Responsibilities of Successful Real Estate Agents

April 13, 2017

Megan Swanson

responsibilities of successful real estate agents

There isn’t a secret to success in real estate; despite what all of the articles out there would have you think.

Instead, there are certain responsibilities every successful real estate agent does in order to survive and thrive.

These responsibilities may look differently when tried on by Ben Kinney, Mary Maloney, or Path & Post Real Estate, but they all boil down to the same basic principles:

Plan

Process

Produce

&Repeat

If you are looking for a band-aid solution (be honest with yourself here!), then this is not the place. We’re about making you successful right now and ten years from now.

Let’s get down to it!

First Step: Real Estate Business Planning

It is important to remember each one of these “responsibilities” do not have to be done the same way. And this includes how you define success.

Part One: Part one of the planning process is to define what success looks like to you.

Is it earning a certain amount? Having the ability to go home at a certain time every day? Achieving a work-life balance?

Understand first and foremost what success means to you. And if you have a team or larger business, bring the entire organization into the mix.

For example, Becky Babcock and Brad Nix with Path & Post Real Estate didn’t become one of the most successful real estate teams in the country by leaving their team out of the loop. Learn about it here.

Through deliberate inclusion at every step of the way, they developed a loyal and highly profitable real estate structure.

Part Two: The next step is to take this vision of success and create a plan to achieve it. This is also called a business plan.

Don’t have a business plan? YOU NEED ONE.

The good news is that not only does Tom Ferry have a free business plan format available on his website, but BoomTown also has plenty of resources.

Part Three: Training and transparency are the final steps of the planning process.

Solidify your idea of success, construct a proper business plan, and then begin training yourself and your team on the ideas of both.

Training begins at the foundation, even before a process has begun. This is what company culture comes out of. And through training you gain transparency into where you see your business going.

We suggest letting your team members in every step of the way. If not to give input, than to learn the thought processes behind why you are doing things.

This helps you realize the meaning behind your decisions and build trust among the team.

Second Step: Create Your Processes

Now there will be two main streams of process you need to focus on: internal processes and client processes.

With all processes, be flexible to change.

Internal processes include operations and everything before a lead knocks on your actual or digital door. This may refer to, but is not exclusive to, how to hire a new team member, team meeting schedules (self accountability time-blocks if you are a one person business), lead distribution models, team models, marketing, etc.

A few helpful resources:

External processes largely belong to the client journey. From click to close, what is the path these clients will take, who will guide them at each point, and what communication method is to be used.

A few helpful resources:

For example, BoomTown has a highly specific process for new clients coming in the door. Depending on what stage of the business, we cater the onboarding process accordingly. Just as you should create a plan for new leads coming in the door.

This process is finalized down to a “t,” because otherwise quality drops, client experience isn’t consistent, and confidence in the brand fails.

When you find consistency in your processes, then you’ll be able to find your business plan coming to life.

These processes will change as your technology and service providers do. It is vital you continue training with each new system that comes in the door. For yourself and your team members.

In Alyssa Hellman’s podcast about training real estate teams, she stresses the importance of company leaders also being leaders in the technology you use. Why would your agents adopt technologies if their leader doesn’t show the slightest interest?

This is where the tough love comes in. You have to drink the same kool-aid you’re trying to sell to your team.

BoomTown in particular has an in-depth training and support department completely dedicated to helping our brokers and their teams every step of the way. Learn about those teams here. Utilize your technology partners’ training teams. That is after all what they exist for!

Action Item: What does your client journey look like? Create a roadmap that your lead segments follow each step of the way. Leave room for other options if the “Plan A” doesn’t work out.

Step Three: Produce Results

Before we even discuss the results, think about your accountability. Are you good at holding yourself accountable? What about other people?

After putting the plan into action and finalizing a few team processes, the accountability comes into play.

Without it, the plans and processes are only empty promises.

Since BoomTown is built upon accountability to each other and our clients, we have ample resources no matter what your business size.

Download a daily accountability report here.

The truth remains, unless you are able to be accountable to your own plans, you will not be a successful real estate agent.

And after you have a reliable accountability system in place, you will be able to start producing results.

Once you start to get in the groove and feeling the growing pains within your first business plan and processes, it’s time to be flexible and open to switching it up.

Maybe you thought two team members could do the job when you really need two more? Or an increase in leads justifies hiring an ISA? What if you switch technology partners and need to view the ROI over your past year?

Remember, making changes in your business is always easier if you track production every step of the way.

If you have a business plan, this shouldn’t be difficult whatsoever.

Many larger real estate businesses have plans for individual agents that are updated every transaction.

Making the Hard Decisions

You can do real estate however you want to do real estate. But we can tell you after over a decade watching clients make mistakes, and helping them fix those mistakes, that the responsibilities living with the plan, process, produce, and repeat system are non-negotiable.

No matter how you customize each of these steps to your own business, don’t forget the principles of training, transparency, accountability, and flexibility.

Lucky for you, we run an entire business made for you and your team that helps you every step of the way. Learn more about BoomTown here!