Business Model

  1. Home
  2. Why KW
  3. Business Model

The reason Keller Williams Realty is growing at a rate faster than its’ top three competitor combined, according to the National Association of Realtors, is due to the model and philosophy of putting the agent first.

Keller Williams believes that their true customer is the agent that is why we are an agent centric business. Putting the agent first, empowering them with training, resources, and opportunities, positions the agent in an environment in which they are most likely to succeed. If Keller Williams’ agents are succeeding, the company is also succeeding at a very high level. Which of course is most definitely the case. Zig Zilar always said, help enough people get what they need and your needs will be abundantly fulfilled.

Keller Williams created the agent-centric business model when back in the 1980’s Gary Keller lost a large portion of his agents to a competitor. During this time, he masterminded with the top agents in his organization that were remaining. This mastermind later became known as the Agent Leadership Council. This group of people wanted to create a company where no agent felt compelled to or needed to leave the organization. From this one notion, the agent-centric business model was born and with that so many components of the Keller Williams culture that are still alive and thriving today.

agent

The main components of an agent-centric company are:

   •  A culture where agents feel supported.
   •  A company where the agents run the organization.
   •  A profit sharing system in which agents have a vested interest in helping one another.
   •  An organization in which the brand will never compete with its agents for their business.
   •  An organization in which each agent is treated the same regardless of your production level.

Background

 

Keller Williams is the platform to launch your business.

 

Shared Success

As discussed in the Millionaire Real Estate Agent, there is a notion of working on your business or in your business.  At Keller Williams, you have partnered with one of the most powerful business partners of the industry to work on your business, while you work in your business.  This shared success partnership or interdependent business model shows up in a variety of places.

In technology and marketing, KW has created a LABS process in which agents from around the country are actually directing, testing, and determining the efficiencies of the technology solutions Keller Williams in building. KW’s mission through this LABS process is to provide each agent with the ability to deliver the best possible consumer experience available in the market.

Agents of Keller Williams are treated as stakeholders and have a say in the direction of the company.  Agents have what we call, ownershipstake. The policies of Keller Williams Realty International itself are created by the agents of the company through the model of the Agent Leadership Counsel, i.e. an agent run board of directors.  This model is duplicated at the regional and local, market center, or office, structure as well. When agents have a true ownership stake in the company, are vested to the success of each other, it becomes more than simply selling real estate.

Associate Leadership Council

Financially, Keller Williams is an open book company.  As any healthy and successful business partnership, transparency in the numbers of the organization is vital.  Each market center is required to provide transparent books. Therefore, you as the agent have the opportunity to hold your business partner, i.e. your KW brokerage, accountable.  After all, with our profit sharing system, the market center’s bottom dollar ultimately affects your bottom dollar relating to profit share. With this interdependency, the entire company and agent base are vested to a common goal.  The more profit, for the company, the more profit for the agent and vise versa. On a larger scale, the more profitable Keller Williams Realty International, the more resources available for the company to continue to reinvest in its agent.  This is the driver behind being the largest, privately held, zero debt, real estate franchise in the world.