Throughout the weeklong EXPCON 2020 conference, some of the overarching themes were opportunity and positivity, which were neatly tied up during the final keynote given by motivational speaker Kate Leavell.
Prior to Leavell coming out, the packed crowd was warmed up by eXp agent Jill Leberknight (Austin, Texas), who is a professionally trained actor, singer and dancer. Leberknight, who performed on the Emmy Award-winning PBS children’s show “The Biscuit Brothers” for 8 years prior to joining eXp, was joined on stage by Dave Conord, President of U.S. Growth.
Leberknight and Conord brought every ounce of energy to the intro, even getting the virtual crowd to do a modified wave. But the honors of introducing Leavell fell to Conord who had a vested interest in her appearance. That’s because Kate is Conord’s younger sister.
As Conord proudly summarized, Leavell is the author of four books and is currently co-authoring another with motivational guru Jon Gordon where she is Vice President Leadership Development with Jon Gordon Companies. She flies all over the country, speaking on leadership, helping to create high-performing teams, and transforming culture for success. Learn more about Leavell here.
To further celebrate the Conord family connection, it was their father’s 70th birthday where their dad, Mike, was watching his children on stage via livestream from Amelia Island, Florida.
Leavell said she is a big fan of eXp and remarked that the company is really ahead of its time. She asked the audience to explain their love of the company and the responses included: Freedom, community, collaboration, culture, agent-owners, best president in the world, limitless, authenticity, and great leaders among many others.
Here are some takeaways from her talk:
Leavell’s observance of why eXp has an edge:
“It’s all about getting that edge and going from good to great,” she said. “It’s about meeting expectations versus exceeding imagination. It’s about checking off boxes versus serving and caring. Focusing on what the client gets versus focusing on how the client feels. Returning a call versus reaching out and making the call. Giving them what they ask for versus knowing what they expect and need before they ask. It’s that reaction versus anticipation.”
About eXp’s innovation:
“You guys aren’t scrambling to keep up with the Joneses. eXp is trailblazing, innovating and leading the competition. When Dabo Swinney took over as head coach of Clemson’s football program, he was told to model his program after great teams that everybody knew. But he had a different vision. He didn’t want to copy programs. He had a bigger vision. He wanted to create a program that makes the great teams everyone knows want to look like Clemson. And that’s what eXp is doing.”
On why she thinks eXp is so successful:
“The reason the vision is coming to life through obstacles, challenges, change and incredible growth is the energy and passion you all bring with you. Your collective greatness is what drives you forward together as one giant global team.
Tools to keep your passion and energy going:
E + P = O (Events + Perspective = Outcome)
Our perspective allows us to reshape our reality, our story, what we believe and what we see. Our perspective is our truth. We often can’t control events in our lives. But events don’t necessarily determine outcomes. It’s how we look at the event and how we respond which will create our future.”
On how to deal with setbacks:
Leavell described an incident in her life in which she thought a minor shoulder injury presented something much more serious — a pulmonary embolism. She spent a long time in the hospital and recovered, but the event shifted her perspective on life.
“A positive perspective will bring you to a positive outcome. It will be where you place your focus. If you focus on negativity or a reason to be angry, you will find it everywhere you look. But if you focus on opportunities, you will find yourself pushing through obstacles until that happens.”
On being fearful:
Leavell retold the story of two cereal giants in the 1920s – Post and Kelloggs. It was during the stock market crash of 1920 and Post pulled back out of fear. They stopped doing marketing, stopped advertising and laid off part of their staff. They were trying to maintain and preserve. Kelloggs didn’t see fear, they saw opportunities. Kelloggs took over that empty space and during that time, they even invented Rice Krispies. Instead of retreating, they pushed forward with faith. Kellogg’s overtook the market and is now the dominant cereal brand.
The moral? “Teams who play to win, tend to come out on top. Where other people pull back, push forward. Go big. Believe the best is yet to come. Launch yourself forward.
“eXp took ways to create opportunities during a pandemic; it is looking for ways to dominate. While other companies are waiting to ‘go back to normal,’ eXp is charging forward with optimization, belief and positivity.”
Chauncey Pham Hosted “Building Your Business Around Your Life”
Chauncey Pham (Dallas-Ft. Worth) hosted a panel discussion with Nick Good (Texas), Albert Fuentes (Texas), Amina Stevens (Florida), Char Baxter (Texas), Makenna Moros (Texas) and Sascha Chatman (North Carolina) on “Building Your Business Around Your Life” in the Mentor breakout.
Some takeaways:
On building a business and finding prospects:
Nick Good – I quickly learned that building the referral business via friends and family would not work. Friends were broke. Couldn’t afford rent, they were living at home. I had to fumble my way around. Watched YouTube. A guy was selling a lead generation product. Learned and adapted. I also started mimicking and modeling those who were successful. I’m a big believer in R&D –Rip off and duplicate. Cold-calling. I watched those who went after expired listings. They were calling, calling, calling. I was uncomfortable with it, but just started doing it and not giving up. Then it became natural. Expired listings are still our bread and butter that still work for us today.
How has eXp allowed you to build your business around your strengths?
Amina Stevens — I think the culture of eXp 100% allows me to showcase my personality. What am I good at? Teaching and talking. So, I did that through social media. I started to go to meetup groups and went to 2-3 each night and built relationships. Just started to go out and via my content, I was getting referrals. They started to see me for who I am. I found my grind.
Expectations from having a mentor:
Nick Good — There’s no magic pill. But most important thing is to find the right coach. Someone for the long-term game, not a short-term game. Having a coach won’t make you successful. They will guide you, but you still need to do the work.
What do new agents struggle with?
Amina Stevens – No. 1 thing that agents struggle with is imposter syndrome. It’s a growing pain. Think about your strengths. You have to boss up and treat yourself like a business. You better figure it all out and not wait for someone. It’s on you to make it work.
Fred Weaver and Kevin Kauffman Hosted a Panel on “Continuous Improvement Lessons Learned Form 2020”
Arizona business partners Fred Weaver and Kevin Kauffman hosted a panel with Devin Doherty (California), Mark Pattison (California), David Devoe (New Jersey), Tia Moore (Arizona), Eric Lowry (Ohio), Javier Tello (Texas).
Here are some takeaways:
What is the best investment in your business?
Javier Tello (Texas) – Time. Time is the only commodity given to all of us. We all have different colors, pigmentation, ideals. But we all have 24 hours a day. The millionaires, the homeless all have the same amount of time. Time is currency. It’s all how you use it.
David Devoe (New Jersey) – Time, energy and focus. Being responsible with your time and energy, Make sure you pour it into the right people. Making sure that if I intend to be with my family, I do that. And if I don’t, it’s purposeful. There are so many non-refundable, precious breaths, so just learn to be purposeful with your time.
Devin Doherty (California) – I finally figured out the value of time invested in your family and even in almost doing nothing is equally beneficial to your business or greater. I was able to spend a lot of time with my daughter and now she is getting her license. Time invested wisely in the right people and with your inner circle is massively important.
What advice would you give to a newly licensed agent? (And what advice should they ignore?)
Javier – Develop relationships. They want to conquer the world and start prospecting, but I tell them to start with your sphere of influence. Friends will buy from friends. Also, stay away from negative people.
Tia Moore (Arizona) – Focus on things you’re good at and do that. Coming into this business, people will tell you so many things that will work for them, but it might not work for you because you’re not good at it. Also, if you’re brand-new and driven, stay away from buying everything in sight (tools, ads, etc.)
Devin — 6 days, 60 hours a week, 6 months. The only things an agent can control is their attitude and their actions. If they can put in 6 days a week, 60 hours a week for 6 months, they can make it through and be one of the few who make it out of their first year.
Eric Lowry (Ohio) – Get on a team. Spend the first two years learning the business.
David DeVoe (New Jersey) – Join eXp, get some goals and put a timeline on those goals. Get into good habits. Allocate towards your taxes. Time-blocking in the beginning of your career.
Rizwana Afzali Interviewed Roh Habibi of Bravo’s ‘Million Dollar Listing San Francisco’
Rizwana Afzali (Montgomery County, PA) interviewed Roh Habibi, an agent who appears on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing San Francisco.” Habibi has a fascinating life story of escaping with his family from Afghanistan, over the Pakastani mountains during the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, and then eventually immigrating to the U.S. as a young boy. He is now a $300 million-dollar agent in San Francisco.
What is your favorite leader generation source?
Roh Habibi — My absolute favorite source is open houses. I don’t rent a taco truck or do it big. What I do is make 250 hand-written notes and 3-4 hours before the open house, I would knock on every door near the house and hand out these notes explaining why the house is being sold, etc. I ask people to come on by, take a look. If you want friends and family to live next to you, please pass the word. Looky-loos. I would chat them up. They like that proactive approach. Long-term established networking. It’s showing them what you can do. Also, never give them your card. You pull out your cell phone and ask for their info. You are in control of the conversation.
Influencer Panel Hosted By Veronica Figueroa “Leaders Creating Leaders”
Veronica Figueroa hosted a panel of top eXp producers including, Jay Kinder (Texas), Gil Ramos (Florida), Josue Soto (Florida), Brittany & Josh Pride (Florida), Danny Pena (Florida), Dan Rojas (Florida), Ruth Cid Simon (Florida).
Some tips from the panel on becoming a good leader:
Veronica Figueroa – Ask your team: Start, stop, continue. What should we start to do, stop doing and continue? They will tell you. That’s how I became a great leader.
Gil Ramos – Henry (or Henrietta) is all of us. He’s the guy who sleeps inside of us every night. He sits in our hearts and knows he can do more. Make more calls, be more loving. Deep down there is something more we can all do. I used to have this ideology if I worked more, I could be better. The truth of the matter is, I needed to become more rather than do more. I needed to be around guys who were good fathers so I could be that too. We all have a responsibility to give back. It’s just the right thing to do.
____________________
EXPCON 2020 is the 11th annual conference where eXp agents, brokers, staff and guests can attend to learn about eXp. For the first time in its history, the event is being held virtually.
_________________________
Interested in jump-starting your real estate career? Learn how eXp Realty puts agents first.
