Written by Sam Panetta the BROKER COACH helping mortgage brokers build valuable businesses.

Let’s talk teams.

If you want to build a brokerage that runs clean, settles volume, and doesn’t pull you back into the weeds — you’ll need more than just help.

You’ll need a high-performing team. And in my experience, there are three ways to build one:

1️⃣ Invest Money to Buy Talent and Experience

You bring in the guns who’ve done it before.
They hit the ground running.
They know their lane.
You skip the learning curve — but you pay for it.

Great if you’ve got the margin, volume, and systems to support it.
But not always realistic in the early days.

2️⃣ Invest Time to Train Talent and Experience

You hire raw but capable.
You coach, you train, you embed them into your workflow.
It’s slower — but it’s cost-effective, and you build loyalty as you go.

You’ve got to be patient.
And your systems need to be dialled.
But it works — especially if you want to mould your ops team from scratch.

3️⃣ The Bonus Play: Buy Experience That Trains Experience

This is where things really click.

You pay for top-tier talent — not just to deliver, but to develop the next layer under them.
They build the system.
They train the team.
They lift the standard across the board.

Expensive? Yep.
Worth it? If you’re serious about scale — absolutely.

Final Word

Whether you spend money, time, or a combo of both — the play is the same:

Build a team that delivers without needing you in every loop.

That’s leverage.
That’s freedom.
And that’s how a real brokerage grows.