I posted in this thread earlier this year while I was considering moving my indie brokerage to eXp. I was immediately solicited by some eXp agents here, some aggressively and some from a place of support. I mention this because this was the PRIMARY reason I was turned off from eXp in the first place, and it took several months of digging deep into their systems, talking to multiple agents across the country, and more importantly, digging to ask myself what pain points I was trying to solve that prompted me to even consider giving up 100% control. I had to isolate that icky recruiting piece in order to find the other things that mattered to me.
Here are a few things I've learned:
I think eXp still has some work to do with on-boarding new agents, specifically new to the business of real estate. I didn't have a concern getting what I needed, but there's A LOT of information that is pushed out to you immediately, and that process could be more streamlined for everyone, especially newbies. I tried to assess it as a new agent going through it all, and it quickly become overwhelming from that perspective. So many agents fail in the first year or two of real estate specifically because they don't have the support they need, so I believe this is an area that needs more attention.
I do not think it's a great place for a newbie agent to start their career UNLESS they are joining on with an eXp team that has a training program/guidance set up. eXp does offer a mentor program ,which I hear is fantastic, but I have heard from agents new to the business they needed *more* which I interpret as needing more guidance, training, systemized on-boarding. So for now, my opinion is it's not a good place for new agents to start off on the right foot if they aren't attached to a team. OK, I think I've beaten that topic to death. On to the next point.
The PRIMARY most important decision when starting with eXp is who you choose as your sponsor. This cannot be changed, ever. I don't like the word sponsor and hope they change that. Your sponsor and the tribe/pod/alliance/group they work with will determine what sort of support, collaboration and masterminding you get. I spent several months speaking with high performing agents across the country I was considering aligning with, and kept hesitating because a lot of what was being discussed was revenue sharing, passive income, stocks...that's not why I wanted to move my brokerage. It felt like a broken record, and very cheesy and salesy. Exactly what I do not like about real estate sales. Now I know a lot of these agents have been successful in those realms, but that wasn't my driving goal. But they couldn't seem to talk about anything else? So, as I said before, I had to dig deep within to come up with specific reasons I was even looking at the model, and what I would need to hear to make the switch.
Well, I did the work, and I made the switch. As of today it's been about two months. Will eXp alone make my business successful? Heck no. I still have to seek out and apply what is available to me, and then implement. What I am getting is high level collaboration, instant answers to any question I ask, and the tangible feeling of being supported in my business. I did not have that with the other four brokerages I worked with, nor did I have that peer level of support in my own brokerage. That alone is what differentiates the eXp model: there is a vested financial interest in supporting other agent's successes. It raises the bar in real estate overall, and goes completely against the me vs. them ego-centric culture of real estate I have been constantly fighting against.
I hope that helps people understand the model a bit better. PM me if you have questions, and if I can't answer I'll get the answer for you--no strings (and no recruiting!)
