(Only seeing the short clip? Be sure to sign in to your TLC account to keep watching.)
Coaching Call #16 — July 22, 2024
In this week’s coaching call, we discussed:
Pre-NAR Settlement Checklist (also good for Summer / Fall planning)
Top Producers and experienced agents could be more at risk if not being prepared for changes coming in August (Download the What-If Planner spreadsheet below)
Implementing Skills Groups for training, idea sharing and growth between agents
Firms that are not ready for NAR changes or a fundamental sales-driven market might seek options to sell or merge
Book Mention: Who Not How, by Dan Sullivan
Here’s the recording, session notes and resources. If you have questions, let me know in the comments or by email.
The full TLC Monday Coaching Call recording and materials are available to upgraded subscribers. To enjoy The Leadership Club™ at its best, upgrade today!
Quick Reminders
Upcoming webinars this week (Wednesday and Friday), Register for both!
The new TLC Coaching call format starts on August 5.
Email Amber at amorgan@matthewferrara.com to be listed in the TLC Directory.
Catch up on last week’s newsletter:
In Focus This Week: Pre-NAR Settlement Checklist (print out this image as a checklist)
As August approaches and the NAR Settlement is activated, use this checklist to do a review now — rather than panic in August. Get ahead of the curve and have a competitive advantage while others are catching up last-minute.
CHECKLIST
Have all salespeople have attended forms/legal update training session(s)?
Have all staff (marketing, transaction management, recruiting/onboarding) are clear on new rules/doc needs?
Have salespeople updated their key communications pieces:
A direct-to-consumer explanatory piece for current/transitioning clients
A prospecting/PR piece for general marketing, social media, and press outreach keeping your SOI updated on changes
Updated website presence (bios, social media, portal profiles)
Update buyer and seller explanatory tools for presentations (with role-play)
Meet 1-1 or small-groups to review everyone’s readiness, talk things out, etc.
Review your recent meeting attendance rosters to identify agents who may be behind.
Also helpful for Summer into Fall business planning with agents — and some relationship and retention banking as we discussed in the this newsletter.
This Week’s Discussion Items
#1 Top Producers Might Not “Got It”
Top producers and experienced agents are likely in the middle of a busy summer of closings, and may have put off key steps to familiarize themselves with upcoming changes in August. Leaders must engage them now and identify any training and preparation needs before it’s too late.
Top agents are often blinded by a successful past; whereas new agents are open to changes without “historical blinders.” For ALL AGENTS: the new rules with buyers will require new skills, new conversations, and new techniques — happening at a time when they also need to book as much 3rd quarter business as possible, since this is a shorter year due to elections right before holidays!
Many successful agents might be feeling like, “I got this,” but even so, they shouldn’t put off preparations and practice until the starting bell. Meet with your top agents now and see:
One by one, rank your roster by level of preparedness
Use the opportunity to discuss business plans, adjustments, current performance and laying the foundation for 2025
Help agents project anticipated revenue. Identify the possible impact on their business by using the What-If Planner Spreadsheet (below).
Keep holding trainings and workshops
Consider inviting consumers to join webinars, too, and engage the public and press with specific outreach by an expert (you!)
Skills Groups Strengthen Engagement
Review the engagement strategies (also here) and involvement methods we’ve shared in past coaching calls. Then listen to today’s call where a TLC member shared a very successful experience hosting small skills groups (not masterminds). Here’s how it works:
Small groups meet weekly, in the office or an informal home or coffee shop
Ideas are discussed on specific topics and skills, and solutions shared as a group
They encourage and hold each other accountable to be there and participate
All ideas are documented and shared with the office manager to compile into a master list
Agents are also asked to present ideas and solutions in a company meeting
Bonus idea: Compile these ideas into a booklet used for recruiting, onboarding new agents, training, and coaching!
Back to the Future of a Fundamental Real Estate Market
Some leaders on the call are seeing smaller firms who aren’t used to business in a “fundamental market” looking to merge with larger companies with more resources. Today, we explained how the industry isn’t just adapting to new buyer agency changes — it’s also going back to the future of a fundamental market where SALES, not INTEREST RATES, drive outcomes. This is why some companies need bigger budgets for training agents rather than simply purchasing tons of online leads.
The next decade of real estate will be driven by fundamental sales skills, not sugar highs.
We're entering into a business cycle here where skills, competence and commitment will drive growth. For over 15 years, many agents were “taking orders” to create deals, without learning and applying many core skills like prospecting, pricing, pride-reductions, negotiations, closings, referrals and more. A stable, 4-6% interest-rate level market will require sales skills (not just marketing skills) to sell properties that might still sell fast, but more like weeks rather than days.
Use the August changes as a catalyst to connect with other firms who might call it quits. Be the firm that ramps by being reaching out and having discussions about the opportunities to merge or be acquired. It’s also a prime time to recruit agents from low-service companies who have not prepared them to navigate a fundamentally different marketplace — let alone the immediate changes.
The What-If Planner
Here’s a powerful spreadsheet tool to help agents understand their business and anticipated revenue. Use this what-if planned to identify the number of listings, buyers, appointments, and time necessary to thrive in new conditions.
