Whose data is it anyhow?

I expect this article will go down like a lead sinker with many principals and real estate brands however the website I am writing it for is for estate agents not estate agencies. So if the cap fits wear it!

When the company you are affiliated to as an agent provides you as an agent with a CRM package, whether you contribute to the cost or not, you are probably building THEIR database and not your own.

Your business as an agent is your network – as we say at BrandYou, “your network is your networth” , so if real estate is your career, you have to take a long view and ask yourself sooner rather than later, does your data belong to you, and if not who owns it and who controls it?

By the way, if you are a Franchisee, ask yourself the same question… who owns the data of your business and remember possession (and control) is as they say 9/10 of the law. The chances are your data is controlled by your Franchisor.

Discuss this important issue honestly and openly with your Principal. In my experience talking to agents as well as franchisees of various brands, this critical issue is often deliberately unclear and that is simply not good enough!

Your relationship is one of a business partnership, it is not a marriage. If you end the relationship, or if the business you are affiliated to ends the relationship with you, how will this affect you? You have the right, as does your principal to know what the policy is about data.

Is this covered in your Sales Associate agreement? Make sure you know the answer before you are cut off from your data.

– Andre de Villiers
BrandYou.co.za