How do new investors go about building a successful real estate team? Better yet, where should they begin in 2017?
Assembling your dream team as a real estate investor can render exceptional benefits, especially in the starting stages. The ability to create a thriving business from the ground up is no easy task, but building a successful real estate team has the ability to give investors expanded networking and investment opportunities. The attraction of a real estate team is easy to see, as even the most successful investors know that they can’t do everything by themselves.
Once you’ve decided on the idea of building a successful real estate team, the next step is to bring it together. A real estate team seeks to harness the collaborative powers of its talent in order to not only achieve specific real estate goals, but run the business smoothly and as efficiently as possible. Therefore, investors need to understand that building a winning combination of team members takes time and due diligence, and it definitely won’t happen overnight. However, there is a general strategy investors can follow to streamline the process. If you want to start a real estate business, you have to have the right pieces in place.
Building A Successful Real Estate Team: Step One (The Preparation)
In order to get started building a successful real estate team, investor will need to first identify their strengths and weaknesses. A self-evaluation will assist in pinpointing characteristics and skill sets that you excel at, while also revealing areas for improvement. This is vital when building any business, as an owner will need to not only understand where their value lies, but where it’s lacking. When building a successful real estate team, this self-examination will ultimately provide a checklist for their most important needs.
Evaluate Your Needs: Whether it’s financial backing, more expertise or allocating more time for yourself, the benefits of building a successful real estate team are second to none. It is an innovative solution to a common problem, as starting a real estate team can virtually double production while helping to take the business to the next level. Do you need more time away from the office? Looking for someone to jump-start generation of leads? Or are you just getting started in real estate and need somebody to handle your general tasks? Understanding what your needs are is the first part to developing a real estate team.
Conduct a Comparative Analysis: While this might sound overly complicated to some, a comparative analysis will help real estate investors to not only examine the pros and cons of a potential team member, but also prioritize what each person brings to the table. One candidate may be excellent at generating leads with proven experience, but if your primary concerns at the moment are networking and building brand credibility, this trait will serve little use to you. A comparative analysis, on the other hand, will help investors to not only dwindle down their most crucial needs, but more importantly, align those needs with the most qualified candidate.
Consider Key Players: When building a successful real estate team, investors should gravitate to personnel that have real-world experience. People who have worked in the trenches with their respective positions in the past should be considered immediately when scouting talent. Here are the key players investors should target:
- Real Estate Agents
- Contractors
- Handyman
- Property Managers
- Wholesalers
- Attorney
- Accountant
- Appraisers & Property Inspectors
- Marketers
- Copywriters
- Designers
- PR experts
Building A Successful Real Estate Team: Step 2 (The Implementation)
The construction of a real estate team is generally done for two reasons: to enhance one’s business resources and/or automate the processes of the business. For example, a new investor may need the assistance or expertise of another investor to fund an investment project, while others may be looking to take the business load off their shoulders.
Once an investor has established their motive for building a real estate team, including the end outcome they intend to achieve, the next stage is construction. This path will be approached differently by everyone, but it is typically comprised of a strategy to streamline the functions of the business, as well as reducing the amount of time spent. The following highlights the basic three stages of how a real estate team is built:
First Stage: Hire An Intern
In the beginning, your real estate career will be short on funds, which is why it doesn’t hurt to consider an intern. I maintain that the first stage of building a successful real estate team is in the recruitment of an intern. This will free up more time for investors and create a window of opportunity to focus on the bigger aspects of the business.
Although the general responsibilities of an intern will be low priority (answering phones, sending and responding to emails), they will play a crucial role in helping investors to get their business off the ground. With an intern managing the day-to-day, smaller activities, you can shift your focus to the next stage of the business, including generating and closing your first deal.
Second Stage: Hire A Lead Generator
Once you have someone taking care of the administrative duties, the next stage to building a successful real estate team is finding your source for leads. The position of lead generator is pivotal to your success, as their ability to produce quality leads — and keep a steady stream in the pipeline — is crucial to lifting a real estate business off the ground.
To be clear, this stage of building a successful real estate team will focus on someone who can generate attention for your business. This may include online marketing, social media, both email and direct-mail campaigns, and even bandit signs.
Third Stage: Hire A Buying/Selling Specialist
With a healthy flow of real estate leads coming in, investors can now focus their attention on hiring a buying and selling specialist. Candidates should be well-versed in prospecting and generating interest, and converting interest into sales. This also includes lead management qualities, and whether or not they have an established buyer’s list. Finally, you should ask for their method of duplicating the process. As a new investor yourself, asking these types of questions will help to not only find the right person for the position but teach you something you didn’t know.
Optional: Hire Your Replacement
Once your real estate team is running on all cylinders, the question of finding a replacement for your position may arise. The ability to put your business on autopilot will depend on a variety of factors, including your overall objective for the business, as well as financial and retirement goals. If everything aligns, it may be time for investors to split off and move to their next business investment, with their real estate teams churning out success unaccompanied.
Building A Successful Real Estate Team: Step Three (Refinement)
The last part of building a successful real estate team is continuous improvements. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your business. Investors should be continuously looking to develop and improve their business practices. Even if you decide to shift gears and hand your business off to someone else, it’s important to keep a clear line of communication with the business to ensure your team is following the systems in place. Done correctly, investors will be able to focus solely on the overall picture of their real estate business.
In the end, building a successful real estate team in 2017 will come down to two things: your actions in finding the right complimentary pieces and your ability to position them for success. It may take time to figure out exactly what your business needs (or who it needs), but it’s your job to ensure it happens.
