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Team Effort: Banding Together Can Be a Boon for Your Business

by Tom Ferry

Rise of the Real Estate Team

Real estate teams first began forming in greater numbers during the 1990s as a way to compete more effectively with individual agents and increase business. Certain benefits of working on a team are self-evident — an agent whose workload is piling up can team with another Realtor to provide major relief. With two or more agents around to handle clients and find leads, the transaction volume of each individual Realtor can go up. Agents also may be able to spend more time with each client, building a bond that could develop into a solid long-term business relationship.

Hiring the right people can also be a tremendous boon. The right hires will likely be complementary personalities, people with whom the agent feels he or she can easily interact and trust. Hiring people on a trial basis can help alleviate potential problems. Agreeing on a trial period to see how the new team member works out can give an agent a chance to see whether the relationship will be beneficial. At the end of the period, the agent can bring the new hire on full time or cut ties. Dragging out the process can only be more costly in terms of both money and lost business.

McDonald has assembled a team of four experienced buyer’s agents she can trust to help her expand her market presence, as well as an office manager and a closing coordinator to take care of day-to-day tasks.

“At any given time, I can represent 50 listings,” McDonald said. “If I have a solid team of buyers’ agents and listing coordinators, it’s not a problem to take on additional buyers and negotiate and represent them the way we represent. That is, you need a team of capable professionals who want to succeed without knocking their heads against the wall for 15 years before they’re successful.”

Determining the right size for the team is really up to the agent and what his or her needs might be. Technically, a team could consist of just the Realtor and a personal assistant. Many agent teams hire marketing professionals to take care of their social media presence as well as their traditional advertising. As with McDonald’s team, designated staff members may handle the details of openings and closings.

Andrea Cueny leads The Cueny Team under the banner of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Her small team consists of two other agents and a marketing manager. Their chemistry and knowledge has helped them consistently receive recognition one of Atlanta’s top small teams.
“We attract new team members through lots of networking and conversation,” said Andrea Cueny. “That is the key to identifying who will fit in and work well with you as a team member. We value one another and try to be supportive, whether it is emails and phone calls of support, activities such as dinners or lunches, gift cards or a bonus.”
Pay structures vary, as well. Many firms handle it by giving the agents a set percentage of each sale. Some offer a package that consists of salary plus commission. Front end office staff is typically salaried, while temporary and part-time workers might work at an hourly rate, with or without commission.

“We have found for some team members that are bringing in business that just a percentage of their sales works well, and for others more in a support role, a flat salary or weekly amount works well,” Cueny said. “We set quarterly goals, and if we reach those as a team we have a bonus in place to help all stay focused and motivated.”

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