This is the final submission to our Commercial Real Estate Team Series which we have presented over the last six weeks. In prior weeks we have addressed several issues, including:
- how teams are a competitive advantage
- 6 fundamental shifts in our industry that require you to be part of a formal team
- 4 main reasons people decide against working within a team environment
- 2 forms of CRE teams and which one is right for you
- how to lead a dominating commercial real estate team
- hiring the right team member
In this last installment, we ask the question – what does the ideal team look like? In an earlier blog post, I outlined our findings regarding the natural behaviors of top producers. Is it likely there are natural behaviors of the most productive teams, so some combination thereof?
[Tweet “4 traits of top producers – assertive, social, responsive, and non-conforming”]
Recall the basic business continuum – find, win, fulfill. Given the natural tendencies required by each of these three stages of the continuum, independent commercial real estate professionals generally are not strong in each of these essential elements of the business. As such, not only do they suffer, but their clients suffer as well.
[Tweet “Matching the 3 components of the business continuum with natural behaviors maximizes results”]
You can understand why it is so important to match these three basic, essential components and the natural behaviors that best fit each stage. From here you can better appreciate the basic needs of a team and start to design a team that can be in position to secure a consistent flow of high-quality opportunities. They can be in position to dominate their competition.
Let’s look at each stage separately.
Find
Finding business means prospecting, which requires you to network, connect, uncover the opportunities, etc. You’ve got to be social and outgoing to pick up the phone, go to networking sessions and ask for business.
[Tweet “Finding business means prospecting, which requires assertiveness and sociability.”]
You’re high in assertiveness and sociability, which typically makes you move toward people and move toward a goal. You’re generally low in calmness. As soon as one thing is done, you start on something else. And you’re very independent and tend not to be very structured. That’s going to allow you, when you do prospect, to be very comfortable. You will come across as credible and persuasive.
Win
Winning the business means you are securing the listing, tenant/buyer rep, financing, management or consulting agreement. You are likely highly assertive but also are at least midlevel on sociability. You are likely less conforming and more independent and self-reliant. You see a “no” as a temporary obstacle.
Some people have to be trained to ask for the sale. They tend to be more structured. No matter how much training they get, asking for the sale and positioning themselves to win the business is a challenge for them and takes a lot of effort. They tend to be inhibited by a fear of failure. To them, a no is a no. And they don’t want that.
Fulfill
Once the assignment is secured, it needs to be serviced and ultimately closed. A higher level of structure and detail is required when compared to initially finding and winning the business. Now you have to coordinate the team and the projects, all while keeping the client informed.
Fulfillment has always been important. However, three things have changed. First, fulfillment has become more complex and more comprehensive. At the same time, due diligence and deal facilitation have become more important. There are more multi-location client opportunities than ever. Those things mean the due diligence, maintenance and fulfillment functions require people with higher skill levels than you might have needed 20 years ago.
[Tweet “Fulfilling the business has always been important; however, 3 things have changed.”]
Naturally those who excel in this role tend to be mid to lower in assertiveness and higher in conformity. More likely, they are going to take direction and want to perform, especially when they have a little higher calmness. They’re going to be friendly, but they’re also going to be very helpful.
You would also want someone who is generally calm. The client will demand somebody who is service oriented or someone who’s there and is going to make sure at the end that everything is done right. And that would typically be found in someone high in conformity. The industry is changing and the details do matter, so consider having someone on your team who is detail oriented.
The person who is good at today’s fulfillment functions would tend to be higher in calmness and conformity. That does not mean top producers couldn’t learn to handle the due diligence and fulfillment parts of the job. They certainly could. Anyone could learn how to handle the fulfillment role.
[Tweet “People have natural behaviors that are better aligned with the role and associated responsibilities.”]
What’s important is that some people have a set of natural behaviors that are better aligned with the role and the associated responsibilities. It will generally be easier for them to excel at the position and sustain a high, consistent level of work product. People who are not a good natural fit for the work will be able to do it, but will likely expend a lot of effort in the process.
So, is there an “ideal” composition for the most dominant commercial real estate teams? Well yes, there is. Here are two ways to find out how to build your own dominant team:
1) I invite you to purchase my new book Commercial Real Estate Teams Built to Dominate. It will be available on Amazon.com as of Monday, October 12. You can learn more, in addition to hearing about a special offer to those who buy the hard cover book during the first week of our public launch by clicking here.
[Tweet “Can’t wait for @MassimoGroup founder’s new #CRETeamBook to launch on Oct. 12!”]
2) On Wednesday, October 14th @ Noon Eastern, I will be holding a free webinar titled Building a Dominant CRE Team. Registration will be limited to the first 200 people. As one of my blog readers, you are the first to hear about this special event. We will publicize this webinar next week, so if you are interested in attending be sure to register now.
[Tweet “I just registered for the free live webinar “Building a Dominant CRE Team”. Join me!”]
