When it comes to commercial real estate agency, selecting the right staff is always a challenge. When you have selected the right person for the job, there is always a transition period before they become efficient and effective in the market. The question is, how long will it be for them to reach an appropriate level of performance?
A salesperson that is new to the job and the local area will take approximately three months to get going, and start to pull in some quality listings. Over that time you should also see some potential sales or leasing activity.
Some may say that I'm being too harsh and two critical for the startup time frame with new salespeople. Some may say that it is too short. The reality of the situation is that the quicker we get new salespeople to grow their market share and convert transactions the better for everyone concerned. The salesperson does not want to be poor forever. The agency principal will also be looking for some glimmer of rulings as soon as possible. It's a tough industry and the sooner new salespeople get into the tasks that must occur, the better.
Make no mistake, the commercial real estate industry can be challenging, but those people that really do drive their market share and create a pipeline of opportunity will always win new business and income from the local area. It all comes down to focus and taking action.
So here are some ideas to implement when it comes to integrating a totally new salesperson into your agency.
- Get them involved with other experienced salespeople as early as possible. Exercise a degree of care with the chosen salesperson to mentor new salespeople. They must have firmly established and good business skills that are relevant to the market and the office. They should be proven performers without any question of a doubt.
- Give your new salesperson a defined territory with a reasonable amount of stock that they can get their teeth into. In most cases there should be approximately two or three thousand properties and or businesses in the territory. In most cases the new salesperson should be working both property owners and business proprietors.
- Allow them to specialize in a property type within the territory. That being said, the relative property knowledge should be available and firmly established. Exposing new salespeople to experienced property developers and property investors can be a difficult decision if the right knowledge is not there. Inexperienced salespeople without the support of others can very well send the wrong message regards property experience and relevance.
- Weekly meetings should occur with new team members to discuss results and targets. At the earliest stages of employment they really do need to know how to set goals and objectives relative to their business and territory. They also need to know how to work to those goals and targets so that they can get some decent results.
- Monitor the number of lists, the number of meetings, and the number of converted transactions on a person by person basis. When you monitor these ratios and numbers, you will soon understand if a new salesperson is correctly prospecting on a daily basis, or giving you some false information regards tasks and activities. Underperforming salespeople can not cover the numbers for ever; the truth soon seeps through.
- Build their negotiation skills so that they are gradually improving with all of the skills that they require for both sales and leasing. A strategy of role playing on a weekly basis within the team is a worthwhile process. Every property market is unique and special when it comes to the levels of inquiry and the types of property. There will always be special factors to incorporate in your listing presentations and negotiations. Identify those factors and practice them within your team meetings on a weekly basis.
- Build their presentation skills when it comes to listings and property inspections. These processes will always improve through the attrition of time; however the top agent can quickly track the process through practice and diligence.
- Help them with all their listings in the early stages so that makes few mistakes, and professionally represent your agency to the marketplace.
If dedicated focus is applied to a new salesperson from the start of employment, and the appropriate knowledge and training is ongoing, within approximately 12 months they should start to show some domination in their market. Continued self-improvement will build the salesperson to the top of the market.
Immobilienmakler Heidelberg Makler HeidelbergSource by John Highman