Objective: keep our teams starting and expanding their empires as big as they want them, with access to live data in Command Opportunities and official team reporting in KWConnect.
The Pain Points:
- Confusion around the difference between Expansion and KWEN
- All the dual affiliates and royalty tracking!
- Abridged reporting at the SPOKE versus full reporting at the HUB
Two Expansion Options
KW Expansion System – this is the current, traditional expansion model with KW where a current RM applies to expand their team into a second market center and grows from there. Each team is set up a different market centers with different caps, local fees, and splits – where more than one MCA is processing closings and remitting expansion splits by referral fee to the HUB market center. This is “how we’ve always done it.”
KW Expansion Network (KWEN) – this is the new, emerging option where each state has a KWEN “office” with a broker and expansion members join through KWEN. All closings are processed through the state KWEN office and then the company dollar is remitted to the host market center – just the CO$. This dramatically reduces the local market center’s workload around managing each unique expansion team’s needs and centralizes the financials around expansions more cleanly.
Step 1: Apply to Expand and Become a HUB
When an existing team Rainmaker in your market center expresses a desire/intention to open a branch of their team in another market center, that’s you cue that they are interested in expansion. And the first step is to prepare an application and submit that to the traditional KW Expansion System (expansion@kw.com) to start the application to become an expansion team. The application process is outlined in our Knowledge Base under New Expansion Network Setup (HUB). Here are the KW Expansion preparation and application tools on KWConnect, available to all associates and leadership: https://www.kwconnect.com/profile/172405.
NOTE: if your market center has an expansion team, your leadership and the expansion team leadership will need to take Expansion Systems Operations (ESO) through KWU.
Step 2: Set up the HUB Team in WinMORE and CommandMC
As always, we start in WinMORE. Remember, to be able to see a team in Command, the associate must be in WinMORE at the market center hosting that team.
Typically this team already exists in the HUB market center, but it’s a good idea to ensure that you have received the expansion agreements and all of the team members’ team agreements and have these on file.
- Ensure that each associate has proper onboarding documentation and has the correct status combination in WinMORE for their license status and their role on the team.
- Ensure that the team and each team associate has the correct role in the CommandMC Team Tool. Remember – a team must be set up even if there is only one associate on the team at your location. And the team must be set up in the Team Tool before an application can be reviewed.
- Be patient as the KW Expansion Network works through the application; they will let the rainmaker know as additional information is needed.
NOTE: you will have to set up a SPOKE team and request it connected to the HUB for the new Expansion team to be fully realized as an expansion. This does not happen until the SPOKE is LIVE and connected.
Step 3: Set up the SPOKE Teams in WinMORE and CommandMC
Each time the Expansion rainmaker wishes to open a branch or SPOKE at a new market center, they will apply for and negotiate an operating agreement with each market center. Once approved, it’s time for the MCA of SPOKE to get the team setup.
- As always, the MCA will enter each member into WinMORE (if not already there) and ensure that statuses are updated to reflect the appropriate team status combination.
- Next, you’ll create the expansion team in your team tool just like any other team and then take a few extra steps to connect the new team to the larger expansion Remember – a team must be set up even if there is only one associate on the team at your location. And the team must be set up in the Team Tool before the team can be connected to the larger expansion.
- Finally, follow the instructions in Set up an Expansion HUB or SPOKE Team to identify the Team ID and send that information in to have the SPOKE team connected to the HUB – this is the step that allows the HUB to receive reporting on their whole network through transmittal each month.
All of the HUB and SPOKE set up details are in our Knowledge Base under Set up an Expansion HUB or SPOKE Team. The same standard team management best practices apply to your expansion teams the same way they apply to your local non-expansion teams. Be sure to review the team best practices from the June MCAlert for detailed instructions around creating, editing, and managing teams in the Team Tool.
Step 4: HUB Access to Command Opportunities
When the HUB rainmaker – or sometimes the HUB Director of Operations – desires live, real-time visibility of all of their teams’ Command opportunities and transactions, the solution is simple – onboard them into WinMORE as a dual affiliated associate and then add them to the Team Tool as a rainmaker or admin as is relevant: Adding or Transferring an Existing Associate.
Remember, they do not have to hang their license with you for this to happen. You can enter a rainmaker not licensed in your state or who chooses not to affiliate with your market center as PO/O and still add them to the team with the role Administrative Assistant.
Step 5: HUB Access to Official Expansion Reports
Each month after transmittal, the expansion team reports will update roughly around the 10th of the month. Sometimes we find that a new-ish expansion team has a hard time making the shift from checking the Teams and Groups Statistics Portal to checking the Expansion Teams Statistics Portal.
Step 6: SPOKE DAs to pay the HUB
When you have a SPOKE team, you’ll pay the expansion HUB as an outside referral on the DA to the market center where the HUB is located. Be sure to have the host agreement and the team member agreements on file as reference for who is responsible – the HUB or the SPOKE agent – for paying local commission-related fees.
One Royalty and Dual Affiliation
With expansion networks, we do see a high percentage of dually affiliated agents – rainmakers primarily – you will want to review the Dual Affiliation and One Royalty policy and best practices. Put simply: an associate pays one royalty no matter how many market centers or regions or states or expansions or KW specialty communities the associate is affiliated with: Associate Royalty for Licensed Associate in Multiple Market Centers in Multiple Regions.
KWEN Update
We’re sure you’re watching the launch and growth of the KWEN Network as that is a significant initiative for 2022 to bring continuity to the expansion strategy for growth. So far, KWEN has launched in a few states, starting with one market center to set the practices correctly around state regulations, and will be inviting other market centers to consider joining in phase 2. Here are some great resources to learn the basic philosophies around the KWEN Network:
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