An agent’s experience and performance levels dictate which method to use.
Browse any real estate industry publication and you’ll likely find articles about sales coaching, consulting or mentoring. These terms, often used synonymously, denote different methodologies for the professional development of sales associates. But which method will help your recruiting and retention efforts the most?
Industry consultant, author and former manager Carla Cross offers several clarifications. A mentoring program is ideal for agents who have mastered the basics of working with buyers and sellers not agents who are performing below minimum production standards (i.e., new agents). In contrast, coaching programs are well suited for novices because of the structure and specifics offered by the required game plan. Finally, a consultant serves as a sounding board for more experienced agents and leads them through the process of self-discovery.
New Agents Need More Than Mentors
The use of mentors with brand-new sales associates erroneously results from their urgent need to have someone available to answer all of their questions, all the time. Mentoring, when used with new agents, often means they learn about knowledge as opposed to skills. New agents get smart intellectually and attend many classes. “But the problem is, the mentees don’t go out and actually sell real estate,” says Cross. “Their natural tendency is to want more and more information, without putting that knowledge into action. New agents think that information will make them confident, when, in fact, it’s the practicing of skills that will make them confident.”
Therefore, mentoring is most appropriate when used with agents at the very highest level of performance, not at the lowest or beginning level, she adds.
Offer New Agents A Coach Instead
As mentioned earlier, coaching assists new, inexperienced agents get into action by following a specific game plan. “If you’re going to be a coach, the No. 1 priority is to have a specific and accurate game plan. Selling real estate requires a series of skill sets and a series of activities that are linear. The game plan has to include what to do and why to do it,” explains Cross.
She advises broker/owners to avoid giving agents too much of the “how to do it” in their coaching sessions this is best left to training. “During a coaching session, for example, broker/owners need to ask agents, ‘Did you do the assignments I gave you last week?’ A direct approach is needed because you’re teaching agents job priorities. If they did complete their assignments, then listen to their accounting of them. If they didn’t, immediately stop the session. But brokers or managers usually don’t quit here. Instead, they try to motivate agents by asking why they didn’t complete their assignments. That’s not appropriate in coaching; there’s no coaching without agent accountability,” Cross says. “Don’t try to motivate. Repeat the assignment: Call 50 people in your area and ask them about buying or selling properties. Tell new agents the why behind this activity.”
Another mistake coaches make when the agent doesn’t do the work is that they fill the time by answering the agent’s “I’ve always wondered,” or “if it ever happens,” questions, like, “If I ever sold home, which purchase and sale agreement form would I use?” Make a “deal” with new agents. When they’ve completed their assignments as promised, you’ll answer these types of questions.
Critical to coaching new sales associates are mutually acceptable standards. These are minimum expectations (not goals) with attached consequences. Cross suggests using a coaching accountability contract that includes standards and goals. (For an example of a standards and goal agreement, email Cross at http://www.carlacross.com/.)
“In such a contract, broker/owners need to define what they want sales associates to accomplish, what the minimum requirements are, and what will happen when sales associates are under/at/over those minimum requirements. Then you are in agreement,” she explains.
“Also to coach effectively, broker/owners need to tie coaching to a high accountability training plan,” advises Cross. “Run your coaching plan and your training plan concurrently, because agents need training in order to be coached.” For example, say the coaching assignment is to talk to 100 people that you know and to ask them for business. In small training groups, agents could then role-play how to prepare for such an assignment.
Consultants Keep Top Performers On Target
Consulting means listening and asking sales associates what they think they should do in a given situation. For example, a consultant would ask an agent: “Did you meet your goals last week? If not, why? How do you feel about that? What are you going to do differently next week?”
Consulting, says Cross, is used for salespeople who are meeting or exceeding standards. “They’ve mastered the basics, understand their job priorities and are doing their job. If I asked a new agent, ‘Did you meet your goals for last week?’ and that agent replied, ‘Oh yes, I organized my database and my desk.’ Those goals were just busy work. Then you’re simply consulting to a ‘busy work’ game plan, and they’ll fail. You can’t provide consulting to agents until you know they’ve mastered their game plan.”
Although broker/owners can serve as consultants for their better producing agents, Cross strongly advises them to take a consulting course with a lot of role-playing.
“If you want to teach someone to do something, you have to have them do it in class. That sounds simple, but I see the opposite being done all the time when I do train-the trainer classes. You need to learn (teach) consulting skills with a lot of role-play, case studies and problem-solving activities. Then ask participants to go out and do 10 consulting projects themselves.”
Overcome Your Own Objections To Becoming A Coach Or Consultant
Developing coaching or consulting services in your brokerage means a dedication of human resources more so than financial resources. “The bottom line, though, is that brokers know that about half of the agents that they hire every year will be gone. So why in the world would they dedicate human resources to coaching, consulting or mentoring when the chances are one out of two sales associates will leave their office?” comments Cross. The first step in creating a coaching and consulting program is to decide that you will hire motivated, determined, career-minded people which are coachable!
An obstacle for smaller brokerages is that the broker/owners usually sell real estate themselves, often earning more income from their sales than from management responsibilities. So, they really haven’t got time, nor may have sufficient interest to provide one-on-one coaching and consulting to their associates. They also believe they don’t have the systems in place necessary to coach or consult. That isn’t necessarily true, however. Most offices have access to new agent training programs and new agent start-up plans, which provide the basis for coaching. Cross believes coaching and consulting programs are extremely effective recruiting and retention tools, especially for smaller brokerages. “The one critical recruiter broker/owners of smaller companies have that’s different from big companies is themselves” - their ability to personally develop their associates. By developing their coaching and consulting skills they can create powerful recruiting tools and recruiting success statistics. After all, the person managing 200 sales associates can’t coach everyone in the office.
“The only thing broker/owners of smaller companies have that’s different from big companies is themselves - this is their most powerful recruiting position. They should develop their coaching and consulting skills . . . After all, the person managing 200 sales associates can’t be with everyone.”
A Coaching Checklist
• Take a coaching and consulting course.
• Write an agent job description so you can easily set priorities in a game plan.
• Develop a game plan to which you can coach.
• Set expectations and get contract agreements upfront with sales associates.
• Know when to stop coaching. (Be sure to set “mile markers” in your agreement to assess accomplishments.)
• Keep close tabs on those who assume coaching roles. “It takes a long time to become a good coach; allow about three years from the time you begin as the primary coach and start training others,” advises Cross.
