Somehow, over the past few years, the noun “partner” has turned into a very common verb in the business world. It definitely sounds better than the stuffy old, “form a strategic alliance.” But either way you put it, it’s a great way to do business. Partnering with someone who has a different skill set and background is almost mandatory for an entrepreneur. It just makes sense. You can’t do everything alone.

As real estate investors, we know that the biggest payoffs come from building the perfect team of specialists. Even if you’re going solo, you don’t have to create a formal partnership to get things done. When we talk about partnering, we’re talking about knowing your shortcomings and finding people who have those strengths to help you finish certain projects. You have to think like a team leader and assemble the right group of people to achieve one common goal.

Imagine yourself as a baseball coach. You know which people you need on your team: pitchers, catchers, infielders, and outfielders. But you have to work with other people as well. If you want to win games, you have to collaborate with the scouts, the rest of the coaching staff, the administrative people, and even the media. You’re establishing relationships with different people with different skill sets so you can get the fans in the seats and get the players into the World Series.

The same goes for completing a real estate deal. Get to know a good real estate attorney to help with the contracts and legal problems. Choose an accountant with experience in real estate so you can have someone to go to with financial issues. Start networking with lending professionals so you can find seed money more quickly. Now, who else should you have on your team?

Your first step is to find a go-to person who has been around in the real estate game for a while. This is your partner for those trouble spots you’re going to find in almost every deal. Even better, find someone with experience in coaching new real estate investors. Now, that may sound like an opinion rather than fact – especially since I’m a real estate coach – but I promised to tell you what I know about making more money than you ever dreamed, and this is the way to go. Think of it as an extremely cost-effective continuing education program.

Your in-house team is your next big partnership. Get advice from your guru on what skill sets to look for and how to structure the office duties. Then train your new people extremely well. The more they know about what you’re doing and why, the better partners they can become – just in case you need a pinch-hitter someday.

Include a title expert on your real estate team. You might think that everyone is meticulous about keeping a clear chain of title on each property in the area, but people make mistakes. Develop a partnership with someone who knows how to solve title problems – maybe someone who works for a title company, or someone who used to. It may come in handy later.

And what would a real estate team be without those great people who send you referrals? Now there’s a fantastic group of people to partner with – and they could be anyone you know. Without deals, there are no paychecks. Without paychecks, there are no paid bills or fun seminars or vacations on the tropical island of your choice. Right? Referral fees make the deals go ’round.

We’ve learned that the best referral source of them all is the real estate agent. According to the statistics, they’re involved in at least 75 percent of all real estate transactions. They have to complete hours and hours of training before they can obtain and keep a license, so you know they’re committed to the business. And, if you think about it, they know just about everyone in town!

As you approach your new team members, remember that you have something to offer them as well (besides referral fees and paychecks). When you specialize in short sales, you have knowledge and skills that not many others in real estate have. You are the expert on problem properties in your area – and if there’s an area in this country without real estate problems, I’d love to hear about it.

Partnering is an important aspect of becoming a part of any real estate community. You’re increasing your own chances of success, but you’re also becoming someone who others want to work with. Making the local market move requires the collaborative efforts of many different types of people. Make sure that you’re one of those people in your area, and be a part of the bigger picture by helping more homeowners avoid foreclosure.

If you want to know more about building real estate partnerships, check our our blog post about building your real estate business on our Strategic Real Estate Coach website!