On the heels of losing seven of their top associates to better financial opportunities in 1986, Gary Keller, co-founder and executive chairman of Keller Williams, and the first Associate Leadership Council (ALC) convened to reinvent the company and create one that no one would ever want to leave. What resulted from this meeting was “profit share” – a system providing risk-free wealth building opportunities for all associates.
When the concept was introduced, others in the industry were quick to call it impossible and the creators crazy. Unfazed, Keller blazed forward, creating his own path. His choice to defy the critics has paid off. Over $1.5 billion (and counting) in profit share has been distributed since the program’s inception, showing Keller Williams’ long-standing commitment to rewarding associates for the success they’ve achieved together.
Unlimited Wealth in Your Hands
The wealth-building opportunity places Keller Williams above the rest.
At most companies, when the work stops, so does the paycheck. Not at Keller Williams. With the understanding that agents can’t be in production forever, the profit share system was created as a financial tool to allow KW associates to build inheritable wealth through passive income. There is no catch or fine print, and calculations are simple and transparent.
Here’s how it works:
- When deals close, KW associates who haven’t yet met their cap pay company dollar to their market center.
- The market center uses this money to pay operating expenses. What’s left over is profit and, unlike with other companies, a portion of that profit is shared back with the associates who helped the company grow by bringing on productive agents.
Currently, the profit share system grows seven levels.
When someone names an agent as their sponsor or the associate responsible for introducing them to the company, they go into their first level. Each sponsor gets 50% of the profit attributed to the profitable activities conducted by the associates they bring on. And, even as the percentages decrease throughout the levels, they never fall below 5%, which is higher than the top tier of other wealth-building systems in the industry.
Sustainable Wealth Building
Keller Williams elected to use a profit-sharing model to ensure that each business would be profitable and sustainable. It isn’t about greed or complexity as some skeptics say – it’s just simple economics: only successful, profitable companies have enough money to keep their doors open and distribute a share of their profits.
This, in turn, motivates all associates to achieve growth together. It’s not about any one agent or a single check … It is about building empires as a collective. Profit share is about bringing on the right people – top-performing agents – and growing businesses with them. Simply put, Keller Williams Profit Share is the only wealth-builder in its class ensuring financial stability and growth for the company while providing unlimited wealth opportunities for the people who make the company successful.
For Keller Williams Capital District husband-and-wife duo Marc and Carrie Weiss, the Keller Williams profit share model is about sharing the joy with their family and associates. “I wanted to be in partnership with our associates, and profit share seemed to be an amazing reflection of our value system,” says Marc, who is the operating principal of the 350-plus-associate market center.
Between himself and Carrie, who serves as the market center’s team leader, the couple’s profit share tree spans 860 associates. As a family, they have accumulated more than $700K in profit share within a 13-year period – $126K of that sum in 2019 alone. That number might seem daunting, but it is the result of small seeds planted throughout the years.
“The first time profit share became very real for us was in the beginning of our time with Keller Williams. We had mortgaged our house and it was rough, but we were committed to going on a Disney vacation with our family of five. At the time, $5,900 in profit share came in and that feeling was amazing,” Marc shares. “I want our people to have that feeling.”
For Summit New Jersey mega agent Sue Adler, profit share came similarly through exponential growth. For her, it is a no-brainer and the easiest way to earn passive income.
Adler’s first-ever profit share was $25 back in 2004. In her initial six months with Keller Williams, she earned a total of $812. Flash forward to 2017 and 2018 … she’s earning over $200,000 a year in profit share on top of her GCI. Her total lifetime profit share distribution exceeds $1 million.
Even more impressive, Adler has generated this income by recruiting only 14 people to her level one downline.
“Early on, I decided I would test the profit-sharing model in a big way. I sought out influencers who would be great operating principals and found three who now own 10 market centers collectively. I never imagined this would grow to the level it has. The real reward has been the huge opportunities I have been able to create for others,” she shares.
Making a Difference Through Profit Share
When asked what profit sharing has allowed her to do, Adler replied, “My philosophy is that money is good for the good it can do.” One example of how Adler gives back is through The Sue Adler Team’s Annual 100th Home Sale Charity Program, where she donates $20,000 to six local charities, as voted on by the community. She has also funded Hear It Direct – a real estate consumer conference – through profit share and later donated the video content to KW’s Customer Experience course.
“The best part about profit sharing is that I can live a life by design and will it to my daughters! One of my personal goals was to travel to all seven continents. In 2019, we visited Africa, making that our seventh! Thank you, Gary Keller, for being the kind of leader that creates opportunities of abundance for others, and for empowering us to pay it forward. I’m so grateful.”
The wealth you build with profit share is not only for today, but it is also part of the legacy you will leave behind. After you’ve been with Keller Williams for seven years, you are vested; your profit share distributions will continue to roll in as long as the associates you sponsored down your seven levels continue contributing to the profit of the market center and you do not subsequently compete or recruit against Keller Williams. And, if you choose to exit production, the checks will follow and your profit share tree will continue to provide shade for all those under it for generations to come.