Millionaire Real Estate Habits

If you’re a maverick with no interest in delegating, if you have trust issues, or if you believe the secret to success is some undiscovered grail, this article isn’t for you. We’re going to dive into the exact methods millionaire agents used to get to the top of the mountain and stay there.

Get ready for a step-by-step analysis of how to really achieve financial success in real estate — and it all starts with a simple realization: none of real estate’s top producers did it by themselves.

They leveraged their time, delegating tasks both small and large. They used the latest technology and programs streamline their business — and they used the time & money they saved to get in front of clients and close more business.

We recently sat down with real estate legend Bubba Mills, the CEO of Corcoran Coaching, along with Rush Edwards from Top Producer to discuss how agents can leverage habits of millionaire agents in their own business as well as integrate the latest technology into your efforts.

So let’s get into it…

Your Database is Your Foundation

The biggest difference between a company worth $1 Million + and a company worth less than a Million comes down to one simple issue … your database. Your database drives the value of your business through more referrals and more past clients coming back to you. Nurturing your database is like adding fertilizer and water to a plant … care for it, and make it grow.

Building & Running A Real Estate Team

Many millionaire agents have a mixed staff of in-house agents & managers working in conjunction with outsourced virtual professionals. This mixture is key because it accounts for and allows for ambition.

• Cost of employee turnover: Just imagine, you hire someone locally for a support position, database management, appointment setting, a little social media. You spend weeks training them on your internal systems, get them dialed in on Top Producer, show them the time consuming but minable possibilities of Zillow. They are in, they’ve got the real estate bug. And just when they are finally starting to take work off your plate rather than piling it on, they leave, newly minted real estate license in hand. This frustrating cycle happens time and time again.
   
• Structuring your organization: You have to structure your organization to account for ambition. Give a CRM manager room to grow and earn. Incentivize agents. Pay someone to assess and price houses so you don’t have to. And for the support positions where you need stability not ambition, take advantage of MyOutDesk virtual professionals.
   
• Effective Use of Virtual Professionals: Mega agent Lisa Archer says “Anything that can be done virtually should be done virtually.” That is a truth of the modern market. It is significantly cheaper. It is a tax write off rather than a tax liability. But most importantly it is a question of loyalty. A good virtual professional can prospect, set appointments, create marketing materials and engage in your social media outreach. They can easily take on the bulk of your necessary but non-revenue producing work, and their core ambition will be to establish a career as a member of your team. MyOutDesk has virtual professionals with five, six, seven years of experience working with the same agent. They have grown within their teams, but have never and will never make the leap to becoming your

Keep an Eye on the Bottom Line

Billionaire Warren Buffett is notoriously cheap. He lives in a small home he bought in 1958, he has carried the same wallet for twenty years, he eats breakfast at McDonald’s every day. Like Mr. Buffet, millionaire agents always know where their money is and where it’s going.

• Know where your business stands: Too many agents get caught up in the big numbers, 50+ deals closed, an astronomical sales volume. But, how much are they profiting? How much are they able to pump back into their business? High-level real estate is about entrepreneurship. Millionaire agents don’t want to move from 50 deals to 55. They want to jump to 75, 100, 200, and they run lean so that in the coming year they will have the capital to invest in time leveraging assets … assets that will either bring in money directly or support their own revenue producing activities. Ask them about their profit and loss statement. Ask them for a to-the-penny marketing budget. They’ve got it.
   
• What do you do with that information: You’ve done the drill down work. Maybe you brought in a consultant to look at your business with fresh eyes. You know where your excesses are. Now what? DO NOT start trimming fat. Not without a plan. Start with coaching, in-depth best practices. Set strict budget goals for your entire team. Make sure you are working with best vendors on the market. And take advantage of cost saving measures like outsourcing to virtual professionals.

Manage & Convert Your Leads

The number of leads seems to increase exponentially year after year and yet the average number of homes sold in the US remains stable. There is a disconnect there … hundreds of agents competing for the same lead. Millionaire agents know this and delegate so that all lead sources are being hit as early as possible. They don’t waste their time with endless dialing, they let their staff handle that, so that they can focus on what matters, shaking hands and closing business.

• Defining A, B, & C leads: Millionaire agents don’t personally touch anything that isn’t an A+ lead. They have people for that. And they have a funnel system. C leads go to a Virtual Professional for mining and appointment setting. B leads go to agents on staff. And everything funnels up to the millionaire agent, closing deals and growing their business.
   
• Steps to Improve Your Conversion Ratio: Millionaire agents understand that every listing is an opportunity to create 2–3 more leads. It is critical to know how to monetize your people and your systems for a higher ROTI (Return On Time Invested). Having consistent action plans are critical to shepherd a client from being a new lead to a becoming a closed deal.

Systems & More Systems to Run Your Business

Millionaire agents are entrepreneurs. Their business models account for best practices across all levels of their company; accounting, HR, virtual professionals, agents and outsource partnerships. Obviously, they can’t directly manage all of these departments. They need help.

• Contact and Relationship Managers Have a dedicated person in your office that owns this responsibility and this process.
   
• Solid systems for every department Define your systems and processes. Figure out what you need. Leverage technology … and then leverage your people to use that technology in order to streamline your processes.
• The latest tech and employees trained to use that tech properly. Top Producer is instrumental for the majority of agents. But, nobody has the time to train and retrain staff on its intricacies. MyOutDesk virtual professionals can quickly get up to speed on Top Producer and other essential programs, reducing the time it takes to start making an impact in your business. Imagine the gains millionaire agents are making from that simple fact.
   
• Communication systems. Millionaire agents are on the move. Their staff is on the move. Their staff is abroad. They need ways to communicate as a team and inspire individuals to stay focused on a common goal. Daily Skype or other video and VOIP services make daily check-ins simple and efficient.
   
• Exit Strategies. Chess is never a straight-ahead attack, it requires foresight and on the fly adjustments … and real estate is no different. Plan for the best, expect the worst, never be caught unaware.

Millionaire agents understand that their sales and marketing approach has to be fluid; market conditions change, lead sources change, tech changes, bubbles expand and bubbles burst. Every new year brings an opportunity for a “ground-up” review of the market, your business and your processes. Double down on what’s working and don’t be afraid to ditch what’s not!

Purpose-Based Business & Your Community

So far, the habits of millionaire agents have been about leveraging time and resources, building teams and entrepreneurship. Underlying all of that, there is a philosophy to have a “client’s first” mentality and a servant’s heart. It’s not about how many deals you close, it’s about how many families you serve.

For this final habit, we are going to focus on the human side. Great agents take the time to learn about their communities and find ways to give back to worthy causes. A purpose based business is about building something bigger than yourself … it’s about the impact you can make on your community and those around you.

Yes, it raises brand awareness. Yes, it shows a commitment to corporate responsibility. But, most importantly it is the right thing to do. The culture you create in your business is something that can’t be touched and it can’t be seen, but it can be felt. Having your businesses culture be part of the local community is not something that can be paid for … it’s earned!

Here at MyOutDesk, we are proud to be active in our working communities, both in the United States, as well as the Philippines. We affectionately and passionately call our efforts to build opportunities the MOD Movement. Within the MOD Movement, we are driven by a single goal; to do our part in creating more opportunities for others.

MyOutDesk works with Boystown in Manilla:

• Helping others live better lives by providing more access to nutritious meals, medicine and a comfortable place to sleep at night.
  
• Providing school supplies for less fortunate children
  
• Connecting the lonely and forgotten individuals with caring people from different backgrounds to rebuild the feeling of community.

Regardless of where we decide to work on creating opportunity, what we call “extending the movement”, our decision-making process is informed by the feedback of our valued real estate virtual assistants.

At MyOutDesk, we strive to build productive relationships and make a positive impact with all of our pursuits. Visit us at https://www.myoutdesk.com and schedule a Double My Business Strategy Session to learn more!