What To Look For if You are Considering AffiliationOnce you’ve made the decision in your mind that you are ready to move from being an independent brokerage to a member of a franchise, the next question is: “Which one?” With dozens of national real estate franchises to choose from, you need to look closely at which is the best fit for you and your agents and which will bring you the best processes and systems for growth.
In other words, in looking at each franchise you’ll need to ask, “What’s in it for me?” How Does the Franchise Support Its Franchisees? Some real estate franchises offer little more than their brand name and access to marketing materials, and you are left to do everything else on your own. When you consider an affiliation, you should make sure that your franchisor is not only offering a recognized brand name to leverage, but is providing an active and comprehensive plan for your business growth that has proven to be effective. Will you be treated as a valued member of their franchise family? Will your new franchisor be there when you need assistance? Do they offer a proven methodology for recruiting and selling? Will joining give you a support network to alleviate that feeling of being all alone and give you a place to turn to for advice and guidance when you need it? Will your growth now be an ongoing collaborative effort between you and your franchisor that empowers you to make positive, productive decisions for your business? When evaluating real estate franchise systems, ongoing training and support has to be a key component of a solid franchise business proposition. The industry doesn’t stand still, so neither can you or your agents. It is important to keep skills sharp to continue to compete. For instance, at Weichert, affiliates are taught a system for success. The tenants of this system are reinforced in the training and tools we provide brokers and their agents through multiple channels that are active and always a step ahead. It includes personal, expert consultation from our service team when you need it, online training for both brokers and agents, leadership seminars, regional trainings, webinars, Weichert University our 24/7 online training portal, and expert coaching for every aspect of your business. This practical, comprehensive and “hands-on” partnership brings continual insight and support to brokers and their agents, especially in the toughest times. Technology and Tools Will the franchises you are considering provide you the right technology and tools to help support your business and help your agents be productive? Technology is changing so fast that it can be difficult for an independent broker or their agents to keep up. You should be able to look to your affiliate to furnish the latest, intuitive technology and tools and to provide a constant source of training and coaching around their use. For example, just a few of the tools Weichert provides its affiliates include a CRM (Client Relationship Management system), paperless transaction management system, web-stores with customized marketing templates and a digital tool to help create a killer listing presentation. Our “Doors” listing presentation is unique in the industry and is constantly cited by our affiliates as key to their stellar close rates. Tools and training should be available to you and your entire team in a way that completely supports your growth objectives and go-to market strategy. Weichert also invests in lead generation. It drives traffic to its national website which generates leads that are screened and passed to a live agent within minutes. It’s a great supplement to an agent’s day-to-day sales activities. At the end of the day, the more you can provide your agents, the more valued your brokerage will be in their eyes. Recruiting Support Recruiting agents may be the single most important part of getting to the next level of success with your brokerage. Too many brokers reach a plateau with their agent count and can’t seem to move past it. Real Estate Franchises like Weichert not only provide you the advantage of a recognized brand name, but they provide you with a system of best practices and support tools to help you get and keep the people you need to be successful. Once you get your recruits, Weichert also offers its Fast Track training to help you get them up and running fast. Talk to Other Franchisees When evaluating Franchise opportunities, by all means call other affiliated brokers in your area or even across the nation to discuss their experience with the company. Any Franchisor worth their salt will be more than happy to supply you with names and phone numbers of other owners to call. Get them to speak candidly about their experience both good and bad. Your goal is not to find the perfect franchise, but to find one that is perfect for you. Carefully consider the culture of the franchises you are considering. A good fit shouldn’t require you to change everything you do and how you do it. After all you’ve already built a successful business. Instead a good franchisor should roll up their sleeves and get in the trench with you. They can show you better ways to do things and better tools to use, but you will bring a lifetime of knowledge about your market and your people. The best model for franchising is active collaboration. Start your Conversations with Weichert.Deciding to affiliate is a big deal, we get it. But if you do it right with a company like Weichert, your only regret should be that you didn’t make the move sooner. Call us today at 877-567-3350 or visit http://www.weichertfranchise.com Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/not-all-real-estate-franchise-systems-are-built-the-same/
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As a real estate broker, you are no stranger to collaboration at many different levels. Building collaborative networks that are vibrant and mutually beneficial can be a catalyst for positive change and growth, when you have the right people on the other end. We live in rapidly evolving times and your ability to be successful can depend on getting the right guidance and advice, at exactly the right time.
Collaboration takes many forms in the real estate industry.
As a broker however, you also need collaboration at a higher level. You already know how to sell houses, but your challenges are more strategic, and business related. What’s the most effective strategy to get more leads for my agents? What technology will help me best run my brokerage? What CRM tools should I provide my agents for lead nurturing? What recruiting practices are most effective? How do I differentiate my brand? Collaboration and networking with other real estate professionals can provide good advice, experience, and opportunities in these areas. Collaboration For Brokerage Growth Challenges Broker growth issues and recruiting challenges benefit from the opinions and experience of other brokers, real estate coaches, and subject matter experts. For the independent broker finding people with such diverse experience who are willing to share, coach and consult is either rare, expensive, or both. Still, you owe it to yourself to establish a network of professionals who have proven success in one or more areas so that you have a support system for your growth roadmap. Consider some of the following activities to build your network: Networking Groups – Get involved with organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, LeTip, the local Real Estate Board, or participate in state Realtor events. These are valuable opportunities to network and meet like-minded professionals. Consider getting involved with them at a leadership level if possible. Complimentary business partnerships – Partner with related businesses or non-competing agencies. They will likely share similar challenges and can also serve as a resource for ideas or help you avoid mine fields they may have already encountered. Through your alliance you can refer leads or collaborate on events, such as a home-buyer seminar. Social Media Networking – Facebook and LinkedIn are actually excellent places to connect with non-competing brokers, and mentors. There are established real estate groups on these channels that you can join and whose discussion you can monitor and participate in. This is one of the most efficient and least time consuming ways to build out your network. Another Solution to Collaboration At Weichert Franchising, we’ve found that the desire for collaboration is one of the biggest reasons many brokers seek out a brand affiliation. It turns out that an affiliation with Weichert provides networking, coaching and training opportunities most brokers never dreamed of. In addition to the instant help with lead generation and recruiting, having a team of like-minded peers and industry experts who are always available and invested in your success is a powerful thing. At Weichert our affiliates get collaborative support in a number of ways:
Having positive, expert collaboration with the right people around the right processes and systems can be a huge sigh of relief for today’s independent brokers. Call the Weichert Team today and see how we can help you do more. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/the-power-of-collaboration/ 11/27/2018 Franchise Success Spotlight: Weichert® Affiliate Brenda Elliott Weichert, Realtors® – The Space PlaceRead NowHuntsville, Alabama may be the one city in the country where the expression “it’s not rocket science” doesn’t apply. In Huntsville, it kind of is all about rocket science. It’s home to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Army Aviation’s Space and Missile Command. Weichert Affiliate Brenda Elliott, owner of Weichert, Realtors® – The Space Place, is well acquainted with the ever-present missile, spacecraft and rocket themes that run deep throughout the city. Indeed, the word “Space” in her brokerage name isn’t just referring to square footage. Though now an Alabama native, she lived in Georgia most of her life and still calls it home, graduating from the University of Georgia with a BFA in interior design. Her husband Paul graduated Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Management and their three daughters went to Auburn University. Now a Huntsville resident for over 20 years, Brenda is intimately familiar with her local real estate market and her passion for real estate is clear. Life as an Independent Broker Brenda’s career in real estate actually started in Northern Virginia, in the early 90’s while Paul was stationed at the Pentagon. Brenda decided she wanted to know the real estate side of interior design and went to work for none other than Weichert, Realtors® in Burke, Virginia. The experience of working inside a Weichert Brokerage stayed with Brenda, even though she eventually started as an independent broker when her family moved back to Alabama. “My family and I were blessed with moving to Huntsville, Alabama in 1999, where I helped start the Executive Group Realtors, an independent real estate company, with three other partners,” notes Brenda. “As we got going, I actually modeled some of our processes after what I had seen at Weichert.” Brenda became the broker of record for the agency in 2002 and by 2005 helped build the agency to 56 agents working out of one office. Despite her success, with her increasing business responsibilities came the occasional desire for a partner who could provide guidance and help with the recruiting, branding, and lead generation challenges common to independent brokers. Still when Weichert approached Brenda’s team in 2005, she told them she was too busy to consider an affiliation. “But their follow up impressed me,” remembers Brenda. “After months of small conversations in fits and starts I agreed to go to New Jersey to hear the full pitch.” Deciding to Partner with Weichert For Brenda the decision to partner was not easy. Brenda and her team had concerns about affiliation with a national brand in general, as well as affiliation with Weichert specifically. What would that mean for her existing business and how would her agents react? Brenda and her team had heard all the positives about proven processes, coaching and support and lead generation, but frankly, not enough straight talk about the downside of becoming an affiliate. Brenda decided to make some calls. But rather than call the list of brokers the Weichert team in NJ gave her, Brenda called other Weichert brokers that she selected arbitrarily, from across the country. In fact, inside Weichert Corporate Offices, it is well known that Brenda set a record by calling 29 other Weichert brokers to try and find someone who would say something substantively negative about their Weichert affiliation. On the 29th call Brenda reached a Weichert Broker in Florida who finally gave Brenda what she needed to hear. He said, “The downside of becoming a Weichert Broker was realizing that I had wasted so much time and money by not doing this years ago.” Brenda was done. She began her affiliation with Weichert in 2006. Everyone’s Path to Success is Different Those who know Brenda, know she is all about her agents. According to Brenda “I didn’t sleep for about two weeks before the Weichert announcement.” Yet Brenda did not lose a single agent once she impacted. “I very quickly showed them the tools, training, and systems that were now at their disposal,” says Brenda. “Having this level of support for my team was great for me as well.” Consistent with the Weichert philosophy, Brenda was able to pick and choose the benefits that she wanted to roll out in her brokerage. The Weichert processes allowed her to craft a strategy that worked best for her brokerage and that respected her independent style. That meant that agents could continue using the existing methods that worked for them and implement Weichert tools and systems where they needed them. And everyone was able to benefit from the increased recognition that a brand like Weichert brought to the entire brokerage. During the market crash of 2008, Brenda watched other local brokers go out of business on a regular basis. Brenda credits her Weichert affiliation 100% for her agency survival. “Due to the advantages of being a recognized brand and having good systems and lead generation, we weathered the storm.” In 2011, Brenda finally bought out her business partners and made the decision to go all in on the Weichert Model. “We had been implementing parts of the Weichert Model, but when I became the sole owner, I felt the time was right to really be ALL IN on the Weichert Systems,” says Brenda. “We hired many new agents who fully embraced the model from day one, and that has made all the difference.” Weichert, Realtors® – The Space Place in 2018 Today Brenda’s team is firmly rooted in the methodology presented by Weichert, while still running things in a way that is appropriate for her local market. Weichert, Realtors® – The Space Places does a little commercial, a little relocation, some property management, but its primary focus is on residential sales. From one office and 38 agents in 2011, Brenda has grown her team to 3 offices and over 125 agents covering a good portion of northern Alabama. Brenda credits things like the Weichert DOORS™ listing presentation and their recruiting system, which includes “career nights”. Brenda sells at least 2-3 houses a month using their open house process and embraces the WeichertPro CRM for marketing campaigns, and more. “I especially love that while I get amazing support inside the Weichert model, I’m still free to build the systems that work in my area. This is an active and creative partnership with real experts at the other end.” The Weichert Model At Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., we exist to help you make the most of what you’ve already built and learned. Brenda is right about partnership we strive for with our affiliates. It’s the kind of partner support you won’t get from any other national real estate brand. When you affiliate, you become part of a supportive family where you’ll never have to wonder what to do next. For more information, contact the Weichert Affiliates team today at 877-567-3350 or visit weichertfranchise.com. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/franchise-success-spotlight-weichert-affiliate-brenda-elliott-weichert-realtors-the-space-place/ As an experienced and well-educated real estate broker, you already know that a CRM can do many things for you like automating your follow-up and increasing your production. However, despite their popularity, many brokers are struggling to realize the full value of using a CRM or haven’t figured out the best way to implement one into their business yet. If you fall into one of those two categories, this article is for you!
Review the Rewards While there are many real estate CRM’s out there, it seems that no two are exactly the same. This can make finding the right one for your business a bit tricky. However, if you take the time to prioritize the rewards and results you hope to reap from your real estate CRM, the selection process becomes simplified. To help you sort through all the bells and whistles, look for a CRM that provides the following benefits: Lead Tracking – When a CRM enables your agents to track their leads, it also enables you to be able to track their performance and offer coaching in areas where they may be hitting roadblocks. Automation – There are few real estate agents and brokers out there saying that they have too much time on their hands. The promise of a properly managed CRM is that it will free up precious time by automating or simplifying many common client management tasks. Regular Reminders – As an experienced broker, you understand that most agents can benefit from regular reminders to follow-up, tackle important tasks, and implement best practices into their routine. When they do, the result is more closings for them and more income for you. Just Listed/Sold – Communications around just listed and just sold are one of the best opportunities you have to reach out to your sphere of influence with interesting content that puts your local brand in front of people. A good CRM makes this easy by giving you a professionally designed template and managing the list of client email addresses for you, so you can send it to those who may be most interested. Know All That It Can Do for You In many cases, brokers that purchase a CRM fail to get all of their money’s worth out of the software because they are unaware of all that it can actually do for them. The Weichert Pro CRM, for example, does a whole lot more than just store all of an agent’s prospects, leads, and past clients. It also provides agents and brokers with integration to the Weichert lead network, templates for automated email marketing, and tools for complete open house management before, during, and after the event. This is a proprietary CRM which is provided to all Weichert affiliates. Choose a System With Flexibility Just as all real estate CRM’s are unique in their own way, agents and brokers are also unique. You and your agents may have different styles of running your businesses that work best for each of you. It’s important that whatever CRM you use that it allows people to work in ways most comfortable and productive for them. For example, you may prefer to time-block all of your CRM data entry and put it in once each day. Others may prefer the convenience of mobile, like the Weichert Pro CRM mobile app, that allows them to update and use their CRM as they go. Managing technology in your brokerage is an octopus with many heads. The way in which you choose to implement processes and procedures around this plays a big role in how efficient and effective your business can be. A CRM is just a tool, what really counts is how you use it. This is an area where Weichert can help. Through training, best practices and tips from peers, we help our affiliates leverage our technology to its fullest potential. To learn about other tools and systems available to Weichert affiliates, click here. Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/why-track-leads-through-crm/ |
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