Having the right team of agents is essential for growing your brokerage. Your agents can take on the bulk of sales activity and extend your organization’s local influence, freeing up time and energy for you to focus on management and leadership services only you can provide for the business. It’s important to remember, though, that building a dream team of agents has as much to do with making the right hires as it does with the leader who brings them together. Successful team-building takes careful consideration of others and of one’s self and business.
Are you ready to scale your business and expand your agent team? Or do you need to make changes or additions to the team you already have in place? No matter where you’re at in your journey as a broker, you’ll find these tips helpful.
Start your team with you
It’s exciting to think about what your agents could accomplish for your brokerage. But just as much as you’ll be looking forward to future growth, your team will be looking to you for guidance and support. Be sure you are prepared to lead with confidence and direction.
Start with knowing your business goals and why you’re expanding in the first place. Make sure that the rewards of business growth are worth the time and energy you’ll have to commit in order to sustain this change. Having a clear mission will be your North Star while you lead.
When it comes to leading, know yourself, including your strengths and weaknesses. Ask for honest feedback from trusted mentors, colleagues, and friends. Knowing what challenges you and what situations you thrive in will help you refine your leadership style.
At Weichert, our system for success includes business coaching and a support network designed to help you grow as a leader. You’ll have access to a Regional Director to assist with strategic planning, as well as local broker meetings and inspiring regional and national meetings where you can enhance your skills and learn from others who have been there.
Make your brokerage attractive
The best agent talent will be looking for the best place to build a career. Take stock of everything that gives your brokerage a competitive edge. What’s special about your culture? What value do you provide agents? What are your big picture plans? Sell yourself to the real estate talent pool just like you would to potential clients.
Once you’ve defined your company’s value proposition, translate it into your brand marketing. Having a firm handle on your branding and message is a critical step when you are ready to recruit. A brand with a consistent look and message will help you attract talent and compete with other brands in the market. The Weichert system provides a full suite of materials to help you communicate your value proposition and truly define your value to help you stand out.
Be clear with yourself about who you need
Brokers should always be recruiting and hiring agents, but you want to make sure that the people you add to your team fit the culture and have goals that are aligned with what your brokerage is trying to accomplish. Having the right team of agents is critical for you to get out of the selling game and to focus more on the growth of the business; be honest with yourself as you define what would be “right” about the right team for you.
Make recruiting a long-term, ongoing funnel that is filled as you pay attention to who and what is moving the needle in the market. Keep your eye on the top-performing players. Begin to woo those you identify as a good fit, and be transparent about your management style, your goals, and your growth plan. This will attract the right agents when they begin to look for new opportunities. And don’t forget to bring in new agents as well. Look for those with the personality, drive and work ethic that are good fits with your company. You need a mix a of new and experienced agents to build out a solid team.
There’s a big pay-off in the long run, too. Investing properly into recruitment means better retainment of talent, which leads to a thriving, loyal agent team that will attract even more high-performers to your brokerage.
Set everyone up for success—including yourself
Don’t wait until after you’ve assembled a team to retrofit resources and processes. Have your systems in place from day one. When you’re starting small, it may feel overly formal to have certain structures, but it will pay off in the long run when the business scales and the necessary systems are already there to support your team. It’s helpful even during the recruitment stage—good candidates will want to know what their day-to-day will look like, including what systems you have in place to generate and manage leads, prospect, oversee transactions and promote collaboration.
Figuring out how to build these systems doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Weichert has put its decades of experience into creating a blueprint that helps put brokerages on a path to growth. All they have to do is plug in. This includes effective systems to prospect, work with buyers, sellers, recruits and even business planning and measurement.
For your agents, it’s giving them the training they desire, the cutting-edge technology they demand, and the leads they need to succeed. Our myWeichert® platform is a key component in that value offering. It’s powered by the award-winning, kvCORE technology, which combines artificial intelligence, marketing automation, and complete mobile access to help agents prospect, manage and generate leads, promote listings and market their business. To help keep their skills sharp, we offer things like Weichert University, with access to online training courses, scripts and videos on demand, as well as live weekly webinars covering trending topics. They can benefit from in-person experiences, too, including our regional workshops and networking events. When you choose us as a partner, your dedicated Regional Director and Regional Service Manager will support you at every step to ensure you get the most out of the Weichert system.
Building your dream team of real estate agents should be an exciting journey as you consider your business’s potential. Learn more on what your team stands to gain by using the Weichert system to grow your brokerage!
