COVID-19 has certainly made business interesting, but many agencies are still reporting good sales results. Not all, I might add.
Prior to the pandemic, agencies were complaining of a shortage of listings. Those complaints died down as agency leaders had bigger priorities to focus on, but once things settled down the same complaint returned: “Listings are . . . more →
There is an old saying which says, “If you want to be successful, just do the opposite to what the majority is doing”. My experience has been that this is often correct. Following the crowd can be unprofitable.
There is much business uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. This follows on from a prolonged drought, an unprecedented . . . more →
I couldn’t begin to estimate how many times real estate agency leaders have commented about another team saying something along the lines of, “She is lucky – she’s got a great team”.
It’s almost as though they think that all you need do is stick your head out the window and whistle, and winners will come . . . more →
Leaders often think that the cost of having an incompetent salesperson on the team is the wage paid to that person. But there is a lot more to lose. The salary is just the beginning.
Let’s say you pay $50,000. In Australia you add 9.5% superannuation so now you’re at $54,750. For this exercise we’ll ignore payroll tax and . . . more →
Struggling salespeople – we’ve all had them. They can be frustrating, and they can cost your company a lot of money. So how do you know whether to persist with them or fire them?
In 25 years as a real estate agency profit consultant, I have seen entire teams of strugglers who fail to reach an . . . more →
To maximise profit, two of the leader’s most important roles are Talent Scout and Coach.
Gary Pittard
In my 25 years as a real estate agency profit consultant, one of the greatest ‘sins’ I’ve seen leaders commit is holding onto the wrong people for too long – often despite their better . . . more →
When the market turns down many agency leaders wisely cut expenses. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Cut the wrong expenses and you will quickly lose profit.
Some expenses can be cut without affecting your income. We call these ‘fat’ expenses. Things like publications you don’t read. Stop expenses . . . more →
With another financial year behind us, it’s a good time to ponder: “Are you happy with your profit?”
Stating the obvious: Profit is the money you keep after expenses are paid. I’m compelled to mention this because the real estate industry and its systems focus on turnover. Turnover is not profit.
This is a two-part article on the Do’s and Dont’s of hiring. Last month, we discussed the Hiring Don’ts. This month we look at the Hiring Do’s.
Hire for attitude
If you hire somebody with a bad attitude, this will poison your team. Author of Winning the War for Talent, Mandy Johnson, says that . . . more →
This is a two-part article on the do’s and don’ts of hiring. In this issue, we will discuss Hiring Don’ts. Next month we will cover Hiring Do’s.
First a question: Do you believe successful hiring is an art or a science?
Many real estate agency leaders will say that hiring is an art. Without effective . . . more →
Here in the digital world of the 21st century, let’s give some thought to happy client reviews and, in particular, how we use them.
Some salespeople appear to be more interested in seeing their ‘names in lights’ on sites like the major property portals and Rate My Agent.
Less, if any, attention is given to Google and . . . more →
Many offices struggle and so do their salespeople.
In the nineties, salespeople wrote on average $135,000 in fees. Since 2010 we have seen little evidence that this average has changed much, despite selling fees trebling over that time and markets booming in many regions.
Leaders often complain that their salespeople won’t do the right actions. It’s one of the biggest complaints that leaders make. They fear putting pressure on their salespeople to do the right actions out of fear they will leave.
These leaders have no control, and without control they will never develop winning teams.
A large part of this . . . more →
You may have read about the highly publicised court case in South Australia where Harris Real Estate and agent Arabella Hooper were ordered by the court to pay $750,000 in damages. The judgment cited that after leaving Toop & Toop for Harris Real Estate, Hooper used data to develop business using data taken from her . . . more →
Pittard clients are spread across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. It stands to reason that they are operating in different markets. Some are in booming markets, some in static markets and some in down-trending markets. But no matter what market they find themselves in, we give all the same advice:
It’s not the market . . . more →
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out when a salesperson is in a performance slump, although many leaders don’t appear to notice until the salesperson has been in the slump for too long – sometimes months.
In aviation, pilots have a saying, “Stay ahead of your aircraft”. There have been many pilots involved in serious . . . more →
If you want to get your new sales recruits off to a flying start, first teach them the essential actions – those necessary to succeed – and then help them formulate a plan loaded with those essential actions. Then follow up and ensure they are being done.
Essential actions are non-negotiable. . . . more →
Take a minute and look around your agency. Everybody looks busy, don’t they? But are you making money? Are they making money? If you’re not careful, you may mistake busyness with production. Remember – not all activity is created equal!
In all jobs, including yours, there are only two types of activity:
ACTIVITIES THAT LEAD TO RESULTS . . . more →
In my experience as a real estate agency profit consultant, I’ve seen many real estate businesses in grave financial trouble, and many spend themselves into oblivion. For businesses to survive and thrive, they must be built on solid financial foundations.
This is explained in depth in our four-day presentation of the Agency Profit System®, but here are . . . more →
Of all sayings, I despise this the most: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
I have heard people use this phrase as justification for not training, not leading, not prospecting, not developing a team, as justification for leaving things exactly as they are.
To illustrate how stupid and dangerous this is, let’s apply it to your . . . more →
In the eighties, management expert Michael Gerber coined a phrase that became popular across the world: “Work on your business, not in your business”. A lot of us were very excited to hear that.
I still am. However, I saw a few people send their business bankrupt and then blame Gerber’s maxim. Let me make it . . . more →