There are a lot of good reasons why agents should consider creating and starting a real estate team, one of the most being to create mutually beneficial partnerships that allow everyone to take a “divide and conquer” approach. Different agents have different strengths, abilities and networks, not to mention flaws. Leveraging the strengths of each member of the team allows everyone to get a boost.

Additionally, being part of a team creates automatic accountability for each agent. Knowing that there someone depending on you can be a strong motivator to pursue leads that may have fallen through the cracks otherwise.

However, assembling the best team requires a lot of planning and work — it’s not just about picking the best of the best, but people who complement each other, much like a sports team.

Figure out the roles you need

While your first thought may be to hire as many dedicated buyer’s and seller’s agents as possible, you may want to start with an administrative assistant. Depending on the experience of the candidate, they may be able to take care of handling in-team communications, paperwork and potentially marketing by keeping an eye on social media accounts. Similarly, another first hire that could help alleviate some burdens would be a transaction coordinator.

It doesn’t occur to many agents to hire an administrative assistant or transaction coordinator because they think they can handle those tasks themselves. But by freeing up their own time and mental capacity, they will be able to better work on other parts of the business and help the team succeed.

Communicate well

Inter-team communication is crucial in order for it to succeed. Luckily, there are a number of great collaboration tools that streamline communication and help a team work together. Whether by creating a Slack account or utilizing tools like Dropbox and Google Docs to work on projects together, having a system to share information can make a huge difference in overall productivity and success.

“You can’t have people working in a vacuum and just assume that good communication and follow-up will happen,” Jack Holter, the director of business development for Jackson Realty, said to Zillow.

Take time to hire the best

Hiring the right people is key to assembling the best team possible. According to a CareerBuilder survey, 69 percent of employers reported that their company was negatively impacted by a bad hire, and 41 percent of those businesses estimated the cost of the hire to be over $25,000. Twenty-four percent said a bad hire cost them more than $50,000.

A good hire is more than just someone with the right experience or skillset — it is also about culture and personality. A real estate team leader needs to make sure that the person they hire will be the best representative for the brand and company. Some people use personality assessments like DiSC or Myers-Briggs to figure out if a candidate is right for the position, and it’s important to remember that different roles require different strengths, so a variety of personalities will be needed to cover all of the key parts of a well-rounded team.