In this edition of HomeGain’s Winning Agent Calls, Janelle and Eric Boyenga of Intero Real Estate in Silicon Valley, California, reveal the do’s and don’ts of building a successful real estate team.

The Boyenga Team’s accomplishments include: over 12 years experience in real estate; recipients of the Intero President’s Circle, being ranked in the top 2% of Realtors in their agency since 2004; sold over $100 million dollars in home sales; named in the top 5% of Realtors in their county by San Jose Magazine; certified home staging professionals; have closed double digits in home sales with HomeGain.

Listen to this month’s featured Winning Agent Call, hosted by Peter McCullough:

Highlights:

Did you start off as part of a team?

Yes, we decided to start as a team and both got our licences together. We recognized we had different skill sets and had to work to get our positions and separate roles into place.

If someone were to only hire one person to their team, which role would you recommend that be?

Start with an assistant who can handle remedial tasks but is well versed in basic ground real estate. Get someone who has experience (even though it will cost more) working with Realtors so it takes less training and so you both speak the same language. Your team can keep growing if you have the right person on board.

What are some important qualities to look for in a new team member?

It takes time to build a team. A very important aspect is to find someone with the right energy, a positive attitude, and someone who matches your personality. Avoid people who can bring negative energy into your office.

Challenges?

Getting the team on board with who does what, and also explaining to clients about how the team works, who will be showing them home listings, who will be doing the paperwork, etc. The amount of agents we have to provide assistance,  It’s important to have a team that works well together, is organized, and can communicate clearly with clients about what to expect.

Are you looking to expand your team?

The last year has been the best year ever. We’re at a sweet spot right now with a buyer’s assistant, Eric and myself, plus an assistant and an admin. We’ve increased our team as we’ve needed, you don’t want to grow too fast. If we need more bandwidth, we’ll take on more team members. We don’t want to turn clients away so there is a balance to figure out.

As accredited home staging professionals, how effective is it in Silicon Valley?

We believe home staging is very effective, even with properties that are taking longer to sell. We’ve always understood that staging a home is key to getting it sold, and getting the most amount of money out of the transaction. Now, in the last year, the seller is more educated and likely to understand the value, from watching HGTV and other TV shows. Not one of our homes went on the market last year without being staged in some way.

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