How to Hire Real Estate Rock Stars

I’m excited to share my experience on this topic because hiring is one of the areas where so many people get stuck.

First, I want to make an important distinction. It is one thing to start a business. But building a team and elevating your company to the next level is a different challenge altogether.

How do you build a team of real estate rock stars? The short answer is this: transmute fear. Fear says things like, “I don’t know where to find the best hires. No one can do what I do.” If you are afraid that you won’t find the right people, and if you have resistance to letting others contribute before even reading the first resume, it is time to switch your mental environment.

What is your hiring mindset?

In previous BiggerPockets blog posts, I discussed aligning your mindset with what you want in terms of setting goals and developing a growth mindset. Hiring is no different. Before taking any action, the most important—and often ignored—step is creating a mental environment that is a match to what you want to accomplish.

Consciously or unconsciously, people often believe that action creates reality. But the truth is our mental environment, which I call our “frame,” creates our reality. And that reality creates action. The good news is you can switch your frame and establish a hiring mindset that will attract the right people.

When finding the right people to grow a business, you create barriers before the process even begins by starting from the wrong place. Instead of worrying about finding the right people, start from a reality where the right people will find you.

Before you begin the hiring process, ask yourself, “Do I have resistance to hiring?” If so, it is almost undoubtedly stemming from fear. You may think things like, “This will be a long process. I can’t trust anyone to deliver like I do.” Transmute the fear by understanding what you are afraid of and switching your mindset to match what you want. Frame the process as an exciting discovery of who life will bring you to help grow your reach, instead of a painstaking process of searching for the perfect hire—someone who will do things exactly like you.

To evaluate your hiring mindset, determine if you are starting from a place of fear and control or a place of expansion and discovery. Before executing your hiring strategy, frame your approach to hiring to match the team you want to build.

Rock star team = Leverage

What makes a company successful? The seemingly obvious answers may include sales and finding deals. The truth is, it’s not about closing deals; it’s about creating leverage.

In my work as a performance coach, the number one obstacle I see entrepreneurs face is establishing leverage. Working with a great group of people with varied skills, talents, and perspectives who elevate your vision gives you leverage to make that vision a reality. Don’t be so focused on closing deals that you ignore the importance of creating a company culture that maximizes the leverage of a rock star team. People are the key to making your business grow, not deals. And it all begins with how you approach hiring.

Why do most people never reach the level of success they desire? The primary reason is they are so focused on action that they ignore their mindset. Understanding that your hiring mindset is more important than any specific action or strategy will save you time, energy, money, and disappointment.

Building the Jason Drees Coaching team

In August 2020, I was the sole employee of Jason Drees Coaching. Now, I have an incredible team of over 30 people. It all started with how I approached my company and prepared myself for relinquishing control. I had to adapt.

After struggling for years to start a successful business, I finally had this company that I loved. Because of how hard I’d worked to this point, it felt very personal. Luckily, because my role as a performance coach is to help people remove what is blocking them from success, I recognized my resistance to hiring. I needed help, and fast. The business was growing quickly, but I was afraid to relinquish complete control over something that meant so much to me.

I realized I had to get into a mindset where I embraced the power and importance of relying on other people and stop looking at my business as one big job that I had to tackle alone.

It’s not personal, it’s business

Before I could build my team, I had to shift the way I saw and related to my business. I had to see Jason Drees Coaching for what it really is… a business. It is a separate entity. It is not me. I care about it and want it to reflect my vision, but like the old cliché says, “It’s not personal. It’s just business.” Though the meaning behind that saying originated from a dog-eat-dog mentality, it holds true to what I’ve learned about how I need to relate to my company.

By approaching my company as a business and not as a personal reflection of myself, I create an environment where I can attract and hire people that are a good fit. Having your identity wrapped up in your business will lead to micromanagement.

If your goal is to create leverage through hiring, micromanaging your team blocks the target. Before I could hire the right people, I had to come to terms with the idea that other people will affecting company’s trajectory. Most importantly, I had to accept that they will do things differently than I would do them. This required finding some humility and putting my ego aside. I knew if I tried to control every aspect of the company by micromanaging, I would create a company I wouldn’t want to work for.

Fear was telling me, “My clients will be disappointed if they are coached by someone other than me,” and “If others are contributing, my vision will get lost.” But my goal was to expand my reach and impact. That was more important than disappointing a few people or being the only person driving Jason Drees Coaching. I had to transmute fear in the name of growth.

Be ready to allow other people to contribute

If you are worried about trusting others’ abilities to deliver at your level, ask yourself this simple question: “Will I close more deals with just my energy or with the energy of many?” Keep your eye on the real target. If you want to control every move within your company, stay small and do everything yourself. But if you want to expand and grow, welcome the contributions of others.

You may be thinking, “That’s all well and good, but I don’t even have my team yet. I will think about that once I hire people.” In my experience, the time to think about how you will run your company is before you start hiring. Start in alignment with creating a company culture that builds the most leverage. Most people are happier and more productive when they have a sense of ownership and agency. As a leader, you set that standard by how you delegate and allow others to contribute. Align your hiring mindset with that mission from the start.

Get your ego in check and be ready to let your company evolve through the contributions of others. When Jason Drees Coaching was in the early stages of big expansion, my fear became a reality when two people on my team delivered the best vision for the future of my business. Let the best ideas determine the next action—even when the ideas aren’t yours.

If you would like a more comprehensive understanding of the JDC methodology and the power of frame and mindset, I encourage you to check out my book, Do the Impossible, available through BiggerPockets.

Jason Drees’ tips for building a great team

• Fix all the problems of every previous company you have worked for
• Make it hard for your employees to leave
• Pay them not just well, but more than their role is worth
• Create room for them to grow
• Welcome all input
• Be transparent
• Give them plenty of opportunities
• Let them learn and ramp up
• Feel for fit