A successful real estate agent with a growing portfolio who works solo or in a small team may eventually consider increasing the size and scale of his or her home sales operations in order to capture more quality leads that can result in more closings and higher profits. The temptation is to build a productive real estate team by expanding the current business.
Adding new agents and support staff comes with risks and rewards: corporate, personal – and of course, financial. Ramping up operations by adding the right new people allows everyone within the agency to specialize in certain tasks, performing more defined roles instead of wearing multiple hats on a daily basis.
But scaling up the size and personnel of a real estate agency can be tricky because business volume must keep pace with, or ideally, exceed the demands of added payroll and other expenses to justify a larger team operation.
How to Build a Real Estate Team
Let’s briefly look at the essentials of how to build a real estate team that is both productive and successful and what’s needed to do it:
- Make an honest assessment of financial resources: Many real estate agencies fail because they try to grow too quickly. They overextend their territory, the quality of service diminishes, or they encounter logistical problems, all of which can lead to financial difficulties that deny them their dreams.
It’s best to grow deliberately and incrementally with staffing increases tied to more listings and improved year-over-year revenues and profits. - Establish a “value proposition” for prospective associates: In order to entice other agents and administrative staff to join an expanding agency, the principal agent must provide incentives for them to make the jump, just as the agent does during the recruitment of potential clients. Why would someone want to come and work for a small agency that is merely planning to grow?
A value proposition spells out the advantages. Aside from a competitive salary or commission structure, benefits and bonuses, what else differentiates an expanding real estate agency and why would new faces want to join in growing it? - Consider the structure and diversity of a winning team: Similar to sports teams, successful business teams work in synchronization and feed off each other’s achievements. Experienced agents and administrative staffers can be complemented by less experienced, but nevertheless enthusiastic team members who can learn from the real estate veterans. Of course, the composition of the staff (gender, race, age) should reflect the community as much as possible.
- Provide the tools and technology necessary for success: One way to stand out is to embrace new technology, which has become only more ubiquitous in the real estate industry in recent years. A state-of-the-art website that both informs and captures user information, as well as a modern lead generation system and all the latest computerized – as well as traditional – marketing tools are essential to provide an appealing value proposition for prospective staffers.
Build a Bigger Real Estate Team with Caution and Confidence
Any real estate agent looking to expand his or her business by adding additional agents and support staff should consider the risks, rewards and financial implications. But a measured, deliberate plan for staff growth is wisest and should offer value, structure and all the technological bells and whistles needed to succeed.
