At 12 years old, my next guest on The Richard Robbins Show helped name Canada’s largest, single-brand travel agency organization at his family’s kitchen table, and a few decades later, finds himself seated as the CEO.

Martin Charlwood, CEO of Century 21 and the Charlwood Pacific Group, stepped foot into the family business at a young age. In University, Martin and his brother owned and operated a UNIGLOBE franchise (a company owned under the CPG travel division). Upon graduation, Martin worked at UNIGLOBE’s head office, but he by no means was handed the keys to the kingdom. “[I] started at the absolute bottom. I think in any family business that’s what needs to happen, you need to earn your stripes.”

His journey from emptying garbage cans and being a support person, to working in marketing, sales and, ultimately, becoming president of the global organization, is a story less about inheritance and more about passion and determination.

The Charlwood Pacific Group’s real estate division operates Century 21, Centum Mortgage Brokerages and Real Property Management, providing step-by-step assistance throughout a homeowner’s purchasing experience. Martin tells me the concept is pretty straight forward, “We’d like to be able to sell you a house…we’d like to help arrange the financing, and if you’re thinking about getting some income out of that, we’d also like to manage it for you so you’ve got a one-stop-shop.”

With over 127,000 Century 21 agents operating in 80 countries and territories worldwide, this episode of The Richard Robbins Show talks about how to treat your locally owned business like a globally run corporation. Martin and I talk about business growth and development, why we should embrace new real estate technology and ‘disruptors’, and how franchising has helped take the Charlwood Pacific Group worldwide.

Listen to the Full Episode:

What You’ll Learn In Today’s Episode

• How to franchise and its growth possibilities.
• The importance of embracing new technology in real estate.
• Aligning yourself with iBuyer technology.
• How to appeal to the new generation of homebuyer.
• The power of written goals and accountability.
• Why it is absolutely crucial to ‘own the relationship.’
• Providing solutions and convenience to your clients and potential customers.

Ideas Worth Sharing

You gotta be able to stand out and differentiate yourself in the sea of sameness. Share on X
Don’t curse the darkness, get a flashlight and look at where you’re going. Share on X
Zillow is not trying to replace the Realtor. What Zillow is trying to do is bring an advertising platform that is much more targeted and much more robust to any particular agent’s listing, which then piggybacks on the exposure they… Share on X
Ep #20: Aligning with iBuyers and Embracing Technology Disruptors with CEO Martin Charlwood Share on X

Resources in Today’s Episode

• Martin Charlwood
• Century 21
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Easter Seals
• Charlwood Pacific Group
• UNIGLOBE Travel
• Lake Louise, Alberta
• University of British Columbia
• Zillow
• Shawshank Redemption
• The Emperor Series by Conn Iggulden
• The Conqueror Series by Conn Iggulden
• The Rolling Stones
• Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park
• Sea Ray
• Days Inn By Wyndham
• Holiday Inn
• Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts
• The Fairmont Empress Hotel, Victoria, British Columbia
• The Ritz-Carlton
• Winston Churchill

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