Brokerage Management and Sales Training from an Alaskan Perspective International Real Property Foundation PeggyAnn McConnochie ©2008 ACH Consulting 1

Outline Managing People Data Collection and Analysis 2

Question What do you want to get out of today? What are your expectations? 3

Managing People 4

SALES AGENTS 5

Sales Agents Consider how many you want in your office Will they be new to the business so that you will need to train them or will they be experienced (but you still need to let them know how your company operates)? Will they be able to have assistants and work in teams? 6

Sales Agents Interviewing for new agents, ask questions such as… – What do they know about the real estate profession? – Are they motivated? – Are they detail oriented? – Are they organized? – What is their background and experience – Other questions? 7

Sales Agents Interviewing for experienced agents: – What has been their experience thus far? – What has been their sales volume since they got into the business? – Are they detail oriented? Like paperwork? – Are they willing to learn and follow a different system? – Other questions 8

Agent Assistants and Teams In the United States the other big trend is agents who have assistants; each one taking care of the sales aspect of the business that best suits their talents with one agent clearly charge Can create more headaches for the broker Can be difficult to supervise Does help good agents to be even better 9

GOAL SETTING 10

Company goals Income goals or production goals Sales or management volume goals Percent of the market goals Other 11

Agent goals Agents, especially those that are new, need help to set goals that are realistic, attainable yet goals that are set high enough to challenge and motivate them Even seasoned agents need help to set goals – near and long term Goals need to be concrete and specific Goals need to be shared with the broker 12

MOTIVATION 13

Find out what motivates people, then create an environment in which people can succeed because they feel motivated 14

Teamwork Create a mission that speaks to everyone and gives the team a common goal and direction Create a system that team members can use to recognize each other for good work – it does not need to be expensive Monitor team goals and help them to see where they are on the road to reach those goals, giving suggestions and directions when they are not quite on track 15

One on one It is not always money that motivates agents or staff Ask the individual what motivates them and help to support them by providing them incentives that mean something to them Help them set reasonable goals – give them ideas on how to improve where they are weak and support them where they are strong 16

Learn from your successes and your failures Conduct exit interviews with agents and staff; – Why did they leave It will help you improve your relationships with agents and staff 17

TRAINING 18

Training – new agents Professionalism and company policy Working with buyers Working with sellers Writing contracts Negotiating with respect Closing transactions Service through it all 19

Training – new agents Communication with the broker Importance of getting their questions answered Setting up a mentor Learning the players in the industry Risk management 20

Training – experienced agents Professionalism and company policy Working with buyers Working with sellers Writing contracts Negotiating with respect Closing transactions Service through it all 21

Training – experienced agents Communication Risk management Getting their questions answered Reputation 22

Truths If done well at the beginning for new or experienced agents and new office staff, it means you will have less problems later Put together a training system to insure that everyone gets the same consistent information If a new person seems to be struggling, go back to the training period 23

Truths If people have the right tools and support from the beginning; they will succeed and be a productive and happy member of your team 24

LIABILITY REDUCTION 25

Reducing risk Look at everything with an eye to risk reduction: – Contracts and agreements – Money and trust accounts – Insurance for the business and for property – Errors and omissions insurance 26

Reducing risk Train your agents and your staff to recognize what has the potential to be problem then give them the tools to help avoid problems You need to be aware of the potential risks with every aspect of the real estate process, then plan and prepare to reduce the risk 27

Reducing risk Each aspect of real estate has different risk factors: – Residential sales – Commercial sales – Residential property management – Commercial property management 28

Reducing risk Each aspect of real estate has different risk factors: – All have confidentiality issues that must be addressed – Money issues and the risk must be addressed 29

Reducing risk What are some of the areas that pose the greatest risk for you here? How can you avoid them? 30

Data Collection and Analysis 31

You cannot make good decisions without good data! But do not go overboard! Avoid analysis paralysis! 32

Data Find reliable sources for your data Do not share company data with anyone! Share market data with agents 33

Data Data compiled over time is one of the greatest resources we have 34

LISTING 35

Market numbers to track Numbers of properties for sale per week or month within each category and the basics on each property Prices of properties for sale per week or month within each category and the basics on each property Numbers of properties sold per week or month within each category and the basics on each property Prices of properties sold per week or month within each category and the basics on each property 36

Company numbers to track Numbers of properties for sale per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property Prices of properties for sale per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property Numbers of properties sold per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property Prices of properties sold per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property 37

Competitor’s numbers to track Numbers of properties for sale per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property Prices of properties for sale per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property Numbers of properties sold per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property Prices of properties sold per week or month and by whom within each category and the basics on each property 38

Market Analysis Develop a way to help sellers responsibly price their properties for sale – Through the collection of data, you can use it to help develop reasonable marketing ranges for your sellers – An informed seller is one who will be eager to work with you to get the property sold in a responsible manner 39

Market Analysis Develop a way to help sellers responsibly price their properties for sale – Teach your agents how to use and analyze the information that you have gathered – And teach them how to explain it to sellers 40

ADVERTISING 41

Company Create a consistent “look” and “feel” for your company – Logo – Color scheme – Tag line – Company website – Cards, letterhead, envelopes – office 42

Company Which advertising mediums will you use? In the U.S. we use: – Newspaper (local and maybe national) – Radio – TV – Company website – Franchise website – National and international websites – Blogs – You Tube – Newsletters (paper or ) 43

Company How much will you spend on each medium? Look at your costs on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis and crate a budget realizing that comments may have heavier advertising budgets than others 44

Agent Ads within company ads Page on the company website Agent website Blogs Newsletters (paper or ) Social networking sites Plus others 45

Agent Help agents to develop their own budgets depending on what type of commission system or desk fee system they are on In the U.S. agents must (are required by law) to list the brokerage firm name in all advertising 46

Property Single property websites Property signs Directional signage Flyer boxes Open houses 47

Property Typically these are costs paid by the agents themselves Make sure that agents (especially those that are new) know about these additional options 48

People Once again typically paid by the agent: – When you have a buyer who is looking for a type of property that is not currently on the market you might advertise to see if someone may be thinking about selling that type of property 49

SALES 50

Tracking your company sales Type of property Listed price Sale price Terms Time on market Amenities 51

AGENT PRODUCTION 52

Setting guidelines and goals Always remember if your agents are successful, you will be too! Set up guidelines and suggest equipment that they need to succeed – Number of people they need to talk to each day – Activities that will make them successful – Set them up with an experienced agent to mentor them – Other 53

Setting guidelines and goals Help them to understand what they can expect and aspire to for listing and sales volume during the first 6 months, the first year Let them know how much they will spend to get themselves set up and organized for the first 12 months Give them the market information that they will need 54

Setting guidelines and goals Help them to understand and then take advantage of every opportunity to get more education in their real estate area, or in a new area in which they want to practice Help them set up a system to manage every person they speak with about real estate Do not be afraid to fire an agent who is not meeting their goals and your expectations 55

DECISIONS BASED ON DATA 56

The data has to be good for you to make good decisions – remember the old American adage “junk in means junk out.” 57

Data Know what data you want to track Get the data only from reliable sources Be consistent with your tracking of the data and what data you are tracking Remember, tracking data for data’s sake is not helpful. It must be accurate, pertinent, topical, and useful. 58

Data Average agent expenses first 12 months Average agent income first 12 months Average agent income years 2 through 3 Average number of contacts made before a sale Other 59

Data Sales and listing data (residential and commercial) Rental data (residential and commercial) 60

Data For example on residential sales – Type of property – Location (neighborhood) – Lot size – Age – Building size – Amenities – Listed price, sold price, sold date 61

Data Company income and expenses: – Monthly and yearly and year over year – Budgeted, actual with variance 62

Thank you! See you tomorrow for Day 3 63