What makes for an excellent brokerage? As a broker-owner who has started and grown my own business, I have opinions. Strong ones. Most broker-owners do.
But part of being a good leader is to check my own assumptions and bias against the people who actually decide whether a brokerage succeeds or fails: top agents.
So, I asked them a simple question—more for market research than philosophy: What do you want from a brokerage that makes you want to stay? Their answers were refreshingly consistent—and a little humbling.
They didn’t lead with compensation splits. They didn’t ask for more tech. They didn’t mention the latest recruiting pitch. They talked about culture, training and leadership. And, more importantly, they discussed how those things show up day to day.
Here’s what they told me.
1. Intimacy and Connection at Scale: ‘Don’t make me feel like a number.’
Several agents pointed to the same risk in today’s industry: consolidation.
When brokerages get bought, merged and rebranded, something subtle often disappears—the personal touch. Agents become unit counts. Support moves from out of their office and into a regional office. Culture becomes corporate messaging.
What top agents said they want instead is intimacy:
- a place where people know their name
- where support is human and immediate
- where the brokerage still feels like a relationship business—because real estate is a relationship business
One agent summed it up perfectly (and memorably): “Why would I go work for a huge ‘big box’ corporate company?”
That comment isn’t anti-growth; it’s anti-anonymous. Brokerages that retain top agents build intimacy and connection on purpose. They don’t let growth turn into distance.
2. Collaboration That’s Real—Abundance Over Scarcity
Collaboration came up again and again—but not as a buzzword. Agents described collaboration as the everyday feeling of whether it’s safe to share ideas, ask questions and admit what’s not working.
In brokerages that get this right:
- People talk openly about what works.
- Nobody guards “secrets” like contraband.
- Agents don’t feel like they’re competing with the person sitting next to them.
One agent framed it as abundance versus scarcity: Abundance says, “There’s enough business, and we make each other better together.” Scarcity says, “Close your door and protect your playbook.” Top producers stay where the abundance culture is real rather than just a slogan.
3. Support You Can Sit Down With (Not Just ‘Resources’ on a Slide)
Here’s something agents were very clear about: They don’t want a million tools—they want tools that work and someone who will help them use them.
One moment stuck with me. An agent described struggling with a technical issue. The office staff didn’t send a link. They didn’t forward a pre-written how-to article. They said, “Come on in, I’ll sit down with you.” And they stayed until it was done.
That’s not a resource—that’s service. The difference between brokerages isn’t whether they offer training, marketing or tech. It’s whether they ensure adoption, provide hands-on implementation, and make support easy and fast. As one agent put it: “Less stuff. Deeper utilization.”
4. Expectation Coupled With Accountability (And That’s a Good Thing)
Here’s a surprise for some broker-owners: Top agents don’t dislike accountability. They dislike accountability without support.
What they value is clear expectations, a clear path to get there and follow-up that turns intention into execution. Agents specifically mentioned how meaningful it is when:
- Meetings teach new ways to think.
- Commitments are documented.
- Follow-ups actually happen. (“You committed to this—don’t forget.”)
That’s not micromanagement. That’s leadership. The brokerages agents leave tend to fall into one of two extremes:
- high expectation, low support (“Good luck—run with it.”)
- high social, low expectation (all about social/happy hour, but no growth)
The brokerages they stay with hit the rare combination: high connection and high productivity.
5. Warm, Inviting and Still Serious About Business
Agents also talked about the personality of a brokerage. The ideal combines a warm, inviting and genuine atmosphere with structure and professionalism. They noted it’s “a place for people” and “a place for business.”
Not chaotic. Not cold.
That balance creates both emotional safety and performance, and top agents notice it immediately.
6. Onboarding That Respects Experience
Even experienced agents feel disoriented when they change brokerages because of new systems, new people, new processes and the question, “Who do I go to for what?”
When onboarding is thoughtful, agents don’t feel processed. They feel received.
Brokerages that retain talent treat onboarding as relationship-building, pay attention to speed-to-confidence and provide clarity around “how we do things here.”
7. Accessibility: ‘I Can Call and Get Someone.’
This one sounds simple. It isn’t. Agents stay where support is reachable and competent, and they feel empowered to solve problems.
When support is slow, inconsistent or constantly redirected with “not my department,” top agents start looking for another brokerage. The ability to get someone on the phone or in the office and get help matters more than many broker-owners realize.
8. Education That Makes Agents Better
Agents were candid about one major turnoff: pay-to-play education.
They know the difference between generic, repetitive training and practical, market-relevant learning with accountability. They also notice when brokerages are constantly upselling: Pay for this class; upgrade this system; buy this add-on.
The brokerage agents will stay with is the one that empowers them through education to be better agents—not the one that’s trying to sell them on a training program.
And they appreciate attainable education—not an $1,800 conference across the country just to get basic value.
The Real Formula
After listening—really listening—to top agents, the takeaway is remarkably clear: Top agents stay where the brokerage feels intimate, collaborative and performance-driven, and provides real, hands-on support and consistent accountability.
That’s where real retention happens, and it turns out the agents knew it all along.
