If youa��ve done any coaching at all, you have found that people dona��t respond just because you told them they needed to be more productivea��or they told you they wanted to be more productive. You may have blamed yourself for their failure to produce. Although it is true that we all need to hone coaching skill sets, failure to move an agent off a�?dead centera�� is usually not a function of poor coaching skills. Ita��s usually a function of the coach choosing a poor candidate.

The Steps to Choose the Right CoachingA�CandidatesA�

Step One: Determine who is coachable

You and I know that a successful real estate office is built one agent at a time. Although there were 30 licensees in that office (some of whom I never met), there were many fewer workers. If we didna��t have sales volume, we couldna��t attract the kind of people who would want to be on the team to attain that vision. My first job, then, was to find out who wanted to be productive. Here are the steps I followed, and that you can follow, too, to create a coaching relationship with those who will respond positively to your guidance.

First, set up a meeting with each agent that you think is coachable. Have prepared a list of questions, arranged with a place to write his/her answers for each question. Schedule at least 45 minutes with each agent. Here are 3 of the questions you should ask:

  1. Describe how you created a successful real estate business in the past.
  2. Describe how you are creating the business that you are doing now.
  3. What would be different in your life if you had higher income?A�

Coachability evaluator: Click here to get an evaluator to use with your agent so he/she can determine if he/she is coachable.

Step Two: Evaluate Your Chances of Success through Coaching this Agent

A�After asking these past-based questions, take the time to evaluate whether or not you think this agent has the skills and motivation to move his/her career to a higher level. Here are three of the questions you should ask yourself?

  1. Has this agent demonstrated the ability to overcome failure in the past?
  2. Is this agent realistic about the activities required and the time frames involved, to succeed?
  3. Does this agent accept personal responsibility for production?

Step Three: Get Agreement on Mutual Expectations from the Agent

Youa��ve now determined who wants to work to higher goals. Youa��ve done your due diligence to determine whether you think theya��re coachable. Now, you have to get agreement on the game plana��the plan of action. This is the point at which the agent may say, a�?I just want to do better on my own. I dona��t need any coaching. I just want to be able to ask you questions whenever I want to, and I want you available.a�? If this is an agent that is not meeting your minimum production standards, I suggest you give them a choice:

A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� Either

  • attain specific monetary results (a listing sold or a sale) within a certain time period, or you will terminate that person (and you must be explicitly clear when you say this)

or

  • implement a mutually-agreed upon game plan and meet with you on a pre-determined schedule with pre-determined activity standards to be attained and goals to work toward

The game plan: Coaching often fails because ita��s not anchored by a specific, pre-determined, agreed-upon game plan. Most agents werena��t taught how to organize a start-up business plan, or werena��t given one and coached to one as a new agent, so they dona��t have a proven game plan. You need to have one ready.A�A�

a�?George, Ia��m so pleased to be working with you to help you take your career to the next level. What wea��ll do now is to agree on the activity standards to maintain our coaching agreement (minimum numbers of lead generating and sales activities), your goals, a time frame (should be at least 3 months), and the scheduling for our coaching appointments. Wea��ll agree on what would stop our coaching relationship, too (not doing the activities, not keeping the coaching appointments).a�?A�A�

P. S. I’m working on an online program right now for the new or challenged agent, to get them into great business habits fast. One of the features of this program will be broker coaching. I’ll coach brokers on choosing those who are coachable, and how to coach when you have no time to coach! What do you want to see included?