By Melanie Robitaille, SR. Staff Writer & Graphic Designer
Perhaps the saying, “two heads are better than one” is the thinking behind why so many form real estate teams: a movement on a serious uptick over the last several years. Learn how Broker/Owner, Maggie Tessier, has transferred her individual success into an award-winning, 12-agent lineup, including her son, in Ottawa, ON where the name of the game is all about teams.
WHEN TO TEAM UP?
Need is something Maggie reminds all agents to weigh in their decision to collaborate, admitting that even an accomplished professional like herself feels the pressures of business.
“I think you can achieve a level of success with a team or without, it really does depend on what your goals are,” she explained. “I find with the arrival and speed of social media, and how everybody communicates, that one person alone has trouble managing it all. I feel it’s going so fast and creating so much anxiety that the more people you have around you, the more everybody can go home at a certain time and rest. That’s what really pushed me to build a team. When you start losing leads written on the back of your mail underneath the seat of your car, you know it’s time.”
LEADING WITH LOVE
Established in 2016, the Tessier Team has since graced the ranks of EXIT’s top teams consistently. Maggie credits EXIT’s business model as a way to organically build a team, but keeping one going these days is all about caring, she says.
“We have a system where if someone leaves and another does business for them, they don’t want any referrals or any payout, and the other does the same. I feel this encourages people to go on vacation, relax, and recharge their batteries,” she explained of how many agents need precisely that after the past two years. “It’s a hard market to be working in, and you don’t have the energy you had in 2021. We kind of came out of 2020 thinking that [COVID] would be over, but it wasn’t, so everybody pushed through a whole other year, but everybody’s exhausted now. I feel the agents, staff, and everyone needs more…I’m going to call it love. It sounds cliché, but we really do need more caring because what’s really important in the end is not how much money you made this year, it’s your family, your relationships, and your marriage. All of that has to manage to get out of this on the other end somehow intact.”
ALWAYS FORWARD-THINKING
Maggie has no illusions about the future. You get a sense of how well she knows herself when she openly muses about surpassing a career milestone anniversary and what that means going forward.
“I’m looking at 25 years in the business so my goal for the team is very, very different now. I feel more of a sense that the dream is to make their own teams. My face has been offline for some time now. I feel that I’m growing many businesses within the team. I encourage a lot of their own marketing on social and getting their faces out there. There’s been a real shift in the last couple of years because I realize I’m closer to the exit than the entrance,” she shared humbly.
MAGGIE’S TOP TIPS FOR TEAMS
Work Your CRM – A database is just a list of information unless you’re putting it to good use to communicate and stay in contact with those who are a part of it. If you don’t have one, it’s time to get one.
Know How and When to Grow – Everyone has weaknesses so hire trustworthy people to fill those gaps, but just as you started a team to help manage it all, your team members need the same consideration. Err on the side of more administration and add members as needed for workload so…
Everyone Goes Home – A team means no member left behind. The workload should be distributed so that everyone on the team can go home every night to rest and recharge.
Budget for Branding – Spend some money and hire outside help that specializes in marketing. Developing your marketing is a whole process. It’s who you are. Once you have it, consistently market locally.
Mistakes Happen – We are all capable of them. Learn from them so you can recover quickly.
Mindset Matters – Everyone’s level of experience is different, but that’s not what matters. Ensure members understand it’s about what the team as a whole can offer clients, not just what each individual brings to the table.
Protect Your Culture – Your culture is sacred. If you notice someone who’s always taking from the team, never contributing, and it’s always the same person, there’s a problem. Move into the office setting and let the broker help but protect that core.
Lead By Example – Your team looks to you, so you have to be authentic and walk the walk. If you have to fake it you won’t make it.
For this and other great stories about agent and office successes, check out The EXIT Achiever, EXIT’s corporate magazine online today at exitrealty.com/achiever or text ACHIEVER to 85377 for a mobile friendly version.
