Highlights from the RISMedia Webinar, December 7, 2022

Full webinar recording below

As we head into the new year, agent retention and productivity is top of mind for brokers across the country. With so many real estate professionals entering the industry in the last two years, some sources are predicting that nearly 250k may soon walk away. In this webinar, panelists will share tips and best practices for retaining agents and helping your business grow to new heights in 2023.

Guest speakers:

• Alissa Harper, Chief Sales Officer, Inside Real Estate (moderator)
• Anthony Lamacchia, CEO/Broker &  Owner, Lamacchia Realty
• Ken Baris, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Jordan Baris Realty
• Willie Miranda, President and Broker/Owner, Miranda Real Estate Group

NAR tells us that over 150,000 people became real estate agents in 2020 and 2021. That’s 60% more than the 2 years prior.  Even with that massive volume of new agents entering the business, most would probably agree that 2021 was one of their strongest real estate years.  

Fast forward a year, we are in a very different climate with different market conditions, so what does that mean?  Are we going to have a mass exodus of agents? Are those headlines hyped or reality? And is it necessarily a bad thing?

Here’s what the panelists had to say:

Anthony:  

My quick answer is yes, and I actually think it will be more, and I think that it is somewhat necessary. It got a little too easy to sell 3 or 4 homes a year, and now we are getting back to a market where you need to be an expert and you need to take it serious.

Ken:

With change comes opportunity. This group of panelists has been around the industry for decades and we’ve seen a lot of changes in the markets. These changes create the best opportunities because when it’s so easy everyone can prosper, and when it gets a little more challenging the opportunity to have your quantum leap is right in front you. There is so much opportunity, lots will leave, and the playing field will shift.

Willie: 

We’ve watched the movie before and we know how it ends. People are going to leave after really good markets because we made it look too easy.  What I found is that a lot of people that got into the business over the last few years got in because they were interested in real estate, but maybe not committed to real estate. The ones that were committed are the ones that are going to do ok though this shifting market.

‍

What should you be doing as a Broker/Owner to navigate this change in the market?

One of the strongest levers you have as a broker to keep agents loyal and with your brokerage is to help them be more productive. Yet with so many new agents that have entered the business, many of them have never been in this type of market and learned how to navigate these market conditions. How can you coach and guide your agents to be more successful in the market they are in today?

Anthony:

I think the biggest thing is walking them through what it’s like to have a listing that doesn’t sell in 30 minutes. Learn how to manage your listing and be in touch with your seller, go over feedback with them, have conversations about price adjustments etc. I’m even seeing good agents that have been doing this for 10 years say they’ve forgotten how to handle an open house that only has 3 people show up.  

When sellers start poking holes in what you are doing you need to know how to answer it.  Here’s the thing:  Us realtors get more credit than we deserve when homes sell fast. And we get more blame than we deserve when homes don’t sell.  That’s just the nature of the business and it’s never going to change. So now we are going from being heroes for two years, to being zeroes to some sellers and you have to know how to manage that and keep those sellers happy and engaged with you. And that takes a little bit of this thing called “work”. 

Ken:

We’ve been doing a lot of talking to our team and we have lunch time learnings every Tuesday, we have Friday power hours.  We are explaining to them that we have all the tools, now it’s time to use them.  We use kvCORE and it has everything you need.  One example of this, we are doing a “5 a day” push – put 5 people into your CRM every day. kvCORE will automatically send a market report every 28 days showing your seller the value of their property, the hottest listings, the most expensive listings, the newest listings and what’s sold – full of eye candy and it keeps you connected and productive.  If you do 5 a day as an associate, that’s 1200 a year, if you get 30 people doing it, that’s 30,000. It works. We also tie agents to accountability partners to talk to each other to make sure they are getting it done. The impact of this one task each day over a course of a year will change their life. 

Willie:

We’ve gone with a three prong approach comprising 1) lead generation, 2) training and 3) support. It really requires going back to the basics and for many people learning some new skills. How to talk to a seller about a price reduction is a conversation many agents haven’t had to do before, so they need the training and support in negotiations. We’re doing 6 week accountability groups. We’re doing Top 20% Mastermind groups. Just really focusing on getting their production to the next level because it really will require them going back to the basics and increasing their activity.  The third prong is support, and we really want to take some of the load off of them so they can focus on the sales part of their job and not be bogged down with tasks that aren’t helping them be productive. 

‍

Agents are spending so much of their time on tasks that could be automated.  What technology and tools are you deploying to help free up time for your agents and keep them as productive as possible?

Anthony:

I’m a big believer in CRMs. Just like Willie said, you have to get back to the basics and utilize your CRM to help you do it.  There’s gold in your database – if you reach out. Use emails and texts and social to continue to educate your sellers, they need market information, rate information, they are hungry for it and agents can be that critical resource. They need you more than ever right now. 

And don’t wait or come up with excuses for not starting right now – it won’t get easier. I don’t have a tomorrow attitude or a next week attitude. You have to get it done today.

Ken:

We are coaching our sellers on the best strategies to help them get their home sold at the best price. This isn’t new, the market has been here before and will be again so we’ve learned strategies that work.  We are working with lenders and working with sellers to offer to buy down rates. Often times paying two points for a rate reduction is much better than a price adjustment on the home.  We are also putting extra effort in putting out strong content, testimonials and personal stories to help educate and inspire our sellers. All of these efforts continue to drive more touches and more leads and all of this will make our agents productive. 

To make this work you need a “do it now” attitude.  You can’t let things slip through the cracks, you need systems and then actual execution.  

‍

How can you help your agents “play to win” vs “play not to lose”?  Where do you cut back, where do you double down?

Willie:

We always need to be having our agents in some type of sales contest.  If it listings, or training related, whatever it is we have rewards and prizes. It’s not about the money, it’s about the public recognition. They want to win. These contests makes small wins big wins, which is critical right now for agents. Agent recognition has played a big part in our retention. 

Don’t cut too quickly. Just because you’ve had 3 or 4 bad months you can’t cut all of your expenses. Give it some time, stay diligent in your efforts. 

Anthony:

The defense/offense comment is one that I’ve been making.  When things get tough, you can “over cut” and hurt yourself.  I’ve been focused on making wise cuts but not too many cuts. We have thinned out where volume is lower, but in other areas we’ve hired and grown. In some areas we are on defense and some areas we are on offense, it’s a mix for us. 

Remember - it can’t stay like this.  Remind yourself this will shift again, and be ready for it. Don’t overreact.

Ken:

We’ve been looking at areas we can trim without interrupting our agents.  Now we are looking at areas where we can improve our business.  With 20% fewer transactions next year, that means we need to increase agent production by 20%.  Maybe we focus on selling in higher price markets, or look for higher volume in lower price markets.  We’re building up our referral programs. We’re adding a “licensed for referral only” program.  The opportunity is out there and now is the time to be strategic and implement smart programs.

Stay focused on increasing mind share. Mind share leads to market share. 

We also do it differently than a lot of other brokerages and we keep a lot of our focus on our higher producers vs always focusing on the newer agents. Our newer agents are more motivated and aspire to get to that position to have those extra perks and resources. 

Investing in your business while others are pulling back will pay dividends when the market begins to shift.  

‍

If you’re not growing, you’re shrinking. Always be recruiting. What are some of the strategies you are using to recruit and retain?

Anthony:

We have a referral program that works. When a new agent comes onboard, we give them a flier that says when they send a referral in they can get $500 per transaction on the first 3 transactions that agents brings in to the company. And we’ll have annual awards for the highest number of referrals. Part of it is about the money, but more of the success is about the winning. People like winning.  Create contests and competitions and that will get your agents involved in the recruiting.  

As far as recruiting as a whole, you are either growing or dying. Period.  You have to be doing it all the time. As the owner I get involved personally and that makes a difference. I set up appointments for our business development team. Making phone calls works better than anything.

Ken:

When we meet with people, we don’t call it an interview, we tell them we will give them a look behind the curtain. We show them the tools so they can see what it would be like as one of their clients. We actually put someone in the kvCORE system and watch the progression of that contact through the system on the phone, and email and in the platform. It’s amazing to see it first hand. We want people that will be inspired by what we are using.  It’s working, and the results are there.

Willie:

Our goal is to out-educate your competition. We used to keep this information private but now we just push all of this amazing and proven training out there and it really helps arm agents with the information they need. 

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. We love to see the training and skills we teach being utilized out there in the industry.

‍

Final words of wisdom:

Most agree that a large volume of agents will leave the industry next year. What can you be doing to make sure your agents stay loyal with you and stay productive?  

• Dig in with them, work with them and educate them on how to be effective in these changing market conditions. 
• Contests work.
• Use the technology and tools in front of you - they are designed to make your business better and stronger. 
• Think strategically about your investments, where to cut and where to slow down. But don’t over-cut and overreact. 
• Compound consistency will make a difference. 
• You need a “do it now” attitude.
• Opportunity is out there, especially now.
• Always be recruiting. 

Willie:

It’s a great time of year to clear your desk. Declutter everything in front of you and write down your goals. Create your own economy. Don’t listen to the news, don’t listen to anything that’s going on out there, you can do whatever you want to do. You just have to double down on the activities, get back to the basics, get accountability and execute. 

Ken:

Take time to think and act. We’ve been like a gerbil in the wheel going through the motions for the last few years and it’s time to stop and think about what you are going to do, put it down and execute.

Anthony:

Acquisitions and walkovers. The next 3-4 months will be a tremendous time for it. Often times brokerages think they can’t afford it. Often times it can be cheaper than you think because of the economies of scale. Don’t tell yourself you can’t do it. You can do it. Get on offense and find the opportunities. 

WATCH THE FULL WEBINAR HERE: