Investing in America and Expanding Agent Networks

We live in a global marketplace where not all home buyers are locally situated. Eight percent of the properties sold in the United States are international transactions. Of that, five countries account for 51 percent of the purchases: Canada, China, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom.

If you are not tapped into the international market, there’s lot of opportunity that you might be missing. But, don’t worry! Connecting with international buyers is easier than you might think.

Keller Williams associate Elizabeth Olcott of Napa Valley, California, has been a successful real estate agent for 15 years and a member of KW Global Property Specialists (GPS) since 2014. Approximately three percent of her business in 2015 came from working with international clients.

Olcott says that networking with international agents is key to the success of international sales. “It’s all about relationships!” Olcott says. “The stronger value is in developing relationships and networking with agents worldwide, more valuable than trying to find clients directly.”

In September 2015, she attended the LPS conference in Guangzhou, China with fellow members of GPS and as a result, formed professional relationships with other agents in China, Australia, Dubai and Italy.

When asked what was The ONE Thing about her GPS membership that has helped her business the most, Olcott replied: “The ability to create ads of my listings, translated into the native language of other countries and incorporating them into listing presentations in Proxio Pro. ​It’s been a definite wow factor when presenting.​”

Trends to Watch For in 2016

It is important to note that market trends vary depending on location. Olcott says that with regards to the Napa market, she is seeing that the European market has not been garnering as much attention of late; however, they are still seeing quite a bit of European investment, as well as from the China, Asian market.  As she gears up for 2016, she says she will be keeping her eyes on both the European and Chinese markets as well as the U.S. economy as a whole.

Nationally, history shows that our neighbors to the north have been our biggest contributors. However, Chinese buyers have surpassed Canadians as the most dominant foreign home purchasers in the United States, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2015 profile of Home Buying Activity of International Clients.

Based on information from NAR’s 2015 Profile of Home Buying Activity of International Clients, proximity to the home country, the presence of relatives, friends and associates, job and educational opportunities, and climate and location appear to be important considerations to prospective buyers. Europeans and Canadians tend to be attracted to Florida and Arizona for the warmer climates whereas California and Texas are favored by purchasers from Asia/Oceania. Buyers from Latin America, including Mexico, favor states in close proximity such as Texas and Florida. But these are just the most popular locations, not the only ones.

To get started mining international buyers in your market, read these tips from GPS member Mallina Wilson who knows what it takes to build a successful real estate business serving international buyers.

REAL Trends Talks with Keller Williams CEO about 2016 Outlook

Steve Murray and Chris Heller discuss challenges and opportunities in real estate

By Steve Murray, publisher, REAL Trends
 

“There are two basic kinds of people—the traditional people and the innovative people. The traditional ones stick to the tried and true, and there is nothing wrong with that approach. Innovative people tend to anticipate changes ahead and try to leapfrog them. We are trying diligently to be the innovative kind of organization. There is a growing gap between the two groups,” says Chris Heller, CEO of Keller Williams Realty International. “This business is changing, and we are going to try to stay ahead of it—that is a big focus of ours.”

A Good Sales Year (Not Great)

Heller, who has a strong background in building real estate sales teams (including his own nationally ranked team), thinks that 2016 will be a good, not great, sales year. “We think sales units and prices will still be up, just not as strong as 2015 versus 2014. It is an election year, and you typically don’t see a great deal of shifting going on in the market,” he added.

New Business Models

He does see a proliferation of new business models appearing throughout the industry and while he doesn’t see anything that worries him, he pays attention to what they are doing. “It doesn’t pay to ignore new models and new ways of doing business. At the least, we can learn something from them and become aware of serious new threats well ahead of when they may begin to affect our business. I know some of them are fads, but some of them have some real substance to them,” Heller commented.

Good Momentum

Asked about how things are going at KW, Heller said that their focus on growth across the board is paying large dividends. “What [KW President] John Davis is achieving with our Growth Initiative is unbelievable. Our local and regional leaders are buying-in and building momentum for their businesses.” Heller said that by virtually any metric KW will have another record year in 2015, and he believes the stage is set to top it in 2016. “We have good momentum right now. We are going to grow our market center count by 20 or more in the next year, and we expect total agent and assistant count to be near 129,000 at yearend—up significantly from yearend 2014. “We strongly think our growth is going to accelerate in the year ahead.”

Upstream

He says Keller Williams is a strong proponent of Upstream and the Broker Public Portal and have key executives involved in both. “We think these are both hugely worthwhile projects. There are significant challenges to both projects. In Upstream, we have to create the technologies to make it work. We have to create a safe environment for all participants, and we have to create an entire educational process to ensure that brokerage industry participants understand how it works and what the benefits are to them.”

On the Broker Public Portal, Heller says that the drive to create the kind of public listing portal in-line with the Fair Display Standards is also a big challenge but that it needs to get done. “We think the benefits could be substantial to have such a platform, if nothing else than to have more competition and a safe place for agents to market their properties.”

Asked about his view of the real estate world, Heller said, “These are exciting times. When things are changing it allows for more room for incumbents to try new ways, to experiment.” He says KW has several things in its pipeline for 2016, some which are improvements to what they have built and some that may surprise people as they are outside the box. He demurred when asked what these might be, but said they represent a significant new direction for the company. “These times require that an organization develop a sense of awareness and a sense of urgency to accept new ideas and new ways of growing. We are working on both all the time.”

2016 Awards Gala

One Million Reasons to Grow Your Market Center in 2016

Profit share is one way in which Keller Williams Realty exemplifies the principle of success through others. Each month, market centers share roughly half of their profits with the agents who helped grow the market center and make it profitable. But in order for there to be profit share, there must first be success.

“Any great business starts with a big vision from leadership.” Smokey Garrett @kwri

CLICK TO TWEET

Smokey Garrett, the regional director for the North Texas/New Mexico/Memphis Region, says, “When I started here, we had this little bitty market center, but we had a big vision on where to go and were focused on getting buy-in from our people on how they were going to fit into that vision. Before you can worry about profits, you have to worry about how well your people are doing and if their businesses are getting bigger.”

When Garrett came to the market center, Keller Williams Realty President John Davis was the operating partner, and the focus from Day 1 was on running the models and working the
systems in their daily activities – basically, implementing the Growth Initiative before it was officially the “Growth Initiative.”

“We work on implementing the Growth Initiative every day,” Garrett said. “As leadership, we say, ‘People have lived before us, and we know Keller Williams systems and models work.’
What makes a great business is taking the systems we have and executing them at the highest possible level. We take that same level and work it through with our agents, because what works
for the market center will also work for our agents’ businesses.”

In addition to providing proven models and systems, Garrett and his leadership team ensure that agents have access to education and training.

“Our goal is always to have our people be the best-trained and the most educated for the market of the moment and to allow them to go build businesses as big as they want,” he said. “There are no limits with our people. The value we’ve brought to our agents is how we make our people better.”

Initially, the Arlington market center had only 60 agents, but today, it’s grown to 550 agents, and its training calendar has grown as well. Three to five training classes are offered each day with courses at every level, and the education committee boasts more than 30 members.

“It’s very much a fluid calendar because we’re always addressing our strengths and weaknesses and where our market is that particular month,” Garrett said. “We’re working to get perfect, so we use Training Tracking, which is one of the tools that is fueling the success of the Growth Initiative. For example, we never stop running Ignite, and we know that an agent that goes through Ignite and graduates makes $47,000 more than agents who don’t graduate. Knowing that stat makes it much more valid and explains our expectations. An agent attending two training classes per month within our market center has 209 percent more GCI than someone who doesn’t.”

The statistics also show that the market center’s rookie of the year for the past seven years averaged $170,000 their first year in real estate, and the 2014 rookie of the year actually earned  $272,000. Statistics like these wouldn’t be possible without strong leaders, and Garrett, for one, focuses on leading through the people at the market center.

“We use our ALC a lot, and we have a saying: ‘As the ALC goes, so goes the market center,’” Garrett said. “I’m very passionate about helping us be an agent-driven, agent-led company. Anytime I’ve gotten in trouble here is because I didn’t slow down, help to explain and get everybody’s buy-in. I had to slow down, focus on our ALC and focus on where everyone wanted to go.”

Keeping a close eye on expenses has also played a crucial role in the market center’s success.

“Everyone holds expenses very accountable,” Garrett said. “Holly Serben does a phenomenal job of training the MCAs, the finance committee and everybody on the expense side. We’ve got lots of eyes focusing on making sure we get a return on what we’re doing.”

Hitting the $1 million mark in profit share undoubtedly made a splash in company news, but more important were the ripple effects that impressive figure had on the market center’s agents.

“It’s been a really fun number to put out there and share, but at the end of the day, it’s not about the number,” Garrett said.

“It’s about what each individual associate’s profit share has done for them and what it’s done for their families. It’s about understanding what passive income does for people. It’s allowed spouses in our market center to stop working, to stay home and do what they want to do. It’s allowed people to buy vacation houses and investment properties, to give to charities and to do what their passions are. It’s provided freedom without the fear.”

It’s allowed for further conversation with people on building wealth and made that real to people. We’ve helped share this wealth-building gift our company does and helped everybody go achieve that.” Now that they’ve reached this milestone, Garrett and his market center are focused on the future.

“What’s next is that there are thousands and thousands of more people to be in business with and whose lives we can help affect on a daily basis,” he said. “The million-dollar mark is like the four-minute mile. Once somebody broke it, it became possible. John Davis and the Growth Initiative tools have allowed this to become the new standard. We’re just at the beginning of what our company can accomplish and what we can accomplish together.”

Your Holiday Gift-Giving Questions Answered

Holiday gift-giving in the workplace is a time to express your gratitude and appreciation for those with whom you work. It’s an investment in your working relationships.

However, gift recipients and gift selection can be daunting. Before you begin shopping, settle on a budget and a recipient list and be sure you have a clear understanding of your intent and purpose with each gift. While it’s all right to give a gift to remain top of mind, be sure your gift giving is coming from a place of gratitude and appreciation.

Your Holiday Gift Giving Questions Answered 

Not all gifts have to be equal
A gift to an assistant who has worked closely with you all year can warrant a different type of gift than a business associate or acquaintance. It’s perfectly acceptable to take note of a special client, an appreciated team member and/or a business relationship when planning your gift list. Consider giving these gifts privately and in person to avoid any unintended hurt feelings between others in the office.

Include a handwritten note
A handwritten note says you have taken the time to acknowledge your recipient. A personal and meaningful touch of such gratitude goes a long way, far more than a generic message.

Your gift can last all year long
Subscription-based gifts are thoughtful gestures that give back 12 months out of the year. These types of gifts require a bit more thought because the recipient will be receiving something from you all year long. The upside is, since your nice gesture is ongoing throughout the year, you stay top-of-mind longer.

Personalize your gifts
Paying attention to hobbies and habits is a surefire way to give a well received and personal gift. If you recently shared, or discussed, a game of golf with someone you are gifting, then a golf related item may be a good idea. If your recipient is passionate about their pets, then consider a gift for their dog or cat.

Industry related gifts are a great idea
Real estate agents can never go wrong with giving a client something for their home. This personal touch speaks to the value of your service to them and the importance of their home.

Ditch the Logo Gifts
Gifts with logos and the innuendo of a sales pitch have a negative connotation. They are not really considered genuine “gifts.” Instead, choose a gift that conveys the message of gratitude this holiday season. While these types of gifts are appropriate throughout the year, the holidays are not the best time for them.

When in doubt, remain neutral
If it’s unclear what holiday is celebrated by your recipient, then it’s best to play it safe and send a gift that celebrates the New Year.