Expand, Dominate & Profit

Real estate offers a ton of opportunity for growth and wealth creation, but it’s not without its risk, and often that stops more cautious would-be agents from getting their start. While most successful agents would say the risk is worth the reward, taking the plunge can still be intimidating for new or part-time agents. Is there a way to get into the business while mitigating as much risk as possible? How can we be more strategic in our approach? In this episode, the Founder and CEO of Elite Advantage Team, Mike Swenson shares how to get big results while staying cautious.   Three Things We Learned From This Episode Advice for part-time agents looking to go full-time Anyone thinking about getting into real estate full-time should be going in with as much clarity as possible. Run the numbers in reverse, have an idea of how many transactions we’ll need to do, and know what’s at stake. Why we need to avoid pushing too hard, too fast One of the things that makes real estate so lucrative is the opportunity for repeat business, but we won’t see those benefits if we exit the industry too soon. It’s important to pace ourselves if we want the long-term advantages of being in this business. How to stop working harder and start working smarter Going into real estate without a strategy will only slow us down, so analyze every aspect of the business from a logistical standpoint. Before serving a particular neighborhood, consider whether it has a high turnover ratio and solid average sale price.   Guest Bio Mike Swenson is the Founder and CEO of Elite Advantage Team and the host of the Real Freedom podcast. Growing up in a small town in southern Minnesota, Mike moved to the big city for college and earned degrees in Entrepreneurship (back before it was cool) and Financial Management from the University of St. Thomas. He started out working for a non-profit for a couple of years in their finance department before moving over to focusing on operations. Looking for more opportunity & growth, Mike transitioned to working on the operations side of a real estate team. In his 6 years with the team serving as COO, he helped grow from a handful of agents and around 150 transactions (ranking 395th with their brokerage) to having expansion teams in 5 states and closing a total of 619 transactions (ranking 13th with their brokerage) and had the designation of being named the 31st largest team in the United States (including all brokerages). Taking his love for Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Systems, he decided to then launch his own team - the Elite Advantage Team - serving the Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding areas. Check them out on Facebook and Youtube as well. Also, he has spent time as a coach (high school-aged boys basketball), has taught financial management courses, ran a finance blog, & even has had a license for life insurance. He has spent multiple years in coaching in his real estate role through their Breakthrough, Mastery, and Transformational paths. To find out more, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-swenson/ https://www.relfreedom.com/ https://www.eliteadvantageteam.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB7KiEHOrzJMyKUwBWgqX4Q/videos https://www.facebook.com/mswenson13/ mike@eliteadvantageteam.com https://www.relfreedom.com/ https://www.relfreedom.com/blueprint

Eric Pearson has grown one of the biggest independent brokerages in the nation in 6 years - with over a thousand agents and 3 billion in sales. He has been able to grow beyond some of the biggest challenges that teams and brokerages face.  Usually, when teams get bigger, the value that agents get becomes capped in some form or fashion.  As a result, the pressure is put on details like splits and retention becomes difficult. Pearson Smith Realty has found a way to create a win-win for both the business and the agents on the team.  What are the biggest value points Eric has built into the foundation of the team? How do we give agents the culture, support, training while still giving them ample room to grow and succeed in their own right?  In this episode, the founder and owner of Pearson Smith Realty, Eric Pearson shares the strategies they’ve implemented to grow a big, successful brokerage.   Guest Bio Eric Pearson is the CEO and Founder of Pearson Smith Realty, a residential real estate brokerage built around core values of customer focus, respect, honesty, and personal accountability. Voted as one of Washington Business Journal’s Fastest-Growing Companies in 2018, Pearson Smith Realty supports their agents through customizable packages of lead generation, transaction management, and technology with an agent-focused approach built on agent productivity and culture. Eric has been featured on industry shows such as the Team Building Podcast, The Close, and GSD Mode; spoken at events around the country including Zillow’s Premier Agent Forum, Realtor.com Results Summit, BoomTown Unite, and NAR Annual Conference. He supports several charitable causes including the Special Olympics, Make-A-Wish Foundation, EHCO, and The Wholehearted Foundation. Outside of real estate and various other companies of which Eric is an owner, he enjoys his

A sellable business is a thriving business, so even if we’re not planning to put ours on the market in the immediate future, it is something we should be looking into creating. Where do we start? What do we need to know before trying to sell our businesses in the real estate space?  Does selling only apply to broker-owners, or is there an opportunity for team leaders to sell their businesses, too?  In this episode, Executive Vice President of First Team Real Estate and Founder of Homearly Real Estate Group, Jay Bourgana shares how he built and sold a successful team in just 4 years.    Three Things We Learned From This Episode Why marketing should be the priority The key to building a sellable business lies in having a clean, easily identifiable brand message. Hire a marketing professional early on in the process to make this a reality. How to maintain company culture even as we grow Having a great culture is essential for attracting potential buyers. To do that, we have to keep pouring into the team and give it the attention it needs. Think of company culture as a garden: unless we’re tending to it frequently, it will fall into disarray. How to eliminate the risk for our buyers We can’t expect to offer an easy transition if every aspect of the business depends on our involvement. Setting up our businesses to thrive in our absence is non-negotiable if we’re planning on selling.    Guest Bio Jay is a “recovering” management consultant turned business owner. He has had experience in banking, manufacturing, and management consulting, including years in China and Europe. Jay started the Homearly Real Estate Group which grew from $0 to $150M in residential real estate sales in less than 5 years, subsequently acquired by the $5 billion First Team Real Estate. He is passionate about building businesses, teams, and investing in growing or mature small and mid-size businesses. Jay was born and raised in Morocco. He currently resides in Orange County, California with his wife and two children. He loves to spend time with his family, travel and is passionate about engaging in the community, developing young entrepreneurs, mentoring local businesses, and volunteering with local non-profits Jay’s life’s purpose is healing ill businesses, thus creating opportunities for people to transform their lives.   To find out more, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-bourgana-519a7865/  https://www.homearly.com/

Many of us aspire to build bigger businesses, and the great thing is, it’s within reach! However, if our goal is expansion, we have to be willing to develop ourselves as leaders. Strong leadership is non-negotiable for growth, but what does that actually mean?  What's the difference between a great leader and an average one, and what should we be doing if our goal is to take our teams to new heights?  In this episode, CEO of Northrop Realty, Creig Northrop shares how to lead your business to big results.  Three Things We Learned From This Episode The key to building a bigger business: If our goal is expansion, it’s not enough to be a leader in name - we have to be leaders in nature. That means being present, being hands-on, and never asking someone to do something we wouldn’t be willing to do ourselves. The importance of investing in our agents: It’s one thing to give our agents leads, it’s another to ensure they know what to do with them. We have to pour into our agents so much that when a lead comes in, they know how to crush it no matter what. The 3 C’s to better leadership: Caring, consistency, and confidence are the key components of any successful team. Remember to embody all 3 by memorizing this: ‘close’ without the ‘c’ is just ‘lose’.    Guest Bio: Creig Northrop has over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry and is CEO and founder of Northrop Realty, A Long & Foster Company, which specializes in residential real estate in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, and Florida. Northrop Realty was named #1 Specialty Brokerage by Real Trends in 2020 after completing 2,500 transactions for a combined value of over $1 Billion in Volume in 2019. Creig and his wife Carla started the Creig Northrop Team in 2000 and went on to become the #1 Team in the Nation an unprecedented three times. Accomplishing the pinnacle of performance as a Team, Creig and Carla sought new levels of success and in 2018, they announced that the Creig Northrop Team would become Northrop Realty, A Long & Foster Company. Today, Northrop Realty is a full-service brokerage that employs more than 200 energetic professionals – all of whom offer distinct specialties focused on ensuring extraordinary service to their clients. With a talented staff and an ‘Everybody Matters’ mindset in place, cultivated 20 new teams, and opened 10 offices within the first full year as a brokerage. The brokerage continues to evolve with innovative marketing methods, a powerful real estate sales process, and internal continuing education for Northrop Realty agents and administrative staff. Northrop Realty will continue to evolve with new technology and robust marketing methods coupled by a powerful real estate sales process and educational training for the public and Northrop Realty agents. The extensive network of professionals is renowned for connecting buyers with sellers and delivering positive results with innovative marketing. To find out more, go to: https://www.northroprealty.com/agents/creig-northrop/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/creignorthrop/ Or call him directly on 410 531 0321

With real estate teams set to pave the way for the future of our industry, building them gives us an opportunity to not only expand our businesses, but create legacies for ourselves.  The only problem is, many agents are unsure of what it takes to build a team from scratch. Where do aspiring leaders even begin?  How can we build the kind of teams that help us make our mark on the industry, and what can we do to attract and retain top talent? In this episode, industry veteran and leader of The Cliff Freeman Group, Cliff Freeman shares how he built a successful team in just one year.    Three Things We Learned From This Episode Why teams are the future of real estate: Individual agents simply don’t have access to the same resources as teams do, and that puts them at a grave disadvantage. Over the next few years, individual agents will be almost entirely pushed out of the market because they just won’t be able to compete.  The importance of investing in our agents: Over 80% of agents exit the business after their first year, and that’s because they don’t receive the support they need. As team leaders, we can retain our agents and get a killer ROI by providing them with the right structure and systems.  Why traditional brokerages are no longer valuable to agents: Once upon a time, brokers were at the center of the real estate equation because they provided agents with a wealth of information. In the age of the internet, accessing knowledge is easier than ever before, making the need for brokers almost entirely obsolete.   Guest Bio: Cliff Freeman is the leader of The Cliff Freeman Group. An industry veteran of more than 30 years, Cliff has been a highly sought-after professional coach for more than a decade, with a portfolio of clients ranging from sole practitioners to large teams generating over $150,000,000 in annual sales. Cliff is a native Dallasite with expertise in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and in 2020 he was selected as the cover agent for Top Agent Magazine. Cliff is also the host of the Cliff’s Notes Real Estate Podcast.    To find out more, visit: https://www.dfwsearch.house/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/clifffreeman/  https://www.facebook.com/CliffordFreemanJr.eXpRealtyLLC/  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuKYg2rGMbP-fw_gSs3ebOnLqjR-fmUNx  Or call 214 817 3931   You can also contact Cliff directly on 214 680 5403 Or email him at cliff@cliffordfreeman.com

Something many leaders can relate to is a feeling of being emotionally, spiritually, and physically drained by the pursuit of success, but we don’t need to reach that level of exhaustion. If we surround ourselves with the right people and stop trying to do it on our own, we can build booming businesses without sacrificing our personal wellbeing. Working with the kind of talent who share our goals and values is the key to sustainable success. That being said, finding and retaining them is often easier said than done. What are top producers looking for in leaders, and what can we do to meet their needs? How can we hang on to our agents and help them grow alongside us?  In this episode, Founder of Hatch Realty, Erik Hatch shares how building a ‘teamerage’ helped him cut his weekly work hours in half, all while growing his business to astronomical heights.    Three Things We Learned From This Episode Why the people in our organizations make all the difference: It’s easier to build a business when our teams are filled with trustworthy, honest individuals who want to succeed as much as we do. These are the people who will stay by our side, even when we make a wrong move.  How to retain the right people: No top agent wants to hit a glass ceiling, so remove anything that could hamper their growth. Be open to discussions about rewards and benefits, and agree to adjusted commission splits on the proviso that they reach a goal that ensures everyone wins.  The importance of meritocracy in our teams: Allowing some agents to progress to a new career path and denying it to others creates a breeding ground for resentment. Keep everyone happy by ensuring everyone has to earn their place and the benefits that come with it.    Guest Bio: Erik Hatch is an entrepreneur, public speaker, Realtor, author, coach, investor, do-gooder, husband, father, and mediocre golfer. Erik has 25 businesses that he owns/operates with the help of some tremendous partners and relationships. In addition, he has built 2 non-profit movements that have raised nearly 3 million dollars to help serve kids and families in need. Fargo, ND has been home to Erik his entire life. It is where he and his wife Emily met -and where they’re raising their 2 kids (Finley and Simon). Erik is an alumnus of North Dakota State University and Fargo North High School. Hatch’s passions are simple –serving others and having fun while doing so. When Erik was 9 years old, he won a watermelon seed spitting contest at a local grocery store…so you’d be foolish not to trust him in real estate! Out of college, Erik went to work as a youth minister for nearly a decade. It is here that he really fell in love with cultivating deep relationships and harnessed his passion for inspiring and uplifting anyone he came in contact with. Erik started Hatch Realty in 2014 with a passion to do things differently than the status quo. He wanted to create a place where the most incredible people wanted to work and all his energy would be put into helping them to reach their dreams. Erik knew that great people would deliver world-class service for all those they could serve.   To find out more, go to:https://www.hatchrealty.com/ https://www.hatchcoaching.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikhatch1/    Books mentioned in this episode:https://www.amazon.com/Who-Not-How-Accelerating-Teamwork/dp/1401960588 https://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Real-Estate-Agent-About/dp/0071444041

The most successful real estate salespeople are prospecting machines who effectively generate leads and convert them into appointments. If we want to grow a business, we have to replicate our prospecting efforts. One of the most powerful ways we can do that is through an ISA.  A thriving inside sales machine is the key to future growth, and it can be the most profitable piece of marketing and the pinnacle of a real estate business.   How do we hire and train ISAs who can replicate our prospecting results? How can we turn the skills we gained in previous careers into unique value in real estate?  In this episode, I’m joined by Real Estate Uncensored co-hosts Greg McDaniel and Matt Johnson to talk about how to run the ISA model at a high level.   Three Things We Learned From This Episode The importance of knowing our numbers: When you run the ISA model, you have to give yourself a cushion to account for the leads that don’t go anywhere. You can expect anything from 25% to 30% of those leads to be cancels, reschedules, and no-shows. Tracking and understanding those percentages can make our results more predictable.  How to train our ISAs for success: If we want our ISAs to successfully reproduce the results we get on the phone, we have to set expectations from day one and create clarity around the benchmarks they have to reach to have a successful day. When they know what number they need to hit in order to be successful for that day, they can go towards that goal.  How our previous jobs can set us apart in real estate: Bring your past experience into real estate. It allows us to capitalize on something we know really well to enhance our real estate business. Many people have background skills in other areas that they are ignoring because they are trying to follow what other people are doing. If we leverage those skills, we can create unique value.

Many real estate businesses are messy and lack the cadence and operating systems that allow for scalable and sustainable growth. This shows in the results they get and their inability to meet goals.  The most successful real estate leaders master every aspect of running a team, and they create clarity around the activities that impact profitability. When we get to a point where we can forecast the results of our business, it shows that we understand the systems, our people, and our market.  What are the key systems we need to implement, and how do we make sure we’re implementing them the right way? What is the biggest mistake agents make on their first team hire? How do we farm at a high level?  In this episode, I’m joined by real estate disrupter, founder of Agent Academy, and CEO of Beer Home Team, Dan Beer. He shares his real estate journey, the biggest lessons he’s learned, and a unique perspective on eXp.   Three Things We Learned From This Episode The biggest mistake agents make on their first hire: By creating a hiring structure that doesn’t scale, we limit the business right from the first recruit. Build your team with the end in mind. Don’t focus on trying to keep costs low in the short-term by hiring people who don’t have the capacity to grow with your vision. Staff for the business you want, not the one you have right now.  How to succeed with farming: When it comes to prospecting and lead generation, there’s simply no shortcut, we need to be consistent and persistent. We need to be willing and able to farm for at least 6 months to get anything out of it. Get to a point where you actually like and enjoy farming so it doesn’t feel like a chore. That way, we’re able to keep doing it.  What drew Dan Beer to eXp: The challenge most agents face is not being able to get consistent coaching from other leaders in the industry, because those people aren’t financially tied to their success. What’s significant about eXp’s revenue share model is that agents have the financial incentive to help each other grow. The financial alignment creates an incentive for agents to collaborate and share knowledge on a deeper level as partners, not just peers.    Guest Bio: Daniel Beer is the founder of Agent Academy and CEO of Beer Home Team powered by eXp Realty. Dan's trademarked 5 Day Blitz™ home selling process helped produce 280 homes sold and over $211 million in sales in 2019 alone. Beer Home Team is ranked as one of the Top 50 Teams in the nation per The Wall Street Journal and Real Trends. Other recent awards include the 831st fastest-growing private company in America across all industries by Inc. 5000. Agent Academy is now the platform he uses to teach others how to duplicate his success and build a strong, profitable real estate business. For more information, visit https://agentacademy.com/ to learn about The Millionaire Farming Protocol and Dan’s other coaching program. Follow @danielbeer_ on Instagram.

When it comes to what it takes to be successful, most people want the short-term gain because long-term consistency is a lot harder to maintain. In real estate, this mindset is clear in choosing between selling real estate and becoming an investor.  No one wants to invest in real estate because getting to the outcome is slower than the quicker results of selling real estate. Being consistent with investing is the ultimate vehicle for generational wealth, especially when we use the BRRR strategy.  What is the most valuable skill an investor needs to have? Why is it so important not to expect instant gratification with our business ventures? My guest today is a real estate agent, investor, entrepreneur, and founder and CEO of Thach Real Estate Group, Thach Nguyen. He talks about his journey and why real estate investing is worth pursuing.   Three Things We Learned From This Episode How Thach went From 25k to 150k Instagram followers in under 12 months: Consistency and persistence beat instant gratification. Thach was able to build a huge following organically by putting in the hard work and putting in the time instead of letting the need for instant gratification make him cut corners. This is a mindset he applies to everything, from door knocking to investing.  How to use the BRRR Model to invest: The BRRR Model is one of the most powerful ways we can start building long-term generational wealth. The central goal of this strategy isn’t to fix and flip, or to sell a property off quickly, it’s fix and keep.  How to determine which investing strategy to use: The best deal as an investor is a BRRR deal, but not every property we come across is a good candidate for BRRR. For a BRRR, you should get 30% or higher in equity when you’re done. The next best thing is a flip which should give you a 20-25% margin, wholesale is 15-20%, and if the property will have an equity margin of 0-10%, it should be a list.    Guest Bio: Thach Nguyen is the CEO & Founder of Thach Real Estate Group, a Seattle-based real estate company, and a seasoned investor and developer. During his 30 years in the real estate industry, Thach and his team have assisted over 2,500 families to create their own American Dream. He is also ranked Top 1% of all real estate professionals nationwide. As an inspirational leader, Thach is a sought-after speaker, philanthropist, and author and co-founder of “The Gift”. Thach has been featured in The Seattle Times, NW Asian Weekly, The Early Show, Puget Sound Business Journal, The International Examiner, and many more. For information, and to follow Thach or to learn more about his programs, visit @thachnguyen.

When it comes to what it takes to build a successful, expandable, and dominant real estate business, there’s no workaround for the fundamentals. There’s no replacement for following a process that works.  When certain key aspects are dialed in, our businesses become a place of endless opportunity. One of the most overlooked pieces in building a team is financial alignment. When everyone in an organization is financially aligned, there’s a collective incentive to truly buy into the business model, drive for collaboration, and even become a part of our recruitment.   eXp has created an expansion model and growth mechanism that has proven to be a huge opportunity for agents. My guest today is a successful real estate leader who has brought 84 people into eXp and generates $250k a month in revenue share.  What are the biggest things about eXp that are making it such a huge magnet to agents? How does the eXp model accelerate the expansion process?  In this episode, I’m joined by business growth strategist and coach, co-Founder and CEO of the National Association of Expert Advisors and eXp Realty Broker Associate, Jay Kinder. He talks about what it takes to grow beyond 100 transactions and his journey with eXp. Three Things We Learned From This Episode What it takes to cross the 100 transaction mark: Making calls is the one thing that separates agents who have had a high level of success from everyone else. There’s no workaround for the hard work and effort of calls and the results you get from them. To learn the skills that you need to have, you have to get enough repetition in.   How to build stability in your real estate operation: To build and scale a successful real estate operation, you have to focus on the listing side of the business. Listings turn your business into an inbound system, meaning you won’t always have to chase business, and you keep the pipeline full. You have to get people calling you.  The one thing that causes problems on real estate teams: Misalignment in compensation is the biggest problem in business and the biggest impediment to true growth and talent retention. eXp is an incredible demonstration of the power behind having people who are financially aligned and moving toward the same goal.    Guest Bio: Jay Kinder is an agent, business growth strategist and coach, Co-Founder and CEO of the National Association of Expert Advisors and eXp Realty Broker Associate, focused on Revenue Share and adding MASSIVE value to agents.  Jay built a very successful real estate business in Lawton, Oklahoma selling over 4,321 homes and becoming #2 Worldwide for Coldwell Banker several times before taking his business independent. His best year, Jay sold 531 homes and began teaching his strategies for building successful real estate businesses in 2005 with business partner Michael Reese. Together they built Kinder Reese Coaching and National Association of Expert Advisors to be the top coaching and training organization in the country for agents seeking to build mega agent teams. NAEA made the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies 6 years in a row and has trained thousands of the top agents across the US and Canada. To get in touch send an email to jay@jaykinder.com.

How can you build a business around your life, rather than the other way around? What are the things you should be doing to ensure your business has longevity? On this episode, I talk with real estate speaker and trainer, Marguerite Crespillo, who shares on how we can build a business that serves our lives and doesn’t hold us back.     It’s so important that you build a business around your life, rather than your life around your business. -Marguerite Crespillo   Three Things We Learned From This Episode   Track your numbers You can’t make smart decisions for your business if you don’t have records of all your transactions. Record where you’ve done business and the profits you’ve made. To move forward and make plans for your business in the future, you have to know what has worked- and what hasn’t- in the past.   Keep your team small If you’re a team leader, you need to be in a position where you can actually lead a team. The easiest way to do this is by keeping the group small. This way, you’ll be able to encourage them and focus your attention on holding everyone accountable.   Find a coach or mentor Look for someone who will be able to coach and mentor you, and teach you the basics. More importantly, don’t look for this person expecting to learn for free. Great mentors have great experience- so don’t try find the cheapest option. You get what you pay for.   Guest Bio Having been a top producing Real Estate Agent since 1996, Marguerite Crespillo has survived just about every challenge and curveball the market has thrown; consistently selling 100+ homes a year for 25 years as well as running a brokerage with 80+ agents. I've been able to do it while staying married to my amazing husband for 28+ years and raising our three children and three bonus kids Joe brought to our marriage. I'm incredibly blessed and grateful every day for the incredible opportunities I've been given and the ability to give back by helping others achieve their own version of SUCCESS! To find out more about Marguerite, head to: http://margueritecrespillo.com

Company culture plays a big role in the success of your business. Are you creating an environment for your team that ensures they’re not only working effectively, but enjoying it as well? How can you foster a better culture for everyone involved with your business? On this episode, Lisa Archer, Chief Opportunity Officer at Live Love Homes Worldwide, shares how she has shaped her company according to the needs of her team and how it has positively impacted her business.     Your business shouldn’t be centered on just you, because you can’t be everywhere. -Aaron Rian   Three Things We Learned From This Episode Acknowledge failures and learn from them As much as we’d all love to be perfect all the time, the reality is we all fail at some point. Rather than trying to stop it from happening, embrace shortcomings as a learning experience. Each week, check in with your team to hear what everyone did wrong- and how they’ll avoid doing it again.   Allowing flexibility in your team can have benefits for you When a member of your team relocates, why should they need to leave your team? A valued team member moving to another city, or even a whole new state, is an opportunity for expansion. If one of the people in your team will be moving, consider asking them to open an office in their new location. They don’t have to lose their job, you won’t lose a team member, and your market gets bigger.   Build a great team culture If you’re going to expand your business, ensure you have great connections with your team. Even if they are in a different state, keep your relationships with them. Think of it like a family. To do this, you can organize events and team building where everyone gets to really know one another. This isn’t your average golf day team building- hire a house and create real bonds.   Guest Bio Lisa is the Chief Opportunity Officer at Live Love Homes Worldwide. She has taught/spoke at Facebook, Curaytor Excellence, ReTech South, Inman News Events, Keller Williams Events among numerous other real estate events. Currently, Live Love Homes has expansion businesses in 7 markets including Charlotte & Lake Norman, NC; Dallas, TX; Louisville, KY; Birmingham, AL; Seattle, WA; Central NY & Gulf States (FL & AL). We are expected to enter several markets in 2018. Lisa was named as one of Inman News 100 Most Influential in Real Estate multiple times, one of Inman News 33 Most Innovative in Real Estate 2015, Swanepoel Power 200 and is a part of Gary Keller’s top agent Mastermind Group. Lisa is a licensed NC & SC Realtor for Live Love Homes with Keller Williams. Guest Links: https://www.livelovehomes.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaludlowarcher/

In order for an organization to scale and expand to multiple locations successfully, the right right people and systems must be in place. As leaders with an ambition to expand, what are the principles we need to build into our habits and systems to make it happen? Why is clarity such an important thing if you want to succeed? How do we move from a “people business” to a systems business? On this episode, I’m joined by entrepreneur, author, and speaker, Adam Hergenrother to discuss the keys to growth and expansion in real estate.     If you’re extremely purposeful with your time, you can accomplish a lot in a short period. -Adam Hergenrother   Three Things We Learned From This Episode How to focus on what matters as a leader As leaders, we can lose focus with so many things things coming at us. We can solve this by learning to say yes to the right things and cutting off anything else. When we know what really matters to us, it makes it a lot easier for ourselves to be purposeful with our time and make the right decisions.   Why clarity makes us faster and more effective Visionaries are so clear in their head, but we often don’t do enough to articulate it and tell the people around us. Clarity is important because it doesn’t just create power. It also gives us the ability to move faster, quicker and more reliably.     Why leads matter more than anything else The basis of any real estate company is leads. When we hire people, they’re usually looking for leads— and that’s where our coaching should start. When they reach a ceiling in production, that’s when they turn to us for guidance on growing as a person, salesperson and leader.   Guest Bio Adam Hergenrother is an entrepreneur, speaker, author and founder and CEO of Adam Hergenrother Companies. In less than ten years, Adam has built these rapidly growing companies into a $700 million organization through his commitment to thinking big and never giving up. Adam is a featured real estate industry leader and annual speaker at several Keller Williams Realty conferences due to his commitment to transforming the industry by building real estate teams without borders. In 2017 and 2018, Adam Hergenrother Companies was named one of the Best Places to Work in Vermont. In June 2018, Hergenrother Realty Group was named the #18 real estate team in the world by REAL Trends, as advertised in The Wall Street Journal. In 2017, BlackRock Construction was also named #42 on Inc. 5000, while #1 in Vermont and #1 in Construction throughout the US. Adam was also featured in Golf Digest Magazine in 2012 where he shared his story of business success through a focus on personal growth. In 2009, Hergenrother was awarded the prestigious “30 Under 30” award by The National Association of Realtors. Adam is also the author of the book The Founder and the Force Multiplier. Go to https://thefounderandtheforcemultiplier.com to get it. 

Every successful person in real estate has had to overcome challenges and learn lessons along the way. Which of your struggles have other people gone through before? How can their journeys help you avoid their same mistakes? On this episode, I’m joined by Lars Hedenborg, CEO of High Performance Real Estate Advisors and Founder of Real Estate B-School. He shares his insights for succeeding in the real estate industry from a coach’s perspective.      Don’t get overwhelmed by where you are today. Look to the next level for yourself. -Lars Hedenborg   Three Things We Learned From This Episode Be careful when expanding Increasingly, real estate businesses are moving towards expansion. While this is a great way to dominate more of the market, be cautious. Think of your businesses like children: each one requires individual attention. If you’re not ready to provide enough attention to each business venture, wait until you are.   Empower people No matter how advanced technology becomes, your business relies on people. Make sure you’re empowering people to thrive as individuals. Just as they are serving your business, you should aim to serve them. Doing this will ultimately have a positive impact on your business.   Set a pace that works for you Stop comparing your current situation to that of the people already at the top. Take the appropriate steps for your own business, and don’t overwhelm yourself by thinking you have to take on more than you can handle. This is your business: do what works for you.    Guest Bio Lars Hedenborg is the CEO of High Performance Real Estate Advisors and the Founder of Real Estate B-School. After leaving a corporate career behind him, Lars decided to join the real estate industry on the eve of the financial crisis. Despite starting his journey during such a volatile time, however, Lars became incredibly successful. His triumph led to his decision to help others in the industry, and today he is passionate about coaching agents and entrepreneurs. To find out more about Lars and his coaching, head to: https://www.realestatebschool.com/

Leveraging is extremely important when you run a business. How can you start leveraging yourself? Can you leverage your team as well? What can you do to make sure the team you have is effective enough to be leveraged in the first place? Join me as I speak to Jeff Quintin of The Quintin Group for insights on building successful teams.      Three Things We Learned From This Episode View yourself as an entrepreneur, not an agent Stop working as though you have a job as an agent- you are an entrepreneur with a business. By doing this, you’ll be able to dedicate your time to working on the things you enjoy and are best at, rather than concern yourself with distractions.   Build a team The only way to scale your business is by leveraging a team. Stop trying to do everything yourself- it’s not only unnecessary, it also holds you back from better results. Most entrepreneurs agree that when it comes to teams, they wish they’d started sooner.   Hire the right people A team will only be successful if they’re the right fit for your business. When you’re hiring, make sure the candidates share your values- and those of your company. Teams have a huge impact on your business, so the people you hire are extremely important. Whether we like it or not, teams are the way forward. Those who fail to build them will either have to join them, or not be able to keep up. The best thing you can do, then, is to start building the right team. Be an effective and successful leader and lead from the front. Remember, you’re a business owner- work like one.   Guest Bio Jeff Quintin is the team leader at The Quintin Group. In addition to leading from the front, Jeff is the team’s lead generator. With a track record of selling around 5 homes per week, Jeff has enjoyed phenomenal success in the industry. His success has made him extremely enthusiastic about the benefits of having a team, and he regularly emphasizes these advantages to other entrepreneurs in the industry.   To contact Jeff, you can use Facebook messenger: https://www.facebook.com/JQuintinTQG/ Or email him at: Jeff@TheQuintinGroup.com    

One of the easiest ways to jeopardize your company’s productivity is by hiring the wrong team. How can you avoid this mistake? What can you do to make sure you’re hiring the best people for the job? On this episode, I talk with one of the world’s most sought-after real estate consultants, Jon Cheplak, who has developed systems around human development, and he shares how we can build high-performing teams for our businesses.       Three Things We Learned From This Episode Approach your business from a human perspective Don’t view your business as a real estate company. Your focus should be on the agents working for you, and their specific human needs. Being invested in your team’s experiences and wellbeing will hugely benefit your retention and growth.   Pay attention to how you hire You want to hire the best agents for your company. The way to do this is by advertising positions on a separate webpage. Agents are likely to spend 400 times longer on a careers-based website, and spend most of that time looking at the training and business proposals you provide. Take advantage of these facts and offer as much value as possible.   Your admin person is the most important person in your office While you may be the CEO, you are not the most important person at your company. The person working in administration has a finger on the pulse of your company’s culture. They’re a huge part of your retention and recruiting, so make sure you’ve hired the right person for the job.   Guest Bio John is a sought-after Real Estate Leadership and Productivity Coach & Consultant. He is the creator of a system and process that speeds up growth and increases profits through the attraction, development and retention of productive agents. Go to https://www.cheplaklive.com/ for more information.

Teamwork is a powerful tool that often gets overlooked or neglected in business. How should entrepreneurs approach teamwork and take advantage of its benefits? On this episode, I talk with Greg Harrelson, owner and president of The Harrelson Group and host of the Level Up podcast. As a leader who has perfected the art of teamwork in business, Greg shares why he strives to be hands-on in his approach to teamwork and leadership.     Three Things We Learned From This Episode Identify the skills of your team While you shouldn’t force your team members to play specific roles, you should suggest certain activities based on the strengths they display. This doesn’t even need to be skills clearly aligned with real estate- emotional traits can demonstrate abilities at work. For example, if a member is more logical than emotional, they’re likely to be suited to be a seller's agent.   Think of individual strengths as a part of the collective team's strength There’s good reason for clichéd sayings like ‘teamwork makes the dream work'. Every individual member brings their own strengths. The key is to share those strengths without showing them to your client as your own abilities.    Stay hands-on Being involved in your business is important for client relations, as well as the relationship between you and your staff. The last thing you want is for your team to think you don’t know what they’re going through. Make a point of showing homes and closing deals.    The process of lead generation requires clear communication between the agent and the client, but it also requires dialogue between team members. Stay in tune with your team and lead by example. Training a team doesn’t mean you have to remove yourself- it means you need to become part of it. Guest Bio  Greg Harrelson is the owner and president of Century 21 The Harrelson Group. As a successful agent and business owner in the Myrtle Beach area, Greg is in the top 1% of agents in the country. His success has inspired him to teach aspiring Realtors how to reach their goals. Greg is passionate about being hands-on in his business and regularly encourages agents with questions to reach out to him through social media platforms.  To listen to him on his podcast, Level Up, visit: https://theleveluppodcast.podbean.com To connect with Greg, visit his Facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/gregharrelson  

A pain point that many people have with the ISA model is finding the right people to actually make the calls. How do we make sure we’re slotting the right people into the business? How can we build a feeling of camaraderie between ISAs and brokers? What are the things we need to consider when we’re building an inside sales department from scratch? On the episode, Nicolas Cendoya, the head of inside sales at The Brokerage House, shares insights on managing ISAs and how to keep things running smoothly. Brokers are depending on us, we are the in trenches of everything that happens day-by-day -Nicolas Cendoya   Three Things We Learned From This Episode   The 3 things we need to look for in an ISA Attitude, effort, and attendance are important in an ISA. Reaching out to people on a daily basis is a grind, so we need people with the right attitude. They also need to be willing and able to show up everyday and make the effort to hit the numbers.   The importance of creating business for the next day It should be a priority to care of our next day numbers so that every broker we have in the field has at least one listing opportunity for the next day.     Why brokers need to have confidence in the ISAs It’s so important that the brokers never lose confidence in the ISA department, and know that they will always deliver the appointments. Our ISAs need to know that they support the brokers and are instrumental in how successful they are.     The ISA department isn’t an isolated island in your business. They are the driving force of what feeds the brokers on the team. Brokers depend on the ISAs, and it’s so critical to foster that feeling of camaraderie. ISAs have to understand the responsibility they have to the brokers, and brokers need to have confidence in them. This is why it’s important to bring in the right ISAs with the right attitude and willingness to meet the numbers, because those numbers affect everyone else in the organization. It’s not about the individual, but about the team.   Guest Bio Nicolas is the head of the inside sales department at The Brokerage House. Connect with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolascendoya/.

Working with buyers often frustrates agents, but it can be a highly rewarding activity. How can we better understand the buyer’s point of view and become more empathetic to their needs? How does honesty and setting realistic expectations affect the process? What’s the one thing we can all do to stand out instantly in our market? In this episode, Andy McManis shares how he went from being a business consultant to a top producing buyer’s agent.   Humble yourself to the advice of people who know more than you. -Andy McManis    Three Things We Learned From This Episode The biggest challenge when working with buyers is overcoming their fear Home buyers are stressed out by the process of buying a home, and for a good reason. A home is the highest value purchase for most people. As agents, we have to empathize and be honest about what we can and can’t do for buyers. The real estate industry is filled with agents who use smoke screens and overstatements that make both sides disappointed and bitter in the end. But if we underpromise and overdeliver, we’ll stand out.   Focus on building relationships when possible Each conversation we have with someone who seeks our help is an opportunity to empathize with them and prove that we have the experience and the systems necessary to solve their issues. In the end, we don’t have to be shy about how we can help them out. They already know we are real estate agents.   Not all successful agents use their database to drive business Working our database is just one of the ways we can increase our income. But if we recently moved or if we aren’t active on social media platforms, there are other ways to generate leads as well. Open houses and online leads can generate just as much income as working our sphere.   Success isn’t complicated, but it does require hard work— and this where most people fail. There are no secret tactics to achieving success. We’ve got to humble ourselves and learn from people who are where we desire to be. If we want to grow, we have continuously work on improving ourselves, no matter where we are in our journey.   Guest Bio Andy joined the The Rian Group after working a decade as a business consultant. Soon after joining as a buyers specialist, he stood out due to the respect and honesty he showed when working with clients. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball and hiking. If you’re interested in working with Andy, you can contact him at Andy@TheRianGroup.com.

  As leaders, we may often find ourselves wondering why people aren’t working as fast, as hard and as efficiently as we are. How does this affect our attitude towards delegating? How do we shift our mindsets to something more helpful? When we get out of production, what is the most valuable and impactful use of the time we still invest in our business? On this episode, I talk to Chris Heller the Home Seller about lessons he’s learned and how he runs his team.     When you have a great business and a great reputation, people will come to you. -Chris Heller   Three Things We Learned From This Episode Good teams attract talent without having to hunt for it The best teams don’t have to go out looking for new talent– the talent comes to them. The most effective way to create a pipeline of quality recruits is to maintain a good reputation and keep yourself in front of the marketplace. Your role as a coach is very important when you get out of production When you’re the team owner who’s out of production, coaching your people is the most effective way in which you deliver value and invest your time wisely. Ultimately, you’re the most expensive consultant they will never have to pay for. Let go of expecting people to do things to the exact same level you do them We can easily get caught up in the trap of expecting the agents and employees we hire to do the work exactly how we do it. Expecting their results to match ours 100% is a mistake. We have to get in the mindset that them doing 80% of what you would do is good.   Working in real estate and running a team teaches us how important it is to not only hire the right people, but to put them on the right seats on the bus. That means knowing their personalities and behaviors, and also knowing our own personality. If we can get comfortable with tasks being done almost as well as if we did them ourselves, it can make delegation much easier. This, in turn, allows us to accelerate our growth.   Guest Bio Chris Heller the Home Seller is the CEO of mellohome, a real estate thought leader, and former CEO of Keller Williams. Chris Heller earned his real estate license when he was 20 years old and went on to build one of the most successful real estate teams in the United States. From his selection as Rookie of the Year in 1989 to being the top-producing agent in San Diego County and the #1 Keller Williams associate in all of North America, Heller has earned the respect of colleagues and clients for the results he delivers. Under Heller’s leadership, the Chris Heller Real Estate Team has sold more than 100 homes a year for almost three decades. Connect with Chris on LinkedIn, or go to mellohomes.com for more information. To find out about his team, go to: hellerthehomeseller.com.

A lot of companies call themselves teams, but they don’t actually apply the team approach. How can you bring connectedness to your team dynamic? What’s the difference between micromanagement and accountability? How do we overcome the challenges of managing people who are in different locations and cities? On this episode Rian Group Director of Sales, Dustin Dettwyler, talks about running the sales team on a daily basis, retaining top producing agents and helping people succeed.     As the individuals grow in line with the company’s vision, our production grows. -Dustin Dettwyler   Three Things We Learned From This Episode Team success is impossible without individual success The role of director of sales is as much about growing the individual as much as growing the sales results. It’s about getting people to see more value in themselves, showing them what they are capable of and holding them to it.   Make remote agents feel plugged in through technology and communication Communication is key when managing and working with people remotely. When we can’t have face time, a real conversation on the phone or video call is sufficient. It’s also necessary to help people feel connected and plugged in. If they feel like they are on an island, we risk losing them.   Learn from the experiences of people who have been where you want to go A lot of us make the mistake of looking to ourselves or our colleagues to show us a path to where we’ve never been before. What we actually need is to learn from people who’ve achieved what we want to achieve. There’s always going to be a benefit to learning from the people who have already been there.   It takes a truly efficient system to be able to hold people accountable, help them get amazing results, and make them want to stay in the team. That high level of efficiency will also become the steering system of the agents. The key is instilling the belief that they can achieve what they want to, and that there’s no limit. Agents need to feel successful and feel like they are part of the team, wherever they are. If you invest in their success, that will pay dividends.   Guest Bio Dustin is the Director of Sales at the Rian Group. He uses his passion for sales and people to help his clients feel at ease and well represented. Go to http://theriangroup.com/ for more information, and to get in touch email Dustin@TheRianGroup.com.