Want to Build Your Realty Team? Look Beyond the Traditional Team Model

It’s an age-old debate in real estate: Is an independent agent or realty team best? The deciding factor for buyers, sellers, and agents themselves often comes down to the support system that a real estate team offers. There are more people on deck to get things done, right?

Not necessarily.

In my experience, a single agent with a licensed assistant can — and usually will — provide more support to clients than an agent-filled team. In fact, many large realty teams are so determined to create sales volume that clients don’t get the boost they envisioned.

Thankfully, you can assemble a highly productive team by hiring small.

Why More Agents Doesn’t Equal Better Service

Compared to a single independent agent, traditional real estate teams are typically organized to maximize production. Most teams have a rainmaker: the person who attracts publicity and is responsible for paying the bills. Along with the rainmaker, a team will have a transaction coordinator, buyer’s agent, and sometimes a listing agent.

If the rainmaker decides to step out and enjoy the sunshine, agents who haven’t been promoted by the lead agent become invisible agents. They essentially have to start their careers over when that lead agent slows down.

When an agent starts to hire agent specialists, the team leader usually uses the newly freed-up time to generate more leads to help pay for the specialist. Almost all teams have a transaction coordinator, but not many have a customer specialist focused solely on creating a fantastic customer experience. A client-centric setup is hard to find here.

On the other hand, a single agent and licensed assistant have less overhead, meaning fewer transactions are needed for them to make a good living. The most important difference, though, is that independent agents create names or brands for themselves rather than relying on a rainmaker to create business.

Building a Nontraditional Team

We know that clients — whether they’re buyers or sellers — will come to rely on their agent’s experience, knowledge, and network. In today’s real estate world, completing almost one transaction every other month is considered enough, but top-producing agents can participate in 24 or more transactions in a year and gain the equivalent of five years of experience in one year. Sometimes, clients will even ask how many times agents have renewed their real estate license to gauge experience.

Completing a higher number of transactions or piling on experience doesn’t require more agents, though. The more useful approach is to build a perfect support team with non-agent specialists. The best independent agents can help bring these local vendors on board:

A licensed real estate assistant:

First and foremost, you should hire a quality licensed real estate assistant. This assistant is a more detail-oriented version of an agent. Your assistant will handle all the scheduling for you, the working agent, and fill in on inspections when you’re tied up with buyers or sellers. And if you go out of town on vacation or otherwise, the assistant can cover any missed work.

Licensed inspectors:

After this, you can find support team members outside your office. Start with at least two respected licensed inspectors so that one is always available to get an inspection done ASAP. A good inspector will help keep transactions together and attempt to keep buyers focused on the big items while also providing thorough, detailed inspections.

A licensed and bonded handyperson:

This is someone who can fix many problems but knows when to call a specialist (say, a roofer or plumber). A good real estate agent should also have a go-to list of professional vendors that offer great rates and excellent service to clients.

Lenders and title and escrow experts:

Next, building relationships with a couple well-informed lenders as well as a good title and escrow company is crucial. Ideally, you will work with one male and one female lender with different personalities. Working closely with good lenders will help close transactions and provide fair loans to clients.

Local moving and cleaning companies:

Finally, find the best moving and cleaning companies, as these are the pain points clients complain about the most. A good relationship with these vendors is essential, as they’ll be able to provide favors for the client during time crunches; the busier you get, the more likely your non-agent team members will respond quickly. (Plus, helping folks ease into their new home leaves them delighted and eager to refer, and it helps you move forward to a close.)

These support team members don’t create any costs for a single agent. In fact, if you do a good job recommending these vendors, you’ll also receive quality referrals from the support team.

For your clients’ sake, it’s important for your team to have valuable insights and tools. When compared to a traditional team, a group of non-agent specialists makes your workflow seamless and less stressful. In this way, hiring small can ensure not just a successful business, but also one that’s stable and enjoyable to work for.