Hi all, quick question. I am currently looking for a sponsering broker, one that I have been talking with seems good except for one detail, the broker say's he does not allow his agents to put their cell phone numbers on their business cards or news paper ads.He wants all calls to come in directly to the office secretary. Thoughts?

that sounds pretty controlling to me. Is there a way for the office to turn around and route the incoming call to your cell phone from the office?

No they don't

That's because he wants you to promote only his company with YOUR marketing dollars. I strongly disagree with this practice. What happens to all of your clients and contacts if you leave? Are they going to forward your phone calls to you? Nada!

I also don't believe in agents using e-mail and web sites that are solely owned and operated by the brokerage. Example: secretagentman@xyzrealty.com. When you leave XYZ Realty, do you honestly think that they are going to forward the e-mails to you?

Always promote yourself when spending your money and be in control of your marketing! If a brokerage does not allow that, then I would question their reason(s) why.

Ask him why you can't place the office number AND your cell number on YOUR cards! There is no reason other than what I have stated above for them to have a problem with it.

Good luck!

go to a different broker. seriously.

does your broker allow you to have your own website? with your contact info on it? if not, go to a different broker.

I've been there, done that, bought the T shirt. Though my previous broker would allow me to put my own cell phone and email on business cards, I was not allowed to have my own website; all online stuff was thru the broker site. I couldn't even have my own PAGE on the website - only the main brokerage site was allowed.

the reason for this of course so that they could go through all the leads and keep the nicest ones for themselves. if you have your own website, uh oh...those leads might come there instead of to them!

i'm sure the phone thing is the same way. If a customer calls from your business card asking for you, if you're not there the secretary will likely say "Are you working with 007?" Since the customer is likely new, they will say something like "No, not yet " and then they'll be directed to the agent on floor time, or the broker's son, or the broker himself...and you just lost a good lead.

go to a different broker.

go to a different broker.

had to be bought through the brokers website

LOL

yepper!

All my ads contain a cell phone number direct so that people who are interested to reach me can call and get a live answer.

Another issue I see about not having your cell phone number on your card, is what if it is evening or a weekend and someone has your card and wants to see a house. If there is no one at the office to answer the phone and they have to leave a message and wait till the next day to get a call back (which won't be you, but the floor agent). Guess what, they just hung up and called another agent whose cell phone number they do have and you just lost a sale.

I feel the broker is way too controlling and probably a little old fashioned.

Keep interviewing until you find a brokerage that fits the style of business you want to work in.

A little old fashioned?

That's being kind...I think the broker is a selfish, obtuse jerk face, but hey....lol

You could of course get around this by having your cell hand written on the back of your cards...and just leave a few blank ones in the office.

Run as fast as you can - my broker tried this with me but did not work. They want to keep the good ones for themselves or even charge referral fees for the leads to go to other agents. More money for the broker/company any way you look at it and less for you.

RUN, RUN, RUN.

Yes, they are already working with me. Now back off!

Seriously though, don't even bother with that brokerage. It is not worth your time. Tell the broker that you will not follow that rule and see what they say.

Write your cell number on the front when you leave it around.

Find a new broker.

This sounds like a broker that is pre-prepping for your departure. I would never... EVER hang my license with a broker that put this limitation on me. It just plain smells.

Find a new broker.... they are like buses man, another comes along every 15 minutes.

If the broker is paying for the cards and ads then it is a reasonable request. If you are paying, then you should be allowed to have your number along with the company number. In NC the company name and number has to be on all advertising.

If he won't let you put your number on advertising material you pay for then find another broker.

snip If the broker is paying for the cards and ads then it is a reasonable request. snip

And my understanding is that if the broker is paying for the cards, you are no longer an independent contractor. My broker charges a marketing start-up fee which includes certain items such as biz cards basically at a volume discount better than I could get alone, but my paying for them preserves my IC status.

Before I became my own broker I never checked with my broker about having my own personal website or phone on my card. I wonder if he would have allowed that. I just went and did it. He he.

The independent contractor status is a little more complicated than that.

my broker pays for the office phones that i can use and i am sure that i am an independent contractor. they also buy me business cards.

I get my cards free of charge too.

My office gives you your first set of business cards free (1000). You can put anything you want on it, as long as it's legal.

Yes, the IC status is MUCH more complicated than that. But that is one of the first red-flags they look for.

all we should be seein is "azzhole and elbows"

run