May 2007 Archives

One of the ACRE® Grads on our Graduate Coaching Exchange recently posted the following: "I have been talking up this whole consulting idea within my office and the other agents are so critical, suggesting that I am advocating limited service brokerage. And while I am saying no way, I am having trouble defending my position. HELP!"

My colleague and good friend Allyson Hoffman, like many of us, was dismayed by the incredible slant and half-truths that filled this past Sunday's 60 minutes segment Chipping Away At Realtors' Six Percent. But, in her blog, she focused on something that I also believe needs some clarification - the issue of the minimum service requirements that some states, including Ally's home state of Illinois, require. There was so much misinformation and lack of full reporting in this story that I could easily blog on different aspects for weeks, but like Ally, I would like to focus on the concept of minimum service requirements.

If the only thing we change about our business is implementing a different way to charge clients for real estate and real estate related services we have missed the point. You just become another real estate agent with a different business model. So, lets take a look at what "consulting" and "consultant" really means: