Launching change in a brokerage Standing on the ocean’s edge just after dark in New Smyrna Beach, Florida earlier this year, I witnessed an amazing event as SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center 40-miles to the south. The three engines, with thrust equaling eighteen 747 aircraft, propelled the huge Read more…
The surprising reason why brokers sell good companies Warren Buffet famously said, “The real thing to do with a great business is just hang on for dear life.” However, many real estate brokers do sell their brokerages and the primary motivation behind the decision to sell is not always financially Read more…
The Top 5 Brokerage Challenges One of the biggest challenges as a real estate broker is always having to be “the smartest person in the room.” Literally, everyone looks to you for answers and guidance which can be a challenge in a rapidly changing environment. A favorite quote of mine Read more…
Why determining brokerage value is so hard “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” said famed Major League Baseball outfielder and manager, Frank Robinson. While his famous phrase coined in 1973 graphically makes the point that being close to achieving something doesn’t actually provide real benefit (other than in Read more…
Three basic areas for brokerage growth Mark Twain could have been a real estate broker when he said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” While there are fundamental differences, many pundits like to compare today’s real estate market to the days preceding the pre-2008 housing crisis. Certainly, the industry is Read more…
The good news & the bad news The words jumped out at me from an old sheet of lined notepad paper in a thick file that I had kept through the years, “This business is about challenging times. Either you’re in one now, or you’re just coming out of one, or you’re Read more…
Finding the opportunities in your market A mere week had passed since Hurricane Ian tore through Southwest Florida, leaving a swath of damages that could reach as high as $250 billion, and yet inside this once beautiful real estate broker’s office, workmen were already at the task of rebuilding. Talking Read more…
Keys to a strategic brokerage recruiting program Over coffee recently, a broker with 150+ agents, confided to me that he was losing agents to the aggressive recruiting activities of his competitors. As I listened, he said he was planning to gear up his own recruiting efforts at the end of Read more…
What’s the real driver of value in a brokerage? “Why would I sell if I was making that kind of money,” he asked dismissively. The broker wanted to discuss selling his brokerage and cashing out. He had just voiced his thoughts on its value, and he had a really big number in Read more…