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In this week's Teams Beat, find out why cutting down might be the best way to grow your team, read one prolific team leader's COVID-19 observations, and learn how to help support wellness among team members. Care to contribute to Teams Beat? Drop an email to teamsbeat@inman.com, please.

By Andi Cummings, owner, Platinum Coaching Group

One of the hardest lessons a successful team leader learns is when to let go of an agent who no longer serves the business. Deciding who gets to have a seat at the table and who doesn't is a tough choice you have to make as a leader. It's an even harder decision when you consider the countless amount of hours you've spent recruiting, training and marketing the incredible team you've built.

It simply appears counterproductive to the growth of the business to let go of even the lowest earners. But, in fact, it's a critical move leaders should take. Who a leader elects to keep on the team is the true reflection of leadership. Successful leaders know when it's time to let someone go from the team, and they're not shy about making the necessary cuts swiftly and without emotion. They use data and empathy to build a team that moves the business forward. They do not hold onto the dead weight.

There will always be the easy firing decisions based on ethical or moral violations a leader faces. But strong leaders recognize when agents are no longer showing up as they once were and how that jeopardizes the overall health of the team. Ultimately, the financial goals they have set for the team will become unachievable with the talent they currently have. If you're having difficulty deciding if you should trim some agents, consider these three mind blocks that might be prohibiting you from making the right call. Read more.

'Team structures are winning' and other pandemic-era observations It's often said that a crisis doesn't build character; it reveals it. Well, when it comes to real estate, COVID-19 is proving that crisis doesn't change an industry; it accelerates the changes that were already in the works. In that spirit, these are my top three takeaways from the pandemic so far. Read more.

What team leaders can do to promote wellness and self-care As the head of a real estate team and also a brokerage, my leadership style has always been to lead by example. I apply this technique to everything I do, and to be a good leader, I believe that you have to. When your team sees you working hard and going the extra mile, they will, too. When they see you going to bat for your clients and devising unique, out-of-the-box marketing strategies, they will too.

But it's important that while we all focus on working hard, we need to make sure we find time to recharge our batteries and take care of our health. We are all still working through this challenging time, and we are also about to enter a very busy time as business starts to open up. With this in mind, here are some ways leaders can promote wellness and self-care for their team and agents. Read more.

How to make your business more efficient with a CRM Now that we have the chance to slow down, we should use that time to do the foundational administrative work that we never get around to. It's crucial to create and implement smoother ways of working now so when things are opening up fully, it will be an easy transition.

The biggest way to impact your business is to start using a customer relationship management (CRM) software as a database. The last thing you want to do is hunt through a messy spreadsheet to track your client information.

If you're ready to take your team's business to the next level, CRM is a technology for managing all your relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: Improve business relationships. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes and improve profitability. Read more.

A superior virtual tour will answer these 10 questions The French have a saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same. In the pre-pandemic world, on-site property tours gave agents the chance to point out a property's specific features and field client questions. If you focus on replicating that experience in your live virtual showings now, by the time a virtual tour is finished, your clients will have the answers to the 10 most-asked questions. Read more.