Stagnation. It is the last thing a leader wants to see happening with the team. Yet, in the absence of new challenges – focused activities that challenge the team, putting a month’s focus on high-intensity activity designed to boost results – stagnation is a real possibility.
For example, many offices across Australia and New Zealand are short of stock. Why not set a challenge with the team and plan an Operation Stock-Up?
An Operation Stock-Up is a listing blitz that focuses on achieving a record number of properties listed by the agency in one month.
The leader and support team set up a marketing blitz that commences ten days before the month of the Operation Stock-Up. Print material is organised and ordered from the printer, marketing distributors booked, and the entire area is blitzed by office marketing. Social media is also ramped up ten days before, and during, Stock-Up month. The office does everything possible to generate incoming listing enquiry.
The sales team prospects heavily. Salespeople cannot rely on incoming enquiry alone – they must generate listing enquiry for themselves during Stock-Up month. Salespeople’s targets will be higher during Stock-Up, perhaps scarily high, but within the realm of reality. To achieve high targets, everybody must pull their weight. The office markets for listings, the sales team prospects for listings.
Offices have listed more than 90 properties in a single month with a team of 5. We are talking serious targets for each salesperson here!
Buyer appointments are scaled down through strict qualifying to allow time for prospecting, as are open homes.
If you are selling everything you list, and you don’t make time to get more listings, you will run low on stock.
List more, sell more. It takes focused effort to stock up.
Operation Stock-Up takes a lot of organisation over the 6 weeks leading into Stock-up month. The leader must sell each salesperson on higher targets and the higher activity levels that go with achieving those targets.
But it’s worth it – you will have plenty of stock to sell and receive the bonus of your competitors wondering what on earth is going on. That’s always a lot of fun.
Operation Stock-Up is just one challenge leaders can implement with their teams. In Pittard’s Agency Profit System®, a five-day business management program for leaders and managers, leaders learn many new challenges to stretch their teams to higher results.
Some of these challenges require thought, planning and organisation, but the reward is higher results for the office, higher profit for the leader, and higher income for the salespeople. Sure beats sitting around and waiting for business!
We recommend that leaders run a new challenge every 6 months. More often than that tires the team, and you will get pushback. Less often and you risk stagnation.
Think about it – one month in 6 or 7 you plan a month of high results, then execute that plan. Everybody sprints for one month and then you all celebrate.
It does wonders for team spirit – not to mention profit!
Gary Pittard
PS If you would like a hand planning an Operation Stock-Up, please do contact me on profit@pittard.com.au [1].