Level Up - From Agent to Entrepreneur

How to Build a Supportive Company Culture w/Lisa Ritter

To see terrific results in our businesses, it’s vital we create an effective and supportive working environment. How can we build a great company culture? What can we do to show every member on our teams we care about them?

On this episode, Broker/Owner at RE/MAX Results, Lisa Ritter shares how to instill a great company culture. 

 

 

To have high energy you need to be surrounded by the right people. You are the sum of those closest to you. -Lisa Ritter

 

Takeaways + Tactics 

• The key to a great business lies in a great company culture. We have to be surrounded by the right people to see the best results.
  
• Create a happy working environment by making sure everyone gets along. We can do this by letting existing team members have a say in the recruitment process. 
  
• Make sure every team member feels supported. To build a loyal team and retain talent, we need to show we care about them on a personal level. 
  
  

Guest Bio- 

Lisa Ritter is the Broker/Owner at RE/MAX Results in Omaha, Nebraska. Lisa is passionate about her real estate career, and has been making Home Buyers’ and Sellers’ dreams a reality since 2001. Since opening RE/MAX Results in 2011 alongside her husband Dennis, she’s worked hard to create an office that has a vision for providing the best results in the industry for their clients, agents, and company. Lisa and Dennis have won a Best of Omaha Award in the Realtor category in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 – winning first place in both 2015 and 2016. Lisa has also served in a number of leadership roles, including the 2010 Omaha Women’s Council of Realtors President, 2012 President for Omaha Area Board of Realtors, 2014 Nebraska Realtors Association President Elect, 2015 Nebraska Realtors Association President, and in 2019 she was appointed as the broker at large member of the Nebraska Real Estate Commission.

 

To find out more about Lisa, head to

https://www.ritterssellomaha.com/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaritter/

 

You can also contact her directly on lisa@omahare.com and 402-612-2413

How to Remove Fear From Your Business

In the wake of COVID-19 and the economic crisis, it’s hard to deny that most agents are experiencing some kind of fear, but if we stop dwelling on the things we can’t control, we can move forward in spite of that.

How can we push forward in a time of such uncertainty? Is there any way to overcome our anxieties?

The first step to taking the fear out of our businesses is acknowledging what we’re afraid of. 

On this episode, we’re sharing how to remove the fear from our businesses and push forward.

 

You have to know that fear is contagious. It spreads amongst all of us when we let it flourish, and that can take us all down. -Greg Harrelson

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode  

• Stop spending so much time worrying about that which we can’t control, and focus instead on what we do have power over.
• Instead of bottling everything up inside, write fears down. We can make ourselves feel much better by acknowledging our fears and putting them on paper.
• Most of the time, what we fear is the unknown. Get rid of that fear by coming up with a plan to move forward.

Adapting To The New Normal w/Debbie Holloway

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the real estate industry is going through considerable changes. Many agents are working from home, and leaders have been forced to find new ways to stay in communication with their teams.

During this time of uncertainty, real estate professionals should shift their focus away from closing leads, and spend more time nurturing their databases. 

How can we stay productive throughout the pandemic and how can we adapt to the changes in our industry? 

In this episode, Tom Ferry International coach, Debbie Holloway joins us to share how to adapt to the new normal.

 

 Times are changing, but we don’t necessarily have to do everything differently. Do what you've always done- but be deliberate about every step you take during this period. -Brendon Payne

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode  

 

Become regular with routine
Whether we’re going into offices or working from home, having an effective routine is key. Time management is non-negotiable, especially for those of us working from home.

 

Set short-term goals
Throw out the 2020 plan: It’s simply not achievable anymore. Instead of focusing on the things we want to achieve this year, we need to set short-term, manageable goals.

 

Establish a line of communication
Communication is extremely important, especially in times like these. Don’t underestimate the power of personal conversations with team members and clients alike.

 

 

Guest Bio- 

Debbie Holloway heads up the Team+ program for TomFerry International. She is a senior coach, with over 20 years of experience coaching sales agents and company owners. Debbie speaks internationally on team building, mindset, culture, personality types and women influencing real estate. Prior to joining Tom Ferry International, Debbie owned a ReMax franchise and mortgage company, and ran a personal team averaging 150 deals a year in Louisville, Kentucky. 

 

To find out more about Debbie, visit:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-holloway-b8387a10/ 

https://www.tomferry.com/coach/debbie-holloway/ 

https://www.debbiehollowayspeaks.com/about

 

You can also email her on dholloway@tomferry.com 

 

Book mentioned on this episode:

The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman

https://alteregoeffect.com/

Set Up Your Negotiations To Succeed

Every stage of the real estate transaction has been impacted by the COVID-19 lockdowns and changes in the market. The terms of deals are changing rapidly, and the decisions of buyers and sellers are also shifting along with the situation we’re in. 

Agents are still presenting and receiving offers and having to negotiate deals, but the process has become more challenging. 

It is our responsibility to give every offer as good a shot as possible of getting to the closing table, and that’s dependent on the action we take, but most importantly, our mindset.  

How do we prepare ourselves and our clients for navigating this real estate market? What information do we need to have ahead of time, and how will this make closings more likely? 

In this episode, we talk about how to adapt our negotiation to what’s going on. 

 

The mental part of this game right now is critical. There are going to be 4 sets of emotions in the transaction, and the only one you can control are your own. -Brendon Payne 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode  

Pre-qualifications and pre-approvals are getting outdated rapidly. If a buyer has a pre-approval that’s a few weeks old, make the deal contingent on them getting a current pre-approval. 

Having relationships with mortgage officers is important because they can become a resource during this time to keep us informed on what’s changing in the market. 

It is our job to remain calm. When we react emotionally, we become the problem in the transaction and the reason deals fall apart.

The Power of Collaboration

When things are not going well in business and in the market in general, the importance of certain activities and measures is amplified. 

Right now, more than ever, there’s a huge need for all of us to work together to navigate these tough times and mastermind to come up with solutions and strategies. We also need people who can step up and provide guidance and certainty. 

What are some of the ways we can mastermind and collaborate within our teams? How can we bring light to our consumers through leadership? In this episode, we talk about why leadership and collaboration are two critical aspects of getting through this.  

 

At times like this, true leaders step up and shine for others and bring light to the business and help people navigate. Collaboration is also critical. -Greg Harrelson  

 

3 Things You’ll Learn in this Episode 

• How to get our heads right to help the consumer get their heads right 
• Why we’re in trouble if our leadership and collaboration is only showing up now 
• What leaders can do to stay grounded and focused right now

Have You Made The Right Changes To Your Routine

In these unprecedented times, the market, the industry and the consumer demands different things and even new things from us. Our habits have to shift accordingly, so we need to create a new routine to match where we are. 

What habits need to change, and which ones need to stay the same as before this crisis? What are our agents doing to keep taking listings and keep the business going?

In this episode, we share the things we need to be doing to cultivate a positive mindset, and generate energy and business right now. 

 

Lead generation doesn’t stop. How you lead generate and the conversations you have might change, but the process of waking up and going out to look for business still exists. -Greg Harrelson 

 

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode  

• Prepare for the routine to change multiple times but still commit to the fundamentals like mindset, lead generation and follow up. 
  
  
• Maintain the mindset that we’re going to get through this and that the action we take right now will contribute to the state of our businesses on the other side.
   
  
• Virtual in a real estate agent's world can be lonely. Get plugged in somewhere to stay in the collective headspace and conversation of real estate.

Getting Family To Buy-In To An Altered Schedule

More of us are working from home than ever before, and this presents a challenge for our households and families. We need to be responsible and have business maturity to maintain our ability to work in a location with more distractions. 

It’s important to prepare our families and involve them in our communication around what’s going on. How can we get the household to protect us instead of distracting us? How do we get our families to help hold us accountable to our routines? What happens without family buy-in? 

In this episode, we talk about the importance of getting our families to buy into the new way of working.  

 

It is important to provide certainty to our families, to use this opportunity to educate our children, and to be an example of a true professional. -Greg Harrelson 

The Eyes Are On The Internet, Where Are You?

With millions of people stuck indoors in these uncertain times, people are spending a lot more time online than before, especially through their phones. This means we have a huge captive audience of people we can inform and connect with. There’s an opportunity to engage with people and there are many ways we can leverage it.  

How do we capture mindshare through information so that we become the people they want to talk to, and the people they want to work with when certainty returns? 

In this episode, we talk about how to leverage the added eyeballs and attention online and the kind of content we can create. 

 

 We have to be positioned where their eyes are pointed. -Greg Harrelson  

Takeaways + Tactics 

• The frequency at which we’re consuming the information we’re interested in has gone through the roof. 
  
  
• People have more time to Google and research us online, it’s important that we put our best digital feet forward. 
  
  
• Focus on informing people not on giving advice. 
  
  
• Leverage online marketplaces. Right now, the number of views a new listing is getting is going to skyrocket.

Fill in the Blank - I Wish I Would Have___

When things change in the market and there’s an interruption in the direction we were going, we need to adjust and react quickly. Depending on how we respond to what’s happening, a year from now, we can either look back with regret or gratitude that we took the right actions. 

Once we’re in the clear, and the dust has settled, there will be the agent who took market share and the agents who contracted. We can make the decision on which side of the divide we want to be standing. 

How can we future-proof ourselves so that we’re not looking back wishing we’d done things differently? In this episode, we talk about an important thought process that needs to govern our choices right now. 

 

Most people miss the opportunity that’s presented when there’s disruption in the market, because they withdraw from it. -Greg Harrelson 

We also discussed:

• Why we already know what we need to do to avoid regret 
• How we’re all in a leadership role for ourselves
• The difference between motion and advancement 

Breakdown or Breakthrough - The Choice is Ours

As leaders, the times that we’re living through are going to require more mental and emotional bandwidth from us. Times of turmoil create more intensity and more things that we have to be concerned with. It can feel like things are breaking down, but the biggest positive changes come from breakdowns. 

How do we compensate for the rising intensity level? Why is it so important for us to fight for something bigger than ourselves? 

In this episode, we talk about what it takes to break through the pain of a rise in intensity or the challenge of a new routine. 

 

Breakdowns are necessary if we want to experience massive breakthroughs, the bigger the breakdown, the bigger the breakthrough. -Greg Harrelson 

 

In This Episode You’ll Learn 

• Why breakthrough is preceded by breakdown
• The difference between being offensive and defensive in our approach 
• Why we can have a big WHY and still be complacent