Agents are flocking to Fillmore lately, and I wanted to share some thoughts with you to see if this is a trend or just the way things are shaking up in the industry.

When something goes so right you have to pinch yourself and see what’s going on.

Our record career event attendance really surprised us all, and I believe that the extraordinary success is due to a few reasons.  Let me try to explain the best practices that were used to make this event successful, and I encourage our fellow brokers out there to do the same quickly.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me as I am also interested in your success.

Part of the reason that there are record numbers of agents coming to Fillmore is due to the momentum we have built so far in 2011.  Our annual awards was held at a new place and our theme was change.  This new attitude made us rethink everything that we were doing and it seems to be leading to smashing records across the board.

Let me give you a few examples:
Training:  We decided to raise the bar for each agent at Fillmore, and we created a FillmorePRO training class that not only provides training, but validates that the agent learned the material through testing.  We videotape the agents on a mock listing presentation as well as a mock first meeting with a potential buyer.  We watch the agents hit all of the points that we encourage them to stress at our training and they are graded accordingly.  The real teeth here is that we are making our compensation structure change on September 1st of this year, and any agent who is NOT PRO CERTIFIED will revert to a 45% split.  This was met at first with much conflict, but after the agents and managers bought in, the company has never been the same.  Our classes used to have about a dozen attendees and now they are packed with standing room only with over 50 agents per class.  The great thing that this has done is that we re-engaged many agents that were sitting on the sideline and they are now active doing things that are resulting in sales and lots of activity.

The agents are now excited and motivated.  The buzz in the industry has spread, and we are attracting agents that are serious about their career too. The great thing that we didn’t expect, was that the agents that have attended classes and caught the spark were very obvious to other friends in competing firms.  Those other agents saw activity and excitement and wanted to catch the buzz too and they are coming onboard to see what the buzz is all about.  The other strategy that seemed to work well was to take advantage of this movement and offer agents $100 for each attendee that signed up, and we had raffles and prizes  including  cash, gifts and an iPad2.

I don’t know what the motivation was exactly for each agent, but agents alone brought 30 of the guests to this event, which made all the difference in the world.  The agents are a powerful resource that we need to use more effectively.  We know that we can count on managers to bring a few people in, but the power of the agents is tenfold.  Our managers are now encouraging agents to focus on building our team with the best in the business.  If there is an agent out there that is not working for Fillmore and you would like to see them with us, let us know and we’ll get together with them to see if we’re a good fit.

As the CEO of the company, my day could not be used better than in meeting with potential agents.  I make myself available for lunch with any agents and their guests..and I pick up the tab, which automatically increases the number of lunches that you get to have.

BOTTOM LINE:
Our focus is on building the best real estate company by providing the best tools, training, and techniques for agents to service the consumer best.  Our goal is to exceed the expectations of our agents and the consumer in providing an amazing real estate experience.

I believe that staying focused on the core values of your company, you will build the company that others want to work with.  It’s happening with us.  We are staying focused on doing things the right way…every time…and that is going a long way in attracting agents from all over.  We are creating a fair and amazing environment that encourages and supports success…guaranteed…and that means a lot more than the size of your splits and the size of your office.  Standing room only I said..standing room only!  We must be doing something right. I am proud of our company and very proud and excited about the power of our agents.  Now it’s unleashed >Watch Out!