Real Estate Team Leader Training for a Slow Market

Real Estate Team Leader Training - learn how top real estate leaders focus their mindset, activities, and strategies during real estate markets with slower sales volume to increase culture and production.

Real estate team leader training is always important. No matter what the market is like, leadership training benefits everyone in the organization, from the leader to every single team member.

However, when the real estate market is “slow,” leaders need to gear up for intense situations and intense emotions.

In today’s training, I talk about how leaders need to position themselves and focus on the activities needed to grow even during a slow market.

VIDEO: Real Estate Team Leader Training for a Slow Market

Real estate team leader training: When times get tough

When times get tough, what should real estate team leaders do?

Right now, we are dealing with a drop in sales volume.

Real estate team leader training is important because leaders get frustrated. Frustration leads to burnout. Leaders must know how to help their people.

Real estate team leader training: Leaders need to get uncomfortable, too

As the team leader, you know what your people should be doing. You are probably feeling really frustrated because you want to help your team members, but they are struggling. They aren’t “getting it” and they are dropping like flies.

When the market turns like this and slows down, often, agents begin shopping around for an office with a higher split. “The grass is greener” mentality sets in.

Agents are much more comfortable servicing existing business than going out and doing uncomfortable activities to generate new business.

As leaders, this is where our people need us.

This same problem, however, exists within the real estate team leader as well. Real estate leaders have uncomfortable work to do, as well.

Migration happens when the market slows. Agents move from brokerage to brokerage, from team to team, searching for the magic pill.

Brian Icenhower

Real estate team leader training: It works both ways

Team leader to team member: Why aren’t you doing all the activities I have taught you, which will help you generate more business?

Team member to team leader: Why aren’t you giving me more business? Why am I even on this team if it isn’t helping me generate more business?

Migration happens when the market slows. Agents move from brokerage to brokerage, from team to team, searching for the magic pill. A lot of agents get out of the business entirely and choose a new career.

Decisions based on emotion

Most human decisions are made based on emotion, not on logic.

This is why an agent will change offices suddenly when business slows. They are afraid and they want to fix the problem as quickly as possible. Agents aren’t working with their logical brain. They are making fear-based decisions.

People, in general, are pain-averse. They will quickly move away from pain.

Most human decisions are made based on emotion, not on logic.
Brian Icenhower

Real estate team leader training: No one is exempt

Some team leaders and brokers claim they don’t need this real estate team leader training.

Some claim to be the “exception.” I hear it a lot. “My agents aren’t going anywhere. I’ve got the most elite group in the business and they’ll never leave me.”

Bigger organizations and teams may not feel the pain as acutely, when a team member leaves, as a small team would feel. But boy, when a small team loses a team member, it shakes the organization to its very core.

This is why it is a risky business model to rely so heavily on a few top producers on your team. If something should happen and they leave you, your business is going to be rocked.

At ICC, we coach some of the biggest, more top-producing teams in North America. We see this time and time again. Which type of ship weathers the storm better, the small boat or the large ship? Of course, the large ship does.

The same is true for teams. The bigger your team is, the less likely you are to be affected by agent fluctuations.

Real estate team leader training: Recruit, recruit, recruit

The takeaway? Grow your team. Grow your real estate organization. The term “too big to fail” is not 100% accurate, but it does hold true when it comes to weathering the market slowdown.

If you don’t recruit consistently, you’ll find yourself always playing catch up, and only recruiting to replace someone who leaves. This is a frustrating way to recruit, when the pressure is on, and it can create leader burnout.

Leaders start to feel like bigger is not better. They start to see their agents as problematic, and they may even “circle the wagons” and start to downsize. The idea that “it was easier when it was just me” begins to creep in and the leader may start to lose sight of why they wanted to lead in the first place.

All of this is because the leader is not adopting the same mindset that they want their agents to adopt — a growth mindset.

Recruit through the bad market. Agents are going to leave. That’s why you always need to be growing in real estate.

I know that the idea of recruiting is painful and hard. But, it’s the highest dollar activity available to real estate leaders.

I know that the idea of recruiting is painful and hard. But, it’s the highest dollar activity available to real estate leaders.
Brian Icenhower

Retention is good, but don’t stop recruiting

Yes, when you have good people, you want them to stay. But some leaders hold on too tight. They are living in fear of losing their top producing agents.

Instead of making fear-based decisions and living based on emotions, leaders must constantly recruit so they can let go of fear.

Yes, as the leader, you always want to give your agents tools to help them succeed. And yes, ultimately, if you train them well, feed them leads, and provide them with good systems and tools, they are likely to want to stay with you.

All of that said, the agent needs to meet you halfway. If you as the leader continue to put their success on your own shoulders, you will get lost in the weeds. You will get frustrated and burnt out, and you will let other people down (including yourself). It’s not a healthy business model.

Agents must meet you halfway, and you need to be okay with letting them go if they can’t.

If you are going to grow your business, you need to be okay with agents leaving. You must be okay with it just not working out. You must be okay with them thinking “the grass is greener” and moving on.

Real estate team leader training: You are running an independent contractor business

This is the nature of the independent contractor business. This is real estate, folks. If you get caught up in trying to retain all the time, you will get burnt out as a leader.

Think about it this way. If you lose a listing because you priced the house wrong, so your client goes with a different agent and lists successfully, you don’t just sit at the office, fretting about it. You don’t worry about what went wrong with your listing presentation or your pricing strategy. No! You turn around and go out to try to find more listings. The same holds true for leaders and their agents.

Keep your mindset focused on growth at all times. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.

Keep your mindset focused on growth at all times. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.
Brian Icenhower

Real estate team leader training: Grow

Real estate leadership is a game of three steps forward, two steps back. You can’t take three steps forward and then four steps back. You’ll get too burnt out. You need to be okay with losing a few, so long as you’re out their gaining.

Don’t create a business model that is somehow going to alleviate the need to grow. Growing does not mean simply increasing the production of your existing agents. This won’t move the needle much on your income, profitability, or lifestyle, trust me. What will move the needle is adding more personnel. This is the key.

Agents will come and go. Some will stick around — sure — but it’s a small percentage.

Don’t neglect your on-boarding and training systems. That’s not what I’m saying. I am saying don’t lose sight of growth. Don’t lose sight of recruiting and adding more agents to the fold.

Focus your time and energy on recruiting with a growth mindset to get through a downturn in sales volume.

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Want to learn more?

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