It’s a good read on motivation, digging deep for the struggle, believing in yourself, persevering for the win. But….hope for *whom*?
I may write some things here that sound like I am trashing Compass and praising my company, which is currently Coldwell Banker. But if I did that, then I think that I would be committing the same crime as this article.
This is a motivational article (successful) about a start-up and its founder who are changing the real estate industry (big change is happening). Good and less good things have and will happen. At the 10 year mark things are very different from when he started, and at the 20 year mark he may meet or exceed his goals of “realiz[ing] the promise of technology”.
My look back, my vision when I am in the trenches and it’s 6am, or midnight, or cold, or raining, or I am bearing the brunt of the clients’ emotions, is the result for my client first, and my team second. My focus is the *result* for my client, and how that result impact their life and the lives of their families when seen from 10 years on, 15 years, or more. Did we do the right thing for the client, to get the right result.
Robert Reffkin at the Compass REtreat in Atlanta. Photo courtesy: Compass
Kudos to Compass and other leaders for looking at the methods and weathering the storm of start up pain to provide new methods.
This article about Compass and their hope does not contain the word client. Or seller. Or Buyer. The word agent in the article refers to his mother struggling as an agent, agents losing their stock incentives at Compass, and agents having technology tools.
Whose hope is here? Not the CTO, not the 700 technology people who lost their jobs, not the blah blah number of people who lost their jobs, not the clients and cities that aren’t fit for the business model. Not the…clients? What they are doing is all fine. It makes a good story. In the end everyone might be better for it.
When Beacon Group changed brokerages in 2018, we looked at more brokerages that we ever had in our careers to find our new home. Our mantra was that we wanted to see what every company was offering and what things would be like there for *our clients*. Incentives were flowing in the industry at the time. Compass took agent incentives to unbelievable places with hiring bonuses, stock options, marketing dollars. Beautiful office and new ways of thinking.
I like some of the things that Compass achieved just with that. Maybe I will write another piece about the good things and hope that they have already achieved.
Our final choice came down to Compass and Coldwell Banker. Compass was offering a lot of shiny objects. It had a lot of things that I wanted for myself, my team, and my clients.
When I have chosen brokerages, though, the deciding factor for me has always been the latitude and support to make the right choices for my client. By planning and strategy and in the moment of need.
I’ve worked for tech startups, and I have worked as a consultant for tech startups, and the ride is usually pretty rough. The scene in the shower in his article, the call to his family to sacrifice and risk, the “hard choices” in the article. Those things are real and equate to the blood and guts scene of the motivational movie. When the hero has some new scars that will now always be part of them, they are bleeding and somehow pressed against concrete, and the climax of the story is that they “succeeded”.
Photo courtesy: Compass
It looks like success for Compass will be technology tools for the agents? Financial success for the investors is a theme running through there, I think.
If the family needs to sacrifice their life savings, hundreds/thousands of people need to sacrifice their jobs, the boss needs to strip down to his soul, what is it that they are asking for from the agents? And the clients? Weather this horrible storm for 10 more years and there will be success for some people?
The tipping point in my decision was that I didn’t want to put my clients through that experience. That is what I said as I chose Coldwell Banker 4 years ago. That is what I am reminded of as I read this today.
We chose then, and I have always chosen, the place that I believed allowed me to do the very best job for the client. Today. That will be the best possible result for them today *and* in 10 years.
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Book an appointment with us. Reach out now for more info! Call or text Elaine Goldman at 857-297-4830
The Beacon Group is a client-driven real estate team working in Greater Boston to help clients buy, sell, and invest in real estate. We provide straightforward, analytical advice, empowering clients to make successful and informed decisions. We provide our buying clients with constructive insights, allowing them to identify the right property and enabling them to make purchase decisions with confidence. Our recommendations to both buyers and sellers are specifically crafted to meet clients’ short and long-term housing and financial goals.
The Beacon Group is a client-driven real estate team working in Greater Boston to help clients buy, sell, and invest in real estate. We provide straightforward, analytical advice, empowering clients to make successful and informed decisions. We provide our buying clients with constructive insights, allowing them to identify the right property and enabling them to make purchase decisions with confidence. Our recommendations to both buyers and sellers are specifically crafted to meet clients’ short and long-term housing and financial goals.
