Most agents, at some point in their career, consider the possibility of changing their company affiliation. This may be a casual assessment that they mull on their own, or it may be part of a concerted recruiting effort by another broker. With all of the different company models and the constantly evolving nature of our industry, this is a normal occurrence, and one that we can expect will always be part of our industry.
As their manager or broker, the ability to retain your agents through these inevitable considerations is, in large part, a function of your relationship with them and their perception of your value to their business. You can bolster that value—and subsequently bolster your long-term agent retention—by purposefully following these three pieces of advice:
Be a Sales Manager, Not Just a Manager: Effective sales managers do more than solve problems and oversee office administration; they engage agents both individually and as a group to constantly motivate them and help them increase sales. This includes business planning, training, coaching and accountability, and it should be a part of every day, week, month and year.
Above and beyond that, you should be selling yourself and your company through constant reinforcement of your brand, your tools, your culture and your ideas. Weekly sales meetings are an ideal opportunity to do this and are your best commercials for long-term retention. Use them to remind agents of your strengths and review technological tools and strategies that are exclusive to your company and that they can use to increase their production. Better still, have agents share success stories of using them in your meetings. Create interest each week with a teaser email, and make these an exciting and valuable part of your agent interaction.
Set the Pace: Relentlessly focus on listings and sales. As a manager, don’t spend too much time on administrative communications, mundane news and events, or other non-sales related issues that take away from the culture of selling that is necessary for increased sales production, increased income and successful agents. The speed of the leader determines the rate of the pack, so always keep your focus on sales, and your agents will feel less compulsion to seek that culture of success elsewhere.
Read, Read, Read: You must stay ahead of the industry and your competitors by being your agents’ authority figure when it comes to all things real estate. This will make you their “go-to” person for planning, guidance and other matters. This includes not only external industry information, by the way, but also internal expertise. It is imperative that you know your company’s tools, policies and other resources inside and out so that you can recommend them and apply them to each agent’s individual business.
Again, at some point, every agent is going to look at their own options and wonder if a change in brokerages makes sense. But when you make yourself a sales manager that actively adds value to your agent’s business, you make yourself irreplaceable. When that is the case, your agents will realize that they can’t take you with them, and they will be less likely to leave.
In short, you are your own strongest retention tool. Engage, set the pace and be the expert, and you will follow a proven path to keeping your agent roster steady, productive and loyal.
To learn how Sherri Johnson can help your management team implement a highly impactful approach to sales meetings, recruiting and agent retention, contact us Here.
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.
