Would it be unfair to say that there is a lot of noise right now about real estate agent commissions? While the unease/confusion/worry does seem to be more prevalent in some parts of the country than in others, we are likely entering a new era in real estate. 

Regardless of where we are...

Unequivocally the most important thing in real estate is showing up. Like, there is no close second - there is nothing else more important in real estate than showing up every day in a certain way and doing it consistently over time.

What is the hardest thing for real estate agents to do? Show...

What do agents want right now?

They want more deals.
They want more inventory.
They want mortgage rates to be lower.

Basically... they want things to be easier.

But remember just 18-24 months ago?  What did agents want? Things to be easier!

There were not...

The other day I was working out of my real estate office when I heard another agent break away from the people she was talking to with the comment, "Let me get some deals happening."

What does that mean?

Like, are you going to hustle some folks on the phone and make them buy or sell a house? Or,...

Can you buy clients?

I don't know. I mean, I don't think so. Certainly, you can buy leads. I know many agents who buy leads. Many of those leads do not result in much - if any - sales. So buying leads may not be such a good idea.

But can you buy clients? Isn't that what agents are thinking...

Unfortunately, there is a very common practice of amateur real estate agents: chipping in money to get a deal together.

Chipping in money to get a deal together is a subset of discounting your fee. You either charge a full fee or you do not. Therefore, if you charge a full fee but then give it...

If you have been a realtor for a while, you know that every real estate transaction is fraught with obstacles. Even the "simplest" deals have hiccups. The more experienced you are, the better you are at communicating and navigating your clients through the transaction. Then those...

Do you know your own phone number?

What about your spouse's number?  Your kids?

Chances are you may know your number, but not too many other peoples.  You do not know those numbers because a) you don't need to anymore - they are already stored in your phone; b) your brain isn't designed...

Have you ever sat around and said, "Wow! That's a good idea!" 

Probably not quite like that. Maybe it's more like when something doesn't work, or you have a bad customer service experience, or you need a service that doesn't currently exist, you might say, "Hey, it would be a good idea...