Real estate office managers, brokers & owners: Here are 10 answers to any question a real estate agent could ask.

As a manager of a busy real estate office you will be answering questions from your agents’ everyday of the week.  I have found nearly all questions that agents ask have a common answer.   I have listed these answers below in no particular order. 

Any answer that contains conversation about commission is of course meant to be considered in context to your personal office policy and in no way suggesting that commissions charged are fixed by real estate agents.

1. Meet more people.  Meeting more people is the number one answer to most of the issues or problems a real estate agent may face that centers around their career or income.  If they are not making enough money, they need to meet more people.  If they do not like listing property they need to meet more buyers.  If they do not like working with buyers they need to meet more sellers.  If they are terrible closers then theoretically they would need to meet more people to increase the odds of their bad closing skills working.  Are you following how this is going?  If they come in your office and they say, “I am not sure what I should be doing today, how can I start my business, or what is the secret to success?”  Your response will be, “Meet more people!”
2. What did the buyer/seller say they want to do?  How many times have you had an agent come into your office and lay out a situation going on with a deal?  Perhaps the appraisal came in low, or the inspection report revealed a problem or the closing is going to be delayed for any number of reasons.  The agent may tell you that they have been talking about whatever it is with the listing or co-op agent, and now they wonder what you think is the best way to handle whatever “it” is.  Your first response should be “What did the buyer/seller say they want to do?”  You will be amazed at how many times the agent sitting in your office has not stopped to call the customer.  As long as what the customer wants to do is not illegal, immoral or unethical, do that.
3. Measure twice; cut once.  This is the answer you should give an agent when they are ready to send off an angry email, or make any important decision that falls within their ability to make.  Measure twice; cut once is an old carpenter’s term that means you better measure that board twice before taking a saw to it.  This way you can be confident you are making the right cut, or in the case of your agent, the right decision.
4. Put it in writing.  Here is a no brainer but one of the most forgotten by our agents.  When they are sitting in your office and you start hearing a lot of “he said, she said”.  You need to say, “Get it in writing!”  Writing means more than an email.  It means getting signatures and the information on the proper company-state approved legal form/contract/addendum to legally bind all parties to what “they said”.
5. Go talk to the other agent.  This is the answer you should give to an associate who comes in with a concern or complaint about another agent within your office.  The situation might include confusion over which agent a customer belongs to, or a referral owed or something overheard at the water cooler.  Agents are professional businesses within your business and should be professional enough to deal with each other.  Before you put on your striped shirt and whistle and start acting as a referee, tell them to go talk to the other agent and work it out.
6. Google it.  As a manager you are expected to know everything.  In most cases you probably do have the answer to an agent’s question.  You have the answer, not because you are a walking talking encyclopedia, but most likely because you have done the research in order to find it.  In order for your agents to learn and grow, they need to do the research themselves too.  What does a specific zoning code allow?  Google it.  Where can I get flood insurance? Google it.  What does egress mean?  Google it.  
7. Say no.  This is something we do not learn early enough in our careers.  The buyer wants me to write an offer a zillion dollars below asking price, what should I do?  Say no.  The seller wants me to list the home so high I need a helicopter to see the top, what should I do?  Say no.  Mr. Unethical Agent wants me to participate in something that does not feel right.  Say no.  The seller has asked me to list their home for a penny.  Say no.
8. Never give away money.  There are times when we have to make concessions but those times should be few and far between and the person or persons who got us to give up a dollar should feel like they had to pry it away from our clenched hands.  The last person to give up money to fix a leaky roof, pay for past due HOA fees, offset the cost of a delayed closing, or get the seller to sell by reducing commission is you, the agent.  When an agent asks you about giving up some of their hard earned money, revert to answer 7 and include answer 8 to never give away money.  Tell them to work all other solutions first and then report back to you.
9. Let the facts speak for themselves.  This is the advice you need to give your agents when they are sure that something needs to be sugarcoated or when you start hearing phrases like, “Well I believe the buyer/seller/other agent is dealing in good faith”. The contract answers almost everything that a buyer or seller might question.  Point the buyer or seller to those answers and then zip it.  Let the facts speak for themselves.  They do not need your additional commentary.
10. Quiet the noise.  This could also be called focusing.  Real estate sale is an easy business but is hard to be successful.  The hard part comes in because our minds will often run amok.  I need to send out direct mail. I need to build a website. I do not speak as well as the next person.  My family is not supportive.  I am sure to fail.  The real estate market is bad.  My boss hates me.  I get the bad floor time.  There is too much paperwork.  I am afraid someone will hang up on me.  No one will attend my open house.  The buyer won’t qualify.  The seller will want too much.  I can’t get bank owned property.  I don’t understand the contract.  I will embarrass myself.  All of this noise is paralyzing!  You have got to help your agents quiet the noise and learn how to focus on the task at hand or they will never succeed in this or any other business.