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Team leaders have to support each team member with their dreams and goals and give hire more support when they reach the ceiling.
Sue Adler
This was the message from Inman Connect New York Broker Connect panel, “Keeping your top teams: What can a broker do to nurture, build and support teams,” headlined by Keller Williams’ top agent Sue Adler, Christopher Kromer, a broker with Halstead Property based in New York and newly North Carolina independent agent Laurie Weston Davis, previously of Keller Williams.
“Hire your team members for where you want to go,” said Adler, who added, in a way, each team member is building their own business within the team.
In her early days, said Adler: “I didn’t hire for the future, I hired for where I was.” But she has learned from these mistakes. Team leaders need to watch out when their agents “hit their ceiling” and need assistants to lighten the load.
What Adler likes about her team, is she has people who can do parts of real estate better than she can.
“If you have people who are better at their roles than you would be, then you work like a well-oiled machine,” she said.
Don’t be afraid to take risks when forming a team as long as there is trust, added Kromer, who formed a team with his ex-wife after their divorce. He described their story as a “very unique scenario.”
“It was not easy at first but we have been successful in leveraging our unique circumstances and turning it into a strength,” he said.
His three insights about having a team that works is that there be love, trust and communication. “Love was a very important foundation that helped underscore the response that has been critical to our success. It is an environment where each person is working toward the team’s goals so that any person can achieve their dreams and goals.”
Weston Davis went from bring in a successful Keller Williams team, a year ago before moving to a new independent team.
She likened being in a team to being in a marriage. “When it breaks down, either you work through it or you discover there are issues you can’t fix.”
Her new team is already the number one independent operator in her market of Pinehurst, she said. She recently hired an assistant for the top seller on her team and he is feeling the difference already, she said.
There is a simple human reason for why agents gravitate towards teams. Kromer said he liked having partners in his business.
“Real estate can be a very lonely business; it’s good to have someone to share in the highs and lows.”