Few things wear real estate leaders down like inconsistency. Strong one month, quiet the next. The salesperson who listed strong in August seems to have vanished come September.
You can see the potential in them. That is what makes it so frustrating. You know what they are capable of, and yet month after month, a lot of your salespeople never quite get there.
The instinct is to look at the salesperson. To wonder what is wrong with them, or what more you could say to fire them up.
But inconsistent results are rarely a people problem. They are a culture problem.
More precisely, they come from a lack of clarity in your culture. That is something you own, and something you can fix.
Why culture sits at the centre of everything
In Smartre's Management System, Culture is Essential Element One. Not by accident. It is first because everything else derives from it.
Think about what culture actually is. It is your people. How they think. The language they use. And all of that dictates how they behave, whether that behaviour is right or wrong, consistent or inconsistent.
Behaviour drives results. Culture drives behaviour. Follow the chain back far enough, and every result in your business traces to the clarity, or the fog, of your culture.
Which is why the work starts with you.
Before you can hold anyone to a standard, you have to be able to describe it.
The first questions are for you, not your team. What does good look like in your office? What does consistent behaviour look like? What does the right language sound like? Paint that picture clearly in your own mind first.
The clearer you are on what your culture is, and what you want it to become, the clearer you can articulate it to your salespeople. And only once it is articulated can you genuinely hold them to account for it.
A standard you cannot describe is a standard nobody can meet.
Here are some examples of what clarity around actions looks like:
• Every salesperson actively prospects for new business each week
• All team members prioritise listing opportunities
• Weekly team training is attended by everyone
• Support staff understand the importance of listings and back the salespeople in creating them
Clarity of culture is only half of it.
The second step is understanding the values of your individual salespeople. What actually drives them? What are their intrinsic motivators? What matters to them, underneath the targets and the commission?
This is the part many leaders miss. They define the culture they want, try to impose it from the top down, and then wonder why it never quite sticks.
Some of the values you want to instil or draw out of your salespeople include:
• Providing a great life for themselves and their family through real estate
• Celebrating results together when they are achieved in your office
• Respecting the boundaries salespeople set on their time, whether that is blocked-out time for key actions or protected family time away from the office
Bring the two together, and you'll create consistency
This is the key that ties it together.
Once you have clarity on your culture and you understand the values of your salespeople, your job as a leader becomes clear. You integrate the two. You show each person how their own values fit within, and are served by, the culture of your office.
When someone's personal values line up with the way your business works, they stop needing to be pushed. The behaviour becomes their own. Consistent behaviour follows, and consistent behaviour is what produces consistent results.
There, finally, is your solution. Salespeople who fulfil their potential, not in the occasional strong month, but month after month.
Clarity first. Values second. Consistency follows.
Inconsistent results are frustrating precisely because the potential is real. The talent is already in the room. What is usually missing is the clarity that lets that talent show up the same way every week.
Get clear on your culture. Understand what drives your people. Bring the two together. That is how potential stops being something you glimpse, and starts being something you can count on.
We have put together a one-hour webinar that takes a deeper dive into this exact topic: how to build the clarity of culture that turns inconsistent salespeople into consistent performers.
If that is something you would like to explore, you can register here: [register here]
Because your salespeople do not need more pressure to reach their potential. They need a culture clear enough to grow into.
Few things wear real estate leaders down like inconsistency. Strong one month, quiet the next. The salesperson who listed strong in August seems to have vanished come September.
You can see the potential in them. That is what makes it so frustrating. You know what they are capable of, and yet month after month, a lot of your salespeople never quite get there.
The instinct is to look at the salesperson. To wonder what is wrong with them, or what more you could say to fire them up.
But inconsistent results are rarely a people problem. They are a culture problem.
More precisely, they come from a lack of clarity in your culture. That is something you own, and something you can fix.
Why culture sits at the centre of everything
In Smartre's Management System, Culture is Essential Element One. Not by accident. It is first because everything else derives from it.
Think about what culture actually is. It is your people. How they think. The language they use. And all of that dictates how they behave, whether that behaviour is right or wrong, consistent or inconsistent.
Behaviour drives results. Culture drives behaviour. Follow the chain back far enough, and every result in your business traces to the clarity, or the fog, of your culture.
Which is why the work starts with you.
Before you can hold anyone to a standard, you have to be able to describe it.
The first questions are for you, not your team. What does good look like in your office? What does consistent behaviour look like? What does the right language sound like? Paint that picture clearly in your own mind first.
The clearer you are on what your culture is, and what you want it to become, the clearer you can articulate it to your salespeople. And only once it is articulated can you genuinely hold them to account for it.
A standard you cannot describe is a standard nobody can meet.
Here are some examples of what clarity around actions looks like:
• Every salesperson actively prospects for new business each week
• All team members prioritise listing opportunities
• Weekly team training is attended by everyone
• Support staff understand the importance of listings and back the salespeople in creating them
Clarity of culture is only half of it.
The second step is understanding the values of your individual salespeople. What actually drives them? What are their intrinsic motivators? What matters to them, underneath the targets and the commission?
This is the part many leaders miss. They define the culture they want, try to impose it from the top down, and then wonder why it never quite sticks.
Some of the values you want to instil or draw out of your salespeople include:
• Providing a great life for themselves and their family through real estate
• Celebrating results together when they are achieved in your office
• Respecting the boundaries salespeople set on their time, whether that is blocked-out time for key actions or protected family time away from the office
Bring the two together, and you'll create consistency
This is the key that ties it together.
Once you have clarity on your culture and you understand the values of your salespeople, your job as a leader becomes clear. You integrate the two. You show each person how their own values fit within, and are served by, the culture of your office.
When someone's personal values line up with the way your business works, they stop needing to be pushed. The behaviour becomes their own. Consistent behaviour follows, and consistent behaviour is what produces consistent results.
There, finally, is your solution. Salespeople who fulfil their potential, not in the occasional strong month, but month after month.
Clarity first. Values second. Consistency follows.
Inconsistent results are frustrating precisely because the potential is real. The talent is already in the room. What is usually missing is the clarity that lets that talent show up the same way every week.
Get clear on your culture. Understand what drives your people. Bring the two together. That is how potential stops being something you glimpse, and starts being something you can count on.
We have put together a one-hour webinar that takes a deeper dive into this exact topic: how to build the clarity of culture that turns inconsistent salespeople into consistent performers.
If that is something you would like to explore, you can register here: [register here]
Because your salespeople do not need more pressure to reach their potential. They need a culture clear enough to grow into.
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