Emails of a Devalued Life Agent (A Fable)

"Florida’s LIFESTYLE real estate team"

Jon Brooks

Sep 04, 2021

I enjoy creative writing from time to time and this is one of my recent pieces. Enjoy!

A Fable: My Devalued Life

Photo Source: First Coast News

Day 0

Hey Sam,

I did it! Finally got my real estate license and I’m ready to join the big leagues! And, I already found my place! It’s a big team that has their billboards plastered all over town, so you know they’re legit lol. I talked to their recruiter today, and they said they can give me access to the top brands and lead websites, which I got the impression isn’t available anywhere else. I’ll be learning the ropes from these big-time agents, and bringing in the bucks in no time! It sounds amazing! I signed the contract (OK- I didn’t actually read it cuz you know how I hate that stuff, but everyone signs, so it must be just standard) and I start tomorrow! Wish me luck! ZZ

Day 1

Hi Sam,

Thanks for the congrats, and a celebration on Friday is definitely in order!

Boy, was I pumped for my first day! The people here were nice, and I couldn’t wait to learn real life tips on how you help people buy and sell houses from these experts. But it was a bit of a bummer that the first thing my leadership asked was for me to start calling everyone I know and get them to post a 5-star review for the team’s Google page. Say, what? How can people do a review about a service they have never used? And they want 10 of them! It felt sleazy to me, and I wondered if it was even ethical. But one of the other new agents said to just do it and move on, so I sucked it up and called a bunch of my cousins. lol (My parents would have been appalled — don’t tell them!) It was pretty awkward, and I still feel guilty about it, but I got it done. Guess it’s all part of being a big-time agent, and I’m SO ready to start providing my customers that “white glove, 5-star service” and having real success in my career. I’m sure tomorrow will be better. Can’t wait to start getting all those awesome leads! ZZ

Day 5

Hi Sam,

This job sure is different than I expected. I thought I was gonna get all this great training this week, but instead they told me to sit in the office and make 200 calls a day. A day! They gave me a script, but since I haven’t had any real training, I feel like I don’t know enough to talk to customers about real estate. They told me not to worry about it, to just be pleasant, stick to the script, and “open the door” for the customers. Ugh! I feel like I’m working in a call center.

Another thing that’s kinda weird is how empty the office seems now. I remember it being full of agents when I saw the recruiter. And some of the people who are here seem to be pretty angry. One guy was even shouting about a contract, and how it "wasn't our fault." I later found out that guy was my broker! No, I didn’t meet him when I signed up -- probably should have done that lol. Oh, well. Talk soon. ZZ

Day 14

Sam,

I’m on break in the parking lot and feel like I just need to vent.

So, the day started off as usual, still feeling like I’m working in a call center, and going to silly sales meetings that make me feel like a used car salesman, when -- finally! —I nab my first buyer contract. I’d been working with these buyers for a week, and it felt amazing to finally get them to a contract! Great, right?

Well, NOT. I immediately sat down with my team leader to ask about when I can expect my commission payment and how much I would be getting – you know I'm getting desperate to pay down those cc bills! But they told me that for my first few contracts I won't really see much money. Wait -- what? They said that’s how it works with teams, and it’s all in my contract. Tonight I’m gonna actually read that sucker and find out what’s going on. ZZ

Day 15

So, Sam, I am so fired up this morning – and not in a good way!

I just went through my contract and did the math. It turns out I’m going to be taking home only 10% of the total $9,000 commission from my first transaction -- $900! For how many hours of work? After almost two full weeks of busting my butt, I'm getting only $900? How am I gonna live on that?

So, how is that possible, you may ask? Well, it turns out there's a 35% referral fee off the top, 50% of the commission goes to the team, and then there are transaction fees to the broker, mentor fees, transaction coordinator fees, you name it. It's unbelievable, I decided to figure out what my actual yearly income would be under this deal. How many homes will I need to sell in order to make a living? And, after breaking it down, I realized I need to sell about 5 homes a month – 60 homes a year -- to really make enough money to live on. Plus, I still have to pay for my own health insurance, gas, employment tax, etc... I didn't even think of that stuff when I started. This is crazy!

I did some research and called a couple people. They tell me that this big deal team I joined has actually had about 90% turnover of their team members in the last year. In other words, tons of agents start working here and then seem to leave in droves. Why didn’t I check this all out before I signed up? OK-- I know you are rolling your eyes -- I should have read the darn contract!

Starting tomorrow, I’m going to begin seriously considering other options. I didn’t sign up to be a worker bee drone with long hours, little training, and very little money. I want to learn the ropes on how to serve customers and build relationships with them. I want to run my own business, make good money, pay off those credit cards, and begin saving. My goal is to become a real estate expert and an entrepreneur who really helps people. Unfortunately, I’m realizing that this is not the place for me to do that. ZZ

Day 18

Hey Sam,

Well, this is a giant mess I simply have to get myself out of. I want to leave this team and go to a different brokerage, but my contract is so anti-agent. First, it says I can't publicly share my experiences here. Huh? Why don’t they want other agents to know what really happens here? I mean, if what you say is true, and the brokers stand by their company and its policies, why would they try so hard to hide how they do business? I don’t get it.

Worse, this contract says that if I leave the company, they take all my outstanding commissions on my pending deals. So, I could have devoted months to get a transaction through, and make nothing if I leave before it actually closes. My hard-earned cash ends up in my broker’s pocket. How could I have agreed to this?!

I did talk to an agent friend who recently left here to join another team at an independent brokerage. She described working here as being like “a poorly paid Uber Driver who also works a Call Center –with no benefits.” Funny, if it weren’t my life, too. Anyway, she said she’s having similar issues at her new brokerage—less phone time than required here, but still with the same exact leads, and even worse commission splits. She finally did her numbers, and has to sell 70 homes to make a decent living after all her expenses!

The worst thing is, she just received a Cease & Desist letter threatening a lawsuit if she speaks to any of the customers that she helped while on this team, or talks to anyone about this team’s environment. Now she can’t sleep, doesn’t know who to turn to for help, and wonders if she needs an attorney.

That could be me if I leave!

I’m trying to tell myself that this is the price I have to pay to get some experience, but we aren’t really getting much training here. I get online leads, but I don't know how to build up repeat customers, which even I, a newbie agent, realize is key to building your business. And it drives me nuts to think that if I leave, I also have to leave my money, the fruit of my hard work, for my broker to gobble up.

I feel hopeless. And I’m embarrassed that I even got myself into this mess. If only someone had warned me! ZZ

Day 19

Hi ZZ,

I’m so sorry about this whole mess. From all you've told me, I think you’d be smart to get out now and make the changes needed to steer your business in the direction you want it to go. You need to do it for your career and for your mental health!

And, I don't think you should beat yourself up about this. Lots of other people have gotten into this type of situation. And they have found a way out. I saw a Facebook post for this new brokerage, Momentum Realty, that says it has helped agents transition from their old brokerage, so maybe they can help you figure out what to do about that awful contract. They claim to be agent-focused and what they call “customer obsessed.” They say they offer top-level training from industry experts, and are committed to their agents becoming true small business owners and building their wealth. They have tons of 5-star reviews from what seem to be actual customers. And, although I know awards sometimes don't mean much, they were just named Bold City's “Best Real Estate Brokerage” in Jacksonville, and are one of the top brokerages in Northeast Florida after less than 2 years in business. I figure they must be doing something right. They also mention they have zero turnover from their top elite agents. That's a great sign.

Honestly, I don’t know if this Momentum Realty is any good or not. But I think you should check it out. They have dozens of online testimonials from their agents, and urge people to call one of them to find out what the brokerage is actually like. A bit different from your current team, that threatens a lawsuit if you tell other people what it's like to work there! I swear, it's like you're in an abusive relationship with that place, like they don't even value you as an agent or a person. Z, no one needs to put up with a Devalued Life!

Anyway, here’s their web link:

http://movewithmomentum.com

You also can call 1-800-Call-Jon-Brooks – he is one of the Momentum founders and has helped a lot of people in your situation.

Check it out, Z! It's time for a change!

XO Sam

Think Big. Question Everything. Build Wealth.

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