What Should I Consider When Changing Brokerages?
What Should I Consider When Changing Brokerages?
There are a lot of factors that weigh in on a great decision to move your business to a new brokerage. We have found the following items of greatest importance. We're happy to help any agent think through and make the best decision for them, so if you have more questions, just ask!
DON'T Make a Lateral Move
DON'T Make a Lateral Move
If you look at the graph to the left, you will notice one startling thing, the big brokerages are all charging about the same for you to market for them. Most agents will not see a significant increase in their bottom line moving from one big franchise to another. It is a lateral move for your career.
In your career, one of the most important things is money and your bottom line. If you are not able to make enough money in real estate, you will leave the industry. If you are not taking home enough to support your lifestyle, your family, or to realize the dream that you had entering this industry, nothing else matters. If you are having to work unsustainable hours in order to make enough money, your quality of life suffers the greatest of all.
The numbers say it all. If you need to make more for yourself, right now so you can build your future, Community Realty is the solution.
What about all the extras?
What about all the extras?
One of the biggest things I realized after my time at big franchise brokerages, was that I was paying for a ton of things I didn't use, and most often the things I wanted to use weren't included in the high brokerage fees I was paying!
I met with an agent from one of the oldest large franchises in the US. He had been at that company for his entire career (over 20 years!) We had a conversation and he went on and on about how great the company was and how they offered all these things. I asked him, which of those awesome things he used, and his reply... well, none of them. I have my own things I use.
My last big brokerage had a CRM and agent website and LOTS of 101 Real Estate Training. I didn't know 1 agent out of almost 200 that actually used the CRM or Website, and most of us were quite a bit beyond real estate 101. I did want to take an advanced training course through that brokerage that would have cost me $800 more! There was no way I could swing that, though I knew plenty of struggling agents that did in hopes it would change their careers.
At Community Realty, we provide all the services you can't do without. You can see those HERE. We just don't make you pay twice for things you will most likely find on your own. We decided that developing fluff and making our agents pay only served to make us look like a big deal, but at the end of the day, YOU are the biggest deal in your career. We are here to facilitate that in a tailored way that comes from building a relationship with you or letting you do things your way.
What's in a name?
What's in a name?
One of the most effective tools that the big franchise use is the weight of their name. Each one of them touts the most recognized name in the industry. And we cannot argue that IN the industry they are all very well known and recognized. But you aren't selling real estate to anyone in the industry, are you?
Do you know who the biggest name in real estate is to the consumer? YOU are.
Your clients know who YOU are they relate to YOU. YOU are the most important part of the journey for them. After the sale closes, they are much more likely to remember you than the company you represent. If you want to test this one out, ask your friends that have closed on homes in the last 3-5 years if they remember who they worked with and what company they represented. Their answers will surprise you!
The agent I mentioned in the last question who was with a big franchise for over 20 years was referred to me by a friend in a new area where I moved. I asked her if she knew any agents and she said oh yeah, this agent. I asked what company he worked for and she had no idea. She had known him since high school. She had used him in every real estate transaction she had completed in her life. She had no idea what company he was with, but she did know HIS name.
Let that sink in. She knew HIS name. Not his brokerage.
Your clients are working with YOU, not your company. when I started Community Realty, my business doubled because I was able to invest more in marketing myself. I, as an agent, am the greatest commodity of Community Realty. The AGENT makes the brokerage, not the other way around. You shouldn't have to pay for a name that no one knows. Your clients will be much better served if you aren't stressed about how many more houses you need to sell because you make so little on each home.
Join us today, and let's build the next great Real Estate company together! Contact us HERE to get started.