In today’s episode of the Live UNREAL w/Glover U Podcast, coach Matt Sutter joins us to share how we can pivot from a sales-based organization to a true business, and some of the biggest financial mistakes agents make on that journey. Matt is going to discuss some of the key leadership and business concepts that allow an agent to grow into a CEO. 

Taking the leap from an agent to a true business owner requires us to tap into a muscle that’s very different from selling real estate. Getting good at one muscle group does not predict your ability to build the next set of muscles. In real estate the financial side of the business is one of the hardest things for salespeople to navigate, but understanding our numbers is the key to meteoric growth and freedom.  

You’ll learn from the experiences of some of the greatest real estate minds and top producers in the country, get a deeper understanding of the things agents struggle with, and how they can overcome them to grow massive, profitable businesses.  

You’ll also learn; 

Why sales mastery isn’t enough to become a true business owner 

The 3 muscles of building a success real estate business 

The danger of side hustles 

How to hire to unlock growth 

Quotes 

The reason going from salesperson to CEO is not an easy task is it’s not taught to a high degree in most real estate companies. -Jeff Glover  

For every hiring decision you make, recognize the financial and logistical implications. -Matt Sutter  

The closer you get to mastery, the more efficiently you’re able to drive results through the same action. -Matt Sutter 

As a business owner, always understand what’s going to accelerate in the long-term regardless of what the consequences may be in the short-term. -Matt Sutter 

Key Points 

1. The foundation of any successful business is sales skills, but even the best salesperson will inevitably hit a ceiling because they are limited by time. With sales skills, everything is on your shoulders, and you can only carry your profitability as far as there’s time in a day. Once you hit the 24-hour mark, there’s simply nothing else you can do from a sales skills position in order to move forward. 

2. When you max out on your own sales skills, you get frustrated - your energy slows down because disappointment sets in, then it becomes harder to work. Inevitably, profitability goes down because your output is different. This is when building a team becomes the critical next step. 

3. A side hustle is any activity that requires your active participation and takes time and attention away from your main focus. Embarking on new ventures can be extremely counter-productive to our profitability. It’s important for us to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how we drive value and results, and to always remember that success is sequential, not simultaneous. It’s one step at a time, not multiple steps together.  

4. When most real estate salespeople reach the ceiling of what they can do on their own, their first move is usually recruiting a buyer’s agent instead of operations support. The problem is, a sales operation with a gap in admin and resources will lead to the same frustration and ceiling, and it can even start to compromise our results. Hire admin and operations first so that you unlock the levers that will help you scale exponentially. 

5. One of the biggest mistakes agents make is misunderstanding how ROI works. ROI is a function of revenue, not profit. It doesn’t mean we’re making a return that shows up in profit, we’re getting a result that shows up in revenue.