10 Reasons Independent Brokerages Should Join REAL Broker
There are over 100,000 independent real estate brokerages in North America, with over 300,000 agents. These independent brokerages are the foundation of our industry, driving innovation and personal service. But running an independent brokerage comes with its own set of challenges—keeping up with technology, training and retaining agents, and most importantly, being profitable.
REAL Broker recognizes the importance of independent brokerages in the industry. Our model is designed to support these brokerages by giving them the tools and resources they need to succeed, while allowing them to keep their flexibility, brand and business model.
In this article, I’m going to outline the 10 biggest benefits of independent brokerages joining REAL Broker.
Keep Your Brand Private Label
As an independent brokerage with REAL Broker, you can join our Private Label program and keep 100% of your branding without having to advertise your affiliation with REAL. This means your signs, marketing materials and contracts can still have your company’s name on them.
This program is perfect for brokerages that have spent years building their personal brand and want to keep their established identity while benefiting from the support and resources of REAL Broker. By joining REAL, you can outsource some of the responsibilities of being a broker and still get the benefits of our network and systems.
For more information on the Private Label program check out my full post.
2. Additional Income Streams
Joining REAL Broker creates new income streams for both brokers and agents. Here are the various income streams for agents at REAL Broker:
Stock Awards: There are four ways to earn free stock in REAL Broker. First, capping will earn you free stock, applicable to team members paying a half cap as well. Second, when an agent you bring to REAL Broker closes their first transaction, you get a free stock award. Third, through the stock purchase plan, agents can buy REAL stock from their commission and get up to 20% bonus in free stock on each purchase. Fourth, the Elite Agent Award allows agents to earn up to $24,000 in free stock per year by hitting certain production milestones, team leaders can count their team members’ production towards these awards.
Revenue Share: REAL Broker pays agents for bringing in business through revenue share. For every agent who names you as their sponsor, you get 5% of their commissions until they cap, that’s up to $4,000 per year per full cap agent or $2,000 per half cap agent. By converting your brokerage into a team at REAL, each team member will have a $6,000 annual cap ($4,000 for mega teams) and you’ll get up to $2,000 back in revenue share for each capping team member. Revenue share goes five tiers deep, so you can also earn from agents brought in by your agents, the more your network grows the more income you can earn.
Mentor Program: Anyone can apply to be a mentor at REAL and earn 25% to 50% of the commissions from agents they mentor, the mentor sets the price. This is a great way for agents to diversify their income or work less and earn more.
REAL Title: Through REAL Title’s Joint Venture program, agents and team leaders can invest in their state’s REAL Title company and become owners and get quarterly profit payouts. Team leaders can invest more than solo agents.
Loan Officer With REAL Mortgage: Agents can become loan officers with REAL Mortgage and earn both their buyer agent commission and a loan officer commission of up to 1.25% of the loan amount.
REAL Mortgage Rev Share: REAL Mortgage has a five tier revenue share-like system where you earn points for each loan a loan officer originates, goes five deep.
Try a Revenue Share Calculator to see how much revenue share you can earn from your agents. At REAL, your team members will have a $6,000 cap, a solid foundation for predictable and profitable income growth.
When you join REAL Broker you can keep your brand and unlock multiple income streams and all the support and resources of REAL. It’s a win-win.
3. Award-Winning Technology
One of the big benefits of being with REAL Broker is our award winning, proprietary technology. This technology gives REAL Broker, its agents and team leaders a big advantage by simplifying workflows and creating new opportunities. Here’s a rundown of some of the top tech tools independent brokers and their agents will get access to:
reZEN: this is our central technology hub. With reZEN you and your agents can track production, monitor progress towards Elite Agent or capping, submit contracts for compliance, get support and more.
ProTeams: This team management software allows team leaders to customise splits, fees and caps for team members down to individual agent level. Whether you want different splits for different groups of agents or specific deals with individual agents, ProTeams automates these settings saving hundreds of hours a year according to many former independent brokers.
REAL Signature: Our integrated digital signature software allows teams to write contracts and send documents for signature within the app, making life easier and more convenient.
reZEN App: My favourite piece of tech, this mobile app gives you all the functionality of reZEN in your pocket. Having transaction details, co-op agent info and title company contacts at your fingertips is a game changer.
AI Assistant: We used our technology to build Leo, an AI assistant that uses our data to give you insights. Ask Leo questions like what’s your average commission, how many deals you closed last year or what’s closing next week and get instant data driven answers.
Workplace: This platform connects you to the REAL Broker community where you can post in groups, access live training and message anyone in the company.
REAL Academy: Access over 200 online courses, dozens of recurring masterminds and more than 30 live streams a week. All training can be accessed via phone so learning is always at your fingertips.
Lofty: A top tier CRM and website platform for real estate agents, Lofty includes AI for lead texting, smart plans for custom postcards and integrations for Facebook and Google PPC ads. Typically $500 a month, REAL agents get Lofty for $40 a month.
Other Software: Also included in reZEN are our Whealth Plan, Marketing Center, REAL Partners and Reports. We’re also launching a consumer app and the REAL Wallet to manage REAL Credit and Debit Cards.
4. Agent Training
Being a REAL Broker means you no longer have to train your agents. Instead they’ll have access to on-demand training from top producers across the country on every topic imaginable.
All training is housed in REAL Academy which has over 200 online courses, more than a dozen recurring masterminds and 30+ live streams a week. All training can be accessed from any device so learning is always at your fingertips.
REAL Broker’s training is top notch, driven by stock awards and revenue share incentives. Elite Agents have to teach at least one class a month to earn their full $24,000 in free stock. Non-elite agents are motivated to provide great training because we all own stock in the company. I personally host five masterminds a month because of the stock I own and the revenue share I receive.
5. Better Agent Retention
Agent retention is a big problem for independent brokerages. REAL Broker solves this with the “Golden Handcuff” principle and by giving a lot of value.
Financial incentives like revenue share creates a situation where agents are less likely to leave. For example agents who bring in one or two other agents can earn $4k to $8k a year in passive income making it harder to consider leaving. Our free stock has a 3 year vesting period so if an agent leaves before vesting they’ll forfeit a lot of value.
REAL Broker’s technology simplifies agents’ businesses, reduces stress and gives them more time, and our top notch training and community gives them more value. All of this adds up to better agent retention.
6. Get More Time Back
Being a REAL Broker can give you more time back so you can focus on high ROI activities. REAL Broker helps in three areas: compliance, training and support.
Compliance: Dedicated brokers and team members review all contracts for compliance with state laws, using technology in reZEN to make the process easier.
Training: Using the training in REAL Academy reduces the training burden on you but you can still provide additional training if you want to.
Support: REAL has great agent support including a 24/7 call center, email support, community support through Workplace, contract support through broker teams and direct access to state brokers. This means you can be the “source of the source” instead of handling everything yourself.
7. Access to a National Community
REAL Broker’s community is one of our biggest assets. Our collaborative culture, driven by stock ownership and revenue share incentives, encourages sharing and best practices.
Your agents can tap into our growing 20,000 agent community across North America and learn from strategies and tactics used in different markets. Community engagement is through Workplace, live streams, recurring masterminds and numerous in-person events.
8. Flexible Team Structure
REAL Broker gives team leaders a lot of flexibility in structuring their teams with two options:
Standard Team: Agents have either a half cap of $6,000 a year or a third cap of $4,000 a year. To qualify for a third cap the team needs to do at least $100M in volume annually with at least 12 members. Teams need to give at least 10% of their commissions to the team leader and team agreements need to be on file with REAL. Standard Teams also get access to ProTeams software to manage fees and splits completely.
Marketing Group: Agents in this structure have a full cap with no commission requirements per transaction. This means nationwide branding and various financial arrangements without needing team agreements on file with REAL.
9. Flexible Marketing Requirements
REAL Broker supports your business, not the other way around. We give you flexibility in marketing and branding as long as it’s compliant with local regulations. With the Private Label program you can even opt out of using REAL branding altogether.
REAL has various logo styles and brand colors so you can find the best fit for your personal branding and marketing.
10. National and Regional Events
Though cloud-based, REAL Broker knows the importance of in-person connections. We host two official events annually, RISE and The REAL Summit, rotating locations to give you multiple opportunities to connect.
REAL also supports and encourages agents to host bigger events across the country, often featuring top REAL agents and executives like Sharran, our President and Tamir, our CEO as keynote speakers. These events are open to both REAL agents and non-REAL agents and are great for agent attraction.
Many areas have monthly masterminds and meet-ups organized by agents or teams at REAL Broker. As we grow as a company these agent-led events will become more frequent.
FAQ About Joining REAL
What are the fees for REAL Broker?
For team leaders REAL charges a $249 sign-up fee, a standard $12,000 annual cap on an 85/15 split, $6,000 or $4,000 annually for team members, a $750 annual fee, a $30 per transaction E&O fee and a $285 transaction fee after capping. See all REAL Broker fees here and use my REAL Broker Fee Calculator.
Will REAL waive the $249 sign-up fee for a big team?
Yes, REAL will waive the sign-up fee if everyone signs up at the same time. I can help arrange and negotiate this.Can I sign a Letter Of Intent to join?
Yes, you can sign an LOI and start transitioning your team members to REAL before you officially join. They will still be in your downline when you transfer your license.Do I need to join REAL as a team?
Yes, your brokerage will become a team at REAL with you as the team leader. REAL allows teams within teams so your team leaders can also transition. I can connect you with the right person at REAL to help structure this.Is the Private Label program available in all 50 states?
Not yet but it’s expanding. Check the updated list of available states here.
Transitioning Your Brokerage to REAL
Joining REAL Broker has many benefits for independent brokerages including free up your time, additional income streams and reduced admin costs. Your agents will also get nationwide training, a supportive community, advanced technology and additional income opportunities.
If you’d like to discuss what joining REAL looks like for your independent brokerage I’d be happy to have a 1-on-1 video call with you. I can answer your questions, show you our technology and go over the details. I’ve helped many large teams and independent brokerages join REAL and would love to help you.
