I would just like some of you to give me your opinion, as to how much difference being with a nationally known RE company makes in your business. I really need to direct this to those of you who have worked for both an independent brokerage, and a chain like C-21, Remax, etc. I'd like to hear why you feel the way you do as well. Thanks in advance for you input.

I really don't understand franchising in real estate. inventory is always locally developed unlike mass chains that can cut down the cost of creating supply and making more trimmed out infrastructure.

in real estate, your home owner needs a person with exact knowledge of his/her property including its local attributes that i dont' understand the purpose of franchising. maybe it's a branding thing that somehow makes sellers and buyers more comfortable? but not much more beyond that?

I have worked for both and find there to be no advantage between them.

It all depends on the broker, the support, the training and how much of that you need.

You need to take each brokerage on its own merits.

You will find that even offices of the same franchises seem to operate very differently from one another. Which I suppose explains the disclaimer "Each office independently owned and operated".

In any event, worry less about whether or not it is a franchise and more about what you want out of a brokerage.

R

I agree with RB. As an agent, I feel that the quality of training, personality of the broker and the group of other agents in the office are more important factors to see you succeed than whether you have a BIG HOUSE realty, or ReMax, C-21, KW on your business card.

Sure, there could be more possibilities that when someone wants Real Estate help, they might pick up the phone and call the RE office they have seen ads of, or drive by, but I guess you got to always be at the right place, at the right time to pick up the call.

I'll have to agree with RebelBroker as well. My agreement is because I've been on both sides. We've been with ERA, RE/MAX, even owned/started a C21 office.

I saw us doing way more for the franchise, than they did for us.

The key is to make sure that you offer what others don't/can't and to take care of your customers and clients. It really is that simple. As for relocation/referral business as a result of a franchise, I NEVER had one of any true quality. On the other hand, smaller brokerages (IMO) tend to be more personally involved and I've had many great referrals from other independents.

Our company is about as small as you can get.. Two people! I answer my own phone & make my own feature sheets, virtual tours, etc.. I am a technology freak, so I rely heavily on it to afford me more time.

The only desk fee I pay is whatever I want to spend on purchasing a new desk!

It's not for everyone though.

I just switched from a small, local company (10 agents or so) to RE/Max back in March.

I was doing some very consistent marketing to foreclosures with the small company and continued doing it with RE/Max.

I'd have to say that the phone has rung a bit more after the switch. I've had a few people comment that they really wanted somebody from RE/Max, or a big company, vs. the small company I was with before.

That being said, there has been no difference from my sphere of influence or any other marketing that I've been doing.

Having been with both small local and a national franchise I would say the biggest advantage is in leads and relocation. When someone is moving to your area they are more likely to use a company with national recognition. Same goes with the national websites for potential out of state buyers.

Thanks so much for all your input guys!! You have helped me more than you know.

I like working for a large firm. We're the biggest in our city and garner respect when we go on a listing appointment. I also have access to top producing agents nationwide, so we send and receive referrals to each other.

Now, I think you can get these same things from involvement in Star Power, CRS, etc., but it's built in at the large firms. We also have great training. I chose another franchise at first, but it was a newer operation and had zero training.

I am in a small independant company, and cannot see the sense in a franchise. Sure, many people automatically use the company whose name they recognize, but (at least in my market) the franchised companies average DOM is 192, while ours (and another independent) is 96... Maybe they recognize the name better because they see the signs longer? Anyway, you have to figure if the advantages outweigh having to pay more fees, give away a higher chunk of the commissions that YOU earned, and have more pressure to meet company quotas/production. Plus, having more rules and guidelines to follow concerning advertising and how you conduct your business. If you are an "Independent" contractor, why would you want to put yourself under big corporate domination? I don't see it, myself...

I'm a firm believer that a name-brand company has more to offer a newbie realtor.

I got my license last year. I immediately joined a small firm. The advantage -- or so I thought -- was that the company paid for twice-monthly mailings to each realtor's farm. I thought this would help me establish a clientele since I didn't have the funds to do it myself. Of course I pursued other chances to build a clientele but the mailings were my biggest opportunity.

A few months into my tenure there, the company pulled its funding on the mailings. That pretty much killed my chances of succeeding. In eight months I'd made $232.50. I switched to another brokerage thinking the dynamics would be a very good fit. Fast forward by eight months: no leads, no clients, and only $1,500.00 in income. Last week I declared "ENOUGH!" and accepted an offer from Keller Williams.

I am now on a team with the office's top producer. She predicts that I'll be making decent money within the next three months.

I am already scheduled to attend an all-day training seminar next week on how to generate my own leads. I have been promised as much training as I can stand! lol Neither of the smaller brokerages offered me formal training. I'd been left to flail indefinitely on my own.

I do believe that consumers are inclined to go with a name they've heard of.

Maybe big vs. small makes no difference if you're an experienced realtor with an established clientele. But I would advise any newbie to run to the nearest national company. Absorb as much formal training as you can, make a few transactions, and THEN decide if you should stay or go someplace smaller.

Karen,
I think that is good advice, and I wish I'd had someone to advise me to do that when I started.

I'm not new anymore, and I've learned what I know pretty much from my own effort to dig it out, and by personal experience. I attended the "school of hard knocks", is what folks around here call it. I have been with the same small company for 11 years.I love my broker and everyone in my office. I worked closely with my broker for several years as his personal secretary. That was a good gig for me. I learned a lot, and I consider him to be my friend.It's a great group of people.But,my experience was similar to yours...there wasn't any formal training.

I have made a decision since I started this thread, and have given notice that I will be transferring my license in the near future. At this stage in my career, I felt one of the smaller offices near my home would suit me better. I've been driving almost 40 miles a day just to get to the office. I'm looking forward to working from my new office, and being closer to home and in the area I want to work.

Thanks to all who contributed. You really did help me with this decision.

Ultimately, the client signs with the individual, not the company. If I can create a rapport with a seller, have a good plan, show myself to be knowledgable, competent, and trustworthy, then I earn the business.

Greg,
I believe that to be partially true but that National Brand awareness will give you the edge in what would otherwise be an even up match.

That is why brokerage owners are willing to pay those franchise fees. The name and logo recognition means alot in advertising and translates into increased revenues or those brokers would not be paying out those franchise dollars.

Let's hear what you have to say in 3 months! I've heard that one before...when I joined the largest firm in our area - a large office with 6 branches that is under the umbrella of a large franchise.

They claimed they had great "training". Although the person who conducted the training was wonderful, it consisted of 90 minutes a week with ALL the new people - at whatever level they might be. I stopped going after I had heard the same "first day introduction" spiel 4 times because every time a new person came in she had to start from the beginning again to bring everyone up to speed. The rest of the training I had to pay for. $250 here, $550 there. Pretty soon you are talking real money.

Referals?? WHAT referals? If the office chooses to give the referals, the relocations, the leads exclusively to "experienced" agents - that's their business, but they should tell the newbie this up-front instead of touting the power of franchise referals.

Mailings? I get postage on 300 "just sold" cards or "just listed" cards for each closing. The cards cost me over $100.00 per batch. YOu get postage on farming 4 times a year - but the farm is farm of THEIR choice, not yours. I found out after I arrived that all the farms in my CITY were "taken" and they were suggesting a town 15 miles away! I don't know a soul there. Now how much sense does that make? A great deal for THEM, but not for me.

Advertising for listings? Depends on the listing. If the listing is a co-op or condo, they won't pony up. I got so little advertising for the listings I had that I was forced to pony up as much as the firm or lose the listing.

Support for a big listing from the broker? Maybe. Maybe not. We had a fabulous opportunity for a huge listing of $4.5 million. For something of that magnitude, we really needed our broker on-board and probably present at the listing presentation. To say he was luke-warm was an understatement. Fact is, it was a bigger listing than our office generally handles and would cost a great deal up front. Had a more experienced agent come to him with a similar opportunity, I'm sure he would have been all over it. I understood the economics, but was bitterly disappointed with the response.

The lesson: make sure you KNOW what you are getting. Don't listen to vague promises like "our franchise has a wonderful referal network". That's great, but how will YOU benefit from it? or WILL YOU benefit from it? And if not right away, WHEN?

I am waiting for a very large closing to happen. It will be a while, but given the size of it, it's worth the wait. After that, I AM OUTTA THERE and headed for a smaller firm where I know several agents who were very happy with the training and support they got. The name only does so much.