Fantastic people but culture is beginning to take a backseat - Sales Executive Zillow Employee Review

3.0
20 Jul 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Best thing about Zillow, bar none, are the people. These are people who will be your lifelong friends and you will genuinely excited to see day in and day out. Training is exceptional. If you want to learn how to sell, Zillow offers some of the best training top to bottom. From learning how prospect, qualify, and close, you will get a great crash course on how to truly sell. Best product on the market as well. Yes there are competitors, like with any business/product, but Zillow is the most known. Some agents will buy from you for the simple fact that you’re calling from Zillow.

Cons

The culture of the Orange County office specifically has changed a lot in the last year. One of the core values is Orange County is a destination sales career. This is getting less true by the week. The Orange County office specifically is beginning to see an exodus of talent and employees who have worked with the company for a substantial amount of time. This isn’t a coincidence and over the past 6 months it’s gotten harder to ignore. Loyalty is lost with Zillow. If you’re the #2 sales executive in the company you will still be let go if you don’t hit your quota for 3 consecutive months. It’s a very “what have you done for me lately” role... But they will make exceptions for people they “like.” There have been instances where someone has missed quota for 3 months but an exception was made. Get on their good side. One of the biggest things Zillow preaches is that you have to fit within the culture. They offer no movement for lateral mobility (in the sales executive role) unless you have consistently met your quota for a year or more. This is a little confusing because there are openings regularly in different departments. If Zillow truly only hires 1% of the people they interview and they deem them a cultural fit, wouldn’t it make sense to let them move into a role where they might succeed? Or at least give them the chance?

avatar
Zillow Response
7y
Thank you for your review! We are proud that you noted our people/teammates are the heart and soul of our Orange County Sales team. I am glad to hear that you built partnerships that are strong and will continue into your next career journey. It is also great to hear that our investment in an incredible training program helped build and develop your skill set. I was concerned to hear that you have felt a shift in our culture. Our sales team’s culture is rich and vibrant, however, we do have performance expectations to achieve. Our performance expectations are designed to reward top performers and provide a compelling compensation opportunity for those who excel. We aim to be consistent and fair in our performance management, and if you experienced anything different I encourage you to reach out to add more details to your comments in this review (feel free to email or call me directly). I appreciate your feedback and wish you luck in your future career endeavors! Thank you, Jami Thomas, Senior Director, Premier Agent Sales (jamith@zillowgroup.com).

Explore other reviews about Zillow

5.0
13 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great company to work for

Cons

Long hours with low pay

1
3.0
8 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

You can make good money here.

Cons

In sales, job can change often. For example: I was making good money and excelling because I am a relationship Sales person. Then they changed it to where you get the sale, and instead of being able to grow that account via that relationship you just broke into, you have to pass it to an account manager and go back to cold/robo calling. You "book" of business you recive to prospect from is a lottery. I received a book of prospects/accounts that most of the were low income, or senior living properties. They don't have a budget and have a line of renter on a waitlist. No way to convince them to spend money on advertising but you still have the same quota.

2
avatar
Zillow Response
1mo
Thank you for sharing such a detailed perspective. We understand that frequent changes to roles, account ownership and business priorities can have a real impact on relationship-building and the day-to-day experience in sales. We’re glad to hear compensation was a positive part of your time at Zillow, and we appreciate you being candid about where the model and structure felt frustrating. Feedback like yours helps us better understand how these changes are experienced across teams as the business evolves.
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All