December is the time that agents are generally starting to plan for the following year. Activity levels have been high, but stock levels are now levelling off and market uncertainty reigns.
One of the most important considerations, at this point in the market has to be business generation (and client retention), as well as fee levels for the next year.
How are you going to ensure your team are all onboard with the plan and engaged with your business objectives? It’s not simply enough to state that you are raising fees and need more property to sell or let – how are you going to ensure the team get on board with the plan?
Getting Your Team On-Board With The Plan
Setting a training plan starts with a one-2-one with staff to find out what really motivates them. Not everyone is motivated just by salary….. or job title, career progression, training, letters after the name, handbags (just me?!) are all key motivators.
Another tool that is useful to assess your team’s knowledge is a “Learning and Skills Analysis”.
Write down a list of all the skills you expect your team to be able to perform and all the laws you expect them to understand, then get them to score themselves from 1* to 5*.
If they rate themselves 5* then you have someone to mentor and support the rest of your team in that topic.
If they rate themselves 1* or 2* then you have a starting point to design a training program to fill in any gaps in knowledge.
Have you any concerns both as a business or with individual team members?
What problems are you looking to solve for 2024?
We know market uncertainty is likely to be with us for the next 12 months, however, people are more motivated by their homes than ever before so it’s not all negative! This is a great opportunity for those agents with a clear plan, well-trained, engaged and motivated staff, to push forward with exciting business objectives, and I also firmly believe, to push upwards with their fees.
In a difficult market, sellers want accurate advice from property experts, and this will always trump fees. Making sure your staff can demonstrate their value and be confident in their fees, has to be a key aim for 2024.