I never had any Brokers under me when I was the Owner/Broker of National Marketing Realtors but it seemed the AGENTS were either selfmotivated or a stick of dynomite would not get them off their asses Catherine Emert . I never did subscribe to the "if they fog a mirror" approach to hiring, I always did my best to see that they were motivated people to begin with.

Hire The Hungry.... those who MUST make a living.... you can only motivate those who want to be motivated and MUST make a living.

Start by helping them to determine their Big Why.

Then help the to develop the steps and habits that will lead to wild production.

I am just starting a brokerage but I believe from my prior corporate experience that you really need to understand what motivates each individual. 

Some are motivated purely by financial gains (commission splits, brokerage fees, etc.) which can be costly to the brokerage if the comp plan is not designed and implemented properly.  Others see value in other areas where you can focus on that may not cost the brokerage much at all such as education, co-marketing, agent tools, etc.

Essentially, I would want any broker working under me to feel emotionally invested in the company as if it were their own.  When there is buy-in and a sense of pride in the brokerage, there is less chance of turnover in my opinion.  How you get there is dependent on each individual personality and uncovering their motivations.

Michael Mannino, President

Harbor View Funding | www.harborviewfunding.com

No such thing...

...either they are self motivated when you hire them or you just don't hire them at all.

Self motivated people are raised to be "movers and shakers"...that is not something you can instill or teach.

Eve

Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA has the best visual answer 

A motivational poster like this from despair.com

Provide good training and support; however, hard to motivate an independent contractor.

1st prize is a Cadillac. 2nd prize is this set of steak knives. 3rd prize is you're fired!

I can't take credit for coming up with that.

I 100% agree with Eve Alexander - and that factoid is among the many reasons I fly solo.  I wish you all the best in 2020 and beyond. 

For the brokerage owner the question must be asked, "Is the broker compelled to adopt to the model of the owner or will the owner configure the business to best exploit the 'genius' type of the broker?"

If the broker owner lacks agility, motivation will always be problematic.

The agile broker owner creates the environment that stimulates genius which finds its own success.

If you have ever experienced your genius stimulated, you know then, how work becomes play and you want everyone to participate.

However, it is much, much, much more simplistic to believe MONEY is a motivator so tweak the compensation structure to include % of productivity increases.

I wouild suggest investing in the tools that deliniate agents and empower them to make more money. The rest takes care of itself.

I hire self motivated people. I mentor new agents, but motivation must be in their DNA or I’m not hiring them

Get the right people in the company. In our company, we did not need to motivate, and the same is true now.  Hire self starters!  A

Help them increase their production.

Generate prospects for them.

Provide support that will make the better. The motivation to reach goals must come from within.

I'm confused. Do you mean agents? My broker at Keller Williams was great at motivating his agents. He would teach classes on how to generate more leads, which in my opinion was pretty motivating within itself.

I don't own a brokerage, but I did own a business for many years with sales people. IMHO you really can't motivate people that are not self motivated 

Hire the right brokers who are self motivated. I was just having this conversation with a friend over dinner last night. She ventured out a couple years ago with her own brokerage. Of course, like several people mentioned here, help them find their big why, figure out what motivated them (some it is financial, some will be self fulfillment, some will be recognition, etc). However, there will be those who are not self disciplined or motivated as a self employed individual. Do your best up front to find the ones who will get out and work.

You mean broker- associates?

Because there are no other brokers under you.

:) Owner-broker. 

I believe in our profession agents have to motivate themselves... it's their business at the end of the day.

I am a broker. 

I am a broker/owner, and IF I had brokers with me, would have monthly meeting keeping them informed on everything learned for the month.   Share stats, how the market is doing and share new technology.

I am different,  ones they hit X amount of homes sold I change their split.