With Phoenix being the first 72 SOLD market testing out the zip code model, many agents in our local brokerage are reaching out to me (and other team leaders who were allowed to purchase zips) for a chance to join my team. Makes sense – no team = no referrals for many.
A team of two agents stood out to me – surprised me – and not in a good way. So much so I wanted to share it with you guys so we can all learn from it.
A Little Background:
These two agents have been with the company a little longer than me, I believed they were fairly successful so I had high hopes for our conversation. When they texted me about my team, I was excited and replied that I would call them to find out what they are looking for in a team.
This is always my first question to anyone who wants to join my team. I have found it is the fastest way to get clear on an agent’s expectations of me and helps me quickly determine fit.
The Phone Call:
I called shortly after, first thing I asked was “what are you looking for in a team?”
His response ” oh you know…to be more busy.” He then went on to complain about his lead flow, critiquing various things about the company, etc.
I asked him about their lead to close ratio and he said 95%. When I repeated the question knowing that was extraordinarily high he affirmed 95%…And then he actually listened to my question, realized what I was asking and came back with the correct number which was under 50%.
Later in the conversation one of them described the other as “usually the smartest one in the room when it comes to real estate.”
Do you work buyers? “*heavy sigh* I haven’t in years but sure I work buyers”
And finally, when I asked how they would feel going from doing their own thing to being on a team, their response was “well as long as you don’t have meetings every day it should be fine.”
This duo had an opportunity to sell themselves to me and completely missed. They made it clear their interest in me was for my referrals only – no desire to contribute to my team, not interested in growing themselves (they are already the smartest in the room remember), placing stipulations on how often they may be asked to be held accountable, didn’t bother to listen to questions, not prepared to provide basic stats on their performance…
Definitely not the vibe…
I ended the call knowing I would absolutely not be hiring them – the simple reason being how you do one thing, is how you do all things.
Look guys. It doesn’t matter where you are or who you’re interacting with, you are selling or being sold. To get anything you want requires attention on how you are being – it’s a muscle, a habit – something you must pay attention to. With or without your knowledge you are directly influencing how things unfold for you. In this case with these two, they showed me that they didn’t think enough of our conversation to put forth the effort to even try to make themselves appealing to me as team members and stewards of my VERY expensive investment; they didn’t seem aware of how many agents are interested in being on my team; and they definitely didn’t offer any clear value that differentiated them from the masses.
If they couldn’t sell me, what makes me think they can sell anyone else?
This example is a great illustration of WHY we are so focused on the fine details as a team. Paying attention, reading the room, coming with contribution instead of take-take-take, spelling and grammar, preparedness.
Every single time you show up in smaller moments as your best self makes it automatic to show up in the big moments as your best self.
