5 Tips for Scaling Your Real Estate Brokerage

As a brokerage owner, you’ve likely reached the point where you want to grow. However, you might not be sure how to do so, or which steps are worth your time and money. Too often, agents expand their clientele and their team and then hit a wall on growth. This is mostly because either they’re taking on too much work themselves, they don’t have a solid foundation for their processes, and/or they aren’t sure how to groom and grow their team properly.

Your job is to attract the best talent, feed your team leads, and make as much money as possible. In this article, I’ll share my tips for scaling your real estate brokerage successfully and sustainably.

Signs That it’s Time to Scale Your Business

Too often people say “If only I had a sign telling me what to do next”. Then, they ignore the signs right in front of them. If this is you, here are your signs that you should begin to scale your brokerage:

You’re working over 60 hours a week
Your team has been above their goal for the last six months
You’ve been turning down referrals because of a lack of time
You have confidence in the market and your revenue
Your employees have been long-term

If these signs don’t apply to you, this is a good time to write them down and make them your goal. If any of them do apply, continue reading for how to scale your real estate business.

1. Check All Current Systems and Processes

There’s always a process or system that causes you and/or your team to bottleneck. When scaling your firm, it’s important to first clear those bottlenecks. In some cases, it’s a person, while in other cases it’s software that the company is using. Either way, it’s important to identify and fix the issue prior to scaling your firm.
The best way to find these bottlenecks is to go through the entire lead-to-sales process as if you were in each role. Yeah… on second thought I know you don’t have time to do all of that. Instead, I suggest running a small survey through the office or asking your top agents for their input. This input is extremely valuable because they are going through the processes daily and will know what areas need to be improved. It’s advisable not to change anything until at least three agents have brought up the same issue. At this point, it’s time to begin investigating the bottleneck and what solutions are available.

2. Double-Check Your Numbers

Ensure that you have enough capital to last a few months of lower net income. This needs to be done prior to scaling your real estate brokerage because it will likely cost you money to do so. This could be due to hiring new help or upgrading your current software. These costs can take a toll on your net income for the first 3-6 months, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. However, as long as the investments into your business are made appropriately, your higher net income will wipe out all the losses.

Also, consider any loans that you may need to scale your business and make a large push for growth. Humans are your greatest asset when it comes to real estate brokerages. The agents you work with will drive your revenue, so taking out a loan to upgrade your office to be more ‘likable’ and ‘productive’ could encourage employee retention. Think about it: it may be time to make those upgrades!

3. Access Your Time

The less time you and your agents are spending working new leads, the less money you make. You’ll have seen for yourself that having your agents show 5-8 homes per client can really drag them away from working new clients.

Are your agents spending the bulk of their time showing homes rather than signing contracts? If so, you may need to look into outsourcing that task to companies like Showami. As a team, you need to find ways of accessing your time. Determining whether outsourcing something as simple as showings is a smart place to start.

4. Hire the Right Help

Hiring an administrator to field calls or an intern to handle marketing efforts will help your sales team with their efforts and free up more of your time. Simple tasks such as social media posting, vetting spammy leads, mass email efforts, and even some direct marketing can be taken off your team’s desk, giving them more time to focus on signing contracts.

Hiring external help can feel a little risky, but if you bring in the right help then you have nothing to worry about. Having the extra people-power will scale your brokerage and bring your business to the next level.

Not sure that this is the right move for your business? Calculate what you make per hour doing these tasks versus how much it would cost to pay someone else. The typical ROI per hour is usually over $10; outsourced assistants may complete tasks slower, but for less pay. This ROI is great for your business and can be better used elsewhere. For example, on those aforementioned office or software upgrades.

5. Be Ready to Invest in Marketing

Real estate firms have to battle to be at the ‘top of mind’ for their potential clients. Today’s buyer has changed and with Covid-19, people are still hesitant to go out to networking events and public places. So, it’s an absolute must that your firm spends money on marketing as a way of generating leads. From the world of digital marketing to traditional print advertising, there are plenty of opportunities out there.

Here’s what you should be spending your money on:

Digital Advertising

Search Engine Marketing

Bidding on location-based keywords with a high intent to buy or sell a home is a worthwhile investment. These keywords include ‘realtors in {city name}’, ‘homes for sale in {city name}’, and ‘real estate agents near me’. This is something that you can take care of yourself. Or, you can hire a specialist to do the legwork for you.

However, just bidding on keywords isn’t going to gain you leads. You also need to write creative copy that stands out among other agents and brokerages. This is a good opportunity to flex the accomplishments that make your business stand out from the crowd. Terms such as ‘most homes sold in 2021’ or ‘realtor of the year’ are great attention-grabbers. Additionally, be sure to set up your Google My Business accounts with local search ads. These ads create a profile view of you (or your agents) as well as a ‘business card’ look for when your business appears in search ads. This can really increase your chances of landing leads.

Social Media Advertising

The more information about your brokerage that you can get in front of the potential consumer, the higher your chances are of being their selected representative. With that in mind, you need to be investing in social media advertising.

Every business owner knows the importance of having a social media presence, and placing ads can really boost your business. Your brokerage needs to be strategic in aligning your name with social media groups, pages, and networks in your area. The benefit of posting in niche groups is that your brokerage will get the exposure it desires among a group of peers that may be looking to buy or sell a home. Many of these networks will allow free posting, or there may be a small charge.

As well as running social posts in groups and on pages, many firms are investing in social media display ads. These ads combine machine learning and intent-based searches to show your ads to potential prospects. The end goal of these ads is to increase your brokerage’s chance of landing a sale over a competing brokerage.

Display Advertising

Display ads offer brokerages the chance to be seen easily online without having to pay an extraordinary amount of money. In fact, display ads are said to be ‘mobile billboards’ in the sense that people passing by a website will happen to see your brokerage’s information via your ad. This increases your chances of being recognized in a potential client’s decision-making process.

There are numerous display advertising platforms to choose from, including Google and Microsoft. As with all-things-digital-marketing, you can choose to research this yourself or hire some external help.

Print Advertising

Direct Mailers

Having direct mailers go straight to the homes in your area has always been a strong strategy for brokerages. Many agents have landed accounts by sending out hundreds of mailers with unique messages that convince recipients to either buy or sell a home.

Agents today truly have to think outside of the box when it comes to attracting new customers and convincing them to read the mailer in front of them. Having a hook image of people with money, babies, puppies, kittens, and the like has a higher chance of getting the recipient to read what you have to say. So for best results, put some real thought into the design of your mailer.

Newspaper/Magazine Ads

Due to the demographics of brokerage clients, newspaper and magazine ads can be an excellent tactic for attracting new business. Many publications are now both digital and in print, so it’s important to ask the ad sales rep what will be included when you’re buying an ad package.

When it comes to advertising in a newspaper or magazine it’s important to make sure your ad stands out and that you clearly state why a person should choose your brokerage over another.

Having good knowledge of your audience (which tends to be older) is key to ensuring that your ad is impactful. Your message should speak to your experience, knowledge, and accomplishments. Those reading a newspaper or magazine aren’t typically as interested in flashy sales tactics and are more likely to purchase from someone reputable that they trust.

Conclusion

Brokerages today need to set a steady foundation for their business tomorrow. So, it’s important to identify where your brokerage needs to grow. This could be better access to your agents’ time, revamping your marketing tactics, or upgrading your software.

If your brokerage is looking to level up, investing in the right tools could be just the push you need. Showami’s new brokerage solution has been built with top brokerage leaders in mind. Showami Brokerage Solution can lower employee burnout, turn referrals into actual sales, and help newer agents gain the experience they need.

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