Increase your team's capacity

Is your business operating at full capacity? Start your capacity overhaul by taking a look at each business unit in your organisation. Story by Craig Bellgrove.

If the future is about less doing more ie fewer people involved doing the work normally done by many – then the question is, how do we in the Real Estate industry increase our volume and productivity to acheive this? In my opinion there are only two ways to increase our capacity; firstly through the use of clever systems and secondly through the leverage of using extra people to support those systems.

Another critical factor often overlooked is that the same approach must be taken on each business unit in your company; Sales Team, Property Management, Administration and Support, Principal.

The point I'd like to make here is that this has to be holistic. It is pointless spending time, money and resources coaching your salespeople to greater heights if the engine room of sales support is not up to speed – there will be no real productivity increase in a log jam. Likewise, there's little point the Principal investing similar time and money in buying new rent rolls if there are no systems in place to maximise efficiencies and productivities.

SALES TEAM

So let’s look at the Sales Team initially; if you haven't got a good web-based database already – now's the time! It must be able to do the following as a minimum; sms, e-mail, categorise clients, save client history, match buyers to houses and vice versa, and attach high quality marketing collateral in outgoing correspondence. You simply cannot operate in a volume manner without this and you need it now! if you are a salesperson wanting to get on with it – just do it! Don't wait for the rest of the office or permission from a manager that won't get on with it – it's your career so just do it!

The second step for a salesperson is of course a PA – simultaneously the most talked-about and misunderstood conversation in Real Estate today! You hire an administration PA, not a sales assistant or 'mini me' – that's just ego! A good PA runs all your systems and looks after everything that is not either listing, selling or negotiating – why? Because those three things are the only dollar productive thing we do as salespeople! From now on you don't do group tours or caravans, no coffee club – you are now a listing and selling machine – with a PA that behaves as a lead generation machine! This structure will see most capable salespeople reach $1M gross settled commission in any area with reasonable volume turnover.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Property Management is a bit variable depending on the size of your rent roll now, in essence I would suggest that portfolio managers are supported by capable administration assistants and the department is headed up by a dedicated lister (or two) whose sole role is to market, prospect and list – just as if they were in a sales team! My previous comments on database hold true here, and whilst I know that most Property Management divisions have great databases for storage of data, my concern is that they are not used enough for marketing and growing in the rent roll.

ADMINISTRATION & SUPPORT

The Administration and Sales Support roles are vitally important – in fact they are the engine room of your office! Invariably these people strive on a desire to do their job well and systemise the office – often we could do worse than step out of their way and let them do it! Key ingredients in high performing departments are solid structures, correct staff ratios, sound policy and procedures and a management-leadership style that empowers – remember that great sales people will join your company for a good engine room and your salespeople will stay forever!

PRINCIPALS

And so onto Principals… in the context of this article it's hard to be exhaustive in advice as there are so many different leadership styles out there. You need to make up your mind which you want to be; selling Principal, in which case you may employ a sales manager, a coach for your salespeople, a Principal presiding over several offices – whatever your vision, design it and stick to it! Gone are the days when a Principal can hope to do it all and realise any serious productivity at all. Systems and the leverage of a PA mean more in this context than anywhere else – find your highest and best use and stick to it! For example, I was visiting an office several months ago where a selling Principal was writing all the advertising for the weekly Real Estate guide! The guy is capable of writing huge figures so why would he get bogged down in that stuff?

Craig Bellgrove is a director and CEO of Fruit Property www.fruitproperty.com.au This unique and very approachable brand is backed up by some of the smartest systems in the industry which Craig has developed.