Building Your Real Estate Team
Sometime in the past few years, the word “partner” has become a very popular verb, especially in terms of doing business. Think “interdisciplinary collaboration” or “building a strategic alliance.” Any way you say it, partnering is just sound business practice. When you’re a small business, you can’t afford to do everything yourself, and you can’t afford to hire everyone you’ll need to fill in the gaps.
In the real estate investing business, we make the most of partnering opportunities. We have learned that the best results come from working together, whether you build that team within your own office or you collaborate with other independent professionals. There are huge payoffs from thinking like a team leader and finding the right team players when you’re trying to close a deal.
Think of yourself as a football coach, if you like. Obviously, you have to bring the players together as a team, but you’re also coordinating the efforts of the rest of the coaching staff to bring those plays together. You’re working with your team owner and their staff on the administrative stuff, you’re teaming up with the media to manage the publicity – you’re building a network of relationships with one common goal: encouraging the players to win games.
The same goes for completing a real estate deal. Get to know a good real estate attorney to help with the contracts and legal problems. Choose an accountant with experience in real estate so you can have someone to go to with financial issues. Start networking with lending professionals so you can find seed money more quickly. Now, who else should you have on your team?
Your first step is to find a go-to person who has been around in the real estate game for a while. This is your partner for those trouble spots you’re going to find in almost every deal. Even better, find someone with experience in coaching new real estate investors. Now, that may sound like an opinion rather than fact – especially since I’m a real estate coach – but I promised to tell you what I know about making more money than you ever dreamed, and this is the way to go. Think of it as an extremely cost-effective continuing education program.
Next, you’ll need to build an in-house team. Even if this only consists of one or two administrative assistants, teach them everything you can and treat them right. Partner with your own people! Make sure you’ve got their back and they have yours, because there will come a day when something they do saves a deal.
It’s a great idea to have someone who knows title issues on your team as well. This could be a current or former employee of a title company, but in either case, you’ll want to develop a relationship with at least one knowledgeable person you enjoy working with in this area. You never know when you’ll need to tap into their knowledge bank about something.
Your network of referral sources may take the most time to cultivate, but partnering with these people will also generate the biggest profits. You can’t make the money if you don’t have the deals, and the right partners can fill your pipeline to the brim. Take the time to get to know the people who know the rest of the people in your area!
You may find that real estate agents make the best referral sources. They are the first contact for most homeowners who need to sell, and there are limits to how many of those homeowners they are able to help. Maybe they’re just looking for someone to take over dealing with all the problem properties they find. Maybe they know enough people that they hear things others don’t. Get to know a few of the busiest Realtors and make sure they remember what you can do to help.
Don’t forget that you can offer your new partnerships opportunities besides referral fees and paychecks. If you’re going to ask for help, you have to be willing to give it. As the local short sale expert, your advice may save a few of their deals, which in turn motivates them to save more of yours, and the mutual appreciation just keeps growing from there!
Your quest for great partnerships will be an organically cultivated adventure. It really does take a collaborative mindset to function as part of the real estate scene in any area, especially in a struggling market. Build the best real estate team you can, become a part of your community, and invest in these partnerships to get the most profitable results for you and for every homeowner you meet.
If you need to learn more about cultivating real estate partnerships, check our our blog post about building your ideal business on our Strategic Real Estate Coach website!