7-Step Checklist for Growing Your Real Estate Business

You’ve been in real estate for a number of years. You’ve managed to stitch together a successful little one-man or -woman shop where you make one-and-a-half times more than you made when you worked for someone else. You’ve even hired an assistant or two. And the growth bug starts to bite.

What should you do to grow your real estate business? How do you go about it? This 7-step checklist is a great place to start.

Know Your Mission

It all starts with what you are trying to accomplish. And it’s not just about buying and selling houses. Provide high-quality service in a market trained to believe that real estate agents are snake-oil salesmen? Help families get out from bank-breaking mortgages fast? Bringing joy to low-income families?

Get the Infrastructure

A good business is built on a good foundation. That foundation includes basics like contact management systems to the office space you rent. Look for partnerships that will fill your weaknesses and leverage your strengths.

Get the Right Team

Hire and fire fast. The best interviewers admit that they make bad hires–even after they’ve filtered candidates through a rigorous process. My opinion is to find the right people and get them on the bus. If after three months they are not working out, fire and re-hire.

Create Strong Purpose and Ethics

Why do you exist? How are you going to put a dent in the universe? Are you hoping to turn your city into the best place to live in the U.S.? Do you want to make a difference for families with disabled children? That purpose and ethic will energize you and your team.

Pay Attention to the Details

Some people tell you NOT to sweat the small stuff. That’s rubbish. You need to obsesses about every word you say and speak, every move you make with body language. Be meticulous with what you say on your business card, real estate listings and website. Make sure you smile every time you meet someone, and ALWAYS compliment them.

Listen to Your Prospects and Clients

Ask for feedback from people you meet on the street and talk to on the phone. Monitor the social web to see what people are saying on Twitter or Facebook. Send out an email survey two or three times a year to past clients.

Act on Feedback

Pull all that feedback into a central database. It could be as simple as an Excel spreadsheet. Create columns for good and positive feedback and bad and negative feedback. How can you use that information to grow and improve? Are there opportunities you could jump on? Are there threats you need to avoid? Do you see your strengths? What are your weaknesses?

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