Real Estate Recruiting
I can’t speak for all real estate agents but I suspect that this post will speak for a few of us. As some agents are leaving the business and some of our local real estate companies are shrinking a bit they have stepped up their recruiting efforts. We all know that real estate companies do not sell real estate, we do that. Costumers don’t really get it but that is a subject for another post . . I think I have written it too.
For some reason a bar-b-que in the parking lot, or a happy hour with a bunch of fun people isn’t a selling point for me when it comes to choosing a real estate company. Free training may have some pull but only if it is they type of training that I feel I need to grow my business. Much of the training these days is around products or services that don’t fit into my business plan. I am exposed to excellent training opportunities through the local boards, the state board and the internet. I get some of my training and new ideas by reading books about marketing and technology. I can always learn more but can not learn everything so I need to be strategic.
I’m Underwhelmed
Big opulent offices don’t impress me. I have everything I need in my home office. I am not working in the basement by the furnace or in a spare bedroom. I have a great office, it is large, well lit and has it’s own entrance off of a back porch, state of the art equipment, and even an attached bath. Occasionally I need a lot of copies or flyers and there is a copy shop close by that will deliver if I want to send the stuff electronically. When I walk into the store they know my name, usually make the copies for me so that I don’t screw up their equipment and only charge 3 cents a copy. I can make copies at home but for large runs the copy shop is more cost effective, and is much closer to where I live and work than my real estate office.
Sometimes I have a need for a conference room or a place to meet clients. I use local coffee shops for meetings with new buyers. The shops never charge my buyers for anything and have internet access. I also write offers in those same coffee shops and my buyers have told me that they like it. If I need a conference room to accommodate more people there is a room in a restaurant a block away from my home that I can reserve for such occasions. It has an unusual ambiance and people seem to enjoy being there.
I do like to socialize with colleagues and talk shop. I tend to gravitate toward certain agents in my market place that sell the same types of property that I sell. They work with several different real estate companies and I network with them, go to them for advice and give advice to them. We all help each other out even though our signs do not have the same logos on them.
Here in Minnesota I have read that fewer people are getting real estate sales licenses, but the number of brokers licenses continues to increase. I am seeing more one person real estate companies too. Most do a great job.
What I Really Want
As an agent I ask real estate companies what they have to offer me. There are a few things that I would like from a real estate company. The most important is being paid in a timely manner after a transaction closes. The second is having educational opportunities for people like me. What am I like? An independent web 2.0 agent. Occasional help with copy machines would be nice, and I guess I would love to work in an office where I can discuss business with my peers. Advice on some of my contracts would be welcome. I don’t have time for lectures from people who have never sold real estate but have read some books and are trainers or who crashed and burned as Realtors and ended up in management. I would also like to be treated like a small business owner. I have no desire to be part of a team, not my thing, been there done that.
It would also be nice to be affiliated with an office that could expose me to new ideas. I get most of those off of the internet but love the idea of a conversation or better yet a little brain storming. There is one local broker who is showing some leadership and starting profiles for his agents on various social networks and giving them some ideas about how to use various tools to grow their business. He is smart and creative and gives them ideas that they can take to the next level. More of a problem solver and idea generator kind of guy.
I’ll Pass on the “Fun Zone”
I have my own internet presence and do not have a need to be on one of those company sites that look like obituary pages. I don’t have any need to work in a “fun atmosphere” I like where I work now. Parking lot bar-b-ques, picnics, holiday parties and happy hours are OK but I can do all of those things with family and friends and I do. I have all the technology I need and getting inexpensive copies is not a problem. What do brokerages have to offer an agent like me? They never ask what we want they tell us what we need. They don’t listen, they talk and try to overcome our objections when we want to leave.
