Business Lessons from Agent X
Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of spending 45 minutes picking the brains of the man I consider to be the best agency leader in the UK.
Let’s call him Agent X.
His one-office agency has won many awards, built a phenomenal brand, achieved huge market share, and continues to improve.
His business does everything the right way.
His team are all top performers.
His agency has THE coolest culture and a genuine love for the community it serves.
But here’s the thing.
I can only ever recall hearing him on one industry podcast.
I’ve never seen a social media post where he’s bragging about his agency’s success.
He won’t pop up on your LinkedIn feed with some pseudo-bullshit quotes.
His agency isn’t a start-up promising to change the game and disrupt the industry (usually, these set-ups are pyramid schemes in all but name).
He’s been there.
He’s doing it.
He’s like a benevolent estate agency Keyser Söze.
Pulling the strings behind the scenes, but you would never know unless you know.
Yes. I‘m a fanboy.
So, I’ll stop gushing and start sharing. Here are eight excellent lessons I picked up during our chat.
- Ask your team, ‘what does dominating our market look like?’. Agent X leads a one-office agency. That’s because he doesn’t let ego drive his decisions, and he made what turned out to be a wise move to become number one in a competitive but lucrative market. His agency has consistently achieved that with great financial returns.
- When it goes wrong, it’s always your fault as the boss. Of course, we’re all guilty of seeking someone to blame, but when you run the show, the buck stops on your desk. Always.
- Is there more you could be doing to serve your existing clients? Most of us know the squeezing the lemon adage. But how many of us look at our client base and think of ways that we can do even more business with people who already know, like and trust us?
- Clarity is the key to performance. Have total clarity around what you expect from your team and ensure they understand what is expected from them.
- Time can be wasted or well spent. Time wisely used includes working on culture, systems, processes, training and development and community work.
- Continually revise, refine and improve systems and processes. I always get the sense from Agent X that his team understand that what got them here won’t get them to the next level.
- OGAP – His team regularly review all aspects of their business and rate them as either – Outstanding – Good – Average – Poor. Then they go about raising the standards.
- Focus on five. Finally, as a business owner, always try to build for five years down the line.
And here’s a bonus one from Agent X: ‘Don’t waste your time on jobs that someone else can do more cheaply and probably better than you.’ Instead, use the money to free up your time to do the stuff which builds your business and creates the lifestyle you seek.’
I could go on, but I’d probably get a restraining order.
Everything in life has levels.
And Agent X and his team hit the highest ones possible and show no signs of stopping.
Thanks for reading.
Jerry