agents who had tenure in the industry have begun to seek out a team,” explains Juniper. The multifaceted nature of the job often means that agents are pulled in multiple directions at any given time. “The complexities of the transactions have increased. There’s so much to do in real estate to do a good job.” For an independent agent, all of these burdens fall on one person’s shoulders, which can trickle down to the client experience. According to Juniper, a team allows the agent to focus on customer service and be that consultant the client is looking for. Without a positive client experience, your retention is sure to fall rapidly, and that reflects poorly on the agent and leadership. The client gains more peace of mind and a better quality of life when working with a team, and that directly translates to a higher quality of service. Juniper started her team in 2010 with the client in mind, but she soon found that the agents on her team reaped the benefits as well. “A team takes on all the costs — hiring, training, paying admin. We take on all the costs for the agent,” Juniper explains. But they don’t stop there. Her team will pay for videography, marketing, and just about anything under the sun that can help an agent generate leads. “It helps the agent have more peace of mind living in a commission industry.” But in the end, it always comes back to the client. “The more peace of mind agents have, the better the service they can deliver to the client,” says Juniper. Tom Hicks serves as the director of sales and training, and he echoes much of this sentiment. “Agents not on a team are often worried and frustrated. They’re running around like a chicken with their head cut off. They’re already so busy that they never get to go on vacation, but the only way to make more money is to make more sales.”
Tom uses the Pareto principle to explain how a team can help with this. “Most agents spend about 80 percent of their time making 20 percent of their money,” he says. “When you’re on a team, you have mindset training, scripts, and dialogues, so you can spend 80 percent of your time making 80 percent of your money.”
production from the agents on the team, expansion is next to impossible. That’s where Tom comes in. “A lot of these agents will reap the benefits of a team and say, ‘I have a lot of free time on my hands. What do I do?’ I tell them a simple answer: ‘Lead generate.’” There is undoubtedly established credibility with Tom because he was one of Juniper’s first hires when she started her team. He has worked hard for her ever since because he lives with the ashes of a former life in the rearview mirror. “I was originally a lender during the downturn. I was making $12,000 a year and on the verge of losing everything. I was lying on the couch pleading, ‘God, please help me,’” recalls Tom. “I was contacted by a mutual associate who told me someone was looking for a buyer’s agent. Juniper called me, and the rest is history.” This may sound easy years later, but Tom found the process difficult at first. “It took a long time to develop my sales skills
THE TRAINING
The world of real estate is full of convoluted tactics promising
to be the solution to the lead generation and sales issues that plague many agents. But if you ask Tom what he believes to be impactful when working in sales, he’s quick to explain a fundamental concept we teach. “The most important thing I’ve learned is to come from a consultative approach and not sound salesy.” Tom says. “From there, you can find out what the client’s problem is and how you can help them.” As the director of sales and training, Tom plays a significant role in the growth of the team. Without consistent
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