I appointed myself the title of COO; I didn’t ask my lead agent if it was ok.
But then, my lead and I have the right kind of relationship that I can pretty much make any decision I want and although he may question me privately just for understanding, he always backs my decisions.
And just what are the job duties of a real estate COO (Chief Operations Officer)?
Each real estate team will divide duties in different ways depending on the talents of their members. However, I am of the opinion that no matter what additional duties the COO may be taking on, the essentials are this:
- Focus on the day-to-day operations of the team
- Hire additional sales and administration staff when necessary
- Help the CEO put his or her vision into a plan and then take full responsibility for executing that plan
- Train, lead, and motivate the administrative staff
- Hold the sales team accountable for reporting their numbers
- Run the weekly all-team meeting
- Identify recurring problems and execute plans to minimize those problems
- Meet with the CEO weekly to discuss the state of the business and plans for improvement of its people and its systems
- Be a sounding board to the CEO when he or she needs input on major decisions
- Be a problem-solver and be able to give direction when decisions need to be made
- Be a project manager when necessary, as in executing plans to move the team to a new office, plan and execute an expansion team, or roll out a new marketing plan
- Industry knowledge surpasses that of most colleagues
- Know when to give answers and when to coach others to their own answer
- Decide when systems become outdated and need to be upgraded
- Push for better people, better systems, and better training
- Oversee the customer service experience
- Be a strategic business partner to your lead agent
- Anticipate the lead agent’s needs and act accordingly
- Oversee the transaction coordination services
- Oversee purchases and maintenance of office equipment
- Run or coordinate the marketing side of lead generation for the team to include Internet, television, radio, billboards, direct mail, etc.
- Produce a profit and loss statement or oversee a bookkeeper who produces the P&L
- Maintain the bank accounts and payroll or oversee a bookkeeper who does these
You can learn more about how to make the transition from executive assistant to COO, or you can discover which real estate assistant you are!
Are you currently functioning as the COO of your team? Tell us how you got the job in the comments! Did you assume the role on your own, or did your lead agent specifically hire you for the role?
