11 minute read
Setting Its Sights: The Fearless Future of the CENTURY 21® Brand
As Carrie Nuckolls of CENTURY 21 First Group in Sulphur Springs, Texas, recently said, “Real estate is constantly about reinventing yourself.”
Reinvention was the topic of discussion during a special roundtable held on July 11, 2022, where RISMedia President & CEO John Featherston moderated a panel of four dynamic CENTURY 21® affiliated brokers from around the country. Nuckolls was joined by Arica Rucker, CENTURY 21 Rucker Real Estate, Charlotte, North Carolina; Hanna Pate, CENTURY 21 The Avenues, Calhoun, Georgia; and John Koch, CENTURY 21 Alliance, Wildwood, New Jersey.
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The group honed in on how Century 21 Real Estate LLC—the originator of the franchise model—is committed to staying relevant and helping its affiliates reinvent and accelerate their businesses.
“The CENTURY 21® Brand transformed the iconic logo into a more relevant, more consumer-focused icon, and it has paid huge dividends as we are now better positioned and more relevant in the markets we serve,” said Nuckolls. “They nailed it.”
Nailing reinvention in the highly competitive real estate industry took the global franchisor on a complex, transformative path nearly five years ago, with a focus on the future—one that removed prior routines and patterns and brought to life a new mindset and strategic approach to outthink, outmaneuver and outperform the competition. By all counts, it’s working.
“It has also opened up doors for me to recruit and bring in new agents that I probably would not have had the opportunity to talk to,” said Rucker, who only nine months ago became the first African American female-owned CENTURY 21® franchised office in Charlotte. “I look forward to working with the brand’s executives and growing from one to six offices. This partnership has truly been what I have been praying for.”
“It’s about growing quality, a desire to stay boutique and recruit agents that fit the CENTURY 21 The Avenues culture,” said Pate. “I can’t tell you how many times I have had calls to my office of consumers looking for the brand, and that’s a great feeling. It’s immediate credibility.
“That C21® stamp next to your face immediately tells people you’re a professional, well-trained real estate agent,” she added.
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Nuckolls. “The C21 stamp is so powerful. I believe in it, and I see every day the positivity and support it brings to our people, and the brand as a whole.”
For current affiliated agents and those considering a move to a new home, it’s the most respected name and the one consumers are most likely to work with in the future, according to a study by Kantar Group Limited.* The CENTURY 21 Brand continues to be a differentiator in the market.
“We enjoy working with brand new licensees, and then bringing them up to a place where they’re very successful, producing agents,” said Nuckolls. “That’s our sweet spot, and we’re going to continue to grow by excelling at that.”
“Real estate agents everywhere know that when they see a CENTURY 21 affiliated office, that office is managed by professionals who show up every day, no matter market shifts, to help them succeed,” said Koch. “We have full-time leadership in each of our 10 offices and they each have the freedom to run that office as they deem most appropriate for the agents and the clients they serve.”
And it’s those clients who are the primary focus for the CENTURY 21 family. Giving back to the community and working to provide personalized, memorable moments along every step of the consumer journey is what separates them from the competition.
“You’re helping people in their highest highs and lowest lows, and by showing empathy and taking care of them, we build stronger, lifetime relationships that bleed into referrals and top-notch, third-party ratings,” said Nuckolls.
“We prepare our team to answer questions that may come from a buy-
- Carrie Nuckolls
Broker, CENTURY 21 First Group
*Study Source: 2021 Ad Tracking Study. The survey results are based on 1,200 online interviews with a national random sample of adults (ages 18+) who are equal decision makers in real estate transactions and active in the real estate market (bought or sold a home within the past two years or, plan to purchase or sell a home within the next two years). Brand awareness question based on a sample of 1,200 respondents. Results are significant at a 90% confidence level, with a margin of error of +/-2.4%. Recognition question based on consumers aware of brand in question. Results are significant at a 90% confidence level, with a margin of error of +/- 2.4%. The study was conducted by Kantar Group Limited, a leading global market research organization, from November 9-27, 2021.
RISMedia’s President & CEO John Featherston (center) filming a special roundtable discussion with CENTURY 21® affiliated brokers (l to r): John Koch; Carrie Nuckolls; Arica Rucker; and Hanna Pate.
er or a seller by educating them on what’s going on in the market,” commented Pate. “We have the tough conversations and answer consumer questions transparently and with honesty, and that earns trust.”
To break away from the sea of sameness within the industry, the CENTURY 21® Brand is urging consumers to demand extraordinary experiences from their real estate company and agent of choice because they deserve that level of personalization and effort.
“This mindset will take the production per agent up, and if you can take your average production per agent from seven to 11, your core group is going to be even happier,” said Koch. “The learning opportunities are there. The coaching is there. The direction is there, and if we need anything to help us go above and beyond, we simply talk to the right people to find it, because it’s there for us to use.”
“The great thing is, the brand, as well as our fellow brokers from around the world, offer all the support, programs and technologies we need to help us deliver the extraordinary to our clients,” explained Pate. “We have so much support. The talent of these people—it’s unbelievable.”
The CENTURY 21® Brand is challenging existing conventions in real estate relationships and progressing the industry in ways that favor the consumer yet directly help its affiliated brokers and agents break through the clutter and noise, win in the markets they operate in and ultimately, drive growth for their business. By reinventing itself and transforming its network with a clean and clear stage for individual personalities and unique stories to be told, the 51-year-old legacy global franchisor has built an organization that continues to grow and be known by many consumers and industry professionals alike as “the gold standard in real estate.” RE
- Michael Miedler
CEO, Century 21 Real Estate
For more information, please visit www.century21.com/.
Michael Miedler on Growth, the Future of Housing and Delivering Extraordinary Experiences
Since the 2018 award-winning reinvention of one of the industry’s most recognized* and iconic brands, those who proudly wave the CENTURY 21® flag—and the thousands of offices and agents who have chosen to affiliate with us since that time—are seeing gains in business and agent growth and, more importantly, relevance with real estate consumers worldwide.
As CEO, I understand the broker mindset and the strategies necessary to drive business growth and marketshare. My team’s laser-like focus is on coaching, mentoring and delivering the systems, tools and support necessary around four key principles: 1. Recruiting 2. Agent Retention 3. Productivity 4. Company Dollar
We want agents and consumers alike to be talking about the things that we’re doing and the impact we’re having on families, communities, real estate and the overall global economy. It’s our personal story, but it’s also one we believe everyone can relate to through their own unique lens. The result has been a continuous “buzz” and ongoing conversations around our new mission: to defy mediocrity and deliver extraordinary experiences.
It’s from this lens that we’re shouting our story today—one that we are passionate about and leaning into. We are focused on progressing the industry forward in transparent and credible ways that favor the consumer yet directly help our affiliated agents and brokers break through the clutter and noise while helping C21® relentless affiliated real estate professionals win in the markets in which they operate.
We’re proud of the many achievements we have already celebrated in the first half of 2022 including:
•Entrepreneur Magazine: No. 2 fastest-growing franchise globally (in any industry) •No. 1 Leader in Brand Awareness (23 years in a row)* •Brand consumers are “most likely to consider” for future transactions* •A nationally expanded Empowering Latinas educational stipend program with 1,400-plus applicants hoping to launch fulfilling and rewarding professions in real estate
As we see it, real estate is an interactive experience, one whose impact on people and families is unparalleled. We’re working to ensure that client relationships become more personalized, and that people and families are afforded a voice in this all-important conversation. Plus, we’re shouting to the world an even greater and more appealing proposition: Homebuyers, sellers and property investors should demand a higher bar of quality service and memorable moments along the journey because they deserve it.
There’s no denying that this industry has been notoriously slow to change. That’s why I’m so proud that the CENTURY 21® Brand continues to lead in expanding and openly welcoming new people and diverse voices. We develop better teams and provide better services when people with different perspectives, life experiences and backgrounds thrive. This commitment to “expanding the neighborhood” is what drives us to develop critical programs that empower and mentor the future leaders of our industry, from opening the door to professional paths in real estate with the Empowering Latinas Program and Project Destined to providing special franchise opportunities for diverse prospective owners through the Inclusive Ownership Program. We were the first global real estate brand to partner with NAHREP® (National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals®), bring to market Spanishlanguage marketing materials and collaborate with the Eva Longoria Foundation. Enhancing DEI efforts is an integral piece of the CENTURY 21 story. New voices, new perspectives and the expansion of who’s involved in the industry—consumers and industry professionals alike—all lead to next-level innovation. Simply put, it’s good business. And it shows the world the empathy and caring that is baked into the culture of the CENTURY 21® Brand.
In today’s ever-evolving market, technology will continue to play a key role in future success and growth of CENTURY 21® affiliates. Access to data and analytics have helped our affiliated broker network grow their businesses and attract new talent. Programs such as MoxiWorks®, a dynam-
ic portfolio of growth and productivitydriving products, the C21 TrackerTM , an AI-enabled app that elevates communication between the agent and the consumer, 21Online.com, our proprietary agent productivity platform, and comprehensive lead generation services are helping us deliver a unique value proposition to the market.
We understand that our family of entrepreneurs is no longer just competing with other real estate brands and independent brokerages, but also with large equity investors and cash buyers. Our job as a brand is to ensure that they have the right knowledge, tools and resources to stay ahead of the game and help their clients win. What’s exciting for us right now is that we are focused on telling our customer-centric story that is continuing to cut through the noise, help affiliated brokers find and build long-term relationships with consumers and help the CENTURY 21® Brand break away from the sea of sameness.
Looking ahead, real estate consumers, who live device-heavy lives, will want more connection from their advisors and their homes. This is critical for the agent/client relationship of tomorrow. We need to be more accessible and more representative as real estate ownership (thankfully) is available to a broader range of
citizens. And we will continue to invigorate our brand with new (underrepresented) voices to better serve tomorrow’s homeowners and property investors.
When we began planning for the reimaging of the brand in 2017, just a few years ahead of our 50th anniversary, we knew nostalgia alone would not be enough to drive growth and innovation. We were living within an experiential economy, and by leveraging our core brand identity with a relevant, new ‘look and feel’ and laser-like focus on delivering extraordinary experiences to consumers and agents, we were able to strike a balance and enhance our legacy brand to ensure it stands the test of time. Now, more than ever, it is helping CENTURY 21 independent brokers and affiliated sales professionals to reach and build relationships with more clients and grow their businesses by cutting through the noise and offering a culture of innovation while being the industry’s quality service-standards leader. Entrepreneurs, owners and sales professionals, and their clients, who demand a greater level of personalized attention and individual outcomes are coming to the CENTURY 21® Brand because they know, like we do, that they deserve extraordinary experiences along every step of their real estate journey.
- Michael Miedler, CEO, Century 21 Real Estate LLC
