Learn these real estate manager training techniques for training new leaders of your real estate team or brokerage for better retention & recruiting.
Training real estate managers is a crucial yet often overlooked aspect of business growth. Many brokers and team leaders hire managers and expect them to jump in and take charge. However, the training they receive is usually limited to administrative tasks—how to use the office systems, log into MLS, and manage compliance paperwork. While these tasks are necessary, they do not equip managers with the leadership skills they need to guide agents effectively.
If you are not actively training your managers to lead, then you have to ask yourself—are you leading them, or are they leading you? Developing leaders within your organization is critical for scalability. A thriving real estate business, whether it’s a team, brokerage, or national brand, needs multiple strong leaders to sustain and grow. The better your leadership pipeline, the more success your business will experience over time.
Listen to this episode of The Brian Icenhower Podcast.
VIDEO: Real Estate Manager Training – How to Train a New Manager
The Three Pillars of Real Estate Manager Training
To ensure that your managers are not only capable but also actively contributing to your company’s growth, follow this three-part approach:
Motivation through Activity Tracking
Accountability through Retention Meetings
Diagnosis through Recruiting and Retention Analytics
1. Motivation: The Power of Activity Tracking
One of the first steps in real estate manager training is ensuring that your managers understand the importance of activity tracking. Just as real estate agents need to track their lead generation efforts, managers must track their leadership activities.
Tracking activities accomplishes two key objectives:
Motivation: When managers track their actions, they feel a sense of accountability to complete their tasks. Just as a workout buddy keeps you accountable at the gym, tracking activities pushes managers to follow through on their responsibilities.
Leadership Development: If managers are expected to lead agents effectively, they must understand the importance of setting measurable goals and tracking progress. Whether agents are prospecting, following up on online leads, or growing their referral database, managers must lead by example in tracking activities.
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Leadership Strategies
ICT Online CourseLeadership Strategies
Learn how to lead your real estate team or brokerage with confidence, clarity, and vision.
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Discover proven leadership models used by top-performing real estate organizations
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Learn how to inspire, motivate, and retain high-producing agents and staff
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Develop effective communication and accountability strategies for your team
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Understand how to set clear expectations and create a performance-driven culture
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Gain tools to coach through conflict, manage change, and increase team morale
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Includes leadership assessments, meeting templates, and actionable implementation tools
Lead with Vision
Develop a clear direction that aligns your people, systems, and goals.
Inspire Peak Performance
Motivate your agents and staff with proven leadership and accountability models.
Build a Winning Culture
Create an environment where productivity, retention, and growth thrive.
Designed for all learning types
Video Training
In-depth video training walking you through each module of the course, explaining the strategies, tips, and best practices for using Canva for real estate agents.Written Workbook
Detailed and downloadable written workbook that provides you with a bullet point outline, summarized text, action steps, key takeaways, as well as space for taking notes.Instructor Materials
Teach this course at your organization with the help of our downloadable presentation notes, presentation files, and Instructor's Manual.Course curriculum
Enrollment includes access to the following course materials for 6 months
Welcome to Leadership Strategies- Welcome to Leadership Strategies with Rick Fuller
- Sign up for the Executive Leadership Round Table Group Coaching Program
- Join us at the ICC Regional Summit
- Schedule a Coaching Call
- Stay Connected via our REAL ESTATE AGENT ROUND TABLE Facebook Group
- VIDEO: How to Scale Your Team
- WORKBOOK: How to Scale Your Team
- VIDEO: Leadership Training for Real Estate Team Wanting to Grow
- WORKBOOK: Leadership Training for Real Estate Teams Wanting to Grow
- VIDEO: Leading With Opportunities, Not Obstacles
- WORKBOOK: Leading With Opportunities, Not Obstacles
- VIDEO: Real Estate Agent Attraction Recruiting Strategies
- WORKBOOK: Real Estate Agent Attraction Recruiting Strategies
- VIDEO: Real Estate Leadership Coaching Strategies
- WORKBOOK: Real Estate Leadership Coaching Strategies
- VIDEO: Viral Team Goals and Activity Based Indicators
- WORKBOOK: Viral Team Goals and Activity Based Indicators
- VIDEO: Public Accountability and Personal Responsibility
- WORKBOOK: Public Accountability and Personal Responsibility
- VIDEO: The Power of Dashboards
- WORKBOOK: The Power Of Dashboards
- VIDEO: Replacing Yourself as a Real Estate Leader
- WORKBOOK: Replacing Yourself as a Real Estate Leader
About this course
- $249.00
- 23 lessons
- 5.5 hours of video content
Leadership Strategies
Click to watch more about this real estate training course
Reviews
"I use ICT systems, the Icenhower Institute, and the coaching program to coach and train my team of over 30 agents. I use the ICT dashboard systems to keep my entire team accountable for their activities and set proper expectations."
Jake Rockwell
Over 500 Units Sold Annually
"I have coached with ICT for over five years. ICT has helped me quadruple my luxury business through marketing strategies so that I receive listings and sales through lead generation and multiple pillars of income."
Dennis Adelpour
Luxury Agent - West Los Angeles
"When we started coaching with ICT we worked all the time with some degree of success. Now, seven years later, we have grown to have the #1 market share in our area, we more than tripled our income and production, while also improving our work-life balance to enjoy our personal life with family and friends."
Tammi Humphrey
#1 Market Share & 100 Million in Annual Sales Volume
Instructor
Rick Fuller.
Raise your leadership skills and develop your leadership strategies to grow your business.
I am so excited about this course, Leadership Strategies.
This is about you raising the lid on your leadership so you can raise the lid on all of your organizations, raise the lid on your ancillaries, raise the lid on your people. You cannot outgrow your personal development. Your outward growth starts with your inward development in terms of leadership. This is what this course is all about: raise your leadership skills so that you can grow your business.
Lead your real estate organization with purpose and proven systems.
Enroll in Leadership Strategies to master the frameworks, communication skills, and accountability tools that drive growth and performance. Learn how to lead confidently, coach effectively, and build a culture that lasts.
Start your leadership transformation today.
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Jake Rockwell
Over 500 Units Sold Annually
"I have coached with ICT for over five years. ICT has helped me quadruple my luxury business through marketing strategies so that I receive listings and sales through lead generation and multiple pillars of income."
Dennis Adelpour
Luxury Agent - West Los Angeles
"When we started coaching with ICT we worked all the time with some degree of success. Now, seven years later, we have grown to have the #1 market share in our area, we more than tripled our income and production, while also improving our work-life balance to enjoy our personal life with family and friends."
Tammi Humphrey
#1 Market Share & 100 Million in Annual Sales Volume
Instructor
Rick Fuller.
2. Accountability: Holding Managers to Retention Standards
Once managers understand the importance of tracking activities, they must also be held accountable for key leadership tasks—especially retention meetings. When a new manager starts, you can’t just tell them to “meet all 40 agents” and hope they get around to it. Many managers will delay or avoid meetings, and as a result, agents may start to feel disconnected and seek opportunities elsewhere.
Implementing Retention Appointments
To ensure retention efforts are effective, require new managers to schedule one-on-one meetings with every agent in the office. These retention appointments should be tracked and reviewed regularly. The goal is to ensure that no agent goes without personal attention from leadership.
This is critical for agent retention because:
Agents who don’t feel valued or connected to leadership are more likely to leave.
If managers don’t actively engage with agents, they won’t have the opportunity to influence and support them.
Structured retention meetings allow managers to understand agent needs and provide meaningful solutions.
The 10-10-80 Rule
Real estate leadership training follows a principle I call the 10-10-80 Rule:
10% Knowledge: Managers know they should meet with agents and retain them.
10% Action: Some managers take initiative to schedule and hold retention meetings.
80% Accountability: The majority of success depends on ensuring these meetings happen consistently.
This principle also applies to agents—knowing what to do and even doing it once isn’t enough. Success comes from consistent execution, which requires ongoing accountability.
Developing leaders within your organization is critical for scalability. A thriving real estate business, whether it’s a team, brokerage, or national brand, needs multiple strong leaders to sustain and grow.
Brian Icenhower
3. Diagnosis: Recruiting and Retention Analytics
Once managers have established a habit of tracking activities and retention meetings, the next step is diagnosis. This involves using data to refine and improve their leadership effectiveness.
Needs Analysis Conversation: The Key to Recruiting & Retention
One of the most powerful tools for a real estate manager is the Needs Analysis Conversation. This structured conversation helps managers quickly build rapport with agents and understand their motivations.
The Needs Analysis Conversation follows four key steps:
Past: Understand the agent’s background (education, first job, previous brokerages, experiences in real estate).
Present: Evaluate where they are now in their career and what challenges they face.
Future Pleasure: Identify their long-term goals and the positive outcomes they hope to achieve.
Future Pain: Discuss what happens if they don’t reach their goals and the consequences of stagnation.
By documenting this information for every agent, managers create a personalized coaching plan. When agents face obstacles, managers can refer back to their goals and remind them of what’s at stake. This shifts leadership from reactive problem-solving to proactive coaching.
Tracking Recruiting & Retention Metrics
To develop a high-performing real estate team, managers must also track their recruiting efforts. Recruiting should be approached with the same structure as retention, using the Needs Analysis Conversation to understand potential recruits’ pain points and aspirations.
Key metrics to track include:
Number of contacts made (How many agents did the manager reach out to?)
Number of appointments set (How many recruiting meetings were scheduled?)
Number of appointments held (How many agents showed up for recruiting meetings?)
Number of follow-up meetings (How many recruits engaged in a second meeting?)
Number of successful hires (How many agents joined the team or brokerage?)
This level of tracking allows managers to identify weak points in their recruiting strategy. For example, if a manager makes 10 calls but only secures one appointment, they may need coaching on improving their pitch. If they hold multiple meetings but fail to close recruits, they may need help refining their conversion strategies.
Conclusion: Developing Leaders for Growth
Real estate manager training is not just about teaching systems—it’s about developing leaders who can inspire, motivate, and hold others accountable. By focusing on motivation, accountability, and diagnosis, you create a culture of leadership that drives both retention and recruitment.
A well-trained manager doesn’t just manage transactions—they build relationships, support agents in achieving their goals, and create a high-performance environment. When your managers are skilled in these areas, your business will grow naturally as agents stay engaged, perform at higher levels, and attract others to your team.
If you want to build a scalable real estate business, start by investing in real estate manager training—because great leaders don’t just appear; they are developed over time with the right training and accountability structures in place.
