Keller Williams, one of the first agent-focused franchise business models, has a unique agent retention and recruiting approach - let agents know how well the office is doing by allowing them open views of the office management system which includes views to their own and other agents' production.

The franchisor's new Web-based Management Of Real Estate (WebMORE) system lets agents and recruits view their personal goals vs. actual performance, performance vs. historicals, and current profit-sharing numbers (along with sales and listing data) from any Internet browser.

WebMORE is a new enterprise-class software solution which combines personalized sales data, listing data, and goal management into a powerful reporting and analysis tool that is expected to greatly enhance the ability of Keller Williams agents to set and achieve goals. Agents can also use the Intranet product as a recruiting tool by showing other agents they would like to recruit how much they are making as recruiters and how well the office is doing.

Office performance numbers are normally seen only by top executives, but that is what the franchise believes agents are and treats them so accordingly.

“The ‘open book’ aspect of WebMORE is one more demonstration of our willingness to empower our agents,” says Gary Keller, chairman of Keller Williams Realty International. “We believe every agent to be a Market Center. As such, each agent should be able to run his or her individual business with same tools we provide to our franchisees and regional directors. This belief served as the basis for WebMORE’s system design.”

To get an insight into this unique open-book policy, it might be helpful to know Keller Williams franchise philosophy. Keller Williams agents are not only paid as agents in transactions, but they have a second revenue stream as recruiters. They bring profitability to the office by bringing new agents who bring more production. Agents are paid a percentage of the production of their recruits and their recruits' recruits - up to seven levels. The profits generated by the recruits can help pay agents beyond retirement and to the agents' heirs after death.

Explains Dave Jenks, vice president of research and development for Keller Williams. “We are a company that believes the agent controls the business. Research shows that consumers pick agents, not companies. The main reason they select an agent is based on past experience; referrals from friends, colleagues, and relatives; and their awareness of that agent's activity in their area. At Keller Williams, we want to be the best place for an agent who controls his or her own business to be."

"Every time an agent joins Keller Williams, they name a sponsor who brought them in," continues Jenks. "The naming of the sponsor creates a partnership tree and you can follow the lineage of the tree. You can build your own business by sponsoring people - build your own company of recruits. We reward people for bringing profit in two ways - through the risk of ownership - anyone who owns a franchise needs to get return on investment, and to the salespeople who are rewarded for growing the profit."

On a monthly basis, Keller Williams posts the office's profits, less approved expenses. This is on the company's proprietary system called MORE. Monthly profits are split about evenly between the franchise owner and the profit-sharing pool which is then distributed among the agents according to the recruiting levels.

This is where WebMORE comes into the picture. The agents can view their sponsorship trees and know what every recruit has produced, as well as analyze their own production.

"They can see the profits to the broker and to each other," says Jenks. "This is empowering to the agents. In each office there is a decision-making leadership group called the Agent Leadership Council. They can decide based on the production they see whether it is time to bring in some new recruits or whether to buy or skip buying that fancy new copier."

When agents have a stake in the success of the office, it creates three advantages to the business:

1. Impetus for growth, which drives revenues

2. Cost controls which limits expenses and raises profits

3. Agent empowerment which encourages loyalty (more of one and two.)

"It just builds better business," says Jenks.

Published: June 6, 2002

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