As the industry closes in on changes resulting from the Sitzer-Burnett case, agents are looking for guidance, and brokers should be prepared to help.

Real estate is an evolving industry, and it is natural to have questions about how practice changes may impact you and your business. “While the industry adapts to the practice changes following the National Association of REALTORS®’ settlement, it is a wonderful time for brokers to bond with their agents,” says Adorna Carroll, president of Dynamic Directions Inc. and Referrals Only CT LLC. “Agents need the direction, strength and confidence of their brokers.”

Here are some tips to support your team during this transition.

Identify and Share Successful Case Studies

Many states have long required written buyer agreements. In the commercial sector, many practitioners are familiar with offers of compensation not being communicated through an MLS. The point is that for many in the industry, these practices are not new, and they are not scary, because they’ve been a part of the fabric of their businesses for a long time. The industry can look to agents and brokers in those states and markets as guides to help others adjust.

“Those of us who’ve been [using written agreements] for decades feel it’s a non-issue,” says Carroll. “It does not need to create issues for agents, if they have the right skill set and are properly trained.”

Emphasize Adaptability

“Life is filled with choices,” says Lynn Madison, owner of Lynn Madison Seminars “and change is inevitable. You can either wait until the sky falls or change, evolve, and prosper.” Remind agents that the industry has navigated many transitions, including the advent of the internet. “Back then, everyone said we were doomed, would never survive and would go the way of travel agents,” she says.

To highlight agents’ own resilience and skill, point out they’ve likely adapted to other changes throughout their careers. Just like they did in those situations, they’ll be able to pivot as needed in a changing industry, so long as they’re open to it.

Establish Clear Processes

To make the upcoming industry changes easier to navigate, brokerages should set up a process for agents to follow, Carroll advises. Specifically, they should apply the same standards they’ve created on the seller side—detailed presentations, written agreements, representation specifics and compensation specifics—to the buyer side. “Agents like a familiar context in which to do business, so they can free-flow,” she says. “If they don’t have that system to give them context, they’re in unfamiliar territory.”

To standardize the signing process, Carroll provides the following advice when a prospect asks to see a property. First, agents should ask for 20 minutes of the prospect’s time to answer questions and explain their services. During this meeting, the agent should review the process of buying a property and explain the written buyer agreement before asking for a signature. If buyers express concerns, agents can explain how signing is in the buyers’ interest, and a written agreement is required for any MLS participant.

Train Agents to Discuss Their Value

“As with any business, professionals seeking business have to differentiate themselves from the competition,” Carroll says. “There have always been and there will always be different brokerage models and brokerage compensation programs,” Madison adds. “We have dealt with them all these years and will deal with them again.”

All REALTORS® should be able to communicate the value of their experience and expertise to consumers. When agents talk to consumers, they should focus on the big themes that matter to them most, such as a REALTOR®’s ability to reduce stress in a highly complicated, high-stakes transaction; demystify the home buying or selling process; and use their experience to navigate difficult negotiations, write the best offer possible, set the right price for a listing, and help consumers avoid common mistakes—all ultimately saving consumers money and time.

Start Early

To further ease the transition, suggest agents start securing written agreements now, Carroll recommends. Doing so now rather than waiting until the settlement goes into effect is good for the consumer as well, as it sets their transaction up for success. The use of a written buyer agreement ensures that the real estate professional and the buyer have a clear understanding about the value that is being provided and what that equates to in terms of compensation.

Encourage your team to begin with people they know, including current and past clients, friends and family, business vendors, and community members, she adds. “When they’re successful [in getting people to sign], they’ll be less nervous to ask strangers.” Then, celebrate those signings.

Provide the Right Tools

In addition to complying with the mandatory provisions for written buyer agreements, brokerages should make the language in their written buyer agreement simple and understandable, Madison stresses. The document should provide options for the consumer and give both the real estate professional and the consumer the ability to efficiently define the relationship based on the transparent and clear conversation they have when deciding to work together. Ensure that agents are able to explain the options available to buyers and how to communicate the value of an agent.

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

In most service-oriented industries, professionals typically have to prove themselves before customers sign on. Brokers can help agents explain their value so that it is understood by the customer.

In most service-oriented industries, customers want to work with professionals who can prove they’re up to the task, whatever it may be. Customers want to understand what they’re paying for, and professionals must be able to articulate their expertise. This is—and has always been—true in real estate, but it is especially important now as the industry changes.

Lynn Madison, real estate industry trainer and educator and head of Madison Seminars, notes that consumers seek out agents who can clearly articulate their value. The truth is that articulating value is the norm in service-oriented professions, notes Adorna Carroll, President, Dynamic Directions, Inc. and Referrals Only CT, LLC. Securing written agreements for services rendered is also the norm, she says.

It’s time to regroup and prepare agents so that they can clearly explain their services, expertise and commitment to their customers.

Prep Agents to Highlight What Matters to Consumers

With practice changes on the way, there’s a lot of information for consumers to sift through and agents who are REALTORSâ can serve as a resource.  During sales meetings, trainings and the like, brokers can provide up-to-date information on industry changes, which can always be found on facts.realtor. Likewise, a host of data about local markets and national trends can be found at the local and state associations and from the National Association of REALTORS®, respectively.

National reports might note stagnating markets or falling prices nationwide, but it is more important that an agent understand their local market, because this is what will relate directly to their consumer, and this is the information they should be relaying to the consumer.

Brokers can also set up a system that makes local, real-time data easy to access. Each time an agent sells a home, they use their customer relationship management (CRM) system, an online form they’ve created or a shared spreadsheet to keep track of key details on the sale, suggests Madison. They should record multiple offers (whether they occurred and, if so, the number of offers) and the number of showings. Then, each month, summarize this information in a report. Agents can send these analyses to their buyers, sharing statements like, “of the last 50 transactions our office handled, 42 were multiple offers and 40 of these had more than five offers.”

The stakes are high: Buyers sometimes underestimate the difficulty of finding and securing the right homes—and the value of a buyer’s agent. When agents are armed with the statistics and data that relate directly to their market and they are retrieving facts from the sources, they can help educate their clients.

Give Them Talking Points

Since many buyers may not be aware of the full scope of an agents’ responsibilities before, during and after the transaction, agents need to take a “feature—benefit—sell,” approach during the buyer counseling session or presentation, reminds Madison. This simply means they convey to the customer what they do, how they do it and why it benefits their clients. To help them figure out what that should look like, resources abound.

Brokers can start by providing agents with these core points of value that should be relayed to consumers:

• Agents help reduce stress in a highly complicated and high stakes transaction, likely one of the biggest of a consumer’s life.
• Agents serve as a trusted advisor through the transaction and demystifying the home buying or selling process.
• Agents use their extensive experience to navigate difficult negotiations, write the best offer possible, set the right price for a listing and help consumers avoid common mistakes—all to ultimately help successfully close a transaction, saving consumers money and time.

Brokerages can also evaluate the myriad reasons why agents who are REALTORS® are worth their compensation, provide a monetary value to each of those reasons based on the services offered and provide agents with bulleted lists to reference, advises Carroll.

Maintain Focus on the Buyer

As an exercise in fully understanding their value, agents should write down everything they do for their next three to five buyers, suggests Madison. They should record all tasks, “from the moment they say ‘hello’ to the closing table.” Madison says they should also record how much time each task takes. After all, “how can they tell the buyer how much they’re worth if they don’t know?” she asks.

Another strategy is to flip the script. Most brokerages and agents work on a listing presentation, and now it’s time to prepare a buyer presentation of similar caliber. Madison suggests taking the information given during recent listing presentations and tailoring it for a buyer.

If agents are worried about sounding like they’re bragging, they can focus on how their efforts are of service to the buyer, counsels Madison. “They can say, ‘my job is to find you the right home at the right price and the right terms and get you to the closing table with the least inconvenience possible.’”

Carroll notes that agents should work with the client to determine what they want, need and wish for in a property, and once that’s clear, they should articulate how their services will deliver on those expectations. This helps an agent set the stage for how their services equate to value.

The needs of first-time buyers, investment buyers or experienced buyers vary, and agents would do well to determine how they’ll respond to varying needs. Encourage agents to emphasize different points with first-time versus repeat buyers, explains Madison. With first-time buyers, agents might need to spend more time correcting misinformation and highlighting their negotiating skills. They might also need to bring up strategies for securing a property that doesn’t include additional financial burden.

Meanwhile, repeat buyers often worry about selling their current home before they buy a new one. In those cases, agents can share experiences with coordinating simultaneous closings. To bring that point home, they might mention the reverse contingency clause, which gives sellers enough time to find a suitable replacement home before they move out of their current residence.

Help Agents Rehearse

Agents need to believe in their value, since “no one wants to spend $500,000 with someone who doesn’t have confidence,” says Madison. To help them broadcast self-assurance, encourage them to rehearse their presentation with you or their colleagues. Confidence comes from repetition as much as it comes from belief in oneself. If an agent is confident in their presentation skills, that will translate to the customer.

The loss of a top producer is always a blow, but it’s also an opportunity to learn more about your business and make changes if needed.

If a top-performing agent tells you they’re leaving, don’t panic. The agent who closes 40% of your company’s sales just walked into your office to tell you they’re leaving so they can start their own brokerage. Don’t panic. “Attrition is a natural and unavoidable part of the business,” says Ben G. Schachter, GRI, broker and president of The Signature Real Estate Companies in Boca Raton, Fla., and co-founder and head of sales of TotalBrokerage Software, a sales and management platform for brokers. “If you have no attrition, you’re not doing enough business.”

So, when the inevitable happens, try to navigate the situation with equanimity. If you do, you could possibly make lemonade out of lemons, convincing the agent to stay, gaining insights into your business, solidifying relationships with your agents and maybe even upping your earnings. Here’s how.

Do the Math

“If you lost a $3 billion agent, that would be catastrophic,” acknowledges Steve Snider, managing broker for One Sotheby’s Realty in Aventura, Sunny Isles, and Bay Harbor, Fla. But perspective is important, and logic and a little math go a long way. Most of the time, after you factor in splits, losing one agent doesn’t result in that much of a financial loss, he says.

Stay Positive

Do your best to take the loss in stride without showing excessive emotion. “A leader must always show optimism,” Schachter says. Make sure to model the behavior you want to see in your agents. Refrain from saying anything negative to or about the departing agent, Snider and Schachter agree. “There are plenty of stories of agents leaving and coming back because the bridge was never burned,” Snider adds.

Schedule an Exit Interview

Always aim for an exit interview, Schachter says. That’s a chance for you to understand the agent’s motivation and possibly even convince the agent to stay. Ask why they’re leaving, and really listen to their answer, he says. “Maybe you can offer them an opportunity to develop in their career or the chance to open an office,” Snider says. When one of his top agents told him she was leaving to work with her husband at his brokerage, he suggested One Sotheby’s Realty buy their business. Ultimately, that’s what happened. The decision proved wise for both parties: This agent recently won a $40 million penthouse listing in South Beach.

Even if there’s no opportunity to keep the agent on your team, a well-run exit interview helps you remain on good terms. Chances are, you’ll do deals with them soon, Snider says. Offer to talk through the new opportunity with them and support them if they still decide to leave, he adds. Even if they head to a different brokerage, you can still provide support and mentorship, should they want it.

Finally, if their move is lateral, ask yourself whether it reveals any issues with your business, says Schachter. “Learn as much as you can from them. Their leaving could be a sign of things to come, with other top producers lured away by similar features or offerings.” Maybe it’s a sign you should make some changes.

Consider How to Tell Agents

On an informal one-on-one basis, Snider offers top agents advance notice of significant changes, including departures. It helps alleviate anxiety and gossip. “I’ll say, they’re leaving and here’s why. We spoke about it, and she really wants to be on a new development project, which we don’t have, and that other brokerage has a project in Coconut Grove, where she lives. She is taking the best next step for her business.”

Schachter is always prepared to address the issue with anyone who asks. When you explain the situation to those who inquire, remain confident and focus on your brokerage’s strengths, he says.

Evaluate Expenses

“Part of making money is saving money,” Schachter says. A routine evaluation of your expenditures and whether or not you’re maximizing your use of the resources is always a good idea. You can always monitor your fixed versus variable expenses and shed some variable expenses, he adds.

Take the time to evaluate the resources and amenities you’re providing to your staff and agents, and make sure your team is using them in a way that justifies their expense. If you find that they’re not, consider cutting some things. Maybe you signed a 10-year lease but can cancel some of your technology subscriptions or cut down on mailers and marketing events.

Plan to Make Up Lost Revenue

You need to know what kind of deficit the loss of a top agent creates. Start by evaluating where that agent’s business was coming from. Were you giving them leads? If they were doing relocations or referrals, can you tap into those sources of business? Put a plan in writing that spells out how you’ll recoup that amount over the course of the business year. Again, it’s important to maintain optimism and stay open-minded to the possibilities.

If too much of your bottom line has been wrapped up in a single agent, for example, it might be time to look for new revenue streams. You could return to selling properties yourself, Schachter says, or explore adding ancillary businesses, like title insurance, property auctions or broker price opinions.

“The agent’s departure could create opportunity and conversation,” Snider says. Think about recruiting a new agent or taking stock of your current team to determine who could rise to the occasion. Sometimes, agents who have the potential for stardom are overshadowed by already-established top performers. How can you provide mentorship and resources—marketing dollars, confidence building opportunities and administrative support? What kind of mentorship does the agent need to help them absorb the departing agent’s market area?  

“Maybe,” Snider says, “it’s time to elevate number two.”

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

If you’ve noticed one of your agents spinning their wheels without making any progress, it might be time to intervene.

Tammi Brannan believes that all of us have the potential to get stuck in our ways. We’ve either done something one way so long that we can’t see how to change, or we’re sure our efforts will pay off if we just keep at it a little longer. It’s called spinning your wheels, and in real estate, it can look like getting stuck in practices that aren’t converting to leads or sales.

“If you don’t know a solution, isn’t that all it seems you can do—continue to use what has worked for you in the past, hoping against hope that one more time will make the difference?” says Brannan, founder of Blueprint Process in Corvalis, Ore. In 2008, Brannan developed a program that has helped professionals, including real estate professionals across the industry, “get off the hamster wheel,” as the saying goes.

Tracey Royal believes it’s human nature to shy away from a more challenging endeavor and gravitate toward tasks that seem easier or come with instant gratification.

“However, in the real estate business, learning is an ongoing process,” says Royal, ABR, SRS, C2EX, vice president of agent development at Coldwell Banker Realty in Oak Pak, Ill.

She stresses to her agents that it’s important to stay focused on your goals and business plan, and align yourself with successful individuals and proven strategies, even if they seem daunting or uncomfortable. Agents who trudge along a road that doesn’t go anywhere are going to feel unhappy and unproductive, because they’re not making any money. It’s not good for the brokerage, either.

Brokers can help redirect agents by providing structure, support and proven tactics that will help move those agents toward the success they desire.

Understand Where the Problem Lies

“Clear signs of an agent struggling are their absence from training sessions or a noticeable lack of engagement with the resources provided by our office,” says Royal.

This often indicates that they may not be investing their time effectively in activities that generate leads and income. Because she stays on top of training attendance and has a working knowledge of where her agents are investing, or not investing, their time, Royal knows whom to reach out to.

“By regularly reviewing our office reports, I can keep a close track of our active agents and identify those who may be underperforming. This allows me to intervene and provide the necessary support to help them improve,” she adds.

“If a leader is caring enough to be interested in the answer (to help those spinning their wheels), they are leaps and bounds beyond the rest,” she says. “The signs I look for are increased tardiness or lack of accountability, a ho-hum attitude towards new projects, a reluctance to step outside of their comfort zone, and a general lack of engagement with their work and team.”

Know Their Time Busters

Some agents have the misconception that a career in real estate will bring fast money, Royal says.

“This is often fueled by aggressive marketing campaigns and social media platforms by third-party companies promoting ‘quick fix’ solutions and promising easy money,” she says. “Agents can become overwhelmed by these messages and lose sight of fundamental aspects of the business.”

As a result, some agents find themselves disgruntled when they don’t see results in their desired time frame. Like any other business, success in real estate requires time, dedication and consistency.

Royal points out some of the ways in which agents might spend a significant amount of time and money but not necessarily achieve success:

• Paying for leads that don’t convert to business
• Attending real estate events without a clear plan or purpose on how to maximize the use of the content provided
• Relying on quick tips or professional advice from Google and social media platforms like TikTok without verifying the resources or taking the content into context
• Subscribing to resources but failing to use them, or paying for them without first checking if they’re provided by the brokerage
• Attending trainings, classes and conferences, but not following through with what they learned.

Brannan also sees agents looking for that magic nugget of information that will make the difference in their business rather than focusing on the long-term work it takes to build a business. They often jump from one strategy to the next without giving any plan time to work, or they jump into a practice like posting on social media without defining the process and the results.

Help Them Get Unstuck

When agents’ efforts to generate leads are not yielding the desired results, it’s crucial for a leader to guide them toward more effective strategies, Royal stresses. Learning from a peer can often make a profound impact, helping agents to avoid unproductive activities and allowing them to focus on strategies that truly drive success, she says.

“I’ve found it beneficial to spotlight successful agents during sales meetings, mastermind groups and office learning sessions,” she adds. “These agents can share their best practices and personal experiences, including their failures and lessons learned.”

Agents should also consider seeking a mentor, participating in shadowing experiences, engaging in group coaching or thinking about becoming part of a team. These strategies allow them to learn from those who have been successful using specific strategies such as open houses, digital marketing and running workshops, and they obtain a realistic understanding of the time and effort needed.

After that step, Royal also suggests they ask peers specific questions about their successes. “I would inquire about the specific techniques or resources they are using, aiming to understand their origins and effectiveness,” she adds. “Subsequently, I would assess whether these efforts align with their own business objectives.”

Emphasizing the need to build out a road map and understanding the time and consistency required for success should also take priority. Leaders can encourage agents to set goals and formulate a business plan, crucial elements for success in an ever-changing industry, Brannan says.

“Together, they offer a clear road map that helps agents concentrate on their essential tasks and maintain integrity,” she adds. “These tools serve as a reference point to prevent agents from being driven solely by instinct or the temptation to take on additional tasks that may lead to unproductivity.”

And finally, if agents are spinning their wheels, a lack of confidence might be the culprit, Brannan says. Brokers are in a position to help point out their strengths and give them a boost to continue moving forward.

“A leader is to do everything in their power to help their agents believe in why they are essential and how they are unique,” she says.

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Your brokerage needs agents who know how to do their jobs well. Offer training and resources to keep them engaged and on top of the market.

Last July, Kristen Skebe had an agent come into her office, looking for something different. She wasn’t producing the way she wanted to, and she felt like she needed more support. She thought a team was the answer, and when she came to Skebe, who is managing broker at Sandy Springs Shop, Engel & Volkers Atlanta in Sand Springs, Georgia, the agent’s hope was that she’d join a team.

“I told her that I didn’t think she needed a team. We operate like a team by [providing] training and support,” Skebe says.

Instead, she encouraged the agent to take advantage of the resources available. Skebe’s brokerage holds regular trainings and biweekly open forums where agents can get answers to questions and troubleshoot problems. They also have many office resources like staff and technology.

“This first quarter, she sold nine homes by herself,” she says, noting that the agent still comes to trainings. “Now she still comes to the trainings to be more efficient with her business.”

Skebe believes training should take center stage in brokerages to ensure agents are confident and educated in what they’re doing. She believes that training should revolve around solving agents’ pain points and day-to-day struggles.

Why Training is so Important

Maryann Vitale Alles, president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties in St. Louis, Mo., believes that to compete, the agents in her office, “must be the sharpest and most knowledgeable in the business.”

That’s why her company offers a five-day “REmastery” program and strongly encourages all new or transferring agents to enroll. The course covers everything from contracts and due diligence to daily processes and negotiating tactics, according to the brokerage’s website.

“From the inception of our company, we believe that a real estate agent’s primary objective is to act as a fiduciary on behalf of their client’s goal— purchasing real estate,” she adds.

The quality of training provided often results in an agent’s success or failure. Licensing requirements rarely include the ins and outs of an agent’s duties from one day to the next. Brokerages can often fill the gaps by investing in and providing a robust training program for agents. It can be the difference maker when it comes to a brokerage retaining and attracting new agents. For each entity involved in the transaction, training has direct benefits.

For agents: Training provides a layer of insulation. “It reduces liability and risk,” states Skebe. [An agent] needs to protect themselves and their careers while working with legally binding contracts.” She believes that within the profession, there’s much room for fun when professionals know what they’re doing. In the same light, frustration abounds when agents don’t know how to navigate the business. Vitale Alles says training keeps agents up to date on current market trends and best practices. Plus, it boosts confidence.

For clients: A well-trained agent is more prepared to serve the client’s needs. “Clients certainly benefit from well-educated agents in the form of getting the very most for their money,” Vitale Alles states.
Skebe agrees that when agents are trained properly, they’re better able to protect clients’ investments. “Clients are truly trusting [the agent] as the expert,” she says, noting also that a well-trained agent fosters a sense of safety and support from their clients.

For brokerages: Agents who take part in trainings show their brokers that they’re serious about their jobs. Brokers can find reassurance when an agent shows they’re willing to seek the knowledge they need. “I know when my agents come to training, they know what they are doing,” Skebe adds. “If they call me, it’s a true emergency.”

The Kind of Training Provided is Important

Skebe says her company has a training every Tuesday dubbed “EV University.” The topics are always related to the business of being a real estate professional. They include subjects like contracts, working with buyers, how to get listings and how to use artificial intelligence. She invites those within her agency to share their experience, which fosters camaraderie and provides real-world, applicable examples.

Twice a month, the brokerage also offers training by an outside, related service professional, like an attorney or a lender. Skebe says now more than ever, it’s important for brokerages to offer trainings that help agents stay up to date with practice changes, effectively articulate their value and work to their best ability to meet their clients’ needs.

Vitale Alles’ company says she also understands that agents are running their own businesses and are focused on their own bottom lines. To make sure the agents are reaching their own goals, her brokerage offers several trainings outside the REmastery program. These include one-on-one coaching sessions with their non-compete broker, strategic business planning workshops for accountability and weekly online webinars that cover topics from social media to customer relationship management system best practices. They recently hosted a company-wide event centered around value proposition and role playing.

Training Resources for Boutique Brokers

Training is important for brokerages of all sizes, but not all brokerages are equally sourced. For those who do not have access to or cannot afford to run vigorous programs in-house, other options are available. Skebe and Vitale Alles stress that local, state and national REALTOR® associations offer many types of training, some of which, for free.

“Our local one has phenomenal training consistently, and they hand out stuff from state and national REALTOR® associations,” Skebe says.

Vitale Alles also suggests every agent obtain the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation and listen to podcasts that pertain to the industry. Another way to learn quickly is to get involved at the association level.

“Our leadership team members are all strongly encouraged to give back to the local association,” she says. “Every one of the members serves on a committee or is on the Grievance Committee or Professional Standards. This helps our agents with keeping apprised on a local level.”

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission