# FSP Zillow Flex Field Manual
**BHHS Florida Showcase Properties · Citrus County, FL**
**Managing Broker: Mark Casper, BK3088942**
*Version 1.1 · September 2026 · For Team Use*

---

> *This manual is your operational guide for working the Zillow Flex program the right way. Everything in here comes from hard-won experience — what works, what doesn't, and what the program requires. Read it once all the way through. Then keep it close and refer back to it.*

---

## PART 1 — WHAT THIS PROGRAM IS (AND ISN'T)

### The deal you signed up for

Zillow Flex is a pay-at-closing referral arrangement. No monthly subscription. No upfront fee. Zillow delivers buyer leads and when a transaction closes, a referral fee is paid. That's the deal.

In exchange, Zillow watches how the team works. They track responsiveness, follow-up patterns, CRM usage, and whether buyers are being introduced to their lending partner (ZHL). Perform well and the leads keep coming. Perform poorly and they slow down or stop.

This isn't a passive income source. It's a system that rewards effort, engagement, and execution — consistently, not occasionally.

### What kind of leads you're getting

Every Zillow Flex lead arrives one of three ways:

**1. Real-Time Tour** — The buyer requested a tour of a specific property and Zillow connected them to you in real time. There are two versions: *Confirmed* (Zillow has already set a time — "You're giving [Buyer] a tour of [address]") and *Unconfirmed* (the buyer wants to tour but hasn't locked in a time — "Follow up now to schedule"). Either way, the buyer has already raised their hand. You are following through on something they started, not cold-calling someone who forgot they ever looked at Zillow.

**2. Live Phone Connect** — The buyer is live on the phone when Zillow hands off the call. There are two subtypes:

- **Broadcast** — Zillow sends the call simultaneously to multiple agents. First to accept gets the connection. If you pick up and hear that the lead has already been claimed, someone else got there first. Speed matters on these.
- **Direct/Queue** — Zillow sends the call to you specifically. If you don't answer, it rolls to the next agent in the queue. These are more likely to still be live when you pick up, even if it's taken a few rings. If it's still ringing when you answer, it's probably yours alone.

Either way: the conversation is happening in real time. There is no speed-to-lead gap to manage.

**3. Text/Nurture Lead** — The buyer submitted their information but was not available for or did not want a live phone connection at that moment. Zillow delivers the lead silently — no call, no live handoff. These show up in FUB as new leads with a status of Lead. Your job is to reach out, move them to Attempted Contact, and work the follow-up standard (see Part 7) until you get a real answer.

These three lead types are the core of the Zillow Flex program. You may also receive calls directly to your Zillow profile number, or contacts through the "Contact Us" form on your agent page. These deserve immediate follow-up — not only did this person reach out for help, they reached out specifically to you. That is about as warm as a lead gets.

There is no such thing as a cold Zillow Flex lead. Every lead — even the text-only ones — arrived because the buyer was actively looking at a property on Zillow. They are warm by definition. Treat them that way.

---

## PART 1B — CALL PROCEDURES AND LEAD DISTRIBUTION

### How the team is structured for incoming calls

The team operates on a **week-on / week-off rotation**. You are assigned to one of two groups. When your week is on, you are active for all seven days — your phone will ring for broadcast and direct leads whenever you are not paused. When your week is off, you are out of the rotation.

This structure exists so that every agent on the program has a realistic chance of working their leads properly. Trying to manage incoming calls every day of the month while also doing the follow-up work on existing leads is a recipe for doing neither well.

### When to pause yourself — and when not to

When you are on your active week, stay available. Pause yourself when you will be genuinely unavailable for a meaningful stretch of time — a listing appointment, a showing, a meeting that will keep you away from your phone for thirty minutes or more. When you are done, unpause.

Do not pause yourself for brief interruptions. The standard is planned, extended unavailability — not every moment you step away from your desk. Use your judgment: if you expect to be unreachable long enough that a call going unanswered would be a real problem, pause. If it is a momentary thing, stay in.

> **Do not pause yourself just because you already received a lead today.** That thins the broadcast pool and puts an unfair share of the call volume on whoever is still active. Stay in — just follow the ring rule below.

### The lead cap

Each agent can receive up to **20 leads per 30-day cycle**. The cap exists because lead quality and follow-up effectiveness drop significantly beyond that volume. The program is designed so that a full active week, working at a reasonable pace, can yield up to 15 connections — one or two leads per active day is a sustainable and realistic target.

### The ring rule — once you have a lead for the day

On a broadcast call, Zillow sends the connection to multiple agents simultaneously. The fastest finger wins. That is fine when you have not yet received a lead that day — but once you have, the right move is to give your teammates a fair shot at the next broadcast.

**The rule: if you have already received a lead today, wait for the third ring before accepting a broadcast call.**

This is not about being generous — it is about running a fair program for the whole team. At the same time, do not wait past three rings. If the call is a direct or queue lead sent specifically to you, it will roll out of the FSP team entirely if you do not answer — to another Flex team at another brokerage. That is a lost opportunity for the brokerage, not a handoff to a teammate.

In practice: one lead per day is the informal standard. Two in a day happens and is fine, especially if one comes in directly. Three or four in a single day is the exception, not the goal.

### Real-Time Tours — different rules

Real-Time Tours are handled differently from broadcast phone calls. The priority on RTTs is not distributing them evenly — it is not losing the opportunity. If a Real-Time Tour comes in and there is a conflict, the team group chat handles reallocation. The goal is to make sure the buyer gets served and the lead stays in the brokerage.

---

## PART 2 — THE INTAKE CALL

### The 30-Second Rule — and the AI That Enforces It

The moment you connect with a Zillow lead, you have 30 seconds to ask for an appointment. This is not our rule — it is Zillow's program standard. Zillow's AI listens to every call and scores whether you asked for the appointment within 30 seconds. You are required to hit that mark on at least **80% of your calls**. The script is designed so that if you follow it, you hit 80% automatically. All you have to do is stick to it.

**Your intake script:**

> *"Hi [Name], this is [Your Name], your Zillow Premier Agent. Zillow just connected us. I see you're looking at a property or properties in [area]. Would you like to see it today?"*

Greeting. Identification. Acknowledgment. Appointment ask. Thirty seconds. That's it.

Don't warm up. Don't give a background story. Don't ask them what they're looking for before you ask for the appointment. The appointment ask comes first, every time.

### The ALM Framework

ALM is how Zillow — and this team — teaches the intake conversation. It stands for:

- **A — Appointment:** Ask for it within 30 seconds. Everything else follows.
- **L — Location:** Confirm where they're looking. The script opens with "I see you're looking at properties in [area]" — that's the location anchor. They may narrow it ("specifically Citrus Hills") or expand it as the conversation continues.
- **M — Motivation:** Why are they moving, and when? This comes out naturally after the appointment ask — "When are you thinking of making a move?" People will tell you they're waiting until after the school year, that they need to be near a university, that they're relocating for family. This information shapes how you work them going forward.

In practice, many Real-Time Tour leads just want to get out and see a home — and that's fine. Getting them face-to-face is the goal. The deeper motivation conversation often happens naturally once you're in the same room. Don't force ALM into a rigid script. Use the appointment ask to open the door, then let the conversation fill in L and M.

### After the Appointment Is Set

Before you end the call:
1. Confirm the time and the property address
2. Ask: "Is there anything else you'd like to see while we're out?" — try to expand the showing before you hang up
3. Let them know you'll text them your contact info and appointment confirmation
4. Log the call and set the appointment in Follow Up Boss — before you do anything else

---

## PART 3 — FOLLOW UP BOSS IS NOT OPTIONAL

### Why every call goes through FUB

Since September 2025, Zillow no longer tracks your answer rate. They track your FUB usage. If you are making calls to Zillow leads from your personal cell phone, those calls do not exist as far as Zillow is concerned. You can work hard all week and register as inactive.

**All calls to Zillow leads are made through Follow Up Boss. No exceptions. No workarounds.**

Two additional reasons this matters to you directly:
- Calls are recorded. If there is ever a dispute about what was said or promised, the recording protects you.
- The broker reviews FUB activity to coach you. If your work isn't in FUB, the broker can't see it, and can't help you.

### FUB Compliance thresholds (Zillow's rules)

| FUB Usage | Your Status |
|---|---|
| 90%+ | Green — no issues |
| 75–89% | Yellow — warning |
| Under 75% | At risk of program removal |

### The five things you must do in FUB for every lead

**1. Log every touch.** Every call, text, email, showing, and meeting goes in. These sync to Zillow as communication signals. Low apparent contact = low rating.

The following are **auto-logged by FUB** — no manual entry needed:
- Calls made through the FUB dialer
- Texts sent through FUB
- Emails sent through a connected Gmail or Outlook account
- Zillow Messages (requires Zillow Two-Way Integration enabled and your Zillow profile linked to FUB)

The following **must be logged manually**:
- Showings and in-person meetings
- Calls made from your personal cell (don't do this — use the FUB dialer)
- Notes and context from any conversation

> **Use the microphone.** When entering notes, speak instead of type. It's faster, and you'll capture more — you don't have to hunt for letters, so you can get everything down while it's fresh. Don't worry about saying too much. AI will summarize it for you. The goal is to get all the useful information in.

**2. Keep statuses current.** Move leads through the funnel as their situation changes. Stale statuses produce bad reports and hide your real pipeline.

**3. Never use Trash.** In the FUB-to-Zillow sync, the Trash stage maps to "Rejected" in Zillow's system. This permanently breaks the My Agent relationship and is against brokerage policy. A lead that goes nowhere doesn't get trashed — they go to Nurture.

**4. Log the ZHL transfer.** When you make the introduction to ZHL, note it. One line: "Referred to ZHL [date]." That's the documentation.

**5. Set a next task before you close the file.** If a conversation ends without a scheduled next step, the lead will drift. Every file that gets touched gets a next task before you move on.

### Your four daily Smart Lists

Work these in order every morning. They tell you exactly who needs what today:

| Smart List | Who's on it | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| **Engaged – No Appointment** | Spoke to them, no showing scheduled | Push for the appointment |
| **Appointment Set** | Appointment confirmed | Confirm, prep, don't let it fall apart |
| **Shown – No Offer** | You've shown property, no contract yet | Find the objection. Move forward or triage |
| **Low/No Contact (30+ days)** | Haven't reached them in a month | Re-engage or move to BoldTrail |

---

## PART 3B — THE MORNING AFTER: BOLDTRAIL SETUP FOR EVERY NEW LEAD

Every new Zillow lead needs to be set up in BoldTrail the morning after it comes in — or as soon as possible after the intake call. This is not optional. It's the other half of the lead intake process.

### The four things you do in BoldTrail for every new lead

**1. Set the search alert to their actual criteria.**
Don't blast them with every listing in a zip code. If they're looking for a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home under $350,000 in Inverness, that's what their alert should reflect. A search alert tuned to what they actually want keeps them engaged. A firehose of irrelevant listings gets them to unsubscribe.

**2. Move their status out of New.**
The vast majority of Zillow leads move into **Active Lead** status. A lead you haven't been able to reach yet may go to **Prospect**. Nobody stays in New — that status means unprocessed, and an unprocessed lead is an invisible one.

**3. Pause the Active Campaign.**
This lead is already in FUB active follow-up. You don't want BoldTrail's marketing campaign running at the same time. Pause it until they transition to BoldTrail — at that point you'll unpause it intentionally.

**4. Set a 30-day task: "Review FUB status."**
This is your only scheduled action on this lead in BoldTrail until something changes. Set it and forget it. Thirty days from today, a task surfaces and you cross-reference with FUB.

### The set-and-forget strategy

Once these four steps are done, BoldTrail runs on autopilot. The lead gets listing alerts that match what they're looking for. Your name is in their inbox regularly. You spend zero time on them.

You won't see this lead again in BoldTrail for 30 days — unless they wake up. Wake-up signals are: multiple property views in a short period, repeated visits to the same listings, email opens on listing alerts, signing up for a market report. When you see any of these, call that day.

### The 30-day review

When the task pops up, pull up the lead in FUB. Ask yourself: is there a realistic chance this person buys in the next 90 days?

**If yes:** Keep them active in FUB. Reset the 30-day BoldTrail task and keep working them.

**If no:** This lead is going into BoldTrail.

To move a lead into BoldTrail:
1. Add a note in FUB: *"Marketing on BoldTrail [date]."* Move their FUB stage to Nurture.
2. In BoldTrail: unpause the Prospect or Active Lead campaign.
3. Change the search alert to bi-weekly — enough to stay visible, not enough to annoy.
4. That's all. The Prospect/Active campaign includes a monthly or quarterly call task automatically — it will appear on your daily report on schedule. You don't need to set anything else.

From here, the campaign runs itself. You'll be prompted to call them on the schedule you set. Nobody is written off — they go into a coma. They stay in the system until they wake up or until there's genuinely no way to reach them.

---

## PART 4 — THE DAILY WORKFLOW

### Morning (start here, every day)

**Step 1 — Follow Up Boss (15–20 minutes)**
- Check your Inbox: texts and emails that came in overnight
- Review Tasks due today; clear overdue items
- Work your four Smart Lists top to bottom

**Step 2 — BoldTrail (10 minutes)**
- Check the Vitals Dashboard: who's active, what needs attention
- Review any leads showing website activity or listing views — these are warm signals
- Process any new leads: assign status, set search alerts, create follow-up task

Don't start making calls until you've completed this review. The time you spend organizing will make your outreach twice as effective.

### Midday / Afternoon (your action block)

This is calling time. Work your FUB task list. Respond to inbound messages. Update every file you touch with a new task. Every conversation ends with a scheduled next step — not "I'll follow up later," but a specific date and time you tell them out loud.

### End of Day (10 minutes)

- Clear or reschedule all overdue tasks — don't let them pile up
- Move any cold leads from active pipeline to Nurture (then BoldTrail — see Part 5)
- Verify every file you touched today has a next task on it
- Check tomorrow's Smart Lists so you know what you're walking into

---

## PART 5 — THE LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY (THE COMA WARD)

### Nobody gets written off in this program

When a lead stops responding, we don't delete them, trash them, or give up on them. We say they have gone into a coma. They may never wake up. They might wake up in six months. We don't know — and as long as we have an email address and a phone number, we don't need to know, because the system will work them for us indefinitely.

This is a fundamental principle of how this team operates. **No lead with a valid contact is ever truly abandoned.**

### When a lead goes into a coma

A lead is ready for BoldTrail when:
- 30 days have passed without any meaningful engagement despite active follow-up
- You have at least 5 genuine outbound call attempts documented in FUB — Terminator voicemails count
- There is no appointment scheduled, no active showing process underway, and no reasonable reason to expect near-term conversion

If you don't have five calls logged after 30 days, that's a follow-up problem to fix — not a reason to move the lead to Nurture early.

### The BoldTrail transition — step by step

**In Follow Up Boss:**
1. Move stage to **Nurture** (never Trash — see Part 3)
2. Add a note: *"Moving to BoldTrail for long-term nurture. [Date]. [Brief reason — e.g., 'No response after 6 attempts over 30 days.']"*
3. Create a 30-day task: *"Check BoldTrail activity — any signs of life?"*

**In BoldTrail:**
1. Add the lead if not already there
2. Set status to **Prospect** (not Active — they haven't engaged recently)
3. Set up property search alerts matching their original criteria
4. Enroll in the appropriate long-term drip campaign
5. Set their star rating to reflect current state (1–2 stars typical for coma patients)

**What happens next:** BoldTrail works them automatically. Every new listing that matches their criteria hits their inbox. Every market update keeps your name in front of them. You spend zero time on them unless BoldTrail tells you something changed.

There's also a deeper advantage here that Zillow can't match: when a lead searches for homes on your personal BoldTrail website (yourname.your365agent.com), they are connected to you permanently — not just while you're in Zillow's "My Agent" status. Zillow's connection to you expires. Your website never does. A coma patient who wanders back to your site six months from now is still your lead. That's why getting them onto your website matters.

### When a coma patient wakes up

BoldTrail behavioral signals that mean it's time to call:
- Multiple property views in a short period
- Repeated visits to listings in their original search criteria
- Email opens on listing alerts (especially multiple in one week)
- Return visits to properties they viewed months ago

When you see these signals, **call the same day.** The window is short. They're browsing because something changed in their life — job, family, finances, lease ending. You want to be the call they get while they're in that mindset.

When you call, bring them back to active status in FUB and restart the intake process. They're warm again. Treat them like it.

### The final exit

"I bought elsewhere" or "I'm not moving anymore" stay in long-term care as market contacts. In a few years, they may be sellers.

"Stop," "never contact me again" or "take me off your list," in any channel, is an opt-out. Tag them Do Not Contact in Follow Up Boss with a dated note. They are never transferred or marketed to again. Only the customer can lift it, by reaching out first.

The only thing that truly ends a contact is: no valid email, no valid phone number, and no way to reach them. Everything else stays in the system.

---

## PART 6 — THE STANDARDS

### What Zillow measures (and what happens when you fall short)

These two tables are not the same thing. Know the difference.

**Performance metrics — affect your lead quality and quantity:**

| Metric | Minimum | Target |
|---|---|---|
| FUB Requirement Fulfillment | 75% | 90%+ |
| ALM Score (Agent Lead Management) | 70% | 85%+ |
| CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) | 88 | 90+ |
| Conversion Rate | 5% | 8.5%+ |

**Operational health thresholds — fall below these and Zillow cuts your leads immediately:**

| Metric | Required |
|---|---|
| FUB Requirement Fulfillment | 75% |
| Closing Document Submission | 75% |
| Payment Punctuality | 95% |

### What the brokerage measures

The broker tracks one primary metric for ZHL accountability: **transfer rate as a percentage of all connections** — not eligible connections, not met-withs. All connections. This is gaming-proof. The number cannot be improved by marking leads ineligible.

| Transfer Rate | Rating | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 12%+ | ⭐ High | Exceeding the goal |
| 10–11.9% | ✅ On Track | Meeting the goal |
| 7–9.9% | ⚠️ Approaching | Below goal, above floor |
| Under 7% | ❌ Below Floor | Accountability conversation required |

**The floor is 7%. The goal is 10.** One extra transfer per month moves most agents from the floor to the goal. That's one conversation. That's $1,236 per month in additional income at the team average — if the rest of your metrics are in line.

### CSAT — the score you can protect with one email

CSAT is your customer satisfaction rating. It affects lead volume and team standing. The brokerage sends an automatic reminder email to customers before the survey arrives. You never see it. It works in the background.

What you can do: follow up. Agents who stay in regular contact, communicate proactively, and respond quickly get higher satisfaction scores than agents who go quiet after the showing. That's it. CSAT is a follow-up discipline score wearing a satisfaction disguise.

The team target is 90+. Below 90 starts to affect lead flow. Stay in contact.

### Meeting attendance

Friday 11 AM — Zillow Flex team meeting. This is not optional.

**Every agent is expected to attend every meeting** — in person or on Zoom. Both count equally. If you cannot make it, you are expected to watch the recording and email confirmation that you've done so before the next meeting. The floor is 100% review — no agent should ever be out of the loop on what was covered.

Note on Zoom attendance: the broker can see total Zoom headcount but cannot always identify individuals. Don't rely on that gap. The expectation is that you email in when you've watched the recording — that's how you confirm attendance when you can't be there live.

The meeting is where you see your numbers, hear what's working across the team, and get coaching on what isn't. If you are not attending and not watching, you are not in the program.

---

## PART 7 — FOLLOW-UP STANDARDS

### The reality about follow-up and money

The data is clear. Follow-up quality — not lead volume — is what separates income levels on this team.

| Follow-Up Quality | Conversions per 4 Potential Buyers | Effect on Income |
|---|---|---|
| Poor follow-up | 0.5 | Baseline |
| Good follow-up | 1.0 | 2× income |
| Great follow-up | 1.5 | 3× income |

You can triple your income from the same number of leads by changing how consistently you follow up. Not how clever your scripts are. Not how charismatic you are on the phone. Just whether you call back when you said you would, and whether you keep calling until you get a real answer.

### The follow-up standard — 30 days, not 7

A lead stays in active follow-up for the full 30 days from first contact — or until they explicitly tell you to stop. That's the rule. Not a week. Not after five calls. Thirty days.

At the end of 30 days, if you haven't been able to reach them, you can move them to Nurture — but only if you have **at least 5 genuine outbound call attempts documented in FUB.** That's the minimum required to make the move. If you don't have five calls logged, you haven't done the work yet.

Email and text are supplements to calls — not substitutes. Five texts does not equal five calls.

Five calls is a minimum, not a finish line. Keep calling through the full 30 days. The worst thing that can happen if you keep calling is that they finally pick up and tell you to stop — and at least then you know. Everything short of that is a maybe. Work your maybes.

### The Terminator Voicemail

When a lead doesn't answer, leave a voicemail — but not a generic one. Use the Terminator method: **unilaterally schedule the next call in the voicemail itself**, and then call at exactly that time.

*"Sorry I missed you. I have those answers you needed — give me a call when you have a minute. Otherwise I'll try you again at 6:00 tonight."*

Then call at 6:00. On the dot.

Do this every time. What happens is simple: they start to realize you are not going to stop until they answer the phone. Eventually, they pick up — either because they're ready to talk, or because they want to tell you to stop. Either answer moves you forward. Calling at the exact time you said also signals that you keep your word, which is exactly the impression you want a buyer to have about their agent.

A real answer is: *"I already bought," "I changed my mind," "Never call me again."* Everything else is a maybe. Work your maybes.

### When following up, sound like you know them

Generic follow-up gets ignored. Specific follow-up gets responses.

**Generic (low conversion):**
> *"Hi John, just checking in to see if you're still looking. Let me know if I can help!"*

**Specific (high conversion):**
> *"Hi John, I saw a 3-bed in Citrus Hills just listed at $289,000 — it has the single-story layout you mentioned. Moves fast in that neighborhood. Worth a quick look this week?"*

Same lead. Completely different impression. One says you forgot about them. One says you were thinking about them.

---

## PART 8 — PIPELINE HYGIENE

### The rule on lead status

Every lead has a status in FUB at all times. Stale status = stale thinking = missed money.

- **New** leads must move out of New status within 24 hours — either to Attempted contact (no answer yet) or the appropriate active stage (if you've spoken to them)
- **Never move backward** — leads progress forward through the funnel, or sideways to Nurture. Not back to New.
- **Nurture is not the trash.** Nurture means they're in long-term care (BoldTrail). They're coma patients, still being worked.
- **Trash is never used for Zillow leads.** Not once. Not for anyone. See Part 3 for why.

### Weekly pipeline hygiene — 20 minutes that matter

Once a week, walk your active pipeline and ask: is this lead actually where I put them? A cluttered pipeline hides your real opportunities. Agents with 90-lead active pipelines and 4 real prospects don't know which 4 to focus on. Agents with 20 leads in active and 70 in BoldTrail know exactly who needs their attention.

Move cold leads to BoldTrail. Focus your active pipeline on what's real. The computer will take care of the rest.

---

## PART 9 — WHAT GETS MEASURED AT THE FRIDAY MEETING

Every week, the broker reviews the following for every agent on the team. These are not secret. They are visible to you in FUB and Zillow Partner Hub.

| Metric | What it tells the broker |
|---|---|
| Connections received | Lead volume — is the team healthy? |
| ZHL transfers | Are you asking every time? |
| Transfer rate % | Your single most controllable metric |
| Eligible met-with | What the real funnel looks like |
| Pre-approvals | ZHL's conversion of your transfers |
| Closing rate (4-week trend) | Are you converting showings to contracts? |
| FUB call volume | Are you doing the work? |
| Smart list status | Is your pipeline clean and current? |
| CSAT rating | Are customers satisfied with your service? |

The meeting is not a performance review. It's a coaching session with data. The agents who come prepared — who have looked at their own numbers before the meeting — get more out of it. The agents who show up without knowing their numbers spend the meeting being surprised instead of being coached.

### Closing rate — what we're watching for

The goal is direction, not perfection. A 5.9% closing rate this week following a 5.7% last week is progress. A 6.1% rate that was 8.2% three weeks ago is a concern — not because of the number, but because of the trend.

The broker tracks 4-week rolling direction, not single-week snapshots. One bad week is noise. Three consecutive bad weeks is a signal. If you're on a downward trend, the answer is usually in your Smart Lists — are your leads being worked, or are they piling up in New and Attempting Contact?

---

## PART 10 — THE COMMITMENT STANDARD

### What staying on this team means

Starting July 1, 2026, every agent on this team is here by choice — and that choice is documented. Before the second half begins, every agent will be asked to sign a simple commitment that says: I understand the standards, I want to be on this program, and I'm committing to the work.

This isn't a punishment. It's a starting line. Anyone on the team who isn't willing to make that commitment isn't really on the team — and everyone knows it, even if no one says it.

### The floors — simple and non-negotiable

**ZHL Transfer Rate: 7% minimum.** Below this, the broker has an accountability conversation with you. It's not hostile. It's not punitive. It's a sit-down to figure out what's broken and how to fix it. But it happens every time.

**Closing Rate: directional improvement over any 4-week window.** You don't have to be Lisa Roberts. You have to be moving in the right direction, and you have to be willing to sit down with the broker and talk about what's in the way.

**CRM engagement: your work has to be in the system.** If it isn't in FUB, it doesn't exist for accountability purposes. The broker can only help you with what he can see.

### Who runs this program — and who owns it

This program belongs to BHHS Florida Showcase Properties. The brokerage applied for Flex status, qualified for it, negotiated the terms with Zillow, and maintains the relationship. Individual agents cannot qualify for Zillow Flex on their own — the program is granted to the brokerage based on the team's collective performance, not to any individual agent.

Every lead that comes through this program arrives because of the brokerage's standing with Zillow. Every lead belongs to the brokerage — not to the agent it is assigned to.

The referral fee is the brokerage's obligation. To put it in plain numbers: if a transaction generates $10,000.00 in gross compensation and the Zillow referral rate is 40%, the brokerage sends $4,000.00 to Zillow. The remaining $6,000.00 goes through the BHHS royalty and the normal split. Agents never pay Zillow themselves. The brokerage's accounting department pays the fee to Zillow out of the gross commission when the deal closes, before the split.

### How the Zillow fee works

Zillow is paid only when a deal closes. The fee is a percentage of the gross commission on the deal, never of the sale price. The percentage slides with the price, and the county sets where each tier starts. A seller who came to Zillow to sell is a flat 40% everywhere.

| County | Group | 15% | 25% | 30% | 35% | 40% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citrus | 1 | under $75,000 | $75,000+ | $150,000+ | $225,000+ | $300,000+ |
| Marion | 1 | under $75,000 | $75,000+ | $150,000+ | $225,000+ | $300,000+ |
| Levy | 1 | under $75,000 | $75,000+ | $150,000+ | $225,000+ | $300,000+ |
| Hernando | 2 | under $100,000 | $100,000+ | $200,000+ | $300,000+ | $400,000+ |
| Sumter | 2 | under $100,000 | $100,000+ | $200,000+ | $300,000+ | $400,000+ |

Example: a $350,000.00 sale at 3% is $10,500.00 of gross commission. In Citrus, Marion or Levy the fee is 40%, $4,200.00. In Hernando or Sumter it is 35%, $3,675.00.

**Two years or two deals.** The fee covers up to two deals for the same customer, whichever comes first: the first within two years of Zillow sending them, the second within two years of that first closing (the two-year clock starts over when the first deal closes). If the deal closes in a spouse's, a family member's or a company's name, it is still a Zillow deal. A family member or friend who later buys their own home is a referral from your customer, and that one is yours, fee-free.

**Your checklist:**
- The lead source says Zillow in Back Office the day the file opens.
- Already knew them before Zillow sent them? Tell the office within 14 days of delivery, with proof you were already talking. Not at closing.
- Builder bonuses and incentives go on their own line on the settlement statement, or Zillow shares in them.
- Tell the office the minute a Zillow deal goes under contract, so the fee comes out in our accounting the first time.
- Not sure whether a customer is a Zillow customer? Ask before you write the contract.

### If you leave the program — or the brokerage

Because all leads belong to the brokerage, there is no such thing as taking Zillow leads with you when you go. That applies whether you are leaving real estate entirely or moving to another brokerage. What happens to those leads depends on how you leave.

**If you are leaving real estate entirely:**
Your responsibility before your license transfers is to leave every file in FUB fully updated — current status, recent notes, last contact, next step documented. Another team member needs to be able to pick up exactly where you left off and serve that customer without missing a beat. This is not optional and it is not negotiable. It is the professional standard this team holds regardless of the circumstances of departure.

**If you are leaving to join another brokerage:**
The same CRM cleanup requirement applies to all of your leads. In addition, you may identify up to **five leads** — your five best genuine opportunities — to negotiate a handoff arrangement with a staying team member. Five is the maximum. There are no exceptions to this cap.

The process for each of those five leads is straightforward:

1. You and the staying agent negotiate whatever split arrangement you agree to. The brokerage does not set the terms and does not weigh in on what is fair — that is between you and the other agent.
2. You add the staying agent as a **collaborator** on the lead in FUB.
3. You write a note in FUB documenting the agreement as you understand it.
4. The staying agent writes a **separate note** in FUB confirming the same agreement in their own words.
5. Before your license transfers, you notify the broker that the five leads are ready for review.

The broker's review consists of exactly three checks per lead: collaborator is assigned, departing agent note is present, staying agent note is present and in agreement. Once those three boxes are confirmed for all five leads, the handoff is complete.

When one of those leads closes, the transaction runs through FSP in the normal way. The Zillow referral fee comes off the top. Whatever remains is split according to the documented agreement — FSP issues a check to the departing agent's new brokerage for their share. What happens to that money once it reaches the new broker is governed by whatever agreement the departing agent has with them.

**All other leads** — every lead not included in the five — transfer to the broker upon removal from the team and are reassigned from there.

One final note on the Zillow referral agreement: every agent on this team signs a referral agreement with Zillow at the time of joining the program. That agreement is personal. If a lead closes within the referral window — generally two years or two deals, whichever comes first (the two-year clock starts over when the first deal closes) — the referral fee is owed to Zillow regardless of which brokerage closes the transaction. This is not a brokerage policy. It is a contract the agent signed. It travels with the agent.

### What the broker will do for you

The broker will meet with you anytime. Weekends. Evenings. However you need to do it. He will pull your FUB data, walk through your pipeline with you, and help you identify exactly where leads are dropping out of your funnel. That's a resource most agents at other brokerages would pay for separately. Use it.

What he will not do is carry agents who aren't making a genuine effort. The team has 16 people competing for leads, for training time, and for coaching attention. Agents who are doing the work deserve those resources. Agents who aren't doing the work are taking them from people who are.

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## QUICK REFERENCE — THE ESSENTIAL CHECKLIST

### Every intake call
- [ ] Appointment ask within 30 seconds
- [ ] ZHL transfer introduced before hanging up
- [ ] Call logged in FUB before doing anything else
- [ ] Next task set in FUB

### Every day
- [ ] FUB Inbox reviewed
- [ ] Four Smart Lists worked in priority order
- [ ] BoldTrail Dashboard checked for activity signals
- [ ] Every file touched has a next task before end of day
- [ ] Cold leads moved to Nurture / BoldTrail with note

### Every week
- [ ] Pipeline hygiene — active leads are actually active
- [ ] FUB usage above 75%
- [ ] At least one ZHL transfer per 10 connections received
- [ ] Friday meeting attended (or recording watched)

### BoldTrail checklist (moving a coma patient)
- [ ] FUB stage: Nurture
- [ ] FUB note: date + reason for transition
- [ ] FUB task: 30-day check for BoldTrail activity
- [ ] BoldTrail: lead added, status = Prospect
- [ ] BoldTrail: search alerts set to original criteria
- [ ] BoldTrail: enrolled in long-term drip campaign

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## APPENDIX A — SCRIPTS AT A GLANCE

**Intake appointment ask (buyer):**
> *"Hi [Name], this is [Your Name], your Zillow Premier Agent. Zillow just connected us — I see you're looking at properties in [area]. Would you like to see something today?"*

**ZHL transfer:**
> *"Before we go look at anything — have you already connected with a lender about pre-approval? I work with Zillow's lending team. They're fast, no obligation, and it puts us in a position to move quickly. Want me to have them give you a quick call?"*

**Voicemail with specific callback time:**
> *"Hi [Name], it's [Your Name] with Berkshire Hathaway. I'll try you again tomorrow around 2. If that works better for you, feel free to call me at [number]."*

**Specific follow-up text:**
> *"Hi [Name], I saw [specific property] just listed at [price] — it has [feature they mentioned]. Worth a quick look? I have time [day] or [day]."*

**BoldTrail reactivation call:**
> *"Hi [Name], I noticed a few new listings came up in [area] that match what you were looking for back in [month]. I thought of you right away. Have you been keeping an eye on anything? I've been doing the same."*

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## APPENDIX B — KEY CONTACTS

| Role | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Managing Broker | Mark Casper | BK3088942 · (352) 364-1947 (text only) |
| Team Leader / Sales Manager | Russell Barber | Zillow Flex Team Lead · Top producer |
| Zillow Success Manager | Edward Jenkins | Program accountability, lead volume |
| Office | BHHS Florida Showcase Properties | (352) 746-0744 · 2450 N. Citrus Hills Blvd., Hernando, FL |

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*This manual is a living document. It will be updated as the program evolves, Zillow changes its requirements, or the team's systems improve. When you receive an updated version, replace the old one. The date on the cover page tells you which version you have.*

*For the full policy framework behind this manual, refer to Section X (Lead Management & CRM) and Section XIII (Performance Expectations) of the BHHS Florida Showcase Properties Policy & Procedures Manual.*

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**BHHS Florida Showcase Properties · 2450 N. Citrus Hills Blvd., Hernando, FL 34442 · (352) 746-0744**
*Prepared by Mark Casper, Managing Broker · Version 1.1 · September 2026*