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The world has rapidly changed around us over the past year, and adaptation in every capacity has become one of the biggest priorities. Agents do not have time to put productivity aside, especially with the housing market surging in many parts of the U.S.
Productivity is measured by the success we achieve on behalf of our clients, and it’s my job to encourage the agents at my firm in every step of their journey.
Here in North Texas, the real estate market is thriving, and that means all agents need to adjust to maximize their potential. There is no greater achievement than the success of my real estate family.
In 2020, my brokerage experienced record growth. We grew by 51% last year and we are not slowing down. However, adding agents can’t be the only solution to help us flourish in the real estate market—we also need every agent to be productive.
How do you inspire agents’ productivity? Well, first, with compensation. Agents are inherently inspired by making money, but brokers have to go beyond that.
As I started to look ahead to 2021 several months ago, I began to brainstorm how I could encourage my real estate family to maximize their full potential. One of my solutions was to start sales clubs—selective groups that every agent is a part of in some form. Each sales club meets monthly and includes agents who achieve similar levels of production. While the meetings are virtual, the goal is to create the same sense of camaraderie as we would in person, while also promoting competition among peers.
The meetings are based on the ideology that “iron sharpens iron.” If I knew a competitor was doing more business than me, trying harder than me, and selling more homes than me, it would light a fire. And I’ve found that to be the case for my agents as well. My goal is that the fire spreads with each meeting and ignites the unique motivation within each agent.
In these meetings, we promote a sense of community in addition to competition, because competition can’t be the only drive for success. With that in mind, we’ve expanded upon incentives and recognizing agents when they hit a goal or milestone.
For example, as part of our annual company holiday party, we celebrated agents’ successes. In 2020, a year when celebration was often pushed to the back of people’s minds, we celebrated and rewarded more agents than ever. We recognized our seasoned agents, new agents, and agents whose branding is unparallel. Yes, this promotes competition, but an award also provides an added layer of incentive.
Recognition is important. Our agents work extremely hard every year, but they worked especially hard in the changing environment brought on by the pandemic. They adapted and worked tirelessly, and I wanted to show them I recognize that.
A separate event that I offer at the beginning of every year is a kickoff party. The annual meeting is designed to announce the top producers from the year prior and celebrate what we can accomplish in the upcoming year. The challenge this year is how to achieve that sense of camaraderie in a world that is largely virtual for the time being. Because our holiday party went so well, we are hosting a kickoff luncheon in a similar virtual format with pre-recorded messages and announcements.
Another significant area that motivates our agents is social media. Our digital platforms go beyond posting listings. We celebrate our agents’ anniversaries, closings, new listings, and other prominent highlights. Our social media presence conveys a fun sense of community within the profession, which helps pull our agents together who are working in separate locations.
While we recognize agents through our public channels, one of the most successful means of encouragement has come through our private social media groups. I have several different company Facebook groups for my agents, and each one provides specific encouragement and competition.
One of our most successful Facebook groups is for “up-and-coming" agents, and it’s designed to support those in their first six months of their real estate career. We also have a group that everyone in our company is a part of. This group celebrates the wins of each agent, but also serves as a resource where agents can tap one another for advice.
As the real estate industry continues to face a rapidly changing environment, I will ensure we adapt how we celebrate, encourage, and incentivize our agents. This will help make them happier and more productive members of the Rogers Healy and Associates family.
