Just hired a Buyers agent that is newly licensed--How do I train them??

Not a training suggestion but im sure letting him loose in AR for a few weeks would at least teach him enough to be dangerous.   

Michael Pierce

When I was new my broker did NO training at all.  It was here's an office, here's the phone, here's your email address, Now let's sell some houses!  Everything I did was by trial and error (mostly errors) There was one very helpful agent in that company, that was kind enough to stop and help.  My suggestion would be, especially for a buyer's agent, get them familiar with whats on the market.  Have them look at x number of houses per day/week while they are training. As you know it's so much easier to talk about a property that you have actually SEEN.  Have them review the files of some completed transactions so they can see exactly how the paperwork is filled out and placed in your files.  In our office we have a closing checklist that is extremely helpful.  Good luck

All the Best!

I agree--have him go and look at as much as possible, in a lot of different neighborhoods.  Take him along if you preview for pricing purposes.  If there is nothing else he will be able to impress with, at least he'll know the inventory.  He will then be able to learn a lot just from following those listings down the road.

Then you must take some time for role play with him.  Have him take you out as a buyer, give him some criteria upfront and then have him prepare for it thoroughly; he will learn more from one such a trip than from three RE books or five dumb mistakes down the road.  Then cost to you is a couple of hours of your time, but it will pay off.

 Good luck!

I've mentored several new agents over the years (but none as specific buyer's agents).  Some have become successful, some didn't last 2 months.  My office has one great tool, the "Punch List", which covers a - z on a checklist.  I've had to hone down how I explain all the items (there's a lot!) in order to cover it all in the time period my broker requires.  After the initial Punch List session, I have them bring it with them on all appointments and every time they are in the office, so we can start covering it in detail as the topics come up.

Separate your training into sections: tech skills and paperwork, buyers and sellers (he's still going to need seller training), and prospecting.  Quick question - are you going to have him do his own prospecting, or will he just take your leads?  If he's doing his own, then teaching him how to prospect and how often is paramount.  If he's taking your leads, you'll have to teach him to focus in on retention and call conversion.

I would strongly advise you to bring him along on all of your appointments for a while, and you should try to tag along as his as well.  It seems to help if the newbies "mimic the master" until they grow more confident and develop their own style.  I've also found that talks in the car are what they seem to retain the most.  We're generally uninterrupted, on our way to an appointment, and they're hyped up a bit.  They don't want to sound like an idiot, so they're really paying attention to every detail.

If you want, I'm more than happy to share with you my own checklists.  Just shoot me an email.  In fact, maybe I'll do a posting of it, to share with others!

Betsy,

I am a manager for a team at Keller Williams. It is my responsibility to hire & train agents of all experience levels to be on our team. While I am lucky enough to be at a brokerage & office that offers extensive training, there are a couple of things I personally do to ensure the agents' committment & follow through when they are new. We do a 30 day trial period during which the agent is responsible for showing up and producing so many new listings and/or purchase contracts. While there is time spent on my end, this helps to avoid spending a lot of up front money on marketing & training before getting a real feel for the agent's committment & motivation.

The first thing I do with a new agent is set a schedule. Show them what an ideal day for an agent should be, because they have no reference for this when they are brand new. If you set the expectation of how they should spend their time you don't have to be there right beside them the entire day. For our team this includes practicing scripts & closes in the morning followed by at least 2 hours of phone prospecting. The goal is to have an afternoon full of client appointments. I tell the agents "If you don't have an appointment you should be out getting one." My recommendation for this is what we call the 10:5:15:5. The agent previews 5 homes, which gets them out experiencing the market. While they are there they knock on the 2 neighbors doors. Driving back to the office they call 5 people from their sphere of influence. And then they write 15 thank you notes - 10 to the neighbors they met & 5 to the SOI they talked to. This is an excellent way for them to get used to talking to people about real estate.

Also, one of the most cost effective training methods is just having them shadow you or another experienced agent on listing and buyer appointments.

And, if all else fails, join Keller Williams. We have really incredible training classes in place & offered in the offices for very minimal cost as well as business models to support building a team. :-)

I wish you the best with your new agent! Congratulations on being committed to growing your business! Good luck!