I had 2 very productive coaching appointments the past 2 days. The first was with an emerging team (the WHOLE team). They invited me into their "lair" to "explore possibilities". I know each of the members of this team individually but had not seen their collective organization, so I gladly accepted the invitation and took the afternoon away from my office to sit with them for @ 3 hours.
Our first agenda item was a "Cram Session" on the use of the 411 followed by some very direct coaching @ Time blocking. We discussed Roles and Goals, and there was much head nodding and agreement with the principles we discussed. My intuition kept telling me that there was some nuance I was missing . . . I continued and thought to myself that it would manifest soon enough. At the conclusion of the mini-class, we decided that I would do one-on-one meetings with each of the two "Lead Agents" in the group.
These two meetings were very productive. I quickly learned that my intuitive twitch was centered around the fact that the 2 Leaders had not yet gained clarity as to what their respective roles are within the group. Once I realized that disconnect, we honed in on that issue. Within 30 minutes (each), we each found a basis of clarity . . . we explored the strengths of each person on the team and discovered that there are, in fact, 5 uniquely talented beings in the group . . . PERFECT for a team (In my opinion). I feel like "organic growth" of the team would include honoring the strengths within each person and encouraging each one to define his/her role based on individual strengths.
The 2nd meeting was with another team - Smaller and ready for growth. The "Team Manager" is overworked and has many roles which clearly are not her forte. She is basically doing whatever comes at her and is in 100% reactive mode 100% of the time. The Lead Agent (not surprisingly) has a similar reality. They are nearing burnout even though they are riding high with a good, solid flow of business. Their quandary centers around knowing that they are ready for another hire and very uncertain as to WHAT they should hire - An Admin or a selling Agent (Buyer Specialist).
As I dug deeper and deeper, the picture quickly became clear. There are more leads coming than they can capture. The Lead Agent is a MASTER Lead converter and is going from deal to deal. She grabs a strong lead, converts it immediately to an appointment, sells the house, and returns to the office for another lead. There is no plan or system in place to "manage leads." The Team Manager's role looks like "clean up" . . . and contract to close. She is in the position of having ZERO stability and/or consistency. The work flow is completely reliant on the Lead Agent's ability to convert and sell . . . They have created a never-ending roller-coaster ride for themselves.
My digging found an astounding conclusion . . . For every converted lead, there are 7+ other leads that generally end up slipping through the cracks. WOW! That's a GREAT lead flow (especially in this market environment), and they are losing over 80% of their leads because of their inability to follow up. How do we stop this gaping hole in the Lead Generating Machine? I started investigating these 2 overworked people's roles and discovered that the Team Manager has "LEAD COORDINATION SKILLS" in her DNA . . . She is a "natural" . . . Problem is - She is in such a reactive mode that she seldom gets to play in her favorite sand-box . . . and the Lead Agent? She is the QUINTESSENTIAL BUYER SPECIALIST . . . Problem is - She is the Lead Agent and (I believe) thinks she should be taking on a more "lofty role" on the team because it is HER team.
YIKES! I instantly knew how I can help them . . . This is like a jig-saw puzzle. They begin with utilization of the 411 and TIME BLOCK their days. The new hire should definitely be a strong admin, contract to close, clean up messes kinda person . . . The Team Manager moves into Lead Coordinator Role and begins receiving ALL incoming phone traffic (Funnel) . . . and the Lead agent gets comfortable in her Buyer Specialist skin . . . and when it's time for another hire, it'll be another agent - Preferably one with strong listing skills.
The point of typing out these 2 scenarios is that I am beginning to see a pattern emerge with many of the teams I am consulting. First - Time management/allocation/blocking is virtually non-existent . . . The Lead Coordination function is often left to chance even though that is possibly one of the most important functions for ANY sales team . . . AND I am finding that the Lead Agents are trending towards trying to fit people into roles per the model without exploring the individual's strengths.
When I visit with a team that has already has enough bodies and is having difficulties, 100% of my focus is defining motivation of each team member and identifying the strengths of each and carefully examining their role to see if the role is in sync with the strengths . . . and when that puzzle is assembled, I look for missing pieces: "What component is missing?" We then either hire to fill that gap (knowing what skill set is needed), or we go back to our group and assign these gap duties to our team members with the promise that one of the perks of succeeding with increased productivity is the turning of the hiring light from red to GREEN.
This may be BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious) for many coaches . . . For me, it's nothing short of miraculous self-discovery for these people. Often a coach is nothing more than a midwife for the birth/emergence of the REAL client imprisoned within the body of the agent we are coaching. Self-discovery bring clarity and singleness of purpose . . . and the result is highly effective "mono-tasking"
Best,
b
Barry Owen
Productivity Coach and Principal Broker
Keller Williams Realty - Nashville, TN - Green Hills
Consumer blog www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com
Simply Living the FourFold Way in Open Space!
Comments(2)