Franchise Vs. Independent Real Estate Brokerage – Finding the Right Fit

Running your own real estate agency and brokerage is a big step for most real estate agents, and one of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make along the way is whether to  partner with a real estate franchise or go at it alone. Here’s some insight on your options.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of maintaining an independent brokerage? 

Choosing to go the independent route has both pros and cons for brokers. The main attraction is having complete autonomy – you aren’t answerable to anyone other than yourself. You can control the development of your own brand, find your own clients and you don’t have to pay any franchise fees.

Sounds great, but being autonomous means that the burden of your success is entirely on your shoulders. All training, marketing strategies, recruitment, retention and growth is up to you. You are the deal doctor, the office counselor, the janitor, the first to arrive and the last to leave at night. It’s also up to you to research the latest and greatest lead gen technology or CRM and build and maintain your brand – a big task in a tough economy and a competitive property market. Trying to keep up can leave you feeling burned out and the investment required to stay ahead can end up costing you much more than a franchise fee in the end.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of a real estate franchise? 

As you might expect, this can depend a lot on who you choose to partner with. While there will always be tradeoffs, affiliating does not have to mean “selling out” or giving up your business to big brother. With the right brand, you can tap into the power of a national system, but hold on to the great things you are already doing in your local market.

Yes, affiliating with an established real estate brand usually means sharing your individual brand with the brand of the franchisor. In most cases this is a benefit, as the brand of a good franchisor will be more powerful and far-reaching than that of an independent agency. Our experience is that most brokers welcome this as part of the other benefits they receive by affiliating. You will still do business with the people who know you, but you will be able to open the doors to people who don’t. Control of your business typically remains in your hands, depending on the policies of your franchise agreement. A system like Weichert’s for example, was conceived by an independent broker, for brokers. It offers a full buffet of training, systems, sales and marketing tools that have been used successfully by hundreds of offices across the country. They are available for you to plug into your business to help you grow. We know they work, but at the end of the day it is up to you how to integrate our programs and systems into your business.

Of course there are inevitably franchise fees, ranging from 6 to 10 percent depending on who you sign with. In the end, you must weigh the opportunity to improve and grow your brokerage vs. the time and dollar investment it will take to do it on your own. Ask yourself these questions: Can I get where I want to be on my own? How do the costs compare? How long will it take me to do it myself? Am I happy with my work/life balance? Am I effectively competing in my market? Can affiliation help me stay ahead? Can it help me reach my goal faster?

Is The Weichert Franchising System The Right Opportunity For You And Your Brokerage? 

Critical to getting the most benefits out your affiliation with a real estate franchise is committing to the right franchise partner. Different franchise opportunities offer different operating models which can lead to different results. Some large, well known real estate brands for example, offer little more than their logo and branding to their affiliates. The Weichert Franchise System couldn’t be more different. Our affiliates are taught a system for success which includes all the elements of the modern brokerage including lead generation and technology for example. The Weichert system is a real estate franchise opportunity developed by real estate agents and brokers with the flexibility to work within each brokerage’s needs, rather than offering a less effective one-size-fits-all solution. We offer access to the most sophisticated national lead collection and screening technologies in the country to support high-value lead generation for your brokerage. Our formula for growth combines effective online and offline marketing tools with expert, one-on-one real estate coaching and training, and even a proprietary real estate CRM which integrates your brokerage and fosters our complete lead lifecycle methodology. This franchise offering is part of a practical, hands-on partnership that brings continual innovation and support to each franchisee and keeps your business moving towards your goals even in the toughest times.

For more information on The Weichert Franchising System or the benefits of partnering with us through our real estate franchise opportunities, please visit our website: https://www.weichertfranchise.com/

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/franchise-vs-independent-real-estate-brokerage-finding-right-fit/ 

4 Reasons Why Using A Real Estate Contact Management System (CRM) Helps With Your Lead Management Strategy

In the real estate industry, leads are everything. They’re what can build your business, help you grow, expand your team and increase profits – but too often, promising leads can get lost in the day to day frenzy of activity. This is where a real estate CRM system comes into play. These software systems are developed specifically for the real estate industry in order to help your team make the most of their leads.  Here’s how:

• Better management of leads by agents on the go:

Productive real estate agents are often out of the office, whether it’s going door-to-door finding prospective clients, making listing presentations or closing deals. However, it’s equally important for agents to effectively and efficiently follow up on leads while conducting these day-to-day business tasks. Prompt and consistent follow-up is crucial in closing a lead and a CRM system allows agents to respond, track and follow up on leads wherever they are through smartphone, laptop or tablet.

• Fewer missed opportunities:

In a tech-savvy industry, potential clients and leads can come from a multitude of sources: from your existing book of business, website and social media pages as well as through phone calls and emails. Checking up on these manually can quickly become a nightmare and being unable to manage leads or stay in front of client needs effectively means missing out on opportunities. CRM systems make it easy to collect and respond to these queries through automated tracking, customized management and even automated responses. An agents’ leads and business contacts can be organized in a user-friendly interface and they can set reminders for follow-ups.

• Convenient integration with lead flow sources:

If you are fortunate to have a good source of incoming leads, the best real estate CRM systems will integrate with those resources, making it easy to follow-up on and manage the lead from receipt until close. For example, Weichert attracts more than 3 million web visits every month to its website, driving leads to its call center where they are screened, qualified and transferred to an agent in minutes. Those lead details are then transferred into the agent’s profile in WeichertPro, a proprietary CRM, where the agent can then use the software’s tools to follow up and manage the lead to close.

• Boosts customer service:

Customer service excellence is essential for any company looking to make a positive impression and get a leg up on its competition. CRM systems ensure that no queries go unanswered – which can be a real differentiator in the real estate industry. With innovative contact management, all your contacts are available at your fingertips and grouped to your specific requirements. CRM systems can even send timely, personalized emails on your behalf, without you needing to do a thing. These are the small touches that can make a big difference in your bottom line.

Get the Most Out of Real Estate Lead Generation with the Weichert® CRM System 

The Weichert Franchising System combines decades of real estate experience and expertise with cutting-edge technology, real estate coaching programs and tools, including an innovative, easy-to-use real estate CRM system. Designed to support real estate agents and agencies that want to grow and succeed in a tech-savvy market, this system focuses on combining high-quality lead generation resources with streamlined customer service and real estate business management tools.

For more information, please contact us today and see if the Weichert Franchise is a good fit for your brokerage.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/real-estate-crm/4-reasons-using-real-estate-contact-management-system-crm-helps-lead-management-strategy/

Real Estate Marketing – Get Your Agency Online and Growing

Marketing to today’s homebuyers and building a business is one of the toughest challenges facing today’s real estate sales teams. Not only are homebuyers faced with more housing options than ever before and a tough economic climate, they’ve also changed the way they search for, evaluate and purchase products and services. Flyers and print advertisements are decreasing in effectiveness, while online activity continues to increase. In this digital-first reality, the success of your real estate business comes down to one essential factor – is your agency’s online marketing up to the challenge? Here’s some insight into effective online real estate marketing.

Know Where Your Real Estate Agency’s Online Marketing Weaknesses Are 

Not having an online marketing strategy means missing out on sales – it’s just that simple. Many agencies find this to be a difficult pill to swallow, but if you’re struggling to connect meaningfully with potential new clients, having a strong and attractive online presence is key to correcting it.

Common weaknesses in online marketing strategies may include:

• Having a basic website that is not up to modern design standards, is not up-to-date or is not mobile-friendly.
• Not having social media pages, or never posting on the pages that have been set up for your business.
• Not forming a balanced marketing strategy that utilizes and integrates traditional and online marketing media.
• Managing your online marketing strategy internally through staff with little or no digital marketing expertise.
• Doing your online marketing when you have spare time, if you have spare time.

Understanding Why Online Marketing Matters 

For a long time, online marketing was treated as a fad that could never replace traditional and print marketing. However, this industry has taken off in a way that has impacted advertising and marketing for almost every business across the country and the globe. This is because it offers the one thing that modern consumers demand – instant accessibility. Being able to see listings as they are loaded over tablets and smartphones, viewing detailed tours of homes and apartments over Facebook and Instagram, being able to contact agents immediately about a listing and get answers to questions – these things are invaluable to today’s market. It also allows consumers to “check you out” before doing business with you and if your online presence is outdated or not up to snuff, you won’t be getting their call.

It is important to realize that feeding the need for instant, accessible and detailed information is a powerful way for growing a business. By developing online marketing expertise and implementing effective campaigns, your agency can tap into the market of today’s homebuyers on a level that they understand and respond to, through tools they are familiar with. Your clients are already on these platforms, so why aren’t you?

Speak to Weichert Experts for The Best Real Estate Marketing Tools, Training and Techniques 

The Weichert Real Estate Franchising System was developed specifically to assist real estate agents and agencies to not only overcome the challenges that face the property market, but also to transform these challenges into opportunities for growth and success.

Developed through decades of experience and expertise, our unique system offers the right combination of one-on-one training and support, industry insight, access to high-value resources, and real estate-specific CRM and marketing tools to access the modern consumer market.

For more information, please contact us today and see if a Weichert Franchise is a fit for your brokerage.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/real-estate-marketing-get-agency-online-growing/

The Benefits of Real Estate Coaching

Business coaching is an essential investment for anyone looking for that competitive edge in their market, whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or an entrepreneur looking to break into the industry. Real estate agents are no different. In fact, due to the pressures this industry faces and an increasingly tough market, coaching is crucial to the success and growth of individual associates as well as agencies. Here are just some of the benefits that real estate coaching offers you and your business:

• Tap into experience:

The best real estate coaching programs are developed by industry specialists with decades of experience behind them. They know what challenges you and your business are up against, and they know exactly how to deal with them because they’ve done it before.

• Hone your skills:

Management skills are essential to any successful business, but staying on the top of your game means constantly refining your approach, discovering new opportunities and strategizing on how to close them. A real estate coach acts as your personal trainer, helps evaluate your performance, introduces new ways of thinking and streamlines your game.

• Discover effective new tools:

There are plenty of tools and programs to help small businesses, but it’s important to invest in ones that are specific to real estate. Real estate marketing tools must address the challenges that real estate agents face day by day and month by month. The average broker will be faced with costly choices related to lead generation, real estate  marketing, real estate CRM systems, open house management, direct mail initiatives, social media and other comprehensive property marketing resources—not to mention understanding the latest technology available. These tools can be expensive and it is often difficult to vet and assess potential performance. Careful consultation with experienced experts is a wise choice.

• Put Systems In Place:

Many brokers have exactly what it takes to run their own business, but simply don’t have the training to put the right systems in place to build business, recruit effectively and manage day-to-day administration. Real estate coaching gives you the resources, training and expertise you need to transition from being bogged down to running a well-oiled property selling machine.

• Opportunities:

While access to real estate marketing tools is designed to increase high-value lead generation and increase sales, real estate coaching also opens you up to new learning opportunities. From access to local broker council meetings and regional rallies, to growth-orientated national conferences and teambuilding events your real estate business gets the opportunities it needs to network, receive valuable support, an ultimately harness your full potential.

Want the Best Real Estate Coaching Program in The Country? We’ve Got It!

The Weichert Real Estate Franchise System is more than just a brand for real estate agencies – it’s a comprehensive solution that combines decades of specialist experience with cutting-edge technology and up-to-date insight. With over 500 corporate and affiliate offices in 39 states, Weichert franchisees are proving the effectiveness of our system every day by transforming the way people buy and sell property. Joining the Weichert brand means access to essential resources for growing your business successfully, including expert, one-one-one real estate coaching, our real estate agent-specific CRM system, and industry-specific marketing and management tools.

For more information, please contact us today and see if a Weichert Franchise is a fit for your brokerage.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/real-estate-coaching/benefits-real-estate-coaching/

How To Apply Today’s Technology To Your Real Estate Business

Technology is revolutionizing every industry it touches, and real estate is no exception. With clients that are more mobile, more connected and busier than ever, brokers are taking advantage of these changes to grow, improve client service and make their mark in the industry. Find out more with these insights from Weichert, the specialists in real estate broker marketing.

5 Ways Technology is Impacting the Real Estate Industry

1. Technology for lead generation: The future of lead generation is the Internet, but key to transforming these leads into sales is the use of streamlined systems that gather vast amounts of information, disseminate it and transfer it to the relevant individuals as rapidly as possible. Weichert.com, for example, receives over 40 million visitors nationally per year* and thousands of online and phone inquiries per day. Thanks to our state-of-the-art system, these inquiries are followed up, sorted and passed on to qualified, affiliated agents across the country within minutes.
2. Online real estate marketing: Marketing your real estate brokerage online is a totally different ballgame than traditional print marketing, and without a proper understanding, it’s no surprise that some brokerages are missing out on this growth opportunity. With the right strategy and tools to make you efficient in doing it, brokers are able to reach more clients more often and more effectively through websites, social media and more.
3. Mobile, mobile, mobile: Mobile technology is so advanced that brokers can maximize the time their agents spend out of the office – and that means maximizing the potential for growing your brokerage. Smartphones and tablets allow agents to take high quality photographs, develop virtual tours and interact online with clients exactly when they need to. From live Q&As about neighborhoods with new listings on Facebook to responding to emails and queries as they come in, agents are more responsive and more mobile than ever before.
4. Real estate CRM systems: Customer relationship management systems like Weichert^®PRO are industry-targeted to meet the exact needs of brokers, agents and their clients. These systems are user friendly and allow brokerages to develop an exceptional level of client service by ensuring that information is logged effectively and all queries are followed up on, so no lead gets left behind. Keeping in touch and on top of your agents allows brokers to effectively manage sales activities, save time and spend more time building their business.
5. More face time: While some agents are finding that technology is getting in the way of real, face-to-face meetings with clients, it’s also true that with a slight pivot in sales technique and customer service, you can get more face time with a client than ever before. From Skype to FaceTime and Facebook calling, video calling is becoming a far more acceptable alternative to try when a client’s busy schedule makes it difficult to schedule in-person meetings.

How Do I Keep Up With All This Real Estate Technology?

Good Question!

At Weichert, we know that effective use of technology and digital tools is key to the growth of your real estate brokerage. Through the development of our unique franchise system, our industry-specialized online tools, real estate CRM system and expert real estate coaching, we empower affiliated agents and brokers to maximize the sales, customer service and lead generation potential that technology offers.

If you would like to find out more about the Weichert Franchise System or what we can offer you as a broker, please contact us today.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/apply-todays-technology-real-estate-business/

Instagram Live & Facebook Live – Using Social Media for Real Estate Lead Generation

It’s no secret that social media is an invaluable resource for building brands, generating leads and effectively marketing yourself and your services to potential clients – but what does this mean for real estate? And how can brokers utilize this resource properly? Here are some insights from real estate lead generation specialists at Weichert on two of the latest capabilities added to Instagram and Facebook, and how they are being used to market homes through social media.

Using Instagram Live For Real Estate Sales – A How-To Guide

This is a new feature on the Instagram app that allows you to stream real-time video. Unlike Facebook Live, these videos are deleted after each session, but you can also send them directly to individual clients using a direct message function. Instagram is a popular destination for younger home buyers, so if you haven’t built a following there for your agency, you should.

On Instagram there are three types of videos that you can create:

• Live video that disappears as soon as the broadcast is over.
• Normal video content that disappears after 24 hours.
• Boomerang video content which consists of a time-lapse series of photographs.

You can customize the settings for these videos to select who can see them, whether comments are turned on or off and even evaluate the video’s success through the analytics capabilities.

Simple, easy to use and effective, this is great for announcing a new listing or service, promoting a photo montage of a listing or even bringing attention to sales that you have recently closed. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy and you can do it spontaneously right from your cell phone. Try to get creative with this medium, for example, encouraging feedback on a listing’s elegant kitchen or kid-friendly yard.

Using Facebook Live For Real Estate Sales – A How-To Guide

Similar to Instagram Live, Facebook Live allows you to create and post videos to your Facebook profile. It’s great for encouraging engagement, as you can invite viewers to subscribe to your video feed, so they’ll automatically get a notification when you next broadcast. You can also select who sees the video and monitor comments and results.

This service is more business-orientated than Instagram Live, as it allows you to edit your video, add a call to action and even utilize Ads Manager for additional visibility.

Simple to use and very interactive, this is a great medium for sharing information on how to buy or sell a home, the latest news in your industry and even doing live tours of listings. Again, it’s important to get creative in order to engage your audience. Try showing off great neighborhood attractions in areas where you have listings, or tips on how to move on a budget.

Make Social Media Work For You and Generate Real Estate Leads

Social media networks offer exceptional real estate lead generation potential – if they are used properly, consistently and effectively. At Weichert, we utilize industry leading technology, expert support and real estate coaching programs to assist our affiliates in developing highly effective online real estate marketing strategies.

Keeping up with technology is a challenge for every broker, but we have the tools, training and resources to help you without getting in your way. Contact us today for more information on our services or to see if the Weichert Franchise Model is right for your brokerage.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/instagram-live-facebook-live-using-social-media-real-estate-lead-generation/ 

Best Way To Get Full Commission? Know Your Value.

In the ultra-competitive market for local home listings, the pressure to discount commissions is ever present. Some brands in your market may even make the discounted commission their primary marketing differentiator while selling themselves as full service agents. How do you compete with that?

Is discounting simply devaluing your services or something you have to do to survive? Here is some insight from the online real estate marketing specialists at Weichert.

Educating Clients About the Value of your Services

If you want to keep your full commission, you have to sell the value of what you do for it, plain and simple. A 4% commission from the other guy may sound great, but we all know he’s cutting corners somewhere to do that. Yet for clients, cutting broker commission seems to be the easiest route to saving money – and in their heads, this makes sense because they often lack the insight into what it is that real estate agents actually do. Taking the time to keep the client informed of the services you will provide at every step of the way is key. These include, but are not limited to:

• Start with a great listing presentation and local market analysis. If you impress them with the professionalism and thoughtfulness of your competitive research, you’ve immediately set yourself apart as a professional who is deserving of full compensation.
• Do the legwork - Scheduling multiple open houses, tours, inspections, re-inspections, conducting follow up, recommending small changes to make the house more sellable, running ads in local real estate publications, posting in supermarkets, mailings… the list goes on and you should be able to tell prospective home sellers exactly what they won’t get when they go to a discount brokerage.
• Most people hate to negotiate – It’s a fact, but as an agent negotiating deals is your bread and butter. Agents can spend hours presenting, convincing, and following up on an offer - and only their experience and negotiating expertise maximize the seller’s chance of selling quickly at the price they want.
• Expanded Property Marketing Exposure – This is achieved by accessing your real estate agent's branding and MLS platforms, the most important of which is its online space. Buyers predominantly search the Internet for housing choices, and it’s almost impossible to get the same visibility and access to buyers through a discount realtor.
• Accurate pricing – There are always properties that are overvalued by owners and may stay on the market for months or even years, just as there are undervalued properties that are rapidly sold for far less than what the owner deserved. Accurate pricing ensures a good result for owner and buyer, as well as a faster selling process.
• Executing the sale – Completing a sale is a complex process that is made far easier, faster and more reliable when taken on by an experienced professional agent and broker. A full service agent will often have a real estate crm system to help them stay on top of potential buyers and a transaction management system to manage the transaction in a way that for-sale-by-owners, or discount brokers will not.

Technology plays a vital role in achieving this and is another area where you can show the value you add at full commission. As an agent, you have access to expert online marketing tools for real estate agents, a broker who is able to properly leverage the full power of their local brand and reputation, as well as a network of financing, legal, and construction professionals who you can recommend and help manage for your client.

Transform the way you sell with industry-leading real estate coaching programs.

Built on the expertise of experienced brokers, technology specialists and real estate industry leaders, Weichert is focused on providing effective answers to the challenges faced by today’s real estate agents. From marketing strategies for agents and a cutting-edge lead generation system to the best real estate coaching programs in the industry, we provide all the solutions you need to build your business and succeed in even the most competitive climate.

If these tools and solutions sound like a good fit for your brokerage or you would like to find out more about the Weichert system, please contact us today.

Original content posted on https://www.weichertfranchise.com/blog/best-way-get-full-commission-know-value/