Commercial Real Estate Agency – Staff Solutions and Strategies

In commercial real estate agency today, you really do have to create some clear strategies when it comes to staff and job roles. There are some clear differences that should apply when it comes to sales agency staff versus administrative support staff. You need both, but they must work well with each other.

Here are some observations to help you Newport Residences Condo establish your staffing plan in the agency given the prevailing market conditions and pressures of your local area.

1. 1. It takes a reasonable time to take an inexperienced salesperson and turn them into a good salesperson. You can sometimes fast track that process by getting the junior or new team member to work with a more senior and established top agent. In saying that, the top agent should be capable of sharing their skills with others.

1. 1. The members of the sales team are there in your business to sell and lease. They are the income producers. On that basis they should produce the income to at least an average or above level given the prevailing market conditions.

1. 1. If you require a special type of property skill in the sales team, it will pay you to find the experience from another agency and attract that agent to work for you. Our industry is so specialised that it takes years in some cases to build the knowledge and experience that some segments of the market require (e.g. retail shopping centres).

1. 1. Every sales person should have access to administrative support. If you tie a good salesperson down with mundane paperwork that could be done by others, you are losing money as a business. Make it easy for the salesperson to get out the door and into their market place for at least 50% of their day.

1. 1. The choice of administrative people in your agency will always be a concern. Given that there are limits on what they can and should be paid, you will find that administrative staff will come and go from your office. When you re-employ any replacements, make sure that you are getting the right skill mix that the agency team requires.

1. It pays to have an established relationship of job roles between sales and admin staff. Systems and job specifications will support you here. Some salespeople can be quite a handful of ‘conflict and attitude’, which then has to be shaped and contained to some level of productivity in the team.