Scaling isn’t just about growth, BHGRE’s Ginger Wilcox writes. It’s about building a stronger, more resilient and engaged organization.

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In an industry as competitive as real estate, growth is often equated with success: increasing agent count, market share and service area. However, there’s another crucial aspect of growth that deserves more attention — scaling.

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Scaling your business means fostering growth efficiently and using fewer resources to increase revenue at a greater rate. This approach not only drives top-line growth but significantly improves profitability and margins, which are essential for long-term sustainability and success.

In the last few years, broker-owners across the board have been challenged by the erosion of company dollars in their brokerage and have turned to scaling their businesses to increase profitability. Here’s how to effectively scale your brokerage:

1. Develop a plan

Long-term vision

Create a comprehensive three-to-five-year business plan with clear, measurable goals to scale your organization. This long-term vision will guide your scaling efforts and ensure alignment with your overall business objectives and growth.

Growth areas can include increasing penetration into specific niche markets such as luxury or investment properties, targeting agents at certain production levels, expanding service areas in adjacent markets or non-adjacent markets with strong referral corridors to your existing business, or adding ancillary businesses to increase capture rates.

Your growth goals can also relate to organic growth initiatives such as increasing agent productivity or improving lead capture, cultivation and conversion.

Short-term tactics

Complement your long-term plan with a detailed one-year business plan to address immediate priorities and set the stage for sustainable growth. Socialize this plan with your leadership team and get everyone on the same page, then engage key staff so everyone has skin in the game and can see the benefits that lie ahead.

2. Centralize operations and support

Centralizing operations and support functions can significantly enhance efficiency and consistency across your brokerage. By moving away from branch-centric models to a more centralized approach, you can streamline processes, improve resource allocation and ensure uniformity in service delivery.

  • Centralize recruiting and marketing: Shift to centralized models for consistent strategies, improved tracking and better resource allocation. Automate your marketing efforts to ensure uniform branding.
  • Optimize and automate workflows: Streamline transaction management and administrative tasks using centralized systems and automation tools.
  • Standardize and monitor: Develop standard operating procedures and establish key performance indicators to maintain high-quality standards and identify areas for improvement.

3. Combine resources

One of the significant benefits of being part of a franchise or network system is the ability to combine resources and take advantage of scale. This can include support with marketing, training, coaching, technology, recruiting and business insights.

If you aren’t tapping into the resources at your disposal, you are leaving money on the table by operating in a manner that is not as efficient as it could be.

  • Collaborative initiatives: Engage in collaborative initiatives with other brokerages in your brand, network, market or association to share best practices, resources and technology, with the goal of enhancing overall efficiency and effectiveness. Participate in industry events at the local, regional, state and national level to gain exposure to other leaders and their ideas.
  • Shared services: Consider partnering with a franchise network or other brokerages to take advantage of ancillary services that you may not currently offer, such as title and insurance. Increasingly, brokerages are seeing opportunity in adding additional lines of business to supplement revenue and profit while providing consumers with the ease of “one-stop shopping.”

4. Expand through mergers and acquisitions

Expanding through mergers and acquisitions can provide immediate access to new markets, talent and client bases, significantly enhancing your brokerage’s scale and reach. Adding this new business to existing operations can bolster your agent roster and commission base.

  • Identify targets: Look for smaller brokerages or complementary businesses that align with your strategic goals. Cultural fit is an important consideration in vetting potential targets: if the two operations don’t mesh, the disruption to the business will work against efficiency, and could backfire altogether if agents leave the firm. Another consideration is the relative financial health of the potential target. Be sure that folding this business into yours has the potential to increase overall profitability by leveraging your resources to effect scale across the combined operations.
  • Integration plan: Develop a detailed integration plan to ensure a smooth transition and maximize the value of the acquisition. Agent buy-in is critical so transparent, frequent and engaging communication that showcases value to the agent’s bottom line will go a long way. Identify a transition leader who actively and openly shepherds the newly combined company along a clear transition path that includes aligning processes, systems and cultures.

Scaling your brokerage thoughtfully and strategically can lead to greater efficiency, profitability and a more cohesive team. Embrace the process and you’ll find that scaling is not just about growth but about building a stronger, more resilient and engaged organization.

Ginger Wilcox is the President of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.

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