Do Star Agents Deserve Special Treatment?

We're exploring the complex issues in real estate with our new series, Edge Case.

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Elite Agent Editor
September 06, 2025

THOUGHT LEADERS
REAL ESTATE REIMAGINED

This week: In professional sports, star players get paid more, fly first class, and have different rules. But in real estate offices, we try to pretend everyone's equal. But are they? Watch now on YouTube, or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

The top agent walks in late to the sales meeting.

Again.

Everyone notices. Nobody says anything.

Later, in private conversations, the team admits what they're really thinking. The admin is furious. The junior agents feel invisible. But the principal? They're doing mental maths on what happens if that agent leaves…

It’s not like we all haven’t wondered why this happens at some stage or another.

But we decided to have that conversation out loud.

We got Dom Thurbon and Fiona Blayney in a room and convinced them to debate whether or not star agents deserve special treatment.

But here's what made it interesting – they had to flip a coin to decide who got the affirmative and who got the negative. Which meant one of them had to defend a position they might actually disagree with.

For 45 minutes, two brilliant people built compelling cases for opposing views.

Dom argued that rewarding excellence is the only way to build excellence. Fiona countered with data showing how star performers can poison an entire culture.

The fascinating part wasn't who won. It was watching how differently the same situation looks depending on where you stand.

At minute 45, they both dropped the act and told us what they really believed.

Turns out, there could be some truth to both of their arguments - which side would you choose?

Enjoy the episode!

— Samantha McLean

P.S. This is our first Edge Case debate. We're planning more. Because the hardest questions in real estate aren't about market conditions or commission structures. They're about seeing different sides of the same situation.

Listen/Watch now:

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