To retain top talent, business owners and leaders must acknowledge top performers and the significant role they play in the overall success of the organization. Here are three things you can do to retain top sales agents in your real estate team:
Manage Engagement Levels
Maintaining high engagement among top performers includes: providing stimulating tasks, going above and beyond with recognition, offering compelling career paths, and outlining growth opportunities within the organization.
- During our team’s weekly 1-on-1 meetings, we discuss career goals and potential growth opportunities, help agents measure and forecast performance, and offer support or training where necessary. We reward top performers by recognizing them during team meetings. Other ideas for recognition: run an ad on your team’s Facebook page acknowledging their accomplishments, or offer them the opportunity to shadow the team leader for a day.
Invest in A-Players
Training top performers starts at the top (no pun intended). While a sales team is being trained as a whole on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, a top performer needs more intimate, 1-on-1 training whether from the team owner or a coach from an outside company.
- Once or twice a year I will personally take one of my top sales agents under my wing and work with her on her individual business. Together we will outline short term and long term goals or develop solutions to current challenges she may be facing; my role is to provide her with the support and training she needs to succeed. I may even include her on a new project I am working on to see how she handles it – who knows, maybe one day she could manage that project herself. At the end of our time together, the agent’s ability and willingness to contribute to the team’s overall success dramatically increases. Not to mention, I was able to spend quality time with and groom an up and coming leader in my organization.
Be Transparent
Communication is a fundamental building block of any relationship, especially the relationship with your top performers. Share future growth strategies with your top agents and emphasize their roles in making that future real. This level of transparency will drive further engagement.
- During the ‘mentorship’ with one of my top agents (as previously mentioned) I will share various growth strategies or ideas that I have for the team, and the role I think she could play. I will also ask her to share any other strategies or goals that she may have for the team. By treating her like a ‘partner’ in the business, I am able to not just deepen our relationship but also gain valuable insights (and maybe even new ideas) given the fresh perspective.
