Often an agent who is new to the real estate industry is urged to start off by joining a team or brokerage that provides leads. But why?

With the arrival in Jacksonville of Zillow’s new iBuyer program, Zillow Offers, many people are asking what the iBuyer concept is all about. Here’s a general overview of the how, why, pros and cons of iBuyers.

I’ve learned something surprising in my climb up the real estate ladder: most agents know very little about how the online lead generation system works.

Since online lead generation is typically one of the top three lead generation sources of any top professional real estate team, that disconnect is critical. It is essential that brokerages understand and teach their agents how that source of business works and why -- not only to help the agents and the brokerage, but also so their agents can maximize their service for their customers and stop costing their colleagues time and money.

Most brokerages don't teach what you really need to know in real estate because they often don't know themselves.

They may never have performed at a high level, or they may only care about agent count and money. They have quotas they need to hit, and many of their agents are W-2 employees that are simply there to get a paycheck.

It's all a numbers game for some brokerages, and if they just get enough bodies in the door, 1 in 10 will be successful … right? Sound familiar?

When considering real estate brokerages, an agent has many options to choose from. So, how do you get a handle on what is vital and what is just a pretty new thing? How do you cut through the noise and figure out the important questions to ask? You have to recognize what is unimportant, and focus on the more foundational, higher-level business questions. You have to understand what is most valuable to perform at the highest level possible and hit your financial goals.

When we started Momentum Realty, we began reaching out to business Leaders around the Country and interviewing them. We found that these people who have achieved success in their industry are extremely willing to share what they've learned through their success, but more importantly their failures.

On this week's post on the Momentum Blog, we give it all away. On this short-form, easily digestible blog post, we share invaluable anecdotes from Experts around the country. Think about this- this is TENS OF THOUSANDS of hours of business experience being shared in this post- Don't Miss It!!

Over the past five years, some of the fastest growing teams in the country – the team I was formerly with, The Brooks Group, included – have “bought" their way into the real estate sales business with online leads. Most of us bought online leads from aggregators such as Zillow/Trulia and Realtor.com, and then flipped the leads over to our team's real estate agents for a 50/50 split on closed commissions.

Momentum’s growth, from 2 agents in late January to 65+ in July -– and, most importantly, with no agents having left — raises a question we often hear: why are so many Top Agents moving to Momentum?

From our inception, Momentum has sought to change the way real estate is done in Florida, including offering the highest-level training. That’s why, soon after opening, we established our Cultural Ambassador Mentorship Program, matching some of our top-producing agents with talented newer agents.

For all of us, especially nose-to-the-grindstone business owners, our time is both limited and very valuable. The dollar-per-hour profit of top achievers is high, and the time to spend with family and friends far too limited. Identifying the activities that we engage in regularly, and understanding how they make us feel – the energy that they suck up or create -- is an essential step toward achieving the Big Life we all seek.

One of the best things about working in real estate is that you get to interact with a wide variety of people from many different walks of life. With Buyers and Sellers, that diversity is usually fun, exciting, and sometimes enlightening. But within the realtor community itself, the vast differences in agent knowledge, customer commitment, and work standards often pose a challenge. And, it’s past time for our industry to up our game.

In Part 1 of our look at homeowner’s insurance, Momentum spoke with Jim Pihl, Agency Owner of The Pihl Agency with Brightway Insurance, about the rise in premiums for Florida homeowner’s insurance, and the importance of understanding the difference between market value and replacement value insurance. Today, Jim suggests two ways that homeowners might save hundreds or thousands by choosing a different type of hurricane deductible, and by doing a Wind Mitigation Inspection of their roof.

Homeowner’s insurance: not the most exciting topic. We all have to buy it when we purchase a home, then many of us never look at our policy again. We just keep paying the ever-increasing premiums without checking whether our coverage remains sufficient, there could be new ways to save, or there may be cheaper, comparable policies. But taking a few minutes to do a little review could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

For Mike*,  making the switch to Momentum was all about confidence. As primary lead generator on a small, highly successful big-box team, he had never tried handling the gritty “back-end” of transactions. In fact, being told repeatedly that the back-end was difficult, he began to have doubts that he could handle all aspects of his business on his own. But after eye-opening and motivating conversations with Momentum leadership, and hands-on help from Momentum’s broker-owner Brittany Brooks, Mike is now a front-to-back solo agent -- and finally in control of his own future. 

Florida Urgent Rescue -- FUR – is on a mission to rescue dogs in kill shelters and other urgent situations, and match them with new, loving homes. FUR rescues all breeds, sizes, and ages, and acts as matchmaker to ensure each family gets the right dog for them. In its 4 ½ years, FUR has saved more than 1,400 animals.

We love dogs! And we especially love rescue dogs beginning new lives in safe, loving homes. So, Momentum Realty is establishing a new, ongoing relationship with Florida Urgent Rescue (FUR) to help save the lives of dogs that have been abused or abandoned.

Under our new “No More Homeless Pets” program, Momentum will support the Jacksonville-based non-profit by becoming a regular monthly FUR donor. We will also be a sponsor for any current and past customers of Momentum or the former Brooks Group who adopt a FUR rescue dog, by paying their adoption fee of $150 for an adult dog or $225 for a puppy.

In many ways, real estate is the most accessible of all business endeavors. No formal education is required, obtaining a license is fairly easy, and start-up costs are relatively small. People from all walks of life, many with no business experience or orientation, join a brokerage without first evaluating its financial model to ensure it is the best fit for their goals, and offers fair value relative to their efforts. But the financial model of the brokerage you choose is the biggest determinant of financial success.

If you choose the wrong model, you could be putting yourself on a financial treadmill. Not running the numbers before choosing your brokerage is a primary reason why agents fail to achieve the financial success they expect.

Momentum has had many top producers reach out to us about the process for making the move to Momentum Realty. Here are our suggestions for how to minimize disruption and maximize income when making the move: