Establishing the foundation for a fast-growing brokerage or team

Shared: January 19, 2022

By: Dean Cottrill

True growth happens behind the scenes and deep down. That’s the orienting philosophy around T3 Sixty and its growth-oriented program T3 Fellows. This article highlights the proven steps to establishing a strong foundation and one brokerage’s recent experience in shoring up its foundation.

A strong foundation empowers steady, sustainable growth. Building a sturdy base requires a detailed, systematic and smart plan. From years of research, feedback from broker-owners and team leaders and the direct experience of running profitable brokerages, that’s what we have developed at T3 Fellows – the recipe for a strong foundation that catalyzes growth.

The 12-month MBA-style program for brokerage and team leaders runs participants through establishing a rock-solid business based upon the 10 proven, key areas of the real estate business. They are:

  • Discovery: Assessment and clear determination of current internal structure and systems.
  • Competitive Assessment: Compare their company and its offerings to their competition.
  • Strategic Intent: Clarify overall strategic target.
  • Developing Your Brand Story: Develop an authentic brand story.
  • Recruiting Personas: Create the persona of the ideal agent for their company.
  • Recruiting Process: Develop and implement recruiting practices.
  • Goal-Setting: Set specific production, financial and recruiting goals.
  • Business Generation: Build a plan to generate business for agents.
  • Hiring: Develop a plan to hire executive and management team.
  • Accomplishment Marketing: Learn how to generate and market accomplishments.

Kelly Schuit and James Weiskerger, managing partners of Maryland-based Next Step Realty and the team W Home Group, participated in the 10th class of T3 Fellows, which recently completed its curriculum. They officially became graduates in August 2021, and have already seen foundational results.

Their experience in the program highlights the experience of applying the 10 systematic, foundational steps to growth presented above.

Foundation for growth

Schuit and Weiskerger ended 2020 successful, but on the edge of burnout. They had a talented leadership team, but found themselves managing too much of the daily activities of their approximate 100-agent brokerage and 20-agent team.

They knew they wanted to grow, they just didn’t know exactly how or what to focus on first.

Upon doing a careful review of their business during the course of their T3 Fellows work, Schuit and Weiskerger discovered the way they had organized their profit-and-loss statements did not allow them to carefully track the right elements of their business for growth.

In addition, they uncovered some of the gaps in their systems and processes they felt but couldn’t pinpoint before. A careful review opened their eyes to the details and how to address.

The T3 Fellows agent recruiting module stood out for them. Given that all modules build on the ones previous, much of the work they did the course helped them pinpoint exactly the right type of agent and persona they should target for their brokerage and the distinct one for their team.

For their brokerage, they realized they needed a good agent or someone with high-level sales experience. For their team, they realized they needed a good agent who does $3 to $5 million in volume or a very accomplished, successful salesperson in another field. They began marketing these personas and have attracted a net of 22 agents in 2021.

Other actions they implemented, based on their careful audit and review of their business over the past year, include adding an agent advisory board, adding more effort at recognizing performance of staff and agents, and amplifying their attraction marketing.

They also worked to empower their management team. They shared a classic Harvard Business Review article they encountered in the class, “Who’s Got the Monkey?,” which they directly attribute to helping them effectively delegate more.

They’re early in establishing their firm foundation, but they share that they have much more confidence in their business now and spend much more time working on their business than in it. Two vital components to sustainable growth.

Takeaway

T3 Fellows is not the only way to grow, but it provides a guide for a proven framework for sustainable growth. Apply these modules yourself or reach out to learn more about the Fellows program to me, T3 Sixty senior vice president of brokerage consulting, Dean Cottrill, at dean@t360.com.