The Unfortunate Path to a Devalued Life

A story for critical thinking

In today's market, there are more shiny objects and come-ons than ever vying to get your attention. You’ve seen them: Our leads are better than your leads, our CRM is better than your CRM, our office does listing presentations on iPads and yours uses paper, our office has brighter lights than your office.... You name it -- it's out there. 

But nothing is more deceptive than being shown only a snapshot in time of a “success story” without being told the full story, including the ending. Or, even worse, being blocked from learning the relevant facts of the tale itself. 

It’s as if the companies pushing these narratives don’t value you as a professional. And when you buy what they are selling, you end up as an agent with a Devalued Life.

The THINK BIG and QUESTION EVERYTHING newsletter is here to help you cut through the smoke to find the truth. As one of our 16,000 monthly readers, you seek a different perspective, one that is raw, exciting, and unafraid to reveal some hard truths. 

An Agent’s Tale of Joining a DL (Devalued Life) Team 

(A story for critical thinking.)

Are you considering a team that promises the world and then controls yours?

Imagine you are a new real estate agent who joins a local company that promises you online leads in a team environment. The company's social media looks amazing, their recruiters have been hounding you ever since you got your license, and it feels good to be wanted.

Excited about your first opportunity to prove yourself, you quickly sign the company's independent contractor agreement -- without reading it -- and jump on-board with enthusiasm and energy.

Your first few weeks are wild. You are on a schedule to go into an office daily, you get an inflow of leads, you meet customers. And you get instant results in a fast-paced, Call Center/Uber Driver type environment, with promises from leadership of a bigger future.

At first, it is amazing. 

Sure, you sometimes think about the fact you have no health insurance, you still have to pay for gas, and you have signed up for mandatory work hours -- the exact opposite of what you wanted when you got into real estate. But, hey, you love that you are learning how to show homes, so you keep at it. You are excited for the day when the money starts to roll in. And now they want to interview you on a company podcast about your instant success! You see yourself up there on social media and you feel really good about yourself. People are publicly sharing your story and commenting on your success. From the outside, it looks like your career and your life have done a complete 180. Life. Is. Good.

Or is it?

You get your first paycheck... and it's 10% of the total commission you earned. You freak out. That's not enough money to pay your bills! You go back to your contract to figure out what happened to your commission. You start doing the math, and realize that working at a coffee shop on an hourly basis — and with benefits — would pay you much more than this commission check.

You read deeper into your contract and discover that if you quit today -- or got fired randomly -- the company will take all of the outstanding commissions you just worked so hard to earn. In fact, if you walk away, you can't even contact your prior customers to help them finish their sale, so they'll be left hanging. Some of these customers have become your friends. You feel horrible. And, worst of all, you can't even talk to anyone about what is going on because you just learned that you have a non-disclosure and non-disparagement clause in your independent contractor agreement. Why would a company that is so great even need that?

You freak and call your parents. You want to keep selling houses, but there's not enough money to pay your bills. You're afraid you'll never get out of the company without sustaining massive financial damage and setting you back 3-4 months. 

You start digging further into this high-gloss company that seemed to promise you the world. You discover that the company is actually down in its sales volume by 40% year-over-year. You don't remember them advertising that! You hear that some of those agents who kept urging you to research the company’s leaders before signing on, are talking about the company being in cahoots with Wall Street-based online lead aggregators. It seems like the company’s goal is to suck commission dollars out of the pockets of agents and their home sellers and into their own. You signed up to be just a small cog in this big machine.

You do a little more research – oh, why didn’t you do this before your signed that contract?-- and learn that the turnover rate of agents at the company is through-the-roof, like unheard-of numbers, which explains why they had to recruit nearly 30 agents in the last 30 days. A chosen few it looks like actually do have success here, but the majority of the others either burn out or run for the hills. This company is a revolving door. 

But, wait. You’re a social media rock star, right? I mean, the company did a podcast about how great you are doing. You then find out that the last person the company featured in their podcast interview, their poster child for success in month 2, actually left the company in month 3.  

You seek out that person to find out more, but they say they can’t talk to you. They won’t say why. Did they sign a non-disclosure agreement as well? How will the real stories about this business model that is practically the opposite of what you’ve been shown on social media ever be revealed to the agents who need to know? 

You're exhausted. You’re trapped, alone, and scared and feel like you're in a system governed by greed and fear and that you wouldn't make it in real estate without them. And despite being told that you are on your way to financial wealth, you're actually broke. 

THINK BIG, QUESTION EVERYTHING. 

It’s a sad story, but one that happens all too often. And that's why you can't focus on a snapshot in time via a big, bright social media post or a slick recruiting email in your inbox. You have to understand the entire story, particularly the ending. Because the reality is that in any market, there is no easy button. All start-up companies or entrepreneurial endeavors require passion, hard work, and persistence over time, and with daily consistency. 

We don’t sell shiny objects at Momentum Realty. No recruiters, no quotas, no trying to convince you to do things that don't work, no teachings from people who have never had true success themselves. Momentum does not rely on VANITY metrics: revenue, volume, and units, status games via social media. 

We measure our performance based on VALUE metrics: profit, net worth, lifestyle, health, relationships, and the ability to have control of your future. Here’s a value metric we are proud of: Momentum Agents on AVERAGE make more than $100,000 in commission annually (under a 100% commission model), leading the company to become a Top 10 Brokerage Office in Northeast Florida in only three years. 

Unlike agents living the Devalued Life, agents at Momentum own their own databases. They have control of their time. They ask the hard questions, even if they get answers that they don't always like, because they know it will make them stronger long-term. And they're excited about the next market to come, learning from multi-millionaires who guide and inspire them to be and do more regardless of what the market holds, gaining strength from the productive tribe that supports them.

Momentum agents certainly don't solely rely on their brokerage and its relationship with Wall Street public companies to determine their future opportunities. They make their own opportunities, investing in themselves, their families, and their community. They are passionate BUILDERS.

What matters to you as an agent is your ability to reach your financial goals in an environment that supports you and fosters your development and growth as a business owner. The specifics can look different for everyone, but the ultimate truth is the same for all of us: The purpose of a for-profit business is Profit, because Profit will lead to the ultimate goal of Freedom. And Freedom is the Opposite of becoming a Devalued Life Agent. 

So, I challenge you. The next time the market shakes your confidence (and it should and it will), remember that you are in total control, and there's a company out there that knows how to help you push through it. Surround yourself with people who have done it before you, have the numbers and transparency to back it up, and actively want to help you grow and thrive. Ignore the gimmicks, stop searching for an Easy Button, and accept that to succeed you must show up and do the work.  

Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life. 

Cut through the noise and stay focused. 

JB