05/02/2026
A perspective on how happy I am in what I do as a Realtor and broker.
About 15 years ago, I closed my own brokerage and joined RE/MAX Ultimate, and for 12 years I was happy. Tim Syrianos had great leadership, and when a problem arose, he treated an agent as if they were his sole focus. He gave generously, we had a good mastermind group and training, and I have full respect for that house.
But I was away for two years and found myself not satisfied until Rob Kroll asked me to return to RE/MAX at RE/MAX Realtron and be his broker of record. I did not say yes immediately.
Being a RE/MAX agent is not inexpensive. There are monthly fees and percentages off each deal, so why does my office have 1,100 agents? We could choose one of the large firms with minimal costs, but minimal costs often allow a lot of people who barely sell 1 or 2 properties a year to be in abundance.
A weekend with my brokerage begins with announcements of at least 3 training sessions a week — 3 per week! Many brokerages don’t have 3 sessions over 3 years.
And not just outsiders, like some lawyer droning on about boundary lines or whatever — no, we get seminar leaders from our own top Realtors who share how they do the business and offer advice on how to do our own.
I am honoured to have presented my own seminars to my office and share whatever knowledge I can.
The fact that our fees are higher means that the agents who are in a RE/MAX office must earn, and it is proven that the average RE/MAX agent does just over 10 deals a year, which outshines most brokerages.
I work from home as I need quiet and my own equipment. Some agents have their own offices within our buildings. But when I go to the office, there is a buzz in the air. I can ask questions of top producers and they take the time to kindly answer. There is synergy, energy, and a feeling that despite a very unstable real estate market presently, this will be a good year for each of us.
The managers are hands-on. Fully hands-on and caring. They are not selling themselves and competing with us, their agents.
Every Monday morning, Jeremy Pilarski conducts his “Mondays with Jeremy,” and I am fascinated. So many managers ramble off stats that I can get online. Jeremy comes up with a new topic each week on how we can improve our business and presents so well. I cannot grasp how he can come up with 40–50 topics per year, but he does.
So, is this a promo for my brokerage? Maybe. But for me, it is an observation. There is a bigger point I want to conclude with, especially with this new merger between Real and RE/MAX — if a salesperson in any field, not just real estate, wants to excel, then:
Go where there is abundant hands-on training.
Go where top salespeople share openly their secrets and expertise.
Go where management is strong.
Feel the energy from people who are excelling at sales while others are faltering.
My life partner, Vivien Sharon, experiences the same energy at her brokerage, Sotheby’s, which also has ongoing training, a weekly mastermind that Vivien treats as mandatory, and she also pays more than at other brokerages. But again, she is a fit for her brand, and she gets energized by her fellow agents. There are various great brokerages, and agents who only look at the lowest costs with minimal fees do not get the same training. Some thrive being on their own, but most do not.
I am sure that Royal LePage agents in many of their offices share my perspective about good training and surrounding themselves with winners. I have great respect for that brokerage.
It is about getting a buzz, a shot of energy from every encounter when engaged with your company and your peers.
And this is why I am having one of the happiest periods of my life. I may be the old guy at the office, but I get that buzz and desire to do better just being surrounded by winners. The cost of admission is well worth it.
Success is not only about where you work, but who you learn from and the energy you absorb each day. For me, being surrounded by strong leadership, serious training, and high-performing peers has made this one of the happiest and most productive periods of my career.
