018 Hands-On Lead Generation and Conversion with Preston Guyton

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Episode 021 of Real Estate Team OS features Drew Little, Realtor and Team Leader of The Home Run Team in Virginia Beach. He’s just a few years into his real estate career and brings to it 25 years of corporate and entrepreneurial experience.
 
Learn how and why he got licensed, started a real estate team, and approached the business influenced by his baseball, military, corporate, and personal experiences.

Hear him out on the misalignment between agent and broker in some models - and how to correct them. Get his story on interviewing nearly two dozen brokers and team leaders when he started his career - and what he looked for to make the decision who to go with.

Watch this episode of Real Estate Team OS for Drew’s insights into:

- Getting buy-in and commitment from team members, who want to be part of something bigger than themselves despite the individualistic nature of the industry

- Working for fulfillment, not just for money (and avoiding “commission breath” in the process)

- Why real estate was the solution when he realized corporate jobs were a problem

- His initial vision for a real estate team that scales, including what needs to be localized and what can be centralized

- “A fanatical focus on clients and on fiduciary responsibility” as a long-term strategy for sustainable success

- The misaligned incentives in some brokerage models

- What it means to be a true fiduciary (and how “helping people pays you back”)

- How an agent should hire a broker (not the other way around) and the one question every broker should be able to answer for you

- Why an agent should never chase splits (but how you can negotiate them)

- The litmus test and value prop for joining The Home Run Team

- Being committed to making sure agents can’t sell any more property anywhere else than with their team

- Their first 3 staff hires (and why)

- Why he’ll always be in sales production

- His commission-based partnership approach to the ISA position (and how it’s paying off for everyone)

- What an agent needs to know and be able to deliver before starting a team

At the end, hear about some benefits (and a drawback!?) of coaching teenage baseball players, how his business partner’s frivolousness balances him out, and what it means to be an “omnivore of improvement.”

Connect with Drew Little:
- https://www.instagram.com/coach_drew757/
- https://linktr.ee/coachdrewlittle
- https://home-run-team.com/

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

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Episode 020 of Real Estate Team OS features Katie Day, Realtor and Team Leader of The MOVEMETOTX Team in Houston.

Hear her journey into real estate sales and team leadership - in part through the lens of the simple promise you hear in webinars, podcasts, and stage presentations versus the messier reality of hiring, firing, and losing people. Hype oversimplifies. Experience teaches.

Watch or listen to Episode 020 with Katie Day for insights into:

- The need for adaptability within your team and where it comes from

- Balancing team goals with individual goals

- The progression from multi-family and single-family property management to real estate sales (with lessons learned from running an apartment community at age 21)

- The first hire a new team leader should make (and that she didn’t make)

- The role of culture and the development of core values of their 10-agent, 2-TC, 2-VA team (and defining some of it based on what you *don't* want, not just what you do want)

- Why building a mega team isn’t their goal, despite its being glamorized and oversimplified

- A "losing battle" many teams fight as they scale - and the high price they pay for it

- Their two agent avatars and how they built a three-week training program specifically in support of them

- Organizing your training into Sales, Marketing, and Operations and sequencing lessons for early sales wins

- The multiple benefits of staying in sales production (and why many mega team leaders are returning to sales production)

- How a solo agent benefits from joining a team and the two things that are required for success within a team (coachability and humility)

- How an aspiring team leader should plan their first hire (or three)

- The aha moment of being present on social media and creating video content

At the end, hear why a varsity basketball lineup went rec league, a $2 refill savings, and the benefits of conferences and events.

Connect with Katie Day:

- https://www.instagram.com/movemetotx/

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
 - https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
 - https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

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Episode 019 of Real Estate Team OS features Mike Heddle, Broker and Team Leader of Heddle Real Estate in Hamilton, Ontario.

Learn how he built their real estate practice on four specific verticals, including relocation, new construction, property investing, and referrals through a tight network.

Hear about the $300,000 they pay out in referral fees each year as a marketing cost he’s glad to pay - in large part because it’s a variable cost in their highly productive and profitable business.

And listen for specific language around a consultant’s approach, a sales partner, and a real estate practice.

Watch or listen to this conversation with Mike Heddle for:
- A quick dive into the necessary presence and balance of leadership, drive, systems, accountability, and culture for team success
- Flipping the org chart upside down as a leader (like a bee apiary)
- The need for a North Star to align individual goals and success with team goals and success (and an overview of their core values)
- The Heddle Group real estate team as a product of necessity (too much opportunity to deliver the level of service he was building his reputation on)
- Their first vertical - a relocation partnership with a world-renowned medical research center
- Their second vertical - a new home construction partnership with a builder
- The vertical strategy “makes the phones ring off the hook” and generates 120-140 organic, inbound leads each month
- Their third vertical - a real estate investment network (1/3 of their business, about 100 of the 300 transactions each year)
- Their fourth vertical - connecting with the top 1% in Royal LePage and the fortunate market dynamics an hour outside of Toronto
- A deeper dive into how you can leverage their third vertical - "the best ROI" in their business and “one of the strongest value propositions” they’ve put out to prospects, clients, and the market
- The four financial fundamentals of investment properties
- Specializing by vertical and lead routing by vertical
- Why he’ll likely always stay in sales production and won’t likely pursue a mega team structure

At the end, learn about the NHL teams he’s loved, the “wooden skis” upgrade, and a renewed focus on health (specifically: sleep).

Learn more about Heddle Real Estate:
- https://liveinhamilton.ca

Learn more about The Deal of the Week:
- https://dotw.ca

Connect with Mike Heddle:
- https://www.instagram.com/mike.heddle

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos/

Get subscriber-only episodes instantly, plus email-exclusive insights and guest previews every week - sign up at https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

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Episode 018 of Real Estate Team OS features Preston Guyton, an entrepreneur who’s been a founder and leader of companies in real estate, mortgage, design and construction, online lead gen, and coaching.

Learn how these all work together and learn from his expertise in online lead generation, lead conversion, and email marketing. Pay special attention to the 7-11-4 formula to connect with people.

Watch or listen to this conversation with Preston for insights into:
0:00 Intro and welcome
1:00 The need for every team member to be committed, consistent, and accountable (even when it’s *boring*)
4:19 How leadership and marketing translate across the industries he’s served and companies he’s founded
6:24 How his door-to-door sales job kicked off his entrepreneurial journey through real estate, mortgage, construction, and online lead gen
12:18 The challenge of letting people do what they were hired to do
14:43 How they hit the ground running when they opened Palms Realty and the first 3 leadership positions they hired
19:15 Why they opted for an independent brokerage rather than a teamerage or a franchise
20:16 How their Agent Excellence Program provides onboarding for about 10 agents per quarter and improves results across the team
25:12 The lead generation goal of 20-30 leads per agent per month
26:36 The 7-11-4 formula for lead generation, engagement, and conversion (7 hours, 11 interactions, and 4 places)
29:04 Why he still takes a hands-on approach to marketing
33:58 Why your conversion problem is much more about lead follow-up than lead source (and a reminder to stop using canned action plans)
38:38 Tips for email list segmentation and newsletter engagement (including how to structure your emails based on how people read them)
46:53 Why his approach to AI is one of caution

51:15 At the end, learn about his appreciation for Justin Havre, Gary Ashton, and the Real Estate Webmasters community, how he styles up a canned tuna lunch, why he doesn’t listen to music while running or working out, and the benefits of a national (rather than a local) network.

Connect with Preston Guyton:

- https://www.instagram.com/prestonguyton/

- https://www.facebook.com/preston.guyton/

Learn more about Preston’s companies:
- https://www.palmshome.com/

- https://www.ezhomesearch.com/

- https://cheplakdigital.com/

- https://resideplatform.com/

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

Get subscriber-only episodes instantly, plus email-exclusive insights and guest previews every week - sign up at https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

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Episode 017 of Real Estate Team OS features Jim Remley, who coaches team leaders and brokerage owners on per-agent productivity and profitable growth.
 
He pioneered one of the first real estate teams in the late 80s and grew it to a 17-office company across Oregon. He later grew a 30-agent team to 250 agents. The keys to both successes: acquisitions, partnerships, and per-agent productivity.

Here, you’ll get telltale signs of an unprofitable real estate company, the best hire a team leader can make, and the simplest recruiting message you can offer.

Listen to Ep 017 with Jim for:
0:00 Intro and welcome
1:15 The balance of empathy and automation in “world-class service”
7:36 A team as a brokerage within a brokerage with specialized positions and why they'll absolutely be the dominant players” - responsible for 60-80% of GCI and challenging solo agents at scale
9:14 How the emerging “virtual team” model works and why it makes sense financially
14:25 “The best hire a team leader can make” and the value of coaching and mentorship for agents looking to invest and grow
16:48 A caution on building teams within teams (and a proposed way to do it effectively)
18:25 How a company he started at age 23 grew to 17 offices across Oregon (through acquisitions, partnerships, and recruiting)
20:02 The simplest recruiting message you can offer and how he leveraged it to grow two real estate businesses
23:46 The two ways they entered new markets as they expanded their business and a strategy to bring top performers into new offices
27:06 The per-agent productivity metric to pay attention to (and new data about it)
30:14 The telltale sign of a weak real estate company (and potential acquisition target)
33:18 The importance of listings for profitable growth and “the #1 place where listings will come from in 2024 without question”
35:30 A basic marketing strategy to speak to those 30 million people who’ll be listing over the next several years
38:20 How the Hawthorne Effect helps you recruit and retain productive agents - and the two things to hold them to (participation or performance)
40:59 The “magic words” of “How’s your pipeline?”
43:40 How to decide whether to leave sales production and the one role you have to figure out how to pay for when you do
46:56 Positive signs in the market and 4 top sources to find more stories and data 

50:30 At the end, learn about the power of a paper route, what he seeks at used book stores, and the travel goal he’s working toward at least 7-8 weeks per year.

Follow Jim Remley:
- https://www.instagram.com/erealestatecoach
- https://www.tiktok.com/@erealestatecoach

See Jim's News and Data Sources:
- Zillow research https://www.zillow.com/research/
- NAR Economists’ Outlook https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/economists-outlook
- Redfin News https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-news/
- KCM Blog https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/blog/

Learn more about eRealEstateCoach:
- http://erealestatecoach.com/
- https://linktr.ee/erealestatecoach

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

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For more than 8 years, Emily Smith has helped build Wemert Group Realty, an 80-person independent teamerage in which "team" is as much a culture and set of commitments as it is a business model.

Though Emily’s held just two titles, Marketing Director and COO, she's served in many roles and initiated many projects.

By watching, you’ll develop a picture that a) you need an intrapreneur in your growing company and b) that person may already be a team member.

Watch this episode with Emily Smith for insights into:
0:00 Intro and welcome
2:04 The importance of being solution-based and how to find this quality in the hiring process
5:58 How she transitioned from her own entrepreneurial journey into a real estate team
8:18 Her path from Marketing Director to Chief Operating Officer at Wemert Group Realty
13:26 How to find your team’s COO through the “hole plugging” method and other names the role might go by
18:30 How to prioritize the operational improvements your business needs (no matter your size or structure, including solo real estate agents)
22:36 A simple habit to accelerate the growth of your assistant(s)
25:04 Why their team is more than a business model and what agents are opting into when they join their teamerage
29:58 Two reasons why recruiting ISN’T a top priority for Wemert Group Realty
32:44 A fundamental, self-reflective decision that most team leaders will face
37:22 The one question that helps you and every team member run a more successful business (and how Emily would answer that question herself)
40:36 Why every entrepreneur needs an intrapreneur and tips to build the relationship, share the successes, and manage the vision from both sides

47:54 At the end, Emily shares her appreciation for the OpsBoss community, her not-so-frivolous throw pillow obsession, and her pursuit of the expert.

Meet the Wemert Group Realty team:
- https://wemertgrouprealty.com/the-team/

Connect with Emily Smith:
- https://www.facebook.com/emilytompkinssmith
- https://www.instagram.com/emily_t_smith/

Learn more about Ops Boss Coaching:
- https://opsbosscoaching.com/meetchristy/

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

Get subscriber-only episodes instantly, plus email-exclusive insights and guest previews every week - sign up at https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

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Episode 015 of Real Estate Team OS features Suneet Agarwal, CEO and Owner of Big Block Realty North and the Best Sac Homes Group, the #1 team in Sacramento and a top team in California.

A co-founder of the Reside Platform, Suneet also coaches top teams and brokerages.

In this conversation, we hit on three of his favorite topics: recruiting, email marketing, and ISAs!
 
Listen to Ep 015 with Suneet for:
0:00 Intro and welcome
1:50 Why leadership separates good teams from great teams
4:35 How he landed in real estate after experiences in mortgage, cannabis, bulldog breeding, and other businesses
7:44 How Tristan Ahumada, Jon Cheplak, Lab Coat Agents, and the Keller Williams community helped him on the path to #1 in Sacramento, then #1 in California
12:38 “Recruiting solves all problems” - agents, managers, and admins alike, as well as "compartmentalizing the business"
20:40 The top challenge he hears “across the board” from agents and team leaders right now
24:40 Why the real estate team model is more effective than the traditional brokerage model right now
27:20 Why more team leaders should ignore the “merit badge” of leaving sales production
30:05 How to adjust ad spend in a tough or slow real estate market
35:55 Just how simple the recruiting conversation can be (and how - specifically - he runs his recruiting conversations)
40:24 How he scaled up, then topgraded his ISA team (which includes local and international agents) 
44:52 Why earlier is better for the ISA-to-agent handoff 
47:12 Why joining a team is the best option for most agents right now

49:50 At the end, Suneet shares the best team he’s ever been a part of (and he’s part of it right now), picks up a beautiful, frivolous purchase, and speaks to investments in both coaching and video games.

Connect with Suneet (and get his free stuff):
- https://suneetagarwal.com
- https://www.instagram.com/suneet_agarwal916/

Check out Reside Platform:
- https://resideplatform.com/

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

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The ISA. The inside sales agent. The “keeper of the leads.”
 
Travis Halverson is “just an ISA” in the very best way. He coaches and consults on the ISA function with Cheplak Digital and EZ Home Search. For years, he served in ISA and inside sales leadership roles with Keller Williams Oak and Ocean Group and the Anderson Hicks Group. 

In this conversation, Travis shares a step-by-step process you can use today as a solo agent, team, or brokerage to find missed sales opportunities in your database. He also speaks to the three keys to success in engaging people: speed to lead, speed to response, and speed to relationship.

Listen to this episode of Team OS with Travis for insights into:
0:00 Intro and welcome
2:00 Self-accountability and team accountability
3:30 Staring his career taking calls in a DirecTV call center, then setting up call centers and training staff in Cost Rica and El Salvador
6:45 Overcoming the negative stereotypes about call centers and high-volume outreach, as well as the stereotype of the ISA role as a "stepping stone" role
11:20 The importance of framing the ISA position as a sales position (plus a fun, little hack to stay motivated)
14:58 Speed to lead and the reason NOT to call immediately
17:04 Speed to response and the idea of too much automation
21:18 Speed to relationship and the importance of connecting deeper than surface level before anyone else
23:30 AI as another point of leverage for agents and for ISAs
27:10 Why your database size tells you whether and when to hire an ISA or an ISA team (and the risk of lead exhaustion if you miscalculate)
32:25 A step-by-step process for any agent, ISA, or team to organize a database to create sales opportunities you’ve missed
36:45 Tips for solo agents who need to prospect on their own - without an ISA
39:15 Balancing quality and quantity in outreach - and automating the WAY you follow up and the WAY you work (rather than automating the follow up itself)
43:47 How timeline and motivation should inform client handoffs between ISAs and agents
49:00 What a team leader should look for (and avoid) when hiring an ISA
52:05 Why every agent should spend a little time in the ISA seat

53:35 At the end, hear about the Anderson Hicks team in Idaho Falls, a traveling coin collection, podcast apps as search engines, and the benefits of a balanced relationship.

Connect with Travis Halverson:
- https://www.facebook.com/travis.j.halverson/
- https://www.instagram.com/travishalversonnn

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

Get subscriber-only episodes instantly, plus email-exclusive insights and guest previews every week - sign up at https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

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After surviving an IED attack in Afghanistan as a Special Forces Green Beret and retiring from the US Army, Levi Rodgers started a real estate career.

Hear about his journey from solo agent to team leader to RE/MAX franchise owner to independent brokerage owner.His 300-person-strong organization operates in three markets, is characterized by speed, flexibility, and service, and was sparked by success with Zillow Offers.

Watch or listen for Levi's insights into:
- Drawing on a variety of voices and stories for information, inspiration, and ideas
- The need to be adaptable in the “constant startup environment” of a real estate business
- How military leadership and real estate leadership are similar (spoiler: they’re about people)
- His path from solo agent to team leader, to RE/MAX franchise owner, to independent brokerage owner
- An overview of his team structure and leadership positions on the path from 30 people to more than 300
- A view into their annual planning process that’s driven by an outside facilitator and captured in an 8’ wide graphic (rather than a multi-page document)
- How an aspiring team leader should think about the brokerage they’re in=
- How the Zillow Offers opportunity led him to go independent for greater speed and flexibility
- The recruiting philosophy and approach bringing 10-15 agents a month and hundreds of agents over the past several into the team
- Why successful teams are attractive to experienced agents right now

At the end, find out how this Lakers fan became a “life-long Spurs fan” and a frivolous purchase of “dirt” that may not be so frivolous after all.

Connect with Levi Rodgers:
- https://www.facebook.com/levi.rodgers.714

Hear Levi's story on Ep 040 of The MedEvac Podcast from Black Rifle Coffee:  
- https://youtu.be/4aSofDN7LEo

Learn about the Levi Rodgers Real Estate Group:
- https://lrgrealty.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/levirodgerslrg/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@levirodgerslrg

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

Get subscriber-only episodes instantly, plus email-exclusive insights and guest previews every week - sign up at https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

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Episode 012 of Real Estate Team OS features Winston Murray, Founder of Works Real Estate in Portland and Seattle.

Winston speaks to the gap and opportunity that inspired the way they’ve built Works Real Estate: being high-volume and tech-forward while remaining hands-on with a focus on long-term relationships.

Listen to this episode of Team OS with Winston for insights into:
- Balancing your relentlessness and determination with humility
- The path from getting fired as a transaction coordinator to joining a team to becoming a solo agent to starting a team to growing from 4 to 140 agents
- Staffing up and recruiting agents to handle the volume brought by the Zillow Flex program
- Why “endless leads mean nothing without quality control”
- Designing a brokerage that balances high-volume, online opportunities with old-school, hands-on service
- The exact splits and service combination he landed at after changing it four times over the past few years
- The tiered levels of splits on SOI business that works for Works
- How they landed at 10x the agents but 1/3 the staff
- Their approach to market expansion
- How they communicated changes in splits and services
- How they make it easy for agents to understand the value of their model
- Why they went independent with the brokerage
- How and why he participates on the Agent Advisory Board for both Zillow and Sisu - and the value of both partnerships
- Why he remains hands-on and active in the team
- How starting a nonprofit for addiction recovery prepared him for building a real estate business

At the end, learn which real estate team leaders inform and inspire his own growth and where he went “all out” instead of holding back “a little more” investing in their new office.

Connect with Winston Murray:
- https://www.instagram.com/winston_murray1/

Connect with Works Real Estate:
- https://www.instagram.com/worksrealestateco/
- https://worksrealestate.co/

Learn more about Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com
- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

Follow Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateteamos

Get subscriber-only episodes instantly, plus email-exclusive insights and guest previews every week - sign up at https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe