I started my “second career” in real estate in 1993 and have experiences success at all levels – as a listing and sales agent, sales manager, broker-manager, general manager, trainer and coach. During my early management days I used to think I could ”fix” people. I would hire 10 new agents to my office and just know that because my company had the best tools, training and support and that I cared and was a great manager – I could get most of these new agents to be successful in the business. Here’s the reality – you can’t fix people. They are who they are! Each person comes with their own degree of self-confidence, personality traits, behaviors and success characteristics.
Now they all have the dream and wish to be successful in the real estate business. Success for many first year real estate agents is to earn $100,000. Whenever I teach a business plan class to new agents and ask “how much money do you want to make this year, inevitably the response is $100,000. It is possible to earn this in your first year if you are willing to get out of your comfort zone and get in front of enough people who need your service – to buy or sell real estate. It also requires sales skill, inventory (market) knowledge, and technical expertise. This business requires constant, ongoing education and training. And, as always, experience is the best teacher.
So, why do so many fail in this business? Why are approximately 75% of agents out of the business within the first two years of being licensed?
I have been studying this issue for many years and have come to the following conclusions. Approximately 10-15% of the active agent population enjoys great success and are the highest income earners – the “Top Producers”. I have found that this group of people exhibit common characteristics that I believe lead to this ultimate business success.
To better understand the three types let’s take a look at the following factors for each group: Risk vs. Security; Specific behaviors and characteristics; Desired role and responsibilities
The Entrepreneur
· The calculated risk-taker
· They are not afraid to work alone
· Natural salesman, enjoy the art of the deal (the rainmakers)
· They are driven, success-oriented, persistent,
· Type-A personality, with a great work ethic.
· FIT: Team Leader or Individual Lead Agent (Approximately 10% of the population)
The Manager
· The person who prefers to manage, supervise, and coach others
· Their motivation is to give back, to inspire, to build confidence in others
· They generally have management/supervisory experience prior to real estate
· They are more detail-oriented, good administrators and systemizers.
· FIT: Team Manager/Office Manager (Approximately 20-25% of the population)
The Individual Contributor
- Represents the largest portion of the population
- They prefer to work in a group environment
- Prefer to be a contributing member of the vision and goals of a team
· Typically, this person needs and desires support systems, direction, mentoring, and leadership to thrive and succeed.
· They generally come from an employee background and are used to and really want structure and accountability
· FIT: Team Associate, Licensed Admin Asst, Hourly/Salaried Employee
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
]]>- Build COMMUNITY – This starts with the leadership team always. A new member to the team/company must feel welcomed and feel a part of the group immediately. Do you have a system of welcoming and acknowledging a new team member? Some ideas: a welcome card mailed to their home: get their bio and background and publish it in your next meeting agenda: introduce them at a sales meeting. Assign a transition buddy to help with questions and orientation to the office. Conduct a formal branch/team orientation.
- Encourage COOPERATION – Do you have common goals for the team/office and is everyone aware of them? Do you encourage participation in meetings? How about asking a team member to run the next team meeting or conduct a training class? Do you have a feedback mechanism in place – suggestion box, advisory board, forum?
- Support COORDINATION – Ensure everyone is clear about expectations, job performance and specific roles and responsibilities. What are your methods of communication? Team/sales meetings, email, website/blog/intranet, written documents?
- Promote COMMUNICATION – Clear, open, two-way communication is vital to any relationship and organization.
- Offer continuous COACHING – Everyone benefits from ongoing coaching and training. It’s more than accountability – it’s a way to relate to your team members and show how much you care about and support their individual success
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
]]>* Commission structure
* Separation policy
* Expectations
* Office and company training programs
* Team training
* Leadership training
* Broker Training Courses
* Obtain the Risk Reduction Graduate (RRG) designation
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
]]>1. Hire Talented People to Key Positions
- Team Manager – A Critical Factor
The key to building a successful, productive and enduring team is having an effective Team Manager. The Team Leader who recognizes this basic concept will enjoy the benefits of more time, more income, less stress and the creation of a business asset that incorporates an exit strategy (the brokerage within the brokerage model).The duties and responsibilities of the Team Manager include:
o Set up and implementation of all team building systems that generate additional leads and income for the team
o Recruiting team associates
o Training and retaining team associates
o Holding the team associates accountable to goals and production standards - Your other key player is a solid administrative assistant/transaction coordinator. Hiring an assistant is actually first priority if you don’t already have one. A general rule of thumb is that you are ready for an assistant when you are consistently closing 2-3 transactions each month.Don’t hire team associates until you are ready!And ready means (1) you have an administrative assistant or transaction coordinator and ideally also a Team Manager and (2) you have established systems in place.Here are some documents to get you started in the process of hiring an assistant:
- Sample Admin Assistant Ad Copy Download re_admin_asst_ad_copy.doc
- Job Description Template Download template_job_description.doc
- Sample Interview Questions Download InterviewTemplate.doc
2. Implement Effective Systems
The following business and real estate systems are essential to creating a productive, profitable and successful team
- Business Basics, Incorporating and Financial Essentials
- Team Vision, Mission, Values & Unique Value Propositions
- Team Organizational Chart
- Team Building Basics
- Team SOI/Referral System
- Team Listing System
- Team Farming System
- Team Business Plan & Goal Setting
- Lead Generation & Follow-up Systems
- Recruiting/Affiliation System
Exit Strategy
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
]]>I also believe in teaching solid business and financial systems which ultimately can streamline your business, increase productivity, give you more balance between work and family, leverage your time and resources and eventually create a viable exit strategy.
The first step toward building a successful real estate team is to implement key business systems that work for you as the individual lead agent. Once you have created and refined these systems it is easy to develop a team version that team associates (buyers agents) can simply plug into without reinventing the wheel.
These are the primary real estate business systems to implement:
1. Real Estate Business Plan and Goal-Writing
2. Creating Your Vision, Mission, and Core Values
3. Developing Your Unique Value (Selling) Proposition
4. Personal Promotion, Branding and Marketing
5. Past Client/Sphere of Influence/Referral System
6. Listing System
7. Buyer/Escrow System
8. Farming System
9. Lead Generation and Follow-up System
10. Internet, Blogging, Social Networking Strategy
11. Business Financial Basics for the Real Estate Agent
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
]]>