Stop relying on your top performer. Do this to protect your revenue.
There’s a nightmare scenario that keeps most real estate agencies awake at night. It’s the fear your top performer (the one that’s pulling in 30% of your revenue) will one day walk out the door and leave your business.
This is applicable to any industry, not just real estate.
You run the numbers at a possible reality without your top performer, and your chest tightens. Losing them would be a disaster, or so you think. This happened to be and my worst nightmare actually saved my business.
A few years ago, we poached a star agent from a competitor who had big numbers and an even bigger reputation. Revenue soon followed and things looked good, but behind the scenes, something felt off. It wasn’t necessarily toxic yet, but they eventually left to start their own agency.
As a leader, it stung. Disappointment soon turned into panic about how we’d fill the revenue gap. I was already transitioning from salesperson to CEO/leader, and the last thing I wanted was to regress. Our business wasn’t going to become what I knew it could with me focused on sales, instead of leading/mentoring.
But, the second he walked away was the moment my team stepped up.
My personal sales dropped 25% and I was able to step back from selling and be more involved in coaching and leading. As a result, we got better outcomes.
When problems came up, I didn’t try to quickly solve them straight away. I created space for the team to work through it to find a solution. We all levelled up as a result.
Losing the star performer didn’t create a gap. It created space for a real team to emerge. When the wrong person leaves, the right people can grow but only if you create a system that can support their expansion.
The entire experience forced me to stop relying on ‘stars’ and on myself (to stop being the bottleneck). This is how I scale without getting in the way as a leader or losing touch with the team.
I documented a daily lesson for 30 days with an actionable takeaway, for others leaders who are struggling to scale. Grab it here: Free 30 lessons in 30 days email series
If you’re like me to personally work through any business problem with you, book a Circuit Breaker Strategy Session.
In 60 minutes, I’ll identify the issues and gaps in your business, and put together a 90-day plan to turn it around. We’ll cover everything – your P&L, people, vision, culture, systems, and internal state.
When I took over the family business (Nitschke Real Estate), I discovered we had six weeks of cash left in the bank. I’ll share everything I did to rebuild the business, instead of selling it or dissolving it.
Schedule your session and you’ll get a free copy of Leading Out of Loss.
