Franchise opportunities are everywhere. Although it often seems like the logical next step for superstar agents, buying into a franchise brand should not be a quick decision. Before you choose, you should do some careful and meticulous research.

If you are thinking about making the leap from sales to broker/owner, you need to be honest with yourself. Are you able to make this business work, or should you continue to work as an agent? Not everyone is cut out to run/own a real estate office. No franchise, no matter how good, will give you the ambition, personality or financial backing required to succeed. That all comes from within.

A broker I once worked for bought a real estate franchise. At the "orientation" meeting in New York there were about five new offices present. The director walked in, wrote, "The ball is in your hands!" on the blackboard, and we all went for a nice lunch. That was it!

I didn't look into a franchise for years after that because I couldn't see any value in it. Then I realized that there were some very real advantages to becoming a franchise owner, if it were the right franchise. I could leverage a name brand in my own market, take advantage of a national network of associates, and enjoy the benefits and satisfaction of owning my own business.

One reason I decided it was time to franchise, was that franchises were popping up everywhere, and when recruiting I heard, "you're not big enough" too many times. But even in my densely populated suburb there always seemed to be too many of each brand. I saw ads that said, "Not all XYZ brand offices are alike, we're the best!" Well, why would you want to be part of XYZ brand if you couldn't say they were all the same - same service, same standards?

These guys have to compete amongst their own franchise brand to survive. I thought that was sheer madness! In New Jersey recently a competing franchise's office converted to Realty Executives. I visited their office during its conversion and was shocked to see another of their old brand's offices about a half-mile closer to the city on the same highway. How could the franchiser allow that kind of blatant "visibility theft?"

Clearly not all franchisers are alike. I felt that success lay in choosing the right franchise for me and my market. So I did my homework and here are the methods I used.

From my experience, there are 10 important points for brokers to consider when looking for a franchise:

Published: October 22, 1999

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Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Ken Stanely only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.