Agents have joined from Weichert, Coldwell Banker, Weidel Realtors, Century 21 Worden and Green, Era, Prudential New Jersey just to name just a few.

I have been reading other peoples blogs recently and have decided that mixed in with all the great Real Estate information and articles I am going to be blogging about my experiences in growing this great company. Sort of like a journal or diary… I must warn those who read the stories that I will make spelling mistakes, grammer mistakes, I will be curt at times and of course there might be some rude insensitive statements.

Today I will write about an agent who I know is right for the company!!!

Ya see I am having a challenge conviencing an agent to come to RE/MAX Classic, so I sit here at 9pm on a Saturday pondering what I can do to get her here… and here NOW!! I have always felt that I  can be very persuasive when it comes to anything that I truly believe in. I can handle objections with the best of them. I also know…I get a weird feeling (6th sense) when I am speaking to a person that I know will be the right person for Classic. Now that does not mean that every agent that we let come to Classic will fall under this catagory..just some of the agents here right now I knew would be a part of my life and company the moment I met them…freaky huh… This is one of those….

I am often asked why do I think we have been  successful attracting talented Realtors away from other companies? So while I have a few min. I wanted to write a couple down. Being the ADD guy I am, I want to journal a bit for memory sake, and if my thoughts are read by someone who finds some value in the process…so be it… I also will comment on my views of other company’s models …just for kicks.

What makes RE/MAX Classic Group different……

Company culture: The hardest thing to explain to prospective agents. The closest thing I can come up with is loud and clear in our company mission statement "Having fun, making money, selling stuff!" If you just hang around the office you feel the energy, hear the laughter and watch the production. We all take our clients and our business seriously, but we don’t take ourselves tooo seriously…  The company is built around people who will work harder than the competition but they also like to live life with  laughter in their hearts and a drink in their hands…last part kidding..sort of.  When some one is exposed to this culture they quickly fiquire out if they will  fit in and  they are drawn to it.  I just paused to speak to John and Mary Ann Grace and I asked them how do I explain the Classic culture. They also have a hard time conveying it…but they understood exactly what I meant and said that they feel that there is no other place like Classic…all good..I would say that almost everyone who has joined this company so far has either joined because they can feel this vibe, they need this vibe in their lives or they come and after a short time they "get it". It’s not a cult its….. a place where everyone walks in with a smile on their face, if they are having a bad day people notice and support them.. agents here actually want to see the other agents succeed…in fact the love it. A bad day at Classic is better than the best days at most companies.

Leadership: Not to pat myself on the back but…. I do have a pretty cool resume! I am just one of many people who are the heart and engine of this company. We have sooooo many talented, dedicated people…I am truly blessed…. They all care and I have not seen that in any other Real Estate company/office in the area. You can really feel it. As we grow, that will be the hardest thing to duplicate…but I know there are others out there. These people have PRIDE in or company, our agents and their own contributions to the greater good.

Knowledge: We got a bunch of years and experiences on this team Knowledge is key, if we do not know the answer..we find it… and we still are in the trenches everyday trying to find better ways, smarter ways! With knowledge comes training…I will address this in another article. but in short our mission of making good agents great and my personal goal of having Classic be ranked nationally for highest average agent production, tells you where we a going…

Management: The bar/industry is low on this..  I once wrote down a list all the area managers in a most my competitions offices…I looked the whole list over and ask myself who were the ones who brought value to the table, who could inspire an agent to do their very best…hummmmmmmmm…  Ya see its not their fault, I would never be able to judge their effectiveness to lead, because the industry and their company’s Real Estate model sucks, what I mean is the managers job is not to help the agents go from good to great but to:

1. Recruit…I mean fill the desks. Then they….. 

a. Send them to the company’s training. The thing that kills me is that I always here from other agents that they went to xyz company "because they have great training".  Then why do 75-80% of the agents who go threw that training FAIL!!!! I will get back to this in a later issue…

b.Then most companies pimp the new agents out to other "experienced" agents in the office for training..this is called a mentor system/program. I call it extortion.. I know "mentors" who suck as Realtors, I know "mentors" who are ethically challenged… and they are all mentoring tons of Realtors every year. If you are a good agent, you should not have time to help agents who are not going to be in the business longer than 18 month! You should be looking to work on YOUR business.

2. Get the exsisting agents to recommend the company’s other companies.

3. Kiss the asses of the top people..  I have never seen ass kissing  bring value to any agent or the company, I have done the research.

4. Convey company policy.  could be helpful, but most of the time its about floor time schedule issues and wearing a tie.

5. Putting out fires… When you need to be constantly bringing in new agents, there will be FIRES !!!!

6. Retention: that is a combo of both #3 and #5, and usually is not part of the managers job description until the agent has one foot out the door. It may include:

a. reminding the agent that they have signed a contract the states if the leave the company they will owe back all the bonus money they have received in the last 10 years, plus they must have a brain operation to extract all the shitty advice that they have recieved over those years (I think that it has something to do with something called intellectual property rights) plus there will be a curse put on their entire family and all their careers.

or

b. they will throw money at the agent and make them sign a new contract.(see a.) Why do agent not get that: OHHHHH now they will give me a raise….might be a sign that it might not be a good thing to take them up on that.

or

c. They will convience the agent that they suck as a Realtor, that the ONLY reason they have seen success is that they are attached to the mother ship and due to market conditions if they leave now they will be working at Mc Donalds in less than 18 month.(or poss. become a manager at said company with in 22 months)

The thing I cannot understand is that the manager gets bonuses on #1 and #2… can anyone tell me how that is not a RESPA violation???? With this structure who losses…. the pro-active agent who wants to learn and grow.

I like this blogging….it helps me get out so much frustration…..WOW

Always constantly learning and growing: I believe, and I have surround myself with others who also do, you never re-invent the wheel, you always are looking out for a better way, and everyone in the company is apart of the process. It never is MY WAY….its a group effort. Another thing is that we look out side our own industry for better ways. like the Ritz Carlton for service advice as an example.

REAL Mentors: I have been blessed to call some of the greatest minds and people in this industry and others my friends. You cannot put a value on what this brings to the table for RE/MAX Classic Group. What the agents cannot see is that Chris and I are constently being coached, getting advice and brainstorming with some unbelievable people.

I am done ranting and raving for tonight… In ending I just want this person know that their future would be in great hands if they allowed us to help in their growth, and I also want them to know that time is something you cannot get back..I know how hard it is to make a change, I respect everyone who takes that chance with Classic… I just know its the right chance for that individual. How do I know????? I just know……

Final thought to the question I posed in the beginning:

What makes RE/MAX Classic Group different?  The answer is You 

and everyone who has joined before you!!!

Happy Independence DAY!!!!!

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