LeadingLane Podcast

Steven L Burch (00:00)
Thank you for and tuning in to the Leading Lane podcast. Today I'm going to or we're going to talk about what I stole from Ashley and her leadership and maybe lighting a little bit of fire underneath our team, trying to get them to come up with a plan. And what we're gonna talk about is a a sprint, essentially or surge that you call it.

a ninety day plan that you put together, correct, for your team and they get to be able to choose. So my first question is why ninety days? What does that look like? and tell us what it is and where where you're at with it now.

Ashley Fredrick (00:42)
Yeah. So I always do an annual review with people in which I have them pick out their numbers and stuff like that, which I'll still continue to do because I think it's good to have a overall basis. But I also think that like the market's so different that it changes so fast. Like either it can go slower than we expected, faster that we expected, that I want people's numbers to move with them and move with the market. And so that if we had a high goal and then the market dropped off, like you're not stuck in this.

unattainable goal, which to people then just doesn't get done or or whatnot. So earlier this year I felt like there was just a little bit of a lack of like daily activities, lack of understanding that what you do today affects 60 days from now, 90 days from now. So I originally did a 90 day sprint, which I think was like March, April, May. And then that went well.

And turned it into a summer surge, which was June, July, and August. So we are finishing up our summer surge. We have two weeks left. and I do believe that I will do the end of the year. I'll have to come up with some name for the last 90 days. But within the 90 day program, more or less, I had them, you know, rate what they did well or didn't do well in the last 90 days. what are you proud of?

What did you fall short of? Is there something that you projected that didn't expect reality and why? I guess I want people to really spend the time to look back at why things didn't match or what went well. You know, like someone was a lot busier. They had also done like nine open houses. Like, could you see how maybe that correlated? you know, or they went to five lender lunches and now they're busier. So there's I'm trying to show people that there's correlations as to why they're

maybe busy or not busy. my lights are gonna sit like this for a while. one question that I like is like one thing that you learned about yourself as an agent during your last 90 days. And I think it's again, it's a self awareness type of thing of I was making excuses or I'm not allowing allotting enough time to do social media or I hate social media or I like social media, whatever that might be. so I think reflection is always ideal.

but there's three levels. It's basically like steady. And the way that I have that is like it's best for agents that are managing life transitions, rebuilding, prioritizing quality over volume, which I think a lot of people need to understand too. but like we've had people that have had loved ones pass away this year, we've had people that have had some health scares. And so I again I think it's me wanting them to be aware that they might be in the middle of a life change. So

Maybe it's not best to go all in and focus on just steady, steadiness. strong is more like actively building their pipeline, ready to stretch what they're currently doing and committing to a strong finish. So, like if you're gonna do four open houses, you're gonna do them and making sure that you're sticking with them. And then all in is like high output, chasing aggressive goals, looking to dominate, scaling fast.

fueled, fired up, want to make a difference in their income, the way that they're doing things. So within those, I normally break it down by things that they would do within that timeframe. So like a certain number of conversations, certain number of CMAs, certain number of open houses, networking events, office days, meaning that certain days they're going to commit to being in the office per week, database touches, which a lot of people forget that's one of the easiest ways to find business.

and videos. So like it's different numbers per whatever level that you're in. So I let them choose what they want to be in. and then that's what we're holding them accountable for for. also then like listings taken, buyers under contract, and closings are the goals that I'm having them in it, right? Like it's it's interesting because you're also talking about like what you did the last 90 days. If you're saying you're gonna have five goals or I'm sorry, five closings, like we'll

Okay, well, you already have five closings set on the board. So I don't want five because you already know you're guaranteed five. So what is it when you're accounting for more? and then I just had like one big goal for that time frame. So whether that's personal, professional, or both, like what's something that's one big goal that doesn't have to be. And there's areas where like they say, like, for sure, I'm gonna stay in touch with these five clients, these five clients I want to reconnect with, and then these five.

by our new leads that I'll nurture. So it's just five, like just five to start with. and then really I do like a mindset and check-in of energy. So why does this work matter the more than a paycheck? And I think sometimes same thing. Like we're relating it to numbers and that's not always what motivates people. Like yes, income can motivate people, but for someone it's, you know, maybe not working their second job or maybe working their second job less.

Or if they're expecting a little one, maybe it's because it's gonna be expensive to help offset that cost. you know, when I feel like quitting or coasting, what should I remind myself? And so I'm having them like write all these things down. what do I need from my broker andor my team? And then there's kind of like a tracking sheet for them. But what I have found over the last six months now of basically doing this is that.

I mean our numbers are extremely strong. We had a fantastic l year last year. we're ahead of the numbers that we had last year, which I think it's a tough market right now. I think that things aren't moving like they were. There are there are certain things that do, but time on market expired listings are way more prevalent than they were. You gotta remember too that some of these agents have been in real estate for five years now and they've never experienced a home sale contingency.

all new to them, all new learning. so things are very different, but our numbers are well on track. And I think that like most agents are gonna beat what their original year goal was. so to me that's pretty exciting. I think even for them, like what they thought their year would look like and what it's ended up looking like, because they've been, I think, more intentional. So I think that it's just like

chunking things down. Like, yes, the big picture is great to look at, but what can we do to just and I think even for people that are struggling, like what can we do to just maybe it's not a ninety day plan, what can I do for the next 30 days so that I can get back on track. And I think up some of it comes to accountability, but you know, also just like picking things that you know work and actually doing them. Like what commitment are you making to yourself to feel better, do better, et cetera.

Steven L Burch (07:59)
So

I think that typically when people do like a year plan, they say, Let's go all in, let's go balls to the wall, let's make sure that, you know, what I want to change all of this. Yeah, you're in the moment and you're really excited, but the longevity of that plan, because there's so many different options that you can do, it almost leaves people to having this decision fatigue and then just completely shutting down and then not doing anything at all and not even showing up.

Right. and then they get into this rut, this lull of, well, I'm already this far down, so why do I need to start now? And I'll wait till next year. Like you don't need to wait until next year, you just need to start today. And I think that doing it this way is very interesting to be able to you're giving them choices. So they're still deciding their their end destiny that they're after, but you're making it so much easier for them to be able to say, Cool, yeah, I can do that. That's easy.

And they don't have to have all of this thought process to go into it that would then make them typically spiral out and then shut down. So what are the reasons that you ask these thought provoking questions? and how has that helped you like as a leader with knowing what those answers are from your team?

Ashley Fredrick (09:23)
Yeah, I mean, I think that it is to make sure that it's not just black and white for them. I mean, because black and white can be easy, but the thought provoking questions are more so that maybe they look at the way that they're doing things differently. You know, or if things weren't working in the past, like apparently there's probably a reason or something that you weren't doing. But I really want them to and I also tell them like this isn't something we're like you have to go you have to fill this out before you

come to me. So you have to spend time with it. Like I don't want it filled out in five minutes because then you're just answering off the fly or whatnot. I'm I think I do that so that people do spend a little bit more time with it. And then really it's a self-reflection, which is hard for people. And I also will say that like when we're having these meetings, so like when they do their check-in with me, like I'll ask the hard questions like, okay, you didn't do your open houses that you were going to like how come?

But well, I didn't have time. And then I say, So in 31 days, you couldn't find an hour and a half in 31 days. But I bet you if we pulled up your screen time for a certain app, it's probably an hour and a half on there. And then they just kind of look like, you know, like, so again, it's just being able for me to like either that or they'll say, like, I have a goal of like one listing for the next 90 days, and then I'll be like,

I mean, are we talking to people? Like if you're talking to eight people every day, like I don't know if that lines up. I guarantee you already have one person in your mind. That's why you picked one. That's not propelling us to do more. Like we have to find the people that aren't out there. And I guess I tell people that I think when you start making goals like of I want to do four listings, like your mind automatically picks up things that you weren't necessarily thinking about before or a conversation that you didn't think about or

It's just different, I think, when you have different goals that you know you want to get to, your mind goes different places to find that. I don't know if that answers your question.

Steven L Burch (11:30)
So do you Yeah,

you didn't. do you think well first let's establish do other brokers do this type of thing? Do you think it's common for other brokers to do this type of activity with their agents?

Ashley Fredrick (11:46)
No, definitely not in my market.

Steven L Burch (11:50)
Yeah. So I I think from a even from a national level, looking at the statis statistics of the failure rate of realtors and being able to basically flip that, you want your agents to be successful on the other side of that. Not every broker is like that. And you're still producing, you're doing multiple other different things. So how does how do you think that if you weren't

like a regular typical quote unquote broker that wouldn't be doing this, what do you think would happen to your agents that are currently with you? What how would they how would their career be different?

Ashley Fredrick (12:32)
Yeah, I I honestly just don't think that they would be as successful as they are today. right. I'm aware of other brokerages and it's a free for all. There's there's no training, there's no accountability, there's no goal setting. So like, you know, I think it's interesting people like to pick brokerages off of like a number. Like they think that there's a split that makes sense for them and that that's gonna be the cat's meow because the split is higher than

someone else's and I think it's really important to ask other questions about the brokerage, like, do you offer any trainings? Like, are there you know, they don't necessarily know what to ask about, is there accountability meetings, but if you were to ask brokerages like what make themselves different, that would probably come up. you know, I think people too just it is like a, you know, cutthroat industry, if you will, which I'm thankful that like our office isn't that way, but

You are all each independent contractors, so you could look at doing trainings together as I mean, you and I have felt it a you know, a convention that we went to that people didn't want to share any knowledge because they're with competitors or whatnot. I mean, like we're all competitors. But really it goes back to I say like there's enough business for all of us. but if we're helping each other do better and be better, then I would hope that when they're the agent on the other transaction, it's that much smoother because they've been trained.

well, they've been trained by me so that things go smoother. They know how to deal with the issues that you know, come up unexpectedly. But if you're an agent like floundering out there that has no training or, you know, doesn't have accountability, like I think it would be really tough in this market to sustain. So I think that it's what makes a difference between someone being able to have this like as their full time career versus just a side hobby.

Steven L Burch (14:27)
So if I'm a leader, team lead, broker, whatever, and I've never done anything like this before, it's completely foreign to me, what is one thing that you would tell me to do that you've learned from this type of leadership and and coaching and developing development of your team?

Ashley Fredrick (14:49)
I only heard part of that. Sorry, what was that? If you were a team

Steven L Burch (14:51)
You're

Ashley Fredrick (14:51)
lead, what

Steven L Burch (14:53)
good. So if I've never done this before, right? I've never done in any sort of activity like this with my team before, what is one thing that you would tell me to do that you've learned that I must do to make this successful?

Ashley Fredrick (15:08)
Yeah, I think it's meeting in person with them for one. I know that that's maybe not all areas. There's a lot of, you know, virtual, but at least if if it's like a virtual face to face, I think that these are conversations that have to be had, like not over text message or not just a simple email back. I think when you're sitting in a room with some

Up that then you can address, or you can maybe see it in their face, the way that they're answering a question doesn't necessarily correlate with what they've said. but I think it's just having a set plan. So I mean, obviously AI helped me with this plan of how I want it to look like, but whatever that looks like for your office or your area, like telling maybe chat like what you're struggling with, what you'd like your agents to be able to accomplish.

Helping to set that plan out. so I think one, it's having the actual plan, like something that people can write down, someone can look back at, and keeping it like a whole approach. It's not just heavy on like how many closings are you gonna have? It's the things that make things happen. How many people are you talking to? How many open houses are you doing? So I think focusing on like the daily activities for agents, what that can translate to and sitting down with them and

Holding them accountable and asking the hard questions.

Steven L Burch (16:29)
I love it. Well, I appreciate you allowing me to steal this from you and do it within our office. And I have a couple of agents I'm doing a little bit more one on one and planning with and just as a group just to help them along. So I appreciate you always sharing your knowledge. and thank you guys for tuning in to the Leading Lane podcast and tune into the next one.