From relocation to getting the right listing price, Brandon Long, Broker/Owner of WEICHERT, REALTORS® – The Griffin Company, offers insights into running real estate right.
Brandon Long
Broker/Owner
WEICHERT, REALTORS® – The Griffin Company
Springdale, Ark.
Region served: Benton and Washington Counties
Years in real estate: Since 1979
Number of offices: 3
Number of agents: 120
Best tip for getting the right listing price: Don’t give the seller any other options. If they want to price the home at an unmarketable price point, don’t take the listing.
Most effective way to motivate agents: Lead by example, and display vulnerability and humility.
Having grown up with a mother who owns her own real estate business, what is the most important thing you learned from her?
I have seen my mother, the top agent in her market for the past dozen years or so, do well because of repeat business and referrals from those she helps. There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing a previous client will go out of their way to refer their friends and family.
In what ways does WEICHERT, REALTORS® – The Griffin Company set new agents up for success?
New agents go through a bootcamp program where they’re taught how to perform result-producing activities both thoroughly and properly. The program is 100 percent about accountability, so there are consequences to every action. When agents go through the program, they typically graduate with a real estate IQ of someone who’s been in the business for two to three years or more.
Your offices have achieved Top 5 company-wide recognition in recent years, in addition to The Griffin Company being the No. 3 Weichert affiliate nationally. What are the top two drivers behind your firm’s continued success?
In 2014, our Bentonville office was the No. 1 office within the Weichert Real Estate Affiliates family, and our Springdale office was No. 6. There’s no doubt in my mind that our bootcamp program is one of the driving forces behind this success. Another key driver that has led to our continued success is our attention to proper hands-on management. When mistakes are made, we teach our agents to be humble, own their mistakes, learn from them, and strive to never make the same mistakes again.
Your company does a lot of work with Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt Transport and Walmart’s corporate headquarters. What do agents need to know about serving relocation clients?
When it comes to relocation, agents must understand that the agreement for services and benefits that the transferee receives is between the relocation company and the transferee’s company. Since there’s a referral fee paid to the relocation company that comes out of the commission, agents tend to look at the percentage they receive, rather than the big picture. Our agents frequently recoup those fees, and then some, by subsequent referrals from that transferee.
