If you’re like most real estate professionals, you know you want to be successful. But you may not know how to achieve the freedom you crave without working every hour of the day, burning yourself out to make more money, and worrying about taking care of clients instead of taking care of yourself.
Most agents are independent contractors or independent agents, possibly under a real estate broker. But you can absolutely be successful in the real estate market while having the freedom to live the lifestyle you want, as well. It all comes down to having a winning team instead of flying as a solo agent.
Some new agents may be hesitant to share the duties with multiple agents and may be concerned about a commission split, but if you were able to close ten times as many sales and close out more with a reduced scope of work for each client, it would be easier to consider it. More freedom and more money come from a good real estate team model.
What team structure is right for you?
If you’ve ever had or have a real estate career, you know it’s not just about selling homes. It’s about building relationships and connections that last long beyond the closing dates. That’s why it can be tricky to determine the best team structure for your real estate brokerage or agency. Should you have one team member focused on the lead generation strategy while another handles the marketing materials? Or should the entire team wear a few hats at once? What team model gives you the most freedom while still ensuring long-term success? In this blog post, we’ll discuss what being a part of a real estate team means, when it makes sense to hire multiple real estate agents or specialists, and how they can work together to run a successful real estate business.
The most common real estate team structure is based on the team leader, who is usually a real estate agent.
Let’s go over the most common real estate team model.
A real estate team requires many agents that specialize in different aspects of the buying and selling process. The most basic team structure, or “stack rank”, is based on the idea that one person manages the other members of the team. This person is commonly called a “team lead”, “team leader”, or “lead agent” and they have several roles:
- To generate leads
- To negotiate sales
- To handle paperwork/paperwork management
- To make sure things get done
- To handle the reporting aspect of sales (how many leads did we bring in, how much money did we make)
- To run training on new technologies or processes
- To handle the administrative side of things (generating reports, sending out mailings, etc)
- To manage your team’s workflow
A team structured this way is very often a successful team, and is beneficial to all real estate team members, both seasoned and new agents alike.
A good way to manage a successful real estate team is to be sure that each person is working on something. If there’s no work for them to do, they should be doing research, making connections with other people in the field, or learning from real estate coaches. Your goal as a manager is to make sure each member of your team has enough work so that they don’t get bored, but not so much that they feel overwhelmed.
There are team leader roles for the businessperson and roles for the business developer who brings in new leads.
Successful real estate teams have at least one of the following two people: You can hire a businessperson as a team leader, or you can hire a business developer. The difference between them is that a businessperson spends most of their time closing deals and running the show, while a business developer focuses on generating leads to bring in new business for your company to grow while minimizing lead generation costs.
The most important thing to know about choosing between these two options is that if you don’t have enough leads coming in through your website or social media pages, you’ll be wasting your time trying to close deals with people who aren’t interested in buying from you at this point in time. You need someone who brings more leads into the mix so that your sales team can focus on closing those deals instead of spending all day chasing after dead ends striving for good lead conversion.
Hiring a Business Developer
If you decide that hiring someone who specializes in lead generation would benefit your real estate investment business more than hiring more sales agents (or even just one more), then it’s time to start looking for someone!
The first thing to do is define what you’re looking for in a business developer. Are you looking for someone with experience in your industry? Someone who has experience with lead generation and sales? Or, if you’re brand new to the real estate industry, maybe someone who already knows how it works would be more beneficial than someone who’s been working in a completely different field. Once you’ve got that sorted out, it’s time to start searching for people!
The transaction coordinator manages all of the paperwork aspects of the home buying or selling process.
The transaction coordinator, or even an admin team, keeps track of all the paperwork involved in buying or selling a home. They’re responsible for making sure that everything is submitted on time, and they handle any issues that come up during the closing process. You can think of the transaction coordinator as your personal assistant when it comes to real estate transactions—they make sure nothing falls through the cracks, and they help keep things moving along smoothly.
The transaction coordinator also coordinates with other team members on behalf of their clients, making phone calls and answering clients’ questions. So if you need advice about your loan or home inspection report, you can be sure that someone will be there to answer questions for you throughout this process.
A listing agent makes sure that listings are getting in front of buyers.
For buyers:
A listing specialist, or listing agent, is a salesperson who works with listings. Listing specialists are the first point of contact for buyers, and they’re responsible for getting listings in front of buyers while they’re looking at homes.
Listing specialists work closely with agents, but their job is to sell properties and get deals done. That means knowing how much time a home has been on the market and exactly what information it needs to be successful in the current market. They’ll be able to tell you if your property will appeal to buyers or whether it should stay off the market until another day arrives when more people are looking for homes like yours.
If you’re a buyer, listing specialists can help you find the perfect home for your needs. They’re experts at knowing what’s available in the market and how to find it. They’ll also be able to tell you if a property is worth its asking price or not. If not, they’ll know what adjustments need to be made before putting it back on the market again.
For sellers:
If you’re a seller, a listing specialist will be able to give you an honest appraisal of your home’s value. If it’s overpriced, they’ll tell you and help you figure out what needs to be done before putting it back on the market.
Listing specialists are also responsible for getting the word out about your property. They’ll send information to local newspapers, real estate portals and MLS listings so that buyers can find you.
This is a great way to get the word out about your property without having to do all of the legwork yourself. Listing specialists can also help with things like staging, showing homes and even negotiating on your behalf if buyers want something extra or find problems with the home that need fixing before closing.
Buyer’s agents show homes and do everything with potential buyers
They’re the first point of contact.
Buyer’s agents show homes and do everything with potential buyers. For example, they’re your first point of contact when you are interested in buying a home. They also help you evaluate properties and provide recommendations on what to look for in a home.
Buyer’s agents are part of the transaction coordinator’s team.
They report to him or her as well as being involved in all aspects of your purchase transaction. This means that buyers agents have access to current listings before they hit MLS (the Multiple Listing Service), which helps them find homes that meet their needs faster than if they were working independently from other real estate professionals at firms who weren’t sharing this information with each other—or even with their own clients!
They also have access to information like the history of sales prices in an area.
This can help you determine whether a property is overpriced or not. If they know that homes in your neighborhood typically sell for below the asking price, then they can advise you on how much to offer.
Buyer agents can also help you negotiate with the seller.
This means they have a vested interest in getting you the best deal possible. They’re not just looking out for their own bottom line; they want to make sure that you get a fair price for your home as well.
Marketing to potential buyers.
If you’re selling, then a buyer agent can help you get the most out of your home by marketing it to potential buyers. They know what kind of properties are currently on the market as well as which ones have sold recently. This helps them decide how much to list your house for and where they’ll advertise it so that it reaches the right audience.
The key to getting a good deal when buying or selling a home is knowing the market. If you don’t have access to this kind of information, then it can be difficult to make an informed decision about things like price, and terms and conditions. A buyer agent can help you get the information that you need so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not a home is worth buying.
Administrative staff can handle any miscellaneous tasks.
Administrative staff can handle any miscellaneous tasks. For example, your administrative team might need to take care of bookkeeping, scheduling appointments, and other general duties. An inside sales agent can also help with lead generation so the real estate agents can simply focus on getting their clients closed instead of trying to find where the clients are going to come from.
Finding administrative personnel:
If you’re not hiring an outside agency, then your best bet is to look at local colleges or schools that offer courses in office administration. Here, you can find your full-time administrative assistant.
Training new employees:
To get the most out of your new team members, make sure they understand their roles before assigning them any work responsibilities. This includes outlining specific goals for each employee as well as a detailed description of what exactly constitutes “good” performance on their part (and what does not).
Keeping staff motivated:
It goes without saying that if someone doesn’t enjoy working for you—or if they feel undervalued—then it’s unlikely that person will put a lot of effort into doing his or her job properly. In many cases, this will manifest itself in poor performance from the employee and make him or her more likely to leave after just a short period of time.
However, there are things you can do to help keep your staff motivated: Make sure they know how much their efforts are appreciated. Show them that their contributions really matter by showing appreciation for the work they do and letting them know how valuable it is to your organization.
It’s also important to make sure employees know what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis. This helps ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals and doesn’t feel like they’re left in the dark about what’s going on around them.
Finally, it’s important to show your staff that they are being rewarded for doing a good job. One way of doing this is through salary increases and promotions; however, there are other ways you can show appreciation—like providing additional training opportunities or giving them more responsibility within the company.
When you’re putting together a team, think about the type of help you need to improve your business and then hire accordingly
When you’re putting together a team, think about the type of help you need to improve your business and then hire accordingly.
Your team members should have different skill sets.
Someone who is great at sales may not be as good at accounting, while someone with strong organizational skills might not be able to sell as well. Team members who can take on different roles in the company will help ensure that everyone is working together effectively and efficiently.
Team members should also be able to handle different tasks.
Don’t expect an accountant with no background in real estate investing to know how to negotiate a lease agreement! Finally, make sure each member of your team has good communication skills so that information can flow freely throughout the company and any questions or concerns can be addressed efficiently (and without having another employee repeat themselves).
Not all teams are successful, though. If you have a team of people, make sure each member of your team has good communication skills so that information can flow freely throughout the company and any questions or concerns can be addressed efficiently (and without having another employee repeat themselves). In order to avoid any negative team dynamics, it can be beneficial to utilize a personality assessment tool, as well, and pair agents with other team members that will make for the best outcome together. Doing the extra work at the beginning ensures the team runs smoothly, which in turn, ensures you have more time for the things that are important to you.
Benefits of Real Estate Team Models
A real estate team structure is beneficial for many reasons:
All real estate agents in the team can learn from each other.
They can learn different types of marketing, which marketing strategies team members have had success with, different techniques, and dialogue. This is especially beneficial for new agents.
Someone is almost always available.
The real estate team structure also allows for almost round-the-clock service. If one agent is not available, another team member might be, resulting in a successful lead capture rather than losing a client simply because there was no one there to answer questions when needed.
Combining of Powers
Real estate agents can cross-market and combine their powers for a greater reach, thus bringing in more leads to the real estate team.
Distribution of Tasks
This is obviously one of the most important benefits. It allows real estate agents to have more time for themselves rather than be the main go-to person for every single step of the process. This also leads us to our next point.
Ability to specialize or focus on your preferred area of expertise.
Are you the best one to initiate buyers or sellers on their journey by easing them into the process? Or are you better at helping clients make that final decision on a home? Whatever you enjoy the most or wherever your strongest skills are, you can focus on that part only and have other team members handle the rest.
Conclusion
If you’re an independent agent looking into starting your own real estate business, it’s important to consider how many people will be working with you on each project. While some jobs are better left up to one person (such as selling homes), others require multiple workers with different skill sets (like appraising).
The real estate business is a competitive one, and it can be tough to stand out in the crowd, especially as an individual agent. But if you want to succeed, you’ll need a good team model and the right team members to come together to make the dream work happen. An inside sales agent, marketing director, and buyer specialist can help each other out to produce incredible results while providing more freedom for everyone. Real estate teams work to solve problems, overcome challenges, and alleviate the time any one person needs to put in to close the deal. By organizing your team properly, you’ll be able to accomplish more than ever before—and build a profitable real estate empire!
Decide what roles will be needed before hiring anyone else! If you need some guidance and are ready to enjoy the life you’re building instead of just working on it, book a clarity call with Traci today.
