Jess Lenouvel

Create A Powerful Real Estate Brand Story With These 4 Steps

March 22, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Want to build a powerhouse real estate business?

Then it’s time to nail down your real estate branding story.

Your brand story is the baseline for your entire brand.

So many real estate agents get caught up in their visual brand identity, thinking that’s the most important thing.

But your brand is so much deeper than your logo and colors.

Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.

Your brand is what you want to be known for.

It’s what makes you memorable.

Why Is Having A Real Estate Branding Story So Important?

Human beings love stories.

They’re how we’ve connected for thousands of years. Our brains are hardwired to consume information in the form of stories.

In fact, storytelling is so powerful that studies show stories are 22x more memorable than facts.

So if you’re not telling stories in your real estate business and marketing…it’s time to start!

And your real estate branding story is the number one place to begin.

4 Steps To Write Your Real Estate Branding Story

Step 1: Capture The Heart

In the first step, “Capture the Heart,” the goal is to make an emotional connection with your audience by introducing yourself or your business and why you’re in real estate.

It should answer the question…

Why are you here in the first place? What was your drive and motivator for getting into real estate?

This section should be heartfelt, genuine, and personal.

You can think of this part of your brand story as the hook. It should immediately draw people in and make them want to learn more about you.

One way to do this is to paint a vivid picture of *exactly* where you were when you started your business.

Was it a dark and gloomy day?

Were you at your child’s soccer game?

Were you at your office watching the clock every minute?

Get clear on exactly what was going on in your life when you started this business, and what your primary motivation was.

Remember: This should NOT sound like an essay or in any way robotic. It should sound like your face-timing a friend!

If you’re really stuck, imagine you were writing a journal entry about why you started your real estate business…

That should get your wheels turning!

Step 2: Build Tension

In the second step, “Build Tension,” the goal is to hit on a human truth and make it relatable to your audience.

For example, your truth might sound something like this:

“I believe that your home should be so much more than just where you live. It should be the greatest investment you ever make.”

Another example could be:

“I believe we’re meant to do so much more than just pay our bills and die”.

You want to think of a specific moment in your life that gave you a profound realization.

This section should be vulnerable and emotional, as people are drawn to leaders who have overcome something.

In my brand story for The Listings Lab, the moment I build tension is when I discussed why I stopped selling real estate.

This is always a huge point of curiosity for people. They wonder why I stopped selling when my real estate business was thriving.

In my brand story, I pinpoint the exact moment I needed to make a change.

I was on vacation in Hawaii driving down the street in a jeep on an absolutely gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the roof was down…

But I was bawling my eyes out.

My husband looked over at me, wondering how I could possibly be unhappy in this moment.

But the truth was, I wasn’t living in integrity with my true desires.

That exact moment is the moment of tension in my brand story.

It’s when I had the profound realization that I wasn’t doing what I was put on this earth to do.

At that moment, I knew I needed to make the change and start doing what I truly felt called to do – serve other agents.

Step 3: Resolve The Tension

In the third step, “Resolve the Tension,” the goal is to talk about how you overcame the struggles you faced.

When sharing your struggles in your content, you want to follow one golden rule.

“Don’t talk about your mess before you’ve cleaned it up.”

If you’re in the thick of a crisis, you’re not ready to share your lessons from it and offer value to your audience.

I remember when I was going through a crisis, I actually started a fitness account. I couldn’t talk about my business because I was going through it – so I focused on another type of content altogether.

You need to pick yourself back up before you come back to share your trials and tribulations online. People love a victor and are drawn to leaders who have overcome something.

The goal here is to tell your story of how you overcame your struggles in a way that is inspiring, actionable, and relatable.

There is nothing more powerful than your own story.

Don’t be afraid to get vulnerable here.

When most members of The Listings Lab submit the first take of their brand story, it’s pretty simple. But slowly, we help them pull out the challenges they’ve overcome and share their biggest lessons in an authentic and vulnerable way.

You might be thinking…I haven’t had any big, grand challenges in my life.

But I’m willing to bet you have.

Ask your friends and family for ideas on what you’ve overcome in your life, and I’m sure you’ll get some ideas!

Step 4: Conclude By Offering Value

In the fourth step, you want to tell us how you got to where you are now.

And while you ARE permitted to brag a bit…this should not be a sales pitch.

Instead, this section should offer an insight, common humanity, or solution you’ve discovered along your journey – and why it’s valuable to your ideal client.

Your story should conclude by answering the questions.

Why should they listen to you?
How can you help them?
Why do you choose to serve the people that you do?

Remember: You can’t tell your entire life story on one page. You’re going to have to choose one aspect that you think will be the MOST powerful. Don’t worry about including every single detail.

When you’re crafting your real estate branding story, please keep this in mind:

Your life is far more interesting than you think.

So many people think their life is boring when that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The things you’ve gone through and overcome in your life might not be top of mind for you right now…especially if you went through them years ago.

But that doesn’t mean they’re not impressive to other people!

By telling your real estate branding story, you can connect with your audience on an emotional level and create a memorable brand.

Want MORE tips on how to create a powerhouse real estate brand?

Should You Make A Separate Instagram Account For Your Real Estate Business? My Honest Opinion

March 15, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

One of the BIGGEST questions I get asked as a real estate business coach is this:

Should I make a separate business Instagram account for real estate?

If you’re a busy agent…I’m willing to bet my answer to this question is going to be music to your ears.

Because in all honestly, I think making a separate account is a gigantic waste of time.

Not only that…but keeping personal and professional separate could actually HURT your social media lead-generation efforts.

In this post, I’ll explain why I think having just one Instagram account is the very best option for real estate agents.

But first things first, here’s how you want to set this up!

How To Set Up Your Real Estate Business Instagram Account

Rather than making a whole separate real estate Instagram account, I recommend converting your existing personal Instagram account into a business account.

Why?

Converting your personal account into a business account will allow you to access more sophisticated analytics, as well as allow you to run Instagram ads.

Even if you feel like you don’t need these features right now….

You might need them down the line as you scale your real estate business.

Here are the biggest reasons why having one account is the superior option for growth!

You Already Have a Following

One of the biggest benefits of using your personal Instagram account as your real estate page is that you already have a following there.

Sure, technically you *could* start a new page from scratch…

But you already have a whole network of friends, family, and people in your network who could be interested in what you have to offer. Or, they most likely know someone who is.

By posting real estate content on your personal account, you’re keeping yourself top of mind and potentially securing referrals.

Your personal network can be a powerful tool for getting the word out about your real estate business. But they *have* to know you exist and how you can help them.

Leveraging your existing social pages where you’re already connected with hundreds of people is the best way to do that!

People Want to Know The Real You

You are so much more than just your real estate business.

You’re a human with ideas, passions, and thoughts about the world.

People don’t want to just see your listings and testimonial graphics you made up in Canva.

They want to know the real you!

Don’t be afraid to show off your personality, your life, and what makes you unique.

By showing the real you on your Instagram page, you’re building a personal brand that people can connect with and trust.

Personal content is one of the most important types of real estate content for social media.

So show up in all of your glory!

Post about your family, travel, or your hobbies.

At the end of the day, people buy from people.

So the more you can showcase your authentic self, the more you’ll attract the people you’re meant to work with.

There’s no reason you need to keep personal and professional separate.

Real estate is an inherently emotional business.

Your clients want to work with someone they can connect with on a personal level.

It’s Easier to Maintain

As a busy agent, you don’t have the time or energy to keep up with multiple social media accounts.

By using your personal Instagram as your real estate page, you’re simplifying your life and streamlining your online presence.

You only have to worry about one account and can focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

Personal Brands are More Profitable

Finally, personal brands are WAY more profitable than generic business accounts.

Especially on Instagram.

People are on Instagram to connect with friends and family, to be entertained and to learn new things.

Not to be sold to.

So when your posts look like ads, your ideal client will simply scroll on by.

This is why I always strongly discourage outsourcing your marketing to a real estate marketing agency.

You’ll lose the soul of your content.

By using your personal account as your real estate page, you’re showing the world that you’re a real person with real values and interests, and that you’re passionate about what you do!

Your content will start getting more engagement, and more engagement will lead to more visibility.

It will also help the people who already know you to develop more trust and connection with your brand.

So there you have it! The entire case for why you shouldn’t make a separate real estate business account – and instead keep personal & professional all in one spot.

By leveraging your existing network, showcasing your authentic self, and building a personal brand, you can attract more clients, generate more leads, and grow your real estate business to seven figures by creating relationships at scale.

Want to learn more about how to make that happen?

Download The Listings Lab Guide for free to fill your calendar with appointments – all without fake or sleazy sales tactics!

Real Estate Leadership Lessons For A 7-Figure Team With Emma Pace

March 8, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

One of our Alumni from The Listings Lab, and current member of our 7-Figure Agent Collective, Emma Pace, shared her TOP real estate leadership lessons in an interview with Jess. This post is based on her top takeaways in our program, The 7-Figure Agent Collective.

If you’re a real estate team leader, you know how difficult it can be to grow and maintain a successful team.

Turnover, hiring mistakes, and burnout can all be challenges that arise along the way.

In this post, we’ll explore Emma’s experience and the lessons she’s learned about team building, delegation, scaling, and creating a great company culture.

5 Real Estate Leadership Lessons With Emma Pace

Whether you’re a seasoned team leader or just starting out, these insights will help you grow a thriving and sustainable real estate team!

Get The Right People In The Right Seats

No one likes team turnover…

It’s stressful!

But if you’ve been growing a real estate team without the right strategy in place, team turnover is often a necessary evil.

In Emma’s words, she felt stressed as she started noticing team turnover and had the feeling that “something she’d built seemed to be falling apart”.

But sometimes you need to let old ways die in order to build something better.

Now, Emma’s finally got the right people in the right seats – and it’s changed her business for the better.

Sometimes, it can be easy to hire someone quickly if you’re swamped and feel like you need help yesterday.

But being intentional about filling your positions with the RIGHT people will allow you to build a team of people who are with you for the long run.

Don’t Cling To Something That’s Not Working

If you know you need to get new team members…

Don’t put off the inevitable.

One of the expressions I live by is “hire slow, fire fast”.

But I had to learn that lesson the hard way.

When I first started growing my team, I had an assistant that I knew I needed to let go of.

But I was scared to have the difficult conversation with her.

I kept her on for a YEAR before finally getting the guts to fire her.

Emma experienced similar feelings of hesitation about switching her team members.

In her words, she felt like she was “losing something she already put so much work into”.

But another expression I live by is:

“Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a long time making it.”

The more time you’ve spent trying to “make it work” with team members that ultimately weren’t a fit to begin with…

The more resistance you’ll feel to taking the next steps to replace them.

But at the end of the day, good real estate leadership is about having the hard conversations to move your business forward.

Focus On Strengths & Delegate Weaknesses

No one person can do it all!

We all have our strengths, and we all have our weaknesses too.

Good real estate leadership is all about filling your weaknesses with other people’s strengths.

I truly believe that’s one of the biggest reasons why The Listings Lab is where it is today.

Our members get even more value because they get access to 5-6 different coaches who specialize in various areas of business – from systems to marketing to PR to team management, the expertise on our team is pretty insane.

But in order to get to this point, I had to overcome my resistance and stop listening to my ego that wanted to do it all on my own.

Emma felt the same way. At first, she was hesitant to give more work to her showing specialist.

But once she developed the right business model and opened the lines of communication with her clients and her team, she realized she never needed to feel worried.

A lot of the time solo agents will complain, “ugh, I just wish I could outsource this to someone else!”

But the reality is…you can!

There’s no need to spend time on tasks you dread doing when you could outsource them to an expert who thrives on that kind of work.

Want more tips on delegating? Read this blog post to master delegation as a real estate team leader!

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Getting to the four or five-hundred-thousand-dollar mark in real estate is one thing, but scaling to a seven-figure business is a completely different story.

Everything looks different, and you can’t just double down on what worked before and expect it to double your business.

Even if you manage to do it, your growth won’t be sustainable. You physically can’t scale your business without changing the way you operate. If you try, you’ll only experience massive burnout – as well as becoming the limiting factor in your business.

It’s a cliche, but what got you here won’t get you there.

Once you hit the seven-figure mark and have all the foundations laid, it’s a lot easier to scale from a million to two million and beyond, because the repeatable processes are the same.

And because Emma’s in our 7-Figure Agent Collective, she now notes that scaling feels so much easier. She’s already laid the groundwork.

Create A Great Company Culture

A lot of real estate team leaders make the mistake of thinking the only thing their team wants is leads.

But at the end of the day, agents that want to be on a team want so much more than to just be handed leads.

Your team members want an environment where they can feel like they can truly succeed.

Emma had to do a lot of soul-searching and business planning in order to create this environment for her team.

Prior to her mentorship in The 7-Figure Agent Collective, Emma lacked real estate leadership skills. She didn’t know how to set the right expectations for her team.

She knew she was an incredible agent, but being an incredible real estate leader was a whole other skill set altogether.

Now, Emma has clarity on how to create a team environment her agents are EXCITED to be a part of.

There are many agents out there who would rather be a part of a powerhouse team than build their own business from the ground up.

You need to make sure you’re attracting these types of people – the ones who are the *right* fit for a real estate team, rather than just anyone who can get leads.

You should always be aiming for a relationship that feels like a win-win.

In the words of Emma, “It’s not about me winning anymore. It’s about everyone winning”.

As a real estate team leader, you may face many challenges, from turnover to burnout. However, Emma’s journey shows that with the right strategies, it *is* possible to build a high-performing team that supports you for the long run.

By hiring the right people, delegating tasks, making tough decisions, adapting to change, and creating a strong company culture, you can build a team that not only survives…but thrives.

Want to apply to our high-level year-long mentorship program for agents looking to scale to seven figures and beyond?

Get more information and apply to our 7-Figure Agent Collective HERE.

6 Big Changes Cori Made To Her Real Estate Social Media Strategy To Explode Her Engagement

March 1, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Do you feel like your real estate social media strategy is falling flat?

Are you feeling like no matter what you do, you only wind up with a few likes on your posts?

(And let’s be real…one of them is usually your Mom!)

Cori, a member of The Listings Lab used to feel the exact same way.

She needed to step up her real estate marketing to become a stand-out agent. She was tired of showing up on social media like all the other agents in her area.

Her posts were getting barely any engagement, let alone leads or clients. She felt like she was just spinning her wheels and that social media was a waste of time.

She wanted to find a real estate social media strategy that actually works… and she did with The Listings Lab!

I sat down to talk with Cori about her biggest lessons, aha’s, and takeaways since joining The Listings Lab.

Here were the things that made all the difference in her social strategy!

She stopped trying to be “polished” with her real estate social media strategy

At first, Cori was terrified to put herself out there and create content, especially video content.

What would people think of her? She wondered.

She previously had a misconception that she had to be perfect and polished on video.

She soon realized this was completely wrong.

In reality, people just want to know the human behind the business.

A lot of agents show up on social media to fill their ego account.

They like to flash big numbers, lavish lifestyles, and want people to think they’re always looking goodor glamorous.

You have to ask yourself…

Are you trying to build genuine relationships that might one day lead to a sale?

Or are you just trying to impress people with an inauthentic version of yourself?

She allowed herself to be the real her

Once Cori started showing up as herself online, something amazing happened…

Her engagement absolutely skyrocketed.

She got more messages than ever before telling her just how much they loved and appreciated her content.

And she even started signing leads and clients.

After implementing the real estate social media strategy we teach inside The Listings Lab, she was able to reach 10,000 more people on Instagram!

The biggest reason her reach exploded was because she was getting SO much engagement on this new type of content she was creating.

She unfollowed other agents

One of the biggest mistakes agents make is this:

They follow a bunch of other agents.

They try to copy what they’re doing because they don’t know what to post.

Their content sounds generic and lifeless because it’s not personal.

And not to mention, it doesn’t get them results since they weren’t copying a good strategy to begin with in the first place!

To prevent being influenced by bad habits or lack of strategy, Cori decided to unfollow other agents and fill her Instagram feed with ideal clients instead!

She let go of stories that were keeping her stuck

One of the biggest things that always held Cori back from sharing in the past was a fear of judgment.

She had this preconceived notion that if she started sharing personal and vulnerable content, she would be met with a lot of negativity and hate.

But in reality?

The exact opposite happened. She had an outpouring of love and support!

Ask yourself…

What am I *truly* afraid of?
What could really go wrong if I share this content?
What kind of stories am I making up about why I’m not able to post?

Once you get clear on the stories that are keeping you stuck, you’ll be able to move forward with your real estate social media strategy from a place of confidence and ease!

She trusted the process

Committing to the process we teach in The Listings Lab is no joke!

It’s not overly complex…but it does take work. Work that has a BIG pay-off.

Cori had a slow start when joining The Listings Lab program.

She found it hard to trust the methods we teach in the program and be coachable. But after a couple of months of stalling, she realized she needed to stop thinking she had a better way and start trusting that we knew what we were doing. She had to overcome her resistance.

She decided it was time to go ALL IN and trust the process…

She shifted her mindset and immediately started to feel momentum picking up in her real estate business.

She had this great feeling that something good was coming.

And it totally did!

Want to read more success stories just like Cori’s?

Be sure to check more reviews for The Listings Lab or watch some more member spotlight interviews on our YouTube channel!

6 Mistakes You Might Be Making In Your Real Estate Agent Videos

February 22, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Want to level up your real estate videos and sign more clients off social media?

Do you find yourself producing video content for your social channels but they’re just not getting the results you desire?

By this point, most agents know that they need to be making videos.

But many of them aren’t making the right kind of videos.

When leveraged correctly, videos can be an incredibly powerful tool for connecting with potential clients.

But there are certain common rookie mistakes that hold agents back from making the most of their video marketing efforts.

Let’s take a look at six of the most common mistakes to avoid when creating real estate agent videos for social media!

Mistake #1 – Making Your Videos Overly Branded

It might be tempting to plaster your logo, brand colors, and tagline all over your video content.

But all this does is come off as overly promotional and pushy – it’s a massive turn-off to viewers who would otherwise engage with your content.

At the end of the day, people aren’t on Instagram to look at ads.

They’re on Instagram to connect with their friends and family, learn new things, and be entertained.

So if your video LOOKS like an ad, your ideal clients will automatically tune it out…and keep on scrolling.

Instead, focus on creating authentic content that resonates with potential clients.

You want to make sure you’re covering the most content categories to turn viewers into clients.

The three big ones are:

Authority-building content
Social proof content (case studies, testimonials, PR)
Personal content

We go over these types in more detail in this post all about the best types of real estate content for social media.

(In our program, The Listings Lab, we actually teach NINE different content types you should be sharing as a real estate agent if you want to start signing more clients off social media!)

Mistake #2 – Not Showing Your Face In Your Real Estate Videos

I know it can be scary to show your face in videos.

Trust me, I used to be so embarrassed about making videos that I’d hide out on my roof so no one could see me doing it – not even my husband.

I felt so awkward and uncomfortable!

But you know what?

With every single video I did, things got a little bit easier.

If you want to start getting results from your videos, you have to STOP hiding behind pretty stock videos and animated infographics.

And you need to START showing the real you!

When you show your face, you give people the chance to connect with you on a personal level and build trust in you as an agent.

Mistake #3 – Not Considering Video Hooks

I see so many agents making this real estate video mistake…

And it breaks my heart because it’s so avoidable!

Tell me, have you ever started off a video saying:

“Hi everyone! I’m so excited to talk to you about…”
“Hi, my name is John Smith and I’m a realtor from Burlington, and today I wanted to share with you…”
“I wanted to make a quick video because the other day, I was speaking with XYZ and…”

If you answered yes – I’m sorry to break it to you but you’re starting off your videos the wrong way.

The reality is, everyone on social media has an incredibly short attention span.

Which means you *have* to grab them with a solid hook.

Whether you’re writing a video hook or a headline for a social media post…the formula doesn’t really change.

Read our post on the four types of social media headlines for real estate agents to stop the scroll!

Mistake #4 – Making Your Videos Too Long

A lot of agents will come to me and tell me they’re struggling to come up with real estate video topic ideas.

But then when I go to their profile, I see the videos they have posted are 10-20 minutes long!

The problem isn’t that you don’t have any video ideas…

The problem is that you’re trying to cram too many ideas into one video.

Your video doesn’t have to be chock-full of ten tips.

Focus on ONE core idea, and spend a couple of minutes talking about it in a video!

This way, you’ll get 10x the content. And most social platforms are prioritizing short-form content right now as well – so you’ll get bonus points with the algorithm.

Mistake #5 – Not Having A Social Media System

A lot of people think I spend hours and hours on social media.

When in reality, I only spend 10 minutes a day on it…max.

The reason I’m able to do this is because it’s systematized.

Coming up with real estate video ideas is just the tip of the iceberg.

Then, you need to make sure you have an effective system for recording those vidoes, publishing them, and also repurposing them to get the most mileage possible.

Creating high-quality videos requires time, energy, and effort — so make sure you’re getting the highest ROI possible! To get maximum reach for your videos, set up a system where you share them across all of your social media channels such as Instagram Reels, Facebook Posts, YouTube Shorts, etc., so they’ll get more viewership than just being posted on one platform alone.

Mistake #6 – Not Telling Stories In Your Videos

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your real estate videos is cramming them with just meaningless info and facts…

While completely neglecting personal elements like stories.

People love stories.

The human brain is wired to connect through storytelling – so much so, that stories are 22x more powerful than facts.

You can incorporate stories in so many different ways.

You can tell personal stories to help clients connect with you on a deeper level
You can tell stories about your clients to show how you’ve helped facilitate their transformation
You can talk about aha moments, stories, and lessons you’ve learned and give your audience a valuable takeaway

If you want to be memorable to your potential clients, start telling stories…and watch as your social media engagement explodes.

Want to learn more about how to build an online marketing machine that gets you leads and clients on autopilot?

Download The Listings Lab Guide here to fill your calendar with clients – all without fake or sleazy tactics.

Why Energy Management Is More Important Than Time Management For Real Estate Agents

February 15, 2023 by Jess Lenouvel

Energy management is more important than time management for real estate agents…and here’s why.

Sure, we’ve all heard the expression “time is money”.

But there’s one more resource that’s even more precious than time as a real estate CEO…

And that’s your energy.

Energy Management > Time Management For Real Estate Agents

Your energy is the lifeblood of your business. It’s what steers the ship forward and motivates everyone on your team to keep carrying out your vision.

Focusing on time management as a real estate agent instead of energy management is a HUGE blindspot and will significantly hinder your ability to scale your business.

So the question is…

Are you ready to properly harness your energy so you can grow a powerhouse real estate business?

The first step is what I like to call an energy audit. Here’s why it’s something you should implement to master your energy!

Energy Audit For Real Estate Agents – 4 Domains To Consider

Here’s why performing an energy audit is going to be a game changer for your business…and so much more powerful than typical time management tips for real estate agents.

Energy isn’t bound by time. People can spend a lot of time and energy on things they love, and it doesn’t drain them.

Happy people who love their business are people who maximize their energy. Doing this will change your relationship with your work and how you operate within your business. There are far too many agents spending too much time doing things they hate. When that happens, everyone in your life suffers. Your business suffers. Your clients suffer. No one is getting your best.

I know this far too well…because it’s exactly what happened to me.

You want to elevate your energy so that you can have the biggest possible impact on your community, your family, and your business. You can do this by auditing your energy and organizing the tasks in your business into what I call the four different “domains of energy.”

There are four different domains of energy, and they are as follows:

Your Gravitational Energy Domain
Your Inertial Energy Domain
Your Potential Energy Domain
Your Kinetic Energy Domain

Let’s get into each one and what they mean for your energy audit!

Gravitational Energy Domain

First up, we’ve got your gravitational energy domain. You’re likely good at many things, great at a more limited number, and only a true expert in a few areas. This is true for everyone.

Also, like everyone, you have areas and tasks you don’t like doing, and you’re not great at either. But chances are, you’re spending a lot of time on them anyway. These tasks weigh you down like gravity, demoralize you, and keep you from unlimited upward mobility.

You should never engage in these “Gravitational Domain” tasks. They vary by person, but often they include administrative work—paperwork, financials—the tiny details on the backend of things.

Personally? My Gravitational Domain includes things like bookkeeping, which I absolutely hate and I’m also terrible at.

So many agents want to be the master of everything in their business. They want to have a finger in every pie.

But in reality, this is a recipe for disaster and burnout.

If the thought of being inept at things or not having access to everything makes you feel uncomfortable, your ego account is cashing checks.

It’s okay for people on your team to be better than you at things. That’s just a part of growth. Embrace it. There’s a reason that Jeff Bezos doesn’t pack boxes in the Amazon warehouse.

Inertial Energy Domain

Almost worse than not being good at something and not liking it is being good at something that you hate doing. Again, everybody has these types of tasks. I can create a spreadsheet if I really have to, but I despise creating them. On the other hand, my COO’s eyes light up when she gets to create a new resource to keep the team organized.

The tasks you’re doing to keep the business going (but not growing) are in the “Inertial Domain.” If you think back to high-school science, inertia is the tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion at the same speed unless an outside force acts on them.

The reason you’re inefficient at these tasks is that human brains are wired naturally to steer us away from pain. It’s the same impulse that lets you know if you’ve accidentally put your hand on a hot burner.

Our brains don’t like us to do things that make us physically, mentally, or emotionally uncomfortable for longer than is absolutely necessary. When we do, they will always try to distract us.

And usually, they succeed. This is when shiny objects look their shiniest. Instead of working on the design of that new marketing asset, you might spend a half hour looking up how to start a podcast or YouTube channel instead.

The problem is that when you guiltily come back to that design tool, your brain is no longer focused on that task, and it takes time to get back into the design groove. An outside force—be it the internet, your phone, or your friend’s latest Instagram post — has negatively impacted your brain’s ability to focus.

This is a phenomenon known as context switching. Every time you context switch, you lose valuable minutes in your day.

The things you’re bad at and don’t like doing (your Gravitational Energy Domain) will actually keep you focused because they require your FULL attention to be even minimally competent at them.

But because you’re good at the tasks in your Inertial Domain and you just don’t like doing them, you’re far more likely to get distracted.

Once you’ve automated, eliminated, or delegated everything from your Gravitational Domain, get those Inertial Domain tasks off your plate.

Potential Energy Domain

Potential Energy describes tasks that you’re good at and like doing, but they still don’t bring you the most joy.

They have the potential to make you money…but not quite as much as other tasks do.

For example, for me, a Potential Energy task would be something like setting up ads. I enjoyed this task and it creates ROI, but it’s no longer the best, most profitable use of my time as my business has grown.

The longer you keep Potential Domain tasks on your plate, the longer it will take for you to scale. While you can give tasks in the Potential Domain 90 percent, someone else can give them 100% and are at their happiest and most fulfilled and successful when they do those tasks. And it’s that 10% that makes a substantial difference to your bottom line.

Fair warning: This is probably going to be the part of the energy audit that you have the most resistance to, because, unlike the others, you don’t hate doing these tasks. You might even enjoy them. And therefore, you’ll have a harder time justifying giving up a task you like doing to someone who loves doing it.

It might even be a big blow to your ego. It certainly was to mine when I realized my team did the tasks just as well if not better than I did.

But here’s the reframe I used to navigate this transition:

I had built a team that was so effective, it could run without me. That freed me up to do only a few tasks—my favorite ones—that nobody but me could do. That’s also when Yves and I actually started being able to really enjoy our lives and prioritize the lifestyle we wanted.

Potential Domain tasks tend to be higher-dollar tasks. They are usually hard to automate; most of them require some sort of human intervention.

They’re also the ones you can step back into. For example, if a team member was sick or on vacation and no one else was available, it was no problem for me to step in. It was a good money-making activity for that day.

That also means that these tasks should be the last ones you outsource. They’re worth taking on when a temporary need arises. But when you do have to step back into them, you’ll quickly realize that they’ve become Inertial tasks.

Kinetic Energy Domain

Kinetic energy is the energy of action and motion. This applies to the tasks that you’re great at and that you absolutely love. When you’re in your “Kinetic Domain,” you don’t feel like you’re working. You might even feel guilty doing these tasks because they’re such a joy.

For me, this includes things like content creation, marketing strategy, and overall business strategy. I could do these things all day long. They don’t drain my energy; they create it.

These are also the highest-leverage business tasks. They probably don’t require you to do a whole lot, but only to direct. Directors are essential to a film, even though you see only the actors on the screen; it’s the directors’ vision that brings things to life.

This domain includes vision, the strategic direction, and partnerships—things that can only be done by you, and your team will follow your lead.

Over time, you might be able to delegate even some of these tasks to your team, so that only the most essential things fall to you. That’s freedom.

Master of Your Domain

Now, imagine if you were operating in your Kinetic Domain all day long. You would never have to drag yourself to do something. You wouldn’t have things put in front of you that don’t activate you in an energizing way—all those sticky, pebbly areas from your other three domains that require things like coffee and motivation.

What if you could set up your operations in a way that even your team members recognized when you weren’t doing something in your Kinetic Domain and took it off your hands because the task was in theirs?

This is where the Energy Audit is key.

The 7-Figure Agent Starter Kit contains an Energy Audit template, as well as an instructional video so you can understand how to use it. Use this audit to start taking things off your plate. Start with the things that you don’t like and you’re not good at. Eliminating those alone will actually give you back a lot of your energy.

Then take off the tasks that you don’t like but are good at because, being good at them, you can likely train someone else to do them.

The things you’re good at and that you like but don’t excite you are usually higher level, more important functions, so you can save those for last. Those tasks will be the hardest for you to delegate and will be your hardest role to fill. The person to take on those tasks will likely be a CEO or COO in your organization.

Make no mistake—the biggest opportunity for business growth lies in your ability to free up energy in your day.

Stop thinking in terms of time management for real estate agents. Instead, think in terms of energy management.

It’s easy to get into the practice of “do, do, do,” hustle and grind—but you’ve got to be hyper-aware of what you’re working on throughout the day and then checking in to see whether or not you’re actually in your Kinetic Domain.

It might go against your principles to hire someone for tasks you feel you have the time and space to complete yourself. That’s limited thinking, though. The truth is that most people who are true entrepreneurs and visionaries need as much free time as possible.

Perform a full Energy Audit, both professional and personal. The more efficient you are, the more you will get done and the more free time you will have. This goes not only for you, but for everyone on your team, as well. The idea is to make every aspect of your business and personal life free of wasted time and energy.

How To Perform Your Energy Audit

Write down everything you do in a day for a week. And I do mean everything—. How many times you check your email, how many times you’re interrupted by your phone—all of it.

Honesty is key here. Once you’ve done this, parse each of these items into the four domains I’ve described above here.

Your Gravitational Energy Domain
Your Inertial Energy Domain
Your Potential Energy Domain
Your Kinetic Energy Domain

Be sure to not just approach them from a time management perspective, but how much energy they’re draining or creating for you.

Then determine which of these things can be eliminated, automated, or outsourced. Anything leftover stays on your plate.

I learned long ago that there is zero point in holding on to certain tasks at the cost of efficiency or simply for the sake of holding on to them. Holding on to them might feed your ego account, but it won’t fill your bank account.

This is why performing an energy audit and prioritizing energy management rather than time management is so key for real estate agents.

While time management tips for real estate agents can be helpful, they don’t address the root of the problem – energy.

Want to learn more about mastering your energy, systems, and delegation so you can hit seven figures in your real estate business?

Check out our 7-Figure Agent Program and book a call with our team to see if it’s right for you!

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