Broker/owner, your name, your brand on the sign. It's your name that appears on my commission check. This is your office, those are your employees and I totally get that.
But what I sense you don't get is that all of that is made possible by me - the agent. I am the talent. I am the one you recruited based on my local market knowledge. My skills. My reputation. My expertise. My ability to drive the buyer/sell experience.
I am the one whose name appears on the deals.
In an effort to leverage these skills, the ones that drive our collective partnership, I look to you, the company, to match my efforts with yours. While I'm out in my domain -- the field --performing, I need to know that back here, in the office -- your domain -- you are performing as well. I am referring to the inefficiencies, repetitive marketing tasks and other tasks that would be far more cost effective for us and you if they were all automated. Systems that focus on lead generation, lead incubation, follow up lead management and client care - you know, all the touchpoints that are critical to our collective livelihood.
Without it, I the agent have to perform these tasks myself. Every second I stand in front of a copy machine shoving paper into it, I sense the devaluation of my worth, my merit and my production time. I am a real estate professional earning executive level income. I should be mired in executive task and defer menial ones to automation.
I am the talent. You are my agency.
The way things are set up now, it is not working for me. If you want to keep getting a cut of my commissions start acting like my agent. If this isn't resonating, take a look at how William Morris Agent treat their moneymakers. Look at how top talent managers treat their clients. Their entire focus is promoting their talent. From public side -- their website -- to the private side.
When I go to our brokerages website all I seem to find is information about you and the same property listings that can be found on every other listing website. Where's your imagination, your creativity, your sense of building a brand that differentiates from the other brands who are doing the very thing you are?
Don't you realize what you have? Without us, the talent, you have nothing. By not leveraging us, you squander the single biggest asset of our company. Build your brand around us. The talent!
Where did you go?? Now you're back.
I have always considered the "agent on the road" the most important part of the complex. Could be because I was "on the road" for so long.
Most brokers' main function is recruiting. The agent's job is selling real estate for sellers to buyers.
It's what keeps the world going round.
Jonathan, Thanks for making me smile today!!! SHOW ME THE MONEY!! OK, I don't run a brokerage but I am throwing my 2cents in too!! I did work at a company - a huge company in south king county who's broker knew this. The office support I had was amazing. He made us feel like we were the most important people in the world. Sad thing though - that company made me pay out the nose for it. When I stopped my desk fee which in 2001 was $1100 a month and went to a 50/50 split the company match was huge!!! and I basically received nothing for it except the "big name". I loved that company because of the broker. When I returned to WA after being in CA for 3 years I decided to choose a company that let me keep all my money - I did and I do. However, I am on my own. That is ok, I really like it that way. But you would think there was some place in the middle.
Your post reminds me of my aerospace days and the TQM bandwagon we all jumped on - Total Quality Management met we had all types of customers - external and internal and you as an employee were a customer and had them. I see the real estate professional as the internal customer of the broker or real estate company.
Oh - man I have written a blog in your blog!!! I am just at a cross roads with companies and so this is very timely for me. Thanks - now I am off to the boardwalk to take new photos for my new Bremerton blogs cuz it is sunny out today!!!
Have a Great Real Estate Day!!!
Super post! I am fortunate to be a part of a great team and working with a Broker/Owner with a vision...
Be of service! The rewards will come!
Jonathan, not all companies are traditional companies where we share our commission. Keller Williams and Remax you pay an office fee, you run your business the way you want to with the branding of an international company. I would rather hire my own assistant to do my copying, delivering signs and lock boxes and the hourly jobs, so I and my team can do what we do best. The buyer agents working with buyers and me listing and rainmaking.
Both those companies do hand out leads with no referral fees; however, I still do my own PPC and marketing and that is where 99.9% of the business comes from.
To be honest most, not all Brokers don't have a clue beyond the day to day of recruting new agents and retaining the ones there.
For new agents a traditional company is OK, but if you really want to grow you must do it on your own and not be dependent on any company, brand or broker. You need systems and models to follow.
Sharing my commission is not an option for me, I would rather run my business like a business and pay for office space, assistants, CPA's etc.
Finally, thanks to Activerain, where I have learned so much, I don't really ever go anywhere that I haven't heard it all before right here in the rain.
OK...I get it. And I mean I get it! I do EVERYTHING FOR MY AGENTS...and then some. That said...why not get your brokers license and do it the way you want? Or go work for a broker that supports your efforts and is on the same page as you? It's not like we were not in the trenches as well. I mean I outproduced most of my agents when I was actively selling. Share your ideas with your broker..maybe he'll cut you in! But beware...they call us brokers for a reason...we are broker than everyone else!
I do it all from home. I wandered into my broker's office yesterday for the first time in two months. That is just the way I like it. I'd like to pay less when I toss in a deal, but I do have a broker with a spine... I'm cool with that.
If I leave, it will be to start my own.
This is a great post for a number of company owners and/or managers to read. There are plenty of tedious tasks in this business for sure. I work for a great RE/MAX office and we run our business like mini businesses under the umbrella of RE/MAX. The owner/broker I work for does a tremendous amount for those of us who work there, but we aren't a traditional office so there isn't any way we can expect much of what you wrote about to happen in our office. I have worked in the past in traditional offices, and having some of the things you wrote about actually happen in those offices would be a terrific improvement for sure.
Ann
The handwriting is on the wall! Leave - go where you can run things yourself your way. I was offered a chance to buy into a small Remax franchise 11 years ago and I jumped on it. The time was right I was chafing at having few services other than a desk and phone from my broker/owner and had paid her 26k that year. If the time isn't right to go to a 95/5 situation desk fee wise then go where the splits start at 70/30 and can go up. Not all brokerages are run to make oodles of money that's the always recruiting mega office concept. Some are run by people mainly looking to minimize their cost of doing real estate. Best of luck - now time for one of my favorite homilys "luck is when opportunity meets preparedness".
Bullseye...right on!
"I do EVERYTHING FOR MY AGENTS" - ditto, lol. My comment to this post got so long I had to go write a blog post response instead. As with everything there are the great, the good and the average and the really bad brokers out there. But this post made by blood boil.
Update: Jon, I do realize who you are and that you were writing from an angle as an unhappy, unsupported agent. But to often, I have heard these things from agents who don't take advantage of the sytems in place and the opportunities available.
Thank you all for the comments!!!! Wohoo!! :)
To set a couple points straight:
1. I do actually own my own brokerage. It is a smaller company with 4 offices located in Washington state, Virginia, and Maryland. Sometimes my own brokerage forgets who the talent is, and if anything I wrote this post so that we will forget less often in the future.
2. This post is for "traditional' style offices. I am not questioning the business model or merit of a desk fee type office. I think they are fantastic for the agent that wants to work at that office. But for the "traditional" style office that takes a split from the agent, they really need to step up their game. There is so much that could be done, so much potential.
3. I do think that if the traditional style office can step up and reach it's potential, then the potential reward for the agent can be great. Agents are most valuable, (making the most money) when they are working with clients or working on a transaction. Not when they are doing work that is better off automated.
Great post...and great new pic too :)
A lot of agents in my marketplace (Silicon Valley, Los Gatos CA in particular) are moving around now. Why? Some of it is brokerage instability, I think. Some of it is dissatisfaction with being charged too much and getting too little in return (not happy with splits). With one local title company shuttering its doors recently, other agents are afraid of being with a "weak" company that might go under. Some top agents are tired of being ignored while the broker manager only recruits. For us agents, it's cheaper to keep a past client and check in etc. than to prospect out new ones. Managers need to remember that too and not JUST prospect for new agents, but spend a little time keeping the current ones happy.
So yeah, it does come down to "what am I getting for my money here"? That is precisely the reason I moved in December to Keller Williams (we don't yet have a real estate office in Los Gatos but soon and very soon we will...). I did the math and it was very enlightening.
Brokers need to view their agents as clients, and try to use the same principals to "keep them". Everyone's happier in the long run with stability.
Great seeing ya recently in SF!!! Thanks!!
Mary Pope-Handy
Jon,
This is why EXIT Realty enjoys independent thinkers like yourself. We beleive at EXIT the agents are the assets of the company and that we reward the agents for helping grow the company. We beleive that good people like yourself would be a great asset and we would greatly appreciate it if you stopped what you are doing and come to work for the right company. Give me a call and I can get you in most anywhere in the North American continent. 605-271-3948. Ask for Ritch!
Jon, I worked for one of those brokers--no longer! My broker fits your description of innovative and extremely pro-agent. I know while I'm out driving Buyers and making listing presentations that there are a dozen folks back at the office creating fabulous marketing materials for me to use on my next one and taking care of listing my homes flawlessly online. It is SO very refreshing! Come to Charlotte and join my firm--they'll take great care of you!
Johnathan, my marathon friend!
Ouch, this one really hurts. You know (since you are one) as a broker you wear many hats, and if it's that easy we do we have the
wouldn'tthe turnover in brokerages that we do. I feel like you've lumped us all together in this post. As for the talent, to sell and/or to manage, that door swings both ways.BTW, we just had another office closing (one of several so far) in our city, well know long-term office, lot's of agents, guess it's not all that easy having staying power.
First of all, not all 50/50 brokerages are created equal. You can not change an entire office, nor do you possess any inherent right to do so. If you feel that strongly about your talent then you need to examine a local Re/Max or similar office more closely. Perhaps even start your own office, to assure your needs and desires are fulfilled. I have felt the way you do now and the best thing I for myself was to leave. Bitterness serves no one and you sound venomous.
Without a doubt one of the most narcissistic blog posts that I have EVER read, but considering it's coming from an AR founder, I suppose you have your right.
Ya know Mr. Johnathan, I have spent just over 4 years in this business as an I.T. Director, supporting a successful 9 office CB franchise, bouncing around, working on PCs, running into virtually every single one of our agents at some point, and I now easily understand why I managed to bare witness to so many agents arguing over complete BS with one another over absolutely STUPID crap. With heads the size of yours, and obviously many others here, it's no wonder agents hate dealing with each other so often.
ME ME ME...I I I
Let me ask you something, and the rest of the agents who feel the company owes them practically everything deemed "menial"...specifically from a new agent perspective now that I am actually freshly licensed.
Who trains me? Who provides me the skills to learn how to be a productive agent? Who gives me business when I have none to start? Who covers my a** when I royally screw up? Who provides me with marketing materials to utilize for listing presentations? Who pays for the rediculous newspaper ads for sellers that don't have email or a computer and need to be "kept happy?"
What about the agents who suck the company resources dry for six months and leave? Who pays for that? How about the one person who comes into the office, late on a Friday night, and prints out 300 full color flyers at 10 cents a copy, for their saturday afternoon church picnic? Who takes care of that cost?
Hmm? But...what do I know, everyone should be making 100% or a 90/5 split. Without adoubt a brokerage can survive with that kind of business model. Sure they do....but their 6 room office building houses 287 agents paying a $1400 fee every month. I guess that's the new model eh?
What I have come to find out in my nearly 5 years as an I.T. professional working in real estate is that virtually everyone of the agents who require the brokerage to do "menial" tasks for them, USUALLY comes down to the simple fact that they have no idea, no patience, and no ability to do the tasks themselves. If you're a great agent, I "get it"...you've earned your stripes, but what I find absolutely disturbing is the fact that once an agent feels they are "great", you're basically saying, find a brokerage that will give you more and more money, do everything for you, or if not, just kiss your current one goodbye and start your own business. The entire process of turning you into a great agent, gets the brokerage spit on in the long run, especially if the agent becomes successful.
If you start your own brokerage, as you have, kudos and you have my respect. But is that the majority of agents? Pffst....uh no. Remember...ME ME ME...I I I? That's usually their only concern and simply reading these replies to your post practically proves it.
I've seen instances where agents who acquire listings on a late Saturday night, end up taking photos, and doing the "paperwork"....BUT...instead of taking the time over the weekend, or that exact night to get it into the MLS asap...because it's a "menial" task, they end up waiting until Monday or Tuesday to give the photos and listing sheets to office staff.....why?? Because my gosh...I don't do such lowly work and it takes time away from more important tasks.
I'm sorry, but I absolutely don't agree with you and your post, nor do I agree with the great many replies.
Hey, Laurie, I got you link and listen, I'm so tired of wining agents. WaH, wah, wah. Some of us brokers are in the trenches doing everything we can to survive this tidal wave of a real estate recession and we are doing it by leading the way. In my office, I go door knocking with my agents and give them the leads, how many brokers out there do that? In my office, even thought there is a loss, i cover it. I run a traditional office wherein I consider myself a partner with the agents. There is more to an office then stucco and lights, brick and motar. Much more then providing a space to do business, we brokers have to motivate people. Is that really our responsibility? Nevertheless, we constantly forget about all the little things that add up to an office: like toilette paper, coffee, a smiling receptionist, mailroom service, copy machine and internet access. God bless you brokers for taking on this responsibility.
Ps. Now you show me the money!
ktm
Right on Jonathan. And don't you just love what Laurie says above. We have superb brokers; they are fundamentally talented, especially Nancy Fennell, who many in the country know. But they do not sell houses any more. They're gift is managing talent, thoroughbreds, races horses, about 350 of them... who produce somewhere between $1.5B and $2B a year in sales throughout our region.
Excellent piece here, good sir...
cheers
Jonathan,
Interesting you wrote this blog from an agents prospective. I actually have been working on a blog similar to this. I think it is important to point out a few key points.
1) I agree that the broker does have responsibilities to the agent and the #1 thing they are responsible for in my opinion is... leadership. Who you have leading your company, your troops each and every day is the person who makes or breaks your company. They are the ones that inspire or deflate your agents, set the tone for the spirit and personality of your office and lead the vision and direction of you business to the future. They really are the soul and the agents become the heart, both very important and powerful.
2) The agent needs to take responsibility for their own business. They cannot rely on other people to make it happen. They are the ones that need to show up, they need to invest in themselves, their business and resources to grow. If they are wise agents, they will be choose a leader that shares the same visions, dedication to resources. If they seek vision then they need to be with visionaries, people out their doing it different, thinking outside the box and dedicated as well to the craft however in a much different way.
3) Agents should not expect the broker to be paying for the employment for an assistant to be doing the job of the agent. If the agent wishes to run his business like the business executive they are then they need to build it just like a business and employ support staff for them individually and not expect it to come from the office and their pockets.
I believe that much of this would be solved if realistic expectations and understanding was had by both sides of the fence. There are some amazing brokers out there that lead with such spirit, vision and passion, while I agree there are many as well that have forgotten the value of their agents, lost their spirit and passion. Don't lose your vision, your focus and those who have helped you along the way.
Kimberly Koehler
EXIT Three Rivers Realty
Way to lump all Broker / Owners into one package and characterize them negatively.
Who are you going to do for an encore? Smokers? Fat chicks?
It's not up to the broker to do your marketing for you -- nevertheless, some brokers (like me) do exactly that, and it's the foundation of our business.
If you don't want to work for a broker, one alternative is to go get a broker's license.
Whining about it is also an approach, but hardly a solution.
Every second I stand in front of a copy machine shoving paper into it, I sense the devaluation of my worth, my merit and my production time.
BAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!
Very well done... You mention that this was written with the traditional office in mind, but it should resonate with the 100% desk fee office models as well... the broker still needs to provide a well oiled machine... and some simply just don't get it.
I'm at a cross road at this time and I thought your post was so right for my situation. I have to think what to do next with my career. I know that my company is making a lot of money on my account but with their name I get in a lot more doors. think about this: I went on vacation to London for Christmas and I was able to make money on a referral. I know that going somewhere else would not have given me that opportunity. So although, my company may make money on my account I've also made money on using their name.
Thanks for letting me think about it....
While we're lamenting the shortcomings of the Broker/Owner let us not forget that once-upon-a-time when all the super resource starved agents were sleeping ...
said Broker summoned the gumption and wetted the steel to open up that agency. Yes, his name is on the commission check. But it's also on the lease (including equipment rentals). His name is on the license. He's at far greater economic and regulatory risk than the agent.
For those on this thread that can do it better --
(a) Can you pass the Broker's license?
(b) Do you have the
ballsguts to open your own shop?Washburn - ok, you have populist game. in reality, of course from my limited point of view, either hand alone can become quite dirty. you need two to wash. and of course, one alone is quite silent. it will take both to create applause.
you foster an excellent framework for negotiation. negotiation requires two sides at the table. i do not regret sharing a portion of my earnings with a broker. i am free to leave and find another if i am not satisfied with what i am offered. i also believe that the freedom of the marketplace will always keep the door open for new brokers.
your post should be heeded by those brokers that wish to retain agents. it should not be misconstrued as a bill of rights that agents should print and nail to their brokers door.
Park and Read Zone...
First I zone then I read :)
P.S. I am popping you into my email :)
TLW...ROAR!
J-Mac, It should not be misconstrued as a bill of rights that agents should print and nail to their brokers door.
Well put and timely. Just when we all thought Reason was dead.
I own a small office with two agents, but I need to actively sell and list to keep the lights on. For those of you with an image the broker as a really rotund guy in a greasy shirt smoking Havana's while the agents are out pounding the pavement ... well, I believe that will turn more myth than merit in the coming cycle.
Jonathan~ Wow, you've really touched a nerve, its been interesting. I work with a wonderful Broker who provides many support services for their agents "virtually". As a Virtual Assistant my company provides marketing support for all the agents providing Listing/Marketing Coordination, and could provide online Transaction Management support and others as well.
Although its not for every office, one thing is certain, it provides a valuable, consistent assistance to the agents whether from the Broker Office or from their home offices, provides them with valuable tools, like Virtual Tours, Audio Tours, Appointment/Showing Desk, property flyers, all without having to provide that assistant with office space,a computer, employee expenses etc. Very innovative I think:)
Jon - lots of fodder here to take in different directions. I left a company-centric company for an agent-centric company and haven't regretted it.
Nick - you say What about the agents who suck the company resources dry for six months and leave? Who pays for that? How about the one person who comes into the office, late on a Friday night, and prints out 300 full color flyers at 10 cents a copy, for their saturday afternoon church picnic? Who takes care of that cost? I asked those same questions before I left my last company and the answer was - I was! By paying a larger split to that company than to an agent-centric company I was subsidizing the education of new agents, the extra printed flyers, the overuse of staff time, the nonproductive agents. Now I pay only for what I use. I like it that way.
Responses here were interesting. Maybe one of these days I will have the patience to train an assistant. One reason I took the step to become a broker was because brokers did not provide beyond ask and answer questioning and a brick and mortar office that I did not use. I have not recruited yet, and may not, I rather like being solo and creating a team as needed when needed. However, if I were paying 50% commission I would expect more assistance.
A little self promotion -- I would like to see more Brokers offer (at a steep discount) our Home Showing and Appointment service for their Talent. Our service let's you delegate the home showing appointment process for your listings while you still own the control. It's fully automatic saving busy agents a lot of time and capturing a lot of information. www.onecallshow.com. Mostly, at the broker level, they hesitate because they do not want to impose a new fee on the 10% that are not producing. Have a great weekend.
Excellent Point, Those reasons are why I went out on my own a few years ago. I got tired of doing ALL the work and then having to split my paycheck. I've been much happier ever since.
Sean Allen
I could not have said it any better myself Jonathan.
Hey Jon,
You seem like you 'get it'. Can I recruit you to my firm? We are all about the agent!! ;)
(I'm cracking myself up here)
Jonathan, having been an Owner and Broker of a company, I can say until you walk in someones shoes, you can't totally understand where they are coming from.
My thoughts EXACTLY....
Made me want to watch that movie again!
Hope you don't mind I post that video link on my site for my broker to watch :)