Why Having a Full Time Business Development Person Pay Off
On and off throughout the years I was managing a relocation department, I had people who acted in the business development capacity. I also have held the role a couple of different times in my career, twice formally and then informally as part of my other duties. The challenge is that when the market got tough in the 1990’s and again in the 2000’s, when I was forced to lay someone off, it was the business development people.
It’s not that I didn’t believe in their importance, it wasn’t up to me, I just had to make a decision and I needed people who could handle the existing business that was already pouring in. So unfortunately that left the business development people as the targets. It pained me to do it because I feel really strongly about the importance of having someone out in the local market spreading the word about a brokerage and strategically seeking out growth opportunities for company generated business. A Strategic Growth Officer or Company Culture Ambassador, if you will.
The challenge regarding performing business development duties for most Relocation Directors in real estate companies today is that they are usually dealing with the day to day activities and the problem solving that comes along with running a busy relocation department. While they can usually handle the marketing efforts to the Relocation Management Companies, they may not have time or even the expertise in program creation and selling at that level to be able to target and grow local sources of business. It takes a lot of commitment and a strategy and frankly, the benefits stretch beyond marketing just relocation services.
A full time Business Development person could be:
targeting unencumbered local corporate relocation accounts
creating local affinity partnerships
helping recruit agents
marketing an agent corporate lead program
targeting online lead aggregators
assisting with recruiting potential brokers for walk overs or acquisitions
recruiting retiring licensees to your license holding (referral) company to keep agents close to your firm for referral opportunities
overall retention activities with existing agents such as promotion and training on company generated services and strategic growth practices
and pretty much anything else that can bring a volume of company generated business to the company and increase conversion rates
It is critically important to have someone in a brokerage that has their head up always looking for growth opportunities, not dealing with day to day all-consuming activities. Remember back in the day when lots of brokers had full time recruiters? That has long been replaced with branch managers fulfilling that role. But why wouldn’t we want someone who was well versed on every program and service the brokerage has to offer as a support resource for the managers? Someone to come in for the close with the branch manager to clearly articulate the value proposition of the brokerage. The manager is key to identifying the targeted agents and companies, but aren’t always the best one to nurture and close the deal.
One of the challenges faced by brokers today is the inconsistent way in which branch managers recruit. There are a few reasons for that. Many of them don’t like it, it’s not why they got into the business. Another reason is that cannot effectively articulate the value of the programs and services within their company. There are usually a lot of programs available and it’s hard to stay on top of everything. Many are not tech savvy enough to fully explain the way the company tech platforms work. Some don’t have or use an effective follow up program to constantly stay in touch with recruits. And most importantly, they are super busy helping agents with critical issues that need their time and attention.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone on staff who understood the company culture, marketing and tech offerings in such great detail that they could consistently articulate it to anyone they met? Someone that we could put in front of a local company or organization or a high end agent from another company or a broker owner thinking of selling their firm. A person that so clearly understands your company culture they are the embodiment of it. Having someone like that in your ranks guarantees consistent messaging and the value is immeasurable. Actually it is measurable, in new business to your company.
The challenge for most brokers when you speak to them about business development is that they aren’t willing to spend the time and money that it takes to get someone up to speed. You can figure at least a year before that person starts to create significant revenue and with COVID, maybe two. The reason being is that business development is about relationships. It’s hard to invite someone to coffee right now or to ask for a face to face meeting. It’s just not quite the same via video conference. But this too shall pass and networking will resume in some previous form of itself as we eventually come out of this.
But I would argue that now is the perfect time to be laying the groundwork for a strong business development program for all brokers, no matter what size they are. Focusing on building the programs and creating infrastructure along with the marketing materials, videos and the target lists and training the business development person through coaching, role playing and scripting takes some time. And you may need to hire someone like me to get them up to speed and ready to hit the ground running.
The key is to find someone personable, that takes initiative and who is not scared of cold calling. Even though I am not a big fan of cold calling, even when it is a warm lead, we are still reaching out to a person we don’t know for the first time. It’s all about finding that common thread and not everyone has the skill or the inclination to spend their day making new relationships and then using the tools available to build that relationship. Honestly, they don’t even need to have a lot of experience in real estate or relocation if they are quick studies. Strong interpersonal skills, tech competence, dedication, strategic planning skills and high emotional intelligence are far more important. And it’s all about networking and being likeable, the qualities of a strong salesperson.
So while you are strategizing for 2021 and beyond, think about the value a full time business development person, a Company Culture Ambassador, would bring to spread the word about how awesome your company is. Opportunities for growth are everywhere if someone has their head up with the sole purpose of seeking them out.
