Do you want to inject your agents with the kind of enthusiasm that generates more sales and higher profits? Read on.

It's an intangible, of course. Energy isn't something you can measure or quantify. It's the extra kick that helps an agent make one more cold call, send one more mailing and contact one more lender to straighten out the financing mess that everyone else has given up on. When a sales team has energy, a manager can look out into a bustling office and know that the agents are doing whatever it takes to keep sales moving through both good and slow times.

As a manager for the past eleven years, I've observed how important energy is to the dynamics of an office. It's that intangible element that makes the difference in how agents walk and talk and how many contracts they bring in.

How do you energize your sales team? Here are some techniques that have worked for me. Try them. I bet they'll work for you, too.

1. Start with Yourself

It probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: energy begins at home. Managers need to mirror the qualities they expect to see in their agents. Do you arrive at the office eager to begin each day? Do you show your enthusiasm for each new listing and sale? If you genuinely love what you do, then your enthusiasm will be contagious.

To keep your energy high, spend time recharging your batteries. Try to maintain a balance in your life by making sure you spend time on the activities that refresh you. Block out time for community projects and for travel getaways. During leisure hours, try to get your mind off real estate so that you can devote yourself to it completely when you're back in the office.

2. Share Your Vision

Develop a clear, clean vision of where you want your office to go, and share it with your entire team. Be specific.

3. Build an Idea Factory

Your job is to help your agents make more money. That means you'll need ideas - lots of them - for new ways to reach clients. Keep your mind open.

Keep moving and always be looking. You'll be surprised how many ideas you can generate when you give yourself permission to think freely. If an idea doesn't work, dump it and try something else. Keep thinking. Keep refining. The biggest sin is not trying.

4. Move Fast

Respond quickly to ideas from your agents. There's nothing more demoralizing than seeing a perfectly good idea languish on someone's desk. If it's good, go with it. If you don't think it's economically feasible, explain why. Action is everything in maintaining a high energy level.

Some ideas will hit and some will miss. Focus on the positive. Learn from the negative and go on. For every door that closes, 10 more open. Really.

5. Fit ideas to Individuals

To build an energized team, you have to know your agents as well as you do a spouse or a best friend. Watch them closely, figure out what motivates them. Ask questions. Let them know that you care. My agents were all important to me, and they knew it. The agents should come first, even when it makes things hard. For example, if I know a time-consuming mailing will work for one of my agents, we'll go with it, even if it means tying up my administrative help and increasing my own workload. When my agents win, I win.

Plan marketing ideas that fit the individual personality of each agent. Of course, basics work for everyone, but try to put a unique twist on ideas that you know will work for specific individuals. In one of my offices, for example, one of my agents had a wonderful English accent. I knew he'd do well on the phone, so I worked with him on a script and some cold calling techniques. He did so well that he went from a bare-existence salary to an annual income of around $150,000.

6. Give Tons of Recognition

I believe that recognition should be an all-day, everyday activity, rather than being relegated to a monthly meeting. It's tough to be out there in the trenches, and people need to be told that they're doing well. When an agent brings in a contract or secures a difficult listing, make sure he or she gets instant, on-the-spot recognition. Everyone else who happens to be in the office at the time needs to know. "Did you hear that, you guys? Sally got the Jones listing!" Sally may blush, but she also feels pretty good about herself. And that's the way it should be.

Teamwork is important. Keep a bowl on your desk where agents can drop in their name to be recognized for helping their fellow agents. Each month, have a drawing, and present something to the winning agent. Also single out an agent you've noticed displaying exemplary teamwork that month. They're all worthy, but it's important to recognize individuals and to share their individual story with their peers.

7. Believe It

Have confidence in your ideas. When you get a promotional idea for an individual agent, tell him or her why you know it will work. It's a confidence born of experience, and convey that certainty to them.

When you love what you do, respect your agents and are able to convey those feelings to those around you, you're well on your way to leading an enthusiastic, energized team.

Also See:

Published: January 3, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.