Too many real estate professionals believe happiness and profitability are at odds with each other. If you believe you have to sacrifice happiness in order to achieve profitability or that taking time to pursue happiness gets in the way of achieving maximum profitability, think again!
A recent WSS webinar, hosted by WSS Master Coach Mike Coke and moderated by WSS Master Coach Cleve Gaddis, gave agents and team leaders the proven strategies to achieve happiness and profitability at the same time. As your happiness improves, your profitability increases, and vice versa. Mike Coke’s team has learned how to maximize happiness and profitability.
Here are the steps they took to get there:
1. Gamification
Gamifying daily tasks is a great way to create a positive, competitive spirit that motivates your team members. Gamification is a tool that improves both happiness and profitability. On Mike Coke’s team, they’ve implemented a number of games and rewards for achieving goals in the business. A few games even provide the opportunity to win cash!
At the end of the week, the team member who set the most appointments gets to choose a balloon to pop, which contains a handful of cash. This game gets the team excited about achieving their business goals, meaning the group becomes more profitable, but it also creates excitement and fun, increasing happiness among team members.
Another tool Mike’s team uses to gamify tasks at work is the Daily Success Habits Tracker (DSH). Team members use this tracker to record their daily activities and assign points for all the money-making activities they complete. This tracker pushes team members to earn more points, but it also rewards them after they’ve worked hard because it gives a numerical number to show just how much they’ve accomplished. The DSH creates an awareness surrounding goals and accomplishments that simultaneously boosts pride, happiness, and productivity.
So if you want to improve your team’s productivity, download the Daily Success Habits Tracker.
2. A Feeling of Belonging
Successful real estate professionals know the value of a team. Profit increases tremendously as teams grow. The other, less recognized aspect of a team is that it allows people to feel like they are a part of something. Everyone wants to feel a sense of belonging, and if you can provide that at work, it makes work a more fulfilling place.
Mike Coke and his team created this feeling of belonging by frequently recognizing team members for their achievements and providing opportunities for coworkers to connect with each other. They hold events where the team takes time away from work to have fun together, and they’ve been able to form genuine relationships that increase their performance and satisfaction at work.
3. Accountability
A culture of accountability is essential for tying happiness and profitability together in your business. Accountability is all about support, and support is the best way to show love to your team. A team that holds each other accountable checks in with their teammates to see if they’re heading toward the goals they’ve set for themselves. Accountability keeps team members aware of their performance so they can reach their full potential.
Mike Coke explained that he holds his team members accountable for the goals they have for themselves. He believes that everyone wants to be challenged, and when they’re being challenged to work toward the things that matter to them, they tend to feel a greater sense of fulfillment. He and his team check-in with each other during daily huddles and discuss whether everyone is still headed in the right direction.
This culture of accountability is possible because Mike and his team members are willing to discuss with each other about the areas where they might be falling short. They feel comfortable doing this because they know accountability isn’t criticism and team members are there to offer support.
Mike started his real estate business in 2010 after losing his job due to the recession. He built his business slowly over the years. In 2016, when he began as a coaching client with Workman Success Systems, he had four employees and was doing between 45 and 50 deals per year. In a short period of time, he grew his team to 14 employees and over 2 million GCI. Mike was able to create a highly profitable and happy team in a short period of time with the help of his coach.
If you’re interested in learning how coaching can improve your team dynamic, increasing both happiness and productivity, schedule a free consultation with one of our business analysts.
