“I chose my broker before the licensing process began. I knew that I was going to do it and I had interviewed all of them and made up my mind right when I started the classes.”

– Jason Mickelson

“I chose to talk to brokers prior to getting my license. I just wanted to have a good idea of what route I was going to go prior to actually passing the exam. That way, I wasn’t scrambling at the time of getting my license then having to place it with a broker.”

– Ethan Hokel

“I started my licensing online course and then while I was taking the online course I interviewed the brokerages I was interested in. Then before finishing, I did choose a broker.” 

– Renee Dunkel

“I interviewed four brokers before choosing one, mainly to see if there were differences in the pay plan and culture. The most important thing to me was how are you going to help me get started?”

– Jason Mickelson

“I met with three brokers here in Ankeny.”

– Jessica Gilligan

“I just interviewed the one broker.”

– Megan Mitchum

“When I was looking for a broker, the most important thing I was looking for was mentorship. I had read online that real estate is pretty much sink or swim and the best thing you can do is find another agent, a veteran agent, that you can shadow and learn from.”

– Jessica Gilligan

“It was important to me to have guidance right off the bat and not just a desk to go sit at. It was important to have someone who could really guide me. Somewhere I thought the people were really on my side and really wanted to help me succeed and not just sell real estate, but also grow a business.”

– Ethan Hokel

“What was important to me was guidance on how to be an agent. The online course, and even the in-person course, doesn’t really teach you how to be an agent, just how to pass the exam. I wanted a great atmosphere, positivity and learning because the exam doesn’t teach you everything you need to know.”

– Renee Dunkel

“While one brokerage may have a big emphasis on education and training, another one is more hands-off and they let their agents be more independent and do their own thing.”

– Mike Crabb

“What I took away from the meetings with different brokerages was that there are a lot of different ways people do things and a lot of different ways brokerages function. To be honest, I was just shocked at how different brokerages actually were. You think brokerages might all be the same, but really there’s a lot of different factors that go into how brokerages run their day-to-day operations and how they support their agents.”

– Ethan Hokel

“I chose the brokerage I work for because of their commitment to training. The culture was also very welcoming and supportive. I just felt like if I joined the brokerage, based on what they require of their new agents and how supportive they are, it would lead to success.”

– Jessica Gilligan

“[One of my questions] was ‘what does it look like if I start here?’ I remember them opening a folder, turning it around and sliding it toward me and saying, ‘This is what your first two years on the job here with us look like. We know that in order for you to be successful, we have to cover these things with you and we have these steps in place to make sure you’re successful for two years.’ And I attribute all of my success to that.”

– Jason Mickelson

“My advice to new agents would be to really look at the culture of the office you’re going to join. Is there a team atmosphere? Is there education involved? Are you working on your own or from home? I think all those things play into how you’ll fit in at your company.”

– Megan Mitchum

“The advice I’d give to new agents who are trying to select a brokerage would be to meet with multiple of them. Also, meet with agents inside the brokerage. Obviously, the brokers can all tell you one thing, but the agents who actually live the day-to-day and represent the brokerage will have a ton of insight– probably even more than the brokers themselves.”

– Ethan Hokel

“I think the pay plan is important but I think it’s secondary. What it really comes down to is what are they going to do for you? What does the training look like for me? Who is going to help me when I have a problem (because you’re going to encounter problems)? How are we going to communicate throughout the company? Some of those questions are not things I thought of when I started, but they’re super important.”

– Jason Mickelson

“The commission split is important, but I don’t think it should be at the top of the list. Anyone can pay you more, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s hard to make more.”

– Renee Dunkel

“Don’t just chase the money. It’s really easy for brokers out there to say ‘Our splits are the lowest,’ or ‘Our fees are the best.’ It’s vital to have that support and company behind you so you don’t have to figure everything out for yourself. That can lead to a lot of growing pains and a lot of problems.”

– Mike Crabb

“My advice to new agents selecting a broker would be to focus on a brokerage that does have a commitment to training or has someone who is there to help you. We are helping people buy and sell their largest asset. I think we owe it to our clients to be knowledgeable professionals that have resources to get questions answered when we don’t know.”

– Jessica Gilligan