Keller Williams’ Gary Keller and Marc King (KW, iStock)
Some agent teams grow so big and powerful that they decide to leave their brokerages behind to build businesses of their own. Rather than letting agents outgrow the nest, why not just make the nest bigger?
A new nationwide brokerage launched by Keller Williams aims to do just that, the real estate franchise announced Tuesday.
The KW Expansion Network will support top agent teams at Keller Williams that want to grow beyond their local markets by connecting them with resources at its brick and mortar franchise locations across the country.
“It’s a logical, predictable step if you put yourself in an agent’s shoes and you just ask the question, ‘What’s next?’” said Keller Williams president Marc King. “What’s next is taking their brand and their business model, their systems, the technology that we build for them and scaling them across the country.”
Leading the network will be Matthew Szalecki, the former director of brokerage operations at Fathom Realty, who will take on the role of senior director of strategy and operations.
Seventy-seven Keller Williams agent teams were included in RealTrends’ 2021 “The Thousand” ranking of real estate teams by transactions.
As these teams continue to grow and expand, some could see inspiration in the rise of Ryan Serhant, who parlayed the fame he built as a broker at Nest Seekers International into the launch of his own firm, Serhant, last year.
Keller Williams itself already has a star of its own. Its top performing agent was more profitable than one of the brand’s national franchises last year, King said.
To critics who say the KW Expansion Network is just a way to hold on to top talent before they leave and take their huge deals with them, King claims the focus is more about providing business environments for these teams to thrive.
“Oftentimes, state law or different advertising practices, etcetera, don’t necessarily keep up with the innovation that an agent needs to grow, and this solves for that,” he said.
The KW Expansion Network would offer teams a standardized compensation plan to grow into new markets.
Additionally, ninety percent of revenue that Keller Williams derives from agents as part of their commission will go back to the local market center, a move that will keep agents attached to their local markets as they expand, King said.
“If anything … it gives us what we believe is an advantage to gain agent count and to gain market share,” King said.
Agent teams will also have the opportunity to use Keller Williams office spaces to meet with clients and attend live training events and closings, Szalecki said.
Keller Williams aims to have the network operating in all 50 states by 2022.