What We Ask of Our Agents

I discussed in a prior post how a strong real estate team can be of tremendous benefit to both new and experienced agents, but it's a two way street. The best teams also have high expectations of their agents and we do too. All of our agents are independent contractors so we cannot legally require them to do anything you'll read here, but we make sure they understand what's expected of them before they're brought on.

Every week our team meets to talk about our new listings, possibly new listings that aren't ours, our new buyers, sales and properties in title. Our admins also attend these meetings and update us on our year to date numbers along with any changes they might be making to our transaction coordination or marketing. We consider these very important meetings and ask our agents to schedule their business and family appointments around them.

We ask that our agents participate in our team functions. For example, The Grisak Group sponsored a benefit golf tournament for Patriot Paws, a non-profit organization which raises, trains, and places dogs with disabled veterans. Our entire team worked on this project for six months. It was a big success and we raised $15,000 for their cause.

None of our agents made any money from the event nor did they expect to. This was a team effort and our entire team was proud to have participated in raising money for such a worthy cause. I consider this event to be one of the highlights of our entire year.

We want our agents working at building their own business rather than waiting with their hands out for a lead to fall into them. We know they will have plenty of opportunities by being associated with our team. It's our job to make sure that happens. In return, we have to know they're making every effort to become a self producing agent.

We ask our agents to commit to meeting with our sales director one on one once a month It's a chance for us to review their activity and talk about what they've been doing to build their own business.

A newer agent might be struggling and this is when we can dig a little deeper. Do they have a fear of rejection, call reluctance, poor time management, or is something else holding them back? It's our job to help them work through it.

We also practice "scripts" (role playing) every week and ask our agents to attend. These discussions are focused on handling objections and problem solving. The topic might be a situation that recently came up on one of our transactions. Everyone shares their own ideas how they would address the issue so it's a valuable learning experience for all involved.

Last, but certainly not least, and it might go without saying we insist on professionalism, honesty, and always placing our client's needs above our own. Fortunately, we've never had a problem in any of these areas and I feel confident we never will.