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"Leave no one out of the big picture.
Involve everyone in everything of any consequence to all of you."
Tom Peters Managers have an incredible source in their clerical office
staff. Involving them in the success of the office will bring more to the
bottom line and it's so easy to do. Share Your Vision The first step in bringing the office staff into the team
mode is to share your vision for the office and how they can be a part of that.
Tell them what your goals are for the year the first week of January.
Ask them what they can do to help make those goals a reality.
You will be surprised by what transpires.
Encourage them to participate and no comment is silly or stupid.
Everything that they offer about getting the success you seek as a
manager is important, write it down! Physically
show them that there comments count.
If they suggest changes that cannot be accomplished right now, explain to
them why, but that you will address that issue later. Make sure they understand the real estate business and how
your office and agents function. If
they have been with you any length of time, they will know a lot, but it is
important to emphasize what agents have to do to write a sale on the sales
board; what they have to do to get a listing; how important every telephone call
is. Explain the commission versus
salary structure in a positive way for them.
Tell them how important they are in the overall functioning of the office
and in the lives of the agents and manager.
They need to see how it all fits together. Keep of Sharing Update them monthly when you do the agents on the progress of the office. Congratulate the staff the same way that you would congratulate the agents. You need to let them know that they are doing their part.
Recognize a top staff person at the sales meeting when you recognize the
top sales associates for the month. Offer Incentives Small incentives such as reward coupons that the agents and
manager can give to a staff person for going over and beyond the call of duty
are fantastic! You print them out
and have them available for everyone in the office to use.
An agent can fill in what the staff person did and put it on his/her desk
for everyone to see. Just saying thank you sometimes is enough, but this makes it
even more special. Or, perhaps. A
staff person has a day of the month named for them.
Everyone knows that the 15TH of March will be Susie Day.
Make sure all the agents know to be extra nice to Susie on that day, the
manager take her to lunch, have a special card on her desk when she comes in and
some flowers, put it on the voice mail that it is Susie Day, try to get all the
agents to send her cards and notes. This
is a once a year idea for a staff person and the benefits last for twelve
months!!! Have a 12-month incentive plan where the manager rewards a
staff person with 50 cents each time they do something special for the agents.
When the staff person has $5 collected, they get to choose from a menu of
items; e.g., have a free hair style, get a free car wash, $10 worth of dry
cleaning, or gift certificate for lunch. When
the staff person has $10 in 50 cent pieces, they get to choose from another
menu; e.g., a full body massage, a housekeeper for a day, cut and hair style,
pedicure and manicure, or overnight stay in a bed and breakfast.
When all the staff people in the office have $10 in rewards, the manager
takes them all out to dinner together. This
is a fun program and takes about a year to complete.
This gives instant recognition as well as tangible rewards along the way
so the staff love it! Watch the Results! With the staff being recognized and rewarded for helping
your agents and feeling that they are part of the team, your results will be
phenomenal! They will talk to
everyone they know about the great real estate office they work for, bringing in
business. The agents will get a lot more help with their work because
the staff really want them to be successful.
The phone will be answered much more carefully and with a smile.
The entire office atmosphere will be one of cooperation and helpfulness.
And, you will know what is happening in your office at all times because
the staff is there as your goodwill ambassador. Don't overlook your office clerical staff when you are looking at increasing your bottom line. When the attitude is right in the office, the bottom line gets bigger!
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