ERA Real Estate publicly unveiled its approach to succession planning last month at an industry conference. ERA’s Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategic Initiatives Melody Bohrer provided insights to how ERA Real Estate started the real estate succession planning conversation more than four years ago and how the brand’s efforts and findings have culminated into a robust program titled Plan, Prepare, ProsperTM.
Developed in partnership with real estate philosopher, speaker and writer Matthew Ferrara, the Plan, Prepare, ProsperTM program was launched within the ERA system at the 2016 ERA® International Business Conference in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month. Also at the conference, the first Plan, Prepare, ProsperTM coaching sessions with Bohrer and Ferrara kicked-off with a standing-room-only audience of ERA brokers and owners.
“The median age of a real estate broker/owner is 62 and that of a sales associate is 55,” says Charlie Young, president and CEO of ERA Real Estate. “Yet, the average age of a first-time homebuyer is 33, which means there are many years ahead in which your current homebuyers can fill your pipeline with repeat and referral business. With the right leadership in place for the future, those opportunities can continue to fuel growth and profit for your company long after you retire.”
ERA Real Estate has worked closely with its current and up-and-coming brokers to help them plan for the future so that they can further prosper during retirement and ensure their company’s success for an effective leadership transition. From succession planning discussions at the brand’s annual Broker Business Forums and International Business Conferences to robust program offerings in conjunction with ERA’s parent company, Realogy Holdings Corp., the ERA brand is trailblazing the way to early and proper succession planning.
“Coaching our affiliated brokers in grooming their successors to be skilled leaders is a win-win because while we are helping them plan for their own prosperity, succession planning also helps ensure business continuity in the marketplace,” says Young.
Plan, Prepare, ProsperTM consists of live training, a video library and one-on-one consulting to address topics such as why brokers need a plan, working through specific family issues, coordinating successor selection, candidate development and more. It complements both ERA’s existing Leadership Academy and Realogy’s Ascend: The Executive LeadershipSM program, which both guide up-and-coming leaders to improve their skills, business acumen, strategic planning and management techniques.
“It is absolutely essential that emerging leaders immerse themselves in leadership training and business acumen,” says Tom DeWine, active succession planning participant and president and COO of ERA Colonial Real Estate in Harker Heights, Texas. “ERA and Realogy’s AscendSM program did that for me and it has already proven to be effective in my leadership style and future goals planning, both for myself and my company.”
For more information, visit www.era.com.
