Offer Accepted

In this interview, we explore the value and power of coaching from the admin perspective. When Eric Wright made the transition from direct sales into real estate operations she knew that she needed training, coaching, and support to be successful in her role. Fast forward seven years and she is running the show for her top producing real estate team.   

Hurry! Sign up for Be You. Doors open Feb 21st - 27th. https://www.iloveitwhen.org/beyoutheinnercircle 

Erica Wright is a Loan Signing Agent and owner of Notary in a Dash. She started her career in Miami doing door-to-door sales selling office supplies and was eventually offered the opportunity to expand with the company overseas to London, England. She spent eight years working in England recruiting sales managers and consulting over 100 offices for the CRM  software she helped build out with IT developers in Orange County, California.  

After moving back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania she began working with a Real Estate team in Exton, PA. During this time, she got her real estate license and helped grow the husband-and-wife team triple their earnings within four years. 

Yearning for something more and being a serial entrepreneur, she decided she needed to build a business of her own, so she decided to become a notary public. After reading, listening to multiple podcasts, and getting additional training, she became a certified loan signing agent. This allowed her to build a lucrative personal business using just a notary commission! Her success with her business allowed her to purchase her first home, right in Chester Springs, PA.    

Connect with Erica: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericadionnwright

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What is the Be You: The Inner Circle coaching program and why should a real estate admin invest in coaching? Hear why Transaction Coordinator Stepfionne Morris invested in her personal development and how it has impacted her professional growth. 

Wouldn't it be nice if the best kinds of clients just landed in your lap?! While it might not be THAT easy, attracting your ideal leads doesn't have to be as hard as many of us make it.  Stacey Brown Randall teaches business owners how to generate referrals without asking. In this interview, we cover:  

• Intro to Stacey Brown Randall 
• What is and what isn't a referral? 
• Referrals as their own leg in your sales strategy 
• The brain science around generating referrals 
• How to get referrals without asking 
• How much time does it take to generate referrals 
• How can assistants help the business generate more referrals  

Is hiring a virtual real estate assistant from the Philippines the right option for you? In this interview, we answer all of the commonly asked questions about hiring a virtual assistant from the Philippines.  

• What employers should know first about hiring a Virtual Assistant from the Philippines 
• Real estate-specific services a Filipino Virtual Assistant can and can't do
• What are Virtual Assistants' expectations of their employer? 
• What hours will my Virtual Assistant work? 
• Are there any cultural differences to be aware of? 
• What can I expect my Virtual Assistant to do and not do? 
• Pro REA Staffing's process for finding a Virtual Assistant 
• Pro REA Staffing's philosophy around hiring (JCG+T) 18:14 How much should I pay my real estate virtual assistant? What about benefits?  

Extra resources:  

Blog: What Can a Virtual Real Estate Assistant Do? (https://blog.hire-lab.com/2021/12/what-can-a-virtual-assistant-do-in-real-estate-a-comprehensive-list/)  

Blog: Benefits of Hiring a Filipino Virtual Assistant (https://blog.hire-lab.com/2021/11/filipino-virtual-assistant/)  Video: The Hybrid Team Model (https://youtu.be/t0JNM1qeTkg)

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Would you rather see us instead of listening? Watch our video interview here: 

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Podcast Resources

Kristin was promoted to the Director of Operations role during COVID and had to contend with rapid growth combined with lots of internal changes on her team. Hear how Kristin navigated these tricky times and the systems and structure she implemented to help her team stay on track to meet their goals. We also talk about hiring and integrating a Virtual Assistant into a team and why she plans to hire more VAs in the future.  

2:40 How Kristin got into the real estate industry 

11:50 Team culture and core values 

13:32 Lessons learned from the pandemic (Creating a hybrid work model) 

17:12 Why they hired a Virtual Listing Coordinator & how she integrated them  

About Kristin  Kristin enjoys connecting with people, helping others, and taking care of the details. She is dedicated to providing a high level of service ensuring the goals of our clients are met, creating highly efficient and duplicatable systems, and ensuring the values and beliefs of our team are upheld. Kristin lives in White Bear Township with her husband Dan and her daughter Addy. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, planning social events, seeing live music, and enjoying time outdoors. 

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Connect with Kristin Benyon: https://www.holzlifestylehomes.com/agents/165665-Kristin-Benyon/

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Would you rather see us instead of listening? Watch our video interview here: https://youtu.be/t0JNM1qeTkg

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Podcast Resources

Lindsey Bavaro is the owner of Real-Time Savers, a family-focused real estate transaction coordination company. She offers leverage to real estate agents in Washington State who are looking to scale and grow their businesses by providing proven plug-and-play systems for the management of their sales. While Real Time Savers handles the paperwork and follow-up, the agent has more time to focus on building their business and enriching their personal lives.  

On this podcast, we talk about why she became an independent TC, and how and why she brought her parents and husband into the business. 

We'll talk about:  

- The challenges and joys of working with family 

- Onboarding and training new team members 

- Creating systems that scale 

- The transition from working in the business to working on the business 

- Working with virtual employees 

- Pushing past limited beliefs

Connect with Lindsey Bavaro: https://www.realtimesavers.com/

Learn more about David Breckheimer: https://cultivatewins.mykajabi.com/ 

Check out the "Practical Side of Real Estate" community on Facebook

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Would you rather see us instead of listening? Watch our video interview here: https://youtu.be/f-20HPvCo7M

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Podcast Resources

Personal development is the foundation for professional growth. After all, how can you be an effective leader at work if you struggle with low self-esteem, lack of courage, or hold the belief that you are not enough?

My podcast guests are Kathleen Metcalf and Margaret "Mo" Smith and our topic this month is the power of personal development to serve as the catalyst for massive professional growth. Kathleen and Margaret host a personal and professional development group for real estate admins that is changing lives and I wanted to learn more about their program and process. On this podcast we discuss:

- Self-care

- Creating a safe environment for growth

- Cultivating courage

- Accountability groups

- Taking risks

- Adding massive value at work

- Difficult conversations

- Taking decisive actions

- Life-changing decisions and growth

Be You: The Inner Circle is a personal and professional development program for real estate admin professionals. This year-long program helps admins cultivate the personal characteristics that will support their professional careers and enhance every aspect of their life.

Learn more: https://www.iloveitwhen.org/beyoutheinnercircle

Connect with Margaret Smith: www.iloveitwhen.org

Connect with Kathleen Metcalf: www.kathleenmetcalf.com

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Would you rather see us instead of listening? Watch our video interview here: https://youtu.be/Tz0tWg_ffnE

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Podcast Resources

Our full conversation with Raj is here! In this episode, Raj and Vanessa talk about Raj's journey from "average kid" to international keynote speaker, author, and owner of a successful business. Along the way, you'll learn how to find your dream job, be successful in it, and skyrocket your career!

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Would you rather see us instead of listening? Watch our video interview here: https://youtu.be/n9EYXbcI19Y

Connect with Raj Subrameyer!

What's the difference between being a Sales Agent and a Real Estate Business Owner? Systems! Vanessa interviews Jolene McDonough about the foundational systems and essential mindset needed to grow from Agent to Owner.

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In this week's episode of Offer Accepted, Vanessa and Steven talk about doing the HARD things - i.e. the things that separate high achievers from the "average Joe." We talk about doorknocking, yes, but more as a metaphor for doing that hard, boring thing that makes everything else possible.

You'll learn about:

* Creating successful habits

* Setting boundaries and give you more freedom and flexibility

* Deciding when you have "enough" and getting off the hamster wheel

* Honoring your commitments to others and yourself.

You'll also learn about Steven's new book, "Doors Open When You Knock." It’s a fantastic read and we highly recommend it. 

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Growing a real estate team is risky and sometimes done wrong because of some hiring misconceptions. But when do we really know that it's about time to add someone to the team? Learn more about it as Vanessa and Amy Stoehr talk about the who/what/when/why and how of adding agents to your team.

Get in touch with Amy Stoehr:

Email: amy@realestatemastersguild.com

Phone: 3036821072

The new episode of Offer Accepted with Olivia O'Toole is now here! 🔥 In this interview, Olivia and I talk about why it's so important to invest in your admin partner and the impact that can have on your business. Stay for the end when we hop back on to talk about DISC Assessment and how her results changed as her role changed. 💥

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Learn more about the DISC!

- Take the DISC https://www.hire-lab.com/disc-assessment/

- Sign up for the Thrive Guide and get our DISC Mini Masterclass for FREE.

Go to https://www.hire-lab.com/hire-lab-thrive-guide

Books we mentioned:

“For me, it’s not the challenge of leading a team. It’s the challenge of leading 13 individuals.” 

That’s the line that got my attention and why I’m sharing this interview with you today.

John Turner was a Sales Manager in the insurance industry for forty years. Now semi-retired, he is the productivity coach for Team Sweasey in San Luis Obispo. John leads from the heart and from a set of core values that permeate everything that Team Sweasey does.

When John joined Team Sweasey, he was tasked with improving the climate and culture. It wasn’t always easy, and some tough decisions had to be made, but today, Team Sweasey is a shining example of what’s possible when your core values are at the center of everything you do.

In this interview, John and I talk about positional vs. inspirational leadership (hint - you don’t have positional leadership with sales agents, so you’d better figure out how to be inspirational!) We also talk about what it really takes to lead individuals and the traits and skills all great sales managers must possess.

I really enjoyed this interview, and I think you will too. Let’s dive in!

Quick note: the book John mentions around minute 4 is Traction by Gino Wickman.

To contact John, email him at jt@teamsweasey.com

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“I believe communication is one of THE biggest factors in your success or failure in life. We have become a society where we think feedback is bad.  Somehow we’ve equated helping someone to be a better version of themselves to it being an automatic criticism of who they are now.” says consultant and public speaker, Monique Helstrom.

In this episode, we talk about Monique’s new online course called Introduction to Effective Communication e-Course which offers 20 tips for becoming a better communicator.

We cover:

• Accountability vs responsibility
• Communication is not conflict
• Rules for communicating in the workplace
• How to provide feedback
• Identifying your communication strengths and weaknesses
• Subject line etiquette

And much more!

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Scaleable systems the secret to growing a successful real estate team. It might not sound very glamorous, but developing these key systems and procedures could help you double or even triple your business with the help of one talented assistant.

Arlene Cristobal is a licensed, experienced real estate assistant in the San Francisco Bay area. Her background includes working as an Office Manager, Project Manager, and briefly as a real estate sales agent. She is a master at building smart, scalable systems and procedures; most recently, she helped a solo agent grow to a team of 4.

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Podcast Resources

On this special episode of Offer Accepted, we'll discuss the steadily-increasing demand for virtual assistants outside of the United States, and the challenges, benefits, and training programs associated with this unique role. 

When it comes to learning how to train a virtual assistant, you deserve advice from an expert. This week I'm joined by Kathleen Metcalf of Inspired for Results, LLC. She has a ton of experience helping agents across the United States train their virtual and remote assistants. 

About Kathleen

Kathleen supports, guides and mentors entrepreneurs and business owners in the real estate industry. It's her goal to help you overcome personal and professional obstacles so that you can be the incredible leader that you want to be.

She has served as the bridge between business owners and their assistants for over 10 years, leading teams step-by-step to create essential systems and core habits in their office. This allows leaders like you to encourage momentum and increase sales volume - all while raising the quality of customer service!

Podcast Resources

Do you know what it feels like to have a business with systems?  

Dr. Laura Sims is a Business Systems Consultant who knows a thing or two about scaling systems. In this podcast, we tackle the importance of structure, framework, and creating predictability in your business. By standardizing and optimizing your business, you'll give yourself freedom and save time and money. 

If you're interested in making fewer decisions and eradicating bottleneck, then you can't miss this incredible episode of Offer Accepted.

Podcast Resources

Do you know how your personal development affects your professional development as a real estate admin? Believe it or not, the two might have more in common than you think!  

I have two of my favorite people on the podcast this week - Margaret Smith & Kathleen Metcalf. If you’ve interacted with any of my materials, you’ve probably heard me name-drop them a few times. Margaret & Kathleen both run several businesses, and they’ve come together to create a program for real estate admins called “Be You. The Inner Circle.”   

Today’s goal is to tackle the topic of admin professional development, and to emphasize the importance of putting personal development first (which is something that so many admins struggle to do)! Not only that, but we’ll dive into how you can build yourself up to be fulfilled in both your life and career. 

About "Be You. The Inner Circle" 

Despite the fact that this felt like both the shortest and longest year of our lives, 2021 is just around the corner. And, ready or not, it's time to start thinking about our vision, goals, and strategy for the coming New Year. 

If you’re a real estate agent or Director of Operations, it's likely that you're accustomed to sitting down and making a plan for your business. But do you ever sit down and make a plan for your life? 

Believe it or not, having a "life plan" is crucial to the success of your business. Knowing exactly why (and what) you want to achieve is the first, most important step in creating a business plan that you will actually execute. 

My guest on this episode of Offer Accepted is Adam Roach. Adam is an entrepreneur, agent recruiter, and business coach. He recently led a "Business and Life Planning" workshop, and he provided his participants with an incredible worksheet to help them through their 2021 planning process. I'm going to share that worksheet with you. 

Hiring is hard. I get it - no one wants to make a mistake! But this fear of failure can lead employers to come up with "truths" about who to hire, based on some "misstep" they heard about or experienced in the past. 

This is dangerous. Why? Because it causes you to cast away a whole group of people, based on one bad experience! Millennials, for example, get a bad rap. But I place smart, motivated millennials every single day. They are NOT all lazy and entitled. 

This podcast is all about breaking down misconceptions in hiring. 

Connie Tholen spent over 30 years in the banking industry before joining her real estate team. She is 60 years old, and spent most of her career in corporate America. Now she's the Director of Operations for a very successful real estate team in Nevada. 

I've met my fair share of hiring managers who would wrongly shy away from hiring someone like Connie. They would be concerned about her technology skills, and her ability to keep up with the pace.  Some employers would even dismiss her because they would fear that she wouldn't be flexible enough to handle the diverse tasks of a small real estate office! 

As you’ll hear in this interview, Connie is none of those things.

I’m highlighting Connie because I want to shine a light on the many wonderful benefits of hiring older employees. I hope that you enjoy this episode of Offer Accepted. 

About Connie

I was born and raised in the small community of Elko in Northern Nevada. My husband, Greg, and I still live in the area; but we now live about 17 miles out of Elko in the small country community of Spring Creek. We get all 4 seasons but the winter seems to last the longest – lots of cold and snow. It’s beautiful here – we love it. Mountains and valleys with cattle ranches, sheep ranches, mule deer, and other critters.

After graduating from a community college in Reno, I went to work at Wells Fargo Bank as a drive-up teller. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do from there. Well, 25 years later I left Wells Fargo. During the 25 years, I held many positions including Assistant Branch Manager, Branch Manager, and compliance officer. 

I joined the Vicky Blair group five years ago. Since then, our team has grown exponentially! In addition to being one of the Contract Managers, I also serve as the Office Manager. The assistants report to me and I am tasked with ensuring they are trained and successful. We are truly a team, and I am proud that everyone works so hard for the success of Vicky’s business.

Podcast Resources

Q: What's the most incredible thing about working as a real estate admin?
A: There are countless directions that you can take your career. 

It's true! As you grow, learn and achieve, you can use your skills to build the life that you've always dreamed of. Don't believe me? Just ask Mo. 

Margaret Smith (aka. “Mo”) is a legend in the real estate admin community. Now, she is fulfilling her dream of becoming a coach, consultant and mentor to admin professionals in real estate and beyond. Mo was my very first guest on the podcast almost two years ago, and so much has changed since then!

We’re going to talk about Mo's journey from real estate assistant, to Director of Operations, to starting her own company. I can’t wait to share her story with you!

About Mo

Mo is on a mission to revolutionize the operations world in the Real Estate Industry.

Born and raised in Seattle, WA, she has a passion for seeking truth and asking the hard questions. Mo's parents provided an environment where she and her brothers were truly given permission to just be themselves. She had no idea of the privilege she was given.

Prior to Real Estate, Mo was the Docent Program Coordinator at the Seattle Art Museum for 5 years and Assistant Volleyball Coach for Northwest University in Kirkland. She has her Masters in Social Work with a focus on administration, and is an adamant believer in human potential.

When it comes to residential real estate, Tiffany Lawson has seen it all. Not only has she worked as an admin, an agent and a trainer, but she has an incredibly unique perspective - one that I can't wait to share with you!

If you've listened to the podcast before, then you'll have heard me say that one person - the right person - can make all the difference. In fact, hiring the right admin can give you the tools you need to double your business in less than two years. This week, we're tackling what it takes to truly be successful in real estate, and how to hire and train an admin who can transform your business. 

About Tiffany

Tiffany Lawson is a Florida native that has been working her way up the Real Estate ladder since 2014. She began her career as an assistant to the director of operations for a residential and commercial real estate company. That led her to develop a passion for training and coaching administrative admins - after all, she has always set out to break the glass ceiling in all of her roles. Tiffany currently works in a residential sales role, so she has essentially sat in all of the real estate seats.

Tiffany went to Florida State University, and has an awesome son who is her whole world. She is incredibly excited for what lies ahead, in both her personal and professional life and for her family. In her free time, she loves to spend time with friends and family, and when flying solo she enjoys exploring new places and learning about things that take her out of her comfort zone.

Podcast Resources

I knew the moment I met Jessica that I needed to have her on the podcast. Her unstoppable attitude and seemingly endless drive is inspiring, and her journey is relatable to anyone working in real estate. As a Marketing Director and Operations Director for a very large and busy team (when I say busy, I mean they did over 100 transactions in July of 2020!), she has insights that can help any admin grow to be more successful in their role. She also provides some helpful information on what it is that a Marketing/Operations Director actually does, and how their role might fit into the framework of a multifaceted real estate team. 

In her arguably limited amount of free time, Jessica also created a clever program to help real estate professionals talk about real estate on social media... without annoying their friends and family. We'll discuss this, how her team is tackling COVID, the trust she maintains with her boss and more. 

About Jessica

Jes Yeager comes from an entrepreneurial background, having owned a photography studio in Ferndale, Detroit & Clawson from 2003-2013. She has been working in Real Estate for the past 8 years. She has a love of all things Real Estate Marketing especially social media, graphic design, branding and 36+ Touch Plans. She brings a unique and unexpected perspective to marketing real estate agents and teams. Jes co-manages a Facebook group for real estate admin, with 1700+ members, called Admin Success Principles. For the past 2 years, she teaches various marketing topics within that group monthly. Jes loves nonsense and doggos.

Podcast Resources

Do you want to build a business that supports the life you want to lead? The secret may lie in your ability to simplify your path to success! My guest this week is Stacy Bahrenfuss. She is an incredibly valuable resource for anyone looking to hone, sculpt or completely revamp their business strategy in 2020.

In this interview, we’re going to talk about how Stacy grew a very successful real estate team, and why she decided to start over – from scratch. We’ll also find out if making such a drastic move was worth the risk, and we’ll delve into the details of her new business model.

About Stacy Bahrenfuss

Founder + CEO of the Catalyst Group, Stacy started her real estate company at the early age of 19, sustained through the housing crisis of 2007-2010, and continued to build the business to be a 7-figure operation and one of the top real estate teams in the state (rated #15 in Idaho by Real Trends in 2018). An avid student of personal and spiritual development, having visited India multiple times she has become one of only 1,000 in the One Consciousness Leaders Circle. She’s also a previous member of Tony Robbins’ Platinum Group.

Podcast Resources

Have you ever had a big idea that someone told you was impossible? Are you looking for freedom and flexibility - both in your career and your life? Maybe you're even considering becoming an entrepreneur, or you recently made the leap to running your own business or team? If any of these sound like you, then this episode of Offer Accepted is right up your alley. 

My guest this week is Michelle Spalding - she's a bit of a legend in the TC world. We aren't, however, discussing transaction coordination in this episode; we're taking a deep dive into what it means to be a truly successful entrepreneur. Michelle's unique insights, positive outlook and ability to overcome challenges will speak to anyone looking to break new ground and follow their dreams. 

Whether you're thinking about venturing out on your own or you already own a business, you’ll appreciate hearing Michelle’s take on defining success on your own terms. Join us as we discuss setting boundaries with clients, letting go of limiting beliefs and - most importantly - enjoying the journey.

Recruiting top-producing agents for your team or brokerage is no small feat. It takes a rock-solid value proposition, a clear strategy and hard work to find people that align with your vision and values. In this episode of Offer Accepted, I interview Brett Jennings and Lauren Moseley from Real Estate Experts in San Jose, California. From attracting agents to distributing leads, we tackle everything you need to know about recruiting revenue producing agents that share your values. If you want to create a recruiting strategy that helps you attract agents (rather than chase them) you are going to love this interview!

About Brett Jennings

Brett Jennings is the owner and founder of Real Estate Experts. Brett is an award-winning luxury home marketing specialist and also holds a certificate in negotiation from Harvard Law. In 2017, the Wall Street Journal recognized Brett and his team as one of the top 250 real estate groups in the United States. With over one million agents in the country, this prestigious award places Brett in the top 1/10th of the top 1% among his peers.

Brett is a charismatic leader who cares as much about his team as he does about his clients. His commitment to delivering a five-star service experience for every client is carefully crafted by a hand-picked, all-star team that consists of transaction coordinators, renovation, marketing, listing, and buyer specialists, all dedicated to offering the highest standard of care in the industry.

Let's face it: whether we like it or not, the landscape of real estate marketing has changed. Virtual open houses have become the new norm, and agents across the country are thinking of inventive (and sometimes amusing) ways to keep selling. While some COVID marketing methods have proven to be successful, others have fallen painfully flat. So, what's working? And what isn't? My guest this week is Andre Bodnar, the founder of Artifakt Digital. Andre's agency is well-versed in the ways of real estate marketing. He offers some valuable insight on how his clients are adapting their marketing strategies to navigate the waters of COVID, and we discuss the best way to manage creative employees.

In a time where it's increasingly important to keep moving forward, this podcast episode can help you answer that looming (and difficult) question: "What's next?" 

About Andre

Andre is the founder of Artifakt Digital, a digital strategy agency specializing in fully custom and strategic real estate websites, marketing, PPC, and lead generation for North America’s top-producing real estate agents, teams, brokerages, and related industries. His mission is to help North America’s top-producing real agents achieve higher levels of success through digital strategy.

Trust. Intuition. Fear. Success. What do all these words have in common? Each of them plays an important role in this week's unique episode of Offer Accepted. Although I wouldn't categorize En-May Mangels as my typical podcast guest, her insights, abilities and passion will strike a chord with anyone looking to grow their business or further their career. She is a bright and resourceful leader, and her unique perspective has helped countless people envision and create the life that they've always wanted to live.

Listen in as we discuss trusting your gut, easy ways to identify the difference between irrational fear and intuition, and the key to pushing past fear and embracing the unknown. This is an episode you can't afford to miss. 

About En-May

En-May Mangels is an internationally renowned Strategic Intuitive Advisor, Empath, and modern-day Spiritualist. Working with high-performing individuals in the business world, entertainment, and arts, En-May engages with her clients to safely, compassionately, and effectively remove limiting beliefs, providing insights to restore and revitalize areas lacking vibrancy, productivity, or desired results.

Imagine being able to trust that inner voice of your own to make quick, unfaltering decisions in your career and personal life. Imagine the impact, the feeling you have knowing, believing, and trusting your intuitive self to create your best outcome, and the best results for all involved. Let’s turn up your light to remembering your best you; your already knowing, beyond proof and data, intuitive YOU.

Podcast Resources

With the employment landscape changing and many companies working entirely from home, COVID has brought the need for (and the benefits of) virtual assistants to the forefront of our minds. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to catch up with Clint Muhlenberg and discuss the logistics behind working with a virtual assistant, and, more specifically, what it’s like to work with a virtual assistant from the Philippines. 

Whether you’re considering hiring a virtual assistant or you’re interested in learning about what a virtual assistant does, this episode is packed with useful information. 

Clint runs a company called Level. They provide top-notch virtual assistants from the Philippines to real estate agents and companies across the United States. He has a massive team, and Clint and I share similar philosophies regarding hiring, training and managing remote employees. I can’t think of anyone that would be better suited to discuss this topic. Start listening now to join the discussion! 

About Clint

Clint Muhlenberg’s passion for real estate is rivaled only by his love for helping agents, teams, and admin in the industry succeed. An accomplished operations leader and graduate of Texas A&M University, Clint has years of experience working with esteemed real estate companies, including one of the top ten Keller Williams Realty teams worldwide. A self-proclaimed lover of chaos, he thrives under high-pressure work situations that would make others question their sanity.

While consulting throughout the industry, Clint had a lingering thought: how can leverage be easier? Thus Level was born, a Virtual Assistant company specializing in the real estate industry. Under Clint’s guidance, Level has boosted productivity for real estate businesses by providing outsourced employees in administrative, operations, and marketing roles, among others. His objective is to provide a sense of ease for his clients and prevent them from, in his professional opinion, “working too damn much.”

Outside of work, Clint enjoys giving back to his community by mentoring middle and high school students as well as making people laugh, though he still needs work in this area.  

Podcast Resources

How Entrepreneurs & Executive Assistants Can Work Together to Achieve More

What can be achieved when a founder and force multiplier work together towards a common goal? In this episode of Offer Accepted, Hallie Warner us takes through the birth, growth and inspiring result of her collaborative partnership with Adam Hergenrother. 

If you're in a leadership role, how are you shaping your vision of the future? Will you be able to retain your employees by providing them with consistent growth? 

If you're an EA or in a supportive role, do you know how to identify and create opportunities when you see them? Are you dedicated to making yourself an essential part of the team? 

I have been so excited to share this interview with Hallie - her story really speaks to me as a business owner, boss and leader. She is an incredible force (a force multiplier, if you will) and if you're looking to explore the possibilities behind partnership and collaboration, then this episode will be sure to pique your interest. It's also packed with information for motivated EA's looking to expand and work towards continued growth in their role.  

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." - Henry Ford

About Hallie

Hallie Warner serves as Chief of Staff to the Founder and CEO of Adam Hergenrother Companies. She is also the co-author of The Founder & The Force Multiplier: How Entrepreneurs and Executive Assistants Achieve More Together. Hallie has worked side-by-side with Adam Hergenrother for over nine years, ensuring that Adam’s vision is clarified, communicated, and implemented.

With over ten years of experience supporting the C-Suite, Hallie has mastered the ability to lead and assist by assessing current needs, initiating change, and executing projects. As Chief of Staff, Hallie also provides strategic counsel to key leaders within the company and handles special projects focused on the growth of the organization.

Hallie is a graduate of the State University of New York and resides with her husband and dog, Karma, in Williston, Vermont.

Podcast Resources:

Is your world suddenly upside down because of COVID-19? Many of us are learning to master Zoom, Slack and virtual listing appointments, and some of us have the added obligation of childcare and homeschooling. 

As we navigate these rapid changes and risks together, I wanted to talk to someone who is a well-respected leader in the real estate administrative community. She is in the trenches, trying to navigate working from home and running a real estate team, all while homeschooling her young kids. Meagan Moulden is the Director of Operations for the Kima Real Estate group in North Carolina. She has some incredible insights and ideas to share with you that she learned after moving her 7-person team online. 

Meagan shares her perspective on swift adaptation, balance and navigating the challenges that ensue when work/family are no longer separated. 

Podcast Resources:

Okay, I know I don't normally post two podcasts in one week, but I couldn't help myself - this too great not to immediately share. Do you aspire to become 50% of a dynamic Visionary/Implementor partnership? Do you want to learn how to attract and lead a superstar director of operations? Or, are you a real estate administrator who wants to know what might be possible if you found the right team leaders? Either way, this podcast is for you. Grab a cup of coffee and listen as Amanda Doll shares her inspiring story and gives you an inside look into what a truly excellent Visionary/Implementor partnership is really like. 

Amanda Doll is the VP of Operations and Growth for Team Borham at Keller Williams Realty. She was first introduced to real estate in 2015 with a background in hospitality and hotel management of over 14 years. Shortly after joining Team Owner, Jeff Borham, Amanda became licensed in the state of Florida and over the last 5 years has played a leading role in taking Team Borham from $8M to $68M and 2 team members to over 16 team members (and counting), including a 5 person operations staff. In addition to her role with the team, Amanda also coaches Mega agents and operations admin within the Keller Williams family, teaches Keller Williams University courses across the county, and runs an admin/ops master that currently travels to 5 market centers within the greater Tampa Bay Area.

In 2020, Amanda joined the National Association of Real Estate Support Professionals and holds a Director seat on the Board of Directors, a community she advocates for and is dedicated to elevating through masterminding,  speaking on stage, and being interviewed on panels, webinars and podcasts about failing forward, her journey in leadership growth and leading by example. Her passion for succeeding through others has been the driving force of her success in real estate and it's what motivates her to help people become the best version of themselves.

When she’s not in the office, Amanda enjoys traveling to new exotic places, relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Florida and cheering on her home state's college football team, The University of Alabama.

Ah, HR - everyone's favorite part of running (or working in) a business. Right? Well... okay, maybe not. HR is complicated, and that's why we're so excited to have HR Pro LeiLani Quiray share her wisdom on this week's episode of Offer Accepted. New laws? Old laws? Things you should definitely know if you're in the real estate industry? We tackle it all.

Founder and HR expert LeiLani Quiray has a fiery passion for both Human Resources (nerdy, we know) and philanthropy. After 20 years of dedicated HR and philanthropic work, she wanted to build a business that was different from your everyday Human Resources consulting firm. Be The Change HR, Inc., a conscious company and social enterprise, provides HR support for small-to-medium sized businesses in any facet of HR - from pre-hire to post-term and everything in between.

As Ghandi once said, "Be the chance you wish to see in the world" - and LeiLani is doing just that!

Podcast Resources:

If you’re not using automation to free up your time and focus on your business, then you’re fighting a losing battle. On this week’s episode of Offer Accepted, technology expert Bret Shugrue tackles the changing tech landscape and provides an insightful glimpse into the power behind automation for agents and admins.

Bret is the First Technology Coach for KW Maps as well as a Maps on Demand Coach, creator of the Tech-Enabled Agent coaching program, co-creator of Tech-Enabled Leader. In short: this is his bread and butter. He is a master of communication and connection and teaches teams to see (and use) technology as their most valuable asset.

AI technology is changing the way people do business in real estate. Are you going to stay on the cutting edge?

Podcast Resources:

What do you think would happen if you let go of all of the “shoulds” in your life and your business? What if you just showed up 100% as yourself every day and you focused on providing value to others while staying true to your personal values?

Would you be happier? Less stressed? Do you think that you could also be MORE successful? We do. 

Nicole Sarenpa and her husband Tony started selling real estate in 2006. They worked HARD and they pushed for more and faster growth. Their business was expanding but their life was completely out of whack. Their family and health were suffering and they experienced turn-over and strife in the business.

But slowly at first, and then with conviction, they started to make profound changes in how they approached the business and their life as a whole. They centered their decisions and actions around their core values, they slowed down, and they let go of the things that did not serve them. And then things got interesting. Their business doubled. Then it doubled again and it continues to grow.

Today, they have found that ever-evolving equilibrium between the needs of their business and family, and Nicole and Tony are both pursuing the work that fuels their passion.

Are you ready to recalibrate the balance in your life? It all starts with this podcast. 

Podcast Resources: 

As we close out a decade and prepare for the next, this is the perfect time to take stock of where you are in your life and career and decide what changes you are going to make to build a career that fuels your passion and supports the life you dream about.

“Most people overestimate what they can do in a year, and they underestimate what they can do in two or three decades.” - Tony Robbins

Jen Stalcup is a force within the real estate admin world. She is passionate about supporting the admin community and supporting real estate agents and teams. We cover a lot of ground in this interview, but one key theme runs through it. YOU can create the career and life you dream of, and it doesn’t have to look like anybody else’s ideal career.

Jen manages a 40+ person team and supports 200+ real estate agents as the CEO of AgentREbox while living in the far reaches of Alaska.  The transaction coordination division of her business handled 3,500 closings last year. She also offers a wide range of virtual assistant services, as well as marketing services, and now she is focused on supporting other TC business owners as they grow their businesses.

The role of the Administrator is evolving rapidly, and there has never been a better time to be insanely good at logistics, details, and organization. Gone are the days of secretaries and order-takers. Today’s Admins Run.The.Show. And thank goodness because we need them!

Executives count on their Admins to be their eyes and ears, their sounding board, and to take their ideas and run with them. However, just like any other relationship, this one needs some care and attention if it is going to work well. And that is where Monique Helstrom comes in.

Monique Helstrom is the founder of On Point and a leading advocate for Admin Professionals. She believes passionately in empowering administrators to become leaders in their roles. And teaching executives and their admins how to work more effectively together. She consults, trains, and is a keynote speaker on topics such as communication styles, personality types, leadership methods, and ways to motivate.

She gained practical experience and understanding of these topics as the Chief of Simon Sinek, the NYT best-selling author, and TED celebrity.

We cover a lot of ground in this conversation, and I’m excited to share it with you. Some of my favorites highlights include:

• As a leader, getting your first assistant is exciting and SCARY. Suddenly your life is laid bare to another person, and it takes time to build trust.
• Executives get very little training - if any, on how to work with an assistant. Executives need to acknowledge that they need to learn how to lead, and admins need to give their executives some grace.
• Executives and Admins see the world differently. Understanding these differences is the first step to building bridges and trust.
• Too many admins put up with bad behavior. Monique offers some excellent scripts for dealing with an abusive boss.
• Not all careers are vertical. We talk about going wide in your career versus vertical.
• Admins need to keep asking questions, and Executives need to be willing to slow down and share their thoughts, frustrations, ideas, and visions with their Admin.

Learn more about Monique:

Get ready to think about your work and your CAPACITY for work in a whole new light. David Breckheimer can get more done in a day than most people accomplish in a week, and he does it all with a giant smile on his face. If you want to achieve more in less time, listen up!

David Breckheimer has been involved in the real estate, mortgage, closing, and coaching sides of this business since 1997. As a solo agent, David spent multiple years closing over 100 transactions per year, without a team or admin. This lack of support drove David to become very passionate about developing efficiencies and systems that would help him to continue to own his business rather than it owning him. After years of this, David became obsessed with the admin and TC side of the business and began developing systems that would allow him to handle between 70-100 pending transactions at a time, all while maintaining a healthy work-life balance (no nights, no weekends). 

Today, David coaches and trains other TCs and business owners on his methods. 

The thing that struck me the most during our conversation was the level of consistency with which he works. His “secret weapon” is straightforward; he does the essential things on time and on schedule. Always. Without exception. And everything else falls into place.

Whatever your business or profession. If you are committed to becoming more efficient and effective, you will get value from this podcast episode. Enjoy!

Anna Lovec is the owner and founder of The Alchemy Company. Her mission is to change the opinion of real estate support staff one transaction at a time. Her team of real estate transaction coordinators provides high-level transaction coordination in CA and FL.

I wanted to talk to Anna for a couple of reasons. First, she has a great story, and it's one that I think plenty of my listeners can either relate to or tap into for inspiration. She found a field of work that she loves, cultivated her talent, and grew a business that delivers high-level service for her clients. She also balances running her thriving business with being a wife and mom to 3 young kids.

In this interview, we talk about how she leveraged herself out of transaction coordinating and into her current leadership role, and what she has learned about growing and managing a high-performing virtual team of 11 who close 100 transactions per month. This episode is particularly interesting to fellow TC's and real estate teams, but I think that the themes we will touch on are much more universal.

Listen for:

• Her growth path from working in the business to working on the business
• How she trains and on-boards her transaction coordinators
• How she maintains quality control of a large, virtual team
• Pros and cons of hiring people with little or no experience (and why she prefers to train from scratch)

If you listen to the Offer Accepted podcast, you know that systems and processes are a common, reoccurring topic among our guests. Systems are a competitive advantage that anyone can access. The better your systems, the better your business. When you lack documented systems, or your processes are not easily duplicated by other employees, you will find yourself overly dependent on a single Rock Star employee.

Ross Novotny takes it one step further. He automates his systems at a very high level. You will be blown away by how he thinks about the use of technology in his daily life.

This interview is all about the role of COO. What does a COO actually DO on a real estate team? How does one land that role? How do you grow into the role? (or, How do you help your EA become your COO), And who should you hire to be your COO?

Christy Belt Grossman is the CEO and Owner of Ops Boss Coaching LLC. Christy's passion for raising the bar on the operations side of real estate, especially for those “riding shotgun”, was fueled by her experience as COO of The Belt Team from 1995-2018. (The Belt Team is one of the nation's top real estate teams with over $1 Billion SOLD). This is what inspired her to found her company in 2015. Christy is the author of the popular class “BE A BOSS! 10 Secrets of a Mega EA” which over 2,000 have attended. She also keeps an elite roster of personal coaching clients across the United States and Canada.

I also get Christy’s unique perspective on two of my favorite topics, office culture, and systems. AND she blows my mind by combining the two. Yep. She has Systems to support her Culture!

Enjoy!

Are you setting your new hires up for success or for failure? Too many employers stop short of the finish line when they hire a new employee. Let’s change that.

I’m excited to have real estate team trainer and coach, Kathleen Metcalf back on the podcast as well as Pro R.E.A. Staffing’s own Sarah Weaver. This topic is so important that it required a co-host.

The hiring process isn’t over when a candidate signs their offer letter. Nope, not even close. The hiring process ends once a candidate is fully onboarded and is thriving in their role.

If you are willing to take the time, effort and money to invest in hiring a talented employee for your business, it makes no sense to fail to provide outstanding training and onboarding experience for your new hire.

In today’s podcast listen for:

• Before an employee can be proactive in their role they must first follow, then manage and then finally, they can lead
• The bicycle analogy - the training wheels come off one at a time
• What is reasonable to expect from a new hire in their first 90 days
• How you respond to mistakes is massively important; How to respond when mistakes are made, and when mistakes really do equal a red flag
• Where to start with employee training
• Busting the myth: “My new hire is experienced so they don’t need training and onboarding.”
• The “Dark before the Dawn” (This is SO true.)
• Oncology vs Preventative Medicine: Why new hire coaching starting Day 1 is so important
• People are different but they are predictably different. How to use the DISC behavioral assessment to communicate effectively with everyone on your team

Real estate assistants usually fall into one of two camps. There are those who love being an assistant and while they may aspire to grow into a leadership role they have no desire to be in sales. Others see being a Real Estate Assistant as a short-term step on their journey of becoming a real estate agent. My guest today, Dana Browning doesn’t fall neatly into either camp which is what makes her career journey so interesting.

Dana’s path to becoming a Buyers Agent is a bit non-traditional as you will hear during our interview but her experience offers plenty of insight for those contemplating a similar path.

Some of my favorite highlights from this interview include:

• Why being an assistant is harder than being a sales agent on a team
  
• Even very experienced assistants struggle during their first 90 days on a job (and what to do about it)
  
• It’s hard to measure success as an admin which is why praise from your boss is so important
  
• What Dana looked for when interviewing teams
  
• Accountability and education vs leads as a value proposition for teams
  

Get ready to hear some truly powerful productivity hacks, as well as valuable insight on building a strong and lasting relationship between a lead admin and their mega agent!

Stephanie Brackett is the COO for the Anderson Hicks team in Idaho Falls. She started with Mike Hicks when he had a three-person team, and she helped him grow the team to the #2 team in their area. Last year her team merged with another top team, and today she manages 30 people on the Anderson Hicks team. They rank #58 on the Real Trends “The Thousand” report for team.

This interview is packed full of gems.  Some of my favorite highlights include:

• Starting with your One Thing
• Winning Minute
• Daily gratitude
• The Promise
• Todoist.com
• David Allen + “Getting Things Done”
• Hidden culture vs overt culture
• The unexpected challenges of combining teams

If you want to use your real estate sales business as a springboard to other ventures, this show is for you. Today we are going to explore several of the “next opportunities” for a successful real estate agent with a man who decided to take on not one, but SEVERAL of those next opportunities.

Mark Von Kaenel has a personal real estate business that did over $1M GCI in 2018, he operates a property management company that has 1000 doors under management and he is a Keller Williams Operating Partner with multiple locations in and around Silicon Valley, CA. 

On this podcast, we dig into how and why he grew his businesses and explore the pros, as well as the many challenges of running multiple businesses at the same time. 

In this interview:

• [10:25] The challenges of growing big and fast
• [14:20] Accepting your role as a Leader when you decide to grow a team
• [15:39] How hiring a Director of Operations changed his business
• [25:00] What Mark learned about his priorities when he hired his current Real Estate Assistant 
• [28:06] Why and how he changed his philosophy around how he pays his assistant

The path from successful solo agent to Team Leader is exciting, challenging, motivating and sometimes...bumpy. It’s not easy to hand over parts of your business to someone else or to trust someone else with your clients. On top of that, a new Team Leader has to lead, manage, delegate, and mentor. It can feel overwhelming.

On this week’s podcast, I interview real estate team coach and trainer, Kathleen Metcalf. The President and Founder of Atlas Real Estate Coaching + Training, Kathleen, has seen it all. She was a real estate assistant, a top agent, a recruiter in real estate, an assistant to a top real estate coach, and for the last six years, a real estate coach and trainer herself.

If anyone has insight into what it takes to make a successful transition from agent to team leader, or from Assistant to Director of Operations, it is Kathleen. 

In this episode:

• [3:20] The new roles and responsibilities of a Team Leader (vs. solo Real Estate Agent)
• [6:45] The difference between being a Manager and a Leader
• [15:30] Common challenges for new leaders
• [19:50] Some skills you can train and some skills you have to buy
• [28:00] “You show people what to do, and then follow up on it, to confirm that what you thought is what you said, is what they heard, is what they understood.”
• [35:00] The dark before the dawn
• [46:10] How to help an Assistant transition into a leadership role on your team

“It is the consistency with which you approach your daily activities which determines the consistency with which you get paid.” - Cathy Anderson

At the peak of her sales career, Cathy Anderson sold 200 homes per year with the help of two assistants. Plus, she managed to make it home by 5 p.m. most nights. Oh, and she lived in a town of 8,000 people that did not even have an MLS until she launched her real estate career.

Cathy went on to become a highly sought-after business coach and has been coaching for nearly 25 years. After years being a top producer herself and coaching many top producers around the world, you can bet that she has some great stories to tell!

Some takeaways from this fun and wide-ranging interview:

• [6:00] If you want to attract great Buyers Agents build a strong foundation first. You cannot add buyers agents and/or Inside Sales Agents until you do the following:
                    1. Build a strong administrative support staff
                    2. Have a good inventory of listings 
• [9:25] “It’s not how much I made, it was how much I kept.” How she kept expenses low and profits high.
  • She learned how to do things:
                       1. Quickly
                       2. Inexpensively
                       3. Still with Five-Star service
• [10:40] Profitability benchmarks for solo agents and teams
• How she managed to make 52 contacts (Not 50) per day for YEARS (hint: it’s all about systems and leverage) 
• How Cathy was able to "P.L.A.” every day and go home by 5:00 p.m. 
• Why the personal bucket is not allowed in the office but squirt guns and water guns are allowed! 
• Her approach to training and onboarding new hires (“Nobody comes to work for you hoping they can screw everything up!”) and the four phases of learning:

         1. Unconscious incompetence
       2. Conscious incompetence
       3. Conscious competence
       4. Unconscious competence

Lin Realty is proof of what is possible when real estate agents focus on building a real estate business not just being a successful solo agent. From day one, Eva and Joe had a vision for their business, and they executed on it relentlessly. They also stayed true to their values, and as a result, they became one of the top teams at Keller Williams Realty within four years.

There are so many great takeaways from this interview. One of my favorites is the idea of hiring a “Wow Coordinator”. You haven’t heard of a Wow Coordinator? Well, listen and be prepared to be floored. 

Other key takeaways:

• Fear setting vs. goal setting
• How building a culture focused on service and personal growth impacted their success
• Showing Assistants vs. Buyers Agents
• Vision statements
• Building clients for life

Ben Weil is a top producing commercial real estate agent in San Francisco's East Bay. He designed his business to allow him to travel and work more than half the year remotely. Ben believes in growing a team to create leverage and provide a higher level of client service. And, he figured out how to develop talented salespeople from the ground up to create the business and the life he wants.

In this interview, Ben shares how he changed one Junior Agent’s life by taking him out of a $24k annual salary sales job and showing him how to earn $220k in commission in his first year as a commercial real estate agent. According to Ben, the Junior Agent paid off his student loans, bought a car AND put a down payment on a house. Can you imagine going from $24k to $220k on ONE year? 

Ben’s story is a remarkable and inspiring journey.

Learn:

• Why Ben prefers to train brand new agents
• How he structures his training and mentorship program
• How he balances being one of the TOP commercial agents in San Francisco with his love of travel
• His “keys to success” in commercial real estate