Unattractive Company

Do you know one the Top Three Greatest Real Estate Excuses Of All Time?

These are profit-killing words you should never utter, let alone believe.

If you truly believe that you cannot find good people, what you are really saying is that your company is no good. That’s nonsense. Why wouldn’t somebody want to come and work with you?

There is a reason, but that reason is NOT that your company is no good. Please don’t take offence at this, but with all probability the reason you cannot find good people is:

Allow me to explain.

In Sales, we refer to ‘a chance to present’. We rightly believe that being skilled is of no use unless we get a chance to present our skills to potential clients.

When I say that your company is unattractive, I mean that you are not giving your company a chance to present. It’s not that you can’t find good people – they are out there, and they are attending interviews – it’s just that they are not coming to see you.

Why?

It’s not your company. It’s what you OFFER that’s unattractive.

Real estate leaders offer peanuts, but expect winners to flock to their doors. This is insane.

It’s even worse in New Zealand, where the majority of salespeople are paid by commission only. We heard two Kiwi leaders say, “You can’t find good people to come and work with you for nothing any more!” They were serious.

Here are some interesting facts:

• The average salary in Australia is just over $72,000
• The average retainer paid by real estate agencies in Australia is $46,000

I find it astounding that our industry hasn’t woken up to this! Why would anybody offer a little over half the national wage, when they know it doesn’t attract good people?

The answer:

Leaders are scared to pay salaries. They fear losing money on non-performers. They fear this so much that they doggedly stick to the outdated practice of offering pathetic money, but they still hope that one day a winner will walk through the door.

These leaders expect people to fail. Your people will never exceed your public expectations of them. Paying low retainers advertises that you expect your new recruits to lose. In life, you get what you expect.

The reality:

They’d prefer to discourage winners than risk a fair salary.

They’d prefer to complain that they can’t find good people.

Whinging is not profitable. The right actions are.

I find it irritating that salaries receive all the blame – salaries wasted on the wrong people, people paid a lot of money but not performing, big salaries demotivate… I’ve heard them all.

Some people will find this breaking news:

If you choose to pay big salaries to incompetent people, don’t blame the salary!

Under our training programs, our recruits are trained and tested before they begin their sales careers working as HomeFINDERs. They do nothing but prospect for new listings for at least the first three months of their careers. While working as a HomeFINDER they undergo further training that prepares them to enter Sales – listing and selling.

We have to get them used to doing large amounts of prospecting, and so for their first three months they must speak with 103 potential sellers every working day. This should lead to five listings per week. A good HomeFINDER should provide their agency with an average of 15 listings per month. If they speak to 103 people a day, this result is assured.

I was recently asked by a leader to interview a new recruit. He asked me to spend an hour with her, which I refused. I asked this leader, “Has your recruit been prepared for the fact that she has to speak with 103 people a day while on trial?” The leader answered, “Yes“. Then I said, “If she does not speak with 103 people a day, are you prepared to fire her?” Again, he answered “Yes“.

It’s an insult to winners to expect them to mix with mediocrity. I don’t like firing any more than you do, but hold onto mediocre performers and you will never build a winning team.

And so I told him I’d only need ten minutes. Ten minutes to extract the commitment that she’d speak to 103 people each working day and find a listing per day.

With the leader’s commitment to ensure that the recruit honoured her commitment, or be fired, this person will succeed absolutely, or fail absolutely. There will be no middle ground: MEDIOCRITY.

This leader intends paying his new recruit $77,000 per annum. His recruit is high quality. The leader would never have met the recruit had he offered commission-only or the $46,000 industry average retainer. The recruit has bills to pay and cannot live on $46,000 per annum. COULD YOU?

I have never met a leader who says they can live on $46,000. How naive to expect somebody else to do so!

The Mines

In Australia, the mining boom has attracted a huge pool of labour by offering massive salaries. People are willing to put up with the rough living conditions and isolation because it’s financially worth it. The mining companies set out duties, which they expect to be performed in exchange for the salary. Those who don’t perform as expected are fired.

You cannot pay big salaries and keep mediocre people. You’d go broke if you did.

This is a major advantage of paying big salaries – you have to weed out mediocrity quickly.

The Typical Agency

Offers insulting and pathetic salaries, attracts few if any WINNERS, then complains that you can’t find good people. Refuses to take responsibility for being an ‘unattractive company’.

Or, pays big salaries for too long to the wrong people, then blames the salary instead of poor hiring systems, lack of good training, and weak leadership.

An Alternative

• Offer attractive salaries.
• Toughen up! Train your people, set standards and expect your people to reach those standards.
• Fire those that don’t.
• Keep hiring.

Pay your people well, lead them well, and it won’t be long before you and your company become extremely attractive.