How to Create a Successful Transaction Coordinator Business

Starting a business can sometimes be exciting, rewarding, and even overwhelming, even if you've done the work of a TC before starting a business

Starting a business can be exciting, rewarding, and even overwhelming at times. Back in 2005, I set out on my entrepreneurial journey and started my transaction coordinator business. I wrote about that adventure in my book Glitter, Duct Tape and Magic. In 2015, after ten years in business, I wrote the book The Road from Contract to Close with the idea of helping real estate agents understand more about what a transaction coordinator does; however, what ended up happening was people who wanted to start their own business reached out to me for coaching and mentoring. In 2018, I launched the Transaction Coordinator Academy to help individuals who wanted to learn to be a TC or to learn to take their skills and turn them into a successful business. Below are some of the steps involved.

Choose a Name for your Business

When choosing a name for your business, consider the following: simplicity, professionalism, discoverability, and clearly reflecting the core values of your business. This is one of the least complicated aspects of starting your business but does involve some time dedicated to thoughtfulness and research. Consider names that include keywords, such as those related to the real estate industry and transaction coordinating. This will be important to ensure that potential clients are able to locate your services when searching for a transaction coordinator. Once you’ve come up with something you love, check to see if that website domain is available. I wrote an article about naming you may find helpful – you can read that here.

Make it Official

Next, you will need to consider your desired business structure, whether it will be set up as an LLC or Sole Proprietor. This is an important step that will affect many aspects of your business moving forward. Once you have done the proper research and come to a decision, consult with an expert who can help you form your corporation by filing legal documents and helping to determine the best tax status. I highly recommend you meet with a trusted expert to help guide you in this matter. It is far less expensive to hire someone to guide you in the beginning than it is to fix things later on. Your research will help you get an idea of what options are available, then the attorney or CPA you meet with can help you ensure they are a good match for your goals.

Obtain any Necessary Licensing.

What type of license you need to acquire as a transaction coordinator will depend on the state in which you live and work. It is important to ensure that your business is properly licensed by thoroughly researching state laws. The laws and practices of real estate can be complex. Therefore, ensure that you are familiar with the requirements and regulations of your state and have a thorough understanding of the standards of real estate compliance. If you intend to work for clients in different states, you will need to follow the specific licensing rules that apply to that state. This is another place where a legal expert can truly be helpful.

Learn the Basic Skills

To succeed as a transaction coordinator and provide your clients with the best possible service, you will need to learn and utilize various skills. These include:

Understanding the process of a real estate transaction from when it begins to when it ends. You may find one of the courses offered at the Transaction Coordinator Academy helpful.
Find the best communication methods for speaking with clients, agents, brokers, and anyone you are doing business with. Choose an email – whether it is a branded email or Gmail – that you are able to access from any computer or your phone easily. Use a VOIP system to create boundaries between receiving business calls and personal calls. Consider a communication platform such as Slack to streamline the communication between you and your agents.
Additionally, brush up on the correct real estate terminology for communicating with professionals. You can get a copy of my book with a full glossary of real estate terms here.
Clearly define the scope of work you plan to offer to your agent clients.
Know how to market your services effectively (See “Marketing your business” below).

Choose a Transaction Coordinator Software

Finding software that will help you to manage your business is essential. Before looking into different platforms, list features you think would be helpful for your business. Look for software with a great support department and lots of training videos to help you get up and running and work through any technical issues down the road. This software program you choose will help you to complete the many administrative tasks you will find yourself doing as a part of coordinating real estate transactions. The best system is one you will actually use. A helpful tip is creating a task list for each transaction you coordinate. This can be shared with your agent (in a view-only format), to show them the steps that you are going to take and help you to stay on track. Review this process with your agent clients in your onboarding calls.

Set your Rates

When you are just starting your business and you are new to being a transaction coordinator, it can be difficult to know what a fair and competitive rate for your services is. A good place to start is researching and comparing the rates of other similar transaction coordination companies. You will also need to consider the method in which you will charge your clients. Most commonly, transaction coordinators will send an invoice to clients once the transaction has closed for them to pay. However, you also have the option of asking your clients to pay upfront or even using a system to automatically charge, via a prearranged agreement, the client card on file.

Bookkeeping software that you can use to track your sales and expenses will be a helpful tool to guide you financially. Xero does a good job and is recommended – here’s an article on why. Create a business bank account and a merchant account for processing credit cards and e-checks – Stripe.com is a great tool for this and will integrate with Xero nicely. Consider enlisting the help of a local banker who can help you to manage your accounts as your business grows. Not only is this helpful for your banking needs, but it also could be an excellent source of referrals.

Marketing your Business

In order to increase the effectiveness of your marketing, get a clear idea of who your ideal client will be and the type of clients you want to work with. Creativity and ingenuity can go a long way in reducing the time and cost associated with marketing. I cover this and many other helpful business concepts in the Transaction Coordinator Business course. Consider looking for marketing opportunities in social media groups, at your local Chamber of Commerce, through attending trade shows or networking with other industry professionals. Referrals and conversations with cooperating agents, lenders, title agents, and even home warranty reps. You’ll also find an audio recording I prepared called Simple and Effective ways to Market to your Ideal Clients helpful in growing your business.

Once you begin to build a client base, create a profile for each client with personalized information. This could include their home address, license number information, favorite vendors, and birthday (so you can help them celebrate). You could keep this info in a contact record in something like Google Contact, or as you grow, you may wish to invest in a CRM. I like Agile CRM as it’s inexpensive and scalable.

Asking your clients for testimonials and reviews, which you can then post on your website or social media, is a great way to gain credibility and market yourself for future business.

Being the Entrepreneur

As a new business owner, it will be important to ensure that you are nurturing yourself professionally and personally and making time for yourself.

Clearly define what you want your business to look like. There are so many different ways to operate a business. I think this is one of the things I love most about being an entrepreneur. My advice is to start with the end in mind – what do you want your business to look like? How do you want to feel in your work? Who do you want to work with? What kind of time will you have for other things? Etc., List all of the things that are important to you. This will help you know the direction to go. Even with this, it could be a bumpy or messy adventure, but then again, it could be amazing and smooth as glass. Either way, don’t let the fear of getting it wrong stop you – just know what you want and course-correct as needed when things get out of alignment.
Allow time to work on projects away from distractions and notifications. Read the E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber – it’s an oldie but goldie.
Hire a coach, mentor, or advisor to help grow your business according to your vision. This will prevent you from taking on all of the responsibility and getting burnt out.
Make self-care a priority: take a class, go to the gym, read a book, take a vacation to relax, and recharge. Do the things that feed your body and soul.
Celebrate often! Develop an attitude of gratitude by finding something good each day and writing it down. Share your successes, big and small, with entrepreneurial friends, and if you don’t have people in your circle to celebrate with, consider joining a mastermind group.

Please reach out if there is anything my team and I can do to help you with your transaction coordinator business. My passion is helping individuals create businesses that they love. Please reach out if I can help you with your business.