Agents!!! What do you think of EXP???

Question

I'm a new agent and I'm trying to find a broker. The Broker I like most so far, is with EXP... he wants a 50/50 split when he supplies the lead, and 70/30 when I find the lead, plus $8k a year Cap when I'm on a team, and $16k a year when I'm solo. What are your thoughts?

Marian Huish · Answer

@Jingru Sui eXp has no recruiting requirements and you can focus entirely on selling real estate. If, however, one of your friends or co-agents decides to come to EXP, you will get paid on sales of that agent for as long as they are selling real estate and you’re both licensed.  You will also receive stock awards that can accumulate quite quickly which can help you build a nest egg that you can start tapping into after you reach your 3 year vesting period. It’s like money in the bank that you could have for you and your family!  After 15 years with my former Broker, I left with nothing. Not so with eXp!

Jason Clark · Answer

A 50/50 split on a team that provides leads is better than a 0/0 split if you can't close on your own. I've been with EXP for 5 months and as a new agent I can honestly say EXP has its good and its bad just like anywhere. I believe the pros outweigh the cons but the cons are real and they can set you back.

If you're a new agent that is driven, has a business plan, and is willing to do the hard work then EXP might be good for you. Being on a team will help but you still have to do the work. The road is bumpy and if you have the mindset that you're going to succeed no matter what, and you're willing to go MONTHS of working everyday for free until you get that first commission, then you're golden. It doesn't matter what brokerage you choose you're going to make it happen.

On the flipside if you have zero experience in real estate at all, never even bought a condo, and you want more human-human 1:1 training then you will have to be more careful with who you join with at EXP. Or select a brokerage that offers more help. IMO one of the cons of EXP is the "mentorship" program. It sounds great on the surface, it sounds like you're getting a "Mentor". Unfortunately that is not the case, what you get is someone to help you through your first three transactions, and that is FAR from mentorship. It takes a lot of work to get that first deal so you would think that's a great time to have a mentor, someone to take you under their wing, show you the ropes. Nope that's not what the mentorship program is at EXP, it's help with the first three deals and THATS IT.

The good news, if this is your case, is that EXP lets you choose your mentor so my advice is CHOOSE WISELY! Interview as many as you can and ask them how they can help you. Many Mentors offer great service and help to their mentees. Weekly calls, accountability, coaching, etc. Some Mentors really wear the badge well and help new agents way beyond what the bare minimum "first three transactions" is. Unfortunately for me I ended up with a mentor that is no help whatsoever, I haven't talked to him in MONTHS!

Which reminds me: As a new agent don't buy the "50 hours of live training in the cloud". It's BS, it's not training in any helpful way to a NEW AGENT, if you're experienced I'm sure it's great but it's not training. I'm from the old school that training meant sitting down and going through some sort of testing, data entry, running though scenarios etc, with an instructor to learn something. There is some of that but it's nowhere near 50 hours that they claim.

Really what you get is 50 hours of presentations, masterminds, and agents sharing tips for how they operate their business. I used to sign up for a lot of these trainings but they really didn't help me grow as an agent when I was new. The time I used to spend in these trainings are now spent on cold calling, networking, and doing the hard work of building this business.

RE Sales is something I never thought I would do and now I can't imagine doing anything else. EXP, warts and all, is the best brokerage in the business. Nobody else can offer what EXP can when it comes to the real reason we do this and that's making money! When 2/3 of the income streams are passive and they give you the option to actually RETIRE someday, it's just a no-brainer.

I hoped that helped you new agents out there trying to decide where to hang your hat. Cheers!

Jonathan Greene · Answer

Everyone focuses on the numbers too much. When you are a new agent, all you should care about is training, coaching, and access to leads. Your split can be 100 to you, but without leads you won't make any money. Without coaching, you won't know what to do. I have a big team at eXp, but am not evangelist for any model or structure.

For new agents, teams are the best bet at any brokerage and when you start weighing the numbers before you have anything to bring to the table, most teams will pass because your focus is off. Bring the business, do the work, then decide. Overall though, eXp as brokerage, outside of the team model, is built for agents who are more independent and don't want offices or water cooler talk. If you want offices, you will pay for that inside the brokerage model, but you will have more options for in-person togetherness.

Russell Brazil · Answer

That still doesnt make sense to me. Why would a team owner have a team at all if their maximum revenue per agent is only $8k.  I know exactly zero team owners at any brokerage that would accept $8k in revenue per agent. Something doesnt make sense here.

Jingru Sui · Answer

On a separate note, if I have zero interest in recruiting. My pure joy coming from buying and selling properties. Will EXP be a good fit for me? More about my current brokerage, I have a 90/10 split and 6.3K cap. But I do want to scale my business by automation some process and maybe hire admin help.

Josh Cohen · Answer

@Jason Clark thank you so much, that was awesome! The guy whose going to mentor me seems great, has some very unique ways of doing business. Hopefully he lives up to his first impression.

Marian Huish · Answer

That's not correct @Russell Brazil as agents are also paid from the sales of every agent they bring to the company from eXp's 20% which is in addition to the cap share- and they also are paid from the sales of every agent that those team members bring on to the company which is why we've grown to 65K agents (it was only 8000 agents when I came on 3.5 years ago).  Pls. also keep in mind that while the team may choose to have a physical office, that is not required and eXp has no bricks and mortar overhead costs which keeps the company itself profitable.   [Solicitation Removed by Moderators]

Russell Brazil · Answer

So what you're telling me is EXP is throwing out the team model altogether essentially? A team owner would need to have 200 agents in order to create $400k in profit. (Assuming standard 25% profit margin).  Would I rather have 200 agents I have to manage to make that, or 5-8 agents Id have to manage to make that? I cant see the benefit to this type of structure.

Russell Brazil · Answer

Ive got to question if an $8k cap is correct when you are on a team. The team leader may have an additional $8k on their cap for taking you on the team....but there is no way a team with the structure youve outlined could be profitable if the team members go to 100% after only recoping $8k. The cost of generating consistent leads is more than $8k per agent.

Marian Huish · Answer

eXp is not structured like traditional brokerages @Russell Brazil so you're likely unfamiliar with the earning potential for agents which can be 4,5, or even 6 figures a month in revenue share which is why many seasoned agents & team leads simply pass on all their leads for their team work while they pull back on selling themselves and simply focus on supporting their agents and growing their team.  Here's a link which provided an overview of what this looks like but I'm happy to provide additional information on how teams work.  Essentially you can structure it however you'd like as eXp offers great flexibility in how agents run their business.

Agents!!! What do you think of EXP???

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