Choosing a broker for new RE agent

Sara Pritchard · 2021-08-26T05:05:13-07:00

Hello, I just obtained my RE license and was looking for insight/experiences with a couple brokerage firms. I’m in the southwest FL area so if anyone nearby can share their experiences that would be helpful. I’m looking into Keller Williams and Premiere Plus realty but would be open to other suggestions. I would like to read opinions on the mentoring process (Keller Williams ignite program vs. Premiere's mentor edge program) How helpful and supportive towards helping you get on your feet and close deals, experiences with commission splits/mentor splits/fees. Some companies say 100% commission but take a 50/50 mentor split (the other states 70/30 commission split but 20% of my profit goes toward your preceptor) and how much involvement is the mentor/preceptor? Are they walking through homes with you and executing contracts or are they giving you a weekly hype/pep talk like a coach in a locker room in front of a group of people and then taking a percentage of your first 3 (or more) commissions? What have you found to be the difference between the 100% commission brokerage and a commission split brokerage? Pros vs Cons. Or any other important tips that you wish you knew when you first chose a brokerage or started out? When you first started out, how long before you closed your first deal? And did deals follow relatively easy after? I’m unsure how quickly I will be able to go full time and leave my current job. I realize everyone will have a different story and every new RE agent will have a different outcome depending on their hustle but would still love to hear some scenarios of past or current brokerage relationships. I am having brokerage analysis paralysis and need to make a move! Thanks!

Will FraserPro Member

Real Estate Broker · Salt Lake City & Oklahoma City · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

Hi _________, the biggest piece of advice I can pass along about selecting your first brokerage is this: regardless of which one you choose, it is not a permanent decision. When I got into real estate brokerage it seemed like I was making a somewhat permanent decision and it pressurized the situation more than it likely needed to be.

In hindsight I'd say: go with the brokerage that is going to train you excellently and offer mentorship. You want to learn to do X, Y, and Z in real estate well, but far more importantly you want to learn how to do life well. Some brokerages excel at the RE piece and stink at the life piece and that's fine, but it should be reflected in the fee structure.

Some things are negotiable for sure, but I'll ring the bell of So Good They Can't Ignore You here and suggest that you pick the best brokerage you can for years 1-2 and then start negotiating with your Broker :)

As for the 100% commission places . . . It's just hiding the costs in different places. It seems flashy and amazing up front, but brokerage is a business just like any others and the broker HAS to cover the business costs they incur PLUS they should be taking home some profit, so that revenue comes from somewhere. That's not a bad thing, but rather it's a bit scheezy of these brokerages who say "you keep everything" when that's simply not a viable business model, and not true.

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Bruce Lynn

Real Estate Broker · Coppell, TX · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

#1....I don't care what they say...ANY brokerage....there is a huge gap between what new agents want for mentorship and what is actually going to take place in most situations, so be prepared for that. Very very few are going to hold your hand and walk you through the entire process step by step by step until you feel like an expert and ready to go out and make big money. If you think about in mentorship is not getting someone assigned to you, or you picking someone. It's a relationship. It's like that special bond you form with a teacher in school that the other kids didn't have....or maybe with a family friend, or someone you look up to. You may get lucky and find that in someone assigned to you, or a coach, or a broker, but I think it is pretty rare.

The great brokerages will give you training....have a training room, have classes, but you have to be a go getter. You have to be self motivated, no one will drop the business in your lap. That's just the reality.

My guess is at most 100% brokerages you'll find less training rooms, less training calendars, less trainers, less sharing. I've seen so many agents thinking they're saving money by going to 100% brokerages, and then change to another 100% and another 100% until they finally quit or find us at KW when they realized they're not going anywhere there. Everyone gets in real estate with big dreams and dreams of making big money....but very rarely do I see many agents doing real estate in a big way at a 100% brokerage. Normally I see them go to see their business and dreams die there.

I can tell you no matter what niche you want to tackle...there's probably someone and more than someone doing it not only in a big way, but a giant way at KW. That's why we have MegaCamp this week. For mega agents to share their ideas, their successes, their systems with everyone in the company. Want to hit it big with open houses, or new builds, or foreclosures, or selling HUD homes, or beachfront, or luxury homes to athletes, or whatever it is you want to do, probably someone at KW that can show you how to do it. Maybe not always in your office. They may not be your mentor in the traditional sense of the word, you may have to spend some money to go fly to see them and spend a day in their office and buy them lunch, but so many willing to share if you do the work to make it happen.

Don't focus on the splits.....the money will come if you do the work. To me in most cases, worrying about the splits is the least of your worries when you are new. Plus at places like KW, there are ways to reduce your split and maybe even take home more than you pay. Again you have to work at that, make it a focus. We call it profit sharing.

Good luck and best wishes....follow your dreams. Make it big...never back down....do it in a big way....find your one thing.

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Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member

Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes

5y

You have to understand that many of the ancillary coaching and mentoring benefits at some real estate brokerages are basically a pyramid scheme and will cost you either more monthly fees or more of your split as a new agent. All brokerages run modified versions of some model, some with better benefits for new people who want to do agent business right away and learn and some with better freedom benefits for more investor-types. It seems like you want to do agent business, so in-person training (like at Keller Williams) will get you there the fastest in my opinion because you can be in an office with other agents and around other new agents. However, if you are used to how we worked during COVID and are comfortable with Zoom, Workplace, modified meetings online, a brokerage like eXp may work better and cost you less. Some like local mom and pop brokerages, but I think those are only good for those who want to stay hyper-local and don't need training and coaching as a new agent. Also, anything a brokerage promises you to get you to sign up is probably a lie. Things change over time so promises of leads or x or y is a giveaway to me.

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Choosing a broker for new RE agent

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