By Jeff Szolomayer

A lot, actually. Specifically, the advantages and disadvantages of the lack of industry-wide standardization, especially when it comes to how brokers compensate their agents.

Agent compensation methods have expanded dramatically over the years, shadowing the evolution of the variety of plausible commission structures that have been adopted. Some agents receive a base salary plus commission. Others are commission-only, and pay desk fees. Some offices reinforce the team concept by parsing commissions out, while others staunchly protect the classic model and reward the superstars. Still other offices have opted to offer their clientele the Fee-for-Service option, the compensation variations of which are seemingly endless.

In some ways, real estate offices benefit and suffer from the same branding and image perceptions customers have about Chinese fast food restaurants. For example, regardless of whether or not you actually prefer their food, the MacDonald’s brand screams consistency. In fact, no matter where you are on the planet, if you visit a MacDonald’s restaurant, those golden beaming arches and that cartoon-ish, iconic smile will greet you at the door. That kind of commonality offers customers tremendous comfort. It may not be a five-star experience, but you know what you’re going to get – and sometimes that alone is enough to keep the customers coming back.

Conversely, let’s assume you’ve had enough of burgers and fries. It’s time for some Chinese food, but where to go? Several fast food chains have attempted to become the dominant brand with this type of food, but none come anywhere close to their all-American counterparts. So what happens? You visit the nearest Mom-and-Pop Chinese shop, but the teriyaki sauce tastes a little bit odd, and the consistency of the orange chicken just can’t beat the hole-in-the-wall Chinese place a few blocks down the road. It's a hit-or-miss proposition, this Chinese food, but once you've found a favorite munching ground, there’s no turning back.

So how does this analogy parallel the compensation of a real estate agent? Since every broker is a uniquely creative leader, each uses money to motivate and reward in different ways, thus the strongest asset and the greatest weakness of any fledgling real estate office. Arizona mega-agent Nate Martinez said it best, "Great brokers understand and apply situational leadership with every team member. Learning the key motivations of each agent and staff person is vital to offering them a compensation structure that is both financially and personally fulfilling. Discover what they value, and always try to make it about more than just the money."

This is superb advice from a standpoint of personnel management, but how can a broker track and manage the productivity, performance and particularly the profitability of each team member when the office is composed of 100 people? In this scenario the numbers quickly begin to intermingle, and the complexity of trying to ascertain the financial information a broker needs to remain successful grows exponentially. How does the greenback get his due in such a confusing and messy environment? After years of helping agents create a roadmap to financial success, CreateAPlan has recently announced a completely new version of its popular business planning software intended specifically for brokers.

Keep a pulse on your brokerage that is unprecedented in scope, efficiency and speed. Create, control and manipulate an infinite array of possible scenarios in real-time for all of the agents that compose your team. Track all agent production, in aggregate, in seconds. Identify key performance trends across your office. Postulate and model revenue sources, then apply different commission, fee, income and expense structures to each one. "CreateAPlan’s power lies in its ability to calculate and consolidate dozens of factors, summarizing them instantly for the broker," explained Allen Wright, the company’s SVP. "It not only offers built-in accountability to ensure that agents meet their goals, but can offer compensation analysis on a per-agent or per-transaction basis."