Courtney Poulos, Founder of SERHANT. CA and Team Lead of ACME | SERHANT. in Los Angeles, has a blunt diagnosis for the real estate profession: a mirror problem. She is not talking about vanity but about how agents are perceived and the industry's responsibility for that perception. “A lot of people see real estate agents as overpaid paper pushers who don’t earn what they make,” she says. “And while the class action lawsuits and the public relations battles are largely driven by forces outside agent control, the way we show up, how we communicate, how we position ourselves, that is on us.”
Poulos recently completed Harvard University’s Advanced Management Development Program (AMDP) at the Graduate School of Design, graduating in July. The experience sharpened her observations about the Los Angeles market. “The only thing that is really missing is real estate agents considering themselves as senior-level executives in a business. We are not taken as seriously as we ought to be, like a lawyer. And we are still contending with a degradation of our perceived value, even at the senior level,” she says. She cites a recent example where a client chose to rent rather than sell and attempted to negotiate her commission down to a level that would not cover the marketing she had already spent. “That is the level of disrespect I am talking about,” she adds.
One standout session in her AMDP coursework was led by Carmine Gallo, who trains executives on communication. The lesson that stayed with her was about audience-centric messaging: starting with what matters to the person you are trying to reach, rather than what makes you look credible to peers. “Real estate agents fall into the trap of marketing to each other,” Poulos says. “We post about our sales for other agents to see. We compete on metrics that our clients don’t actually care about. And we miss the opportunity to explain, in plain terms, what we actually do and why it matters.” She argues that the core work—data analysis, risk management, negotiation under pressure, sustained client relationships—is similar to what executives in any complex industry do. “We protect our clients. We navigate. We clarify. That is the message. And most agents are not saying it.”
Poulos is translating these ideas into action with a series of workshops and seminars, launching in Orlando this week and open to agents at all brokerages. The goal is to help agents build messaging that holds up with clients, the press, and regulators, to rebuild public trust in a profession that has taken a significant reputational hit. “If what we can clarify for the public is that we are not overpaid, that we are experts, and that our public relations battles are not actually about whether we deserve to be paid, then we start to reverse the narrative,” she says. “And the housing market is a place where there is a lot of good stuff going on, despite the headlines. It is the moment for something optimistic.”
ACME, founded in 2011 as a boutique brokerage in Los Angeles, is now ACME | SERHANT. under the umbrella of the national firm led by Ryan Serhant. Agents interested in participating can reach out to courtney@acme-re.com. This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above and is intended for general informational purposes only, not constituting legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions. Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
