The purpose for new agent training is two-fold. First, I wanted to deliver content so our new agents get more established in their businesses. I feel there are things new agents can do that will speed up the development part of their business in the real estate industry. However, I was quick to point out that the important piece is they have to execute. I can lead a horse to water but I can't make it drink as they say. There is lots of tools and information out there, but, new agents have to be committed to making a realistic plan and sticking to it.

Second I want to develop a support system between everyone. I think that getting started as a successful top sales professional in the real estate world is the most difficult part. You put in the most amount of effort with the least amount of return. Sometimes, I think it starts to feel overwhelming. Often new agents feel like they're spinning their wheels but not getting anywhere. These meetings will become a regular occurrence for our west coast and Labrador brokerage for 2018. In addition, at the end of each session, we are going to draw from the information, set some realistic goals and when we all meet again, and hold each other accountable.

We started with google. I wanted to give the new agents some useful information on how to show up in google. We started by having all of the agents google themselves and asked what shows up first?

In my experience, it seems to me that google ranks and rates individuals according to relevance. They want their users to get the most useful information that they are looking for when they perform a google search. How are you seen as relevant as a Re/Max real estate agent in Corner Brook, Deer Lake, Happy Valley Goose Bay, Stephenville and Port Aux Basques.

The first thing that is important is that google can verify that you are who you say you are. So what does that mean? That means that all cyberspace roads need to lead back to the same information. Your social media accounts, your email, your bios, all online content has a relevant and uniform thread of who you are. So we went through this process with the new agents. The first thing we did was update their Facebook pages to ensure that all of the information was accurate. We talked about their profile pictures their website information and their bios. We suggested that they use keywords in their bios like realtor, home selling, home buying, their target area, best realtor, for sale, relocation, new listing, buy a home, sell a home and houses for sale.

We created and edited google plus accounts and created google business accounts. We talked about content on Facebook and we reviewed some valuable content on other pages and profiles. We concluded with talking about hashtags. Who uses hashtags? Why should you use hashtags? As we talked about before, google wants to see relevance and they want to see that you are who you say you are. When hashtags are used there are more key words and links that go back to our real estate agents. Hashtags are also searchable. They impact all the social media platforms. Finally, a hashtag can set a mood to a post. Example: #Remaxhustle or #sorrynotsorry #westernnewfoundland #labrador #curbappeal #relocation #househunting

I love these meetings. These are the things in my career that bring me joy. J