FCB #041: Set Yourself Free With Leverage

Introduction

I'm reading a very powerful book right now by Todd Tresidder titled "The Leverage Equation: How to Work Less, Make More, and Cut 3 Years Off Your Retirement Plan."

He writes about 6 types of leverage:

1. Financial Leverage
2. Time Leverage
3. Technology & Systems Leverage
4. Communications & Marketing Leverage
5. Networks & Relationship Leverage
6. Knowledge & Experience Leveage

I highly recommend this book.

It could be one of the most important books you'll read in your lifetime.

I want to share briefly on numbers 2 through 6 above.

I will leave financial leverage to your read of this excellent book.

Time Leverage

You can't save time, nor can you create any more of it.

The goal of time leverage is to get more done without using any of your time.

You can release your income growth through the following four steps:

1. Increase the proportion of productive time in your day. Recover your marginal hours.
2. Delegate projects so you can multiply time spent working towards your goals.
3. Increase your time leverage from linear project leverage to more valuable process leverage. Identify all of your repeating functions and delegate them.
4. Replace human time from your production process with scalable business system automation using technology and systems leverage.

When I did this in my CRE appraisal business, I got more work done in my business while working far less myself.

Systems Leverage

If you want to own a business rather than it owning you, you need to remove yourself from the production process.

You do that by creating scalable, efficient systems that aren't dependent on any one individual, especially yourself!

1. Process map repetitive tasks into standard operating procedures. This produces quality results with minimal rework.
2. Integrate technology leverage, replacing human labor with machine labor, thereby reducing costs and improving quality.
3. Design audit controls with checks and balances so your systems are self-correcting.

In my CRE appraisal practice, I did this in three main areas:

1. Marketing with CRM/email marketing software
2. Recruiting with recruiting/onboarding software
3. Production with appraisal software & templates
4. Accounting with bookkeeping/accounting software
5. HR & IT with outsourced managed services providers

Marketing Leverage

If you can access other people's audiences through magazines, newsletters, and email databases, you can communicate with thousands for the same effort as one.

Marketing (or communications) leverage has three main advantages:

1. Low marginal cost for each touch point as a fixed expense. This allows you to increase the frequency and breadth of communication cost effectively.
2. Builds brand loyalty and trust. Use technology to cost effectively deliver value through articles, courses, videos, and other educational resources.
3. This gives you feedback immediately. Test offers quickly with minimum cost.  Adjust messaging in real time until conversion rate is cost effective.

Some tactics to increase your communication leverage include:

• Upsell
• Cross-sell
• Joint ventures
• Media outreach
• Referral systems
• Automated sales funnels
• Continuity sales programs

The goal of marketing leverage is to gain new clients and increase their lifetime value.

Most appraisers do very little marketing and when they do, it is haphazard and irregular.

Consider devoting a certain percentage of your revenue for "always-on" marketing & recruiting.

Advertise in trade publications.

Develop your own email list in a good CRM and start publishing monthly or quarterly newsletters.

Leverage the power of socia media with regulars posts and/or videos on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and YouTube.

Network Leverage

Done right, you can leverage other people's connections and resources so you're not limited to just your own.

When I was a Valbridge franchisee, we exchanged contacts, resources, strategies, experience, referrals, and support.

You can multiply your wealth by building a network with the following four steps:

1. Decide who you want in your network.
2. Connect with those people.
3. Build relationships over time. Always give value first. Play the long game.
4. Then, when the time is right, you can ask for help in return.

You would be surprised at the power of:

• Friendly phone calls just to get to know someone better
• Free lunches and dinners
• Gift boxes for birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays
• Free valuable information provided
• Unsolicited offers to help

Be a "go-giver" and reap the exponential rewards of building a successful professional network.

Experience Leverage

Knowledge and intellectural capital are huge levers for ultimate success and wealth building.

Don't be limited by your own time and ability to learn and grow.

There's always more to learn than time to learn it.

Hire experts who have the knowledge and experience you lack.

Focus on what you do best: CRE APPRAISAL.

Outsource all the rest as soon as you can.

In my CRE appraial practice, as soon as I was able to, I hired and delegated or outsourced:

1. Marketing and recruting
2. Appraisal assistance, production, and review
3. Administrative assistance
4. Bookkeeping and accounting functions
5. HR and IT functions
6. Legal and Insurance functions

This not only freed up my own time, it made my business markedly more valuable and sellable.

Conclusion

The wealthy, esecially those who achieve that at an early age, have learned to master leverage in all its forms.

Take the time to buy and read carefully Todd Tresidder's excellent book: "The Leverage Equation."

Trust, me, along with "E-Myth Revisited," "Traction", and "Get A Grip", it will be one of the best business books you'll ever read.

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