The real estate industry has a learning curve problem. While it has a shallow entry to get started as a real estate agent, it’s a steep uphill climb to become a successful agent.
Ask any top performer how they achieved their success and they’ll cite two factors. The first is hard work. And the second is excellent training.
Pre-licensing requirements vary from state to state, including how much education is required, what topics are included, the fees involved, and the type of examination. But who will be the face of the market in the years to come? Who will rise through the ranks to dominate their market? How do you know who the top agents will be before they even get their license?
That’s where your brokerage comes in. Providing education and training benefits can help you:
- Create your own pool of potential agents to recruit from with pre-licensing
- Support and develop your own agents as they progress with continuing education
- Create an additional revenue stream for your brokerage
“Offering pre-licensing education provides our brokerage with the opportunity to expose what we have to offer to the best new talent,” said Rett Harmon, Co-Owner of CENTURY 21 Novus, Team Leader of Rettro Group, located in Carrollton, GA. “It creates opportunities for us to engage with students, introduce them to our organization and leadership, and establish our organization as a welcoming place. Ultimately, it helps us identify the right agents for us – those with goals and values that align with our business objectives and operating philosophy.”
Here are two ways your organization can integrate educational offerings into your business model.
1. Become a school of record with wholesale educational content
Working with an education and training partner, your brokerage can create a training resource that is fully branded, with your own pricing structures. As a certified school, your brokerage maintains standing with state regulatory bodies.
In maintaining the student administration, you’ll have full visibility into enrollment, coursework progress, scores and completion. And as a result, your brokerage can cherry pick the best students for recruitment efforts and time the recruitment efforts well. All while keeping a big slice of the revenue from education sales.
2. Turn your brokerage into an affiliate partner
Training affiliate programs make it easier for brokerages to offer real estate pre-licensing and continuing education. Simply provide a link for students to purchase and complete courses on the education provider’s website. The education provider is the school of record and handles all student administration, making it easier for you. Your brokerage can see who enrolls in the course and who completes the course so you can target recruitment efforts. And while a smaller portion than in the wholesale partnership, you also keep a slice of the revenue from the education sales as an affiliate.
Show your agents that their growth is your priority
Real estate professionals have evolved from simply being the keeper of listing information to trusted advisers and transaction process managers. And the industry keeps growing and changing, requiring new skills and understanding. But it’s still a relatively simple industry to enter, making it more challenging for hiring managers to spot achievers.
And once you find those agents, the challenge is to hold on to them as they mature into the industry. According to Broker Metrics, nearly 20 percent of all Realtors change their brokerage affiliation each year. In addition to commission structures and market niches, opportunities for training and mentoring inform those decisions.
“We find that when our agents begin applying something they’ve learned, it becomes contagious in the office,” said Harmon. “When they start seeing results from a new approach, whether it’s a completely new idea or something they already knew but began focusing on in a new way, they boost morale. They come in and share what they’re doing, and it helps everyone improve.”
As a brokerage that offers certified programs for pre-licensing and continuing education, you are positioned to attract new professionals that are driven to grow, and keep your top performers who know your brokerage is behind them every step of the way.
750,000 professionals have relied on OnCourse Learning Real Estate for best-in-class education, career development, and compliance solutions thanks to more than 4,800 state, IDECC, and ARELLO-approved continuing education, pre-licensing, and corporate training offerings. Join 1,500 other partners and learn more about how brokerages can partner with OnCourse Learning for training and education solutions.
