Making connections

Franchisors such as Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate’s parent company Realogy — which also includes Century 21 Real Estate, Coldwell Banker ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty — as well as RE/MAX, Weichert, Realty Executives and Keller Williams, perform extensive vetting processes to make sure the brokers involved can be a credit to the brand and help it grow. The major franchise companies seek potential owners who have a willingness to step forward and embrace new ideas and innovations within the industry. They have to understand the changes happening in the market and the types of homes consumers are currently purchasing.

“In our DNA, we’re a lifestyle marketing company,” Bilgi says. “Consumers no longer shop for a house; they’re looking for a lifestyle. Homebuyers seek a property that supports their commute, their family makeup, school assignments and community services that fit their needs. We develop and support affiliated brokers who build lifestyle solutions for their clients. We look for brokers who can apply our tools to their teams and markets. At BHGRE, we don’t embrace a cookie-cutter mentality. It’s about applying our diverse set of tools to the specific goals of the affiliated brokerage and the unique components of their market.”

Bilgi’s work with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate calls for heavy involvement with that process, as he determines whether an agent will be a good fit for the company’s business model.

“We invest in relationships,” Bilgi says. “We take time to get to know candidates and we evaluate them carefully. We have to understand their culture, goals and challenges. It usually involves several one-on-one meetings with me, and then we advance them to conversations with our senior leadership. We have a team of people like myself who study market data and reach out to many brokers so that we can identify those that are a right fit for our model.”

Seeing results

In the early weeks of their franchise, Opyd and Qamar are working to make the most of their opportunity. They have hired other agents to help assist them with various clients, as well as a recruiter and a marketing specialist/graphic designer.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress, but we continue to improve,” Opyd says. “Our goal is to maximize the potential of what we have visualized for this place. Overall, I would say the decision was the right one and I think where we’re going to be is pretty amazing. But we’re not anywhere near where we want to be quite yet.”

Making the franchise model work involves following the vision that was laid out during the vetting process, attracting and retaining high-caliber agents and finding new ways to take the company to the next level through use of the tools and resources that are available.

“You partner with a brand like RE/MAX because they have great tools and technology, as well as brand recognition and support that you can utilize that you don’t have to create,” Gilbert says.

For Gilbert, the question of whether a broker is ready for a franchise comes down to leadership abilities and whether he or she is prepared to make a commitment to serving other agents.

“It centers around whether you’re a leader and you want to be a leader,” he says. “Are you ready to serve your agents and help them achieve their goals? That’s what it’s really about. For some people, that’s much earlier. For some people, that’s much later. It just depends on where you fit in that spectrum.”