One of the most important elements of a team leader’s relationship with their real estate team is their ability to hold the team members accountable. Regardless of whether an agent is brand new or a seasoned veteran, periodic discussions about their sales production are crucial in order to recognize success, make adjustment as necessary and inspire future sales.
But many real estate team members don’t know exactly how to start these conversations. If that is true for your team, here is a simple, proven technique to have these important conversations:
Make it about team accountability. Discussions with agents about their individual performance can often make them uncomfortable and defensive. Diffuse that by reframing the discussion from the start and make it about team accountability. Try this: “Chris, I want to review your year-to-date numbers with you. As you know, our team goal is $X in sales, and your contribution to that is $Y. Your actual sales so far are $Z. Let’s talk about that.” Do you see what is accomplished there? By framing the discussion as a team issue, you are taking the spotlight off the individual agent while still discussing their individual production. This is an effective approach to accountability that will suit any situation.
If production is strong, recognize it. When an agent is killing it, these discussions are easy, but that does not make them unimportant. Praising a real estate team member for meeting and exceeding goals will inspire them to keep that success going. If they have met their goals but you still have some concerns—for instance, their listings are down—it’s obviously okay to include that in your discussion but do not let the conversation turn negative. Productively talk about their steps moving forward, but reiterate your recognition and appreciation for their successful contribution to your team’s achievements.
If production is weak, manage it. Underperformance is where the rubber meets the road as far as accountability goes. What happened…or didn’t? You can’t help them turn their production around unless you ask the agent directly what is happening. If it is lack of effort, set a daily and weekly action plan to create new appointments with clients. If it is a lack of knowledge or confidence, train them on a useful tool, do some role playing, or accompany them on an appointment. Whatever the reason behind their shortfall in production, it is imperative that you jointly make an immediate plan of action with daily or weekly follow-up to get them back on track.
These conversations obviously require that you have a team production goal as well as individual goals for each agent. If you don’t, use reasonable numbers for each and use those in the accountability script described above. This simple technique will enable consistent, impactful discussions with you team members, so use it often to help your team and your agents meet your goals every month, quarter and year!
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Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 25 years of experience in real estate, Sherri now shares her proven methods through coaching, consulting and keynote speaking services nationwide. She is a national speaker for the Homes.com Secrets of Top Selling Agents tour and is the Official Real Estate Coach for McKissock Learning and Real Estate Express. Sherri has been named a RISMedia Real Estate Newsmaker in 2020 and 2021 as an Industry Influencer and Thought Leader. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session or visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.
