Stop Seeing Red: A Smarter View of Brokerage Expenses

Running a real estate brokerage has its share of expenses. Payables—large or small—are a necessary part of doing business. Expenses like rent, office supplies, insurance, furniture etc. are easy to understand and manage. What is less obvious are the investments in marketing, advertising and technology that many brokers spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on each month. The temptation to periodically cut these expenses requires a much more considered analysis that can’t be based completely or even in some cases, primarily on pricing. Conversely, you shouldn’t drop precious budget dollars on every new shiny thing that comes on the market.

Necessity Of Large Expenses

You must build and advertise a reputable brand to draw clients to your listings, competing with more well-known franchised brokerage names. Brand building for the independent brokerage can quickly eat away at your budget, especially when figuring all your advertising expenses. According to data published in 2012-2014 by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials, U.S. real estate agents and brokers spent approximately $8.9 billion on residential advertising in 2015. That’s a substantial amount of money, yet an important expenditure if you are to compete for listings and credibility in your local market.

Let’s not forget our need for technology, and its ever-increasing role in real estate. Other than general IT set up and maintenance, customer relationship management (CRM) is a large, yet crucial, cost of doing business that can help streamline much of the real estate process in a busy brokerage. CostOwl reports that in 2018 inhouse CRM costs range from $100 to $1,000 per user plus maintenance, support, updates and potential customization, while web-based CRM systems run $50 to $100 per user every month with lesser fees for smaller brokerages.

Expense Analysis Revisited

As you know, with some business items, using a less expensive version works just as well and saves money. But this isn’t necessarily true for larger purchases. Of course, you want to spend money that provides the most value and significant benefit to your brokerage. It’s always a good idea to consider your bottom line when factoring in a new or recurring expense, but there is a difference between purchasing a store name brand to save money on office supplies versus buying a bargain basement real estate CRM technology because it has a lower up-front cost.

In the case of a CRM for example, between increased labor in transferring data, lost production time and price of a new system, it’s more cost effective to choose the right CRM system for your brokerage from the start. One that provides high value, and is right for your operation, rather than choose a system based primarily on price.  When you are part of a franchise, such as Weichert, you typically have the added benefit of a CRM that they’ve already vetted or customized.  The Weichert CRM, for example not only provides top tier real estate features such as contact management, marketing automation, open house management, and mobile app access, but its internal workflow has been designed to echo the best practices brokers and agents are taught on their roadmap to success. Your ability to integrate a CRM into your operations is just as important as the CRM feature set and this is not an area to pinch pennies.

Look At The Whole Picture

Why be penny wise and pound foolish, as the saying goes? Look at the whole picture of expenses in a way that incorporates a wider view of their utility.  Once you’ve made these decisions, give these expenditures a chance to prove themselves. Advertising mediums can be tagged to understand how much additional sales you are getting from expenditures on each. Technology can be judged to large degree on the utility it provides to you and the feedback of your team on its usefulness and ease of use. Budgeting more for items that can have big payoffs in the long run, such as specifically targeted brand advertising or an efficient CRM system can increase the brokerage’s long-term income and reduce their operating costs in a way that more than offsets the cost of the advertising or system.

Gain Access To Systems That Work

At least some of the headaches’ associated with expense management and analysis can be helped by having some deep, expert experience in your corner. Having the resources of a franchise system behind you can save you tremendous time vetting options and more time being productive. Not only do you instantly gain a brand name that matters, input from your coaching team and fellow franchisees about many of the most agonizing expenditures you face is always just a phone call away.

Could your brokerage benefit from this? Learn more at weichertfranchise.com or call 877-533-9007.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/stop-seeing-red-smarter-view-brokerage-expenses/

Understanding The Difference between Facebook And Instagram For Real Estate Marketing

Social media has taken over marketing in recent years, with 69 percent of the public using social media of some sort. You may do all your brokerage’s social networking or elect to turn that over to a marketing specialist. Whatever you choose, it’s imperative that you understand the demographics of each social platform to wisely spend your marketing time and money, while carefully branding your brokerage.

Facebook has emerged over the last 13 years as a powerhouse among the social networking platforms. According to Pew Research Center’s Social Media Fact Sheet, 68 percent of adults in the United States use Facebook. Facebook acquired Instagram—a newer social site—in 2012. Its use is becoming more popular at 28 percent of U.S. adults and amassing over 800,000 users to date, trailing far behind but still second to Facebook. Part of Instagram’s growing popularity is the ease of post and paid ad sharing between the two sites.

Facebook Friends 

Facebook may already be central to your marketing plan for its wide range of demographics and the sharing of all types of media—photos, messages and video—across desktop, mobile and tablet formats. Its use is split almost evenly between males and females.

Many view it as a networking forum for older adults, but that’s not a well-rounded picture of this versatile site. While Facebook does attract a larger share of the over 49 crowd than other social sites, Pew Research Center’s data indicates that ages 18-29 are big Facebook users (88 percent) with those ages 30-49 close behind in usage (79 percent).

Content should be engaging in more than one way, so create a mix of videos, images, information and calls to action that elicit user interaction to get followers. A little tasteful fun goes a long way on Facebook.

Instagram Images 

Facebook purchased Instagram back in 2012, and it has retained most of its unique nature. Both social sites share photos, videos and messages, but Instagram features images first and foremost, allowing the user to add numerous digital filters, as well as use image hashtags and geotags. You can create your own hashtags for events, open houses and more to gain traction. Since December 2017, users can follow hashtags, so your image hashtags need to be relevant, retain your style, and be interesting to grow your followers. Instagram’s newest rollout—Stories—is a Snapchat-like feature that is quickly growing in popularity.

Instagram is primarily intended for use on-the-go with a smartphone, appealing to younger users. In fact, Instagram’s core users are ages 18-29 (59 percent) with a higher percentage of women of any age favoring the site. Ages 30-49 make up 33 percent proving this network is a haven for those ages 49 and younger.

As a real estate broker, structure your Instagram posts around interior design, as that is a favorite topic on this platform. Has a local or national celebrity viewed a listing or sold a home using your brokerage? Snap a photo and post it (with permission), as celebrity and entertainment posts are hot. Visual consistency and imagination go a long way toward building your Instagram following.

Stand-Out Instagram Marketing 

Instagram is all about the aesthetics. To leverage marketing on Instagram that plays to your brand and brings in sellers and buyers, it helps to study a few real estate accounts of those who are rocking it in the world of Instagram marketing.

Here are some tips to help individualize your brokerage on the Instagram platform:

• Display great images—it’s all about consistently branded visuals
• Create branded hashtags
• Add multiple hashtags—some of the top posts use 10 or more hashtags
• Use images with your contact information/logo
• Post strictly listings or add a few photos of the team and/or clients for a more personalized appeal

Play Off Each Other 

Instagram is a logical choice to add to your marketing arsenal to attract more of the on-the-go Millennial masses and even some older groups. As they play off each other, using Facebook and Instagram together equals a robust social sales strategy.

At the end of the day, a consistent approach to social media usage is just one part of your marketing and sales strategy. At Weichert, we have the systems that can help you pull it all together. Contact us at 877-533-9007to learn more or go to weichertfranchise.com.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/understanding-difference-facebook-instagram-real-estate-marketing/

Tapping Into The Relocation Market

Online retail giant Amazon is searching for another location outside of the Northwest to build a $5 billion facility and hire up to 50,000 employees. While many would be hired from the direct vicinity, others would come from nearby regions or even out of state, making a move necessary for a percentage of employees. Could you capitalize on this influx of home buyers or renters if your town or city was chosen?

Relocation Clients Matter

Of course, other companies don’t just start up in a new state, but transfer employees from an office in one location to an existing office in another state, sometimes due to mergers and acquisitions. The most recent movement trend research from the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council indicates that 49 percent of transferees were relocating for the first time due to a promotion or lateral move. First-time relocation clients require extra help navigating the ropes from selling their current home in one city to purchasing or renting a new home in the perfect location in another city.

Create A Specialty In Relocation

As a broker, you should be looking at all revenue sales streams for your brokerage. Making relocation a specialty taps into this lucrative market where few tread, providing you with valuable and consistent leads any time of year. Relocating buyers and renters want someone who knows the area well and can educate them on all the local amenities, services, schools, eateries and entertainment with an over-all knowledge of what makes the area tick. The challenge of course, is understanding how that business works and then getting the relationships with the corporate entities that do most of the relo in your area. These relationships are often under contract to other national real estate companies and it can be difficult for independent brokers to make inroads into this market.

That’s where an affiliation with a large national real estate brand can be particularly helpful Weichert Workforce Mobility for instance, is Weichert’s national relocation company, responsible for managing relo services for companies large and small around the world. These opportunities feed our qualified local Weichert brokers in markets all over the country, providing yet another lead funnel in addition to Weichert Lead Network.

Serving relocation clients requires some special knowledge and training. These clients require a reliable and stable brokerage they can trust with what, for many, is a daunting move. As a broker you must provide agents or teams who are interested in this section of the market with training to gain relocation designations or recruit those already relocation designated that have valuable experience in this field.

 Be The Go-To Relocation Brokerage

Depending on your location, you can position your brokerage as the relocation authority and create messaging in your marketing materials—from advertising to social media—with that in mind. Work with various moving companies, house cleaners and other services to provide clients a streamlined transfer experience to reduce the high stress of making a big move. This way your brokerage is always the area go-to for organizations or referral agents with client relocation needs. This is a labor-intensive process and an additional expense at first, but will pay off in time.

The Inside Track To Relocation

The easiest way to get up and running is to join forces with a company that’s already in the business. Weichert Affiliates, for example, have the opportunity to qualify for leads through Weichert Workforce Mobility, a leader in the relocation business. If this is something you are interested in for your brokerage, maybe it’s time to take a look at a Weichert franchise. Call 877-533-9007 or go to weichertfranchise.com to learn more.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/real-estate-agent-recruiting/tapping-relocation-market/

How To Use LinkedIn To Recruit Quality Real Estate Agents

LinkedIn’s mission is to “connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” As a broker, isn’t that essentially what you want, too? To ensure that your brokerage and your agents are more productive and continue to be successful? For your brokerage to thrive, quality recruiting is an essential element of growth. You know that acquiring talented agents who are hungry for sales form the lifeblood of your brokerage.

Think of the agent search as lead acquisition. Do you want to make Facebook friends or gain business leads? With its more educated and wealthier demographic compared to other social networks, LinkedIn is a viable social media platform for lead generation, so it makes sense to use it to search for quality real estate agents as well—new or seasoned. Plus, its smaller and more focused social platform is a prime place to showcase your brokerage and its needs.

Use Free Features 

Your LinkedIn profile speaks volumes about your professionalism and business model and is what most agent candidates will review to vet brokerage prospects. Make your headline stand out from the crowd, as that’s the first thing members see right under your name. Take the time to review your profile to ensure your message is correctly portrayed.

Directly messaging certain first- and second-degree connections is one way to interact with potential agents and make them take notice of what you have to offer, but there are additional options. With a basic LinkedIn membership, there are a few ways you can recruit at no cost: through posts and articles. These recruiting features use general targeting and may take some time to get results.

Play To Your Uniqueness

LinkedIn supports two kinds of content: Posts and articles. You can think of them as short form and long form content, respectively, and they each have a place in your LinkedIn marketing plan.
You want to create post items on a more regular basis that highlight the uniqueness of your brokerage—specialized trainings, online resources, sales mentors, prime location—and describe why it’s such a great place to work as opposed to your competition. Quotes from other agents, photos of employees, or the maybe the fact that you bring on veterans that became successful agents are some suggestions. You can also syndicate links to other content from Realtor.com or other real estate sites that you know that may be of interest. This is called “curated” content and can sometimes be easier for the busy broker or their associate to accomplish vs. writing original content.


Articles are different than posts and should be used to highlight areas of interest to agents seeking a first or new brokerage, such as “10 things every real estate broker should provide to its agents” or “what to expect as a new real estate agent”. Content should resonate with sales associates looking to make a change or just starting out. If articles rank high, recruits will be at your door.

Take Advantage of Targeted Data

You can up the ante and get more recruits by capitalizing on LinkedIn’s vast member information data—pulled from over 500 million members—and use it to specifically target interested candidates. Better results and less work for you, but a paid premium membership is required to unlock the features of both job posts and career pages. As these talent acquisitions are so focused, the price paid now should increase brokerage growth quicker and with better-qualified agents than previous methods.

Post A Job 

Unlike other job boards, posting a job on LinkedIn is highly directed to your needs. Skills, qualifications, education and more are used to get your job in front of candidates that fit your specifications. This feature boasts of real-time analytics, so you can see how your job posts are performing, as well as easy candidate review and contact methods.

Add A Career Page 

The LinkedIn paid Career feature boosts your visibility and functions like your very own website within the LinkedIn platform. You can showcase lots about the everyday work environment, interesting trainings or speakers, fun office facts or agent quotes, office layout and much more in words, images and videos. You can post more than one job opening—agents, office manager, marketing specialist—without paying for each job post. To easily assess your recruiting goals and determine how the Careers page is working, use the handy analytics tool provided.

Recruit on Multiple Channels

Don’t forget that LinkedIn compliments your current recruiting efforts, it won’t replace them. One of the major focus points of the Weichert team in coaching new Affiliates is, of course, Recruitment, and our process emphasizes a multi-channel approach that creates the right exposure and buzz around your brokerage in your local market. Our process gets great results but it’s not by doing one thing, it’s doing many.  From having the materials to help attract recruiting candidates to the training to get them up and running quickly to be successful, having a system in place is critical to recruiting success and growth.

The team at Weichert understands better than most that recruiting and retaining the best people is what will make you truly successful. If finding a successful recruiting plan is something you’re interested in for your brokerage, call today at 877-533-9007 and see how the Weichert tools and processes can give you an edge.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/real-estate-agent-recruiting/use-linkedin-recruit-quality-real-estate-agents/