Learning from the LEADERS
In 2005, 4 local agents embarked on a journey to bring Keller Williams Realty to the Joplin market.
They were leaders in their companies, icons in our industry, they were purposeful & poised in their actions...they were leaders. Under the direction of Doris Carlin a team was formed. Kent Eastman, Mike Flanagan and Donny Allen, all accepted her meeting request and saw a better plan than they had previously been given... and they were ready to share it.
Opening a new company is no small feat, it takes strategy, planning & prep work. They had to quietly recruit agents who would be willing to join once their plans were in place.
In that same year, myself and I'm certain many others were asked to sign a letter of intent to join KW when the plan would finally come together. I listened to Donny Allen, who would be the first Team Leader at the Joplin office & quickly made the decision to sign on the dotted line. In a corner booth of Applebee's, I committed to to join KW when they made the move. I had no problems at my current brokerage, I just saw an opportunity.
In January of 2006 the gig was up, Keller Williams Realty officially announced their presence and had even added an additional investor, Tim Goostree, another well known name joined the group.
I will tell you, I was TERRIFIED!! I was not only scared to death to tell my broker that I needed his signature on my transfer paper, but I was scared to walk into a new office with people that I only knew by their names at the top of the MLS Production Report. But, within 30 days of KW opening (I had to wait on a closing to happen, of course), I did just that.
I was by no means an experienced agent. I was just shy of 2 years in the business & had sold about $1 Million that second year. It was the most intimidating thing to pick up my small box of belongings, enter that building on 15th Street & be introduced to the #1 Realtor in the area, Doris Carlin.
Now at this stage, KW was about a whopping 17 agents, the industry LEADERS...and a few newbies!
Within the first week of my arrival I remember standing at the front counter and feeling a tug at my ponytail. As I turned around, I see Mike Flanagan giggling and walking into his office. This was nearly all it took for my nerves to calm and I knew....I was going to have fun here.
A few months in to this adventure, we were working on a project for OGAR and I needed something from Hobby Lobby to complete the task. I remember attempting to talk to Doris about it and her looking up at me from her desk and saying sternly "Ask for what you want!" My nerves may have returned, (She was still quite intimidating) but I knew...I was going to learn something here.
The stories go on and on. The memories we have made & the things I have learned since early 2006 are invaluable to my life. Notice I didn't say my business...My LIFE.
I embraced every opportunity to watch these people. They were there every day. They were intentional in their actions. They took the opportunity to continue to learn. They helped people. They taught us how to run businesses, not just sell Real Estate! They want everyone to succeed!!
It is because of their example that we have 54% of the market share in our core area. Because our agents have emulated the actions and behaviors that these leaders possess, we can grow cappers from within the walls of our office. It all started with them.
They completed their ownership group with Nancy Walters & Seth Dermott. As of 2017, Seth officially took the reins as Operating Partner and Doris proudly watched as she had spent the past several years grooming him for this opportunity.
2018. 12 1/2 years later. 164 agents. I am the 5th Team Leader to walk the halls. Do you want to hear something really awesome? No one before me that left the position, ever left the company. They may have outgrown the role, but they were part of an environment that they didn't want to be without.
We are all in a different season in our business than we were back in 2006 , the owners are in a different season in their careers. We have a new group of icons who have spent the last 12 years learning. Who do you notice on the Wall of Fame now? Who do you look at and think, "I hope to be as successful in this business as they are?" Jo Kleinsorge, Lisa Fletcher, Jenny Hocker, Ryan Flanagan, Israel Thompson, Jonathan Leach? They all became the agents & LEADERS that they are today by learning from the best. They spend every day working on their business. They are intentional in their actions. They take the opportunity to continue to learn. They help people. Do you see the pattern?
To quote Mel Robbins, "Every phase of your life and career will require a different YOU".
Doris travels the to KW Offices all over the US & even abroad to teach. Do you think we have a full time trash man & day time cleaning crew? We don't, most of the time it's done by Mike Flanagan & Tim Goostree. New light bulbs, toilet maintenance, weed control... you can thank Kent Eastman for that. Have you noticed that there is always breakfast in the kitchen on Thursday mornings? Nancy Walters does that, just because she wants to. Donny Allen spends hours with agents every month making sure that they are confident in their ability to explain the Real Estate contracts. Seth is in the conference room nearly every morning by 7:30 reviewing contracts and listings, he's teaching classes and finding new ways to provide value to the agents of this market center.
Those of you who have embarked on this adventure called Real Estate in just the past few years, might never have heard these stories. You might not have been able to tell me who the investors of Market Center 641 are. If that is the case, I apologize. To truly appreciate how awesome this group of people are, you have to know where it all started.
When you see these people on the training calendar, do yourself a favor...GO to the class, their knowledge is incredible. When you see them taking out the trash and changing the lightbulbs, thank them for their servant leadership. When you walk in the kitchen on Thursday mornings and see the feast on the table, do not take the kindness for granted.
With 164 agents and a business model that is designed to grow, we have to be mindful of how all of this came to be and even more mindful of the fact that we don't ever want to lose touch with it.
I am so glad that I took the leap, joined this team of amazing agents & committed to learning from them. They have guided me to be the leader that I am & I will forever be grateful that I had Mike Flanagan there to pull my hair and encourage me.
They were leaders in their companies, icons in our industry, they were purposeful & poised in their actions...they were leaders. Under the direction of Doris Carlin a team was formed. Kent Eastman, Mike Flanagan and Donny Allen, all accepted her meeting request and saw a better plan than they had previously been given... and they were ready to share it.
Opening a new company is no small feat, it takes strategy, planning & prep work. They had to quietly recruit agents who would be willing to join once their plans were in place.
In that same year, myself and I'm certain many others were asked to sign a letter of intent to join KW when the plan would finally come together. I listened to Donny Allen, who would be the first Team Leader at the Joplin office & quickly made the decision to sign on the dotted line. In a corner booth of Applebee's, I committed to to join KW when they made the move. I had no problems at my current brokerage, I just saw an opportunity.
In January of 2006 the gig was up, Keller Williams Realty officially announced their presence and had even added an additional investor, Tim Goostree, another well known name joined the group.
I will tell you, I was TERRIFIED!! I was not only scared to death to tell my broker that I needed his signature on my transfer paper, but I was scared to walk into a new office with people that I only knew by their names at the top of the MLS Production Report. But, within 30 days of KW opening (I had to wait on a closing to happen, of course), I did just that.
I was by no means an experienced agent. I was just shy of 2 years in the business & had sold about $1 Million that second year. It was the most intimidating thing to pick up my small box of belongings, enter that building on 15th Street & be introduced to the #1 Realtor in the area, Doris Carlin.
Now at this stage, KW was about a whopping 17 agents, the industry LEADERS...and a few newbies!
Within the first week of my arrival I remember standing at the front counter and feeling a tug at my ponytail. As I turned around, I see Mike Flanagan giggling and walking into his office. This was nearly all it took for my nerves to calm and I knew....I was going to have fun here.
A few months in to this adventure, we were working on a project for OGAR and I needed something from Hobby Lobby to complete the task. I remember attempting to talk to Doris about it and her looking up at me from her desk and saying sternly "Ask for what you want!" My nerves may have returned, (She was still quite intimidating) but I knew...I was going to learn something here.
The stories go on and on. The memories we have made & the things I have learned since early 2006 are invaluable to my life. Notice I didn't say my business...My LIFE.
I embraced every opportunity to watch these people. They were there every day. They were intentional in their actions. They took the opportunity to continue to learn. They helped people. They taught us how to run businesses, not just sell Real Estate! They want everyone to succeed!!
It is because of their example that we have 54% of the market share in our core area. Because our agents have emulated the actions and behaviors that these leaders possess, we can grow cappers from within the walls of our office. It all started with them.
They completed their ownership group with Nancy Walters & Seth Dermott. As of 2017, Seth officially took the reins as Operating Partner and Doris proudly watched as she had spent the past several years grooming him for this opportunity.
2018. 12 1/2 years later. 164 agents. I am the 5th Team Leader to walk the halls. Do you want to hear something really awesome? No one before me that left the position, ever left the company. They may have outgrown the role, but they were part of an environment that they didn't want to be without.
We are all in a different season in our business than we were back in 2006 , the owners are in a different season in their careers. We have a new group of icons who have spent the last 12 years learning. Who do you notice on the Wall of Fame now? Who do you look at and think, "I hope to be as successful in this business as they are?" Jo Kleinsorge, Lisa Fletcher, Jenny Hocker, Ryan Flanagan, Israel Thompson, Jonathan Leach? They all became the agents & LEADERS that they are today by learning from the best. They spend every day working on their business. They are intentional in their actions. They take the opportunity to continue to learn. They help people. Do you see the pattern?
To quote Mel Robbins, "Every phase of your life and career will require a different YOU".
Doris travels the to KW Offices all over the US & even abroad to teach. Do you think we have a full time trash man & day time cleaning crew? We don't, most of the time it's done by Mike Flanagan & Tim Goostree. New light bulbs, toilet maintenance, weed control... you can thank Kent Eastman for that. Have you noticed that there is always breakfast in the kitchen on Thursday mornings? Nancy Walters does that, just because she wants to. Donny Allen spends hours with agents every month making sure that they are confident in their ability to explain the Real Estate contracts. Seth is in the conference room nearly every morning by 7:30 reviewing contracts and listings, he's teaching classes and finding new ways to provide value to the agents of this market center.
Those of you who have embarked on this adventure called Real Estate in just the past few years, might never have heard these stories. You might not have been able to tell me who the investors of Market Center 641 are. If that is the case, I apologize. To truly appreciate how awesome this group of people are, you have to know where it all started.
When you see these people on the training calendar, do yourself a favor...GO to the class, their knowledge is incredible. When you see them taking out the trash and changing the lightbulbs, thank them for their servant leadership. When you walk in the kitchen on Thursday mornings and see the feast on the table, do not take the kindness for granted.
With 164 agents and a business model that is designed to grow, we have to be mindful of how all of this came to be and even more mindful of the fact that we don't ever want to lose touch with it.
I am so glad that I took the leap, joined this team of amazing agents & committed to learning from them. They have guided me to be the leader that I am & I will forever be grateful that I had Mike Flanagan there to pull my hair and encourage me.
It took me a few more years than Jen to take the leap. And a few more spots to try out before I figured it out. So glad I did!
ReplyDelete-Brit Hale, CarlinTeam
(Formerly of: Martz team at Burt and Realty Executives, Higdon Team at Pro, and Ruby Leek Realtors -also known as Coldwell Banker and Landmark Realty)