Not Your Typical RE/MAX

When I first went to the RE/MAX Broker/Owner training in Denver, I was overwhelmed with a wealth of knowledge, and a little salesmanship on the trainer's part, but it did seem to get the other owners excited and sold on the concept. I've been in sales pretty much my whole life, and started in real estate at Sibcy Cline. I quickly realized that I had given them $20k in 6 months and needed to make a switch. I wasn't about to join a Coldwell, Irongate, or Prudential, as I knew the commission splits there weren't any better. So I joined Valley Real Estate Services, an aggressive high commission company, that had sent me a plethora of emails. Valley was a medium sized independent with 100 or so agents. I had great success and my best year every utilizing ideas the company gave me.

I was about to open the first franchise for Valley, when Scott Harris the owner said "Wait! Let's open a RE/MAX!" He then proceeded to show me the RE/MAX he wanted to emulate. RE/MAX Towne Center out of Columbus, OH. They didn't charge the $1000+/month that many of the other RE/MAX's around were charging. They had the hottest spot in town and they quickly grew to over 100+ agents. I said, "Let's do it!"

RE/MAX is an interesting concept. I've read Dave Liniger's "Everybody Wins", and it was an interesting story to me. I have agents join my office that say that Keller's book blows it away and yada yada yada, but I haven't gotten the chance to read it for myself. I'm sure that I will post again after doing so. I will say that Keller Williams agents really buy into the lifetime residual income idea, and RE/MAX agents do think they are the cream of the crop and typically are at least decent producers to afford a traditional RE/MAX's monthly fees.

So now that you've read my life story, you're probably asking yourself, "Why am I reading this?"

First of all, this is not a RE/MAX vs. Keller debate. I think that both are great companies, but historically they have catered to somewhat different agents.

You are reading this because we (RE/MAX Victory) have gone in a different direction than most RE/MAX's and though we've faced resistance, we have quickly become to the Fastest Growing RE/MAX in our Region!

Gone are the days when RE/MAX brokers could charge high monthly fees. Sure, I believe the value is there and I won't sell against it, but the market has changed, the industry has changed, and the agent mindset has changed. This is apparent with the mass exodous of RE/MAX agents nationwide, that simply couldn't afford the monthly fees when the market went South.

Agents no longer need offices, there is a Starbucks on every corner. So how have we survived and grown to over 30 agents in less than a year? We adapted...we evolved.

If RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and a majority of small independents across the country had a baby...it would be RE/MAX Victory.

Yes, we did follow the basic model of having the high end office in the hottest spot in town. But we also adopted a "Remote Agent" program that allows agents to work from home or on the road, and DHL picks up their shipments from their homes. We have an awesome back-end website (www.victoryatthegreene.net) for them to upload their documents, and download our forms and anything else they need. They are completely independent and truly follow the RE/MAX motto, "Your Business, Your Way!"

We have gone away from the high monthly fees.

We only charge $199/month and a $199/transaction fee for the first six months on a 95/5 split. It increases to $299/month and $299/transaction, but we've capped the transaction fees at $10k.

Yes, we actually lose money (approx. $50/agent/month) to the regional and international fees for the first six months. If they close only one deal in four months, we don't lose anything and I'm sure there are plenty of other Brokers out there that that have been willing to lose a year's worth of monthly fees trying to recruit an agent. The idea has been around for a long time folks, it's called a loss leader. And yes, we do have other plans available.

We also tapped into the lifetime residual income idea. We simply call it our Partner's Program. For agents, if you recruit another agent on our $199 program, you receive 1% of their commission for the life of that agent at our company. On some of our higher producer programs we even offer a flat $100/month for every agent you help bring on.

I will say that people DO recognize the RE/MAX name and balloon. This was obvious when first coming from a no name company, and seeing the difference at a listing presentation with the RE/MAX name. I do, however, think that RE/MAX International does need to reanalyze it's game plan or it may be beat at a game it hasn't lost in a long time. What will to happen to every real estate company when Google decides they want to play. You say, "It'll never happen, Wal-mart couldn't do it!" Well guess what, Google is bigger, more aggressive, basically has control of the Internet world and is already sitting on the bench. Don't believe me?...Google (funny it's now a verb) "Google Base" and see what you come up with.

We pride ourselves on being a leader in technology and thinking outside the box. We're not drinking the Keller Kool-Aid, but have tread away from the traditional RE/MAX model. We'll continue to adapt and progress as we do have the backing and support of the largest real estate company in the world, not to mention over $1 Billion in advertising.

I'd advise Brokers and Agents alike to shop around, see what the competition is doing. No office or concept is going to be perfect for everyone or we'd all be working for the same company. But the ideas and solutions are out there...you just have to Google them! :)