“Leaders can only train an agent how to be productive. Only the agent can choose to be productive.”
--Rich Casto
There is a widely believed assumption that 80% of new agents don’t make it in the industry. I am not sure if that is fact, but do believe a high percentage of agents fail. What is the manager//broker’s role in this process? Let’s visit some theories and test their validities.
One of my favorite theories is the “minimum standard” theory. This is where the broker has issued to agents a production standard, “Our agents are required to have a minimum of 3 pieces of production in the first 60 days.” Oh really? How is that working out for you? Most managers that are truthful with me tell me they don’t get a good result from this “standard”. They are constantly wondering why their agents are not meeting the minimum. Well, it is quite simple. This method is not inspiring.
What inspires is the leader finding out what the new agent wants to accomplish in the business. Insure that the agent is specific on what they want to accomplish. A simple formula to use is ask them: 1. Where do you want to go? 2. How are you going to get there? 3. And, how soon? Have them commit to these and hold them accountable to their own vision.
Another great theory is “train them until they drop” theory. These managers/brokers have the most comprehensive training on the planet. Agents go through extensive weeks of training all the way down to every little detail. Don’t get me wrong! I am a trainer. But don’t confuse training with productivity. Productivity is a choice. Training creates the skill. Managers tell me that their agents attend all the trainings and learn the ends and outs of the business, but then don’t produce. Remember, training is necessary but does not equal production.
A leaders job is to create a condition for the agent to choose to be productive. Have accountability sessions with your new agents at least twice a week as a group. Each one declares their commitments between that session and the next. At the next session they report if they kept their commitments to themselves or not. Then they make new commitments that they are going to keep for the next session.
You have now created an accountable condition. Now they get to make a choice. When the next session gets closer and closer they have to decide to do what they said they were going to do or choose out of the business.
Remember…training creates skill. Accountability sets the condition for production.
