Understanding Our Graduated Commission Structure

Goals of Graduated Commission Structure

We strive to operate on the generous side of fair and to make sure that our compensation plans are never a distraction. This means that we want to offer a plan that's fair to our agents, fair to the company, and better than you will find at any comparable firm. "Never a distraction" means that everyone is confident in these goals and so doesn't have to worry about whether or not they have a good deal here.

It makes sense for us to offer agents a more competitive split as they produce more GCI. We also want agents to be able to target a higher split every year. This is why we offer a 95/5 "cap" as agents hit revenue goals in a calendar year.

Agents who haven't yet produced $10M in non-company produced sales start the year at 80/20 and graduate to 95/5 after $5M in sales. Agents who have produced $10M+ in non-company generated sales start the year at 90/10 and graduate to 95/5 after $10M in sales. This is roughly the same revenue to the company in both scenarios.

After an agent produces $10M or more in non-company generated revenue in a calendar year (Jan 1 to Dec 31) the agent will always start at 90/10 and graduate to 95/5 after $10M that year.

Personal Production

Tier I: Under $10M in Annual Production

If you produced less than $10M in personal production in the previous calendar year, then your split is 80/20 on the first $5M in personal production and 95/5 on everything $5M and beyond.

Tier II: $10M+ in Annual Production

If you produced more than $10M in personal production in the previous calendar year, then your split is 90/10 on the first $10M in personal production and 95/5 on everything $10M and beyond.

*All production is based on GCI. Sales amounts are based on a 3% commission as examples.

Team Production

Commission Split & Cap

Your team will graduate to a 95% commission split with no fees after certain levels of production. Your team split starts at 90/10 (with no fees) every year on January 1 and graduates to 95/5. If you're a team of 2, you graduate to 95/5 at $15M in production. A team of 3 graduates to 95/5 at $20M production. Every additional team member adds an additional $5M in production to reach the 95/5 threshold.

The easiest way to understand team production graduation is, "The team leader pays a full cap and each team member is half of that in order to cap."
Team member agents will be on a separate commission agreement that has been established between them and their team leader. These separate agreements must be approved by Bramlett Partner management.

Individual Agent Examples

Jane Agent starts the year at Tier I. Jane sells $5M at 3% in non-company deals with no referrals, rebates, or fees that have closed by May 31 of that year. Jane is on an 80% split until May 31 and is then on 95/5 for the remainder of the year. Jane closes the year with $8M in total non-company sales, so resets to Tier I 80/20 on Jan 1 of the following year.
John Agent starts the year at Tier I and sells $5M at 3% in non-company deals with no referrals, rebates, or fees that have closed by June 30 of that year. John is on on 80% split until June 30 and is then on 95/5 for the remainder of the year. John closes the year with $11M in total non-company sales, so starts the following year on Tier II 90/10. He will start every year in the future on Tier II.
Jill Agent starts the year at Tier II and sells $10M at 3% in non-company deals with no referrals, rebates or fees that have closed by July 31 of that year. Jill is on 90/10 until July 31 and then on 95/5 for the remainder of the year.
Jim Agent starts the year at Tier II and sells $5M in non-company deals that year. Jim is on 90/10 for the entire year and starts the next year on 90/10 with the same opportunity to graduate to 95/5 that year.

Team Examples

Tara's team consists of the team leader and 3 additional producing agents. Tara's team cap is $10M for the team leader and $5M X 3 for the additional producing agents ($15M). Tara's team sells $25M at 3% in non-company deals with no referrals, rebates, or fees that have closed by March 31. Tara's team is on a 90/10 split until March 31 and then on 95/5 for the remainder of the year.

Frequently Asked Questions

What about KISS? Why can't you make this more simple?
- Trust us, we've tried! Unfortunately, we have to layer on complexity in order to meet all of our goals.
What do you mean by "calendar year" and why do you use a calendar year?
- A "calendar year" is simply Jan 1 to Dec 31 of any year. We use a calendar year rather than a "start date" year out of simplicity.
Why do you explain everything in sales volume but actually use Gross Commission Income?
- Most agents know how much they produce in sales but don't track revenue as closely. However, we need to track revenue for good business planning. So, we reference splits and graduation based on sales volume and let everyone know "this is based on a 3% commission". It's natural for agents to take less on some deals and to pay out referral fees, so your actual sales volume will usually be a little bit higher in order to graduate.
What is "Gross Commission Income"?
- This is the amount of revenue at the topline after any rebates, referrals, or fees paid. If you sell a $1M house at 3%, rebate your client $1000, pay a $5000 referral fee, and pay out $500 to your favorite transaction coordinator, then the GCI is $30k minus $1000, minus $5000, minus $500, which equals $23.5k.
How do I know when I've reached my cap?
- Tracking is something that we will improve in the near term. For now, watch your production and ask support if you think you're close. It's your responsibility to let us know when you've reached your cap since we don't have automation built to support this.
Why don't Tier II agents ever roll back to Tier I?
- We don't want compensation to be a distraction. We believe that agents should be able to slow down temporarily or permanently at any point in their careers. If an agent wants to slow down for any reason, they shouldn't have to worry about getting a worse split.