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We've all accepted the premise that it is a fast changing world in real estate today. Indeed it's true. But we seem to be all too willing to subscribe to any philosophy that SOUNDS plausible. While the pace of technology is surely carrying us on an exponential joy trajectory, we need to step back and examine our roots. All that SOUNDS right, is not always right! Too often we go around in our own little world, talking to our clones, and believing anything we hear more than once. To summarize, there is more baloney out there today than there is bread and butter. It is time to cut the baloney and get back to basics! By the time you finish reading this, you will have the secret of your future. To get there you need no magic and no bold revelations. All you need is a firm belief in our collective value, and a willingness to confront the eternal truths. Let's get back to basics!! But first, let's demolish a few myths. The Internet, alias World Wide Web: We have all been scared by this powerful force. The great equalizer. The great fountain of information. Fortunes will continue to be won and lost as a result of this exciting new phenomenon. But let us not equate resale home sales with books, stocks, CD's, or any other commodity. Each home is unique (or course not quite so unique as our seller might have us believe). But HOW unique? The answer: Unique enough that each home must be examined in detail, in person. Almost no buyers will settle for less, because homes are not a commodity item as some would have us believe. We can all imagine ordering our raisin bran and paper towels from an Internet grocery store, but we'll think twice about our steak and our lettuce. Get the picture? So let us view the Internet as our friend. We have created the very best database available for ourselves in every major market in the country: Standardized, accurate, up-to-date, and controlled. Let us share our information willingly albeit in a controlled fashion, with the ultimate consumer (not necessarily with those charlatans who wish to become middle-men). Let's get back to basics!!! Next, those who would restructure our industry from within have bitten off more than a mouthful. It is a brave move indeed for brokers to experiment with salaried agents. But there are a few flaws here. Salary implies some sort of guaranteed earnings. Any guarantee of this sort undermines our basic human incentive to achieve. The idea is nothing more than modern-day American-style communism: A model that has not proven itself in the real world spite of its lofty ideals. In addition, the idea that salaried agents can be viable rests on the premise that the BROKER can supervise the agents' activities in a meaningful and productive way. One pertinent question: Since most brokers began as agents, why did they ever become brokers? One answer; They were not successful as agents. Now as brokers, they are smarter. Now they finally have gained the insight to direct agents to achieve what they themselves could not achieve? HELLO! Let's get back to basics!!!! Then there are the joiners. Those who would be all things to all people. You know, affinity relationships with every Tom, Dick, and Harry who is willing to jack up his retail price to the level where attractive discounts can be offered to a SPECIAL FEW. Unfortunately, if we check on these whopping benefits, we find that the discounts are offered so ubiquitously that to qualify, all you have to be is a breathing member of the human race. Did we forget what business we are in? Let's not dilute our efforts or appear out-of-focus. Let's get back to basics!!!!! Then there are the savers. When an organization reaches a certain size, it becomes attractive and even fashionable to control expenses. While this is indeed an important consideration, it can easily be practiced to excess. Letters written to potential clients on 12 pound toilet tissue instead 24 pound bond really say something about the organization. And it's not a nice message. Further, to buy cheap, inefficient, or unreliable equipment or systems for your staff and agents wastes their time and costs YOU money. A 50 cent saving times 20,000 units per year saves $10,000 annually (on paper), and that's a lot of money. What is your business? Selling real estate or saving money? Make a conscious choice to get back to basics!!!!!! Then there are all the claims. There is hardly a broker in town who is not NUMBER ONE. What must our public think? This must create some confusion, if not amusement or skepticism. It is indeed a virtue to believe in ourselves. Without such a belief, we should fold our tents and slink off to never-never land to find real jobs. Where are we going with this? The idea of brands and market share. Let's agree that just because your competitor is five times your size, it does not mean that he is five times as smart. You can not emulate his every move and get there from here. (If public emulation is legal in your State, perhaps the law should be changed.) Some things he is doing are just plain dumb. Do not yield to your lemming instinct. Resolve to do your own thinking. There is no denying that a big name and success go hand-in-hand. But this fact does not imply a causal relationship. Successful brokers have the money to promote their name. To think that the promotion came first and the success and money followed, is a convenient assumption... but it is probably backwards! So why do so many spend so much on promotion? The reasons vary. Others are doing it? Ego? But not so fast: Some cool Corporate players are playing the brand name game too. If you've got it, flaunt it. But this costs BIG BUCKS. Where did the big bucks come from anyway? Could those BIG BUCKS be better spent? Let's get back to basics!!!!!!! Of course, it's the successful agents who generate the BIG BUCKS. If they did not, they would be out of business instead of being successful agents. Did you ever wonder where the successful agents got all their business? Did you ever ask them? Did they say it came from their broker's brand name? Of course not. Brokers of the world: Ask yourselves right now (commission a study if you must) how many sales were generated as a direct result of your good name. A reasonable answer is: LESS THAN ONE TRANSACTION PER AGENT ANNUALLY. Step 2: Divide all the revenue earned in this manner by all the money spent promoting your good name. (Be sure to include all institutional advertising, as well as contributions to yard signs and newspaper advertising of properties. Of course you knew that it takes over $25,000 worth of newspaper ads to sell a home that way, so did not kid yourself into thinking that these ads are anything other than promoting your brand name.) So where is the business coming from? It is coming from the FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES OF THE AGENTS! Ask 100 successful agents, and 98 of them will give you the same answer. As John Tuccillo points out in his popular book THE EIGHT NEW RULES OF REAL ESTATE, "Statistics indicate that the choice of a real estate agent is most often the result of some personal relationship." This is not rocket science. But it is an obvious fact that few agents or brokers have understood how to use. (Thanks for you perseverance in reading this far. Your reward is imminent.) The is a lot of money sloshing around in our business. A small percentage of the total is still a lot of money. Successful real estate agents bust their butt every day in terms of hours, activity, and stress. As a broker, you recognize and appreciate this. As the broker, you provide a base, a name, and some basic necessities for your agents. But you have a responsibility to use your cut of the commission wisely. In recognition of the foregoing, the successful broker of the future will support his or her agents with mutually beneficial programs. These include: 1-Continuing training in working with sellers. 2-Continuing training in working with buyers. 3-Continuing training in negotiating (our most neglected role). 4-Incentives for agents to become active in any organization of their choice. 5-Incentives for agents to become more visible in any organization to which they belong. 6-Financial support for agents to keep in touch with all past clients and potential clients. 7-Financial support for agents to maintain active friendships with all past clients and potential clients. Where does the money come from? Reduced spending on those expenditures which have historically NOT produced a return on investment. Alas, you wail, I'll spend vast sums building my agents' business at the expense of my own name and the next thing I know, they'll be leaving my firm. Not to worry. If you are successful in your new endeavor, very few will leave. And for every quitter, there will be two joiners as the word spreads. If you really want to lock them in, build a compensation plan that includes a bonus for years with the firm. Embrace the future that is surely coming. Put aside your fear and maintain your focus. Continually as yourself: What is my business? How does it really work? And for goodness sake, GET BACK TO BASICS! |
