Who Should You Hire First to Build Your Real Estate Team?

One of the biggest questions we receive from coaching client is “Who should I hire first?”. Almost universally, the answer is an Admin, or Administrative Assistant. Unless an agent enjoys working 100+ hours a week to handle all of the tasks associated with a high-production real estate agent, the Admin will create the backbone your team needs to scale effectively.

In this post, we will go in-depth into why hiring an Admin first is such an important step, and why it makes more business sense in the long run versus adding a Buyer’s Agent or Listing Specialist.

Why Lead Agents Struggle With Hiring Admins

Just about every real estate market will have a lull or down period, which makes having someone on the payroll a scary proposition for a busy real estate agent. Hiring an admin is much different than adding a Buyer’s or Listing Agent to the team, since they typically receive a commission whenever they close a transaction.

However, does adding a new agent to the team before adding an Admin make savvy business sense? Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why it doesn’t.

Admins are the Backbone/Support of the Team

Having a team member on staff that can provide your team with the support it needs provides a sense of comfort to the team lead and any additional agents you onboard.

Without this solid support pillar, any new agents will be busy handling all of their own administrative work, which leads us to our second issue.

Admins Minimize Agent Turnover

If a buyer’s agent is giving up 50% of the commission to be a part of a team, only to do the same work they would be doing as a solo agent, what incentive do they have to stick around?

Admins make it easy for every agent on the team to focus more on the business of selling real estate, which makes for happier agents. Happy agents means less turnover and an overall work environment.

Admins are Less Costly

Although it can be daunting to pay an Admin a fixed salary regardless of how business is doing, think about it from a mathematical standpoint.

Whether you close 1 transaction or 100 transactions, an Admin’s salary is fixed. By hiring an Admin, remove the logistical burden involved in most real estate sales, which allows you (the lead agent) to focus on closing more deals.

If you only have a buyer’s agent, you’re essentially paying a 50% commission to perform tasks that someone can do for a few-thousand dollars per month. All of that extra cash you save can be used as a buffer for the slower months, which will keep your Admin happily employed and your agents happier.

Add in the extra hassle of constantly leave your team for one that provides administrative support, and you can see why an Admin makes smart business sense in the long run.

Learn more about Admins

To make the hiring process simpler, we encourage you to purchase our book ADMIN: Systematize your Real Estate Administrative Process, which will guide you through every step of the process. So,now you know who you should hire first to build your real estate team!