By Michelle Amador and Jodi Tate
RISMEDIA, March 14, 2008-We’ve all heard it…”Recruit, Recruit, Recruit!” Recruiting is the life blood of the real estate industry. It’s how we grow, it’s how we increase market share, and it’s how we raise the bottom-line. It’s the mantra that many real estate owners and managers have marched too for a long time. But with the changing world of real estate could it be time to march to a new mantra? Has the paradigm shifted and in what direction does this shift take place?
What if our new mantra is “Retain, Retain, and Retain!”? What if by working to retain our existing agents we actually grow our agent base and attract agents to join our company just by the virtue of taking care of our own? Maybe we should be spending time on our office culture, our coaching skills, and our skills as a leader rather than as a manager. What if our business plan included a retention plan…how would we put one in place? What are the key components of a retention plan? What is the success criteria for my retention plan?
The traditional manager recruits, retains, de-hires, and puts out fires all day long. The innovative leader casts a vision, raises the bar, creates a teamwork environment, focuses on coaching agents to be highly productive, and creates an atmosphere that is unstoppable regardless of what’s going on in the real estate market. As the market adjusts, your office continues to thrive, grow, and prosper…your office actually out-performs in the marketplace. The positive internal energy of your organization permeates out through your agents to the community at large, as well as to other agents at competing firms. Your agents inadvertently become your biggest advocates speaking openly and naturally about the employment experience of your firm.
Subsequently, what if our office was a place that inspires agents to take their business to the next level? What if our sales meetings were fun, informative, and highly productive? What if having fun as a team directly translated in to our business that we work as a team to farm neighborhoods, go after new builder accounts, and create new cooperative ventures?
Success breeds success. The importance of developing a culture that is both synergistic and success oriented will translate into tangible results for all parties involved.
Do you think the word would get out in the real estate community that your office was the place to work, grow, and prosper? That your value proposition was so powerful that agents would come to you just through word of mouth from your very satisfied agents? Would it work? We know it does. Don’t delay, start working on your retention plan and take the necessary steps to develop that employment experience that differentiates you in your market.
Jodi Tate and Michelle Amador are the creators of the website www.Flyingbullets.com. Tate is also the General Manger for Coldwell Banker Triad Realtors and is a nationally certified trainer. Amador has 20 years of management, consulting and sales experience and developed one of the top real estate teams in the US. Amador also leads a very successful Coldwell Banker Triad general brokerage office. Through Flyingbullets.com, Tate and Amador provide recruiting, management/ leadership coaching and consultative services to the real estate industry.
For more information, visit www.FlyingBullets.com.
