Leading a real estate team is a challenging task. If you’ve ever considered starting your own team, you probably have a multitude of questions:
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How do I begin?
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Do I stop production?
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Do I hire a manager?
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What type of staff is essential?
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Will agents take part in training?
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Will I hire new or experienced agents?
And the list goes on.
On episode 025 of The Byron Lazine Podcast, I sat down with Doug Edrington, who is not only a team lead and a Tom Ferry Coach, but a broker owner as well. He spoke about what he wishes he knew before starting a brokerage, advice for leaders, and how he manages his time.
Below are four takeaways from my conversation with Doug. He offers sound advice for current team leaders as well as those who are considering starting their own team.
Know Your Money Maker
Every entrepreneur has multiple projects going on at once. This will be no different when you start your own team (or brokerage). As you begin to grow, stay clear on what brings in money. Focusing on this area of the business will allow you to meet your financial goals, and from there you can branch off to other areas of interest.
“I make the majority of my money from the team,” explained Doug. “It allows me to make really healthy decisions for the brokerage.”
Knowing this, Doug is able to allot his time accordingly so that he can continue to grow his own team while supporting others in the brokerage.
Have an Exit Plan
Whether you are a team leader or a brokerage owner, create an exit plan for your agents. Most agents wonder at some point what it would be like to go someplace else. If you create a written exit plan for your agents, stating that you will help them build their own team if they decide to lead, you are empowering the people who work with you.
This also gives you a chance to sit down with the agent and discuss why they want to leave.
“The goal is not to keep everyone, the goal is to keep open lines of communication,” Doug shared.
Create Transparent Systems
Do you have transparent systems in place? By creating systems, you eliminate the wondering that you – as well as your agents – have. Know, and make it clear to the team, how leads will be dealt, the number of hours agents need to be at the office, whether or not you spend your time in production. By creating a process, emotional decisions go away, because you are able to follow the procedure created.
Learn how to Train
“My pet peeve this year is leaders that don’t know how to train,” Doug said.
And not just training on contracts, appraisals, and home inspections, but training on how to become a salesperson. Agents need to be trained with scripts, role playing, and negotiations.
“The reason most leaders don’t do it, is because they have the gift of the gab,” stated Doug. “But you’re one personality type…and there’s three other personality types….so you have to be able to transfer that skill.”
Watch the full episode for more of our conversation: