Velocitydrift

An agent’s single-minded focus on commission only can bring chaos to a brokerage, managing broker Derek Carlson writes. Here’s what to watch for when you’re recruiting top talent.

Inman On Tour

Inman On Tour Nashville delivers insights, networking, and strategies for agents and leaders navigating today’s market.

After hiring over 3,000 agents throughout my career, I’ve learned how to identify the ones with real potential, and more importantly, quickly spot the ones who were going to cause problems.

And one of the biggest red flags that will help you spot those proverbial “problem child” agents is the fact that they have commission breath.

TAKE THE INMAN INTEL INDEX SURVEY

You know exactly who I’m talking about — they’re the ones who are so desperate to get a commission check that they’ll do almost anything it takes to get to the closing table, even when that means ignoring the basics of customer service.

These agents’ single-minded focus can bring a disproportionate amount of chaos into your brokerage. They disappoint clients, rub coworkers the wrong way and sometimes cause reputational damage to your brand.

Look, I get it — this is a brutal industry where agents only eat what they “kill,” so to speak, so they will all prioritize their commissions to some degree.

But that should never be their top or sole focus. And the truth is that this industry is responsible for creating the problem in the first place. That’s because most brokerages follow a split model, where the brokerage takes a sizable chunk of their commission.

To make matters worse, most brokerages follow a “sink or swim” mindset, where agents are essentially thrown to the wolves, being forced to learn and produce almost entirely on their own.

That puts agents into a scarcity mindset, which often triggers commission breath. So in this article, I’m going to break down how to identify those agents so you can either guide them to a better approach or avoid them entirely.

5 telltale signs an agent has commission breath

Here are the five telltale signs that you will be able to uncover when interviewing an agent.

They don’t have any repeat business

Repeat business is an indicator that an agent has served their clients well, and a lack of it indicates that they haven’t.

You can get a pretty good sense of how much repeat business they get by asking about some of their favorite clients. It’s a near certainty that someone who has worked with them on more than one occasion will be at the top of that list.

And of course, you can always directly ask them if they don’t mention any.

They have few reviews or poor reviews

When an agent has few positive reviews, it’s another clear sign that they may have commission breath.

Agents who focus too much on their commission tend to leave a lot of unhappy clients in their wake, and unsurprisingly, unhappy people tend to either not post a review or, worse yet, post a poor review.

On the contrary, an agent who has a fair number of positive reviews has clearly invested the time and effort necessary to impress their clients.

They seem overly forceful in getting a listing

In role-playing scenarios, does the agent seem overly forceful or willing to do whatever it takes to get a listing, or do they take a more consultative approach, only moving forward once it’s clear that it’s a good fit?

There’s definitely something to be said for a certain level of assertiveness, but an agent who is willing to force a listing agreement that isn’t a fit only has one thing on their mind — their commission.

They’re overly concerned with leads

Leads are the lifeblood of a real estate agent, but this isn’t just a numbers game. It’s about relationships. And an agent who is focused on the right things will typically have solid relationships that produce a steady flow of referrals.

An agent who is focused on their commission, on the other hand, typically has fewer and weaker relationships, hence their overreliance on a higher volume of leads. These agents often churn through leads like locusts devouring fields of crops.

It’s important to note that this applies whether you provide leads to your agents or they’re 100 percent responsible for generating their own, because it’s about the mindset, not who is generating the leads. An agent who is singularly focused on their commission will have to spend far more time marketing to achieve the same sales volume as one who is focused on providing true value.

They seem uninterested in anything but closing

Obviously, you want agents who can get a transaction across the finish line because it’s how we all earn our money, but that shouldn’t be their only focus.

If they seem uninterested in other critical aspects of the transaction, like compliance, education, and client service, they’re more likely to drop the ball with clients, and they’ll probably cause more than their share of problems. They’re also more likely to move on to another job compared to agents who are just as concerned about everything that leads up to the closing.

A well-rounded agent understands the value of all aspects of a transaction, so they’ll have more satisfied clients, and they are less likely to cause administrative, legal or reputational problems.

Derek Carlson runs Realty ONE Group in Naples, Florida.

Topics: commissions | independent brokers Show Comments Hide Comments Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments Sign me up By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman. Success! Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines. Read Next