The Number One Trait to Look for in a Real Estate Broker

When it comes to finding the right broker, I think we all know a Google search for “real estate brokers near me” isn’t going to give you the best results. The good news is, finding the right real estate broker it’s not as difficult as you may think… 

The One Rule for Real Estate Agents Looking for a Broker 

There is really only one rule for real estate agents who are looking for their perfect broker relationship: seek out a licensed real estate broker who is aligned with your vision of how you want to conduct your business.  

This is not as easy as it sounds. 

There are many, many, ways to approach the business of real estate. What’s more, your approach will likely change and evolve over time. So, it’s critical that you select a real estate broker to associate with who will evolve with you and support you during every stage of your career. 

Here’s an example of an agent whose approach to the business of real estate has evolved over time. 

Priscilla’s Story 

Priscilla McNamee started off as a young, motivated real estate agent who approached the business as if she was shot out of a cannon. Her role models were successful veterans whose approach to the business was best described as “traditional.”  

Priscilla initially associated with a well-known local brokerage that I would describe as a ‘Legacy House’. The agents were very competitive, status-driven, very involved in the social aspects of the local board of realtors, motivated by Ohio Association of Realtor sales awards, and very set in their ways.  

Keep in mind that 20 to 25 years ago, we Realtors owned all the information about listings for sale in the market and guarded that information like our lives depended on it. That’s just the way it was. The Legacy House Realtors were the best people we had to model the way for us. 

I first met Priscilla when I opened a RE/MAX franchise in Springfield, Ohio in 2003-2004. We were the only national franchise option for realtors in Springfield at the time, and we were able to attract several veteran agents, including Priscilla, over the first few years. 

Priscilla was promised that the RE/MAX brand would lend her instant credibility in the market. After all, RE/MAX at the time was the largest and most trusted real estate brand in the world. While we had some incredible technology at RE/MAX relative to the local competition Priscilla and I eventually realized that she had essentially traded a local legacy brand for a national legacy brand. 

The best part of my association with RE/MAX was being introduced to Brian Buffini at a RE/MAX convention. Buffini and Company showed me a new way forward in the business that was based on long-term productive relationships, not short-term, “of the moment” transactions. This idea, and the way Brian articulated it, was transformational for me, and ultimately for Priscilla. 

Fast forward to the real estate crash of 2008 and 2009: I ended my association with RE/MAX and focused on my personal practice. Priscilla went back to work at the local legacy house she was with before joining me at RE/MAX. 

Priscilla never forgot the lessons we learned from Brian, even as her fellow realtors continued to approach the business as a series of transactions. By this time, Zillow and others had taken what had been information only realtors had and shared it with the rest of the world, for free. 

The traditional way of doing business at a legacy house brokerage got more difficult as the general public started to see all agents as the same since few of us were offering anything of value to our clients at the time beyond what they could find online. 

Priscilla slowly realized that the way to differentiate herself was to focus on relationships and build a referral-based real estate business. However, she struggled to do this because her vision was completely out of line with the way her brokerage worked. 

Meanwhile, I started dreaming about what a real estate brokerage might look like that focused exclusively on supporting individual agents who wanted to approach the business as I did. In 2014, I opened ROOST to do exactly that.  

Priscilla and I eventually reconnected and she agreed to join me at ROOST. During that meeting, I could tell Priscilla was fully committed to working by referral. She even hired a personal success coach at Buffini and Company who has helped triple her business over the last five years, while she carves out more time for her family. She’s now living a beautiful life and shares her mindset with anyone willing to listen. 

Tools You Can Use: The Real Estate Mindset Scorecard 

If the number one trait to look for in a real estate broker is that they be aligned with you, how do you find them? The first step is to get clear on how you want to do business. Ask yourself, “How do I want to approach the business of real estate?” This is a sneaky question because it sounds simple but takes some serious thought and self-reflection to answer. Fortunately, we’ve got a thinking tool to help you. 

The Eight Success Mindsets Scorecard at www.8SuccessMinsetsScorecard.com provides you with a series of questions and statements that relate to the eight success mindsets the most successful real estate professionals among us share. 

Each of the eight mindsets that make up the scorecard has four columns or stages that create a continuum. If you find that your scores fall mostly in stage one, you will likely realize that your approach to the business of real estate is more transactional in nature. 

A transactional approach is not a negative despite how it may sound. Lots of Realtors score themselves primarily in stage one across the mindsets and do very well.  A Realtor with a more transactional approach simply tends to be task-oriented, focused on their numbers, and always on the lookout for the next immediate opportunity to get to the closing table.   

If you have a transactional approach to the business, finding a broker who can help you think critically about a task-oriented action and financial plan may be a top priority for you.   

If your scores cluster in stage two you may be a new agent or may not be experiencing the benefits a career in real estate promised. Agents in stage two tend to value training and community above all, and generally have less ambitious goals than those in the other three stages. Many in stage two see real estate as more of a job than a profession or entrepreneurial opportunity.  

In stage two, just as in stage one, finding a brokerage that is aligned with your vision of your business is critical. 

If your overall scores fall mostly in column or stage three, you are likely an established professional with years of experience and an extensive book of business. Your approach is likely more traditional in nature and you will do well in a brokerage environment where hard work and long hours are rewarded. 

If you find yourself scoring yourself more prominently in stage four, your business approach is more relational in nature. For you, a relationship is far more valuable than any single transaction.  Finding a brokerage that shares your relationship-oriented approach to the business is going to be critical to your long-term success and overall happiness. 

My advice is to look for a broker that is motivated to promote your personal connection making activities, enhance your personal practice, support your business based on your personal success metrics, and coach you for never-ending personal growth and development. 

Now that you have a clear idea of how you want to approach the business, you can target your search to a specific category of brokerage that will likely be a great fit for you. 

The 4 Types Of Brokerages 

There are essentially four distinct types of brokerages. They are The 100% Shops, The Mass Market Franchises, The Legacy Houses, and the Right Fit Partners. 

Learning about the general characteristics of each brokerage category will instantly focus your search for a brokerage aligned with you. 

The 100% Shops    

Think Fathom, Red 1, Emerge  

1. Great home for transaction-oriented professionals. 

2. Not only is the relationship between agent and client transactional, but so is the relationship between agent and broker. 

3. These brokers provide limited support and generally charge limited fees. They expect little from their agents and their agents expect little from them.  

4. These brokerages focus on having a high agent count, as the average annual sales of their licensed agents tend to be low. 

5. The culture 100% commission brokerages is best characterized as ‘hands-off’. The offices tend to lack professional camaraderie, shared vision, mentoring, training, or personal coaching. 

6. The tools provided by these brokerages vary from nothing to an extensive menu of extras and add-ons that come at an additional cost or monthly fee. 

7. The successful agents and team leaders at these brokerages use the money they keep to fund their own businesses within the brokerage. 

Anne’s Story 

One of my favorite stories about an agent who got their start at a 100% shop is Anne Sparks in our office. She was my guest on our last episode. Anne got started at office just outside of Springfield that is a newer franchise that only charges an annual fee and then a transaction fee on the first 15 sales. The offset of course to limited cost is limited service, mentorship, and training. 

Anne was disillusioned. She had chosen the wrong brokerage and was doubting her decision to pursue a career in real estate. Then Anne downloaded my book How To Make It In The NEW Real Estate Business and listened to our first podcast we did with Susan Elliott last summer.   

Anne liked what she heard and reached out to meet.  Anne fit right in with our culture was excited to begin working by referral and using the tools, training, and resources we provide. We also paired Anne with Tina Bleything, our Agent Success Coordinator so she had a buddy to help her get started on the right foot with us. 

Long story short – Anne is having a GREAT year in what is still a challenging real estate environment.   

The Mass-Market Franchises   

Think Keller Williams, EXP, EXIT 

1. Mass market franchise real estate brokerages often offer extensive training programs as a means of attracting new agents seeking safety and security in a job. 

2. The commission split structure of these brokerages is often designed to incentivize agents to stay with the company by capping their commission splits at a predetermined amount once they have earned a certain amount. 

3. While mass market franchise real estate brokerages may offer extensive training libraries and video resources, these tools are useless in isolation and need to be accompanied by practice, repetition, and experience in the real world. 

4. Successful real estate agents are typically driven by intrinsic ambition, which cannot be trained into existence. 

5. Many new agents who begin their careers at mass market franchise real estate brokerages for the training alone, often fail to find success and become disillusioned, either leaving the industry altogether or seeking out a brokerage committed to their ongoing professional success and personal development. 

The Legacy Houses  

Think Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Howard Hannah, Berkshire Hathaway 

1. These brokerages have a long history and a tradition of excellence going back decades. They were formed when brokerages were highly selective about the agents they invited to join. 

2. The culture at these firms can be described as traditional. Their compelling offer to agents is their name recognition, history, and status as a highly respected brand. 

3. These brokerages and their agents are focused on holding on to what they’ve worked so hard to get. They are not interested in shiny objects or tech for tech’s sake. 

4. These brokerages have deep and extensive institutional wisdom and are the bedrock foundation of the real estate industry. 

5. At these brokerages there is a mix of professionals, with a large group of Realtors joyfully celebrating their purpose and continuing to add value, and a not insignificant subset of agents holding on to what they have for dear life because they cannot imagine doing anything else. 

The Right-Fit Partners   

I believe this is the future of real estate and what we aspire to be at ROOST Real Estate Co. 

1. The right fit partner brokerages combine a vision for the future with the best practices of the past.  

2. The New Professionals choose a Right Fit Brokerage based on shared values and stay because of the opportunities they create together. 

3. Productivity for The New Professionals comes from activities that promote and enhance their relationships with people who know, like, trust, and support them. They prioritize connections and adding value to the lives of past, present, and future clients. 

4. The New Professionals at The Right Fit Brokerages are some of the most productive and profitable Realtors in the industry. They have the tools they need to track their lead generating activities, multiply the value of every listing, expand their personal brand, and generate more leads, referrals, appointments, contracts, and income. 

5. The New Professionals achieve a balance between their personal and professional lives that other Realtors can only dream of. They intentionally craft careers worth pursuing and lives worth living, and they are successful on their own terms and by their own rules. 

In reality, there’s no right or wrong way to approach the real estate business. With the right broker by your side, nothing can hold you back from using your own goals, motivations, and mindsets to propel you forward.  

The key is finding a broker who is aligned with your values, shares your mindsets, and has a deep understanding of how you want to approach your business.  

In closing I want to share an 8 Success Mindsets Scorecard Success Story. 

We recently brought on a newly licensed Realtor who is also going to help us in our property management department. His name is Trey Bucio from Dayton Ohio.  

Before we extended an offer to Trey I asked him to complete the ROOST version of the 8 Success Mindset Scorecard at www.GreatFitAgent.com. 

After completing the scorecard, and for the first time in his fledgling career, Trey found the words to express the kind of business he dreamed of. Trey even said to me after completing the scorecard “it’s like you know me better than I do”.  

That’s the kind of feedback that makes my day.  I am confident that Trey will enjoy a long and successful career with us.  Our values are aligned and we are a great fit for each other. 

Thank you for Reading! 

And whenever you’re ready: 

Download your FREE copy of Eight Success Mindsets Of The NEW Real Estate Professional and learn how to craft a career worth pursuing and a life worth living. www.8SuccessMindsets.com  

And, if you want to jump straight to the 8 Success Mindsets Scorecard check it out online at www.8SuccessMindsetsScorecard.com