Beyond the licensing exam

What brokers are doing to help new agents succeed.

by Ward Lowe   Earning a salesperson’s license may give someone legal authority to practice real estate, but it takes more than TREC’s educational requirements to set up an agent for success. Whether a broker employs two agents or 200, it’s in everyone’s best interest if new licensees receive training and support to make their first months as successful as possible.

Me and my shadow

"Some new licensees think, ‘OK, I have a lockbox key. Now what?’" says Gwynn Carpenter, broker and co-owner of Home and Hearth Realty in Austin. "Real estate is strictly on-the-job training. A person can take classes, pass the state exam, and still not know how to do real estate."

Carpenter, whose company includes another broker and three agents, takes a hands-on approach with each of her new agents. When a new licensee comes on board, Carpenter strongly encourages him to shadow her for as long as they both think it’s helping. And when she says shadow, she means everywhere.

"When one of my now-veteran agents first got her license, she sat with me daily for three months," Carpenter recounts. "She went with me on errands–both personal and business–because riding in the car, she heard me interact with people who called me on the cell phone or when I returned a page. She heard how I spoke to clients, brokers, and lenders and saw how I do little things like schedule appointments to see houses."

Carpenter’s new-licensee training isn’t written down or set in stone. She handles every new agent a little differently, depending on that individual’s personality, but always emphasizes providing personal service and being available for your clients.

Another area Carpenter stresses with her new charges is handling contracts–not just writing them well, but also understanding how to negotiate them. "I see a lot of transactions go bust because agents lack the people skills to explain problems with the contracts to other agents, their clients, or lenders."

Although handling people tops the list of skills Carpenter instills in her new licensees, she also shows them how to deal with the mountain of paper associated with transactions. She explains her filing system to new agents and tells them why it works for her. "They don’t have to file things the way I do, but at least they’ll understand the need for a system to keep organized."

In the end, Carpenter says, "I emphasize that they should give back to their clients. I tell them to give back to the real estate community–agents, title companies, loan officers. Because the more they give back to all those people, the better and easier their job will be."

"Our training never ends."

Russ Griffith, director of education for Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper, REALTORS® in San Antonio, sees earning a salesperson license as the beginning of an long learning process. "Where do they learn to prospect? Where do they learn how to generate business? It doesn’t give them everything they need to go out on the street and make money."

Griffith facilitates the company’s new-licensee training program, which he runs five or six times a year for an average of 10 agents each time. The program consists of 12 day-long sessions that are scheduled three times a week over four weeks.

"We tried running it 12 days in a row, but it’s just too much information too fast," Griffith explains. "This way, we work with them one day, send them back to the real world to try things, bring them back to class to talk about their experiences, give them more things to try–this process goes on for four weeks."

Each program covers similar topics during the 12 sessions–risk management, business planning, how to work with buyers and sellers–but Griffith has a stable of 37 other topics he can add to the mix when appropriate. For example, he may insert an extra session on contracts when TREC makes changes to forms.

For classes on topics like home inspections and appraisals, Griffith brings in outside experts so the new licensees get a taste of what really happens outside the classroom. And on their off-days, the agents return to their offices and work with their managers.

"We give them business-generating activities to get their own business started," says Griffith. "Between classes they have time to work with clients and might actually make some money while they’re in the program."

Aside from teaching them how to jump-start their business, Griffith tries to show the ins and outs of the Coldwell Banker corporate structure. "I want them to understand that there is a tremendous support staff behind them, and it’s there for their benefit."

The support staff and training program seem to be working. According to Griffith, last year the brokerage retained 78% of the participants in the new-licensee program. "We want to educate them–not just train them–so they can function on their own. So they can build their own business and achieve their goals."

Photo © PhotoDisc.

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