Career Progression

People leave your business because you’ve asked them to go, or because someone else has presented them with a more compelling vision for their future than you have. In my Growth, Leadership and Management Tip this month I’ll coach you on career progression and why you must have a plan for managing your organization’s growth.

What does a career path look like? Well, if you start someone in reception they may progress to leasing, then to a BDM or junior property manager, then into sales, or maybe senior property manager or department head.

For someone starting in sales, they can step up to sales assistant, become an agent and later join a team, then become a department manager or sales manager. Eventually, somebody’s going to be a director or an owner in your business.

This is not meant to be a quick or easy career path. Each step of the way will require time and work. You’ll need to set measurements for defined skill sets and KPIs at each level. One thing this structure does is to prevent people asking for undue raises or promotions. They’ll know there’s a path they have to follow. It also keeps you from panicking when you lose someone because you already have a replacement ready to step into that position.

Along with setting key skills for each role, you also need to employ wage banding so that each position has a set pay range. Whenever your people want to make more money, there’s a path in place for them to get there. Having a clear career progression plan establishes your vision for the people inside of the organization. They can see a future for themselves on the inside of this organization. They’ll have goals and know what has to be done to reach them, so they can do meaningful work on the inside of your business.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Growth, Leadership and Management Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Simplifying Your Business

If you think your database is your dominant lead source, then you need my Coaching Tip today. I’m talking about simplifying your business, and the first step is knowing where your lead sources are and how to leverage them.

True enough, you look to your database to get information on your leads, but where did you find those leads in the first place? From over 600 estate agents across the world we found that their number one dominant lead source was open for inspections. But there’s an industry trend towards doing off market properties now, and that means we’re not meeting those future sellers and buyers in our marketplace.

Your next best lead source is your own personal network, but a lot of agents sense a “bridge of awkward” there that they don’t want to cross. I’m telling you that every one of your friends owns property. They should know you’re a real estate agent and you’re good at what you do. Why not be their friend and ring them up to let them know when there’s a great property deal? Put them in your database and keep them informed.

Also, don’t neglect your past clients. Every past buyer or seller will eventually have a bigger vision of where they want to go, or they’ll just be over where they are and be ready to make that decision to move. You should be regularly getting back to those past clients and doing annual checkups on their property. When they’re ready to find an agent make sure they think of you.

Now, we’re all focused on how amazing social media is, but I’ll bet you haven’t made sure that every person in your Snapchat, WeChat, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook lists is also in your residential sales database. Really, success comes from simplifying your business, understanding your dominant lead sources, and sticking to the basics that will make you a great agent.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 110 – Service Standards

In this High Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips talk about service standards, what they are and why they matter. Alex tells how those standards set the expectations with the client and what they do for you as an agent. Josh explains the importance of getting clear inside of your business on what it is that you actually do to represent your brand. They discuss what six star service means and how to deliver it. They also speak to the necessity for clear communication with your team.

Josh lists some of the simple service standards that make a massive difference in how well you serve the customer. Alex shares how he maintains consistency as his business scales and lists his top 5 most important basic standards.

Ep 109 – Providing the Best “My Cafe” Experience

This High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on providing the best “My Cafe” experience. Josh explains the customer experience with your brand as running a cafe with a team vs. running a cafe by yourself. Alex talks about agents’ limiting beliefs around scaling and how that hurts customer service. They address arguments against putting on an assistant and Alex recommends using a recruiter. Josh posts what it’s like to work for you, and lists mistakes agents make with their people.

They discuss the advantage of having an outsider help with hiring and give tips on improving the interview process. Alex ends on the benefits of investing time and attention with your people and supporting their personal and business goals.

Ep 108 – The Role of a Great Sales Manager

In this High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents, Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips discuss the role of a great sales manager. Alex addresses negotiation skills and preparation. He and Josh tell why they support open office information sharing and how this exchange helps your brand. They also discuss how to deal with conflict and competition between your own team members, and why that might happen.

They continue around when it’s a good idea to bring in another agent on a deal, how to establish a “the more, the more” mentality, how your principals help bring deals together, and how you can help your people grow their skills and confidence.

How to Succeed As an Agent

A great agent is essentially an all-around great person. In my Coaching Tip today I’ll tell you how to succeed as an agent and as a person by merging your business life and your personal life. It’s important for your business that you leverage every relationship you’ve got, including your personal contacts.

A big part of what you do as an agent involves understanding what it takes to provide the right advice at the right time. That’s as much a personal quality as it is a mark of expertise. You work with a diverse customer base at various stages in their lives. You have to truly care about giving them the best service possible or you can’t deliver on what they’ve hired you to do.

Leveraging every relationship you have means understanding that clients, family and friends – including everyone you know on social media – are all potential customers. If you’re ringing up a client about a significant listing or sale, shouldn’t you also tell people you know personally about that great opportunity?

Building a great business takes consistency and routine based on systems, scheduling, and attention to the simple things.

Prospecting means using all your lead sources to meet the people who have houses to sell. You need to understand that the listing presentation is the ultimate story of what you do to help your clients meet their unmet, unsatisfied, and unidentified needs.

Knowing how to succeed as an agent means knowing how to leverage every relationship you’ve got, maintain consistency and routine, find and connect with your best lead sources, and ultimately understand how you can really help people. You’ve got to have tenacity and desire, but you also have to care about your customers.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 107 – Determining the Customer Service Journey

In this High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents, Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips talk about determining the customer service journey. Alex tells why setting standards for customer service are important and Josh defines some of those standards. They discuss basics agents need to get right for business growth, customer touch points that shape the customer experience curve, and describe why maintaining your energy matters.

Alex explains why he sends out pre-listing kits and how following a consistent process puts you ahead. Josh wraps up with understanding how to deliver service, and that every call is a standard of service experience you provide to your client’s journey.

Commitment to the Game

A lot of agents simply don’t know what it is that they’re doing, or why. Today in my Coaching Tip I’m going to show you how to make that commitment to the game by helping you understand that it’s not just about making calls; it’s about providing a high level of service to every one of your clients.

There’s nothing like the power of routine to help you provide the great service experience that is critically important to your customers. If all you’re thinking about is that you have to make all of these calls and connections and appointments then you’re missing the point. It’s about creating touch points where the consumer gets involved with you, like online inquiries, phone calls about properties and prices, private appointments, and open for inspections.

Agents who are best at the game are good at the basics. It’s the way we treat the customer on the day of the auction, going to meet them at a market appraisal, and then following up with them. You can’t resent getting on the phones because rejection is unpleasant and you don’t know what to do if they ask a question you don’t know how to answer.

Remember the customer is human just like you, and they have the same issues you have. It’s their level of dissatisfaction plus a vision for where they want to go that’s really going to drive their decision to go to market. Ask the right questions, learn what their dissatisfactions and visions are, and then you can give them the drive to take their first steps toward making a move.

Your commitment to the game includes a willingness to be driven yourself. You need energy and discipline in all areas of your life. Build routines, use forms and checklists, and always deliver a high-quality customer service experience. That’s how you get to charge the fees that you’re worth.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.

Ep 106 – Marketplace Seasons and Cycles

 

This High-Performance Podcast for Real Estate Agents features Josh Phegan and Alexander Phillips on seasons and cycles in the market that you need to understand. Alex tells how to recognise and respond to changes in the marketplace so you can advise and progress clients. Josh talks about what to do when your marketing slows and fewer people are looking at homes, and why you must be adaptable. Alex explains why you shouldn’t pigeonhole yourself into a single market. Josh advises on nurturing relationships and dealing effectively and explains the Power of One.

Alex tells how to stay ahead of the curve on market conditions by knowing those seasons and cycles and planning ahead for them. Josh wraps up with advice on finding a way to do what needs to be done no matter what the market is like.

Growth in Your Career

Having fun in what you do makes all the difference to growing your business. In my Coaching Tip today I want to talk to you about the importance of growth in your career so that you can become the agent you’re capable of being and charge the fees that you’re worth.

Growth is actually a really simple thing. It’s all about understanding how to measure the numbers that count. For most agents the most important number is the amount of income you earn. I’ll show you how to use that number to think about what growth looks like to you, how to figure your annual growth rate, and how often you can expect your business to double.

As your business gets bigger you’ll need to consistently improve your level of customer service. How you serve the customer directly involves thinking about your product and service mix plus the type of staff you need onboard. You simply can’t achieve significant business growth by yourself.

The way I measure my business growth is by measuring this month this year versus last month this year. I also compare this quarter with the same quarter last year, each half year, each financial year, etc. What I’m doing is tracking those numbers and then coming up with ways to get the numbers exactly where they need to be.

There’s never a year on my watch that I let my business go backwards. Every year I want it to be bigger and bolder, I want to always do more things and I serve more customers. That’s because I love what I do. There should be no difference in the way you treat growth in your career.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.