WorkPuzzle

Coaching Insight: How to GROW Your Coaching Skills

In last week’s blog I spoke about Tim Gallwey and how he revolutionized coaching methodology with the introduction of his Inner Game theory. 

As with any successful “revolution” there are followers who help to spread the concept. Sir John Whitmore with Performance Consultants International and Alan Fine with Inside Out were two key promoters of the Inner Game tenets. Whitmore and Fine co-created a broader use of the Inner Game called GROW.

According to Wikipedia, "GROW was developed as a structured framework to use the Inner Game principles to achieve goals." Fine and Whitmore realized that the struggle to achieve ones goals extended far beyond the sports field. However, whether it is sports, business or personal the path is the same. Structure your journey into small well defined steps, focus on each one at a time, and be attentive and constantly aware of what you learn from your ongoing experience. This will guide you best to the ultimate goal or objective.

Recognizing that I am a fervent football fan and one of the Seattle Seahawks’ 12^th Man, I am compelled to use a football game as an example of how a coaching model can be successful.

Recently, the Seahawks faced the Saints on the windiest day we've experienced in Seattle in several years. Up 16 points at half time, and knowing that they were about to spend the entire 3rd quarter trying to move the ball against the wind, Pete Carroll and his staff came up with the idea of keeping the players focused on the immediate goal above the ultimate goal.  Coach Carroll's message was simple. As a team, our only goal this 3rd quarter is to protect the ball on every down. That immediate goal was placed above any offensive movement or scoring.  Fans, with no knowledge of their half-time emphasis were frustrated; "Where is the offense?” The coaches and players chose not to care what we thought. They focused on their agenda, their immediate task, and let the final goal, winning, come to them. 

As you might have guessed GROW is an acronym. It stands for:

1. Goal
2. Current Reality
3. Options (or Obstacles)
4. Will (or Way Forward)

Next week I will be looking at the GROW model in some depth as I believe it is an extremely important model in any “coaching” environment. I will define each of the acronyms in detail. Until then here is one rule I have garnered from the GROW model:

Rule : It is impossible to concentrate on the Goal and the Task at hand simultaneously and perform well. Focusing on what we "Should be doing" never works. We simply become overwhelmed and bogged down. Each well executed task at a time, made completely in the moment, is the only way to practice the principle of the Inner Game which you'll begin to see is central to the GROW model. 

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Coaching Insight: Back to the Basics

Wikipedia defines coaching as a "development process via which an individual is supported while achieving a specific personal or professional competence result or goal."  

By definition, it would seem that any company or organization would embrace the concept of coaching, but not all companies see coaching as valuable.

A variety of studies have found that over 90% of organizations with 2,000 or more employees use coaching, in contrast with only 68% of organizations with 250-500 employees.

It appears that larger companies see the connection between coaching and the increase in their bottom lines while smaller businesses are more skeptical.   Who's correct?  Researchers would probably side with the large businesses on this issue.  

An article by the Staff of the Executive Board of Bloomberg Businessweek had the following comments:

"While the link between effective sales coaching and better sales performance is widely known, the majority of sales organizations fail to realize the full potential of their investments in sales coaching and training. Often times, this means missed opportunities for dramatic improvements in top-line revenue growth, margin enhancement, conversion rates, as well as sales forecast accuracy, and sales rep retention and engagement levels."  

If coaching has been proven to improve these types of important business metrics (especially sales rep retention and engagement levels), why do small and mid-size companies resist embracing the concept at a higher rate?  

I believe it boils down to execution. The reality is that many organizations have great intentions regarding coaching but exercise poor or inconsistent follow-through. 

Here are some of the most common coaching pitfalls organizations make according to the Bloomberg Board, followed by the contrasting suggested approach:

Generic Coaching Training Content 

Effective coaching programs must link to the organization's sales model and address individual sales manager coaching challenges. Programs must be tailored to the sales manager, their team and the go-to-market strategy of the organization.

In a real estate company, this pitfall is usually demonstrated when managers try using off-the-shelf material or a "fly by the seat of your pants" approach to coaching.

Discontinuous Coaching Approach

Managers often see coaching as a sequence of separate events, similar to training, rather than an ongoing, continuous process where one coaching conversation is a continuation of the last. To solve this issue, embed a true coaching process within the normal workflow.

Lack of an Effective Coaching Infrastructure 

Without the appropriate supporting "coaching infrastructure," it is near impossible to sustain long-term coaching benefits. The most progressive organizations actively measure coaching effectiveness on an ongoing basis and fully engage second-line and senior managers in the process to ensure that coaching remains an ongoing priority, not a passing fad.

Managers' Failure to Accurately Observe Behavior

Managers often revert to teaching sales tactics that worked well for them rather than focusing on the new skills required to effectively coach in today's environment. Critical to coaching today is the ability to correctly observe behavior and specify behavior change.

How many of you have counted coaching as one of the keystone pieces for retention and improved revenue? And if so, is your approach consistent and effective? Give it some thought!

In my next coaching article, we'll look at the history of coaching. Knowing the history will help you better understand the underpinnings and rationale as to why this topic is so relevant to growing and sustaining a successful business. 

 

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Great Coaching: Dr. Dave's WorkPuzzle Focus in the New Year

The professional business coaching industry is estimated to generate revenue of nine billion dollars worldwide this year with an annual projected growth of .02% going forward (according to IBIS World Market Research).

Why would so much money be invested into the arena of coaching? The easy answer is "it’s worth it." Many large global companies have done their homework, measured the performance improvements and have decided to invest even more in coaching their employees.  

The real estate industry is no different than many of the Fortune 500 companies. In fact, in some ways coaching is an even more valuable tool in this field.  The National Association of Realtors has indicated that agents who are coached successfully can increase their performance by 20%. That of course relates directly back to the real estate company in the form of increased revenue.  But how do you know your coaching program is the right one? 

What makes an outstanding coaching program? As in every discipline, the science and art of coaching cannot be successfully executed without sound philosophy and techniques to guide interactions with those you are charged with coaching. Coaching is not just cheerleading or meeting a randomly set goal. The successful coach must take a more holistic approach to a very complicated and sophisticated branch of learning. The following are examples of what I would consider to be the top three elements to be fulfilled:

• Attitude and Philosophy
• Methodology
• Proven techniques for assessing goals and measured results

 The good news is, if your company learns to “coach” well (all other variables being equal) you can easily beat the competition. Remember, if you miss even one step of a successful program it can have a negative impact on the final results.

 Over the next six months, I will be expanding on this subject matter. Ben will continue to write articles on other interests, but I want you to expect one article each week on coaching and how to do it better. I hope that this concentrated time of learning will be valuable to you, your managers, agents and your organization. 

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Why Your Brain Loves Lists: The Psychology of Digesting Information

About four years ago, I wrote a popular blog on an obscure medical book called the Checklist Manifesto.  Since then, that book has become quite popular and the principles outlined by the author for hospitals have benefited managers and individuals in many industries.  Hopefully, you’ve used it yourself!

Since reading this book, I’ve often wondered why people are naturally drawn to the concept of a checklist. Whether I’m talking with a seasoned executive or my 7-year old, it just seems right to create and follow a list.  I never get an argument on this topic—it’s always, “…of course we’d need to create and follow a checklist, that only makes sense.”

Well, I need not wonder any more.  Best-selling author Maria Konnikova recently wrote a fascinating article in the New Yorker magazine that reveals the science behind the ubiquitous success of the list.

It’s a long and very detailed article (that surprisingly does not contain any lists), but here are a few of the points I found most interesting:

"Your mind seeks organization. “Lists tap into our preferred way of receiving and organizing information at a subconscious level; from an information-processing standpoint, they often hit our attentional sweet spot.

When we process information, we do so spatially. For instance, it’s hard to memorize through brute force the groceries we need to buy. It’s easier to remember everything if we write it down in bulleted, or numbered points.”

Your mind wants to categorize. Lists also appeal to our general tendency to categorize things—in fact, it’s hard for us not to categorize something the moment we see it—since they chunk information into short, distinct components….

Because we can process information more easily when it’s in a list than when it’s clustered and undifferentiated, like in standard paragraphs, a list feels more intuitive. In other words, lists simply feel better.”

Your mind wants to know how long this will take.  “The more we know about something—including precisely how much time it will consume—the greater the chance we will commit to it. The process is self-reinforcing: we recall with pleasure that we were able to complete the task instead of leaving it undone and that satisfaction, in turn, makes us more likely to click on lists again.

The social psychologist Robert Zajonc, who made his name studying the connection between emotion and cognition, argued that the positive feeling of completion in and of itself is enough to inform future decisions. Preferences, goes his famous coinage, need no inferences.”

Konnikova’s insight has a number of applications in the real estate industry.  Here are a few that come to mind quickly:

Recruiting.  During an interview, help the candidate categorize the dissatisfaction they feel in their current job/career by creating a list.   Prioritizing the list will help them feel and remember the dissatisfaction.

Coaching.   You have important concepts that you want your agents to understand during a coaching session.  Present the information in a list.  It will be easier to remember and refer back to later.

Training.  As the Checklist Manifesto taught us, if you want someone to consistently do something, create a checklist. This will be good for your brain and the person you’re trying to train.

Communicating with clients.  Teach your agents to use lists in their communication with clients—especially marketing pieces. As people skim information, their eyes are naturally drawn to lists.

Follow-up emails.  When you’re finished with a meeting and write a follow-up email to those who attended, use lists to summarize.  Here is what we discussed (bullet list).  Here are the action items (2^nd bullet list).

There are many more applications (another hint; done’ make your lists too long), but you get the idea. 

The psychology of digesting information is key to your success as a communicator.  If you think about it, getting people around you to hear, digest, and act upon the information you’re communicating is the main part of your “job description” as a leader.   Make sure you become proficient at using this tool.

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Join the WorkPuzzle Discussion at the Tidemark Online Community (TMOC)

Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

You’re Talking, But What are Your Candidates Hearing?

One of the purposes of WorkPuzzle is to aggregate recruiting information and best practices from traditional recruiting industry sources.  While many of the topics that corporate recruiters and staffing companies discuss do not apply to the real estate industry, there are occasional parallels that are instructive.

Peter Weddle, an author and popular recruiting columnist, recently addressed such an issue in his bi- weekly newsletter.   The topic was telephone screening, but the application for the real estate industry has broader implications.   

We’ll discuss not only the nature of the candidate (who are you talking to?), but also the message your candidates are hearing as they progress through the recruiting process in your organization.

Nature of the Candidate.  For traditional recruiters, candidates come in two flavors—active candidates (those who need a job) and passive candidates (those who are already employed and would consider changing jobs if a better deal came along).

Depending on the nature of the candidate, the initial phone contact (often called a telephone pre-screen) is handled differently.  Peter makes the following distinction:

“Traditionally, the telephone pre-screen has primarily been used to verify the qualifications of candidates and determine if they should be invited for an on-site interview. The assumption behind this approach is that every applicant has already been sold on working for an employer.

While that may be true for active job seekers, it's not true for most passive prospects.  This difference occurs because passive prospects have a choice, and active job seekers don't.

Active job seekers are almost always unemployed, so their application for a position signals their genuine interest in it and, more often than not, their intent to accept an offer made for it. They have applied because they need the job.

Passive prospects, in contrast, are almost always employed, so they can choose to stay with their current employer or to accept any of the offers they have likely received from other employers. They have applied because they are interested, but not yet sold on the job.”

In the real estate recruiting world, there is no such thing as an active candidate. 

Whether you’re recruiting new or experienced agent candidates, they are all, by default passive candidates. 

Why?  Due to the independent contractor nature of the agent/broker relationship and the fact that your competitors are always hiring, no one “needs” a real estate agent job.  Any candidate can easily find a broker at any time with which to hang his or her license.

While this concept probably seems simple and self-evident, it’s amazing how many real estate recruiters treat prospective agents (especially new-to-real-estate candidates) as active candidates.

In the initial telephone pre-screen, they make the assumption that most candidates are unqualified and need to prove themselves worthy of evaluation by the company. There is also a secondary (more subtle) belief that most candidates don’t have other compelling employment options, so they’re considering real estate.

Peter points out that this attitude greatly hinders the recruiting process if the objective is to hire talented individuals:

“Why worry about the different responses active job seekers and passive prospects have to a telephone pre-screen? As the Golden Rule of Recruiting acknowledges: what you do to recruit passive talent will also recruit active talent, but the converse is not true.

In other words, if you configure your telephone pre-screen for active job seekers, it will work just fine for them, but will turn away many if not most passive prospects. On the other hand, if you design the pre-screen for passive prospects, it will have a positive impact on them and on active job seekers as well.”

From this discussion, there are two questions worth considering:

How does your organization treat candidates during their initial phone contact with the organization? 

If you don't know the answer to this question, find out by asking some questions of those making the calls and listening to some of those calls as a third party observer. 

Does the messaging in the telephone pre-screen (positive, passive-candidate messaging) carry over into the other part of the recruiting process (interview, post-interview, etc.)?

We’ll cover this question in Part 2 of this discussion.  As you probably guessed, starting off on the right foot is an important part of connecting with talented individuals, but communicating consistently also plays an important part in shaping the candidate’s perspective. 

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

I Dare You.....

In past blogs I have focused on the relational aspect of recruiting.  There is another aspect just as
important, but perhaps not as intuitive, and that is the habitual side of a recruiting strategy.  It is one thing to identify a strategy or process, but another to commit to the execution of said strategy.

The single most important aspect of any recruiting strategy is engagement, be it prospecting, interviewing or following-up.  It is the foundation of any recruiting process, without it you cannot build and sustain a recruiting pipeline that will convert to hiring talent.    Paul Castain, Vice President of Castain Training Systems, wrote a blog extolling the pitfalls of inconsistent prospecting relative to sales, but I usually see parallels in the wonderful world of recruiting in general.

To summarize, Paul pointed out three problems with inconsistent prospecting, two of which stood out to me:

1. You’re visibility is severely diminished.  Without consistent contact your prospects won’t really know who you are or feel connected to you in any meaningful way.   People want to work with people they know, like and trust. If you are not engaging with them they won’t engage with you.
2. You’re giving your competition the advantage. You could have the best brand in the world, but if you aren’t talking with a prospect, you know your competitors are.

I would say the number one complaint I hear repeatedly from managers regarding the task of recruiting, is that they just don’t have the time.  There are meetings to be had, fires to be extinguished, agents/staff knocking on doors… This is where the habitual side of recruiting comes into play. 

Schedule your “engagement time” (yes, another feeble attempt at re-framing the term recruiting).  I mean, literally put it on your calendar like any other appointment.  Put on the proverbial “do not disturb” sign and shut your door.   Make this a recurring “appointment” as many times per week as you can to:

1. Make calls
2. Send emails
3. Document your action for the day, including a date for follow-up contact or scheduled meetings
4. Rinse and repeat

I don’t know if I have any “dare devils” out there, but like Paul did for those in sales, I challenge you to open up your calendar and schedule your “engagement time(s)” and kick-start your recruiting habits.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a guest contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .

The Perfect Presentation

Really? I don’t know that there is a “perfect presentation” but there are certainly some very successful ones. Think of Steve Jobs or Tony Robbins; different personalities and different topics, but both extremely engaging.

I selected this topic for a rather selfish reason. Most of the time I get a favorable response to my seminars, but there have been a few times when I have been left with the feeling that the audience was not fully engrossed with what I had to say. The dazed looks or multiple yawns are usually the first signs!

There are a few scientific facts that are helpful:

“Think of your short term memory as your brain’s Post-It-Note. Like a Post-It- Note it doesn’t have huge capacity. On average our brain can hold onto fewer than 7 items for no more than 10-15 seconds.” (March 18, 2013 Hubspot, Marta Kagan).

There is also a theory called the Picture Superiority Effect that says that concepts are much more readily remembered if they are presented in picture form.

Although studies and theories are always important, perhaps the most relevant proof is how you react to different presentation styles. I like to feel that the presenter is comfortable with the material and that his/her manner genuinely reflects how they feel about the topic. The best presentations have knowledge, passion and emotion.

There are many differing guidelines as to how a speaker might achieve these goals, but here are a few that seem to appear on everyone’s “tips” page.

1. Simplicity:  “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” (Leonardo DaVinci). In all of the presentations I have given or attended, the most memorable and effective are those that don’t overwhelm us with too much information. Keep your delivery to two or three key points. This lets the audience absorb and retain what you really want them to know. By using this method you inevitably repeat; which is great, as that also aids in retention. And be sure to use simple English – don’t be too technical.

2. Be Comfortable: There are lots of ways to achieve this. Some speakers are just “naturals” but that’s rare. The best way to feel comfortable and be relaxed and effective is to know your material. This means practice and rehearse. How much practice depends on you, but you should never rely on your wits or the Power Point to direct the presentation.

3. To Power Point or Not: Although educational presentations may benefit from long winded text or bullet points, most slides are best restricted to powerful images or carefully selected words or phrases. Remember the Picture Superiority Effect.

4. Show Your Passion: If you aren’t passionate about your topic you won’t be able to ignite your audience. Demonstrate your emotion through voice and motion. Get your audience excited about what you have to say. Even if they don’t agree they’ll remember what you had to say. Make sure you have a clear and compelling beginning, middle and end. It’s a bit like a three act play.

5. Control the Environment: Make sure you are focused on your audience as much as you want them to be focused on you. If you notice they are distracted move the presentation along. Remember you are in control!

I am going to take these points to heart and hope they are helpful to you as well. And I hope you will be able to attend my next seminar – it should be close to a “perfect presentation.”

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Shopping for a Broker: Are New Agents Buying What You’re Selling

Earlier this year, our company had the privilege of hiring Helen Jackson.  Helen is a very talented individual who I’ve known for many years.  She has served our community (a mid-sized suburb of Seattle) in many non-profit, education and athletic advisory roles.  She is known and admired by more people in our community than I could begin to count.

Her daughter Emily grew up playing baseball (not softball) with a couple of my sons.  I remember frequently asking my boys…"Did Emily strike you out today?" The answer was often…"Yes, she did!"  That’s a tough thing for a teenage boy to admit. Emily is now playing softball at a Division-I college in Illinois.

When Helen agreed to work with our company, I was eager to hear her perspective on our business and the role we play in the real estate industry.  Being competitive herself and working with so many high performers over the years, I suspected her insight would be helpful.

I’ve not been disappointed.  She has worked in a consulting role with one of our clients in the Midwest over the last couple of months.  As a recruiting coordinator, she works closely with both hiring managers and candidates.

Last week, she offered to record some of her thoughts on working in this new role.  Her thoughts (in this dialog) are from the candidate’s perspective, and I thought they were worth sharing.

"I've been working with Tidemark for several months as a recruiter and I am continuously surprised at how very few individuals truly understand the challenges and opportunities of becoming a real estate agent; particularly in choosing the right broker.

My mother was an agent and a broker well into her sixties and mentioned many times that it allowed her to survive as a middle-aged widow with no other form of income. As a broker, she had several agents working in her firm and she always said that making sure your agents were successful was the same as having a successful business.

But that was in the time of the real estate boom, in a small New England town where she knew most of the residents. What about today, I wondered?

Today, the real estate market seems to work like the stock market, albeit a little slower, but still driven by the economy and the whims of buyers and sellers. So, the broker an agent chooses is extremely important.

In researching what makes a great broker, I realized that the characteristics of a good broker are exactly what I would want in an agent if I were buying or selling a home.

I developed the following acronym to express those defining features:

Honesty. Tell me what I can expect financially and explain the relationship of the broker and agent in clear and concise terms.

Opportunity. What are the opportunities; how long will it take for me to realize the opportunity and where are the pitfalls?

Mentoring. What classes and training are offered. Who teaches the classes? Is there a fee?

Expenses. What are they? Do you assist in developing an expenses spreadsheet? What are the splits? Can I really make a profit? How?

Support. Are you there for me? Can I come to you for advice; encouragement? Do you reach out to me to see how I am doing?"

 

Do a quick inventory:  Do you find yourself positively addressing these issues during your interactions with candidates?  It’s important to remember that new agents are “buying” a business relationship with their broker. Helen has done a great job of identifying what many of the best buyers are seeking.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

How to Reach the Recruiting Goal Line-Part 2

Hopefully, you had the opportunity to read Part 1 of this discussion.  I thought Dave did a great job of explaining how gaining momentum in the recruiting process requires a focus on completing small tasks over time.  If you’re not a football fan—hang in there: We’re almost done with the football analogies.

For the Seahawks, the “small task” that kept them out of the end zone (a week ago Monday) was a failure to convert on 3^rd down. 

Likewise, if you’re experiencing a lack of hires, the source of the problem is always earlier in the hiring process.  If you identify and fix the upstream problems, the hires will come.

After reading Dave’s post, I spent some time studying the source article in the Seattle Times, and I was surprised what I discovered.   There was a short quote by one of Seattle’s receivers that caught my attention:

"Every week Pete Carroll (the Seahawk’s Head Coach) asks his team a rhetorical question, in which the answer never changes.

Said receiver Sidney Rice, ‘He always asks us…what do we have to do to win in third and 10-plus? And the answer is always: Stay out of that situation.'

The Seahawks have not done a good job avoiding third-and-long situations. The Seahawks have had 29 third downs this season and 21 of them have been 3rd-and-6 or longer. Of those 21, 14 have been 3rd-and-10 or longer.

Seattle has converted on 38 percent of those third downs, which ranks 18th in the league, but it’s not a sustainable way to operate. Rice said facing 3rd-and-long allows defenses to play Seattle differently than they normally have to because the threat to run the ball is gone. "

I think there are two applications from this part of the article:

1.  Professionals use metrics.  Considering these guys are a bunch of dumb football jocks, they sure do use math a lot!  Why?  Because they’re professionals, and professionals use metrics.  You should know and track the recruiting metrics that lead to your hiring success—that’s what professionals do.

2.  Don’t do all of your recruiting on 3^rd down.   Our staff works with hundreds of real estate hiring managers in different parts of the country.  At least once a week, we hear one or more of these hiring managers try to convince themselves they don’t want to meet with “new to real estate” candidates until they are already licensed or actively enrolled in real estate school. 

In recruiting, this is equivalent to gaining no yardage on 1^st and 2^nd down and facing 3^rd down and long yardage on every interview.  At this point in the recruiting game, your competitors know exactly what you’re going to do and will easily key upon your weaknesses. 

We have one client who insists on conducting only late stage interviews.  They regularly lose 50% of their recruiting opportunities to competitors—even though they are the best company in their market.   

This happens because they wait too long to engage the candidates.  At this point in the hiring process, the candidates have no relationship with the hiring manager.  They are very susceptible to being fooled by lower splits, accepting gimmicky promotions, and believing promises that will never be kept.

In contrast, we regularly see clients who engage candidates early in the process that have “lost to competitor” rates of 10% or less.  Why?  The candidates tend to sign with the person they trust.   When objections are raised late in the hiring process, they can be thoughtfully discussed and handled with the candidate’s best interest in mind. 

Getting the hire under these conditions is often a small nudge at the end of the process instead of lobbing a pass into a crowded group of competitors and hoping for the best.

How did the Seahawks do last Sunday?  They had a huge come-from-behind win in overtime against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  While there were definitely some miraculous plays that helped them win, there was a small stat buried in the box score that many people will overlook:

"The Seahawks converted eight of 12 third-down situations, for a season-high percentage (.667), including their final six. The Seahawks finished with 415 yards, their third-highest total of the season. Their 26 first downs were the second-highest total."

The Seahawks learned their lesson and put themselves in a position to win.  Hopefully, you will do the same.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

How to Reach The Recruiting Goal Line

If you happen to be a football fan you will know that the recent Monday Night Football game, Seattle Seahawks vs. the St. Louis Rams, was a disappointing win for the Hawks. 

That’s right a win, not a loss; so why disappointing? 

The Seahawks, as do many other professional sports teams rely on consistency, rhythm and what some might call “staying on schedule” to reach that ultimate goal – the touchdown.

The comments about that game, from the Hawks coaches and players, may give some insight into reaching your own goal line. 

The following is an excerpt from an article in the Seattle Times. 

"Quarterback Russell Wilson always talks about staying on schedule. By that he means picking up positive yards on first down, then doing the same on second down to be in good position on third down. Negative plays or no-gains throw Seattle off schedule.

 That’s what happened against the Rams. The Seahawks averaged just 1.1 yards on first down, and that’s not including a penalty on guard J.R. Sweezy. As a result, Seattle was just 2 for 11 on third down and now ranks 28th in the league in third-down efficiency.

“I don’t think we were good on any down,” Baldwin said. “First down was terrible as well. We couldn’t stay on schedule, couldn’t get any rhythm.”

As a recruiter or hiring manager, you are the quarterback of the recruiting function of your business. It is up to you to make sure you get that “yardage on the first down” that lets you stay on schedule and move “down the field.”

You do this by knowing what you want to accomplish, finding efficiencies in your plan, and keeping on schedule to ultimately meet your objective. None of these objectives are possible without metrics.

To continue the sports analogy, what if we divided your ultimate goal into "downs?"

Just like football, getting to the next down requires building a schedule of tasks and analyzing the results.   Examining the metrics is the best way to win in recruiting. 

Here is a list of common recruiting metrics that should become second nature to any recruiting professional within the real estate industry:

Number of connections with candidates: (live calls or email exchanges)

Number of additions to pipeline (permission to follow-up)

Number of one-on-one interviews (face-to-face)

Number of enrollments in licensing school

Number of follow-up connections (post-interview)

Interview-to-hire percentage

Post-Interview pipeline-to-hire percentage

Licensing school drop-out percentage

Number of offers

Number of hires

Lost-to-competitor percentage

If you’re meeting benchmarks on these recruiting metrics, you’ll also be consistently gaining momentum in your recruiting process.  You’ll find it easier to stay on schedule, create a comfortable rhythm, recognize efficiencies, and successfully reach your goal. 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.