Global Real Estate Networks - Where does your company fit in?

Recently, during a discussion with an old associate - I was asked what constitutes a global real estate network really, and this expanded into a 3 hour exchange. The nice thing about discussions like these, is that they force you to look at your business through a different lens. Many of us tend to get so caught up doing things the same way day-in-day-out, that we sometimes overlook changes in business environments around the world, geo-political shifts, economic cycles, etc. It's always refreshing to get a different perspective!

Well, what is a global real estate network anyway? There are multiple business models ranging from conventional franchises, branding-led affiliates, brokerage-owned operations / partnerships and membership-based "B2B clubs". These vary (sometimes wildly) in terms of fees, charges, contract tenures and the scope of the business relationship.

That being said, I thought it would be "fun" to look at our business and evaluate how a company (brokerage / agency) fits in to a global real estate network.

Let's look at the main draws of being part of such a community:

1. Stand out in your region - embracing a well-known brand immediately acts as an accelerator for your business in terms of visibility. Well-placed PR and social media campaigns can help constantly reinforce this and expand your customer base
2. "Expand" your business - opening offices in other countries to take advantage of business opportunities can be extremely lucrative, but also requires careful planning around budgets, resources, potential partners, etc. Being part of a global network allows one to potentially take advantage of these opportunities with other carefully vetted member companies, without startup risks
3. Attract more / better talent - agents, valuers, researchers, etc all love to work with the best. A good brand arguably helps you get better applicants in a competitive job market
4. More revenue lines - in a business that screams "location, location, location", sometimes it's also good to consider "follow the money". Start offering overseas properties to your local clients, attract foreign investment to local residential and commercial opportunities, tap funds and family offices...and so much more
5. Build connections worldwide - being part of a global community gives you plenty of opportunities to network and build valuable business relationships with individuals and companies. Attend related conferences and events - even offer to host your connections in your home country. The pandemic also accelerated acceptance of virtual as a viable alternative to traditional face-to-face events, thus having regular monthly / quarterly catchup calls with your global counterparts and a lot more
6. Learn and educate your team - Most global networks come with training programs, conducted online and in-person. Take advantage of these to keep your skills and knowledge up-to-date. Offer these to your team to improve productivity and also to increase your retention rates
7. Get the latest tech for your business - even with SaaS (software as a service) becoming a norm, it can become pretty expensive for many companies to try and keep up with / license multiple apps and solutions. Whether one's looking at CRM's, email distribution, social media, AI chatbots etc - there are hundreds of options out there. A global network will either offer your company a select offering of relevant tech solutions at discounted rates in the form of a "marketplace" etc, or ask you to adopt their end-to-end tech stack. Either option arguably allows your company to stay technologically competitive, as long as care is taken in assessing a match with your business needs

Of course, these are just some of the many reasons why real estate companies join global networks. These networks come in an array of forms, associated costs and benefits. A careful assessment needs to be done to understand which one works best for your business before taking the plunge -- what works for one business may not work for another.

I'd like to pen another quick article on what networks look out for when expanding their footprints globally. Stay tuned.

Questions and feedback always welcome. Drop me a message to continue the conversation, and may the force be with you...always.