For 2 yrs I have avowed this correcting market to be the biggest opportunity we have experienced in over 2 decades.  Some of you have agreed and some of you looked at me like I had “luny” written on my forehead.  I still believe this is the window of opportunity we pray for.  To prove my conviction, I have ventured into a new real estate company in Tucson, AZ.  We just opened a new 5,000 sqft upscale office in the foothills of Tucson.  I believe this new office is a model for future real estate companies.

There are 5 primary founding partners all with unique skill sets they bring to the company. No one has to do this alone again.  I have taken everything I have absorbed over the past 2 and a half years of travel, training and experience and am implementing the best of the best practices and applications that I have found.  Yes, I will share these applications because I do believe they are solid options and I am using them in our brokerage.  You may have vendors you have been using and like please share them.  

Just like the real estate franchises…the leaders of the vendor world will emerge and sustain and they need our support.  True vendor leaders may not be the cheapest solutions but they are the best and when we dilute the business by using fly-by-night solutions because they are a bit cheaper, we take away from our vendor leader’s ability to expand and bring us new and better products…just something to think about.

This is my dream come true, a solid team of local leaders working together so I don’t have to work in the company full-time and can continue to do my work writing, speaking and training across the country assisting brokers and agents who are really in this game to win.

This is the model that we, as a team, have adopted and believe will carry us through the next 20 years of real estate.

Agent/Staff Owned
            Some of our agents and staff have chosen to purchase ownership units in the company.  It is not a requirement to work for the brokerage but I am finding that a lot of top producers and teams want ownership if they are going to be building their business under your roof.  Even the furniture sales person wants to buy units.  We have kept unit purchase options open to those who inquire, whether they are in the RE business or not. Once we hit our local goal, only people who are working in the company will be able to purchase.  This has helped fuel our rapid growth without giving up control of the company.  Having “skin in the game” makes for a much more productive organization.

Revenue and Profit Sharing
            We chose the Avalar franchise model because of its patented, expansive revenue sharing opportunity platform and expanded on it by offering profit sharing for all unit owners.  It is easier to recruit independent brokers to this model since they don’t have to re-brand or change anything they are currently doing as far as comp plans etc.  You either “get” this type of model or you don’t.  No one has to participate in the revenue sharing platform; they are still part of a brokerage that is dedicated to their success. However, it would behoove them to give it a try.

High Tech and High Touch
            I don’t believe that sending agents home to work with a “Hang Your License For $??” is the right model for this emerging market.  I’ve noticed the organizations that have faired better than most, have more in-housed agents than they do home-based.  We are providing beautiful space to office-in and what we call “The Locker Room” for agents who still want to work from home but don’t want to have to carry their office in their car or briefcase.  This way they have locked space in the office that is their own and they will be dropping in more often to absorb the energy of the office environment.
            Docking work stations for laptops and huge flat screen TV’s for presentations to agents, buyers and sellers make it easier to showcase homes and train.  We even put in a client lounge area where clients can sit and work on our computers.  Our agent work room is minimal. With wireless capabilities, agents can work anywhere in the office.

Strategically placed offices with a “One Key Fits All” approach so agents can drop in anytime even if it is not their home-base office.  Our space is upscale and inviting to clients and agents.  I even got a call yesterday from a top competing agent, whom I interviewed a few days ago, asking me if she could use our new conference room for her NY buyers who are coming to town in a couple days… and what do you think I said??  “Absolutely!!  I will bring you a key. By the way, there are cold beverages in the fridge and cookies and coffee in the pantry!!  Is there anything else I can assist you with?”No need to get her to transfer her license today…she will be joining us tomorrow…lol.

Many Very Aggressive and Flexible Compensation Plans
            I know, you are wondering, how can you do that?  It’s possible by using the strategies of Compensation Master.  We were able to come up with a foundation which gives us a break-even on each agent (profit center) in the company.  We adapted the plans to make sure the company recoups what it needs from each individual agent no matter which plan they choose.  This way, we can design a plan that truly motivates the agent and leaves them with the most money possible based on their business volume and units.  A 15 million dollar top producer closing 250 units a year and a 15 million dollar top producer closing 10 units a year need very different compensation plans to maintain fairness and to make sure one agent isn’t subsidizing another.

Pay As You Go Marketing and Technical Services
            I believe in providing in-house marketing and technology support.  When I say this, I don’t mean a person who makes flyers and a tech who can plug a computer in.  I mean real strategic high-level marketing and technology minds and platforms.  We can’t just promote a marketing solution like a NetAspects CRM and website solution and then expect agents to implement. If you (and they) are lucky, they won’t have time.  Very, very few agents can implement their marketing and technology systems, most need it done for them.  We are providing these solutions with in-house staff support.  The staff earns a small base salary and a large percent of the revenue from services they can bill the agent for.  This allows us to hire very high quality employees who are committed to our agent’s success.

            We don’t have to carry the overhead of in-house print equipment anymore!!!  The use of remote marketing platforms like Quantum Mail and Express Docs make it a breeze to provide top quality marketing materials and mailings without having to put in a full-blown marketing department.  A “Just Listed” postcard can be created, printed and mailed from a laptop anywhere there is internet connectivity in a matter of minutes.

            Solutions like www.AgentsPlanet.com help agents be more productive by bringing everything they need to their fingertips.  Jack Lindberg really understands the tech world and helps agents every day to be more productive and to generate leads.  I can also tell you that he does this with great passion (and sometimes little pay) just because he is a man of service.  Oops, sorry Jack…actually Jack charges the big bucks…hehe.

            Listing tools like www.floorplanonline.com bring exceptional tours for the agents to showcase their listings and they have local service providers across the country to create the floor plan, take pictures and generate the tour.

In-House Business Development and Leads Management Staff
           A business development team that is focused on generating corporate accounts, relocation, employer housing opportunities and internet driven leads is a must right now.  I am a firm believer that every single contact or lead should be personally followed up on by a dedicated staff member before ever being sent on to an agent.  www.NetAspects.com has the solution for management, distribution and follow-up systems that bring the lead from capture to paying the agent.

              Everyone From the Front Desk To The Accounting Dept is Dedicated To Helping the Brokerage Secure Business and Agents Make Money!
           This is key and vital to the success of any organization.  The Avalar model allows us to give our staff the ability to build passive residual income by helping us grow the company…now that is incentive!!  RIS Media even ran an article about Avalar recently. Click Here To Read It.

            We offer powerful coaching and training by our local and national industry leaders. Coaching starts from within and radiates out.  I use Jon Cheplak’s, of www.therealestaterecruiters.com, amazing approach to recruiting and am setting up his recruiting technology platform to coach and train my agents and my competition’s agents.  I plan to coach my competition to my front door.  The skill set of all our staff brings huge value to an agent’s business.  Even our broker of record, who just happens to be my husband Gary, and a very, very successful owner/operator, coach and trainer, has his office right at the front door with his blinds and door always open!!  No hiding in this space…we all contribute on a huge level.

Our training philosophy is based around Kim Ades’ www.OpeningDoors.tv Frame of Mind Coaching series.  Opening the mind to all possibility.  If you haven’t yet sat in on one of her free tele-seminars, you really should!

So, yes, I am boasting and proud of this accomplishment, yet at the same time, I remain humble and most appreciative to all the amazing people I have met on my journeys who gave me the courage, knowledge, love and respect to even allow me to see and help create this vision.  If I can assist any of you in creating your dream, please don’t hesitate to call or email me. 

If you have an exceptional model please share!!!  We all need to bring the best to the surface so we can continue to be of ultimate service to our industry and our consumers as we move into this amazing emerging market.  Stop by our offices if you are ever in the Tucson area.  I would love your feedback.