smashing the real estate myth with Agent Dynamics
Building a team and a culture that lasts
agentdynamics.com.au
Thank you for taking the time to read our e-book series, “smashing the real estate myth with Agent Dynamics.”
This series was written to give you, Agency Principals and Agents, an alternative approach on how to manage ourselves and our teams and how to recruit better.
The Agent Dynamics system applies to all facets of Real Estate and all types of real estate professionals - Salespeople, Property Managers, Business Owners and importantly support teams.
Our goal is to promote alternate, or lateral, thinking and for readers to see that the “perfect” sales person or property manager does not exist, they just think they do.
To be fair, each book in the series was not written to be a quick fix ‘How To” guide or instruction manual but rather as a study on how our industry is changing and what we can do because of that change.
We hope that you will identify with our little anecdotes, case studies, testimonials and stories and that you will see how we can help you fufill your business and personal goals.
B U I L D I N G A T E A M & A C U LT U R E T H AT L A S T S
Julie Davis and Neil Williams
WHAT WILL YOU GET OUT OF READING BUILDING A TEAM AND A CULTURE THAT LASTS?
Understanding • You cannot have a
Purpose
Reality
• Recruiting the right
• There are quite a lot of
winning cricket team
people is a must.
business owners and
full of fast bowlers.
• Discover where the
principals who were
• You cannot have a world class Orchestra full of conductors. • You certainly cannot have a hospital only staffed by surgeons.
holes are in your skill
once the shining star
set and business.
of the sales team -
• Start filling holes.
but are they the best person for the job?
Neil talks about how to get your real estate business thriving with a great team who work well together.
B U I L D I N G A T E A M & A C U LT U R E T H AT L A S T S
The best teamwork comes from men and women who are working independently toward one goal in unison. James C Penny
Understanding the mix of personalities and skills is essential for developing a way forward, where everyone is working well, working together towards a common goal.
The one overriding element of a successful team is the team culture and it is one of the first things that Agent Dynamics assess when we work with an Agency.
In our experience we often find that agencies can sometimes have a high flyer or gun agent that is bringing in more than half of the business. Under certain circumstances these agents have, over time, morphed into veritable “500 pound Gorillas�
and consider themselves the centre of the universe. With enough time they do their best to make themselves indispensable and irreplaceable and it is not long before the owners of the business, or management, are answering to their every whim - beck and call for fear of losing them. While no business owner wants to lose their top earner, they are fostering an environment where there is a flagging team culture
Value builds trust and the more the team value each other the more trust that will be cemented into the foundations of the business. Team cultures starts with the simple things that mean a lot. and the other team members now Shaping, and in some cases reconsider themselves part of the “B” shaping a team culture isn’t as Team, just making up the numbers. difficult as you might think. This situation is toxic and leaves the business owner extremely vulnerable. Few businesses can stand a 50% drop in turnover so the Gorilla is left alone, time marches on and the status quo remains. The “B” team members slowly start to exit the agency and their replacements are introduced into the same culture. You are not alone if this is the position you are facing and if you are the top performer in your office - give some thought to whether or not you have become the 500 pound Gorilla!
Team cultures starts with the simple things that mean a lot.
understand why they get out of bed each morning. Are they introverted or extroverted and what do they value most? Do they display creativity or do they have a superb sense of timing. Would they prefer to “squeeze the flesh” or “crunch the numbers?”
Like knowing the names of the partners of each team member, whether or not they have kids and how old are they? How do they relax When you understand and respect and what do they do on their days your team, they will understand off? and respect you. Understanding and respect provide an environment You need to understand why they that everybody wants to be part of do what they do and what they and when they find that place, they aspire to. want to stay there. This applies to everybody from the first year receptionist up through the entire team and remember that nobody is bigger than the team.
A rewarding team culture is about each and every member valuing, knowing and understanding, the different skills, experience and wisdom that everyone is contributing.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
That value builds trust and the more the team value each other the more trust that will be cemented into the foundations of the business.
Salespeople come in all shapes, sizes and personality types. We need to respect their right to be individuals and manage them accordingly. It is imperative that we know what makes them tic and
The first hurdle to get over is to learn to manage each individual team member and not have a one size fits all approach.
If you don’t know “who your people are” it can make communication very difficult. If you have a team member who is in their flow working with data and systems but you want to send them to a networking breakfast, good luck. Likewise, the agent who is in flow speaking and mixing with people will have their eyes glaze over when questions about days on market and average selling prices come up. Creative agents’ love the hunt and the kill but rarely follow up and those that are sensory by nature have the feel for the deal but write boring ads. If you know your people then
B U I L D I N G A T E A M & A C U LT U R E T H AT L A S T S
If you don’t know who your people are it can make communication very difficult.
you can provide them with an In my time in the Industry I have environment where they will learnt three things above all else. flourish. You can focus them on working within their flow because we know that when they are in flow 1. Team members leave an Agency because they are not happy, it is they are happier, more productive rarely about the money. If they and better time managers. By are not happy they are ripe for extension they will then list and sell poaching by competitors and more property, be more prosperous move on with alarming regularity. and your business will continue to The revolving door spins a little grow. It really is that simple! faster. 2. The “Perfect Salesperson” RECRUITING candidate in a real estate office is a figment of the employers’ A fair percentage of Real Estate imagination. A prospective Agencies have owners who started employee’s hair product, clothing, as a successful salesperson and type of car and track record have then either opened their own little bearing on how they will agency or bought into their current perform in YOUR team. agency. This makes sense and is 3. An unbelievable number of common across our industry. candidates have been rejected for positions and not even However there can be danger best started in our industry because avoided here and that’s when it of the stereotypical thinking of comes time to start recruiting. employers. What often happens is, that when they need to grow the team and Getting the mix of your internal put on more team members their dynamic is essential to making a perception of a “successful” job success in any real estate business. candidate can be a little biased. In short, they go looking for a clone of themselves. Sometimes, they find If you aren’t sure about your culture, chances are it could use some fine two or three candidates just like tuning or potentially an overhaul. they are and give them all a start. It’s the engine for your business and like all engines it requires constant They have just employed another maintenance or else a complete three fast bowlers when they should be looking for batsmen and overhaul or rebuild might just be on a wicket keeper! As the team grows, the cards., non-clones become the odd ones out and can feel isolated and less understood.
A winning team culture, where all players ‘get’ what it is to be a part of the success, is within reach of every business. You just need to know where to look, who to focus on and how to shape it from within. At Agent Dynamic’s your culture & success is our focus! Feeling enlightened but wanting more, get the NEXT book in the series: ‘Old School versus New School Selling’
Learn about us through what our CLIENT’S are saying: Client case studies and lasting impressions
Suffering from culture shock? Tell us more and we’ll reach out to you
Regardless of your role, your experience, where you work and your position we can help.
PRINCIPAL
SALES MANAGER
SALES AGENT
TEAM
OR
POD
agentdynamics.com.au
PROPERT Y MANAGER
ADMIN/SUPPORT
To get more information or to book in a time to talk please contact us in one of these ways:
B U I L D I N G A T E A M & A C U LT U R E T H AT L A S T S
Online julie@agentdynamics.com neil@agentdynamics.com www.agentdynamics.com Tel: 0412 752 366 Julie 0417 249 688 Neil
Social Media: twitter.com/agentdynamics facebook.com/agentdynamics linkedin.com/in/agentdynamics