I am getting an estimated 150-200 buyer internet leads per month and I was wondering if I should I bring on a buyers agent to help convert the leads? If so, do anyone have any suggestions on how I should structure hiring someone? Should I pay 50/50 of the gross commission? If I gave this person 5 leads a week what is a fair conversion rate I should expect from them? How many leads should I expect them to generate of their own and what percentage should they get if they provide a lead themselves? Any suggestions?

you'll have to generate your own statistics to determine what is reasonable. these variables change constantly.

Your first step is getting a assistant and using your loan officer to narrow things down for you.

Hire a experienced inbound/outbound telemarketer. Have them set appointments for the people to first meet with your loan officer in his office. Its a moment of truth. If they are serious they will go, if they are wasting time they won't.

You may find you have fewer buyers you are working with, but your actual closing percentage, GCI, and number of transaction sides will increase.

The rule of thumb is hire 1 buyers/listing agent for every 10 transactions per month. Until you get to 10 transactions you need to

1. Hire a assistant/call coordinator 3-6 deals/month
2nd phase - Hire a assistant/transaction coordinator 5-10 deals/month

But doing 10 deals a month doing only buyer sides is nearly impossible. My best month was 6 and it was brutal.

You doing 800 call capture in real estate magazines with borrowed listings to get so many leads?

With that many leads coming in each month, yes it certainly does make sense to do this. The key with adding team members: be sure you provide value to the agent. If you are "lifting their boat" so to speak, and making it a fair and equitable split, the agent will respect this and want to stay with you.

Our team here in Minnesota works a very, very large number of leads each month. Most of these are buyers off the various MN MLS listings (homes, condos, townhomes, etc)

What is the standard split in your market for a buyer's agent? I would call one of the top team leaders or brokers in your area and have coffee. Find what others offer and make it competitive. Good luck!