As a newly licensed agent, choosing which real estate brokerage I wanted to work for was one of the most heavily weighted and empowering decisions I made. But as I progressed through my career and life, I could clearly see a few industry barricades obstructing me from achieving the freedom and financial stability I had hoped for as a real estate agent. I knew there must be a more efficient option, and that is when I heard about eXp.
Feeling uncertain about putting my career on the line for a new brokerage, I weighed up the odds and made the transition to eXp. Immediately, I discovered how eXp offers its agents the freedom and flexibility I had craved in my early days as a realtor. eXp, with its innovative approach, is spotlighting issues across the whole real estate industry, rather than Keller Williams alone.
Virtual brokerages address systemic industry issues and offer agents an entirely new approach to selling real estate in a way that works for them. Now I want to share the truth about why I left Keller Williams for eXp.
Who is eXp Realty?
eXp Realty is a cloud-based brokerage established in 2009 by former Keller Williams agent Glenn Sanford. The company offers employees an agent-centered and innovative approach to real estate business by providing revenue share opportunities, stock options, and the opportunity to earn 100% commission once you cap.
By shifting away from brick and mortar office spaces, agents have lower overheads and greater versatility, meaning that you can make more money, design your schedule, and create a work/life balance that works for you.
eXp is now the fastest growing brokerage in the world, with over 80,000 agents and counting. Let’s take a look at why I left Keller Williams for eXp like so many other agents.
eXp Allows Me To Earn More Money While Working Fewer Hours
Maintaining a balance between life’s demands, including career, family, and community, is critical to sustaining positive mental and physical wellbeing. In fact, many of us began a career in real estate because of the appeal of escaping the nine-to-five rat race.
Conventional real estate industry practices rarely allow agents to achieve this balance easily. Traditionally you pay high overheads and fees, earning less from transactions and overall contributions to your brokerage than you deserve. So how does eXp address this?
Keller Wiliams’ Profit Share vs eXp Revenue Share
To begin, let’s take a look at Keller Williams’ profit share program. Keller Williams Realty was founded in 1983 by Gary Keller and Joe Williams. Shortly after its establishment, the well-performing young brokerage was subject to the housing bubble crash. Keller Williams began offering profit sharing to support agents staying in business through the financial hardship sweeping the nation.
The profit share program is a seven-tier structure that incentivizes Keller Williams agents to recruit new agents and grow the company. In return, the company rewards referring agents with a percentage of the new agent’s profit, up to seven levels deep.
The idea is that profit sharing is alluring and works. Though there are two issues with it: first, when a Keller Williams agent sponsors a new agent, they automatically get paid less per transaction because the commission is cut from profits after expenses are covered. Second, because Keller Williams market centers are independently owned, sponsoring agents may not even receive a profit share if the market center is not profitable. Real estate agents can access better rewards through eXp’s revenue share program.
How Is eXp’s Revenue Share Different?
eXp Realty revenue share is a similar program encouraging eXp agents to recruit new real estate agents, thereby expanding the brand. Like Keller Williams profit share, agents get rewarded with a percentage of revenue generated by recruits up to seven levels deep. Unlike Keller Williams, eXp does not skim the cream before distributing rewards to hard-working agents.
All agents operate on an 80/20 commission split with eXp, in favor of the agent. With the revenue share program, a percentage of eXp’s 20% gets distributed back to sponsoring agents.
eXp Has Higher Commission Splits
eXp operates on an 80/20 commission split with zero franchise fees, meaning agents automatically take a bigger cut for their work than many brokerages offer. An eXp agent’s annual cap is $16,000, meaning that revenue share is active until the agent has earned a total of $80,000 commission for the year. Once you achieve this limit, you are entitled to 100% commission until the annual cap resets.
Keller Williams agents typically operate on a 70/30 commission basis, meaning they can take home 70% of their commissions. This figure depends on the individual market center. The first $3k in commissions are charged with a built-in 6% franchise fee, bringing the split closer to 64/36.
Additionally, all new agents start on a commission basis of 60/40 (not including the mandatory franchise fee) for their first million in sales to help cover the cost of onboarding and early career training.
eXp Offers Agents An Exit Strategy
All agents will need an exit strategy at some point in their careers. eXp’s revenue share offers the perfect environment for an agent to transition out of real estate in a way that meets their needs.
Even after an agent has stopped selling real estate, they can continue making income from eXp’s revenue share program. Provided the real estate agent keeps their real estate license current and held with eXp, they will earn revenue share as though they were still actively selling real estate.
eXp Employees Can Access Stock Ownership
eXp Realty is agent-owned, meaning agents can purchase or be rewarded with shares in the company. eXp World Holdings shares, known as EXPI, are traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Stock ownership opportunities encourage agents to take ownership of the company’s success and reward them for their vested efforts.
There are six ways an agent can earn company stock, including by closing your first transaction each year, sponsoring an agent who closes their first transaction, reaching or exceeding your commission cap, and as a reward for exceptional performance.
What This Means For Real Estate Agents
As an employer, eXp supports agents by diversifying income streams, offering ownership in the fastest-growing brokerage in the world, and providing consistent income pathways even when the agent hangs up their real estate badge. Essentially, this means that without selling more houses, I had access to more money with eXp Realty than I did as a Keller Williams agent.
If you want to become part of the vibrant, engaging, and dynamic eXp family, earn multiple revenue streams, and expand your business on your terms, get in touch with me today.
Achieve Greater Lifestyle Flexibility With eXp
Many real estate agents get into the industry because they crave the real estate hustle and bustle instead of a dry nine-to-five lifestyle. The catch is because agents earn commissions (and at certain brokerages, not very good ones), they become driven to work long hours trying to make more.
Working around the clock and catering to everyone else’s busy schedules can burn anybody out. I was shocked to learn that the mobility I’d been craving my entire career with Keller Williams was readily available for any agent joining eXp Realty.
Keller Williams’ Brick And Mortar Offices
Keller Williams operates as a franchise model. The company breaks up the country into regions, hiring regional managers to grow the brand in the area. Regional managers sell territories to franchise owners or Keller Williams brokers who want to open physical offices identified as market centers.
Market centers employ support staff to manage administrations and hire new agents. This model is one of the reasons being a franchise agent is so expensive – the commission you make from sales goes towards paying for this office structure, in addition to the office space. It costs money to work in a brick-and-mortar environment.
eXp Is A Cloud Based Brokerage
eXp Realty is an independent, next-generation brokerage without territories, regions, or locations for a franchise. Since the beginning of the global pandemic, the world has started to acknowledge that we don’t actually need office space to run a successful business. Our real estate clients are busy too, and many agree that it is significantly easier to work within a virtual office space, any time and place we choose.
eXp is a cloud-based brokerage, meaning that all eXp agents have a virtual office space online that they can access from anywhere with an internet connection. Not only does this model open up the freedom and flexibility for agents to create the lifestyle of their dreams, but it also saves thousands of dollars each year on unnecessary office space and administrative overheads. Not to mention hours during the daily commute.
What This Means For Real Estate Agents
With physical office space, agents do not necessarily gain better access to an operational business than in a virtual office space. Brokerages with a brick-and-mortar footprint are costly to participate in and dictate formal working hours within a traditional office setting to real estate agents.
With a virtual office in a cloud-based brokerage, agents have the freedom to design their schedules around family and other important commitments. They also have the latitude to break free from their market center or office location as they lead active and adventurous lives.
Better Access To Agent Education And Training
Both new and long-standing agents must continuously learn and upskill to stay on top of their game. Both Keller Williams and eXp deliver in this department. However, with eXp, I could more easily balance training and education with my personal and professional schedules.
Keller Williams Education and Training
Keller Williams offers Ignite training, a 90-day course scheduled at set times during the year, designed to give brand new agents the tools they need to launch a career in the real estate industry.
To receive these benefits, a new agent must agree to a 60/40 commission split (or 54/46 when you consider the franchise fees) until they reach their first million in sales. The exact figure will vary between market centers. The training and educational resources provided to new agents justify the early commission split, according to Keller Williams.
Keller Williams realtors can also take part in a range of discounted continuing education courses administered by Kaplan Real Estate Education, or coaching services such as mastery classes, groups, and on-demand learning throughout their careers. While this is not bad from an industry perspective, the flexibility and affordability of eXp training was another reason why I left Keller Williams for a virtual brokerage.
eXp Education and Training
eXp is one of the most supportive and dynamic real estate education providers in the industry. Every eXp real estate agent has 24/7 virtual assistance, customized coaching, and over 50 hours of live training each week at their fingertips.
Agents learn about the eXp Realty tech and tools available to them, as well as industry practices, accounting, marketing, and agent leadership training that caters to any level of skills, and supports realtors in growing their business and excelling in their field.
Here are two of eXp’s most prized tools exclusive to its agents around the globe.
eXp University
The virtual brokerage has set up an online university to educate mentors, new agents, and agents who want to soak up as much real estate knowledge as possible. Because training is all online, agents can be flexible in their approach to upskilling and developing their competencies.
New agents can access the fast start series comprising 14 courses to complete during their first two weeks with the brokerage. Additionally, all agents can partake in the eXp on-demand library 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with new classes recorded and accessible every day.
eXpand Mentorship Program
The eXpand mentorship program is a learning platform designed for newly licensed agents and those who have closed less than three deals in the past 12 months. The program arms mentees with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to establish a brand, build a business, and launch a successful real estate career.
Mentees get matched with a certified eXp mentor located in their geographic area and connected with the same MLS. Incumbents compensate the mentorship with a 60/40 commission split (with 20% going to the mentor) until they have closed their first three transactions.
The program provides hands-on leadership to those new to the industry and equips agents with the practical skills necessary to succeed. eXp benefits by ensuring all agents perform at the top of their game and are equipped with the tools they need to excel.
What This Means For Real Estate Agents
Receiving the appropriate training and learning hands-on practical skills from those excelling in the field is quintessential to launching a successful real estate career. Both brokerages offer training to new agents and established agents alike.
However, the versatility of eXp on-demand training allows me to learn the skills required to supercharge my real estate career while balancing my personal and family commitments. Mentorship programs are not obligatory but offer essential skills and foundational knowledge to establish yourself in the field.
Growing My Brand As A Realtor
Establishing and growing a successful real estate business involves a wealth of skills and resources that are not directly related to the real estate itself. Brokerages typically support agents’ businesses in any way they can.
When establishing and launching a profitable business, the completeness and breadth of support agents are offered can make or break their careers. Let’s take a look at how Keller Williams and eXp differ when it comes to nurturing realtors and helping them to grow.
Keller Williams Tech & Support
Keller Williams is known as a leading real estate platform for innovative technology that supports agents. It developed a cloud with a selection of tools to help agents manage their goals, lead generation, and marketing plans. Within the cloud, agents can handle transactions and consumer data as well.
Additionally, Keller Williams agents are presented with a CRM tool to help them integrate their real estate data with customer relationships. Consumers and agents can connect and organize associations through a Keller Williams Connect application, also integrated with the Keller Williams cloud.
eXp Administrative Support
As a real estate agent, you need to stay on top of client relationships, open homes, sales, your marketing campaigns, and in some cases even an entire team. eXp is widely recognized for the cutting-edge, innovative tech solutions supplied to agents to help them keep their fingers on the pulse.
Agents are given a CRM tool powered by kvCORE to help them keep track of various stages of client relationships and automate communications so each agent can focus on making sales. Additionally, eXp agents are offered:
- Free fax number
- Free 0800 number
- 1000 free business cards
- Integrated Skyslope transaction management system
- 24/7 real-time business support
eXp Marketing Support
The most critical elements of growing your real estate brand are marketing and lead generation. While agents are in charge of their marketing initiatives, eXp has given them the platform to hit the ground running.
Agents are provided free branded lead-generation websites to market their business and attract online traffic to their brand. Additionally, you can get support with agent attraction to sponsor new agents and earn multiple income streams.eXp also offers marketing assistance where agents can create a customized logo and hone in on their brand and their message.
What This Means For Real Estate Agents
The key to running a successful business is ensuring you have the tools and resources to put yourself out there, manage your business, and scale it when the time comes. Unless you have the right support provided by vibrant and engaging agents who are experts in their field and succeeding, you risk flopping.
eXp is one of the leading brokerages in terms of agent support and cutting-edge technology, allowing you to do your work more effectively and efficiently, so you can spend time on what you really love. This is another reason why I made the transition from Keller Williams to eXp.
Summary
For me, becoming a real estate agent was always bigger than selling homes and connecting with people. I saw it as an opportunity to serve my community, escape the dreaded nine-to-five lifestyle, and grow as an individual and a professional.
Like many other agents, I didn’t find a brokerage that would support my big dreams and fast-track the business and lifestyle I had in mind the first time. So I made a simple change to eXp, and I haven’t looked back since.
If you’re a real estate agent seeking freedom from the nine-to-five, multiple income streams, and want to finally having full control over your schedule, get in touch with me today. By making a simple change to eXp you can access unlimited potential for growth in your real estate career.