There are thousands of real estate teams, yet very few operate at a high level. It doesn’t have to be this way. Here’s a list of the top 10 things to take into account when building out your team:
1. Are You Ready to Lead?
This is the first question you need to ask yourself. A great salesperson does not necessarily translate into a great team lead and asking someone to join your team comes with responsibility—more specifically, helping someone else achieve their goals. Oftentimes, you may be better off simply hiring an assistant and partnering with other agents when necessary. Ask yourself, do you want to lead and be responsible for other people? If so, you should make a commitment to leveling up your leadership game.
2. Stop Letting Perfect and Ego Get in the Way of Progress.
“If I don’t do it, it won’t get done right.” Yes, it’s not easy hiring and on-boarding talented people, let alone delegating and expecting things to be done exactly the way you would have hoped. However, if you start early in the process, don’t panic-hire when you feel overwhelmed, and heed some helpful advice from this article, your business will reach new levels of success.
3. Hiring the Right People.
This is hands down the biggest challenge you will face in building out your team. HR departments spend millions trying to get the selection process perfect and still fail. My two biggest tips: hire slowly and fire quickly and focus on the person’s attitude and energy, two things you can’t teach. I also highly recommend a trial dating period with any agent you’re considering before formally bringing them onto the team. Finally, don’t be afraid to hire top talent. I would rather have “A” talent for 2 years than “C” talent for 4. Encourage open communication and make it clear that you’re here to help your team members achieve their goals, even if that means they eventually leave the team. If you come from abundance versus scarcity you will win every time.
My two biggest tips: hire slowly and fire quickly and focus on the person’s attitude and energy, two things you can’t teach.
4. Building the Right Foundation.
Your first hire is critical: the team assistant. Please do not attempt to save money and have an agent also act as your assistant—it never works. Yes, you can afford to hire someone! This is an investment in yourself and your business, your most valuable asset. There are so many affordable options today, particularly on the VA front, that delegating non-essential tasks has never been easier. However, be prepared to commit the necessary time and resources to interview, onboard, and train the right person. A few suggestions:
- Create a detailed job description and clearly lay out a list of tasks that can be delegated.
- Have the candidates complete a DiSC behavioral survey and ensure they have enough S/C in them to do the job.
- Have the candidates complete an assignment so you don’t hire based upon resume or personality but actual work product.
5. Setting the Right Expectations.
Make sure everyone knows what to expect before bringing them onboard. What’s the agent’s “why” for joining the team? There should only be a few reasons: Are they expecting mentorship, deal flow, operational support, team brand exposure, team accountability and structure? Be specific in your conversation. If they are expecting operational support, what does that mean to them? Help with running comps? Setting appointments? Marketing? Transaction coordination? Get this out of the way up-front and eliminate potential friction and disappointment later on.
Make sure everyone knows what to expect before bringing them onboard. What’s the agent’s “why” for joining the team?
6. Put Everything in Writing.
Start with your compensation structure. Don’t overcomplicate, and don’t be cheap. You also need a “break-up” clause specifying what happens to deals in the pipeline and people in the database so there is no misunderstanding when an agent leaves. In addition, it makes sense to put one another’s expectations in writing. This may seem like a lot to ask, but it’s something you can revisit with your agents to ensure one another’s goals are being met. A simple one pager: “What to expect from me and the team,” and “What I expect from you.” Remember, the more specific the better.
7. Structure and Accountability.
This all starts with communication. Weekly meetings are a must, each with a clear agenda. Team and individual goals should be shared and visible at all times. A shared slack channel or group text should be created to discuss things in real time. Team lead generation activities should be embraced. Professional development and coaching should be offered to continually raise the bar of success.
Weekly meetings are a must, each with a clear agenda. Team and individual goals should be shared and visible at all times.
8. Compensation. Keep it Simple.
There is no reason to have 10 different, “if this, then that” scenarios as it will all even out in the end. If it doesn’t, you’ve hired the wrong people or simply don’t generate enough business of your own. You should never take less than 20% of a transaction as a team lead. I know too many teams that simply take 10%, meaning they have not created sufficient team value. I’m also of the belief that whomever generated the lead deserves a little more of the commission. I know there are people that split everything 50/50 but this does not place enough value on one of the hardest things you do as an agent, lead generation.
9. More with Less.
It’s concerning to me how big some teams have gotten. Please don’t think adding more people will automatically equate to an increase in output. Frankly, it could drain resources from team members that need and deserve it and may wreak havoc on the wonderful culture you’ve worked so hard to maintain. Once again, remember to hire slowly and fire quickly.
10. ABS: Always Be Scouting.
You should never start looking when you “need” something. Everyone needs a great bench and in order to continue growing from a place of strength you should regularly be sourcing potential team additions. One of the best ways to do this is during the co-broke process. Keep a running list of who performed well and what impressed you most. Take a moment to make small talk and find out about their goals, loves, and frustrations with the business. If you’ve been dealing with a team, pay attention to the support staff and how they’ve communicated and interacted throughout the transaction. The bottom line…ABS.
There is so much more to share about building an effective real estate team as each of the points introduced can easily be its own article. Please feel free to reach out to me at eric@theagencyre.com with any questions, and I wish you continued success.
