We attended Richard's session today in Charleston and were wondering what others thought about it...

The people at Trademark are extremely nice and down to earth, but...the preparation of the whole event was terrible. Richard Davis had no organization to his remarks (he was all over the place - one minute talking about why his kids go to public school and then talking about teamwork, community, real estate, and then about problems in America...- for over two hours he did this...whey). I left after the two hour mark and he was still rambaling. Checking people into the event was also a nightmare...the event started an hour late because of the poor planning. In their defense, I'm sure this was their first time doing something like this and Richard is not an experienced speaker (I hope not anyway). They have a great team in Charleston but I doubt they will succeed nationally. They need way more organization than what they showed today to make it happen. I'm guessing the delay in the book release was due to poor planning as well...

Thanks...we just wanted to make sure that we weren't the only ones that felt that way. Richard seems like a great guy, but today's experience unfortunately made us lose a lot of respect for him in a business sense.

I am so sad to say...I have to agree. I was disappointed in the lack of organization and left feeling that Trademark was looking for a way to identify potential markets, which was achieved by "challenging" us to get to SC. I definately was not inspired to follow, and I hope TMP did not do more harm to Richard's "vision," than help. I was hoping to leave with a feeling of wanting to bring TMP to my hometown, and AT LEAST, be inspired to continue to pursue excellence within my own business, as Richard has with his. I was hoping to see how he managed to find a wonderful balance between business brilliance and personal responsibility and generousity. I did not get any of this. I know Richard is habitually late, but I didn't find that quality particularily endearing when I spent alot of money and time getting to SC, it didn't make my trip seem appreciated or worthwhile. I am so sorry about this because I have so very much respect for Richard's brilliant mind and giant heart...I think however, he should have had professional meeting planners help out with logistics and he should have been the star speaker with a real "take home" message. Instead, it left me wonder how he could organize 50 area partners to deliver 1 unified message, when he, himself, could not deliver his.

One word.

AWESOME!

Catch that?

Sadly, I agree with the previous posts, but I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way. After spending over $1000 in flight, hotel, etc. arrangements I was disappointed in the whole thing. The organization was a disaster and included no logical operating procedure. I am a HUGE fan of Richard’s and what he has done, but if I were him I would be embarrassed by today’s performance. Someone mentioned him being all over the place with his speech, which was certainly the case. We got a handout questionnaire but no instructions regarding what to do with it. I learned virtually nothing about how the partnership was going to work or what sort of commitment he was looking for from potential investors. He said he had ten areas targeted for the initial roll out based on market trends, but didn’t bother to disclose those areas to us. The slide show that displayed the “numbers” he talked about throughout the presentation was unreadable from virtually any place in the theatre due to the size of the projection. I feel like the whole thing overall lacked the proper planning it takes to successfully put together a presentation of this caliber. Sorry Richard, like I said I am a huge fan, but if you’re reading this, please consider my observation as constructive criticism and nothing more.

This is going to be my last post here. A lot of people came with (wrong) preconceived notions as to what this was going to be about and as a result, were disappointed.

I wasn't, in fact, it was just what I hoped it was! For everyone else I guess you could call this the first "shakeout".

I have great respect for R. Davis, but as all have said……disaster. I was left wondering, what’s the point to all this. I expected to see numbers, model profit splits, ect. My brother and I dropped $90 on tickets and $60 on gas. I feel horrible for the poor folks that drove for hours or flew in from other areas. The fellow sitting to my right flew in from Cali, and the fellow on my left drove from Tenn. I overheard one guy cursing to his wife on the phone because he drove from Ohio for nothing. Richard is brilliant, but as the others have already stated, DISASTER! 2,500 tickets were sold at $45 a piece. IMO, the cost for rental of the auditorium should be deducted from the $112,500 in ticket sales, then divide that number by 2,500 and that’s what should be returned to us. On a more positive note, good luck on your adventures Mr. Davis.

I was very disappointed with the "speech". While I made this trip worthwhile as a mini vacation, it was, to say the least, very unorganized. While I was not really sure what this event was actually was supposed to be, I had looked forward to seeing the "team". He started at 11 and I left at 2:15, can someone else tell me how much longer he did speak? When I left, they were getting ready to take pictures of someone for each state.
I just hope he is more organized before he does anything else again. I also agree that maybe he needs to refund some money. That was a very expensive roll and cup of orange juice that I got for breakfast!!!

stevetexas, I am just curious to your post. I am reading this post as to think that you expected this to happen. Can you elaborate or am I just reading it wrong?

OK, mousey. One more, just for you ; )

Like you, I turned this into a mini vacation as well. That alone was awesome! I wanted to visit Charleston anyway (never been there) and when I heard about the speech I just adjusted my schedule accordingly.

Frankly I'm flabbergasted by some of the comments here but at the same time, not surprised. Richard was selling his vision for Trademark. As with anything in sales, you first have to sell yourself which is exactly what he was doing. So some think he was all over the place? Well, that's just a style thing, his style. Uncut and unedited. You hear what you want to hear I suppose and just block out the rest for some. Others go with the flow and listen! And for those of us that did listen, we heard plenty!

I have no illusions about becoming an area partner but I'm open to it! As with anything else, if it's not a win-win then there isn't the possibility of a deal. It's as simple as that. It's a process or a journey if you will for both parties to see if there's a there, there. This was the first step in that process. Richard laid it out and you and I went to hear it.

I must admit Richard Davis was right, his presentation was not what I had expected. My initial response to the whole event experience was quite negative. I felt "used" for a PR event and disappointed by the lack of information provided for the effort we all put forth to be in attendance.

A little time has worn off the edges a little for me to where I can accept this event as proof positive that Richard Davis and his team are what they say they are; Real Estate Pros. They're definitely not event planners, seminar gurus, franchisors or business brokers.

After shaking off my irritation, I have found myself hopeful that the email information promised will, in fact, fill in the huge gaps of unanswered questions about this opportunity to "Partner" with Trademark.

I have been in the retail real estate business for nine years and a lot of what Richard said about the problems in our industry and the mechanics of most brokerages are absolutely true.

Richard Davis showed me he is "real" (and a bit cocky) on Friday. Now I'll be interested to see the business opportunity presented clearly.

You guys are so ridiculous and disrespectful!! For God's sake, give Richard credit for his first presentation. Anyone's "first time" is never perfect. It's true they should have had a professional/event planner but I'm sure next time they will if they ever do this again. Apparently some of you sorry ass pessimistic "gold diggers" just don't get it; you were not LISTENING to what Richard's intentions are and you certainly didn't take it to heart. You can only think the worse of everything. Get real!!!

Time and effort takes success, so stay out of our way, we're rolling this thing out!! Step by step, state by state. No jumps as you expected!!!

My husband and I drove from Lex KY and were hugely disappointed with the event. We were so aggravated by the time we reach the top of the steps waiting to enter the doors to the auditorium. "Breakfast" was a huge let down, we couldn't make our way through the crowd to even find it and did not want to push our way through a bunch of people. Once the doors were opened and we realized their system of obtaining your "ticket", nothing more than a name tag, we were ready to leave. If it wasn't for the money we had already spent along with the time we invested into this event, we would have walked out. It was completely ridiculous to obtain a name tag, for what purpose I don't know, they should have just let us show our receipt of purchase. To beat all they didn't even have the state of KY sign but offered to hand write a make shift sign????? Trademark employees knew once the saw the massive crowd of people how disorganized they truly were, in my opinion they should have skipped the nametags and state signs and just let everyone walk on back to their seats at that point. Once again we waited, round 4, in our seats for everyone to get their "tickets" and be seated, but at this point we were glad to just be able to have a place to sit even though once again we contemplated on leaving. Both my husband and I were feeling ill, having nothing to eat, needless to say by 3:30-4:00 when we got out of there we were at each other's throat's and very agitated. There was not a person around us that commented on how poorly the event was organized, and Trademark knew how many tickets were sold so that is not an excuse. I agree with the comments on this board, Richard skipped topics, repeated himself constantly and what was said could have been done in half the time, and there was no true message, however in his defense he did say he is not a speaker but that was AFTER he sold tickets. Our purpose for going was to see what an area partner would be about as well as hope to gain some influential message to learn something. We will not be pursuing an area partnership and we left with no true message of inspiration. The night before, we purchased shirts, etc. at the retail shop, and had absolutely no desire to sport our attire after the event. Yes, I have lost some respect for Trademark, I still remain a fan but the excitement is somewhat gone and has left a bad taste in my mouth. I was so excited to meet them but at the end of the event, while taking our state photo, I could have cared less. My enthusiasm was gone and I was just ready to leave and did not have the energy nor care to shake their hand or even get a individual photo. The staff commented on several occassions they were still doing last minute preparations, ok that's entertaining on the tv show, but not cute at all when you have hundreds of people waiting on you when this event has been planned for months. I know Richard will succeed in his 13 month journey of setting up 50 states, however I think less than 10 percent of them will actually be successful offices simply because Richard has way too much on his plate as he has proven that to all that attended. Richard will surely get some hate mail over this and I truly think he'll lose some fans. One thing I do agree with, is that Richard did leave some loose ends after the event. In other words, he's waiting to see who has the persistance to take it upon themselves to mail their questionnaire in, show up at his office for an interview, and prove their determination in getting their foot in the door. He is not going to tell people what the next step is, it's a test of determination.

I am not going to disagree with all the dissapointed posts because you all are entitled to your opinions. But I was really impressed with Richard's speech. It kind of reinforced that these guys are the real deal. Everyone was very professional and friendly. Sure the ticket lines could have been organized a little better, but I don't think anyone missed anything. As a South Carolina Realtor I will have to agree with everything he was saying was wrong with the majority of the brokerages in the state. I look forward to having the opportunity to inteview with Richard soon!

Great dialog going here, it's interesting to see the different points of view. LexingtonGirl, after I made my first couple of posts I met another couple who informed me that there was a card board box being used to collect the information sheets that were passed out. I didn't see this myself, so I wonder how many others missed it?
Regarding all the things wrong with the current real estate brokers, I must have missed it because I don't remember Richard specifically addressing any of these issues. Can someone refresh my memory? I do remember him saying there were a lot of holes in the old business model, but I don't recall him saying what they were or how his model was different.
Finally, as I was reflecting on the speech, I remembered Richard saying that his system works just as well in a "down market" as an "up market" which makes me wonder why there are only 10 areas he seems to think are ideal for partnership right now. Any ideas?

Nittanylion, the "box" never made its way to me. Yes, he did address problems with other brokerages. Not in depth though, just enough to leave you wanting more. I can identifiy with Richard points for sure. Actually, I started out my career in Moscow, Russia Federation and now own a brokerage here in the states. Most of Richards points not only apply to the local Charleston market, but also as far away as Moscow. Common problems everywhere I would guess. I believe Richard planned the event just as it went down. As another already mentioned, he want you in his office if you are serious. Regaurdless, I don't appreciate being tugged around. I feel horrible with my posts; I feel as if i'm only here bashing him. No, I am still a fan. Just a currenly unhappy one. O-well, I'm over it now. On my way home, I jokingly asked my brother-inlaw if he had anything interesting to say. I just though it would be nice to charge 2,500 folks even just $20 to hear my random thoughts at my local civi center.

I travel to Charleston several times a year and unfortunately was not able to make it to the presentation on Friday. It sounds like I really didn't miss too much detail which is the only reason I would've went. It sounds like my decision to request a meeting with TMP representatives when I'm in Charleston in the next couple of weeks was the better move. What's the deal with the book? Did he say when more details would be announced? What about the 10 partners, when would those be announced?

Are they looking for real estate agents or investors that have experience flipping properties and developing properties?

greg98 - Trademark is looking for partners that can handle the responsibilities as Richard does with multi levels of real estate, including flips, residential, investment, commercial, relocation, etc. These partners will create their own team with people specializing in the above areas and much more, thus creating a full service brokerage. The flips come into play creating a checks and balance system of acquistion and disposal. My understanding is that those who did not attend will not be considered as a partner, you had to be there. Am I correct on this anyone? Also, just because someone is not chosen as a partner, does not mean they cannot be a part of the team as there will be many positions to fill.

Thanks for the info.

I spoke in person with a representative at TMP and she said that if you don't attend the meeting it does not preclude you from being considered as a partner. I will find out more during my meeting with them in a few weeks.

Greg98gts - That is my understanding as well. Like you, I could not attend due to prior commitments. I received a letter about the area partners and the speech. The only thing I noted was that Richard said he would pick the first 10 area partners from those who were at his speech.

My guess is that they will be picking those who have the greatest chance of success. I should say that is what I would do (as well as those with the recources to pay the franchise fee(s)). How else will you create franchise value?

seculp - Saying the first 10 would be picked from the speach made me think that those 10 were already picked or it was just a hype generator. After all who is going to sue TMP if 10 weren't picked? I read how people complained about spending $1000 to get there. $1000 is nothing in Richard's world. I'm sure the franchise fees are going to be over 100 thou. I don't buy into hype.

I guess I just don't get the advantage of giving Trademark a bunch of money to open a real estate office over just doing it on your own in your hometown or even franchising with Prudential or one of the reputable real estate companies.

My experience with franchising is that your biggest advantage is the national advertising and name recognition that these companies give you. Trademark has nothing but a schlocky show that demonstrates their unprofessionalism in dealing with customers, contractors, and their own employees. Any reasonable potential customer would run like the wind upon seeing a property with their sign out in front.

I guess with this whole deal is the ol' PT Barnum quote... "There's one born every minute"...

one other thing, I hope most viewers realize that the kind of guy that makes such a big deal out of how successful he or his company is usually is not that successful (ie, a big spender with other peoples money). The ones that really do make a lot of money usually don't brag about it so much. Just something to think about when your writing out your check.