Wynd Realty was created from a question: What do agents really want? It wasn’t difficult to figure out, as a matter of fact it was pretty obvious. Agents wanted low monthly cost, no splits, 100% commission, no Boards and no BS fees and fines. And, for the most part, they didn’t want to be bothered by a Broker. In other words; agents didn’t want the traditional franchise format that everyone was selling. That was over ten years ago!
Fast forward, agents still want low costs, no splits and no BS. But, over the last ten years, the idea of a low cost, flat fee brokerage has gone from being considered, “wacky” to becoming mainstream. Wynd 1.0 was built for agents who were early adopters of new ideas. Wynd 2.0 is being built with the entire little “r” community in mind.
As much as we have stressed how different our market is, Atlanta has yet to fully realize any of its unique potential. Currently, our industry is in a huge money grab. Venture capitalists can’t write checks fast enough. But, if more money, means more problems, what does this trend say about our industry’s future?
What if Atlanta’s non-Realtor community ran away from the money grab? What could happen if the Atlanta agent community created an opposite direction?
For too long our industry has been led by an arbitrarily set 6% commission standard. Consumers hate it. It’s going to change. But the reality is, if we follow a European or Australian commission model, our future agents are going to have to get a lot leaner! Agents everywhere will have to cut costs. Rule of thumb: if an expense isn’t directly involved in the sales cycle, consider it overhead. And, the most logical place to find unnecessary overhead? You guessed it: brokerage services.
Agents, AND home sellers, don’t need to pay for: receptionists, closing coordinators, administrative salaries, stone-stacked offices spaces, computers, copiers, unlimited coffee bars, national advertising, political donations and the corruption it creates.
LET’S BLOW ALL OF THIS UP!
In large part because we can. Never forget, 85%-90% of our nations MLSs don’t allow agents to have any kind of variation from the NAR “norm”. That’s because NAR owns 85%-90% of all the MLSs in the United States. But, not in Atlanta! Here, agents are free to create a different kind of real estate industry. A real estate industry with no Brokers! An industry of only agents and “their” brands.
Atlanta is already home to the largest collection of non-realtors in the nation. That makes us very unique. And, unique is good as a differentiator. We have arrived at a time in history where our realty brands have forked. The capital R brands represent the past. The independent, unaffiliated from NAR brands are the future. A future that hasn’t been written yet. A future Atlanta agents can create.
The goal of Wynd Realty 2.0 is to scale to the point of being able to replace traditional brokerage services for as many agents as possible. The Wynd Realty 1.0 business model has worked well for over a decade. But, this extended beta period has been with a relatively small number of agents, 250-300. How could Wynd Realty scale to thousands of agents AND still maintain the core value of providing agents with the lowest possible cost?
Our pledge: no agent will ever pay more than $12.95/$34.95 a month with a flat transaction fee of $300. As a new-era brokerage, we aren’t in the business of making ourselves rich. That isn’t the point. There is no stock. We are nothing to invest in. We are driven by the belief our business model is a common sense approach, fair to all parties and perfectly suited to act as a test lab, launching pad and enabler for others.
Wynd Realty will grow from a small circle of real estate and marketing professionals, in Brand Director positions, who are dedicated to providing best in class customer service. And yes, I know everyone says that. But, it’s true. Wynd Realty has nothing to hide behind. If we don’t offer top-notch customers service, everything we do in this regard will fail.
Logistically our overriding concept was to create an open, transparent and sharing cooperative for agents and “their” brands. A true environment of agents for agents. To that end, Wynd Realty 2.0 selected SLACK as our internal communications platform going forward. While old-schoolers continue to develop proprietary environments, the Wynd strategy has always been to utilize commonly available tools and apps. What agents are able to create and develop under a SLACK construct is virtually unlimited. We believe in giving agents the tools to bend, shape and model Wynd Realty into the service platform they want. Every voice will be heard.
So why not create new voices? For over a decade we have consistently trashed the value of Realty Boards. But, those Boards were the old-timey capital R type Boards. Maybe history is telling us it’s time for a refresh? Interested in creating a FREE online Board that sets standards and codes while actually aiding in local real estate issues? Anyone can make that happen at Wynd Realty. The agents are in charge.
While we are very excited about the prospects of what could be, we realize creating anything of lasting value is never done in a void. Wynd Realty 2.0 needs agents. It needs the voices of many.
On the personal side, I am a huge believer in playing the cards you’re dealt. Ten years ago we had no idea Wynd Realty would become the champion of change it is today. We had no idea how wildly different Atlanta was from the rest of the nation? We simply played the opportunities as they presented themselves. Given that, we would be absolutely foolish NOT to try an expansion. Equally foolish, not using the rarity of the Atlanta market to benefit as many agents as possible.
So please, join us for the journey!
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