It’s that time of the year when your team have had a good break and are hopefully raring to go for 2014. There’s no better way to motivate your real estate agents than aiming high.
Setting goals for your real estate agency isn’t about monitoring staff performance or instilling fear into your team. It should in fact be a positive experience.
The principles of good goal setting apply, no matter how large or small your business. Here are our tips on getting it right for your agency:
Get your team on board with the bigger picture
Before setting goals for your agency; share with your team your vision for the future. Bring them in on the journey and let them see your roadmap for success.
Like with anything in business (or life), if you know where you’re heading, you’re able to keep this in mind whilst you battle with day-to-day frustrations and complications. In the world of real estate for example, the day-to-day frustrations such as waiting for commission payments can weigh heavily on both you and your team. Whilst there are solutions such as a same-day commission advance, agency life will be smoother sailing if you know exactly how, when and where you need to utilise your advance commission.
Involve your team in goal setting
Whether you’re setting agency-wide goals or personal goals for one of your real estate agents, involve them in the process. Ensure your team fully buy into the goals you’re setting – otherwise they won’t respect them and they definitely won’t feel compelled to work with you on them.
If your team have been involved in the process of setting goals, they’ll hopefully feel motivated to meet them. If they foresee issues or potential challenges, this is their time to raise them with you.
Be optimistic, but realistic
Whilst we advocate aiming high – that doesn’t mean that the goals you set should be over-ambitious. Setting unrealistic goals for your agency will inevitably lead to a de-motivated team and low morale. If your team feel as though they’re failing, this will spell disaster for sales.
Identify potential growth opportunities
Work with your team to identify and new opportunities for the year ahead. Look at what’s happening in your particular area and also the property market in general to identify new areas for growth. For example, is there planning permission for a new residential development? Has one of your competitors received some negative publicity? Brainstorm new ways to saturate your local real estate market.
Ensure your goals are measurable
The only way to celebrate reaching your goals is to make them measurable. Set some key measurements against each one of them and ensure you celebrate even the small milestones. Don’t just set measurements for the year-end, set quarterly goals too – that way you and your team really feel as though progress is being made.
Give your team goal ownership
When setting your goals, think a little outside the box and consider the strengths and weaknesses of your agents. Is there an agent within your agency that has a particular interest or skills-set that could be put to use in marketing your agency? Assign some goals to your team and let them feel as though a traditional hierarchy doesn’t exist.
Focus on your agency, not what your competitors are doing
Last but not least, be careful to not watch your competitors too closely when setting your goals. Stay true to your brand and the business you’ve already worked hard to build. What your agency excels in, might not be what your competitors do well in. And vice versa. Don’t try to be everything to everyone. If you’re closest competitor manages properties, this doesn’t necessarily make sense for your agency.
If you need help and advice on any aspect of running your real estate agency – or you think you’ll be in need of advance commission in 2014, take a look at some of our other blog posts – or contact our friendly team today for trusted guidance.