Do You Want a Higher Percentage… or a Higher Income?
ListingMine Academy | Agent Economics & Career Strategy
There is a silent disease spreading through the Malaysian real estate industry. It is called Percentage Addiction.
Agents hop from agency to agency chasing an extra 5% or 10%:
“Agency A pays 70%.”
“Agency B pays 80%.”
“Agency C pays 90%—confirm best!”
So they join Agency C. They feel clever. They think they have “won.” Six months later, they checked their bank balance. Nothing. Zero. Empty.
How can a 90% payout produce no income? Because of one mathematical truth most agents ignore: A high percentage of zero is still zero.
You are asking the wrong question. The question is not: “How much of the deal do I keep?” The real question is: “How many deals can I actually close?”
1. The 100% Agent Trap: You Keep More Because You Do Everything
The “90%–100% commission” model is not generosity. It is abandonment.
When an agency gives you 90% or more, they are silently saying:
- “We won’t verify your listings.”
- “We won’t help with admin.”
- “We won’t screen your leads.”
- “We won’t support your negotiations.”
- “We won’t manage compliance.”
- “You are on your own.”
You keep 90%, but you perform 100% of the workload. You become: the admin, the runner, the marketer, the photographer, the tenancy drafter, the lead filter, and the debt collector.
The result? 80% of your time is spent on non-income-generating activities (NIGA). Only 20% remains for actual selling. Your percentage is high. Your velocity is zero.
2. The Math: The Solo Hero vs. The System Agent
Let’s use the rental market to compare two real agents.
| Agent A — The Percentage Chaser | Agent B — The System Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Split | 90% | 70% |
| Support | None | ACN workflow + verified listings + admin support |
| Capacity | 2 deals/month | 6 deals/month (because they only focus on closing) |
| Commission per deal | RM2,000 | RM2,000 |
| Income Calculation | 2 × 2,000 = RM4,000 RM4,000 × 90% = RM3,600 take-home |
6 × 2,000 = RM12,000 RM12,000 × 70% = RM8,400 take-home |
Who wins? Agent A wins the Ego Game. Agent B wins the Income Game — earning more than double.
Which one pays the bills?
3. What You Think You’re Losing… Is Actually What You’re Buying
When an agency takes 20%–30%, you’re not being “shortchanged.” You are buying time and velocity.
If your agency runs ACN-powered operations, that 30% funds:
- Verification: No more fake owners or fraudulent documents.
- Inventory Access: A shared stockpile of listings.
- Coordination: Someone else handles paperwork, drafting, and compliance.
- Quality Leads: No more wasting time on unqualified prospects.
Pay 20% more → close 300% more deals → take home more money. This is what agents fail to see. Percentages don’t create wealth. Velocity does.
Important Warning: If an agency takes 30% but gives you nothing (no ACN workflow, no admin, no verification), then yes — you are being robbed. But if they provide structure, that 30% is the best investment of your career.
4. Velocity Is the Only Real Estate Metric That Matters
McDonald’s makes tiny margins per burger — but sells billions. Boutiques make high margins — but sell one dress a week.
Real estate works the same way. Volume beats margin. Every. Single. Time.
An agent who closes 10 rentals/month at 70% earns far more than one closing 1 subsale every 2 months at 90%. And rental volume builds: databases, referrals, visibility, confidence, and long-term subsale opportunities.
The volume agent becomes unstoppable. The percentage chaser becomes invisible.
5. The Hard Truth: Percentage Addiction Is Costing You Thousands
Look honestly at your last 6 months:
- How many hours went into admin work?
- How many deals collapsed due to mistakes?
- How many listings were fake?
- How many prospects are ghosted?
- How many leads were wasted because you had no time?
If the structure had removed these bottlenecks, would you have closed twice the deals? If the answer is “yes,” then your obsession with percentages is destroying your income.
Conclusion: Don’t Chase Percentages. Chase the System.
A 90% split of a broken system is poverty. A 70% split of a high-velocity ACN system is wealth.
Stop fighting for a bigger slice of a tiny pie. Join a platform that bakes you more pies.
Stop asking, “How much do I get?” Start asking, “How much can I close?”
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