Real Estate Agent Messaging: Time to Flip the Script, Says Poulos

Courtney Poulos, founder and broker-owner of ACME | SERHANT. in Los Angeles and a member of the SERHANT. CA founding team, is calling for a fundamental shift in how real estate agents communicate their value. She describes a persistent issue: agents are often seen as overpaid paper pushers, a perception she believes can be changed through better messaging. Poulos recently completed Harvard University’s Advanced Management Development Program (AMDP) at the Graduate School of Design, which sharpened her view that agents should consider themselves senior-level executives. She cites a client who attempted to negotiate her commission down to a level that wouldn't cover marketing costs, illustrating the disrespect agents face. The key, she says, is audience-centric messaging—starting with what matters to clients rather than other agents.

Poulos is developing workshops and seminars to help agents rebuild public trust. The first session launches in Orlando this week, open to agents from all brokerages. She emphasizes that agents do complex work—data analysis, risk management, negotiation—but fail to communicate it. By clarifying that agents are experts deserving of their fees, the industry can reverse the narrative. ACME, founded in 2011 as a boutique brokerage in Los Angeles, is now ACME | SERHANT. under Ryan Serhant’s national firm. Poulos invites agents to reach out for participation. This initiative comes amid industry challenges like class action lawsuits and public relations battles, but Poulos sees it as an optimistic moment for the housing market.