Which Real Estate Company Should I Work For?
Whether you are just considering a career in real estate or are already licensed, figuring out which real estate company you should work for is a critical step that should be given the most consideration, to secure your real estate career success. It is highly recommended that you take the appropriate amount of time and considertation, and interview as many real estate companies in your market first, before making the final decision on which real estate company you should work for. One of the greatest attributes of a real estate career, is that there is not only many different types of real estate companies to considering working for, but there is also the full spectrum of possibilities of what you can turn your real estate career into. Hopefully, we can offer some insight that will make it a little bit clearer and easier for you to make the best decision for your real estate career.
The first place you need to start in deciding which real estate company you should work for, is to ask yourself, ‘Where do I want my life and real estate career to be five years from now, and what am I willing to do to get there?’ The one thing that is guaranteed in a real estate career…is a real estate career. What is not guaranteed however, is how long, profitable and big you will make your real estate career. If you want all of the amazing things a successful real estate agent career can provide (unlimited earning potential, control, fulfillment and flexibility), you have to be willing to put in the amount of work and time that is necessary to achieve it. The most successful real estate agents in your market, are the real estate agents that are the most consistent and persistent with their daily lead generation, and are committed to the ongoing learning process of becoming the local real estate expert.
Once you have established your short and long term goals for your real estate career, you now can focus your attention on deciding which real estate company you should work for. There are essentially three types of models of real estate companies: the dependent model, the independent model & the interdependent model(see image above). Each one of these models for real estate companies has something to different to offer, and based on your established goals for your real estate career, you should be able to determine which model is the best fit. It is critical that you consider both your immediate needs and your long term goals when deciding which real estate company to work for, because you do not want to become a real estate agent who changes real estate companies every couple of years. One of the key factors that will determine your long term success of your real estate career, will be the consistency of how you market your real estate business, and changing real estate companies can have a negative effect on the marketing momentum you can build over time.
The Dependent Model Real Estate Company:
Examples: Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Prudential, ERA
The Positives: If the most important thing for your real estate career is to find a real estate company that will make it cheaper for you to start your real estate career or allow you to transition into a real estate career, then the dependent model real estate company should be considered. These type of real estate companies typically cover a lot of the initial expenses that are incurred by starting a real estate career, like: real estate licensing, lock boxes, signs and business cards. They spend the majority of their resources on promoting their company’s brand, so they can generate real estate business for their agents.
The Negatives: There is a reason they call these type of real estate companies dependent models. Rather than training their real estate agents on how to generate their own real estate business, they would prefer that their real estate agents were dependent on their marketing for real estate business. The trade off, is that in exchange for covering some of the initial costs of starting a real estate career and providing real estate leads, you earn a smaller amount of your closed commissions and have a lower ceiling of achievement. This is the difference between having a real estate job and running your own real estate business. If you are looking for a real estate company that is going to provide you with the best real estate training, education, support and technology, so that you can learn how to run your own successful real estate business, a dependent real estate model is probably not going to be the best fit for your real estate career.
The Independent Model Real Estate Company:
Examples: ReMax, Realty Executives, 100% commission companies
The Positives: Like the dependent model real estate companies, the independent model real estate company spends the majority of their resources marketing their company’s brand to the consumers. However, the biggest difference between a independent and dependent model real estate company, is that in exchange for a higher commission split, the real estate agent is responsible for all of the expenses incurred in their real estate career. Typically, these type of real estate companies charge a transaction free per transaction or a high monthly desk/franchise fee. This type of real estate model is great for a real estate agent that wants to make a higher percentage of their closed commissions and can handle the higher upfront expenses incurred by this model.
The Negatives: Try to remember, that 100% of $0 is still $0! If you are ready to run your own real estate business, the questions that you need to ask yourself is, ‘Where am I going to NET the most money? What real estate company is going to provide me with the best real estate training, education and support, so that I can close more real estate business and NET more money? If the most important thing you are looking for in deciding which real estate company to work for is real estate training and education, than the independent model is probably not going to be the best fit for you.
The Interdependent Model Real Estate Company:
Example: Keller Williams Realty
The Positive: If you value most a real estate company that provides training, education, support and technology and you are truly ready to build your own real estate business, than the interdependent model real estate company is the place for you. There is one truth in the real estate industry that the only interdependent real estate company, Keller Williams Realty, takes complete advantage of, and that is that real estate agents are the reason real estate agents do business…not real estate brands. By creating a real estate company where the real estate agents are treated as partners, instead of spending their resources on marketing their brand to the consumers, Keller Williams Realty invests its resources into training, education, support and technology for the agents. By also sharing almost half of the company’s profits with their real estate agents, the company has created an actual incentive for KW agents to share ideas and teach classes. By investing in the best training, education, technology and support and creating a culture where agents mastermind with each other, Keller Williams agents learn how to truly build a real estate business worth running. If you want control and want an unlimited ceiling of achievement in your real estate career, than Keller Williams Realty is the real estate company you should work for.
The Negatives: If the most important thing for your real estate career is NOT training, education, support, culture and technology…than Keller Williams Realty is NOT the real estate company you should work for. Keller Williams Realty treats its agents as business owners. It is there job to generate their own real estate business and it is there job to run their real estate business…it is our job to train and educate them, share our ideas with them, so they can take their real estate business to the highest level and NET more money.
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