Broker Management: Successful Leaders Know How to Follow

One of the first things every person is taught about what it takes to be successful in business is “listen to your customers”. In sales training, we’re taught listening is one of the key components of success, but in leadership training, there’s less emphasis on listening skills and more on communication skills. Ah, but the core outcome of being a good listener is the ability to communicate (connect) effectively.

Of course, good listening does not refer to good hearing but good understanding. It is a process through which leaders are able to interpret what their customers (internal or external to their organization) are saying, so they can develop solutions that meet the customer’s needs. I chose to use the word customer here because the real estate sales professional is the customer of the broker. So is the end consumer, but brokers do not lead consumers; they lead agents using skills the agent can hopefully emulate to lead (guide, consult to) the consumer.

The more you listen, the more you understand. And the more you understand, the more you feel. Emotion plays a big role in leadership because it plays a big role in decision-making. So getting a feel for the situation; getting a sense for where someone is coming from; and aligning your approach with the needs of your customer is the difference between making the real estate sale or not – capturing the heart of your followers or not.

You listen, you learn – facts, feelings, tone and inflection. You watch, and you learn – body language exudes confidence, anxiety, strength, or weakness. They say at least 70% of what's communicated is visual, and of course, that goes both ways. What registers with your followers is based on the same kind of verbal and non-verbal information. Just as you should be, they are studying the whole package - consciously or subconsciously.

If you want agents to grasp your business strategy and adopt your business process for selling real estate, you must be able to communicate your belief in the program with emotion. Your philosophy as a broker needs to reach each agent effectively and they will need to believe before they will follow. For instance, you may have invested in real estate contact management system designed to automate the workflow in your business. If you want your agents to use business tools effectively, you must passionately endorse your belief that it will help them sell more real estate. Software is only as effective as its adoption, and adoption depends on leadership.

Bottom line – You are a leader if you have followers, and to attract and keep loyal followers, you have to understand following!