Happy New Year From Carolina Living Real Estate
I have been thinking about this topic allot lately. I almost named it ‘what would Donald Trump do’? The reason is this. Donald is a business man and he is always looking for the best deal or opportunity that will make him successful. Real Estate agents should have the same mindset. Sadly, most don’t.
We have agents at Carolina Living Real Estate that have worked for the biggest named companies in the Charlotte and Lake Norman areas. We have had the opportunity to see what the Brand actually brings to the table. We have all worked for 50% or 64%.
From reading Donald Trump and other very successful people, we know that they carefully analyze a decision before making it and once having made it will re-evaluate it often. While they don’t look back, they keep an eye on the ball at all times.
We encourage agents, during business planning, to evaluate where their dollars are actually going and if dollars spent are actually resulting in Value Add!. After all it takes money to make money! It dawns on me that many consumers feel agents are overpaid because some actually do just put a sign in the yard and enter the data into the MLS. In their defense, if they are giving 30-50% back to their broker, they really don’t have marketing dollars. To take that a step further, in this market many consumers are saying, “Will you discount your commissions?”. So, to get the business they may agree to discount and then have pennies left over when then transaction closes.
Another aspect of this how our clients feel about the company we work for. Before I ever left a Brand name company I asked each client I had worked, “Would they work with me if I did not work for Company A?. The answer was a resounding yes. You see it is not about the company, it is about the service we bring. Our MLS and our websites, show listings from ALL companies! NO company is immune to the dreaded expired listing. You see it is not about the company. It is about the product, the price, the service and the marketing.
Some companies tout the training is worth paying them thousands of dollars. In some cases the training is very good. Is it worth potentially 20,000 or more (if you close deals)? I don’t think so. We offer some of the best technology training in the area. We have open discussions about marketing ideas. We also as a company share ideas on cost effective marketing. This is real world stuff.
It amazes me that many companies spend a lot of time on ‘marketing’ training. Of course, they want you to make sales, they make alot of money when you sell. I feel strongly we need to train on real world scenarios of how we can do our jobs better and represent our customers by understanding the nuances of our transaction forms and how we can give the best advice. I recently wrote a post about Home Warranties that I am sure most agents have NO idea. Once learning about how they really work, we sent an email blast to all of our agents make sure they understood and how they can best represent our customers. That stuff in important!
Note: How many agents does it take to recruit to make decent money in the multi level marketing agencies! Ask that question and see about the response. Then ask about retention of agents. It takes a long long time. Then add up how much annually you have paid the company and calculate how long it would take and how many agents it would take to break even. So, if you pay $26,000 to earn 100% in a year. You get the picture.
As you evaluate your business plan for 2011, consider where your dollars are going. I am quite sure your company needs you more than you need them.
Never take you eye off the ball and remember you are running a business!
Have a great 2011 and if you are looking for a change, give us a call at 704 451 7051!
