Disruptive Technologies
Cloud technologies began with the emergence of the internet, networks and web browsers. These technologies allowed access to information about anything from anywhere by anyone at any time. Because of this vast, unlimited access and application of cloud technologies, many industries have experienced disruption.
A good is example is how Amazon.com disrupted the retail industry by leveraging cloud technologies and disrupted the retail industry. Amazon was an earlier adopter as an online seller of books and is now the largest e-commerce company in the world.
Other industries have experience disruption as well. Uber disrupted the transportation industry. Airbnb disrupted the hospitality industry. Blockbuster Video was flying high with $6 billion dollars in annual revenue and 6,000 retail outlets. Then Netflix came along and disrupted the video distribution industry. Today there is one Blockbuster store left on the planet.
Real Estate Disrupter
Real Estate is experiencing the same disruption. One brokerage has leveraged cloud technologies over the years and has focused on being an agent centric brokerage to the point of being agent success obsessed, YOUR success! Disruption is happening in the real estate brokerage industry.
Before we examine, the agent obsessed success brokerage, let’s look at the traditional brokerage.
Traditional Brokerage
Traditional brokerage operations are a challenge to run efficiently because many of the functions carried out by the broker/owner and staff become bottle necked. That is, there is just not enough staff or hours in the day to perform all that is required. Thereby, agent services are placed at risk.
Staff members are equally challenged to provide services due to declining profits in traditional brokerages as detailed by RealTrends. As with any decline in profits, staff are required to perform multiple jobs.
Traditional brokerages typically require expensive leases, and physical assets such as buildings, office furniture and equipment, vendor-leases, technology other expenses which can have a negative impact on the profitability of the brokerage. Let’s look at some of those expensive assets.
International Headquarters
The traditional brokerage begins with an international headquarters. Most, if not all, of today’s franchise-centric brokerages are weighed-down with bureaucratic headquarters. All incur over-head, including expensive-leases, office furniture and equipment, vendor-leases, technology, personnel and other expenses.
Regional Offices
Regional offices are located across the country and are required so that franchises can be sold, maintained, and supported. Each regional office has similar over-head and infrastructure expenses as does the international office.
Franchise / Broker / Owner
Franchise offices are a challenge to run efficiently because many of the functions carried out by the broker/owner and staff have become bottle necked. In addition, franchise offices are burdened with over-head, personnel, and other expenses. With the decline in profits as mentioned above, quality of agent services is further reduced.
Real Estate Agent
Finally, in a traditional brokerage agent support is diminished as the focus is on the local brokerage’s success, not necessarily the agent’s success.
Agent Success Obsessed Brokerage
The agent-centric brokerage is an Agent Success Obsessed Brokerage which is focused on the agent’s success, YOUR success.
Cloud technologies enable the agent success obsessed brokerage to provide a platform to which the agent can plug into from anywhere at any time to get what is needed to be a success.
Expensive Leases and Buildings are not required. Thereby allowing the company to spend the money on the agent’s success, YOUR success.
Agent Owners
In the agent success obsessed brokerage, real estate agents participate in the ownership of the company through stock ownership, revenue sharing, and profits from affiliated services.
