If you’re making a broker change, this is the time of year for your new plans.
Get the Lowest Interest Rate, Fees, and Fastest Service
YouTube – Straight Talk Lending – Daniel Dobbs
A slowdown makes your job change easier, whether you have clients with contracts expiring or buyers just beginning a search process. It’s cleaner!
With less of a pipeline, you’re less vulnerable to unethical corporate lackeys who may try to screw you out of commissions as you go out the door.
Often salespeople (“going out the door”) are “nickeled and dimed”; while losing client relationships, and this adds up to tens of thousands of dollars lost over an agent’s career.
Once you know you’re making a change, you need to (quietly) begin seeking out recruiters.
FYI: In fairness, I believe real estate recruiters are more ethical than big banks/national lenders. The Great Recession is proof of banking ethics.
“Don’t Bother Kissing Frogs”
The most crucial step is to check potential brokerages online and their DRE licenses before making yourself available to chat with anyone. There’s too much $$ on the line to be sloppy’. Only then start “chatting up colleagues” for their two cents.
“Loose Lips Sink Careers”
Remember you are applying for a commission-only job; it’s unlikely any recruiter will decline to interview you.
Don’t bother getting all dressed up to visit their office just so the recruiter can do their version of the dog and pony show—you may meet someone you know at the rendezvous. Cover Blown!
Take control. Now! On the phone. On Zoom.
Don’t invest one moment of your valuable time listening to the recruiter “selling you” while visiting them at their office. There’s time for that later!
Keep pleasantries to a minimum and avoid giving anyone unnecessary personal info; in this era of online information, they already have the basics.
This is all about you. Time for teamwork is later.
Load up on pre-interview questions (below) BEFORE you bother with an “in-person” interview. Your time is your money. So, hold the recruiter’s feet to the fire from Day 1.
Once you control the interview, you can move on to contract writing and the hiring process—or go elsewhere.
FYI: The following questions and links draw heavily from an Inman post from 2019, but I updated it to a post-COVID business and tech model.
Ask 8 “Pre-Interview” Questions
Before Meeting with Recruiters
Since January 2020, real estate sales have undergone many changes. With the market slowing, many agents are examining all brokerage models.
Independent vs. Franchise: Which Brokerage Model is Best for You?
Brokerages are not one-size-fits-all, so consider it before exiting your current position. Ask these eight essential questions to ensure the company’s culture and philosophy align with your vision.
Let the Questions Begin
1. Does your brokerage offer agent support, and to what extent?
Want to Switch Brokerages? Ask YOURSELF These 7 Questions First!
The amount of support an agent receives will be one of the most significant differences in brokerages and brands. Some are geared more toward the self-sufficient agent, while others will do everything for you.
Which Brokerage Model is Best for You?
If you want an admin person to enter listings into the MLS and prepare e-blasts, postcards, and other marketing materials, choose a brokerage that provides that type of support. In general, the more support a brokerage offers, the higher the broker fees.
Changing Brokerages? 15 Key Points of an R.E. Employment Contract!
2. What does the broker do to retain their current agents?
When a broker focuses more on recruiting vs retention, it’s a red flag.
Good brokerages will spend as much time on the retention of good agents as they do on recruiting. The broker should have a clear answer regarding incentive programs geared toward agent retention.
3. Does the broker require agents to come into the office to work?
Working from home or at the office is vital to many agents. If you work better around others than alone in a home office, desk space and a busy office are essential for your success.
Some offices are quiet, while others are full of energy. Pay attention to the vibe, and choose a brokerage that best suits your work style.
4. What is the broker doing to incorporate mentoring, and new tech into a real estate brokerage model?
It’s Not the Big That Eats the Small…It’s the Fast That Eats the Slow
Post-Covid, old-school brokerages relying entirely on an agent’s ‘shoe leather marketing methods’ such as door-knocking and calling FSBOs are ‘fading’ fast as many are ripe for assimilation.”
Brokerages encouraging video, mentoring, and social media will increase earnings and a larger agent profile in their chosen community.
First Zillow, Now OpenDoor? Is iBuying Doomed?
5. Does the brokerage encourage teams?
The trend in real estate is moving more toward teams and less toward individual agents.
However, brokerages embrace teams differently. Some see them as a group of agents who share commissions and responsibilities based on their separate agreements with the brokerage.
Signs It’s Time to Leave Your Team / Brokerage
Others allow the team leader to set commission and all other requirements for their team members. In this case, the brokerage pays the team (usually a business entity), and the team pays the team members.
As a new agent, being part of a team gives a sense of belonging, and though commissions might be less, you make up for it in volume.
If you are thinking about being part of a team, interview multiple teams before deciding which one to join
6. What fees do you charge agents, and which are optional?
Some brokerages charge high monthly fees, and others charge nothing. Ask about mandatory fees, what they cover, and what fees and offerings are optional.
If you don’t need a desk, you don’t want to pay for one. You’ll want a brokerage that offers a website, lead capture, and customer relationship management (CRM), at minimum.
7. What are your commission tiers, and is there a cap?
Too many agents get wrapped up in their commission split. If you’re not selling, your split doesn’t matter, so choose a brokerage that fits your needs first, and then consider commissions.
Companies with a cap will give you 100% commission once you meet your annual cap. Other companies will increase the commission as you meet specific sales levels.
Your commission will not reset at these companies every year, but it may decrease if your annual volume falls below the previous year’s.
8. What are the franchise fees?
If you choose a brokerage with franchise fees, you will always give a portion of your gross commission toward these fees. The more you make, the more you’ll provide. Franchise fees are usually up to 8% of your gross commission, and that can add up over time.
Copywrite © August, 2018 Daniel Dobbs MHM Mortgage /// All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Daniel Dobbs, Author- VP-Broker Mutual Home Mortgage 265 S. Randolph #120 Brea, Ca. 92821 Cell: 949 250-3981 Dandobbs6@gmail.com NMLS #307631 BRE #00986886