Synopses & Reviews
Keeping up with the fast pace of innovation isn't easy. The day-to-day challenge of running a real estate brokerage in today's red-hot market doesn't allow much time to think about the big picture. That's why Broker to Broker brings the fresh ideas, tested wisdom, and industry expertise on brokerage management found each month in Realtor® Magazine's "For Brokers" section.
Inside, you'll learn what new business models, operational strategies, management techniques, and cutting-edge technologies brokers are using to differentiate their business from the competition and grow their sales. You can try these ideas out for yourself, create your own best practices, or find inspiration for turning your brokerage into a trailblazer.
Organized into three sections covering operations, people, and risk, the seventy articles collected in Broker to Broker address the challenges owners and managers face every day: maintaining a healthy bottom line, recruiting and retaining top performers, getting the most out of technology investments, staying on top of legal trends, and planning for the future. This isn't a book about management theory but a collection of hard-won advice from brokerage professionals succeeding in today's market. Capitalizing on Realtor® Magazine's unrivaled role as the real estate industry's premier marketplace for new ideas, you'll learn what works and what doesn't as you guide your brokerage through the challenges of today's real estate industry.
Use this valuable collection as a reference tool, a guide to new ideas and innovative tactics, an inspiration for your own set of custom practices, and a source of valuable professional information. Broker to Broker is a truly unique resource for professional brokers written by the only people who really knowbrokers themselves.
Synopsis
Written for the office managers of the over 168,000 registered realtors, Broker to Broker: Management Lessons From America's Most Successful Real Estate Companies helps brokers make the most of their business. This book takes previously published articles from Realtor Magazine and brings them together in one volume.
Organized into 3 sections: Managing Operations; Managing People; and Managing Risk-- this book is for the management level and management level wannabes in the thousands of real estate offices across the country. Information includes topics that are on the mind of all busy managers: Marketing, Technology, Recruiting, Legal Issues, and Risk Management. Each section will include resource lists-- both print and online.
With an average office having over 29 employees, this book helps the manager make the most of their resources. There is no competition on the market-- at this point in time all books for brokers discuss how to increase business. Broker to Broker: Management Lessons From America's Most Successful Real Estate Companies helps the thousands of former brokers manage their office and their employees.
Synopsis
Praise for Realtor® Magazine's BROKER to BROKER
"By providing best practice management tips with thought-provoking ideas, Broker to Broker offers invaluable guidance on virtually every aspect of our dynamic industry. The book's easy-to-read format, with in-depth supporting material available online, is an innovative approach to helping the country's brokers and managers find effective solutions to today's challenges."
Ron Peltier, President and CEO, HomeServices of America, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
"This compilation of the latest Realtor® Magazine articles on real estate brokerage management could be of help to brokers and managers looking for practical ideas to boost their operations. The book quotes extensively from veteran brokers and managers who are trying new ways to build sales and tackle problems. Within the book's range of articles could be helpful ideas for you."
J. Lennox Scott, Chairman and CEO, John L. Scott Real Estate, Seattle, Washington
"The editors did their homework. The pace of change in our business is a constant challenge. Even if you don't want to lead the charge in industry change, brokers would do well to study the innovative concepts (such as the employee-agent model) illustrated here. The section on operations is particularly useful for brokers of a multi-office/multi-region operation."
Steve Brown, ABR®, CRB, Vice President and General Manager, Crye-Leike, Realtors®, Memphis, Tennessee
"The editors of Realtor® Magazine do a fantastic job of keeping Realtors® on top of all real estate concerns. No issue is more timely or essential to building good business than brokerage practices."
Blanche Evans, Publisher, Agent News, and Editor, Realty Times, Dallas, Texas
Synopsis
Praise for Realtor? Magazine's BROKER to BROKER
"By providing best practice management tips with thought-provoking ideas, Broker to Broker offers invaluable guidance on virtually every aspect of our dynamic industry. The book's easy-to-read format, with in-depth supporting material available online, is an innovative approach to helping the country's brokers and managers find effective solutions to today's challenges."
--Ron Peltier, President and CEO, HomeServices of America, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
"This compilation of the latest Realtor? Magazine articles on real estate brokerage management could be of help to brokers and managers looking for practical ideas to boost their operations. The book quotes extensively from veteran brokers and managers who are trying new ways to build sales and tackle problems. Within the book's range of articles could be helpful ideas for you."
--J. Lennox Scott, Chairman and CEO, John L. Scott Real Estate, Seattle, Washington
"The editors did their homework. The pace of change in our business is a constant challenge. Even if you don't want to lead the charge in industry change, brokers would do well to study the innovative concepts (such as the employee-agent model) illustrated here. The section on operations is particularly useful for brokers of a multi-office/multi-region operation."
--Steve Brown, ABR?, CRB, Vice President and General Manager, Crye-Leike, Realtors?, Memphis, Tennessee
"The editors of Realtor? Magazine do a fantastic job of keeping Realtors? on top of all real estate concerns. No issue is more timely or essential to building good business than brokerage practices."
--Blanche Evans, Publisher, Agent News, and Editor, Realty Times, Dallas, Texas
About the Author
REALTOR® MAGAZINE is the trade publication of the National Association of Realtors®, the largest professional trade association in the United States. With 1.2 million subscribers and seen by more than 2.4 million industry professionals, Realtor® Magazine is the central business tool for real estate professionals throughout the country.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
Introduction: Bringing Management Best Practices to You.
SECTION I: MANAGING OPERATIONS.
CHAPTER 1: Finances.
Boosting Your Bottom Line.
Taking Control of Your Accounting.
Preparing for a Financial Turn for the Worse.
Calculating Associate Compensation—The New Rules.
CHAPTER 2: Operations.
Running Multi-Office Loan and Title Companies.
Growing without Adding Staff.
Disaster-Proofing Your Brokerage.
Dealing with a New Competitor.
Go Commercial—and Help Your Residential Business.
CHAPTER 3: Marketing.
Increasing Foot Traffic through Your Door.
Winning the Publicity Game.
Handling Negative PR.
Getting the Most Bang for Your Ad Buck.
CHAPTER 4: Planning.
Growing Your Business.
Scenario Planning: Take Your Future in Hand.
Business Models: New Approaches to Profitability.
Business Models: Full-Service vs. Limited-Service.
CHAPTER 5: Technology.
Helping Associates Work Better, Faster, Smarter.
Spinning Returns from Your Investment.
Supporting Your Systems without Spending a Lot.
Unplugging Your Associates.
CHAPTER 6: Ideas for You (A Look at What Your CompetitionIs Doing).
Starting Up in a Big Rival’s Backyard.
Providing Liquidity to Net Customers.
Adding Home Styling to Your Services.
Catering to City Dwellers on a Country Purchase.
Making Downtown Revitalization a Niche.
Tapping Technology for That Whizbang Effect.
Attracting Clients through a Blend of Business and Art.
Learning from the “Fixer-Upper” Franchise.
Building a Big Following in a Small Town.
Serving the Hispanic Investor.
What the Timeshare Niche Is All About.
Working with Others to Leverage Buying Power.
Making Your Storefront Interactive.
The Next Level for Apartment Locator Services.
SECTION II: MANAGING PEOPLE.
CHAPTER 6: Recruiting and Retention.
Shrink Your Washout Rate.
Attracting and Keeping the Best.
Why Associates Work Where They Do.
Behavioral Testing: Hire Recruits That Fit In.
Inclusionary Recruiting: Brightest under the Rainbow.
Four Steps to Rookie Success.
CHAPTER 8: Health and Safety.
Work-Life Balance: Got Health?
Keeping Associates Attuned to Safety.
Know Sexual Harassment When You See It.
Helping Associates Cope with Personal Crises.
Achieving Work-Life Balance.
CHAPTER 9: Office Environment and Associate Motivation.
Office Design That Keeps Associates on Top.
Adapting to Life with Gen X.
What Career Means to Generation X.
Now Comes Generation Y.
Keeping Rivalries in Check.
Training Associates to Succeed.
Managers That Sell: When to Stay in the Game.
CHAPTER 10: Ideas for You (A Look at What Your Competition Is Doing).
Offering Annuities to Spur Recruitment.
Complementing Traditional Associates with Salaried Division.
Paying Salaries, Charging Fees.
Freeing New Associates from Pressure of Selling Fast.
Letting Associates Take a Company Equity Stake.
Motivating Associates through Personalization.
Training Associates to a T.
SECTION III: MANAGING RISK.
CHAPTER 11: Legal.
Living with Litigation.
Addressing Top Legal Concerns.
Test Your Antitrust Knowledge.
Heading Off Privacy Complaints.
Understanding Internet Copyright Law.
Know How to Give Legal Testimony.
Fair Treatment in Dual Agency.
Using the REALTOR® Trademark Correctly.
Avoiding a Breach: Fiduciary Duties Clarified.
Commission Rules for Departing Associates.
Employment Law: Who’s Exempt?
CHAPTER 12: Risk Management.
Avoiding Pitfalls.
Proper Documentation Keeps You out of Legal Trouble.
Improving Customer Service.
Lowering E&O Premiums through Customer Service.
The Right Amount of E&O Insurance.
Making Dispute Resolution Work.
How to Handle Multiple Offers.
Upholding the Standard of Care.
What to Know about Synthetic Stucco.
What to Know about Stigmatized Properties.
What to Know about Mold Liability Risks.
Protecting Your Name against Identity Thieves.
Knowing Loan Fraud.
Understanding Buyer Rep Lead-Paint Disclosure Duty.
Liability for What You Don’t See.
About the Contributors.
About the National Association of REALTORS.
About the REALTORCode of Ethics.
Company Index.
Subject Index.