The DANGER report also concluded that agent teams were a threat:

real estate agent teams

I run a brokerage, and have agents who work for me. But I am a salesman through and through, not a guy making a living off other agents.  It is why I write blog posts like the one yesterday – I love agents, but detest the big brokerages who take advantage of both agents and consumers.

When I got started in the business, I worked for various franchises, but they were smaller then – mom-and-pop shops that were manageable.  Since then, the big franchises have grown into big-box operators, hiring hundreds of agents and providing scant supervision and training.

Enter the agent team.

The lead agent hires other licensees to assist him/her in the business, and they grow as a sub-set of the brokerage. In the old days, those groups would break from the franchise and start their own brokerage, but now they are allowed to grow within the same company.  It allows the agent teams to still be part of the franchise when wanted and needed, but for the most part, the franchise name is reduced to fine print on advertisements – and the agent team builds its own identity.

But this is good for the industry because in a smaller group, there can be more supervision and training. The agent teams are providing what the franchise can’t – the daily personal touch with their agents.

We need agent teams to bring up the new agents.

Yes, the big franchises have their mentor programs and training sessions, and I’m sure they are somewhat effective.  But those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.

Besides, it is the hands-on daily management and nurturing of agents is what has them turn into great agents – and the agent teams are the most likely to produce the great agents of the future.

I complain about the agent teams advertising that the lead agent has sold 100+ houses, when in reality it is the combined effort of 10-15 people.  When we finally get to the day when we are publicizing agent statistics, the number of people contributing to the agent’s sales should be disclosed (Redfin is the #1 offender).

But everything else about agent teams is good.  It is experiential training, where new agents can learn from the best agents while on the job.  If brokerages are threatened by this, then so be it – at least the agent teams are bringing up the new agents right.

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