Archive for training calendars
No Training Calendar? How to Create a Great One Now
Posted by: | Comments
No training plan or calendar? Here’s how to put together a great one!
In a couple of months, you’ll be thinking about creating your business plan for the next year (already?!!!!). How do you know what training to provide your agents? One method is to look at your profit and loss. In addition, you need to find out training needs–from your agents’ perspective. Simply provide your agents an internal review of their sales performance mastery (or not) as part of their business planning process.
Click here to see the internal sales performance review, excerpted from my comprehensive online business planning program, Beyond the Basics of Business Planning.
What You’ll Find When They Rate Themselves
Have your agents rate themselves on their performance skills. You will probably see that they rate themselves lower than you would rate them. Why? Because we’re harder on ourselves than we are on others.
Commonalities
What do you think the agents rate themselves lowest in? You are right. Prospecting/lead generation. So, you’ll want to create series with them–a dynamic lead generating plan for next year–and train and coach them to it. See the lead generating plans for seasoned agents in Beyond the Basics of Business Planning,And, for new agents, in Up and Running in Real Estate.
Planning your Training Calendar
Your training plan should be a part of your business plan. Your training plan should tackle the challenges you have noted as a part of your own business review and of the agents’ business review. By the way, be sure those challenges you noted can be handled through training.
Are All Your Challenges Solved by Training? Not!
For example: You’ve noted an ethics problem in your office. You want your agents to “be more ethical”. That is not a training problem. It is a selection problem. You cannot train your way out of the ethics we adopted when we were 5! But, you certainly can solve a listings sold problem with training. Be careful when you are creating your training, and tackle the problems that you can solve with training.
Put That Training on a Calendar
You’ve done your own analysis of your profit and loss statement. You’ve done your analysis with your agents. You’ve made your training plan. Now, you’re going to put it on a training calendar–and use it to guide your agents, your staff–and to recruit. Not only that, you have an integrated training system that you can delegate. Good work.
Recruiting tip: Include your training calendar in your recruiting handout, in your faxes, in your emails, and in your social media. Let prospective agents know you are organized, and you are committed to their success.
An Analysis Handout For You
In my last blog, I discussed creating a training calendar. Click here to get my analysis tool to help you assess the effectiveness of your training calendar.
Comprehensive Online Business Planning Program for Leadership
Do you find it difficult to get your agents to plan? Do you put off doing your office plan? Here’s your solution. This convenient online program does several things for you:
2 webinars teach your agents how to plan using Carla’s strategic planning system
14 planning documents are included to guide your agents right through the planning process
3 webinars for you:
1. How to Create a Great Office Plan
Included: 22 office planning documents to make it easy for you to stay on track and create a great plan
2. How to Convince your Agents to Plan
3. How to Integrate your Office and Agents’ Plans
Check out Beyond the Basics of Business Planning: A planning system exclusively for real estate leadership.
Training Calendars! Key to Great Training AND Recruiting
Posted by: | Comments
This month, we’re focusing on training. Why? Because you can recruit your heart out, but, if you’re not developing each agent to his/her potential, you’re not retaining! (and you have a revolving door……)
By the way, check out my website for a free coaching product ($100 value) as my thanks to all you trainer/coaches.
Authored by one of our Senior Career Coaches, Jodi Sipes, M. A., this blog shows you how to create a training calendar youa��re proud of. Jodia��s advanced education in adult learning, plus her years of experience creating and implementing exceptional training for new agents, gives her a unique perspective. Here are invaluable tips as you take action to control your income in these shifting markets. Youa��ll make your training an awesome recruiting tool, while making it effortless to implement training week after week.
Why bother to create your yeara��s training calendar? With managers running in 50 directions at once, time management is a huge issue. Designing a training calendar allows managers to get their systems under control. It allows managers to delegate some training duties. Outcomes: More production, more profits, and better retention!
Your First Step in Creating that Calendar: Get the Rhythm
Before you try to create that calendar, consider the rhythm of your year. When do you hire the most agents, when is the market busiest, what seasonal issues do you want to address? For example, youa��ll want to decide when is a good time to focus on listings, what issues come up at tax time, etc? This will give you a good over-view of how to plan your education and training.
Your Second Step: Decide the Major Issues You want to Train To
Now, ita��s time to decide this:
If there were one thing my agents could do better that would raise productivity more than any other single thing, what would that be?
Answer that question, and youa��ll get the major issues handled in that calendar. For example: If you have an office with many new people, you probably have fewer listings than youa��d like. Or, your listings may be sitting in your shifting market. So, a major part of your calendar will be high-activity training to the listing process, focusing on getting marketable listings. A major mistake managers make in creating calendars is to merely drop in whatever they think agents would like! Dona��t do that. Youa��re in control, and you need to train to the outcomes you needa��and should expect.
Your Third Step: Make a System for New Agents
If you are hiring brand-new agents you will then need to schedule for them:
a�? Recruiting/hiring group informational events
a�? Orientation (Office equipment, your brokerage procedures, meet affiliates, etc.)
a�? New agent education (how to fill in forms, how to complete quarterly taxes, etc.–this should be in sync with MLS and Realtor Association training) At Carla Cross Seminars, Inc., we call this a�?Technical Traininga�?.
a�? New agent start-up plan/coaching sequence so they go to work the first week. Our start-up plan and coaching companion is Up and Running in 30 Days.
a�? New agent skills training and practice/support sessions (how to answer objections, qualify buyers and sellers, etc.) Our complete training/coaching high accountability system for this is Advantage 2.0.
For a complete system already written, see our New Agent Development System, which encompasses selecting, orientating, business planning, and high accountability traininga��all congruent, all planned and systematized in the right order for your ease in implementation. We also provide a comprehensive new agent calendar for you to use within this program.
To assure youa��ve covered the right bases, ask yourself about your desired outcome: What do you want your new agents to know, and be able to do in their first year?
Your Fourth Step: Make a System for your Experienced Agents
Here are some of the training issues you will want to consider:
a�? Sequence of business-building training (taking them to the next level)
a�? Yearly planning and Goals (this should be done in November of the prior year)
a�? Keeping them up-to-date on the law and technical issues (required classes, new forms, legal issues, new developments like more condos in the area or re-zoning)
a�? Life-style enhancement (time management, hiring an assistant, etc.)
a�? Train the Trainer class and opportunities to teach if they enjoy giving back to others (this is a great retention tool)
I know–it’s a big commitment. But, when you have your training systems fully in place, and you start measuring results, you’ll see the fruits of this labor.
Why Not Make It Easy On Yourself: Up and Running is Done for You!
It takes me a year+ to write a training program, and I’ve done it several times! How long will it take you to write a program? Why reinvent the wheel? It’s enough to expect you to coach those in a program, not write it, and teach it in addition! Check out my comprehensive, high accountability, training/coaching program for agents under 2 years in the business. If you want to get them started fast, and are willing to coach them to the program, you’ll love the results. See it here.