In his landmark book, Successful Strategies For Real Estate Sales Managers, Floyd Wickman outlines the 5 jobs of a real estate sales manager: recruit, train, direct, motivate and upgrade. If ever we needed Wickman-style sales management, now is the time.

There are too many salespeople waiting for this thing to blow over so we can get back to normal. But you and I know it never will get back to normal, and it never should. The Wall Street Journal recently stated, "Leaders may try to reduce the anxiety in the air by restoring familiar routines, procedures and traditions, but business as we knew it cannot be recovered. It will need to be reinvented."

Some of our client companies and agents have had the busiest and most productive Spring in many years; and some are still locked down tight. Regardless of the effect the pandemic has had on any given area, almost everywhere we work in North America is reporting a shortage of inventory. 

So, let's apply Wickman-style sales management to addressing today's market conditions and getting people back to work. 

1.     Recruit new and experienced agents to be listing agents. This will also remotivate some of your current agents.

2.     Train all of your agents on the how-to's of getting listings: 

• have listing conversations

• generate listing leads

• convert leads to listing appointments

• put on a dynamic listing presentation

• price it right and protect your commission

• handle listing hesitations

3.     Direct your agents activities toward listings

Most people are drowning in a sea of information and yet thirsting for direction.

4.     Motivate your agents to work listings

Recognize, praise and reward listing effort and production.

5.     Upgrade if they won't work listings

Floyd spells upgrade F-I-R-E. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by making room for productive listing agents. Maybe it's time to institute a new rule: you can't take a listing out of the inventory until you put one in.

Let's build our inventory so that our buyers have choices. And let's manage our salespeople.

By the way, if your job includes managing and motivating real estate salespeople, we are coaching a team of people just like you beginning tomorrow, the first Friday in July. 9:30 -10:30 AM Central time every Friday through December. Maximum of 8 managers and one Wickman trained coach.