Gosh, there are many little pain points to just suck up as an estate agent. I found a site where 19 pain points are listed for estate agents, and with some OK solutions. To name a few, sales are down, and some estate agents have horrible comm splits. Some estate agents have long monthly sales meetings. You are constantly justifying your actions and what you are doing and trying to fit in with a formula the agency has for your success. You are promised stuff that just never materializes, office politics, you feel alone and are most of the time, you feel frustrated with the industry and how to get going, you end up in real estate by default, and you always seem in conflict on so many levels.
Also, it never rains but it pours as an estate agent
All of a sudden, before you know it you are into the 2024 swing. You are back on the treadmill and you grow accustomed to the pain you face daily. Reach out and let’s chat because doing more with less time is a concept you can only understand when you decide to automate your business, save time and improve your service levels, without actually doing any more work. Unlike many agents out there I am honestly happy to report that these issues and these pains are different for me because I know I have landed in the right place and that I am secure and protected by some fantastic values. I love that I work for a company with good values and practical moral values. The moral compass of KW Select is amazing and if it’s not a win-win it’s not right and it won’t fly.
There are certainly some things that can you have control over but the market is the market. But I am the eternal optimist. I always believe that families need somewhere to live and hang their hats and call home. Good times come and go but if you focus on your WHY and then your WHAT and your HOW, you will find your groove and you will grow as an estate agent.
Some seasoned estate agents settle for truly terrible commission splits
I have spoken to so many agents in the field who simply seem satisfied with their split. I have even heard it’s not about the money. Really. If your commission split is not 70/30 or 92/8 you should really interrogate the “it’s not about the money”. We work hard and our window is short and there is summer and winter to navigate and elections and load shedding and more. We work under extreme stress and pressure and yes it is about what you take home to your family.
Long monthly sales meetings with the brass
I felt that in a smaller, more traditional agency that I was with, a 2-hour+ meeting lasted for what felt like an eternity. I also realise in hindsight that although these meetings were couched ‘for my benefit as offering assistance’, the agency wanted to know where their next commission would come from. In hindsight, the strategy sessions I had to endure were nothing more than me trying to gulp down their strategy which was old school to start with. I was honestly left with little wiggle room for what I wanted to do and my WHY. To top it off, like in corporate I had to supply a little marketing action plan that I had to report back on. Honestly in this job, if you are going to sit back and take it easy you will simply not be able to feed your family and pay your bills. This job is all about what you put in because what you put in is what you get out.
Overpromising and settling for under-delivery
Again and I speak from experience, there are always promises but what I realised is that I was always stretching to reach the preverbial carrot on the stick that was always just out of my reach. Yes, there was a bonus but the bonus was dependent on me reaching that carrot. Now as an estate agent at Keller Williams, my stick is my stick and my carrot is my carrot. My WHY drives what makes me tick and why I do what I do.
Did you grow up wanting to be an estate agent?
Nobody does really. We end up in the industry by default. And it’s tough. There is a lot to learn and nobody can really prepare for you for what it will be like. It’s just hard and there are loads of mistakes that cost you a great deal of money. The university of life is one thing but real estate and navigating these ups and downs is something like no other.
Office politics
Eish we all know these. Guarding the holy cows. I must say the first time I heard this was at First Rand when Paul Harris mentioned that First Rand had no holy cows. I must say the same is true for KW Select. You are what you are and there are no favourites. You make your money, you do what you set out to do and you go home. If you want to work independently you do that if you need a bit of the office you go there but there are no holy cows. We all work under a great deal of pressure every single day and tensions do rise and you do have little blow-ups but it blows over and things go back to normal.
Feeling alone
This is certainly a lonely role. You are hustling every day to find stock. You are arriving as you do for an interview because that’s what it is when you do a valuation and you put your very very best foot forward. You are alone and it does get lonely on the road and running between stuff. What I love about KW Select is the office is very close to home and although I choose to be an independent agent there is always a hug and a hi when I pop into the office.
Feeling undervalued
Well, the last time I felt undervalued was with a small family-run estate agency in Randburg. When I say undervalued I mean my comm split working in a team of 2 was undervalued. We brought in a lion’s share of the Gross Commission income and had to split our earnings with the agency at 50/50. And because we were in a team of 2 we had to split our share of 50% in 2 again. So I earned 25% of the GCI on every sale. Took a while to register because we are like hamsters, we jump onto the treadmill every day and go hard. When I stood back and really looked at what was happening the Agency I worked for made more than me and all we got were free boards and a process that was quite manual and considering I did most of the work I really should have realised I was on a losing wicket. But I am happy to have been able to support my principal’s high life for a while. I am happy that I made the agency viable financially. I do think I was a great asset but I learned and when I changed to KW Select, I felt valued for the first time in my industry. I measure my value within an agency by the number of sales and what I bring to the agency. I feel especially happy that my agency cannot make more than R140,000 in one year. I honestly think it’s right that there is a CAP and it helps me to make more money as an estate agent and that makes me feel valued in a twisted kind of way. You should browse our blog, because CAPPING at KW is better than sliced bread.
If 2024 is your year as an estate agent and you know or want to find your WHY, let’s chat
This year for many of us truly does feel like a watershed year. The year it all comes together and we get our you know what together. My business has started with a bang and I am so grateful for that. At KW Select, we would truly like to see you thrive this year and coming up to the end of Jan and coming out of what I hope is a horrible market let us show you what KW can do for you. Join KW. Find your WHY and the rest will slot into place. Become your best and more importantly, learn how to stay at the top of your game.
