PLATFORM

Chapter 10 addresses a question I am asked frequently: should I change agencies?  I typically respond by asking in reply: what makes you think that would be a good idea?  Often what follows is a vague description of unhappiness.  The agent is not satisfied with the support received, or the lack of referrals, or the unwillingness of the manager to address an obvious flaw, or the refusal to buy CoStar, or…

It becomes clear that the agent hasn’t really defined what they want from the agency and didn’t integrate those expectations into the discussion at the time of joining the firm. When I dig in, I learn that neither the agent nor the agency has a very clear vision of the value proposition involved.

In the chapter, I press the notion that the agent is the CEO of his or her own business.  They are almost always independent contractors, which should reinforce that notion.  “Independent” – it means you have the right, and the responsibility, of making your own way.  Most of the time, agents just say, “it means they don’t take taxes out of my commissions.”  Ouch.

Ideally, an agent (like a CEO) would have a defined business plan, complete with an underlying strategy.  That strategy might sound like this: there are 300 sales of medical buildings in the western half of the state, and my plan is to capture 5% of those sales each year.  Those 15 transactions each generate $100,000 net to me, so I expect to net $1,500,000 per year.

Once that business plan and allied strategy exist, the next question becomes much simpler: how does any given agency accelerate that strategy?  The agent has figured out that there are 10 tools that would benefit the pursuit of the business plan.  Which agency earns the highest score in relation to those tools?  This is the job of the CEO – decide which platform is best.

This analysis is better for the agency, too.  Ideally, they would create a value proposition that attracts agents with crystallized business plans.  I speak to this in Appendix A – a word to the managers.  Ultimately, the question of whether I should change agencies would be replaced by ‘what agency best serves my business plan?’  If so, the discussions between the agent and the agency would be so much more productive.

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