Building Better

AUTHOR: LINSEY

EHLE

EDITORS: ELIZABETH HECKEROTH, LAURA JENSEN

DESIGN & COVER: ELIZABETH HECKEROTH

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 - THE BIG QUESTION

12

CHAPTER 2 – MODELS 44 56 CHAPTER 4 – OWNERSHIP 60 CHAPTER 5 – BUILDING BRAND 74 CHAPTER 6 – BUILD YOUR TEAM 92 CHAPTER 7 – MANAGE YOUR TEAM 100 CHAPTER 8 – MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

CHAPTER 3 - SYSTEMS

FOREWARD

Real estate keeps evolving and the way agents operate will continue to evolve with it. Agent teams are a pivotal part of that evolution. At Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene we have many very successful teams which we are proud to call a part of our brokerage. These teams come in various sizes and utilize various models. Just as a brokerage is not one size fits all, neither is an agent team.

An agent who wants to expand their business by forming a team should give as much consideration and planning to creating a team as a broker would to starting a brokerage. Agents who want to join a team should also be as thoughtful about joining the team as they would be about joining a brokerage. Being part of a team or a Team Leader is not for every agent. This book is a great guide to help agents consider all the areas of team management from set up to agent selection to marketing and much more.

We are fortunate to have Linsey Ehle and her wealth of experience in the real estate industry. In this comprehensive look at teams, Linsey covers all the bases for running and maintaining a team. She uses her own experiences, both successes and lessons learned, to illustrate the work involved.

We hope you find value in the chapters ahead and that it helps you make an educated decision about whether or not to develop a team or stregnthen your team management.

Mark Woodroof CEO, BHGRE Gary Greene

PREFACE

I was invited to speak on Tom Ferry’s podcast to discuss what it takes to build a successful team among other things. When the podcast aired, there were over 54,000 teams in the United States - a number that continues to grow every year. The collective production of those teams is staggering.

There is a lot that is attractive about building a team. Those production levels are part of the allure. And... If you are a successful top producing agent, isn’t growing a team the obvious next step?

I have seen a lot during my 20+ years in the real estate industry. I have made my own mistakes and had my own successes. I have coached agents through building teams, reorganizing teams, and I have coached some through the dismantling process. I have been hired by a major real estate portal to evaluate top teams, analyze lead flow, system structure, and their P&L’s. Those experiences continue to inform my coaching and training today, and they played a pivotal role in shaping this guide.

Starting a team can be an exciting endeavor. There are many things to seriously consider prior to starting and building a team. Sadly, far too often, we see that agents build quickly, often too quickly. They fail to think through value proposition, systems, strategy, or plan for contingencies. Unfortunately, that leads to a rocky road ahead for all parties.

But there is a reason that so many agents struggle with building a team. There are so many options, and so many opinions. If you were to ask 10 Team Leaders to define their value proposition and structure, you are likely to get 10 answers…or an inability to articulate a value proposition at all.

Compensation, leads, systems, tools, hiring practices, compliance, team modeling, value proposition, and training are only a few of the items that you will want to consider as you build your team. You may be anxious to get started now. All these questions can feel tedious to explore and work through. But the time invested exploring these answers in advance will expedite your success, improve your agents’ satisfaction and their outcomes, create a positive and dynamic environment, and importantly, one that is profitable. Do not shortcut the process. Invest the time for yourself, and your Team Members.

At BHGRE Gary Greene, we are committed to partnering with our agents to create rewarding lives and businesses. We want to partner with you as you expand your practice and build your team. This guide is meant to help you ask the right questions, explore the answers that are right for you and help you build a better team.

We appreciate your partnership, and we are excited to see your team grow with our team.

Linsey Ehle Director of Agent Services, BHGRE Gary Greene

Dedication

To the agents I have had the good fortune to work with over the years.

And to each person that held their hand out to me as I took my next leap into something unknown. You know who you are.

“I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.” - Abby Wambach American Soccer Champion and Gold Medlaist

CHAPTER ONE THE BIG QUESTION

SHOULD I BUILD A REAL ESTATE TEAM?

At this stage, it is important to have an open mind. The answer may be ‘yes,’ but you may be surprised that in fact, the answer is ‘no.’ If you are quick with an unmitigated ‘yes,’ I implore you to pause and explore more within these pages. Teams started too soon, or for the wrong reasons, are destined for a challenging road ahead.

Do not be afraid to discover the answer is ‘no’ or ‘not yet.’ Instead of a team, you might need an assistant, working partner, or someone to refer an occasional lead to when you are not able to service the lead yourself. Or you might find that you have a good deal of work to do before you are ready to take on the commitment of a team.

However, if after you go through this discovery phase and the answer is ‘yes,’ this guide will provide the framework to build your team and set you on the path to becoming a successful, and profitable, Team Leader.

BENEFITS OF BUILDING A TEAM

SCALE

A team can scale in ways an individual cannot. With a team, you can expand your reach, grow market share, and build an identifiable brand across a larger geography or drill deeper into your existing market.

CREATE AN ASSET

The business, if treated like one, is an asset. It is something that can be sold if it is built with proven, replicable, and profitable systems. You could do this as an individual producer, but as a team the scaled book of business and the associated systems can become increasingly valuable.

BALANCE

With the right people, structure, and training, a team can operate without you for periods of time. This can contribute significantly to a work/life balance.

PROFIT

Leveraging the size and scale of a team, done right, can be very profitable.

THINGS TO ASK YOURSELF

AM I CLEAR ON WHAT I HOPE TO ACHIEVE BY BUILDING A TEAM?

This requires some internal exploration. This is at the core of your vision - your purpose.

Is it the desire to grow market share and maximize profit? Valid reasons. Is your desire rooted in creating a culture that inspires growth, collaboration, and support? Also, a valid reason. Is your desire to achieve a better work/life balance? Another valid reason.

Building a team to satisfy ego is not the reason to begin this endeavor. We often see the glamorous side of teams - the excitement of production awards, photos of a polished group of professionals, and the powerful nature of managing a team. Yet, I have seen far too many teams with far too many agents who are frustrated and disappointed. And at the helm is a frustrated and financially struggling Team Leader.

Define your ultimate vision for the team structure. That vision allows you to make decisions with the long view in mind, and not just present day circumstances. By staying true to your vision, your model, and your profitability, the success you are seeking will be easier to achieve.

AM I GENERATING PRODUCTION AND LEADS A TEAM CAN LEVERAGE?

Modeling your success as a solo agent is the first step. Not only do you need proven success to give you credibility with your team, but you will also need to have success the team can leverage. Your successful lead generation systems, lead sources, and lead volume will play a significant role in your selection of the right team model, as well as supporting the team to build their own level of success within your environment.

AM I READY TO TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING A LEADER, COACH, AND MANAGER?

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” - John Maxwell.

Are you able to lead by your own example?

As the Team Leader, you will have an increased level of responsibility. Providing coaching, mentoring, and an environment of accountability will be critical to your team’s success.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

Ego is a trap that far too many agents fall into. Don’t.

Managing and leading people requires the ability to both inspire and critique performance. Running team systems, building opportunities, converting leads, and problem solving will take time from your own real estate practice. Balancing the needs of your team and your own business will have its own learning curve.

There is also a legal and ethical responsibility for oversight and management of your Team Members. As a Team Leader and Designated Supervisor, you have an increased level of accountability that you must be prepared to take on.

AM I SYSTEM DRIVEN?

Providing an environment with structure and proven systems is one of the biggest value propositions a Team Leader can offer. Creating systems for operations, lead generation, lead nurturing, lead conversion, marketing and service delivery are highly valued by Team Members. Many join a team because they have been unable to architect those systems, or hold themselves accountable for the execution on their own.

Creating those systems will be something that you will need to begin first and continue to evaluate often. Without the right structure, you will not be able to recruit and retain the growth-minded Team Members that will contribute to the success of your team.

AM I FINANCIALLY PREPARED?

Your early hires will not make you much more money. In the beginning, those early hires are often an expense, so you will need to be ready for that financial reality. Whether it is early marketing costs, leads shared that you might have otherwise worked, or simply time away from your own practice (the most overlooked expense), the beginning stages of building a team are more of a financial liability than a profit center.

At a recent BHG Fusion event, a top producer spoke on a panel about dismantling her team and only keeping her assistant. She sold $40 million in real estate that year with a transaction coordinator, and a well-trained assistant.

“What I discovered is a great assistant gave me freedom - a team was a responsibility.”

Marketing, tools, and systems may require an initial investment. If your model is one that depends on you being a consistent rainmaker (provider of lead opportunities), are you prepared for that financial commitment?

Important legal and structural arrangements will need to be put into place. Consult your tax adviser about compensation for your Team Members. You may find it is important to set up the appropriate legal entity to mitigate tax consequences. Please note: in order to have a legal entity paid by the brokerage, that legal entity must be licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission and must have a licensed Broker.

AM I COMMITTED TO CREATING A MEANINGFUL VALUE PROPOSITION FOR POTENTIAL TEAM MEMBERS?

Agent churn can be expensive, frustrating, and detrimental to both team culture and momentum. It is worth the time upfront to develop your unique value proposition. You will want clarity about why you want a team, but you will also need to know why someone would want to be on your team - and equally important - stay on your team.

This guide will provide exercises and considerations to support you in fleshing out your unique value proposition before onboarding new team members.

HAVE I MASTERED THE CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF TIME MANAGEMENT AND DATABASE MANAGEMENT?

Agents are notorious for struggling with these two skills. If you want your Team Members to be executing at a high level, maximizing conversions, and managing a consistent volume of business, you will need to coach and model best practices for both time management and database management. In other words, make sure your own house is in order before getting started.

If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’ let’s get started...

MODELS

CHAPTER TWO MODELS

It is critical to understand what you are trying to build before you begin building the systems, and certainly before you begin hiring support or bringing on Team Members.

Equally important to determining the right business model is to ask yourself the right kinds of questions before you begin. Answers to critical questions around lead generation, accountability, ownership, and vision will guide you to the right model.

In this book we will discuss the five different team models: Partnership, Rainmaker, Support, Hybrid and Expansion. I will share pros, cons, financial thoughts, and suggestions for consideration.

THE PARTNERSHIP MODEL

Simply put, this model is an alliance between two agents who team up to market together, share expenses, and lean on one another to create a work/life balance and a successful business. The goal is to maximize the potential of each partner. You may decide to add support staff or Team Members, but each partner is equally responsible for the team. As Tom Ferry said to me and my partner years ago, “1 + 1 really needs to equal 3 for this to make sense.”

I have seen husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings, friends, and office colleagues create partnerships. It can work, but because so many partnerships come together as a matter of convenience, or close personal connection, they can be fraught with challenges. Frequently, partnerships begin without working through the important questions, and far too many operate without a formal agreement.

Given that most partnerships are founded on close personal relationships, defining the structure is paramount. How will disputes be resolved? What are the financial considerations for each partner? What are the expectations for roles in the partnership? How will the business be managed?

And one of the most overlooked and crucial questions … what does it look like when the partners go their separate ways?

PARTNERSHIP MODEL PROS

• SYNERGY – One of the great benefits of a partnership is the synergy created by working with a like-minded individual towards a common goal.

SUPPORT & ENCOURAGEMENT – Real estate can be a roller coaster. You may win a competitive listing one day, and have a huge sale fall apart the next. Having someone along for the ride can help to buoy one another through challenges.

ACCOUNTABILITY – It is one thing to let yourself down, but it is another matter entirely to have to explain a lackluster performance to a partner who is holding themselves to a high standard of execution. Partners dedicated to their commitments, coupled with a high level of mutual accountability, can expedite their path to success.

FINANCIAL LEVERAGE – Shared overhead allows a partnership to add or expand lead generation systems more easily than if they were working as individuals. It may also make the operational expenses of hiring support staff more palatable. The financial burden and risk become more manageable when it is split between partners.

BREADTH OF SKILLS & TALENTS – In an ideal partnership, each partner will bring unique skills and talents to the table. For example, I have seen partnerships where one individual’s strength is building rapport and relationships, while the other’s is architecting the team structure and systems. Combining different skills and talents creates a wider range of competencies making the team more powerful than the individuals alone.

POTENTIAL FOR BROADER APPEAL – Differing presentation and personality styles creates a higher likelihood of connecting to a variety of people. One partner might have an analytical approach when working with their clients, while the other has a more intuitive approach. Sometimes having a separate style can be a differentiator that creates a broader overall appeal to potential clients.

BALANCE – Partnerships allow the individuals to lean on each other when their personal lives need to be prioritized. Vacations, holidays, and scheduling personal time are easier on partners which creates an overall better work/life balance.

INCREASED EXPOSURE – Partnerships have the potential to expedite growth and brand recognition by leveraging combined databases and personal networks.

MOMENTUM AND PRODUCTION SWINGS MINIMIZED – When two partners work together to focus on production, the dramatic swings in production can be mitigated.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

PARTNERSHIP MODEL CONS

• EVOLVING OBJECTIVES – It is incredibly motivating to work with a partner who has the same level of ambition or the same desire for success. However, if one of the partners has a shift in their objectives, it can have a negative impact on the partnership.

IT WILL NOT LAST – There will come a time when the partnership is at an end. It is important to be honest about that, and plan for it. Answer questions in advance regarding ownership of team assets (discussed in detail more here and in Chapter 4), financial obligations, and responsibilities at the end of a partnership. A written agreement is paramount to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible and the personal relationship is preserved. Note: Even a partnership comprised of a married couple needs to answer these questions.

PARTING WAYS IS EXPENSIVE – When the partnership dissolves, the brand that has been built over time ceases to exist. The partnership name recognition, your client relationships, and your farming efforts will be impacted. This impact will come at a cost. Rebranding is not just an expensive undertaking; it creates the potential for loss of production and momentum.

OWNERSHIP IS HARD TO DEFINE – In advance of creating a partnership there will be tough questions about ownership that you will need to tackle. When the partnership dissolves – who ‘owns’ the website domain? Who ‘owns’ the website and established search rankings? Who ‘owns’ the team’s past clients and subsequent referrals? Even when there is early clarity around these issues, the reality of how it plays out at dissolution of the partnership may pose significant challenges

WORK ETHIC DISPARITY – A percentage of every dollar is shared between the partners. There will be times when one partner worked harder on a transaction than the other, in which case that extra effort is not reflected in the agreed upon split. This can be especially problematic if inequity becomes a pattern. If there is a pattern of one partner showing a higher level of commitment to the business than the other, trouble is ahead. That disparity must be addressed early on if the partnership is to survive.

CHALLENGING

TO FIND LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS

– It is not easy to find someone with the same work ethic, goals, and passion for the business. For the partnership to succeed, those things must be in alignment.

POTENTIAL FOR RESENTMENT – Given the very nature of real estate, things can be challenging. Transactions fall apart, lead generation results can be unpredictable, economic forces can change a business’s trajectory, workloads can vary, and expenses can increase. Without effective communication and clear plans for dispute resolution, all these things can create an environment for resentment to set in and resentment puts a partnership at risk.

CASE STUDY

I established my partnership when I discovered I was pregnant with my third child. I knew I would need help. My business was in a pattern of growth that I wanted to maintain. In retrospect, what I actually needed was a working partner, but without guidance, and with a wonderful friend that was interested in joining forces, I decided to commit to the partnership.

Lorie and I made a wonderful team in many ways. She was also a mom of three, had a similar network of friends and family, and she was incredibly smart. We both wanted to grow a successful real estate business while staying closely involved with our children. We had a similar vision, shared values, and a passion for what we were doing. For 4 years, our partnership was incredibly successful. Lorie and I built an identifiable brand in our market, successfully farmed over 1,800 homes, helped hundreds of clients, and became a top producing team in our office.

2006 brought change. We sold 12 homes the first quarter, and we were on pace for a record-breaking year. My youngest would soon be in school 5 days a week and I was excited about our future business potential. Lorie, on the other hand, was considering having another child and was experiencing burnout. Our objectives, for the first time in our partnership, did not align.

There was no one at fault. No blame. Just two people that had conflicting goals, and the partnership came to an end.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

PARTNERSHIP MODEL FINANCIALS

Outline the plan for income, expenditures, accounting, and decision making. Unfortunately, financial disputes have brought an unhappy end to many partnerships.

•

If/Then Scenarios – Partnerships that have too many if/then compensation scenarios are destined for turmoil and resentment.

For example, “If a transaction source is from this geographic farm, the split is ‘x,’”or “If the source is a past client, the split is ‘x.’” This can create opportunities for gray areas and questions about allocation of resources. Remember, if one of the partners is devoting time to a client that compensates them at a higher rate, it can diminish the focus on what is most beneficial to the team overall.

If you must build in scenarios, think through as many of the possibilities in advance. Work with your manager to flesh out things that you may not be considering.

•

Expenses – The same rule can be applied to expenses. For example, are the listing expenses paid individually or as a team? Are investments in marketing or systems paid individually or as a team? How will you pay for the expenses of the partnership? You may decide to have a shared marketing account that you fund from the proceeds of your closings. If you pay the business expenses from that account, how will you share the tax deductions related to those expenses? Consult a CPA or tax advisor.

PARTNERSHIP MODEL SUGGESTIONS

• PLAN WITH THE END IN MIND – It is important to make tough decisions about the end of the partnership in advance when no one is angry or resenting the other party. Think of it as a real estate pre-nuptial.

• •

CONSIDER 50/50 – Is there a good reason to not have a 50/50 split for everything (transactions, expenses, time commitments, etc.)? If there is a great disparity in experience, leads, or expenses, is this really a wise partnership or would it make more sense to have one party as a Team Leader? Or does it make sense to continue as working partners rather than creating a team?

PUT IT IN WRITING – Dispute resolution is significantly easier to address if all terms are outlined and agreed upon in writing. Consider making the agreement renewable annually so there is an opportunity to address areas of concern and refine your agreement as the business evolves.

• • •

CREATE CLARITY AROUND WORKLOAD AND SCHEDULE – Clearly define your roles and commitments around schedules and responsibilities. How will you decide how files/transactions are managed? Will one person take the lead? Will there be a defined work schedule? Is there a holiday schedule? My partner adored Christmas and we agreed that each year she would have that week off, while I took the New Year’s week off to ski with my family. Make those determinations for your own partnership.

ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS – Some questions can be uncomfortable, especially around money, but this is the time to tackle those important questions. Do not assume anything. You will be working closely and investing in this business together. Now is the time to build trust and clarity.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CHANGE YOUR MIND – Through the process of discussing particulars, you may find that you are not actually of the same mind. You may discover that a working partner makes the most sense. Do not walk down the proverbial aisle knowing that you are making a mistake. This is a big decision with significant implications for you both. Make sure it is exactly what you want for your personal and professional life.

THE RAINMAKER MODEL

The Rainmaker Model consists of a Team Leader who acts as the primary lead generator for the team. The Rainmaker is traditionally responsible for creating lead sources, providing leads, and building systems for follow-up and conversion.

To build a team with this model, the Team Leader must have a proven track record of generating enough leads to support additional Team Members or be willing to invest in the systems that produce the necessary volume of leads.

The cornerstone of a successful Rainmaker Model is a high level of accountability around defined systems. The ability to provide consistent leads to Team Members can be expensive and time consuming. The Team Leader also incurs additional risks when fronting the expenses and man hours to curate those leads. Without systems to track opportunities, proven lead conversion processes, and accountability for results, the outcome is not likely to be desirable or profitable.

Given the considerable risk and responsibility of a Team Leader in a Rainmaker Model, it is paramount that the foundational elements are organized in advance to increase the likelihood of success for all parties.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

RAINMAKER MODEL PROS

• LEADS MAKE AN ATTRACTIVE VALUE PROPOSITION – Generating leads is no easy business. Any experienced agent knows, learning how to do the business is nowhere near as challenging as finding the business. Team Members want low-cost ways of generating business and they value the tools, the coaching, and the support that increase the likelihood of generating and converting buyer and seller opportunities

• • • • •

TEAM MEMBER LOYALTY IS OFTEN HIGH – When agents work in an environment where they are heavily reliant on the income opportunities provided, they are not inclined to leave. They recognize the systems are difficult and expensive to replicate. Some of the lead sources may not be available to them outside the team. If the environment is positive and rich in opportunity, it creates a high level of satisfaction and increases Team Member retention.

SPLITS THAT FAVOR THE TEAM LEADER – “With great risk comes great reward.” When the Team Leader supplies the leads, the splits will favor the one making the rain and incurring the risk. The Rainmaker typically pays for all lead generation, support staff, systems, and marketing. The expenses in this model can be significant. There needs to be a financial benefit to the Team Leader.

ACCOUNTABILITY,

GUIDELINES, & EXPECTATIONS

CAN

BE

SET AND FOLLOWED – With clear processes and systems, Team Members can be held accountable for certain activities and results. When members are not satisfying the metrics set by the Team Leader, they can become ineligible for new opportunities.

RESPONSIVE SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES – The Team Leader can assess which system/ process is or is not working because all Team Members are actively engaged in the required activities set forth by the Team Leader. This analysis allows the Team Leader to make informed decisions to improve the effectiveness of the systems.

SCALABILITY – Once you zero in on a successful process – with the right Team Members and staff – the business can scale.

RAINMAKER MODEL CONS

• SHIFT IN FOCUS – The Team Leader must shift their focus significantly from their own production to generating leads for the team, team processes/systems, and Team Member accountability. This shift in focus can compromise the Team Leader’s production activities. If the Team Leader’s production is a source of inbound leads (listing inquiries, open house, sign calls), this can be problematic.

POTENTIAL

FOR RESENTMENT

– Perceived inequity in opportunity distribution or Team Member work ethic can lead to resentment and discord within the team. The Team Leader must be astutely aware when something is amiss and make the necessary corrections to preserve team culture and production levels.

PRESSURE – The pressure to provide a consistent level of lead opportunities is significant. There are many external factors outside of the Team Leader’s control that have an impact on leads –changes in consumer behavior, technology, costs, and the economy. When the lead volume changes, the Team Leader must possess the agility to respond with a combination of potential new sources, improved systems, and manage expectations among Team Members.

FINANCIAL EXPOSURE – The Team Leader carries the risk of the upfront costs to some lead sources. Investments in leads from portals like Zillow may be a fixed monthly cost regardless of the volume of leads, quality of leads, or the team’s ability to convert. In addition to leads, there will be expenses related to technology, staff, and marketing.

TEAM MEMBERS LACK SKIN IN THE GAME – The Team Leader understands what it takes to get leads into the hands of their Team Members. They understand the cost per lead either as an upfront cost, or as an opportunity cost if a Team Member does not capitalize on the opportunity. Since Team Members do not have the same level of investment or carry the same risk as the Team Leader, they are not as attached to the outcome.

LEADERSHIP SKILLS ARE REQUIRED – This model requires system analysis, oversight, coaching, and accountability. Not all successful agents naturally possess these skillsets and as a Team Leader sharpening these skills is necessary.

RAINMAKERS HAVE A

LOT OF RESPONSIBILITIES

– Team Leaders hire, terminate, coach, architect systems, analyze systems, and generate leads. If the Team Leader also intends to continue to sell, it can be a lot to juggle.

TEAM MEMBER’S RELIANCE ON THE NEXT LEAD – When Team Members only work the leads they are given, they are constantly looking to the Team Leader for their next opportunity. They build little to no self-reliance.

LOW-HANGING FRUIT AND MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

– When leads are provided to Team Members, it is common for Team Members to focus their attention on the leads they believe to be easier to convert. When members are primarily focused on the low-hanging fruit, they can neglect the other opportunities that might take longer to convert. Those missed opportunities can be expensive for the Team Leader.

RAINMAKER MODEL CONS (CONTINUED)

• TEAM MEMBERS ARE BUILDING CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

– In this model, leads are often not personally connected to the Team Leader. The connection resides with the Team Member that handled the transaction. If that Team Member leaves, that relationship and past client connection may leave with that departing agent.

CASE STUDY

Cliff Stevenson is a longtime friend and top producing REALTOR® based in Calgary. He is a highly successful Team Leader of a Rainmaker Model with a sophisticated and effective online lead generation strategy. In an interview, Stevenson lamented the struggle he experienced with his team. “When I started creating lead generation processes, systems, funnels, and working with online platforms … it became very apparent that there was a disconnect between myself and some of my agents on my team.”

He went on to say, “I loved my leads. I was paying for those leads. I was investing a ton of time in the lead generation process. And they just liked my leads.”

Stevenson continued, “I knew what it took to get those leads to the desks of my agents. Now, loving leads means your response time is damn near immediate and your follow-up is crazy, crazy good.”

He went on to describe 4 of his most recent closings which took over 400 days from the time of the initial inquiry to close. “It’s the patience, it’s the follow-up, what items of value can you provide to them in that 400-day period … how do you keep them in your pipeline as your next client? And a constant focus on that every single day … will turn those leads into transactions and they will be the difference between liking and loving leads.”

BHGRE GARY GREENE

RAINMAKER MODEL FINANCIALS

Determine the return on investment you expect so you can have a decision-making metric for investments made for lead acquisition. The higher the risk, the higher the return should be. Is it 5 – 10 – 20 times the return on your initial investment?

When do you expect to see a return on your investment in lead acquisition? Timing is particularly important to define when you are dealing with sources that have longer incubation periods. Online lead sources are an example of leads with a much longer incubation period.

You will want to manage the amount of front-loaded risk you are willing to carry. In other words, are you willing to pay for the leads up front? Or will you pay a higher price for them and pay for the lead out of the proceeds at closing?

It’s best to diversify sources so that you can limit your risk exposure should prices go up on a source, or the source becomes no longer viable.

Determine the financial sweet spot for agent splits so Team Members remain motivated and engaged, and as a Team Leader, you realize a profit. Do not forget to consider your costs in your calculation. The cost is more than just the lead itself. There is also overhead that includes systems, staff, technology, and marketing. You will also need to factor taxes into your profitability calculation.

Track expenses, income, and production pipeline for accountability and intel on the investments you are making. Sourcing business, aggregating team member results, and analysis of the P&L is paramount in the Rainmaker Model.

CASE STUDY

I was once hired by a major real estate portal to evaluate a few teams in one of their major markets. My objective was to perform an analysis of the team operations, as well as their profit & loss statements, to determine where they were effective and where they had untapped opportunities. For the portal that hired me, they wanted to understand more about their top teams.

My analysis of one team revealed staggering findings. In the previous year, that team closed 164 transactions for a total of $43 million in volume. Their production was undoubtedly impressive, however, things were not as rosy as they seemed.

• 80% of the leads were generated from a singular source with a decreasing volume of opportunities and rising costs which exposed the business to significant risk.

• • •

46% of the Team Leader’s gross commission income was going to purchase leads.

Only 20% of their business came from repeat clients and past client referrals because there was no past client system in place – resulting in a tremendous number of missed opportunities.

The Team Leader was under incredible pressure to generate more leads, and yet margins were continuing to thin.

The team was in a consistent state of turnover.

Managing the team of 9 was challenging considering the varying skill level and commitment. There was no accountability around leads beyond the first week following the assignment.

In this case, no one was particularly happy. Team Members were always looking for their next lead (of which there was seemingly never enough) and the Team Leader was spending their time putting out fires, managing team expectations, juggling financials, and worrying about the precarious situation of dwindling leads.

Before you start thinking, “Well, that is just a very poorly managed team,” I can tell you it is incredibly common for Rainmaker teams to face similar challenges. This does not have to be the case, but planning, accountability, tracking, and diversification must play key roles in the design of this business.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

RAINMAKER MODEL SUGGESTIONS

• MAKE ACCOUNTABILITY A KEY PART OF THE TEAM CULTURE – Reward accountability to systems, conversion, and engagement.

BE AGILE – Change is inevitable. Make sure you are willing to make modifications to your team or systems early. Your willingness to be responsive will keep your business healthy and profitable.

SOURCE DIVERSITY – Reduce risk by keeping lead sources diverse. Pay close attention to changes with the economy, technology, and consumer behavior. All of which can have a significant impact on your team and profit margins.

SYSTEMS – Lead generation, marketing, conversion, database management, and scheduling systems will be the foundation for accountability. Define them early and evaluate them often.

TRACKING – Track sources of business, closed and upcoming pipeline. This allows you to determine the effectiveness of lead sources, Team Members, and the systems that you have in place. The pipeline will tell you about the sources that are working long before they result in closings.

UNDERSTAND YOUR P&L – Quarterly, examine your P&L to finacially plan, analyze the areas of concern, adjust, and take advantage of potential opportunities.

CULTIVATE YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS – To grow as a Team Leader, invest the time to develop leadership skills. These skills are crucial for both recruiting and retention. You will want to inspire your team to follow you, stay engaged, and committed to growth.

CREATE TEAM LEAD TOUCHES – The development of your team’s brand in your market is critical to long-term success. Consider what methods you can employ as a Team Leader during and after the transaction that connects clients to your team rather than the individual agent they are working with at the time.

BUILD A PLAN TO CULTIVATE REPEAT AND REFERRAL BUSINESS – The cost of client acquisition is high in this model, however that can be heavily offset if there is a system in place to cultivate long-term repeat and referral business from past clients.

COLD LEAD SYSTEM – Determine a process to revisit and nurture cold leads. You might consider an incentive for the conversion of a cold lead.

CONSIDER AN INSIDE SALES AGENT (ISA) – The ISA can take responsibility for the initial contact with the lead. This improves response time and ensures consistency in service delivery and consumer experience. It also improves the likelihood of a warmer lead being handed to a Team Member because the ISA will be highly skilled at conversion.

THE SYSTEM SUPPORT MODEL

The System Support Model consists of a Team Leader helping Team Members grow their individual practices within the environment of a team. The Team Leader provides resources that Team Members can leverage to grow their own business – technology, listing inventory, brand equity, lead generation, and lead conversion systems. They also look to the Team Leader to be a source of coaching, training, and inspiration as they grow their business. This model does not rely on the Team Leader providing leads to Team Members.

To utilize this model, the Team Leader must have success with their existing systems, clearly defined lead generation strategies, production that the team can leverage (evidence of team success), and a comprehensive value proposition. A well-defined value proposition is paramount. A Team Leader must provide sustainable value to Team Members as their own business becomes more established.

SYSTEM SUPPORT MODEL PROS

• PROVEN SYSTEMS – Agents often feel overwhelmed by choices and can be frustrated by trying to figure out what works. Knowing that they can plug into proven team systems is a compelling value proposition.

• • • •

SUCCESS TEAM MEMBERS CAN LEVERAGE

– Of course, there is no question that an established brand is a significant value proposition to a Team Member. They can gain validation with their own sphere by leveraging the brand equity, listings, and sales through mailings, open houses, and social media posts. This evidence of team success can be a compelling advantage for the Team Member to leverage with their own personal network

RISK AND FINANCIAL EXPOSURE – When Team Members are supported in building their own book of business with their own network, there can be less volatility with lead sources. The System Support Model does not have the pressure to provide leads like the Rainmaker Model. This helps to limit the financial investment to support a team.

GRATIFICATION

THAT

COMES

FROM EMPOWERING YOUR TEAM – Watching an agent grow a successful business within your environment is incredibly gratifying and can provide a tremendous amount of satisfaction.

TEAM MEMBER LOYALTY – Team Members who are enmeshed in the programs and systems value the culture that supports their growth. With a positive culture and growth, they are more likely to become long standing members of the team.

• TEAMWORK AND SYNERGY MATTER – Working in an environment with Team Members actively engaged in growing their own businesses, where a growth mindset is universal, elevates all members.

•

EXPAND REACH & BRAND FOOTPRINT – With the combined team personal network, the team can build market share.

SYSTEM SUPPORT MODEL CONS

•

• • •

POTENTIAL FOR PERCEIVED DIMINISHED VALUE PROPOSITION

OVER TIME – As a Team Member becomes well established, when leads are being generated from their personal network, they begin to question how much value they are getting from the Team Leader or from being part of the team.

DEFINED SYSTEMS

TAKE TIME TO BUILD

– Your value proposition should be obvious to Team Members as they begin utilizing the systems. Client care and the way business is generated, nurtured, and managed should be unique to the team. In a Rainmaker Model, leads are the primary value proposition. In this model, you will rely on clearly developed systems, and that likely takes time to build.

OPPORTUNITY COST – If part of the value proposition is to grow the agent, the Team Leader will be heavily involved in coaching, training, and crisis management. These things are time consuming and can pull a Team Leader away from their own practice and production. This is particularly true in the initial stages of onboarding a new Team Member. The initial stages of bringing a new agent up to speed on the team’s programs can be a demand on the Team Leader’s most valuable resource – time.

DEPENDENT

TEAM MEMBERS

– Setting clear expectations around skill development and education is essential. Without agent development in these areas, Team Members may remain too heavily reliant on the Team Leader’s involvement throughout every stage of doing business from lead conversion to closings.

CASE STUDY

During my guest appearance on Tom Ferry’s podcast, he made a reference to a Team Leader we knew from the early days of my affiliation with Tom’s organization. This Team Leader had grown to about 15 agents on his team. The split was 85% to Team Members after the Team Leader’s 85% split from the brokerage. In other words, the Team Leader was making about $12.75 of every $100 in gross commission income.

His challenge was having to consistently respond to Team Members’ “Got a minute?” requests. His own business had dropped dramatically as a result. The “got a minute” requests were not growing Team Member production enough to offset his drop in production. After some deep analysis into his structure and P&L, they determined the bottom line was suffering by $1,200 per closing. The discussion led to a dismantling of the team, and a restructure of the Team Leader’s overall practice.

There is an opportunity cost to your time. Building solid systems that allow for growth, without long-term, high touch requirements of the Team Leader, are crucial.

SYSTEM SUPPORT MODEL FINANCIALS

While the financial investments in a Rainmaker Model tend to be higher, the System Support Model is not without its own financial obligations. Financial tracking systems will be crucial. As a Team Leader you will need to decide which systems you will invest in for the team. These decisions will impact the commission agreement and related splits.

• Listing Marketing Costs (Photography, Virtual Tours, Property Brochures, JL/JS cards, Core Property Boost)

The Team Leader usually provides the technology solutions for lead tracking, lead conversion and marketing systems. Leaning into the solutions offered within Gary Greene can mitigate some of the expense, and you can leverage the training required to support the team’s use of those systems.

SYSTEM SUPPORT MODEL SUGGESTIONS

• BE CLEAR ON THE VALUE PROPOSITION – As Team Members grow, be clear on how the team continues to provide value.

• • •

DON’T GIVE AWAY TOO MUCH OF THE SPLIT TOO EARLY – To preserve the financial well-being of the team and ensure there are reasonable profits for the Team Leader, it is important to be mindful of setting the right commission schedule at the outset. If the starting split is high, there may not be sufficient revenue to cover the true costs of developing the Team Member. This scenario also leaves the Team Leader unable to increase splits in the future as Team Members grow.

BUILD CLEAR SYSTEMS – When the team’s proprietary systems are an integral part of the Team Member’s success, it becomes less attractive to unplug from those systems. Team Members recognize that to maintain the same level of success, it would require replicating or reinventing those systems and resources on their own which would be a daunting task.

BUILD CLIENT ENGAGEMENT – Create client support processes, client engagement systems, and long-term client follow-up systems (Just Listed/Just Sold mailers, client appreciation parties, holiday events, etc.) that Team Members can leverage for their personal network and past clients. This enhances the value proposition for Team Members.

PROVIDE RECOGNITION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR

RETENTION – When Team Members feel like valued contributors, they become invested in the team’s success. This personal stake is crucial for retention in a team that is built around growing the strength of their individual practice.

HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE – Look for Team Members who are interested in being part of something successful but aren’t interested in the recognition or responsibility that comes with being a Team Leader.

CREATE A CULTURE PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE – When there is an environment full of engaged, growing, and successful agents who embrace the team vision and accountability, Team Members want to stay.

LEAN ON GARY GREENE – By leveraging the training, coaching, education, technology, resources, and industry knowledge at BHGRE Gary Greene, you preserve your own time and financial resources for other meaningful investments.

GARY GREENE

BHGRE

SYSTEM SUPPORT MODEL SUGGESTIONS (CONTINUED)

• SUPPORT STAFF – If the Team Leader is actively selling and finds those efforts compromised by the demands of the team, there may be value in hiring an Operations Manager or Listing Manager. It is important to define these benchmarks in advance. What level of team production is needed before bringing in additional support? How many transactions in the pipeline? How much volume? Talk with your Coach/Branch Manager about benchmarks based on your market.

•

PATH FOR GROWTH – Consider the growth opportunities you can build into your structure. If you have aspirational Team Members they will want to know there is a path for them within your environment. Lead Buyers Agent? Listing Specialist? Team Manager?

•

GROW LEADERSHIP SKILLS – As Brian Tracy says, “Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.” To be that type of leader, focusing on sharpening those leadership skills will be an ongoing and worthwhile endeavor.

THE HYBRID MODEL

The Hybrid Model strikes a balance between The Rainmaker Model and The Systems Support Model. While leads are part of the value proposition in this model, it is still heavily focused on Team Members building their businesses within the team by taking advantage of the systems architected by the Team Leader.

It is common to start as a Rainmaker Model or a System Support Model and as the business matures, it is natural to move into more of a Hybrid. The team will likely remain true to its original model, but it will take on other systems over time that reflect more of a Hybrid Model. While many of the pros and cons from the Rainmaker Model or the System Support Model also exist in a Hybrid Model, some are unique.

HYBRID MODEL PROS

• COMPELLING VALUE PROPOSITION –

A Hybrid Model offers both coaching and systems to grow an individual agent’s practice, while also offering the promise of inbound lead opportunities.

•

EXPEDITE GROWTH – Once the systems are in place and working effectively, you can grow the footprint of the team by tapping into multiple sources simultaneously.

• DIVERSITY CREATES STABILITY – Leads can fill gaps in production for newer agents or agents still growing their personal production. This helps extend a Team Member’s financial runway and mitigates the production valleys that are so common in the early years of a real estate career.

•

FLEXIBILITY – As the market changes, Team Leaders have more flexibility to make necessary adjustments for their team. Emphasizing certain systems, increasing or decreasing investments in lead sources, and shifting into new opportunities can be considered when the team is skilled at working a variety of sources.

HYBRID MODEL CONS

• FRAGMENTED FOCUS FOR TEAM LEADER – By dividing your time and attention across a wide variety of lead systems, it creates fragmentated focus that can diminish your overall effectiveness.

• • • •

FRAGMENTED FOCUS FOR TEAM MEMBERS – Not dissimilar to the Rainmaker Model, when leads are provided to Team Members, it is common for Team Members to focus their attention on the leads they believe to be easier to convert. Team Members can become too focused on inbound lead sources in lieu of other systems with a lower client acquisition cost.

MANAGING MULTIPLE SYSTEMS – Providing a wide range of systems and lead generation sources is a significant management responsibility for a Team Leader.

DISPARITY IN MOTIVATION – For supplying leads to make sense financially, those opportunities come at a split potentially less favorable to Team Members than other opportunities generated through other methods. Like the Rainmaker Model, it is critical to have clear accountability around longer lead conversion opportunities to ensure consistent execution.

SHIFTING LEVELS OF ACCOUNTABILITY – A higher level of accountability is needed for leads provided by the Team Leader than leads generated from other systems. Both the Team Leader and the Team Members need to shift to a higher level of accountability based on the lead source.

HYBRID MODEL FINANCIALS

A Hybrid Model must carefully balance the same financial considerations of both the System Support Model and the Rainmaker Model. However, with the Hybrid Model, you are able to reallocate investments in shifting markets towards opportunities that are getting stronger responses from your marketing or lead generation efforts.

HYBRID MODEL SUGGESTIONS

• QUALIFICATIONS – Build production and training requirements that qualify Team Members for lead opportunities. For example, will there be a minimum number of sales completed? Minimum training standards? Will you require a certain level of engagement with your systems to maintain eligibility?

• •

ACCOUNTABILITY TO LEAD STANDARDS – Set minimum follow-up and conversion standards for leads provided to Team Members. Also, consider the parameters for disqualification from eligibility for new lead opportunities. For example, is there a required response time? Will you require weekly updates? If they are disqualified, how are they able to earn back eligibility?

CLEAR COMMISSION SCHEDULE – The commission structure must be clear. In an environment with a variety of lead sources, it is tempting to create several if/then scenarios. While you want to reflect the cost and effort associated with generating inbound leads, it is important to create a simple, well-defined schedule that is not up for interpretation or subject to numerous variables.

•

LEAD OWNERSHIP – With a variety of lead sources, it is important to be clear in your agreement about lead ownership. If there is an instance that arises that does not seem to be covered by the original Team Agreement, make sure the compensation is agreed upon prior to lead assignment. Update the Team Agreement to account for new scenarios as they arise.

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL

In recent years, the Expansion Team Model has garnered a fair amount of interest within the industry. An Expansion Team strategically expands the team footprint, brand, and business into other geographic markets. Once a team has established success in their original market, they replicate their success and expand into new markets extending their existing model (Rainmaker, System Support, or Hybrid). I was recently speaking with an industry leader about what we were seeing with teams, and particularly around Expansion Teams. “They just don’t make it,” he shared. “Not many of them.”

But, why?

From my own observations, too many Expansion Teams don’t perform the critical due diligence at the onset and expand into markets that stretch their resources too far, and too soon.

Expansion Team Models add increased liability and financial exposure to an already well-established team. Jumping in and hoping for the proverbial net to appear can be a costly mistake that jeopardizes an established and successful team.

BHGRE Gary Greene will also have to consider oversight, competency, Multiple Listing Service memberships, E&O coverage restrictions, franchise agreement restrictions, etc. Given those considerations, Expansion Teams will require prior written approval from BHGRE Gary Greene Executive Leadership.

WHEN AND HOW TO EXPAND

Many advisors and coaches advise Expansion Teams to do their initial expansion into markets no more than an hour from their original market. This makes for a natural expansion without the need for significant staff, system adjustments, or changes to technology solutions.

This makes Houston a unique opportunity. The current geographic market reach for Gary Greene is incredibly large and allows established teams to grow naturally without crossing into other MLS coverage areas or outside the natural reach of the brokerage.

Geographic competency is the most important consideration and responsibility for the Team Leader. Hiring a Team Member to work in Galveston, for example, would require them to have a significant amount of knowledge and experience in that market. As a Team Leader and Designated Supervisor, you will have the resources within BHGRE Gary Greene to support that geographic competency if it falls within our current Greater Houston market.

The challenges become significant when teams reach outside the natural coverage areas of the brokerage. Only in rare instances would that be advisable. It would require significant due diligence not only on the part of the Team Leader, but also on the part of Gary Greene. If you are considering a market outside our current coverage area, reach out to your Branch Manager to find out if Gary Greene is already considering expanding into a market that you are considering.

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL PROS

• EXPANDED FOOTPRINT – A broader geographic reach grows market share. Additionally, the expanded reach might be appealing to a client base that moves between markets. The team gains the ability to serve that need more easily.

•

SCALING FOR INCREASED PROFITS – New markets can bring new opportunities for additional transactions and profit.

•

TEAM GROWTH BASED ON GEOGRAPHIC COMPETENCY

– The Team Leader may have opportunities to expand the team footprint based on potential Team Members in other geographical locations.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL PROS (CONTINUED)

• TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT – Today’s technology has made this world smaller. Virtual meetings, digital transaction management, and online business management tools (CRM, document storage, Microsoft 365’s suite of services, etc.) have helped facilitate remote management in a way that simply was not available only a few short years ago.

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL CONS

• FRAGMENTED FOCUS – Being spread between more than one geographic region will limit the ability to physically oversee operations. Not only will fragmented focus be challenging for the new geography, but it can also burden an already successful operation.

REMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY – To ensure the execution of proven systems, it is necessary to track activities. With a footprint across a wider geography, Team Members will be held accountable through remote reporting methods. Maintaining the high level of accountability required for success will be more challenging to manage remotely.

DUTY OF OVERSIGHT – Given the nature of Expansion Teams, if transaction or legal disputes arise, there will be an additional burden placed on the Team Leader to demonstrate sufficient oversight.

TEAM CULTURE – Geographic separation makes it more challenging to create and maintain team culture.

LACK OF VISIBILITY – The extensive visibility of strong local market share is one of the great advantages of building a team. Signage, postcard mailings, and open houses allow you to leverage that success for further growth within that geographical area. When you are expanding in other markets it is not easy to leverage the success of the original market.

EXPANDING OVERHEAD – Depending on the type of expansion, there can be a need for increased overhead in the form of staff, technology, dues, and/or facilities.

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL FINANCIALS

In an expansion effort, it is important to think about the resources you can leverage from your existing operations in the new market expansion. If you are expanding into a market where Gary Greene already operates, you can leverage the footprint for officing and technology. If you are expanding into markets outside the reach of the brokerage, solutions for those resources can contribute significant overhead to the expansion effort.

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL SUGGESTIONS

• RESEARCH – Do the necessary research before expanding. As Team Leader, you must understand the nature of the market and determine the viability of your systems and model before making the investment.

COMPETENCY QUALIFICATIONS – As a Team Leader, you will be responsible for ensuring that your Team Members have the necessary geographic competency. You will be held to a higher standard of oversight when managing a team that covers a larger geographic area, so setting specific qualifications is essential to ensuring a positive client experience, mitigating risk, and protecting your license.

PROVEN SUCCESS – Expansion is based on proven and successful systems that can be replicated in a new market. If you have not had significant success in your originating market, you are not ready for expansion.

SYSTEMS FIRST – While systems are important in every team model, they are an absolute requirement for an Expansion Team. Think McDonalds. This franchise has become known for providing clear, replicable systems to ensure the client experience is the same each time, and franchise owners are able to duplicate the success independently. Each team system must be laid out in advance so the system can be executed without the daily physical presence of the Team Leader, and yet still achieve the success realized in the originating market.

ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE SYSTEM – To replicate the success of a proven system in your expansion market, there must be a high level of accountability and methods to track the execution of agent activities.

SELECTING THE RIGHT TEAM MEMBERS – This is a critical time for the team and having the right Team Members will be crucial to the successful launch of a new market. Be mindful of selecting the right Team Members to work in your new market area. Look for self-starters with local market knowledge and a connection to the community. These Team Members must be committed to high levels of communication with the Team Leader.

LEVERAGE ONLINE TECHNOLOGIES – Embrace the technology and tools available to you through BHGRE Gary Greene to manage your business more efficiently. Make those resources an integral part of team operations to streamline efforts, communication, and accountability.

DRIVE CULTURE CREATIVELY – Utilize technology to stay connected and plan in person meetings several times a year. Be creative to ensure the team feels connected and invested in the outcomes of the team.

EXPANSION TEAM MODEL SUGGESTIONS (CONTINUED)

• GROW ORGANICALLY – Be strategic about your next market. Do you have a potential Team Member who lives in the market and has a well-established network or can you identify a new market that meets the needs of consumers in your existing market? For example, you work in The Woodlands and notice a sizeable number of consumers buying second homes in Galveston. Both cases are natural ways to expand within Houston and leverage your existing MLS, technology, tools, and marketing resources at BHGRE Gary Greene.

IN CLOSING -

When you begin your team, choosing the right model will help shape much of your decision making and will guide the choices you make as you architect the team structure, systems, and processes. Be thoughtful and deliberate in your choices. This is an opportunity to establish a solid foundation. Your model is not a decision that is static - economic factors shift, the industry changes, and the viability of your systems will mature and develop. If you are mindful of the model you are operating, it is much easier to be agile and make informed, thoughtful decisions as the business evolves.

SYSTEMS

CHAPTER THREE SYSTEMS

The National Association of REALTORS ® has previously reported that 87% of all new agents leave the industry within their first five years. New agents leave for several reasons – lack of financial runway to weather the early years, limited personal network, lack of training or coaching, and unrealistic expectations of the industry.

However, the most common reason agents struggle to succeed is a lack of systems and sufficient accountability. This isn’t surprising since lead systems, service delivery systems, and operational systems are time consuming to design and implement. It is not uncommon for agents to come into the industry without prior business experience and architecting the business systems may not come naturally. Even if an agent designs and implements the systems, without accountability, system execution is often haphazard.

Some agents can achieve a level of success because they are well connected, wonderful salespeople, or active members of their communities. Yet, without building systems to support their developing business they may experience limitations in their growth.

WHEN DESIGNING SYSTEMS FOR ANY MODEL, THERE ARE THREE AREAS OF FOCUS:

• LEAD SYSTEMS – Generation, Follow-up & Conversion

•

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS – Pre-List Process, Active Listing Process, Buyer Process, Under Contract Process, Closing Process

•

OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS – Business Management Tools, Transaction Management, Accounting, Tracking & Reporting

These three systems ensure the execution plan is clear, success will be replicable, and the Team Members can rely on accountability and structure.

Achieving some level of success can inspire confidence and a desire for additional growth. But herein lies the opportunity and the pitfalls for potential Team Leaders. As you achieve success and confidence in the business, it is natural for struggling agents that see your success and want to ‘hitch themselves

BHGRE GARY GREENE

“The true start-up of a business is what happens before you start up.”

- Michael Gerber, author of E-Myth Revisted

to your wagon.’ There is no doubt this can be a wonderful opportunity to grow a team, but take your time to get things in order first to ensure you have a clear path to success and you have clarity around your value to Team Members.

Industry statistics for teams are notoriously unreliable due to the lack of reporting and the subsequent difficulty in tracking, but as an active participant in the brokerage side of the real estate industry for nearly two decades, as well as a coach, I have observed that teams often start too soon, are poorly planned, and often struggle to achieve the original vision of the Team Leader. Some teams are formed before the Team Leader has even created their vision. Unfortunately, many simply fail to design the very things that Team Members are so desperately seeking – systems.

LEAD SYSTEMS

LEAD GENERATION

The lead generation systems you choose will be based in part on your model. If you are a Hybrid Model or System Support Model, the Past Client/Sphere System will be critical. If you are a Rainmaker Model, the potential inbound lead sources will be the primary focus.

In the world of lead generation systems, having more systems is not always better. Clarity and a higher level of execution on a few key systems is better than a higher number of more loosely managed systems. Select the potential areas of focus and refine those systems. Tracking, measuring, and improving success is easier when there is a focus on specific systems. Over time, as systems are proven, the Team Leader can always incorporate new systems.

Additional systems to consider outside Past Client/Sphere:

Potential opportunities, budget, required skillsets, required technology, and required support all need to be considered when selecting lead generation systems.

GARY GREENE

BHGRE

LEAD FOLLOW UP & LEAD CONVERSION

A well-designed plan for lead follow-up and lead conversion is necessary for the success of a lead generation system and yet, it is common for agents, particularly new agents, to under perform in these areas. Often agents struggle due to a lack of structure and accountability. This creates opportunities for well-managed teams to execute where others are not.

Team Members should be responsible for executing the follow-up outlined in the systems. The ability to replicate success will come from consistent execution and evaluation of performance. With multiple Team Members executing, it becomes easier to identify the opportunities, to make adjustments, and improve results.

Ideal follow-up systems will provide the following:

•

Accountability – Accountability is one of the primary responsibilities of the Team Leader and is part of the value proposition for Team Members. When an environment lacks accountability, all members fall short of their potential and the Team Leader is unable to realize the return on their investments.

• • • • •

Responsive System Design – Well-designed and executed follow-up systems should be adjustable based on the economic environment, analysis of the effectiveness of activities, and feedback from Team Members.

Eligibility – Clearly outlined follow-up processes allow a Team Leader to require a level of execution in order to qualify for, and continue to be eligible for, lead opportunities.

Team Culture – Team Members need clarity around their objectives, responsibilities, and processes. Clarity creates a positive culture and working environment.

Improved Effectiveness – One of the most common challenges for teams is the lack of conversion for longer-term leads. Clear systems will improve conversion for those opportunities, service delivery to clients, results for Team Members, and the bottom line for the Team Leader.

Skills – When Team Members have high engagement with follow-up and conversion systems they become more skilled at converting opportunities.

LEAD SYSTEMS – WHERE TO START

•

What is currently working? – Look at areas of success in your own practice. As agents become more proficient in their business, they work with “Unconscious Competence.” In other words, actions have become second nature and agents no longer think about the ‘how’ or ‘why,’ they just do. They are likely working with a fair amount of “Unconscious Competence.”

You will need to take time to think about your process. What do you do that works? When do you do things? Why do you do them? Document your already successful processes. This allows you to architect proven systems that can be shared with your team, many of whom are likely to

BHGRE GARY GREENE

be in the “Conscious Incompetence Stage” – they recognize they do not know, and they rely on the Team Leader for direction.

Unconscious Competence

Hierarchy of Competence

The skill is “second nature” and can be performed easily. Can teach to others.

Conscious Competence

Conscious Incompetence

Understands and knows how to do something. Heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.

Recognizes the deficit and sees value in new skill. Doesn’t yet know how to do the new skill.

Unconscious Incompetence

Does not necessarily recognize the deficit. May deny the usefulness of the skill.

LEAD SYSTEMS – WHERE TO START (CONTINUED)

•

System Activities – Once the systems are clear, you will architect the activities within each system, along with the frequency of execution. You can use Roadmap’s Weekly Action Plan as a resource for potential activities in each system.

Open House System Activities Example:

(1) How many open houses per month?

(2) If inviting neighbors is an activity in the system – How? Door Knocking? Mailing?

(3) How will the open houses be promoted? Social Media? MLS? Email? Mailing?

Accountability – Team Members join teams, in large part, due to the accountability they provide. The accountability a team provides can help to make an agent successful when they might not have been on their own.

Be clear on the expectations and processes in each system. Accountability can only exist when Team Members have clarity around the expectations within each system.

Reporting and Tracking – Decide how and when the team reports activities. System execution and accountability are nearly impossible without a way to report and track activities.

Take Advantage of Gary Greene Resources – Leverage the resources available within BHGRE Gary Greene. Business systems are clearly mapped out in the Learning Portal. IMPACT and Roadmap are valuable tools for system activities, accountability, planning, and tracking. Work with the support in your office to fill in any areas where you have questions.

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS

Architecting your service delivery systems is an exhilarating part of the process. Every time I coach an agent through this process, they light up with the discovery of new opportunities and have a deeper appreciation when they realize they are already doing something that sets them apart from their competition. This becomes the unique way of delivering a replicable client experience that becomes a source of pride for the Team Leader and the team.

The way something is done is often just as important as getting it done. It’s important to establish standards and expectations for the team’s service delivery. Consider the client experience throughout your team processes. How can you enhance the service delivery?

For example, it is always exciting to inform buyers that their offer has been accepted. Many agents

share this news over the phone, as well as providing next steps verbally. However, many buyers are overwhelmed and nervous at this stage. Consider that on your team, ‘The Team Way’ may be to follow the phone call with a congratulatory email from the team that walks them through the next steps in the buying process. This addition can be wonderfully comforting, an opportunity to enhance the client experience, and build the brand and reputation of the team.

Imagine taking each client experience – buyers, sellers, tenants, and landlords – and applying your team’s enhancements to each part of your service delivery. You are developing ‘The Team Way.’ You will have created the checklist and process for each client experience. Not only does this build raving fans of your team, it also creates the detailed systems agents want to plug into. It can be a huge part of the value proposition that a Team Leader offers Team Members.

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS – WHERE TO START

Current Checklists – Start with your current transaction checklists. If you don’t have any, BHGRE Gary Greene provides checklists for a variety of processes. Use them as a starting point for your team checklists.

Document – Consider all the elements from client acquisition to post-closing.

Examples Include: (1) (2) (3) (4)

What is the pre-list process? What materials are delivered? When and how?

What is the listing presentation process? What materials? What is the follow-up?

What is the listing activation process? How is the listing loaded in the MLS? What marketing assets do you utilize? What promotion do you use?

What is the post-closing process? What is the follow-up? Do you adopt the new buyer on your listings?

Evaluate What Works – What are you doing now that makes your clients love you and makes you proud?

What Do You Value? – How are your values represented in your service delivery to your clients? If you value accuracy or timeliness – how is that represented in your service delivery system? If you value community connection and diversity – how is that represented in your service delivery system? If you value serving members of the military and their families – how is that represented in your service delivery systems?

BHGRE GARY GREENE

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEMS – WHERE TO START (CONTINUED)

What can you enhance? – Enhancements are your differentiators. Review your current systems with service delivery in mind and consider ways to improve the client experience. Find opportunities to enhance your systems to reflect your ‘Team Way’ of service delivery.

Manage Execution – A big part of executing service delivery systems is clarity from the Team Leader around expectations. Setting and documenting clear expectations for execution is important because new Team Members should commit to them prior to joining. When Team Members are not working the systems, there needs to be a process to recognize the deficiency, then correct the gaps. If that does not work, you will need to decide if the Team Member is a fit for your team. Making those decisions is a difficult part of your role, but without decisive action here, it can undermine the team, the culture, and the brand that you are trying to build.

OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS

“Organize around business functions, not people. Build systems within each business function. Let systems run the business and people run the systems. People come and go but the systems remain constant.” - Michael Gerber, author of E-Myth Revisited Utilizing well-defined operational systems is crucial for a team. These systems allow you to consistently support the business regardless of staffing or Team Member changes. Today, technology can provide seamless support for the operations side of your business. By taking advantage of BHGRE Gary Greene’s technology and tools you will be able to leverage the available training and lower your overhead. You may have a need for other operational systems depending on your individual team needs. Operational systems help create an ability to track and source production, track productivity of individual Team Members, assess return on your investment, analyze the efficacy of lead systems, forecast future expenses and income, and determine profit & loss. If a Team Leader is looking to scale their practice, operational systems will be a central part of that plan.

IDEAL OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS WILL PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING:

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PRODUCTION TRACKING – Roadmap tracks your Team Member’s production and pipeline. As a Team Leader, you can receive monthly reports of team production upon request of your Branch Manager.

Roadmap is a valuable coaching tool. Not only can you view active, pending, and closed activity for each Team Member, you can coach them through conversion opportunities in their pipeline, giving you crucial insight into the upcoming potential income. This supports the Team Member in keeping their focus on future opportunities as well as provides the Team Leader

an improved ability to budget and forecast income. If you opt to use another tracking tool, ensure you are not focused solely on active, pending, and closed production. Tracking production needs to also include business sources and future pipeline.

CONTACT RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) – A robust CRM is an essential tool for the team. BHGRE Gary Greene’s CRM system, IMPACT powered by kvCORE, has all the functionality of a robust contact management system. Additionally, IMPACT is seamlessly connected to our company marketing collateral for easy deployment of digital campaigns, postcard campaigns, or custom team assets to the team’s database.

With the team upgrade through IMPACT (available at a discounted monthly fee to Gary Greene teams) a Team Leader would have the added benefit of routing leads to Team Members. Routing rules can be created based on lead eligibility, or prioritized based on activity, areas worked, time-off, and more.

With the upgrade, a Team Leader can monitor lead follow-up, Team Member activities, and identify areas needing further support and coaching. Processes for follow-ups are built and tracked around activities within IMPACT. Coaching to improve conversion is supported with the insight that comes from this additional level of access.

ACCOUNTING – With the additional expenses of running a team – staffing, technology, leads – accounting systems will be essential. Quickbooks is popular in the industry, however, you need to discuss this with your CPA or tax advisor.

Employees, versus 1099 staff, have individual requirements which need to be taken into consideration when adding members to your team. Consider a payroll service for employees. It is imperative to lean on the counsel of qualified tax professionals to avoid mistakes that can leave you in hot water with the Internal Revenue Service.

TRANSACTION MANAGEMENT – BHGRE Gary Greene utilizes DocuSign Rooms for transaction management. As a Team Leader and Designated Supervisor, it is your responsibility to support Team Members in accurately completing and loading necessary paperwork into the Gary Greene transaction management system.

DocuSign Rooms can be set up for your team in a couple of ways: (1) (2)

Team Members can invite the Team Leader to access documents which allows for collaboration and support at every stage of the transaction.

The Transaction Coordinator can create the file and invite the necessary Team Members.

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(3)

The Team Leader will need to be mindful of the risks associated with dual agency within the team. Paperwork and transaction management access needs to be carefully limited in instances of intermediary assignments within the team. For this reason, a Team Leader is not automatically able to access the files for all Team Members.

DocuSign Rooms is integrated with the IMPACT CRM, allowing for the linking of transactions to CRM contacts. This is designed to help automate the process of keeping contact status current in the CRM, link relevant transactions to CRM contact records, and can prevent data entry duplication.

BUSINESS SUITE OF SERVICES

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Microsoft Office 365 is available to all BHGRE Gary Greene agents online, which provides web-based access to email, calendars, online document creation, document storage, and additional resources. The desktop version of Microsoft Office is available for individual purchase as an upgraded license.

Deciding which service to use (Microsoft Office, Google Suite, etc.) will be important for operations. Utilizing one platform for calendaring, email, and document storage for the entire team will create a seamless workflow and diminish the learning curve for both support staff and Team Members.

Note that Gary Greene offerings are designed for ease of use and quick access. Access to Gary Greene tools is facilitated by company managed accounts, and efficiencies and features are continually evaluated and enhanced. Team Leaders choosing to operate comparable systems outside of Gary Greene’s hosted environment may inadvertently hamper quick access into the Gary Greene tools they do utilize.

In Closing -

A significant part of the team value proposition is the ability for Team Members to plug into established and proven systems. If they are to ‘hitch’ themselves to any wagon, this is it. While it is not necessary to have every system perfected in advance of your first hire, it is imperative for the team’s success and growth to have begun this process in earnest and with an eye toward evolving and improving your systems as the team grows.

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OWNERSHIP

CHAPTER FOUR OWNERSHIP

Ownership is one of the most frequently overlooked decisions when building a team. Who owns the assets of the team/partnership? These questions can be relatively easy to answer at the outset, but incredibly difficult to resolve if they are not addressed in advance of a team dissolving. If the decisions are left to be resolved at the team’s dissolution, ownership disputes can easily become acrimonious and can damage the relationship. In some cases, they can significantly damage the brand as well.

With an individual Team Leader some of these decisions are clear, but not always. We often think that married couples, family teams, or close friends are somehow exempted from these types of decisions, or they erroneously believe that they would be amicably resolved given the relationship. In truth, these decisions are even more important considering personal relationships. Safeguard the future of your relationships – personal and professional – by making decisions in advance and putting these questions of ownership in writing.

BRAND ASSETS

You will invest a lot in developing team assets and they will have more value as your brand becomes recognized in the market. Brand assets include logos, web domains, team names, taglines, and email accounts (more on this in the next chapter). Assets also include social media accounts, review sites, Google Business Profiles, and team profiles on real estate portals.

PHYSICAL ASSETS

Consider the branded physical assets of the team. My partner and I owned a branded golf cart, but items could be as simple as branded bags, pens, or mugs. How were those items purchased? Does the person who retains the right to the team name and logo also automatically get all branded assets? Or will it be necessary to do a monetary buy-out?

GEOGRAPHIC FARM

Farming is a particularly large investment for a team, and if successful, it becomes a significant asset. Should the Team Member leave, who will continue to market the neighborhood? Will there be an agreement not to market the geographic farm for a given period? Will there be a referral fee due for future business from the farm? If so, for how long?

CASE STUDY

My partnership with Lorie had been a prosperous one. We had successfully farmed one neighborhood of 1,000 homes and another with 800 homes. When we dissolved the partnership, I felt certain I would continue to market my neighborhood of 1,000 homes, and she would market her neighborhood of 800 homes. Unfortunately, she did not agree. What ensued was an unpleasant dispute which damaged our friendship for a few years and damaged a well-established brand in our geographic farms. It was painful, and ultimately expensive for us both.

MARKETING/AD SPACE CONTRACTS

Consider your marketing contracts. Some contracts could be quite valuable - your secured Zillow Premier zip code could have a waiting list, or your team has secured the only placement in a coveted publication. Who will retain the rights to those marketing contracts? Are the contracts transferable? Who will fulfill the financial and legal responsibility for outstanding contracts?

DATABASE

The most valuable asset is likely the team database. Contact information, communication history, and transaction history are a huge part of what you are building. At the dissolution of a partnership or the departure of a Team Member, it will be important to map out the following:

• Who will continue to market to the contacts in the database?

• • •

Who will work potential referrals from the database?

Will referral fees be paid from transactions from sphere/past clients/referrals from that database?

If there are marketing restrictions or referral fees to be paid, how much and for how long?

We will cover answers to these questions in Chapter 7.

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BUILDING BRAND

CHAPTER FIVE BUILDING BRAND

WHAT IS BRAND?

Defining brand is not as easy as one might think.

Tom Ferry hosted a dynamic debate, about brand, between Marc Davisson and Jason Pantana on his podcast. Marc Davisson is co-founder of 1000-Watt Consulting, one of the industry’s premiere creative branding agencies and Jason Pantana is a widely respected speaker/coach with industry expertise in digital marketing and social media strategy.

Pantana defines brand as, “Your voice, your mind, your heart, your face.” He goes on to say, “I’m a big believer in personal branding. To me, personal branding is the ability to create influence through who you are - known through your marketing channels.”

Ferry asks Davisson, “What’s a brand?” Davisson smiles at Pantana and responds, “Well, it’s not that. But that is valuable though.” Davisson goes on to say, “… what you are talking about is super important. But that’s reputation.”

The way Davisson describes his view of brand is, “Brand has to be unique to you ... that you own it completely.” For Davisson, it is the thing that makes you, or your service delivery, uniquely you.

Where do I fall in that debate? Well, these are two smart guys, so I am going to venture that neither of them is wrong. But what I do know for sure … it is not a logo, a tagline, or a team name. That we can all agree on.

WHERE TO START

Building brand starts with your values and beliefs. You have already begun to think about this when considering your service delivery systems. Continue to explore this by answering the following questions …

What do you value?

What is important to you?

What do you personally stand for?

As Davisson describes, “The only thing that we have that we can really truly call unique to us is our belief system.” The exercise is not to arrive at some esoteric concept, but to really give thought to

what drives the culture of your business.

This is something the leadership team of GH III Management (BHGRE Gary Greene and Gibraltar Services) wanted to explore more deeply. After thoughtful consideration, debate, and reflection, our owner Mark Woodroof zeroed in on the thing that drives the organization – to partner with our team to create rewarding lives and businesses. It drives all the decisions and is at the heart of why we exist as a company.

And that is who we are. It is who Mark is.

If you have an opportunity to talk with him about BHGRE Gary Greene, his years with the company, and his Team Members, you will see evidence of this belief. There is deep pride and genuine affection in his expression when he talks about agents who have changed their lives and careers at Gary Greene. Those agents’ ‘rewarding lives and businesses’ are at the root of everything we do.

THAT is brand. It is a unique set of values expressed through the decisions you make every day.

Begin thinking about what that is for your team. What drives you and is unique to you? This may be a process of discovery and may not be something that you can define immediately. As you explore these questions, your continued growth and evolving processes may help bring clarity over time.

So, what is brand to me?

Personal brand, the ways it is expressed through powerful marketing, can be a crucial part of someone’s overall brand. In that way, I agree with Pantana.

But, when those are done well, they should simply be an extension of your values and what makes you uniquely you, as Davisson describes. Logos, imagery, taglines, video, and all marketing assets then become closely tied with your personal brand and expressions of your uniqueness and values.

MARKETING

How can you build a recognizable presence in your local market? How can you build the reputation and awareness that leads customers to you? Things we often associate with ‘branding’ are really marketing. Those assets are incredibly important, and our award-winning marketing department can support you with logos, provide direction around team names, the right domain, custom signage, and development of recognizable marketing assets.

The collective efforts and success of the team create opportunities for production recognition on a local and national level. The recognition of success through high sales volume and transaction count can be leveraged by the team as validation within your market, within your community, online, and with past clients and sphere. This is one of the great benefits for the Team Leader, but also for Team Members.

These marketing assets become the recognizable expression of your brand. Take your time because you want to get this right. Do the right research and lean on the professional advice you have from your BHGRE Gary Greene team.

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TEAM NAMES

There are specific requirements for team names outlined by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) under TREC Rule 535.154. All team names must be registered with TREC by BHGRE Gary Greene before using them in advertisements. At the time of writing, team name was defined as follows:

Team Name is a name used only by a team or group of one or more sponsored sales agents or brokers associated with this broker. Team names must end in “team” or “group” and cannot contain the words “brokerage,” “company,” or “associates” or other similar terms.

There are several things to consider when naming your team. Take time to be thoughtful to avoid mistakes that become expensive to rectify later.

CASE STUDY

In one of my early ‘misses’ I had decided to go with ‘Belterra’ for the name of my Southern California brokerage. I loved the idea – ‘beautiful ground’ - and I loved the sound of the word ‘Belterra.’ I also wanted to convey the luxury of my market, so I added, ‘Fine Homes.’ Not bad. Belterra Fine Homes. Slight problem. Go ahead and say that aloud. Couple times. A little faster. Bel-terrifying Homes. Yeah … we stuck with it, but not the ideal branding decision and certainly not a shining moment in my real estate career.

TEAM NAME CONSIDERATIONS

• Make sure the name does not limit growth by becoming too focused on a niche or a geography.

Avoid being too cutesy or clever. Go with something that will stand the test of time.

Ensure the name is available on social media accounts and as a domain name (URL).

It is best to have a shorter name, not overly complicated, or difficult to spell or say.

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Personal names have distinct pros and cons. They become very recognizable and can leverage a Team Leader’s previous success.

The downsides – they can potentially diminish the effectiveness of Team Members building a strong brand within the team. This may be more of an issue in a System Support or Hybrid Model. Another potential downside is if the brand is heavily connected with the Team Leader’s personal name it can have an impact on transferability when it is time to sell. While that can be a factor, if done well, that certainly is not always the case as evidenced by the successful use of the Gary Greene name long after Gary’s affiliation with the company ended.

TAGLINES

A tagline is not necessary, and too often, agents feel compelled to create one. In fact, a bad tagline can undermine what you are trying to create. No tagline is better than a bad tagline.

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• ‘Everything I touch turns to SOLD’ - Cheesy ‘Never too busy for your referrals!’ - Common and self-serving ‘Experience, Integrity, & Results!’ - I used this in 2001. It falls under the category of ‘Well, I should hope so.’

If you feel you must have one, allow your tagline to evolve based on the values of your brand and what makes the team unique. If it reflects how you bring value to your clients and how you are different, then it is a good tagline.

In an update to my own tagline, when we evolved as a team we used, ‘You’re at Home with Us.’ This reflected the comfort level our clients had with us. They trusted us to get things done, and we became friends with nearly all of our clients during the process.

LOGOS

A logo should become a recognizable piece of your brand. Versatility, readability, and simplicity is paramount when creating a logo.

Things to avoid:

• Rooflines, keys, and doors are unnecessarily literal. Be careful of pulling a house or key graphic from an online source and using those as logos. You will be unable to copyright the graphics, and in general, I would say these tend to be pedestrian.

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• Do not build logos that cannot be translated across various platforms and mediums – web, merchandise, printed collateral, etc. For example, avoid metallics or 3-D effects.

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Do not be cavalier about your choice of font and color. Color and fonts are strongly tied to different meanings for consumers.

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Avoid complicated logos. They will not translate well in smaller iterations or across different platforms.

TEAM PHOTOS

Your team photo is an important part of building a recognizable brand. Modern agent images should be environmental (in a ‘real world’ atmosphere such as a living room, kitchen, office, or study). Poses should be natural, and attire should be classic and simple.

Consider your team business model and how you intend to use the images. For example, if you are a Rainmaker Model, you may elect to focus on your image as you are the consistent face of the brand.

However, if you have a System Support Model or a Hybrid Model, you may want to have each agent have an independent image, along with a team image. For example, a Team Member may send a ‘Just Listed’ postcard with their personal image on the front, and the team’s image on the back. The agent’s individual shot should have a similar look and feel to the rest of the team’s imagery for consistency and easy brand recognition.

Avoid photoshopping Team Members in and out of photos. It rarely appears natural, and it is not a good look for the team to have a revolving door of agents on your marketing materials. As an alternative, consider the following:

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It is not imperative to update a group photo when a new Team Member joins. Get through a reasonable trial period to ensure that you have a good fit for the team before you make the updates.

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In your Team Agreement, include language that conveys a right to continue to use their image in all existing advertising and marketing assets for a specified period following their departure. This protects you from the expense and inconvenience of updating marketing before you are ready.

SIGNAGE

Our founder, Gary Greene, believed in the power of listings. Listings are the secret to a growing and thriving real estate brand. The most recognizable piece of a successful real estate brand is a yard sign. It is the physical evidence of success in a market. Leverage that opportunity to grow your footprint in a geography by investing in signage that reflects your recognizable brand alongside ours.

There are specific guidelines that are required as part of our franchise agreement with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and standards set by Gary Greene allowing you to leverage the Gary Greene market footprint.

The marketing department creates custom sign designs with the team’s logo and contact information. The listing agent’s name – if different than the Team Leader – can be displayed on a custom rider if that is within the Policy & Procedures for your team. Any plans for custom signs must be reviewed and approved by the Gary Greene marketing department.

PRINT MARKETING

Print marketing can cover a wide variety of potential assets. Be thoughtful about the investments you make in the printed representations of your brand. Consider the following:

• Postcard Mailings – Seasonal, Just Listed/Just Sold, Specialty Mailers (Year in Review)

Buyer Presentations

Listing Presentations

Personal/Team Brochures

Business Cards

Team Announcements

Property Brochures

System Support Materials – Expired, For Sale by Owners, Absentee Owners, Open House

It is not necessary to create all these assets prior to the launch of your team, however you will want to build these assets over time. Always be mindful of your systems and how these assets are used to support them.

As part of the BHGRE Gary Greene partnership, our marketing department supports you in delivering the team’s brand and message in a memorable and consistent way. Part of that process is to build assets following a consultation to best understand the needs and vision of your team.

The goal is to ensure that once the design work is completed, assets are easy to access and deploy. For example, the marketing department loads your customized templates into our systems so assets can be deployed on demand.

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ONLINE PRESENCE

Online presence can be time consuming, expensive, and sometimes a distraction. The best way to ensure your online strategy supports your team and your business is to ensure it reflects your business model, value proposition, and systems.

CASE STUDY

Conversations around online presence, web, and social media marketing have radically evolved over the last 15 years. In the early days of the real estate web, it was a Google land grab to rank for the most competitive search terms. Search engine optimization (SEO), blogs, and Twitter were all the rage. Conferences were buzzing with the implications of real estate IDX, social media, and video.

I was in the thick of it. If you Googled, ‘Rancho Santa Margarita Condos,’ my website was one of the first three entries on page one of Google and my data driven blog posts pulled in analytical followers and leads. Industry leader and commentator Stefan Swanepoel named me one of the ‘Top 100 Real Estate Industry Leaders to follow on Twitter.’ Sounds good, right?

The reality – I was not going to be able to keep up with the mind-numbing frequency of changes to my SEO strategy, and Zillow would soon reign supreme for most meaningful real estate search terms. Also, it was not particularly enjoyable to work with a lot of overly analytical buyers that my blog attracted. And, while I had built some wonderful industry relationships that I still value today, I was not selling real estate with my Twitter following.

It can be particularly tempting for Team Leaders to become lured by vendors promising coveted leads. Be particularly careful when a vendor is pressuring you to secure an exclusive zip code ‘before someone else gets it.’ Make sure the activity or program makes sense based on your business systems. If you miss it, rest

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assured another opportunity will show up soon enough.

When managing a team, it can be tempting to outsource blog posts and social content creation. Generic, automated content is ineffective. Search engines often penalize that type of content, and consumers respond poorly to generic, impersonal content.

How do you determine the role of online marketing in your team? There are two objectives for your online presence – validation and driving new leads.

In most team models, validation is enough. An online presence focused on validation means you and your team can be found and verified as real estate professionals in your market. While this strategy may still bring new leads, it is not the primary goal of your online strategy.

If you are creating a Rainmaker Model, web presence will need a different strategy. You will need a discerning eye when considering opportunities and the systems they support.

Let’s talk about the considerations needed when developing an online strategy.

WEBSITES - IMPACT

The website provided through IMPACT, in nearly all cases, can handle both a validation and a lead generation effort. It is a powerful tool that can reflect your team’s brand and areas of market expertise.

The website is designed to capture new lead opportunities and generated leads will be added into your CRM. The IMPACT CRM is built to support lead conversion.

IMPACT also provides lead generation tools. Squeeze pages, Landing Pages, and Core Property Boost are all tools meant to drive leads. IMPACT’s Business Analytics provides reporting on the performance of various marketing efforts to determine your return on investment.

If you are a Systems Support or small Hybrid Model, the IMPACT team upgrade will most likely not be necessary. If you are routing leads, assigning leads, and/or creating accountability for activities within IMPACT, then you will need the teams upgrade. The team platform allows for routing rules to be set, visibility of team activities, tracking leads and conversion, and more. The monthly fee is also heavily discounted through BHGRE Gary Greene.

WEBSITES - OUTSIDE SOLUTIONS

If you decide to explore website solutions outside of company paid solutions, consider the following when selecting a website provider:

Is the provider an expert in real estate? If you are counting on your website to generate leads, hiring a provider that understands real estate websites is mandatory. •

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Do they understand the IDX rules and best practices around URL configuration? Do they conduct A/B testing to maximize conversion and improve ‘time on site’? For example, are consumers more likely to click on this button when it is in the right corner or the left corner? Do consumers respond to one call to action over another? You do not need to know the answers to these questions, but your website provider should.

Pretty does not mean effective. Do not fall into the trap of focusing on appearances over function or conversion. This is particularly important if you are hoping for this to be a significant source of inbound leads.

SEO is complicated and everchanging. The days of ranking organically for highly sought-after search terms on Google have passed. If you are promised top positions in search results, you will want to ask, ‘What search terms?’ In most cases, if you are driving leads, it will be a ‘pay to play’ initiative.

Conversion rules change. Consumers change. Online behaviors change. Watching consumer interaction on your site, making changes, and analyzing behavior is no small undertaking. Your expertise should continue to focus on real estate, not on consumer web behavior

CRM integration matters. Traffic to your website and online conversion (in the form of inquiry or registration) is only the beginning. Seamless integration between the inbound inquiry and the system for converting the lead is a crucial part of a successful online lead strategy. It will take time, patience, and consistent delivery of value to nurture a lead. You can have the best website in the world bringing in leads, but if it is not connected to the system built to support conversion, you have the equivalent of a beautiful car with nothing under the hood.

Domain selection matters. Make the domain as close to the team name as possible and select a ‘.com.’

GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILES

Google Business Profiles serve validation and lead generation functions. In a recent conversation with a leading industry subject expert, they considered the evolution of Google Business Profile (GBP) to be as important, if not more important, than traditional SEO. This will undoubtedly continue to be an important profile to build for the team.

Best practices will continue to evolve for GBP, but one thing will reign supreme – original and consistent content. A listing feed, team images, videos, Google reviews, neighborhood and community content will help with organic rankings of your GBP profile.

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

As with most things online, social media changes quickly and often.

To develop a clear strategy for the team ask yourself the following questions:

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Will the primary goal of the social profile be lead generation or validation? Build a strategy with the goal in mind.

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What social media channels are frequented by your target market? It is better to focus on a few platforms and execute well, than trying to be everywhere and execute poorly

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Where do you naturally feel comfortable? If you are not actively engaged on Twitter, it is unnecessary to maintain a Twitter profile. Be in places that naturally fit your team.

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Does a Team Member have strength in a particular social media channel?

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Which areas will you commit to building content? While you need to remain open to new opportunities, be careful of fragmented focus. You need to be where your audience is engaged.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

• It is best to advise Team Members to stay away from posting or engaging in divisive topics such as politics or religion. Growing a business with reach and market share will mean serving diverse communities. Team Members have a responsibility to uphold the reputation of the team within the community.

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There can be a reputational cost to the entire team when a Team Member fails to comply with the team’s social policy. Determine in advance how you will respond.

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What types of professional social media profiles will Team Members use? Will they have access to the team profiles, or will they establish their own? What limitations will be in place? What use of the team name will be allowed? Be clear on ownership, permission levels, and responsibility for posting on each of the sites.

REAL ESTATE PORTAL PROFILES

Your Zillow and MLS profiles are both incredibly important validation points. For the greater Houston market, HAR (Houston Association of REALTORS®) is the most frequently visited real estate portal. Nationally, that distinction is held by Zillow. Create a team profile on both Zillow and HAR that aggregate team sales histories and profiles. The team profile should have an updated sale history, current headshots, reviews, and a link to your team website.

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ADVERTISING

When considering advertising options, first consider your systems. How do these types of advertisements support and enhance your existing systems? These opportunities will not bring significant business to the team on their own, but act as an enhancement to your current systems.

For example, a buyer is not likely to select an agent because of a billboard advertisement. However, a buyer may decide to respond to your farming postcard or respond more favorably to a Team Member in an open house because the billboard enhances the ‘I see them everywhere’ feeling. Magazines

The following are just some of the opportunities to expand the brand reach for the team:

BUILD YOUR TEAM

CHAPTER SIX BUILD YOUR TEAM

After carefully considering and architecting your team model, systems, and brand – your value proposition to Team Members will be clear.

THIS CLARITY SUPPORTS THE TEAM IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

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RECRUITING – The right agents will want what you are offering. The objective is not to appeal to everyone, but to agents who fit your model and your brand values. If your model has a high level of accountability around the execution of lead systems, recruiting agents who want to work independently may not be a good fit for your team. When you are clear on your value proposition, you are more likely to recruit agents aligned with your values and not waste time and resources on candidates who aren’t a good fit.

RETENTION – When your value proposition is clear, Team Members know what will be provided by the Team Leader, as well as what is expected from them. When Team Member’s expectations are aligned with the reality of their experience on your team, the likelihood of retention is higher.

DECISION MAKING – When there is a new lead opportunity, a new source of business, a new advertising spot, or a new candidate to consider – the Team Leader should ask themselves if the opportunity is consistent with their value proposition and brand. If it is not, the decision becomes clear.

CULTURE – A consistent, routinely delivered message around the value proposition helps create a positive culture in an organization. In turn, that positive culture becomes part of the value proposition for the team.

TEAM STRUCTURE

“I’d rather interview 50 people and not hire anyone than hire the wrong person.” - Jeff Bezos

Prior to building a team, you wear all the hats of the organization. CEO to janitor … that’s you. It is in the Team Leader’s best interest to imagine not only support staff and Team Members needed at the outset,

but also anticipating the needs of the team as it evolves over time. How will the business operate, what systems need to be managed, and what does that staff support look like at varying stages of growth? What is the job description for each role regardless of who is filling that role today? In the formation of many teams, the earliest hires are made from convenience – a Team Leader hires a friend who needs a job ‘a few hours a week’ or someone who just expresses interest. In those cases, the candidates are driving the hiring rather than the Team Leader defining a job description and hiring the best person to fill that role.

When a candidate is hired before a defined job description is created, several problems are likely to emerge. Expectations, when not set in advance, are impossible to satisfy and the hire can become frustrated with the lack of clarity and direction. Turnover is the inevitable result. The cost to the business is significant – business is disrupted, time is lost, and the team culture is undermined.

Even when things do work, how do you replicate that success if it is accidental? If Team Members or support staff leave, how will you be able to hire a comparable replacement?

Building a plan for growth is a common struggle. Team Leaders, too often, build their teams ad hoc, rather than building the structure in advance. While there are no set rules, there are best practices to consider at each stage of growth. One of the most important considerations will be your model. Different models require distinct roles, staff, and responsibilities.

Note: Growing your team is not a requirement. Remember from Chapter 1, “a team is a responsibility.” There are wildly successful small teams with only an assistant and a Buyer’s Agent, and there are highly successful partnerships that only have one assistant. Hire because it aligns with your plan and vision, not because of an obligation to grow.

If growth is a part of your vision, consider the structures laid out in this chapter.

PHASE I

In the initial stages of team building, a Transaction Coordinator and a Licensed Assistant are the first critical hires. Following those, a Buyer’s Agent would likely be next.

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TRANSACTION COORDINATOR

– It makes sense to start with a Transaction Coordinator. This person takes responsibility for managing transactions from the time the initial contract is signed to its completion. This position can be compensated on a per transaction basis, making it an attractive first hire as you only have the expense when there are activities related to income.

BHGRE Gary Greene has an in-house service that is a wonderful, economical place to start. Use it to bridge the support gap until it makes financial sense to hire an employee.

• •

LICENSED ASSISTANT – A Licensed Assistant is the first hire that requires the commitment of overhead regardless of team production levels. For this reason, Team Leaders may be afraid to take the leap of faith. However, a Licensed Assistant can be one of the most important hires for a team. The right assistant allows the Team Leader to focus on revenue generating activities instead of daily operations. In addition to administrative tasks, marketing, tracking, reporting, and customer support services, they can help with creating standard procedures and systems for the team.

BUYER’S AGENT(S) – Team Leaders sometimes hire a Buyer’s Agent first. While this is common, it is not ideal. Hiring support staff first allows you to focus on building systems and generating lead opportunities to ensure a viable and attractive value proposition for future team members. This also allows the new Buyer’s Agents to focus on lead generation and lead follow-up activities, creating income opportunities both for the individual Team Members, as well as for the team as a whole.

Depending on your model, a Buyer’s Agent could be responsible for executing team systems, working inbound leads, showings, open houses, and writing/negotiating offers. As your lead generation systems become more defined and lead volume increases, it will be reasonable to consider bringing on additional Buyer’s Agents.

A word of caution: If you have a Buyer’s Agent building their own business through your System Support Model or a Hybrid Model, they will eventually have listing opportunities. It is important to decide how you will handle those opportunities. As a Team Leader, will you continue to be the only listing agent on the team? Will your Buyer’s Agents receive referral fees on listings? How will leads generated from those listings be dispersed? If they can take listings, will they have their own sign riders – in a farm for example? How will the expenses be handled? Consider these questions in advance so as the role evolves, the team has clarity.

PHASE II

Some teams find that the structure provided by Phase I is more than enough to satisfy their team vision. Many small teams have incredible success without entering Phase II. However, as the team grows in production – volume and transaction count – it may be time to consider growing the team. If the service delivery is compromised because of limitations in staff structure, it may be time for additional support staff. If lead opportunities are not captured because volume is outpacing agent capacity, it may be time for additional Team Members.

This is where defining roles and structure in advance starts to really pay off. Responsibilities previously managed by other staff members can move to already defined job descriptions. For example, you may have an Administrative Assistant responsible for all marketing efforts, but as you grow you might be able to hire the Marketing Coordinator you previously mapped out to take over marketing responsibilities.

• • • •

LISTING COORDINATOR – As the listing count grows, you may need a Listing Coordinator to effectively support the activities needed to service your listings. This person is responsible for listing operations and marketing activities – scheduling photographers and stagers, coordinating repairs, inputting listings into the MLS, ordering property brochures/Just Listed cards, seller reporting (showing traffic, online views, etc.), etc.

MARKETING COORDINATOR – System execution can be compromised if you and the team are unable to keep up with the necessary marketing activities. Before you get to that point, examine which marketing activities can move from the Assistant to a Marketing Coordinator. A Marketing Coordinator would be responsible for all marketing activities related to advertising, social media marketing, and online promotions (Google Ads, Adwerx, Facebook Ads, etc.), as well as marketing activities that are part of your lead generation and follow-up systems.

LEAD BUYER’S AGENT – As your Buyer’s Agent team grows, someone might stand out as a natural leader and an ideal candidate for a Lead Buyer’s Agent. This person would take on the additional role of supporting new Team Members, organizing the open house schedule, tracking the team’s buyer pipeline, and reporting to the Team Leader.

INSIDE

SALES

AGENT (ISA) – An ISA may become necessary when a Rainmaker Model or a Hybrid Model is working a high volume of inbound leads. In those models, leads need to be generated, but also routed to Team Members and diligently tracked for conversion. An ISA can be instrumental in supporting a team as they scale and ensure maximum return on investment.

An ISA can also be utilized to build lead opportunities by playing an active role in prospecting. This could include calling For Sale By Owners, expired listings, surrounding homeowners for team listings, or specific client target markets.

An ISA acts as the initial point of contact for the team. By creating that initial communication, the client experience is consistent, and the likelihood of conversion dramatically increases. This is particularly important when you examine industry response times for inbound inquiries.

A Baylor University study reported (as quoted by Jesse Boudin, owner of CallAction.co in a post about ISA’s):

• 49% of email leads never receive a response. When they did respond, it took an average of 5 hours 35 minutes.

• •

51% of text inquiries never receive a response.

29% of phone call inquiries never receive a call back. When calls were returned, it took an average of 1 hour 45 minutes.

A Zillow study showed a 400% difference in lead conversion when the lead was responded to within the first two minutes of inquiry. Speed to the lead really does matter.

By having support staff manage the initial point of contact, the team easily sets themselves apart from the competition. When a warmer lead is handed over to a Team Member, it has a much higher likelihood of conversion.

Carefully consider your compensation and process for this position. It makes sense to compensate an ISA based on lead conversion, but accountability with the Team Members responsible for converting the opportunity will have to be high for the compensation structure to work. When warm leads are turned over to Team Members, there needs to sufficient efficacy in the conversion process. The ISA must have a high level of confidence and trust that their diligent efforts will pay off.

CASE STUDY

A longtime friend of mine was an ISA for a team in Colorado. She was responsible for the initial conversations for inbound leads. She also made proactive prospecting calls to expired listings and to home owners around the team’s listings. Michelle was exceptionally skilled with her dialogue, and prospects responded incredibly well to her. She was a highly successful appointment setter.

Michelle’s only compensation was on closed business. The reward for Michelle’s efforts was inextricably tied to the effectiveness of other Team Members. She was able to set appointments for the team, but what she found was some members of the team were not bringing the required level of skill, commitment, and passion to the conversion process.

The Team Leader failed to hold the team accountable to conversion standards that created a win-win environment for all Team Members. While some members of the team were effective, they were getting the same opportunities that low performers were receiving, directly impacting the financial success and well-being of the team’s ISA. Subsequently, Michelle moved on to another opportunity where she was able to reap the financial reward for her efforts.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

PHASE III

Phase III focuses on moving some of the Team Leader’s responsibilities to support staff or Team Members. This phase allows a Team Leader to strategically pull back from a significant portion of the day-today operations. At this stage, the team systems should be effective, predictable, and profitable. The Team Leader might decide to shift their focus towards a geographic expansion in their current market or the surrounding markets.

Phase III should not be considered until your systems are running efficiently and effectively, your Team Members are confident in the systems, and you have satisfied the first two phases.

• •

OPERATIONS MANAGER – If the team and production become large enough, it may be necessary to have someone solely focused on operations, training, accountability, staff management, and talent attraction. Responsibility for refining systems to improve efficiency and conversion would also fall under this role.

LISTING MANAGER – Responsible for taking on the lead interface with sellers. This may or may not include taking listings. The individual would be responsible for updates to the seller, revising CMA’s, and more advanced seller service delivery. This is less administrative, and more active engagement with sellers in the listing period and once under contract.

HIRE TO THE JOB DESCRIPTION

“Getting the right people in the right jobs is a lot more important than developing a strategy.” - Jack Welch

“You can dream, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney

Designing the team structure will help inform the job titles you need immediately and those you will grow into in the future. Outlining the activities and responsibilities within each job description will allow you to hire the right team members with the appropriate skill sets.

Job descriptions should be reviewed annually to ensure adjustments can be made. Any revisions to the job descriptions should be distributed to the corresponding Team Members. Hiring to specific job descriptions and clearly communicating adjustments creates an effective team, and equally important –retention is high, with a team culture that is conducive to growth.

Unfortunately, we often hire out of convenience. Success is attractive, so naturally people might express a desire to be part of your successful team. However, the health and strength of your team is something to guard assiduously.

The wrong hire has the potential to be detrimental to the team, and to the individual you hired. It is not uncommon for a newer struggling agent in need of additional income to express an interest in becoming your part-time assistant.

However, in this example this poses a few problems:

• Their real desire is to be a real estate agent, not an assistant.

•

•

The skills of a real estate agent are different from those that tend to make successful assistants.

The misalignment of goals will make for an unhappy and ineffective assistant.

•

There is a high likelihood of turnover, which in turn creates disruption to the business.

First review the job description and responsibilities of a role, then hire an individual who fits those requirements based on personality, skills, and goal alignment.

CASE STUDY

Early in my career I met a fellow REALTOR®, Randy, that would change the course of my career. He was speaking on a panel. I loved what he shared and I approached him.

On the panel, Randy spoke about his team and the clear processes they had in place. His clarity around ‘how’ things were done allowed me to recognize what was missing in my own practice. At that time, my partner and I were successful, but only by accident and solely on the strength of our local personal relationships. Up until this point, I worked at a small boutique brokerage with little training and certainly no coaching. We were working without a database, a listing presentation, or lead generation systems of any kind. I was succeeding despite myself, and I desperately wanted what he had.

At that time Randy only had one assistant and one selling Team Member; he believed we would be an excellent fit to grow his team.

We wanted to learn from Randy. He had the systems and structure that I was suddenly aware we seriously lacked. We had many discussions about joining his team and he even drew up a Team Agreement.

There was one significant problem, although I did not recognize it at the time. I didn’t just want to learn from Randy … I wanted to be Randy.

To Randy’s great credit, he recognized the problem and told us it ultimately was not a good fit. We were crushed at the time, but thankfully that decision saved all parties a lot of grief. Randy encouraged us to grow our business and supported us by pointing to the resources that would change our business and my life.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

PERSONALITY TYPES

In recent years, Gary Greene’s desire to focus on hiring the right personalities for the right roles has led us to discover a variety of personality testing solutions. These provide initial insights into someone’s natural working style, where they find job satisfaction, and areas of potential work style weakness. This is an excellent starting point for hiring.

Keep in mind, these types of tests will not measure specific aptitudes or skillsets that are required for success in a position. As training is time-consuming and expensive, consider your minimum requirements for skills for each role before you begin the hiring process.

PERSONALITY TESTING SOLUTIONS

• DiSC® PROFILE TESTS – This is the most common personality testing solution and there are many recommendations for hires based on this profile test.

The test can be found online for free and will weigh the individual 0 to 99 ( >60 is categorized as strong) in the following four categories:

• Dominance – A person primarily in this DiSC® quadrant places emphasis on accomplishing results and “seeing the big picture.” They are confident, sometimes blunt, outspoken, and demanding.

•

Influence – A person in this DiSC® quadrant places emphasis on influencing or persuading others. They tend to be enthusiastic, optimistic, open, trusting, and energetic.

•

Steadiness – A person in this DiSC® quadrant places emphasis on cooperation, sincerity, loyalty, and dependability. They tend to have calm, deliberate dispositions, and don’t like to be rushed.

•

Conscientiousness – A person in this DiSC® quadrant places emphasis on quality and accuracy, expertise, and competency. They enjoy their independence, demand the details, and often fear being wrong.

*Source: https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc/disc-styles

While there seems to be some fluidity to sales roles, ‘Influence’ is important. These are some suggestions for the supportive roles:

• Administrative Assistant, Transaction Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator – S & C – All of these roles benefit from stability, patience, emotional steadiness, and attention to detail.

• Buyer’s Agent – I & S – The ability to work well with others, influence and persuade, yet be cooperative and calm is invaluable in this role. If there is too much D, in time they may find working within the team environment frustrating. If there is some D, this person might be able to move into other roles in the future, like a Lead Buyer’s Agent.

• • •

Listing Agent – D & C – This person is driven but also careful with the details.

Inside Sales Agent – I & S but best with some D – This position requires the strength and confidence that is found with the D.

Operations Manager – I & S – This person needs to be a strong I to influence a team and gain their trust, and they should also possess the steadiness trait to inspire confidence.

• WORKING GENIUS – Patrick Lencioni, author of 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, developed Working Genius. Lencioni states everyone has natural talents and gifts when it comes to work and there are six distinct types of gifts required of any group trying to get something done.

He goes on to say, two of the six types come naturally to you, and they give you energy - ‘Working Genius’. Two are neither natural nor energizing, and you aren’t particularly good at doing them‘Working Frustration’. Two types fall in between; you can do them fairly well, but you don’t derive joy or energy from them - ‘Working Competency.’

• The Genius of Wonder – The natural gift of pondering the possibility of greater potential and opportunity in a given situation.

• • • • •

The Genius of Invention – The natural gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions.

The Genius of Discernment – The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations. (Operations Manager)

The Genius of Galvanizing – The natural gift of rallying, inspiring and organizing others to take action. (Buyer’s Agent, Listing Agent, Inside Sales Agent)

The Genius of Enablement – The natural gift of providing encouragement and assistance for an idea or project. (Buyer’s Agent, Listing Agent, Administrative Assistant, Transaction Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, Operations Manager)

The Genius of Tenacity – The natural gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion to achieve results. (Administrative Assistant, Transaction Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, Inside Sales Agent)

YOUR NEXT HIRE

SUPPORT STAFF

Hiring to a job description will not only guide your search but will also ensure you make the best hiring choices. You are looking for both the skills necessary to get the job done, as well as a personality suited to the work. Retention in these roles support a positive team culture which creates stability for processes, a high level of service delivery, and minimizes the expense of churn.

While industry experience can be helpful in these roles, it is certainly not necessary. The learning curve and training of an inexperienced individual can be more cumbersome on the front end, but the personality fit can be just as important in the long-term. Hiring an experienced but frustrated agent may seem like the easiest path, however they may be more likely to fill a temporary gap than be a long-term hire. Remember, that person likely began their career with the vision of being a successful agent, not someone’s support staff. There are several resources available to help in your search for the ideal support staff (in no particular order):

SALES TEAM

When considering hiring experienced agents versus new licensees, there are several things to consider. Hiring a new licensee has the benefit of not bringing any ‘bad habits’ onto the team which easily allows you to train to ‘The Team Way’ of doing things. They are likely to be willing to take direction because they don’t know what they don’t know. They are in the ‘Unconscious Incompetent’ stage of professional growth.

Hiring an experienced agent can be beneficial because they recognize that the difficulty of the job is not in the mechanics of doing a real estate transaction, but in the creation of effective lead generation and lead follow-up systems. It is that ‘Conscious Incompetence’ stage that makes the team value proposition so

desirable to the experienced agent. Having experienced the business as a solo agent, they have a deeper appreciation of what is offered in the team environment.

However, not every experienced agent will be a good fit. An agent currently in a pattern of growth may not be a long-term fit if they are on their way to individual success and their goal is to be working independently. An agent who is struggling may be a fit, but it is important to understand why they are struggling. If they struggle due to a lack of a personal network or a lack of financial runway but are coachable, engaged, and highly motivated – they might be a good fit. Alternatively, if they have struggled due to a questionable work ethic, a fragmented work schedule, or a lack of commitment to the activities – they will not be a good fit.

CAN I HIRE AGENTS WITH BHGRE GARY GREENE?

As a brokerage, managers have a continuous commitment to find and hire agents to grow our Gary Greene team. This effort requires a significant investment of time and resources, and for that reason it would undermine the efforts of managers – and the brokerage as a whole - if Team Leaders recruited from within the office.

Branch Managers occasionally identify agents that may be better suited to a team environment. If you are looking for a new Team Member, be sure to reach out to your manager to see if they have someone they have identified as a potential candidate.

As a Team Leader, you may have a Team Member that wants to grow their individual practice outside of the team environment. If this relationship has been a positive one, you may elect to refer them to your manager so the agent might have an opportunity to continue their career with BHGRE Gary Greene. Occasionally, you may have an agent who approaches you from within the office. It is important to remember to hire deliberately and strategically. Hiring out of convenience is not in your best interest nor in the best interest of the potential new hire. To maintain the health of the branch and in fairness to the potential recruit, all internal recruits must be approved in advance.

If a Team Leader receives approval for a specific recruit from within the office, an override on that agent’s production is due to Gary Greene during the first six months. As this is a bilateral rule, the same override on production applies when a Team Leader refers a Team Member to work independently within Gary Greene. Details can be found in the BHGRE Gary Greene Policy & Procedures Manual.

Your Branch Manager can provide a list of experienced agent recruit possibilities based on defined criteria, upon your request. You may also find excellent candidates that represent the other party in your own transactions. This gives you some insight into how they work and if they might be a good fit for your team.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

INTERVIEW

Always conduct a professional interview with a potential candidate, regardless of any existing relationship. A professional interview positions you as the Team Leader and sets the tone for working together in the future.

Interview suggestions:

• Questions to discern candidate’s short and long-term vision for themselves.

• •

Situational questions to get a sense of their decision making, ethics, and thought process.

Ask about their availability, work style, and income expectations.

If you are considering a candidate, speak to your manager about joining you for a second interview if you require additional feedback.

COMPENSATION

There are several variables to consider when planning a compensation structure for your team.

• Maintain Team Profitability Reward Performance Be Fair and Consistent Provide Clarity Eliminate too Many If/Then Scenarios Offer Competitive Compensation Without Devaluing Your Value Proposition

SUPPORT STAFF COMPENSATION

As outlined in Phase I, a Transaction Coordinator and a Licensed Assistant are the first critical hires. You may elect to compensate your staff on an hourly basis, salary, or a per transaction basis. Ensure that each Team Member has an incentive to grow and benefit from the team’s increasing level of success. This allows Team Members to feel invested in the outcomes of the team, share in the growth, and feel part of the culture and success of the team.

The Texas Workforce Commission has adopted a 20-factor test to determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor. There are several responsibilities which you need to review with your CPA and/or tax advisor as it relates to employees. There are serious consequences for compensating staff as an independent contractor when they are technically an employee.

SALES TEAM COMPENSATION

Frequently a Team Leader will tell me, “I have to offer a split attractive enough so they will want to join my team.” Do not make the common and critical error of discrediting your value proposition by giving away too much too soon. This is incredibly easy to do and the hardest thing to repair on a team.

Every year Gary Greene successfully recruits to our schedule with the value we provide as a brokerage. Your value proposition should be in addition to the brokerage offering. Why would you charge less?

Team Leaders must be deliberate as they design compensation schedules. You must be mindful of profitability and the costs associated with operating your team.

Bernice Ross, a nationally recognized coach, speaker, and columnist wrote an article for Inman News titled, “10 Costly Mistakes Real Estate Teams Make.”

“All agent splits and employee bonuses should be calculated on net commissions after deducting expenses off the top. For example, if an agent is on a 50-50 split with your team, their net would be approximately 42.5 percent after deducting overhead and other expenses.

Agents who fail to deduct their expenses off the top reduce their profitability. They are also at greater risk of having their team fail due to the inadequate capitalization.”

Remember, at a 50-50 split Team Members do not incur the cost to generate or convert the lead, nor do they bear the financial risk or overhead it takes to get the transaction to the closing table. The Team Member’s investment and risk is their time. Compensation needs to be fair and profitable for all parties involved. When you are truly clear on the value proposition of the team, articulating splits in relationship to value delivered becomes infinitely easier.

Over time, increasing split can be easily adjusted when it is appropriate. But, rolling back splits is challenging for culture, retention, and trust unless roll backs are part of the compensation schedule.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

SALES TEAM COMPENSATION (CONTINUED)

Salaried vs. Commission

• Salaried – Some models have salaried employees. Salary based models can be attractive because you can have strict requirements around activities. While that level of accountability is appealing, this model requires a high degree of involved management and overhead that is not closely tied to production.

•

Commission – Most Team Members are compensated on a commission basis. The team model may impact compensation schedules.

A Rainmaker Model that is highly focused on providing and nurturing leads should have a more favorable split for the Team Leader given the level of risk and overhead they assume.

A System Support Model should have splits that reflect the level of investment the Team Leader is making in coaching, system development, marketing efforts, and accountability.

A Hybrid Model may elect to have a compensation schedule that varies based on the source of the lead. As a reminder, the more complicated the schedule, the more opportunities for confusion, unaccounted for scenarios, and exceptions that may lead to either party feeling unfairly treated. As much as possible, simple, clearly defined schedules are best.

Commission Schedules

• Split – Will the Team Member’s split be calculated on the gross commission income, or on the commission after the brokerage split? In other words, if the Team Leader is on an 80% net with the brokerage, does the Team Member make their split of the total gross commission or on the Team Leader’s 80%?

Something to consider in your compensation agreement – if a Team Member’s Agreement states they are to receive X% of the Team Leader’s compensation, if the Team Leader’s brokerage split increases, so does the Team Member’s. If you want freedom to adjust the Team Member’s compensation independent of changes to the Team Leader split, you will want the agreement to state a percentage based on the gross commission income rather than the after the Team Leader’s split.

Your compensation agreement with the brokerage is not static, and you may want to maintain the independent relationship between your compensation and that of the Team Member.

• Fixed or graduated – Will the split increase as the Team Member’s production increases? Will it be tied to volume or transaction count?

If you have a graduated commission schedule, does it reset annually? At the calendar year or the anniversary of the Team Member joining the team? Or, once the Team Member has reached a certain level of production, will the split become fixed?

Other

Bonuses – How will builder or resale bonuses be paid to the team?

Leases – How will leases be compensated? Will they be paid on a flat fee basis or on the commission schedule?

Incentives – Will you offer any additional incentives at certain levels of production?

COMPENSATION BEST PRACTICES

• Utilize a 60-day or 90-day trial period to ensure that it is fit for all parties.

• • • • • • •

Provide written Policy & Procedures documentation.

Document job descriptions.

Create documentation for activities and processes within your systems.

Conduct Team Member reviews annually.

Create competitive compensation schedule tied to growth in production.

Simplify compensation structure with minimal scenarios.

Consult your CPA, tax advisor, and/or attorney to comply with the necessary regulations around employees, employee compensations, and necessary tax filings.

MANAGE YOUR TEAM

CHAPTER SEVEN MANAGE YOUR TEAM

In the natural order of things, teams are born from a thriving real estate practice that in turn leverages that success to grow a team. Yet the skills needed for a successful Team Leader and manager are not always the same as the skills that created the thriving individual practice. Becoming a successful Team Leader means becoming skilled at inspiring action, coaching, accountability, strategic thinking, and process development.

COACHING & TRAINING

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else.” - Booker T. Washington

Designing your systems is an important part of building your real estate team. However, it is the coaching and training to those systems that will make them sing, and make for a profitable, mutually beneficial business.

We often hear coaching and training used interchangeably, but there is a distinct difference between the two.

Training is demonstrating the mechanics of running the business – how to complete a contract, how to load it into DocuSign Rooms, how navigate IMPACT, how to create a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) using Matrix or Cloud CMA.

Coaching is counseling someone through the process of building their business through lead generation, lead follow-up, skilled use of dialogue, and most importantly accountability around execution. It is about helping an individual realize a personal business vision.

BHGRE GARY GREENE SUPPORT

Lean into the partnership with BHGRE Gary Greene by utilizing our training and coaching resources. In the same way you want your Team Members to embrace your coaching and continue to hone their skills, set the example by attending coaching sessions offered by the brokerage. This demonstrates you are also committed to personal growth.

•

Essentials New Agent Training

•

Contracts Training

Lease Training

Roadmap & Business Planning

IMPACT Basics

Basics in the Learning Portal

Team Leaders should recommend and embrace the following new agent training offered by Gary Greene: • Road to the Top Accountability Program

Weekly Coaching Corner

Advanced Lead Generation and Skills in the Learning Portal

Office Meetings

Office Workshops and Role-Playing Events

Advanced In-Person Workshops

Accountability Mastermind Groups

Ongoing coaching and training resources are available to support you and your Team Members: • •

Team Leader Coaching Support for Best Practices on Managing the Team

TRAINING RESOURCES

Team Leaders should provide recorded training on the use of team-specific tools to support staff and Team Members. Recordings are easily accomplished with Zoom or Microsoft Teams and they will become a resource for present and future staff.

When creating your trainings, simply record a ‘meeting’. Share the screen and record your onscreen activities and voice over. Store the recordings in the cloud and create a ‘Table of Contents’ with hyperlinks to the specific training resources.

TEAM COACHING & ACCOUNTABILITY

Coaching and accountability are about supporting the growth of Team Member’s productivity. This can be one of the most desirable and valued benefits of being on the team. How do you become an effective leader and coach for your team?

BHGRE GARY GREENE

MANAGE YOUR TEAM

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

Model best practices for your team and follow the systems you have designed. As an experienced top producer, it can be tempting to cut corners. But, if you value the activities enough to build them into your systems, do them. Model time management, follow-up practices, and a positive attitude.

SET GOALS AS A TEAM

Every Team Member should have an income goal and commit to the activities required to reach that goal. When understanding the measurable goals, the Team Leader can hold Team Members accountable to their weekly activities. Without holding yourself and Team Members accountable, you will likely find it difficult to reach the overall production goals for the team.

UNDERSTAND PURPOSE

Each Team Member has a deeper reason for why they are trying to achieve a certain level of income beyond the basics of ‘keeping the lights on.’ With an understanding of that deeper purpose, a Team Leader can more effectively support the Team Member in the accountability process and keep them focused on the execution of their plan.

FOCUS ON PIPELINE

With a focus on the team’s collective pipeline, you can track potential business and forecast more accurately. You can also help Team Members troubleshoot specific clients or coach to support conversion. Being able to accurately forecast allows you to see what systems may be ‘working’ long before they show up as closed sources of business. Roadmap provides wonderful insights into team activities and future opportunities.

PROVIDE ACCOUNTABILITY

Coaching without an accountability structure will make it difficult to keep the team engaged and on track. Accountability keeps the team focused on activities that create results.

KEEP COMMUNICATION OPEN

By encouraging honest communication, there is an opportunity to get real-time feedback on systems, respond quickly to frustrations or successes, and create an environment where Team Members feel like a valued part of the team.

MAKE MEETINGS VALUABLE

Meetings should be organized, thoughtful, and intentional. They should provide high accountability, but also opportunities to share and support one another. Discussing challenges, wins, and lessons are invaluable, but avoid getting into conversations about individual transactions during team meetings.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

UTILIZE TRACKING AND REPORTING TOOLS

There should always be clarity on the level of execution in systems, production levels, and sources of business for the team. Transparency around the execution of activities can serve as an incentive for improving the overall performance of the team.

HOW TO HAVE AN EFFECTIVE COACHING MEETING

One-on-one coaching meetings with your Team Members will help support their growth, build accountability, and maintain the value proposition for the team. Learning how to have an effective coaching session is a skill that requires time to build.

Consider the following to ensure that your individual coaching sessions are effective:

• Specify a Time Frame for the Meeting – Coaching sessions should ideally be 30 minutes, but no more than 60 minutes. Focus the meeting on business building. This is a coaching meeting, not a discussion of problematic transactions.

• • •

Start with Discovery – Discovery reveals challenges, and challenges are opportunities for growth. It is important to begin every coaching meeting from a space that is neutral. Avoid bringing in tone or mood from other meetings so that you can meet people where they are at for the coaching session. Even if they have a new business success, they may have faced a personal hurdle at home. Alternatively, you could come to a meeting prepared to console them about a lost buyer transaction and discover they are elated about a new prospect. In both instances, it would be easy to be out of alignment with your Team Member. It is always better to begin neutrally to gauge where your Team Member is coming from at the time of the meeting.

Active Listening – Listen without interrupting and refrain from judging or jumping to conclusions. Restate for clarification. Pay attention to what they are saying with words, but also tone, body language, and facial expressions. Be careful not to interject solutions too quickly. Allowing someone to arrive at solutions is more powerful than giving them the answers.

Show Restraint – It is easy to try to ‘solve’ perceived problems. Showing restraint allows you to discover more and ensure that you do not interject your assumptions and beliefs into a solution too soon. As an example, an agent may not need to do more lead generation, but needs to tighten up their lead conversion skills with improved dialogue. Deep exploration before quickly interjecting solutions allows you to find a more nuanced and effective conversation.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

MANAGE YOUR TEAM

HOW TO HAVE AN EFFECTIVE COACHING MEETING (CONTINUED)

• Set Up Accountability – All the coaching advice in the world will not change anything without execution. To ensure execution, set up the accountability at the close of every coaching session. What needs to be done? By whom? By when?

•

Revisit the Commitments – Failure to fulfill commitments must be addressed. What caused the commitment to go unfulfilled? And what will be different in the coming weeks? If there is a pattern of unfulfilled commitments, there will be a question about whether the fit is right for the team.

CULTURE

“An organization has integrity – is healthy – when it is whole, consistent, and complete, that is, when its management, operations, strategy, and culture fit together and make sense.” - Patrick Lencioni

In Chapter 5, we discussed building brand and how brand is really a reflection of your values. So, as you contemplate the culture of your team, one of the central questions is how will those values be reflected in the daily operation of your team? How will they become an immersive part of the experience within your team?

Imagine quality and detailed service delivery are part of your core values, yet the team operates haphazardly and without attention to detail. Honesty might be a core value, but your Team Members are fibbing about completing required activities. A core value could be work ethic, yet Team Members are not fulfilling their commitments to the clients or the team. These are all examples of lack of alignment between the values expressed and the values experienced. This misalignment erodes the culture and undermines trust in the Team Leader.

All Team Members need to focus on the collective direction of the team and the execution of the vision. With the collective commitment to the success of the team, there is support of one another, commitment to execution, and an inspired sense of belonging to something meaningful.

How can you ensure the team remains focused and operates in alignment with the team values?

• Conduct team meetings that are purpose driven and valuable which invite collaboration and provide organizational clarity.

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Provide accountability for systems that reflect the values of the team.

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Recognize success (in all its forms) that reflects the culture you desire.

Hire for cultural fit. Patrick Lencioni says, “Although most executives pay lip service to the idea of hiring for cultural fit, few have the courage or discipline to make it the primary criteria for bringing someone into the company.”

Be willing to remove Team Members when misalignments cannot be resolved.

DOCUMENTATION

“Documentation says, ‘This is how we do it here.’ Without documentation, all routinized work turns into expectations.” - Michael Gerber

Documenting your process can be tedious and can even feel superfluous. Yet, to effectively manage the team, you must document your systems, procedures, and processes.

Documentation is important in the following ways:

• Replicable Process – Clearly documenting ‘The Team Way’ of doing things allows the process to be repeated which guarantees the client experience is consistent.

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Improve Results – By documenting processes, a standard for execution is created. As the team performs consistently to that standard, it is easier to identify the opportunities for improving outcomes around team results and client experience.

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Improve Process – As processes are executed, new opportunities for efficiency will emerge. If there are problems in the system, they are easier to identify and rectify

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Diminishes the Impact of Turnover – When staff or sales Team Members depart, it is easier to train new hires and quickly return to previous levels of execution when all processes are clearly documented.

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Provides Clarity and a Single Source for Accountability – Everyone can access the documented system, along with the expectations around how and why the team does things.

Tip: Share policy and process documentation with your Team Members from your online document storage, such as OneDrive. Ensure that the permission-based access is ‘view’ mode, NOT ‘edit.’ Assuming you make it a habit to make your revisions to the shared files, Team Members will always have the most current documentation.

Execution of a process cannot be required by independent contractors on the team, however you might tie eligibility for certain programs or leads to execution.

MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

CHAPTER EIGHT

MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

As a Team Leader, you are the owner of your business. Part of this role is being thoughtful about ways to protect the business from both internal and external vulnerabilities. In the identification of vulnerabilities, you must consider ways to address those vulnerabilities and protect your business and your Team Members.

Vulnerabilities can be mitigated when the Team Leader is thoughtful about decisions that impact revenue and expenses. Recruiting and retaining the right Team Members, coaching Team Members towards greater production, and improving systems will impact revenue. Technology, lead generation systems, marketing, and support staff will impact expenses. While you must be thoughtful about managing all these elements internally, there are external factors out of your control that can shift the environment dramatically – the economy, industry changes, and the competitive landscape to name a few.

RECRUITING & RETENTION

“Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, or technology, or competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.” - James Collins

Recruiting and training is expensive in both dollars and time. A culture that is undermined by turnover does not support retention or growth.

WHETHER BUILDING A SMALL TEAM OR A LARGE TEAM, THERE ARE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS AROUND RECRUITING AND RETENTION

• HIRING TOO QUICKLY – When we hire too quickly, we frequently hire without careful consideration of the alignment between the job description, required skillsets, and the person. Hiring solely out of convenience and before systems are in place are examples of ways we hire too quickly. In both of those cases, Team Members – sales and staff - find themselves unhappy, unsuccessful, frustrated, and they eventually move on to other opportunities.

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HIRING TOO MANY – We occasionally see a Team Leader who becomes focused on the potential optics of a larger team rather than the profitability of the team. Hiring Team Members before

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the systems or lead volume is in place creates undue pressure on the Team Leader, frustrated Team Members, and in some cases too many agents competing for too few leads. Staff can feel overwhelmed and under supported.

HIRING TOO LITTLE – At each stage of growth, there will be pivotal moments where decisions made can impact the future of the team. Will you continue to grow? Will you decide to maintain current levels of production and make a conscious choice not grow?

There are many things to consider, but the most important guiding force will be your vision for the team. Some Team Leaders choose to stay positioned as a small team. Some Team Leaders decide, despite the opportunity to grow outside their immediate market, to continue to focus on their original market.

If you have a vision for growth, hiring support staff and Team Members with the anticipation of growth entails risk. However, the failure to hire in those crucial stages can result in an inability to take full advantage of the new opportunities. Hiring too little at this pivotal stage, can create frustrated and overburdened Team Members, and can potentially compromise your already successful systems.

MISALIGNMENT

IN CULTURE – Peter Schultz, the former CEO of Porsche, said, “Hire character, train skill.” Team Leaders cannot train someone to be humble, or to have a work ethic, or to value quality. Hiring Team Members who are not aligned with the team culture is the fastest way to undermine the team environment and create turnover.

DEPARTING TEAM MEMBERS

• Team Members will leave the team – sometimes because of termination, and sometimes of their own accord. When there is a cultural misalignment or a failure to fulfill commitments which cannot be remedied, it is important to be decisive about parting ways to minimize the damage to the team. Decisiveness in these instances also prevents further expenditure of money and time in a relationship that is not a longterm fit.

Successful Team Members will leave the team and these can be painful departures and sometimes unanticipated.

In both cases, terminations and amicable departures, the Team Leader must make careful considerations at the initial stages and at the time of departure to mitigate the potential damage to the business and the team.

BHGRE GARY GREENE

MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

TEAM AGREEMENTS

TEAM AGREEMENTS SHOULD CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

• LEAD OWNERSHIP – Answers to questions of lead ownership can vary depending on the model, the philosophy of the Team Leader, and the investment to procure and cultivate leads. An agreement should address lead ownership and the process for future business or referrals based on the various origination sources.

Many Team Leaders are quick to allow Team Members to retain their clients upon departure. However, it is important to remember, you have made a large investment of time and money into the systems, support staff, and marketing that cultivated and converted those relationships. That investment is one that you do not want to have walk out your door.

The Team Leaders can create a specific compensation schedule based on the lead source or compensation can be the same for all leads regardless of lead source. The same can be true of referral fees on departure. Bear in mind, the more complex the schedule, the more difficult it is to manage, track, and hold people accountable for reporting.

There are three specific sources to consider:

• Leads/Clients Acquired by Team Members Before Joining the Team – It makes sense that a Team Member would have ownership of those leads coming into the team and would own those leads upon departure.

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Leads/Clients Acquired by Team Members During Their Time on the Team – There are two schools of thought for this source:

(1) While on the team, the Team Leader may assist Team Members by coaching them, marketing to the database, holding them accountable to the very actions that result in future business. Given that effort, it is reasonable to have a period after the departure when the Team Leader would be compensated for future business.

(2) Team Leaders may elect to not collect a referral fee on the Team Member’s sphere/ client base at all.

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Leads/Clients the Team Leader Provides – These leads are part of the Team Leader’s book of business. Not only is it reasonable to expect a referral fee from these lead sources, but there should also be a non-solicitation agreement for a specific period. The same concept is used by relocation management companies and is outlined in the agreements for relocation transferees.

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Keep in mind, there may be times the Team Member database and the Team Leader database intersect. It is essential to have clarity around the Team Member’s network when they join. Team Members will be incentivized to keep their database up to date if there is a discussion about a shared contact. It is a best practice to have a policy in place should those circumstances arise in the future.

There can also be crossover between Team Members. When possible, policies should be laid out in advance to cover potential scenarios. When the policy does not speak to a particular circumstance, come to a solution on a per transaction basis, put the resolution in writing for the specific transaction, and then update the team’s Policy & Procedure Manual.

PENDING COMMISSIONS

Pending commissions should be outlined in the Team Agreement to cover the following circumstances:

• Properties Under Contract – The Team Leader will be responsible for the transaction closing. The Team Leader may have to increase their level of involvement and/or assign it to, and pay, another Team Member to bring the transaction to a successful conclusion. The split is at the Team Leader’s discretion, but it may be in the interest of the Team Leader to lower the percentage paid to the departing Team Member.

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Working Prospects – Another benefit of consistently tracking pipeline is if a Team Member departs from the team, there is a record of working prospects. Team owned prospects should be returned to the team without compensation to the departing Team Member. Team Member owned leads would need to compensate the Team Leader with a predetermined referral fee should the client close within a predetermined timeframe.

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Active Listings – Active listings should stay with the Team Leader unless otherwise agreed upon in writing. If the listing is with Gary Greene and the Team Member departs the brokerage, the listing remains with Gary Greene.

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REFERRAL FEES – Referral fees can be complicated and there should be a finite period when referral fees would be paid on future business.

Referral fees should consider the following:

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How Much? – Consider the time and financial investment in your systems. Whether you have a Rainmaker Model or a Systems Support Model, the investment in the team and the lead generation efforts is significant. You may require a different level of compensation based on the source, but the specifics would need to be outlined in advance. In practice, it is best to decide on a predetermined referral fee, such as 35%.

MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

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How Long? – Tracking can be arduous, but it is important the departing Team Member and the remaining Team Members recognize that this is something you take seriously. It will act as a deterrent from soliciting your client base. Create a finite timeline that is not more than 2 years.

Tracking – A monthly report of closings under the Team Member’s name should suffice. Upon departure, you might outline the referral agreements for the existing pipeline.

• MARKETING ASSETS – In the team agreement, you need to clearly outline the ownership of all marketing assets, so they are preserved by the team. The use of images, taglines, logos, and all brand assets must cease upon departure.

Team Members should be made aware that all marketing assets (print, billboard, online, etc.) currently utilizing the departing Team Member’s image will remain in place until the time of renewal. In other words, you do not want to update costly marketing assets before it is necessary simply because the team photo includes the departed Team Member.

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TRADE SECRETS AND PROPRIETARY

DATA – The team systems, communications, checklists, and processes are never to be copied or shared with anyone outside the team. Upon departure all communication, files, transaction data, confidential information, passwords, and marketing materials need to be returned to the Team Leader.

• PRESERVING

TO CLIENTS – When the departing Team Member was the primary contact throughout the transaction, it can be difficult for the Team Leader to retain the business after the Team Member leaves. To mitigate this risk, the Team Leader needs to include touch points at various stages of the client transactions. This is of particular importance when lead opportunities are provided to Team Members in both the Hybrid and Rainmaker Models. The Team Leader has cultivated these lead opportunities through their own production or through lead generation systems.

TEAM CONNECTION

By creating different points of engagement throughout the transaction, the Team Leader can highlight the value of the team relationship to the client. For example, when a buyer goes under contract the email outlining the next steps and a congratulatory note can come from the Team Leader. At the closing, a congratulatory note can come from the Team Leader. These touch points may not make sense for every model, but it is necessary if a Team Leader is heavily invested in lead generation systems and wants to keep those past clients in their book of business.

In addition to the service delivery touch points throughout the transaction, Team Leaders must continue to market to past clients following the departure of Team Members based on the stipulations of ownership.

PRODUCTION

Fluctuating production creates financial uncertainty for both the Team Leader and Team Members. A Team Leader is likely to have financial commitments to lead systems, support staff, and advertising in addition to personal financial commitments. Production levels can be impacted by both internal and external factors.

INTERNAL PRODUCTION VULNERABILITIES

Poor hiring practices, an unwillingness to make timely adjustments, lack of attention to results, and an inability to provide accountability can impact the team’s production.

In what ways can the team mitigate negative impacts on production?

• Hiring Effectively – Making the wrong hire has a detrimental impact on production. There is a financial cost, an investment of time spent coaching and training, opportunity cost of leads provided, and a negative impact on the team culture.

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Decisive Adjustments – Unwillingness to let go of problematic team members can further erode the Team Members’ confidence in the team. Ineffective staff or sales team members will negatively impact production. It is best to be decisive and get the team back to a positive position as soon as possible.

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Attention to Results – Lack of attention to system results, or failure to adjust systems as needed, will result in lost production. If a system is not garnering the results expected or results that have been realized in the past, it is critical to do the necessary analysis to discover why. If it is a failure of consistent team execution, that is one matter, but sometimes the problem is the system itself. Improving the dialogue, changing the cadence of follow-up, or switching the call-to-action in the marketing materials are all examples of adjustments that can be considered. It will be paramount to adjust systems, monitor them, and track results.

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Track Activities – Tracking system execution allows you to assess what is and is not working. With effective analysis, you can make adjustments to improve results or take advantage of new opportunities.

Accountability – Without accountability, execution will not be consistent, production potential will not be realized, and it becomes impossible to maintain a culture of growth. The most effective way to shift poor production is to hold the team accountable to the activities that build business.

MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

EXTERNAL PRODUCTION VULNERABILITIES

Changes in policy, the industry, and competitive & economic landscapes can impact a team’s production.

In what ways can the team mitigate negative impacts on production?

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Effective Coaching – Team Leaders must be able to coach Team Members through changing environments. With the proper coaching and scripts, Team Members can improve lead conversion and provide excellent service delivery to clients. For example, if interest rates increase, Team Leaders must educate Team Members on the impact the increase has for clients and arm the team with the right dialogue to be a much-needed resource. Also, if the competitive landscape creates a downward pressure on commissions, Team Leaders must provide better scripts for commission objections and coach the team to have more effective conversations. Or, if the days on market see a significant increase, Team Leaders must educate Team Members on the impact for both buyers and sellers and coach the team to shift their dialogue for improved results with their clients.

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Market Awareness – A Team Leader is responsible for closely watching the real estate landscape for potential shifts and for creating risk mitigation plans in a variety of scenarios. By paying attention to potential shifts, a Team Leader will be best positioned to respond. For example, if you are in a second home market and the economic climate lacks the strength to support second home demand, how will you shift your business? Do you double down on your marketing efforts to focus on your sphere whose primary residence is in your market?

Agility – In a shifting climate, a Team Leader needs to respond swiftly to adjust either the Team Members, staff, or lead systems to preserve the longevity and profitability of the team. These decisions are sometimes difficult but being agile and decisive in a shifting environment can be an advantage for the team and one that allows the team to continue to thrive. If your team works a strong expired listing system, and the market shifts to something that is far more fast paced, you are likely to see a decline in expired listings. That type of environment is likely to see an increase in For Sale By Owners. Agile teams respond to the shift in economic environments by making adjustments to the lead generation systems that keep the team profitable.

Limiting Dependency – A team can place themselves in a vulnerable position if they become too dependent on a singular lead source. In shifting environments, a particular lead source may simply no longer be a viable option. For example, when the economy began to recover after the 2008 recession, bank owned properties eventually diminished. Or following the pandemic, companies were doing far less group moves. Or in the fast-paced 2021 market, expired listings were far less prevalent. In all those cases, a team heavily dependent on those sources of business could be negatively impacted. Source diversity is always the best way to mitigate this risk

EXTERNAL

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PRODUCTION VULNERABILITIES

(CONTINUED)

Capitalize on New Opportunities – There are always new opportunities in a shifting market. In depreciating environments, becoming an expert in distressed properties can be a differentiator. In a commission-cutting environment, rather than racing to the bottom, teams utilizing an efficient and effective service delivery system can be an advantage.

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Focus and Mindset – In times of pressure, Team Members look toward the Team Leader for strength and guidance. Team Leaders must remain sharply focused on making the adjustments necessary for the team to remain prosperous and aligning Team Members with the associated activities. Team Leaders should be present and communicate their confidence in both the amended plans and the Team Members themselves.

COST CONTROL

Losing sight of profitability is dangerous for teams. The responsibility of producing, managing staff, monitoring systems, and supporting Team Members is significant. While those responsibilities are critical, it is important to not lose sight of the ultimate goal … run a profitable business.

Cost control considerations to mitigate risk:

• Lead source economics is outside the control of a Team Leader, so the Team Leader must ensure the team remains diversified. If a primary lead source for the team increases the cost per lead, the Team Leader will have to account for those increasing costs. Team Leaders may change the split on those opportunities, increase the level of accountability, or decide to reallocate funds altogether.

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Staff churn is expensive. Ensuring your compensation remains competitive will be critical in the retention of valuable team members. There will be times when it is better to increase Team Member compensation than risk losing and replacing quality Team Members.

Technology offerings are ever changing and investigating new opportunities is time consuming and potentially expensive. By utilizing the offerings of BHGRE Gary Greene you are not only saving that financial investment, but you are able to leverage the technology troubleshooting, the training, and the testing that is handled at the brokerage level.

Creating a marketing plan with the support at BHGRE Gary Greene will create cohesive branding and messaging, as well as eliminate potentially costly outsourcing.

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MITIGATE VULNERABILITIES

Coaching and training support can be leveraged within BHGRE Gary Greene, as well. By taking advantage of those offerings, it frees the Team Leader from having to provide all the support to the team or from having to outsource it to other coaching organizations.

By taking the time to be thoughtful about ways to mitigate risk in advance, a team can weather a variety of challenges. A strong, agile team can be positioned for growth when others are struggling. A Team Leader that ‘hopes for the best, but plans for the worst’ will have the resiliency needed to thrive.

CLOSING

IN CLOSING

“A building is not something you finish. A building is something you start.”

- Stewart Brand

“If you are building a house and a nail breaks, do you stop building or do you change the nail.”

- Rwandan Proverb

Building a team is an ever-evolving process and your team may go through more than one iteration. Your initial plan may be well outlined, but over time it will inevitably change. That is a natural part of the process.

Change is unavoidable. Failures are going to happen, and lessons will be learned. New opportunities will come your way. If you are clear on your values, your systems, and your vision, being agile becomes easier. Those things remain your North Star, and subsequent shifts are easier to weather.

Return to this guide as you evolve, grow, and continue to build a better team.

Thank you for your continued partnership and being a valued part of our team.