If I had to pick one defining moment in the history of Keller Williams Realty, it would have to be a conversation that I had with a consultant back in 1994, when I was trying to map out a strategy for expanding our company outside of Texas. He said, “You know, I’ve looked at your goals; I’ve looked at your organization, and it’s going to take about 14 or 15 people for you to hit your goals.”

At the time, I thought it was going to take about 60,000 people, and when I told him that, he drew an organizational chart that showed me how I could make it happen with the right 14 people who would hire and empower their own teams of people and so on. He was right, and he’s still a consultant for us.

This was more than a pivotal lesson in hiring. It was the conversation that sparked our company’s whole philosophy of succeeding through others, as well as our understanding that the people we surround ourselves with, make all the difference in our success or failure. Without exception, I find that the most successful people in real estate and in life are those who are very intentional about seeking out and surrounding themselves with the very best.

I often think back to that turning point in our company’s history during conversations with mega achievers, so it’s no surprise that it came up when I had the pleasure of visiting with Greg Harrelson, founder of The Century 21 Harrelson Group in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In 2010, The Harrelson Group’s 18-person team closed more than 700 deals. Even though Greg says he now functions as more of a coach for his team than as a real estate agent, he personally closed more than 100 of those deals. At the age of 40, he’s clearly doing a lot of things right and has been very focused on surrounding himself with the right people. His passion at this point in his career is simply to fuel the success of those in his inner circle.

Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:

On standing on the shoulders of giants

At the age of 27, after four years of working for his Dad’s real estate team, which was doing about 120 deals a year, Greg says “The ego was kicking in and I started seeing that there was a lot of upside in me becoming the No. 1 decision-maker on the team. My Dad agreed and the next thing you know, we are doing 160 deals a year, 180 deals a year, 240 deals a year, 300 deals a year, 330 deals, all the way up to 484, which is the number of deals we closed in 2004, the year my Dad retired.  And that was my mission – a secure retirement for him and my Mom. I recognized that he brought me into this business and he guided me and trusted me and supported me when I was going in all of these different directions. He was my No. 1 team man and we did it together to 484 deals. My next goal was to build a team with the highest per-person production in our market.”

On leverage

“Tony DiCello was my coach when he was with The Mike Ferry Organization and one day we divided my day into income-generating activities and income-servicing activities. Once I looked that list I declared that I would never do income servicing activities again, and that concept now carries through my entire team. Income generators do nothing but generate and income services do nothing but service. Our current teams consists of eight listing agents, six buyers agents, a closing coordinator who takes over once the contract is signed, a listing coordinator who is currently handling 550 active listings, a broker/manager, and an executive assistant.  ”

Continue reading ‘Are You Surrounded by the Best?’

WHEN SELLERS AREN’T INCLINED TO PRICE THEIR HOMES COMPETITIVELY, HERE’S A SHOPPING ANALOGY TO DRIVE THE POINT HOME.

By Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman, Keller Williams Realty

It’s one thing for your clients and prospects to read in the paper or hear on the news that home prices have declined. It’s quite another when the reality hits home, and you’re at the kitchen table helping a client come to terms with the fact that the price that they want or “need” isn’t in line with current market values.

Pricing conversations can be a critical moment of truth in any market, but when local market values have trended downward, pricing a home to sell – and explaining this dynamic to sellers – takes on a new dimension.

I was recently talking to Shaun Rawls, concerning the challenge of resetting seller’s expectations about the listing price and market value of their home. He offered some great perspectives and a solid script.

Gary: How are you counseling your agents to initiate pricing conversations with sellers?

Shaun: It’s a conversation that should be backed into, and is the case of so much of what we do, success hinges on asking good questions. Even though the media has given a lot of attention to the “down real estate market,” we need to keep in mind that most people have come to take for granted that home values would remain on a constantly upward trajectory. The last time they bought or sold a home, they essentially hit the pause button  on market dynamics. That’s why, before we start talking price, it’s important to ask, “Tell me about when you bought this house.” That opens the conversation to a comparison of how the current market is different from the market that they remember.

Continue reading ‘Retail vs. The Clearance Rack’

For most entrepreneurs and independent business owners, fourth quarter is a time of reflection on the past year’s successes and an opportunity to put together a solid business plan for the next 12 months.

As you might imagine, Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman, Keller Williams Realty, Inc.  goes through a rigorous planning process. Below is an email exchange between him and Todd Butzer, regional director, North Central on creating the “Master Plan.”

-----Original Message-----

From: Todd Butzer

To: Gary Keller

Subject: planning question

Gary –

I am pretty sure you go through a specific planning ritual this time of year.

Wonder if you would mind sharing any part of it?

T

Todd Butzer

Regional Director

North Central Region

-----Original Message-----

From: Gary Keller

To: Todd Butzer

Subject: RE: planning question

hey !

i work from a simple concept:

1.   i start with the end in mind:  i envision my life at the end of it and ask myself what i want to have done.  i then mock up a simple 5 year look (in

kind of a grid form with the years to the left and along the top the categories – like health, giving, john, mary, mom, business, writing,etc…) at what i should be doing to be on track and then i look at the first year.

that creates my goals for the year.

2.   i then take each goal and ask one question:  what is the one thing i can do that by doing it everything else that could also be done to accomplish this would either be easier or unnecessary?

3.   last, i go to my calendar with that answer for each goal and i time block out the year to make sure those things get done.  first, i time block all my time off – vacations, days off, short days, etc.,  so that i make sure they don’t get left out.  if i intend to work hard then i’ll need this time to renew.  next is, my meetings with the people who report to me. next, i make sure i have my time to plan out every week. (i’ve done this so long on a sunday night that i don’t even block it anymore), usually an hour a week on a sunday.  then it’s all about work.  so, for example, if lead generation is your number one business action then you time block it for 5-6 days a week for 3 -4 hours a day before noon.   for me it’s writing so my goal is to just make sure that gets done – then i’m open to the possibilities of everything else.

my motto is “until my number one priority on my list is done each day all else

is a distraction”!  ALL ELSE!  as such, i guard my time when i’m on a priority task fiercely and without apologies.  it’s my life and i answer to no one as to my time. doesn’t always make me highly visible or highly social, but that isn’t the goal when i’m doing what i want my life to be about.

hope this helps.  feel free to share.

onward……

garykeller

Focus. Not everyone has it, yet everyone can attain it. That was the message Gary Keller drove home this morning during Day Two of Mega Agent Camp.

“Multi-tasking is a myth,” he exclaimed from the stage. “The expression ‘multi-tasking’ is inherently deceptive. When you try to multi-task your attention is divided and you become great at nothing.”

“Success is Sequential NOT Simultaneous.” Here Gary dispels the multi-tasking myth and the concept of balance.