Every agency owner is asking some version of the same question right now: What does this industry look like in five years? The honest answer is that it's already changing faster than most businesses can keep up with.
If I look at the last five years, the rate of professionalism and the implementation of technology have been moving at warp speed. In the next five, I believe these three things will be what helps agencies stand out: Professionalism, technology, and vision.
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Professionalism will separate the businesses that survive from the ones that don't
We're going to see a raft of challenges for business owners. The rising cost of labour is one of them. Staff is always the biggest line item on your P&L, and retaining quality A players is only going to get more expensive and more competitive.
That means you have to be ruthless about eliminating B and C players who aren't performing or contributing to your culture. There isn't going to be room for people who aren’t pulling their weight in the next few years.
At the same time, A players will keep standing out in our industry, and customers will be drawn to them. Legislative change is only increasing and the market dynamic keeps shifting. The professionalism of your people is what's going to carry your business through that.
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Technology, and specifically AI, is going from advantage to mandatory
This year at Nitschke, we started dabbling with AI. Fast-forward six months and we now have more than 40 AI agents performing tasks across every part of the business. Extend that curve out five years and the scale of what AI will be doing in this industry is hard to overstate.
There's a cliche going around that AI won't replace agents, but rather the agents who use AI well will replace agents who don't. The real story is bigger than that.
The impact will look a lot like what social media did to this industry, just on a much larger scale. Early on, using it was an advantage. Within five years, probably within half that time, it will be mandatory. Agencies won't survive rising labour costs and consumer expectations without it.
AI isn't going to be optional. It's something you have to use, or your business simply won't exist in its current form.
One of the best things you can do right now is set aside time every single day to learn AI, implement it, and build out your own tech stack solutions. It compounds. It will pay huge dividends in the future.
Read about what real estate leaders are getting wrong about AI and why it’s critical to build the team before the tech.
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Vision, values and vibe will become the differentiator for employees and clients
Beyond professionalism and technology, the leaders who win in this industry will be the ones who understand how to attract and retain top performers. Being able to connect their personal/professional goals to the vision of the company will help create an unbeatable culture. You’ll attract aligned clients in the process.
We use EOS at Nitschke to help with all the vision setting. Start with the end in mind.
How we can work together
When you’re ready, here’s how I can help you:
- Book a free 15-minute call with me and let’s discuss where you’re at in business. I can help with sales, lead gen, recruitment, culture, growth, and more.
- Buy the operating system (OS) I run my real estate agency on and the OS I wish I had when I took over the business.
- Get the 30-day email course, which covers one leadership lesson a day.