Happy agents and happy hours
Realtor Notebook
By Teresa Boardman, Thursday, August 20, 2009.
Flickr photo by kspoddar.Several of my friends and business contacts own small real estate brokerages. One thing I keep hearing from them that is that they are looking for ideas on how to keep their agents engaged with the company.
In most cases they are talking about social activities or office projects. I keep thinking that they are working with or looking for the wrong agents and that a brokerage can and should be successful without having social events or events beyond selling real estate that require agent participation.
There are agents who sell real estate to make a living and who don't join companies or offices because of affiliation needs -- those who may not have the time or interest in "belonging" to something and who already belong somewhere and who have a social life outside of and beyond their work.
Some of us join brokerages big or small for business reasons only. There are agents who need to go into an office and want to participate in events and parties or to have other agents to socialize with, but the need is not universal.
One office I worked out of used to make a big deal about having barbecues in the parking lot and Friday evening happy-hour gatherings for the agents. It was nice that they did it, but only a small group of agents participated.
Is there any evidence that camaraderie among agents in an office improves sales? Don't most of us make our sales by being outside of the office with clients?
Office social events are opportunities to network with other agents, but does networking with competitors get us as far as networking with people in our communities who might have real estate needs?
It is possible to network with other agents without ever going into a real estate office.
There is the popular concept of having an office work with or donate money to a charity. Most real estate offices seem to have these types of office projects.
Each organization, social network and real estate office presents yet another opportunity to donate money to some cause. It gets complicated for people like me who already donate money to a couple of causes and are stretched to the limit with volunteer activities. ...CONTINUED
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Submitted by Robert Watson CRB, ePro @TopBrokerOC on August 20, 2009 - 11:32am.
The best way to keep agents engaged with the company is to make sure that the owner, manager or team leader is providing coaching to the agent on a regular basis that is in tune with the agents' vision for their business. 70% of the agents with whom I am familiar with in our market in Southern California would like to make a living at this business. The other 30% just want to "belong" to a group for social reasons. For the 70% who want to make a living, it is inherent on the leader to help them get there. Owners, managers and team leaders need to ask themselves this question- "When did I last have a conversation with each of my agents?" Many will tell you that they couldn't possibly due to the number of agents they have. Okay, how about the top 50, 40, 30, maybe 20? It's amazing how many don't. The culture of the office and company is driven by the leader and will determine whether or not social events will work. The members of the office who are successful, will help drive that culture.
Submitted by Robert A. Hulme on August 20, 2009 - 2:58pm.
My brokerage allows me to be able to do business in Real Estate in the State of Utah. After working with 2 Major Brokerages in the past and paying up to 40% commission split, all I want and need at this point in my career is a place to hang my license.
www.UtahCountyHomes.ws
www.UtahCountyRealEstate.us
Submitted by Jay Thompson on August 20, 2009 - 3:17pm.
My small independent brokerage has held just two "events" since we started over 18 months ago. Granted they were happy hours, and we had a great time, but given that we have no other office meetings, at all, two in 18 months doesn't seem excessive.
Not one agent, so far, has left the brokerage due to a lack of social interaction with other agents. They interact on a *business* level frequently, and do that quite well I think.
We don't party, we don't build houses, we don't contribute as a group to charity (though some individuals give plenty of time and money to charities of their choice). We sell real estate. That's pretty much the point.
Jay Thompson
Broker / Owner
Thompson's Realty
Blog: www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
.
Submitted by Dawn Darner on August 20, 2009 - 9:35pm.
I, too, work in a smaller brokerage - we celebrated 50 years of business recently. We're paid on time and fairly. We have great office staff. We have strong, knowledgable leaders who are available to help whenever we need it. We work hard. We also take part in the community we serve, as an office. We do fundraisers for charity. We support the food shelf. We have gatherings. Certainly these things aren't required of us but we're nice people and it's nice to spend some time together occasionally - away from selling real estate. Why do you make that sound like a bad thing?
Dawn M.Darner,Realtor,GRI,AHS,SRES
The Darner Peterson Team
"Old Friends Helping New Friends"
CARDINAL REALTY
Dawn@DawnAndRita.com
Submitted by Paul Caparas on August 20, 2009 - 10:29pm.
I don't mind going to office events if I have time to go because I get to meet other agents in my office and pick their brain. Also it is also nice to know them just in case we work a deal together in the future.
Paul Caparas
San Diego Realtor