“The biggest enemy for many real estate agents is waking up in the morning without a clue about what they should be doing that day,” says William Peach, branch vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Baltimore, Md.
Peach, a long-time believer in the online training programs developed by David Knox, observes, “There are clues to success, and David has developed the bread crumb path for agents to follow daily.”
Knox, a licensed REALTOR® and former national training director for Merrill Lynch Realty, is the creator and driving force behind David Knox Productions, Inc., a multi-faceted real estate training program that provides online videos and seminars to support the goals of success-driven brokers, owners, managers, agents and their clients.
“What managers ask me most often,” says Knox, “is ‘How do I get my agents to consistently prospect, follow up on leads, hold open houses, call their sphere of influence, create a business plan, etc.?’ The answer is a workable system of accountability, and our accountability plans, based on fundamental best practices by the country’s best trainers and top-performing agents, are designed to provide that.”
Introduced seven years ago at a National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) convention, Knox’s system has earned the respect of brokers nationwide.
“We not only appreciate David’s videos, which are great and always very current, but also the platform itself, which takes a more organized approach to what we want to do in terms of digital training,” says Bob Weber, president of First Weber Realty in Madison, Wis. “On-demand courses are always available, and there is a great mix of industry and local perspective.”
Among the program’s most valuable assets, subscribers say, are its customizable accountability plans. Containing selected videos and tasks arranged in logical sequence, the customized plans allow the broker and/or manager to assign and then monitor the agent’s videos, tasks and actions.
“It’s a self-paced program, and it gives agents a track to run on,” says Vincent DellAccio, brokerage manager at CENTURY 21 AA Realty in Seaford, N.Y. “The combination of our materials and David’s videos works wonderfully for us, and we can keep track of electronically where the agents are and what they have completed.”
The program delivers nearly 400 training videos, six templates for agents at all levels, and a series of downloadable documents. And, as Weber notes, companies can create their own custom training tracks.
Meghan Frasier, First Weber’s director of Career Development, makes efficient use of the system’s local functionality. “We especially like the fact that we can customize the accountability plans to meet the needs of our agents,” she says. “We utilize David’s videos and are able to upload our own courses into the program so we can highlight local processes and market differences throughout Wisconsin.”
Executives at RE/MAX Realty Center in Louisville, Ky., have used the video training program almost since its inception. “Agents get to watch real transactions carried out by actual agents in the field,” says Dale Cox, owner and chief coach. “They can select videos on the topics they specifically want, such as listing presentations, if that’s what they are trying to master. The videos are only 10 or 15 minutes in length, which keeps agents attentive, engaged and focused.”
“We try to be the important difference between showing and telling,” says Knox, who also produces instructional consumer videos, such as “Preparing Your Home to Sell,” which agents can provide to their customers. “Agents can access our materials on their computers or mobile devices from wherever they happen to be.”
“What we appreciate most is David’s unwavering commitment to giving our agents exactly what they need to become more organized, productive and successful,” says DellAccio. “He holds monthly webinars with brokers and managers so he can find out what is working best and what might be needed next. Then, he provides it. He’s even reachable via Skype if someone needs immediate help, and the agents love him. We invited him to be the keynote speaker at our annual Agent Appreciation Day, and he knocked it out of the park. The simple fact is, David’s building a training program that really works, and he’s doing it with us, not just for us.”
For more information, please visit www.davidknox.com.
