Do you want to be selling when you’re 80?
If not, you’ll want to put a plan in place to get yourself out of 95% of your production.
Fast Value: Most team leaders I know nearly went broke trying to get out of production (myself included). The reality is most people get out of production for the wrong reasons. If you want to sell, then sell. If you want to build a business, then build a business.
I’m a huge fan of profit.
I’m also a huge fan of building something today that will pay you in the long run.
If you’re a team leader that is currently in production, this is for you.
Getting out of production is hard.
and…
It’s not for everyone. Some agents and team leaders should continue to sell. However, if you want to build a business, someone has to do it.
Today, let’s focus on you getting more leverage on your time.
If you’re reading this, you’re a team leader or want to be one. You’re already a successful agent, but you want more.
Here is what I wish I had known when I was building my team.
The Old Way:
Build a team so that they can do the deals that you are either too busy to do or don’t want to do. Pay your agents on a 50% split, and they do (almost) all the work.
That’s a win, right?
No. It’s not.
Agents will complain that it’s 50/50. and it’s not. You’re the business owner, you have ALL the expenses, you have all the risk. You have to pay rent, payroll, overhead, marketing, operations, insurance, and tech out of your “half”. That’s not 50/50.
There is definitely a better way, a new way, and it’s through a Production Partner.
The New Way:
Instead of building a team (hard and low profit margins) bring on a Production Partner to your personal business.
“What is a production partner?”
Great question, I’m glad you asked.
A Production Partner is a licensed salesperson who is married to you on all deals. You are the Senior Agent, and they are the Junior. This is not an ‘assistant’ – this is a salesperson.
I want to make that clear because we want them to…. sell.
… not assist.
Because a Production Partner is “married” to all your production, they have certainty of an income. They know that you’re going to be selling homes every month. They also know that they’re going to be learning from a rainmaker (you).
In exchange for this, the right Production Partner will be happy to get married to you for way less than 50%.
Here is some tactical help on how this works.
- You and your Production Partner agree to partner (get married)
- All your deals are your deals
- All their deals are your deals
- You pay them a % of all deals both of you do
You both are building your brand, your name, and your database. All while keeping more control and more profit.
The goal of a production partner is to increase your total production AND buy you a ton of time back. Maybe that time is to generate more business. Maybe that time is to build your team.
Whatever it’s for, it’s time and money.
“How do I find the compensation % that makes sense?”
Smart question…
The answer is, it depends on 2 things.
- Your level of production, your GCI
- How much they need to make
Here is an example. If you know you’re going to do $750k in GCI this year, and they need to make $75k in order to do the job… you would need to compensate them 10% of all deals.
The reality is that you’ll both make more than that. Remember, this person is there to sell. Your increased productivity alone will more than pay for them.
Plus… remember, they’re going to do deals too.
“Who is a perfect Production Partner?”
Another great question, I’m glad you asked.
The perfect production partner is someone who loves being a real estate agent. They want to work hard and do everything in a deal… everything except close.
We all know that agent who has everything it takes to be successful. But they shy away from the hard conversations, and it costs them tons of money.
That is the perfect person for the production partner role.
They get to do everything they love. And the one thing they hate (closing) is what you’re best at.
Win-win.
This is the game plan I wish I had known about when I was building my team.
Looking back, I threw so much money away, handing over my hard-earned clients and leads to agents on our team. Agents that then complained about 50/50. Agents that then left with those clients. Now their clients.
If you’re still in production, you want to make your production as profitable as possible.
Build the team separate from your personal production.
After all, don’t you want to build a business that doesn’t die if you stop prospecting?
This was as much a message to my younger self as it is to you.
Don’t go broke trying to get out of production.
Get your time back and make more money with a production partner. I’m adding this lesson to my Team Building Masterclass (which is on a waitlist until we launch it). I’m also going to be recording a podcast on this topic tomorrow, which will have more details. Make sure you’re subscribed to my YouTube channel, that’s probably the best place to see it.