Probably one of the most common questions that anyone of us at some point in our career would ask ourselves is “Should I build a team or not?”. This question can be overwhelming for some of us because we have no idea when is the right time to start our very own team. And helps really all I want, or could I grow this team into something bigger?
In this post, I will provide you some of the pros and cons of building a team. From there you should be able to decide whether or not you want to build a team or do it all by yourself.
Mistake 1: No Proper System and Standards
Whether you are in real estate or any other industry if you do not have a proper standard and structure for people to follow up on you’re set to fail. Just like building a car, you can have a very good designer hand drawn your car design but without all the car parts properly install there is no way that your car will work. All successful businesses have very solid foundation work as well as standards they set for their employees. This applies to real estate as well, in order to start a real estate team, you have to have your systems and standard operating procedures dialed in. What you really need to do is sit down and start writing down your expectations for yourself and your team. This should be a continuous process along the way because you will need to tweak it along with your journey.
Mistake 2: Starting a Team Too Soon
Many of us may think that we are ready to start a team and the excitement of recruiting your best friend to be part of the team is very common. The first team I built, I lost my best friend at the time and I could only sit back and think, “Where did I go wrong?”This is very because I lack the proper knowledge at that time and I did not access whether or not I was prepared with the right standards, systems, and financial discipline to bring on more buyer and seller agents. Something you may want to ask yourself so that you won’t have to go through the same process as me.
Mistake 3: Not Setting Clear Expectations
Setting a clear expectation is really important because if you do not have a goal to chase on, there’s no motivation. In my head, I knew that knocking on 300 homes and set three listing appointments a week would be a good start for me, however, somewhere along the way I forgot to set those expectations with my new team.
Lesson 1: Lead by Example
There are certain areas of discipline that are required for any lead listing agent and their team members. For example, lead generation and time blocking is critical. Doing the right thing and leading with integrity is crucial. As the leader of a real estate team, you have to hold yourself accountable to the same standards you set for the team and then consistently show up. If you have no idea how to lead, you need to first educate or even read up on how successful real estate agents are doing things. From there you learn how they lead, how they treat people, how they talk and what are they doing to improve further. Once you have all that, start doing it yourself.
Lesson 2: Grow Yourself as a Leader
Just like what I mentioned previously investing in continuing education is important. I make time to go to classes, to read, and to listen to podcasts so that I’m continuing to grow and can be the best leader for my team.If you don’t grow yourself, your team will never grow.
Lesson 3: Stop Over Controlling
Probably the most valuable lesson I learned in my career is to let go of my ego and need to control over people because I felt that I am the best in the room. This has been the hardest lesson for me, as I am a perfectionist I always seek to do things to the best, therefore, I don’t trust anybody but myself. My coach reminds me that, “No one is going to do it exactly like you or as good as you. But if you can find someone that is 80 percent, that’s how you grow your team. You help them become 90 and 100 percent of their potential.” Letting go is challenging. But if you want your life to change, you want more freedom and flexibility, and you want to make more of an impact on your community. You have to be able to let go of your ego. It took me many years to get rid of this toxic behavior and I am happy to say that I am no longer the same person I used to be.
Now that I’ve listed down some of the things for you to consider, I hope that you can take them and make good use of it. If you’re looking for more valuable information about real estate investing, you can read it here.