How CRE Brokers Should Think About Delegation
Warren Buffett once said:
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”
I didn’t fully understand this quote until The Massimo Group started to grow.
When it was just me, saying “yes” was easy. It felt productive. Necessary, even.
But the more we grew, the more I realized this:
Delegation is just another form of saying no.
And if you want to get off the transaction treadmill, it’s one of the few ways out.
Here’s what most brokers get wrong.
- They don’t delegate soon enough.
- They delegate the wrong things.
- They set their people up to fail.
The truth is, delegation sounds simple. But it’s full of traps.
Let me walk you through a process I’ve used, and coached clients on, to delegate more effectively.
Step 1: Build your “Not-To-Do List”
You’ve probably heard this before. But here’s the twist:
Don’t just list the tasks you dislike. List the tasks that fall below your worth per hour.
If you want to earn $500K this year working 50 weeks, your time is worth $250/hour. So if you’re doing $30/hour admin tasks, you’re saying no to $220/hour in upside.
I was watching Alex Hormozi’s podcast with Steven Bartlett recently, and he said something that applies directly to you, as a CRE Broker (i.e., an entrepreneur):
“Entrepreneurs continue to pull things under your plate until you have enough that you can ship it out to somebody else full time. And being aware of, again, the one resource we have, which is time, how we’re allocating it so we get the highest return.”
And that’s the key.
Delegation isn’t about getting rid of what’s annoying. It’s about buying back your time so you can reinvest it into higher-return activities.
Step 2: Don’t delegate what closes deals
This is where a lot of brokers mess up.
They delegate the hard stuff. Cold calls. Deal follow-up. Relationship building. The stuff that moves the needle, because it’s uncomfortable or boring.
Big mistake.
You don’t delegate the core of your business. You delegate around it so you can spend more time doing what only you can do.
Step 3: Share the vision (not just the task)
When you delegate, don’t just say what to do.
Explain why it matters.
Describe the outcome you expect.
And give clear, realistic parameters (due dates, quality standards, format).
This applies to humans and AI.
If you’re using AI tools, don’t treat them like magic. Treat them like junior team members. They still need prompts, structure, and standards to succeed.
Step 4: Support them
Give your team the tools, resources, and encouragement to do the job well.
Even if you could do it faster. Even if you have done it better.
You’re not trying to win a race.
You’re building a business that can scale without you sprinting every day.
Delegation is too deep of a topic to fully cover in one newsletter.
But this is the start.
Until then, here’s your next best move:
Book a free 30-minute Broker Break-Through Strategy Session.
We’ll walk through your current workload, identify high-leverage tasks to delegate, and create a simple plan to reclaim your time, without sacrificing production.
