The answer to the age-old question agencies have of why agents move may have been answered over the past 2 years.
We are now in our second year of our agent brokering subscription program, and after 87 agents, we have learnt a lot about the market.
In our trial of this program with 8 agencies last year, we saw offering as a main selling point when completing deals, but didn’t have enough data.
Now, with the opening of the program in 2025 to 20 agencies, we have truly seen the data.
In this time, we have been connected with over 1200 agents throughout NSW & QLD and have found the following.
83% of the time, the agent was more likely to join an agency if the directors were proactively involved and acted earnestly through the process.
Directors feeling reachable and not untouchable was often a key measure of whether the agent would sign on.
When agents did not feel like they were playing a game, they were much more likely to be engaged.
76% of the time, agents looked for a concierge service offering from prospective agencies.
They looked for what the marketing, admin, compliance and implementation of AI looked within their new business.
Overwhelmingly, it was the lifestyle approach to moving that intrigued the majority of agents.
We have actively worked with clients to prepare their systems, processes, conjunctional compliance and offering to prepare them to meet with agents.
91% of agents who signed mentioned that whilst their cut was important to them, it was not their main driving factor.
This has bucked the trend from what we saw between 2019 to 2023, where agents only moved for money, cuts and signing bonuses.
We have been able to deliver great results financially for our agents but have also been able to look at the complete picture.
Here’s the interesting part of what we have found. When speaking with directors at the start of their program and then halfway through, there was one major change.
At first, they set goals of adding a certain GCI amount to the business.
At the halfway point, after an agent or two had been added, the conversation quickly turned to culture fit, reliability and stability.
In a time when agencies throughout Australia are having some of their hardest times in recent history, it is becoming more apparent that longevity, stability and protecting culture are becoming the top priority.
We have gone from planning next year to planning what 2030 looks like.
As we are starting to see agency closures, the selling of rent rolls and agents leaving the industry, there seems to be a solid group of business owners who are taking a keen interest in what the next generation of their agents looks like.
