Floyd's Philosophies (Lessons Learned Managing Salespeople) 

Philosophy #4

"EDUCATION WITHOUT APPLICATION IS WORSE THAN WORTHLESS."

One of my most vivid memories as a father was the day my four year-old son said to me with full confidence, "Papa, take off my training wheels." I held on to the back of his bicycle seat, got him up to speed and let go. He made it about 27 feet before falling over.

He picked himself up and said, "OK, let's go again." With a little encouragement, some coaching and a few more attempts, it didn't take long before he was riding like a pro.

What if I had just handed my son a bicycle and said, "Here you go. Figure it out." Or just given him an instructional video about bicycle riding to watch?

The most effective way to teach someone how to ride a bicycle is to give them the proper equipment, enough instruction and encouragement, and then hands-on application. 

The process is the same when teaching people how to sell real estate. Very few agents succeed without guidance, direction, supervision, training and the magic ingredient . . . application! 

Classroom instruction makes people aware of what to do. Classroom practice can help people get over the fear of trying something new. But learning how to be accomplished at listing and selling real estate takes time. That is why we teach our sessions one day a week. This is called spaced training. It gives our students time to complete the assignments in between sessions. One day in the classroom followed by six days applying what was taught.

A common mistake is trying to teach a person too much all at once, and they frequently miss the whole point.

There are other significant bonuses to spaced training. When a student has the experience of making measurable progress, they are more eager to learn and you can teach at a higher level. The icing on the cake is that by applying what you teach, students get results. Results motivate. Results inspire. 

Education without application is worse than worthless.  Combining the right equipment, enough instruction and time to learn by doing is how we combine education WITH application  - and why Floyd Wickman training has been famous for 40 years. Our students get results.

The Floyd Wickman Team Blog by Mike Pallin