- So today I've got some very exciting news.
After being with Keller Williams Realty
for the past five years,
I've now made the transition
into a newer next-gen brokerage.
And that brokerage is Real.
And I really do think that next gen
accurately describes Real's business model
especially when you compare it to these other
old-school brokerages such as Keller Williams,
Re/max, Century 21
which were really big hits in 1980s and nineties
but fundamentally have not changed their way of operating
and their business models,
since the advent of the internet.
In contrast Real is a technology-driven
cloud-based brokerage
that is partially owned by the real estate agents
in the brokerage.
And this is a huge departure from the traditional,
old-school brokerage business model.
And it offers huge advantages to myself and my clients.
So today I want to go over the exact reasons
why I made the decision to transition my business
from this old-school brokerage model,
to a next-gen brokerage model
and go over the advantages that myself,
my team and my clients receive
from me being at this new brokerage.
And if you stay tuned until the end of the video,
I've got a very special offer for you,
if you want to learn more about this next-gen brokerage.
So first let's talk about what I mean by next gen.
So obviously the advent of the internet
has changed our society
and the business models within our society, tremendously.
You look at movie rentals for example,
you have old-school business models like Blockbuster
that have been replaced by new-school,
next-gen business models like Netflix and Amazon Prime
and Disney Plus, which are far more convenient
for the consumer.
You have old-school brick and mortar retail stores
that have been replaced
with more convenient options for the consumer,
in the form of Amazon and Wayfair and Etsy.
The music industry has gone from selling us physical copies
of CDs in retail stores,
that probably only had one or two songs on them
that we liked anyway.
To now we can stream any song that you want,
anywhere we want it, at any time.
So virtually every single industry in our society
is producing better consumer experiences
by embracing technology
and fundamentally changing their business models,
all around that technology.
Every industry, except for one
and that is the real estate brokerage model,
which fundamentally has not changed since the 1980s,
like literally when "Alf" and "Knight Rider" was on TV.
Now I will say that our industry has begrudgingly
adopted some technology, right?
The average agent has a cell phone and has a website
and they think that they're pretty tech savvy
because they have those things.
But that underlying business model
between the brokerage and their relationship to the agent
has not fundamentally changed, until now.
So let's take a step back for a second
and just compare the old school brokerage model
than most brokerages that you can name probably embrace:
Keller Williams, Re/max, Century 21.
And compare that to the business model
the next generation brokerages embrace, like Real.
So with the old school traditional brokerage model
essentially somebody gets their broker's license
and then they rent out a large office space
and they charge real estate agents
like myself to join underneath of them.
And in exchange they give us training.
We get access to the office space and the conference rooms.
They usually throw holiday parties
and give us a birthday card once a year.
And they make dubious claims
about how us being associated with them
is gonna increase our credibility
and lead to us getting more clients.
And this fundamental model has not changed since the 1980s.
So I've been part of two different Keller-Williams
brokerages in the last five years.
And I've paid up to $28,000 a year
for the privilege to be part of one of these brokerages
and up to $500 a month or $6,000 a year
for my own office within these brokerages.
So that's $34,000 a year.
And eventually I had to ask myself,
is this worth, is the value that I'm getting
from these brokerages a worth $34,000 a year?
And the answer to that is a hard no, like nope.
Not even close.
No fricking way.
So let's break down what is the value proposition
that they claim that they have,
that they think is worth so much money.
So a big one is that they claim
they're going to give you free training
on how to be a successful real estate agent
how to write contracts,
how not to get into legal trouble.
And I'm sure back in the 1980s,
watching a slide show in a conference room
was the only real source of training,
that a lot of real estate agents got.
But today there's literally more free training
on YouTube for real estate agents
than I could consume in an entire lifetime.
And much of that training is of much higher quality
than I ever did receive at any of my brokerages.
So that value proposition that the brokerage is making
about giving us free training really does not
have much value in my books.
So another value proposition that they claim
is that we have access to their office space
and conference rooms.
Where we can meet our clients.
But if 2020 is taught us anything,
it's that we don't need to physically meet people
in person anymore.
I've gone an entire year now without meeting a single client
at my brokerage and my business is doing just fine.
My clients are perfectly happy.
We've all adapted now.
And now I just do a one to two video calls
with my clients a week.
And many of them find it much more convenient
than actually driving to my brokerage to meet me.
And as an agent,
everything I do these days is digital, anyway.
From writing contracts, to our listings,
to communicating with our clients.
All I need is a laptop and my cell phone
and I can literally work anywhere.
So once again, that value proposition
of having conference rooms in a physical office
just doesn't have much value to me.
So let's take a look at their last big claim of value
and that is
being associated with one of these big national brands:
Keller Williams Realty, Re/max, Century 21.
And I have to ask myself, does this actually add any value
any credibility to myself or my brand?
And the answer is no.
I really don't think so.
In 2021 that little logo in the corner of my business card
has practically no impact on my clients, whatsoever.
When you're trying to pick out
a real estate agent to work with.
I think some of the most important qualities
that you want to look for is how hardworking are they?
How good are their communication skills
and how knowledgeable are they.
What the brand or logo is
in the corner of the business card,
really is not that relevant at all.
As a quick side note,
I've always hated introducing myself
as Malcolm Lawson with Keller Williams.
It's just too many names, it's kind of confusing.
And I've literally had people ask me who is Keller Williams
not understanding that it's not a person,
it's actually a business.
So I am not upset about losing that at all.
And I think saying, "Hey I'm Malcolm Lawson with Real",
sounds much better.
So next, let's take a look
at what a next-gen brokerage model, like Real
actually looks like.
So probably my favorite part
of the Real brokerage business model
is that I can be a part owner of the business, as well,
by owning stock in the company.
And this is a huge departure
from the Keller Williams business model.
Which is not a publicly traded company
and owned entirely by Gary Keller, who is a billionaire.
And I love the idea of being part owner in a business
that I am promoting
and marketing through my videos
through my listings and through my clients.
And Real actually wants us to be owners
in the business as well.
There's several different ways that I can earn free stock
in my company from Real by hitting certain milestones
in my own business.
And this makes me super excited to
be a successful real estate agent
and promote the company that I am part owner in
And Real's also a very technology driven company
and integrates a lot of the latest technology
into their business and helps us agents integrate a lot
of this technology into our business as well.
Now truthfully, a lot of these advantages
are in the backend.
So how I write my contract.
How I get my clients to digitally sign those contracts.
How I submit my contracts to my brokerage to review them.
But being somebody who's pretty tech savvy
I love seeing a company fully embrace technology
and the advantages that come along with that technology.
And once again, this is leading to me
providing a better experience to my own clients.
Which is pretty nice.
Now, Real is a cloud-based brokerage.
And this means that they don't have that overhead cost
of having multiple brick and mortar offices
all over the country.
And they pass that savings on to us agents.
So instead of me spending $34,000 a year to have an office
within my brokerage,
with Real I only need to spend $12,000 a year
to be part of this brokerage.
That's a savings of $22,000 a year, which is huge.
And that allows me to reinvest that money back
into my business.
So I can invest that money back into better marketing
for my listings.
I can invest that money into an assistant
to provide better experiences to my clients.
I can invest that money into better
and more exclusive training for myself.
So I become more knowledgeable for my clients.
My business and my clients experiences benefit tremendously
by me reducing this huge overhead cost
of being with a traditional old-school brokerage.
And I think that reducing this huge overhead cost
also makes Real a much more approachable brokerage
for somebody who's just getting into the industry
or maybe getting their real estate license as a second job.
So here's that special offer
I mentioned at the beginning of the video.
If you are a real estate agent or you're thinking
about getting your real estate license,
I'd love to hop on a video call with you
and talk to you about some of the benefits
of partnering with Real or answer some of your questions
about being a real estate agent
or just mastermind in general.
I can also go over some detail
that I kind of glossed over in this video,
like the four different ways that you can earn free stock
in the Real brokerage by being a Real agent
and how you can benefit from a revenue share.
So if you want to have a conversation
or you have any questions whatsoever about this brokerage
send me an email at malcolm@livinginmaryland.com.
I also have a link down below.
Where you can learn much more
about the benefits of joining Real
and goes over a lot more of the numbers
I kind of glossed over in this video.
If you want to watch more videos
about the benefits of joining Real,
check out this playlist I put together right here
and don't forget to email me at
malcolm@livinginmaryland.com.
If you want to set up a video call with me,
we're gonna talk about the benefits to your business
from joining Real or how to get your real estate license
or really mastermind about whatever you like.
Thanks so much for watching.
And I look forward to hearing from you.