You Have No Production, No Pipeline and No Listings—but Somehow You Walk Into a Brokerage Interview Acting Like the Broker Is Applying to Work for You.
Written by Devone Richard
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REAL ESTATE HAS CREATED A STRANGE KIND OF ENTITLEMENT
I’ve been in this business long enough to remember when agents walked into a brokerage wanting to know how they could earn an opportunity.
Today, some Realtors walk in wanting to know what the brokerage is going to do for them.
And let me make something clear:
YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY INTERVIEW A BROKERAGE BEFORE YOU JOIN IT.
Ask about the commission split.
Ask about fees.
Ask about E&O insurance.
Ask about technology.
Ask about training.
Ask about compliance.
Ask whether the broker actually answers the damn phone when a transaction blows up.
Those are smart questions.
But there’s a huge difference between doing your due diligence and walking into a brokerage with zero production acting like you’re Bill Gates deciding whether the company is worthy of your talent.
That’s where this shit has gotten ridiculous.
YOU HAVEN’T CLOSED A FUCKN DEAL
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I’ve heard the questions.
“What are you going to do for me?”
How many leads are you giving me?
Are you paying for my marketing?
What’s my commission split?
Can you lower the fees?
Do I get a CRM?
Are you paying for my signs?
Do I have to come into the office?
Do I have to attend training?
What are you going to do to help build my business?
Hold on.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BRINGING?
You haven’t closed a transaction.
You don’t have a listing.
You don’t have buyers.
You don’t have a pipeline.
You don’t have a database you’re consistently working.
You don’t have a prospecting system.
You haven’t demonstrated that you’ll follow up with a lead if somebody gives you one.
But somehow you’re sitting across from the broker negotiating like the brokerage is trying to steal you away from a competitor.
STEAL WHAT?
THE BROKER IS INTERVIEWING YOUR ASS TOO
Some Realtors have forgotten this part.
Joining a brokerage is a two-way interview.
You’re deciding whether the company deserves your license.
The broker is deciding whether you deserve a place in the company.
Are you coachable?
Are you going to work?
Will you prospect?
Will you attend training?
Can you follow instructions?
Will you follow compliance procedures?
Will you answer your clients?
Will you use the technology you’re demanding?
Are you going to contribute something positive to the culture?
Or are you going to sit around for six months producing nothing and blaming the brokerage?
Because here’s something agents rarely think about:
YOU MAY HAVE ZERO PRODUCTION, BUT YOU DON’T CREATE ZERO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE BROKER.
The minute your license hangs there, your transactions can create compliance, legal and reputational exposure for that company.
That’s why the broker gets to ask questions too.
YOUR REAL ESTATE LICENSE DOESN’T MAKE YOU BILL GATES
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Some agents walk into brokerage interviews like they’re Bill Gates deciding which company deserves their genius.
They’re touring companies.
Comparing offers.
Negotiating splits.
Asking for incentives.
Talking about their “personal brand.”
Relax.
YOU CLOSED ZERO DEALS LAST YEAR.
You’re not bringing 30 listings.
You’re not bringing a giant database.
You’re not bringing a team producing $40 million.
You’re not bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars in GCI.
You’re bringing:
POTENTIAL.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Every successful Realtor started with zero transactions.
Every top producer once had to find their first client.
I did.
The problem isn’t being inexperienced.
THE PROBLEM IS BEING INEXPERIENCED AND ENTITLED.
Give me a new agent who walks into the office and says:
“I don’t know everything yet, but I’m ready to learn and I’m ready to work.”
Now we can have a conversation.
That’s somebody a broker can invest time into.
But if you walk through the door with no production demanding free leads, free technology, free marketing, minimal fees, maximum commission and unlimited broker support?
You might want to bring something to the table besides a real estate license and a fucking business card.
100% OF NOTHING IS STILL NOTHING
Some Realtors have become obsessed with one question:
“WHAT’S MY SPLIT?”
Important question.
But there’s another question I’d ask first:
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SPLITTING?
If you generated zero dollars in commission last year, a 100% commission split gives you:
100% OF ZERO.
Before obsessing over keeping every dollar, learn how to create the damn dollar.
How do I get my first listing?
How do I build a database?
How do I prospect?
How do I follow up?
How do I conduct a buyer consultation?
How do I price a property?
How do I negotiate?
How do I turn one transaction into three referrals?
Those are the questions that build careers.
BROKERS CREATED SOME OF THIS MESS TOO
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Agents aren’t entirely responsible.
Brokerages became so obsessed with recruiting that we started treating every real estate license like a prize.
Sign here.
Welcome aboard.
Here’s your login.
Next agent.
That’s not building a brokerage.
That’s collecting licenses.
I don’t care if a brokerage has 5,000 agents if 4,000 of them aren’t doing anything.
HEADCOUNT ISN’T CULTURE.
HEADCOUNT ISN’T PRODUCTION.
HEADCOUNT ISN’T A BUSINESS MODEL.
Brokers need standards again.
We should want hungry agents.
Coachable agents.
Ethical agents.
Productive agents.
Agents who actually want to build businesses.
And sometimes a broker needs to be willing to say:
“WE’RE PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT COMPANY FOR YOU.”
Recruiting doesn’t mean begging.
PLEASE INTERVIEW YOUR BROKER
I actually want Realtors asking hard questions before joining a company.
You should.
Ask me what I believe.
Ask what I expect.
Ask how the company operates.
Ask about technology.
Ask about training.
Ask about compliance.
Ask about support.
Ask about culture.
Ask how available I am.
INTERVIEW THE HELL OUT OF ME.
But understand something before you sit down:
I’M INTERVIEWING THE HELL OUT OF YOU TOO.
Because the best brokerage relationships aren’t built around:
“What are you going to give me?”
They’re built around:
“WHAT CAN WE BUILD TOGETHER?”
FINAL THOUGHT
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There is nothing wrong with being a brand-new Realtor.
There is nothing wrong with having zero sales.
Everybody started somewhere.
Come hungry.
Come curious.
Come prepared to learn.
And absolutely ask the broker tough questions.
But don’t walk into somebody’s company acting like they’re lucky you showed up when you haven’t proven a fucking thing yet.
A real estate license gives you an opportunity.
It doesn’t give you a successful business.
It doesn’t give you leverage.
It doesn’t make you a top producer.
And it doesn’t make every brokerage desperate to recruit you.
YES, INTERVIEW THE BROKER.
BUT BEFORE YOU START ACTING LIKE BILL GATES—REMEMBER ONE LITTLE THING:
YOU HAVEN’T CLOSED A FUCKN DEAL.
AND THE BROKER IS INTERVIEWING YOUR ASS TOO.
— Devone Richard
Written by Devone Richard
Broker/Owner | OYT Real Estate
California Broker #01857383
Nevada Broker #1002115
📞 626-500-1212 | 702-941-0202
🌐 OYTRealEstate.com