Archive for Profitability
Drilling Down to Find Your Next Great Manager
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In 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.
Onboarding: Those Critical First Seven Days
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Onboarding: Those critical first seven days. Find out why that first week is so critical.
First: What does new agent onboarding and training have to do with retention? According to two recent studies–a whole lot!
In this blog, I’ll address some of the results and its ramifications for real state companies–from the survey published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Why Bother with a Great Onboarding System?
Because you’ll have much great retention! According to the SHRM study, companies that leave onboarding to chance experience higher than 50% failure rates when it comes to retaining new talent.
Question: Do you have a great orientation system? Are you leaving anything to chance? Does your new agent feel like he/she is in a fog for the first few months?
If you want a template and suggestions of what should be included in your orientation, click here.
Those New Hires Check Outa There Fast! (Faster than you Think!)
According to the same SHRM survey, 67% of millennials are already thinking of looking for their next job on day ONE!
Question:
Tips for Those First Critical Seven Days:
- Manager sends a welcome email or snail mail (better) to new agent on day one.
- Each day’s activities are completely outlined so the new agent knows exactly how to proceed (you’re building in habits of success).
- The first week’s activities include shadowing and lunch with one of your senior colleagues. (If you have an advisory council, this is a perfect match!)
- Welcome gift given to the new agent on day one.
- End of first day checklist completed with manager
- Round table or lunch set up with your influential agents to welcome the new agent
- Use a detailed, prioritized action-plan checklist, like Up and Running in 30 Days, to assure the new agent knows exactly what to do, how to do it, and is held accountable to it.
Outcome: 69% of new employees are more likely to stay more than three years if they have experienced a well-structured onboarding program.
So, how does your onboarding system stack up?
Find out: Regularly survey your agents who have been with you 6 months to find out what they found valuable and how it could be improved. Why not have the best onboarding/retention system in the industry?
A Survey for You to Use: Next
In my next blog, I’ll share the survey I just did in an office where I’m consulting on their onboarding system. Boy, did I get some great feedback!
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.
What could your retention rate be if you had a superior onboarding system?
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
Business Planning: Have You Left Out your Mission?
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It’s time to do your business plan! So, my next blogs will focus on helping you create that business plan–and getting your agents to plan.
Whata��s your mission? Ita��s time to begin writing your business plan for 2019. In the next few blogs, I want to give you a few tips on creating various parts of your business plan. One of the important, but often-left-out parts of a business plan is your mission statement. What it is? Ita��s literally your mission in your business.
Mission statements answer the questions:
Why are you in this business?
What do you want to accomplish?
How are you going to achieve your mission?
Whata��s important to you?
Why Have a Mission Statement?
To keep yourself on track.
To decide what you will and wona��t do.
To state who you work with (and to think about who you wouldna��t work with).
For time management
For clarity and focus
To use as a springboard to your marketing
Mission statements should be:
a�? Well-defined
a�? Restrictive
a�? Complementary with your company statement (and the company statement should be reflected in any branch office/associate statements)
Mission statements are:
a�? Not lightly changed (usually stay the same through your
yearsa�� business plans)
a�? Written in the present tense
a�? Do not contain objectives or goals
a�? Not tied to time
Mission Statements Are Not Objectives or Goals
Mission statements are not quantifiable. Leave out any numbers a�� they go into your objectives. Following is an example: A person may write, a�?I am a profitable agent. I will make a profit of $50,000 every year.a�? The first part of the statement, a�?I am a profitable agenta�? has a place in a mission statement. But the last part of the statement is an objective, or quantifiable end result, and should be placed in another section of your plan. The mission statement is broader; it guides you as you make long-term decisions. The above offers some valuable tips on writing mission statements.
Mission Statements Arena��t Changed Lightly
Because mission statements are really statements of you as a businessperson, these statements are not lightly changed a�� just as you would not lightly change yourself. That does not mean that you might not work over time on how your statement is constructed, but it does mean that you do not change the essence of the statement, the specialties, the ideals a�� without considerable thought.
Mission Statements a�� In the Present
Statements should be written in the present tense. These statements convey you at your best a�� how you see yourself as a real estate professional. Because you may not have actually attained the picture you have in mind, you may be writing about yourself as you see yourself in the future. To cement that thought in your mind, use present tense verbs as you create your statement.
How to Use your Mission Statement
a�? To reflect back and forth throughout your business plan (Are
your actions congruent with your plan?)
a�? In your officea��framed in your entry
a�? In your marketing materials
a�? In your Professional Portfolio
a�? In your pre-first visiting listing and buyer packages
a�? In your email signatures
a�? On your website
Mission statements first clarify for you whata��s important, your focus, and your limitations. Then, they help consumers choose you. Use the parameters above to create your mission statement.
Grab My Online Business Planning Program–at Discounts!
Thought you’d get it done but it’s still on your ‘to do’ list? I want to help! So, I’ve adding a discount on my online business planning resources through Dec. 31.
Managers: Frustrated because you can’t get your agents to plan? Problems solved! I’ve put my exclusive planning pages online–plus webinars to help you get through that plan fast. Don’t wait another year for business success. See more here.
Special discounts through Dec. 31: Purchase the agent’s planning resource, Beyond the Basics of Business Planning for agents, and save $20 (regularly $99). Use coupon code agent bus plan.
Managers: I’ll teach your agents how to plan, too! Included in your Manager’s Package!
Purchase the manager’s planning resource, Beyond the Basics of Business Planning for Managers, with all office/company planning documents and save $50. Use coupon code manager bus plan.
Offer ends Dec. 31: Big discounts on these programs–use the coupon codes below to order.
Ready to order? Click below:
Beyond the Basics of Business planning for Managers — regularly $249, now $199 with coupon code manager bus plan
Beyond the Basics of Business Planning for Agents –regularly $99, now $79 with coupon code agent bus plan
Remember, this special offer expires Dec. 31, so, order now and get your business plan ready for 2019.
Are You Talking too Much in the Interview?
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Are you talking too much in the interview?
A lot of recruiters/interviewers think that, if they’re great talkers, they’re great recruiters (same as agents think talking equals selling…..)
You’re a manager who recruits. You want to get winners in that recruiting seat. You pride yourself on being a great talker. (A manager once told me he just talks them to death–until they say they’ll join the company–what a great screening method-not!) But, too much talking is just old-style hard ‘selling’–and that’s certainly not the bulk of an effective selection process.
Ask, Don’t Tell
Probe to find out more. Keep finding out more until you’re really sure you know what they mean. Let me give you an example:The recruit says, “I want a deal.”
Do you jump to a conclusion because you know what a deal means? Don’t. You may be surprised. Instead, ask questions at what does a deal mean to that recruit? When you know exactly what the recruit means, you can proceed to find what he really wants–instead of what someone else told him he should ask for!
A Pre-Screening Process for New Agent Candidates to Save you Time
Ask these questions before you spend time and money chasing candidates who don’t meet your standards. Click here to get my knockout factors on the phone.
Use In-Depth Questionnaires to Discover Real Needs
Besides using these preliminary questions, always use written in-depth questionnaires so you’ll know
- The benefits to the features/needs stated
- Hidden objections you may not discover until too late
- Motivations to buy that not even the buyers realize they have
Ever heard the term “buyers are liars”? I think that’s not really the case. I think that we don’t ask the right questions to help buyers (our recruits) clarify what they really want. Most ?buyers of services don’t know what they really want. They think they want a better commission split. But, what they’re really looking for is the motivation provided by secrity. That means different things to different people. Find out what’s really motivating your candidate, not just what he says to your basic questions.
Ask the Right Questions in the Right Order and You Won’t Have to Close
Finding the motivators of your buyers (recruit/candidate) is key to helping them make the right buying decisions for themselves. All you have to do to close is to remind them that this product fulfills their needs. And, how do you get there? By creating and using the right questions in the right order.
Don’t forget to grab your pre-screening process–knockout factors to ask on the phone: click here.
Want to streamline your selection process and recruit more winners? Check out Your Blueprint to Selecting Winners. It’s completely digital, so you get all the information right now. Includes an 11-step proven process to interview successfully. Do you have a process or do you just ‘wing it’?