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The Life Story of
Frank PolzlerChairman and Co-FounderRE/MAX Europe and the Integra Group
(Polzler/Schneider North American Operations)
Over 50 Years of Over 50 Years of Experience of Experience of
a European Immigranta European Immigrant
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
• Born on 18 April 1933 in Prebensdorf, into an upper middle class family
• Owned and operated a flour and saw mill and a large farm of approximately 200 hectares with 150 pigs and 100 cattle
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
• In early 1953 applied for Visa for the United States and was turned down
• Received Visa for Canada in September 1953
• Sold my motorcycle so that I could pay for the fare
• Landed in Quebec In November 1953 with $40 in my pocket
• Hotel Chateau Frontenac was a beautiful site
S.S. Columbia
Hotel Chateau Frontenac
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
• Arrived by train to Toronto• Was told by the Canadian
Embassy in Austria that there would be a job waiting for me upon my arrival
• There was no job (as you can see I am only looking at the paper since I could not speak or read English)
November 1953
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
• First job in Canada was working for a bakery
• Learned English by watching TV and going to the movies
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HOW TO SURVIVE 50 YEARS HOW TO SURVIVE 50 YEARS IN THE REAL ESTATE IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESSBUSINESS• Obtained my real estate license in
September 1958 after answer the following advertisement
Real Estate Career Opportunity
If you have a good personality, get along well with people, be a self-
starter and motivated and have the desire to make a difference in your
life call (0) 387 5446. No experience necessary—will train you
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND• First broker I worked for gave me a fairly hard
interview consisting of the following questions: Do you have a family? – Answer - yes Do you have a house? – Answer - yes Do you have a mortgage? – Answer - yes Do you have a car? – Answer - yes Do you have payments on the car? – Answer – yes Do you need a draw? – Answer – What is a draw? –
Response – you are hired – he realized that I would have to work very hard in order to succeed
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
• Decided to get my brokers license in 1959
• I took Real Estate very seriously and worked very hard and it proved to be very successful
• Purchase a brand new Pontiac in 1962 for $3,200 with electric windows
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BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND• In 1967, I started Polzler Real
Estate and it grew over the years to six offices and 140 sales associates
• Focus of the business was on training and recruiting
• Major competition were the banks with 60% of the market and many regional brokerages
• By the mid 70s I got involved in commercial building which proved to be a disaster – I almost went bankrupt - but I never gave up
“The ACTION People”
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THE EARLY YEARSTHE EARLY YEARS
• In order to compete we needed to be part of an international franchise network with a brand name
• Heard about RE/MAX and wanted to investigate further
• We decided to negotiate an arrangement with RE/MAX for the territory of Eastern Canada at that time was 6 provinces including Quebec
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THE EARLY YEARSTHE EARLY YEARS
• Was able to convince Dave and Gail to take a chance on our group
• Between Walter Schneider, Greg Gilmour and myself, we scraped together down payment to purchase the regional franchise rights for Eastern Canada
Dave and Gail Liniger, Owners of the RE/MAX
Brand
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THE EARLY YEARSTHE EARLY YEARS
• Discussions with Dave Liniger did not go so well (for complete details read the book “Everybody Wins”)
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THE EARLY YEARSTHE EARLY YEARS
• Canadian operation grew very fast
• There was very adverse conditions in the market with 15% to 17% mortgage interest rates
• Many real estate companies went under and we were still building against all odds
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THE EARLY YEARSTHE EARLY YEARS
• Another disaster – had an accident in 1983 but this didn’t slow down our growth of selling franchises and recruiting agents
• During my six weeks stay at the hospital I was making phone calls for recruits and franchise prospects
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RERE//MAXMAX INTERNATIONAL – INTERNATIONAL – OPEN OFFICESOPEN OFFICES
*Source: RE/MAX International – December 31, 2008
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Year to Date 6,929
2008
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RERE//MAXMAX INTERNATIONAL – INTERNATIONAL – NUMBER OF ASSOCIATESNUMBER OF ASSOCIATES
*Source: RE/MAX International – December 31, 2008
First 10 years slow growthSimilar to European regions
0
40
80
120
RE/MAX International Associate Growth (x 1,000)
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Year to Date 100,000+
2008
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NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS NORTH AMERICAN OPERATIONS (CANADA AND U.S.)(CANADA AND U.S.)
• Our North American operations consist of five Canadian Provinces and nine U.S. States
SALES OFFICES AGENTS TRANSACTIONS
Ontario-Atlantic (15M) 337 8,600 124,918 New England (14.6M) 252 3,076 32,089North Central (10.5M) 196 2,122 27,118Indiana (6.5M) 98 1,293 20,920 Europe (550M) 1,705 10,217 88,250
2, 588 25,308 293,295As of December 31, 2008
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Pamela AlexanderCEO and Managing Director of
North American Operations
Michael PolzlerExecutive Vice President and
Regional DirectorRE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada
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Walter SchneiderPresident and Co-Founder
RE/MAX Europe
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• My partner, Walter Schneider and I are very thankful to RE/MAX International for the opportunity to join an incredible business
• We have never complained about the money that we have sent in to be a part of RE/MAX
• The more money we send RE/MAX International the more money we make
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EUROPE EXPANSIONEUROPE EXPANSION
• Dave Liniger and RE/MAX International gave us another chance - the opportunity to develop the RE/MAX brand throughout Europe
• In 1994 formed RE/MAX Europe in Zug, Switzerland
• We had no idea what a huge challenge we were taking on in a marketplace of 550 million
• Everybody in Europe said that RE/MAX would never work - “it is different here”
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OPENED IN JUNE 1994HEADQUARTERED IN
ZugSwitzerland
REGIONAL SERVICES OFFICE
VIENNAAustria
RERE//MAXMAX EUROPE EUROPE REGIONSREGIONS
As of December 31, 2008
RE/MAX Europe OperatingRegions
RE/MAX Europe Pending Regions
ICELAND
SCOTLAND
IRELAND
DENMARK
SPAINPORTUGAL ITALY
GREECE
TURKEY
ISRAEL
SWEDENNORWAY
POLAND
Belarus
Ukraine
Moldova
Mace.
ROMANIA
BULGARIASERBIA
HUNGARY
SLOVAKIA
CZECH REP.
SLOVENIA
Bos.&Herz.
MONT.
Albania.
LITHUANIA
BELGIUM
UK MIDLANDSWALES
Russia
UK SOUTH
UK NORTH
MALTA
LUXEMBOURG
NETHERLANDSGERMANY
AUSTRIA
UK LONDON
CROATIA
SWITZERLAND
FRANCE
FINLAND
ESTONIA
LATVIA
Newest Regions
Macedonia and Albania
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RERE//MAXMAX EUROPE – EUROPE – CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIESCHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
• 40 different countries plus Turkey and Israel
• 30 different languages
• Before the Euro (€) – 30 different currencies
• Very little organized real estate
• Very few professional realtors and associates
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RERE//MAXMAX EUROPE – EUROPE – CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIESCHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
• There is no unified Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in place
• Poor customer service
• No other company operates by a code of ethics
• NO COOPERATION exists between agents, offices or other broker/owners
• No formal training programs in place or licensing
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RERE//MAXMAX EUROPE EUROPE
As of January 14, 2009
1,705 Total Number of Open Offices10,435 Total Number of Associates
5.4 Average Associates per Office330 Total Number of Franchises 2008
88,250 Total Transactions* for 2008
Regional Sales Ongoing
14th Year Statistics
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RERE//MAXMAX EUROPE – EUROPE – OPEN OFFICESOPEN OFFICES
No.
of A
ssoc
iate
s
1,5511,459
1,294932
762608528
403246
159
1,705
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
SalesTendency
As of January 14, 2009
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RERE//MAXMAX EUROPE – EUROPE – NUMBER OF ASSOCIATESNUMBER OF ASSOCIATES
No.
of A
ssoc
iate
s
28 327 457 587 900 1,1102,052
3,620
5,7207,531
10,21710,435
9,354
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
20,000
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
AssociatesTendency
As of January 14, 2009
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SUMMARYSUMMARY
• This has been a partial overview of my life’s journey
• Throughout my life things have become progressively better for myself, my family and my associates
• Everyone has the same opportunities in life
• To be successful you must have a positive attitude and be willing to work very hard
• Be prepared to take chances and risk - never give up
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SUMMARYSUMMARY• Success will not happen overnight – it is a slow,
progression of self-created positive events, hard work and staying power
• Customer service must be Number One
• Realizing constant change and staying focused on constant growth
• Everyone in this room has the same opportunities – all you have to think about is how you want to achieve your personal goals
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