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My guest for Episode #244 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Josh Cunningham, the CEO and Founder of rokrbox – an inside sales assistant company based in College Station, Texas. Episode page with transcript and more After starting rokrbox in 2013, Josh's real estate company has worked over 3,000,000 internet leads for teams all across the country including Lars Hedenborg, Jeff Cohn, & Spring Bengtzen. Having hired and trained over 400 ISAs, Josh is a sought-after speaker for his invaluable knowledge on He's focused on developing a company culture that attracts the best millennial talent and drives success. Josh has learned how to scale and optimize business portfolios through building amazing teams with his take on company culture. His expertise was showcased through rokrbox's award winning culture, which inspired him to become the founder & CEO of Five Star Company Culture. Host of a podcast by that name — thanks for having me as a guest and thanks for being my guest here today! Josh's mission is to help businesses maximize their potential and learn how to implement a winning culture that retains employees, increase team productivity, and allows business owners to regain their personal freedom. Stepping back, Josh explains the wakeup call they faced during an organic period of growth, as their student workforce started to shrink with the onset of school schedules. Instead of panicking, they pivoted, embracing the lesson as an opportunity to refine communication and clarify their mission. Transforming this hitch into a turning point, they instated a daily huddle, which not only served to align team focus, but also sparked a cultural shift by nurturing an environment of support, connectivity, and collective growth. Questions and Topics: When did you realize it was YOU that “failed”? What did they do to fix it? Tell us more about the huddles – how long? Standard agenda? What was the effect in fall 2016? Appealing to millennials vs. Gen Z? Have you had to adjust? Where did you learn these mindsets and management styles from? Defining core values and types of people to work with? What do you do as a CEO that helps make it safe for others to do the same? Tell us about the “Five Star Company Culture” podcast My episode with our mutual connection, Kevin Harrington The Power of a Champion Mindset in Business Culture Embracing a Culture of Learning from Mistakes In the competitive landscape of business, a culture that fosters growth and development through learning from missteps is crucial. Rokrbox, an inside sales assistant company, has epitomized this philosophy by embedding the mindset of a champion into their core values. This doesn't imply a streak of unblemished victories; rather, it means recognizing that both wins and lessons emerge from each outcome. A true champion is defined not by a flawless record, but by resilience and the willingness to stand back up after falling down, transforming setbacks into stepping stones for growth. Overcoming Challenges: Reflecting and Implementing Change Rokrbox faced a notable challenge during a period of rapid growth. In the summer of 2015, as the company soared to new heights, a significant portion of their part-time workforce, primarily made up of students, dissipated with the start of the fall semester. This unexpected shift presented a stark realization that the meaning and importance of their work weren't being effectively communicated by leadership. It was a crucial moment that shifted the company's focus inward, igniting a reflection on the mechanisms essential for transparent communication and employee retention. The Magic of Daily Huddles: A Key to Cultural Success The transformative solution that Rokrbox discovered was the implementation of a daily huddle. A practice that now anchors their workday, these huddles serve as a time for team members to connect, recognize each other's achievements, set collective goals, and align on the mission for the day ahead. This ritual not only eradicated previous communication inefficiencies but also played a pivotal role in shaping the company's award-winning culture. It created an environment where each employee could see the bigger picture, comprehend how their contributions mattered, and envision a path for professional growth within the company. This daily routine of recognition, education, connection, and motivation ensures that all team members feel valued and part of a larger goal. Creating a Vision and Communicating It Effectively The lesson here extends far beyond the boundaries of a single company's experience. The leader's role is not only to create a vision but to effectively communicate it throughout the organization. Rokrbox exemplifies that having a clear and vivid vision isn't sufficient unless it is shared and understood by the entire team. Issues in business often stem from communication breakdowns, and a leader's capacity to articulate goals and expectations to their team members is paramount. Through the huddle process, Rokrbox was able to transform communication within the workplace, demonstrating that intentionality and structure in daily interactions could forge more profound employee engagement and drive stronger business outcomes. The Importance of Core Values in Recognition and Growth Highlighting the successes and efforts related to core values within the huddle reinforces their importance in the company culture. Rokrbox has shown that core values are not just platitudes; they are the standards by which team achievements are measured and celebrated. Acknowledging team members who live by these values each day keeps them active and exemplifies the behaviors that lead to success. Concluding Insights: The Role of Leadership in Navigating Mistakes Ultimately, the story of Rokrbox provides an insightful examination of the role of leadership when navigating through mistakes. Instead of assigning blame externally, it takes a leader to look inward and take responsibility for the team's direction. Identifying gaps in communication and rectifying them through strategic actions, like daily huddles, not only salvages a challenging situation but also propels the business forward with renewed strength and cohesiveness. This approach is a testament to the statement that victories in business are not only about winning but also about learning to rise after setbacks and emerge stronger. Cultivating Skill Development and Proactive Communication Strategies Rokrbox's adaptations to their business in response to generational shifts and student workforce dynamics underscore the importance of flexibility and foresight in personnel management. By examining resumes with greater scrutiny and asking more probing questions during interviews, they ensure that employment expectations align with both the company's needs and the students' academic schedules. This targeted approach not only aids in the selection of dedicated team members but also fortifies the retention of valuable talent. Furthermore, maintaining a proactive dialogue with employees about their outside commitments allows for preemptive scheduling adjustments. This adaptability preserves the employment relationship, preventing abrupt departures and promoting employee well-being. Implementing Regular One-on-Ones for Holistic Employee Engagement One significant practice adopted by Rokrbox is the holding of regular one-on-one meetings that follow a strategic cadence of evaluation and engagement. These meetings are structured to review work-related skills and pinpoint areas needing improvement. Importantly, they conclude with inquiries into the personal lives of employees, thus embodying a holistic approach to employee engagement. Recognizing that personal circumstances can heavily impact work performance, this approach fosters an environment of support and understanding within the company. Leveraging Masterminds to Foster Collective Growth Taking inspiration from traditional masterminds made popular by thought leaders like Napoleon Hill, Rokrbox has instituted monthly mastermind sessions to cultivate collaborative problem-solving and empower their employees. These sessions, promoted with incentives like free food, encourage voluntary participation from team members eager to discuss strategies for improvement. By facilitating this shared environment, Rokrbox reinforces its commitment to collective growth and allows for the integration of diverse perspectives into the company's operational framework. Adapting to Generational Differences without Stereotyping The evolution of Rokrbox workforce from millennials to Generation Z has entailed an understanding of each generation's idiosyncrasies while avoiding overgeneralizations that hinder relationship building. Recognizing that individuals bring unique values and behaviors to the table facilitates a more nuanced approach to team building. Josh Cunningham of Rokrbox also emphasizes the necessity of adapting management techniques, such as content and competition structuring, to match evolving attention spans and engagement styles without succumbing to the pitfalls of confirmation bias. Implementing Strong Values Across Generations Ultimately, Rokrbox's approach emphasizes the timeless nature of certain management principles, regardless of generational divides. Strong company values that resonate on a fundamental human level will consistently attract employees who align with the company's mission. The implementation of practices such as huddles and masterminds transcends age brackets, connecting employees to a shared vision of success and growth within the organization. Learning from External Experiences and Insights The trajectory of Rokrbox's culture is not merely an introspective journey; it has been informed by various external sources of insight. Josh Cunningham's exposure to .com era influences and his father's career provided the early inspiration for entrepreneurship and adapting to technological paradigms. As the business world continues to evolve, learning from both internal experiences and external wisdom remains a critical component in cultivating a resilient and impactful company culture. Harnessing the Power of Teamwork in System and Process Design Reflecting on Rokrbox's adoption of standard operating procedures (SOPs), similar to those which propelled Best Buy's consistent in-store experiences, underscores the critical role of systems and processes in achieving a harmonious business environment. When each team member comprehends their responsibilities and the expected outcomes, efficiency and productivity thrive within the organization. Therefore, it is imperative to recognize the vitality of establishing and continuously refining SOPs to adapt to the inevitable changes within any dynamic market. Inculcating Ownership and Agility in Small Business Environments Working with small business owners, as Josh Cunningham did, offers the unique advantage of seeing real-time impacts of one's contributions on company performance. This immediacy catalyzes a sense of ownership and responsibility among employees, encouraging them to step up as key contributors to the organization's success. To incorporate this level of agility into any business model, companies must imbue their culture with an openness to employee feedback, quick implementation of viable suggestions, and an empowering environment, where actions directly correlate to tangible outcomes. Learning from the Spectrum of Job Experiences Every job, from the most menial to the most prestigious, imparts valuable lessons that can transform business practices. Acknowledging even the “crappy jobs” fosters an appreciation for what not to replicate, while simultaneously refining the vision for one's own business environment. The takeaway for any business is profound: understanding the breadth of employee experiences can inform and inspire better workplace design, improving morale and productivity in kind. The Significance of Defining Company Values Early On Defining Rokrbox's core values long before the hiring process began served as a testament to the foresightfulness of its leadership. Clear and resonant values not only attract like-minded individuals to the team but also serve as a constant beacon, guiding decisions and behaviors. As a business grows and evolves, these values remain its pillars, ensuring a consistent and supportive culture that can withstand and adapt to market fluctuations and internal challenges. Building a Strong Cultural Foundation for Sustainable Growth Drawing an analogy from construction, every great skyscraper begins with a robust foundation. Rokrbox's philosophy that culture is akin to this foundation illustrates the belief that a company's resilience is deeply anchored in its core values and collective ethos. Amidst marketplace shakeups and economic turns, a steadfast cultural base allows a business to pivot effectively and maintain its core identity, even as services and problem-solving approaches may evolve. Creating a Coachable Atmosphere and Celebrating Vulnerability Josh Cunningham's approach to leadership takes root in serving rather than dictating, encouraging personal empowerment, and fostering a culture wherein mistakes are viewed as opportunities for growth rather than failures. By promoting a coachable atmosphere and leading by example in vulnerability, employees are permitted to navigate their responsibilities with confidence and ownership, contributing to the overall resiliency and strength of the business. The Five Star Company Culture Initiative As a leader with a vision to serve beyond his own company, Cunningham's Five Star Company Culture initiative extends his philosophy to a wider audience, seeking to assist other business owners and C-suite executives in crafting environments where values are lived out loud. By sharing insights and practical strategies, this platform aims to assist businesses in laying down robust foundations for their culture, ensuring their operations are primed for success and sustainability in a relentless and ever-changing market landscape. Embracing Vulnerability and Authenticity in Leadership The candid sharing of personal stories and mistakes by influential figures such as Kevin Harrington sets the stage for a new paradigm in leadership. When leaders like Harrington demonstrate vulnerability, they signal to their teams that it's acceptable to make and admit to mistakes. This behavior, in turn, fosters a culture of authenticity and trust within the workplace. When employees see their higher-ups own up to their errors, they are more likely to feel secure in expressing their own challenges and learning from them. The Impact of Authentic Stories in Building Trust Fosters Relatability: Sharing personal mistakes makes leaders appear more relatable and human, bridging the gap between management and staff. Encourages Openness: When leaders are open about their failures, it cultivates an environment where employees are also comfortable sharing their experiences and ideas. Builds Resilience: Recognizing and learning from errors paves the way for a resilient mindset, where challenges are seen as opportunities for growth. The Role of Cross-Promotion in Amplifying Influence Josh Cunningham's Five Star Company Culture initiative heavily relies on the sharing of experiences and resources to enrich other businesses. By engaging in cross-promotion through podcasts and other media outlets, leaders can extend their reach, sharing valuable lessons and knowledge. Engaging with host Mark Graban illustrates how forming strategic connections can enhance visibility and impact across different platforms, benefiting an ever-wider audience. Strategies for Effective Cross-Promotion Leverage Platforms: Utilize various channels, including podcasts and social media, to share insights and expand your influence. Collaborative Ventures: Forge partnerships with industry peers to share resources and co-create content that provides mutual value. Community Engagement: Actively participate in community discussions and events to bolster your presence and credibility within your field. The Significance of Accessible Brand Identity Josh Cunningham's mention of Rokrbox's distinctive spelling highlights the importance of a memorable and searchable brand identity. In a digital age where web presence is crucial, creating a unique brand that stands out in search engine results is vital to attracting and retaining customers. A brand's accessibility online directly influences its market performance and the ease with which potential clients can find and engage with a company's services. Key Elements of Crafting an Accessible Brand Identity Consistency: Establish a consistent look and feel across all platforms to make your brand easily recognizable. SEO Strategies: Focus on search engine optimization to ensure your brand ranks well in relevant search results. Distinct Brand Elements: Develop unique aspects of your brand, such as a logo or tagline, that set you apart and make you easily identifiable. Nurturing Leadership and Cultivating Success Leaders like Cunningham, who are ready to share their wisdom and experiences openly, play a pivotal role in shaping the future of business culture. By embodying the principles of vulnerability, authenticity, and accessible branding, they pave the way for a new generation of businesses defined by connection, learning, and genuine engagement with both employees and customers. This holistic approach to leadership, culture, and branding stands as a formidable blueprint for success in the ever-evolving business landscape.
In 2011, Josh Cunningham was working as a recruiter for a small boutique brokerage. He attended a Mike Ferry training event when he met Frank Klesitz, CEO of Vyral Marketing. Frank's story of success inspired him so much that a few months later, he reached out to Frank to ask how he can work for him. This was when he decided to take a leap of faith and jump into the entrepreneurial world. A couple of years later, a client he had at Vyral Marketing, Spring Bengtzen, shared that despite the work she puts into her real estate business, she just wasn't seeing the results she wanted. At that time, a lot of people from the industry are attributing their success to the ISA model. Josh then decided to help Spring make her first ISA hire. Today, Josh Cunningham is the CEO and Founder of rokrbox, a premium real estate ISA company that connects serious buyers and sellers with highly reliable and successful Realtors across the US and Canada. To date, Josh's team has managed more than two million Internet leads using his proven model. Let's hear from Josh as he shares his insights on the ISA model and the top 5 biggest mistakes agents are making with their leads. Top Takeaways: 01:23 How Josh got started in the real estate industry 04:06 How rokrbox came to be 09:34 The formula they follow at rokrbox 10:18 What entrepreneurship is all about 11:06 The value of having a dedicated person to follow-up on your leads 11:27 What are the biggest mistakes agents make with their leads 18:47 How to hold a conversation with somebody without any local market knowledge 21:37 Why you should always communicate strong recommendations. 26:44 Why you shouldn't waste all your time with leads who are not yet motivated 28:43 Josh's take on where the real estate industry is going Download the Top 5 Mistakes that Agents Make with their Leads: https://bit.ly/3JdZVDy To get in touch with Josh Cunningham, email him at Josh@rokrbox.com Or check their website at https://rokrbox.com/
By 2025, over 75% of the workforce will be made up of millennials, and while that might be a scary thought for some, we shouldn’t fight it. Now is not the time to train millennials to think like the generations before them: it’s time for us to adapt our businesses to their needs.What are the key differences between millennial agents and their predecessors? What is the incoming workforce expecting from their leaders, and how can we give it to them?Can we pivot our existing business models to align with the future of the industry?In this episode, Founder and CEO of Rokrbox, Josh Cunningham returns to the show to share how he’s built a millennial-centric business model. Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode What makes millennial agents different from other generationsGone are the days when people got into a job and stayed in it for 40 years, right until retirement. The millennial workforce is looking for experiences and fulfillment, and our businesses need to give them that.How to create a more millennial-friendly work environmentThe key to standing out to millennial recruits lies in having a deeper purpose. Our businesses need to have a why and deeper meaning if we want to capture the attention of the younger workforce.Why we need to change the way we think about retentionAs team leaders, many of us have a goal of retaining all our recruits, but we shouldn’t. Instead, we should be building a culture of success that encourages agents to keep pushing themselves to new heights, even if that means leaving our organizations. Guest Bio-Josh Cunningham is the Founder and CEO of Rokrbox, an ISA company dedicated to both calling and nurturing leads. Josh’s team consists of all millennials, and because of that, he’s learned how to create a workplace that appeals to the incoming workforce. Featured at previous Team Building Summits for his expertise working with millennials, Josh will return to the event in 2021 as a keynote speaker.To find out more, visit:http://rokrbox.com/https://www.facebook.com/rokrbox Resources mentioned in this episode:https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Manager-Matthew-Kelly/dp/1401303706
In 2007, there were less online leads than homes sold (2.7mm). Fast forward 2011, I remember being one of the first teams with a Boomtown account and online lead gen, which was proprietary and innovative. Now there are hundreds of millions of subscriptions (or registrations) that are being sold to realtors, but might be sold to dozens of different real estate agents. That's why many realtors are hesitant about online leads. The difference between success and all that wasted capital? Follow up. The number of leads you bring in is irrelevant if you don't have the follow up systems to back it up. I remember 6 years ago when Josh and I started to realize this problem. He told me he was going to solve it for me, and he did—along with solving it for hundreds of other realtors. Here's the story of how Josh and I became such good friends and how he grew his business one call at a time.
Episode 34: Teams, Calls, and Culture with Josh Cunningham CEO of rokrbox We talk about daily huddles and the 4 part structure to keep your folks motivated. How to get team Buy-in. and best practices for follow up. Give Them a like on FB https://www.facebook.com/rokrbox/. Join us every Wednesday for our broadcast of the Success Agent Podcast here on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/successagentpodcast Give us a 5 Star review on Itunes https://apple.co/2DIT7hB Give Josh a Shout out about the episode or shoot him an email:josh@rokrbox.com . . Host: JP Fluellen - Team leader of the Titan Real Estate Team based in Cheyenne, WY and real estate business coach. Reach out to JP for a free 30-minute coaching call. 307-772-1184 . JP's contact info: clyxo.com/jpfluellen Buy JP's New Book The Real Estate Brain https://www.amazon.com/s?k=jp+fluellen&ref=nb_sb_noss . . Follow us: - Facebook: http://bit.ly/2S8xnQc - LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/2X5O16M - Youtube: http://bit.ly/2Gtjnz9 - Itunes: https://apple.co/2DIT7hB - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2HIrrxs - AnchorFM: http://bit.ly/2CUDS3H - Stitcher: http://bit.ly/2Su8Ai . . #RealEstate #titanreteam #Realtor #RealEstateBusiness #rokrbox #RealEstatePodcast #RealEstateBroker #RealEstateLife #exprealtyproud
Looking to bring on more millennial agents or to win more millennial clients? If so, you won’t want to miss this podcast with the founder and CEO of rokrbox, Josh Cunningham. Not only does Josh’s current talent pool consist of 100 percent millennial hires, he’s trained over 250 millennial ISAs to date. On today’s show, Josh shares what he’s learned about training and motivating millennials over the years. Plus, he explains what millennials really want in a real estate agent so that listeners like you know how to bring in more business from the next generation of home buyers and sellers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There s just something about having a conversation with a real person. The human connection establishes trust in a way that a recorded message or automated text simply cannot. So, if you re feeling pressure to use technology to communicate with online leads but you d rather kick it old school, know that there IS a reliable way to […] The post How to Convert Online Leads WITHOUT Automation with Josh Cunningham appeared first on Real Estate Marketing Dude.
There s just something about having a conversation with a real person. The human connection establishes trust in a way that a recorded message or automated text simply cannot. So, if you re feeling pressure to use technology to communicate with online leads but you d rather kick it old school, know that there IS a reliable way to […] The post How to Convert Online Leads WITHOUT Automation with Josh Cunningham appeared first on Real Estate Marketing Dude.
In this episode, you will learn: Sam's brief bio. What Sam learned after coming from a failed business. Where Sam gets his business. Sam's horizontal income and what percenter he is. What Sam does to stay healthy Sam's fitness routine. How Sam quit drinking alcohol. Sam shares what going through a divorce is like. Sam's five past and future greatest hits. Plus so much more! Sam Monreal is a passionate and results-oriented sales and marketing expert with nearly two decades of experience in diverse corporate, real estate and start-up environments. Sam’s multifaceted background includes managing a multi-million dollar portfolio of investor assets at Charles Schwab; managing one of AT&T Wireless’ national advertising campaigns, and closing several of the largest technology deals in industry history at AllClear ID. Sam was Director of Sales at the Heyl Group Real Estate Team (which was named to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America) and a Partner and the VP of Business Development at rokrbox, an organization that he grew more than 4000% in a single year. Rokrbox now has nearly 60 employees and handles over 15,000 online real estate leads every single month. Sam’s latest adventure is PitchStack, a sales consulting firm that builds sales and inside sales teams for real estate organizations and startups through his Fractional VP of Sales program. Sam is the author of Leveraged Lead Generation and Conversion Secrets. He has appeared on stage at multiple international real estate conferences and regularly appears on podcasts as one of the nation’s foremost leading experts on inside sales and lead conversion.
Millennials are literally the future of our industry, but so many team leaders struggle to attract and retain them. What are some of the biggest barriers getting in the way of engaging millennials? How do we help millennials find deeper meaning in their work? On this episode, founder and CEO of RokrBox, Josh Cunningham shares insights that will help you make your workplace a better environment for millennials. Every single shift is a learning opportunity. -Josh Cunningham 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Our workforce is going to be dominated by millennials in the near future (6:11 - 6:33) By 2025, 75% of the workforce is going to be made up of millennials so it’s a good idea to start getting used to how they act and behave. We need to understand what motivates them and how we can create an environment they’re attracted to. Have a job description ready for a hire (13:45 - 14:23) We need to spend some time reflecting on the job and the opportunity, and be able to sufficiently describe what your hire is going to do. This brings a lot of meaning to the person’s work and makes them feel like they aren’t just a body. Forget throwing them into the deep end hoping they’ll learn (22:04 - 23:48) The old approach of tossing a person directly into a challenging setting and expecting them to learn does not work for millennials. People want to know what the expectations are and have tools to achieve the goals. If we have everything laid out neatly in front of them, they will work better and our results will reflect that. If we want to successfully engage with millennials, we must forget the negative stereotypes and start leaning into the positive ones. Millennials are looking for a creative outlet, a constructive team environment, immediate feedback, and the feeling of being appreciated and respected. If we want to really taking the long game in our business, it’s important to start thinking about how we can provide the value and support our team will be looking for. Guest Bio- John Cunningham is the CEO of rokrbox, a professional real estate system that helps agencies nurture their leads and increase their availability up to 80 hours, 7 days a week. You can find out more about the lead nurturing system at http://rokrbox.com/#howitworks, or you can contact Josh directly at josh@rokrbox.com.
Are you ready for the impending real estate lead bubble and the ramifications that will follow? Sam Monreal, VP of Business Development at Rokrbox, eats, drinks and breathes real estate lead conversion. And while he is not here to preach doom and gloom, he is, however, very realistic about the state of online lead conversions for real estate agents and real estate teams. More importantly, he is sharing a success formula you can put into action now to convert online leads at a higher rate and prepare yourself for when the real estate lead bubble pops. Get ready to convert more leads and make more commission dollars with the help of Sam Monreal! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices