Business models come in all shapes, but brokers must be ready to take disruption head-on, even if that means changing things up.
Kurt Schuler
Managing Broker/Owner
Schuler Bauer Real Estate ERA Powered
New Albany, Indiana | www.schulerbauer.com
Region served: Southern Indiana, Louisville and Kentucky
Years in real estate: 7.5
Number of offices: 5
Number of agents: 250
Jameson Doris: What is your top tip for keeping in touch with agents?
Kurt Schuler: We’ve increased our usage of our company’s private Facebook page for virtual meetings and training. Also, our company uses a text service that allows us to send quick reminders or updates to all our agents.
JD: In today’s ever-changing real estate landscape, how are you staying relevant?
KS: We continue to put a strong focus on our agents’ education, supporting our local communities and providing the best opportunities for our agents. In this fast-paced environment, we have to be quick to adopt new ways of thinking as well as technologies and tactics in order to provide our clients the service they deserve.
JD: What are you doing to prepare for what’s sure to be a hot summer market?
KS: We’ve been living in a hot market for the past few years, so it’s become our new normal. Personally, I continue to remind myself to keep a positive mindset and remain patient in order to best serve our agents, their clients and our staff. The extreme market imbalance continues to create challenges for buyers and agents as prices increase due to bidding wars. The environment we’re in right now isn’t going away anytime soon.
JD: How have you helped your agents cope with the challenges associated with the pandemic?
KS: Every challenge is an opportunity. Over the last year and a half, we’ve increased our levels of communication with our agents and improved our outreach to them. When we work through difficult situations with one agent, we share the story with the rest of our agents. Our collaborative culture creates a safe place for agents to ask questions and receive advice or constructive criticism without feeling belittled or threatened.
JD: How do you attract the top agents in your area?
KS: While attracting top agents is not one of our main points of focus, we’ve been able to do so due to the fact that we provided them with an opportunity that their broker at the time could not provide them. We attract agents who want or need more support, opportunities and guidance from the brokerage.
JD: What’s your advice to buyers who may be trying to move to your area right now?
KS: Like most areas in the country, we’re experiencing bidding wars on almost every home that goes up for sale. Fortunately, we service areas where the median price point is still below the national average. It’s incredibly important to make sure you are fully pre-approved with a trusted lender before you begin your search. If you have a home to sell and can move into temporary housing, you’ll be able to write a stronger offer with fewer contingencies. We want to minimize the number of reasons why a seller wouldn’t pick our offer over another while protecting a client’s best interests.
JD: Where do you see your business in five years?
KS: There will continue to be disruption in the marketplace from outside forces that are out of our control. Internally, we strive to disrupt our own business model before someone else does it for us. With our ERA affiliation, I’m able to collaborate with brokers across the country to hear what they’re experiencing before it hits our market. That kind of intel helps me plan for what our company may look like as we expand into new markets. RE
For more information, please visit www.era.com.
Jameson Doris is RISMedia’s social media/blog editor. Email him your real estate news ideas to jdoris@rismedia.com.
