Hey Reader,
Last week I told you about a team leader who did 100+ deals in his twenties with his mom as his only assistant.
Here’s the rest of his story.
His team has been somewhere between 350 and 440 deals a year. For ten years.
Think about that. A decade of talented people working hard, and the number barely moved.
His diagnosis, in his own words:
“Regardless of skills you will hit a ceiling without systems and processes.”
I’ve seen that ceiling at every level. 12 deals solo. 40 with one admin. 100 with a small team. 400 with 47 people. The number changes. The cause doesn’t.
Next: how you know you’re under it.
- Production has been flat for two years or more while your effort keeps going up.
- Every new hire adds work to your plate instead of taking it off.
- You’re still the answer to most questions in your business.
Check two of the three? You’re not under-skilled. You’re under-built.
Next: how to find exactly where.
Most agents think they know where the gaps are. They’re usually wrong, because they’re looking at people instead of functions.
So do this. It takes about 10 minutes:
- List the functions, not the people. Lead gen. Lead follow-up. Buyer consults. Listing appointments. Listing coordination and marketing. Transaction management. Past client care. Bookkeeping. Recruiting and training. CRM and tech.
- Write the name of who actually does each one today. Not who’s supposed to. Who actually does it.
- Count the boxes with your name in them.
Then look at what you’ve got:
- Your name in a box = that’s your ceiling. You can’t grow past the hours you have.
- Two names in one box = nobody owns it. Things fall through and everybody points at the other person.
- An empty box = it isn’t getting done. You just haven’t noticed yet. Or your clients have.
Every box with your name in it is a job you can’t quit.
Remember the question I ask every team: if you did 20% more next year, what breaks first?
Your org chart answers it. It’s the box with your name in it that you’d least like to give up.
I’ve attached the same org chart template I use with my clients so you don’t have to build it from scratch.
Fill it in honestly. Nobody’s grading it but you.
Nobody taught you to build the business underneath the production. Hitting the ceiling once is normal. Staying under it for five+ years is a choice.
– Yvonne
P.S. This Thursday at 9:00 am Pacific inside Built to Profit: Week 11 – Build the Org Chart You Actually Need. Bring your filled-in chart and we’ll work on it together. Come sit in on the call →
P.S.S. Know an agent who’s producing but stuck? Forward this. They can join The Weekly Accelerator here.