Sue Yannakorn took on one of residential real estate’s largest operating roles this spring, becoming Compass International Holdings’ first chief operating officer after Compass completed its acquisition of Anywhere.
In this role, Mr. Yanakorn will be responsible for supporting the expansion of technology, agent services, and learning and development across the combined company. The company says its network includes approximately 340,000 real estate professionals from approximately 120 countries and regions. The Compass International Holdings family of brands includes Compass, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, Sotheby’s International Realty, Century 21, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, ERA, and more.
Yannaccone, who previously led Anywhere Brands and Anywhere Advisors and is one of the real estate leaders named to join Inman’s new advisory board, spoke in an interview about consolidation, agent support, consumer choice and industry conversations she thinks deserve more attention.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Inman: This is the first time we’re meeting again in your new role. From a high level, how do you view your role as COO of Compass International Holdings?
Janakorn: I think my role is to make sure we take the strengths of both of these organizations and really integrate them to make sure we leverage the best of both worlds to bring the most value to our real estate professionals and franchisees and affiliate networks.
It’s about looking at these two businesses holistically, with my unique perspective, having spent nearly 30 years in this industry, coming from the Anywhere brand house, and asking, “How can we best deliver that value and connect the dots all the way to the ultimate consumer or end user, the real estate professional?”
There are a lot of moving parts and components. Is your focus the same as before, or is it more complex now?
Yannaccone: The company is larger given its many brands and number of employees. [perspective]but it’s thinking: what are we ultimately trying to achieve? Where do companies need to go? How can they get there in a structured way, truly leveraging the best of both worlds?
How do we ensure that our brand maintains its uniqueness and the special position it has earned within the industry, serving our own brokerages, and empowering and learning from real estate professionals?
One of the benefits of a company like this, as we’ve always said, is: [that] By running a brokerage while also running a franchise, we are able to learn, share that information, and ultimately provide something of value to agents and brokers to help them grow their businesses.
Not only does this bring a unique perspective, but it also ensures that we retain and evolve the entrepreneurial spirit that exists within Compass as an intermediary, and translate that into how we efficiently and effectively scale speed and scale.
What does successful integration look like, especially when there are so many moving parts and intermediaries that can compete with each other and are now part of the same parent company?
Janakorn: I think success will continue to be about all real estate professionals having the tools and systems they need to support their growth.
One of the things we used to do in the world and what I’m proposing here is: [to determine] If you need to streamline your back office operations. There’s no need for multiple teams to do multiple things. We need a top-notch team that works behind the scenes and is focused on and highly protective of the individualism of our agents so they can have a differentiated voice in the marketplace.
From my background, we’ve been able to do it successfully for decades, and now we’re able to make sure we continue to incorporate those learnings. For example, do you need five different teams to handle back-office transaction processing? No, you need one great team to do those things. That way, you can continue to invest in what brings unique and differentiated value to your customers.
Moving on to the Inman Advisory Council, how was it suggested and why did you decide to join?
Janakorn: Inman was pitched to me as an opportunity to have a conversation about our future vision and opportunities to deliver value to our customers and the industry as a whole.
I think this is a pivotal time in our industry with a lot of change, and I’ve always felt that the best things come from diverse voices around the table. If we really want to participate in strengthening something or pushing a topic in a better direction, having different people in the same room discussing it, just adding different perspectives, can be very helpful.
Media is also changing. From your perspective, what do you hope to see from the advisory board? What good things can Inman do for the industry?
Janakorn: As you said, I think it’s important for all media to change. Just as the way I approach my work is focused on always knowing, listening, and understanding what my stakeholders need, are interested in, and really want to hear from me, I believe the same applies to any outlet or any group within a company.
That’s why this council is really interesting to me. Because this council says, “We want to have an open dialogue to understand what’s important.” That’s a key element in how I coach.
In terms of industry media and conversations happening in the industry, what topics are you currently interested in or think the industry should focus more on?
Janakorn: I would probably focus on two things.
One is to understand exactly what the real estate professional’s role is in a transaction and who has a fiduciary responsibility when working with a home seller, and to continue to focus on their role as a trusted advisor within that transaction.
That means working with the seller to discuss the best way to market the home, the unique qualities of the home, the timing, what the seller is trying to accomplish, and how to keep the seller at the center of the transaction.
Another topic is the concept of consumer choice. I’ve been advocating for consumer choice for years. It’s the idea that consumers, along with trusted advisors, should have the ability to decide the best way for them to market their home, which includes a myriad of methods. One size does not fit all.
You’ve had a front row seat to some of these big industry conversations, including the Clear Commission discussions. You’ve been advocating for consumer choice for years. Has there been an evolution? What’s your perspective from the first Clear Collaboration discussions to now?
Yanacon: I think I would frame it like this. I’ve always felt that consumers should have the right to choose how they want to market their home, whether they want to be broad, whether they want to price test, whether they want to do a different marketing strategy.
That’s what hasn’t changed in my perspective about the opportunity for home sellers. I think what’s evolving in the industry now is how we can advocate for that and make it happen within the industry.
However, I don’t think that telling consumers how and what they need to do can be adequately addressed by uniform guidelines or requirements, regardless of the industry. I think that’s just unrealistic.
So for me, it’s not really a change. This is more of an approach, but it focuses on: [the idea] Consumer choice is always at the forefront.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career trajectory, your new role, Compass International Holdings, or the current state of the industry?
Janakorn: This is a big moment for our industry. There’s a lot going on, and I’m most excited about the opportunity right now to truly communicate all that we’re bringing together at Compass International Holdings to drive growth for real estate professionals, franchisees, and affiliates.
That’s ultimately my role, to bring all of this together and help them grow and leverage their individual businesses in a way that makes sense for them.
In fact, my job is to take all this, listen, understand what is happening, look at the situation and say: “How do we extract real value for people who choose one of our myriad brands?” It’s a choice, and we’re delivering on our promise to help them grow their business.
From an outside perspective, there appears to be a fairly uniform message across a large pool of agents. Is that fair or is that what management is trying to do?
Janakorn: I would say that all the way down to the C-suite level, this is a culture of listening to our agents and making sure their needs are met to ensure their success.
Traditional Anywhere brands are very used to being part of this larger ecosystem, and at the end of the day, no matter what brand they’re part of, they’re the individuals who sit across the table every day to transact business.
Making sure they understand that we continue to support the unique brands they choose to build their careers on, while also adding additional tools and resources by leveraging our home platform across our ecosystem to give them what they need to succeed feels like a good message for us to send and for them to receive.
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