One reason why brokers are barely breaking even on real estate transactions is that they aren't paying attention to the e-factor, says broker profitability consultant Terri Murphy. The eFactor can be used to speed communications between agents and consumers, and they can also involve lenders to help keep the prospect and transaction moving along. The eFactor can also improve marketing, which without the Internet can take up as much as 25 percent of a broker's profits.

Murphy is a private consultant who works with brokers on profitability. She teaches recruiting and retention seminars specializing in the e-factor, using the Internet to improve communication and cut costs.

"I have gotten tired of the brokers doing the same old things, and getting poorer and poorer," says Murphy. "They aren't paying attention, and they are losing business they don't even know has come through the door."

Murphy offers several solutions. One is the one-stop-shop.

"I go into the company and see what they are doing in marketing, communication and advertising," says Murphy. "I look at their ads, direct mail, how they are spending their money and my goal is to spend it effectively or change how they are doing it to get more trackable results. I rewrite ads, redesign the marketing and communications and usually do some training with people who answer the phones, and make sure they have an electronic policy."

Murphy also helps brokers establish ancillary relationships with affiliates to decrease costs and improve production volume, including lenders, title companies, financial planners, and attorneys.

One-stop-shopping is the key to profitability to many brokers who are wondering where the commissions went, and having tighter relationships with lenders, including creating in-house mortgage brokerage services is the wave of the present and the future. The problem is, agents are using them, which is reducing broker profitability, affecting agent retention and causing some sales to walk out the door. It would all come together if agents could simply be trained to use a system that puts them in immediate contact with the broker-friendly lender and works with the lender to retain the client after the sale.

"I'm a Realtor, trying to make a profit," says Murphy, "but I can't be everything to everybody so I can learn to work with affiliates."

She explains, "If a client is interested in a house, the broker can lose the client because the average agent doesn't get back to the client at the height of their interest," says Murphy. "By setting up a system with a lender you are servicing client at height of interest in a risk-free, value-added way."

Another thing brokers, agents aren't doing is working old files, which can be a goldmine of new business.

"What happens is that the Realtor and the loan officer start working the broker's database together. Most agents drop clients after a transaction closes, and they don't have a consistent value-added follow-up after the sale. That means the brokerage is littered with orphaned files.

"When someone calls you, that is a suspect," says Murphy. "Then they become a prospect, if you can move to the next level, they become a customer, and when you write them up - a client. An advocate makes referrals to you. And the top of the ladder is the confidant. You know them, they know your dog, and they are a source of referrals. Most agents work the bottom of the ladder when in fact people you have already done business with takes much less money to get repeat business."

She suggests, "Get the lender to help you nurture that upper database. If my lender is working with me to keep these people serviced, then we are always giving them service on behalf of the Realtors. I sell you a house now, and in January, you get your closing statement from ABC bank and me. 'Here's another copy of your closing statement for your files.' So the lender has a vested interest in the client, and they know the agent will not drop that client and is actively working that database. They are insuring future business. The team effort keeps it alive."

Another way she helps brokers is to get them weaned off of newspaper advertising and on to the Internet.

"They waste thousand of dollars on newspaper and print ads," says Murphy. "It is the biggest waste. I try to divert some dollars to the Internet because the ad will drive more business. I look at the Internet and see if they can maximize the visits, and integrate traditional and electronic marketing to maximize the monies. On the Internet, it should be about the prospects and what they want."

"Consumer all want the same thing - they are expecting instantaneous information, and most brokers aren't set up to do that," suggests Murphy. "We just did three tests to call six or seven brokers on their signs, and we couldn't get anyone to answer us. Agents don't answer their phones nor do brokers have systems to do it. We know it is a job to serve the client, but voice mail isn't enough."

Published: October 2, 2003

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.