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Increase your profits both by cutting unnecessary waste and generating more business with these actionable strategies from trainer Bernice Ross.

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Inman On Tour Nashville delivers insights and strategies for agents & leaders navigating today’s market.

Business success is determined as much by what you don’t do as by what you decide to do. One way to increase your profit is to do more business. On the other hand, you can also increase your profit by cutting expenses or avoiding activities that waste your time.

Most real estate agents focus primarily on profits — how many more leads they can generate, how many listings they can obtain and how many referrals they can generate from past clients and their sphere. What typically gets put on the back burner is how expenses and procrastination can cost them way more money in ways they don’t realize.

Sometimes the fastest way to increase your income has nothing to do with adding something new but tightening or becoming more efficient at what you’re already doing.

5 ways to increase profit by doing more business

1. Increase the number of quality conversations you have each week

Nothing replaces direct contact. If you’re an agent, that means scheduling face-to-face meetings as soon as possible after acquiring a lead. In fact, NAR statistics show that the agent who has the first face-to-face meeting with a seller gets the listing up to 80 percent of the time. Revenue starts with contact, especially when it’s face-to-face.

2. Raise your average transaction value

You don’t always need more deals, but better deals. That can mean moving up in price range, expanding into a nearby market area, or establishing a new niche based on your interests (golf properties). A small shift in average deal size often produces more profit as opposed to doubling your efforts on less expensive properties.

3. Build repeat and referral systems

Every closed transaction should plant seeds for the next one. A past client who refers one person per year changes your business permanently. Agents who communicate consistently with their clients often attract referrals simply by staying in regular contact. In other words, relationships scale more efficiently than advertising.

4. Improve conversion instead of volume

If you only convert 10 percent of your leads, you’re leaving money on the table. Lower conversion rates typically result from focusing on cold leads as opposed to working your sphere and past client list. In fact, close to 55 percent of the closed transactions each year are with people you know or with a referral from someone you know. Consequently, devote most of your time and money to generating leads from people you know.

5. Add one complementary revenue stream

Agents might add first-time buyers, luxury, relocation or one- to four-unit investor representation as new niches. You don’t need five new ventures, but only one addition that works to expand your reach into a market you’re not currently serving.

5 ways to increase profit by cutting waste

1. Stop doing low-value tasks yourself

You might pride yourself on handling everything, but that habit can severely handicap the income you can earn. When you spend hours on tasks someone else can complete competently, you shrink your earning capacity. The reason? You have less time to spend working in your business as opposed to running errands and doing tasks that eat up your valuable time.

While learning to delegate may be difficult, the amount of time it frees up to grow your business and to have more quality time with your loved ones is well worth it.

2. Eliminate expenses that no longer serve your strategy

An easy step to cut out unnecessary costs is to stop “auto-renewal” on any subscriptions or other products. (You can also use a credit card that expires in the next 12 months.) It’s important to evaluate each product you pay for at least annually to see if you’re still using it and if it’s still worth the money.

3. Stop chasing unqualified prospects

Time spent trying to convince someone who will never act drains you of both your time and energy. Be willing to say “no” sooner. One strategy that has worked for me for decades is to ask, “Who’s closest to the money?” That’s where you put your primary focus.

Avoid allowing the psychic vampires who suck your time (and money) sneak into your calendar. Profit grows when your time aligns with people who take action, whether it’s in a deal or even how long you must wait for a contractor to do an inspection or fix a problem.

4. Reduce emotional reactivity

Blaming the market, lenders or other agents, consumes mental bandwidth. That energy could go toward problem-solving. Emotional discipline keeps negotiations clean and relationships intact. Long-term income depends on reputation more than on any single transaction.

5. Stop waiting for perfect conditions

Perfectionism disguises itself as caution. Markets are never completely stable, and every deal has flaws. The question is how much effort you put into feeling confident enough to act. Thoughtful action beats prolonged hesitation.

Here’s the most important point. You can grow your business from both directions at once. Add one meaningful revenue activity and remove one consistent drain. You don’t need a dramatic overhaul. Instead, just changing a few simple things can make a big difference. Profit can grow from both expansion and cutting back. The professionals who thrive in this business have learned to do both.

March is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. As the spring selling season kicks in, we’ll examine the proven tactics and new innovations driving results in today’s market — and celebrate the industry’s top marketing and branding leaders with Inman’s Marketing All-Star Awards.

Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.

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