Disclaimer: The contents of this article are industry best practices which were sourced from StreetEasy data and interviews with real estate agents, unless noted otherwise. Any scripts provided are only meant to act as examples and are not required. Nothing in this presentation is intended to be legal advice. For specific questions about any duties or obligations arising out of a real estate transaction, check your local and state licensing laws and regulations, contact your broker, or an attorney.

High-performing Experts teams have several things in common: they’re disciplined, communicate well, and follow smart frameworks to convert connections. But these habits don’t form by accident — they develop as leaders consistently apply the principles and action items below.

1. Communicate goals clearly and consistently

Agents stay motivated when they understand why their work matters — and how long-term pipelines and referrals create a foundation for closing future deals.

From the first day an agent joins your team, they should understand how you define success and how to achieve it. This means being absolutely clear about what you expect from them in terms of:

  • New connections
  • Follow-ups
  • Appointment setting
  • Conversion benchmarks

For example, you might ask for one appointment per five connections, or one deal per 50 connections.

2. Maintain accountability

Whether they’re new or experienced, all agents need accountability. 

Regular team reminders help keep goals and systems top of mind while encouraging collaboration and friendly competition. For instance, you might host weekly team standups to go over performance, share wins, and assess needs.

One-on-one accountability is just as important. Consider holding monthly or quarterly goal reviews with each agent, with more frequent informal check-ins between.

Helping your team succeed means being fair yet firm when benchmarks aren’t met. If agents fall behind, consider pausing their Experts leads, coaching them, and setting them back up for success when they’re ready.

3. Emphasize “speed to lead”

Few things are as essential to lead conversion as speed and responsiveness. 

Responding to new connections within five minutes can greatly increase your team’s chances of converting leads. That’s because the buyer is more likely to still be on the StreetEasy website and in home-search mode.

During working hours, Experts must respond within 30 minutes of receiving a connection. Experts who do so are approximately 40% more likely to set an appointment.1 As a Team Lead, you can use the Agent Tools app (on iOS or Android) to pass on connections you receive to your team members, enabling you to better manage your pipeline and provide your team with valuable growth opportunities. 

Your team’s response time impacts their performance in the Experts program, and can open up opportunities for receiving more leads. Our suggestion? Encourage your team members to reply to connections within five minutes — if not sooner.

4. Maintain transparent connection workflows

When you remove the mental load of tracking leads, your team has more time and energy to spend on closing deals. This is where customer relationship management (CRM) software comes in.

You can use CRMs and project management tools to:

  • Auto-create tasks
  • Track contact attempts and follow-up completion
  • Surface warm lead opportunities
  • Generate weekly coaching dashboards

These tools allow you to keep an eye on follow-ups and lead flow in real time. If problems arise, you can catch them quickly and get your team back on track.

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Additionally, make sure you and your team are using Agent Tools to update connection statuses at every stage in the journey. This allows you to easily track interactions like contact attempts and follow-ups, filter your connections, and know where each lead stands.

5. Build a culture of collaboration and growth

Research shows that workers in a positive organizational culture are 4x more likely to stay with their employer. In NYC’s competitive market, building a healthy team environment is key to attracting and retaining talented agents.

A thriving team culture emphasizes growth and collaboration, not just production. Nowadays, agents are looking for a path to grow, which includes:

  • Fair and motivating compensation structures
  • Career progression within the team
  • Increased autonomy as they prove themselves
  • Opportunities to mentor new agents in exchange for shared commissions
  • Ongoing support and robust training systems

Ultimately, agents want to know that you’re actively investing in their success. Even small actions can communicate this, such as making yourself available for questions and coaching, providing detailed and motivating feedback, and noticing their progress.

6. Consistently engage in skill-building

Another part of building a culture of growth is equipping agents to continually hone their skills and develop new ones.

This is especially critical for inexperienced agents. A good rule of thumb is to have new hires shadow seasoned agents for at least three to six weeks before taking connections on their own. 

You should also consider regularly coaching your team on:

  • Relationship building
  • Time management
  • Understanding the NYC market
  • Objection handling
  • Negotiation

Consider offering self-guided resources, too, so agents can strengthen their skills independently. You could create a course that team members can access at any time, or direct them to StreetEasy’s scripts, guides, and handouts for navigating lead flow, communication, and the Experts platform itself.

Strengthen Your Team With the Right Tools

Here at StreetEasy, we know that a productive real estate team relies on tools that strengthen their pipeline and support professional growth.

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That’s why, in addition to the Experts program, we offer a host of agent resources and marketing solutions, including:

Explore more agent tools and programs to enhance your team’s marketing efforts, listing visibility, and data insights.

Grow Your Team in 2026

As a Team Lead, it’s up to you to set your agents up for success every day — but you don’t have to go it alone. StreetEasy has your back with actionable tips, best practices, and visibility tools to support you and your team’s growth in 2026. We look forward to seeing what you accomplish next.

  1.  Based on data collected during Enhanced Connection Experience program pilot, October–December 2024. ↩︎

StreetEasy is an assumed name of Zillow, Inc. which has a real estate brokerage license in all 50 states and D.C. See real estate licenses. StreetEasy Concierge team members are real estate licensees, however they are not your agents or providing real estate brokerage services on your behalf. StreetEasy does not intend to interfere with any agency agreement you may have with a real estate professional or solicit your business if you are already under contract to purchase or sell property.