As you already know, many states require real estate agents and brokers to continue with their education year after year. If you are experiencing a slow-down in business, this may be a perfect opportunity for you and your agents to get your CE credits out of the way early! Take advantage!
Aside from the legal requirements, however, there is no denying that both agents and brokers stand to benefit a great deal from maintaining their pursuit of a well-rounded base of industry knowledge and up-to-date information on the latest tools and techniques. The industry and the world is constantly changing. So those sales techniques from 1995 are no longer going to be as effective. From marketing and branding to legal changes, sales techniques, new technology, and beyond, there is tremendous value when you can offer agents opportunities that continue to evolve their skills. This helps them stay on top of their game and stand out from their competitors.
Improved Skillsets
One of the reasons that buyers and sellers are so attracted to younger agents is that they are typically immersed in digital marketing and technology. Agents should use downtime to learn a new digital sales skill or lead gen technique. Have them give video or webcam use a try. Try their hand at writing a real estate blog, record a podcast, create a squeeze page, boost a Facebook post, create a digital newsletter. The more that agents can show the public how much they know about real estate, marketing, branding, technology, legal requirements, and the local market, the more buyers and sellers will be eager to hire them, which is great for your bottom line. But are you able to train them on all these topics, or do they have to go out and figure it out on their own? If it’s the latter, you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to play a role in their continuing success. Not only that, the more you develop your agents in the right activities and techniques, the more productive they will become, which is also good for your brokerage.
Agent Recruitment
As a broker, recruiting the highest quality agents is always top-of-mind. It should come as no surprise that good agents only want to hang their license with a broker that is as equally invested in helping them succeed and grow. In fact, inviting agents that you wish to recruit to training classes that are being sponsored by your brokerage is a great way to entice them. In addition to classes held by your brokerage, make it known that you are willing to provide more personalized training and share any educational materials you create. Show how you are invested in your team. One of the great things about affiliation with a brand like Weichert, is that training resources are readily available, which makes it easy for you and your agents to plug in and stay current. With a constant stream of webinar classes, personalized coaching, and Weichert’s online University, it cuts down on the time you have to spend developing content. Plus, in the case of Weichert, our training is all tied into a proven formula for real estate success for both agents and brokers.
Agent Retention
Just as you can use classes and educational resources to attract new agents to your team, your commitment to ongoing coaching and training is a powerful glue for agents already working in your brokerage. Increase relevance by reaching out to your team and collect input on what subjects they feel they need help with the most. If you don’t happen to be the expert on the subject, then you must find either an in-house expert or look for an online course that is relevant. Maybe there are underutilized tools within your brokerage for which you’d like to increase engagement. Supporting your agents with guidance that helps them be more productive increases your value as a broker. Again, an affiliation with a brand like Weichert gives you the structure to work with.
The Solution For Keeping Your Agents Up to Speed
Although results-driven real estate brokers understand that there is tremendous value in pushing their agents to increase their knowledge base and skill sets, many brokers struggle to supply them with the educational tools and training that they need. After all, it can require a great deal of time and money to generate training content on topics like legal changes, market conditions, marketing, branding best practices, social media, technology, sales techniques, scripts, etc. That is exactly why many brokers find it valuable to partner with a nationally respected brand like Weichert, that can provide training and coaching support as part of their core offering. You can offer it to your agents, without the time investment, which increases your brokerage’s value. Furthermore, brokers gain educational resources for themselves to help them develop further as a broker, a business manager, and a leader, making it a win-win for everyone.
For more information how aligning yourself with a franchise like Weichert can benefit both brokers and agents, go to www.weichertfranchise.com.
