I work(ed) as a realtor and, in my city, work is scarce. Too many companies fighting over the same prime locations. My company just so happens to be the cheapest there is. They refuse to give us investment money to “reward” doormen referrals when new property opens, they demand 5 captures a week(with 40 staff members), Leads are a lottery basis where you draw a number from 1 to 40 and get a lead based on your number in line. Meaning if your number is above 10, you're getting no lead cause more than 10 calls is a miracle.
Recently the group leader called a meeting demanding we increase workload, he wanted more captures and us to close more clients. Which is not happening and won't happen with the inflation and market as is. I told him, with proof, we're in a near recession and inflation has caused the market to practically reach a standstill with Owners wanting more than the property is worth and buyers wanting to pay less, preventing anyone from coming to agreements. He wouldn't have it. His solution? “You should take your clients out for a coffee or dinner and try to persuade them further and bribe doormen for more referrals” To which I asked “Are you going to front the money for that coffee or dinner? How about the referrals?” and he replied “You have to spend more money if you expect to make it back”
At this point, I lost my shit. I don't get paid till I make a sale, unlike him who has a comfy manager salary every month. So, being done, I let him have it. I told him it was absolute bullshit that he has the balls to tell any of us such a thing when he has the privilege of a salary every month while we can go months without pay waiting on deals to close. That gas prices are through the roof and I have to drive around the city looking for buildings to capture with money off my pocket, making visits to clients who dont even have the decency to call back and say “not interested”, and having to take money off my closed deals to pay off doormen who give me referrals. Meanwhile, this garbage company takes 50% of my sale for doing nothing but maintaining a useless site that's down half the time. It's bullshit. I can literally make more working in a supermarket AND DO BECAUSE I WORK TWO JOBS.
Realty has become toxic BS where a realtor has to work for free while companies shred huge margins off our work without so much as covering even a fraction of the cost we invest into our work. I'm so goddamn done and anyone interested in getting into this line of work needs to SERIOUSLY look into it before investing a dime into this ungrateful work. I was called multiple times by other companies due to my former track record and all of them were close to, if not the same, policy as this one: No pay unless you make a sale, below average to no money for doormen referrals, and no coverage of gas/transport/meal costs. In the current market, unless you know a crap ton of people interested to refer to constantly, you will lose more money than you will make back. This is a lottery for little rich kids and bored spouses to pretend they're working, not a job.