A House Divided

Curtain call and lights  grow dim
Tragedy, love all lie  within
Each player takes his  chance to play
And lives to fight  another day
    --The Damned, 1977

Our industry had its heyday. Business boomed. Organization memberships ascended. Buyers flocked. Sellers scored. The economy rocked. Good times rolled.

But that's  over. And the haze of 10 years of real estate's sex, drugs and rock and roll  has lifted.

The hotel room is trashed.
Many of you are burnt out.
Some will never be the same.

And what's left is …

A house divided

Let's not beat around the bush. There are deep issues festering in real estate. I've addressed some of them: The disconnect between the industry and the consumer. The barricades thrown up against discounters and alternative models. The 100-year war for control.

But brewing deep in the pit, at the bottom of it all, is a "War of the Roses" between real estate agents and brokers. A house divided. Michael Douglas on one side. Kathleen Turner on the other.

I've been inside the house. I've worked closely with brokers. I have at times worked even closer with the agents. The indignation is pervasive.

The Cause

l think you should hear  the story, though. lt might matter to you.
    -- Gavin D'Amato, "War  of the Roses"

Here's  how it all looks to me, a guest in the living room:

Brokers:

• The day you agreed to cave on splits you might have made your agents happy financially, but you lost their respect. Your concessions spoke volumes about your inability to provide equal value. From that day on they began to question your existence.
• As technology emerged, you failed to pounce. You outsourced it to vendors. They stepped in. Rubbed your agents' feet and gave them their happy endings.
• Those hunting licenses you awarded through your affiliate programs were often not awarded to the best or the brightest. But your agents didn't know that. And after all that money they spent on things that didn't work, well … they feel you sold them out.
• You've recruited anyone with a pulse. Hence you became big rather than great. You damaged your brand. And shortchanged your best agents. You forced them to build their own brand. Or leave yours to start their own.
• You lost location where it now matters most: online.  Others -- the ones you now buy leads from -- are the local destination of  choice.

There are  more issues. Feel free to continue the list.

Agents:

• Your independence is a termite. It eats away at your broker's legacy. And destroys whatever meaning they attempt to place on their brand -- your brand.
  
  
• You're addicted to things that no longer make sense. Office space. Paper. Newspaper spreads with vanity ads. These cost your broker a fortune -- money they no longer have.
• You lag educationally. This is not about intellect. This is about knowing your industry and buying into the notion that real estate today is as much about technology, branding, marketing and service as it is about sales. And using it.

Brokers,  you have voiced more concerns. Feel free to add them to the list.

The Cure

Brokerages are not going away. They will consolidate. Agents are not going away either. Especially the really good ones. So in everyone's best interest here are some ideas for a truer collaboration:

Brokers:

√ Redo your corporate Web site. From scratch. Ditch the stock photos and confusing user interface. Get mapping. Get data. Rethink search. Focus on find. Make your site the  destination for your marketplace. Build something that adds value to your agents. Something that's an advantage to them,  not an embarrassment.

√ Get out of the cockpit and into your company's cabin. Start partnering with your agents. Form advisory councils amongst those with category savvy and allow them to participate in critical decisions that affect them such as vendor selection, listing partners, etc.

√ Rethink how you charge your agents. They feel ultra-squeezed having to support archaic processes such as cubicle workspace and 10,000-square-foot facilities that sit empty on Main Street.

√ Do something bold. Buy out a competitor. Strike while the iron is cold. Build an internal social network that connect agents with each other where they can communicate about listings, share information and tap into the collective.

Agents:

√ Co-brand with your broker. Especially if you're part of a still-strong brand. It simply makes no sense to be part of a company and not combine your brand with theirs unless the firm you're with is trash. Which then begs the question: Why are you with them?

√ Stop demanding useless things from your broker -- like that office space we talk about above. And buy your own pencils. Free your broker's profit and loss for new line items that matter. Wean yourself off things that no longer work -- that your broker pays for to appease you.

√ Attendance. Your broker needs you to show up at office meetings. Conventions. Award ceremonies. Even vendor presentations. From their top producers down to the newbie agents. This is your opportunity to show some solidarity. Lend your voice. Share your thoughts and help craft a culture -- the rebar of a brand.

A house aligned

Many of these things above are intertwined, and change will not occur unless these issues are exposed and placed on the discussion table.

Ask  yourself how young firms like @properties with a born-on date of 2000 rose to become the number four brokerage in Chicago with five-year, quadruple-digit revenue growth. The company is but one of several incredible examples of what happens when an operation runs with a house aligned.

It can be  done. It must be done.

- Davison

Comments

[Greg Tracy]

Great post, Marc.

When brokers and agents align themselves and commit to quality in everything they do the results can be wonderful for the agent, the broker, and the brand.

[REALonomics]

Apt. The pictorial imagery is a crystal-clear description of the wreckage, carnage and cannibalism of a self-serving industry that is now self-destructive by any measure.

Bad hiring practices, the development of ego-centered cultures that reward the selfish and finally just BAD business analysis and modeling all spell "failure."

All is not lost! The most salient statement in this post is, "The disconnect between the industry and the consumer."

The consumer figured us out before the now historical market run-up...they didn't like us then...they don't like us now.

For the industry, lead by NAR, the great precursor to Marc's "house aligned" is a cultural and PR vacuum that sucks out all of the residual, self-serving models and sends the consumer a new profile of who we really are and ought to be.

@Properties is a good example of thinking before acting; of putting business modeling before market-mania and a crisp and obvious penchant for meeting consumer needs.

The wrecked hotel room is one into which even the hired maid will not enter.

Although we are currently a mess - what a great door of opportunity we have in front of us!

Nice post...to which I say, "truth makes a post."

REALonomics
www.realonomics.net

[Kathleen Teare]

Right on - some of us in the industry have been preaching this for years but few wanted to listen - it meant change, taking charge, taking back your business and putting leaderhip skills on the line. To align is to win-win rather than the lose-lose that has been created. However, the strong can, will and have risen to the occasion - we will survive.

[Marc Davison]

Honestly, I think you can do more than survive. If done right and soon, meaning being first to market with a new and fresh idea, you can thrive.

[Matt Dollinger]

Marc,

Thanks for bringing my attention to this post and for your candor. You are (as usual)firing on all cylinders and hit it on the head. A couple of things I might add:

Brokers:

*Bridge the gap between your agents and make amends. Listen to their problems. Get involved. Offer CUTTING EDGE advice or hire a real estate coach who knows Business 2.0 to help them.

*DON’T give long lectures about, “Back to Basics” regarding postcards without meaning and cold calls. These work for some, but not for all.

*LISTEN and ENCOURAGE to explore emotional branding of their brand in alliance with yours. Help them to brand themselves and take it to the street.

*OFFER BUSINESS PLANNING AND ADVANCED EDUCATION: Help them learn about FHA financing, LEED certification, understanding social networking and more.

*Understand that you are on the same side. Cut the Us vs. Them bullsh*t and get over it. Your business depends on them.

AGENTS

*Don’t wait for your broker to embrace new technology. Get out there, read blogs, contribute, subscribe to Fast Company Magazine, talk to innovators in the market.

*Realize that your Broker might not know exactly what to do right now with regards to business. This is a journey and something you might be making together.

*Embrace radical changes your broker might be making. This might not make sense, but all movement is better than standing still

*Focus on doing at least ONE THING each week focusing on your differentiation, and then communicate WHY you are doing it to your clients

*If you company or your broker are unable to provide you with cutting edge business planning, training, or coaching look outside. There are plenty of us out there willing to share our experience

*Understand that you are on the same side. Cut the Us vs. Them bullsh*t and get over it. Your business depends on them.

It’s not enough to be forward thinking anymore… you need to be forward doing as well. Align yourself, and align your business for success.

By the way Marc. @properties has become the #4 broker in MRED (Formerly MLSNI) which spans 4 counties and all the suburbs around Chicago. We are proud to be the #2 broker in Chicago PROPER… at least for now.

Matt Dollinger
@properties
www.TheYouFactor.com

[ernest]

Thank you very much for your post. Absolutely very usefull to me. I'm like very much. Thanks

[anna]

Interesting read. I am really smitten with your use of Damned lyrics. Instant credibility, with me.

[Marc Davison]

Thanks Anna. Had the Black album on at the time I wrote this. It has influenced more than once in my life.

[ed]

Uh....absolutely very useful for me. Thank you very much for your great post. Good job.