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Does the sign count?

Over the last 19 years, I've worked for 4 different franchises...ERA, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker and Prudential. I've had different brokers try to solicit me over this time period....so the question is...how important is the sign, and how important is the agent?

I feel that the agent is the reason for repeat and referral business, although I've had people contact me because of name recognition of the brand.

What do you think?

Posted by Eileen Stern on 05/06/2007 07:46 PM

Comments (38)

38 Comments on Does the sign count?

MAY

2007

I personally don't think it is that important; however I love RE/MAx and have been with them 10 years.

It is the agent and the marketing and service they provide. That's my opinion

Eileen

If you are a new agent the company gives you instant credibility. But it wears off fast if you can't deliver what people want.

That being said, I don't believe the sign means much to most experienced agents, people will work with you, not the company.

I have also worked with both Coldwell Banker and Prudential in the past and now GMAC. I really think the difference is in the Broker not the company.

I am a single person office, people know me from my corner store, with a real estate office. They don't care about the name, don't remember it half the time! When they refer me, it is to "the lady up at the store!"

The companies you have been with have some brand attached to them. I have been with two and one was small and one was large and well known. 70/30 with the agent being 70. Why so many?

Does the sign count?? Depends on whether you are a listing agent or a buyer. If you are a listing agent, having a nice post sign helps get the listing. However, as a buyers agent, I know it has nothing to do with getting the house sold.

I have very simple signs because I don't list much. I lost two listings in the past year when other agents persuaded my sellers that my signs were not good enough. I cancelled the listings and watched the homes sit on the market for 6 and 8 months with the new listing agent with their nice signs. One agent even told my seller that my sign would get much drive-by traffic. Drive by traffic? On a dead end street 3 miles out of town off a country road??? What drive by?? Some agent will say anything to get a seller's ear. It worked. The gentleman is still my friend but he can use other folks' time for his grossly overpriced home for sale It's a year and a half now and it still hasn't sold, even with the great sign.

But, it was the signs that got the other agent's the listings.

We I first started I decided on a big name company for my market as I thought it would help. Now, all my business is generated through my website and blogs...and I only minimally mention my company's info. So, in my opinion, the company brand is not as important as the person.

I believe that the layout of the sign is more important than what company is on the sign. For example, there should be only ONE number on the sign --- YOURS, and not the company number. Why would you want your potential prospects going to the company duty desk? It is also important to drive clients to your website and that the sign MUST have your website on it.

You know, I have been wondering about this question too. I am currently with Coldwell Banker and I do see value in being associated with a larger company. However, I got a great offer from a very small newer brokerage. What is an agent to do? I decided to stay put for now, because all of the advertising dollars do serve me well. But this is a questionI think we will all struggle with at many times. Good post topic!

but don't you think that people pay attention to the Brand Name rather then the small unknown? Example:

I go to the dollar store I still buy Tide not the off brand, i think because I have this trust or worthiness about the name brand. I am struggling with this option myself. Is it worth it or not, I saw the grass it was not always greener. Thank you.

I'd say company reputation and sign recognition works best with prospects that do not know an agent. Once you have the established relationship clients will not care what sign is attached to YOU.

I think Dan summed it up perfectly. Its a combination of both. National name recognition has helped drive consumers to our site and through the company relocation department, but if you fail as an agent once you have the clients then it won't matter what company you are with.

I think that the only time that a specific logo or sign quality is detrimental is when the SAME one keeps popping up- then, it's time to try to find out what they're doing to get the business. How often have you seen inferior signage dominate the market? I haven't yet.

Whenever my company changed names or franchise, or when I changed companies - when I'd call to let my clients know, often they'd ask - and who were you with before? Having a (meaning any) recognized brand can be useful for a corporate relo when they don't know you, but for your clients, it's the agent not the company.

If real estate is a people business then the name behind the sign doesn't mean much. Since the sign is an entity, you better have a very good comfort level with your agent and thier reputation. Brands do not do open houses, advise you during a contract or negotiate with the other party. If real estate sold a "commodity", type product, the brand would take precedence. We are in a service based industry, and the level of success or failure is solely dependent upon the person's who's face is on the business card.

I think it depends on your geographic area and the company(s) that service the area. I decided to go with the #1 selling office in Harford County - Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc.

In Maryland, everyone knows the L&F sign. Just like with any business, its all about branding. L&F has done a great job with this.

The agent is far more important than the sign. The Broker is second.

I think the sign can matter a little. But the agent themselves is the bigger part, at least I'd like to think so.

I started with a small company, then left and went to Prudential early in my career. I have to believe in what I am selling at a Listing appointment. I believe in all that Prudential C Dan Joyner does, so it is easy for me to sell it! I could never work for a company that I didn't think did all they could do to get listings sold!

It's the agent and only the agent that matters. There are many agents out there working for big names without generating any business while others work for small companies and do extremely well. It's the agent's knowledge and negotiating skills that makes all the difference.

Rita Chelala

Keller Williams Realty Internationl, New York

05/06/2007

a great agent needs a great sign ... but it doesn't need to be a franchise name

a new agent needs name recognition - if they don't have it themselves, then they need the sign to get it for them

I vote for the agent, hands down!

MAY

2007

I thought it was the agent until about two month ago because I have almost always worked from referrals. About two months ago a very good friend, that I had worked with as a buyer, called and said,"we're moving out of state and we would love to work with you but we need a big company to sell our home fast". They went with the sign.

I think it's a double edged sword. I had someone ask me once if I was with XYZ (a large national company). I said no, why do you ask? They said they'd had a bad experience with an agent at that company and would never do business with them again.

I have been with 4 company's over the last twenty years. I personally believe it is the agent not the company that the client relies on. This has been reflected by my repeat business. I would save your hard earn money. Find a company that has the same values that you have and go make money..

No question Elieen; the vast majority of sellers list with an agent, not a company.

Like all things there are exceptions.

I my town Prudential does about 30 % of the business. Here the only name that counts is Prudential. The rest of the companies is all about the agent. Even at prudential the top two agents do about 70 % of there business,

Being a small, independent company I can speak from experience. It's about a draw....maybe a little bit in favor of the bigger companies. Most sellers go with ValueList because of our program and the fact that we ARE the brand name in St. Louis discount realty. That said, when I do lose one it's usually because the people felt more comfortable going with a bigger company. As far as which of the bigger companies, I don't think that it matters

Bob Mitchell

ValueList

I think visibility with the pubic is huge... I am obviously bias to Re/Max .... but more importantly I would say you need to establish some consistence and stay put. Find a home and market it..... Find YOUR home and market yourself ....

Personally, I don't think the sign matters much unless it's a sign of a company with a horrible reputation. If the company's rep is good, then it's the agent who sells and builds loyalty, not the company.

I think the sign is important in the larger cities. Not so much the recognized brand compared to another recognized brand, but how many people looking in the phone book are gonna call "John Doe & Company" when they have a huge Coldwell Banker advertisement right across the yellow page directory? I was with Coldwell Banker up until last October. The sign was beneficial to me.

With the advent of Internet use by home buying and home selling consumers, Internet advertising of MLS Listings, and co-operation between most brokers on the sharing of these listings with each other on their respective websites, the importance of being associated with one of the big name REALTOR brokerages is becoming less and less of a factor...

Anymore, the important thing in getting a home sold is the quality of the description of the listing on the MLS itself (and thus, the various web-sites), along with the number, quality and updating (spring versus winter) of the accompanying photos..

If a listing's description is "inviting" to the buyer, and the photos are recent, plentiful, and of good quality, the home will sell itself...

Anymore, the loyalty of consumers to any one company in particuliar is on its way out....

Buyers and sellers only care about who can get the job done.... It's all in the bottom line of money and service..

It's the agent, hands down, but a great agent combined with a big name is a pretty good combo :)

It is the agent, the person, not the company not the company name .... that is when it comes to repeat and referrall business. The company name is a little more important when it comes to new business. But we all know the future is always our past business....

MAY

2007

I believe the agent that makes or breaks the success cycle. The franchise can make the difference in how supportive they are of the agent and how much "easier" the broker makes it for the agent to do their job (i.e, moral support, visibility, office morale).

MAY

2007

My understanding of the sign is regardless of what it says, who's on it, or the branding, that the "For Sale" sign stills sells more homes than any other tool in the RE industry. I read this on an NAR article somewhere, I just don't remember where the link was.....darn!

I agree with the comments that the agent is more important than the sign. However, I have seen people attracted to the brand...kind of when you go to McDonald's or to Holiday Inn, you have some expectations. Our town's major players are Pru and Coldwell Banker, but we have an independent company where the broker comes from a long time Benicia family, and is quite successful.

I think the advantage of a franchise is that people get some idea of expectations on advertising format, signs, etc. The franchise has had marketing gurus design stuff, so there is some consistency and quality, and we don't have to reinvent the wheel.

MAY

2007

I know the agent is the most important, BUT the company is as well. I am confident that we have lost business by not being with a company with a bigger name. We have been trying to get business from people at the country club and those people choose the bigger names every time, they don't want anyone to think they went "cheap" by choosing an "off-brand" - they choose RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, or Long & Foster every time.

It's hard enough selling yourself and then to have to sell both yourself and the company, it makes it harder. Almost lost a listing last month because a client's friend had never heard of our company so how could we sell his house?

Last Friday we switched to RE/MAX.

JUN

2007

Sure it is the agent. BUT the "name" carries some weight. Besides my referrals I rely on the "name" to provide an image of integrity. The "name" also provides lots of first class support and in my area 30% of our business is from a particular region of our state and in that region, the "name" has about a 50% market share so there is benefit there too. But bottom line is still the agent.

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