Taking the stage in front of a standing-room-only crowd on Monday, Elizabeth Riley, 9-time ICON agent and No. 6 growth leader at eXp Realty, delivered a dynamic presentation on “Attraction: Building Community and Culture Through Events and Masterminds” at eXpcon in Miami.
As a blueprint for building relationships that go beyond the confines of competing real estate brands, Elizabeth’s methods of fostering attraction can be duplicated by any leader who wants to drive a culture of growth and collaboration — in any market.
The cornerstone of Elizabeth’s system is “Agents Helping Agents” or the AHA Club which originated in Austin, Texas, and was open to all agents in the local market.
“Attraction is the bridge that connects us,” explained Elizabeth. “When we come together, we raise the bar in our industry. We help each other improve all aspects of our knowledge and real estate businesses by sharing best practices, niche skills and networks.
“AHA Clubs are growing all over the country because of an idea, but it took a while for people to understand what we were doing. We didn’t have a room, so we created one, built on a mindset of abundance. When we win, we all win together. As a result, we created FOMO.”
After Covid, the Need for Community Grew
Elizabeth went on to explain that after Covid, people wanted to get back together. “They didn’t want videos, and they weren’t looking for ‘lunch and learns.’ They wanted to be together in person and talk about production. It felt like culture. It wasn’t meant to be an attraction opportunity, but that’s exactly what it was.”
The format of every monthly, two-hour AHA Club meeting is always the same, including the meeting space. Elizabeth uses her local Board of RealtorsⓇ office which appeals to the Board because the meeting is real estate brand agnostic and welcomes all local agents. Arrivals and boxed lunches are available during the first 15 minutes; value chats without sales pitches from the lunch sponsor take the next 15 minutes; and the final 90-minute block includes a speaker who is an eXp ICON Agent, industry expert, or specific panelists who can add to an in-depth, collaborative discussion around production. Attendees are strongly encouraged to share their experiences on social media and invite others who can contribute to the community of culture during upcoming sessions.
Beyond the AHA Club and other regular networking events, Elizabeth highlighted additional ways to build community, including Mastermind Groups, educational workshops, social events and recognition opportunities.
As the community of attraction grew, 35 ICONs were doing Masterminds in person. Zoom masterminds expanded the reach and now top producers are coming in and inviting other top producers.
Another Mastermind that resulted was the “Fearlessly Authentic Women in Real Estate,” comprised of all friends who talk about being a mom or a wife, but no real estate talk. Relationships were built, and business connections were made, as a result of friends wanting to see their friends succeed.
“I am not a recruiter, I’m an attractor,” Elizabeth said. “I never talk about eXp but they always ask. And I try to find the pebble in their shoe.”
