It’s the question on everyone’s lips, good times or bad – how do I get my business to make more money? There is an effective way, but it’s not a quick-fix solution. Like anything worthwhile, to create sustainable business success you need to build a solid foundation. If doing it were simple, every real estate business would be a roaring success. The reality is, they’re not, and here’s one of the big reasons why.
Many people think taking the step to real estate business owner automatically means they can stop selling and start managing. Maybe one day down the track that will be a possibility, but it’s rarely a wise move at the beginning. The time and energy you are prepared to devote right now will be the measure of your payoff in the future.
A real estate sales agency is a people business. It relies on the people who are buying, the people who are selling, and most importantly, on the people who make these transactions happen – the salespeople. So at the core of a successful plan, you have to know how many salespeople you need to maximise opportunity and you need to have good ones. No major surprises here.
A previous article on this website has already covered off the importance of understanding the statistics relating to a specific real estate business and the area in which it trades. Put simply, consider the size of the market you’re operating in and what your target is for market share. If you divide your turnover goal by what is a reasonable output for a salesperson in the area you know how many people you are aiming for.
Next, you need a plan to get the team you’re after. This is the hard part. In an ideal world, a principal would be able to just hire a gun salesperson, or preferably salespeople, have them join the business and start producing immediately. Their success would attract vendors and buyers and by default, would attract more good salespeople.
The reality is quite different. Gun salespeople will only consider joining your business if they decide they will be better off with you than where they are. Unfortunately, it’s rare that this is the case, particularly if you’re just starting out.
Look honestly at what you have to offer to anyone who joined you. The elements you need are the same things that will attract vendors to your business. Does your business have a strong brand and effective positioning? Does it have good systems, technology and training? Are you someone to look up to? Are your own skills up to speed? You need to get your house in order before you even think of going further.
Next, stop thinking that gun salespeople are your only or even the best option. My advice is to start looking for cadets or trainees who have energy, enthusiasm and a motivation to succeed. Skills can be taught; it’s the traits of a successful salesperson that you’re looking for. Be really straight at interview – it’s a brutal reality of our industry that the majority who try, fail. But it’s also true that your cadets will have a better chance of success (and will waste less of your time) if they know exactly what they’re getting into up front.
When I ran my own office, I used to ask cadets to start working for me before they quit their other job. Saturdays and perhaps one or two nights a week for a month or so I’d get them to doorknock, cold-call or do the other hard-but-critical parts of being a real estate agent. I’d explain exactly why we were starting this way and that it would be a great way for us both to see if they were really suited to the job. I would generally know within a week or so if they were going to make it – it came down to their ability to deal with rejection.
Once you find a cadet who has the right personality traits and the desire to succeed, sit them beside you for three to six months. Every activity you do; they do. Everywhere you go; they go. It’s the old monkey-say, monkey-do theory – within a short space of time they’ll know how to handle themselves in the exactly way you want them to and will be able to successfully operate independently. And inevitably, one of those cadets will grow into the gun salesperson you were after originally, only if you’ve treated them well, you’ll also get loyalty you can’t buy.
As you start experiencing success with this process it will gain momentum. Your successful salespeople will make your business more attractive, your business will gain more market share, and maybe even the gun salesperson who is currently working for a competitor might start thinking about joining you.
Keeping your good people is another story entirely and the best way to do it has already been written about in depth right here on this website too. I’ve heard principals say “I made her what she is – she’s nothing without me” about their top salespeople before, right before that woman walks out the door to join a competitor or start her own office. It’s worth giving good people a tangible reason to stay, and if that means letting them in to the business as a partner or shareholder, I recommend you consider it.
I always tell principals who are worried about losing staff that running a real estate business is a bit like bull riding – it’s not a matter of if you’ll get hurt, it’s a matter of when and how bad. Your people are your business; planning for every possibility and minimising negative outcomes is all part of running a good one.
