WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY
Local Expert Tools for Keller Williams Associates
During this Mega Leadership panel, leaders from the Sandy Springs (Atlanta, Ga.) and Arlington (Arlington, Texas) market centers took the stage to share how they have embraced the Career Growth Initiative and, specifically, the Local Expert tool. You know you are the local market expert, but are you sharing this story? Take a look at how some KW associates are using the CGI tools to share their story, establishing themselves as local experts and reinventing their client relationships.
It Starts with Vision
When Jean Rawls, operating principal of Sandy Springs, shared her vision with team leader John Fountain, the conversation was entirely about production. Production is a huge determinate of culture because the more money agents make, the happier they are.
With this in mind, Fountain and his team have spent the last four years steadily growing the market center from 200 to 403 agents. Hitting the 400-person milestone was a huge accomplishment that he credits to the guidance provided by the Growth Initiative. But something was missing. “I noticed our culture was off. Our staff was a bit frantic.” says Fountain.
Fountain went about changing his world by first changing himself. He hired a KW MAPS Coach and was taught the power of using tools and setting standards. This led to increased profits for the market center and a shift in the culture. Agents were getting excited again. “We were communicating our victories and everyone was sharing in the celebration. We talked about how we were winning not just against our competitors, but against ourselves!”
The Growth Initiative’s model made it easier for Fountain to become a better leader. Now, with the launch of the Career Growth Initiative (CGI), Fountain feels that agents will have the same opportunity to reinvent their relationship with their clients. The Local Expert tool, a set of professionally designed, easily customizable templates, helps agents become better communicators. It provides agents a simple and effective way of sharing their value story with their database. As a result, they’ll be able to earn more business and establish themselves as their clients’ indispensable, local market expert.
The Arlington Approach
Arlington operating principal Smokey Garrett and team leader Dennis Tuttle have both embraced the Growth Initiative as the means for achieving their shared vision for the market center. To reach new levels of growth and profitability, their primary goal has been to master the initiative’s processes and tools.
Garrett believes that the Growth Initiative provides them a huge advantage. “You’re not just telling them [your team leader] to do it, you’re telling them HOW to do it. This is the most valuable part about being with Keller Williams – you don’t have to recreate the wheel.”
Having risen through the ranks, first as an agent, then as a member of the ALC, Tuttle knows how important it is for him to walk the talk. He uses the Growth Initiative’s models and tools while running the market center and encourages his agents to do the same. From his perspective, the business of running a market center and the business of running an agent’s real estate business are not much different.
As a leader, Tuttle teaches agents how to think without emotion. He does this by helping them look at their numbers and realize that they do in fact have a compelling story to share. “Everyone wants to say they’re the best but our agents can prove it with facts,” says Tuttle. They can track their LORE (Language of Real Estate), have informed conversations and use the Local Expert tool’s listing flier and PowerPoint presentation to show it visually during their appointments.
Supporting Tuttle in this role of educator is the Arlington market center’s MCA Christie Lee. She often helps new agents understand that they can leverage the market center’s story to help show their validity. In an office that is quickly gaining local market share, new agents have a lot to talk about. By sharing how their market center consistency outpaces their local board, they can earn validity with their clients.
Ken Wimberly, a mega agent within the market center, has already experienced this. This year, his commercial real estate business will surpass $100 million in sales volume and he credits it to the Keller Williams models and systems. “The CGI is a phenomenal tool for ANY agent. I track my goals, my team tracks theirs and we have a conversation on a weekly basis,” explains Wimberly. As a team, they look at the reality of their business while studying the CGI’s various interconnected tools. And when they do find an interesting trend or strength, they understand the importance of shouting it from the rooftop using the Local Expert tool.