Craig Witt
It can be a lonely world out there. Human beings are not meant to be “lone wolves;” we need to be surrounded by others to get the most and the best out each other. There is comfort in companionship and strength in partnership when you have a strong network of people that have your best interest in mind. I have a belief that most people would have a hard time counting five individuals closest to them that they could call any time of day and those people would come running to their aid. There is a distinct difference between acquaintances and friends. We all have people we know socially, but when it comes to close friends, it usually means two or three, and in most cases one.
The real estate business can be ego first, empathy second, sometimes. I believe we have entered an era where teams are more popular and the open-hand to help others is replacing individual performance. We cannot lose sight that “if it is to be, it is up to me.” We are responsible for our own actions, but why not leverage the resources and support of others to not only help yourself, but to help others as well? If the giving principal is the focus of today’s successful individual, we must give first without any expectation of receiving. So often we expect instant gratification and recognition for good deeds done, when we should be giving unconditionally to improve the lives of others around us.
When we look at this idea of working together for a common good, we have to apply it to our industry. From a brokerage level, we should be identifying other firms in our market that would equally benefit from “teaming up” through a merger and acquisition or “roll-in”. It makes little sense to have struggling brokerages competing for the same business when you could come together, join forces and introduce new energy, talent and leadership, and build one strong brokerage. It is apparent that every owner has a different circumstance, but what harm does it do in sitting down together and having a conversation? Everyone seems to protect their own nest and gets tunnel vision; and it is when they open their minds to the greater good and consider everyone involved, the creative juices flow and positive change is made.
From an agent’s perspective, adding agents to a firm often means introducing competition to the office and there is little incentive to go down that path. If there is strength in numbers and working together as a team is a proven method of success, why not seize the opportunity to build a business within a business? At EXIT Realty, we provide the platform to do just that. We created the healthy environment to grow as a team through empathy and the premise that if you do better, I do better. The sharing of skills and passing down of wisdom is fostered at EXIT, and when you get everyone on the bus in the right seat, success comes naturally. Our model is unique in that we encourage our agents to invite quality, ethical agents into our offices, and as a special thank you from our corporate office, we pay them to do it, so there is also a financial incentive.
Financially stable Realtors service their customers better and we have the silver bullet at EXIT. This is not a fad, it’s a movement.