October 8, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Meetings.

As a new Manager, I felt the need to meet with each agent twice a year. The first meeting in the year was to set goals for the coming year and to map out a business plan, and the second meeting was to review how the plan was working. But the meetings were much more valuable than merely business. These were the only meetings in the year when the doors were closed to everyone and I could meet with one agent only and could discuss their real estate career. The meetings were very valuable for me, as I got to know the agents, and the agents figured out how to move ahead with their career. The office grew, then we merged with another smaller office, so we gave the agents the option to meet either Manager. I had some health issues and was unable to continue the meetings, so our routine was to meet agent for the first three years of becoming an agent. Everyone told me that this was no problem, but I disagreed, but could do nothing about it.... until now. We have three Managers, and our systems are running smoothly, so beginning in July, I started meeting with each agent. I started at the beginning of the alphabet, and now I am up to the E's. I figure I can meet each agent twice in the year.

For me, the meetings with the agents are pure pleasure. We pick apart their successes and try to develop new strategies for those agents who want to make their business grow. For some agents, I have started meeting them twenty one years ago, so it is fun for me to have seen their progress over time. But more importantly, I have been able to discover a few gaps in their routines, and to make suggestions for fairly simple changes in strategies, which should lead to higher productivity. One of the problems with success is that you forget to evaluate everything you are doing. In our meetings, that is what we do together. We evaluate what is being done and evaluate the results, in order to plan for the future. So far, the agents are pleased to be returning to our routine. It remains to be seen if the productivity increases.