Evaluating Professionals: Imperfect Solution for an Imperfect World

Agent ratings are back in the conversation, thanks to this scintillating op/ed by Kris Berg (link is for Inman premium subscribers only) who is one of the best writers in real estate today.  I have written about this topic before (here and here) and it continues to fascinate and puzzle me still. Kris’s point essentially … Read more

Brokerage Models: A Mathematical Analysis, Part 3

I had promised in Part 2 of this series that I would tackle the so-called “K-Dub” model in this part.  Well, I’ve decided against it.  Looking at the numbers, it seems to me that from a model perspective, there’s nothing particularly novel about the K-Dub (based on Keller Williams) model.  Its appeal and power lie … Read more

Brokerage Models: A Mathematical Analysis, Part 2

In Part 1, we explored the traditional brokerage model by the numbers and found that there are significant issues with the current model as constructed.  It may be, of course, that my hypothetical numbers are just way off, and therefore, the entire analysis ought to be trashed.  I get the feeling, however, that in the … Read more

Brokerage Models – A Mathematical Analysis, Part 1

One of the more insightful posts on the industry came earlier this week from one of the more insightful people in the industry: Nicolai Kolding, COO of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, and former head of M&A for Realogy. This is a man who knows what he’s talking about. He gave a presentation (PDF) … Read more

Repositioning vs. Reengineering: Real Estate Brokerage

Marc Davison (@1000wattmarc) of 1000watt Consulting is one of the top thinkers and one of the most compelling writers in our industry, and his latest posts on the future of brokerage are examples of why one might think of Marc as Master Yoda of the Real Estate Jedi Academy.  You can read part 1 here, … Read more

Video of my NPS Session at REBC Philadelphia

Thanks to Greg Afarian (@zipvogreg) of Zipvo, there’s apparently video evidence of my session at REBarCamp Philadelphia. It was a great and fun session, and I hoped it would be useful to people who attended. For more information on NetPromoter Score and Real Estate, you can check out the page on 7DS: www.7dsassociates.com/RENPS. Thanks again … Read more

Imagining the Future, Part 5: Systemic Brokerage

At last. We have arrived at the destination of this series.  (See parts 1, 2, 3, and 4). In Part 2 of this series, I spoke at length about institutional CRM and why that can be an unbeatable competitive advantage when properly implemented and used. In Part 3, we examined whether an institutionalized brokerage could … Read more

Real Estate Insurgency, Part 2: Organizing the Cell

In part 1 of this series, I discussed the First Principle of real estate insurgency: Never Fight on Their Turf.  The extension of that principle meant that insurgents have to figure out how to outmaneuver then neutralize the primary advantage of Big Brands: breadth of brand (aka, brand recognition). So let’s suppose you’re an insurgent … Read more