I just had the privilege of spending four solid, amazingly jam-packed days with the very best of the best teams and individual agents in the country at the 2022 Explosion Summit Event presented by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Ambassador Real Estate in Omaha, Nebraska led by CEO, Vince Leisey. The event was spectacular and there were hundreds of results-oriented successful best practices and take-aways on so many relevant and timely topics for today’s ever-changing real estate market
As a speaker, moderator, and event sponsor, I was able to interview top panelists on all kinds of business strategies that they use every day to generate wildly successful listing and sales results. They all shared unbelievable and proven ideas with each other, and it was a game-changing event for all who attended. From $30 million to $400 million in annual sales volume, and from 50 to 800+ units, one thing was present in all these leaders—a determination and focus to succeed and win. These team leaders possess drive, commitment and focus like I have never seen before.
Want to up your game and grow and scale your team? Check out these 10 characteristics I found that these elite, rockstar agent sales team leaders possess for winning:
- Businesses built on relationships. Every top professional real estate agent I speak to repeatedly states their success comes from building relationships with their clients. Relationships built on trust and confidence for a lifelong relationship. They aren’t just texting, emailing and long gone after the transaction is completed. No, they are making it a point to see their clients face to face, multiple times a month and quarter with client appreciation events, personal cards, gifts, and other value-added services throughout the time their clients will be living in their homes. This is a relationship business. It is so much easier to create referrals than to generate new business.
- Authentic self. So many top leaders in our industry are successful because they are exactly who they are and present their authentic self always. Being a genuinely kind and nice person and offering amazing value to your buyer and seller clients can be done with a realness that resonates with other human beings and builds relationships for life. When you are serving, it’s not selling. Sure, we are doing this as a sales career, but I see top real estate sales leaders leading with their heart and providing real value in their servant styles. A rockstar agent I coach, Lisa Cozzi says, “it’s all about heart and hustle” for her as she leads her team of 13 sales associates in New England and is on track to close $200 million this year.
- Know and communicate their unique value proposition. Top team leaders know how to differentiate and increase their value to a potential client. Knowing exactly what extra ‘value’ you bring to the process and better yet being able to communicate it clearly and succinctly is a winning trait. From niche services and luxury home marketing to new construction and investment portfolio strategies, know the exclusive value you bring to the table and communicate better than anyone in your market. It will get you hired and will also generate referrals from your very happy clients.
- Implement effective systems. Top-performing teams have extremely effective systems for managing everything from email marketing and social media to lead nurturing and transaction follow up. Running efficiently means having systems and processes in place that allow you to produce more activity in less time as well as stay in contact with your leads and clients and deliver consistent, exceptional service every time. Start with your CRM and client database and then check out technology and systems that can save you time and provide a radically different experience for your prospective and existing clients.
- Time block the money hours. Effective time management is also a key trait of top-performing sales associates and team leaders. Being intentional with your time and blocking specific hours of the day every week to focus on one activity from start to completion and will generate successful results. Time blocking is great, too because you can block all your time, work and personal so what you are blocked to do in that time slot is the only thing you are doing. Personal health, hobbies, family time all create a healthy, well rounded you that is rested and ready to attack the work projects with 100 percent every time. Time block the specific phone calls, outreach calls to your client list and referral sources to continue to generate new business every single day. You will love the outcomes, I promise.
- Lead teams with culture first. Trying to get the most production out of your team is only a natural desire as you created this team to scale your business and grow. That is true and that is also something that team leaders expect to happen almost immediately. Creating the culture within your team is hard to do when everyone is totally focused on only listings and sales and meeting quotas and goals. A lot of times team leaders or owners will build a team with a lot of dysfunctional behaviors but that is how the team was set up in the beginning. Trying to create culture in an already existing team is going to be somewhat of a challenge but it can be achieved. The key is to listen, lead and have empathy. Give guidance and care about people first. Help them all learn from each other and guide with mutual respect. Your team’s culture is a direct reflection of you, their leader. Build the trust and sense of team and the production will follow.
- Know their numbers and their market values. Top agents know their numbers and track and measure them daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. They know home values in their markets and can speak with authority and confidence. Knowing your numbers not only keeps you motivated and on track, but it also honestly makes you stick out from your competition. Make it a point to know your neighborhood market values and track and measure your KPIs (key performance indicators) for success.
- Have an over 90% referral rate. When you deliver amazing, Ritz-Carlton like service it is easy to generate over 90% referrals from your clients and sphere of influence. How often are you connecting with them? How many times are they seeing your name, your video, your email? Put a specific plan in place monthly to connect with them and provide good information and content to help keep them informed of the market and the value of their home. Literally set a goal to increase your listings and sales referrals to over 90% and track and measure it. Provide thank-you gifts to clients and referral sources for referrals and make it an intentional point of seeing your key 50 clients and referral sources at minimum 1-2 times per month on purpose. Client and referral, friends and family client appreciation events done multiple times per year are a huge success to increasing your overall business of 90% plus referrals. Another member of our coaching, Megan Owens a top agent in Omaha says “Consistency is key for getting referral business and do the things you don’t want to do even if the whole day has gotten away from you, send the SendOut Cards every week and reap the rewards of consistency in connecting with your sphere.”
- Work hard and play hard. Top-performing real estate agents have figured out how to have work life balance. Everyone wants to work smarter, not harder and have the work/life balance that you want and frankly deserve. We try to answer the question of ‘How can I align my priorities of my health, my family, my vacations, my relationships, and my professional and financial goals and still have success in all of them without sacrificing others.” You can work smarter, not harder and have the work/life balance you desire.
- Hire a real estate coach. Top-performing team leaders hire a coach to help build and scale their teams. They understand the ROI, return on investment of 10X the investment and double and triple their income every year. A real estate coach will take you where you want to go with accelerated results. These top team leaders use their coach to help them create the back-end systems that have doubled or tripled their entire sales team’s listings, sales, and ultimately revenue. You can start with the $20, $50 and $100 plus million-dollar GoldMine Pipeline™ Lead Generation System below to get started to dramatically grow your team. Coaches also provide great value in creating the branding, marketing, social and digital marketing strategies as well as help you develop the structure and scalability of your team. Finding the right coach can literally change your life and build your team to multi seven figure revenues and profits and provide you with the work-life balance you want and deserve.
You can adopt these 10 key winning characteristics to lead your team to greatness! I am positive you will be providing amazing client experiences that radically differentiate you while you continue to build and expand your sales and market share. Look at the areas you are lacking and see how these top traits can be your solution to wildly successful growth over the rest of this year and beyond. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. We can all learn from these rock star agents and implement these winning behaviors for success. Best to you as you continue to grow your business with great purpose and intention.
Download Johnson’s Exclusive GoldMine Pipeline™ Strategy to get your agents closing more leads into listings, sales and ultimately income. This system can double their production, fast! Go to www.goldminepipeline.com for Johnson’s Free eBook and the Worksheet. These are just a few of Johnson’s proven and exclusive leadership and development strategies that produce amazing results quickly. For more information about Sherri’s exclusive turnkey, team solutions to scale your team, contact Sherri Johnson at www.sherrijohnson.com/onetoone for coaching plans.
Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 25 years of experience in real estate as a top agent, broker, and executive responsible for over 750 agents and over $1.7 billion in annual sales volume. Sherri offers her exclusive and proven methods through custom, one to one coaching and tailored consulting services. Sherri is a highly sought-after keynote speaker delivering high energy and real solutions audiences love. Sherri has been named a RISMedia Real Estate Newsmaker in 2020 and 2021 as an Industry Influencer and Thought Leader. She is the author of the Sherri Johnson Academy, an on-demand learning platform as well as the 90-Boot Camp. Sherri is a preferred coach, consultant and speaker for top 10 international brands and brokerages and can dramatically increase your company’s revenue and profits. Visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.
