Archive for mutual expectations,
Romance vs. Reality: Two Views of the Real Estate Business
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The ‘romantic’ view: I’ve got my license, my business cards, I’m with a wonderful company. People will find me, be really nice to me, never offer objections, never lie to me, and do whatever I tell them. I will make lots of easy money fast, working no more than 30 hours in a hard week.
The ‘reality’: I don’t expect people to find me. I have to go out and find lots of people. I have to use my ingenuity, grit, tenacity, and never give up. I have to be able to say ‘I don’t know but I’ll find out’ a dozen times a day. I have to be able to tolerate clients not showing up, not telling the truth (come on, don’t be tough on me, it’s true….), not buying when they should, and listing with someone else.
How do we present reality? You can help. I’m editing the 6th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days, the internationally-published business-planning/action book for new agents. I’m also finishing a new book for would-be agents, Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School.
Tell me what you think. I’ve made 2 surveys, one for agents and one for managers. They each will take you just a few minutes, and you’ll be helping our industry prepare people for the reality of the business, not just the romance.
Here’s the link to the survey for agents.
Here’s the link to the survey for leadership.
Please return the survey to me by Feb. 27. If you’re quoted in either book, you’ll receive a copy, of course, and acknowledgment in the book.
When Agents’ Demands are a Good Thing
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Here’s when agents’ demands are a good thing.
As a manager, admit that, when you see certain agents coming toward you, your instinct is to run the other way! I’m not talking about those situations, though. I’m addressing those new agents. They probably won’t make demands. In fact, they may be afraid to approach you.
An Agent Who Seeks You Out Is More Likely to Succeed
. Inversely, agents who hang back, afraid to ask for the manager’s guidance, in my observation, will be less successful. Why? Because it takes intestinal fortitude (guts) to launch a real estate business. It takes jumping in, taking risks, and willingness to fail. It takes the same qualities to be proactive in seeking out the manager’s help.Failing, hiding, and leaving. Over and over, I see agents failing, avoiding their manager (even when he asks to help), and then leaving. Unfortunately, these agents often tell their side of the story–that they didn’t get enough ‘support’. They are right. Secret agents don’t get a lot of support. But, that’s not the fault of the manager.
Confidence in Oneself Is Behind the Action
Agents who come forward to ask for help–or to thank the manager for help–are more confident in their own abilities. They want to succeed. They’re willing to be guided by their managers. These attributes show me, again and again, that they are future success stories.
Advice to agents: If your manager doesn’t come forward to ask to coach you, go to her! I really appreciate new agents who consistently make appointments with me to let me know what they are doing, how they are doing it, and how I can assist them. That’s managing the manager! Obviously, these new agents get more of my attention, concern, and positive strokes—the fuel for motivation.
See more on how new agents can work successfully with their managers in Up and Running in 30 Days.
What Should An Agent Know Before Committing to Real Estate?
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What should an agent know before committing to real estate as a career?
After interviewing dozens of would-be agents, I had compiled a stack of paper that I handed out to interviewees. I was trying to educate them so they could make a good career decision. One day, one of my recent recruits said, “You should put that in a book.” So, I did. Now, I’m creating a new edition of the book. I’ve renamed the book
Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School.
What should be in the book? What’s most important for that would-be agent to know? What mistakes do would-be agents make in choosing companies? What could I add to make
Saving Management Time
From all those interviews, I found I wasn’t really interviewing. I was educating. What could I include in the book that would save you interview time, and prepare the candidate for a real interview?
What misconceptions do would-be agents bring into the business that cause them to start slowly or fail?
Blast-Off for Launching Right
I’m planning on having the edits done by Dec. 1, so the eBook will be available a few weeks after that. Please add your experience and expertise so I know the contents will be useful to real estate managers.
Just leave me a comment and contribute to our industry. Thank you!
Drilling Down to Find Your Next Great Manager
Posted by: | CommentsIn my earlier post, we discussed finding that next great manager. Now, here’s more information you need to get that great leader–that person you’ll enjoy working with!
You are Not Done Describing the Job
You need to attach your performance standards for management activities (minimum expectations for that person to retain his/her job) in each of these areas.For example:
How many hours a week do you expect your manager to recruit? (lead generate)
How many lead generating calls do you expect your manager to make per week?
How many interviews do you expect your manager to hold per week?
How many hours a week do you expect your manager to interview and select?
What are the selection standards you expect from your manager (who should be hired and who should not)?
How many hours a week do you expect your manager to train?
How many hours a week do you expect your manager to coach?
Who do you expect your manager to coach?
What leadership activities do you expect of your manager?
What staff/operation activities to you expect?
What do you expect your manager to do to increase the bottom line?
Decide this in terms of:
How many recruits per month (decide on your ratio of new or experienced)
Production per month
Moving your experienced agents from ____ revenue units (sales and listings sold) to ________ revenue units by _____________ (date)
Profitability increase of __________ in _____________ months
Standards Agreement Usually Missed in the Hiring Process
This specific standards agreement is usually missing in the hiring process. It takes awhile during our coaching sessions to develop a workable standards agreement for each situation. But, without a standards agreement, you haven’t laid out exactly what the job expectations are. You have no method to coach and hold your new manager accountable. And, if you need to terminate, you should have measureable reasons to terminate.
Now, armed with your description of the ideal manager, your job description, and your standards agreement, you are ready to search for that people developing manager who will take your company to greater productivity.
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.
Your Mutual Expectations Dialogue
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I have done 2 short videos on these very important topics. The first video addresses establishing standards (minimum expectations). The first video was in my previous blog. The second video explains how to address these expectations with the agent.
Here’s the second video: Your Mutual Expectations Dialogue
Here are the documents I mentioned to help you think through and put your standards in place:
Establishing your 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!