As a real estate agent looking to build and scale your business, you have to get your mindset right. Once you do— and once you get your marketing, your Signature System, and your sales conversations in place — things start humming. Leads and referrals start coming in left and right, and suddenly, you’re busier than you have ever been.
At that point, agents realize something: they can’t do it all themselves, or they will end up burned out. That’s where having systems can make all the difference. But—and this is key—you want every process and every single person on your team to operate like a finely tuned machine. Once that happens, you’ll end up with the freedom you desire.
The first step to achieving this is performing what I call an Energy Audit. 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.
Your goal should be to elevate your energy so that you can have the biggest possible impact on your community, your family, and your business. By performing an Energy Audit, you can organize the tasks in your business into what I call the four different “domains of energy.” No longer will you waste time and energy in your life. Instead, you can ensure everything you do contributes to your success and happiness.
Gravitational Energy Domain
Like everyone else, you’re likely good at many things, great at a more limited number, and truly an expert in only a few areas. Also like everyone, you have areas and tasks you’re inept at and don’t like doing. But chances are, you’re spending a lot of time on them—and they weigh you down like gravity, demoralize you, and keep you from unlimited upward mobility.
You should not engage in these “Gravitational Domain” tasks. They vary by person, but often they include administrative work. For example, my Gravitational Domain includes things like bookkeeping, which I hate and am bad at.
If the thought of being inept at things or not having access to everything makes you feel uncomfortable, recognize that’s your ego talking. It’s okay for people on your team to be better than you at things. That is just a part of growth. Embrace it. There’s a reason that Jeff Bezos doesn’t pack boxes in an 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. Tasks like this fall under the “Inertial Domain.” They’re the tasks you’re doing to keep the business going but not growing, and almost always, you’re inefficient at 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.
The things you’re bad at and don’t like doing will actually keep you focused because they require your full attention to be even minimally competent at them. Because you’re good at the tasks in your Inertial Domain (you just don’t like doing them), you’re far more likely to get distracted.
Potential Energy Domain
Potential Energy describes tasks that you’re good at and like doing, but they don’t bring you the most joy. They have the potential to make you money but not as much as other tasks have. For example, for me, a Potential Energy task would be something like setting up ads. I enjoyed it, but it’s no longer the best, most profitable use of my time.
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 percent. And it’s that 10 percent that makes a substantial difference to your bottom line.
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.
That 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 Your Domain
Imagine if you were operating in your Kinetic Domain all day. 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.
This is where the Energy Audit is key. 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 those tasks will likely be a CEO or COO in your organization.
Free Up Energy in Your Day
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; 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.
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.
For more advice on how to build a wildly successful business that lets you live the life you love, you can find More Money, Less Hustle on Amazon.
Jess Lenouvel founded The Listings Lab to help other real estate agents implement life-changing business strategies. In an age where algorithms rule our lives, her innovative approach bucks the traditional real estate mold and gives agents back their time and freedom without sacrificing growth or peace of mind. With an emphasis on marketing, personal connection, and timeless principles, Jess is a thought leader in the industry, enabling real estate agents to thrive in both their professional and personal lives.
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