5 Tips To Help Build A Better Team
By JD Esajian on January 26, 2018
As a real estate investor, you are the leader of your investing team. Even though real estate may seem like an individual effort the most successful investors know just how important the people around them are. Your real estate agent, attorney, accountant, mortgage broker, property manager and contractor all play an important role in your success. If even one of them drops the ball you will be left scrambling to pick up the pieces.
As the leader of your team your actions often define their reactions. If you are loud, boisterous and over the top when something goes wrong they will surely follow suit. Before you know it, you will have a temperamental team that is scared to voice their opinion or act when they know they should. It is not an overstatement to say that you are truly only as strong as the team around you. Here are five tips to help build a better real estate team.
- Build team up. In the world of real estate investing the investor is the point guard, quarterback and whatever another sports analogy you want to use. Your team will take on whatever personality you have. As intense and demanding as real estate can be you must be aware of your actions always. When someone makes a mistake or doesn’t do a job as well as you think they should there is a knee jerk reaction to explode. In rare cases this may be justified but for the most part it may just be an oversight or a mistake. You should always try to build your team up rather than beating them down. Nobody likes working in fear, especially when they aren’t making a lions share of the profit. By building them up and keeping things positive there is a much better chance they will go the extra mile for you.
- Constantly improve education. You are the owner, President & CEO of your investing team. Even though the people around you should be experts in their field you need to know what is going on in every area of the business. The minute you think you know everything and rest on your laurels you will find yourself behind your competition. Every day you should do something to improve your real estate education. This could be anything from reading a blog post online to spending a few minutes on a real estate website. It can be sitting in a networking meeting and listening to people in the field or starting a new book you always wanted to read. The more you know about the business the easier it is to act and the easier it will be to lead. People can always see right through insincerity. If you don’t know what you are doing your team will quickly catch on and not be as inclined to listen to you. Eventually they will latch on to someone else and you will be looking to build your team from scratch.
- Embrace ideas. Your real estate blueprint should strictly serve as an outline for your business. You can have a template you follow but you should always be flexible enough to change. The same is the case in dealing with your team. No two real estate projects are ever the same. There will be times when your plumber, electrician or painter may have a suggestion they want to share for the property. Before you completely dismiss it, you should at least give it an honest chance. It may not work for the market or with your budget but by listening to ideas you empower your team. You are the ultimate decision maker but that doesn’t mean you always know what is best. All it takes is one tweak or a subtle change to have an impact on the property. Give your team the freedom to voice their opinion but only act on the ideas you have conviction about.
- Reward a job well done. There is a large contingent that thinks pay is compensation enough for a job well done. That doing the job right is the expectation and not the exception. While this is certainly true think of how little effort it takes to thank someone for a good job. Whether you text, call or email saying “thank you” or “nice job” doesn’t take ten seconds but lets the other person know they are appreciated. An appreciated person will always work above and beyond someone who feels unappreciated. This comes in handy when you want a job rushed or need to work on a favor. If you constantly thank and even reward your team you can bet, they will be open to going out of their way when you ask them.
- Communication. Good communication is the key to any business. For starters your team should know exactly what their roles are without being told. This requires taking the time to sit down with them every few months. A quick cup of coffee or lunch four times a year will keep things organized and streamlined. You should also empower your team to reach out to you if there are ever any questions, concerns or issues. Managing in fear rarely ever works in getting the most out of a team. Keep an open dialogue and let your team call you if they need to.
A team is only as good as their leader. Use these five tips to be a better leader and build a better team.