Your Team Doesn’t Suck—You Just Don’t Train Them Cut the excuses. Practice beats potential every time. Let me tell you about two new leasing agents. Both started on the same Monday. Same property size. Same market. Same software. One became a top closer. The other flamed out in six weeks. Here’s what happened. Agent #1 was handed a desk, a packet, and a login. She shadowed one tour. Sat in on one call. Then the manager said: “You’ll figure it out. Just be friendly.” So she did what most do—guesswork. Awkward tours. Flat follow-ups. No real objections handled. Three weeks in, she dreaded coming to work. Nobody gave her feedback—just pressure. Agent #2 had a different path. Day 1: She walked the property like a customer. Her trainer posed as a prospect—and grilled her. Day 2: She practiced the script. Not once. Twenty times! Feedback every round. Day 3: She toured a mock resident with objections: – “Too expensive.” – “I’m looking downtown.” – “What’s security like here?” She learned how to respond with confidence, not desperation. By the end of Week 1, she had already scheduled 12 tours. Because she wasn’t guessing—she was trained. Because she didn’t “wing it”—she had reps. This is the difference between wishing and building. Training isn’t a one-time event. It’s reps, feedback, and follow-up. Over and over. If you want your leasing agents to win, don’t blame “the market.” Give them a system. Give them time to practice. And test them until it sticks. You don’t rise to your goals. You fall to your training.