RE/MAX ULTIMATE TEAMS EVENT IN DALLAS

Earlier this week, I traveled to Dallas for the 2016 RE/MAX Ultimate Teams Event. 

This two-day program attracted nearly 600 team leaders or aspiring team leaders from RE/MAX offices in the US and Canada.  The demographics of the group were extremely impressive, as attendees averaged 17 years in the business and average 2016 income of over $280,000.

In short, these were the best and most successful agents in the RE/MAX system.

RE/MAX has been slow to support teams, quite candidly, because the formation of teams usurps power and revenue from the RE/MAX corporate model, which has long been focused on attracting successful, experienced, and entrepreneurial top-producing single agents. 

Consolidating the production of multiple agents under the banner of a single team leader threatens a business model that is largely dependent on individual agents each paying monthly fees to be a part of the brand.  But to their credit, RE/MAX International has finally recognized that team-building is not only here to stay, but long-term it’s going to be the only sustainable model in real estate.

With technology creating a 24/7 marketplace, it’s increasingly difficult for single agents to keep up with the demands of a 24/7 real estate business cycle.  The best long-term answer is to create a structure that supports constant availability and provides exceptional service at all times.  

Much of the two-day event was like drinking from a firehose.  Power panels featuring top-producing team leaders, financial experts preaching the importance of strict budgetary discipline and an intensive three-hour seminar on Tuesday with Brian Buffini, whose referral-driven real estate sales model has been at the center of my success and whose globally-renowned coaching organization works with many of the top agents in the world.

“You don’t form a team for leverage,” Buffini told the crowd.  “It’s not so you can have more time at home, or even so you can work fewer hours.  The only acceptable reason to form a team is when you consistently have a surplus of leads that you yourself cannot handle.”

The most important hire is the first, because your personal assistant will either provide the structure and support to grow or keep the entire enterprise from getting off the ground.  

“Hire a fit, not a friend”, Buffini said. 

 

The three hiring filters for that personal admin (in order) are character, competence and chemistry. 

“You need all three for a successful hire", Buffini continued, “but in the end, character wins out.  Competence can be learned, but character is innate, and without it nothing else matters.” 

Buffini also emphasized that building a successful team requires leadership, not management. 

“Management is telling people what to do, “Buffini said.  “Leadership is doing the right thing, regardless of circumstance.  Leaders must lead, or they will eventually lose their teams.” 

The goal of any successful team leader should be to help each team member reach his or her goals.  If those goals don’t align with the success of the team, then the hire was a mistake from the beginning.

Most highly successful agents and team leaders are control freaks, and I certainly can relate to that.  But Buffini said that unless control freaks learn to grow and delegate, they rarely build successful teams.

“You've got to be broken of your controlling ways," Buffini explained.  "The cure to being a control freak is constant feedback.  You must have the humility to seek out feedback, internalize what you hear, and proactively empower those on your team.  Even if that means allowing them to make mistakes so they can grow.”

Buffini cautioned that for 90% of team leaders, there is no annual four week beach vacation.  There is no endless flow of passive income.  Being a team leader is about creating opportunity for others to succeed and building an enduring, trusted brand.  Only after years and years of hard work can a successful team leader look at easing out of the sales equation and handing the reigns off to a team of subordinates. 

Ultimately, being a team leader means that the buck stops with you, always.  

“Leading a team of six is far harder than running a company of 600,” Buffini said.  “No matter what happens, the leader has to take responsibility and set a daily example of what is expected.  No matter what happens, the leader must own it.  No matter what goes wrong, regardless of who dropped the ball, the first and most mature response from a good team leader will always be ‘it is my fault.’”