Awhile back, I published a blog of a list of what I had observed were “The Ten Dumbest Things Agents do in Challenging Markets.” Brokers all over Canada and the US emailed me for me for permission to reprint that list. They emailed me with more dumbest things. (For that blog, email me at Carla@carlacross.com).
Now, I think it’s about time for what my awesome eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Louise K. Taylor, told us frequently:
Turn-about is fair play.
So, here’s my list of the 5 biggest, dumbest mistakes managers are making—compiled from working with companies internationally and coaching leadership in this challenging time. I got so many great suggestions from my agent list that I’ve decided to share my top 5, and ask you to contribute 5 more. Here they are.
1. Trying to ‘love’ them into working.
Why do brokers think that ‘loving them’ will somehow motivate agents to go to work? Instead, ‘loving them’ helps agents stay in their victim state of mind. ‘Loving and cheerleading’ works in a fast market, but it doesn’t work when everybody needs to face facts and go to work. It says to an agent, “Don’t worry your pretty little head. Just hang in there and the market will change—some time.” Not true, and pretty demeaning to the professional adult.
2. Not setting the standards of performance to define the values of the company.
Oh, you’re so afraid they will leave, and not get that one deal that they haven’t turned in this year……(that’s one deal that year). Just think what you’re doing to the rest of the company. Just think how de-motivating it is to your producers when half of your agents aren’t working. No ‘enforced’ standards literally means any amount of production—or not—is just okay with you.
3. Do what managers think is ‘getting tough, by asking ‘what are you doing for the company?”
It’s imperative to set performance standards (minimum performance expectations). But, you have to have a tight, organized, high accountability development system to get those agents past those standards and to their goals. Otherwise, all they hear is that they aren’t doing well enough for the company. Agent expectations without management ‘development commitment’ is not a fair deal.
4. Letting the market de-motivate and depress them.
When the market is tough, brokers have get tough on themselves. They are the ones who have to add the motivation and appreciation that an ‘up’ market did for the agents. Managers are forgetting that high appreciation and high motivation is absolutely essential now. What do you appreciate? Whatever action you want to reinforce—no matter how little. See how different that is from ‘love’? Remember, ‘behavior that’s rewarded is repeated’.
5. Continue hiring like they did in a ‘raging river’ market.
In a shifted market, brokers must hire much more carefully—and be really tough with the ‘mutual expectations’ talk. (I believe only about 10% of managers have an adequate ‘mutual expectations dialogue). Not just anyone can sell in a shifted market. Just because those agents could ‘have an accident’ and sell a buyer in a great market, doesn’t mean they have the guts and tenacity to get the skills, do the lead generation, and work 40-50 hours a week. If managers aren’t tough in the interview, how in the world will agents be able to deal with those tough sellers and buyers?
Back to my eighth grade teacher. Although she was a teacher, Louise K. Taylor actually used the management principles that I believe brokers must implement today to assure their agents will survive and thrive in this challenging time.
The first day of school, she informed us that “the K stands for …… killer.” (Killer was, of course, yelled, so that we all jumped to attention). In other words, she wouldn’t tolerate our not doing the work or failing—her standards. The promise: Mrs. Taylor told us she had the process for us to become great in high school and college. All we had to do was to do the work.
She scared us into action and reinforced those actions with encouragement.
She was right. Armed with the skills I got from Louise K. Taylor, I went on to straight A’s in high school. Best of all, though I passed a composition exam and avoided 2 terms of freshman English in college!
Tough but fair expectations coupled with a development plan assures profits in tough times. That’s the formula.
Email me with your additions to my list, and I’ll publish them in my next blog—without names, of course: Carla@carlacross.com.
Carla Cross, CRB, MA, works with companies to put productivity systems into place. She is president of Carla Cross Coaching, the home of Up and Running Small Group Coaching, as well as one-on-one real estate productivity coaching for real estate agents and leadership—focused on ‘tough love’ coaching for challenging markets. Contact her company at www.carlacross.com, or call 425-392-6914.
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