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Best Real Estate Coaches: Ferry vs Buffini vs Proctor

Published April 29, 2019

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A real estate coach is someone with a proven record of success in the industry who mentors agents/brokers towards business growth. Real estate coaching might include marketing and sales training, tips on getting leads, and client relationship guidance. We reviewed multiple coaches and landed on the top three based on popularity, effectiveness, and cost.

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Best Real Estate Coaches 2019

Real Estate Coaches	Best for Real Estate Coaching
Mike Ferry	Real estate professionals seeking guidance on sales techniques
Brian Buffini	Agents who want to learn marketing strategies like referral-building and direct mail marketing
Craig Proctor	Brokers seeking group training for advertising, marketing, and lead generation

How We Evaluated Real Estate Coaches

Agents and brokers who consider real estate coaching are either new to the industry or need new ways to increase sales. The best real estate coaches combine private coaching with group coaching to give agents the training necessary to build their client base and, by extension, commissions. That’s why we evaluated 22 coaches based on coaching focus, seminar opportunities, contracts, and, of course, price.

These are the criteria we used to evaluate the best real estate coaches for 2019:

Price: While it was difficult to establish a baseline price for the coaches we chose, each one had to offer significant value — determined by considering how many sessions, seminars, and additional materials are included for the advertised price
One-on-one coaching: Individualized coaching is offered by all coaches on our list; as each agent’s challenges are unique, one-on-one coaching is necessary to help them grow their business
Group coaching: All three coaches offer group coaching; this was a baseline requirement because agents and brokers often conduct team training and/or are interested in group-based discounts
Seminars: Seminars are an ideal means of providing foundational real estate information to a group of agents; this is especially key for new agents, so we favored coaches who boast well-reviewed seminars as part of their coaching packages
Contract flexibility: Contract flexibility allows coaches to release agents from services if the coaching is not beneficial; as different coaching methods work for different personalities, we favored coaches who provide a measure of contract flexibility
Free trial consultation: The trial consultation gives agents the ability to ask questions and make sure their personalities mesh with real estate coaches and consultants before making a financial investment; given the importance of this vetting, we strongly considered free consultations in our ranking.

Based on these criteria, we recommend the Mike Ferry Organization for training on a broad range of sales topics. The organization’s coaches walk agents through the entire sales process, showing them everything from how to make a successful sales call to how to craft an efficient sales funnel and quickly close a deal. These skills work for both new and experienced agents who are keen on increasing sales.

If you’re looking for more specific training, however, either Brian Buffini or Craig Proctor may be a better option. Buffini specializes in referral-based marketing while Craig Proctor focuses on print and web-based advertising for groups. Agents who are interested in finding new leads and marketing successfully to those leads will likely benefit most from these coaches.

Best for Sales Techniques: The Mike Ferry Organization

The Mike Ferry Organization is a real estate coaching company that teaches and mentors agents through the entire sales process. Ferry uses a combination of coaching calls, an online training system, and retreats to show real estate agents how to increase sales, and pricing runs $650 per agent, per month. Mike Ferry is the ideal real estate coaching choice for agents who get leads but struggle to convert those leads or flounder during price negotiations.

Mike Ferry Pricing

The One on One package ($650 per month) includes 40 coaching calls during the course of a year, although the length of the call is not specified. You also get one complimentary retreat ticket valued between $50 and $500, depending on the event. Coaching for brokers costs $4,000 per year for access to the Executive Management Group.

Mike Ferry Contract Requirements

Mike Ferry trainers occasionally receive criticism from agents for their binding contracts; you have to sign up for a full year ― only for the One on One package ― and there’s no way to break the contract early. Those considering coaching services should take advantage of its complimentary evaluation call and/or attend a seminar before signing up.

Mike Ferry Real Estate Coaching Offerings & Programs

Mike Ferry trainers focus more on the general sales process than any specific technologies. They teach you how to make a sales call with scripts provided and how to communicate with clients in general. Other lessons revolve around prospecting, running a business, time management, and hiring an assistant.

Real Estate Coaching Services

The real estate coaching services of Mike Ferry are designed for agents, office managers, and mortgage lenders. Each session includes a call with a Mike Ferry-trained coach. Other perks include a free subscription to Mike Ferry’s Selling magazine, email and video messages from the Mike Ferry Organization, and a 50% discount on events, products, and audio downloads. A coaching sales kit is also offered as a benefit, but it’s not explained what’s included in the kit.

These are the real estate coaching services offered to agents and brokers by Mike Ferry:

One-on-One Coaching: This coaching level, priced $650 per agent, per month, gives agents individualized calls for real estate coaching with a trained coach of the Mike Ferry Organization; these calls are aimed at increasing profits and include weekly motivations and tips to amp up sales and productivity
Premier Agent: At $1,000 per month for one year, the Premier Agent Coaching sessions include individualized calls with a mentor, email access to Mike Ferry, and admissions to sales clinics, retreats, and conferences with VIP invitations to receptions at each
Broker Executive Management: The Executive Management Group for brokers is $4,000 per year for access to training events and coaching on how to increase recruitment and retention of agents as well as increase overall office productivity
Mortgage Lender: Priced at $295 per month with a semi-annual contract, the Mortgage Lender program uses coaching calls to teach agents how to find buyers, how to maximize resources, and how to find the right partners like agents and brokers

Seminars & Conferences

Seminars and conferences are presented by The Mike Ferry Organization in locations throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Every coaching package above includes either a 50% discount or free tickets to seminars or retreats. Price ranges from $50 to $500 depending on the length of the seminar and the location of the event.

Free Trials & Consultations

The Mike Ferry Organization does not offer a free trial session like Brian Buffini or Craig Proctor. There is a free evaluation available, however. This evaluation starts with a form, then proceeds to a phone call with a coach to discuss the program you identify in your interests. The call is also your opportunity to ask questions about the contract, costs, and program features.

Mike Ferry Free Real Estate Coaching Evaluation.

What Mike Ferry Coaching Is Missing

Mike Ferry relies solely on sales conversion after a lead is secured. However, lead generation is the start of the sales process, and Mike Ferry does not offer any guidance on finding high-converting leads. If you want to focus on sales processes after securing leads, Mike Ferry is an ideal resource. However, if you want marketing or advertising help first, then you likely want to start with Buffini or Proctor.

What Users Think About Mike Ferry Coaching

Several customers pointed out that Mike Ferry’s system is heavy on cold calling. This includes scanning expired and for sale by owner (FSBO) listings for relevant leads and calling them with a tight sales pitch. This seems to polarize customers — some find it very successful and others simply hate cold calling. Some reviewers have found success simply by identifying areas of weakness in their sales cycle and improving them.

Best for Increasing Referrals: Buffini & Company

Buffini & Company is a group of real estate coaches who teach agents and brokers how to use their referrals to create leads; coaching starts at $239 per month. The coaching strategies of Brian Buffini focus on staying connected to your sphere and nurturing each contact until they give you a referral. Buffini & Company real estate coaches are best for agents who have a large network and do not know how to make the most of it to gain referrals and fill their sales funnel.

Brian Buffini Pricing

The One2One coaching package is priced at $499 per month and includes bimonthly coaching calls. Group training costs $239 per month. Both packages include a lot of marketing tools, such as flyers, notecards, stickers, and envelopes for direct mail campaigns. Buffini training includes a subscription to Referral Maker CRM, which would otherwise cost $49 per month.

Training also includes a Heritage Profile — a summary of an agent’s skills and weaknesses designed to help coaches tailor their calls to your needs — three Buffini Blitz training programs per year, and access to the Buffini Referral Network, which allows agents to send and receive referrals from other agents around the country who have trained with Buffini.

Brian Buffini Contract Requirements

Although Buffini coaches require binding contracts, complaints about yearly contract terms are far fewer than they are for Mike Ferry contracts. This might be because the contract is slightly more flexible as you can cancel after six months of coaching. Contract terms are less flexible than the “cancel anytime” policy of Craig Proctor, however.

Brian Buffini Real Estate Coaching Offerings & Programs

Brian Buffini’s training revolves around getting more referrals. Its belief is that building long-term and meaningful relationships with clients is the best way to generate business. Buffini training has at least some technological focus as members receive a subscription to Referral Maker CRM. It also provides a direct mail marketing kit, including flyers, envelopes, and stickers, which is intended to help you stay connected with clients.