Thread by @peterkang34

Some nice nuggets from The Millionaire Real Estate Agent. Heard @nikocanner mention it on @InvestLikeBest — joincolossus.com/episodes/33225…

Going to add highlights from the book to this thread as I make my way through it. 📖

Love the clear conceptual framework laid out clearly at the start of the book: Leads, Listings, and Leverage and then the different stages of leveling up.

These six “MythUnderstandings” helps lay out the importance of a can-do attitude that is key to being successful. A nice way to articulate the “core values” of a book using this structure.

I love the emphasis on deliberate thinking before going about building the biz. There's the 9 Ways which really is anchored by establishing purpose and having a big goal supported by structures & habits to get there.

This was a powerful idea: if you start off by targeting the $80 million/year goal and striving to build the supporting structures and habits to make it possible, it'll allow you scale more easily vs. settling for a $10 million/yr goal & having to unlearn habits once you surpass.

Being able to CLEARLY articulate the value prop is key to providing great service for your clients. I love how these two tables break down the value prop for sellers and buyers that RE agents bring. It's much more than just "help me buy/sell the house."

Another component of great service is being a fiduciary, looking out for the best financial interests of your client above all else. This table breaks down the functional vs. fiduciary. Basically, it's the qualities of being a trusted advisor to a client.

I like this breakdown of the “goal categories” that a RE agent should always be monitoring. Lots of similarities to what we track in our agency biz. You can imagine a dashboard with some of these categories.

The Personal Education piece is great, a reminder to keeping learning.

I like this clear overview diagram of the four models of real estate sales—taking the time to distill the biz into a clear model like this helps you understand what the levers are and where you need to pay attention.

Re: leads, the same goes for a digital marketing / creative firm. More leads means more opportunities to find the right fit (type of work, budget, client chemistry) and to ensure a healthy pipeline to grow the biz.

Love how systematized the lead generation effort can be even down to the number of touches and the type of messages they should be. Makes me realize we are barely scraping the surface in how we develop leads at Barrel.

Nothing new here but then again, when you can see it in clear diagram format, it’s more impactful and easier to remember.

Of course, there are hiring mistakes and then there are management mistakes (misaligned expectations, not enough support) that exacerbate a “bad” hire.

Absolutely love the simplicity of the Economic Model in the diagram and also how to think about average conversion rates. For Barrel, we’ve been trying to model something similar but instead of seller listings vs. buyers we do new clients vs. existing accounts.

The way Keller breaks down the mechanisms of a solid lead generation system is as good as anything I’ve seen in any marketing case study. The focus on gaining positioning in the prospect’s mind through volume of touchpoints is so underrated. I want to try pushing this for Barrel.

“Capacity” talent is talent that’s able to grow and take on more responsibilities over time. “Cul-de-sac” talent does the job that’s required and nothing more. You want to focus on hiring “capacity” talent if you want to grow the biz.

Nice diagram outlining the steps to creating an operations manual. Simple and basic stuff but often overlooked. Strong documentation supports scalable systems and upholds standards.

The two-step “Rock and role” process. So simple yet hard to execute well. Getting these steps right brings clarity and sense of purpose for the team.

What’s the difference between a group vs. a team? There’s cohesion, purpose, and collaboration—stuff that come out of having foundational work done to build a strong culture.

Focus is a big theme in the book and the 80/20 principle is mentioned multiple times. It’s important to design a system that’ll allow you to prioritize your most impactful 20% work.

The focus worksheets are old school but can see how, if adhered to, they can be powerful.

A couple different ways helping to visualize the journey from working in the business to ultimately becoming an owner who works ON the business. The big shift is from doing the work to a standard to instead holding others accountable to a standard, and leverage via hiring.

Nice diagram tying together terms that orgs often use haphazardly assuming everyone knows what they mean. A big part of effective leadership is being able to define, articulate, and reinforce the MVVBP.

Final one from The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, this one about having good personal habits that energize and support the focus needed to be a great real estate agent. I love the Energy Plan and agree that you can get so much done by 11AM each day.

That’s all I have to share from The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller. I was pleasantly surprised by so many applicable lessons that were in a book intended for a completely different industry. I bought copies for team members & been applying some learnings already.

I blog and send out a newsletter on running an agency business, investing, and keeping good habits. You can subscribe to the newsletter on my website: peterkang.com