300: The Truth About Leading a Real Estate Team

Okay, y’all… Episode 300 is HERE. Cue the confetti cannons and the alpacas! (Yes, there’s an alpaca and a camel story in this episode and no, we’re not kidding.)

For this milestone episode, we knew we wanted to bring you something special—and what better way than to finally get the one and only Laura Buck Smith behind the mic! Laura has been on our dream guest list for a very long time because she’s the one person we trust to honestly and openly talk about something we’ve never been able to teach on from experience: building and running a real estate team.

As solo agents, we have always stayed in our individual lanes, but we know so many of you are either curious about joining a team or wondering if you should start one. And the truth is… there are so many misconceptions out there. This episode is packed with real talk, systems, and yes—Laura’s incredible mix of structure and heart.

Here’s what we chat about in this episode:

• How Laura got into real estate and never worked solo
  
  

• What it was like building her team from the ground up
  
  

• The three-tier structure she uses for agents
  
  

• What really goes into leading 25 team members (without losing your mind)
  
  

• How they handle leads, admin, training, open houses, and more
  
  

• The five interviews (yes, FIVE) and 90-day probation period for new team members
  
  

• How they expanded into Alabama (spoiler: Stephen made it happen in a week!)
  
  

• Why team culture and consistency are non-negotiable
  
  

• The honest truth about when you’re ready—or not ready—to lead a team
  
  

Whether you’ve thought about building a team or you just want to learn how a well-oiled machine operates, this episode is packed with value, encouragement, and behind-the-scenes gems.

We’re so thankful to Laura for showing up and sharing it all—systems, stories, boundaries, and all the heart behind what they’ve built at Team Smith.

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• The Market Real Estate Company: https://www.themarketrealestateco.com
  
  

• Laura’s open house strategy and new construction tips
  
  

• BoomTown and Zillow Premier Agent tools
  
  

• Bob Brooks Real Estate School: https://bobbrooks.com

🔑 Key Quotes & Takeaways

“You need to have a servant’s heart to be a team leader. It’s not about you. It’s about your team.” – Laura

“If you're not ready to be responsible for someone else's income, you're not ready to start a team.” – Katy

“We don’t compete with our team members—we support them, and we don’t take leads from them.” – Laura

“Everyone on the team gets five interviews and 90 days of daily check-ins. If they can't email once a day, how can I trust them with a $90