There are pros and cons to every different business model in Real Estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was an individual agent (with a full-time assistant) for my entire career. But a partnership or small, client-centered team can work wonderfully for both you and your clients, as well, so long as you have dependable systems and procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only Real Estate business model I really dislike is \u2018The Big-Box Team,\u2019 mainly due to their commonly-used, deceptive marketing tactics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What they tell you: <\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/strong>Your home Sold GUARANTEED, or we\u2019ll buy it!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth: <\/strong>The \u201cguarantee\u201d is just a ploy to get their foot in the door, and then explain that either, a) your property doesn\u2019t \u201cqualify\u201d for their program, or b) the \u201cguaranteed\u201d price is so low (after all the deductions) that nobody in their right mind would ever agree to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But hey! No worries! We\u2019ll get \u2018er sold, anyway! Sign here, please. \ufe0f<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What they tell you: <\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/strong>You\u2019ll have a whole team of agents all working together to get your home sold!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth: <\/strong>It\u2019s highly unlikely that any other team member will ever even SEE the listing, let alone pay it any attention. They\u2019re focused on other things (chasing down leads).<\/p>\n\n\n\n What they tell you: <\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/strong>We\u2019re working with bazillions of buyers right now, and at least a few of them are going to want to see your home!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth: <\/strong>IF by some fluke, one of the Buyer\u2019s Agents does have a buyer; there is ZERO advantage to the seller because that buyer would want to see the listing ANYWAY, no matter which <\/em>agent they were working with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What they tell you: <\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/strong>We spend bazillions every month on marketing!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth: <\/strong>Yes, but all that money has ZERO to do with getting your home sold, and EVERYTHING to do with promoting The Team to generate leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not that there\u2019s anything wrong with marketing to generate leads! Let\u2019s just be honest about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I could continue, but you already know all this stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The question is, how do YOU, as an individual agent (or a small team), compete against these Big Box Team?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s easy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tell. The. Truth. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply explain what you already know about all of the above, candidly, and without malice. That\u2019s what I did. And you know what my clients would say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI thought so.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n They already instinctively knew that something wasn\u2019t right with the Big Box Teams. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because smart people can smell deception a mile away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, I do not believe that the Big-Box Team is the best option for the public when buying or selling. Furthermore, I think our regulatory bodies could do much better at monitoring deceptive marketing practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckily, I think the public is getting better informed, and more and more, they\u2019re seeking out honest, skilled professionals who genuinely have their best interests at heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s just continue telling the truth. It\u2019s all we can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ———–<\/p>\n\n\n\n