Archive for interviewing
How to Choose that Next Great Manager
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It’s probably the toughest thing we do–hire a manager. And, there’s little information to help us. That’s why I wrote this series of blogs.
Past Experience is a Huge Benefit
Look for a person who has been trained in another business as a trainer/coach/leader. This is really important. When I was finding and screening leadership for one of the largest franchises in the world, I found that the really magic ingredient was that the potential leader had already had some experience in the skills of management. (sometimes not in real estate).
The Second Pre-requisite to a Successful Management Hire
Now, go back and prioritize those duties–with the most important ones first. Here is what I hope your list says–in this order:Recruit
Select
Train
Coach
Lead: Challenge and inspire seasoned agents to the next career level (retention)
Manage staff
Time Frames for Important Activities
Did you add time frames to that job description? If not, go back and do it now. You don’t want a manager that pushes recruiting to the last hour in the day and then doesn’t get to it!
To get my manager’s detailed job description with hours expected, plus a time analysis you can use for all your managers, click here.
Doing all the other Stuff…..
Where does the rest of the go? I know. You have on your list: Broker questions; crisis management; floor schedules; write ads.
Guess what? You can get just about anybody to do those jobs. In fact, instead of hiring a real sales manager, if all you need is operations, hire an administrative assistant who can and will do it all (except for the broker questions, which you can field, or hire one of your good agents to field).
The All-too Common Problem: Hiring an Operations Manager
I find too many owners or general managers who needs to hire and manage a manager are settling for an a operations manager when what they desperately need is a people developing manager.
What does a people developing manager do?
Finds the right people and develops them into productive salespeople who return a profit to you
You don’t need a babysitter. You don’t need just an answer man (or woman). You don’t need merely an operations person. You shouldn’t settle for just a a crisis manager. You need someone who will focus on and drive
recruiting and productivity--to lead that office into greater profitability, not just take up space in the manager’s office!
Get my manager’s detailed job description, plus a time analysis you can use for all your managers: click here.
What didn’t I say in these blogs that you believe is important in hiring a great manager? Let me know. Watch for the next blogs for more in hiring that next great manager.
What are Your Standards and Expectations of your Agents?
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Unfortunately, unlike most businesses that are clear in their performance expectations, we either skip this conversation entirely or gloss over it.
I have done 2 short videos on these very important topics. The first video addresses establishing standards (minimum expectations). The second video explains how to address these expectations with the agent. I’m including the first video today. In my next blog, I’ll show you the second video.
Click here to go to the first video.
Take a look at the first video here: Establishing Standards and Mutual Expectations
Here are the documents I mentioned to help you think through and put your standards in place:
Establishing Your Hiring/Retention Standards for your Agents
Up and Running in 30 Days Goals and Standards
Up and Running in Real Estate Commitment Letter
Use the information here, along with the standards documents, to raise the performance of your team to a much higher level!
Let me know how you’re doing with this! Remember, be careful about establishing your standards and how you implement them!
Onboarding: Is It Causing Retention or Attrition in your Comany?
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Onboarding: Is it causing attrition or retention in your company? Do you know? Do you know how awesome (or not) your onboarding system is? Have you done a survey? (more about that in later blogs).
What Does Onboarding Include?
One study I used in Up and Running in 30 Days was the Inman Select Special Report: How to Fix New Agent Onboarding. The Inman report didn’t define what was included in Onboarding. From reading the study, however, Inman included initial training, coaching, and mentoring. I am going to add basic orientation and basic actions to the Onboarding process. Why? Because many real estate companies do not have adequate orientation processes. So, agents don’t get the basic direction needed to launch their businesses.
Question: What is your initial orientation like? Does it cover all the bases? If you want a template and suggestions of what should be included in your orientation, click here.
In this blog, I’ll address the results and its ramifications for real state companies–from the other survey published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Retention Starts in the Interview
From working with real estate companies over the past three + decades, I think that most brokers regard retention as something that we must do to keep those seasoned agents. However, according to the survey results in the SHRM study, retention decisions are made by those we hire within a very short period of time. In fact, both studies indicate retention starts prior to hiring!
Here is a major conclusion from this survey, and it what means to real estate companies.
Expectations of the job are different than what new hires heard in the interview. And, the Inman report said new agents fail because they are unprepared for the realities of working as an independent contractor. I’m sure you’ve experienced this. Your new agent is all excited about a career in real estate. But, he/she will not do the lead generating activities required to launch a career. You told the candidate he/she had to lead generate. What is wrong?
Question for you: How well do you explain the job expectations in your interview? Do you provide a prioritized job description for the new agent? (Click here to grab mine). How do you give the prospective agent a real idea of the job?
Three Tips:
- Prior to hiring: Have the agent shadow one of your agents who is modeling the behaviors you want.
- Provide the agent with the eBook What They Don’t Teach You in Pre-License School. This eBook tells the truth about real estate as a career! You’ll save lots of time in the interview process and winners will pick themselves.
- Ask the prospect agent to do an activity you feel is important: Like create a dialogue to talk to someone they know about buying/selling real estate.
- Prior to hiring: Give the prospective agent Up and Running in 30 Days. Ask them to review the book. In my experience, if they come back, excited to begin this specific start-up plan, they are a good match for a productivity-focused office. If they come back and reject your lead generating plan, not a good prospect!
In my next blog, I’ll discuss more of the study conclusions and what they mean to us as real estate owners. I’ll also offer tips to tighten your onboarding process. Isn’t it worth having great systems if you could increase your retention of first year agents to 75%?
Last question: What’s your retention rate now of first year agents? How much money do they make their first year in the business? Do you know?
How’s Your Quick-Start Program Working?
Both these onboarding studies prove that leaving the new agent’s orientation, training, and start to chance just doesn’t cut it. Take a look at what’s new in Up and Running in 30 Days: updates in 5th edition. This invaluable book is only $32.95 plus shipping, and has been used by thousands of new agents to launch successful careers. Order here.
How Much Time Each Day Should You Spend in these Management Activities?
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How much time should you spend in these management activities I’ve listed in the handout below?
This month, I’m featuring blogs regarding going into management. Why? I’ve been interviewing for that next great leader. Unfortunately, I’ve found few candidates have prepared at all for management. (Read my earlier blogs for preparation needed).
In my Leadership Mastery Coaching program, I provide several analysis tools to help new managers get started right with the best practices. At the end of this blog, grab my Time Analysis for Managers. Use this to set up your schedule (if you’re going into management). If you’re already in management or managing managers, use this to help managers get their priorities right for success.
Where Managers Go Right–and Wrong
In my most popular book, Up and Running in 30 Days, the new agent’s start-up plan, I divide all the activities an agent could do into two categories: business producing or business supporting. Business producing are those activities where the agent is finding, working with, and closing clients. Business supporting are all the rest of the activities. Where do you think agents go wrong? They spend too much time in business-supporting activities.
Now, let’s compare that to the categories and activities managers do. They also divide themselves nicely into busininess-producing and business supporting. (Take a look at my handout at the end of this blog).
How do You Spend Your Time?
From working with hundreds of managers in my Leadership Mastery program, I see that successful managers spend the majority of their time in business producing activities. The failing managers spend most of their time in business supporting activities. In fact, they become masters of the technical aspects of the business, and spend lots of time preparing and playing technology. (Sound familiar to those of you managing failing agents?) There’s nothing wrong with knowing the technical aspects of real estate and using technology. But, the failing manager focuses and ‘lives’ there.
What’s Your Conclusion?
Let me know how you used this analysis tool. General managers: What did you find when you had a manager use this tool? What changes will you help them make?
Grab my Time Analysis for Managers. Use this to set up your schedule (if you’re going into management). If you’re already in management or managing managers, use this to help managers get their priorities right for success.
Resources (Some are FREE) to Gain those Management Skills
This month, I’m offering some of my management resources free with purchase of other resources. Check it out here.
Rate Yourself on your Management Skills
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Rate yourself on your management skills, so you’ll know what you need to work on prior to going into management (or if you’re already in management).
Are you thinking of going into management? Few of us knew the skills–or the level of skill attainment–we needed to succeed in the job. I want to help all of you who want to go into management to succeed at a high level. Thus, these blogs.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been interviewing potential managers. I’ve found that almost none had done any ‘prep’ work to go into the position. Yet, successful managers have developed specific, somewhat unique skills to do their jobs. And, what I’ve found is that these skills must be at least partially developed before we launch ourselves into management–or else we get swamped by all these new challenges hitting us in the face!
In an earlier blog, I discussed the skills we need to have honed prior to going into management. In this blog, we’ll tackle getting those skills in certain areas.
At the end of this blog: grab my assessment tool I use in my Leadership Mastery coaching series to help new managers plan for this skill attainment.
The Biggest Skill Area Managers Need Today to Succeed
What do you think it is? It’s recruiting and selecting skill. Why? Because, there’s so much competition for good agents that a manager just can’t sit back and wait for agents to come to them. It isn’t the old days (although I never was able to do that in my ‘old days!’).
These skills are the same skills good agents use to expand their businesses. That’s why we need to hire managers who have been successful recruiters and selectors. Notice I said recruiters and selectors. I know companies brag about how mahy gross recruits they landed that month or year, but, long-term, it’s those who stay, prosper, and grow with the company that add to the profitability of all.
One of the standards you need to create when you’re hiring a manager is
How successful was that agent as a business getter? What’s the number of transactions you would accept?
How to Get Recruiting and Selecting Skills
Your company may have a course focusing on these skills. If so, take it prior to going into management. Overall, the best courses out there for management are the CRB courses, leading to the Certified Real Estate Broker designation. I highly recommend them. Here’s the link.
What’s Your Agent Track Record?
In addition, if you don’t have a track record of at least 12-20 transactions a year as an agent, in my opinion, you have not developed the skills in recruiting and selecting you will need as a successful agent. It’s my experience that agents who didn’t actively lead generate will carry that habit into management. They will balk at lead generating for agents, and they will fight upper management to the death–and to everyone’s detriment.
Resource (Some are FREE) to Gain those Management Skills
This month, I’m offering some of my management resources free with purchase of other resources. Check it out here.
Grab the leadership skill assessment here.
Managers or general managers: If you’re hiring a new manager, help them evaluate their skill levels and then create a training and coaching program to assure they get those skills before they launch their management career.
How to Find Out if Management is in your Future–and Prepare
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Here’s how to find out if management is in your future–and how to prepare to succeed.
** See my prioritized job description of a manager as a handout–along with the number of hours I recommend you spend in each activity.
For the past couple of months, I’ve been interviewing potential managers. I’ve found that almost none had done any ‘prep’ work to go into the position. Yet, successful managers have developed specific, somewhat unique skills to do their jobs. And, what I’ve found is that these skills must be at least partially developed before we launch ourselves into management–or else we get swamped by all these new challenges hitting us in the face!
Skills you need to effectively develop individuals:
- Lead generation/recruiting/presentation skills
- Interviewing/selection skills (both for agents and staff)
- Coaching skills (along with a proven coaching approach)
- Training skills
- Management: Ability to create and implement a business plan
- Ability to create and implement a training plan as part of your business plan
- Ability to create and implement a leadership council, for participative management/ develop that leadership
- Ability to create meaningful office and staff meetings
In these blogs, I’ll make some recommendations to you about how to get those skills. Unfortunately, we go into management thinking either
- We have enough of the skills to succeed
- There aren’t skills needed to suceed in management
- I’ll learn ‘on the job’
The Best Management Training Courses Out There
Are you familiar with The CRB courses? These are offered by an arm of the National Association of Realtors, and are, by far, the best management courses out there.
Here’s the link: https://www.rebinstitute.com/. It’s called Real Estate Business Institute now. I highly recommend the courses.
When to take these courses? Before you go into management! They are offered throughout the United States (and some in Canada). I was an instructor with the Institute for 12 years, and so I know the value of these courses (I also took several of them prior to going into management).
Investigating Management
Have you interviewed at least 5 managers to find out what they do and how they got the skills to do it? If not, start your interviews now. You’ll find a wide range of management descriptions, of course. Some managers will describe what I call ‘maintenance management’–keeping the place running by doing administrative duties and listening to agent complaints. That’s not what it takes today to succeed in ‘active’ management. In fact, I think a great manager can be compared best to a great or mega-agent.
Questions you’ll want to ask:
- What’s your biggest challenge in management?
- What’s your biggest win?
- What’s different from management than you thought before you went into management?
- How do you create a real team?
- How do you recruit?
- How did you prepare to go into management?
Suggestion: Ask for a copy of the manager’s job description. I’ll bet few of them have ever seen one!
Here’s the link to the prioritized manager’s job description.
Another way to prepare to go into management: See my management resources at www.carlacross.com.
Want to Go Into Management? Try ‘Perfect Practice’
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Want to go into management? Try ‘perfect practice’ to get the skills you need BEFORE you jump into the job.
This month, I’m taking what I’ve learned as a musical performer from age 4 to the world of leadership and sales. (And, read my musical quotes at the end of each blog. I hope you’ll get a chuckle!)
Are You Prepared–or Just Hopeful?
My son owns a real estate company, and I help him initially screen candidates for manager and assistant manager. He has created a very detailed job description for any of those applying. Yet, we see two problems:
- Most of the candidates do not meet the qualifications the job requires
- Even the borrderline candidates have done nothing to prepare themselves for the job
For several years, I was a regional director of now the largest real estate company in the world. One of my jobs was finding and screening leadership. Boy, did I learn a lot! So, with that experience, I’m writing some tips here for those of you who want to step from sales into management (and for those looking for leadership). I’m not going to address the first problem. For example, some candidates just haven’t had job experience of any type in real estate. Although I know there are exceptions, generally, if you haven’t successfully sold real estate, you won’t understand, emphasize and be able to ‘develop’ agents successfully.
The Principle to Prepare: Perfect Practice Makes Perfect
Of course, this principle comes from my world of music. I learned this from my college piano professor.
. That means hundreds or thousands of hours in the practice room, not in performing! (In other words, you have to practice your little heart out before they’ll let you loose in front of discerning people!) It’s drudgery and you wonder what you’re accomplishing. But, this perfect practice pays off when you have to perform in front of thousands and put to use your ‘muscle memory’. When you’re performing all those notes so quickly, you don’t have time to consciously figure out where your fingers should go (just like you do’t have time in an interview to figure out a good interview process!!!!)What This Means to Your Preparation for Management
Here’s a straightforward job description for a successful leadership-manager:
Find and develop people
Skills you need to effectively develop individuals:
- Lead generation/recruiting/presentation skills
- Interviewing/selection skills (both for agents and staff)
- Coaching skills (along with a proven coaching approach)
- Training skills
- Management: Ability to create and implement a business plan
- Ability to create and implement a training plan as part of your business plan
- Ability to create and implement a leadership council, for participative management/ develop that leadership
- Ability to create meaningful office and staff meetings
How Are You going to Develop Those Skills–Before You Get into Performance?
Go through the checklist/description above. Ask yourself: Have you devleoped those skills? If not, are you going to wait and ‘wing it’ on the job? As a pianist, I wouldn’t dare ever get in front of people to perform without having practiced!
Next blog: Suggestions in how to do that perfect practice in each of these areas.
Managers: Share this blog with those who are interested in going into leadership. In later blogs, I’ll share some analytical tools I’ve developed to help you help others develop their leadership skills.
Just for chuckles:
“I can’t listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland.” — Woody Allen
Major Red Flags in Your Interview Process
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Do you know the major red flags that can pop up in your interview process?
For the last few blogs, I’ve been blogging about that all-important interview process. We’ve talked about the dangers of ignoring the red flags. We’ve investigated how to discover those red flags.
I just want to hang my license (usually stated over the phone; my response is that I want to hang them…)
What are your commissions? If stated in the first five minutes of the interview (I’ve never interviewed an agent I hired who started the interview that way)
I want a special deal. –also usually stated in the first five minutes of the interview, or even over the phone (what makes them so ‘special’?)
Personally, I have never interviewed a candidate who was a a fit with one of my offices when they led with these questions.
Are these red flags to you? If not, why not?
Other Red Flags
The candidate won’t fill out any paperwork (pre-appointment questionnaire or application)
They drop in and expect me to drop everything to meet with them (they must think we managers just sit around waiting for Their Excellencies to show up)
They’re late to the interview just don’t show up!
They obviously didn’t make an effort to dress in business attire for the interview (I realize this varies greatly by area, but you can tell if the person made an effort).
Specific Red Flags To Notice in the Interview Itself
They won’t answer my questions, or, when they answer, they answer as though it was a question for me to acknowledge
They won’t let me set the structure and tone of the interview (they immediately want to know what I will do for them)
They say they don’t know their production for the past year with any metrics (or, if they do, they won’t share it)
They defend their low production and/or are accepting of a few transactions a year.
They don’t have an idea of how they will change their production for the better.
They seem enamored with the companies that have already hired them in a 15-minute a interview (low self-esteem, anyone?)
They have been sold on the companies that tell them they will provide them leads.
They want to be hired on the spot. They’re not willing to do a 2-interview process, even when I explain the benefits to them.
As you can tell from my red flags, my values and vision drive my judgement about these candidates.
What are your Red Flags?
One broker’s red flags may be another broker’s acceptable standards. What are yours? List five red flags or knock-out factors. What process or system do you have to discover them? Decide whether you would absolutely not hire an agent who demonstrated that behavior, or whether it was a minor flag. Finally, how many of those minor red flags do you need to identify before you rule that candidate not suitable for your team?
Want to streamline your selection process and recruit more winners? Check out Your Blueprint to Selecting Winners. I’ll give you great questions to ask. But, better than that, I’ll show you how to craft questions to discover exactly what YOU”RE looking for.
Your Selection Process: Talking or Asking?
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Think back to the last time you qualified a buyer, a seller, or a recruiting candidate. How much talking did you do? How many questions did you ask? Unfortunately, too many of us go into sales because we’re good talkers. Then, we wonder why we’re not burning up the world selling real estate. It’s because we’re talking too much. The same is true with us managers when we start recruiting/selecting. Here are some recommendations on talk vs. listening. You’l make more sales and gain more recruits with these tips.
How Much Talking?
Why? Because you want to gather all the information you can from your client or recruiting candidate. How come? Because you have to have that information do decide- If you want that person as a client or agent recruit
- Do you want to do a presentation
Also, if we don’t know their hidden needs and sub-conscious motivations, how are we going to help them make buying decisions?
Here’s what that process should look like, whether you’re an agent or a broker.
excerpted from The Complete Recruiter.
Why don’t we ask more Questions?
If it’s so important to ask all those questions, why don’t we do it?
- We get nervous, so we talk
- We don’t have the questions
- We don’t understand the significance
- We’ve focused on the tell or the sell, thinking that was the way to convince people to work with us
The Significance of the Questions
How do we know when we haven’t been able to sell something to a client? They don’t buy. But, here’s the problem. It’s way too late then. Sure. We can become masters at objection-countering, memorization, and jam it down their throats. But, that’s an awfully old-fashioned way to try to sell, and consumers hate that today.
Closing and then Answering Objections– Not Today’s Best Method
We take all kinds of classes to learn to answer objections and close. We think that we’re supposed to sell, sell–get those objections and answer them so beautifully that the client acquiesces and falls at our feet, buying whatever we want them to buy. Happens once in awhile. But, we don’t gain loyal clients who will refer us to others. Instead, we create lots of buyers with buyers’ remorse.
I hope you’re now convinced to ask questions. In the next blog, I’ll discuss more about this process, and give you some questions you can ask to screen potential new recruits–before you get them into your office (a great time saver).
Before I leave: How many questions do you ask a potential recruit? Are you satisfied with your selection process?
Want to streamline your selection process and recruit more winners? Check out Your Blueprint to Selecting Winners. I’ll give you great questions to ask. But, better than that, I’ll show you how to craft questions to discover exactly what YOU”RE looking for.
What You Need in a Post-Interview Package
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Recruiting: Here’s what you need in your post-interview package. This month, I’m focusing on recruiting and selecting systems, to help you work faster and better and recruiter winners.
Remember the Chinese water torture? Drip, drip, a drip at a time. That’s the key to recruiting successfully. Here’s another drip you’ll want to provide your candidate after that first interview. This is another package with the information you think the candidate will find useful. Here’s why:
We remember only 10% of what we heard three days later!
Unfortunately, candidates don’t remember much of what we discuss in the interview. Or, they remember it wrongly. It seems easy to us, but, it becomes a muddle to them when they interview five companies in as many days. So, take the time to assemble what I call the after first-visit package or post-interview process. In it, you’ll reiterate important points, and again differentiate yourself and your company.
Systemize Like your Great Agents
Great agents assemble these packages for sellers and buyers. You are modeling the behaviors you want to teach the agent. You can explain the parallels in the interview process. This is a very strong recruiting strategy. The old adages
In Your Post-First Visit (Post-Interview) Package
Here is a sample list of the materials you may include in an after-first visit recruiting package. Note that some of the material is duplicating your pre-first visit package. Also, sometimes you won’t have the opportunity to provide a pre-first visit package. Of course, you’ll always have the ability to customize each package. However, it’s much easier to do this from a prepared package than to start from scratch each time.
Letter from the manager explaining what’s in the package
- Training calendar (you do have one, don’t you?)
- Training brochure
- Company/office/manager story
- Attractive company/office/manager statistics
- Articles featuring company/manager
- Costs of affiliating with explanations
Bottom Line: You’ree Proving your Competency to Each Candidate With Every Recruiting Process You Do
Well-assembled packages reflect clear thought processes. Merely putting these together will clarify your recruiting and selection story. It will help you figure out and communicate your culture and values. It will provide you differentiation and memorability. It says to the candidate, I prepared for you. Your time is valuable. I am here to dedicate my skills and talents to help you develop your business.
You will recruit more and better agents, you will save time, and you will be able to delegate or clone yourself by hiring a manager or recruiter when the need arises.
