Choosing The Right Team

When choosing a real estate team you have to look at a number of factors before you take the plunge. I just got done talking with another handful of clients today prospecting and I just can't help but think about how people choose the real estate team are going to work with. Notice I said team. Real estate is a business first off, and business is a team sport. You're dealing with people's biggest transaction in their life and if you don't have a team of people supporting you it's going to be nearly impossible to do it smoothly. I tried to do it all by myself in the beginning and it was craziness. You eventually get to the closing table usually but it's a hairy ride along the way.

Having a team of people makes life easier. In school you're taught that you cannot collaborate or do things with and others, that is cheating. In business we call that smart. Having a team of people around you that are smarter and better than you are at something is just a great way of doing business and being efficient. It also helps provide the client or customer a greater experience.

Real estate is a mystery to most clients and consumers. It really hasn't evolved in the minds of many for decades. What I mean by that is that the agent used to control all the information and the consumer was totally dependent on the agent. Now the consumer has 90% of the info at their fingertips with the invention of the Internet. But most consumers still treat most agents and anyone in the real estate industry like they have all the knowledge and the power. Here at The Legacy Group we realize what is coming in the future. The future is in the consumer's hands. Our team of agents and our vendors (lenders, appraisers, inspectors, title, insurance) understands this and has been formed with the knowledge that the client is the one in control. They are the ones that hire the team and you have to do a job for that client. In saying that, the agent or one of the other many professionals are still the professional and need to be taken seriously with the advice they give you. Ultimately, the decision still lies the client but we understand the change that is coming to the industry.

The Internet is changing everything. The consumer is about 1,000x smarter than they were 5 years ago. About 10,000x smarter than they were 10-15 years ago. A real estate team has to provide value in this age where do-it-yourselfers can do it a lot easier than ever before. Real estate is still a people business and always will be because I mean lets be honest, selling a home is not like just throwing a toaster on craigslist and hoping someone comes over to buy it and sign the piece of paper. A great real estate team has to think outside the box, they have to market home not just on the MLS but on their social media sites that are linked up and synced properly, on their real estate blog or Vlog, on their real estate website, and to their vast network of buyers and sellers and vendors.

After a house is sold that team must have the pieces and tools in place whether that be coordinator's or technology that can take the transaction from anywhere in the world and get it done in hours or possibly minutes notice. With the advent of things like DocuSign you no longer have to drive across town to get things signed. They can be done in the blink of an eye and transactions can be completed at light speed with laser-like precision.

In saying all that, your service and your client experience must be on par with your laser-like focus on technology. You must be providing your clients and your sphere of influence with content and updates to the market so that they can stay informed and know exactly what is going on with the biggest investment of their life.

There are many moving parts to this puzzle but it all starts with choosing the right team who will get the job done for you and stay in constant contact with you. Most agents either do not have the team in place and do not have the systems finally tuned enough to service all the listings and clients they have. This is how balls get dropped and frustrations arise. We know all of this because our team specializes in working with distressed, depressed, demoralized sellers. We see people all day long being treated like second-class clients. It is unfortunate for the consumer but it's great for our team. We pick up the pieces and put them back together and get the job done.