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How to Get Excited about your Business Plan (!)

November 7th, 2019

Is this you when you think about business planning? No wonder. Most times, the critical parts of the plan are left out–and you’re left with cold numbers.

Note: Through November and December, I’m going to help you with your 2020 business plans. You’ll find free documents from my business planning system for owners and an invitation to a complimentary webinar. Why not subscribe and be sure not to miss a thing?

Let’s get real. Your aren’t motivated to build that business plan. We know we’re supposed to write business plans. Yet, if you are like 95% of real estate professionals, doing that seems just like an exercise in futility. Most business plans don’t inspire.

Leaving Out the Magic?

There are components left out of most plans–components that put the inspiration and motivation into your plan and your agents’ plans. I’ll give you specific guidance for you to put that magic into business plans, so you are inspired every day to not only to complete the plan, but to use it as a very personalized and specific guide to your success.

Why Are Most Business Plans Useless?

Unfortunately, when most people write business plans, all they do is fill in some blanks with “guess” numbers. The problem here is that numbers in blanks aren’t inspiring. They aren’t motivating. They don’t call out and suggest to you that you should look at those numbers once in awhile!

What Really Motivates Us?

If numbers inspired us, we’d all be gazillionaires selling real estate.

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After all, we say we want to sell more homes than the average agent. We want to make more money than the average agent. You know the drill, and we’ve heard it from hundreds of agents hundreds of times. Yet, if numbers and money were motivators, our results would be different than they are. The fact is that money, in itself, is not a motivator.

It’s what we do with the money.

And that’s as individual as we are. Martin Luther King didn’t say, “I have a business plan.” He said, “I have a dream.” You must include the dream part–the emotional driver–of your future in your business plans to make that plan useful to you. To do that, include the three ‘missing’ parts of business plans that I describe below.

Building the ‘Why’ Into Your Business Plan

That’s the motivator. In other words, we have to have a big why. Most business plans don’t build in the why. So, they fall flat, and leave us cold. That’s why agents don’t want to go through the exercise of creating them. Managers always commiserate that they can’t get their agents to write business plans. You wouldn’t want to write a plan, either, if you know it wouldn’t help you with your business the next year.

The Tools to Find the ‘Why’

Most people think of business plans as projections of numbers. But, that’s not all there is to a real strategic plan. There are three parts of a business plan that provide that inspiration, that motivation. Those are the parts of the planning process that are most frequently left out:

our vision--why you’re in this business; how you see yourself after you retire
Your review–what happened in your business that will make an impact on your business in the future
Your mission–who are you in the business

In the next few blogs, I’ll show you how to create these parts of your business plan so you give yourself the inspiration and motivation you need to create and implement your plan.

Ready to create your plan? Take a look at my online business planning program, with all the guidance and forms you need: ***Beyond The Basics of Business Planning.***

Categories Business Plan, Experienced agent, mission, Real estate systems, vision
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Do You Believe You Would Benefit from a Coach?

by Carla Cross

August 1st, 2019

Do you believe you would benefit from a coach? You’ve made your goals for the year. You’re excited. But, you feel somewhat unfocused. You may need a coach to get your priorities right, and to stay on track. If not, what’s going to be different this year from last year? So, this month, I’m spotlighting coaching. Thanks to all you awesome coaches who help raise the standards of the industry.

Have you considered a coach? Here are ways to find out if you’d benefit.

Skills Come from Practice and Coaching Assistance

The difference between one person’s success in any field and another lies, in part, in their comparable skills.

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All experienced pianists can put their hands on the keys. They can play the notes. But, most pianists haven’t mastered playing the notes. They haven’t mastered the interpretation. That takes practice and coaching. Interestingly, real estate professionals seem to discount the ‘mastery’ truism……They must believe they can’t get better! (not true!)

Do you need a Coach?

If you’re:
• Not optimizing your talents
• Not attaining your goals
• Spending too much time spinning your wheels
• Spending too much money for little return
• Hitting ceilings of achievement
You will benefit from a professional business coach.

What Your Coach Can Do For You

• Help you focus on our goals so we get there faster.
• Motivate you to get into meaningful action.
• Encourage you to keep on keeping on.
• Offer resources for new ideas so we can take a different look.
• Appreciate your efforts when no one else seems to!

Real Estate Salespeople and Managers—a Special Breed

Approximately ninety percent of all real estate salespeople and managers have behavioral styles that are highly aggressive and/or promotional. That’s not like the normal population! In other words, we like people and we charge ahead (my motto is, when all else fails, read the directions……). Only fifty percent of the normal population exhibits those behavioral styles. Other styles are more task focused and embrace procedure.

Yes, we salespeople-types have special talents—and special challenges. Our biggest challenge is focus. We’re great with people. We get into action fast. Our problem is that people and actions pull us in various directions, and we lose the one thing that drives us toward our goals—focus. The first and biggest benefit a coach can give us is to keep us focused.

Coaches Provide Much-Needed Models and Systems

Models and systems are woefully lacking in our real estate industry. After all, we’re the people who’ve always said, “Fake it until you make it.” What if your surgeon said that? Or your accountant? Historically, we real estate professionals have had an aversion to following procedures. Yet, in the world of business, systems are the basis of all business growth. For us too, systematizing is the best way we can build big, profitable businesses. A competent coach uses and teaches proven models and systems and processes that do more than stop our crisis management. They teach us how to think about our business.

A Coach Helps You move Faster and With More Confidence

Armed with great models and systems, you and your coach have a common language from which to work. You will benefit from gaining focus. You will accomplish more faster, gain greater confidence, and be able to set higher goals as a result of your coaching experience and relationship.

Why Not Check out our Exclusive, Custom Coaching Program?

This IS NOT for NEWBIES! And, it’s not a ‘cookie-cutter’ program (a training program hiding out as coaching….). This program is a fully customized, true coaching program for seasoned agents. Also, we only have real estate professional coaches–coaches who have been successful selling real estate! Why not check out our unique Career Achievement Coaching, and schedule a Complimentary Consultation?

Categories Coaching, Experienced agent, goals, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Real estate systems, Training
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Can You Afford NOT to Hire a Coach?

by Carla Cross

July 23rd, 2019

Waiting until you’re successful to hire a coach may not be your best strategy. Read why hiring a coach–before you’re ready–can be the best decision you can make!

Money is tight. You are experiencing more challenges than you thought possible in real estate sales. Who can afford a coach? Well, maybe now is the time you CAN”T afford NOT to hire one.

Ask yourself: How are you going to get better? How are you going to break through those ceilings of achievement? Have you been ‘trying harder’? Doesn’t work, does it?

“I’ll Get Coaching and Training from My Company”

How’s that working out for you? The real estate industry is cyclical. You’ve heard people say that. There are ‘buyers’ markets, and ‘sellers’ markets. There’s another way the real estate industry is cyclical, too. It’s cyclical in its approach to supporting its agents. When I started in real estate, (almost three decades ago!), there was no training. Then, companies started training programs. When I went into management in the early 1980’s, we were also taught to coach agents to higher productivity. But, as money got tight, and real estate companies became less profitable, they dumped their training programs. They asked managers to also sell. Just ask any selling manager today whether they have time to train and coach……….you know the answer. It’s ‘no’.

Coaching is Big in the World of Business Today

However, in the world of business generally, coaching has become a big thing. It’s even swept into the realm of real estate again in the form of paid, independent coaching programs. But, you may be one of those who says, “I don’t need a coach. I’m a self-starter. I can reach my goals on my own.” Having been in real estate for three decades, I’ve heard that comment a lot. But, my experience has shown me that almost everyone benefits from coaching.

Skills Come from Practice and Coaching Assistance

As a pianist since I was four years old, I know that peak performance comes only with practice—perfect practice. And, therein lies the rub. When you attempt to learn to play the piano by yourself, without a teacher, you can’t hear yourself play. You can’t make adjustments fast enough alone. You need a great piano teacher who is helping you assess your performance, make adjustments, and challenges you to stretch to higher goals. The difference between one person’s success in any field and another lies, in part, in their comparable skills. All experienced pianists can put their hands on the keys. They can play the notes. But, most pianists haven’t mastered playing the notes. They haven’t mastered the interpretation. That takes practice and coaching.

Could You Benefit from Coaching?

If you’re:

Not optimizing your talents
Not attaining your goals
Spending too much time spinning your wheels
Spending too much money for little return
Hitting ceilings of achievement

You will benefit from a professional business coach.

What Your Coach Can Do For You

Help you focus on our goals so we get there faster.
Motivate you to get into meaningful action.
Encourage you to keep on keeping on.
Offer resources for new ideas so we can take a different look.
Appreciate your efforts when no one else seems to!

Real Estate Salespeople and Managers—a Special Breed

Approximately ninety percent of all real estate salespeople and managers have behavioral styles that are highly aggressive and/or promotional. That’s not like the normal population! In other words, we like people and we charge ahead (my motto is, when all else fails, read the directions……). Only fifty percent of the normal population exhibits those behavioral styles. Other behavioral styles are more task focused and embrace procedure. Yes, we salespeople-types have special talents—and special challenges.

We Real Estate People’s Biggest Challenge

Our biggest challenge is focus. We’re great with people. We get into action fast. Our problem is that people and actions pull us in various directions, and we lose the one thing that drives us toward our goals—focus. The first and biggest benefit a coach can give us is to keep us focused.

Coaches Provide Much-Needed Models and Systems

Models and systems are woefully lacking in our real estate industry. After all, we’re the people who’ve always said, “Fake it until you make it.” What if your surgeon said that? Or your accountant? Historically, we real estate professionals have had an aversion to following procedures. Yet, in the world of business, systems are the basis of all business growth. For us too, systematizing is the best way we can build big, profitable businesses. A competent coach uses proven models and systems and processes that do more than stop our crisis management. They teach us how to think about our business.

A Coach Helps You move Faster and With More Confidence

Want to see if coaching may be for you? Take this evaluator.

Check out our unique coaching programs here.

Categories accountability, action plan, Business Plan, Coaching, Experienced agent, goals, mentor, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real Estate Success, Real estate systems, Training
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How Much Energy are You Putting into Inaction?

by Carla Cross

June 13th, 2019

How much energy are you putting into inaction?

In the 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days. In it, I’ve included lots of up-to-the-minute updates to our business. You can read some of them, in these blogs.

Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.

Below is an excerpt from this edition of the book.

Real Estate Sales IS Challenging!

I’ll bet you didn’t know how challenging real estate sales were until now. To cope with those challenges, your creative subconscious may be coming up with ways to convince you to avoid getting into action. You might even start believing your subconscious!

One of the most common reasons new agents (and some seasoned ones) don’t get into action is the old “I can’t do that because I don’t know enough.”

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Or, maybe your subconscious has convinced you that you’re not organized enough to get into action, or that you’re not perfect enough.

Getting Ready to Get Ready

Ned, an agent in my office, acted in a way that is an example of creative avoidance. In the business eight months, Ned had made only one sale. However, he was in the office regularly and appeared busy with paperwork. He attended law courses and was well-informed on financing. One day I saw Ned collating maps. I asked him what he was doing. He explained that he was putting together a series of maps for a buyer’s tour. I thought that was exceptional; buyers would really want to know the whereabouts of the homes they were seeing.

Does What You’re Doing Matter?

Unfortunately, Ned had used his strategy with only six buyers—all the buyers he had put in his car in the past eight months! He had spent his time on this nifty map system, but had not talked to enough people to get them into the car—or have the opportunity to appreciate the map system! Which is more important to your goal attainment—talking to people, qualifying them, and showing them homes, or working diligently on a map system in case you find someone who wants you to show them homes?

How People Get into Action

How do you “get into action”? In a wonderful book, The Conative Connection, Kathy Kolbe explores the ways different personalities get into action—not how we learn, but how we get into action. Some people barge ahead and worry about the details later. We start badly, but, because we’re tenacious, we surprise people by how good we finally get. Unfortunately, our supervisors often remember only how bad we were when we started. We must be tough-minded and keep at it; we must retain an image of ourselves as “finished products,” because others will not see us that way. Other people observe the action for a long time. Finally, when we feel ready to perform well, we get into action. We start slowly but well.

Positive reinforcement? Because of our slow start, we don’t get much positive reinforcement from our supervisors (or coach or manager), who note our lack of progress compared with others in the office. If slow starters are tenacious and believe in themselves, they become very good because they practice perfectly. Kolbe points out several “get into action” styles. This book will help you pinpoint your “get into action” style as well as the barriers and challenges you face as you start your real estate career.

Embrace Embarrassment

Go ahead—be embarrassed. There is no way to be experienced until you get experience. No agents like to take risks, be embarrassed, or have buyers and sellers guess that they are new in the business. But face it—everyone has been new in the business. Just go ahead and get those first few months over with. You will be embarrassed every day—many times. As a new agent, my most common statement to buyers or sellers was “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” In music, little could stump me—but in real estate anything could stump me! Still, I muddled through it, and you will, too.

* Big Idea: Your ability to get into action and risk being embarrassed is one of the attributes of a successful new agent.

Why not take your time? I’ve interviewed prospective agents who told me they really didn’t want to sell real estate right away. They wanted to learn everything they could. Then, after six or eight months, they would feel ready to sell real estate. It doesn’t work that way! I wish I could tell you that you can successfully launch your real estate career by taking lots of time to “get ready.” However, if you take all the time in the world, you will fail. Why? Because you will lose your enthusiasm and motivation. You’ll start telling yourself you really can’t do it!

Real estate is a performance art. It doesn’t matter how much you know; it only matters how you interact with people. And that takes practice and performance. To remember and emulate good performance, we need to perform right after we have heard, seen, and practiced that performance. Learning something in a class and letting that skill lie dormant for months just guarantees poor skill—and high stress.

* Big Idea: 99 percent of what we learn we learn by doing.

On a scael of 1-10, 10 being “I jump right into action”, how would you rate yourself in getting into action?

Do You Have a Proven Start-Up Plan with Inspiration Built In?

Up and Running in 30 Days has lots of up-to-the-minute updates. Plus, a proven, prioritized business start-up plan with inspiration, motivation, and action items built in. Check it out!

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, accountability, Business Plan, Experienced agent, Motivation, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, time management, Up and Running in 30 Days
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The 10 Commandments to Follow to Get the Best from Your Manager

by Carla Cross

June 5th, 2019

Here are the 10 commandments to follow to get the best from your manager.

I’m sure you’ve told your manager what you want from him/her. And, the manager has eagerly agreed to give it to you! But, what’s your responsibility to the firm?

From working as an agent for 8 years, and managing agents for almost two decades, I’ve drawn some conclusions about the ‘turnabout’s fair play’ that I believe agents owe managers. I’ve also listed these in the Up and Running in 30 Days, because, I believe if managers are willing to give 100% support through training and coaching each agent to success, agents need to give it their best, too.

Here are agents’ ten commandments to get what you want from your manager:

Do the work.
Don’t argue.
Don’t make excuses for not doing your start-up plan.
Don’t tell the manager you’ve been in the business two weeks and you have a better way.
Do thank your manager frequently.
Do tell other agents that you appreciate your manager’s efforts.
Do tell other new agents you meet in other companies that you have a great manager.
Don’t bug other people in the office to find another answer because you didn’t like your manager’s answer.
Don’t change the Up and Running plan because you “don’t like it”. (You just don’t like lead generating, do you?)
Don’t miss a coaching appointment!

I’d love to hear what you think of my ‘ten commandments.’ Are there others you think are important?

Managers: Why not make your own ten commandments and discuss them in your interview process. Then, turn the tables and ask the agent about his expectations of you and the office.

Agents: Before you hire on, get in writing exactly what your manager is going to do to assure your success, so you won’t have disappointments later. Getting agreement on what we both expect before we decide to work together is key to a happy partnership. The only surprises I want you and your agent to have after you start working together are good ones!

Side note: Managers: My belief is that you owe it to your agents to coach each one, regularly and professionally, in starting his or her business. That shows your 100% commitment to each person’s success.

Are You Achieving What You Want?

Many times, we’re not achieving as we desired because we’re not following the right plan–or a plan at all! Why not get on track with the plan that thousands of agents have used to succeed? It’s online now, too. Check out Up and Running in Real Estate. It’s so affordable, at only $249, and it’s instantly available to you. In 8 weeks, it will take you from 0 to successful.

Click here to find out more.

Categories 5th Edition Up and Running in 30 Days, Coaching, expectations, Experienced agent, Interviewing, manager, New Real Estate Agents, onboarding, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, real estate team, selection, Training, Up and Running in 30 Days, Up and Running in Real Estate
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Should You Join a Team? Pros and Cons

by Carla Cross

April 18th, 2019

Should you join a real estate team? Here are the pros and cons. This question is one newer agents always ask. But, it’s not all sunshine and roses. Here are the upsides–and the downsides of joining a team.This blog is excerpted from my 10 critical trends new agents (and all agents) need to know to thrive in this fast-moving real estate community.

These trends are from my 5th edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.

{Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.}

What is ‘teaming’?

It is affiliating yourself with a “rainmaker” agent, an agent who will deliver leads to you, for which you’ll pay a portion of your commission. You’re teaming up with that agent to do the work that the rainmaker agent doesn’t have time to do. First, teaming doesn’t mean partnering—two agents working together. If you join a team, you are working for that rainmaker agent.

Generally, agents who grow teams have been in the business at least a few years. They’ve developed a large business. To grow their businesses, they need to “duplicate and delegate.” So they hire assistants and buyers’ agents—agents who work with buyers the rainmaker agent has generated. Many times they hire new agents and train them in their methods.

How Joining a Team Can Help a New Agent

Teaming helps agents obtain leads as they start up business. While agents earn the most in commission dollars when they generate their leads themselves, a new agent may need to pay for someone else’s lead generation to begin to develop business. There is a downside to this approach, however. Agents can become complacent and sit and wait for leads. They won’t generate—until they get tired of paying for someone else’s leads.

If you’re thinking of joinng a Team: Here are 6 big Questions to Ask the Rainmaker

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1. How many leads will I get per week?

2. How do you manage the team?

3. How will you train me?

4. How much turnover has the team had?

5. Can I sell homes from my own leads, and what will you charge me?

6. Do you expect me to generate my own leads? How many?

Positives of teaming:

You may be able to jump-start your career with leads given to you.

Watch out for:

Be careful to choose a rainmaker who really has enough good leads to distribute to you.
Sit in on her team meeting to see how she manages the team.
Find out if and how the rainmaker will train you. Find out how much turnover there has been on the team.
Find out whether you can sell and list houses outside the team—and how much the rainmaker would charge you if you did.
Read the contract the rainmaker asks you to sign and be sure you understand the consequences of your involvement.

Is he or she a leader?

Evaluate how good a leader that rainmaker is. Some rainmakers are great salespeople but lousy leaders, and so their team never gels. Most team leaders ultimately expect their team members to generate their own leads, in addition to team leads. If you can’t meet the rainmaker’s expectations, you are terminated. Be willing and ready to take the responsibilities of team membership seriously.

* Big Idea: If they aren’t your leads, you’re starting the real estate business all over again when you leave the team.

Question: Have you thought about joining a team? Or, if you joined a team, how did it work out?

Are You Using the Best Start-Up Plan to Launch or Re-Launch?

Does your plan have the detailed, prioritized checklists needed to assure a great start? Does it have built-in inspiration and motivation? Does it have dozens of tips to control the attitude? If not, you need Up and Running in 30 Days. Just out in its 5th edition, it’s the most successful book for new real estate agents ever!

Click here to see the updates in my fifth edition of Up and Running in 30 Days.

Categories expansion teams, Experienced agent, mega-agent, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real estate systems, real estate team, selecting team member, team
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Are You Thinking of Management? How to Get Ready to Train

by Carla Cross

February 21st, 2019

Are you thinking of going into management? Here’s how to get ready to train.

To help you: At the end of this blog, grab my analytical tool to see how effective your office training program actually is–and recommendations on how to improve it.

One of the great actions effective managers do is to create and implement a training program that actually gets results. I know you want to help others attain their goals, and training is one of the best ways you can do this–if you’re a good trainer, have great programs, and focus on measurable results.

This month, I’m featuring blogs regarding going into management. Why? I’ve been interviewing for that next great leader. Unfortunately, I’ve found few candidates have prepared at all for management. (Read my earlier blogs for preparation needed).

Grab your training calendar from your office (you do have a training calendar, don’t you?). Do you believe that training is getting the biggest ‘bang’ for your training buck (effort expended, talent needed, results expected)?

Maybe you’re taking part in the training program. Are you frustrated because your training isn’t getting results? Or, people just aren’t showing up? Or, worse yet, falling asleep in that factoid-heavy class?

If you have access to your office’s profit and loss statements: Maybe you have a specific problem you’ve noticed when you read your latest profit and loss statement. For instance: Perhaps your agents are giving too many commission concessions.

Training can Solve Some Challenges–and Not Others

When you go into management, you’ll see various challenges that training can solve (and some challenges training can’t solve!). Decide which challenges you can solve by providing training (like increasing listings sold) and which challenges can’t be corrected by more training (ethical issues are hard to re-train to, since people’s ethics are pretty hard-wired into them in their early years!).

Pretend now you’re in management. If you’re experiencing any of these challenges, you’ll love the tool here. I’m providing an insightful analytical tool to discover what’s right–and wrong–with your training.

Three main reasons training isn’t working:

1. It isn’t tied to the problems you want to solve in your office (agents not productive enough, commissions too low, etc.)
2. It doesn’t teach your agents to perform better–just gives information
3. It isn’t exciting enough–teacher just drones on and on…..

As I work with owners, managers and trainers internationally, I see these same three problems crop up over and over.

How to Figure Out What’s Wrong with that training Program

From working with many managers over a period of years, I’ve created an analytical tool to figure out what’s good, bad, and ugly about their training programs.

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Grab it here. Use it in your office. Or, if you have the guts, use it with your manager and then create a plan to create better training–with goals for specific, measurable results.

Click here to get your analytical tool — along with tips to correct your training to make it pay off.

Managers: Do you have someone you know would be a great manager? Start working with that person now. Get them into training. Have them take a great Instructor Development Course, team train, and, finally, start training on your program.

Affiliates: Share this with the managers/trainers in the offices you call on. Use these tips, too, to streamline the training you provide.

The Complete Training Guide for Real Estate–Gain Skills and Techniques

Here’s the comprehensive training tool that will help you create great training programs, become a confident, effective trainer, and help many more people succeed in real estate! Check it out here.

Categories Experienced agent, manager, mentor, New Real Estate Agents, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Training
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Thinking about Management: How Should Managers Spend Their Time?

by Carla Cross

February 14th, 2019

How much time should you spend in these management activities I’ve listed in the handout below?

If you’re thinking about going into management, you’re probably going to ‘model’ what you’ve seen done in your real estate office by your present manager. That may be good–or bad, depending on how your manager manages his/her activities.

In my Leadership Mastery Coaching program, I provide several analysis tools to help new managers get started right with the best practices. At the end of this blog, grab my Time Analysis for Managers. Use this to set up your schedule (if you’re going into management). If you’re already in management or managing managers, use this to help managers get their priorities right for success.

Where Managers Go Right–and Wrong

In my most popular book, Up and Running in 30 Days, the new agent’s start-up plan, I divide all the activities an agent could do into two categories: business producing or business supporting. Business producing are those activities where the agent is finding, working with, and closing clients. Business supporting are all the rest of the activities. Where do you think agents go wrong? They spend too much time in business-supporting activities.

Now, let’s compare that to the categories and activities managers do. They also divide themselves nicely into busininess-producing and business supporting. (Take a look at my handout at the end of this blog). Where do you think managers go right in prioritizing their activities? They spend the majority of their time in business producing activities: Finding and working with productive agents. (not just crisis management, though).

How do You Spend Your Time?

From working with hundreds of managers in my Leadership Mastery program, I see that successful managers spend the majority of their time in business producing activities. The failing managers spend most of their time in business supporting activities.

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In fact, failing managers become masters of the technical aspects of the business, and spend lots of time preparing and playing technology. (Sound familiar to those of you managing failing agents?) There’s nothing wrong with knowing the technical aspects of real estate and using technology. But, the failing manager focuses and ‘lives’ there.

What’s Your Conclusion?

Let me know how you used this analysis tool. General managers: What did you find when you had a manager use this tool? What changes will you help them make?

Grab my Time Analysis for Managers. Use this to set up your schedule (if you’re going into management). If you’re already in management or managing managers, use this to help managers get their priorities right for success.

Resources (Some are FREE) to Gain those Management Skills

This month, I’m offering some of my management resources free with purchase of other resources. Check it out here.

Categories building team, Coaching, Experienced agent, goals, Interviewing, lead generation, manager, New Real Estate Agents, onboarding, presentations, Real estate as a career, Real Estate Sales, Real estate systems, recruiting, retention, selection
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Taking That Next Step into Management? Get the Skills First

by Carla Cross

February 7th, 2019

Taking that next step into management? Get the skills first.

At the end of this blog, I’ve provided a rating assessment that I use in my Leadership Mastery coaching. You can rate yourself on your management skills, so you’ll know what you need to work on prior to going into management (or if you’re already in management).

Are you thinking of going into management? Few of us knew the skills–or the level of skill attainment–we needed to succeed in the job. I want to help all of you who want to go into management to succeed at a high level. Thus, these blogs.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been interviewing potential managers. I’ve found that almost none had done any ‘prep’ work to go into the position. Yet, successful managers have developed specific, somewhat unique skills to do their jobs. And, what I’ve found is that these skills must be at least partially developed before we launch ourselves into management–or else we get swamped by all these new challenges hitting us in the face!

In an earlier blog, I discussed the skills we need to have honed prior to going into management. In this blog, we’ll tackle getting those skills in certain areas.

At the end of this blog: grab my assessment tool I use in my Leadership Mastery coaching series to help new managers plan for this skill attainment.

The Biggest Skill Area Managers Need Today to Succeed

What do you think it is? It’s recruiting and selecting skill. Why? Because, there’s so much competition for good agents that a manager just can’t sit back and wait for agents to come to them. It isn’t the old days (although I never was able to do that in my ‘old days!’).

These skills are the same skills good agents use to expand their businesses. That’s why we need to hire managers who have been successful recruiters and selectors. Notice I said recruiters and selectors. I know companies brag about how mahy gross recruits they landed that month or year, but, long-term, it’s those who stay, prosper, and grow with the company that add to the profitability of all.

One of the standards you need to create when you’re hiring a manager is

How successful was that agent as a business getter? What’s the number of transactions you would accept?

How to Get Recruiting and Selecting Skills

Your company may have a course focusing on these skills. If so, take it prior to going into management. Overall, the best courses out there for management are the CRB courses, leading to the Certified Real Estate Broker designation. I highly recommend them. Here’s the link.

What’s Your Agent Track Record?

Great agents don’t make great managers. Do you believe that’s true or false? I believe it’s false. Here’s why.

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As I said, the greatest skill managers need are recruiting and selecting skills. If you don’t have a track record of at least 12-20 transactions a year as an agent, in my opinion, you have not developed the skills in recruiting and selecting you will need as a successful agent. It’s my experience that agents who didn’t actively lead generate will carry that habit into management. They will balk at lead generating for agents, and they will fight upper management to the death–and to everyone’s detriment.

Resource (Some are FREE) to Gain those Management Skills

This month, I’m offering some of my management resources free with purchase of other resources. Check it out here.

Grab the leadership skill assessment here.

Managers or general managers: If you’re hiring a new manager, help them evaluate their skill levels and then create a training and coaching program to assure they get those skills before they launch their management career.

Are You Destined for Management?

by Carla Cross

January 31st, 2019

Are you destined for management?

Here’s how to find out if management is in your future–and how to prepare to succeed.

** See my prioritized job description of a manager as a handout–along with the number of hours I recommend you spend in each activity.

Here’s a straightforward job description for a successful leadership-manager:

Find and develop people

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Skills you need to effectively develop individuals:

Lead generation/recruiting/presentation skills
Interviewing/selection skills (both for agents and staff)
Coaching skills (along with a proven coaching approach)
Training skills
Management: Ability to create and implement a business plan
Ability to create and implement a training plan as part of your business plan
Ability to create and implement a leadership council, for participative management/ develop that leadership
Ability to create meaningful office and staff meetings

In these blogs, I’ll make some recommendations to you about how to get those skills. Unfortunately, we go into management thinking either

We have enough of the skills to succeed
There aren’t skills needed to suceed in management
I’ll learn ‘on the job’

The Best Management Training Courses Out There

Are you familiar with The CRB courses? These are offered by an arm of the National Association of Realtors, and are, by far, the best management courses out there.

Here’s the link: https://www.rebinstitute.com/. It’s called Real Estate Business Institute now. I highly recommend the courses.

When to take these courses? Before you go into management! They are offered throughout the United States (and some in Canada). I was an instructor with the Institute for 12 years, and so I know the value of these courses (I also took several of them prior to going into management).

Investigating Management

Have you interviewed at least 5 managers to find out what they do and how they got the skills to do it? If not, start your interviews now. You’ll find a wide range of management descriptions, of course. Some managers will describe what I call ‘maintenance management’–keeping the place running by doing administrative duties and listening to agent complaints. That’s not what it takes today to succeed in ‘active’ management. In fact, I think a great manager can be compared best to a great or mega-agent.

Questions you’ll want to ask:

What’s your biggest challenge in management?
What’s your biggest win?
What’s different from management than you thought before you went into management?
How do you create a real team?
How do you recruit?
How did you prepare to go into management?

Suggestion: Ask for a copy of the manager’s job description. I’ll bet few of them have ever seen one!

Here’s the link to the prioritized manager’s job description.

Another way to prepare to go into management: See my management resources at www.carlacross.com.

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Resources (Some are FREE) to Gain those Management Skills

Resource (Some are FREE) to Gain those Management Skills

Grab the leadership skill assessment here.

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