Your real estate career: Is a team best for you?
Thinking about a real estate career? Wondering how you’re going to support yourself those first few months? You may be considering joining a team. Or, you’ve been in the real estate business a few weeks. You’re finding it much more challenging to find clients than you thought. You’re thinking, “Maybe a team is the right choice for me. I’ll get leads and I’ll just have to sell them.”
(See the whole section on teams in Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School).
Not so fast….
Ask These Questions if You Think a Real Estate Team is the Right Career Choice for You
As a three-decade+ owner and manager on the firing line, I’ve seen some teams thrive and many others fail. You want to join a thriving team. Here are the questions an agent should ask before joining a team—questions an agent may not think to ask.
Questions:
1. How many leads are distributed to a team member per week? Per month?
2. What’s the conversion rate for these leads (How many turn into sales/listings sold?)
3. Am I expected to generate leads for the team? How many a month?
4. Let me see your vision and mission statements. What are the values you expect your team to uphold?
You want to match the values and vision of the team.
5. If I want to leave the team, how will you help me transition to my own business?
6. How will I be held accountable? (meetings/reports/CRM input)
7. What are the minimum expectations to stay on this team?
8. Do I need to work evenings? Weekends?
9. How much turnover has there been on the team?
10. Can I sell and list houses outside the team—and how much the rainmaker will charge me if I do?
11. What is your experience as a leader? (courses, jobs, etc.)
12. What are the systems you use? See the specific systems the rainmaker will use with his team.
Lack of systems means the team will not operate as a team, and you will be left trying to figure out how to take action on your own.
13. What is your commission structure? Read the contract the rainmaker asks you to sign.
14. Do you have a job description for a team member? Please provide.
Understand the consequences of your involvement. Evaluate how good a leader that rainmaker is.
Interview tip: Do not lead with a question about commissions! As a manager, that was a red flag to me. I want to see if we are a ‘fit’ before we talk specifics about pay.
Great Salespeople can be Lousy Leaders
Some rainmakers are great salespeople, but lousy leaders. As a result, their team never jells. Most team leaders ultimately expect their team members to generate their own leads in addition to team leads. If you cannot meet the rainmaker’s expectations, you are terminated. Be willing and ready to take the responsibilities of team membership seriously.
Off the Team? You’re a New Agent Again
Starting Over: When you leave the team, you are generally starting again as a new agent, since you have not generated your own leads (unless you have worked for an exceptional team leader who has helped nurture you so you can transition successfully into your own business).
Armed with the answers to the questions above, you’ll make the right decision for you.
Last note: Launching Right in Real Estate is NOT a book about how I made a gazillion dollars in real estate (although I did sell 50 homes my first year in the business). Launching Right is foremost for those thinking about real estate as a career. There’s no other book like this.
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