A lot of folks ask me why i do not run my own Atlanta real estate brokerage, or have a team other than my wife and myself. The answer is simple! I do not like to do "Adult daycare!" I am a firm believer in less drama is better in life and we are more productive because of it. Some ego agents like to quote that they sell 30 million a year, but the reality is what are they taking home if they have a staff of 30? Let's divide that up...30 million in sales divided by 30 staffers =1 million a year each in gross sales. What is wrong wiht this picture? Isn't that a definition of an in inflated ego that is letting out air? What a loser concept! Money to me is what you walk away with at the end of the day! It is about being practical and profitable. It is as important to have a lean budget as it is to have income! That is why I choose not to own a brokerage or run a team! I used to run a union years ago and all too well understand the ups and downs of employee issues, staffing, and training. Lets take a look at this realistically!
There are loads of great agents out there with loads of great skills! Some real estate are great buyers agents, some are great listing agents, some are phenomenal closers and others are rainmakers! Without a good lead generating system, most agents fail! My forte is generating leads from the Internet. I generate more leads than Iwe can handle even in slow times! I've been doing this for over 10 years, and each year we make over 85% of our business directly from the net. The great thing? It is cheap marketing, and it allows us to keep costs down but at the same time it is very effective tool for buyers and sellers!
We generate enough leads that many of my friends that live in different parts of metro Atlanta make over 100K a year each in sales from what we refer to them. We use experienced agents only! Again, No Adult Daycare! We refer out to self starters! The benefit to us is auto pilot. All I want is 25% of the referred deal! I have to maintain my websites, and get to pick the best deals for ourselves first! What I like and they like? That's easy! I have referred out 60K condo buyers, and 2.5 Million luxury homes buyers. Referral checks could be as little as $600 or as high as 22K!
- The referal is their client for life! The agent signs their name on the contract!
- No training or On the job training that results in loss of business from a learning curve.
- More production and a lot more free time!
- Less liability!
- No training staff or team members - only to replace them when they leave.
- No way for an agent to steal secrets or duplicate our process.
- No data theft issues!
- Better personalized service for our clients!
- Better match of clients needs - Better attention to the individual and referred agent!
- No theft of business! If someone were to steal, they'd get no more business!
- If the other agent has to write 10 contracts before it works out, that is their problem.
- No excuses for performance
- Less gas and wear and tear on my car
- Less stress and frustration if a deal falls apart
- I do not have to instruct an experienced agent on what to do and how to do it.
- If an agent moves to another company, I do not lose a member of my team!
- We can run a business remotely even when on vacation!
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HA! Of course, you know you are preachin' to the choir here. When my phone rings now, it will be a buyer or seller inquiry. It will not be an agent asking me 10 questions about what they should do about something that they just did last week.
My E&O insurance fell from $4,300 to $780. Just for starters, the angst level is way down.
Jim:
I'm absolutely a believer in the less drama the better. People need to be accountable for themselves. I was shocked at some of the behaviour I witnessed when I entered the residential real estate market by agents and title/escrow people. I remember thinking, "These are business people?" and "They are wondering why people don't treat them with respect." "Duh." Anyway, I appreciated your post.
Having shut down two offices and laid a bunch of people off, I'm big on the idea of not baby sitting folks and of keeping your overhead low. That said, I do miss the challenge of attempting to build my business into something that takes on a life of itself and becomes more than just an extension of Bob.
In this market, I'm going to keep my head down, but all the time that I'm doing this, I'm thinking about how I can come back bigger and stronger once the storm passes...
Thanks for the post!
Bob Mitchell
ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.
Jim,
The way you run your business is very impressive. I became a RE/MAX agent just before your return, and I will never forget all the excitement on the mainstreet message boards. Your reputation for helping your fellow agent precedes you.
Hey Jim...you commented on my "kick in the butt" post......so I thought I'd check out your website and blog! I'm glad I did - there are so many people on here that you can miss some excellent bloggers...
You make some great points about 'teams'....I've been struggling with the concept since approx 70% of the Realtors in our office are part of a team....for 20 years I've resisted and often wonder whether I'm being a dinosaur about it.........Thanks for reassuring me! Now tell me how you get 80% of your leads from your website........lol.....i'm maintaining my own website..........i'm thinking I shoulde be tweaking mine? Liz
www.lizmoras.com
Jim, I am not a part of a team nor do I intend to be. I don't have an assistant other than my two teenager children. I love my company REMAX Unlimited, I love my broker who supports me doing my own thing, and I love my little market. I am more reliant on the web than any other agent in my office and it's starting to show. As always, thanks for your insight!
Kathy Fisher Lexington TN
Frank Rubi Louisiana Real Estate-Homes for Sale Less is more! The only way I could run an office or a brokerage is as you describe! A select few.
Homefinders, Real Estate in MD & VA, Lenn Harley, Broker, New & Resale Homes To me it is the only way to do it! No bricks and mortar, I am not responsible for advice, contract verbiage etc... No equipment loss, marketing materials signage etc. I can leave my ego out of it and do what we do best..generate leads!
Bob Mitchell - Realtor St. Louis The Internet will be the survivor in this market! It is low overhead to the max!
Kathy Fisher RE/MAX Unlimited Realtor You will find that if you work the Internet you don't need a production team! No mailings, no postages, no mailing database, no cold calling, no walk-ins, no door to door etc! Most folks in real estate never really sit back and see the big picture! They listed to a speaker o broker or a trainer that does not activley sell real estate, the Internet wasn't even around when they sold real estate...and they are going to tell you how to be successful today? The record is broken!!!!!
Hi Jim: Great post; this is the first post I've read that speaks to the team concept - and not in a positive way. Jerry and I are actually working on building a team and feel we're going into this with our eyes wide open, knowing the good and the bad.
We are following the Millionaire Real Estate Agent model, but would also like to know how you're generating so many internet leads without doing pay-per-click ? Can you share your secret with a lady from Bluegrass Country?
Thanks,
Jacki Shafer
The Shafer Team
Keller Williams Realty Louisville East
Jim,
Have been borderline on the assistant issue for the last couple of years and having talked to others that have tried this route most of whom have gone through several which didn't work out. The real issue that I have seen is that if at the end of the year, your individual bottom line is where you want to end up and your cost of doing business stays at the lowest percentage with the least amount of personnel problems & issues and the stress that goes with it then you have a successful practice!
Thank you
Jacki and Jerry Shafer If I told you...I'd have to kill you! LOL! It is something I have a gift for! I've been doing this since 1998! I believed I was interviewed by KW for an Internet training module a few years back as part of their training curriculum. My Internet web model is designed around the consumer's needs, not an agent's ego. A website has to be thought out from inception to implimentation.
Bill Herold CRS, GRI,"Your Man on Lake Chatuge"in GA What happens at the end of the year if the person you trained gets pregnant, gets married, her husband is transferred out of state, they decide to become a real estate agent? There is stress in staff also!
Yes, I agree with you. It's all about them, not us! Are you using stealth sites?
But back to the team concept: I am very happy to pay for an assistant because it has freed me up SOOO much. Remember, if you don't have a maid - you ARE the maid, and an assistant will do the things you hate to do, and keep you on task, keep you focused, and keep you doing what you do best - sell homes!
Jim,
That's why I am still operating as a single agent under a very good broker who let's me run my own show.
I have seen that scenario happen before and have heard of heard of some data base information that has gone the same direction.
Bill Herold CRS, GRI,"Your Man on Lake Chatuge"in GA I've seen the same scenario! It is actually very common! I know of one situation where date was stolen, and then they crashed the system! Ouch! The agent lost training time, and then rebuilding data file! I guess about 5-6 weeks total were lost!