9: Evolution and Change: Don't Be a Dinosaur

In this conversation, Rebecca Green and Kim Borcherding discuss the real estate industry's evolution, particularly in light of recent changes such as the NAR settlement. They emphasize the importance of adapting to change, the necessity of personal growth, and the value of perspective in navigating the evolving real estate landscape. The discussion highlights the challenges and opportunities that come with change, encouraging agents to embrace transformation and seek new ways to serve their clients effectively.

Takeaways

• Don't be a dinosaur; adapt to changes in the industry.
• Change can be scary, but it's necessary for growth.
• Evolution is essential for both business and personal development.
• Surround yourself with people who challenge your thinking.
• Moving brokerages can provide new perspectives and opportunities.
• Personal growth often requires stepping out of your comfort zone.
• Documenting your journey can resonate with potential clients.
• Coaching can provide valuable insights during transitions.
• The rewards of change often outweigh the initial fears.
• Embrace the mindset of continuous learning and adaptation.

Chapters

• 0:00 Embracing Evolution in Real Estate
• 10:51 Navigating Change and Market Dynamics
• 20:31:00 Personal Growth Through Transformation
• 30:22:00 The Importance of Perspective in Evolution

Transcript

Rebecca Green (00:00.226)
Hi there, welcome to How to Real Estate Today. I'm Rebecca Green and I'm here with my co-host Kim Borcherding. Today we are gonna talk about evolution. Evolution in our own businesses, evolution in the industry. And I'm gonna lead with, don't be a dinosaur. I've that a lot as we've navigated this NAR settlement situation, but you can't be a dinosaur.

You know, they are extinct. I think people, real estate agents need to recognize that when change happens, it's scary and it can be overwhelming, but you have to find a way through it. And focusing on doing business the way you've always done it, I think is a really bad idea. And I know you and I have talked about this, Kim, and I love your perspective and you can see very compassionately both sides of it.

But I'm going to start with talking about a local brokerage that I know very well and respect the ownership and respect the business. They are really, as we've navigated the NAR settlement changes where buyer broker commissions are no longer advertised on multiple listing services and no longer allowed to be common points of advertisement anywhere really.

They have maintained that they want their listing agents to pre-negotiate a buyer-broker commission at the time of taking a listing. They are also, from what I understand, in the process of revamping their internal website, their company website, to allow for broker-buyer agent commissions to be advertised because that is allowable under the settlement.

I haven't heard about a lot of companies doing that. I'm sure it exists in many markets. My thought process immediately goes to, don't be a dinosaur. You know, the market, don't be a dinosaur. You know, instead of being innovative and finding a way to rise above and educate brokers on how to present their value, you know, to be promoting that

Rebecca Green (02:21.19)
listing agents should be focused on a buyer agent commission. just personally, I want to be kind in the whole thing and I want to be compassionate that people are struggling with the change. But I think this is such an opportunity for agents to become better at their jobs. I also look at it like when I represent a seller, I mean, I'll admit I'm totally down for these changes. I like the new playing field very much. When you know, we represent a seller in today's current

real estate environment, I don't actually think it is to their best interest to pre-negotiate a buyer agent commission. I think as a listing agent, our job is to counsel our clients on why paying that commission will make sense, depending upon the terms of the offer. But to truly represent a seller in today's market, I think they're leaving, they could potentially be leaving money on the table by pre-negotiating a fixed amount that they're willing to pay a buyer's agent.

Because, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, buyer's agent commissions are now negotiated between a buyer and their agent. And that commission could be 2%. It could be 3%. Let's just say they've negotiated 2%. If a seller predetermines that they're willing to pay 2.5%, that 0.5 % is money they've just given away.

Buyers agent can't actually collect it, but it's 5.5 % of the transaction that they've actually said out loud, I'm giving that money away. And I just don't know, I know it sounds like a small amount of money. I just feel like it's better representation now for sellers when we just counsel them and we communicate that that commission is something they're willing to look at based on an offer. So going back to this company that I've been made aware of,

who is promoting, trying to cute, I guess, to find a way to do business the way we were doing it in the past. I don't know, that doesn't resonate, but you had a really good perspective on it earlier. I can see why a company would do this. mean, again, think again, putting on my, like, if I owned a brokerage and putting that hat on, you have...

Rebecca Green (04:43.668)
agents, again, a range of skill sets, a range of experience there that you're trying again as a whole. you look at looking at an average agent who is so freaked out about doing this. And again, and as a brokerage, a lot of compression, a lot of uncertainty for the brokerage as all. And again, and you have, again, I think compression in the market as it is, you know, with some of these newer companies coming in that are taking market share.

And you want to not only attract, but also retain, you know, agents at your real estate brokerage. So saying, Hey, we have a plan and we're going to figure this out. And we have a solution is going to be really attractive to agents. are looking for somebody to have an answer to, okay, they're looking for a leader. And that says something that puts a stake in the ground says, Hey, we've got to figure out this, how we're doing it. So I see what.

why a brokerage would do that. I get that makes sense. Again, my question is, that violate some of the antitrust issues that got us in the first place possibly? I see how they're trying to navigate it and I don't fault them and I get it. And I'm always like, you do you, so make a choice that you think is good for you, whatever floats your boat, that's fine. And I think to a lot of real estate agents, will be attractive. I got to tell you, if I worked out that real estate brokerage,

And I knew that this was a policy. And again, I was someone who was nervous about the situation. I wasn't going into like, okay, you know, feeling with confidence and see these changes. That would be attractive to me to know that any listing that at that brokerage, I know that they are offering a buyer agent commission. I don't have to deal with this like monkeying around because there is, man, it's in a weird, it's a weird place. I'm listing a property of mine right now.

And this is the first listing I've had live since these changes and these agents are calling me and it's like this awkward conversation and they're like, well, are you offering, you know, you know, buyer's agent compensation? And my response was like, well, I don't expect you to work for free. And then we all chuckle. mean, that's what I just say, you know, but so I, get why brokerage do that. And that's fine. But I do think that,

Rebecca Green (07:07.534)
could create something. And I think to your point about just giving agents the skill sets to kind of, again, communicate the value and deal with it head on versus kind of this like new version, new version of this. But I understand in a thousand agent at that company, I'm like, I you, if I could sell, I mean, I always joke a little bit, but like, it's hard enough to find your clients a house. Okay. That's in the location they want in the budget, condition, this and that. like whoever's listing it is, whether it's this broke X,

You know, whatever brokerage is who I'm going to show it to. Like I never, I never, I mean, had any preference to who had the listing to who I would show that property because it's hard enough to find a house as it is. Yeah. So I get that. But, but, also to the evolving you do, but you know, when you're looking at the average agent, they're just unfortunately not equipped. I mean, most agents are just not equipped.

to transform. They're just not. They're just not. I mean, not even agents. Humans, I mean, I am a unique personality because I think I like love transformation. I'm like, I've transferred, like, I like love transforming. It's so fun and scary and hard and a little exciting. But for most people, humans, like, no, they're not comfortable. They're gonna, I mean, there's,

millions of years of evolution to be like, what's safe and doing what's safe and keeping yourself safe and doing what's safe is not doing change. Change is not safe. But I would make the argument that not changing is not safe, actually. this is people all time say. They're going into real estate. That seems super risky. was like, you know what's risky? Is putting my

whether I make money or not in the hands of somebody else that determines whether I have a job or not. That I think is risky. Having a job at a company that one day my position's gone, one day this is your compensation, one day this, that is risky. You know what's not risky? Is betting on myself and knowing that, hey, if I work my butt off and I get up every day and I do the things that I need to do that I could support myself financially. That's, I'm gonna bet on myself. So I would say it's risky working for somebody else.

Rebecca Green (09:31.754)
It's a mindset thing. Yeah, it is a mindset thing. And I think, you know, for me talking about, a evolution and evolving as the times change and also focusing on honing your own skills really comes down to in this marketplace. Like I don't want brokerages making decisions for me as an agent. I want to be like digging in.

and figuring the best path forward based on what's going on in our environment. And to be honest with you, I look at this change as really no different than when the interest rates were under 3 % and every deal we, every offer we wrote, there were like 78 other offers on the same house, right? And we had to counsel our buyers through that. Hey.

I know you're going in $100,000 above list price, right? It might be slightly overpaying, but you're gonna get a 2.875 % interest rate. Like, let's go for it, but be prepared that we might have to write 17 offers before you find the house, right? So to me, this is kind of like a similar situation in the sense that how we negotiate, how we write offers, how we communicate with our clients is just different based on the market that we're in, because markets are fluid.

So, you know, the evolution component for me is like, just like you said, dig in, figure out how you can best serve your clients and how you can educate them in the best way. I, you know, I'm looking for a brokerage that's promoting that and supporting that kind of a growth rather than falling back into let's figure out how we can do it the way we used to, you know, but I hear what you're saying that there's a comfort and there could be, yeah, I mean, a comfort. There could be,

you know, a feeling of security for agents knowing that their brokerage was pushing that. that's one form of evolution, you know, in talking with different agents, even on my own team, you know, in recent weeks about the NAR settlement and just business in general. You know, I think evolution growth is scary, right? I have one agent on my team. I love how she prefaces it. She talks about being stretched and she's like,

Rebecca Green (11:49.07)
I'm getting stretched, I'm getting stretched just a little bit and harder and my gosh, it hurts just a bit, but then it feels so good afterwards, right? So evolution to me, as we started this conversation, yeah, it has a lot to do with business, but I also think it has a lot to do with who we are as people. I'm like a consummate, I'm constantly consuming as much education as I possibly can about different facets of the business.

And that to me, I think it keeps me young. I'm not young and I know that, but I think it keeps me a little bit younger, you know, when we're constantly looking to evolve. And I love what you said about for you, personality wise, you love transformation. I sort of think it's exciting. Transformation is exciting. And I feel sad when so many people are resistant to it, right? So I think evolution comes

You know, this conversation for me comes to recognize that in order to continue to be better at your job or be better as a person, you have to be willing to accept some sort of evolution, some level of evolving and changing. One of the things I said to an agent that I coach is,

Like, yeah, evolution is a necessity. My God, can you imagine if we were all doing the same things that we were doing when we were 18? My 18-year-old self was a hot mess. Like, thank goodness I've grown past that, right? So what are some of the things that you think from a business perspective, you know, that is kind of a constant evolution, constantly something that people should be looking at, you know, doing differently?

Yeah, I mean, I'd say to start with, I think you should constantly be evaluating who you're surrounded with, number one. Number one. great one. That's where I'd start with. Who are the people in your community, in your business sphere, like your brokerage? What does that environment look like? mean, so many agents. Again, get proud to work at the same brokerage for 30 is great, maybe, but also, I don't know.

Rebecca Green (14:06.478)
Does it make sense to look at other options? And even if you don't move brokerages, moving different groups, getting into different groups, whether that's going to different real estate events, I don't care. But changing your environment of who you're spending time with, who you're meeting with, going have coffee with people who are thinking differently. That is the number one thing. That is the number one thing. for me, I'm like, you don't know what you don't know. And I know the fastest way

to evoke transformation or to support or to illuminate what path is for me is to talk to other people and get in rooms with other people who are maybe thinking a little bit differently. So. it's perspective, right? Like you need to gain a different perspective. Yeah. And if you're only in your own head or in your own business, the only perspective you really have is your own, right? So you, you know, it's very insular.

And that can happen when you spend your time with the same people or in the same room. use that same sales meeting every Tuesday at 10 o'clock with the same people. Yeah. Who are mixing with any other people either. Like it's just an echo chamber. Yeah. Totally. So I think that is the first step in evolution. Like I think it's critical that you are open to changing and evolving. Yeah.

And I know for me, I ended up moving brokerages. I also go to a lot of different kind of real estate event or personal development events. So whether it's Tony Robbins or EXPCON or my breath work trade, I just go to do a lot of different things with all different kinds of people. And that helps again, yeah, give me new perspective. But every time I switch brokerages from Bluebird real estate to Hassan to EXP,

I just got in different rooms and expanded my thinking and definitely supported me in my growth journey. And for me, like, don't know if this is where I'll be forever, but for now, this supports me in my season of business. alignment. There's an alignment there. So I have a little bit of a business story. I've had...

Rebecca Green (16:24.566)
My director of operations has been with me for 12 years. She has killed that role. She has, you know, powered through sometimes 20, 25 deals at a time on the transaction coordination front. She's worked with me on marketing and growth and recruiting and everything. 12 years in and having known so much about what the business entails, she was feeling really unsettled and I could see it and I couldn't figure out

what it was and she couldn't figure out what it was. And, you know, it came to, I had evolved, my business had evolved. We had changed gears as to how we were hiring and changed brokerages and had a very different, you know, kind of new breath of fresh air for how I wanted to grow my team. And my director of operations was feeling a little bit stuck.

And through conversation, she came to me and said, I think I want to be a broker. And that to me was so very exciting because it was her recognizing that she too needed to evolve on the team and in her own personal business. And this evolution would change her life in a lot of ways. And that was super exciting for me to see.

but I think it was also a testament of not getting too comfortable or complacent. And sometimes when you get too comfortable or complacent in even a role that you are serving, even if you love the people around you, if you're not constantly questioning whether you're happy or constantly questioning whether or not it's fulfilling you, it can actually just bog you down so much. And I think that's where she was. So.

the evolution component and the change component, A, very scary, but B, on the other side, it was almost like a necessity for her to find a path to like more fulfillment. Totally. Right? And I think that that's kind of what you were saying. Like change is scary, but like it's scarier not to change. No. I mean, I think of it as like you're in a plant and if you are a plant that is, you know, your roots are in soil that

Rebecca Green (18:41.996)
are out of nutrients, that they are not nourishing your roots anymore for whatever reason, you need to be replanted, you need to be repotted. So that is for me, I recognize if the environment is not nourishing me anymore, I need to make a change. And for me, I've moved a lot in my life. And it was always when I was like, yeah, it's time for a change. Again, this environment like...

I lived in Chicago in my 20s. It was amazing. I loved it. It was great. It was so fun. But one day I said, you know what? I'm ready for something different in a new environment that's gonna support me in a different way. And I left a really good freaking life. walked away from like, actually I walked away from a good life. I had a great condo and a great part of town. I had great friends. I was dating this really great guy. know, I loved

to move to Oregon. And it was so scary. I was like, and for sure for the first six months, I was like, what did I just do? I was so depressed and sad and crying. It was hard. was so hard. So like, lived with these weird guys off Hawthorne. Anyway, it was just like, it was raining, cold, and these guys were too cheap to put the heat on. So it was always cold. Anyway, yeah.

But now again, looking back, whatever 18 years later, night, whenever that was, was like, yeah, I needed that. That was good for me at my time. My time in Chicago was done. And I look fondly at that time, you know, those, mean, these different chapters, I'm always like, those were the best years. those were the best years. Because I just was ready to be replanted. So yeah, I think that is being honest and looking around. If you're not, if you're not excited, if you're not being nourished, if you're not being in chat, like, you know, but you just,

Look, try something else. And again, it doesn't have to be permanent, but I'm like, you know, go hang out with some different people. Go to a few real estate events. Go see this. Does it light you up? Or not? That are not brokerage Totally. They're really agnostic with brand. There are tons of things. Tons of things. social media. Social media is a great way to connect with people who are doing things in different markets and whatnot. One thing I wanted to tap into when you were talking about moving, you know, I have...

Rebecca Green (21:01.482)
and the agent that I coach that she and her husband are talking about moving to a different market. And she's petrified because she's built this business in a local market. And a lot, it got me thinking, me, a lot of agents don't realize how transferable their skill set is and how capable

they are and how moving to a different market, you can actually utilize the skills that you've learned in your existing market and make a great business in a new market, right? But that's a scary evolution of life, right? Yes, but let's talk, okay, so tell me more. Are they looking to move like a few cities over or like states or- states. Yeah, Middle of the country to the East Coast.

You know, very, and it's for a job transfer for her husband. And I've been coaching her that, no, no, I'm so sorry. Do you see my guest here on the podcast? My dog in my chair, crazy town. Sorry about that. So this agent is, yeah, she is, you know,

$15 to $20 million producer. You know, she has been with the brokerage that she is with for, I believe, eight years. She's been in the business for 15 years. And she and her husband are seriously considering a move to the East Coast, brand new area. One of the things I'm working with her on is twofold. A, you can take your skills and you can move to another market, right? Her life is evolving in a way that she wasn't anticipating.

but it could be very exciting. And then B, changing the way she's doing her business in her current market so she doesn't have to give away everything that she's built there, structuring it so that she has somebody to come in and work on a referral basis while she's building this business in a new area. So that concept of maybe cross state teams, that's one way of looking at it, or that concept of

Rebecca Green (23:13.91)
you know, a broader market base, broader, you know, multi-state, multi-area, you know, business, that's kind of something that's been evolving in our marketplace for a lot of years. And for her, it was not even something she had considered until our last coaching call. And so all of a sudden her fear, and this is like changing your rooms and changing who you're talking to, because the people in her existing brokerage are like,

Yeah, you're gonna lose all your business and people, know, it's gonna be too hard to keep in touch with people. Just partner with somebody and give it all, kind of give it all away, right? You know, all of a sudden she came to me panic stricken and just in one conversation, all of a sudden like was like, wait, I could do this and I could do it in a different way. That's really exciting and is financially going to be very rewarding for her. Yeah. You know, she builds another business in a brand new market.

So she's scared, but just having different conversations with different people has made that fear exciting to her. Totally. And so that was really rewarding to kind of participate in that evolution for her. I bet. I mean, this is why people need coaches, because you need a different perspective on this. I know a handful of agents that have moved markets and have done it very successful and continue their...

their continued marketing, their name and their bid, the book of business that they spent a ton of time building. Yeah. That they still are involved in transactions. Maybe again, consulting, but they have so many boots on the ground. There's a few different ways of doing it, but it can absolutely be done. It could absolutely be done. One of the things that I've seen on social media, our agents that have moved from one area to the next. And when they've gotten to the next,

They've really documented what they were looking for and they've been quickly like what they were looking for, what they found, what they sought out. Like they documented the whole thing. And I think, wow, that is so smart because they are their client, right? in exactly the same shoes as the people, you know, cause there are a lot of states right now that are in a lot of areas that are super like inbound focused.

Rebecca Green (25:29.716)
Utah, Idaho, Tennessee, like very inbound focus. So I've seen a lot of folks move into those kinds of markets and again, documented the whole thing. And now they're speaking to your person in Portland, Oregon, who's looking at Tennessee, Franklin, Tennessee, right? They are so speaking their language. like, hey, been there, done that. Here's what I've documented. And also I'm a real estate agent. Let me help you. So how smart is that?

And the thing that people, what people, they want to work with somebody they trust and they trust like, I've been there. know that. That that's what matters. And you have the skills as an agent. Okay. Sure. Okay. You learn the area, like, but people, they just want somebody that they can trust. So it can, it can be done. again, we, have to get uncomfortable. mean, change is so freaking hard.

It's so hard. And then once like you kind of the feeling, but then you start to say it out loud and actually doing it. And, and then I always found it's just like the judgment of others. But for my, in my opinion, the judgment of others is always the hardest piece of the challenge. you're evolving into a different phase of life or a different part of your business. I can see that. And I have some very specific advice for that for people. If you are in the middle of

contemplating a change or you're in the middle of a change, do not tell people, don't talk about it with people. Don't talk in general, like maybe you have a couple people, but people don't- you're close-knit people, seek out other people at that Other people, but in general, because people want you to be safe. They don't want you to take a risk. They don't want to be left behind. They don't want you to outgrow them. There's a lot of reasons, but your family, don't tell your, I mean, again, general, whatever.

But like for me, when I've done changes, don't tell my family. I tell my husband, my partner, but that's it. Like I'm pretty quiet about it because I'm scared too. Like I'm not sure if this is a good decision. Like I just jumped off a cliff and I might land it, but I also might not. So that is one piece of advice that I have found to be most helpful for me. Like I quit a very successful job in software sales to go into real estate.

Rebecca Green (27:57.324)
A down market. This is 2011. Okay. People were not, it's not a good time going to real estate. I left a really, I was successful. just made chairman's club, blah, blah, blah. And I did not tell anybody that I was getting my license studying at night. All this literally debated decision in May. I my license. I did one transaction in October while still working my full-time job. And in January, I came in and I quit and I did not tell him. was like, my guess?

my new office, I'm an agent and they're like, wait, when did this happen? I was like, I didn't tell anybody because I didn't want to hear so and so, I wasn't successful. It's a bad mark. Like whatever it was, I didn't want to hear it because it was hard and scary to do already and I didn't need any negative feedback, you know? So I will say evolving, my son is about, is going through a transformation right now. He's actually today getting on a plane to Europe.

He's doing a gap year. want to go to, he just graduated high school. He's 18. Doesn't want to go to college. Fine. So we felt strongly that we want him to have some purpose and to gain some life experience. So came up, offered him the opportunity to do a gap year. He's always loved Europe. Gray is going to Europe. So he's starting off in Italy and he's getting on a plane today and he is so scared. He that we don't know one person that's done a gap year. We don't know anyone who's like back at 18, at 18 with 311.

Most of his friends are a year younger. So his friends now are seniors. So they're still at home and he is leaving. and he doesn't, there's not a lot of people cheering like his grandparents, you know, like my mom thinks he's crazy. He's not like, they're scared. They're scared of him. Like, what are you sending this kid to Europe alone? And like, so he's very, yes. And he's freaked out and he is so nervous, but you know, I know is if this child could figure out.

how to navigate living in Europe for a year and what that all looks like and making friends and being alone. We don't know anyone there. We don't know one there. So if he could figure out how to show up, how to figure out a place to live, how to make, how to spend your time, how not to come home crying home after three months, like how to do, how to figure out how to travel in Europe. Like, cause I've always arranged any travel for him, you know, or his parents have whatever.

Rebecca Green (30:22.158)
He's had it kind of even probably, but he's never booked a flight before, let alone a train ticket, you know? Or take a, like if he can figure it all out, like I told him like, Jackson, this is an invaluable skill. You learned this at 18, how to take a scary risk and figure it out. was like, everything else is going to feel easy, man. Totally. It's going to be so easy. Like whatever. Like, yeah. And that's like, you know, a totally different perspective, like turns

switching it back to like the changes in our real estate industry, right? Like you're saying to him, figure out how to do this because it will last your whole life, right? And if he can figure that out, you know, imagine how that will feel. And that's kind of where I started with the business, right? Like don't be a dinosaur because dinosaurs are extinct, you know, those who evolved as the world changed, whereas the market changed or

whatever it might be, or the ones that we're willing to be scared to overcome are really, I think, the ones that will continue to rise to the top in any business, not just real estate, right, or in life. And that there's like a personal, I believe, as I mentioned about, you know, my transaction coordinator, there's a personal satisfaction and a personal growth component that comes out of it, right?

And so I guess that's where the stagnation of saying, let's just figure out how to do things the way that they used to be done is really hard for me. It's really hard for me to get on board with that. And look, I know the you do you, I'll do me concept and I love that. And I wanna be kind and patient with people. I've had a lot of folks come to me with questions about the NAR settlement because maybe I have a different

narrative than what they're hearing in their sphere. It's going to take some time. Everything takes time. It's going to take Jackson some time to settle in, you know, into his apartment in Milan. You know, it's going to take some time for him to get comfortable. the rewards, I think the takeaway for me on the whole concept of evolution is that the rewards far outweigh the little bit of scariness that happens up front.

Rebecca Green (32:45.71)
Totally. like the NRA, like in my opinion, if you're a seasoned broker, you have experience, have, you just need to figure out how to articulate that. I will say, you're new agent, you're like, my, I don't have experience. But like if you're experienced, like you just, just got to get it. Yeah. You just got to figure it out, man. You just have to figure it out and get a car. And the more you do it, the easier it will become. yeah, you do. I think that's it.

don't be an answer. It will not serve you because again, will say, I love this. heard this, was talking to my agent the other day, super smart. He was presenting an offer for his buyer on a listing and he included his whole resume with him with his commission request because he's like, worth it. Here's my experience and here's what I'm getting because you don't know me.

and why I'm worth what I'm asking for for my commission. I was like, that was really smart. I love that idea. That is like evolution at its finest because three months ago, two months ago, 30 days ago, 90, whatever, we would never have done that. And if you hadn't done that when you submitted an offer, the listing agent would have thought you were crazy. So like, I love that. That's a great example of rising above.

And instead of trying to figure out how to do things the way things used to be done, how do I do it best today in today's market, which actually is our whole concept behind this podcast. Like how to real estate like today, today, right now, because right now is sort of the only part that's relevant in the business because who knows when it's going to change, right? Yeah. Right. All right. Well, I think we'll leave it right there. Don't be a dinosaur and we'll see you next time.