RAPDD
Professional Development Director’s Summit
Wichita Kansas
February 10 - 12

Howard Hanna Real Estate Convention
Pittsburgh, Pa
Economic Factors in Today’s Marketplace
CRS approved 1 Day Course
February 23, 24

Richmond Association of REALTORS®
New Construction – VAR GRI
March 17

North Carolina Association of REALTORS®
Real Estate Trends
March 18

RE/MAX Summit Realty/Maryland
Residential Finance Consultant Course
March 25

Charlottesville Association of REALTORS®
Business Planning for the Real Estate Professional
April 7

Hampton Roads REALTORS® Association
New Construction Sales and Marketing
April 13

Hampton Roads REALTORS® Association
Financing the Real Estate Transaction
June 8

CRS Sell-a-bration
Las Vegas, Nevada
July 19-21

Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS®
New Construction Sales and Marketing
August 12

Tennessee Association of REALTORS® Convention
“Reading the Signs of the Times”, Economic Factors in
Today’s Marketplace
September 17

#1: Let “Purpose” Drive Your Plan

As much as you may LOVE real estate, you can bet there’s going to be a day when you question whether there’s an easier way to make a living! Just ask the most experienced agent in your office.

Let’s say a close friend or your favorite client buys a home without you, or the sale that you’ve been working on for months falls apart just days before the closing day. What greater purpose is going to wake you up the next morning, motivated to start all over again? What desire or dream do you have in life that’s important enough to forget the pain of rejection or disappointment that can come with a real estate career?

Most of your hopes and dreams will require a commitment of your time, money or both to accomplish them! That leads you to the first step in the business planning cycle…the life budget, where you define the costs associated with creating this life you want to live, then you build a plan to FUND it! THIS is where your reasons for doing this job and your business plan are connected!

#2 – Know Everything There Is to Know about Yourself!

Business planning, in its’ simplest format is a cycle of interrelated activity. Once you’ve completed the first step…finalizing your life budget, subtract any other income source you have in order to determine what must come from real estate. You’re now ready to calculate the number of sales needed, the sources you’ll target, and the marketing budget necessary to make your plan a success.

Keep in mind, having no marketing budget is like driving a car with no gas in it. Just accept the fact that it’s going to be a short trip to nowhere!

Statistical information is at the foundation of this business plan. It’s basically impossible to convert your income goal into the number of sales needed without knowing key statistics such as your average sales price or average commission per sale, and these are just the start!

#3 – Keep Focused on the End Result

I love this old adage: “No one really cares how often the captain of the ship weathers the storm. What really matters is whether he ultimately brings that ship into port.

What a great analogy to our daily lives in real estate and the importance of an effective business plan. Done correctly, it will serve as the compass that consistently realigns your course each time the latest crisis or problem in your business demands your time and distorts your focus.

Remember, making it into port is what really matters! And what part of the plan keeps you engaged in the process of getting back on track? Your Purpose …those areas of your life that you’ve defined as your reasons “why” you’re doing this job in the first place…and that brings us full circle.

So, if you really want to win at the game of success, then define your purpose, know your stats, and keep focused on the end result.

Now you know I have to ask you an important question…

“Are You Ready for Some Effective Business Planning?!”

Learn more about Team Dynamics.

The “Top 5″ Growth Traits of a Successful Real Estate Team

Hiring people before acquiring systems is the surefire path to failure. Think of it this way, if you hire a team member and can’t plug them into systems, procedures and lead generation programs, what do you think they’ll plug into? (I just can’t shake this mental picture of a dog with a new litter of hungry puppies!) It’s no wonder that many Top Producers equate Teams with pain, NOT growth.

If you think you’re spread thin now, just wait until you have an Administrative Assistant and/or a Team Associate literally standing at the door, waiting impatiently for you to walk in, and ready to be told what to do next. To make matters worse, their conversation with anyone who will listen rings of a “this is not what I was expecting” message, and of course, the fact that it’s your fault is also part of their ongoing dialogue. The painful truth is that what they’re saying has validity…you are the one responsible for creating focus, purpose and cohesiveness within your team, and a “we-they” mentality that develops will surely undermine any chances of that happening.

You must develop a plan the policies, procedures, systems, documents and programs necessary to grow a successful team, before your life as a Team Leader actually gets easier. If you don’t, expect it to get harder!

Remember when your Mother used to tell you there’s no one else in the world that’s just like you? It was her maternal attempt to somehow make freckles, braces and baby fat a wonderful part of what makes you unique. Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch, but tapping into that “conversation with Mom” before you develop a team, could prove invaluable! Creating your Team by duplicating the structure and nature of another team eliminates the buying or selling experience that is unique to you and that contributed to your success in the first place. In addition, why would you want to foster a “commodity” mentality between you and your competition in the minds of the Consumer?

What’s more, long term retention of your team members will have much more to do with being part of a unique and inspiring environment than it will ever have to do with the amount of the commission dollars they earn. Don’t get me wrong, every Team Associate wants to keep the most money possible, but as successful managers and companies understand, there is ALWAYS a better deal somewhere else. Agents stay where they are for reasons than are much great than just money.

Can you clearly define who you are, what you stand for, and why another individual would be excited to be a part of your vision? Do your core values truly drive the course of your business and the overall goals you have for yourself and anyone who associates with you? Is the public aware of the unique and valuable experience they will have when they work with you or one of your team members? Just remember, no team member is attracted to a “secret indentity” and neither is the public.

I once asked one of the most successful Team Leaders in the country what he would define as THE most important factor in a successful team. “Hire the right people”, he responded, without hesitation. Seemed simple enough, but as we all know, simple and easy are rarely the same thing. Asked for further insight, he shared how important it was to first clearly define what the traits of a successful Team Member literally looks, feels and acts liked based on your expectations and your type of team.

Let’s assume you’ve cleared the first hurdle by hiring Team Associates with common core values that line up with your vision and business model. Next, there are personality and learning behaviors to consider. Are you a “Thinker” or a “Feeler” when it comes to communicating, and even more importantly, when it comes to handling conflict? Are you “direct” or more “laid back” when interacting with both your Team Associates and your Clients and Customers? “Opposites attract” is rarely a recipe for success when creating a team. Yes it’s possible, and can even be beneficial to have a variety of personalities on a team, but only if the Leader understands personality and behavorial differences and knows how to manage them.

In addition, what kind of Team Associate is best for your particular business model? Perhaps you’re looking for Team Associates who will basically show the property, allowing you as the Team Manager to “close” the sale. That Team Associate’s strengths may differ from those in a different business model where all Associates are expected to take responsibility for the transaction from start to finish. Another type may hire for specific responsibilities, for example, a Listing Specialist who will concentrate all of his or her efforts on the listing side of the transaction only. Whatever your desires, knowng DISC personality profiles and understanding adult based learning types can save a Team Manager loads of frustration by initially hiring the right person for the right seat on the bus.

Ask yourself this question “What is my motivation for developing a team?” If you’ve use the pronoun “I” more than 5 times in the first 60 seconds, save yourself some frustration and forget about the prospects of creating one. A team can be your ticket to a more balanced life, more quality time with the family, and ultimately more income with less labor on your part. But, you can’t get there without first understanding the importance of “We”.

If you have clearly defined who you are and what you stand for, and have hired team members that are excited to be a part of what you’ve created, your on your way to creating an “Eye” Team. Focused on common well defined goals and inspired by the same core values, an “Eye” team possesses the “All for One and One for All” mentality. Each team member recognizes and respects the role of the Team Leader, while the Leader makes decisions and policies that are motivated by what benefits the whole. This is a winning formula for trust and respect between a team’s management and labor force, so to speak, and the firm foundation of any “Eye” Team. Ultimately, this kind of environment leads to a sense of “ownership” on everyone’s part

Many agents believe that growing a team in the midst of today’s market conditions is for the foolhardy. The opposite is true! The challenges of today’s marketplace are actually causing highly trained, experienced agents to consider team opportunities who may never have done so when their business and income was more predictable. If you’re thinking like a business owner and entrepreneur, you know that the best of opportunities often present themselves in the toughest of conditions. By nature, most individuals will play it safe in challenging times. But consider the words of one of the most successful businessmen in the world, Warren Buffet, who defined his investment philosophy as “being fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” For a Team Leader, some of the best deals in this market may come in the form of high quality, well trained producers who are fearful of riding through this economic storm alone.

Keep in mind, though, these Agents are not only looking for confidence and leadership, but business! The consistency of the business they have enjoyed, especially over the last 5 years, has thinned out as a percentage of that Agent’s past clients delay their plans in real estate, in addition to their usual referrals of friends and family members who may have also put their real estate dreams on hold until the market his “bottom”.

A saavy Team Manager who is targeting a variety of business sources, including opportunities unique to the current market such as foreclosures and short sale business, is positioned to “feed the masses”, which is what business planning for a team is all about. Developing a team business plan is a specialized and necessary process that should address exactly what sources you will target, the amount of business you can expect from each source, what portion of that business will be shared with each Team Associate, and a master budget that ensures the income goals of ALL team members can be met.

Conclusion

Creating an environment of interdependence among a team of independent salespeople sounds like an impossible feat. If you have already made an effort at growing a team without applying the traits and principles discussed, I’m sure you feel like it is one! Hiring Agents to share the workload does not make a team. A team is really a microcosm of a real estate office, requiring an intentional daily focus on systems, relationships and quality leadership in order to become healthy and productive. If these are lacking, you may as well install a revolving door at the entrance of your office or allot plenty of time for renegotiating splits with your Team Associates in order to keep them. If you’re willing to put that same time into understanding these Top 5 Growth Traits of a Successful Team, new levels of success and profitability can be just a few new team members away!

Upcoming Business Planning Seminars:
Sept 1-2, CRS 200 – Business Planning and Marketing for the Residential Specialist – Midland, TX
Sept 16, GRI 409 – Business Planning – Richmond, VA
Oct 5-6, CRS 200 – Business Planning and Marketing for the Residential Specialist – Cranberry Township, PA

Learn more about Business Planning.