This is solely how I feel being on a team as a team member. I also know a dozen or so licensed REALTORS who are members of other teams. There are many pro's and equally as many con's with being on a team.

I think the most important thing for me when I was getting licensed was getting leads to make myself rich. Not having an existing pipeline of business, nor the desire to cold-call and door knock, a team was the most logical step towards building a career in this business.

I interviewed with many brokerages that I (almost) was ready to jump into with open arms such as boutique brokerages like Slavens and Associates (I still remain friends with them) to several large brands like Re/Max and Royal LePage.

When I first met who would soon be my team leader, I knew right away I wanted to be here. It wasn't a second thought and no other opportunity could compare. You could have offered me a salary plus commission - I would have said no. That says a lot for someone who started in the industry with nothing to fall back on (financially).

While, things have changed over the past few years, the first year is the focus of this post and perhaps it will help someone thinking about joining a team, starting a team or leading a team (or brokerage for that matter).

The first thing he did was get me appointment setting. I was good - very good. I was booking an average of 15-20 BOOKED FACE TO FACE appointments per day for the team. This is a skill that I think every team member needs to have. Knowing how to convert warm leads into appointments is easy once you know what to say and how to approach it. Team leaders likewise, should have a strong enough pipeline of inquiries to support (in my opinion) 15 face-to-face appointments per month per team member. You could have 1,000 leads per day; but if nobody is booking and qualifying these appointments solely as an appointment setter then people have an excuse to say "there wasn't a match, or they didn't seem ready,"

I loved the fact that whenever I went to an appointment; they were qualified to the point of committing to a face-to-face meeting. Instead of me scrubbing leads, my job was to go out and sell.

I do think this model is for every team but for me - this was what I wanted. Feed me business.

At the same time, the most important thing he taught me was "What is my time worth?" I spent so many days driving people around for no reason because I refused to give in. Even when I knew it wasn't going to work. He said know when it's time to drop them and move on. There will always be more clients. It didn't fully click until one client. We drafted one offer a day, $50,000 less than it was worth for 3 weeks straight. Every day. I knew he wanted to buy, he just didn't have reasonable expectations.

I think it's critical for a team leader to support a team member "breaking off" a client and moving onward.

Motivation:
I don't think enough team leaders give enough credit to their team members. This is after I spoke with over 30 different team members. Taking a percentage the team leader is owed is one thing; but I really think team leaders need to take more initiative with motivating their members instead of pushing deals. Aside from the business you give us (thank you), team leaders really need to do what they can to ensure the team members are happy and motivated.

Small things can be all it takes. Every once in a while, my take the "senior" team members for dinner and drinks (even though he didn't drink). He would pay and we indulged. Small little gestures of appreciation really went a long way as it trickled down to everybody on the team!

I really think teams are the way of the future. Essentially acting like miniature brokerages. If I were to start my own team; I would structure it around helping team members reach their individual goals instead of the collective goal of the team (EG: the team wants everyone to hit 30 deals/year). I much rather see a team leader who sits with each team member and see how many deals THEY want to do and work on a way collectively to see that team member reach that goal.

If I have a team member who want's to do 50 deals a year, why am I stressing I want everyone to do 30 deals a year? I think individualising goals for the entire team is a concept that is not really done (or done well from what I have heard/seen/been apart of). If that means there is a cost associated with it, then there must be a way to see how it can be done by the team leader, after all - the team leader will benefit too.

What do you think? Send me a reply, email or comment. Let's make this a conversation that you are apart of.

Cheers,
Jordan