A day in the life of a real estate agent can be hectic and include a wide range of activities — from meeting with clients and staging homes to social media marketing and coordinating transactions. When it comes to leading a team, however, a typical day can be very different. We spoke with a few agents to learn more about their workdays and what kinds of activities fill their schedules.
Leader as mentor
“A lot of my time is spent mentoring. Generally, I try to be in the office and available for my agents as they have questions,” said Mark Arbeit, of Mark Arbeit and Co., based in Margate City, New Jersey. “Through the course of the year, we have three different kinds of meetings because we view ourselves as a teaching institute within our office. We’re very close family and a little different than most teams.”
Arbeit said on Tuesdays and Fridays his office has group meetings. The Friday meeting is devoted to discussing whatever topic his agents are interested in, whether it’s negotiations, open houses, listing appointments, strategies and best practices, or other issues that they want to focus on. The Tuesday meetings alternate every other week. One week it’s an opportunity for the agents on his team to update everyone on the status of their listings, open houses they’ve held over the weekend and what’s coming up. The next week it’s a caravan tour of properties that agents have on the market. Eight local real estate offices take part, each contributing two listings to the tour.
Mark Arbeit and Co.
Leader as communicator
“My day begins with a review of the calendar for appointments, then I check emails for urgent matters,” said Stephanie Salanik of the Salanik Team, located in Hellertown, Pennsylvania. “Once I get to the office, I touch base with our agents who have settlements or who have any pressing issues or concerns. Then I address my individual needs for the day and distribute leads and responsibilities.”
Salanik said those who are in the office on any given day gather for a team lunch and to discuss any issues they’re having with their transactions and how they can work together to solve them. She said the larger the team’s business becomes, the more team members they have needed to handle the lead flow and provide service to their clients. They also hold monthly team-building events to help people destress and build relationships with the other agents on the team.
Salanik Team
Leader as chief operations officer
“My team is run a little differently than other teams — everybody has a division of labor,” said Elizabeth Lucchesi of the LizLuke Team in Alexandria, Virginia. “I have an operations side, a marketing side, and a sales side. Everybody within the organization has simple job descriptions, though that doesn’t always mean it’s easy. I’m also acutely aware of time management.”
Lucchesi said her days start with having team members provide updates on where they are in their transactions and how they’re serving their clients. Mondays and Fridays are reserved for “people days” — days when she focuses on how her team is functioning and what kind of support they need from her, as well as what kind of feedback they’ve received from clients. There is also a lot of training involved. Lucchesi has every agent who begins working with her team go through an apprenticeship process, so they can fully understand the sales process and how to deal with difficulties they may face when working through a transaction.
Working with a brokerage that understands teams and how they operate can be key. Long & Foster Real Estate offers training and education for agents at every level of their career as well as support for teams. That includes the company’s Agent Succession program created especially for those who wish to grow their team.