Real estate agent teams started over a decade ago, and they are stronger than ever. When done right, they can be a win-win-win for all parties. Clients are provided with immediate information, accessibility and service. Brokers see high-quality business growth. Agents are able to work in their areas of expertise, feel empowered by being part of a group and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

“Teams are a way for agents to leverage each other’s skill sets and to assist each other to have a healthy work-life balance,” says Scott MacDonald, president of RE/MAX Gateway in Chantilly, Va.

MacDonald should know. Among his 200 agents in five offices, only 53 work as individuals. That leaves the majority of his brokers paired off in all kinds of teams — everything from husband and wife duos to mega teams of over 10 people. Whatever the structure, teams are typically headed by a team leader, usually the agent with the most seniority in terms of sales and clients.

For top agents, recruiting and growing a team is part of an impactful growth plan for successful agents, saysTracy Hutton, president of CENTURY 21 Scheetz, which has six offices and 330 agents in Indiana.

One benefit is that the team structure supports every member.  

“We found that teams are a really fantastic way for younger agents to learn and a good way for successful agents with a lot of business to get some help,” says Thaddeus Wong, co-founder of @properties, the largest independently owned residential real estate brokerage firm in Illinois and one of the 25 largest brokerage firms in the U.S. by sales volume.

Many teams also offer a safe space for people to develop new skills. For example, younger and newer agents often feel comfortable working on generating leads as part of a team, knowing that the lion’s share of the business development falls upon the team leader.

The rise of agent teams directly reflects a changing real estate landscape, one in which instant communication is not just the norm, but the expectation.  

“Brokers today have to work much harder than they did 10 years ago, so a broker doing the same amount of volume needs a lot more help,” explains Wong. In the ‘90s, for example, no one was expected to answer every question or to respond immediately to any and every query, but in today’s technological age, brokers are expected to provide instantaneous feedback and to be on call 24-7.

This is where teams can come to the rescue. Having more than one person on board means tasks can be broken down according to people’s skill sets. Some agents can work on everything from marketing to scheduling, while others, often the leaders, are out interacting with the clients. One of RE/MAX Gateway’s teams in Chantilly, for example, has one person devoted solely to handling all the leads generated online.

Supporting the Team

Another challenge is a frequent disconnect between what the team leaders are looking for, and how the brokerage supports its teams, says Hutton. “Team leaders need to hire right, train and develop their people. They need to build a sustainable business model.” Hutton explains that this is where the brokerage plays an important role—helping team leaders develop their business plan, and providing support as they hire, train and develop team members.

In fact, a concern shared by many brokers is that successful teams may leave the brokerage, taking with them a great deal of production. “We support teams to operate their business within our policies. We don’t put stumbling blocks in the way of their growth. If the team leaves us, we have dropped the ball somewhere,” says Rei Mesa, president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty, which has 1,600 agents in Florida.

According to Mesa, his company asks every team to have a formal written agreement between team members to clarify expectations (i.e., who will do what?) Along with that agreement, Mesa asks teams to have a dissolution agreement in case things don’t work out (i.e., what happens to listings, pending deals, etc.?)

“When things go badly, the broker often gets caught in the middle and has to make decisions,” says Mesa. “Having formal agreements helps us provide guidance.”

Teaming (or Not) for Success

Agent teams aren’t foolproof.

“If it is not done properly, it can be a big problem,” says MacDonald. The challenges can ripple out to frustrated clients and disgruntled agents.

Team failures often come down to one major culprit: a breakdown in communication. “When we see things are breaking down, the first question I ask the team leader is, ‘How much time have you invested in your team this month?’ When teams aren’t doing well, it’s typically because of lack of communication from the leader,” explains MacDonald.

According to Mesa, when teams decide to dissolve, a common issue is one or two members feel others are not contributing or pulling their weight.

Wong, who estimates that 10 percent of his company’s 1,500 agents in Chicago and Southwest Michigan are in teams, thinks that the biggest challenge is when the team leader fails to lead effectively. “The team leader should be offering a value proposition for the team members,” he explains. “When members come to us and say, ‘We are not getting something out of this,’ it usually comes down to the team leader.”

Not everyone is necessarily cut out to be on a team, nor is every large-producing agent cut out to be a team leader, says Hutton. And even those that are right for it can still get it wrong.

Team leaders can get off on the wrong foot with poor planning or bad hiring, or both. A rookie mistake is hiring too soon—before you have a plan in place—or hiring someone who is just like you, Hutton explains. Instead, team leaders need to make sure they hire agents with a different set of skills that complement their own.

“Before jumping in, agents need to analyze who they are and what they want to accomplish,” says MacDonald. “I meet with agents on a regular basis to talk about their team and team growth. I meet with both the team members and the team leaders to help keep them on track.”

For the past eight years, his company has also offered annual team summits, which gives agent teams a framework in which to structure responsibility and a reference guide to use throughout the year. He also encourages the teams themselves to hold regular meetings at least monthly.

Another essential best practice is to establish one point of contact for the client, no matter how large the team, according to MacDonald. “The team is there to feed the information to the team leader who then gives that information to the client,” he explains.

When it comes to the best and most successful teams, Wong narrows it down to two types: one that shines in terms of systems and one that shines in terms of relationships.

“The one that is more focused on systems and processes establishes superior, consistent communication. The client receives the exact same service over and over again as its perfect systems flow through a funnel like a science,” he says.

“The other teams may be less organized on the back end, but they are far better at the relationship skills,” adds Wong. “These are the brokers who are the really fabulous salespeople. They really connect with the consumer and as a result, the consumer has a lot more faith in that broker, which yields more work for that broker.”

Wong notes that this is often where successful teams enter the picture—when the broker-connector who is perhaps a little disorganized can join forces with a very systems-oriented team.  As Wong says, “That’s when you create the magic.”

Reva Nelson is a freelance writer and marketing consultant based in Chicago. She has been writing about real estate and professional services for more than 15 years. Reva lives with her husband, their two sons, and a Russian tortoise.