5 Reason Why a New Agent Should Consider a Team
You’ve just completed your Real Estate courses, and you’re now steps away from beginning what’s hopefully a long and prosperous career. Now what? This feeling is all to common amongst new real estate agents. I know it was for me. The general consensus is that the courses to get licensed don’t offer much training for the real world of being a sales representative. One of the biggest questions you’ll have as a new agent is: Do I start out solo or do I join a team. Personally, I started out solo, and if I could go back and do it again, I would choose to join a team. So here are my top reasons to join a team as a new real estate agent.
Experience and Knowledge
Working with an experienced team allows you to learn from others and get guidance on best practices. Things the courses don’t teach you. You can tap into the collective experience of other team members, particularly the team leader or broker, to develop your skills, learn about the real estate market, and understand the intricacies of the industry. With access to the technology (CRMs, dialers etc) and training programs, you can learn about the latest trends, strategies, and tactics that are working in the current real estate market.
Built-in Network
Typically team already has an established network of clients, leads, and vendors that can be valuable to you as a new agent. You can leverage the team's reputation and network to gain access to leads and listings that you may not have otherwise. As a new agent, you may not have an extensive network, so joining a team can give you a jumpstart on building relationships with clients and other professionals. At time of writing this blog, our team has a list of over 9500 potential clients who have expressed some kind of interest in Real Estate in the past, that a new agent would get immediate access to. That is a huge jumpstart.
Support Systems
Great real estate teams will already have in place systems that help Real Estate agents become more productive and thus more profitable. The systems can include salaried staff such as Listing Coordinators, admin, Director of operations, etc, as well, it could include technological systems such as Client Relationship Managers (CRM system), Marketing systems, dialer systems etc. Having a team that includes these will ultimately make your job easier, and provide a smoother, more professional level of service to your clients.
Collaboration
Working with a team provides you with a sense of camaraderie and support that can be invaluable. Collaborating with other agents can help you brainstorm ideas, solve problems, and develop new strategies to grow your business. The team environment can provide motivation, encouragement, and a sense of community that can be particularly important in a field where it's easy to feel isolated. The best thing you can do as a new agent is show up everyday to an office full of productive agents and having colleagues you enjoy spending your time with.
Higher Earning Potential
Joining a team can help you earn more money, particularly in the early stages of your career. You'll have access to more leads, more listings, and more opportunities to close deals, which can lead to higher commissions. Additionally, you can leverage the team's resources to reduce your overhead costs, including access to office space, technology, and administrative support. This fact is usually clouded by the commission splits offers by the team. Too often we focus on the split, rather than the amount of business that comes in as a result of being on that team. What’s better? 100% commission of 2 deals with overhead, or 50% of commission of 4 deals and no overhead costs and more support?
Every new agent has a unique situation and a unique set of goals. Joining a team maybe right for you or it may not. I contribute almost 100% of what I’ve accomplished to my decision to join a team. It’s been almost 8 years and I’m still offered an immense amount of support. The decision to join changed my life, and fast tracked my career more than I thought possible. My only regret is I wish I joined sooner. If you are becoming a new agent, or you are simply looking to switch from a solo agent to joining a team definitely give this a lot of thought, and at the very least, interview a few teams to see if they would be a good fit.
