Aspiring real estate agents often contemplate expanding their business by making their first hire. However, experienced agents understand that this is where the actual test of leadership and management skills begins. The challenges and responsibilities of expanding one’s business can be both a rewarding and daunting experience.
We’ve curated some insights to guide you through this process and help you achieve the real estate team of your dreams. This article presents straightforward steps to help you navigate this journey while avoiding common missteps.
Ask Yourself: Is it the Right Move?
Before creating a real estate team, ensure it aligns with your business goals and aspirations. Consider several crucial factors before making a decision.
Do you have enough money and resources to make it work?
Before starting a real estate team, evaluating your financial situation and resources is essential to determine if it is the right Move for your business. Here are a few key considerations to take into account:
- Start-up costs: There are several costs associated with starting a real estate team, such as office space, marketing materials, and equipment. Make sure you clearly understand the expenses involved and have enough funds to cover them.
- Operating expenses: Beyond the start-up costs, you will also need to consider the ongoing expenses of running a real estate’s team, such as salaries, insurance, and technology expenses. Ensure you have a solid understanding of the ongoing costs and sufficient resources to cover them.
- Revenue projections: You must clearly understand your expected revenue and cash flow projections. It will help determine if you have the resources to sustain your business.
Why do you want to start a team?
Before starting a team, it is essential to clearly understand your motivations and goals for doing so. It can include factors such as wanting to expand your business, increase revenue, or improve work-life balance by delegating tasks to a team.
Whatever the reason, a clear understanding of why you want to start a team will help guide your decision-making process and ensure that you are moving forward with a solid plan.
Do you have what it takes to be a leader?
According to successful real estate agents and team leaders, even if an agent is successful in sales, they still need to gain the skills to be a successful leader.
Starting a team requires leadership skills, such as managing and motivating a group of people, making decisions, and problem-solving, which may differ from the skills required for success as a solo agent. Before starting a team, you must reflect on your strengths and weaknesses to determine if you have the skills and traits necessary to be an effective leader.
Get the Right Systems and Processes in Place
Starting a real estate team is a complex process that requires careful planning and attention to detail to ensure success. One of the most critical factors in team success is the systems and processes that are put in place.
A well-designed set of systems and processes helps to create consistency, structure, and clarity in the day-to-day workings of the team. That includes:
- Marketing Systems: A clear and effective marketing plan is essential to generate leads and attract clients to your team.
- Lead Generation Systems: An efficient lead generation system helps to identify and follow up with potential clients quickly.
- Progress Tracking and Measurement: Regularly tracking progress and measuring success helps identify improvement areas and make informed decisions.
- Follow-up Processes: A straightforward and effective follow-up process helps to keep clients engaged and informed and to move them closer to making a purchase.
- Launch of New Listings: Having a well-planned and structured process for launching new listings helps to ensure that properties are marketed effectively and reach their target audience.
Refrain from establishing systems, even for something as simple as distributing leads, can hurt the team’s success. That is why it is crucial to take the time to consider and put suitable systems and processes in place for your team to thrive.
Have a Plan for Hiring the Right Roles and Team Expansion
A clear plan for hiring the right roles and expanding your real estate team is essential for its success. This plan should begin with hiring a highly organized and detail-oriented administrative assistant to handle the paperwork and transaction management tasks. It frees up the team leader to focus on servicing leads.
When adding agents to the team, it’s essential to carefully consider the timing and type of person you want to bring on board. All-star agents may not necessarily be good team players, and close friends may not fit your team culture.
Some real estate experts learn the hard way the importance of having a plan for hiring after making mistakes in the early days by bringing in the wrong person or needing to be clear about the role they were filling.
Hiring should be given the time and attention it deserves, and your team’s hiring plan should address adding agents and expanding the team thoughtfully and strategically.
What are the essential roles to hire?
In terms of starting a real estate team, the essential roles to hire, in decreasing order of priority, are:
- Administrative assistant: An organized and detail-oriented individual who can handle the paperwork and transaction management tasks.
- Agent(s): Depending on the expansion plan, all-star agents are also great team players.
- Culture fit: Individuals who fit the team culture and align with the team’s values and goals.
Note: The importance of hiring the right roles and individuals will vary from team to team, but starting with a strong administrative assistant and expanding with agents who are a good fit for the team culture is crucial to success.
Get to Know Your Real Estate Team
When hiring new members to join your real estate team, it’s crucial to prioritize culture and personality as a top consideration. It is essential because the new hire will represent your brand and impact the overall client experience.
To ensure that you make the right hire, take your time and have a thorough and well-planned onboarding process in place.
For example, when real estate experts hire their first agent, they spend time shadowing them during the first few months to ensure they fully understand the culture and the brand he is building.
It helps the agent be more effective in their role and ensures a great fit within the team. By getting to know your team members inside and out, you can set yourself up for a successful and harmonious working relationship.
Start with Yourself
As you build a top-notch real estate team, it’s important to remember that constructing a team that complements one another is similar to putting together a puzzle. Each member will bring their unique strengths and weaknesses to the table, and it’s your responsibility to align these characteristics to balance the team’s overall effectiveness.
Real estate experts highlight the significance of self-awareness when building a team. They remind us that to identify the holes in the system and hire suitable team agents, we must first be transparent about our shortcomings. To ensure that your team is well-rounded and diverse, you must understand your strengths and weaknesses and avoid simply hiring individuals who share similar qualities.
Understand Your Team Members
Now it’s time to understand each team member’s strengths and weaknesses clearly. This understanding allows you to build a well-rounded team where each member’s skills complement each other.
It’s also important to be honest with yourself and assess your strengths and weaknesses, so you can hire team members who balance out your limitations. A team of individuals with similar skills and characteristics will not lead to a balanced and effective system. Having a thorough understanding of each team member can ensure a smooth and productive work dynamic.
Formulate a Functioning Real Estate Team Framework
A well-rounded and skilled team is paramount to success in the real estate industry. However, more than merely acquiring the right individuals is required. It is crucial to strategically place them within the team and devise an appropriate compensation model that motivates and incentivizes performance.
Here are the steps to formulating a real estate team structure that works:
- Start with Self-Reflection: Before you build your team, you must be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. This self-awareness will help you understand what type of individuals you need to complement your skillset and fill any gaps in your business.
- Define Roles and Responsibilities: Defined roles and responsibilities ensure that everyone on your team knows what they’re responsible for, what they should be working on, and what they can expect from their colleagues. It helps to avoid duplicated efforts, confusion, and friction between team members.
- Hire the Right Team Members: The right people are crucial to the success of your business. When hiring, prioritize character, cultural fit, and work ethic over experience and skills. It’s also important to consider your team members’ long-term potential instead of just filling an immediate need.
- Implement Onboarding: A well-structured onboarding process helps new team members integrate into your business and start contributing as quickly as possible. This process should cover everything from company culture, policies, and procedures to training and mentorship programs.
- Foster a Positive Team Culture: A positive team culture helps team members work together more effectively and fosters a sense of loyalty and commitment to the business. Encourage open communication, provide opportunities for team building, and recognize and reward good performance.
- Regularly Review and Revise: Your team structure should be flexible and adapt to the changing needs of your business. Regularly review and revise your team structure, roles, and responsibilities to ensure that you have the right people in the right roles and that everyone is aligned with the goals and objectives of your business.
Drive Your Team with Purpose
Leading with “why” is frequently emphasized by experienced real estate agents. That is because having a clear understanding of the purpose behind one’s actions can lead to increased motivation and productivity.
A well-functioning team in real estate should not only consist of the right people and have adequate systems in place but also be comprised of individuals driven by a shared purpose and belief system.
By gaining insight into your employees’ personalities and work styles, you can align their motivations with the overarching mission of the business, resulting in a team that is eager and ready to work towards common goals.
Ultimately, the most successful teams are united by a standard set of beliefs, values, and purpose.
Do Not Neglect the Minor Details
As a business grows, it is easy to overlook the small yet critical elements that helped fuel its expansion. Among these, effective and prompt communication stands out as particularly vital.
A quick response to client inquiries, whether they concern a first-time inquiry or the management of an escrow process, can make a huge difference in building strong client relationships.
Even if it is to acknowledge the issue and assure the client that it is being addressed, striving for an hour or even an immediate response can demonstrate an organized and responsive approach.
These small acts of attention to detail can impact a client’s perception of your business and lead to positive reviews and referral opportunities.
Train Your Team to Exceed Expectations
Communication is critical for success in the real estate industry, and Joe’s team strives to always over-communicate with clients. It means proactively anticipating their needs and providing comprehensive answers to any questions. By doing so, clients feel assured that their best interests are being taken care of.
Additionally, real estate pros emphasize the importance of avoiding industry jargon and speaking in a way that is easy for clients to understand. It fosters a sense of trust and comfort, leading to positive experiences and satisfied clients who are more likely to refer others and leave positive reviews. The ultimate goal is to create an atmosphere of humanity where clients feel valued, and their needs are always the top priority.
The Bottom Line
As you embark on building your real estate team, it’s essential to understand that it’s a journey that requires patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn. Expectations for immediate success may be thwarted, but that should encourage you to forge ahead. After all, you were chosen to lead for a reason.
Along the way, there will likely be challenges and missteps, including hiring mistakes and other setbacks. However, it is through overcoming these obstacles that you will grow and become a better leader. Embrace the experience, and know that it is an integral part of the growth process.
The question now is, are you ready to undertake the journey of building a successful real estate team?
Last modified: February 9, 2023
