When & how to join a team: Insights from 10 real estate leaders

Being independent has its perks, but being part of a team may bring even more benefits. 

If you’re considering making the switch, don’t make this decision lightly. Instead, take your time to choose a forward-looking team that will help you knock your personal and professional goals out of the park. 

To help you make the best choice for your career, we’ve compiled a list of the most important factors to consider when joining a team, straight from the experts who have been there before.

How to join a real estate team

1. Figure out the right time to join a team
2. Determine what you need and want in a team
3. Know what to look for in a team
4. Ask the right questions
5. Considerations for top-performing agents
6. Understand how joining a team will support your goals

1. Pick the right time to join a team

When you’re a solo agent, it’s all on you. 

Sure, you may have a mentor within your brokerage. You could even hire an expert coach to have in your corner. But at the end of the day, you’re working for and by yourself. 

This means all the business (and money) is yours to keep. But it also means you’re responsible for figuring it all out on your own. So, how is a team different?

“As a solo agent, you have a lot of freedom. If freedom is number one to you, then stay a solo agent.” — Jeremy Larson, Larson Real Estate Team

In the following video, Jeremy Larson, CEO of the California-based Larson Real Estate Team, explains the difference between joining a team and staying solo:

Joining a real estate team gives you access to regular learning opportunities from other agents. But beyond that, you’ll also get shared leads, office space, and admin support.

Some solo agents choose to join a team because they want to specialize in a particular niche and be mentored by an expert in that area. For others, the admin tasks have simply become too much to handle on their own.

“Not everyone should be, or is suited to be on a team. But a lot of people are. The question is, is it the right team?” — Chris Heller, President of OJO Labs & Former Keller Williams CEO

At the end of the day, there’s no hard-and-fast rule about when to join a team. 

It can be your first day as an agent or the end of your first decade. The only deciding factor is whether it’s the right time for you and your business.

Take a listen to what Chris Heller, former President and CEO of Keller Williams and current President of OJO, has to say about how to know when (and if!) a team is right for you:

2. Consider your unique goals and working style

Every team is unique. To find the best fit for you, start by assessing your current business needs and goals.

Think about what you enjoy about being a solo agent versus what you don’t. What do you feel like you’re missing?

Keep in mind, real estate teams range in size from tiny to mega. One key question to consider is whether you want to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Only what works for you.

To start narrowing down your list of teams, begin by identifying the specific areas where you feel you need support. These could include marketing, administrative support, client management, and more.

“You have the collective experience that you can lean on and the ability to have like-minded people around. I know for my team, they constantly are checking in with each other on their goals.” — Katie Day, MOVEMETOTX Team

What about your daily work routine and environment? Are you more of a lone wolf, or do you prefer to spend time with a group? Do you like a structured setting or a more flexible, autonomous atmosphere?

Whether it’s the support of an office environment or the ability to work more autonomously, the goal is to find a team that allows you to stay in your flow and consistently achieve your goals.

Katie Day, agent and Team Leader of The MOVEMETOTX Team in Houston, explains why coachability and humility are the two things every agent needs for success within a team:

3. Know what to look for in a team

All teams are not created equal.

Some are four people, others are 400. Some provide leads and training, some don’t. Some teams feel like a college fraternity, and others like a corporate office. Finding the right fit is important for the success of your business and your overall happiness.

Here are the key elements to consider when evaluating a team, including the key questions to ask in each area.

Team culture and values

Every team has its own vibe and values. The key is to get to know them before signing up. 

Remember, you'll be spending a lot of time with this crew. Make sure you feel comfortable sharing your space and business with them.

Consider asking the following questions:

• Does the team's culture align with your personal values and work ethic?
• What is the team's communication style?

When reviewing your options, the trick is to know what you do and don’t want in a team.

“The good teams to me have accountability standards, they have training, they have coaching, they have support, they have leads.” — Veronica Figueroa, The FIG Team

For example, if you feel strongly about building client relationships and the team churns through leads and treats clients like numbers, that’s clearly not a good fit. On the other hand, if giving back to the community is important to you, you can actively seek out teams that share that value.

Veronica Figueroa is the visionary Team Leader behind the #1 team of most homes sold at eXp realty in both 2021 and 2022.

‍Here’s her best advice for what agents should look for when joining a team:

Leadership and structure

All teams have a leader or co-leader. What is this person like? What are their professional accomplishments and sales history? 

The good news is most of this information is publicly available. 

With a quick Google search, you can get a sense of who the team leader is and how successful their business is. To dig deeper, check out any interviews, real estate podcasts, or event presentations they might have done to learn more about who they are and what they stand for.

Here are some of the key team leadership questions you can ask:

• Who leads the team and what is their track record?
• What is the organizational structure of the team?
• Are roles and responsibilities clearly defined?

Depending on the size of the team, additional agents and support staff are likely. 

A well-organized team will likely have a clear structure and defined roles for each member, such as lead agents, buyer’s agents, listing agents, and support staff like marketing specialists and administrative assistants.

“Each of the team members has a very specific role and the most effective teams have really broken down those roles.” — Jim Remley, John L. Scott Real Estate

Ask what is expected of each team member and how the duties are shared. You don’t want to be the only one signing up to cover open houses or offering to cover showings for other agents. 

It’s called a team for a reason, and you want to make sure all the agents act like it.

Jim Remley pioneered one of the first real estate teams more than 30 years ago and grew it to a 17-office company across Oregon.

In the following clip, he shares the basics of team structure and explains why teams are the future of real estate:

Financial setup and splits

When you’re your own boss, you’re in charge of everything. But when you join a team, you give up control of the checkbook. 

Teams usually have a set structure of commission splits, and the team leader decides what that money gets spent on.

Take time to understand what the actual commission splits are for agents and what that split gets you in terms of resources. You can even run some quick math to analyze how this compares to your current setup as a solo agent.

Here are some questions to think about:

• What expenses are covered by joining the team?
• What is the commission split and how are expenses handled?
• Is there a commission cap?
• Are there any hidden costs or fees for joining the team?

Typically, teams offer a varying commission split based on the agent's experience level, sales history, and potential. Remember, commission splits are almost always negotiable, so don’t hesitate to ask for what you’re worth.

Support and resources

One of the most cited reasons agents join teams is the additional support. 

This can take the form of financial support for marketing, as well as day-to-day support for administrative tasks that can bog you down and prevent you from closing more deals.

“Do not join a team that isn’t exceptional at marketing.” — Phil Gerdes, REAL Broker

When you join a team, you typically have access to sophisticated marketing tools, shared advertising costs, and collective branding efforts that can help you grow your reach and influence.

Here are some critical questions that can help you find out exactly what’s in it for you:

• What administrative support is provided?
• Are leads provided? If yes, how are they distributed?
• What marketing resources and tools does the team use?
• Does the team offer technology tools and CRM systems?

Well-structured and resourced teams usually offer administrative support to help agents with contracts, listing agreements, MLS listings, scheduling, and customer service so that you can get back to closing deals.

Here’s Phil Gerdes, Associate Broker and Team Leader of The Gerdes Team in Annapolis, Maryland, with four specific questions to ask when interviewing a team leader:

Training and development

Most teams have a structured and intentional training plan in place. 

Depending on the team, this can include in-house training sessions, external workshops, and even industry conferences. Topics can include industry best practices, legal compliance updates, market trends, new technology tools, and more.

Many teams provide these sessions for free, saving you time, money, and frustration when completing your continuing education each year.

You can ask the following questions to find out what type of training support is available:

• Does the team provide ongoing training and education?
• Are there mentoring or coaching opportunities available?
• How does the team support professional growth and advancement?

One often undervalued aspect of professional development when joining a team is informal mentoring. Being around experienced agents willing to share their expertise is priceless. 

Look for opportunities to get guidance from top performers through collaborative work and training activities.

Work-life balance

As a solo agent, you’re in control of your schedule.

If it’s important to you to bring your kids to school in the morning or get in an afternoon run, you’ll want to make sure you can continue doing these things after joining a team.

“A huge but underappreciated benefit of being on a team is that not only do you have backup, but you have backup from someone who’s been onboarded, trained and coached similar to you.”  — Justin Havre, Justin Havre Real Estate Team

What type of schedule do they expect you to maintain? Are there required meetings that might interfere with other priorities?

Here are a few more questions to consider:

• What is the team's approach to work-life balance?
• Are there flexible scheduling options?
• How does the team support personal time and vacations?

One beautiful thing about joining a team is there are more people available to support you and your clients. 

If you want to take a vacation or need to be out for a period of time, you can easily coordinate with team members to cover your showings, inspections and workload.

Justin Havre, Team Leader of the $4B Justin Havre Real Estate Team of eXp Realty, went years without taking a vacation — and he’ll be the first to tell you: it’s not fun. 

Here’s how Justin explains the nuances of splits and the benefit of having paid vacations:

Exit strategy

At some point, you may decide to leave the team. Not necessarily because anyone did anything wrong, but because your business needs changed. 

So, what does exiting look like? There are horror stories of agents who joined teams and were given upfront marketing money or bonuses they had to pay back upon leaving.

Make sure you clearly understand the terms around any money you receive when joining a team.

Here are the key questions to think about:

• What are the terms if you decide to leave the team?
• What money will I need to repay, if any?
• What about any deals that are in process? 
• How does the team handle current clients? 

There are also stories of agents who left a team and received a no-contact list from their team leaders filled with their own clients’ names, or who lost access to the brokerage-owned CRM and no longer had contact info for their clients.

We know, it feels like putting the cart before the horse. But knowing what a potential exit looks like will put you in a more prepared position if and when the time comes.

4. Extra considerations for top-performing agents

If you’re a top-performing agent, you already know plenty of teams will want you on their roster.

They know you’re good at what you do. And they want in on the action. If you’re considering joining a team, make sure the benefits to you outweigh the benefits to them. 

You won’t necessarily need as much of the mentoring or training that they offer, so what else can they bring to the table to make it worth your while?

Here are the key questions to think about:

• Does the team complement your current success trajectory?
• Where do you see your business heading in the future? 
• Are the team’s values aligned with your own?

As a solo agent, you have limited resources, which makes it hard to scale and grow your business. That’s usually where joining a team can help. 

The extra resources will allow you to take on more deals and focus on the business activities you’re good at, while spending less time and energy on the things that don’t light you up.

But it has to be said that moving from independent agent to a team typically requires some mindset changes, so you’ll want to make sure it’s a good fit.

“If you are going to look at a team as a high-performing agent, you have to be willing to put your ego aside a little bit.” — Tiffany Gelzinis, The Gelzinis Group, REAL Broker

You already have a sizable SOI and presence in your local market. Joining a team needs to enhance these things.

If the team you’re considering joining has an even bigger presence than you, or focuses on a niche you want to move into (for example, luxury properties, investments, etc.), those are both great reasons to join a team. 

Whatever route you choose, make sure you don’t jeopardize what you’ve worked so hard for.

Tiffany Gelzinis, owner The Gelzenis Group in the Norfolk, Virginia, shares some real-talk tips on the top considerations for top-performing agents:

5. Know how the team will support your goals

Joining a team changes your business and life.

To make sure that change is for the better, think long and hard about how this change will impact your personal and professional goals.

“You’re going to get so many more opportunities from a team.” — Suneet Agarwal, Big Block Realty North

Whether your goals are based on numbers like production, GCI, listings, etc., professional growth, or work-life balance, the right team can support any number of personal and professional goals.

Suneet Agarwal, CEO and Owner of Big Block Realty North and the Best Sac Homes Group (the #1 team in Sacramento), explains why it’s critical to keep an open mind for better career growth and income potential in your real estate journey:

Here’s a recap on the top benefits of joining a team, based on some of the most common solo agent goals:

• Grow your business and GCI: Teams offer the support you need to get there. From advanced marketing tools to admin support, the right team will have the systems you need to work toward that bigger commission number.

• Better work-life balance: A team provides support from colleagues and other administrative support staff, allowing you to reduce the number of hours you work while maintaining or even increasing your income level.

• Opportunities to learn from others: Teams often have a mix of new agents looking to learn and experienced agents willing to share what’s worked for them. These “water cooler” conversations can often be more helpful than anything you’ve learned in a real estate course.

Think about your short and long-term goals.

What will your life and business look like in a year? In ten years? Choose a team that will help you make these goals a reality.

In the following video, Jenny Wemert, Team Leader of Wemert Group Realty, shares her thoughts on why it’s crucial for new agents to join a team:

Are you ready to make the leap?

Whether you’re a solo agent looking to learn from others or a real estate rockstar who wants to uplevel with the support of a team, take the time to evaluate both your reasons for joining a team and the teams themselves.

Remember, this decision will have a huge impact on your professional future. If you make the right choice, you’ll be able to go so much farther than you could have alone.

So, do your homework, ask the questions, and make the right decision for your business. With a clear head and a strong list of questions, you can choose a team that feels like home.

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