Whether you’re a brand new agent looking for your first brokerage to join or an agent who’s at a brokerage but considering another brokerage. What’s the MOST important factor to consider when deciding which brokerage to partner your business with?
To start, you only know what you know. As agents, we love to talk or hear about what’s going on with other brokerages. But the truth is, that until you actually have a conversation with someone at that other brokerage, you cannot confirm it to be true until you hear it firsthand. Also if you are interviewing with someone who is bad-mouthing other brokerages, that is a red flag that perhaps you shouldn’t be partnering yourself with someone like that. That is a reflection of their character and integrity.
It is very important that before you engage in talks with other brokerages, you must mentally empty your cup about what you’ve heard good or bad about other brokerages. To truly learn about them you must have an open mind and a blank slate. You may come to actually learn that all the things you’ve heard are NOT true. Now that you’re thinking in the right state of mind, what is the most important factor to be looking for in a brokerage?
Commission splits and fees of course, right? WRONG! If you are driven to join a brokerage only because they’re promising to give you the highest commission split and the lowest or even no annual fee. Then sorry, but they’ve got you right where they want you. Commission splits and fees are all smoke and mirrors. Even 100% commission, no monthly fee brokerages. Absolute lies, every brokerage makes their money one way or another. They just call it something else or collect it from another place such as your clients’ pockets through junk fees labeled as transaction fees or admin broker fees. Think about it, if they weren’t profitable, you wouldn’t be an agent for them for long.
It is puzzling to me how agents supposedly operate their own business but then they feel some type of way when their brokerage charges them $X, X% split, this cap, or this fee. How dare they charge me $X or X% or these fees? Do these agents not understand that a brokerage is a business as well? How can you as an agent expect your brokerage to be around if they are giving all the money to the agents and not making any money for the brokerage? If you’re an agent with this type of mindset, then perhaps you should become a broker and open up your own brokerage so you can set your own prices. A brokerage and agent relationship is a two-way relationship, the success of each is tied together.
In addition, if your primary concern is how much you keep. Then you have a scarcity mindset. Per NAR there are 1.6M agents out there. And guess what? There is plenty of business for the agents who are actually putting in the work. Ask yourself do you believe in your skills and abilities that you can make six, seven, or eight figures? If you can only focus on the split and fees, you will never be able to see the entire forest, because you’re too focused on just that one tree.
So if commission and fees are not the most important when choosing a brokerage then what are? Technology? CRM? Website? Marketing? Free leads? Transaction coordinators? Training? Career advancement? Concierge support? Yes, while all of these are important, do not be mistaken. They are only of value if you actually utilize them and deploy them into your business.
So what is the most important factor in choosing a brokerage? When it comes down to it, many brokerages operate on very similar models with slight variations. What sets the brokerages apart then? The culture. Culture is the set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that shape how agents work together with their brokerage. It affects everything from agent engagement to productivity, innovation, satisfaction, and retention. When you find a brokerage with the right culture that will help support your business and help it develop and scale. One that is constantly innovating and helping its agents to stay ahead of the curve and adjust to the changes in the market. That is the brokerage that you should choose. I encourage everyone to explore and find the best place for themselves wherever that might be.
For me currently, that is eXp Realty. The leadership at eXp Realty built this company with the intention of helping their agents succeed first. eXp Realty was the first major tech brokerage. eXp allows agents to expand their business to all 50 states and 20+ countries, take ownership in the company through stock, allow agents to build their own brokerage without the need to be a broker or take on the duties and liabilities of a broker, and create multiple streams of income. Through all of this, agents who partner with eXp Realty are building multiple nest eggs that they can collect income from while actively working as an agent and setting them up for when they eventually retire and still have a legacy that they’ve built to pass on to their next generation.