Full-Time or Part-Time, Which is Better?
I saw this story in a real estate forum the other day. A real estate agent, because of his advertising, is getting blasted on social media. He seemingly has offended everyone in his marketplace, mainly hardworking moms. Let me set the scene. Costello and Costello Real Estate Group created the ad. The ad shows Chase and Jeffrey Costello on one side dressed in suits, a mother with three children on the other. The mother with three children is tied up, while a daughter paints her face. [In other words, pure chaos is happening.] There is also a babysitter who is on the floor with a colander on her head and a duck [yes, an actual duck] standing in the disheveled room. The wording on the ad says "Part Time Agent" next to the woman and her children, and "Full Time Professionals" underneath the Costellos who are dressed in suits. On the flip side, it lists what the Costellos can provide balanced against what the woman can offer. For the woman with three children it says, "Available at THEIR convenience NOT yours". Said differently, mothers with children will always prioritize their children’s needs in front of those of the client.
Like I said, this ad is getting blasted all over social media and mothers in the area are fuming. But putting aside the controversy of the ad, the central question is, “When selling your home, should you hire a part-time agent or a full time agent? Does it matter? Is one better than the other?” As an entrepreneur and real estate broker, you may expect me to give a biased answer. You would be wrong. Fact is, whether someone is part-time or full-time says nothing about one’s ability to perform or his or her skills set. Common sense tells us this is true. Just look at the profession of plastic surgery. Now, think Mexico. Tijuana. How many horror stories have you heard over the years about botched surgeries? There is even a TV show on Bravo called Botched that documents these people’s stories as their nightmares are reversed. My point? There are full-time plastic surgeons in Mexico who are cheap, don’t have superior procedures or a sanitized-germ-free environment who botch surgeries and leave their victims destroyed. And, given this situation, would it have mattered if the surgeon was full-time or part-time? No. Because that’s not the central question anyone should be focused on.
Let’s look at another example. Let’s say you needed to hire a financial planner. You could hire John Smith who is a full-time money manager or let’s say you could hire, but only on a limited part-time basis, Warren Buffett. Who would you choose? I know who I’m going to choose. Who are you going to choose? Me too. Warren Buffett. But this demonstrates whether someone is full-time or part-time is not important. And further, that really isn't important to us, the consumer. What we really want is the best, smartest, more capable individual. After all, even if a person is full-time, do you really think that person is spending “all of his time” on just your home? No, there are other clients in the pipeline, there are administrative/operational responsibilities requiring their attention, so your transaction is actually being served part-time regardless.
The sad fact is most real estate agents work full-time but make a part-time income. So it can be deceiving and even foolish to think that a full-time agent is better equipped than a part-time agent or visa-versa. Also realize Brokers focus on full-time agents as that means more profit for the broker. Case-in-point: When I decided to take some personal time off in 2014 and just work from direct referrals, my broker told me "we are not going to spend resources on you as your volume dropped." Seriously? I was one of their few agents who was solely self-contained, always had perfect files and, because I needed to devote some time to family needs, I was told that being "part-time" was not worth their effort. Oh by the way, my part-time is more than 2 times the national average of the full time agent. Now you know why I became my own broker.
What we must truly focus on when making such a decision are the aspects of "Does the agent have a superior moral code? Does he or she have a superior method? Has s/he studied and documented his research to explain how s/he’s able to get clients a superior result? And maybe most important, when things go wrong, and sometimes they do, does that agent have the integrity to call you? Able to work in a calm manner towards a resolution? Etc.…”
I noticed in that ad put out by the Costellos that the two brothers make the claim, “A Team ALWAYS outperforms an individual,” making the case “there are two of them” vs. one part-time mother agent. Again, this is just nonsense. Smoke and mirrors. I don’t know them personally, so I’m not making a judgment (Ok, maybe I am but this issue really irritates me). But two incompetent idiots will never outperform one very part-time Warren Buffett. Success and a superior result come down to research and superior thinking. This leads to, on the client’s behalf, superior positioning and execution, and decision-making. There are no substitutes for these three things. So, to hire an agent based on whether that person is part-time or full-time, frankly, is a ridiculous notion. Don't do it.
