Thinking About Changing Brokerages?
Thinking about changing brokerages?
Important Questions to Ponder:
1. Firstly and most importantly;
SUPPORT
How well do you feel supported?
When your clients get off at 4:30, get snack into the kids, get their kids in the car, get the kids to lego maniacs, back home for dinner, off to scouts, back home for snack and a bath before bed, bedtime with story, and it is 9:30pm and they are just getting to the listings you sent them, they call you with questions (it’s now almost 10:00pm), and you have a question for your PB, do you have someone to call? Someone you trust?
This isn’t everyone’s model, but it is the model many Realtors follow.
Key to success in this crazy life of yours is the support you need to move quickly and efficiently.
The gimmicks and posts to your Instagram page will help you be visible to your followers, and sometimes to the followers of your followers, but they don’t do much for you if you are operating without support.
Brokers do best when they feel well-supported.
Ask any top-performing broker why they are where they are. The split and fees are rarely part of the discussion.
If it is the main part of the discussion, you know where their focus is.
2. FEES
Fees are part of any brokerage’s success. Ultra-low fees often mean you get less support.
Ultra high fees may mean you get marginal support with a lot of bling!
Remember, support is key to your success in real estate. When you feel well-supported, you will feel safe enough to get out there and fly!
Ask the recruiter of any brokerage to give you the answers to the following questions;
A. Scenario 1: I have capped. I have a $10,000 commission check coming to the brokerage.
After the brokerage takes out the fees, how much will I take home before I deduct a portion to save for taxes?
AND,
B. Scenario 2: I have not yet capped. I have a $10,000 commission check coming to the brokerage.
After the brokerage takes its split, and after it takes out the fees, how much will I take home before I deduct a portion to save for taxes?
The answers to these two questions are more important than the amount of the split the brokerage retains.
The split may be nominal if the fees they take are maximized. You need to know the actual numbers.
3. CREATE YOUR OWN P/L
Create a Profit and Loss for your own real estate practice.
You need to know where you spend money so you can decide if you want to continue to spend money in those areas.
Make a conscious decision to stop paying for things that do not work for you/result with increased revenue - be SMART about where your money goes!
4. TOOLS
What tools does the brokerage offer to help you?
It is not up to the brokerage to build your business for you. That is up to you.
This is why your client-base will be people like you!
If the brokerage provides branded tools for you to use that are beautiful and effective, those tools can go a long way to help you IF you use them.
Tools can be:
- Instagram templates for your use
- Facebook templates for your use
- A Newsletter you can send out to your sphere of clients
- Signs
- Yard Signs for your own yard, identifying you as a neighborhood expert
- A CRM - A caution! IF YOU GIVE YOUR CLIENT DATABASE TO ANY COMPANY-OWNED CRM, THE COMPANY OWNS YOUR CLIENT DATABASE.
My advice: Don’t ever give your client database to any company. It is the only thing that matters in your business!
Instead, ask if the company provides a CRM that is password protected, that you maintain as a private account.
- A Transaction Coordinator
- A Document Storage system that is accessible to the Real Estate Commissioner in the event the company, or you, are audited
- Forms and Advisories designed to protect you and your clients
- Training
- And more…
5. AESTHETIC
Do you like the way the brand looks?
You are going to be working closely with it and you need to love the way it looks.
If you are only so-so on the brand, don’t go there!
6. OFFICE ENVIRONMENT
Are you the person who enjoys going into an office that is humming with activity?
If you are, look for an office with that environment.
If you work from home and really love being accessible to the people in your household and the dog who loves to be around you, look for a brokerage that really supports you working from the place from which you love to work!
I operate a brokerage that offers a high level of support to brokers, but we do not have offices that are a hum of activity when you walk in.
Our offices are drop-in spaces to have lovely meetings with clients, and they do have plenty of places to do a little work, but they are not staffed.
They are quiet and beautiful and well-appointed.
It is a good fit for some, but not for all. And that is absolutely okay!
Want to talk more about questions to ask your next broker-owner?
Give Amy Munsey a call at 971-258-5500 or email her at Amy@Wildwood-Realty.com