Unpacking the real costs of an independent brokerage vs. a real estate franchise

If you’re a real estate broker thinking about the growth of your business, Weichert® understands that there may be curiosity around real estate franchise benefits. Granted, there are many ways to slice and dice the pros and cons of joining a real estate franchise. (And it’s important to explore them all.) But in this blog, we put the spotlight on brokerage costs. Real costs over time. 

How do you measure the costs of a real estate franchise vs. an independent brokerage? Let’s pull back the curtain and examine the true expenses that are often overlooked. Grab your calculator and get ready to tally up your independent brokerage costs in key areas of the business.

Operations and time management. Let’s start with the big picture. Running your own brokerage means wearing many hats, including recruiter, marketer, trainer, tech support, and coach. Time spent juggling these tasks often comes at the expense of growing your business. Franchises provide built-in operational support, systems, and structure, giving you back the time to focus on what matters most: growing and leading your team and closing deals.

Reality check:

• Do you feel like your head is often spinning?
• On average, what percentage of your days have been spent juggling operational tasks instead of working toward your strategic objectives? Are you putting out more fires than focusing on people?
• How much progress are you seeing toward your business goals? Are you confident that you’re on track to achieve them?

Now, let’s get into the details of running your real estate business …

Marketing and branding. Building brand recognition from scratch demands significant and consistent investment. This includes everything from logo design and website development to print materials, digital advertising, and social media campaigns. These costs can quickly escalate, not to mention the time investment, and your marketing dollars may not yield the impact you’re looking for. Franchisees, on the other hand, benefit from national brand awareness and often receive professionally designed marketing materials and strategies, spreading costs across a larger network.

Reality check:

• What have you spent on marketing and branding in the last year? (Remember to tally up everything, from your website to your listings to open house materials.)
• What marketing budget do you wish you could have spent to have made the greatest impact? To create the most polished, professional, and consistent look to attract and retain customers?

Hold onto those numbers and keep reading …

Lead generation. While lead generation naturally folds into your marketing efforts, we feel it’s worth pulling out on its own, too. The time and resources you spend on creating a consistent lead generation pipeline can be one of the hardest parts of running a real estate business. And, the truth is, your results don’t always match the effort you put in, no matter how massive it may be. Therefore, we feel this is one area of the business where you must also think about your time in addition to dollars. 

Reality check:

• How much time have you invested in lead generation?
• How much money? 
• How many quality leads have you captured?
• How many of these leads have you converted?
• If you imagined a cost per acquisition (adding time and money spent), what might that equal? (Challenge yourself to think this way!)

Now, let’s think about the tools that you have built into your workflow …

Technology and tools. In today’s tech-driven real estate landscape, access to cutting-edge CRM systems, lead generation platforms, and marketing automation tools is essential. As an independent broker, you shoulder the entire cost of researching, implementing, and maintaining these technologies. Franchises, on the other hand, often provide the latest tools and technology to their affiliates, plus the support required to use these resources to the fullest.

Reality check:

• What have you spent on technology and tools in the last year?
• Did you hold back on that spend to save costs? 
• Therefore, are your technology and tools outdated and underperforming?

Jot down your notes and keep reading …

Networking and referrals. This is an invaluable part of the business, yet these efforts are often underestimated cost-wise. Beyond the obvious financials for attending events, joining organizations, and maintaining memberships, there’s a substantial investment of your time to keep up. A franchise, on the other hand, comes with a built-in network that you can tap into and lean on. And with Weichert, that network also feels like one, big family. 

Reality check:

• How much did you spend (time and money) last year on things like conferences, events, and memberships?
• What do you wish you could have done to bolster your networking and referrals efforts, but simply didn’t have the resources? What did you miss out on that could have made the difference?

Here’s one more category to consider …

Training and professional development. Continuously upskilling yourself and your agents is vital for success. Independent brokers must invest time and resources in finding and delivering effective training programs. A real estate franchise vs an independent brokerage provides structured training programs for both brokers and agents. This typically covers everything from prospecting to sales techniques to understanding market trends and technology adoption, ensuring a consistently high level of professionalism.

Reality check:

• What did you spend on training and professional development last year? (In other words, how much have you invested in your team to ensure their growth? To ensure they grow with you?)
• How might the lack of training and development contribute to a loss that’s hard to recoup—which is attracting and retaining the best agents?

By now, you’ve likely tallied a surprisingly large spend overall in the last year alone. Or, if that spend is smaller than you thought it would be, ask yourself why. Have you cut back on key areas of your business to save costs? Do you just not have the resources to do it all on your own? You’re not alone if you answered, “yes.” 

Weichert is here to help by streamlining operations, reducing overhead, and scaling more efficiently. With built-in lead generation, marketing support, technology, and training, you can focus on growth—without the burden of doing it all alone. With a franchise, the calculations are in your favor. Let’s talk.