Life is full of problems. One of the great things about life is that although it may not feel like it at the moment we actually get to pick our problems.
It’s likely you’ve heard someone say many people spend the first half of their life accumulating wealth and the second half of their life spending the wealth to regain their health. This is a great example of picking your problem. You get to decide to spend money now on healthy food and a trainer or later on doctors bills and blood tests.
If we look for an example of that in the real estate world the classic question of brokerage model or team model comes to mind. Both models work yet we get to pick our problem.
In the first example: Brokerage Model
In this model the margins are low and attrition is high but the barrier of entry is lower. We grow based on headcount. Every month our goal is to net positive on headcount. Bodies in the door with low standards. It’s easy to bring someone in and just as easy for them to leave. This environment creates the problem to constantly replace lost headcount due to attrition and the constant need to recruit more agents.
In the Team Model
This model has higher margins. In this example, many teams have a higher standard and a higher bar to stay part of the team. A member of a team may have certain production requirements while the brokerage model may be okay with someone closing 1 unit each year. Due to the higher standards, higher splits, and tougher barrier of entry it typically takes longer and more interviews to find a candidate for the role.
When we compare the two models both have advantages and disadvantages. It’s as simple as picking the problem you’d like to have. Do you want to constantly recruit knowing you’re going to lose people and tightly manage expenses or do you want to do tons of interviews to find the one in a million candidates while maintaining a high standard and holding them accountable?
If you look at the problems you currently have in your life I would ask did you pick them or did you stumble into them by default? If it’s by default it’s likely you’ve taken the easy road without even realizing it.