What do you think your manager expects of you? Do you know? How do you know? A survey I did a few years ago of 155 new agents revealed some compelling facts. For example, most agents coming into the business today as ‘full-time’ careerists have high expectations. 92% of the new agents surveyed expected to make more than the median income of all Realtors. The most stunning statistic, though, from these new agents, was that 65% expected incomes in the $31,000 to 75,000 range–their first year in the business! This survey of new agents was done to gather research for Carla Cross’s book, Become Tomorrow’s Mega-Agent Today.
New agents need to be focused on business development—not training
Another stunning finding from the research was that 62% of the new agents expected to get a check in their first sixty days in the business! They expect to hit the ground running.
To do this, the new agent’s focus needs to be on business development, not on training. Normally, companies put the new agent into a ‘curriculum based’ program to tell them everything they’ll ever need to know about real estate. Unfortunately, the new agent thinks that all that knowledge equals success in real estate. That’s wrong.
Creating Success, not Useless Knowledge
New agents create early success when they focus on a business start-up plan that contained heavy business-producing activities. If you’re a new agent, you have to develop the mental toughness to ignore information that’s not critical to your business production. If you don’t, your money will run out before you learn everything! (Give it up; you’ll never know everything!)
Your expectations may vary from your manager’s expectations of you.
If the new agent expects high earnings fast, what did his manager expect from him? 71% of the new agent respondents from the survey didn’t know. They hadn’t asked, and the manager, in the interview, had not volunteered to share any management expectations.
No News is Good News?
71% of the respondents didn’t know even the minimum expectations of their managers–the minimum production standards they would have to meet to have their contracts renewed the second year (or to be retained during any start-up period). To assure that the new agent and manager see ‘eye to eye’, both parties need to agree on mutual expectations in writing prior to hiring on.
Not only getting the ‘what’ in writing, but the ‘how’. Even agreeing on minimum activity and production standards doesn’t assure that the new agent will meet his goals with the full support of his/her manager. The new agent needs to see the ‘how’—exactly how that manager will coach the new agent to quick success. If you’re a new agent, you need to see the exact business activity plan* that you will be coached to. You also need proof that the plan has worked with others in the past to deliver the results you expect of yourself your first month, quarter, and year in the business.
Matching expectations assures no surprises and gets planned results. Take the wishing out of business expectations. Both new agent and manager need to get expectations in writing, agree on a business start-up plan, and start working together with mutual accountability to partner in great results. Your manager must be accountable to coaching you on a regular basis with a proven business start-up plan. You, the new agent, must be accountable to do the activities in the plan. Together, you will achieve your mutual goals.
Do YOU have a start-up plan?
If you’re under 2 years in the business, I’ll bet you don’t have a business start-up plan. Yet, you need one! Check out Up and Running in 30 Days. I promise you’ll get your business on track to exceptional success, as have thousands of other new agents who follow the plan.
