The Commission Cap And Why Deal Ten Pays More

A commission cap makes your income discontinuous, and that is easy not to plan for. On $385,000 sales at 2.5% a side with a 20% split and a $16,000 cap, deals one to eight net $7,700 each. Deal nine nets $9,025 because the cap runs out mid-deal. Deal ten nets the whole $9,625 -- 25% more than deal one for identical work. So 'deals needed' is never target divided by net per deal, and a fixed desk fee that is 7.6% of your income at fourteen deals is 58% of it at two.

What the year has to bring in

The first worksheet page starts from $85,000 of take-home income,

$25,000 of overhead across the items listed and tax on profit,

and works out the revenue the business needs: $138,333.33 a

year. This business does not sell hours, so the kit does not turn that

into an hourly rate. Every step is printed, with a blank worksheet for your own

numbers.

Deal ten pays 25% more than deal one for identical work

A brokerage split takes its share until your contribution hits the cap, then stops -- so the value of a deal depends on when in the year it closes. On $385,000 sales at 2.5% a side with a 20% split and a $16,000 cap: deals one to eight net $7,700 each, deal nine nets $9,025 because the cap runs out mid-deal, and deal ten nets the whole $9,625.

Which means deals needed is never your target divided by your net per deal -- there is no single net per deal. It also means a closing that slips from December to January is expensive, and the back half of a good year is worth disproportionately more than the front.

Then the desk fee, which is fixed and therefore trivial at volume and ruinous below it: $9,000 a year is 7.6% of what you keep at fourteen deals and 58.4% at two. That is the arithmetic behind choosing a brokerage, and it runs opposite ways for a new agent and an established one.

Includes a live Excel workbook with the full deal ladder and the cap crossover, and eight scripts -- asking your broker to put the cap mechanics in writing, the seller who wants your side cut, the overpriced listing, and ending a buyer relationship that costs more than it pays.

8 client scripts

Each one carries a line explaining why it is worded that way, because

a script you do not understand is one you will not send. Placeholders are in

[BRACKETS] so nothing goes out in someone else's words.

- Asking your broker to explain the cap in writing

- A seller wanting you to cut your side of the commission

- Declining a listing priced above what the comps support

- Telling a buyer their pre-approval is not an offer

- A referral fee request that does not fit your split

- Explaining a dual-agency situation plainly

- Asking a lender for a realistic closing date

- Ending a buyer relationship that is costing you more than it pays

What this is not

These numbers are not a market price. They are arithmetic

about you — what your income target requires. They do not tell you what your

market will pay. If the number is far above what your market bears, that is real

information: something has to move, and quietly working below the floor is the

one option that cannot last.

These are scripts, not contracts, and nothing here is legal

or tax advice. No script threatens statutory interest, collections or legal

action — whether any of those is available to you depends on your contract and

jurisdiction. The 25% tax figure is a placeholder; ask your accountant for

yours.

Honest about the format

Printable PDFs plus an editable Excel workbook, not a physical product. One US Letter PDF (13 pages) and one A4 PDF (13 pages), and one .xlsx that opens in Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice and Google Sheets. Files are available immediately after purchase; nothing ships.

Refunds

If this isn't what you expected, email me within 30 days and I'll refund you in full — no need to explain. Because it's an instant download I can't take the files back, so I'd rather you just had your money back.