So many Realtors and So many Brokerages, so who is who? Well in my opinion all offices have the same ability to offer the same services, they just happen to be better at different things. But as a Realtor what really matters? I began in Real Estate without a brand or any of that back office crutch that many offices bait new agents with, but I see some of the value in all of it. What boggles me is why these companies still portray themselves as the Real Estate brand and as Your brand to be exact. I get branding and in a couple of instances I have witness where someone had more confidence in one company then another in Real Estate. But 99.99999% of the time the brand is You and Your services. Veteran brokers many times are not even associated with a particular company at first glance and I wonder what value they see in that arraignment. So in a day when being independent in Real Estate could not be easier you have to constantly ask yourself a few questions. Be honest about them and feel free to ask Your broker in charge to answer them for themselves as well. Good luck and sell lots of Real Estate
-Do you get more deals because of your affiliation or is it all relational? What I am asking is do people tell you that they chose you because you are with XYZ Real Estate company or are they choosing you because they know, like and trust you?
-If you switched brokerages, would your business change at all? Many Realtors hop around but is anything changing? If you went to the brokerage down the road would people do less business with you or would you have more tools to do better business?
-Are your brokerages tools great? Its sad to watch a brokerage tout a new service or technology and talk it up as a one off that their company only offers to its agents, when in reality we have been using one of many similar for free for years. So many new products that you don’t need or want are passed out but do you use anything that is proprietary or really good that no one else has? Does it help your business?
-Could you replicate the services on your own? Many of the high producers just utilize the easy and affordable back office services like filing, transaction management or compliance. Could you take that money and create a personalized support staff that services you and only you with efficiencies and a greater return? Could you hire an assistant that you can hand off all not sales related work to and enjoy the personalized attention that a brokerage will never be able to match?
I don’t think everyone should be independent but I sure think you should know the strengths and weaknesses. Ask the questions and be aware of what you are receiving professionally and where you may be missing out.
-curt
