REAL ESTATE COACHING PROGRAMME.
There are many aspects as to why an agent will join a real estate company – each office and each brand will have a value proposition that they will offer an agent, and that value proposition should be strong enough to attract an agent into their office.
* Commission Structure
* Strength of Brand
* Market Share
* Training Provided
Most brands and offices will offer a basic minimum, but its the successful offices that have a value proposition that cannot be copied, and this often comes down to the role of the leader in the organization.
Comments Owner/ Broker at at RE/MAX Panche, Grant Gavin “We recently launched a coaching program that gets our sales people to approach their sales businesses with the mindset of an entrepreneur. What I have found is that the majority of people in sales, come into sales with the mindset of an employee, and this is detrimental to their consistency in sales, and ultimately, their long-term success in their chosen sales industry.
Using coaching versus traditional management techniques comes with a shift in mindset for the leader. Whereas sales managers quite often provide a top-down approach to goal setting and performance management, coaching principles operate on the basis of getting the sales person to achieve the targets they set for themselves, and then providing a system that holds them accountable to achieving their own targets.
The coaching program gets the sales person to look at their entire business from a wider perspective. What do I mean by that? Well, most sales people live and work month to month. They are transactional minded in terms of what they focus on and how they operate, and as a result they never achieve the consistent results that they desire. A good business coach has that perspective, as they are not involved in the transactional activities, and they can evaluate the salespersons activities from a completely different view point.
The coaching process takes the sales person on a journey from being transactional minded to a more transformational mindset, and being able to assess their business and set strategies that cover all aspects of their business.”
So how has it worked?
“So far, very well, and we have noticed an increase in the productivity of our top agents to the point where some are seeing a significant increase in leads and business, and are now being coached on introducing admin assistants and team members to help them continue their growth. This is happening at a time when the market is changing and becoming a difficult place to be for the average real estate agent.
It is so important that the leader of the business (read, sales person) grows from a personal development point ahead of the growth in their business. If the business grows ahead of the leader, it causes problems down the line as the leader becomes the bottle-neck in the business.
We meet once a month with all the agents on our course, and we also have 1-on-1 meetings with each member to discuss more personal details and strategies with them about their own specific plans and goals.
Results? The top 6 agents in our coaching program have as a group, seen an increase in their income of 120% on registered sales.
RE/MAX Panache is putting the interests of their agents first in the knowledge that if the agents are successful, then the company will be successful. Not the other way around. We are developing entrepreneurs in the sales industry. Obviously the calibre of agent we work with is important, and the company looks for top professionals who aspire to be at the pinnacle of their chosen industry. Business coaching is a fairly expensive cost in the eyes of most sales people, but the cost of not having a coach, is way more expensive in the long run. At RE/MAX Panache, this coaching is provided free of charge and is a massive value add that keeps the company at a 40% market share in their North Durban suburbs.
And how do the leaders keep this momentum? Well they too invest in themselves in terms of personal development and business coaching, and therefore the principles of their coaching programs are based off real life experience and practicing what they preach. No leader is ever the complete product, and continual learning is vital for the long term growth of your business.
Comments from some of the agents:
I’ve never had this type of entrepreneurial coaching at any other real estate office before.” – Dietlyn Bekker
2. “It’s mind-blowing how much I’ve learned in the past 6 months” – Lee Ann van Niekerk
3. “Having a focused coaching process has transformed my approach to my business.” Glen Ashton
4. “We’ve been pushed outside of our comfort zone and the results are amazing. We’re so grateful that we have access to this coaching.” – Mel Riddle
The names of the agents in the pic (coaching pic):
Left to right – Grant Gavin, Vimla Naidoo, Lee-Ann Van Niekerk, Deanne Hamilton, Charmaine MacDonald, Liane Harris