‘Secret agents’ share 3 keys to building a great brokerage 

FRISCO, Texas — At a time when nearly 20% of agents are moving each year, what makes an agent stay? The specifics may vary, but the answer boils down to three things: leadership, culture and opportunity.

Those are the themes that emerged when a group of "secret agents," all $25 million-plus producers, shared details about why they love their brokerages — without mentioning them by name until the end of their panel at the T3 Leadership Summit on May 21. (Note: Real Estate News is an editorially independent division of T3 Sixty.)

That affection took on different shapes, but as each one talked about the companies they've aligned with, genuine emotion came through.

Collaboration and connection

"I have proudly been with Ebby Halliday for 24 years," said Chris Hickman, who runs a Dallas-based team. "I literally get choked up thinking about her, because I'm fortunate enough to have a personal relationship with her." The iconic Halliday, known as the "queen mum" of Dallas real estate, died in 2015 at the age of 104.

Hickman said the Ebby Halliday name, and the pioneering entrepreneurship and "homegrown feeling" that her name represents, drew him to his brokerage — and has remained, even after the company was acquired by HomeServices of America in 2018. "This is a great, family environment," he said.

Family also came up for Marla Sewall, a Dallas-based agent who offered a pretty big clue to her brokerage when she said it was founded by someone whose mother is a real estate agent, CEO Robert Reffkin. Compass is "very agent centered," she said. And that support extends beyond the heavy hitters. "We all feel recognized and we all feel supported," she added.

Sewall also appreciates the opportunities she has had to connect with like-minded agents — in her case, fellow runners — and build her network. "When you have an organization so big, it's always good to be able to find where you fit in."

The chance to own your success

Michael Hershenberg, who runs a team in the Flower Mound area of North Texas, said the leadership at The Real Brokerage "is hands down the best," and also praised the company's technology. But the things that mean the most to him are the company's financial and ownership opportunities, which he described as no less than "life-changing." 

"They provide every one of my team members with ownership opportunities, wealth-building opportunities from revenue share to stock creation," Hershenberg said. "They're really built around turning us into our own CEOs and business owners."

Hickman said Ebby Halliday "didn't have a roadmap" for teams when he wanted to start one. "But I sat down with one of our managers who's still there today, and said, look, help me figure out how to make this work." And they did, which gave him a way to have ownership of something within the brokerage.

Training is also important. Hershenberg said Real has provided him the opportunity to train others across the company, something that he gets compensated for while building his business in multiple states. Sewall, meanwhile, said Compass has invested in her by offering coaching from "some of the major, major national coaching teams" — and covering the cost.

"I have really found that from the top down, everybody supports everybody, everybody wants everyone to succeed, and everyone has stayed — and therefore I'm staying," Sewall added.

Industry seeing 'a lot of agent movement'

More broadly in the industry, however, "there's a lot of agent movement," said T3 SVP of Brokerage and Team Consulting Lisa Piccardo, citing a study from Courted which found that 16-18% of agents move each year. Most of those agents do between $1 million and $5 million in business annually.

Of agents who bring in more than $25 million a year, just under 10% move — a share that used to be closer to 5%, Piccardo said.

If you're considering a change, Hickman said, he coaches people to look inward first. Do you want a company focused on technology? Are you seeking education and training? Do you want to be a smaller part of something or run more of a business?

Don't get caught up in what isn't working for you, he said. "Know what it is you're looking for."