Atlanta, GA (November 9, 2009) – PCMS Consulting today announced that it has been chosen to lead all search engine optimization and social media efforts to the Web 2.0 enterprise clients of Silicon Valley based Terabitz. The innovative company, who names leading companies such as Intero Real Estate, @Properties, and Prudential Gary Greene as clients, has an exclusive marketing arrangement with PCMS and has also been informally recommending them for SEO projects for several months.
Terabitz founder, Ashfaq Munshi, decided to expand the relationship based on the belief that SEO has become a prominent topic as brokerages go away from print media and are looking for ways to organically drive traffic to their sites. “In addition to the great job PCMS has done leveraging their relationships on our behalf, we also feel very confident they can provide an integrated approach to our whole internet marketing effort. They will help drive traffic to our ‘best in class’ Web 2.0 solution.”
Stacey Salatto, Broker at Porter Properties in Auburn, AL, signed a deal with Terabitz and hired PCMS Consulting for SEO services separately in April 2009. “It has been very convenient for us to have our SEO vendor working hand in hand with our Web 2.0 enterprise provider. PCMS markets the Terabitz product and is intimately familiar with their architecture so it gives them the ability to give us much better service than someone else might be able to.”
PCMS President, Jose Perez states, “We are very excited that a recognized Web 2.0 leader such as Terabitz recognizes our ability to help them not only in marketing their platform but also working with their clients and engineering staff to drive traffic. Our continued positive momentum continues to attract business and allow us to recruit talent.”
PCMS recently recruited Jeff Castner to handle business development in the Midwest and is also actively recruiting to round out their award winning business development team. Mr. Castner is a former sales leader for Sotheby’s International Realty and Coldwell Banker and joins a team that has over 300 years of experience on the local, regional, and national real estate scenes over the past 25 years.
ABOUT PCMS CONSULTING
PCMS Consulting is a full service real estate consulting, management, and sales organization specializing in real estate brokerage and franchisor growth related issues. PCMS was founded in 2007 and delivers a portfolio of innovative consulting services and related products that leading companies require for maintaining and enhancing their market position and profitability. The organization is led by founder and President Jose Perez who has compiled a veteran, forward-thinking team of consultants, business development personnel, and innovative industry product vendors and franchisors to assist clients as they seek to “reinvent” their companies in a dramatically changing environment. For more information visit www.pcmsconsulting.com and www.pcmsconsulting.com/pcms/blog/.
RIS Media – December 2009, “Adversity causes some men to break and others to break records,” is a quote by William Ward that I believe is quite appropriate for our current market. We have a number of companies and agents doing quite well in what many consider difficult times.
This is not our first challenging market. When I started in the business in 1980 we had 18+% interest rates and less than two million homes sold nationally compared to four+ million this year. Many did not survive that downturn or subsequent ones.
That brings me to another important point. Many brokers that should have sold during the mergers-acquisitions boom of a few years ago now are not able to because their company’s value has decreased dramatically. Assuming you agree the market will stay flat for at least 12 – 18 months, how are those companies going to increase profitability so they can be in a position to sell for a profit at some point in the next 3 – 5 years?
Back in the 1980’s, and through today, profitable and sustainable companies all possess:
Profitability does not appear to be related to your brand, market size, or brokerage model, even though these are all important. Profitability is all about achieving balance and being true to your model.
An example of a company model would be a high agent compensation model. This can be profitable if the brokerage is providing an appropriate level of support for the company dollar derived. The agent is receiving fair tools and services for the compensation they receive or fees charged. In turn the broker must be allowed to retain a fair profit for the services provided. Obviously fairness is in the eye of the beholder, but if the equation is slanted too far in either direction neither will prosper for long.
Many of the companies that exited the business, or will soon, are severely flawed in their balance. Because of their generally high fixed overhead expenses combined with high agent compensation their model is sustainable only with high transaction velocity.
How are these companies ever going to position themselves for an eventual sale if they do not address these issues? How are you going to position yourself for a profitable sale in a market that is going to be, best case, flat for the foreseeable future? What is your succession plan?
As with every industry, we must better manage our ability to adjust to market cycles. I believe many companies can emerge from this market “re-invented” combining a strong agent/client value proposition and scalable marginal income. The time to change is now.
History will repeat itself and lessons can be learned but hopefully not forgotten. Did I mention my profitability themes above were first presented over 25 years ago during the beginning of another difficult period?
]]>Boulder, Colo.—September 8, 2009—Pedal to Properties, a unique Boulder-based real estate firm that incorporates the use of distinctive cruiser bikes as part of its real estate touring practice, has signed an agreement with PCMS Consulting, an experienced franchise consulting, management and sales firm. Tim Majors, president, U.S. operations for Pedal to Properties, made the announcement after researching franchise sales and consulting firms nationwide.
“As an emerging franchisor, it was critical that Pedal to Properties selected a firm that was experienced yet offered smart strategies for reaching prospective franchise operators in cities and towns where the Pedal to Properties model will gain traction,” said Majors. “PCMS Consulting helps us jumpstart our franchise development process as many on their team are ex-senior level executives and award-winning sales representatives from Realogy Corporation, parent company of national brands such as Better Homes and Gardens, Sothebys International Realty, and Coldwell Banker. They have an excellent understanding of how to reach our target franchisee and a keen eye for broker needs as the industry moves towards a new paradigm dominated by the consumer and the Internet.”
Majors, who joined Pedal to Properties as a partner in May, said this model should work well in communities nationwide where buyers and sellers are healthy, green-focused, and want to live in urban neighborhoods connected with the surrounding community. He has been pleased with early conversations with brokerages who have expressed serious interest in being part of a new, innovative, and environmentally conscious brand. PCMS Consulting’s sales team has begun to take reservations in the top 25 target markets identified by Pedal To Properties’ management team.
“We are always seeking out ground-breaking companies to do business with,” said Jose Perez, president, PCMS Consulting. “When we learned about Pedal to Properties and their environmentally friendly and health-conscious approach to selling real estate, we were intrigued. We are confident, after meeting Tim and Matt, and seeing the commitment they have to providing franchisee support and coaching in the areas of business planning, recruiting, and social media, that the timing for this unique model couldn’t be better.”
Formed in 2006, Pedal to Properties has grown 200 percent in the last two years, and today the company maintains 50 Electra Cruiser bikes at strategic locations throughout Boulder. Pedal to Properties continues to grow and attract national attention as Entrepreneur Magazine selected the firm as one of its “Top 100 Brilliant Companies” in a recent issue. In the last few months, Pedal to Properties has also been featured in major media outlets such as Fortune Small Business, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNBC and ABC News. See all articles and press releases.
As part of its overall strategy, Pedal to Properties real estate agents work closely with buyers to uncover neighborhoods that may interest them, then take cruiser bikes to those neighborhoods before embarking on a relaxed, neighborhood tour, where clients can see local parks, schools, stores, churches, and other amenities that buyers care about when selecting a home.
“Our bikes are cool and set us apart but the technology that we are getting ready to launch for consumers is going to take us to a new level among real estate firms,” added Majors. “Consumers will appreciate the interactive features we will make available online and realtors looking to join a forward-thinking firm will love the easy-to-access web tools and social networking strategies.”
About Pedal to Properties (www.pedaltoproperties.com)
Based in Boulder, Colo., Pedal to Properties was founded by Matt Kolb as a full-service realty firm that provides a unique experience for home buyers. Pedal to Properties realtors focus on assisting clients with buying and selling homes through an optional service to view properties and homes from Pedal to Properties cruiser bikes. Former Australian businessman Tim Majors joined Kolb in May to help take Pedal to Properties national through franchising. Majors has successful experience in taking a business national in Australia. For more information, call (303) 579-8947.
About PCMS Consulting (www.pcmsconsulting.com)
PCMS Consulting is a full-service consulting, management, and sales organization specializing in real estate brokerage and franchisor growth-related issues. PCMS was founded in 2007 and delivers a portfolio of cost-efficient consulting services and related products that leading companies require to maintain and enhance their market position and profitability. The firm is led by founder and President Jose Perez who has compiled a veteran team of consultants, business development personnel, and innovative industry product vendors and franchisors to assist clients as they seek to reinvent their companies in a dramatically changing real estate environment.
Atlanta, GA (August 31, 2009) – Due to overwhelming interest in the topic of reinvention and the need for real estate brokerages to seriously address seismic market shifts, PCMS Consulting today announced the launch of it its second Camp REinvent coaching program. PCMS’ business development team is currently accepting reservations for a program which is set to begin on October 1st.
The inaugural Camp REinvent registered over 40 participants and began on July 9th. Topics covered in the first eight weeks of the program have included reinvention of the real estate broker and his/her management team, how to create an engaging web 2.0 presence and website, how to create a social media strategy, search engine optimization tips, integrated technology strategies, how to set up, recruit to, and operate a café style office, and the first of four sessions on recruiting the agent of the future. The first program will run through mid-December.
According to PCMS President, Jose Perez, “Camp REinvent is designed to get real estate brokers and managers to accept the fact that change starts with them and that in today’s environment everything is tied to everything else. How can you expect your agents to change if you don’t?” As one example, Perez points to brokers who are promoting social media to their agents yet don’t have a LinkedIn or Facebook page. He adds, “You have to walk the walk!”
LP Finn, Director of Corporate Services for Coach Realtors, a 15 office brokerage based in Northport, NY, said, “I am extremely impressed with knowledge and expertise of the instructors within the camp. The instructors have taken the time to carefully plan each session, giving the ‘Campers’ a wealth of information without any wasted time or old/re-packaged ideas.”
PCMS Consulting boasts a team with over 300 years worth of real estate experience and expertise in areas that are critical in today’s environment such as recruiting, web 2.0, internet marketing, and success planning. The program is based on a collaboration within this team and special guests talking about topics such as web 2.0, internet lead management, Gen Y, and café style offices to deliver a comprehensive program that takes the best ideas and weaves them into a program that builds upon each topic to promote an ongoing dialog about reinvention within the companies that join Camp REinvent.
“Traveling and talking to brokers all over the country gives us a great perspective and allows us to share best practices.” says Jose Perez, President of PCMS Consulting. “The real estate brokerage of industry of old is not coming back and those who don’t take action now will be left behind. Our ‘Campers’ are benefiting from some of the sharpest and most innovative minds in the industry as well as networking with their peers all over the country.”
ABOUT PCMS CONSULTING
PCMS Consulting is a full service real estate consulting, management, and sales organization specializing in real estate brokerage and franchisor growth related issues. PCMS was founded in 2007 and delivers a portfolio of cost-efficient consulting services and related products that leading companies require for maintaining and enhancing their market position and profitability. The organization is led by founder and President Jose Perez who has compiled a veteran, forward-thinking team of consultants, business development personnel, and innovative industry product vendors and franchisors to assist clients as they seek to “reinvent” their companies in a dramatically changing environment. For more information visit www.pcmsconsulting.com and www.pcmsconsulting.com/pcms/blog/.
Atlanta, GA., – PCMS Consulting is proud to announce a new partnership with Crye-Leike REALTORS to assist the company in growth strategies to expand its franchise operation in multiple states. PCMS has business development personnel currently servicing over 20 states and plans to leverage Crye-Leike’s already strong southern states footprint with the objective of affiliating existing real estate sales firms with the company’s franchise arm.
“Our company has its roots in the real estate franchise business and we are excited to put that expertise to work for one of the largest companies in the country as well as one that has an outstanding reputation in the South,” said Jose Perez, President of Atlanta-based PCMS Consulting. “We are beginning our efforts in Tennessee, Crye-Leike’s backyard, where we can continue to expand their presence throughout the state with quality conversions of existing companies as we simultaneously look for opportunities with other strong operators in neighboring states.”
Perez believes with a renewed focus on franchising, Crye-Leike will utilize methods perfected by PCMS to identify, qualify, and affiliate companies ideally suited to become a new franchise. Crye-Leike’s Cofounder & CEO Harold Crye looks forward to taking advantage of the many tools and systems available through a partnership with PCMS to gain a competitive advantage in the market.
“We have seen a tremendous amount of real estate company consolidation in the last couple of years across the company’s southern U.S. region – with several independent and competitor franchise firms joining Crye-Leike,” said Crye. “I see home sales in our primary and secondary markets will continue to fluctuate up and down for another couple years forcing some firms to seek out a company’s like ours to help sustain them, their business and clients.”
Crye-Leike Franchises, Inc., a division of Crye-Leike, REALTORS began real estate franchising operations in 2000. Since the division’s establishment a total of 30 real estate companies have joined the Crye-Leike franchise network. Crye-Leike franchises are currently located in states throughout the South including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
“In the current economic environment, Crye-leike has a huge advantage across its southern U.S region in the way it supports its sales force with technology and marketing while some of the larger players have actually reduced support,” said Perez. “Because Crye-Leike is a regional company with hubs in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis, Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas, a franchisee can get much more ‘hand holding’ and live support than they can from some other franchise organizations.”
In spite of difficult market conditions for home sales heading into the 3rd quarter of 2009, both Perez and Crye are convinced the timing is right to aggressively pursue unaffiliated real estate firms to become a Crye-Leike franchise.
“We’ve seen our share of challenging home sales markets in our 32 years in business but clearly we are at a critical juncture and my hope is we can provide quality branding and support to smaller firms currently struggling to adapt to the new real estate brokerage paradigm,” said Crye. “We are excited about our new relationship with PCMS and the years of real estate and franchise knowledge they bring to the table to help us collectively reach out to accomplish our goals.”
ABOUT CRYE-LEIKE REALTORS
Harold Crye and Dick Leike established Crye-Leike, REALTORS in 1977. Today, Crye-Leike®, the nations 6th largest real estate company, has a network of more than 3,500 licensed sales associates based out of more than 130 corporate and franchise offices located through-out the eight-state southern region of Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and North Carolina.
Crye-Leike is a full-service real estate company offering buyers and sellers services in: residential sales, mortgage lending, title, insurance, business brokerage and investments, property management, development and construction, builder resources, REO bank-owned properties, relocation, auctions, and home services referrals. In 2008, Crye-Leike attained a sales volume in excess of $4.2 billion with 25,871 homes sold.
ABOUT PCMS CONSULTING
PCMS Consulting is a full service real estate consulting, management, and sales organization specializing in real estate brokerage and franchisor growth related issues. PCMS was founded in 2007 and delivers a portfolio of cost-efficient consulting services and related products that leading companies require for maintaining and enhancing their market position and profitability. The organization is led by founder and President Jose Perez who has compiled a veteran, forward-thinking team of consultants, business development personnel, and innovative industry product vendors and franchisors to assist clients as they seek to “reinvent” their companies in a dramatically changing environment. For more information visit www.pcmsconsulting.com and www.pcmsconsulting.com/pcms/blog/.
Atlanta, GA (June 15, 2009) – PCMS Consulting and AlignMark, Inc. today announced a strategic partnership that will allow both organizations to expand their offerings and provide more services to their real estate clients. According to the agreement, PCMS will have exclusive rights to market AlignMark’s innovative, technology-based, agent recruiting tools and AlignMark will have preferred access to the PCMS roster of veteran real estate industry consultants.
“As we expand our roster of consulting services, we are constantly looking for related products that could complement our consulting services. AlignMark is the perfect fit for our agent recruiting coaching programs,” says Jose Perez, President of PCMS Consulting. “We have been impressed with the quality of their recruiting products as well as the forward thinking approach Glen Jaffee and his team implement as it relates to recruiting the agent of the future.”
AlignMark provides technology based solutions that helps brokers expand their recruiting and selection of agents.
“AlignMark looks for strategic partners which can represent our organization at the same standard the industry would expect. PCMS has demonstrated that ability with forward thinking which fits well with our company and we look forward to the relationship” states Glen Jaffee, Vice President for AlignMark.
PCMS continues its quest to be the “one stop shop” for real estate consulting services as the industry continues its dramatic transformation. To that end, PCMS has also recently announced the launching of Camp REinvent, a six month series of group and company specific coaching calls designed to help brokerages prosper in the new real estate brokerage paradigm. “AlignMark is one more example of how we are aligning ourselves with the most innovative consultants and vendors so our clients can position themselves to thrive in the future,” states Perez.
About PCMS
PCMS Consulting is a full service real estate consulting, management, and sales organization specializing in real estate brokerage and franchisor growth related issues. PCMS was founded in 2007 and delivers a portfolio of cost-efficient consulting services and related products that leading companies require for maintaining and enhancing their market position and profitability. The organization is led by founder and President Jose Perez who has compiled a veteran, forward-thinking team of consultants, business development personnel, and innovative industry product vendors and franchisors to assist clients as they seek to “reinvent” their companies in a dramatically changing environment. For more information see the Real Estate Consulting Blog.
About AlignMark
Since 1976 AlignMark has been a pioneer and leading provider of tools and services aimed to help organizations optimize their human capital services, and have been providing the Real Estate Industry with recruitment, selection and development tools since 1998. AlignMark also offers a variety of other services which includes ongoing training and support through avenues such as coaching, webinars and one-on-one training. The culmination of our experiences has changed the way the industry recruits, selects and develops new and experienced real estate agents today. Over 700 real estate brokerages including large independents and franchised offices of the leading brands around the world have worked with us. Our real estate products include AccuRecruiter, Real Estate Simulator and iNTELAGENT. Visit us at http://www.alignmark.com/solutions/realestate.asp.
Atlanta, GA (May 26, 2009). PCMS Consulting today announced the launching of Camp REinvent, a series of group and company specific coaching calls designed to help real estate brokerages re‐engineer themselves in the midst of many dramatic changes occurring in the real estate industry. Camp REinvent is the brainchild of PCMS’ management team, real estate industry veterans specializing in a variety of disciplines including recruiting, internet marketing, and succession planning.
“Timing could not be better to be proactive.” states Jose Perez, President and founder of PCMS. “There are two types of forces affecting brokerages today, one is the market dynamics of lower volume and sales prices and the other is cultural in terms of the internet and the new expectations consumers and agents have as a result of things like Web 2.0 and social media. It’s a whole new world and, unfortunately, there are too many brokers and managers who are not sure how to address these changes.”
The program will consist of 24 weekly group coaching calls based on the premise that if brokers and managers can reinvent themselves, their attitudes, and their ability to communicate with today’s consumers and agents, they can lead the way in their local markets. Topics will also include Web 2.0, social media, internet marketing, search engine optimization, and recruiting the agent of the future. Weekly group coaching calls will be reinforced with monthly company specific calls where PCMS Consulting personnel will work with brokers and their management team to make sure each of the concepts and ideas presented in the group calls are being implemented at the company and office level.
Ken Baris, President of Jordan Baris Realtors in West Orange, NJ states, “I go to a lot of industry conferences and sit in on many excellent presentations. The problem is that most presentations are specific to that topic and in today’s world every issue touches every other issue. In other words, you can’t just look at social media on its own, you need to understand its impact on your company in terms of recruiting, listing, selling, etc. I also like the idea that Camp REinvent not only builds upon this concept, but also follows up with companies to further explain and make sure clients are implementing those ideas. Accountability is critical if brokerages are going to make the changes necessary to survive in the future.”
According to Perez, the first Camp REinvent will begin in late June. “Based on the many positive comments received during our focus group sessions, we are anticipating a heavy turnout and will be limiting the first group to 50 brokerages. Due to the relevance of this topic in today’s environment, we expect to customize the program for some of our larger multi‐office clients who see Camp REinvent as a relatively inexpensive way to push their management teams and themselves into the future of real estate.”
About PCMS PCMS Consulting is a full service consulting, management, and sales organization specializing in real estate brokerage and franchisor growth related issues. PCMS was founded in 2007 and delivers a portfolio of cost‐efficient consulting services and related products that leading companies require to maintain and enhance their market position and profitability. They are led by founder and President Jose Perez who has compiled a veteran, forward‐thinking team of consultants, business development personnel, and innovative industry product vendors and franchisors to assist clients as they seek to “reinvent” their companies in a dramatically changing environment.
About Camp REinvent Camp REinvent is a series of group and company specific coaching calls conceived by the PCMS Consulting management team to help brokerages re‐engineer themselves in the midst of dramatic market and cultural changes effecting the real estate brokerage industry. For more information. visit www.campreinvent.com
Atlanta, GA (May, 2009)—PCMS Consulting announced today that it has signed a strategic partnership with Engel & Völkers Florida. Engel & Völkers delivers a unique franchise model for luxury residential real estate brokerages with their boutique‐style property shop concept. As one of the leading real estate brokerage firms in Europe, franchisees benefit from an international network of nearly 500 shops in 25 countries including 24 Florida. The Engel & Völkers brand provides exceptional service tailored to the lifestyle needs of their high end clientele.
Timo Khammash, Managing Partner for Engel & Völkers Florida states, “We are very excited about our arrangement with PCMS because their team has deep rooted relationships with hundreds of real estate brokers locally and throughout the U.S. They will be able to introduce us to brokers that fit our internationally‐focused model and give us the ability to immediately leverage those relationships as we work towards our goal of becoming a market leader in luxury real estate in Florida.
PCMS Consulting was conceived as a “solution center” for real estate brokerage companies and franchise organizations. “We deliver a portfolio of cost‐efficient consulting services and related products that leading real estate companies require to maintain and enhance their market position and profitability.” says PCMS president, Jose Perez, quoting from the PCMS mission statement. “By aligning ourselves with the best consultants and the most innovative product vendors and franchises we can really help brokerages ‘reinvent’ themselves so they can begin to prosper again.”
PCMS’ business development team leader for the Engel & Völkers engagement is Craig Anderson, an award winning real estate veteran who has been helping clients grow their businesses for 15 years. Craig has intimate knowledge of the challenges real estate brokerages face and knows how to help them find solutions that work. “The Engel & Völkers model and value proposition are a perfect example of the positive changes that must be made in today’s real estate climate.” states Perez. “They combine their unique, smaller footprint ‘property shoppe’ concept with unparalleled international expertise and innovative technology.”
ABOUT PCMS
Founded in July 2007 by industry veteran, Jose Perez, PCMS provides cost efficient consulting services and related products to the real estate brokerage and franchise industries. PCMS has seven expert consultants specializing in company analysis, franchise development, internet marketing, mergers and acquisitions, and recruiting as well as an award winning business development team that calls on brokers throughout the U.S. and Europe.
ABOUT ENGEL & VOELKERS
Engel & Völkers is a leading global brand for luxury real estate. It is represented with nearly 500 unique boutique‐style property shops in all the top locations around the globe. Around the world, Engel & Völkers offers brokers the opportunity to become part of the global network and join the system as a franchisee. In Florida Engel & Völkers is already represented in 27 prime locations. The company plans to open 200 stylish property shops until 2014.
For more information, please visit www.engelvoelkers.com/florida
]]>Sound familiar? Has that been the voice in your head the past three years? Our conversations with brokers, large and small, all over the country, tell us this is industry has been in denial… denial that they have to do more, much more, than just cut expenses until things get “better”. Take a look at your business analysis.
Most companies now know they truly need to analyze how they do business and, more importantly, must be willing to make dramatic, potentially scary changes, to their businesses. But for those who think all they have to do is cut expenses and “hunker down”, the best case scenario is being less profitable in the foreseeable future.
PCMS is committed to helping real estate brokers transform their business anylysis and break from the paradigms of the past to embrace those that will be necessary to be successful in the future.
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