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I heard about the ACRE® last year on a webinar by Jennifer Allen (Sell With Soul). I thought it was a great idea to let clients pay for just the services they wanted. After all, when you go to McDonalds, you don't have to order a full meal. You can order just a burger, or burger and drink or whatever you want. I can't wait to see how it works in the real estate business!

I came to know about the ACRE® through an article in the REM by Ron Stuart and I am so happy that he mentioned about it. I found ACRE® course book so interesting and full of new ideas that I would say every real estate professional should read it whether intended to receive ACRE® designation or not. I always used consultancy approach, advising the clients in their best interest, as opposed to a sales approach. And yes, I did shoot myself many times in the foot because the only option I had was to work under traditional commission setup, either good amount of money or nothing. I believe you are perfectly right, the activity based fee and consultancy approach is the best way to go and win- win situation for both the clients and real estate professionals.

I became interested in the ACRE® program because in a buyer's market, we spend a lot of time showing properties and in the end, they either buy from a sign call or from a FSBO. I also have clients who want to know if they should remodel or buy another home. I believe we should be able to offer options.

I feel that becoming an ACRE® is a liberating experience. I came into Real Estate after a career as a individual and group psychotherapist. I went into real estate and worked towards the goal eventually becoming a sales agent and then a broker. However along the way I was caught up in selling the product instead of my expertise. I tried to develop a fee-for-service business but the public perception of me was one of a cut rate salesman, not one of trusted unbiased adviser (which I strive to be). I really can't thank all of you enough for what you have given in this program. I guess my best thanks to you will be success.

I've had my RE license for just over 2 years now and boy has it been one heckuva ride :) At times I've struggled and for the most part it was because I was being instructed to embrace a business model that I knew from day one wasn't right for me or for the consumer. I so enjoyed the course material and am LOVING what I'm seeing here on the Coaching Exchange. You all rock! Thanks so much for offering the course and I'm really looking forward to learning more as I go!

The consulting methodology isn't new to me - I come from 25 years in IT project management, the last 4 years doing independent consulting. When I chose real estate as a new career path last November, right away something bothered me about the traditional sales model. The priorities are skewed and I didn't know how I would reconcile that. Well, when I found ACRE®, the pieces came together. One, for the life of me I couldn't imagine how to truly differentiate myself amongst the other gazillion agents. Now that's solved. Two, I've always felt I can "sell" anything I believe in and that people truly want and need. But how to be honest and believable with my clients and also maintain a level of fiduciary deception? That's a problem, and sort of a game stopper for me. Now that's also solved. Being able to offer choices totally removes any reason for not providing ultimate service, or not being totally honest.

Thank you for this exciting opportunity to join you and other ACRE®s in a much-needed revolution! After spending 20+ years in finance, I earned my real estate license in North Carolina in 2006 and immediately went to work in the industry. I spent most of my early days "learning the ropes", and from the first day, I began to politely rebel against the notion that I was a salesperson. I was also dismayed by the business model of the typical real estate agent, which seemed to be based on casting a wide, annoying net and hoping that a paying client would be snared. I began to envision a different sort of model, but felt I was completely alone and possibly doomed to failure. As you can imagine, finding you and your approach has fueled my passion, and I look forward to working shoulder to shoulder with other ACRE®s as we transform and elevate our profession to its rightful place.

What is an ACRE® Besides Land? I AM!

"Once in a while something really new comes along, and now I'm able to offer my clients more choices. That's the idea behind the Accredited Consultant in Real Estate® (ACRE) designation - choices about what services a client can receive when buying or selling real estate or not! And I'm very proud to be the first in Baltimore to earn the ACRE® designation.

"There has been much written and spoken, online, at conventions, and in industry publications, about real estate commissions and the pressures created on them by the proliferation of Internet-savvy consumers, national aggregators and discounters. Rather than take the position offered by many of devising arguments for protecting any standard commission schedule, Mollie wisely suggests offering alternatives. It all depends on who accepts the risk in any transaction. Visit ACRE®s Ken & Mary Deshaies

"I just finished my ACRE® course and this is far better than I had anticipated. Plus, I just read Ripping the Roof off Real Estate. What is the best way for me to order 10 autographed copies? I want to give my clients autographed copies - your explanations are carefully thought out and this is great credibility with a chance for them to see what I have learned. Visit ACRE® Bonnie Cox

"As broker owners of a firm we realize the importance of providing options to our clients and customers. We provide extensive real estate knowledge and expertise for our clients' benefit and they have varied needs and budgets. The consulting model provides a win/win situation for our company and our clients. The Accredited Consultant in Real Estate (ACRE®) Program provides the best education in this field." Visit ACRE®s Rhonnie & Ed Rapozza

"The very first time I used the consulting approach I didn't get the contract for consulting. But by providing choices, I DID get a full commission listing from a FSBO and sold it in 6 days. By using the Consulting Approach, I have made over $24k in additional business in just a few months that I would never have made if I didn't offer consulting options". Visit ACRE® Deb Orth

Consulting is the logical evolution of the brokerage industry. It is by far the most professional approach to buying and selling real estate available today, and into the future. Gone are the days when agents dealt in privileged and protected real estate information. Most of that information is now available to consumers on a grand scale, thanks to the Internet. Visit ACRE® Vince Kleinknecht

"The ACRE® consulting concept has so many possibilities it's mind-boggling. This will give us not only a great competitive edge with the FSBO (For-Sale-By-Owner) and investor market, but also the expired market. A big thanks to Mollie, Paula, Merv, and Tom for making this model available to us, and allowing us to be front-runners." Visit ACRE® Laurie Furem

"FINALLY! A program that IS what our real estate business SHOULD be! Though I thought Mollie's consulting model sounded good based on what little I initially knew about it, the more I became involved (taking the Consulting training through ACRE®, participating in the Graduate Coaching Exchange, getting the opportunity to interact with Mollie, Merv, Paula, and Tom on an ongoing basis) the more I felt TRULY FORTUNATE to have found this phenomenal group! Visit ACRE® Judi Bryan

"I can't say enough good things about the ACRE® Course and Graduate Coaching Program. Well before the ACRE® course was generally available, I literally stumbled upon the consulting process on Mollie Wasserman's real estate website. One viewing of her video for consumers and I was sold! Visit ACRE® Betty Byrnes

Last year I changed companies two times in less than six months. My third company was at least a name brand and I started getting business. However, I knew there had to be another way besides knocking on doors and trying to call FSBOS who did not show up on the do not call list. Times were tough. Visit ACRE® Bill Barrow

It was not until I became an ACRE® that I realized what piece I was missing in my consultative approach to my real estate business. You can work in the philosophy of a consultant, but being able to offer the choices to the consumer is another whole level. I have found the Coaching Exchange to be progressive both in the tools and materials offered and the subjects being discussed.

"ACRE® is just what I have been looking for! In my previous career I owned a computer consulting business that provided technology services to attorneys, CPAs, architects/engineers and other business organizations. My clients expected to pay for our services based on a fee that measured what we did for them in the same way they billed their clients. We gave them options but would never have considered charging a percentage of the value of the project if they completed the project! The real estate industry has it all backwards and I am glad to find others that agree."

This is my 11th year in real estate and my 7th year at my current brokerage. Since ACRE® "thinking" entered my life, I not only think ACRE® but I talk ACRE®. This alone qualifies buyers and the sellers. I'm now about running a business. It's my job. It feeds a family. It justifies the hours and the expenses that it takes to make the buyer's or the seller's dreams come true. When I've accomplished that, done my job, then I can dream too.

Our company Broker of Record was at our office meeting last week--just days after a "lightbulb idea" came to me over the weekend. The "lightbulb idea" is so large that its more than I could handle as an individual ACRE®, but we are the largest real estate company in Nevada with over 2,000 agents, and being an independent (vs. franchise), surely our company could accomplish this idea that would feature the ACRE® in both marketing and recruiting.

"ACRE® was the first step in my taking back my destiny. Thanks again for the course and for the sharing of knowledge and experience. If you do not value your own services to get paid for them, why should anyone else? Now I have choices for my clients, and I will get paid for my expertise!"

"I have recently completed the 900 hours I needed in order to get my Broker's license. I took every one of the courses using the on-line option because I don't have the patience or time for the typical classroom environment. Although the ACRE® course did not fulfill any educational requirements toward a broker's license in the state of Texas, I felt it was more worthwhile to achieve this designation for my business.

"After reviewing the ACRE® introduction and reading some details, I knew I had found an avenue to move my business to the next level. I consult for investment Clients daily as it is 80% or more of my present business. Most all of my client base live outside my market and rely routinely on my skills, knowledge base and referral base of services. My time is valuable, but "for free" is no longer the only option when babysitting contractors who work for my clients.

"I became an ACRE® because the whole concept makes sense--buyers and sellers paying for services rendered, just like doctors, lawyers, plumbers, electricians and others. No more waiting until a transaction closes, whereby the Realtor® accepts all of the risk, puts in hours and hours of work, and then may not even get paid if the transaction doesn't close.