Real estate agents - Here is how to choose your broker!

I am asked frequently by new agents and agents thinking about making a move(either to the Pensacola, FL area or just a local agent thinking about making a change) about Keller Williams and about how/why I chose to place my license here. This IS NOT a KW love fest post, I'm going to give you my honest opinion on the best way to choose a real estate brokerage that will be the best fit for you. For me the best fit is KW but for you it may be someone else. This post should be helpful either way.

As with most things, the key here is to begin with the end in mind. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself:

What am I trying to accomplish? Hint: The answer is not to sell X number of houses or make X amount of money. Your answer should look more like "to maximize my income while creating a lifestyle that I love" or "to maximize my income working part time while I do something else full time" or " to supplement my investing by bringing in extra income and increasing deal flow" The idea here is to lay out what is behind the reason you want to sell X number of houses or make X amount of money

What are the most important things that I need from my brokerage? Tech Tools? Leads? Training to get started? Training to grow? Admin support? Systems and processes to streamline my business? Nothing, I just want low fees?

What am I willing to give up in order to get the things that I need the most? How much money, time, effort, brand recognition, ect....

What do things look like at the brokerage based on my current(or projected 1st year) sales volume and what do they look like at my goal sales volume? This is important as moving brokerages is no fun and can take away from your business in the short term. So, you want to make a choice you can stick with for years. If I'm currently selling 3 million in real estate I get to keep X and the brokerage keeps Y. If I increase my volume to 10 million do I keep 5X and the broker only gets Y or do they keep taking their cut no matter how much I sell?(I'm a big fan of a CAP for this reason, after I hit approximately 2.5 million in sales I keep 100% of my commissions)

Answer these questions honestly before you start interviewing brokerages. If you have a relatively clear picture of what you want and need in your head it will be harder to be sold on a brokerage that is not a good fit for you. Yes, they will be trying to sell you on coming to work at their brokerage! Many newer agents don't realize that most brokerages want as many agents as they can get which means you are in the position to interview them and not the other way around. Unless you know exactly what you are looking for and find it right away I recommend taking your time and talking to several different brokers before making a decision.

So, what do the answers to these questions look like for me?

What am I trying to accomplish? I am trying to earn a great income that will let me enjoy a big life now and invest heavily for the future. Just as importantly, I want to spend time with my friends and family, I want to travel and I want to enjoy what I do. I also want to grow both personally and professionally.

What are the most important things that I need from my brokerage? I am looking for quality leadership with a focus on integrity and long term thinking.(I don't want to have to change brokerages because of poor decision making and I don't want to be passed up by other companies because of short term focus) I am looking for a quality peer group and great training that helps me grow. I am looking for tools that allow me to earn a strong income without giving up my personal life. I want a brand that people know and respect. I want technology tools that help me keep up with or exceed what my clients expect AND help me run my business more effectively at a low cost.

What am I willing to give up in order to get the things I need the most? The part of my ego that tell me to run my own brokerage(because I realize that takes away from my time, shifts my focus away from my most dollar productive activities and drives up my costs significantly!) A portion of my commission up to a reasonable preset amount(This is where the cap comes in which lets me know how much it will cost to run a large part of my business for the year. I did a short video on the KW commission structure and cap here)

What do things look like at the brokerage based on my current(or projected 1st year) sales volume and what do they look like at my goal sales volume? This one will depend on the commission structure for the brokerage you choose but I'll give you an example based on my local KW market center. At 3 million in sales you can expect approximately $85,000 in commissions earned. $60,000 of that would go to you and $21,000 to the local market center and KW international. At 10 million in sales, or roughly $275,000 in commission you will still only pay $21,000 to KW but you will keep $254,000. Your KW split is capped at $21k which means the more successful you are, in part because of their tools and training, the less you pay to them as a percentage of overall commissions earned.

Keller Williams is the perfect fit for me but based on your answers to the questions I provided another model may be the best fit for you. Are you curious about getting into real estate or about Keller Williams? Reach out, I'm happy to talk and answer any questions that you might have!

Original content cross posted from my blog at https://www.realtormattj.com/m...