Help your agents choose the absolute best team leader for them.

As a three-decade owner and manager on the firing line, I’ve seen some teams thrive and many others fail. Here are the questions an agent should ask before joining a team, from my new book, Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School.

Questions:

• How many leads are distributed to a team member per week? Per month?
• Am I expected to generate leads for the team? How many a month?
• Let me see your vision and mission statements. What are the values you expect your team to uphold?
• If I want to leave the team, how will you help me transition to my own business?
• How will I be held accountable? (meetings/reports/CRM input)
• Ask how much turnover there has been on the team.
• Ask whether you can sell and list houses outside the team—and how much the rainmaker will charge you if you do.
• What is your experience as a leader? (courses, jobs, etc.)
• What are the systems you use? See the specific systems the rainmaker will use with his team. Lack of systems means the team will not operate as a team, and you will be left trying to figure out how to take action on your own.
• What is your commission structure: Read the contract the rainmaker asks you to sign. Be sure you understand the consequences of your involvement. Evaluate how good a leader that rainmaker is.
• Interview tip: Do not lead with a question about commissions! As a manager, that was a red flag to me. I want to see if we are a ‘fit’ before we talk specifics about pay.

Great Salespeople; Lousy Leaders

Some rainmakers are great salespeople, but lousy leaders. As a result, their team never jells. Most team leaders ultimately expect their team members to generate their own leads in addition to team leads. If you cannot meet the rainmaker’s expectations, you are terminated. Be willing and ready to take the responsibilities of team membership seriously.

Starting Over: When you leave the team, you are generally starting again as a new agent, since you have not generated your own leads (unless you have worked for an exceptional team leader who has helped nurture you so you can transition successfully into your own business).

Managers: What did I forget? What is your experience working with teams in your office?

Launching Right in Real Estate: What They Won’t Teach You in Pre-License School will save you hundreds of hours in explaining real estate to would-be agents. It will help you advise people in whether real estate is the career for them. Now, available in paperback or eBook. You need this book so you know what I’m advising would-be agents to look for, too!

P. S. Great tools, too, to use for your Career Nights.