Beyond Commission Splits: What You Need to Know About Broker Alignment - Chapter 9

Aligning with the right broker or business partner is crucial for real estate success, yet many agents struggle with this decision. I wrote chapter nine of my eBook specifically to address this common challenge after repeatedly answering questions about brokerage alignment.

Listen now for all the things you might not be thinking about!

Some Highlights from this Episode:
• Always interview multiple brokerages to get a comprehensive view of available options
• Ensure alignment with your core values like integrity, family time, and faith
• Clarify exactly when and how support will be available to you
• Understand what systems, CRM, and technology platforms are included
• Consider gray area answers to specific questions as red flags
• Remember that vendors like inspectors and lenders directly reflect on your business
• Trust your intuition when making final decisions

If you need help with brokerage decisions or have questions, reach out to me anytime. I'm here and happy to help you navigate this important choice.

Chapters

• 1:12 Aligning with the right broker
• 2:05 Key questions to ask potential brokerages
• 4:13 Identifying red flags in partnerships
• 6:43 Vetting vendors and business partners
• 9:58 Following your intuition and taking action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:37

aligning with the right broker and partner. I hear it so often from agents or see it, especially on social media. You know agents posting they said they would help me, or how do you like your brokerage, or what about this one, or what about that one and all of it. And so that's chapter nine of the ebook. Again, I wrote this for agents. I kept answering the same question after question after question, and one that came up often was again, aligning with brokers, and I wanted to answer the question. So to the agents out there if you are looking for a brokerage team or business partner, always interview a few at a minimum. You'll want to get a good feel of what's out there. This is something I did not do in the beginning and I believe everything happens for a reason and I absolutely was exactly where I should have been, and yet now so much has changed and there are so many different options. So definitely interview a few at a minimum. And here are some questions to you know, ask in and things to look for. First off, do they align with your values? If you value integrity, family time, faith, you know do they show up and operate from your same core values and what tools and resources do they offer to grow and sustain your business? You know, based on the commission splits, what do they provide for leads, marketing and training? What does the ongoing training look like and how often is it, and are there additional costs for it? All very good questions to ask your brokerage and especially if you're joining a team, what that looks like, you know, and ask who supports you and how available are they to help and when. I think that's key because I see so often agents say they said they would help me, they said they would be there and I can't get a hold of them or take some days to call back. So I think having this expectation very clear, crystal clear on what you can expect and when is very useful and helpful when making a decision. Next would be looking at what systems are included. You know what CRM leads. You know what platform do they use. Do they offer a dialer, give you a computer or a phone? All of it? It's all very important to understand what you're getting back for what you're paying and splitting out.

Speaker 1: 3:33

You know who checks for compliance on your contracts. If needed, marking material, signage cards, social media posts. We are under a different level of scrutiny and compliance and so you want to make sure that you're compliant and your brokerage and or team should keep you out of realtor jail. That's a lot of their job is to make sure that you're complying and doing things by the books. You know, ask for referrals, check them out on social media, find other business partners they've had in the past that have left. You know that's a good referral to ask for, not someone that's with them, but someone that's left, and why See about that. Someone that's with them but someone that's left and why See about that. That will give you a lot of insight and also keep these questions in mind as you're looking for transaction coordinators, lenders, inspectors, title companies. You know contractors. What does it look like when you work together? What are the expectations for communications? You know tasks they have in timeframes for both you and your clients?

Speaker 1: 4:48

If the answers you are getting to any of these specific questions that you are asking are in a gray area, that is a red flag. That is a red flag. See, the person, brokerage or team that you're talking with more than likely doesn't have the proper systems, support or knowledge available to help you succeed and thrive. If you get answers like, oh yes, that will come down the pipeline, or we'll talk about that later, or you're just unclear about the splits or how this works, or you know everything should be in writing and side note reading your independent contractor agreement is also very important. I don't know how many agents I've talked to and I say, well, what does your you know ICA say? And they're like what? And I just can't even believe it. They don't even know what it is or remember signing it. So really be thinking about that as well. No gray, no gray areas. It's a red flag.

Speaker 1: 5:50

If there are any you know, and based on your business and what you're looking for, you can get a list of additional questions and really good questions, either by you know, google, any of the AI tools out there, maybe real estate groups on social media. That's another place. I see a lot of really helpful people there. They'll answer questions as well and go prepared for any interview or anyone you're talking to. You should have a list of questions and you are interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you, if not more, because a lot of brokerages are just looking for numbers and agents to join them. So actually you're the one in the driver's seat when looking at which brokerage you are going to be joining and why.

Speaker 1: 6:43

But really, in the end, always follow your intuition, because it doesn't lie. Even if you end up making a different choice down the road and almost all agents do it's part of your journey. Very rarely, I mean, you'll see them once in a while. Those you know 15, 20, 25 plus years at the same brokerage. That's truly those agents are far and few in between, because as you grow and your business grows, there should be change. I mean, that's just how it works. So I encourage you not to just get stuck in one place but know what all the opportunities are out there and you can always say no and at least know what you're saying no. To Also watch out for a toxic environments, because those are really motivation killer. You know you want to go somewhere that gives you energy and inspires you to grow into the best version of yourself that you can grow into today and tomorrow. And if you really continue to have the Monday blues and don't want to go in, you know that's a sign that a change is needed.

Speaker 1: 7:56

So when partnering with vendors again as such as inspectors, title companies, loan officers, contractors, you name it I want you to keep in mind that these vendors are a direct reflection of you and your business, so these questions are just as important to them, because if you are referring any of these out to your clients, they are a direct extension of your you and your business, meaning that if something goes wrong, it's going to come back and land on you. You are 100% responsible for your clients and when you refer them to someone, stay in contact with them Again. Ask these things up front so that you understand to 100% no gray areas what you and your clients can expect from your vendors Very, very important. I've seen a lot of things go sideways because agents aren't partnering with good people that are at least to their standard, if not better, of how they serve their customers and clients. So it's very important you know, on average, over 40 people touch a real estate transaction. So making sure you have top-notch vendors working with your clients is key, and it will also make your job and the transaction getting to the finish line a whole lot easier.

Speaker 1: 9:23

So, as we're wrapping up today, think about it. I want you to take action. If you are interviewing any brokerages, our business partners, our team members, ask for referrals, be prepared with a list of questions and in the end, you know, I would say, always follow your intuition. It's here for a reason and you can make the best decision right now for you based upon the information you have in this moment, knowing that things are fluid, it can change. But go ahead and listen to this again, write some of these questions down and, of course, as always, reach out to me if I can be helping in any way, because I'm here and happy to do so, and we'll see you next time. And for now, go sell something and have an amazing week.