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Accommodating. Acceleration. Accountability.
Accommodating the producers is generally the easiest of the three ACC’s and it is the ingredient that real estate leaders generally advertise the most often. “Come work with me and I’ll make your life easier in some way.” Often this includes access to administrative staff, free supplies, office space, or even having a stack of leads put on your desk. Accommodating the producers in your organization is important, because you want them to be able to focus on what you want from them- to produce, sell, prospect, recruit, etc. I expect that the agents in my company will spend minimal time with paperwork, administrative duties, and even advertising their businesses. I want them to prospect for new leads and then focus on serving those clients until the point they close their next deal. Accommodating your producers is important, but beware that accommodating your producers, combined with the absence of the other two key ingredients to a productive environment, can create an unproductive environment leaving you trying to please everyone.
Acceleration is the key ingredient that will show your producers the most immediate results and help them understand your productivity-based message. When you teach your top producers what you do to create success in business, help them find new leads, and encourage them to close on those leads along the way, they will instantly earn a better income, become engaged in their business (which is really “our” business after all), and ultimately begin performing the habits of a top producer. Acceleration has looked the same with every salesperson I’ve trained in my history, and it is generally the point where an otherwise average career starts on the path to greatness. Acceleration alone, with the absence of the other key ingredients, can create an eminent plateau (complacency), or an environment of stress and frustration from too many deals (yes… that happens… hence the need for accommodating these producers with administrative support.)
Accountability is undeniably the most challenging of the three key ingredients to creating a productive environment. I remember when I was first faced with the challenge of holding people accountable for performing the actions I’d taught and they committed to. It was nearly ten years ago and I told my advisor, Don Stenta Ph.D., that I hated being the “jerk” that had to always to remind people of their responsibilities. He taught me that I wasn’t a jerk, but that I was really holding people accountable to their commitments. He further preached that I was not doing them any favors by allowing them to slack off and not live up to their obligations. To utilize the key ingredient of accountability mean having clear expectations and goals, gaining “buy-in” to these expectations and goals, and then regularly referring to those expectations and goals as your producers inevitably shift their focus. Accountability should not be confused with going through the daily motions. If you don’t afford your producers with a means of acceleration in their business and the accommodations to handle that kind of a work-load you can’t expect that they can be held accountable to anything. Accountability alone is not enough, it must be combined with the other key ingredients.
Focusing on the three ACC’s, will give you a head-start on creating an environment conducive to productivity and success. Every time I’ve committed to focusing on these three key ingredients for my producers, they’ve had fantastic months, quarters, and years. Start now and you will begin to see results before your first quarter comes to a close!
Scott Phillips Jr, 28, is Cleveland’s top producing Realtor for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011, and has sold over $50,000,000 in homes during that period. He is also the managing partner and/or general partner of two Keller Williams Realty franchises in Greater Cleveland.
