There are teams in sports. On a baseball team everyone has a position and each player is responsible for playing his position to help the team win.
In business we use the word “team” is used to refer to a group of people who work for the same company. We like to use sports analogies in business.
A real team works together to achieve a common goal.
In real estate the point of a team is so that team members can get “leads” and so that the team leader can make more money. The leader gets some of the agents commissions. For new agents teams can be a great way to get some hands on experience and training but to be honest that is what a broker is supposed to provide.
Sometimes the clients of real estate teams get this mental picture of several people working on selling their home or finding them a new one but it almost never works that way. One agent works on selling the house while the others work with other clients or on lead capture.
If I call a team and ask about a home for sale usually no one but the actual listing agent knows anything about the home. In fact it seems like they don’t even talk to each other. They don’t actually help each other when problems arise and they do not tap into each others expertise. Homes do not sell faster because they are listed by a real estate team.
Teams are popular among agents because they are a great way for experienced agents to make more money and a way for inexperienced agents to get some experience.
Large teams operate like a company within a company. Some team leaders end up starting their own real estate company, other teams act and operate like a separate company, within a company.
It gets complicated. In the end working with a team may not be any different than working with an individual agent. Sometimes the lead agent gets the listings and the seller gets to deal with a junior agent and an assistant.
Go team!
