I have seen so many well-intentioned Estate Agency bosses make the same blunder when hiring a Branch Manager. In the Branch Manager, they look for a person with a proven track record in Estate Agency, somebody who knows how to generate the particular results to be a successful Estate Agency. So, all they need to do is teach their team to do the same, and everything will be hunky-dory?? A Branch Manager leaves, so the big boss looks around their staff pool of who fits that bill, and straight away, the obvious answer is the very best performing Lister.
Sometimes, a skilled Lister / Valuer also turns out to be a great rock star Estate Agency Branch manager, yet more often than not, they fail to perform barely above average. The discrepancy isn’t because they are not a good estate agent, a great Lister, or devoted to delivering excellent estate Agency results. Instead, the flop lies somewhere else.
Now before you all go jumping in say, ‘Watkin, I was a great lister and now I am a brilliant Branch Manager’, I am generalising the Estate Agency industry. I have been in the Estate Agency game since 1991 and met many many people in the industry.
Of course some of the capabilities that make one a great lister have some crossover use with being an awesome Branch Manager.
For example, leadership and stanch integrity are skills required to be a great lister and Branch Manager. Also, great Listers have to have the abilities of inventiveness, creativity, ingenuity, and accountability. These are also essential character behaviours in a Branch Manager role.
Yet these qualities and character qualities, while being beneficial and advantageous, are not enough to confirm that a great Lister can effectively transition into a Branch Manager, as the very role requires very high leadership to a high standard. That’s why quite a large number of Listers who become Branch Managers return to a Lister later, finding that they enjoy listing more than they enjoy leading others. (yet often with another firm – take note bosses)
Great Listers are accountable and answerable for themselves and their own results.
I have always found the best listers are extremely selfish (in a very encouraging & positive way). Their ability to focus on the results (the listings) for which they are accountable is amazing. Many Listers are money-driven, an uncommon desire (Don’t get me wrong, everybody wants more pound notes, yet uncommonly, not many are truly motivated to do what is necessary to get it). While Listers will be more than happy to share some ideas with you as the boss, trust me, you are not going to find that Lister spending a lot of time outside of their principal role of listing or agreeing to join the Staff Well Being Committee.
There are, however, occasions when your best Lister may also be your best Branch Manager.
I have seen excellent Listers who also happen to possess very high-level capabilities, aptitudes, skills, and character qualities that predict success in a Branch Manager role.
If you believe an excellent Branch Manager is about leadership, not managing … then many have a high level of confidence that makes it easy for others to follow them.
I asked my old Divisional Sales Director in my old corporate days of estate Agency how she knew what Listers would make great BM’s. She said you can recognise the future leaders by watching a group of Listers interact. She said after a couple of hours, it becomes apparent there is absolute respect, reverence, and deference to the natural leader of the Listers. She also said as other Listers look to these ‘revered listers’ to know what is good and true, it's important to know whether that Lister is optimistic (as they might be attracted to them because of negativity). Negative peeps will never be successful Branch Managers.
The best Branch Managers also possess an inherent motivation.
They act on their own choice, never requiring to delay for directives as to what to do, how to do it, or when it needs to be done. They have both vigour and determination, which they use to drive their Estate Agency team to action.
Lastly, Branch Managers are responsible for making and preserving a culture of accountability in your Estate Agency, a job that requires them to be relaxed with conflict and able to enforce firm consequences on those who are unenthusiastic to do the agency work required of them. A failure or reluctance to deal directly with the tests and trials of running an estate Agency branch whilst leading the team will all but guarantee the Branch Manager fails.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazingly useful to hire a Branch Manager who has essentially done the work of creating and winning new listings.
Those Listers who can see the opportunities others cannot yet see often end up being amazing Branch Managers, yet only if they are also a leader of people.
Too many listers go to the Branch Manager level for the money and kudos, yet end up being unhappy and ultimately leaving your firm. Your best Lister going to the competition. If they are that good, why shouldn’t a star lister earn more than a Branch Manager?
IF YOU WANT YOUR ESTATE AGENCY CHAIN TO THRIVE, THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO AS THE BOSS IS GIVE YOUR BRANCH TEAMS A LEADER…
a leader with a vision, who instills amazing culture and the skill & ability to communicate it, one who can build a sensitive non-toxic ethos of accountability, and one who will help every Neg become the improved version of themselves by sincerely caring about their specific success—as well as the success of the team as a whole.
Hire Branch Managers for their leadership qualities and the ability to help Listers improve their results. I see so many bosses settling for somebody with excellent skills in Listings alone because it’s much better to wait until you find somebody proficient in leading your teams, rather than to make the error of hiring the Lister who can’t or won’t lead the team.
What are your thoughts on this?