So Teams are Impersonal and Lack Personality????

I found RE teams to be extremely powerful in my experience as a real estate copywriter. In my former position as a writer with a RE client-focused advertising agency, I had many clients who wanted their marketing materials to reflect a team emphasis. Many times, the success of the team revolved around what both team members brought to the table per their individual strengths. Never was it a solo effort.

I don't think that anything in life is best described in a broad, all inclusive statement. I'm sure that there are pros and cons to being part of a team and going at it solo. Different strokes for different folks. I was part of a team for the first 5 months of my real estate career and it didn't work out so well for me, but I think eventually I will be part of a team again. You live and you learn. My company, RE/MAX is very excited about teams and says they are the way of the future. I think that they can be very good for people and actually allow them to do a large amount of business AND take regular time off. Every team is going to be different.

Don't you just love the way everyone has an opinion, on everything?

Sharon,

I agree with you about RE teams.  I don't have any interest in being in a team at this time, but as business evolves, I may change my perspective.  I do think that it is very important how you choose your team members.   You can use any type of brush you want while painting.  Just be aware that there are those of us who don't mind painting over ugly colors and graffiti. 

Can somebody fill me in on the team concept.  I'm totally unfamiliar with it.  Is one a buyer's agent and another does listing, etc?  How does the financial split work?

I recently added an assistant and have embraced the "team" concept.  She has become more of a partner than assistant at this point.  Now, I wouldn't have it any other way.  The right team personality combination is extremely effective IMHO.

Sharon,

The team concept is fantastic!  I wonder how the "lone ranger" agent's clients feel when their agent is at an all day continuing education seminar and there is an offer waiting to be presented on their property?  I could go on and on but the advantages of a team working for the client far outweighs any whiny excuse of "lack of personality". 

Lucky :)

A can't see how it could be said that the team concept is impersonal; with different members adding something to the table , it seem like a more vibrant environment than working alone.

I am at the stage of advertising for team members - very scary (to lose my individualism) and exciting (at the possibilities of expanding my business image) at the same time.  I think that, properly managed with a code of ethos, a team can be an extension of your personable"ness".

I think a true team is a powerful thing. I've seen good ones and I've seen bad ones. Just like regualr "single" agents.

Frankly, I could not care less about the personalities, etc. As another agent out there, I just want to be able to talk to someone on the other side that knows what is going on. 

I think teams are like anything else, they can be done right and they can be done wrong. Sadly, on more than one occasion I have been across the table from a "Team" where when I call, nobody can tell me the status of anything they have going. No single person seems to ever be able to give me the low down on what they are all doing relating to my deal. I call and get responses like "Oh... Judy does that and she is not in." Messages seem to drift into the vapor. It all degrades into plausible deniability as each team member tells me some OTHER team member handles this or that. It can be very frustrating.

I have been on teams that worked, so I know they can be effective. But just the word "Team" should not and does not imply that things are better. 

Robert,

Or the other way around!

Lucky :)

I work with several teams and single agent that has added me to their team because better communication and a single point of contact needed to be in place. There have been transactions where the single agent cannot be found, does not return calls, does not communicate, and/or just not organized. I have also been involved in transactions where the team members aren't effective communicators or does not have a single source of contact that can answer all questions even when others know the answer. Communication is very important and when communication is not considered the most important factor of client and customer relationship in a transaction, it doesn't matter if it is a team or single agent, the client and customer did not have a win-win outcome.

Work with the concept that works best for you. The team concept works great for some agents because it provides that added padding of security (backup, networking, etc). For others, it doesn't because he or she wants to be the single source for solutions. Either way, both could agree to say that there needs to be a central point of contact that knows the details of each client's transaction (listing and buying), and that person could be an assistant.

I think teams are a splendid idea for broad marketing.  Each team member can represent a niche.  I am still "individual" but in the "process" of forming the perfect team :)

Sharon - Great thought provoking post.  As you know - I'm a firm believer in teams "done right".  Suzanne and I didn't start out that way - it just "happened" while we were at RE/MAX.  One of the reasons we didn't stay at RE/MAX was the financial structure that really did not support teams - however - I've heard that things are changing and I see Bridget alluded to it above.  Can anyone elaborate on what is currently on offer at RE/MAX for teams in terms of financial structure - or is that "company confidential"?