Teamwork makes the dream work, especially in the competitive CRE business. Read on to find out more.
In this article:
- It Is the Status Quo for Successful CRE Operations
- With Teamwork, a Few Specialists Perform Better Than Many Individual Generalists
- Experts Add Value but Teamwork Multiplies
- Teamwork Gives Scale, a One-Man Army Limits Growth
- Teamwork Finds and Fulfills Opportunities for Both the Team and the Individual
- Harmony Gives Efficiency
- Not Having Teamwork Lowers Productivity
- Great CRE Agencies Track Teamwork and Improve
- Teamwork Lessens Worker Attrition Rates
Why Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
1. It Is the Status Quo for Successful CRE Operations
Times are changing, and only those who adapt can survive the new economic landscape. Gone are the days of going solo or relying on just one person to make things happen for business operations. Certain paradigm shifts in commercial real estate make teams and teamwork not only beneficial but mandatory.
The CRE landscape is now bigger than ever before. Clients have commercial properties in different locations, which already is a logistics nightmare for a small CRE team to maintain and fulfill. Competition is killing revenue, and collaboration is now the name of the game.
CRE operations need a team. Whether outsourced, remote or office-based, teamwork makes the whole CRE pipeline run. Cultivating a culture that values teamwork is a great investment with great returns.
2. With Teamwork, a Few Specialists Perform Better Than Many Individual Generalists
Teamwork is the best business fulcrum. Hiring and retaining the best talent is not enough. Finding and employing workers that fit best is paramount. Having someone who deals only with administrative and compliance tasks frees up time and energy for those who do well in prospecting, closing and after sales.
If teamwork is present, these two specialists can create value for each other. Even if they deal with tens or hundreds of colleagues and prospects, star players who have teamwork will find their jobs easier. These business processes make everything more efficient.
3. Experts Add Value but Teamwork Multiplies
Expertise can only get the individual and the business so far. An expert can give data, prospect properly or close deals effectively. However, experts experience limitations by the very thing that they celebrate; their individuality confines their potential as they cannot do all roles efficiently. Time and energy reserves limit what experts can do.
Experts are linear but teamwork is exponential. In a group with cohesive teamwork, each specialist will add their value to the whole. However, that is not all; each member multiplies the result from other teammates. People conserve time and energy and use them when the opportunity arises. Rather than deal with only one client and wait for clients to move in the pipeline, the team can get clients as they come and go.
Make a CRE team that dominates. Once you inject teamwork to the workplace, you can see how much more efficient your business pipeline is.
4. Teamwork Gives Scale, a One-Man Army Limits Growth
If you want to have a stable and long-lived CRE practice, then having a team is a necessity. A huge reason why CRE brokers and agencies hit a ceiling is due to the lack of scale. A single salesman can only close as many deals as humanly possible. Solopreneurs and small agencies also have to deal with so many regulatory and administrative tasks before and after sales.
Teamwork makes scaling easier. Teams can produce more with less effort in less time. With a group, moving clients and leads becomes more structured and organized. Retaining and acquiring clients become second nature due to teamwork and synergy.
5. Teamwork Finds and Fulfills Opportunities for Both the Team and the Individual
Teamwork fuels personal CRE success. Collaborating with regulatory bodies, going past decision gatekeepers and communicating with leads and prospects all need at least a modicum of collaboration and teamwork. The more you move forward as a team, the more you grow as individuals. The greater the growth of the individual, the greater the individual’s contribution to the success of the company.
Having some problems with finding prospects and closing deals? Add a bit of teamwork to your process, not just with your team but also other people involved in the pipeline.
6. Harmony Gives Efficiency
Leading superstar talents feels a lot like herding cats. Their individuality makes them stand out above most, but you can find a lot of ego clashing. A culture of teamwork allows each individual suggestion and idea to be heard and evaluated against others.
The open line of communication is encouraged and maintained for the sake of the team’s performance and the company’s success. With teamwork, you can have meetings where conversations are passionate (but directed towards a common goal) and still have a great workplace environment after.
7. Not Having Teamwork Lowers Productivity
Successful businesses have a competitive edge that puts them ahead of the game. That edge? A team with good synergy. Not having a team is a disadvantage for a lot of CRE brokers.
Can you imagine a profitable team or even a single CRE broker ignoring the value of teamwork? A lot of paperwork may get lost. The right hand will not know what the left hand is doing. Mountains of work will remain in the backlog.
Lost productivity means a loss of revenue. Assume a culture of productivity and see your efficiency and financial bottom-line soar.
8. Great CRE Agencies Track Teamwork and Improve
There are important metrics for a CRE team to track. Team development is one of them. How do you track something as intangible as teamwork? Participation, sector metrics, mentorship, and department improvement provide concrete proof for an abstract metric.
Anything that you can measure, you can improve. Sit down and make a scorecard about teamwork and talk about how everyone can make the workplace a better one.
9. Teamwork Lessens Worker Attrition Rates
A 2018 KornFerry survey of 5,000 professionals shows that 24% of workers change jobs due to either a workplace whose culture does not suit them or one lacking the team structure they are looking for.
Keeping a good team has its own challenges. Make the team more coherent with team-building activities. You do not have to go to a resort. As long as the whole team participates and feels they are valued, a lunch out can suffice.
There are plenty of other reasons why teamwork makes the dream work. If you think you or your agency has hit a revenue ceiling, try focusing on the team and not the metric. Teamwork pays great returns, and the sooner you make a culture out of it, the sooner you get to reap the rewards.
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Up Next: Hiring the Right CRE Team Members
