Have you ever wanted to build a real estate team? Maybe you want to build your own team but don’t know where to start.
Or maybe, if you’re already in the business, you just want to take your company to that next level and build a solid team. You can do it!
It takes hard work and dedication on your part, but it can be done. Whatever your reasons for it, here’s a guide on how to build a real estate team that will last for a long time.
What is a Real Estate Team?
A real estate team comprises agents who work together to sell or buy homes. A successful real estate team has multiple agents working for them, all with their own markets and specializing in different services like foreclosures, short sales, commercial properties, and more.
People want to feel like they’re getting the best service possible when buying or selling real estate so having several different agents on one team gives people options depending on the type of property they are looking for.
Many teams start small but can become very large due to their hard work and dedication. However, this can’t be achieved overnight; your team will grow over time through hard work and, most importantly, follow-up.
How to Start Building Your Team
So you’re ready to start building your team? How exactly do you go about finding the right people for your team? This is where networking comes in.
You can’t expect to build a strong real estate team without leaning on your current contacts. Chances are very high that you already know someone who would make an excellent addition to your company if given the opportunity, and it’s up to you as the leader to provide them with that opportunity.
It could be a friend or relative, or maybe just that one person out of all of your friends and relatives that is always talking about wanting to get into real estate.
The possibilities are endless. The best thing you can do is to put the word out that you’re looking for someone. You never know who’s going to say “yes!”
Once you have established your pool of potential recruits, it’s time to set up interviews with them. Everyone must meet their expectations, so be sure to describe precisely what they’ll be doing as a member of your team, how many hours they will work per week, and exactly what compensation/incentives you offer.
If they are interested after this initial meeting, schedule another one where you go over the formalities of becoming an agent with your company.
This includes signing confidentiality agreements and non-compete clauses if necessary. These things seem strict, but they are necessary to protect your business.
If someone would prefer not to sign these agreements, they’re not suitable for your team. So it’s best to weed them out now while you have the chance.
Who should you add to your real estate team?
Now that you’ve gone through the trouble of establishing your initial pool of potential recruits and interviewing each one, it’s time to decide who makes the cut.
There are several questions you can ask yourself to help determine whether or not someone will be a good addition to your team:
No matter what type of real estate expertise they bring with them, it’s essential that they have some sort of experience. Consider how this person came into their experience.
Did they just finish school and are straight out of college? Or did they already have a full-time job before deciding to switch careers?
Each situation requires different handling but either way, make sure they come prepared because if there’s one thing people hate more than anything, it’s to train a new employee.
Do they have experience?
No matter what type of real estate expertise they bring with them, it’s essential that they have some sort of experience. Consider how this person came into their experience.
Did they just finish school and are straight out of college? Or did they already have a full-time job before deciding to switch careers?
Each situation requires different handling but either way, make sure they come prepared because if there’s one thing people hate more than anything, it’s to train a new employee.
What is their personality like?
Some people might be great at real estate, but others are not. So it would help if you got along with them from the start.
Everyone on your team should have the expertise and experience required for success in this industry and a strong personality to get along well with others.
For this reason, you need to make sure everyone meshes well together before making any decisions about who gets added.
Otherwise, there will be problems down the road when someone isn’t working out as planned or doesn’t click with other team members.
Do they have the right motives?
Everyone on your team must want to work hard and become successful in real estate because they love it.
If someone is doing this only for the money or wants to make a quick buck, they might not be suitable for your team because you want passionate people about what they’re doing.
They should feel like it’s their company, too, and that means having the right motives.
Can you offer them enough compensation?
It might sound shallow, but everyone wants to get paid more than they are worth. So if you can’t compensate them adequately with either salary or commission based on how well your business performs, then chances are they won’t stick around for long.
All the above questions are relevant in establishing who qualifies to join your team. But as a real estate agent looking to build a real estate team, what kind of people should you recruit into your team?
Transaction coordinator
Every real estate team needs a transaction coordinator to handle the back-end work that otherwise might not get done.
The transaction coordinator is in charge of all administrative tasks behind the scenes, such as opening escrow, making sure deadlines are met, and arranging showings.
This role requires someone who can keep track of everything without requiring too much supervision.
Mortgage broker
Your team also needs a professional mortgage broker with many years of experience under their belt.
There’s no better way to sell property than to provide buyers with their dream home, so having an experienced negotiator on your team is vital.
Open house manager
This person is responsible for scheduling every one of your open houses to ensure you never miss out on any such opportunities.
They also need to hire a designated photographer to let your website showcase amazing photos of all the properties you have available.
Selling agent
This person is a strong team player and leads from the front by ensuring every client is happy from start to finish while still having fun during this journey.
In short, building a real estate team comes down to knowing what kind of skills you need to be successful and then finding people who fit into that category.
If you’re lucky enough, you might find someone who has everything going for them so take advantage of it! But don’t forget, there’s always room for improvement, so never stop looking out for new recruits.
How to run a successful real estate team
Even if you have the right team members on your side, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are destined for success. To get the most out of your team, you can apply different strategies to help everyone pull in the same direction.
Understand your conversion ratio
The conversion ratio is also known as the close rate because it simply represents how often you are closing deals relative to the number of leads you get.
This number should be high because if your conversion ratio is low, it means that there’s a problem somewhere in your system where people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to.
You want to concentrate on this statistic because it can tell you whether or not your team members are working hard enough and which ones need more support than others.
The good news is that if there’s room for improvement, it means that there’s still something positive about your business, so don’t give up just yet.
Establish KPIs (key performance indicators)
Key performance indicators act like benchmarks in measuring how well your team is doing. They are relevant to every person in your real estate business, so it’s much easier to know what success means in this industry.
For example, you might have a rule for all your agents where they’re required to show at least ten properties before the end of each month.
If an agent doesn’t meet this requirement, then that person will have something to work on. You can even include KPIs for tasks specific to certain areas, such as data entry, email responses, and phone calls.
Create goals collaboratively
To ensure everyone understands why these goals are important, you may hold joint conference sessions where all participants share their thoughts on how the business should be run and what to achieve in the next few months.
This gives everyone a chance to have their say, so it’s easier to come up with decisions that will work for everyone, not just top management.
Handle real estate team member turnover
Whether you realize it or not, there will always be some people who leave your business each year.
Handling staff turnovers efficiently ensures that this transition doesn’t affect your business because new recruits can get up to speed much faster if they know what they’re getting into from the get-go.
Establishing clear communication methods such as feedback sessions and performance reviews helps make this process more effective while minimizing mistakes down the road, especially when delivering news such as termination.
Find out what makes people tick
When you’re in charge of a real estate business, it’s hard to pass the buck when something goes wrong, which is why hiring the right people for your team is very important.
If there’s one thing that you should keep in mind, though, every person on your team has different personalities and work ethics which means they function differently from each other.
This will only make things more complicated if you don’t know where to start, so do yourself a favor and take time to understand who these people are and how they fit into the bigger picture.
Things to avoid when building a real estate team
Not providing enough training
After you’ve completed your hiring process, you might want to think about additional training so that everyone else has the skills needed to handle their specific responsibilities.
This usually results in a more efficient team which makes it easier for agents to get ahead of the curve to get started with closing deals quicker than before.
Remember, this is not just about teaching basic real estate skills but also making sure that people know the latest strategies and technologies available on the market today.
Overworking your employees
We all know that there’s no such thing as work-life balance in real estate because if you stop working, then chances are your business will just fall apart.
The problem comes into play when people who work for you are stressed for at least 8 hours a day which can greatly affect their ability to focus on the task.
In other words, they might end up burning out quickly, and this will make things much harder for everyone else in the long run.
Providing too little structure
As a real estate team leader, it’s your responsibility to provide enough structure so that everyone has something set in stone to work with.
Remember, people who participate in your organization need to know what you expect from them and what kind of standards should be met throughout the year or month, depending on your performance requirements.
Without this information, there’s no way that anyone will know where they should start when starting on a new project which can quickly put an entire company behind the curve.
Competing against each other
Competition is a given when you work with a real estate team, but it’s best to ensure everyone is looking at the same goal.
This means going through your annual objectives and seeing where your agents stand regarding the bigger picture.
If they feel their contributions are being undervalued, then chances are they will move on, which can lead to a big problem down the line.
Establishing proper communication methods such as one-on-one meetings helps provide clarity from time to time so that people know how they should behave around each other.
For those who have been able to navigate these potential pitfalls, congratulations! You’re well on your way towards building an effective real estate team that can compete with the best in your region.
Now, you should be much more prepared to deal with problems as they arise because even if things don’t go exactly as planned, there are always ways to get back on track quickly to continue working together towards a common goal.
Conclusion
After going through the entire guide, you should have a good idea of handling all recruitment concerns. This includes understanding what skills and experience your team needs and identifying people who might be better suited for specific roles.
Remember, building a real estate team is not always easy, but if you’re willing to go the extra mile, then chances are you’ll build something worthwhile down the line.
Make sure that everyone feels valued by providing enough support to reach their full potential on every project, which will bring about positive results in no time at all.
