I speak with so many agent partner teams and individual agents who want to expand their brand and grow their business, but do not want to create a mega team. It can be a very effective way to delegate administrative tasks and add selling and listing team members while still remaining the point person of your brand. Since we are in a relationship business and want to build clients for life, it is so incredibly important that you not delegate the services your clients want to receive directly from you, the rainmaker.
Creating a boutique team can offload some of the administrative tasks, marketing, escrow and closing, as well as client gifts and support, to team members whose main roles are customer service and support. This allows you and other selling team members to go on more appointments.
Here are some points to consider to create your own boutique team:
- Identify your role and your team members’ roles. What are the daily and weekly tasks and responsibilities that you (rainmaker) conduct, versus the other roles on your team? Is there overlap? Are you both doing things that one person shoul handle?
- What tasks are you currently doing that someone else should be doing at that pay rate so that you can go on more appointments or schedule some free personal time for yourself? Remember, we are trying to maximize your time to create higher returns. Consider hiring a part- or full-time person to handle those tasks that can be offloaded. The key is that you are freeing your calendar up so you can go on twice as many appointments each week.
- Delegate anything that is not face-to-face appointments with clients—the paperwork, the emails, the follow-up, social media posts and marketing for your listings and your team. All of these things should be completed by an administrative person.
- Divide and conquer. If you are a partner team, perhaps not every client appointment needs both of you attending. (This is a time-waste, in my opinion.) If you each take clients now, you can go on twice as many appointments, maximizing your time to see more clients.
- You don’t have to have a huge team. You can achieve very effective, on-purpose growth by hiring an administrative business manager and assistant. You can also hire some agents and keep your team small. Small or boutique team owners sell $20 million, $50 million, even $150 million, and have incredible success and profitability.
- Stay true to the team size so you and your agents and staff create a culture and an energy that is unbeatable and wildly successful.
Whether you are considering starting or developing your team, remember you must always do so with profits at the forefront. Building or growing your team can stay personal, and the boutique concept is extremely effective in helping team owners and partners scale their business without losing the personal touch that makes for great customer service and client relationships for life.
For a free copy of my exclusive Starting and Building a Team questionnaire, click here.
Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 20 years of experience in real estate, Johnson offers coaching, consulting and keynotes, and is a national speaker for the Homes.com Secrets of Top Selling Agents tour and the Official Real Estate Coach for McKissock Learning and Real Estate Express. She is also an RISMedia 2020 Real Estate Newsmaker as an industry Influencer. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session or visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.
