How to Build a Powerful Sales Force

By Mark Whitmer, Regional Services Director - CENTURY 21

Left to their own devices, will your sales associates take massive action to increase their business generation activities? Does it seem that people tend to procrastinate when they don’t know exactly what to do? How do you solve that problem? Whether you’re a Broker or Manager, it is leadership that your sales associates desire.

If you want your sales associates to experience massive success over the next twelve months, leaving it up to them to provide their own ideas and solutions may lead to poor performance and them being a flight risk to jump to another company. Massive success! Yes, they want it. Many may have a hard time getting started. They need to be guided by their leader so they can grow strong. Solution? Coach them.

In 2009 and beyond… Coaching will Become Critical

(Illustration: The more production agents do the more they need to be supported in a way that will guide their growth. Coaching is the application and it must be consistent. New ones need leadership appropriate to their capabilities and business processes while others require coaching on systems to develop and manage multiple business generation sources.

Coaching can make sure that the right agents get engaged in the business and achieve more closings. Here are some examples of what a Broker or Manager can do to get started.

Ask for and get a commitment on each agent’s plan for reaching their goals on the following:

• What top source(s) will they focus on that will get them the closings they desire?


• What will be their activity or offer to each source?


• How will they contact them and get appointments?


• What is their minimum commitment of contacts/appointments every week?


• What skills, systems, and disciplines are required?

No matter how much we want success to happen for them, only they can motivate themselves. How? Begin by asking them to answer what they want and why they want it. Unless they have incredible motivation, they probably always do what they’ve always done.

Sales associates need a courageous leader, as their Broker or Manager, that’s why they work for you. Give them what they desire.

All we have to do is help them get what they want.