Jeff Bergstrom

Great article. The traditional franchise Broker business model has been the 500lb elephant in the room. For many agents, it no longer works. But, not surprisingly, few alternatives exist. The brokerage machine will fight with everything it has left to maintain their status quo. A completely new business model is needed. Jeff Bergstrom Wynd Realty Atlanta, GA

Yes, there are too many cars, too much traffic. It sucks. The sky is blue and the grass is green. Stating the obvious is easy. We could have had a more European model if our entire country was the size of Ohio. Do you realize how large the United States is? We are a nation of over 300M. Our country has added over 100M in the last 45 years. In that time, we didn't have the technology to create any model that would have worked differently. And, now our structures are in place where turning to another model is almost impossible. Seen any high-speed train systems added in the last few decades. Yes, what we have isn't right. There are logical reasons why and how it evolved to where are are. Saying things suck isn't helping anyone.

To quote a famous movie--"you can't handle the truth". We can't. The real estate industry is the most head-in-the-sand body of people in business. The Broker sales agent model is outdated and useless. How many agents can they lure into in fold. Hunderds, thousands, tens-of-thousands. At what point does a franchise Broker's role matter? According to Consumer Reports--it doesn't. Been to your local Realty Board website. I'll bet is states the number one feature/benefit to agents is "prestige". What? Are you kidding me? What year do those people think it is? Been to "ethics" training lately. Its a bunch of people "playing" at being important. The good news is the industry needs change. The exciting part can be playing a role in that change.