DEAF
AGENT
CODA / HH
AGENT
SIGN FLUENT CERTIFIED
AGENT
HEARING CERTIFIED
AGENT
AGENT MANUAL
Welcome to the KW Signs family! This manual is intended to be a quick reference guide to all things KW and KW-Signs.
Let’s get started!
KW-Signs
INTRODUCTION
OUR MISSION
We are trained Deaf/Hard of hearing and hearing agents with adequate tools to meet the real estate needs of the Deaf and HH communities. KW-Signs provides our clients with access to an array of certified business partners who are in tune with the needs of the Deaf and Hard of hearing communities. Beyond helping families attain the goal of home-ownership, KW Signs incentives the market to create new agent and vendor partnership opportunities for the Deaf and Hard of hearing communities in all fields related to real estate.
OUR PROMISE
We promise to provide our clients with outstanding professional services in their language by our agents and certified business partners.
OUR GOALS
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To provide strong opportunities for Deaf and HH real estate agents to participate in all levels of the real estate industry.
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To train successful Deaf and HH real estate agents. Their hard work will inspire other real estate related industries to hire Deaf, HH, or ASL proficient individuals in order to properly accommodate Deaf and HH clients.
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To create a fertile environment where Deaf and HH real estate agents can be successful and assist Deaf and HH community members to grow their wealth through real estate ownership and investment.
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To create a national home-ownership database of Deaf and HH homeowners, renters, buyers, sellers, investors, and landlords.
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To set in motion a new perpetual real estate industry cycle nourished by wealth-building communities through employment and investments.
KW-Signs
SUPPORT
Structures
KW-Signs Designation
A membership for Keller Williams Agents who work with Deaf/HH clients. This membership allows agents access to exclusive KW-Signs resources without the benefits and responsibilities of the KW-Signs Group. KW-Signs Members only pay a monthly, or annual fee for direct access to KW-Signs resources.
KW-Signs Group
A real estate group based in Fort Worth, TX with the ability to expand across the US. Members of the KW-Signs Group receive hands-on training, office support, marketing, and promotional materials, and other benefits.
BUILD A BUSINESS
TO ACHIEVE A LIFE BY DESIGN
Q: Did you know?
Most real estate transactions are completed with minimal verbal (over-the-phone) communication. About 80% of the correspondence is done through E-mail or text.
Obtain your license
There are MANY online and in-person real estate schools across the country. Right now not many are Deaf or HH accessible but we are working towards improving that. In the meantime, we have found a great online option for you!
Take and pass your state and national exams.
You will have up to a year to take these exams. We highly recommend you take an Exam Prep Class before you take the exams. These classes will help you focus on the areas the exams centers on.
Do not worry if you don't pass, you can re-take the prep class and the exams.
choosing a sponsor
Each associate names a “sponsor” when they join Keller Williams Realty. It is EXTREMELY important to be mindful of whom you choose as a sponsor, a sponsor is the one person the associate perceives to be primarily responsible for bringing him or her to the company and it should be someone whom you can count on to help you grow your business. Remember your KW-Signs family when choosing your sponsor.
KW-Signs will help you find the right market center and would be honored to be your sponsor.
Sign up with a Market Center
TRAINING
Start with IGNITE!
IGNITE is the #1 comprehensive training course for brand new agents and seasoned professionals that need a refresher. It’s designed to teach the habits of successful agents and get them into production as quickly as possible. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just model the behavior of the successful agents around you.
ON-DEMAND 24H TRAINING
Your career keeps you on-the-go, yet you need training at the speed of NOW. Get training at your pace, on your time. From scripts to step-by-step action plans, KWU's vast library of on-demand video training provides what’s relevant to you.
Market Centers Education schedule
All Keller Williams Market centers have an education calendar, this calendar changes week to week and varies in topics. Take advantage of this calendar, it tends to be tailored to the needs of the market center.
what is a MARKET CENTER?
A market center is the name given to the office/s where the designated broker conducts business. In other words the main office.
Keller Williams is still improving its accessibility. In case that Closed Captioning is not available in a KW video, you could use this Google Chrome service on a pinch.
Use Live Caption in Chrome
You can turn on Live Caption for media you play in Chrome.
Live Caption is only available in English.
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On your computer, open Chrome .
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At the top right, click More Settings.
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At the bottom of the Settings page, click Advanced Accessibility Captions.
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Turn on Live Caption.
Tips:
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When you play a video, to turn on captions, at the top right click Media control .
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To use live captions for videos that autoplay, turn on the video volume.
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When you click away from the tab with sound, live captions will appear in a hover-bubble that you can drag. To return to the tab with audio, click .
BEYOND
THE ORDINARY
BOLD, Family Reunion AND Mega Camp
Invest in your family, yourself, and your business.
BOLD
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES A LIFE BY DESIGN
It’s a powerful seven-week program that conditions agents with life-changing mindset exercises, language techniques, business-building strategies, and live lead generation activities. BOLD is a product of former MAPS Coaching president, Dianna Kokoszka. Kokoska, who earned the title of ‘queen of systems and scripts’, built the course around her personal experiences in growing a million-dollar real estate career.
When signing up with BOLD make sure to request an interpreter with the Market Center if needed.
BOLD is taught throughout the year and in many locations, keep an eye out when it comes your way.
FAMILY REUNION
The most powerful training event in real estate
At Family Reunion, Keller Williams associates gather with thousands of top agents and leaders for four power-packed days of networking and training. This is a huge opportunity to re-energize and take your business to the next level; learn from the best in the business, attend powerful sessions, and immerse yourself in KW culture.
Family Reunion’s not-to-miss events.
Vission Speech. Keller Williams Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO Gary Keller dive into the status of the real estate market and what it means for your business. Find out what economic indicators mean for real estate and what the industry is expected to look like for the next year.
Red Bash. Join Keller Williams associates for the biggest party of the year. Break out your best costumes and enjoy a night of games, music, dancing, and fun! This will be a celebration you don’t want to miss.
Breakout Sessions. Choose from hundreds of breakout sessions and build the agenda to best help you in your business. Topics range from lead generation and open houses to recruiting, investing and expanding! This is the opportunity to tailor your Family Reunion experience to get the best value for you!
Inspirational Morning. The most powerful display of Keller Williams culture and how it affects people around the world. Experience this heartwarming session with Mo Anderson and her special guests sharing stories of strength, perseverance, and inspiration. Together, Keller Williams associates share in this moving and uplifting presentation before returning home to their families and businesses.
State of Your Company. Keller Williams executives present in the main stage of the annual State of Your Company. You will hear exciting announcements about what we’ve accomplished, major milestones for the company and where we are going in the coming years.
MEGACAMP
A convention of the most remarkable minds in the industry led by Gary Keller. They reveal the specific systems and strategies that deliver results in today’s Market, packing it full of the most pressing topics to keep your business rolling and featuring high-achieving agents who are experiencing unprecedented success.
MAPS COACHING
Leverage Keller Williams award-winning coaching program. Locate your blind spots then focus on solutions, gain awareness of your unique strengths, and identify areas primed for development.
MASTERMINDS
Go beyond the traditional networking event. Masterminds are an educational experience that puts agents face-to-face with other top producers to workshop, brainstorm, and learn.
Building a
SOLID
network
Working with business partners and vendors
Having a strong list of experienced real estate business partners and vendors will help you provide outstanding service to your clients and customers. These strong relationships are critical for those times when unexpected things happen and you need the most help.
Find networking opportunities.
Real estate groups
Real estate classes
Happy-Hours, real estate tour groups and other casual networking events.
Seminars and conventions.
ASL Accessible partners
Invite business partners and vendors to become ASL-Accessible
Most real estate businesses are customer-driven, and companies are normally very willing to do what’s necessary to provide great service to their clients. Working with Deaf and HH clients requires an additional level of care. KW-Signs has created a one-of-a-kind certification program providing businesses with a great set of tools to make them ASL-Accessible and Deaf minded.
KW-Signs ASL-Accessible Certification Programs has 4 objectives.
DEAF CULTURE education. A class taught by Deaf Action Center where businesses learn important facts about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. This course also brings light on how to properly communicate with Deaf or HH clients through technology and/or an interpreter. Lastly, this class also helps alleviate any misunderstandings or stereotypes perpetuated by the hearing community.
Learn some BASIC ASL signs. REIS instructors provide business employees with some very basic, yet important, signs. Simple signs like welcome!, good morning!, I am hearing, please hold on a sec, etc. can go a long way when connecting with a Deaf client.
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES. There are numerous ways in which Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals communicate with. Deaf Action CEnter provides an overview on the technology and services that will allow businesses to communicate properly with Deaf and H.H. clients and what to expect when using them.
ADEQUATE ADA-COMPLIANT INTERPRETATION. Real Estate Interpreter Services is the only real estate-focused interpreting company. By having a REIS membership, KW-Signs agents and businesses can have peace of mind knowing that the interpreter understands real estate and is interpreting the information clearly.
Q: Why is REIS so important?
Simple, a word like survey has a very different meaning in real estate than it does in a more general context. When an interpreter is not properly trained in real estate vocabulary, it is very likely that they will misinterpret and therefore communication is not adequate. Real Estate Interpreter Services trains their interpreters in real estate concepts and processes.
KW Acronyms
and what they mean
OP - Operating Principal. Investor or owner of the Market Center.
KWU - Keller Williams University.
TL - Team Leader. Office (Market Center) leader who helps the entire leadership team be focused and connected with the Market Center. They also focus on maintaining growth in the number of licensed real estate agents within the organization and builds strong consultative relationships with the top agents in the office.
MCA - Market Center Administrator. Their primary focus is to grow the office in partnership with the Team Leader and ensuring that day-to-day brokerage operations run flawlessly – including bookkeeping and accounting systems, administrative/office operations, client services, marketing, and IT.
KWRI - Keller Williams Realty International.
MREA - Millionaire Real Estate Agent (book). It gives you the “how” to achieve your goals and shows you where to focus your time to achieve the greatest impact. That's because successful agents have left clues: which of their actions led to their desired results. The MREA is a compilation of those clues.
ALC - Agent Leadership Council. Group made up of the top 20% of agents in each office. This dynamic ‘board of directors’ is actively involved in the leadership decisions that make the office more profitable and productive. Their roles are to inspire, motivate, participate, and listen. By having input from these associates, each office can tailor its strategies to thrive in all stages of the market.
YOUR TECHNOLOGY
AS YOUR CUSTOMERS INCREASINGLY DEMAND CUSTOMIZED, DIGITALLY-ENHANCED EXPERIENCES, KW GIVES YOU THE TOOLS TO ANTICIPATE THEIR NEEDS TODAY, TOMORROW AND EVERY DAY AFTER THAT.
COMMAND
THE POWER OF A PLATFORM
Optimize, manage, and run your business with unprecedented simplicity and insight.
Combine your expertise with the Keller Cloud’s massive databank to win more businesses and wow clients with real-time neighborhood insights.
Save time and money by automating the background tasks that keep you from building more relationships and earning more business.
Streamline the entire transaction, from lead, to close, to your next payday.
Hold the power of Command in your pocket with Command Mobile.
KW APP
Command your consumer experience
A consumer app that connects your command platform at your office with your client’s mobile devices. Your clients simply log in and they will be automatically connected to you. You can customize their experience and collect valuable consumer insights. This interface allows you to be on top of the game and help you create a groundwork for relationships that last a lifetime.
Facilitate the entire transaction step-by-step from search to signing on the dotted line with Guide, a fully-customizable client companion.
Win consumer loyalty with leading-edge search functionality and find what they’re looking for (faster). Search smarter, together and deepen your relationships with Collections and Discussions.
Give buyers a deeper understanding of their city with Neighborhoods: a world-class, first-of-its-kind search feature powered by the largest real estate databank in the world.
Go beyond filtering by standard bed and bath count with HomeDNA, a built-in, artificial intelligence tool that determines how well a listing or neighborhood aligns with the way your client lives.
KW LABS is a revolutionary innovation partnership where Keller Williams invites associates to build software together. KW asks fundamental questions like, 'What do you need to be successful?' or 'How can we double your revenue?'
The agent's answers go into LABS, where other agents build products alongside technologists, engineers, and data scientists; playing with them and making continuous improvements.
KW ideate and iterate together to create technology built by agents, for agents.
PROFIT SHARE MODEL
Build Wealth Without Limits Through the Keller Williams
Here's how it works:
When deals close, KW associates who haven’t yet met their cap pay company dollar to their market center.
The market center uses this money to pay operating expenses. What’s leftover is profit and, unlike with other companies, a portion of that profit is shared back with the associates who helped the company grow by bringing on productive agents.
When someone names an agent as their sponsor or the associate responsible for introducing them to the company, they go into their first level. Each sponsor gets 50% of the profit attributed to the profitable activities conducted by the associates they bring on. And, even as the percentages decrease throughout the levels, they never fall below 5%, which is higher than the top tier of other wealth-building systems in the industry.
PROFIT SHARE IN 55 WORDS
Profit share is a cooperative wealth-building tool where market center owners invest in the people who helped the office grow. Rather than shaving cash off the top of every deal, by sharing profit, a successful and sustainable company is created.... one which takes care of its people by paying out even after they cease production
Unlimited Wealth in Your Hands
In 1979, Gary moved to Austin, Texas to begin his real estate career. He loved teaching and training so much, he decided his career would have much more of an impact on management. He wanted to help agents achieve their business and life goals.
Working for the #1 brokerage in Austin, Gary was moving up the ladder very quickly in his company, but after being promoted to the vice president of expansion, he quit. The vision of the company he was with was that the agents worked for the company. Gary disagreed saying the company worked for the agents. His vision showed that if you work on building the business of the agent, the brokerage would grow as big as it wanted.
“Companies are nothing more than people. People create everything inside an organization and what’s going to make us better in the long term is the way our people think. Our goal is the tap the way people think and take advantage of that thought process to put to use for everyone.”
In 1983, Gary’s grand experiment began. Partnering with Joe Williams, Keller Williams was created with just a few associates in a tiny office. Within two years, KW had become the largest single office real estate company in the metro area. All seemed well, but the market crashed soon after and after losing half of his top agents to other companies, Gary decided it was time to create a new model that revolved around the agents.
Asking his agents this question, Gary carved out the new Keller Williams real estate business model.
“How can we run the company in such a way that you achieve everything you want and at the same time we achieve everything we want?”
This was the result
The Keller Williams Business Model
the best possible commission structure
treat agents like business partners
profit-sharing with the agents that help grow the company
give full access to financial information to all associates (open books)
formalize input on how the office should be run via the ALC (Agent Leadership Council)
have supportive management/staff that consults, trains, and promotes teamwork
have the highest level of training in the industry (#1 in real estate agent training)
By implementing this business model, Keller Williams became the #1 office in Austin and has yet to relinquish that title. Putting agents first. Giving agents control of running the company via the ALC. KW showed this was a successful model to share across all markets. In 1991, franchising began in the US and in Canada in 1998.
How It All Started
Keller Williams History From The Beginning
OUR
COMMITMENTTO YOU!
KW-Signs is here to support you!
We continue to create tools and resources to help market centers and agents succeed. If you are not certain of what to do or know how to proceed in a specific situation, don't hesitate to reach out. We have access to a series of advisors and partners who can help us guide you.