Starting a real estate team in 2024 Powered by REW
What would happen if the best real estate technology and marketing company in the world also had a real estate team? We're about to find out!
I’m writing this post about starting a team here on the REW blog for 2 very specific reasons.
1: I want to be able to lay out our plans for the local Realtors® here in Nanaimo where we live so that they can decide if they would like to join our team (or sell us their book of business if they are leaving real estate).
2: Discuss the end game in terms of how this helps all REW customers.
And what is that end? I want to help all Real Estate Webmasters customers be successful through this changing market, and all other markets to come.
Our thesis: Running a real estate team alongside a real estate/marketing company is chocolate and peanut butter.
A bit of Real Estate Webmasters history for those considering joining our team:
For the past 20 years, our company Real Estate Webmasters Inc. has had the good fortune to be a part of building some of the most successful real estate businesses in history.
We’ve worked with greats like Barbara Corcoran (Shark Tank), Mauricio Umanksi (The Agency), Rob Thomson (Waterfront Properties), Gary Ashton (#1 RE/MAX Team In the World) and so many more amazing entrepreneurs and true real estate leaders.
Our role in the process has always been on the technology and marketing side. Our customers have trusted us with building their custom technology, doing search engine marketing, paid advertising campaigns, managing their PR, and providing many other specialized services.
All to produce millions of leads that have turned into tens of billions of dollars in real estate transactions.
We are very proud to say that 20 years later, we have grown into the largest custom real estate technology and marketing company in the world that does what we do. And we’re in Nanaimo!
Oh yeah, and don’t forget, we were also the largest deal on Dragons Den and in Reality television history. A record that stands to this day.
We’ve cracked the code (even reinvented it) several times when it comes to online real estate promotion and lead generation.
Our customers are our partners. Along the way, we have spent thousands of hours learning about our customers' business. Attended conferences focused specifically on helping team leaders run the best teams possible. We’ve sponsored coaches and sat with the CEO’s of all major franchises learning about every aspect of the real estate business.
We have learned SO MUCH about this real estate industry that we love. And it’s all thanks to the generosity of our amazing customers and friends.
But we were always outsiders: So we decided to change that!
A few years ago we took the first step towards becoming even more integrated into the real estate community. Carly Carey (my wife for those of you who don’t know her) got licensed so that we could truly explore what it meant to “Be a Realtor®”.
And she loves it! Even though admittedly this exercise was not meant to be a full-time job for her, the sense of community she has experienced, the work she has been able to do in the charity space. The traveling, learning, and networking she has been able to do. All have dramatically changed her life and inspired her to want to do more.
Now more than ever she is convinced she wants to have a career in real estate.
That being said - our network and our customers are not agents (not most of them anyway). The people we hang out with, work with, and learn from are all leaders in real estate. We’re talking about the TOP team leaders, brokerage owners, and even CEOs of major franchises.
So for us (given this is our network) it makes so much more sense for us to start and run a team vs having Carly building an individual agent business.
I say us (and it is us) but I want to be clear on roles here:
Carly is the Realtor® and will be the team leader. (At RE/MAX Of Nanaimo)
It is Carly who has the passion for building and developing amazing team members. Creating a culture of positivity and fun. She is the mentor and the “people person”. Her passion is all about building a sustainable positive culture and a team that people “want” to be a part of.
Carly is the name, the face, and the brand of the team.
My role in technology and marketing: Think of me as more as a consultant to the team whose sole job is to ensure you never run out of leads, have the best international exposure possible, and state-of-the-art technology and follow-up systems to ensure you can spend the least amount of time possible to earn the income that allows you to live the life of your dreams.
Sound good so far? But wait there’s more!
Why we are the team that you want to join.
I’ve already mentioned our global network of agents, team leaders, brokers, and CEOs. Candidly there is not a single team (or even brokerage) on Vancouver Island that can come close to matching our level of exposure or connections. Also unlike most teams or brokers that are tied to connection via just one brand, we are connected to all brands and their leaders.
But we’re not just out here flexing on our connections. We plan to leverage them.
It starts with coaching. For you AND us.
The very first thing we did when we decided to have a team was to hire amazing coaches. We know from experience and the mentorship of our network that the best agents and team leaders only get that way by hiring the best coaches. They are lifetime learners.
If you join the Calry Carey Real Estate Team you will not only receive personal coaching from Carly on all things real estate and myself on all things technology and lead follow up but you will also gain access to our group of internationally recognized coaches.
All coaching, including recorded sessions and access to the vast training materials available from our coaches, is provided by us to all team members. And we pay for it all.
We’re getting coached too! It’s no secret that we’re just starting this team. We are humble in the fact that we don’t know what we don’t know. But if anything has been proven in our entrepreneurial journey so far is that if we put our minds to something. We succeed!
Our team's success will be your success.
Staff and facilities:
We are committed to providing staff and facilities as the team grows. We already have dedicated calling and meeting space available and an assistant hired. As we build out the team we will be bringing on additional staff appropriate for the phase of growth of the team.
Our eventual build will include Carly’s assistant as well as ISAs (inside sales associates) who assist with the calling, appointment scheduling, and follow-up of leads and our database. A transaction co-ordinator and eventually an office manager once we get to scale.
Marketing/lead generation:
Every team member will be given access to a “unique” (not shared) database of a minimum of 1,000 leads to work. These leads have all been recently captured via SEO and PPC and are opt-in leads. In addition, our goal is to provide a minimum of 50 fresh leads per month to all team members. More if you are able to keep up your conversion rates.
On top of the online side of lead generation (SEO, PPC, Social, Website, etc) we plan on launching a full-blown local campaign that includes traditional marketing campaigns.
Think billboards, radio and television, buses and benches the whole nine! You won’t be able to go anywhere without seeing the name “Carly Carey Real Estate Team”.
Buying books of business:
Let’s face it 2024 is going to be a tough year for many Realtors® (it may be why you’re considering joining a team). And some Realtors® aren’t going to make it. Those Realtors® all have “some” past clients and current prospects.
We plan to aggressively go after this business by offering exiting agents with a buyout plan that is unmatched by any other local team. It’s a simple idea - sacrifice near-term profits to capture market share and at the same time feed even more deals to the agents on the team. (PS if you are in Nanaimo and would like to talk exit strategy / selling your book, please reach out. We will beat any offer)
Funding / Capital:
It’s why most agents and teams fail to launch.
Do you remember what your interviewing broker asked you when you started in real estate? Do you have funding for 6,9 or even 12 months to pay your fees and living expenses? It’s simply the reality of the real estate game and something that needs to be in place if you want to succeed.
For this launch, we are personally prepared to fund whatever level of investment is required to ensure this team becomes the market-dominating force we know it can be. We are THAT confident in what we’ve already learned, and what we know we can build together.
We also know that if you’re going to be paying 50% of your buyer commissions (and 65% on listings) we better come to the table with some massive value in the exchange. Those are our splits btw.
What does the future look like once we’re up and running?
It’s probably a team of 8-10 people (and the nearly hundred people at REW in the background).
It’s likely Carly and another listing agent, 3-4 buyers agents, 2 ISA, and 2 team staff.
In an ideal world (market factors acknowledged) we’d be feeding our agents 1-3 deals per month consistently and this would be in addition to the business they might also bring from their sphere, and past clients.
How does this help Real Estate Webmasters clients:
The answer is simple…
Every single thing we learn. We will share it with you.
Every feature we invent for the team that helps improve productivity or conversion… we’ll make sure we build it into the product.
We’re going to be running high-budget scale web campaigns. All these learnings will be applied to your campaigns.
We’ll be experimenting with traditional and non-traditional programs. Measuring everything.
Anything we learn. We are happy to share.
What do we want in return? Nothing. You’re already our customer. And we are grateful to you for it….. (though if you want to write us a 5-star review or refer us some business, that would kick ass too!).
So there you have it.
For locals reading this, hopefully, this gives you enough information for you to reach out if A: You’re considering joining our team or B: If you’d like to sell us your book of business.
And for REW customers. Hopefully, you see the vision here.
We love being in this industry alongside you. With the team up and running, we’ll understand even more about what it is you need for your businesses and how we can help you continue to succeed along the way.