Speaker 1 (00:00):
Change creates opportunity, especially for the Agile and 2024 certainly presented a number of changes and challenges and demanded a great deal of agility. I was talking about these themes with a friend and previous guest of the show, Renee Funk, who is the co-team leader of 130 agent organization based in Windermere, Florida. And we both agreed that it would make a great episode, a bonus episode for this time of year in particular. So that's what you've got. Renee is bullish on the regulatory changes brought to the industry because of the opportunity they create to level up Pop-Tart agents by helping them communicate value more clearly by helping them increase transparency and ultimately helping them put the consumer first. You'll be reminded as you look to the year ahead that you do not need to conform to anyone else's definition of success in your life or in your business. Renee also explains why operations is the true glue of your organization. Enjoy this bonus episode with Renee Funk right now on real estate team os.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
No matter where your business is today or where you want to take it, you'll get there faster and more profitably with an operating system. Welcome to Team Os, your guide to starting, growing and optimizing real estate team. Here's your host, Ethan Butte.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
Renee, welcome back to Real Estate Team os I'm excited to have you.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Well thank you so much. I'm excited to be here. It's good to see you.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
Yeah, you too. You and I had a conversation recently, we covered a lot of different ground and I was like, I think, and I think you agreed some of the stuff would be helpful to the types of people who watch and listen to this show. So here we are.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
We had a really great conversation last, we were in person in Los Angeles and today we are together remotely. So thank you for the invitation.

Speaker 1 (01:42):
Yeah, a quick nod by the way, for anyone watching and listening, Renee was our guest in one of our fcon sessions. That was a whole just like a 21 episode series that we did. I'll drop that link down below to your episode in particular and to that whole playlist. That's probably the easiest way to see them all for folks, but a lot of really good stuff there. So what we're going to do here, Renee, is just jump off really quickly for context. For folks who don't know you, tell us a little bit about you, your real estate career and your real estate team, the funk collection, like jump into that however you wish.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Renee Funk, team leader of the Funk Collection brokered by EXP Realty in Orlando, Florida. I worked together with my favorite real estate agent on the planet, Jeffrey Funk. We are married, we've worked together about 21 of our 23 years together, so he and I co-team lead the funk collection here in central Florida. We are a group of agents that are a makeup of leads team in central Florida that currently sits around 10 agents and our overall agent group here in central Florida is about 130 agents. We came on board at Realty about seven and a half years ago and we run a hybrid model, which means we're leveraging cloud-based technology and a brick and mortar office space in Windermere, Florida. A I am very proud exactly what to say, certified guide with Phil m Jones. And then my most important work, in addition to being a proud wife of 23 years is the mom of two boys who are two teenage boys who are the apple of my eye and also love them as much as sometimes they make me frustrated.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, that was a great overview. When did leads team make sense for you and your organization? When did that become a thing for you all?

Speaker 3 (03:30):
So what you're asking Ethan, is when did Jeff and I decide to create a team? And I'll say that we did it all wrong first and it's not uncommon, right? One of the first questions I'm often asked as a real estate team leader is how do you know it's time to start a team? And first I like to say I did it wrong first and that's that you get so excited, you probably have a number of inbound customer opportunities, a K leads that you can no longer handle at scale. And so many times teams, agents will say, let me go ahead and get my first buyer's agent and it's actually the wrong way to go about it. And if you are going that way, it doesn't mean you can't be successful, it just means it's going to probably take you a little bit longer and you're going to have some scraped knees.

(04:13):
So we hired our first buyer's agent and started to grow a team with agents before support staff originally, that was almost 10 years ago. Now what do we know now and what would we do differently is one of the best first steps is make sure your operations team members behind the scenes the true glue like our support team is the most important part of the team is in place. And so hiring that first transaction coordinator, hiring that first assistant that can be your right hand is some of the best first investments that any potential team leader should consider before they even think about bringing on additional agents. So I did that wrong first

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Really good advice and the thing that I've heard from team leaders who I don't know if they did them in the right order necessarily, but made a couple of those commitments early on is that those people will grow with you. So when you are 10 x the size, no matter how you want to measure that agent count or production or volume or whatever, those people are the people who really made it happen and they understand it inside out. You have that unspoken language, the benefits that you get with working someone you truly love and trust deeply over a longer period of time. You just go so much faster when you make those commitments earlier on.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
You do. And looking back, one of the things that we're really proud about is even though we made that first couple missteps is we now have an operations team that we're so darn proud of, right? We have longevity, we have our transaction coordinator for the funk collection who's been with us for almost six years. We have our marketing director who first started off as an assistant, she's been with us five years. We've brought on an in-house videographer. We have a VA team of five VAs, all of which have been with us more than two years. Some of them have been with us almost five years. So that is, and we talk about this with our agents, the first and foremost priority is making sure that operations team is on point and that they have everything they need. We love our agents, all team leaders love agents. However, the thing is agents come go, they graduate to the next chapter, they're continuing to build their own businesses. The support that is behind us as a support team is literally the true glue that allows us to do what we do.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
Speaking of doing what you do, one of the things you and I talked about that is certainly a point of debate and not necessarily consternation but leaving sales production. And you and I had a great conversation in our first conversation together for this show around that. And I think you challenged me and the world to come up with a term for something that isn't in or out. It's so binary and you're in that zone of like, we're not in but we're not out. So you don't need to restate kind of what you shared in that last episode. Again, I'll link it down below on exactly what production means to you and Jeffrey today, but what do you think about that conversation? I know you talked with all kinds of folks. You mentioned some people who have maybe left your organization, they wanted to do something that might've been starting their own thing or whatever. How do you think about in or out and have you yet come up with a word for somewhere in between?

Speaker 3 (07:36):
Somewhere in between, right. Well, success in real estate has no box. And one of the things that can happen in real estate brokerages, models, teams is there's usually one pathway that a team leader or a leader within that office has found success in one lead source or a real narrow path of like this is what we did to achieve X. The beauty of the real estate industry though is that there's so many different ways that success can be achieved and then backing it up even more is there's so many different versions of what success means. So when as a team leader, I'm considering an agent to join the funk collection, one of the first things I'm asking is, well, what does a team mean to you? What does success look like for you over the next 30, 60, 90 days over the next two years and beyond two plus years, five years?

(08:33):
What does success look like? Because there's no one size fits all. And so when you and I spoke and leading up to us remeet today, I was discussing that since we were in la, there's been some messaging out in social media that if you're a team leader and you say out of production, that oftentimes means that team leader has reached a point of scale in which that team leader has an option to say, do I need to take every next listing appointment? Do I need to take every next buyer strategy call in order to keep the team sustainable in the team lights on? And if a team leader reaches a point in which they no longer have to do that, they can make choices. Can I put more time into being a rainmaker to deliver more success to the team? Can I ease up on a throttle and say, you know what?

(09:26):
Maybe I choose as a team leader to take a few listings a year, but by and large I'm choosing as that team leader to show team members. You don't have to forever in a day be a slave to the industry, which means that it's some senior age unless you choose to and feel like you have to take every listing appointment, otherwise the lights won't stay on in your business. That's not necessary. And so with some of the social media messaging that's going on since you and I last met, it's a shame to see that some feel if you are a team leader in out of production mode or choosing your version of success that maybe you are not successful because there needs to be examples for other agents that there can be exit strategies. When was the last time, Ethan, that you attended a real estate agent's retirement party?

Speaker 1 (10:22):
No,

Speaker 3 (10:24):
Right? Haven't I've even heard words used like if you're a team leader and you're out of production, that you're lazy, that you are not a people person, that you don't have your pulse finger on the pulse of the industry. Rather, think of it this way as a team leader, when the funk collection is attracting agents, we're letting them know that our team is sustainable regardless of whether or not Jeff and I choose to take a listing, choose to take that next deal, our goal is to help them first identify what success looks like and if they choose to know at some point they can have an exit strategy, we're an example that that's possible. Doesn't mean they have to choose to do it, agents should know it's possible.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
As you said off the top, there's so many different ways to do this. Success is what you define it to be. Don't be influenced. It's important. I mean, one of the reasons I love hosting the show and being kind of a vehicle for a lot of these ideas to be shared is that there is no one right way. If you've listened to five episodes of this show, any five, pick five, you're going to know that there's no one right way to do any of this. And you probably know it from your own work and career anyway. But the key word that you offered there around all of this is sustainable in my opinion,

(11:44):
Which is you have put yourself in a position where you can define your role day in, day out, highest and best preferred. What I like doing the best, what brings me to life? What's the most value to the people that have come around me and put their trust and faith in this organization we've built and in me as one of the leaders of it, it's financially viable and sustainable. Whether or not I sell three homes because I got three really great personal referrals from dear friends or of dear friends, or whether I do 40 units and take a lot more calls and go on a lot more appointments. So you can really do it however you want. And I just basically restated what you said, but it's that provoke anything for you.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
You are spot on, right? It's about identifying what success looks like and if there's only a one size fits all, then what potential untapped opportunity is being missed by the industry? And also on that note is if we're to imply that a team leader has to do it in a one size fits all, so the only way a team leader can be successful is if they continue to be in full-time production, then are we casting a shadow on an agent? Some of our agents choose and find success to mean, Hey, if I can just transact a handful of transactions and serve a handful of families at a very high level, that's what success means to me. And each agent sets their own goals. So just because we have an agent who's choosing to maybe close four to six deals in a year, that doesn't make them any less successful than an agent who comes to us and says, you know what? I'm starting out and I have a five-year plan and I too want to build a team. Will you help me with a pathway to thrive as an individual agent and build a path to what it can mean for when I choose to build my own team? The answer is yes. And then you too, as that team leader should be able to define what does team mean to you,

Speaker 1 (13:48):
Whether it's your definition or an agent's definition, do you have teams within your team?

Speaker 3 (13:52):
We do. Yes, we sure do. And that is a very common encouraged conversation is let's put it on the table. When an agent comes to a team, most agents don't come to a team and say, that's it forever. In a day I'm going to be a team member on someone else's team. Many times agents come to a team and they think of a team as they should think of it as a catapult as I'm going to accelerate results quicker than if I did it alone. And it should be okay for the team culture to discuss what the next chapter can be. And sometimes that means team leader helps you turn the chapter to be a successful individual agent. Sometimes that means, Hey, I really built, we have had team members go from being on the team to building their own teams and they raise their hand and say, thank you.

(14:47):
It's been amazing. Would you help me build my version of a team? The answer is yes, and we've done that and there should also be conversation around what it looks like when a team member says, you know what? We had a good time for a good time and now I'm thinking about transferring out completely and I'd like to just say thank you for our time together. It's okay to naturally discuss what it means to offboard so much talk about, oh, let's get 'em onboarded and let's continue to recruit. There's not enough talk about the transparency around what it means should a team member ever choose to offboard. It's natural. It happens. And all team leaders experience that in some degree.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
Yeah. So I mean the theme here of course is just honest conversations and provoking thought and reflection. I would also say for anyone who doesn't have the benefit of working with someone very close to them who knows you really, really well and loves you very, very much like you and your husband probably do some reflection in a group setting, taking that time to reflect in, especially this time of year, what is success for me? Where am I route to that and how can I have these conversations with maybe people younger in their lives, younger in their experience, younger in their business experience, younger in their careers, to help them build those habits, to be reflective at some kind of regular cadence through their year to know whether they're on track. And it's not just getting to 50 or getting to 75 or getting to a hundred units. It's not just that. It's what is this really? And that might be part of it. It might be an important part of it. It might be the most visible or tangible part of how you're defining success for the year ahead or the three years ahead or whatever. But taking care to do that and being open and wide about it. And then again, as you already said, having those honest conversations with the people around you to help them do the same thing is I think it would make everything better.

Speaker 3 (16:48):
When you mention reflecting, right? There's a very simple formula when I coach and train agents and offer workshops around this is we should always be looking at whether it's a conversation, whether it's a meeting, whether it's a term of time, monthly, quarterly, annually. There's a framework that any business owner can use and it's around LBS and nts, right? So LB is what do you like best? And NTS is what would you do differently next time you and I might leave this podcast, right? I mean, we might say, that was amazing. What were some of the things Ethan we liked best about our conversation? We should be full body aware of what those were. And then both of us will probably take a moment and go, okay, that was great. We want to continue to grow. You're not in coast mode. I'm not in coast mode.

(17:37):
So we're going to say of the time that Ethan and Renee shared together, what are some things we would do differently next time so that we can continue to soar up and level up, whether it's a podcast, a conversation, you might be on a call with a prospective seller, a buyer, your team leader, one-on-one, you can always use a framework of LB and nt and you can also do so in your quarterlies, your annual reviews when you're getting to this, it's nearing into what is 2025 going to look like. Good time to say what did you like best about 2024 and what would you do differently next time as you carry through 2025?

Speaker 1 (18:15):
Love it. Really well done. LB liked best NT next time. And you just set me up for where I wanted to go anyway, which is when we talked a couple of weeks ago, you were really focused on the opportunity that 2025 presents. I guess to put it in the words of a lot of different people, kind of an amalgamation of some of the conversations I've had over the past, say two, three months. It's a lot of change in 2024. I think we can look to the NAR. Settlement is a big part of it. We can look at the lower volume in pretty much every single market. A lot of agents left, but there's still a lot of agents here. And I guess the one word that I've heard repeatedly or some version of it is like the professionalization of the industry is some of the people who didn't want to stomach or didn't want to learn and grow to adapt to the changes that 2024 demanded of people and their businesses. What you're left with is people who are a little bit more invested in themselves, a little bit more invested in their careers, a little bit more perseverant, a little bit more adaptable, but A, would you characterize 2024 that way, and B, what are you most excited about in 2025?

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Yeah, so 2024 was the year of agility. One of our core values at the fund collection is agile and being agile as real estate professionals, agility should always be at the core. And 2024 was unlike most years, what do we see as an industry? We saw perhaps some of the largest regulation change the industry's ever seen. We saw changes in market conditions, we saw interest rate changes. We saw what is, I believe still coming off of covid and quarantine and the pandemic and economic fluctuations and an election. Could we add some more in there? Right? So agile is the number one word, and you mentioned reduction in volume. Yes, there are some team leaders who will say everything's always perfect and it's great. No, that's not actually true. It's okay to put it on the table and say 2024 was a down year, the funk collection, we were down about 18% year over year.

(20:35):
It's okay to say that we don't love it. It's fact though. What's most important is to say where is the untapped opportunity? And so with all of those factors as a leader, we can look and say whenever there's change happening, change 100% can drive opportunity. And with the regulation change, I am incredibly bullish on the regulation change. I don't necessarily love some of the things that have happened, and I don't love the fact that we were all as an industry put in this situation. However, when approached properly by a professional buyer's agent and by a professional listing agent, the consumer is winning, the consumer is experiencing elevated service, and the consumer is then able to say, Hey, hold on a second. I truly get to choose to work with a professional and hopefully the agents in the industry are continuing to get clear on the value they deliver because that has to be the number one clear focus of any true professional is what's the value you provide to the buyer? What's the value you provide to the seller?

Speaker 1 (21:49):
I love that you went straight to what's best for the consumer. I think when we make decisions in that way, even if it means we need to contort ourselves in some way or switch things up or figure out that some people aren't the right people to do it that way, when we do things that are best for the consumer, I think you talked about opportunity being emergent from hardship, challenge change, et cetera. I think change was the key thing you offered. Not necessarily hardship change

Speaker 3 (22:20):
Equals opportunity,

Speaker 1 (22:24):
But in that opportunity, if we can keep the consumer first in mind and make decisions with the consumer in mind, we create less opportunity for the greatest fear I've heard over and over again in the industry in the 14 ish years I've been serving into it is fear of some disruption or disintermediation by some other thing. At some point it was like non-human transactions, which obviously is not a thing. I can't see it becoming a thing because of the nature of humans and because of the nature of the transaction, the technology will empower and equip agents and consumers alike to create a better experience for the consumer. But the more that we keep that person in mind or this body of people or the opportunity that they represent and the needs that they have and the questions and the challenges that they have, the less opportunity we're giving any other force to change things in a different way because the consumer ultimately determines what's going to happen.

Speaker 3 (23:25):
They do. And I've been in a number of rooms since the proposed NAR settlement was first announced, what was that March of 2024? Not first made aware, right? The class action lawsuits were going on for a number of years, but March, 2024 is when NAR came out and said, Hey, this is the proposed settlement that we're bringing to the table. And there was clearly a wake up of the industry to say, hold on a second, there's some change. And a lot of fear came into place. So a few moments ago, you mentioned some agents maybe not being as adaptable. A couple things happened in 2024 as you look at that March 20, 24 date, proposed settlement announced change is on the horizon, fear sets in. So are agents leading with fear and thinking, oh my gosh, that's it. This is the end of agents. Well, let's look back even further.

(24:18):
What happened when the internet was born? Does anyone watching this replay say, well, hey, do you remember a time when buyers used to walk into a brick and mortar office and they would ask for a book, they'd have to see a book, they'd have to have a book handed to them by a real estate agent in a brick and mortar office to even have access to listings. And then as the internet grew, what happened once listings were syndicated on the internet, agents were losing their minds, oh my gosh, that's it. It's the end of us. Well, the consumer went online to do what? To leisurely start to familiarize themselves with real estate listings. But what do they still need to do? Pick up the phone and call. Because most smart consumers say, Hey, I still need that human element. I need to connect with a true professional who's going to be consultative and understand me, my needs, my goals, my timeline desires, and be able to best make suggestions for opportunities the consumer does not realize exist. Fast forward to another benchmark that I think agents lost their mind. And I'm married to a realtor. I was not a real estate agent when this happened, but I'm married to an agent who was an agent at this time. And you remember when the portal, the big portal came out with one of the first computer generated valuations of a home, the big Z word

(25:52):
Being married to a real estate agent. And at that time, I remember Jeff coming home and you'd go, wow, a lot of the agents in my office are freaking out. And they're like, that's it. It's the end of us. We'll never be able to acquire another seller. The sellers have all the power to know what their home is worth. It's a computer generated number, it's a gift. It's a conversation server, it's a gift. And I remember back then when that big zest word came out, Jeff came home and he goes, I just decided to print out my screen and bring it on the listing consultation and set it on the table and say, let's talk about this.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
That's it. It's a conversation.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
And so that's another benchmark. When major change happen and it's not fun. When change happens, we all get a little uneasy. NAR regulation change, that's not that much fun for me either. However, if you truly look beyond the noise and the fear, what you see is all that noise and fear is a distraction. So you have people that are distracted by that noise and fear and they're going over there going like, ah, I'm freaking out. And as long as you don't go in that direction and rather you go over here and you go, this looks peaceful and quiet. Let me go discover what untapped opportunity exists. That's where the goodness is. That's good for the consumer because you're going to truly uncover opportunity to serve a consumer hire, but it's also good for business because you're going to then grow when you are coming from curiosity.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
Okay, a couple of minutes ago you mentioned when a well-trained or a professional agent is on the buy side and there is also that person on the sell side, this is going to be great for the consumer. You also mentioned a couple of consumer empowerment things, which means the consumer is actually doing some of your work for you on their own time and they're becoming more educated, but they still have more questions. They're probably asking better questions than they would if they didn't come educated through all the things that have become available to them over the past couple of decades. So the big X factor right now is how often is a true professional on the other side of a transaction? I hear this a lot from agents and team leaders is like from a team leader perspective, it's like my agents are out there.

(28:05):
We did all this really smart training, they're all doing really great stuff. They're out there doing it the way that we want them to do it, the way they've been trained to do it a compliant way. But on the other side of the transaction is an agent who knows little to nothing about what happened or why much less the consequences to how we need to operate. So where are we in that zone in general, from your experience, where are we going to have that? When is the norm going to be? We have great people on both sides.

Speaker 3 (28:36):
You and I need a coffee break. Hold on a second.

(28:41):
So for many, many, many years you'll speak with real estate agents and many agents will say one of the toughest parts about our job ourselves are working with other agents that are co-op agents on the other side of the deal who maybe do not have access to the same amount of training, exposure to information, or even just exposure to perspective because there's so many different perspectives that can help get buyers and sellers across the finish line faster and with more ease. So you bring up what is being experienced right now. I wish that, what is it now? August was our flip date for when NAR settlement went into place, and here we find ourselves at January, right? I wish that it was as easy to say that both sides of the deal, both sets of agents know all the ins and outs, and the fact of the matter is it's not true. In fact, the funk collection has listing agents to this day. We're continuing to get buyer's agents who will call up and say one of two things.

(29:47):
What concession, if any, is your seller offering the buyer before we show the home and or I will not even show it unless you disclose this amount. And so that alone is untapped opportunity for the buyers, the consumer, the buyer. And what we're seeing as listing agents is that the buyer's agents will say, Hey, I'm just listening to my buyer. My buyer told me not to show it unless, and my question is, have you discussed with your buyer the terms of the contract that are all negotiable? Show the home, write up the offer and let's start the conversation, right? All terms are negotiable and this is another term that's negotiable. So I wish that that wasn't the case and my heart hurts for the consumers that are working with buyer's agents right now that haven't truly gained that perspective to understand, show all homes, write up strong, offer, negotiate. It's pretty simple.

Speaker 1 (30:50):
How are you training and coaching differently today than you were over the summer around this stuff? I mean, I think there are obviously a lot fewer question marks around it. There's been a lot more time in the field to have these kind of like, what are other people doing? How are you coaching or training differently today than you were over the summer?

Speaker 3 (31:12):
We went real deep in the summer though. We went deep to a point of we were doing weekly in persons immediately to say, even though we may not know all the answers, because pre August there were still so many variables as you mentioned, even though we may not know all of the end results, what's going to be this and that, let's run out scenarios and be prepared for different situations. And so as a team, we came together, we were working together very intently to get very focused and be prepared for different scenarios. Now, I literally had a competing team leader in another market, call me up one day and say, you're not doing this right. Why would you waste your time? Wait until after August 6th and then train to it? No, actually we got in it during the summer and really ran different opportunities and said, okay, the agents are going to be prepared.

(32:08):
Now come forward to August 6th. When here in central Florida was our impact day, if you will, so incredibly proud of the agents who prior to August, we as a team were not generally using buyer broker exclusive agreements. They were not as prevalent in the state of Florida. They were certainly not as prevalent in central Florida. We were not a team who really ever utilized that. We were a team who when a buyer called up, we would go show a home. It's what we did. After August, we obviously followed the rules. We received A, B, B, A for every single buyer that was raising their hand or saying they want to see a home and very quickly have already achieved a 55% conversion rate from receiving the BBA to receiving a sales contract. We got very clear on these two things. First conversation with a buyer is around 15 minutes to do a little top level discovery and uncover what's most important to that buyer and get a general timeline of when are we talking in the next seven to 30 days or are we talking in summer of 2025, right?

(33:20):
General information that 15 minute pre-consult leads to an actual either in-person or Zoom, we call them buyer strategy sessions. And in that next appointment, we are going deep leading with a lot of curiosity to uncover not just how many bedrooms, right? It's not enough to say, do you need four bedrooms and three baths? It's enough to say, Ethan, you mentioned four bedrooms and three baths are important to you. Share with me a little bit about how specifically will you be using those four bedrooms? Who's moving with you? It's a fourth bedroom in office. Is it a guest room? You're going to have people visit from up north when it's snowing and you want to come and visit Disney World here in Orlando, get into the true lifestyle. From that moment of the buyer strategy session, we're receiving the BBAs and as we sit right now, we're about that 55% conversion rate from BA to sales contract.

(34:18):
And the only place we have is to go up in improve conversion, which is this for the consumer. We understand you at a higher level. We save you time as your buyer professional, and we keep the most amount of money in your pocket because we slow down the process to speed up the outcome. We understand what they need at an even higher level. Even we weren't doing that prior to August. We were what I call Pop-Tart agents. The phone would ring, right? And it's trained in the industry, right? Speak of the big portals for those who buy leads, it's literally trained that way. The phone rings. They say, I need to see 1, 2, 3 Banana Street. The agent says, what time? In the next couple of hours? It's an industry change, and that's what I mean when I say the consumer wins here. Because if you slow down the process just enough, you speed up the outcome to save every one time. No buyer wants to see 27 houses. No. They want to see smaller list of the right candidates for them to consider.

Speaker 1 (35:21):
Yeah, they want to see 27 homes on their tablet tonight. They don't want to drive all over the market looking at those properties. I love that. Slow down the process to speed up the outcome. Any other final thoughts on 2025 for team leaders or operators or agents who are checking this out?

Speaker 3 (35:38):
Well, for team leaders and those that are continuing to grow is think of 2025 as such a great opportunity to redefine or reset what it means for you and your organization. So insert brokerage, insert team, right? Whatever you define your organization of agents, it is more than okay as a leader to say, Hey, what got us here is not going to get us there. And sometimes we have to say, we need to reset, regroup, re strategy just like agents, when agents are serving a buyer and all of a sudden the buyer says, well, I only need to have four bedrooms, three baths, and the buyer starts sending, well, but here's a three bedroom and it's 25 minutes further than I wanted to be, and it's not in the same school district and all these other factors. And you go, hold on, hold on, hold on. Instead of being the buyer's agent, that will just jump and go, okay, let's go see it. Raise your hand. It's okay to say, could we have a reset strategy session? And let's regroup and make sure that I'm putting in front of you all the best opportunities. Those same opportunities can happen for teams is do a reset, regroup and say, what got us here won't get us there, and 2025 has an incredible amount of opportunity available for us all regardless of what market you're in.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Really good. I do have one more question for you, but I want folks to know. A link down below is the fcon session from fall of 2023 where we talked a lot about curiosity and human connection as the foundation of the business. You'll enjoy that one. We also took part of that conversation and we did two subscriber only episodes. So when you go to realestate team os.com/subscribe and you sign up, you get email exclusive insights every week, but you get access to seven subscriber only episodes immediately. One of those is seven different team leaders talking about how to leave sales production successfully. Another one though its companion is five leaders, including Renee, talking about why to stay in sales production. We heard some of those ideas in this conversation, but you'll hear from four other folks. In addition to hearing more from Renee on that topic, that's all@realestateteamos.com slash subscribe. Thank you for enduring that promotional message, Renee.

Speaker 3 (37:47):
I love it. And watch them all because what you're going to see is a variation, and that's one of the things Ethan, I'm so proud of what you're doing is let's not tell others that just because we do it a certain way, that's the only way, right, is I did give a little bit of a nod to some of the messaging on social media that's gone on this year, and some are naysay, like the in or out of production or the word you and I haven't come up with yet. When you come to Orlando in a couple months, we need to iron that out is you, do you right? As long as you are focused to continue to thrive and redefine and have access to create the success you're looking for you, that's one of the beautiful parts about this real estate industry. You don't have to define it all in the same way.

Speaker 1 (38:31):
Renee, one fun team. Question for you before we call it another conversation. What is your very favorite team to root for besides the funk collection or what's the best team you've ever been a member of besides the funk collection?

Speaker 3 (38:49):
Best team I've been a member of is I got to say maybe this is self-serving Ethan, I don't know, but the team of being a mom. Here's the thing is some of the same things that we talk about with being a team leader come through in our family lives and as real estate agents watching or listening to this, I would say the same thing for you is what happens at work. If you look can be very much mirrored to the communications. Remember we said like best next time the lbs, the nts. I'm a mom of teenagers and that's a team, right? Like married 23 years, that's a team. We too have some intentionality around what can we be doing differently to continue to keep family tight and be there for each other and give each other grace. So I got to say, being a mom, that's a team I'm still rooting for.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
Really well done. I've had one version of that once before and of course not stated in, everyone states their thoughts and approaches uniquely, but love hearing that every time. I hope you hear it again soon. Appreciate you so much. I look forward to connecting again in person. Thanks for doing this one, and again for folks watching and listening, this's just a bonus episode. We thought that we would share some thoughts. I love the theme of thoughtfulness and reflection even in what you just shared there about your team unit, your family unit. I heard a little bit of reflection in there too. What are we all doing here? Some intentionality and of course it's a great time for that. So you're a great guest for this time of year, probably anytime of the year, but I really enjoyed doing this one

Speaker 3 (40:22):
And I understand that we're going to see each other in person here real soon. By the way, when you watch the replay link below of us, last time we were together, we talked about Friday night at the Funks. That's an agent night that we host Ethan. You have your invitation when you come to Orlando in a couple months. We'd like to welcome you to Friday night at the Funks. Very

Speaker 1 (40:41):
Good. I will see you there.

Speaker 3 (40:42):
Alright. It was great to share time with you.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
Thank

Speaker 1 (40:45):
You.

Speaker 3 (40:46):
Take care.

Speaker 2 (40:47):
Thanks for checking out this episode of Team Os. For email exclusive insights every week, sign up@realestateteamos.com.