By Dave Robison
Have you ever received a letter after a closing from the other brokerage thanking you for the successful closing? Have you been bombarded by e-mails stating that XYZ Brokerage has the best broker and systems to help you be successful? There are literally hundreds of brokerages to choose from, and yet I feel they say the same thing: higher splits, best service, etc., etc.
The question is, how do you really know XYZ Brokerage is going to help you more than ABC Brokerage? Is it by the number of agents at the brokerage? If the brokerage has hundreds of agents, maybe that is the place to go? I have had a thought lately that if an agent wants to choose a brokerage that will help them succeed, it’s time to find a brokerage that is willing to put their money where their mouth is.
When I was a kid, I remember I wanted a Sports Illustrated subscription. It was the cool magazine for kids to read. I asked my mom and she said that if I practiced the piano a few times a week and did some other chores she would get me the magazine. I got the magazine, but you know what…I never did any chores or practiced the piano. I remember thinking, “Mom hasn’t even asked me if I did what I agreed to.” I remember thinking she must not care, so I never did it but I still got the reward. I occasionally think of that moment and the principles of accountability. My mother never had a system of holding me accountable. I was free to do what benefited me the most. Since I wasn’t held accountable, I didn’t perform.
In building a real estate team, I learned that people perform if they are held accountable. When you are held accountable, you put your money where your mouth is. You perform or you don’t benefit.
I believe there is a brokerage of the future that would embrace this principles of accountability. Today, if a brokerage wants to grow profitability, they recruit an unlimited amount of agents. They may promise to help you be more successful, however, they are free to recruit your competition to help them be profitable as well. If we are to apply the principles of accountability to a brokerage, then it would be structured differently. Imagine a brokerage where they only had a limited amount of agents. Let’s say 100 agents. How would they grow profitability? The only way they would grow is if their 100 agents continually sold more homes and were more successful. Now their focus is on you being more successful (not recruiting their fallback) because they are held accountable to it. I believe the broker/owners would innovate and personally grow from it. This is a brokerage that puts their money where their mouth is.
Are there any brokerages that you know of that do this? Is it a brokerage of the future? Would you prefer to be with a brokerage of 1,000 agents doing three deals a year, or a brokerage of a limited amount of 100 agents who are all doing 50 deals or even a 100 each a year? Who will put their money where their mouth is?
Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker/owner of Robison & Company Real Estate.