Ultimate Real Estate Team Structure Blueprint For $5 Million + In GCI

The Ultimate Real Estate Team Structure Blueprint is your key to boost marketshare and efficiency while driving more profit and better quality of life. Good teams are dominating the market. The 80-20 rule skews closer to 90-10 in real estate. 10% of the top in every office cover about 90% of the company dollar. This is applicable across brands and models for offices of any size or scale. We have over two decades experience as a real estate team coach and a real estate team consultant. Here’s an overview of the best real estate team structure to balance growth and profitability.

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When Should Someone Start A Team?

When should someone start a team? Answer these three essential questions first.

First, What Is Your Motivation For Starting A Team?

Of all the answers to this question I have heard over the years, there really is only one that is an indicator of future team success and profitability. The right answer is you have too much business for you to adequately give your clients the type of service they deserve. Any other answer is going to lead you down the road of frustration, turnover and financial disappointment.

When you find yourself consistently juggling more than you can handle, it’s time to bring on an administrative assistant. A good admin will allow you to do about 50% more business by taking the checklist driven tasks off your plate. An admin will help you organize the natural chaos of the real estate business that successful agents thrive in.

Second, Do You Have Enough In Reserves To Do It Right?

Starting a team requires a mindset shift from being a business operator to a business owner. Successful business owners understand the importance of cash flow. Managing cash flow is the critical factor that sinks many otherwise talented people. Having money in the bank or a line of credit that you can tap to level out cash flow is more than a suggestion.

Another factor to consider is profit margins. Most single operator real estate businesses operate with a large margin that hovers around 85%. As your team grows, that percentage will drop significantly. This will drop to 50% pretty quickly and go lower as you add more agents to your team.

A good administrative person is going to be your first hire when starting a profitable team. True admin people are driven by security and are best as salaried employees. Do not cut corners on this. You will get in trouble with the IRS and your state on a regulatory level. You will also be making a very costly hiring error by bringing on the wrong person. Plan on using a payroll company and good insurance broker to make sure you are complying with state and federal guidelines.

After your admin is up and running, you can start thinking about adding a buyer’s agent. To keep your team profitable, buyer’s agents only come into play when you can keep them busy. Meaning, you have enough listings to have them so open houses three to five days a week. Open houses should supplement the extra leads you are handing off to them until they are closing 3-4 transactions a month.

Third, What Systems Do You Already Have In Place?

Most productive agents have achieved their success based on little more than their personality and hard work. If your plan is to just add people to that business model, it will leave you broke and frustrated. Profitable teams are run on systems.

When starting a team, everything that is predictable and repeatable can be boiled down to a consistent system. If you can put it into a checklist, an administrative assistant can execute the checklist. With that said, it is important that you as the team leader retain full control of the design of your systems and processes.

Lastly, have your compensation programs laid out. Successful teams have administrative people on salary and salespeople on commission splits. Don’t try and confuse or combine the two, it only leads to disastrous results.

Remember, every person on your team is going to be a reflection on you. At the end of the day this is your business and your reputation are on the line.

Ultimate Real Estate Team Structure Blueprint

We’ve been building teams and consulting on Real Estate Team Structure for over two decades. Far before it were fashionable. In those two decades, we have discovered what works and what doesn’t. While there are several real estate team structures, there are certainly models which are more profitable than others.

The Importance Of The Right Real Estate Team Structure In Expanding Real Estate Teams Profitably

Administrative people focus on security. Meaning they thrive and work best as a W-2 employee with regular hours and set expectations. An hourly rate for part-time and salary for full time. And yes, expect to contribute or provide their health insurance. Their motivation doesn’t come from a per file bonuses or percentage. Instead, if they do a great job appreciate them. Take them to lunch and tell them how much value they bring. Use a payroll service or HR outsourcing company out of the gate. This ensures you are complying with all the local and national employment regulations.

The sales side are all commission based, split driven and on 1099’s. Don’t fall into the trap of draws or salaries. The IRS has resources to define what you can, and can’t do, with independent contractors. The split structure should depend on how much of the transaction process they control. A good rule of thumb, 15% is team overhead. 30% goes to who generated the lead. 30% goes to who puts the client under contract. 25% goes to the person servicing the transaction.

If you are looking on the process our real estate team coach advises to use when hiring Sales Associates, we have a great article on that.

A Real Estate Team Consultant’s Tip – The Importance Of The Right Temperament

We use the DISC test in hiring staff. Profiling should only make up 30% of the hiring process. It is a great screening tool. Keeping you from hiring the wrong type of person for the position you are trying to fill.

Here’s what to look for. As well as the order to bring them on. The numbers in the brackets are the DISC ranges you want these people to fall into. Here are our screening suggestions for a few of the key positions:

1. Team Leader (Greater than 75% D, Greater than 75% I)
2. Administrative Assistant (Greater than 50% D, Greater than 25% C, Greater than 25% S)
3. Buyers Specialist (Greater than 50% D or I, Greater than 25% S)
4. Relationship Manager (Greater than 50% I, Greater than 50% S)
5. Buyers Specialist (Greater than 50% D or I, Greater than 25% S)
6. Buyers Specialist (Greater than 50% D or I, Greater than 25% S)
7. Transaction Coordinator (Greater than 50% C, Greater than 50% S)
8. Listing Specialist (Greater than 75% I, Greater than 25% S, Greater than 25% D)
9. Administrative Manager (Greater than 50% D, Greater than 25% C, Greater than 25% S)
10. Relationship Manager (Greater than 50% I, Greater than 50% S)

The Importance Of The Right Timing

Most teams wait too long to hire admin people and are too quick to bring on agents. The sole reason your team should be expanding is to provide better service to your clients. Hire when you are starting to drop the ball. When things start falling through the cracks because you are spread too thin.

Here is the overview of the Real Estate Team Structure

The $1 to $5 Million GCI Elite Agent Team. This team blueprint is for the elite, local focused agent. Teams based on internet lead funnels are going to look a bit different. And yes, we can help you with those as well.

Download the ultimate real estate team structure blueprint PDF for an overview. The sheet gives you the ultimate team blueprint with who to bring on. It includes what they should do and the metrics to measure. It is designed to be printed on 11×17 in paper and can serve as a map for your own success.

Download the Ultimate Real Estate Team Structure Blueprint PDF

Looking for more tips, insights and tools for Real Estate Teams? Click here for more team resources.

Ultimate Real Estate Team Structure Blueprint for $5 Million + in GCI