Real estate teams are all the rage right now, but they’re not for everyone. Claudia Stalling can help you decide if a team-building plan makes sense or if you should go a different route.
Adding nuance to our weekly Teams Beat newsletter, January is Teams Month at Inman. Find out whether you should join a team, what it takes to build a team from the ground up, and when to consider leaving. Additionally, he will receive the coveted Inman Power Player Award, the New York Power Brokers Award and the second class of the MLS Innovators Award.
It’s no secret that the team model has taken root and grown in our industry over the past 20 years. There are many different versions, from team leader and member models and equal partners to parent-child and spouse combinations.
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There are good reasons to start a team. However, there are times when staying with a private agent may be the best choice. This time we will introduce five of them.
1. When there is an imbalance between partners
It’s great when a colleague asks you to partner with them, and it makes you want to consider forming a formal team. But while their intentions may be pure, consider their motives.
Do they have trouble generating their own business? If they hate prospecting, don’t have enough discipline to generate leads on their own, or to market themselves If you don’t have the funds or expertise, they may be looking to you for answers to their own problems.
It’s always good to help those who are suffering, but in this case you may be trying to keep yourself and them financially afloat.
2. If your partners are too similar
Is there an agent with whom you share synergies and styles and who could be a good business partner? This may be fun for a while, but while both excel in the same field, it may be difficult to find true success. You could end up in a situation where you’re missing another piece of the puzzle.
The most effective partner teams exist when each partner brings unique and complementary skills to the union. If you need help, either because you have too much business or because you want to grow your business, hire an assistant and instead make someone who does the same job as you your referral partner when you take time off. Get you covered.
3. When you don’t know what you’re working on
Are you new to this industry but think you need to start with a team to make your career more successful? Consider the following facts: As a team member, you may earn less per deal as you are subject to a split with the team leader and intermediary. Even if you generate business, your team leader will receive production credit. Furthermore, if you eventually decide to go independent, you will have to start from scratch with no recognition.
Not all successful salespeople make great leaders. Instead of joining a team, it may be most beneficial to find a full-service brokerage that provides training, tools, marketing, leads, space, and support for your career.
4. If you focus more on sales than leadership.
Do you have hunting and gathering habits? Does the thrill of creating and converting business make you want to rush out of bed?
Many people like you become leaders on teams because they have more work to do than they can handle in 24 hours. However, if you are unable to remove yourself from business pursuits, your team may not function.
To become an effective team leader, you need to step away from the rainy day job and take on more administrative tasks, develop business plans, answer contract questions, handle logistics, organize finances, and ( We need to hold people accountable (who may not have the motivation to do so).
Unless that task list is something you’re drooling over, chances are you’ll need a good office manager or transaction coordinator as your first step to expanding your business.
5. When one of you is ready to downsize
If you’re looking to reduce your time in real estate, you may want to consider a job-sharing model, where two agents work on the same job and each picks up where they left off, as their schedules allow.
This model is the one most likely to lead to team divorce.
Inevitably, one person will be doing most of the work while the other feels like they’re eating bonbons. Communicating about recent activities and information can be difficult. Instead of choosing this option, identify a trusted agent within your office that you can refer to. That way, you can reduce the number of transactions you do from start to finish yourself, keep your time, and still earn good referral income from the business you take over.
Claudia Stallings is COO of Wallace Real Estate in East Tennessee. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram.
