Selling the Dream: A Podcast for Resort & 2nd Home Real Estate Agents
Ep. 77: Brooks Burton on Being Part of a Franchise vs. Staying Independent
Are you part of a franchise, or are you an independent agent?
There’s not a WRONG answer to this question: it really depends on the market, your personal fit with the company, and if it’s going to help you serve your clientele effectively. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Your choice to either join a franchise or be a lone agent will impact your business, so it’s something to carefully consider when it comes to finding your “home.”
But how can that choice impact second home realtors?
Consider these questions:
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Where do your leads come from?
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How are you leveraging referrals?
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Where does your expertise come from?
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How are you getting training? Practical education can be key in serving your second home buyers!
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How are you networking with other agents? Are you cold calling other agents to get to know them, and searching out referral opportunities?
Asking these questions will help you as you decide how you want to structure your business.
Today we’ve honored to interview Brooks Burton, Chief Operations Officer over at Windermere. With his experience in the industry, he has great feedback on one of the big burning questions: should you be an independent agent, or should you be part of a franchise?
Highlights of this episode:
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Tom introduces Brooks Burton, Chief Operations Officer at Windermere.
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One major benefit to joining a franchise is to quickly and automatically grow your network. This network is also full of paid resources for you to have access to and use, such as paid trainings.
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Because of this, often franchises can have higher sell rates per agent - Windermere has 13.4 transactions per agent!
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Brooks gives some real estate predictions: we will start to see more people buying homes online, but they’ll mostly want to see and experience homes before making such a big purchase.
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More knowledge often equals more repeat business. This is very important for those of us who focus on the second home market niche!
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Don’t fear online business: it’s a different business model, and there is always room for a different business model. You’ll figure out how to deal with it, and better serve your clients.
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Remember, were not in a commodity business. We’re in a service business that ends up selling this commodity.
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How can franchises better serve second market buyers? Make sure to go to networking events and get lots of referrals, and leverage relationships with your peers.
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Should you be independent? It just really depends: there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s really about what works for the individual. Some markets are definitely easier for independent agents.
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So what are the advantages to being part of a franchise? Training, technology, and resources. All of those are often brought in for you when you’re working with a franchise.
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If you’re interested in growing a larger team, and working with a franchise, you can look at Windermere.com, and they’ll let you know if you’re a good fit.
Hey everybody, thank you so much for spending time with us today: would you do me a giant favor and share this podcast with fellow realtors, and leave a review. Your reviews help this podcast get shared with more people.
Special thanks to Brooks Burton for coming on the show! You can connect with him here:
Connect with me (Tom):
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As always, thanks for listening. Don’t forget, you’re not selling a home: you’re selling the dream.
See you next time!
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