Most professionals I know who join a real estate team do so for one of three reasons: they’re looking to increase their profitability, decrease their busy schedule and workload, or a mix of both. Every agent I know is looking for higher profits and better balance in their life. The question is this: does a team really do that for you?

“The Unexpected Impact of Teams in Real Estate” is a first-of-its-kind study carried out by the Center for Generational Kinetics and commissioned by Workman Success Systems in association with Sisu. We commissioned the study to take a deeper look into real estate teams and get hard data about how they function, where they exist in the industry, and what they actually do for those who join them.

One statistic generated by the study concerns me above all else. The data says that agents working on teams tend to earn higher incomes, receive better training, and feel a greater sense of community — all good things, to be sure. But only 55% of real estate professionals say that being a part of a team had the impact they hoped for on their personal lives. That number is far, far too low. We can do better. Here are three things your team needs to start doing right now if you don’t feel that your team has freed up some of your personal time.

Specialize, Specialize, Specialize

You might be good at a number of things — I believe most people have numerous talents and skills they bring to the table. Regardless of your varied talents, you need to pick a specialty and focus on it. Then, you need to encourage your team to all do the same and hire to fill any gaps that appear. Focus on what you’re best at and you’ll find that you spend more time doing the things you like — and be able to dial in processes and systems that make those tasks more efficient. Free up more time by encouraging your entire team to specialize.

Huddle Up Every Day

How much time is wasted every day on a lack of good communication? If your team isn’t constantly updated and on the same page, there’s going to be bloat and time waste. One of the best ways to increase the flow of communication and get your team all on the same page is to huddle up effectively every morning. If you make your huddles valuable, they will pay dividends in time that you can’t yet imagine. This is such an easy thing to start doing now, but many of you won’t do it just because it sounds too simple. Try it for two weeks and go full bore with it — plan the huddles, make them effective, and get all your team involved and participating. I guarantee you won’t go back to what you were doing before.

Trade Weekends

Weekends are prime real estate in our industry. Agents close a lot of deals on weekends, host busy open houses, and gather some of their best leads. For your continued mental health and high performance, regular time off is important. Still, you don’t want to leave that weekend money on the table. The best solution I’ve seen is to team up with another team member who shares your specialty and trade weekends. At least once a month, give yourself a Saturday off. Spreading the load out like this is a great way to ensure your personal time is actually yours.

Teams in real estate are the best way to increase your profitability and free time — which is why it’s concerning to me that many teams are reporting increased success, but fewer are reporting increased personal time. We can do better. For more insights on running your real estate team, check out our national team study here.

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