3 secrets to one-on-one communication with staff and agents

Effective, one-on-ones move the needle in enacting positive change within an organization.  Within real estate, you have two different groups of people.  The first is your administrative staff.   These are the salaried folks; you should be having a one-on-one with each of your direct reports on a weekly basis.  

The second is your sales team.  This group has three sub-groups.  The first is your top producers.  When it comes to one-on-ones, this group can be scheduled on a monthly basis or quarterly if you are using a monthly mastermind group coaching system with them. 

The second is your active, productive agents.  Schedule this group on a bi-weekly basis or bi-monthly if you are using a bi-weekly mastermind group coaching system with them. 

The last group are your new agents and non-performers.  These people should have a one-on-one set up weekly or bi-weekly if you are using a weekly mastermind group coaching system with them.

If you are a multi-office broker-owner, it is best if you personally run one or two masterminds with your top-tier producers.  The insights you gain from these meetings will include invaluable feedback, both in terms of your company operations and the current market opportunities. 

After doing literally thousands of effective one-on-ones, this is the formula I have found works best.

Start with something personal

Be genuine.  Ask about how they are doing as a human being.  Professional issues usually stem from personal issues, especially with your top-tier associates.  The old axiom rings true here: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  

What have they done that has been significant since the last time you met?  Write down what they talk about so you can circle back and ask how those things are going in the future. 

As a side note, salespeople don’t leave when they feel cared about.  Each one of us makes decisions emotionally then justifies them logically.  Your greatest asset for retention is to build loyalty through genuine care and concern for your people.

Move to the professional 

Start with their numbers.  Each person should have metrics they are tracking.  These should be top of mind as one or two leading indicators that contribute to their most important goal. 

If they are off their numbers, move to attitude and tactical effort.  What are they doing each day to keep their mindset in the right place?  What tasks are they executing on each day?  

End with ‘what’s next’ questions

Here are five magic questions to define next steps:

• What do you want to get better at?
• What are a couple of things that will impact that?
• What is something you can do in the next seven days that will have an influence on that?
• What is a quantitative measurement to know you have gotten better in this?
• How can I help?

When you start your effective one-on-ones, you will want to dedicate one-third of the time to each of the three areas above. As you do them regularly you will find 50 percent will go to personal, 20 percent will go to the professional and 30 percent will go to next steps.  When done correctly and consistently, one-on-ones can be an incredibly effective tool in the growth of your team, both individually and collectively.