The 80/20 Flywheel — Scale What Works, But Don’t Bet the Farm on One Source
You know that agent who discovers something that finally clicks — maybe it’s a Facebook or IG post that brings in real buyers, maybe it’s a postcard that actually got calls, or paying for an online lead generation service like Zillow — and they think they’ve found the magic elixir? They get googly eyes and double down… then they increase their spend… and stop doing anything else because they believe they’ve found the answer.
It’s thrilling… until it stops working.
That’s the 80/20 lesson of Chapters 10 and 11 in 80/20 Sales & Marketing. Perry Marshall calls this stage “Scale Up — Massively,” but he also warns: don’t get drunk on a single source of success. What got you traction can’t be the only engine that keeps you in business.
🔁 The 80/20 Flywheel
Scaling isn’t about doing more things — it’s about multiplying what already works.
In the digital world, that starts with something as simple (and scientific) as A/B testing. You can do the same in the physical, print world– it just takes longer to see results and adjust.
🧪 A/B testing means comparing two versions of something — ad headlines, images, call-to-action buttons, even color schemes — to see which one performs better. The key: change only one variable at a time.
For example:
Headline A: “Find Out What Your Home’s Worth”
Headline B: “See What Buyers Would Pay for Your Home Today”
If B gets twice the click-through rate, you’ve learned something concrete — now you scale that version.
Agents can A/B test everything: listing videos, thumbnails, subject lines, even their listing presentations. Perry calls this the flywheel of improvement — small tweaks compounding into massive results.
📊 Kaizen + Natural Selection
The Japanese word kaizen, which we’ve discussed many times in this series, means “continuous improvement.” Perry blends it with natural selection — the idea that your marketing evolves like a species. The weak die off; the strong reproduce.
That’s why Google Ads, email sequences, and even postcards are never “done.” You test, track, and evolve them based on real data — not vibes. This is crucially important to your business. Nothing ever stays the same.
Agents who live by kaizen aren’t perfectionists; they’re experimenters. They let the marketplace tell them what works instead of guessing. If I could stamp one lesson into your brain from everything I share, this would be the most important one.
🚫 The Database Trap (Your Story)
For years, my biggest source of business was my database. People I’d helped before — friends, past clients, referrals. It ran on autopilot and delivered 20+ deals a year. Then something shifted: Covid happened, interest rates continued to drop, the Government started printing money and dropping that money into people’s accounts and, in the process, devaluing the currency, and prices continued to skyrocket.
And then? Inflation reared its ugly head (exactly what happens when massive troves of money are injected into the economy with no additional goods to buy) and people stopped moving because they didn’t want to go from a 2.4% mortgage rate to a 6.5% rate. Suddenly my “sure thing” became five or six deals and business dropped by nearly 75%.
Why? I’d stopped generating leads because I’d grown dependent on one pipeline — and that pipeline dried up. I had to relearn the muscle of lead generation. Perry’s words hit me square: “Don’t let one platform own your oxygen.”
🌐 Diversify Within Your Strengths
Scaling and diversifying aren’t opposites — they’re dance partners.
Scale up the lead source that’s performing best.
But build 2–3 supporting channels so one algorithm or economic trend doesn’t wipe you out. Ignore this lesson at your own peril.
In other words:
If Google is hot → scale it 2×.
If Zillow slows → test YouTube ads or market reports.
If your database is dormant → re-engage it while building new opt-ins.
Continuous A/B testing inside each source — and diversification across sources — is how you create long-term predictability.
🧭 Agent Challenge
Identify your top 3 lead sources from the last 90 days. If you only have 1 lead source there should be warning sirens going off in your head.
Find your highest ROI one and scale it with a test — new headline, thumbnail, or offer… if you have the ability to do that. If you don’t you should be thinking about whether or not you have an actual business since you don’t actually control your lead flow.
Find the one you’ve been ignoring (or relying on too much) and build its replacement channel. Let me repeat that - BUILD YOUR REPLACEMENT CHANNEL.
That’s how you scale up intelligently — multiplying your best and replacing your weakest, one kaizen step at a time.
