Real Estate Forums

San Diego Real Estate · 07-07-2006, 07:52 AM

Brainstorming sessions should result in numerous ideas on a specific issue. If your meetings are not as productive as they should be, consider these tips
to generate ideas:

Display the objective. Your objective should be one sentence, such as
"We need to implement new prospecting techniques." If your issue is broad, consider breaking it down and brainstorming elements independently.

Set the rules. Check negativity at the door. During the brainstorming, don't let participants critique ideas. Weird, wild and wacky notions are allowed. A free flow of ideas helps participants build upon each others' suggestions. Set a 25-minute time limit. Whether brainstorming with two participants or five, pick a facilitator to guide the session, record ideas and encourage participation.

Try these brainstorming exercises:

The facilitator asks a question related to the objective. The first participant answers the question and the answer is recorded. Go around the table. Participants can say "pass" when unable to come up with an idea. Discontinue when the idea has been fully fleshed out.
Participants surround a large piece of paper. Write a key word related to your objective on the center of the paper. The first participant draws a short line from the key word and writes the first word that comes to mind. The second participant draws a line from any word on the paper and writes down a word, creating a word tree.
The goal of each exercise is to populate the paper with words and ideas that help you achieve your objective.

Compliments of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.

REMAX LV · 07-10-2006, 03:38 PM

Very inique ideas SDRE. I never thought of brainstorming my ideas with other agents within the Las Vegas real estate market! I mean, two minds are always better than one, so I would imagine that many minds would be that much better! Thanks for the tips

Las Vegas Real Estate · 07-11-2006, 04:27 PM

I agree RE/MAX LV, that is an idea in which I would have never thought of either! Much like you said though, two people's inputs and ideas are much better than one! Here in the Las Vegas home market, I will take all of the suggestions and creativity that I can get!

Las Vegas Homes · 07-18-2006, 03:09 PM

Yes, I think that brainstorming with other is key, especially when on a team. Here in the Las Vegas real estate market, my team and I meet weekly in order to discuss progress, issues, new ideas, etc. and it helps out quite a bit. We used to have them monthly, until I realized just how valuable they could be!

Portland Real Estate · 07-27-2006, 06:14 PM

Prior to becoming a real estate agent, I was a partner at an international management consulting firm. Used to lead these brain storming sessions. Aside from getting relatively good ideas to solving problems, it's a good exercise to see who's really in charge. Typically, we see the dominant (alpha personality) gets his/her way more than half the time. The rest follows.