This post contains coverage of the Friday events at eXp World Holdings Shareholder Summit, which was held May 12-15 in eXp’s virtual world environment. Click here for a recap of Tuesday’s General Session, Wednesday’s breakout sessions, and Thursday’s breakout sessions.
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Best-selling author and motivational speaker Jon Gordon gave the keynote address for eXp’s Shareholder Summit before a captivated audience of 1,000. He touched upon a variety of characteristics that help each of us succeed, or fail. But Gordon says the No. 1 predictor of success is grit.
“Grit – the ability to work hard for a long period of time, to overcome, to persevere, to keep moving forward in the face of failure, rejection, adversity and obstacles. Grit drives us,” said Gordon.
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Gordon said the power of positivity drives grit, but also part of the formula is vision and purpose. He shared an anecdote that his vision was to “encourage and inspire as many people as possible, one person at a time.” He wrote a book “The Energy Bus,” to help fulfill that vision, but it was rejected by more than 30 publishers. Gordon was told to give it up, but he held onto his vision and persevered. It turned out to be a best-seller, selling over two million copies.
Gordon cited marathon runners who do the seemingly impossible, but they push to the finish because they can see it — they have vision. He said the same should apply to all of us.
“We have to focus on our vision. We have to keep our vision alive now more than ever — through the challenges, through the adversity, through the struggles. We need to keep our vision alive of where we want to go.”
Gordon said great organizations have a vision and a mission to drive them forward.
“I focus on winning the moment, on winning each day. Just win today, then the next day and the next day. We need to focus on winning each day.”
Gordon has a word he chooses each year to live by and encouraged those in the audience to think of one, which will drive your vision, passion, and purpose. Gordon’s word this year is “heart.” He says it helps him love others, trust, encourage, and to inspire.
Gordon said another part of the grit formula is optimism and belief. Gordon said a study by Duke University showed that optimists work harder, are paid better and are more likely to succeed.
“Optimists believe in a brighter and better future, they then took the necessary actions to create it.”
He said positivity and competitiveness are game-changers and we should all avoid negative energy or negative people, or what he calls “energy vampires.”
Gordon shared an anecdote about the 2008 housing crash. He was hired to talk with many real estate companies to help lift morale. He couldn’t help but notice that new agents were winning the company awards and a lot of long-time agents weren’t. It dawned on Gordon that “the older guys were longing for the good old days and were complaining about things — they weren’t adaptable to change.” He emphasized that the power of positivity and adaptability is necessary to overcome these challenges.
Additionally, Gordon focused on the Greek word meraki, which basically means to do something with love.
“Leave a piece of yourself in your work. Leave something behind — that’s the legacy and impacting lives,” said Gordon. “When you help others grow, you grow. When you help others improve, you improve.”
He emphasized to think of meraki in your work as real estate agents because you are impacting the lives of clients forever, helping them move into homes and they will think about how you changed their lives.
Highlights From Friday’s Breakout Sessions
Once again, thousands of people attended Friday’s breakout sessions, which were held in eXp World and encompassed five tracks of learning, including a Mastermind series, ICON series, Growth, Sales and Expansion.
“Real Estate Marketing Trends” hosted by eXp Realty Chief Marketing Officer Mitch Robinson with agent guests
eXp Realty CMO Mitch Robinson hosted a panel of marketing savvy agents, including Virginia agents Bic DeCaro and Tiffany Gelzinis and Florida agents Renee Funk and Tanin Teston. Robinson kicked off the session asking panelists about how they balance their personal branding with eXp Realty branding.
DeCaro uses the eXp logo with her marketing assets to promote eXp and showcase its global reach. Teston echoed this and said she leads with eXp in her marketing. “My daughter even made me a friendship bracelet that has eXp colors because we love this company,” she said.
Funk noted that she appreciates the liberal branding requirements of eXp Realty, which allow her to build her personal brand for her 15-person team, The Funk Collection. When she introduces herself, she proudly shares that she’s with The Funk Collection brokered by eXp Realty, she said.
Panelists also discussed the importance of serving their communities, especially now that many are struggling. Robinson commented that it’s important to have core values and ethics that guide your business. DeCaro described giveaways to local restaurants and said that it was important to “go out and help people.” This led to inbound contacts, but the main goal was helping people in the community, DeCaro said.
Gelzinis spoke of “community spotlight” efforts, highlighting local businesses that are struggling. She also said that it’s important to follow up with leads, cast a wider net and build relationships. “People are at home and they’re happy to talk to you,” she said.
Panelists closed with reflections on marketing efforts they want to invest in moving forward, ranging from more long-form written content to video and live streaming.
“Technology Update” with eXp World Holdings Chief Information Officer John Tobison and guests
Given eXp’s international expansion, Tobison discussed ways in which technology will help the company scale across the globe. Tobison also shared multiple efforts to package software solutions for our agents to ensure a great experience. After discussing several internal technology efforts, Tobison invited President of VirBELA, Alex Howland, on stage.
Howland talked about the explosion of users he’s seen in the VirBELA open campus over the past several months. As more people embrace remote work, VirBELA has experienced a huge surge in users. He also talked about the growth of the VirBELA team and open positions for senior developers, helping the team raise the bar for VirBELA’s clients. “It’s inspiring to see the growth of the business and community of users,” Howland said.
Howland then invited VirBELA’s Gabe Baker to discuss other exciting efforts ahead to create immersive experiences. Baker described Frame VR as an experimental new presentation tool from VirBELA that’s currently in beta. Frame VR allows users to give more immersive presentations and experiences that incorporate 360 photos and even 3D models.
“Discussion on eXp’s Agent Healthcare Program” hosted by CEO Jason Gesing
eXp CEO Jason Gesing hosted a panel on eXp’s Agent Healthcare program and was joined by Senior VP of People, Mike Vein, and eXp agents Joe Sinnona of Long Beach, New York, Beth Silverman from Florida and Bobby Martins from San Diego.
Sinnona, Silverman and Martins all shared personal experiences in dealing with healthcare insurance costs over the years.
Sinnona’s premium kept rising each year. He was facing a bill of $1,850 a month for a family of four. He and his wife entertained forgoing coverage for themselves and just covering their kids. Then he joined eXp in April 2019 and then a few months later, eXp’s innovative and cost-savings health insurance program was rolled out. Instead of paying $1,850 a month with his previous coverage, Sinnona would pay $791 a month on eXp’s Agent Healthcare.
“Not only could I breathe, but I could add dental insurance for another $100 a month. Doctors are the same. I was able to keep everyone,” said Sinnona.
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Silverman had a compelling story as well. She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer at age 26 and was given a 52% chance to survive. She beat the odds and 15 years later, she is disease-free. While she overcame the battle with cancer, the battle with health insurance began as she faced higher deductibles and new doctors. Then she joined eXp in 2019 and saves more than $8,000 a year in health insurance costs.
“We often hear exp is the most agent-centric on the planet and I am living proof of that. eXp continues to show me how much they value my life and this health insurance initiative was spectacular.,” said Silverman.
Vein said he was determined to find a plan to help eXp’s agents so they can do what they do best, which is sell real estate and not worry about their health coverage costs.
“You can be a homeowner without having a mortgage and you can have health care without having a large insurance bill. That was the focus: How do we solve health care and not how do we solve insurance.”
