HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE TEAM:
With over 49 years of experience in the real estate world, I would like to share with you how to create and implement systems that can help you build a successful real estate team. I have developed 5 key strategies to help establish a thriving team of high producers and together we have built one of Michigan’s most profitable real estate teams within Real Estate One and continue to rank in the top ¼ of 1% throughout the entire nation.
5 KEY STRATEGIES:
1. CREATE SUCCESSFUL SYSTEMS WITHIN YOUR BUSINESS
The first step in building a real estate team is to create systems within your organization that will be duplicable. Train your first employee for success and with an in-depth knowledge of your company’s core values and systems and let that knowledge and example be passed on from one employee to the next. This isn’t about job specifics, but rather about core values of the company. This would include a list of expectations by all who work for your company, whether they are your assistant, the buyer’s agent, or an inside sales agent. Next, set your revenue goals and then begin to work backwards. You can use the “Reverse Lead Calculator” or another type of similar online service to help determine your lead generation needs. There are also hundreds, if not more, websites with free economic goal sheets for you to print off and fill in based on your goals and these will help you determine where you need to be at financially before you can afford to hire help. And don’t forget, each time you hit a new revenue goal, it’s time to reevaluate your team and consider the possibility of hiring additional help.
2. WHO TO HIRE AND WHEN
When you find yourself too busy to handle the day to day office tasks within your business, it’s time to seek out employees. ALWAYS hire an administrative assistant first. I realize this isn’t the popular first choice, but it is the best. If you’re being overtaken by paper work and bogged down by phone calls, how will you have time to complete these daily tasks AND sell houses? Can it be done alone? Yes. Can it be done well? Absolutely not. If an agent closes a consistent 25-30 deals per year, they should have no problem, financially, hiring a fulltime assistant. Next, hiring a buyer’s agent now makes sense with the daily tasks being handled by the administrative assistant. From here you will likely hire inside sales agents, listing agents, and possibly others within an administrative role based on the size of your team. Other job considerations might consist of a marketing manager, virtual assistants to handle all social media accounts, team photographer for all listings, and website designer/writer.
3. A POSITIVE TEAM CULTURE
In the inspirational business fable “Soup”, a book by Jon Gordon, we are taught to think of our business as a pot of soup and when we do, we discover the key ingredients we need to add to our business to see success. When making a comforting pot of homemade soup, the key is always quality ingredients. The quality of our business and our team is determined by the quality of our relationships. If we add in a great leader (that’s you!) and begin to stir the pot and then slowly add in team players that share our core values as a company, we will be creating a recipe for success. But it only takes adding one rotten ingredient to ruin the entire batch of soup. Dave Ramsey said: “Talk bad about my company or any of its employees, you will receive grace one time. After that, you are immediately fired”! And that’s how we should treat anyone that would try to destroy our own company or team culture. We must be vigilant in protecting the culture of our team otherwise what we have worked so hard to build could be destroyed ever so quickly. I have always valued hiring family that I know shares the same core values as me, but I’m also aware that not everyone has this option. Whether you are hiring family or someone you’ve never met before, be patient and seek out only those people that will edify your team and not tear it down. Author, John Maxwell shares, “according to Dr. David McClelland of Harvard, the people with whom you habitually associate are called your ‘reference group,’ and these people determine as much as 95 percent of your success or failure in life.” Choose wisely!
4. HOW TO LEAD
A good leader always leads with integrity and by example. Have you ever heard the saying, “you cannot give what you yourself do not possess”? If you are not honest, patient, hardworking, and motivated, it will be hard to expect these behavioral traits from your employees. John Maxwell says: “If you have worked to learn or earn something, you have the ability to pass it on to others.” You should strive to be a life long learner, not a knower of all things in life. Staying up to date on everything within the real estate world is key to finding success within this business. And don’t forget, actions speak louder than words. You must lead by example to create your own “dream team”!
5: PUT OTHERS FIRST
If you want to be successful, start by putting the success of those on your team first. Maybe this is a new concept for some, but the reality is that as those below us hit their goals, we will then reach ours. If you are only concerned with personal growth, you’ll never be able to create a team that values each other, and a positive team culture will not exist. Many have failed in business because of selfish ambition. If you aren’t sure how to do this, I recommend reading the book “The 15 Laws of Invaluable Growth” by John Maxwell. He shares how we can grow both personally and as leaders within business.
