Best real estate broker for new agents? (WA State) (sales, fee, most expensive)

[ilovekotatsu]

I recently got my Real Estate license in WA and am eager to start a new career!

Which broker would you recommend for new agents?

I would like:


- Leads (don't want to spend all day cold calling)
- Training (I'm new so need help)
- Support
- Office located in South King Country (Kent/Auburn/Renton/Federal Way), Washington state, USA


I have a sales background so confident I can close. What I don't have is 6-12 months savings put aside while I "build my book".


Advice greatly appreciated

[Diana Holbrook]

Go talk to all the biggies in your area... see what they offer and which office team/attitudes/training opportunities sound the best to you.

I'm a ways South and started at Keller Williams. We talked to a few brokerages, and KW had the best training structure of the ones we talked to... but the people in the offices up near you are everything to the decision, and there's not one perfect answer for everyone. Even within our brokerage, there have been ups and downs depending on leadership changes... and one person can make all the difference in the mood of the place, and the structure of the training program. That's why you should talk to them all.. and study the differences, and the different fee splits, and compare. When we went through, there wasn't just one teacher, the senior agents in the office traded off each day, so we got to learn from many different styles and perspectives. I liked that. Later on, they switched to a model where one designated coach taught all the new recruits, and we were glad we didn't start in that time. Real Estate is a business where there's not just one way to do things... and KW can be a bit um.... rah-rah teamish... But if you are in to that kind of thing, or can endure it long enough to get some good training and experience, they offer a lot of great freedom and individual branding not common to the other larger brokerages.

Sounds like I'm pushing KW... I'm not... just sharing my own experience and how we decided. Initial support and a good reachable mentor and Designated Broker is everything for the first year or two. They will start you out to hit the ground running if they're doing it right. Once you have been doing it a few years, sometimes agents move on to a brokerage with less overhead to make more money

[ilovekotatsu]

Thanks so much! Are there any brokerages that offer leads? I really like the Redfin model, but they are not currently hiring in my area.

[Diana Holbrook]

I don't know. In our own business we were taught to focus on our sphere of influence and generate our own leads.

[BoBromhal]

you should join a team that generates leads then. Of course, that involves some "cold" calling.

What did you sell before? Was it big ticket? Was it relational or transactional in nature?

[ilovekotatsu]

Yes, that sounds ideal.

I sold travel but it was inbound and endless leads.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by ilovekotatsu

Yes, that sounds ideal.

I sold travel but it was inbound and endless leads.

Taking leads generated by someone else is often the most expensive way to build a real estate business.
You generally own no database.

And, you should expect that the rainmaker will skim most of the cream and give you what is left.

Maintain your own business identity and contact information, website and domain, cellphone, email domain, and keep the need to be fed as temporary as possible if you care to build a real business.