Agents I’ve Fired: The Good, The Bad, and the WTF

If you’ve ever had to let someone go from your real estate team (or wish you had), this episode is for you. After 14 years of running a brokerage, I’ve seen it all. Today, I’m spilling the tea on the six archetypes of agents I’ve fired—and what really got them booted.

This is your behind-the-scenes, no-holds-barred guide to the biggest red flags, interview questions that expose the truth, and how to protect your team culture without guilt. Because let’s be real: it’s not always about sales numbers. Sometimes it’s about sanity.

Whether you're a team lead, broker-owner, or just nosy (same), this one’s juicy and wildly useful.

In this episode, we cover:

• The 6 Agent Archetypes you should be careful of
• Specific red flags to watch out for 
• Smart interview prompts to weed out future fires 
• A permission slip to protect your culture and peace 

You are not a babysitter. You’re a business owner. Let’s talk about what it really takes to build an aligned, happy, high-performing real estate team.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Episode 6 - Zero Cost, Big Results: 8 Free Lead Generation Tactics for Real Estate Agents: www.happyagent.co/podcast/ep6-zero-cost-big-results-8-free-lead-generation-tactics-for-agents
• Free Social Free Marketing Blueprint - Download Here: www.happyagentco.kit.com/socialfree

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing Agent Archetypes I've Fired
• 2:53 The Asshole: Toxic Top Producers
• 5:10 Fair Housing Violators: Ethics Matter
• 7:33 The Checked Out Agent
• 9:49 The Cling On: Boundaryless Neediness
• 12:36 The No Common Sense Agent
• 15:10 The Hot Mess Express
• 17:36 Protect Your Business and Culture

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:35

Oh boy, this episode's going to be a juicy one. Hey, there, I am Lindsay Dreyer and I am the owner and coach at Happy Agent Co. And then I am also the brokerage owner of City Chic Real Estate in the Washington DC market. Today I am spilling the tea on agents I have fired, and there are six kinds of them. After 14 years of owning a brokerage, I have seen so much in terms of agents and I have had to fire more agents than I ever thought I would or would want to, honestly because it's not the most fun, but because of either the energy, the ethics or the effort that weren't just there, it had to happen.

Speaker 1: 1:18

So in this episode we are breaking those archetypes down, with the ones that I've had to part ways with over the years, from the rule breakers to the ones who stopped showing up mentally or literally. This is your behind the scenes look at what not to do if you want to build a joyful, aligned and actually successful real estate team. Aligned and actually successful real estate team. And, spoiler alert, it is not just about sales numbers. So this might be helpful for any agent who is doing hiring, because I don't think these archetypes are just agents. It could be employees too. But we are going to go through each of the archetypes, what the red flags are to look for, and maybe even an interview prompt that might help you dig into it further. But my biggest advice is sometimes one is going to make it through the cracks and it is not your fault, but just be quick to fire if they are not a good fit. Do not let them ruin your culture. So let's dive in to archetype number one, which is the asshole. So let's dive in to archetype number one, which is the asshole. I also like to call them the egomaniac. They may be top producers, but they are absolutely toxic. They are drama magnets. They're always blaming everybody else. They also make life miserable for your staff or for fellow agents, and this is really where culture is more important than production and you have to protect your culture. That environment you're creating is so important to your staff and fellow agents that you can't have people like this in your organization without them absolutely taking people down or creating toxicity in the environment. So here are some red flags to watch for, and these could be during the interview process, maybe during their first 30 days. They could show up later, but here are some things that are going to pinpoint whether you're dealing with an asshole or not. They talk down about their former teams or leaders like I was carrying everyone, no one else could keep up with me, or they stopped doing things for me. They also use really blame, heavy language, so things like they didn't give me leads or the admin team was always messing things up. They just never take accountability for their portion of why things are not successful. The other thing to look out for is a lot of times they're just focused on splits. They are not focused on culture or collaboration. They are not team players. So if that's important to you and your culture, definitely that's a red flag. They also like to interrupt or dominate the conversation and it is literally all about them and it may not show overtly, but it could just be subtle arrogance or superiority. So they may just be dismissive of others' contributions or maybe questions, but just keep an eye out for that. An interview question you could ask is tell me about a time where you had to collaborate with someone difficult and how did you handle it? Anything around team or collaboration is going to be a red flag or a trigger for the asshole archetype. Let's move on to archetype number two, which is the fair housing violator. I also like to call this the unethical agent, but this is the one who makes your stomach just drop with the things that they mess up, and, whether it's arrogance or ignorance, this should be a non-negotiable on your team, and it is hard sometimes to spot this person. I will be honest, the ones that I've had to fire and there have been two in my past. I will be honest, the ones that I've had to fire and there have been two in my past I have only found out that they violated fair housing or treaded that line because of our CRM, because our CRM tracks email correspondence and there was some stuff said that was just very inappropriate and I had to fire them immediately. So those ethical blind spots, definitely before they become legal liabilities, you have to deal them immediately. So those ethical blind spots, definitely before they become legal liabilities, you have to deal with them, and this is, I think, one of the hardest ones to pinpoint or even discover. But here's some red flags that you could look for. They say things like that neighborhood just isn't right for my clients, or I know what kind of people live there, right for my clients, or I know what kind of people live there or maybe they make comments about, like, that side of the town or that side. They also may not use correct language when describing areas or clients. It might be coded, it might be kind of stereotyped, so just be careful. They also are showing no awareness of protected classes or compliance, and that can be a hard one for some people. So when you're interviewing it might be like quizzing them on protected classes. I know in the Washington DC market we have a lot of protected classes. So really asking them do you understand what discrimination against matriculation means, which I mean probably most of you are like what the hell are you talking about? It's being a student, by the way, but this is important, I also think, having a system for tracking this stuff later down the road. But again, I'm big on fair housing and being ethical and really being above board. So an interview question you could ask again is about the fair housing, but it could also be how do you ensure your marketing and your client communications are staying compliant with fair housing laws? I think that that's a really important question. So that's wrapping up our fair housing violator archetype, moving on to number three, which is the checked out real estate agent. This could be someone who's entering into your brokerage because they're checked out, or it could be someone that you need to just give the boot because they have checked out. But you guys know the type. They stop showing up to things trainings, team meetings, they've stopped caring, they make excuses for everything. Or maybe they just don't make excuses for everything and they're just like they make excuses for everything. Or maybe they just don't make excuses for everything and they're just like meh, I mean, I'll work what I work and that's what I'm doing. But this could be because of burnout and that definitely happens and knowing the difference. As a manager or brokerage owner or team lead on how to recognize the difference between someone who needs support versus someone who's just done with real estate. I have had many a conversation with agents where I've said you haven't sold a home in three or four months. Are you just done with real estate? And I'm not going to lie, I have had people thank me for having that conversation with them because it gave them the permission they needed to just leave the business and do something else, or it has been the reboot they needed to really refocus on their business. Not everyone is going to continue to be a real estate agent. So, the checked out agent it's not your fault and obviously you can't invest more time and energy in someone than they're willing to invest in themselves. But their business deserves their full energy and if they're done, that's okay. But I know it's hard to have people around that are just coasting, so some red flags to watch for. They're just speaking pretty vaguely about their performance. Things are slow, the market's weird or they're lacking personal or professional goals. They also just seem like disengaged or low energy during an interview if you're interviewing them. And the other one is that they don't know what they want or need from a brokerage. So I think a really good question and this could be for someone you're interviewing, but could also be someone on your team that you feel is this archetype, the checked out archetype, which is what are you excited to create or accomplish in your business over the next six to 12 months? And see what they say. I think that that can be really telling. So let's move on to number four. This is the cling on archetype, or the needy archetype. This is one that is really hard, but they are emotionally needy, they are boundaryless, they have no boundaries and they are totally dependent on you for motivation, for answers, for validation and probably for therapy. And this one is so hard because most team leads, most brokerage owners, want to be helpful. They want to make sure that their agents have what they need. But what you really need to realize is that it's not your job to carry someone else's business. You have your own job to focus on, which is leading your team and maybe even being in production. So it is okay to be there for your people, but it is very different to empower them versus enable them, and it is up to you to create those boundaries. So here's some red flags to look for. They overshare their personal life details early or completely inappropriately. They just have no filter and they're just like I'm telling you everything all the time. They also ask how often they'll be able to call or text you directly. So how often can I meet with you? How often will you be available? Will I have access to you 24-7? They also will describe past brokers as overly involved or like family. That is, honestly, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people describe their workplace like family, because you are not my family. This is my workplace. I love to create a friendly, collaborative environment. But you're not family. Your family is your family. And then they're always asking for reassurance or permission on things, or they're always trying to loop you in on things that you do not need to be looped in on, and this can be just a totally energy suck like big time. I think that these are probably the hardest ones for me personally to deal with, because I'm a very self-motivated person and I'm not putting things on other people unless I really need their help. So maybe in an interview prompt you could ask when you're feeling stuck in a deal or in your business, what's your first move? And if they say, call my broker, I don't know if that's what I would like to hear. I would like to hear I'm going to do some research, come up with some options and then, if I need affirmation or confirmation, I'm going to then go to my broker and see if that makes sense or if that's legal or whatever. But the cling on again, the emotional neediness, the no boundaries it can be really hard for you. And then it's also really hard for your team because everyone else is like what is wrong with this person, like they're just like TMI all the time. Moving on to number five, which is the no common sense agent. Oh my gosh, okay. So this one is like oh, it's like the, okay, anyway, oh boy, all right, right, let's dive into this one. I'm just like. I'm trying to like not be so rude, okay, they lack basic problem solving skills, so they really just don't have the common sense to solve problems on their own. They also sometimes lack client awareness or decision making skills. So with these agents, typically files are a mess, every situation turns to chaos. Sometimes they just when something arises, they don't know how to solve the problem themselves. Or like they don't know what the logical next step should be, even though it's pretty obvious what it is. So these people just they can't figure it out for themselves. And I have had no common sense agents come through the brokerage. I have offered them so much training we have reviewed contracts five times, like how to do them, how to write them, what they mean, all of that stuff. It seems that it's like it just couldn't be any simpler, and then they still can't figure it out. And so with these agents, it's like no matter how much training you provide, they're not able to figure it out on their own. So here's some red flags to look for. They struggle to describe basic contract timelines or next steps in a transaction. They blame clients or coworkers, sometimes for the past problems. They also don't use checklists or systems or if something falls outside the checklist or system, they aren't able to like problem, solve that or figure it out. And they also make chaotic or unclear statements when they're asked about like past deals, like so, tell me about how you solve problems in that or what happened in that deal. So that leads me to the interview prompt, which is walk me through your process from contract to close. What tools or systems do you use to stay organized? Or tell me about a time when you were solving a problem when a deal blew up. I think it's really good to get that answer to that question and sometimes I even might like give them a little test, which is you have no idea what this is, but can you solve this problem and see how they do it? Again, it just comes down to having common sense and being able to solve problems on the fly and make good decisions. And honestly, I saved the best for last, which is the hot mess express. You know the type they are always late, they are always overwhelmed. They are always apologizing. They are always all over the place. Do they have technology? No, do they meet deadlines? Barely. Is their file compliance a disaster? Yes, and here's the deal. They're not bad people. They're actually usually extremely friendly and really nice. They're just a walking stress bomb. So some people thrive in chaos and sometimes that energy will impact the whole team. So it's really a situation of when does potential become a liability? Again, with all of these archetypes, I think we all can be these things sometimes, but it's about when it becomes a liability. When does it become detrimental to you and your team? So examples of this is they're late to the interview or they're rescheduling last minute, or they don't showuling last minute, or they don't show up at all, which definitely I've had that happen. They admit to winging it. So it's like I just go with the flow or I'm not really a systems person. They don't use digital tools like a CRM. They're like it's all on my phone or in my head or somewhere, and they're overwhelmed when asked detailed questions. So an interview question you could ask is how do you stay on track when you're juggling multiple clients and deadlines at once? I have definitely seen my fair share of hot mess expresses who are successful. So it's not to say that these people don't have success, but it all comes down to culture and production and which one is more important to you. So I know for me, my support staff and their happiness and their ability to work with agents is really important to me, and the success of the brokerage. So just really being aware that you are creating a culture, whether you know it or not and these archetypes are again the six most common that I have seen and fired over the 14 years of owning a brokerage I just wanted to remind you that it is okay to protect your time, your energy and your vision for your business. You don't owe anyone a place on your team or in your brokerage, because you are not a babysitter and you are building something. You are building a culture. You are building something great and really that starts and comes down to with who is on that ride with you, who is on your bus. So I want you to know that you have the ability, you have the power to choose who is on your team. Sometimes it is hard to find and identify those red flags during the interview process, but if after 30 days or 60 days or a year or five years of working with someone, you realize that it's not a good fit anymore. This isn't about being a dick that it's not a good fit anymore. This isn't about being a dick. This is about really owning your business and making sure that you're protecting your culture and protecting what you have built and not letting it get hijacked by any of these agent archetypes. So hopefully this episode wasn't too harsh and if anyone feels personally attacked, I'm really sorry. You can send me a message and I will reassure you that you are not one of these archetypes. If you have a team lead or a brokerage owner who needs to listen to this episode, feel free to forward it on to them. I know that it can be kind of helpful and maybe a little affirming to have someone know that they have been in that position and they have dealt with that type of person. Also, please hit the subscribe button so you don't miss any future episodes and until next time, stay happy.