While real estate teams are all the rage right now, they’re not right for everyone. Claudia Stallings helps you determine whether your team-building plans make sense or whether to go another route.
Adding nuance to our weekly Teams Beat newsletter, January is Teams Month at Inman. Find out if you should join a team, what it takes to build one from scratch, and when to consider leaving. Plus, the coveted Inman Power Player Awards as well as the second class of New York Power Brokers and MLS Innovators awards.
It’s no secret that the team model has taken root and grown over the last 20 years in our industry. There are many versions out there, from the team leader-member model or equal partners to the parent-child or spouse pairings.
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There are good reasons to start a team. But there are also times when remaining an individual agent may be your best choice. Here are five of those times:
1. When there’s a lack of balance between partners
It’s flattering when a colleague asks to partner with you, and it’s tempting to consider putting a team together to make it official. But as pure as their intentions may be, consider their motivation.
Do they struggle to generate their own business? If they dislike prospecting, if they aren’t disciplined enough to produce their own leads, or if they don’t have the money or expertise to market themselves, then they may be looking to you for an answer to their own problems.
It’s always a nice thing to help those who are struggling, but in this case, you may be left trying to keep you and them afloat financially.
2. When partners are too much alike
Is there an agent with whom you share synergy and style and think you’d make good business partners? While this may be fun for a while, you may be left with the two of you both being great at the same thing but missing another piece of the puzzle to find true success.
The most effective partner teams exist when each partner brings their unique and complementary skills to the union. If you need help with your business because you have too much of it or want to grow it, get an assistant and, instead, make the person who works the way you work a referral partner to cover you when you take vacation.
3. When you’re not sure what you’re getting into
Are you new to the industry and think you need to start on a team to launch your career more successfully? Consider these facts: as a team member, you will be subject to a split with your team leader as well as to your brokerage, so you may make less per transaction. Even if you generate the business, your team leader will likely receive production credit. What’s more, if you want to eventually launch out on your own, you’ll be starting from scratch with name recognition.
Not all successful salespeople make amazing mentors. Instead of joining a team, you may benefit most from finding a full-service brokerage that offers training, tools, marketing, leads, space and support for your own career.
4. When you’re more focused on sales than leadership
Are you wired to hunt and gather? Does the thrill of generating and converting business give you a rush and spur you on to get out of bed?
Many people like you go on to become team leaders because they have more business than they can get to in 24 hours. But, if you cannot pull yourself away from the pursuit of business, a team may not work for you.
To be an effective team leader, you will need to step away from rainmaking and take on more management tasks, form business plans, answer contract questions, handle logistics, sort out finances and hold people, (who may not have your drive) accountable.
Unless that task list makes you salivate, you likely need a good office manager or transaction coordinator as a first step to increase your business.
5. When 1 of you is ready to scale back
If you want to scale back your real estate hours, it may be tempting to consider the job-sharing model, where two agents work the same piece of business, each picking up where the other left off as your schedule allows.
This model is the one most likely to result in team divorce.
Inevitably, one person feels like they are doing the lion’s share of the work, while the other is eating bon bons. Communication about recent activity and information can be a challenge. Rather than going this route, identify a trustworthy agent in your office to whom you can make referrals. Then, work fewer transactions on your own from start to finish and make good referral income from the business you pass along while protecting your time.
Claudia Stallings is the COO of Wallace Real Estate in East Tennessee. Connect with her on Facebook or Instagram.