Part-time agents need our help. What are we waiting for?
Dual-career and part-time agents have a lot to offer — but they need access to the same kind of training and support that helps full-time agents find success.
Key points:
- While part-time agents don’t always have the time, skills or experience to serve their clients as well as full-time agents, many find success when they get additional support.
- After-hours training sessions and mentorship programs can help part-time and dual-career agents develop the skills they need to start full-time work in real estate.
- This extra help provides a strong ROI, as better-trained agents tend to do more business and are less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.
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It is time for the industry to do more to address the needs of dual-career and part-time agents.
An agent whose primary source of income is tied to something other than real estate represents both an enormous liability and a big opportunity.
The liability part is fairly obvious: Part-time agents seldom possess the time, skills or experience needed to serve their clients with the same level of professionalism as full-timers. But many dual-career licensees who wish to sell full time do so in greater numbers when they get the support they need.
Virtually every brokerage I know offers training during business hours. Many enterprising companies now offer online and self-paced content — which is a step in the right direction, but lacks the instructive dynamic that comes from live training. Dual-career agents who seek to transition to full-time work would have a better chance of succeeding if they had the kind of support that full-time agents can access.
Let's admit it: The deck is often stacked against licensees who need to maintain a day job. Most companies have part-timers but lack a structure to help them with skills development. When these part-time agents bring in a potential deal, they may get some support — but nothing that resembles true professional development.
When I sought to gain an edge over my larger and better-known competition years ago, I doubled down on part-time and dual-career salespeople. Though that was more out of necessity than altruism, I learned that if a brokerage makes training and resources available after regular business hours, agents will come.
Record trainings for future use
The first thing I did was record training sessions for future reference. This gave my agents a cyber library — which we creatively nicknamed the "Cybrary" — featuring a trove of videos spanning a wide range of topics. A few examples:
Owner financing
Protocols for transactions in jeopardy
Objection handling
Rent to own 101
Agents could access the videos — along with slide decks and other support materials — via an unlisted link. Thanks to the "Cybrary,", if an agent asked me about an obscure topic, I didn't need to put them off, provide an insufficient answer or lose time on something I'd already trained their colleagues about.
Expand access to live training sessions
While working remotely during the pandemic, we also offered live training to a wider agent audience. These efforts resulted in a significant number of virtual part-time non-producers suddenly achieving $2 million to $5 million — and with more satisfied and better-served clientele.
Those trainings have now evolved into Wednesday evening sessions for dual-career agents. They are well-attended, with about 10 agents every week.
Evening training is a huge opportunity — and a significant morale booster — for business-minded agents. Getting the same content and delivery as full-timers instills confidence, to say nothing of the results that come from improved skills.
Encourage mentorship
The third initiative we launched was a mentoring program. We paired newer and part-time agents with full-time team members willing to advise and support for a reasonable share of the revenue.
It not only worked — it built an esprit de corps we hadn't predicted. In addition to helping new and part-time agents, this program gave the mentors someone new to turn to for help when scheduling conflicts arose.
The results were hard to argue with: In 2018, the last year without a dual-career focus, my company had $91 million in closed volume. By 2021, that had grown to $156 million with about the same number of agents. Attrition was also extremely low, as one might imagine when more associates are succeeding.
A strong ROI
It's no secret that part-time and dual-career agents can feel marginalized. But we as an industry can fix this. We already don't work banker's hours, so ordering a pizza one night a week and having a solid training session is not that big a sacrifice for a manager or trainer — and the return on investment is strong.
Better-trained agents do more business, have more satisfied clients and are less likely to leave.
It is time for us to stop pretending. Part-time agents represent a massive portion of our industry. Rather than hope they figure it out or leave before they make a mess, we should recognize the opportunity and act on it.
J. Philip Faranda is a manager and associate broker at Howard Hanna | Rand Realty serving Westchester and Putnam Counties, just north of New York City. He was previously a broker-owner at J. Philip Real Estate, the top independent brokerage in the two counties by transaction sides, which he founded in 2005. He also writes a real estate blog which has been cited by major media outlets. The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author.