Real Estate Coaching

It is obvious to anyone with a pulse that many Real Estate Brokerage firms had a terrible 2007.
It was so bad that many consolidated their offices and cut back on staffing.

Others lived in denial and thought things would turn around and did not cut back on overhead.
Unfortunately those firms are now in a panic with many closing down permanently.
Some can now be seen giving their franchises back to their respective Franchisors and finding a new affiliation.

Some Brokers and Agents in Florida are heading North to the Charlotte market. It is only one of a few markets actually showing growth.

It has been said that nothing changes until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change.

The demands put on some franchisees as it relates to affiliation or contract renewal fee’s have taken it’s toll.
The cost of doing business and the cost of keeping unproductive agents have become truly unbearable.

Vendors such as the NAR Realtor community and MLS organizations have raised dues to their memberships in a time when they can least afford it.
While some feel it’s important to continue the same cash flows earned in previous years knowing that there is a fall out on membership, they don’t want to take a pay cut or share in the suffering of it’s membership.
The MLS’s want more revenue so they can keep merging and paying ridiculous salaries to their CEO’s and staff.

The good news is that we are now witnessing the emergence of the State Wide MLS Movement I referred to in previous blogs. It must happen and it must happen soon. The Real Estate Industry is now going through the fastest adaptation of transparency in it’s history.
Look around, so many services on the internet are FREE. Yet the Realtor community wants to eat it’s own for dinner.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Google could buy every single independent real estate brokerage company in the United States tomorrow and become the most powerful competitor that Realogy, RE/MAX, or Prudential has ever seen.
I would go so far to say that many existing Franchisees’ would jump ship in a heart beat at contract renewal time to be with a Google or Yahoo which could be Microsoft and Microsoft could buy Yahoo and Google could buy Microsoft. Think about that!

In this day and age anything is possible!
Certainly this would be much better than a bank getting into the business. After all it was the greed of the lending institutions that created the sub-prime fiasco.

Intellect Matters and the Search Engine Kings have it all.

It is not will it happen but when will it happen.
With the massive loss’s reported by the Real Estate Franchise Operators you may see something transpire by the end of the year.
Asset values are dropping within the Real Estate Companies as well as the Venture Capital players who have funded buyouts such as Realogy.

So having said all that, only time, pain, bankruptcy and suffering will tell the real story. After all look what happened to Bear Sterns this past week.

The crystal ball is clear and shinny. He who wants to look into it can realistically see a solution to what real transparency can provide the Real Estate Profession. A business without barriers providing cost savings to the public and Real Estate Brokerage business. Once this evolves the Realtor organization would have no conflicting relevancy at that point. They certainly do not need a Credit Union and would not need Realtor.com and all the loss’s incurred by past corruption and management incompetence.

In closing this Blog I really do believe there is room for the Independent Broker in the business as well as the Single Office Operation.
I still have clients earning 7 figures in this market. The reason being they had not let their ego cloud their business objectives.
They are true leaders and their success is a direct result of the concern they have for their agents.
After all a Real Estate Broker is not in the Real Estate Business, they are in the Sales Associate Business.
The Agent is the Customer! Without the Agent there is just a one person, the Broker and maybe a secretary.

By the end of 2009 the market should start to move up again. Let’s work now to attack the problems impacting our business and view the future with a clean slate. The buying and selling public will always need the service of good professional representation. Perfect your services now so you can be there for them tomorrow.

If you looking for great customers they are everywhere. My job is to teach you how to find and capture them for you company.

If you are looking to grow and not just survive call me.

Michael J. Stefonick

610-659-1173

One has to wonder why so many people have decided to get into the so called “Realtor” Coaching business.

Just 3 years ago hundreds of thousands of additional people became licensed to sell Real Estate. Each thinking they would either make an easy buck part time or succeed in a business that would have no top. Anyone who has been in the business 10 or 20 years or longer knows that the Broker who owned a Real Estate Company was the one who would coach the firms new agents. Why? Because he or she actually listed and sold Real Estate Successfully. They wanted to train someone in a culture that could not be duplicated by an outside trainer.

A public speaker who has vast experience in selling real estate is not necessarily a coach. They speak to hundreds of agents at a time and sell thousands of video’s or tapes a year. They serve a great purpose and convey idea’s that the masses can benefit from. Agents who attend these seminars can only absorb so much information. If they can take the notes down quickly enough they may find the time to read them. The good news is that if they can implement one idea from the seminar it was worth the price of admission. I have many friends who are truly fantastic speakers and they deserve every penny they have earned.

If you search Google for Real Estate Coaches on the internet you will now find so called Coaches who don’t have a history of success in the Real Estate Business. Many could not make a living listing or selling and have reinvented themselves into being a so-called expert. I know a former office manager who could not live up to the owners expectations and is now out there representing himself as an experienced and successful recruiter and office manager. Nothing can be further from the truth but then again with the right recommendations from a few prominent Brokers I am sure he will pick up some clients. People gravitate to their own level of incompetence.

Are there successful Coaching Companies out there? You bet! Notice I said Successful. Are some of these companies making a fortune? You Bet! You can rest assured they are not coaching one on one. They are hiring people who can read script and ask how many prospects did you call today. Can they answer real questions about the nuances of the business, I think not. What is the phrase? Fake it until you make it!

In prior Blogs I wrote about how an agent should interview with a broker. A key question they must ask when interviewing is to point blank ask if the company is profitable. Recently you may have read that a larger franchise company in AZ with 13 offices closed their doors. I wonder how many agents they recruited within the last 6 months. What decision would those agents have made to join that company if they knew the company was not profitable? Would they still have gone with that firm if they know the company could not pay their overhead expenses? Some key questions you would ask a Coaching Company is will I receive the service of the person at the top? Will I always be speaking with the same company representative or are they rotated? How many years have they been coaching and what Real Estate Experience do they really have? Are they willing to offer a money back guarantee for their services? Do they require a contract? All legitimate questions.

What is the real value of a Coach? It has been said many times that Knowledge is Power. I maintain that is not accurate. If knowledge is power why do so may agents and brokers fail? The real statement should be ” Applied Knowledge is Power”. A coach attempts to assist someone to think through a process or concept and then develop a plan to implement and execute that idea. If successfully implemented then the Coach adds significant value to the relationship. What is the true value of a Coach if he or she can show someone how to add 10 or 20 agents to a company? How about 100 agents? Now we’re talking big bucks. That is what a good Coach can help a Willing Broker accomplish.

If you’re looking to build a successful real estate company call me for a free consultation and lets see if we are compatible.