Use these strategies to motivate real estate agents in the fall & winter months when business is typically slower and agent motivation is low.
As we enter October, it’s essential for real estate agents, team leaders, and broker owners to refocus their strategies to maintain productivity and momentum. This time of year can be particularly challenging with holidays approaching, market conditions changing, and general end-of-year fatigue setting in. But this period also offers opportunities to re-energize your team and push through to the year’s finish line.
In this article, we’ll explore effective strategies to motivate real estate agents in October, keeping your business strong as we approach the year-end.
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VIDEO: Strategies to Motivate Real Estate Agents in October
Why October is Crucial for Real Estate Agents
The final quarter of the year can feel like a sprint for many in the real estate industry. This is the time when many agents start to feel the pressure. Inventory is typically lower, interest rates may fluctuate, and many people are focused on the upcoming holidays rather than buying or selling homes.
But that’s exactly why focusing on strategies to motivate real estate agents in October is so important. You have limited working days before the year wraps up, and any lost momentum now can have a significant impact on your year-end results.
In fact, when you account for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, along with personal time off, you might only have about 50 working days left in the year. That means every day counts, and staying motivated can be the difference between meeting or missing your goals.
Focus on Lead Generation Over Lead Conversion
One of the key strategies to motivate real estate agents in October is to shift their focus toward lead generation rather than lead conversion. Many agents can become preoccupied with closing existing deals, but that can be a mistake.
During this time of year, your pipeline might not be as full as it was in spring or summer. Instead of focusing solely on converting existing leads, agents should dedicate time to generating new ones.
Here’s why: in a tight inventory market, having five potential buyers might not result in as many closed deals as you would like. But if you have 20 buyers in your pipeline, you’re more likely to see consistent activity and contracts. The more leads you generate now, the stronger your position will be to weather the traditionally slower winter months.
How to Encourage Lead Generation
- Set Daily Lead Generation Goals: Encourage agents to set specific, daily targets for how many new leads they will generate. This can include reaching out to past clients, following up on referrals, or attending networking events.
- Gamify the Process: One way to motivate your team is to create friendly competition around lead generation. Track each agent’s progress on a whiteboard and offer incentives for those who generate the most leads over a specific period.
- Provide Ongoing Support: Help your team by offering scripts, lead generation tools, and CRM systems that make it easier to connect with potential clients.
Gamify the End-of-Year Push
Another effective strategy to motivate real estate agents in October is to create a sense of urgency and fun through challenges or gamification. This can be particularly effective when team members are feeling the end-of-year fatigue.
For example, you can run a competition that rewards agents for meeting certain milestones like setting the most buyer consultation appointments, signing new listing agreements, or generating the most leads. You can even break it down into weekly challenges to keep the energy high throughout the month.
Emphasize the Importance of Buyer Agency Agreements
Signing buyer agency agreements is a crucial conversion step that real estate agents should focus on in the final months of the year. This not only increases the likelihood of closing deals but also demonstrates value to clients upfront, which is critical in today’s competitive market.
Agents should aim to convert as many leads as possible into clients who have signed buyer agency agreements. With inventory tight, it’s essential to have a high volume of committed clients in your pipeline. If you’re aiming to close multiple deals before the year ends, the number of buyer agency agreements you have signed will be a significant predictor of your success.
How to Motivate Agents to Secure Buyer Agency Agreements
- Train on Value Demonstration: Agents should be trained to effectively demonstrate their value during consultations. This might include explaining how your MLS system works, setting up listing alerts, and providing insights on financing options.
- Create Conversion Goals: Set clear goals for how many buyer agency agreements each agent should aim to sign by the end of the month or quarter.
- Offer Incentives: Reward agents who sign the most agreements with bonuses, extra time off, or other perks.
Learn more about the Agent Management Portal
Looking for the best way to add value for your agents? The Agent Management Portal is a powerful learning management system. You get access to all of our state-of-the-industry training materials, as well as tools to help you create your own training content for your agents.
Use Time-Sensitive Opportunities to Motivate Agents
One of the best strategies to motivate real estate agents is to highlight the time-sensitive nature of the current market. With fewer working days left in the year, agents must take advantage of every opportunity to build their business.
Team leaders should ask their agents, “What are we going to do differently in the next 50 days?” The answer to that question could make or break their year-end results. Encourage agents to focus on activities that will have the highest impact, such as reaching out to past clients, leveraging holiday events for networking, and setting more appointments with potential buyers and sellers.
Offer Continuous Coaching and Feedback
Motivation often stems from having a clear sense of direction and support. As a team leader, you can boost your agents’ motivation by offering continuous coaching and feedback.
It is essential to have frequent check-ins with your agents, especially during this busy time. Use one-on-one meetings to review their progress, offer constructive feedback, and set new goals. The more engaged agents feel with their progress, the more likely they are to stay motivated.
Team leaders should ask their agents, “What are we going to do differently in the next 50 days?” The answer to that question could make or break their year-end results. Encourage agents to focus on activities that will have the highest impact, such as reaching out to past clients, leveraging holiday events for networking, and setting more appointments with potential buyers and sellers.
Brian Icenhower
Encourage Agents to Leverage Technology
Technology can play a huge role in keeping real estate agents productive and motivated. Encourage your agents to use the tools available to them, such as CRM systems, marketing automation, and social media scheduling tools.
By automating some of their day-to-day tasks, agents can free up more time for high-value activities like lead generation and client meetings. Plus, using tech tools to keep in touch with clients—whether through automated emails, social media posts, or listing alerts—can keep agents top of mind with their leads.
Reframe Goals and Adjust for Realism
It’s important to acknowledge that some of the goals your agents set earlier in the year might be out of reach at this point. Rather than letting that discourage them, help your agents reframe their goals to focus on what’s still achievable.
If an agent’s goal was to close 15 deals this year but they’re currently at 10, guide them toward setting a realistic target for the remaining months. By setting new, attainable goals, agents can stay motivated rather than feeling overwhelmed by goals that now seem too far out of reach.
Final Thoughts
As we approach the end of the year, implementing strategies to motivate real estate agents in October is critical to maintaining momentum and finishing strong. Encourage your team to focus on lead generation, sign buyer agency agreements, and use gamification to keep the energy high.
Now is the time to review goals, create new challenges, and stay focused on what matters most: generating new business and keeping clients engaged. With the right mindset and approach, your agents can push through October and into the new year with confidence.
