Maximize the Strength of Teams

Over the past decade, effective teams have put considerable pressure on brokerage margins, particularly the traditional brick-and-mortar business models. Teams have emerged as a significant source of training and accountability for agents, filling a gap left by brokerages that have reduced investment in agent development.

Teams foster specialization, allowing agents to focus on their strengths. But this innovation also poses challenges in agent career development and creating well-rounded agents. Much like the division of labor in other industries, teams offer agents more focused roles, enabling them to excel in specific areas of the transaction process.

Teams are becoming increasingly crucial in today’s real estate business model, yet they often lack the tools and support required to sustain the size and scale their success. But this presents a significant opportunity for brokerages. By developing tailored systems and tools specifically designed for teams—such as efficient tracking and business management solutions—brokerages can help teams scale even further. Additionally, offering comprehensive training and back-office services, including accounting, compliance, and administrative support, will strengthen the relationship between brokerages and teams.

Known for their strengths in lead generation and conversion, teams can greatly benefit from these resources, enhancing their competitiveness in an evolving market. Many technology platforms, including MLSs, still lack robust functionality for teams, particularly in areas like sales tracking and accountability, revealing further untapped potential. Brokerages can also learn from teams’ success by adopting more efficient systems and focusing more intently on business generation. Together, these efforts can foster a symbiotic relationship that will drive long-term growth and adaptability.

In real estate, the growing success of teams highlights their ability to harness collective expertise and remain adaptable in an ever-changing market. While the composition and definition of teams vary widely, when led by experienced practitioners with a penchant for business and the ability to build culture, some teams can outperform the largest brokerage operations. Large brokerages would do well to perform a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of the top teams to reverse engineer their success and, where possible, use their economies of scale to build competitive advantages based on price, efficiency, and retained company dollar.