Independents' Day

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In the past, Purmal had to turn customers away when she got too busy. Then she made a New Year's resolution: "I never want to turn down business unless I want to." The Driver Group lets the consultant take on three clients at a time, and her revenues have already increased 50% because of that. "I'm working at the highest level possible without working full-time all the time," she says. And she's making more money than she ever did at Palm. Purmal predicts that more alliances will spin out of WIC.

As it is, at least half the members use the alliance as an extension of their product line. When they see additional business opportunities with a client, they solicit fellow members from the monthly dinner-and-speaker meetings that attract upwards of 80 women. The WIC E-mail list draws replies from 500 area consultants. "The downside is you may get 40 responses," says Purmal. WIC now has a searchable database to help companies seeking consultants -- and to help consultants seeking other consultants. Hewlett-Packard reportedly uses many WIC members.

Will WIC ever recruit men? Not likely. In consulting, women are more willing to collaborate without expecting an instant payback, Purmal says. She adds: "Men expect much more reciprocity. There is a gender difference."

Battle of the Networks

The Alliance: Relo (www.relo.com)
Founded: May 1998, upon the merger of real estate brokers from three networks
Members: 700 independent brokers, both large and small
Driver: A resurgence of franchisors has the independents pulling together to win this "land grab"

Relo is an alliance that Warren Buffett would love. For one thing, the industry is salt of the earth: real estate brokerage. And Relo members have strong local brands. The famed investor is, in fact, an indirect supporter. Some 13 alliance members are also part of the Buffett empire. His real estate brokers keep their names and run their shops independently.

Independence is the driving force behind Relo's recent rise. Four years ago, after merging with brokers from two other networks, Relo became the largest alliance of independent (defined as "nonnational franchise") real estate agencies, big and small. It now represents 700 agencies with collective 2001 sales of $252 billion.

Brokers say they united out of a fierce desire to fight a looming enemy: a much larger network known as Cendant, built by some of the biggest names in franchising. At stake are not just home sales but millions and millions of dollars in corporate-relocation business. "Brokers said, 'We're concerned that if we're not part of a Cendant-like network, we'll be out of luck," says Mike Pappas, president of Keyes Co., in Miami, a Relo member with 35 offices in South Florida and home sales totaling $1.6 billion last year. "What Relo gives you is a national network for the local broker -- you can compete effectively with the franchisors."

Relo had long been a network for brokers to refer leads to when homeowners wanted to move across the state or the country. But its scope was limited. "Big brokers were in one group. Small brokers were in one of four other networks," says Jon Coile, executive vice president of Champion Realty, in Severna Park, Md., with home sales of $745 million. "Nobody had critical mass and complete coverage of the United States."

Today Relo has that coverage. It's a riveting example of how dramatically an alliance can change with the times. NRT, the large acquirer behind the Cendant network, has been snapping up independents and converting them to such franchise brands as Coldwell Banker, Century 21, and ERA. "There's so much resistance against NRT's model," says Relo president Pam O'Connor. "It's Wall Street versus Main Street, and our guys don't want to be taken over by Wall Street."

At the same time, Relo has "gone through some draconian changes," as one member puts it. Upon consolidation four years ago, the bigger and bolder Relo decided to get bad. The alliance set minimum standards for performance and dropped some 100 members. It changed its status to for-profit. Some 50 member companies became shareholders. And the newly cash-flush alliance bought a relocation company, now known as Relo Direct, which works with local Relo brokers on corporate accounts.

Relo member Abigail Jennings, president of Lake Norman Realty Inc., outside Charlotte, N.C., says Relo Direct brings her corporate clients and vice versa. And she says the Relo network "definitely" helped her two-office brokerage snag a large relocation contract. A division of a big car company moving its headquarters to nearby Huntersville needed a broker that could handle all its needs, such as helping employees to relocate from Germany and far-flung regions of the United States. "So," she says, "I used Relo members in all those places." While other Relo brokers sold the employees' old homes, Lake Norman found them new houses or rentals. Jennings also brought in Relo Direct on one aspect of the project. "It's seamless to the client," she says. She's particularly proud that her little agency with home sales of $107 million secured the contract. It's no wonder, then, that when you call her office, you hear on-hold messages plugging Relo. Jennings takes advantage of such other Relo benefits as training on relocation topics and offering clients home-warranty insurance.

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