A great real estate team can dramatically increase your chances of succeeding as a real estate agent if the team provides you with leads, training and support.
Let’s say you pick a great real estate team and you quickly build the skills and confidence to close a lot of buyers and sellers. At what point would it make sense to go out on your own? And if you do go out on your own what is the best way to do it?
Here are three scenarios where you might consider leaving:
- Most of the deals come from your lead sources. If you are successful at building your own pipeline through your centers of influence and you can generate around half of the leads that you are closing, with the other half coming from the team, it might make sense to go out on your own so you can focus more on your own branding and lead generation.
- You want to work less. Some teams create too much business for their agents. Or maybe your life circumstances change, and you want to work less. The team model does not always work for agents that want to do less deals. Team leaders may not want to invest the resources into agents that are not full time. If that is the case, it might be time to go out on your own so that you do not let the team down and you can achieve the level of work you want.
- You don’t get enough leads or support. Sometimes teams don’t deliver the value they promise up front. Maybe you are not getting enough leads for what you are paying overall. Maybe you think you can generate enough business on your own. In that case, it might be time to leave.
Setting Yourself Up for Success when You Leave
So, you have decided to leave the team and are wondering, “What is next?”
First and foremost, what brokerage will you join? The decision to leave a team and the decision of what brokerage to hang your license are two independent decisions. Your team may be at the best brokerage for your future growth plan. Or it may not be.
Here are some things to consider and look for in a brokerage:
- Will they cap their commission splits? If they do not – as you grow your team you will pay more and more in broker fees as your business grow.
- Will they give you ownership opportunities in the company?
- Will they give you a substantial incentive to help grow the brokerage, such as a revenue share plan?
- What kind of technology and systems will you get?
- What kind of training and mentoring will you get?
The second step in starting out on your own is to develop your vision and business plan.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want to do real estate full time?
- How long do you want to sell homes for?
- Do you want to be a solo agent, a solo agent with support, or build a larger team?
- What mix do you want your lead generation to be between prospecting and marketing?
After you figure out your overall business plan your last step is to plan and execute your launch.
This should include social media announcements, emailing your sphere of influence, and a launch event of some sort. Do not be intimidated and think you have to have a huge expensive launch event. It can be as simple as a small happy hour or backyard barbecue. It’s a chance for you to reconnect with the people in your database that will be the backbone of your business.
Which brokerage is the best platform to launch your career from?
I’ve sold a few billion in real estate and helped Keri Shull build one of the highest selling teams in the world. We’ve been at multiple other national brokerages (Century 21, Remax and Keller Williams) and we’ve built one of the largest independent brokerages in the Washington DC area.
The move we made in 2022 to eXp realty makes more sense than any other business move we have ever made. And, after sponsoring 40 agents in six months at eXp, I believe eXp makes the most financial sense for virtually every agent.
The eXp model lets agents:
- Keep more commission
- Build recurring revenue share income
- Get stock awards for production and recruiting
- Have access to the technology you need to run your business
- Get coaching and collaboration from a network or top agents
From a pure economic viewpoint, eXp just makes the most sense for both the near and long term.
If you have questions about how you could launch your real estate career or take it to the next level by partnering with Keri Shull and I at eXp realty send me a text message at 703-638-4393
