
and the other team members now
consider themselves part of the “B”
Team, just making up the numbers.
This situation is toxic and leaves
the business owner extremely
vulnerable.
Few businesses can stand a 50%
drop in turnover so the Gorilla is
left alone, time marches on and the
status quo remains. The “B” team
members slowly start to exit the
agency and their replacements are
introduced into the same culture.
You are not alone if this is the
position you are facing and if you
are the top performer in your office
- give some thought to whether
or not you have become the 500
pound Gorilla!
A rewarding team culture is about
each and every member valuing,
knowing and understanding,
the different skills, experience
and wisdom that everyone is
contributing.
That value builds trust and the more
the team value each other the more
trust that will be cemented into the
foundations of the business.
Shaping, and in some cases re-
shaping a team culture isn’t as
difficult as you might think.
Team cultures starts with the
simple things that mean a lot.
Like knowing the names of the
partners of each team member,
whether or not they have kids and
how old are they? How do they relax
and what do they do on their days
off?
You need to understand why they
do what they do and what they
aspire to.
This applies to everybody from the
first year receptionist up through
the entire team and remember that
nobody is bigger than the team.
TEAM MANAGEMENT
The first hurdle to get over is to
learn to manage each individual
team member and not have a one
size fits all approach.
Salespeople come in all shapes,
sizes and personality types. We
need to respect their right to be
individuals and manage them
accordingly. It is imperative that we
know what makes them tic and
understand why they get out of bed
each morning.
Are they introverted or extroverted
and what do they value most? Do
they display creativity or do they
have a superb sense of timing.
Would they prefer to “squeeze the
flesh” or “crunch the numbers?”
When you understand and respect
your team, they will understand
and respect you. Understanding
and respect provide an environment
that everybody wants to be part of
and when they find that place, they
want to stay there.
If you don’t know “who your people
are” it can make communication
very difficult. If you have a team
member who is in their flow working
with data and systems but you
want to send them to a networking
breakfast, good luck. Likewise, the
agent who is in flow speaking and
mixing with people will have their
eyes glaze over when questions
about days on market and average
selling prices come up. Creative
agents’ love the hunt and the kill but
rarely follow up and those that are
sensory by nature have the feel for
the deal but write boring ads.
If you know your people then
Value builds trust and the more the team value
each other the more trust that will be
cemented into the foundations of the business.
Team cultures starts with the simple things
that mean a lot.