Industry Perspectives

  By: HomeSmart Realty Advisors Co-owners Bill Kratz and Robert Foglio In today’s competitive real estate industry, with brokerage models vying for agents’ attention, it’s important to continue to stay ahead of the competition. Over time, it’s easy for a brokerage to become stagnant and lose their creative edge that draws agents in, but you can’t lose focus. We spoke to RISMedia about how we’ve managed to grow our agent count dramatically and help our agents succeed thanks to creative flexibility. There are many reasons why brokers struggle to attract agents, but we have three foolproof ways to help you

  By: Bryan Brooks Have you noticed inefficiencies in your back office? As a broker/owner, it’s critical to assess your brokerage operations objectively, so you can fairly determine whether or not your business is running efficiently. Check out this infographic highlighting three signs your brokerage back office is inefficient. For more information on whether or not your brokerage is running efficiently, read Bryan Brooks’ RISMedia article.   To learn more about the HomeSmart business model and why switching to a HomeSmart franchise could be great for your business, click here or contact Bryan Brooks at [email protected].

  HomeSmart Phoenix Designated Broker, Trudy Moore, discusses the importance of brokerages using an online transaction management system for regulatory review and risk reduction. See the full RISMedia article below. By: Trudy Moore In today’s litigious society, brokerages need to be using an online transaction management system for regulatory review and risk reduction. Whether your brokerage uses a proprietary system or pays to use one like SkySlope, you should be using a system that can manage mass amounts of emails and files of paperwork.   Depending on the location of your brokerage, associations and departments of real estate have different

  By: Bryan Brooks All residential real estate franchisors operate differently. Many have strict and rigid standards that limit the amount of freedom a franchisee has to make decisions for their own brokerage. These stringent standards present a problem for brokerages, because real estate is a local business. Real Estate Is Local It is the franchisor’s job to support their franchisees and give them the means to succeed. Franchisees should be given technology, tools and systems that are proven to improve a brokerage’s business operations, while offering flexibility so they can operate locally. Programs offered by the franchisor should help

  By: Bryan Brooks A broker’s strategy for recruiting is critical to the ongoing success of their real estate company. Recruiting is a great way to expand your firm and your profits. There are many tactics for getting talent in the door, sometimes it’s not enough to attract new agents — you want to attract top producers. While it’s easy to understand the importance of recruiting, sometimes broker/owners struggle to differentiate themselves from their competition, have a hard time meeting individual needs or simply don’t have the time to recruit, while they’re focusing on the other aspects of their business.

  HomeSmart President & COO, Ashley Bowers, discusses how brokers can protect their bottom line by reviewing and cleaning up their profits and losses. See the full RISMedia article below. By: Ashley Bowers Brokers and owners are usually so focused on the business of selling real estate that they don’t focus on the business itself. As a business owner, it’s critical to protect your bottom line. By reviewing your profits and losses, you can gain insight on how your business is operating—you can see year-over-year trends, and areas where cost reduction is possible and renegotiating contracts is necessary. It’s easy

  HomeSmart Consulting Broker, Jennifer Ridenour, discusses the steep learning curve of a new agent and how important it is for a brokerage to train them. See the full RISMedia article below. By: Jennifer Ridenour I regularly see new licensed agents come out of real estate school and ask the “Now what?”s and “How do I?”s that naturally follow. While licensing courses teach them many things, they do not teach them everything that they need to know; therefore, every new agent is going to be challenged with these types of questions: How do I represent myself as a professional? How

  Part 3: Preparing for growth Brokers and owners rely on the growth of their company to catapult their success. By merging with or acquiring a competing brokerage in the marketplace, broker/owners can quickly grow their business. In the first two installments of the three-part merger and acquisition blog series, Part 1: Identifying the Right Market and Part 2: Choosing the Right Deal, I determined the several factors which can indicate whether or not a market area and a specific competing company is a good fit for a merger or acquisition. In this third part, I will dive into the

  Part 2: Choosing the Right Deal Success and company growth go hand-in-hand. Every successful brokerage owner wants to grow their business. Merging with or acquiring a competing brokerage in your marketplace is one of the fastest ways to accelerate growth. In Part 1: Identifying the Right Market, the first of the three-part merger and acquisition blog series, I determined the several factors which can indicate whether or not a market area is ripe for your company growth. In this second part, I will guide you through the considerations you must make when identifying the right company at the right

As an agent, you’re busy. Balancing your clients’ ongoing needs, legal compliance and documents, endless technology options and marketing yourself is a massive task.