a Real Estate
Team?
Real estate is competitive. Tell you something you didn’t know, right? Truthfully, it can be intimidating diving straight into what seems like a cutthroat industry. If you’re starting out or struggling to find balance and consistency in your real estate career, it’s totally possible! Have you ever thought about joining a real estate team?
Why should I consider joining a real estate team?
A real estate team is made up of a group of real estate professionals who work together to generate leads and manage listings. Real estate groups can range from two or three people to thirty or more, and commission is shared among all members.
A real estate team’s primary focus is to leverage the talent of each member of the team to provide the highest level of service possible. When the team’s skills are combined, the service provided to clients is far superior to a sole practitioner. This article discusses some of the many benefits of joining a real estate team.
Gain mentors to learn from
Does teamwork make the dream work? It sure can! Working as part of a team of real estate professionals gives you the opportunity to collaborate on marketing ideas, trade secrets, and the ins and outs of buying and selling property.
When you’re part of a team, you also reap the benefit of team culture. The opportunity to learn from other agents in your group is a great way to help you develop your real estate career. You can pick up tips from a listing specialist about how to spot the best listings or learn from a buyer’s agent what to look for in a well-qualified buyer. Every bit of knowledge you can soak up makes you a better realtor.
Generate and secure lead more easily
Do you feel the pressure of being available 24/7 so you don’t miss any leads? Although no one can be all things to all people, being part of a team means as a group, you can. The real estate market doesn’t sleep, but being part of a team helps ensure that you don’t miss the next big lead because you took a day off.
Generating leads is a team effort. Other agents on the team can broaden the team’s areas of specialty, creating a more extensive range of property that your group has access to.
Access shared knowledge and data
Being part of a team means that you share ideas and collaborate on the best ways for everyone to be successful. Each person who is part of the team wants the group as a whole to be booming! You are only as strong as the weakest link.
Sharing info about finding the best leads or how to stage a house is beneficial to each group member. Learning and sharing your knowledge with the group makes everyone stronger.
Achieve a better work-life balance
When you work on your own, you have to be available for every step of the real estate transaction, limiting the time you have to enjoy other aspects of your life.
By working with a team, you can free up some of your time by delegating different tasks to different people, leaving you time to live the lifestyle you wish to enjoy.
Have better predictability of your income
The lack of a steady income is one of the biggest complaints in real estate, especially for new agents. You could have a flurry of sales in one month then have nothing for the next three, making it hard to plan or budget. The lack of predictability forces some agents to hang up their real estate hat for good prematurely.
There is some more income predictability as part of a real estate team. Your team is always working on generating leads, marketing, and listing a property, ensuring there is always something in the works. This eliminates the scramble to find a listing or a buyer. The entire process of building a business will be less stressful for you as an agent.
Joining a real estate team FAQ
Make sure you’re prepared for what it’s like to join a team by checking out the Frequently Asked Questions below.
Is it hard to join a real estate team?
Joining a real estate team is not something to take lightly. You need to make sure to choose a team that is a good fit for you. Start by looking within your brokerage and see if there are any teams you would be a good fit in.
Ask colleagues for recommendations on teams you could join or do some research on your own to find a reputable team. If you are a seasoned agent, you may want to start your own team.
Joining a team doesn’t have to be hard as long as you focus on finding the right team for you.
How do I join a real estate team?
When looking for a real estate team to join, look for a team that will give you guidance and share resources to help you be as successful as you can be. Look for the chemistry between the members of the team and yourself, and assess how you will fit into the equation.
A newly licensed agent may look for a team that will provide training and leads. A more experienced agent may look for a team to leverage resources and share expenses. Think about where you are now and where you want to be in five years. Can the team help you achieve your goals?
If you get the chance to interview to be a real estate team member, let them know you’ll work hard, continue to learn new things, and be a team player.
What’s the difference between a real estate team and a brokerage?
When you work for a brokerage, the broker handles a lot of the higher level organizational and administrative duties. This will give you some support, but you’ll be on your own when it comes to lead generation and revenue.
As a part of a real estate team, the agents on the team all support one another on the same level, sharing responsibilities and leveraging each person’s unique talents to be more effective as a whole. This provides more of a security net for you as an agent.
You can work in a brokerage and be on a team with other brokerage members.
Are there cons to joining a real estate team?
Like in any business, there are some cons to joining a real estate team.
If you join a team and you don’t mesh well with other members, conflict or challenges can arise. If you cannot resolve the disputes professionally, it can compromise your role in the team. Having a trustworthy team leader is also vital. If you can’t trust your team leader, being part of the team can be tough.
The money aspect might be a con for you as well. Because compensation is split among members of the team, you may earn a lower wage than you would as a solo agent. The good news is that the longer you’re with a team, the potential for productivity increases, making up for reduced commissions.
How does team compensation work?
There are several different forms of team compensation. Let’s go over each one briefly.
Traditional commission split. An agent receives a commission on all deals they close based on a percentage. It may be fifty-fifty, sixty-forty, or so on. With this plan, the agent has little to no expenses.
Graduated commission split. The team establishes the amount of money they need each agent to make, known as company dollar. Once an agent meets their company dollar, they get a higher commission split.
100% commission split. The agent keeps all of the commission. The team makes money in a monthly office bill that includes their various fees.
Salary plus share of profits. The team pays the agent some salary plus a percentage of the team’s overall profits. This changes the agent’s status from an independent contractor to an employee and affects how the agent can be used within the team.
Capped commission split. Once the agent meets the company dollar, their split moves to ninety-five to one hundred percent of the commission split.
Commission plus profit sharing. An option that gives the agent a higher commission split but uses profit-sharing as an incentive.
Salary only. This format treats the agent as an employee. It allows for established working hours and a sense of security.
Profit-sharing. This is the least popular method of compensation. Agents receive a share of the company’s profits in any given period.
Being part of a real estate team is not for everyone, but it can be a very effective solution to your real estate woes. Evaluate all the pros and cons of being on a real estate team and decide what route is best for you.
Want to know more before taking the plunge to join a team? Check out our core real estate course, Sell It Like Serhant. The information in this course will help you decide if you want to slay sales solo or be a rock-solid member of a team.
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