After attracting top talent comes the fun of building an environment that inspires them to stay with you.

Empowered agents become successful agents. Successful agents become happy agents. And happy, thriving agents sing the praises of the people who’ve empowered them toward their success.

Your real estate business does not need a recruiting department. Valuing, understanding, training and empowering your agents leads to a team that grows and builds on itself. The tricks are knowing what, where and when to give.

 

 

Provide an agent toolbox

 

Let every new agent get off and running from their first day on the team. 

Making your agents’ lives and work easier helps them grow, which in turn helps the entire team thrive. As you work on plans to start or develop a team under your own name, look for technology tools and create systems to streamline business processes.

Most of these tools come at a low monthly or annual cost that will more than pay for itself. They might include:

• Secure document sharing apps with secure cloud storage, such as private business accounts with Dropbox, Google Drive, DocuSign and the like.

 

• Creativity apps and software for marketing and branding, such as Canva, Adobe, Slack, Evernote

 

• Integrated marketing tools such as LeadHax marketing, which offers group discounts so that agents, marketing assistants or listings coordinators can instantly market listings, open houses and related social media posts with easy-to-created, geographically targeted ads. LeadHax includes the video marketing tools that convert leads.

 

• Communication tools like Microsoft Teams, through your MS Office account, and direct marketing and promotion tools such as Matterport, MailChimp and other email marketing and social media creation tools.

 

Connect regularly

 

In both group settings and one-on-one meetings, time spent sharing with and getting to know each agent on the team pays for itself.

 Whether in daily stand-up video calls or in weekly all-hands meetings, carve out time for everyone be heard by the other members of the group each time.

Dedicate two or three minutes for each and every person to share a story, ask for advice, deliver a shout-out to another team member for a job well done, or all of the above. These interactions create unity.

Record the meetings or take notes. Listen to the words people share about each other. Keep track of themes that repeat themselves; those are the nuggets that exemplify your team’s intrinsic value.

 

 

Ask and listen

 

Schedule one-on-one time with each agent on a regular basis, whether weekly or biweekly. Ask them question. Ask what is going well, but focus on where they could use help.

Learn what makes them tick and how you can better support them. Connect them with other team members whose interests or experience can balance with theirs.

While training and mentorship

Whether it’s you, another agent, a member of the support staff or a consultant who receives the accolades, listen for shout outs that speak to the essence of the teamwork you want to embody.

Blog or post to social media about that chemistry and supportiveness between you. Better yet, ask if your team members would like to write a short blog or share photos and videos about the teamwork that makes their lives easier and the camaraderie that brings them joy.

Promote those blogs to other agents, clients and your local association.

 

Schedule regular team trainings

 

Nothing builds a team like togetherness over shared goals.

 Training — whether led by you as team leader or outsourced to someone like a mortgage professional or a well-known real estate coach — provide terrific opportunities for team members to grow professionally while relating on a personal level.

Use those regular one-on-one meetings with each team member to learn what topics, skills or technology they’ve been wanting to improve. Then involve them and others in the training session.

There’s no need to lecture. Interactive trainings, with each devoted to a specific topic, will be best received and internalized when they include real-life anecdotes from people the attendees can relate to.

Finally, leave 15-30 minutes of each training session for sharing and Q&A. Afterwards, use one of the team’s technology or communication platforms, to collect feedback, questions and critique on each training.

 

 

Empower others and be a healthy example

 

Your agents are watching and taking their cues from you. Do you take time off and regularly nurture your personal interests, needs and wellbeing?

Let your team see you do so and encourage them to do the same. Agents who lift each other up, help each other refresh and rejuvenate, and encourage each other’s unique interests and wellbeing are more fulfilled than those who can’t turn off competition mode.

It all starts with the team leader. Demonstrate how taking time away from work makes work and life more fulfilling. Open yourself to criticism. Welcome other people’s ideas. Be a good listener. Show flexibility.

 

Replace control with trust and see the miracles that happen on your team. Get in touch to see how we can help you retain top tallent.