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You're alluding to the idea that there's jealousy there - I don't think that's the case at all. Overall, RE/MAX agents are better producers & more experienced - and a lot of them just don't "get" the young whippersnapper & the supposed culture of KW.
It's less jealousy and more of a head tilted to the side like a confused pup and a "Huh ... what the hell is THAT about?" attitude.
I have experience with both brands and I completely and totally agree ... but in reverse.
Working for KW was like being in the Mean Girls movie. Nice to your face and just as your head was turned half way, the eye roll started and the knife came out headed for your back. I have never heard so many backhanded complements in my life. And this was the most fiercely competitive office I'd ever seen - I am extremely competitive by nature, but these people drove me insane.
Now, let's add to the mix that one of KW's top producers is your broker. In theory, "wow ... you can really learn from her team!" In practice, I saw her once, the day I was recruited. Her & her team worked in an entirely separate wing from the main office - there was no interaction whatsoever. Two years into KW, I sent her a personal email asking when her timeline was for the new office to open. (I had been told the day I signed that plans were in the works for an office more local to me - they had made it seem like it was to open in a couple of months.) I told her I was struggling with the distance to the current office and felt I was flailing. Her response? "Well, Chuckity, YOU need to recruit agents so we can get that office open. Recruit, recruit, recruit!!" Nothing about how she could help, what did I need, what could the office do ... nope.
RE/MAX was a completely different experience. Several of my areas top agents are with this particular office ... and because they are at the point in their careers of being completely & totally self confident, they don't look at other agents as competition but as colleagues. The day I transferred my license to this office, the broker (who doesn't compete with her agents, btw) send out a mass email welcoming me. By the end of the day, most of the agents had sent me a personal email. And when my husband was hospitalized? Agents jumped in, helped my business - even took care of putting up my signs on some new listings. THIS was a team atmosphere.
Now, my brokerage isn't perfect. I have some serious bones to pick that have nothing to do with the RE/MAX structure itself, and more to do with the fact that I bristle under any kind of authority.
But I always find it amusing when other agents paint a picture of how ABC Realty is "supposed" to be. I'm sure you'll find some that fit the bill - others will be the complete opposite.
It truly is dependant on your individual broker AND your own personality. My experience with KW sucked overall ... but it wasn't really that KW sucked, the way this particular broker ran her office sucked. And RE/MAX isn't always a slam dunk ... I'm 100% positive there are horrific experiences with the balloon ... but again, it's not necessarily the balloon, but the broker.
Some office & agents are like oil and water, and some are like finding the missing piece of your sales puzzle ... you just need to find the one that fits.
Your experience at KW is sad, and absolutely cements the great advice given the OP from the get-go.
FWIW, rabdella and I work in a KW Market Center where the Broker doesn't write business. The broker-in-charge is support and leadership, not competition, to agents from newbie to veteran.
But, franchises can vary in local operation.
That is why the OP was properly guided several times to shop brokers and offices, not specific national firms, and to not get hung up on profit share at KW as a determining factor in selecting an office association.
Prior to the hijack, that is.
Your experience at KW is sad, and absolutely cements the great advice given the OP from the get-go.
FWIW, rabdella and I work in a KW Market Center where the Broker doesn't write business. The broker-in-charge is support and leadership, not competition, to agents from newbie to veteran.
But, franchises can vary in local operation.
That is why the OP was properly guided several times to shop brokers and offices, not specific national firms, and to not get hung up on profit share at KW as a determining factor in selecting an office association.
Prior to the hijack, that is.
I a million percent agree ... and said as much from the very beginning.
The only reason I posted in more detail than the first time was to directly respond to the post from Rickabdella ... because again, to try and fit brokerages into neat little boxes doesn't quite work all the time.
[quote=Chuckity;15373620]I a million percent agree ... and said as much from the very beginning.
The only reason I posted in more detail than the first time was to directly respond to the post from Rickabdella ... because again, to try and fit brokerages into neat little boxes doesn't quite work all the time.[/QUOTE]
Amen!!!! It's the model that I have been critical of! Not the people and certainly not that one firm including my own is a come one come all situation.
What I am discing is the lack of understanding of how the models are presented, but then that is part of the model isn't it?
I have been a licensed Realtor for 25 years - 23.5 of those with ReMax. For a few years recently a stepped away and did mortgage origination only. I was the "in house" lender at two KW offices. Let me tell you first hand - it is definitely a pyramid scheme. Wonderful for the people who get in first and then bring in all of the other agents. If you don't want to go out and recruit people to put in your "down line" you won't be getting much in the way of residuals. There is nothing to make people use the in house lender or title company. As a matter of fact, there was constant griping about not getting enough profit-sharing when, in fact, most people who owned shares did NOT encourage their buyers to use the lender/title services provided.
As for education, how about a course in "how to turn floor calls into $$" taught by someone who did only 2 deals in 1 year!!!!
On top of that, you have to pay in over $21,000 per year in fees or 30% of every dollar you earn until you "cap".
I don't think this is a concept or a company which will be in for the long hall. ReMax, on the other hand is a premiere company, recognized as a haven for serious real estate professionals who are, or want to be, top producers. Try to find a ReMax agent who will put you on their team. You can benefit by utilizing everything that ReMax University offers on line - classes taught by leading real estate professional who know how to get the job done.
Again, it is a great concept for someone who wants to open a business with no risk - use the money from the original core group who have to by shares at about $7500/per share or more. If the business goes under, the founder loses nothing but the investors lose it all. Is that really where you want to be?
So this all reinforces what most of us tell new agents. A brand is important but it is wise to meet all the local brands to make sure to get with the office that puts the agent in a position to be successful. That office depends not on the national brand but the local leadership. New agents should go with the firm that offers them the best training and tools.
I don’t know why I’m doing this – I should have just stuck to the original thing I was going to post which I did write, "Forget about the profit sharing at KW as a new agent - it is just icing on the cake that should not be a major point of your decision. You should focus on available and low to no cost training."
I guess it’s because it’s late and I can’t sleep – but here goes…
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity
You're alluding to the idea that there's jealousy there - I don't think that's the case at all. Overall, RE/MAX agents are better producers & more experienced - and a lot of them just don't "get" the young whippersnapper & the supposed culture of KW.
I admit I got sucked into the ReMax vs KW debate that hijacked this thread by someone that thought it was necessary to continue to bash KW as a company.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity
I have experience with both brands and I completely and totally agree ... but in reverse…. My experience with KW sucked overall ... but it wasn't really that KW sucked, the way this particular broker ran her office sucked.
I did write "Of course every office is going to have its own feel to it." Just because your personal experience at KW sucked doesn't mean that every office is like that. Of course there are bad KW offices I wouldn't give a thought to being in. But that is no reason to continue to bash KW as a company by some people who really don't understand it.
I’m not sure what your particular problem was but are you talking about your Team Lead, your OP, where was the ALC, was this office following the guidance of KW?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity
It truly is dependant on your individual broker AND your own personality.
I also stated that "A lot of people say that it's important to get with the right broker - which is correct until that broker leaves which happens sometimes." Which means that I agree with this to a point. To completely hook your wagon to another individual (broker) that can leave at any time or is only part of a bigger picture has some risk to it. That's why it is good to have a basic understanding of where the ownership wants it to go, what the office is supposed to be like according to the overall culture of the company and the ownership group, and who else is involved in the decision making of the office.
In my office I don’t really have a “broker” – I am a broker. I have a Team Lead who is responsible for agent production and growth, I have an Operating Principle who is responsible for the office vision (among other things), and I have a Broker In Charge who is responsible for adherence to laws, rules, and regulations – none of whom are producing agents that I have to compete against. We also have an Agent Leadership Council comprised of producing agents that have a large say in the working and decision making of the office. Not to mention the ownership group that has a ton of decision making power. So which one of these ‘brokers’ do you want to hitch your wagon to? This is a professional, model driven, highly profitable, office with a variety of people that have input into the office decision making process.
IMO, to only boil it down to “your individual broker AND your own personality” is too simplistic for anything other than a mom and pop operation – even if it is a franchise of a huge company. If you want to say “your individual office AND your own personality” I'm all in.
That helped, I think I bored myself enough to go to sleep now…
Last edited by RickAbdella; 08-07-2010 at 11:50 PM..
Reason: to tone down
So this all reinforces what most of us tell new agents. A brand is important but it is wise to meet all the local brands to make sure to get with the office that puts the agent in a position to be successful. That office depends not on the national brand but the local leadership. New agents should go with the firm that offers them the best training and tools.
Yes, Brandon, you are absolutely correct! Some outstanding people in the biz, such as you appear to be, take advantage of the "brand" which allows them to achieve success so much easier than working with a "brand" which is still more of a limiter than an enabler.
Like the fellow selling freezers to Eskimo's, some will succeed inspite of themselves, but for me, I need what the balloon offers to make my success so much easier.
Bottom line, successful people will succeed no matter the obstacles...
I did write "Of course every office is going to have its own feel to it." Just because your personal experience at KW sucked doesn't mean that every office is like that. Of course there are bad KW offices I wouldn't give a thought to being in. But that is no reason to continue to bash KW as a company by some people who really don't understand it.
I wasn't bashing KW as a whole - I thought I made that abundantly clear. I mean how much clearer can I be by saying: ... but it wasn't really that KW sucked, the way this particular broker ran her office sucked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RickAbdella
I’m not sure what your particular problem was but are you talking about your Team Lead, your OP, where was the ALC, was this office following the guidance of KW?
Let's see, the mysterious ALC ... kind of like the Skull & Bones. Okay, seriously, I get the concept and I don't mean to poke fun - but I really didn't see the point. Truthfully, I don't know what the hell they did besides have meetings and get their pictures up on the wall.
This particular brokerage has gone through several TL's ... I think there were 4 in my first year alone and many more since then.
The core truth about this particular brokerage is quantity over quality. And I just now discovered something quite sad really about this KW office - I looked up to see how many agents they had (it's about 80) but 2/3s of them have only been licensed for about 2 years. Why can't they retain agents?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RickAbdella
I also stated that "A lot of people say that it's important to get with the right broker - which is correct until that broker leaves which happens sometimes." Which means that I agree with this to a point. To completely hook your wagon to another individual (broker) that can leave at any time or is only part of a bigger picture has some risk to it. That's why it is good to have a basic understanding of where the ownership wants it to go, what the office is supposed to be like according to the overall culture of the company and the ownership group, and who else is involved in the decision making of the office.
In my office I don’t really have a “broker” – I am a broker. I have a Team Lead who is responsible for agent production and growth, I have an Operating Principle who is responsible for the office vision (among other things), and I have a Broker In Charge who is responsible for adherence to laws, rules, and regulations – none of whom are producing agents that I have to compete against. We also have an Agent Leadership Council comprised of producing agents that have a large say in the working and decision making of the office. Not to mention the ownership group that has a ton of decision making power. So which one of these ‘brokers’ do you want to hitch your wagon to? This is a professional, model driven, highly profitable, office with a variety of people that have input into the office decision making process.
IMO, to only boil it down to “your individual broker AND your own personality” is too simplistic for anything other than a mom and pop operation – even if it is a franchise of a huge company. If you want to say “your individual office AND your own personality” I'm all in.
That helped, I think I bored myself enough to go to sleep now…
Too many cooks for me. Case in point, my own experience.
But if it works for you and other KW offices, great. Truthfully, I'm all about other agents & brokerages excelling because of quality ... the more the real estate industry is portrayed as a group of serious sale professionals instead of fly by night whackjobs, the better off we'll ALL be.
I took issue though with your painting each franchise with such a broad brush: " ... but if it comes down to these 2 companies, match your personality to the comments above - if you want to compete against agents in your own office - go with ReMax, if you want to support and be supported by other agents in your own office go with KW." It's just not true ... and you can't - and shouldn't - make such broad generalizations.
I wasn't bashing KW as a whole - I thought I made that abundantly clear.
I wasn't referring to you - sorry if you thought I directed that at you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity
I took issue though with your painting each franchise with such a broad brush: " ... but if it comes down to these 2 companies, match your personality to the comments above - if you want to compete against agents in your own office - go with ReMax, if you want to support and be supported by other agents in your own office go with KW." It's just not true ... and you can't - and shouldn't - make such broad generalizations.
I agree that broad generalizations should not be made and I will do my best to avoid that in the future - if you agree to do the same - like when you said
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckity
RE/MAX agents are better producers & more experienced
I wasn't referring to you - sorry if you thought I directed that at you.
I agree that broad generalizations should not be made and I will do my best to avoid that in the future - if you agree to do the same - like when you said
I did think it was directed at me - sorry if I misunderstood.
But, what I said about RE/MAX agents is a fact - and you dropped the first word of that sentence which in totality read: "Overall, RE/MAX agents are better producers & more experienced."
ETA: But I also don't believe that to be successful you have to have a hot air balloon on your business card either. There are top producing agents hanging their license under every logo ... and I'm positive their production wouldn't change if they switched shops either.
Last edited by Chuckity; 08-08-2010 at 10:47 AM..
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Keller Williams
Okay, seriously, I get the concept and I don't mean to poke fun - but I really didn't see the point. Truthfully, I don't know what the hell they did besides have meetings and get their pictures up on the wall. 
