FAQ

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REALTORS® work on 100% commission. What you charge your clients is up to you.  However, Coldwell Banker is a full service brokerage. We do not build our business by offering  cheap commissions. We build it by offering exceptional service. Each  REALTOR® builds their business by being the best and offering the best service and marketing and advertising tools in the business. 

Each commission has two sides - the listing side and the selling side or Buyer side. Usually the total  commission is split 50/50. For example, if a house sells for $500,000 and the commission set for that house is 4% then the gross commission is $20,000. You and Coldwell Banker may have the listing and one of our friends at Remax comes over with their buyer and sells your listing. In that case the $20,000 would be split in half with $10,000 going to Remax and  $10,000 going to Coldwell Banker. When that $10,000 comes to Coldwell Banker it will be distributed based on the compensation plan you choose to be on. 

Yes. In a perfect world, it would be better to devote yourself to full time studying. We have  been bringing  REALTORS® into the business for 28 years. We have learned that people  who can afford to treat the course as a “job” with no other focus have a better chance of  passing the exam and getting licensed. But that is not reality for everyone!  Many people are working full time and must do their studying in their spare time. If this is your only option then the only thing that will stop you from becoming licensed is your level of  commitment. It is harder to do this course when you are working but lots of  REALTORS® have been successful doing it this way.  

Legally yes. Practically we discourage it. Selling Real Estate is about focus. It is a lot of work building your business and it does not work nearly as well if your focus is split. However, if that is your only option many people have done it before. 

The biggest cost, outside of your licensing costs, is your living expenses until you get paid. It can take from three  to six months after you are licensed before you receive a paycheque. How soon you get paid depends on how well you follow the program designed for you by the coach, how determined you are and probably a little luck. You may run  into someone in your first week that wants to buy a house or it may take you three months  to find your first buyer or seller.  

This is the hardest question to answer. You can expect anything from working hard for a  year and never selling anything and getting out of the business when your  savings run out and feeling bitter. (this is the worst I have ever seen); or making  $350,000 in your first year and $625,000 in their second year and over a million in their  third year (this is the best I have ever seen). In other words, people's financial results are  all over the map. What I can tell you is the difference between these two people is that one followed the program perfectly or exceeded it and the other didn't follow it at all. Real Estate is incredibly  simple, but it's not easy. In other words if you tell our trainers you want to make $100,000  in your first year they can tell you and set up a plan for you that will guarantee you that  income. However, it is up to you to follow the plan. The two things that draw people into  this business are also the two things that push people out of the business: freedom and money. People usually get into this business because they want more freedom and  money. If their son has a hockey game or their daughter has a recital they want the  freedom to go and see it whenever they want and our business gives you that freedom.  However, what happens is they get all the freedom they want and don’t work their business,  run out of money and get out of the business. We at Coldwell Banker have the best training in  the business. That is indisputable. Our company has been set up that way from the start. I, Bill Hubbard,  was a freelance trainer in Western Canada before I got into the brokerage business. However, if the REALTOR does not show up for the training and support and coaching or simply does not follow the instructions, there are consequences. It will not work for you.  It’s your business. No one will be calling you to see whether you are following your  plan. Again, it's your business. This is the major problem with our business. There is no  accountability. Statistically, the Real Estate business has a relatively high failure rate because of this lack of accountability.  

Real Estate is a business for people who want more. People who want more for their families, their spouses and for themselves. People who want more money, trips, experiences, material possessions and security for themselves and those that they love. However, it is a business with a cost. That cost is supplying your own  drive and determination and consistency. Many people cannot supply that themselves. If  you can look back in your past and honestly say you have always exceeded the expectations people had of you, then Real Estate is likely a good fit for you.  

When recruiting  REALTORS® we look for three qualities.  

1. An outgoing personality - You cannot do well in the Real Estate business and be  afraid of people. You will have many opportunities to reach out and start a conversation with someone. It helps if you enjoy and are not afraid of that process. You would be amazed at how many people will give you an affirmative  answer to, “Do you know anyone thinking of buying or selling a house?”.  You have to be able to step out of your comfort zone and ask the questions.  

2. An entrepreneurial mindset - Waitresses, bartenders, piece work construction workers, previous salespeople or business owners all seem to make good  REALTORS® .  The reason is that they are pre-programmed to believe that the value that they bring to the  table for their job depends on what they do; not the hours they put in. Most jobs program  people to believe that their value comes from the hours that they work because that is how  they get paid; by the hour. In Real Estate if you can get four hours worth of work done in  two hours, you are being efficient. We call it sharpening their saw. Good  REALTORS® are always sharpening their saw.  They are consistently looking for new and better ways to find and service more clients.  They are constantly coming up with new ideas rather than just putting in time.  

3. A sense of competition - The first two personality traits will give me a good   REALTOR® but it's a sense of competition that creates a top producer. The top  REALTORS® ,  the ones making six and seven figures, are incredibly competitive. They compete with  themselves, with other  REALTORS® in their office, their town and their country. They are constantly improving their systems and their ways to meet and service more people better than their competitors do.  

This is a difficult question to answer. The public looks at the Real Estate companies as  very similar. Each one is viewed as a company that has people employed by it that sells  Real Estate for and to the public. However, nothing could be further from the truth. The  buyers and sellers are not really our customers. They are the REALTORS’ customers. Our  customers are the  REALTORS® . Each company sells a different product to the  REALTORS® .  At Coldwell Banker we have changed with the times and are considered the leaders of change in  our area. Our business has become more complicated than ever in history. We believe  that the main advantage we can bring to our customer’s ( REALTORS® ) table is training and  coaching. Our entire company is set up around these two ideals. This is so prominent with  our company that many  REALTORS® at other offices tell people who are coming into the  business to come to Coldwell Banker because of our training and coaching.  

First, what is the best month to start and second, is this year a good time in the cycle to  start your career. The best month to start actually working as a  REALTOR® is January. Here is the logic behind this. It will take you a  month or two just to get your systems set up and get your feet on the ground. That will  take you to the beginning of March; ready for the beginning of the spring market. March to  August is the most active time of any year. Ideally if you start your course in the spring you will likely write your exam before Christmas and be ready to hit the ground running in January. However,  although this is a factor, it doesn’t matter that much. 

Secondly, what year you should start  or what time in the cycle you should start. The answer is anytime.  REALTORS® make money in  down markets and up markets. If you are trained properly to consistently do the simple  fundamentals that it takes to do this business, you will be successful.  

Coldwell Banker Canada is a  progressive organization that has maintained its competitive edge in technology and  service since its beginnings in 1906. It is the oldest established brand in North America. Today the Coldwell Banker brand is stronger than ever. The  Coldwell Banker System is designed to help all sales representatives deliver a high  level of service to their customers. From exceptional education and training, broker development programs and innovative marketing initiatives, the Coldwell Banker System will  put you a step ahead. With coldwelbanker.ca, you benefit from the most innovative internet  marketing strategy available in the industry. The proprietary Coldwell Banker  Echo-Syndication Internet Strategy takes an unparalleled approach to getting you and  your properties found online. 

In 2020 and 2021 our first year  REALTORS® who went through our coaching program earned 2.1 times the average income and did their first deal in ⅓ the time of a first year  REALTOR® in the local Real Estate board statistics. Therefore, the coaching program pays for itself.