Real Estate Teams, What You Need to Know

10/12/2007

Real Estate is a complex business with many facets and in my opinion is one of the most difficult professions to master. In order to service a customer's needs fully, an agent must devote a lot of time and effort and be prepared to make huge personal sacrifices in the name of quality service. A Realtor must wear many hats, from marketer to salesperson to administrator to sign installer to advisor and negotiator to financial councilor and sometimes a Realtor just needs to be that shoulder to cry on. Realtors deal in emotions and when large sums of money are concerned, emotions run high on all sides of the deal.

Once a Realtor has mastered his craft his clients are left feeling very happy and word will and does spread. So, it stands to reason that good agents are very busy, because everyone wants their expertise and service. But once an agent begins to run from pillar to post attempting to service all the needs of his growing clientele, the demand on his time becomes unbearable and something has to give.

It's at this point, as the agent is desperately trying to be all things to all people, that he begins to falter and his clients begin to suffer from his good intentions.

Here are the symptoms of an overworked Realtor.

The return calls are no longer as prompt as they had once been.
Feedback to a Seller after a showing is slow or in many cases non-existent.
Advertising deadlines are missed.
The once polite demeanor has been replaced by an abrupt impatience.
And so on.

"Why" you ask, am I such an expert on the matter? Because, the agent I speak of was me - and a thousand others across North America just like me. I was trapped into a growing business with the promise of huge potential - if I could just work a little harder - if they would just add two more hours to the day and one more day per week, I was sure I could handle it all. I needed a way out, without getting out. My way out was "The Team" concept.

What is a real estate team? Simply put - A group of professionals truly working together systematically, toward one goal - creating an enjoyable experience for their collective clients. Notice I said collective clients and not their individual clients.

"Team" is becoming the new buzzword of our industry and everyone seems to be on the bandwagon, but don't be fooled by an imitation. In a true team environment there are many positions but only one set of clients. In other words, it's not every man for himself. Rather the team works collectively to service the needs of the "Team's Clients" instead of working independently with their own clients. Below is a list of positions that need to be filled on a typical team.

Rainmaker: Also known as the "Team Leader" or the "Founder". This person will be the recognized name of the team (i.e. Rob Thompson) and is responsible for making the phone ring. This person may also list and show properties but not necessarily. The Rainmaker is also in charge of training and mentoring the rest of the sales team and generally steering the ship. The Rainmaker may not be the one to physically sell your home but will undoubtedly be the one who causes it to sell, through his marketing efforts. The Rainmaker concept is based on the FACT that people don't want to be pushed into buying something they don't like. They either like your home or they don't - they will either buy your home or they won't, it's that simple. So the real job of a Realtor is to get as many qualified Buyers through your home as possible so that one or more will fall in love with it and buy it. We accomplish this through marketing.
Customer Service: This is perhaps the most important position on the team. This is the position that teams were made for. The Customer Service Team makes things happen predictably and consistently for the client. This is the position that suffered most before I had a team.
Listing Partners: This is a position that few teams have. The position is created when the Rainmaker is overwhelmed by the number of listing appointments generated by the marketing efforts of the team. In my case, 180 listing appointment during a 12-month period was more than I could bear, and again my clients began to suffer. Listing partners are usually the most senior members of the sales team and have already mastered their craft. By dealing exclusively with, and negotiating for, Seller Clients only, the Listing Partner brings a quality of service to our Sellers that is never interrupted by another aspect of the business. The Listing Partner is truly a specialist.
Buyer Specialist: As the name states, this group is committed to just one aspect of the teams business. Buyer Specialists are fully licensed sales representatives who deal strictly with the Teams Buyer Clients. Like their Listing counterparts, the Buyer Specialist brings a refreshing commitment of quality service, focused on the Buyer Clients. This narrow focus allows the Buyer Specialist the luxury of treating each Buyer Client with the kind of patience they require to make an informed purchasing decision.

Some people feel that by employing a Team of Realtors to sell their home, they will somehow be losing the personal service they expect from the process, in reality this couldn't be further from the truth. By narrowing the focus of each team members commitment, the client enjoys not only personal attention but has their needs met by a specialist in each aspect of the transaction. Imagine if they ran doctors offices this way. Thanks for listening.

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