Four Tips For Developing An Effective Investing Team

I know some investors who are solo investors who somehow manage to do it all themselves but I couldn t invest without a team. I ve already got a bunch of other commitments, plus I sure like the financial and time freedom I get from investing with a team, so a team is an essential part of investing for me. Along the way I ve learned through trial and error (mostly my error) how to best find, develop, and work with a team.

It doesn t matter what your team consists of (probably real estate agents, bird dogs, contractors, marketers, private lenders, accountants and attorneys, and so on), here are four tips that will benefit any investor who wants to work with a team:

Team tip #1: Establish win/win relationships

Everyone on your team is motivated by something but not always the same things you re motivated by. Make sure your team knows their importance to the team and feels valued and rewarded appropriately. (By comparison, I ve seen many investors try to pay their team as little as possible to maximize their own profit with predictable results: a disloyal, disgruntled team that only does the bare minimum of work). Find a great team, figure out what they consider a win in work and life, and help them achieve it. I once heard someone say that if you have ten realtors working for you, you have no realtors working for you.

Team tip #2: Make sure you enjoy working with good people

Nothing can suck all the fun out of investing like a team member who you don’’t want to work with. You don’’t have to be best friends with everyone you work with but you should at least be able to trust and enjoy connecting with your team and feel confident. Their enthusiasm should motivate you. And since your business involves huge amounts of investment money, be wary of the associated legal work. Keep the financial records transparent and authentic to avoid situations such as SEC investigations (click to learn everything you need to know about SEC investigations).

Team tip #3: Enthusiasm trumps expertise

I prefer enthusiastic newbies to experienced team members. People can learn skills (plus, if you help them learn those skills, they ll be more loyal team members and view your relationships as even more of a win). Enthusiasm brings a level of energy to every project and that helps keep the momentum going. (Of course there are exceptions: You will still need certified people in some positions on your team, so I m not suggesting that you fill your team with totally unqualified people; rather, you ll probably get more creative deals with an eager newbie than someone who has been around for decades and doesn t really need your business).

Team Tip #4: Deal with team issues quickly

Whether something really great happens or something really disastrous happens, deal with it immediately. Don t procrastinate on team issues. When your team succeeds in a big way, thank them right away and reward them generously. They ll want to help you again. Likewise, when someone isn t pulling their weight and living up to expectations, address the issue immediately. Letting problems fester too long will be like poison to your entire team.

Working with a team is a powerful way to get more done with the right team, 1+1=3. Use these strategies to help you develop a great team!

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