Keri Shull leads the top real estate team in Virginia and is a renowned speaker and coach. In Episode 25 of the Lab Coat Agents podcast, she talks to host Jeff Pfitzer about why she believes the solo agent is dying, and how to start building your own highly successful team. Episode Highlights:  Shull is a huge believer in spending time with her family. As the mother of three young children, she believes part of the advantage of building a team is getting your time back.  Shull began her real estate career selling new construction. At one point she left that job for a situation that fell through. She struggled until she attended an event that connected her to successful agents and changed her mindset.  When Shull developed a clear vision for her team she went from selling 21 properties in a year to selling 365 in a year, over a five year period.  Find a way to get yourself to an event to connect with others. When you talk with successful agents, don’t reinvent the wheel.  How does she find the time to be a parent of young children and be so successful? Shull describes the changes she’s seeing taking place in the industry. What are the activities that are not worth the hourly rate? Shull outlines how to begin building out your team based on your personal strengths and weaknesses. Shull provides a quick exercise anyone can do to help them determine how they can start building a team to support their business. They discuss how compensation and motivation affect the hiring process and employee satisfaction.  Shull describes her strategy for hiring the right people. Why Keri Shull thinks the solo agent is dying.  Client expectations are changing. It’s not as easy to get referrals now as it was ten years ago. Teams can offer leverage in many ways.  They discuss common pain points people come across when they consider building a team. How can you afford to pay the first assistant? Shull offers advice about how to manage the expense of your first hire. Where can you find good assistants? Shull discusses some of the disadvantages of hiring virtual assistants. Shull emphasizes the importance of the interview process and onboarding. Keri Shull discusses what led her to create HyperFast Agent.    3 Key Points:   Solo agents are dying because clients expect immediate response times.    Hire based on your strengths and weaknesses. When you build a team, this gives you back some of your time and flexibility to scale your business.    Resources Mentioned: LCA Marketing Center: LCAmarketingcenter.com Lab Coat Agents: LabCoatAgents.com Keri Shull website, Facebook, Instagram HyperFast Agent LCA1 in Detroit  Glassdoor Craigslist LinkedIn     Connect with Lab Coat Agents: Lab Coat Agents on Facebook Lab Coat Agents on Twitter Lab Coat Agents on Instagram Lab Coat Agents Facebook Group