One of the most common structures of a real estate agency is that of a Franchise. There are advantages and disadvantages of selecting a franchise based agency as well as some myths and secrets I want to share about this structure.
A franchise model is a business within itself, it is not designed to sell your home for the best price but to make the franchise the most amount of money. Therefore decisions on the systems used to sell are focused on overall profit and not individual properties.
Over the years I would say my clients have equally used agents associated across all types of business models. My criteria comes down to who is the best agent for the property at that time. I also know that whilst franchises have a system they follow, I can personalise this where needed ensure the best result.
Pros Of Franchisers
Brands attract more business and so top agents that want to earn top dollar will often work for a franchise as it gives them greater opportunity.
Buyers in some areas may associate some brands as being prestigious and others as being cheaper. A brand can elevate your properties perceived value.
Cons Of Franchises
Agents are trained in the system and don't recognise how to give personal service. For example a franchise agent may be to focus on how to increase revenue with commission structures and pushing for auctions. When it comes to the skill of negotiation or being creative on selling a property that is not moving, they are not trained to deal with out of the box situations.
Myth
Franchise agents like to use the line that they have a network of offices and anyone in the franchise can sell the property giving you access to multiple agents and their buyers. Yes whilst in theory this is possible, in reality it never happens due to the payment structure and the power of the internet. Let's assume the person who sells the property gets 30% of the total commission. Do you really think the lead agent wants to give up thousands of dollars by sharing the listing? Plus these days the advertising on the internet directs all enquiries to the lead agent. In other words don't select an agent based on a franchise network as it is a myth that it adds value to your sale.
Secret
Often agents in a franchise have no idea how the marketing payments are arranged. There is an admin team who follow a process and no questions are asked on price. Did you know it is not legal for an agent to get a kickback on marketing in many states? For example if a photographer is $200 an agent can't get a referral fee as an incentive to select a particular photographer. However... A franchise is not an agent as so can accept referral fees. So they often set up deals with all their marketing suppliers to profit from each and every photography package, copywriting service, brochures package ad more. If something sounds too expensive, question it!
A franchise model is a business within itself, it is not designed to sell your home for the best price but to make the franchise the most amount of money. Therefore decisions on the systems used to sell are focused on overall profit and not individual properties.
Over the years I would say my clients have equally used agents associated across all types of business models. My criteria comes down to who is the best agent for the property at that time. I also know that whilst franchises have a system they follow, I can personalise this where needed ensure the best result.
Pros Of Franchisers
Brands attract more business and so top agents that want to earn top dollar will often work for a franchise as it gives them greater opportunity.
Buyers in some areas may associate some brands as being prestigious and others as being cheaper. A brand can elevate your properties perceived value.
Cons Of Franchises
Agents are trained in the system and don't recognise how to give personal service. For example a franchise agent may be to focus on how to increase revenue with commission structures and pushing for auctions. When it comes to the skill of negotiation or being creative on selling a property that is not moving, they are not trained to deal with out of the box situations.
Myth
Franchise agents like to use the line that they have a network of offices and anyone in the franchise can sell the property giving you access to multiple agents and their buyers. Yes whilst in theory this is possible, in reality it never happens due to the payment structure and the power of the internet. Let's assume the person who sells the property gets 30% of the total commission. Do you really think the lead agent wants to give up thousands of dollars by sharing the listing? Plus these days the advertising on the internet directs all enquiries to the lead agent. In other words don't select an agent based on a franchise network as it is a myth that it adds value to your sale.
Secret
Often agents in a franchise have no idea how the marketing payments are arranged. There is an admin team who follow a process and no questions are asked on price. Did you know it is not legal for an agent to get a kickback on marketing in many states? For example if a photographer is $200 an agent can't get a referral fee as an incentive to select a particular photographer. However... A franchise is not an agent as so can accept referral fees. So they often set up deals with all their marketing suppliers to profit from each and every photography package, copywriting service, brochures package ad more. If something sounds too expensive, question it!