Should I Join A Team, Or Be A Solo Agent?

Should I join a team, or be a solo agent?

I get asked this question several times a month from both newer agents, and agents who are a few months out from truly breaking through and becoming a rising star.  It’s a great question, and like most good questions, the answer is it depends.

In this post we will cover the pros and cons to both being an independent real estate agent, as well as being an agent on a team.

Independent/Solo Agent

First, let’s go through the PROS of being a solo or independent agent:

• You get to keep 100% of your commission (minus any office splits)
• You don’t have to answer to anyone
• You don’t have a minimum quota to hit
• You choose how to spend your time, whether it be prospecting, networking, etc.
• You have full control over how you set up your marketing
• You can create and manage your personal brand with more flexibility
• You can create your own systems and processes, tailored to your personality style
• Your schedule is based solely on your personal discretion

Now let’s take a look at the CONS of being a solo or independent agent:

• All of the lead generation and marketing falls on your shoulders
• You are responsible for 100% of your business expenses, even when things are slow
• You are responsible for all your own training
• Should you hire a coach (and you should) the expense is 100% on you
• You may not have anyone holding you accountable
• You will have to “reinvent the wheel” for almost every aspect of your business
• You have to handle all aspects of the transaction, from setting the appointment to closing on your own, or outsource it
• If you hire an assistant, you are responsible for payroll, even when things are slow
• When you go on vacation, or take a sick day, you are still working, unless you have a colleague cover you

Okay.  Now for the team side of the business.

Agent On A Team:

Let’s take a look at the PROS of being on a team first:

• Most of your expenses are covered for you
• If you pick the right team, your knowledge base increases exponentially
• You have the ability to earn (or depending on the team structure simply handed) leads
• Your marketing is done for you
• The systems and tools you use on a daily basis, including lead generation are supplied for you
• You have the ability to leverage your time better
• Typically, there is at least one, and in many cases more than one, administrative assistant to help you focus on income producing activities
• You get a ton of training from your team leader/manager, which helps you get into production, and/or increase your production quicker
• You can have peace of mind if you are on vacation, or out sick, knowing your teammates have your back
• Opportunity for leadership, depending on the team structure
• Built in group of mentors
• Being a part of something bigger than themselves

Now for the CONS of being on a team:

• Less flexibility in promoting your personal brand
• Someone else is marketing to your database
• You may have to manage different (and depending on the size of the team, many) personality types
• More restrictions on how you schedule your day, especially on prospecting based teams
• Most teams have a minimum standard you must hit, and this may cause stress for some agents
• You are not always able to implement your own ideas (sometimes this is a good thing, though!)
• You typically must follow the systems and processes of the team, even if you don’t agree with them
• Some teams will want to categorize you in a role, and you may not have the opportunity to explore other alternatives (buyer agent vs listing specialist, as an example)
• You typically net less of your commission, compared to a solo/independent agent

As you can see, there are plenty of pros and cons to both being on a team, as well as being an independent real estate agent.

I personally went from a solo agent my first year in the business, to being on a team ever since.  Because of my situation, I am able to look at both sides of the coin, and share what has been the pros and cons for me personally.  I truly struggled my first year in the business, doing what I thought were all the “right things.”  I prospected my butt off, and had very little results to show for it.  It wasn’t until I got on a team, that I found out, I wasn’t prospecting efficiently.  I would role-play here or there, instead of being on a consistent schedule, with a new partner every day.  I would have the scripts in front of me, but I would not read them verbatim, you know, because it didn’t sound like me…ha!  I would listen to all the other agents around me whose businesses were slow, and buy in to their excuses.  All this changed when I joined my first team.

In my first year on the team, my business grew almost sixfold.  Along with the transaction growth, came an increase in confidence, as well as a major increase in my overall knowledge and understanding of the business, thanks to having some incredible mentors on the team.  Being a driver, I absolutely hated the administrative side of the business, but when I was on my own, I could not afford an assistant.  Since I was on a team with systems and processes in place to handle all the admin stuff, as well as the transaction coordination, I was able to focus on only my income producing activities.  My second year on the team, my numbers of transactions increased by another 50%!

However, it wasn’t all peaches and cream.  Being a true entrepreneur, I was looking for ways to expand my leadership abilities, as well as gain some equity.  David Osbourn is fond of saying you should only work for knowledge or equity.  Well, I gained plenty of knowledge, however I didn’t believe there would be an opportunity for equity, at least not in the foreseeable future.  So when the opportunity came to join Cindy on her team, we discussed the possibilities for both leadership and profit-sharing.  The time-table for both were more inline with my personal needs, so the choice was clear.  Now I am focusing less on day-to-day sales activities, and more on growing the team and business development, which is my true strong suit.  Looking back, if I had stayed a solo agent, I would be out of the business by now.

And that is my point.  Some people are born to go at it on their own.  They have different needs, and different aspirations.  Others are meant to be part of a team.  They have the desire to grow something bigger than themselves.  At the end of the day, you have to decide what is the right choice for you.

I want to leave you with one small piece of advice…Do not join a team for the purpose of getting leads!  Leads should be the last reason for joining a team.  In fact, they should only be looked at as pure bonuses.  Join a team for leverage.  Join a team for leadership opportunities.  Join a team to cut years off your learning curve.  Hell, join a team because you don’t want to eat lunch alone every day, but don’t join for leads.  You will be doing yourself a disservice.  You know the saying, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, team a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.  You want to learn how to fish, not be fed fish.  The right team will teach you how to fish, and then, the world of real estate sales is yours, and you will have the ability to take it in any direction you choose.