Forget About Flying Solo — Smart Agents Are Teaming Up

It’s a bull market for sellers. According to Redfin, the average American home sale has continued its phenomenal several-year rise, hitting a median just shy of $286,000. But as all agents know, incredible real estate market statistics like those often have their downsides.

In this case, the issue lies in a flat inventory of available properties. Sure, prices are up, but competition is fierce due to 11.4 percent fewer active listings. When demand outstrips supply in the housing world, agents are neck and neck, trying their hardest to find individuals and families at the earliest point in their home selling journey.

Therein lies the reason for a fascinating phenomenon: Agents are forming teams, eschewing the lone wolf mentality of bygone eras. By pooling their resources and marketing as a cohesive unit, agents can more effectively divide and conquer each aspect of a deal. Each agent makes less per deal, but with far more deals to close, everyone can be assured of snagging a bigger piece of the pie thanks to more deals on the table.

Who will win in this type of cutthroat atmosphere? Basically, the agents who recognize the changing landscape and adapt faster than their dig-the-heels-in rivals.

It doesn’t have to be dog-eat-dog — find your pack.

Not surprisingly, the attractive selling prices have grabbed newbie agents’ attention. According to independent figures, more brick-and-mortar and online pre-licensure programs around the nation are increasing their student bodies yearly. While it’s good news for educators, it just floods already saturated regions with more hungry agents.

Yet it doesn't have to be gloom and doom if all agents would just team up versus competing one-on-one for every zip code. Bringing a cadre of eager agents willing to work in tandem can ensure everyone has a full belly instead of long stretches of hunger pains.

Not sure how to create a gelled team of people you used to think of as your adversaries? Try some techniques to give yourself and your strongest teammates an advantage in a competitive market.

1. Join a team that’s already successful.

No doubt your area already has some agent teams that are leading the way. The fastest method for you to earn regular, more reliable paychecks is to get on board. You’ll have a cohort of sounding boards to keep you motivated. Plus, you can concentrate on what you’re good at, such as getting listings, for the good of everyone. At your first interview, focus on what you offer that the team could find useful. Then, work your hardest to make your contributions invaluable.

2. Segment the work efficiently.

Agent teams have no structural or compensation rules, meaning you must organize the workflow according to your makeup. Spend time mapping out a general framework of the tasks that need to happen as well as which agent will focus on which responsibility. Be careful about having one agent do one role. To offer fluidity, aim for a degree of duplication. For example, have at least two people on your team focused on nurturing clients. That way, client satisfaction doesn’t depend on one agent.

3. Divvy up buyer and seller clients.

Agents are naturally going to gravitate toward certain ends of the buying and selling process. However, you need to clearly define who is focusing on showing properties versus who is focusing on listing and selling properties. Usually, the strongest rainmaker in the group brings potential homes to the table. From that point, the listing can be handled by someone else, freeing the rainmaker to go after more thunderclouds. With duties divvied up, clients remain nurtured without compromising incoming inventory.

4. Share a transaction coordinator to smooth escrowed deals.

The last place you want your team to drop the ball is during hard-numbers dealmaking. By hiring a shared licensed transaction coordinator, every agent can save plenty of time. The transaction coordinator’s purpose is to go through figures so you don’t have to waste precious moments when you could be hitting the pavement to dig up business or visiting properties with buyers. Can’t find a local person to fit the bill? A virtual assistant with a background in real estate transactions may do it for a per-project fee.

No matter how many times the real estate market changes, the winners will always be those agents willing to throw away the “it worked then” in favor of the “this works now.” Amass a regiment of high-energy experts and work together to increase everyone’s end-of-year commission figures.