There cannot be too many more important career choices for a real estate agent than deciding if a team setting might work better for them than being solo. Real estate teams are taking off at a faster pace than ever before, often providing better service for clients, thereby attracting more clients, and much-needed life balance for team members.
A panel discussion titled “Should I Start a Team?” was led by Michele Harrington, CEO of First Team Real Estate, with panelists Andy Allen, team leader of the Andy Allen Team with Keller Williams Realty; Mitch Willis, REALTOR® and team leader of the Hudson Willis Group with LPT Realty; and Brooke Sines, team leader of RE/MAX Grand Allure Home Group.
The experts all had differing reasons for going with a team strategy. Allen emphasized the importance of leverage in growing a business without having to work more hours. He also highlighted the value of being part of a team rather than working alone.
“I got to a point where I had more business than I had hours in the day that I was willing to commit,” he said. “And so for me, it was all about being able to continue to grow my business and continue to make more money, but without having to work any more hours than what I was already willing. And so leverage was everything. By bringing people in, it afforded me the opportunity to make money while I was taking a day off or on vacation. I’ve always played sports, so being part of a team was a really cool thing rather than being out there on my own.”
He expanded on why he prefers to hire outsiders to the industry.
“My goal is to find amazing people outside the industry and bring them in, get them licensed and then train them,” he explained. “In the past when I’ve hired people from within the industry, they had limited beliefs and bad habits, and it was too hard for me to untrain the bad habits. So I really like newer people to come in. If I have a blank slate from someone who’s a super high-quality person, I understand they may leave after two to three years to start their own team. I understand that’s part of the industry and, in fact, I have a lot of pride in what some of my former team members have gone out and done, creating amazing teams in multiple cities.”
Sines started a team to grow her business and spend more time with her family. She also mentioned the importance of mentoring and setting clear goals for team members.
“When agents join our team, they get an onboarding guide of about 40 pages, which has an A-to-Z on how to help a buyer—and the same for a seller,” she said. “It’s something that we’ve all worked hard to put together with co-creation over the years and are constantly tweaking. It’s how we feel we offer the best service to our clients. From there, I lead by example and do everything that I ask them to do. We set clear goals, and I meet with my team almost daily to see where we are with those goals, meeting with the agents once a month to check in personally and professionally. We celebrate our successes together and through that co-creation use the wisdom of the crowd for any challenges we may be having. And of course we have fun along the way.”
Harrington asked Sines if she felt she had to be generating leads in order to bring on team members, or whether it’s enough to be training and mentoring.
“The pros and cons of starting a team is that there’s no black and white,” Sines answered. “There’s no right way or wrong way. Everyone does it a little differently. So in my mind, you start growing a team when you’ve hit the level of success you want to be at without compromising your own work-life balance. I like to refer to 25 to 35 leads per month as what the average agent can handle.”
Willis was motivated to start a team due to the financial freedom it offered. He also stressed the importance of training and helping others, similar to how his brokerage helped him.
Harrington asked Allen if he felt there needs to be a lead pipeline or a certain level of production before you get into a team environment.
“I don’t think there’s a production number that you have to have before you start,” he said. “For me, the easy answer to coach someone would be when you’re overwhelmed and you have more leads than you can handle and you either don’t have more hours to give or you’re unwilling to give more hours. That’s when you really consider starting a team.
“For me, the best way to start a team is to hire your first admin before you have an agent. What I have found over time is I can do 30% – 50% more business when I’m completely overwhelmed by bringing in an admin and having them handle the 400 tasks that a REALTOR® does. With that admin, the business should ramp up immediately because you are freed up with almost twice the time to be able to actually work clients. So admin would be my first team member, and then once I get to where I’m 100% booked again, and I have leads and I’m starting to be stressed, then I get my first agent. But I am a firm believer in leading with revenue, not expense. I think it is imperative. I’ve been in groups with some top agents across the country from the outside putting up massive numbers, but when you really get to know them, what you find is they make very little money. It looks really impressive, but their business is set up wrong. I know this panel is about should you start a team—and the answer is you lead with revenue, be overwhelmed, then start your team.”
The panelists agreed that starting a team should be considered when one is overwhelmed with more leads than they can handle. They also emphasized the importance of hiring talented people, leading by example and recognizing team members’ achievements.
On a more micro level, Allen encouraged finding talented individuals outside of the real estate industry and bringing them in to train and mentor. He believes that these individuals, with a blank slate and high quality, will eventually want to start their own team, and he supports them in doing so.
Sines suggested starting to grow a team when you have reached the level of success you desire without compromising work-life balance. She also mentioned that having a lead pipeline or a certain level of production can be helpful, but there is no right or wrong way to start a team.
Willis shared his experience of initially planning to build his team slowly, but realizing that training a new team member takes a lot of time and energy. He believes that having the drive and morals is important for new team members, and that training them involves going over contracts and helping them navigate different situations.
Overall, the combined advice revolves around finding talented individuals, providing training and mentorship, and understanding that team members may eventually want to start their own teams.
