team conference

4 Reasons Why Real Estate Teams Fail

Starting a real estate team isn’t an easy task for the team leader. Here we run through the four most common reasons real estate teams fail, so you can avoid these mistakes as you build a successful team.

Don’t let these four mistakes derail your real estate team’s success.

#1. Poor Recruiting Planning

Hiring agents without a long-term recruiting plan can lead to quick turnover and ultimately hinder your team’s growth. Your recruitment systems should be based on where you see your business in ten years, and how you will encourage agents to achieve the levels of success that you envision.

#2. Hiring for the Wrong Reasons

Just because you have a good feeling about a someone, does not mean they are the right person for the position you are looking to fill. While you may have a gut feeling about someone, it’s always a smart idea to utilize a personality assessment tool, such as the DISC behavioral assessment, when meeting with potential new team members. By identifying the candidate’s personality profile you can determine whether they have the right personality to succeed in the role. Remember, you aren’t looking to hire someone with the same skills you already bring to the table – you want people on your team with complementary skills and traits.

#3. Insufficient Training

Continued training and support is critical to the success of your team. When a team has insufficient training, team members lose sight of expectations, priorities and goals. This can lead to a decrease in quality of work and drag on the team’s success. Whether you’ve hired a rookie agent or a seasoned professional, ongoing training is necessary in an industry that is constantly changing.

#4. Micromanagement

Team leaders tend to have type-A personalities, which often tend to to micromanage and develop overwhelming workloads, which can lead to an unhappy team. The point of hiring team members is to alleviate the workload on a team leader, but many times leaders have difficulty delegating tasks out of fear that someone else won’t do the job correctly. It’s important to keep in mind that your staff specializes in certain areas, and by giving up control you allow them to do their job so you can devote all your attention to yours.

Running a Team is Hard

Forming an effective team involves many moving parts and often requires more up-front planning than originally expected. So, remember to be kind to yourself as you go. There will be challenges along the way, but you can handle them and you will improve over time. No one “just knows” how to start or run a team. It’s a muscle that gets stronger over time. Even veteran team leaders can find areas for improvement.

The reward growing a team the right way is that it will multiply your results and earnings dramatically. At AgentEDU® we have an entire learning track on Team Building that breaks down its different aspects. Check out this track – as well as the nine others – that we have on our platform. 

AgentEDU® is a platform where real estate agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations they must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.

3 Cautions Before Joining a Real Estate Team

Traditionally, real estate was thought to be an individual venture. While some boutique brokerages did have teams that operated with the broker as the head, most real estate professionals acted as individual agents. 

However, the industry has begun to see a shift, with many professionals choosing to work in real estate teams instead, with each team member working in the positions that play to his or her individual strengths, such as a listing agent or a buyer’s agent. 

While there are no concrete procedures that all real estate teams follow, the basic principles of working within a team still apply. For instance, in a real estate team, all members pitch in to help move toward the common goal. What’s more, the team format is also helpful to clients, with someone on the team always being available to help out when the need arises. 

But before you join a real estate team, it is important to understand the ways in which real estate teams work are fundamentally different from the ways individual agents work. Before you join a real estate team, here are a few things you should consider:

#1. Structure and Responsibilities

Before joining a real estate team, it’s important to understand the structure of the team as well as the role that members play. Does the team have role-specific buying agents and listing agents, or do agents handle both roles? Perhaps there’s a transaction manager or a marketing person? Teams often increase role options as a way to scale the tasks involved in transactions.

Think about your strengths and your personality. Are there parts of your job that you love and excel at? Are there parts you’d rather give up, or tasks that you would prefer to be handled by someone else? Many agents report that their talents and abilities seem to naturally align one way or the other. If you feel this way, working as part of a real estate team may be a natural fit for you. 

Ask for a breakdown of the team structure, as well as who reports to whom and what the business goals are.

#2. Financials

While it can be uncomfortable to talk about money, anyone in sales can tell you that it’s a huge part of their job. When interviewing or considering joining a real estate team, don’t shy away from the topic! After all, financial structures and compensation models are often the biggest deciding factor when choosing a real estate team, so it’s important that you are informed in order to make the best decision.

Ask about the compensation. Is the team based on commission only, salary and bonuses, or a hybrid structure? Is there a cap on commissions? And, if the pay is commission-based, what are the commission splits? Also, be sure to ask about any training or franchise fees, as well as brokerage fees.

Keep in mind that some teams receive the commission split that the team leader has negotiated with the larger brokerage — if this is the case, it can be attractive to new agents who may otherwise have a lower split. 

#3. Technology

As with all other industries, technology is crucial to the real estate industry, which is rapidly changing and always adapting to new technologies. Those that embrace technology are more likely to thrive, so it’s important to understand how technology fits into the real estate team and how it is implemented on a day to day basis. 

Ask about the team’s advertising model, as well as their social media presence. Does the team have a CRM in place and, if so, is it optimized to be used on the go or in the field? Who handles the cost of the CRM? Ideally, the right real estate team will have a good system in place. They know how important technology is, and they know how to use it to their advantage. 

It should be noted that teams historically present some challenges for data and production reporting. Be sure to have a thorough understanding of how sales will be recorded in the MLS. 

Is a Real Estate Team Right for You? 

When it comes down to it, your personality and your personal goals are two of the biggest factors when deciding to work with a real estate team or go solo. One of the benefits of working with a real estate team is the team mentality — a “one for all and all for one” mentality. A solid real estate team can provide a huge source of support, but you need to be prepared to pull your own weight. It’s often said that a team is only as good as its weakest link. If you feel like someone on the team may slow you down, it may be best to strike it on your own. 

To learn more, sign up for our AgentEDU course Are You Ready to Join or Start a Real Estate Team? today. 

_________________________

AgentEDU® is a platform where agents at every level can come to watch 10-minute video courses for the many situations that successful agents must master. From essential to advanced level and everything in between, AgentEDU® courses help agents become top producers with increased earnings and a plan for continued growth. For a 7-day free trial sign up here.

AgentEDU® is an Agent Publishing brand. For nearly two decades, Agent Publishing has been committed to providing residential real estate professionals with the information and training required to build successful and meaningful careers in their local markets. Agent Publishing’s influence extends to every career stage and reaches agents across print, digital, events and online learning.