Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

Chapter 7. Assembly Line Selling

Back in 1901, Ransom E. Olds created the assembly line. Soon after that, Henry Ford and his employees took the concept to the next level by creating the moving assembly line with the use of conveyor belts and by pushing for the standardization of parts.

Since I hail from Michigan, I figured I would apply these same concepts to selling houses. Instead of doing all of the work myself from meeting with buyers and sellers to actually filling out all of the paperwork required for closing, I would create a system in which I did what I was good at (selling houses) and outsourced the rest of the work to people who could do it better, faster, and for less money than I could do it myself.

My decision to apply the assembly line concept to the process of selling houses resulted in phenomenal success. I began selling 10 times as many homes annually as I was previously selling by doing everything myself, and the amount I paid assistants to take on the additional work was almost negligible. I made far more in increased commissions than I needed to pay my capable assistants.

In addition, I was now much happier. I was doing what I loved to do, and someone else was taking care of everything I disliked about my job. Now, as soon as I sell a house, I simply call back to the office, and someone else starts preparing the paperwork. I have applied this concept time after time to expand my business by adding new divisions. I highly recommend this approach to anyone seeking ...