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Sherry Chris, CEO of Anywhere Expansion Brands, knows the market well.
Over the past 35 years, Chris has led some of the top real estate brands in the US and Canada through double-digit mortgage rate hikes, housing crashes, recessions, and many other industry-specific shifts. .
“I started working in the industry in the early 1980s, when some of the audience was either still young or very young,” she said in a previous interview with Inman. “I would say that I had a great opportunity to go through some cycles. There are always cycles.”
“But I heard an interesting statistic the other day: 70% of agents today have never been through a cycle,” she added. “Fortunately, an industry veteran can tell us what it used to be like.”
Her “old school” experience has enabled Chris to achieve impressive growth with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate and ERA. ERA celebrates her 50th anniversary in the industry in 2022.
“ERA is very strong. Globally, we are in 33 countries and are a growing brand globally,” she said. “I’m excited about the start of the year and what 51 will bring.”
Ahead of her latest Inman Connect New York appearance — you can see her virtually on Wednesday — Chris sat down with Inman to talk about ERA’s 50th anniversary in the industry and its longevity in difficult times. We considered what leaders can do to create a brand. .
Inman: We’ve had quite a few talks over the past year. The last time we spoke was at the kickoff of his 50th anniversary celebrations for the ERA. There was a lot of excitement about what the year would be like. Clearly, the market has changed quite a bit since then.
With that in mind, how have the past few months been?
Chris: Yes, the last time we spoke was in the spring and in March there was a big conference celebrating the ERA’s 50th anniversary. Since then, we have celebrated the success of many brokers and closed Ignite, a broker owner retreat that continues to celebrate its 50th anniversary. ERA is a brand that always celebrates something. The overall positive attitude of broker owners and agents is truly contagious.
At the end of last year, we launched a new women’s network for broker owners called The Hera Society. It has been very well received and we continue to work on this platform, including coaching opportunities and idea sharing for female owners. We also launched the Team ERA Wellness Program. The program partners with wellness consultants and a National Advisory Board to share content and hold each other accountable.
These are all examples of the strong ties and incredible collaborations that ERA has with each other as a brand. I was sad when 2022 came to an end because 2022 was a great year of celebration and a year of great growth. There are so many things I want to say, but I will stop here for now (laughs).
I’ve been following ERA all year and they’ve done a great job recruiting and retaining. According to the latest statistics, ERA has acquired 18 new franchisees and updated almost the same number of existing franchisees.
Like you said before, kindness and cooperation are paramount to you. But how do you sustain it when sales drop and things start to get volatile? What is your advice to leaders who are
that’s a great question. As for the ERA, we’ve had a strong culture for 50 years, so it’s no surprise. But for others, it’s important to remember that it’s never too late to build a strong culture. This is very important when you encounter market changes and face more difficult times.
One of the things I’ve talked about over the past year is winning the curve. So my metaphor is related to horse racing. Everyone has the same advantage when the horse comes out of the gate and is in the straight. It’s a place where you can really create significant opportunities to do things better.
We are in that turn now. When we talk about what we can do to stay ahead of the market, it’s about making sure our agents are more productive and delivering superior customer service to our end consumers.
Over the course of my career, I have experienced several shifts in the marketplace, and I see each shift, whether up or down, as an opportunity to look back on the business and make the necessary changes.
That also applies to what you said about growth throughout the year. Over the past few years, many real estate companies have been given the opportunity to drive growth, but we have seen people need to hold back and adopt a more measured and sustainable approach.
So how are we approaching growth in 2023?
For a mature brand like ERA, there are many franchise renewals every year.So far this year, we have renewed 17 long-term franchises.This speaks to the trust these brokers have. increase.
One of the things I want to talk to prospective brokers about is the fact that when we are in a changing market, it is very important to have someone on your side as your business partner. Being a small company and without help in a market like this I don’t think it would be great right now — what would you do? How would you improve agent productivity? What is that? That is the guidance we provide to broker owners.
As you said, there’s been a lot of press coverage talking about companies making big cuts and things like that. But my preferred view is to properly size the company for the market we’re experiencing today, and it makes business sense. It’s not doom and gloom.
It’s about approaching business in an efficient and profitable way. After all, we want all companies to grow strategically and profitably, not grow at any cost.
I read an article yesterday about sizing right and how journalists frame the layoffs happening in all kinds of industries.
But staying on topic, what is the strategy for right sizing but still adding value? do you want?
As a broker owner or agent, we believe it is very important to diversify our revenue streams. Anywhere has an Anywhere Leads Group that provides leads to companies and provides Cartus Transfer Services. These are some of the things we manage at the Anywhere level for our franchisees.
But from an agent’s perspective, they need to sit back and consider what the core of their business is and how they can fix it to be more productive. If they are getting business from only one store he he is probably not the best bet for the future. So diversify your spending as an agent and watch the returns.
For me, I like to see 10x returns. So, as an agent, if he spends $10,000, he should receive $100,000. Things like that lead me to right-sizing your business. Right-sizing doesn’t necessarily mean cutting things. It means changing things.
So if your business has a support team that isn’t making money, look at it and make sure everyone on the team is actually making money and [return on investment] Attached to their reward. These aren’t things you can easily change in a day, but they are very important to your business. And when you look outside of real estate, that’s the enterprise — the successful enterprise.
Whether you are an independent agent or a team leader, you are the CEO of your business. Sit back and see what you’re bringing, where it’s coming from, and how you can optimize your spending. That alone helps agents really manipulate all types of market conditions.
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