Looking to Expand Into Another Market? Part I

By Brooke A. Sines, Workman Success Systems Senior Coach I love to think big! That’s who I am—let’s just say that the “sky is the limit” mentality runs heavily through my veins. That’s why when I was recently approached about possibly opening an expansion team, moving my family across the country and taking over another agent’s business in a totally new market…I said yes! Now, don’t get me wrong here. The decision wasn’t exactly that easy—but, I truly thought, “Why not?” Some may certainly call me crazy, and that’s fair. However, as entrepreneurs, we need to take risks. So let’s dive in deep, shall we? I initially planned on putting all of my thoughts and experience thus far with this expansion into one article—and then, I thought again. Why don’t I tell the journey one step at a time? The good, the bad and the ugly. Heck, I’m only four years and 10 months into the business and I’ve learned everything I know from the numerous successful agents, team members and coaches I constantly surround myself with. So, if I can help you determine if an expansion team is right for you, why not? Learn from my mistakes and copy my successes, if you’d like. Let’s start with one question I receive frequently: “What is an expansion team?”It’s just as it sounds—an expansion of a team already in place. Our team, Grand Allure Home Group, is blessed to sell hundreds of homes each year in West Michigan. We work hard, have set core values we live by and have systems and processes for everything. If we run into something we don’t have a process for, we create one. I believe this is the key to our success and ability to create an expansion team. Thanks to our amazing team coaching with Workman Success Systems, we have an easily duplicatable business model that works. Thus, we’re expanding our current West Michigan team and “hub” into the growing market of Charlotte, N.C. Why Charlotte? I can proudly say that not only is it a beautiful city and area, but I also lived there after college. Over the time I lived in Charlotte, I was able to get to know the area, make friends and grow my sphere—one of those friends being an amazing REALTOR®. We’ve been able to stay in touch and pass business back and forth over the past few years. When she decided it was time to think about retirement, it was a natural move to think about the future—together. I still get chills when I think about how all of this came about. Talk about perfect timing. I’ll tell you more about that later, but what you also must know is that I’m married—happily married and blessed with two small children. My husband is extremely supportive, but you can imagine the dinner conversation and pillow talk over the next several days. This was not just a decision I could make on my own. (I could have, but I preferred to stay married—happy. Ha!) As our discussions continued, both as a couple and as a family, we decided to move forward and investigate what this would mean for us and our family and how our lives would change. My husband talked to his employer, we talked to family and friends, and, of course, I talked to my current team/staff, called and got in touch with a North Carolina broker, and even called to pick the brain of other team leaders who have done this before me, both the ones that had failed and those that had succeeded. While not all feedback we received was a resounding “Yes, you should do this,” we felt comfortable moving forward to investigate some more. Unbelievably, all of this dialogue started in early June. I’ve now been a proudly licensed broker in North Carolina since August 27. If you’d like to follow where I am in this adventurous journey, look for Part 2 of Tales of a New Expansion next week. I promise, it’s worth a few laughs…and maybe some tears. Follow Brooke on her journey at www.ExpansionTeamMom.com. Brooke A. Sines is a Workman Success Systems coach and full-time REALTOR® with RE/MAX in West Michigan and Charlotte, N.C., who has been in the business of working with people all her life. She is a mom, wife, real estate coach, team leader and broker. Contact her at Brooke@WorkmanSuccessSystems.com. For more information, please visit www.WorkmanSuccessSystems.com.