Advertising Supplement
ERA has the special sauce to fuel your business
FUN FAX
Reinventing the real estate business model since 1971. The founders of Electronic Realty Associates (ERA) saw the value and opportunity to bring technology to real estate. In 1971, they connected every ERA® office with then ‘groundbreaking’ technology…the fax machine. Fast forward to today, when ERA Real Estate continues to innovate with a focus on technology. The company prides itself on having one of the most supportive, collaborative and innovative cultures in real estate. “We’re a company of firsts, including the first to create a program to guarantee the sale of a qualified home
back in 1976,” says Simon Chen, CEO of ERA Real Estate. “Then in 2015, we became the first national real estate company to connect our entire network on a single technology platform called Zap®. Today, we offer the ERA Real Estate App to our customers, and we recently announced a relationship with HomeAdvisor, the nation’s largest network of service contractors. We’re creating concierge sites for our affiliated brokers, giving their agents the tools to position themselves as local market experts and placing them at the center of the homeownership experience. These are just a few examples of our progress toward #GlobalDomination.”
#GLOBAL DOMINATION Uniting Industry Leaders Across the Globe
16,983 Domestic Agents 23,304 International Agents 44 U.S. States 34 Countries 227 U.S. Companies 2,335 Offices Worldwide 39,992 Sales Associates Worldwide
THE SPECIAL SAUCE TO FUEL YOUR BUSINESS Fast and flexible solutions for the ERA family of brokers
The brand’s founding principle is that each customer, community, independent sales agent and brokerage is unique and should be free to pave their own way. “When you affiliate with ERA, you get the best of both worlds,” says Dawn Perry, SVP of Brand Marketing at ERA Real Estate. “You get the support, technology and leverage that comes with joining a national brand with 48 years of success in the business, as well as the ability to retain your local brand identity.” Whether it’s recruiting or retaining agents, increasing productivity, evaluating new technology or expanding service offerings, ERA has a solution. “Our goal is to help brokers maximize the value of affiliating with ERA, offering them the flexibility to choose what makes sense for their business goals, whether it’s through the addition of ancillary business, customized branding, or offering business consulting services,” says Dave Collins, COO of ERA Real Estate. “Simply stated, our job is to help affiliated brokers put systems in place that help them grow their business their way.”
ERA Is Family
American Real Estate ERA Powered: Leveraging the Collaborative Network to Fuel Growth In the five years since affiliating with ERA, American Real Estate ERA Powered has grown their business significantly, and they have had tremendous success growing their agent count. In one of their markets, they went from third to first in marketshare and are among the top 15 performers in the ERA network. Jaime Hensley, president and owner of the brokerage with six offices throughout east and southeast Texas, attributes this growth to the ERA collaborative group of experienced brokers. Jaime Hensley “To succeed, you need to surround yourself with people who are better, smarter and more successful than you, and that’s the kind of network ERA provides.” In February, Hensley announced the creation of a title company, an ancillary business that will soon give her brokerage a competitive edge. “Ten years ago, I
wouldn’t have aspired to start my own title company, but being part of this group and hearing how others have been successful with ancillary businesses helped me see that I not only should do it, but that I could do it.” Hensley’s decision to move forward with the creation of the company was prompted by a lease space opening up next to one of her existing offices. She called a fellow ERA broker based in Nashville and asked for advice. In addition to sharing his best practices, he invited Hensley and her team to Nashville to meet his management team, discuss agent adoption, and how to leverage the title company once it launched. “Not having to reinvent the wheel,” Hensley says, proved invaluable. “The bottom line is I’ve been successful because the ERA network has been a family and opened its doors to me,” says Hensley. “Without the education, tools and network, I would not have the growth I do today.”
CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY
WE LOVE COOKIES,
BUT WE’RE NOT COOKIE-CUTTER. ERA Is Flexible
Knipe Realty ERA Powered: Broker Customization That Builds the Brand Jeff Knipe’s decision to affiliate with ERA was done to sustain his company’s future. Understanding that real estate is everchanging, Knipe wanted to join a national company that could provide Jeff Knipe the training, tools and support his brokerage needed to stay competitive and gain more reach. However, with a 10-year legacy, four offices and 250 agents in the Pacific Northwest, Knipe wasn’t prepared to give up control over the brand he worked so hard to create. That is why the ERA® Powered branding appealed to him. “ERA® Powered branding gave us the flexibility to keep our branding front and center,” says Knipe. “We’ve built a strong reputation locally, so being able to keep our original design and colors while being part of the ERA family has been huge for us.” From branding to the rollout of the affiliation to the implementations of tools and software, ERA allowed Knipe to do things his way. “One of the reasons I chose to affiliate with ERA was the flexibility of not only ERA staff, but of their actual software,” says Knipe.
Knipe Realty ERA Powered had created their own unique marketing and lead generation programs prior to affiliating. Knipe was pleased to find he could migrate his programs into the Zap® system, allowing him to keep his identity and his company’s hard work, while enjoying the perks of the ERA platform.
“ERA Powered branding gave us the flexibility to keep our branding front and center.” – Jeff Knipe
“ERA’s flexibility has allowed me to be the kind of entrepreneur that I am, and a huge part of that identity is innovating with my team,” says Knipe. “With ERA, we get to do what we’ve always done, except now we’re part of a national conversation.”
WE DON’T ADAPT TO CHANGE.
WE CREATE IT. ERA Is Fast Wilkinson ERA Real Estate: Innovative Products, Services and Support That Grow Business When they affiliated in 2012, Wilkinson ERA Real Estate had about 400 independent sales agents and three offices. Today, they have significantly Eb Moore more agents and 12 offices across the Carolinas. Eb Moore, the CEO and owner of the brokerage, made recruitment a priority when he acquired the company in 2016. Being part of the ERA network, Moore says, provides him the pioneering technology that allows his agents to succeed and his brokerage to recruit. At Wilkinson ERA Real Estate, affiliated sales professionals can access a suite of innovative solutions for real estate. These are designed to sell listings faster and for more money, expand associates’ knowledge and marketability, and ultimately deliver value to homebuyers and sellers. In terms of consumer-facing tools, Moore points to the ERA Real Estate Mobile App, which provides customers convenience and a direct connection
to their Wilkinson ERA Realtor®, and Zap®, which makes it easy for agents to stay in touch with their clients regardless of where they are in their home-buying or -selling process. At Wilkinson ERA, the team uses iProspect, an agent-recruiting tool provided by ERA, to stay in touch with and incubate recruiting leads. “If there’s a new tool or approach out there, we’ll embrace it. There isn’t anything we’re not willing to test or pilot,” says Moore. “We are thrilled to be able to leverage the tools and services ERA offers to us and our agents.”
ERA CARES
Stepping Forward to Give Back ERA American Real Estate: Agents Who Give Back In addition to setting aside company funds to feed the hungry, abate homelessness and support education, many ERA American affiliated agents choose to contribute with every paycheck, raising tens of thousands of dollars. Many also volunteer their time, logging hundreds of hours. In October 2018, this generosity reached a new level with the arrival of Hurricane Michael, the most devastating storm to ever hit the Florida panhandle. While ERA American’s turf was virtually untouched, their neighbors, ERA Neubauer, located in Panama City, got hit by the eye of the storm. “They’ve been our neighbor for 38 years,” says Gloria Frazier, owner of ERA American Real Estate. “We were ready to do anything.” Within 24 hours, ERA American volunteers dispatched. They had a moving van loaded with supplies: tarps for damaged roofs, chainsaws to cut fallen trees and food and water. ERA Neubauer’s communication lines were completely down, so ERA American Gloria Frazier bought 30 prepaid phones and even more mobile hotspots. ERA affiliated agents delivered supplies via dirt bike to areas that were unpassable by car. Volunteers helped build temporary shelters and performed wellness checks for Panama City residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed. On top of providing on-the-ground support, the ERA American team launched a social media campaign, alerting the entire ERA network to ERA Neubauer’s dire situation. “Before we knew it, we were getting thousands of dollars from all over the ERA network,” says Frazier. “It was so exemplary of the ERA culture. People from all over the country were saying, ‘What do you need? Do you need muscles? Do you need money? I’m in.’” Find out how you can grow your way at www.era.com/explore
With ERA®, you’re in control. Leverage our resources and collaborate with the network to help get your business to the place you’ve always dreamed.
That’s why
YOU + ERA is a real match.
© 2019 ERA Franchise Systems LLC. All rights reserved. ERA® and the ERA Logo are registered service marks owned by ERA Franchise Systems LLC. ERA Franchise Systems LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each franchise is independently owned and operated.