Hey Reader,
Today, I'm probably gonna ruffle some feathers.
That's okay...because if this email saves just one productive real estate agent from making a six-figure hiring mistake, it'll be well worth it.
One of the biggest mistakes I've seen in my coaching career is a successful real estate agent decides they're overwhelmed, they're closing a lot of transactions, the business is growing, and they know they need operational help, so they start looking for an operations manager.
They interview someone with an incredible resume, 20 years of corporate America, executive assistant to a CEO, director of operations, office manager, project manager.
Maybe they managed a division with hundreds of employees and millions of dollars of revenue.
They're polished.
They're professional.
They're highly organized.
They interview beautifully.
And because of that resume, they command an 80,000, 90,000, or six-figure salary!!
The agent thinks, "This is exactly who I need to take my business to the next level."
And that agent has sat in a room or a webinar and heard someone say, "Hire an operations manager outside the industry."
Fast-forward six months.
The Agent is frustrated, not because the person isn't intelligent, not because they don't work hard, but because they're discovering something they never, ever considered...
They hired an experienced operations manager.
They didn't hire an experienced REAL ESTATE operations manager!
...and those are two very different things.
I know what you're thinking, "Coach, why didn't you stop them?"
Let me ask you this instead, "Why don't real estate agents take their coach's advice?"
Listen, before anyone gets upset, let me be clear, this is not a criticism of people coming from other industries. Some of the best operations professionals I've ever worked with started somewhere else, but they all had one thing in common...they understood they were starting over because while operations principles transfer, industry judgment and knowledge does not.
You cannot optimize a business you don't yet understand.
This is where agents make the biggest financial mistake. They're paying for 20 years of experience, but those 20 years happened somewhere else.
Inside your real estate business, they're starting from day one.
Think about it.
Every single day begins with questions.
What's an escrow?
What's the difference between title and escrow?
What does earnest money do?
Why is this deadline important?
Who orders photography?
Why do you need disclosures before going live?
What's an inspection contingency?
Why did the lender just ask for that?
None of these questions are bad. In fact, they're exactly the questions they should ask.
But here's the problem... You're paying someone six figures to ask questions instead of someone paying six figures to answer the questions.
See, you didn't hire relief, you hired a student.
Here's what nobody talks about. You thought you hired someone to remove work from your plate. Instead, you've hired someone who now depends on you for almost every decision.
You're
- explaining contracts
- teaching timelines
- defining acronyms (which our industry has a ton of)
- explaining client behavior
- introducing vendors,
- walking through transaction management,
- clarifying commission structures,
- teaching compliance,
- explaining why agents do what they do.
You become the trainer, and every hour you spend training is an hour you're not generating more revenue.
Real Estate isn't complicated, it's complex.
People outside the industry often underestimate what they're walking into.
Real estate isn't difficult because of contracts, or one transaction.
It's difficult because of the hundreds of variables happening simultaneously.
Every transaction is different.
Every lender operates differently.
Every little company has nuances.
Every inspection uncovers something unexpected.
Every appraisal creates a different challenge.
Every client reacts differently.
The best real estate operations managers aren't valuable because they know how to complete a checklist... Any VA can do that.
They're valuable because they've already seen these situations hundreds of times.
They recognize patterns before they become problems.
That's experience.
And as we all know, real estate has its own language, its own ecosystem, and its own culture.
Imagine hiring someone who's fluent in French to negotiate a legal contract written in Japanese.
They're still smart, they're still accomplished, but they don't speak the language yet.
Real estate has its own vocabulary, its own urgency, and unwritten rules.
Until someone becomes fluent in that language, they're still learning
And...
...here's the part that nobody talks about.
We throw around the word culture a lot, this is where I see even experienced corporate professionals struggle, not because they aren't capable, because the environment is completely different.
High-performing real estate agents don't communicate like corporate executives.
They're moving from listing appointments to inspections, to negotiations, to client emergencies, to showings, to contracts, and sometimes all of that before lunch.
They don't have 30 minutes to craft the perfect email, even with ChatGPT.
Their communication sounds like this,
- "Uh, need this signed. Call escrow.
- Uh, is that client approved?
- Uh, where are we at on this?
- Uh, I need this by 3:00." It's bullet points,
It's fast, it's direct!
...and if you've spent 20 years in an environment where meetings are scheduled weeks ahead, and every email is written carefully with empathy, every conversation starts with relationship building, that pace is gonna feel abrupt, sometimes even rude.
Shoot, I've had coaching clients called names by their staff when they quit, like diva, passive-aggressive, ogre, and worse.
I've watched talented people leave real estate because they believe the agent didn't respect them.
Most of the time, that was so far from the truth.
The agent communicated with everyone exactly the same way.
They weren't being unkind They were just operating at the speed their business demanded.
Now, does that excuse bad leadership or someone who really is an asshole? Absolutely not.
Agents still need to be respectful, professional, and appreciative.
But if you're stepping into real estate operations and that role, you also have to adapt, and you better have some thick skin.
You have to learn that urgency isn't hostility.
Directness is not disrespect.
Brevity is not dismissal.
This business simply moves differently.
Real estate is gritty, it's emotional, it's unpredictable, and you can have the perfect plan at 9:00 in the morning, and by noon, three transactions are on fire, clients are crying, deals fall apart, moving trucks are sitting in front of houses they can't get into, lenders go MIA, inspection reports explode, appraisals come in low, contracts change, everything shifts.
The best real estate operations managers don't panic. They don't personalize stress. They absorb the pressure, create structure, and they solve problems, and keep the business moving. That's the job, creating calm inside controlled chaos.
So should you never hire an outside the industry person? Absolutely not.
Some of the best operations leaders I've ever known came from outside real estate, but they succeeded because they came in as students.
They shadowed the agents.
They studied contracts.
They sat through inspections.
They learned transaction flows.
They asked questions.
They stayed humble, and...
..They didn't assume their previous title automatically translated into expertise.
They earned it, and once they did, their operational background became an incredible advantage of which they would be paid for appropriately.
So before you hire your next operations manager, ask yourself one question,
"Am I hiring someone who understands operations or someone who understands real estate operations?"
Because they're not the same thing.
One knows how to organize work, the other knows how to protect transactions.
One knows how to build systems, the other knows where those systems break,
One manages tasks, and the other anticipates problems before anyone else sees them.
Here's the lesson I want every productive agent to remember, an experienced real estate operations manager isn't being paid for what they do, they're being paid for what they don't have to ask.
They already know, and they already understand. And they're anticipating what's next.
That's what buys back your time. That's what protects your clients, and that's what allows your business to scale.
If you're hiring for the role, don't just interview for talent, interview for judgment, because in real estate, judgment is what separates an expensive employee from an invaluable one.
So until next time, remember, a profitable business isn't built on hustle alone.
It's built on the right people, the right processes, the right systems, and the right discipline to put them all together.
That's how you build a business that's truly Built To Profit