Franchisor Introduces Next Step in Evolution of the Real Estate Brokerage: “Small-Box”©/Virtual

PR Log (Press Release) – Nov 12, 2008 – PLYMOUTH, MI - Because of the decline of the real estate market which began in 2006 and which has been further intensified by the current financial crisis, the real estate industry is going through an era of unprecedented challenge and change.  As a result, every aspect of the real estate brokerage ownership experience is being re-examined and reconsidered.  On both coasts and in several other progressive states in between, traditional “big box” real estate office setups are decreasing in number and being increasingly replaced by small -- and, in some cases, virtual -- operations on an ad-hoc, broker-by-broker basis.

Real estate franchisor Professional One Franchising, LLC sees opportunity within this trend. They have developed a component -- the Small-Box©/Virtual Office -- within their franchise concept  which allows their franchisees to enjoy all the benefits of traditional real estate franchise ownership, with two significant, unique twists: the franchisee can eliminate one of its largest expense components – the front desk/reception function - and replace it with Professional One’s Professional Call Center (PCC), or take the cost savings another entire step further and eliminate their physical office altogether and operate under a “virtual” environment in which Professional One handles nearly all of the basic infrastructural components for the franchisee.

Stacey Bibik, the Professional One Director of Franchise Development-West based in Boulder, CO, explained: The single largest expense in a typical real estate operation, other than rent, is what we refer to as ‘front desk’ cost.  At the bare-bones level, this equates to around $32K per year -- and it can be much higher.  We eliminate that cost for our franchisees on ‘day 1’ by replacing the traditional front desk with PCC.  As important as the reduction in expense to the franchisee are the enhancements in professionalism, quality and consistency of service that also result from using PCC.”  

Bibik continued, “PCC is great because the broker no longer needs a front desk function -- in fact, they don’t even need a “brick and mortar” office operation at all. It makes absolutely no sense for brokers to pay for offices -- at least not large ones -- that are almost never used by agents, who by the very nature of their job are always out interacting with clients anyway. And yet we continue to see so many brokers wasting their hard-earned income on large spaces out of sheer habit and tradition.  By reducing their overhead so dramatically, brokers can give their agents better commission splits and still end up way ahead of the game financially – a classic win/win.  Small, shared-space offices are the wave of the future.  We strongly encourage our franchisees to use “small-box” or virtual operations to increase by their profitability and their quality of life.”    

Bernard Wisner, former seller of Century 21 real estate franchises, added: “PCC is just one of the many elements that make Professional One the best franchise model I’ve ever seen in that industry.  PCC more than covers the cost of the franchise fee, and it’s the financial gift that keeps on giving, year after year.  In the super-competitive world of real estate franchising, this is a significant competitive advantage.  The timing couldn’t be better in terms of Professional One taking market share away from the traditional industry players, whose models simply no longer make good business sense in today’s radically changed economic climate.”

Michael McClure, Professional One President & CEO based in Plymouth, MI, concluded with these comments: “Real estate has historically lagged behind other industries in many respects.  What we’re doing isn’t revolutionary – in fact, it’s the simple application of what many other industries have been doing for years.  Economic reality is forcing traditional real estate brokers to cut costs and streamline their operations.  Our model gives brokers a golden opportunity to reduce risk, operational headaches and inefficiencies, increase the level of service they provide to their agents and their clients alike, and focus their time and attention on building up their businesses rather than maintaining them.  As is so often the case, necessity was the mother of this invention.  We simply created what we ourselves would have used had it been available.”

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