Here are the biggest shifts I made to go from a hustling agent to a TOP real estate agent with a scaleable, freedom-filled business.

Shift One: Manual Vs. Automation

I honestly believe SO many agents are not using the tools available to them.

When I think of my mom, who’s been an agent for 35+ years, she didn’t have access to tech or automation.

CRMs, were, for the most part, the old-school version of Top Producer only.

It was literally client management and nothing else.

Systems were checklists.

Virtual assistants didn’t exist.

If people had an assistant, they were paying them a lot of money to come into the office every day.

Real estate agents were operating in an entirely different era.

One of the biggest shifts I made to become a top agent grossing 7 figures sustainably was to implement systems and automation wherever possible.

The rule of thumb is to eliminate, automate and then delegate.

Don’t pay someone $25/hour for a basic task that software could do for $25/month.

And before you think to yourself…

“Won’t automation hurt my client experience?”

It won’t.

Systems and automation make you a better agent and a better entrepreneur. They create a white-glove experience for your client where nothing gets missed. Everything is streamlined without key details falling through the cracks.

Trust me, it’s a win-win all around.

Shift Two: Attraction Vs. Chasing

The next shift I made was in my mindset and strategy for getting business.

Instead of constantly spending hours chasing new clients, I started thinking about how I could get them to come to me.

If you’re in chase mode, you’ll always hit a plateau with how many potential clients you can reach.

There are only so many cold calls you can make in a day
There are only so many hours you can spend on manual prospecting
There are only so many networking events and opportunities you can attend

(And not to mention, all of that is exhausting. Especially if you’re an introvert like me!)

So what’s the solution?

If you want to be a top real estate agent that closes deals left, right, and center – it’s time to switch from a 1-1 model to a 1-many model.

Yes, real estate is a relationship-based business.

You need to be having conversations with your ideal clients.

But not every conversation needs to be one-to-one.

You can leverage your online content and marketing automation to consistently have conversations with your ideal clients and develop relationships at scale.

Shift Three: Solopreneur Vs. Real Estate Team

In the past, I always identified as a lone wolf in business.

This mentality kept me trapped in my business.

The thing that took me from a hustling agent to a top real estate agent with a booming business wasn’t working “harder” or doubling my output.

It was by investing in people who were smarter than me.

When I talk about how to build a real estate team, a lot of people think I just mean hiring an assistant.

And that’s certainly a good place to start.

But, I actually saw the most growth when I started delegating outcomes to people on my team.

It’s not enough to simply pass tasks off to team members.

You need to cultivate a team of leaders who will help make decisions for you.

Otherwise, you will always be the bottleneck.

Once I understood this concept, I was able to quickly double my business.

I still remember the exact moment when I realized I’d built a high-performing team.

After 10 years of being in real estate and constantly hustling, I finally booked my first REAL vacation.

It was a Mediterranean cruise.

I remember pulling into our first port and connecting to my hotspot after two days without internet.

I signed on and I was waiting for the fires to be put out, for the influx of emails and messages from my team…

…but there was nothing.

My team had it under control.

They were doing deals, all the paperwork was going in, and leads were being handled.

I remember looking at my husband, and saying:

“Oh my gosh…they don’t need me!”

It was a revelation.

I got to close my computer and joyfully eat spaghetti in Italy with my husband (this time, without spitting it out into a napkin because I had to return a phone call to a lead).

It was fantastic.

All of the work I’d done automating, systematizing and delegating was finally paying off.

And that’s what I want for you too.

For so long, we’ve glorified the hustle.

We’ve told ourselves it’s sexy to hustle and grind, to constantly be busy.

When in reality, true sexiness is spaciousness in our schedule.

If you want to be a top real estate agent, you have to break out of your side hustler mindset.

You have to stop doing everything on your own.

You have to stop cold-calling like it’s 1994.

You have to take the time to build systems and automations that allow you to remove yourself.

What got you here won’t get you there.

If you’re ready to break free from the six-figure hustle and build a multi-6 or 7-figure real estate business that offers you true freedom…let’s chat.

Apply for The Listings Lab here and book a call to speak with our team to see if the program is right for you.

When Choosing A Real Estate Email Address, Avoid These 4 Fatal Mistakes

December 28, 2022 by Jess Lenouvel

Your real estate email address is often one of the first points of contact a lead has with your brand.

Which is why it shouldn’t be overlooked.

In an instance, your email address can either communicate professionalism or amateurishness.

In order to properly harness email as an effective lead generation tool, follow this list of do’s and don’ts, and get our professional real estate email address ideas and recommendations!

Don’t Use A Personal Email

If you’re still using a personal email that ends in hotmail.com or gmail.com – your first order of business should be changing that!

It’s time to start keeping business and personal separate.

Real estate agents constantly tell me they want to be treated like true professionals.

But let me ask you this…

Would your doctor send you emails from an email address that says “drjames99@hotmail.com”?

I’m willing to bet if your doctor emailed you from that address you’d feel a little concerned.

Using a branded email is a great way to make a killer first impression and build trust with clients right off the bat.

Your real estate email address doesn’t just affect your professionalism.

It also affects your email deliverability.

Your email has a much higher chance of ending up in the spam filter. You’ll also limit your ability to scale your real estate business’s email marketing – as you won’t be able to use an email marketing platform.

Email marketing software such as Follow Up Boss or ActiveCampaign will require you to use a branded, domain-based real estate email address.

Don’t Use A Brokerage-Owned Email

The second thing I need to address when it comes to email addresses for real estate agents is using brokerage-owned email addresses.

This is an incredibly common real estate email mistake and I’ve seen it ruin businesses.

I’ve seen agents who have worked at brokerages for 10 or 20 years, relying solely on their brokerage-based email to conduct business.

When they finally decide they want to make a change – whether that’s switching brokerages, or whatever else it may be – they get totally screwed over.

Why?

Because they don’t own any of their data.

They lose ALL of their email addresses, contacts, past conversations, attachments…essentially, their entire database.

Not only that, but their clients don’t know where to find them once they’ve left.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t *think* you’ll ever leave your brokerage.

It’s just not worth the risk.

Why would you make yourself vulnerable to losing everything and having to start from zero?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been an agent for two months or twenty years.

Everyone should own their own domain.

Go and buy your first name + last name .com or .ca, or your first name + last name + realtor.

That way, you’ll look like a legitimate business…

AND you’ll be in total control of your data and contacts.

Don’t Use A Heavy Real Estate Email Signature

I’ve seen so many agents sabotage their real estate email marketing efforts with this mistake.

Your real estate email signature shouldn’t be bulky.

You don’t need a ton of information, photos, or attachments.

And you certainly don’t need a 40-page disclosure statement on wire transfer fraud at the bottom of your email. (Yes, I’ve seen this more times than I can count).

Of course, you want to follow all local laws and regulations.

But deliverability should always be your #1 focus.

When you have a bulky, heavy email signature, two things happen.

Your emails don’t load properly, because they’re taking up too much space and using up data on people’s mobile phones.
Your emails are getting filtered into spam or promotions because they’re not simple, plain-text emails.

Your real estate email signature doesn’t need to be fancy.

The most important thing is to make sure your phone number is clickable.

Make things as easy as possible for your clients.

Don’t have a picture of your business card, because your phone number won’t be easily accessible – people will have to physically type it out.

Your name, title, website, and phone number are really enough. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be!

Don’t Choose A Complicated Website Domain

The other real estate email address mistake actually has to do with your website domain name, which in turn affects your email address.

You want your website domain to be three things:

Short
Easy
And memorable

Say your name is Jane Smith, and you buy the domain name:

“Janesmithrealestateaustintexas.com”

That is impossible for your ideal clients to remember!

They’re going to misspell something and send their email to the wrong address, resulting in a bounce back.

So now that we’ve covered the biggest real estate email address mistakes that agents are making…here’s what you should do instead!

Real Estate Email Address DO’s

The very first order of business if you’re looking to embrace email marketing as a real estate agent is to go out and buy your domain.

You can do a domain search on any popular hosting provider such as GoDaddy or Bluehost.

I recommend keeping things simple and buying your name.

Buying up any domains you can envision yourself using in the future is a critical step to protect your business.

Again, it doesn’t matter if you don’t envision yourself leaving your brokerage.

You never know what could happen.

Think of owning your domain and associated email addresses as a form of insurance for your business.

Your real estate email address matters a lot more than you think it does.

You need to start thinking about everything you’ve collected in your business as an asset.

All of the phone numbers, email addresses, contacts, conversations…

Make sure you’re protecting these things and treating your business like a real business.

Do you want more real estate business and marketing tips to grow to multi-6 or 7 figures?

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