A guide for new agents: Find The Company You Deserve

Disclosure: I am, in no way, trying to promote my company exclusively with this post. I believe that every Real Estate company out there has its own strengths and weaknesses and that there is no one perfect company for everyone. I do suggest that all agents evaluate numerous companies before making a decision on any one.

Find the Right Company to Work For

Many brokers will offer a commission split of 50% to new agents. Some are willing to start you out at over 60%. You should think of this commission split as an investment in resources. How does what your broker is offering measure up to what another has available? What’s the difference in commission? Does one broker offer more than another at the same commission split? What training resources does your company offer? Will your broker pay for a certain amount of marketing materials for you? Do you have to pay for office space? Do you need office space or can you work from a home office? What kind of personal “rights” are you giving away when signing your company’s private contractor agreement? (For instance, does your broker let you take your listings and clients with you if you choose to leave for another company?).

The items we just went over can be weighed with your basic pros and cons table in which you put the pros and cons of one company up against the pros and cons of another and complete an objective comparison of 2 or more companies. But what really matters when choosing the company to work for is YOUR HAPPINESS and your happiness may not be measurable in a completely objective manner. It is my belief that for an individual to actually thrive and be productive in the workplace that individual must be working for an employer that has a matching productivity/ethics “style”. So what I suggest to any new agent is for that agent to evaluate his or her goals and expectations in life, both in and out of the work environment. Write down what matters the most to you and compare this with what matters most to the companies you are considering employment with.

As a real estate agent you have the freedom to basically choose who you want to work for, which is the complete opposite of what would normally happen at the beginning of an employer/employee relationship. YOU should be doing the interviewing. Find the company that best fits your personality. Are you laid back and only looking to do real estate part-time for an extra income while you focus on your family or another business? Or are you looking to become a full-time agent? Would you be interested in becoming a broker at some point and starting your own agency? Are you looking to learn as much as possible while always looking to excel and progress in your profession? How much would you like to be earning in real estate sales in 10 years? Will the companies you’re looking into be able to help you reach those 10-year goals or will you have to find a new company after a few years?


This may sound unrelated but bear with me... Possibly the most important things I’ve learned in my life can be summed up like this: first impressions DO matter… you CAN judge a book by its cover… you SHOULD ALWAYS trust your gut instinct, and image IS everything ESPECIALLY IN SALES!

Now take all of these insights and use them when looking for a company to work for. If you’re catching a bad vibe from the broker you’re talking to, there is probably a reason for it. If the manager who’s trying to bring you aboard reminds you of the car salesman that sold you the worst lemon you’ve ever bought, then you probably want to keep looking.

The moral to be learned here is this: Invest in a broker who will invest in you.

And remember: It’s usually easier to change companies at the beginning of your career as opposed to after you have 20 listings and 10 buyer clients. (I could go into further detail here, but that’s for another post. If you want to know my opinions and experience on this, feel free to send me an email or give me a call.)

Dustin Nulf
Keller Williams Realty
cell: 412-496-8811
www.dustinnulf.com
dustinnulf@kw.com
***If you're interested in finding out what Keller Williams can do to help you and your real estate business grow feel free to contact me via cell phone or email.***