[00:00:02] Veronica, what's up? Hi, how are you?
[00:00:06] Good, I need a I need a breather here. That was if you heard that I was really fast.
[00:00:10] So I just want to say my drop and set it all. I guess there's nothing else to say.
[00:00:16] No, no, no, no. We got plenty to hear from you, I'm sure.
[00:00:21] Veronica, why don't you give us a little background on you and and where you're coming from?
[00:00:27] Absolutely. So my name is Veronica Figueroa. I run the Figueroa team out of Orlando, Florida. I, you know, have been doing this for a little bit now. I'm celebrating and probably almost I think it's 19 years in the business, 15, 16 full time.
[00:00:44] I am obsessed with everything in real estate. I run a team. My team size as of today is sixty five agents and staff. We I owned a Remax franchise for almost a decade and last year I sold it and moved my team over to came over with 17 agents. And rapidly we've grown to over 60, right around sixty five agents and staff and then have about nine hundred and thirty partners across the country and just excited to continue to evolve.
[00:01:15] I am I'm a little rebel. I'm still a broker partner in central Florida. So I also manage that acquisition account as well as some other initiatives that allow us the ability to expand into other markets, allows us the opportunity to work closely with other teams that may have some strengths in other parts of their business. But then together with what we can what we do, oftentimes there's alignment there. So, yeah, just some exciting stuff.
[00:01:47] Hopefully this year we'll cross the two hundred million threshold as a as of today, we've already sold over one hundred and sixty six million in sales volume this year and I'm really, really proud of what the team has been able to accomplish.
[00:02:03] And we're building it your your sister the other day. It's freaking awesome. Those guys are realistic. They're so yeah.
[00:02:10] We're building this plane as we're flying it. We're still figuring things out every day.
[00:02:14] Well, you know, we're just excited to be a part of it. And we love to just be in the arena with so many amazing leaders. I mean, the lineup that you've had here today, I'm just honored to even know that I got a little spot to just even say hello, because I can't wait to go back and watch this over and over again. I already know that this will be part of our arsenal as well. So thank you guys for putting this on.
[00:02:38] Yeah, of course. No one else you want to know.
[00:02:42] So I wanted to ask when we I think this whole thing you talk about getting outside of just your market and the things that you're doing, that's really interesting. Kind of the topic we put on this TWA's.
[00:02:54] Like Tim aquisition and other big ways to kind of expand what you're doing, maybe you can elaborate a little more on what you mean by that.
[00:03:01] Yeah. So right now, I'm heavily focused on team acquisitions in my local market because of the amount of opportunities that we have. But my market is pretty much now covering the majority of central Florida and eventually we'll start crossing into the beaches. So if I'm in Florida or scoping out an area and I want to service that area instead of me trying to take over that area, my goal is to build a relationship with an agent in that area and see how there can be a possibility of some sort of merger acquisition. And it starts with the phone call, starts with just an opportunity to just say what's working in your business, whether I'm approaching them with ancillary services, what are they doing for title? What are they doing for mortgage? I have my hands on a little bit of that as well. And it's really been a really great conversation starter.
[00:03:53] And what I have found is that a lot of great teams, maybe they have a really great book of business and referral business, but they're getting to a point where they're hitting a plateau and they don't have additional opportunities for their team. So I extend some of the resources that we have as a result to the relationships we've built throughout the years and the knowledge and the systems that we have in place. For example, my VP of Success and Solutions, he has a data background. And most of these people that I let's say if I'm approaching them, they maybe don't have the systems in place or to scale. Right. So I will give them that opportunity to scale with me so long as obviously there's an opportunity that we can be in business together. So I just think that a lot of times people think very linear. I am very open minded to having conversations as far as what does this look like for you? Right. What are you lacking in your business? And I, I literally went out and I hired Zach, a data analyst like this guy has.
[00:05:01] That's all he does is analyze data. I think Frank and I think Brian, I've had the pleasure of meeting Eric and he analyzes the behavior of agents on my team and the behavior of agents. And all we do is just extract those habits and just duplicate. And the systems that we've built is what we can plug other teams into. Right. So we're plugging them into our systems. We're plugging them into our teams, and we're getting ready to do two new mergers, two acquisitions, which I'm really excited about. That team actually happens to be better at extracting referrals, right? They're really, really big on referrals. They're they've hit a plateau on more opportunities for their team, which we have that opportunity. I was hearing. Can Kenny talk about that like we both are at peace. So it does give us an opportunity to to help agents with a roadmap to, I would say, different stepping stones in their business, which is what I find a lot of these teams, you know, once an agent starts getting good, they they they tap out or they're like, I'm done, I'm out.
[00:06:08] So we are creating different opportunities. It's the same thing on our team. We're creating regional positions for the agents who have been on our team for a long time. So they become the team leaders within the team. And that's how we've been able to grow so quickly. That's how we're able to have a lot of these relationships in these conversations, because people want to be a part of what we're doing. But it starts with the conversation. I dove into their systems. I see what they're lacking. I find out where their pain points are, and then I just try to come up with solutions for them. And you'd be surprised how many people are looking for an opportunity like that. So anyone who's listening and is wondering how to approach another team, it starts with the conversation and really understanding what their growth goals are. And that's why we now are able to expand in our market. And I think we'll have one hundred agents before the end of February of next year for partners just because we have the demand and we have the opportunity to scale.
[00:07:09] So that's been fun and that's awesome. Yeah, I think that because competition doesn't benefit anybody. Right. So if you can find a way to work to get work together, all is better.
[00:07:19] It's going to grow. And I grew up on sister teams because we don't want to hurt anyone's ego. Right. I call them sister team. We merged with the we align with and I do have ways to inject their business with the relationship that we have. But it's not the only reason that they are coming over. Right. Not for leads, only because usually the systems systems that they don't want to have to recreate and they want to just plug into our systems. So it's been really fun to do that and just reimagine what twenty, twenty one is going to look like. And I'm really excited.
[00:07:54] So talk about all these systems and I want to dig a little more into this whole data analyst part, because I think that's fascinating, but mortgage and title and being involved in ancillary businesses, how is that has that helped you recruit?
[00:08:09] Has that helped your I mean. Sure. Help your margins as well. If you could talk a little bit more to that.
[00:08:15] Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think anyone who's on this call either has a really has a big bag. Right. Everybody either wants to grow, run a really big business. And we know that our industry is really facing a lot of smaller margins. You know, it's like where's the profitability coming from? And for a long time, I was led to believe that mortgage or title and those ancillary services were not possible. But just by being in the right room and the right proximity with the right leaders, we've had an opportunity to now partner and open title and have our hand in mortgage. And it's been an amazing experience. Two things it's done. It's given us an opportunity to open the conversation with other high level teams as to what they're doing, and you'd be amazed how many of them have no idea that it is possible. And it has helped us with controlling, I would say, the experience for the consumer. And once you know that you.
[00:09:28] Can improve the process because you're a part of it, all part of it. Yeah, when you're all a part of it, the the process is you're able to improve the process. And I'm really excited about that. Our agents still, again, like anything, they expect the best service. And we want to make sure that our clients get the pass. I am still learning every day.
[00:09:53] That's the one thing you'll always hear from me. I keep it really funky and honest. And we are learning 20, 20 has taught us so much. And I'm fortunate that my husband and I started the mortgage venture right around twenty nineteen at the end of twenty nineteen and it was right before covid. But we were able to see, like I would say, the worst of what it could be like because there weren't enough underwriters, there weren't enough, you know, loan officers, people were bottlenecked with opportunities so they weren't changing companies. So I'll tell you, one of the number one challenges when you are opening, starting those ancillary services is recruiting.
[00:10:32] We have to recruit more officers. You have to recruit talent. And that that'll that'll teach you a lesson or two.
[00:10:40] You think you're good at growing a real estate team and then you do that again is like, OK, I think I'm getting my keep my teeth kicked in. It really worked out. We're really excited in the direction that we're going.
[00:10:52] It's taught us again that if we were built to build teams, we can build teams in multiple different businesses with ancillary services has been so much fun and it's been really great to really reimagine what the future looks like. And I would say if you are thinking about a JV or ancillary services, there's a couple of great companies out there. Just do your research, do your homework. Don't don't go with the first company that approaches you. If you're selling anywhere upward of one hundred and fifty to two hundred homes, you're definitely an amazing candidate for that. And, you know, it's it's something that most leaders who are doing high volume are taking a look at the conversations that I'm having. And it's it's refreshing to know that it is possible. And it's it's, um, it's profitable to all of it.
[00:11:46] To have a related question here is asking, what's your advice to the ancillary businesses to help support your business, your team, your growth?
[00:11:54] You know, I think that they're equally plugged into our business and they're a part of our culture. It's super important to make sure even if you aren't a part of the ancillary services and you're partnered with another vendor, they're a part of our culture. So our on our channel, when someone needs services, they're there in their in our part of the fact that we are part of our selection, we actually have a vendor channel, not only our relationship, but other vendor partners that we work with.
[00:12:30] They are in our channel. There's kind of like a shark tank style that they can respond and we hold them accountable. So our accountability with our lenders as well is the same as we would hold our agents accountable. We look at the pipeline, we do a pipeline review, we hold them accountable. We talk a little bit about where we're going as we actually measure them quarterly.
[00:12:56] How are they performing? Are they meeting our our expectations? And I would just say, Leslie, is just make sure that they're plugged in and that they're not just here to just take and that they're giving as well. And when I say giving and human resources, supporting your culture and really part of it because they are an extension of you, I hope that answers your question on that note.
[00:13:20] Yeah, drop it. Drop another comment. If not, let's say I think it's really cool. You have plugged to slack. I think any time you can get them buying into your systems and actually working out of where you work, that's it's always going to create a tighter relationship. The ball is going to get dropped. There's going to be more accountability.
[00:13:37] It's a good thing. So, yeah, our lenders are on our morning cuddles, our time on our morning huddles on Tuesdays. They come on and we talk title. I mean titles.
[00:13:46] Not the sexiest subject for partnership with the title company. That is fun. They're called Celebration Title and they make the entire experience really fun. And there are part of our on boarding as well.
[00:13:58] So because they were really innovative, great title company that has a lot of them. Yeah, I would say they're really good in marketing.
[00:14:06] So we leverage them with onboarding and education, teaching our agents. So it's been really fun to to be able to grow with our partners and them also be an extension of the onboarding, the 90 day check point, the team gathering's everything that.
[00:14:27] Do we include them, got it, and you were saying that part of your recruiting and if you're going to go and open the open the door for conversation with the with the team later, another market, you're saying that these ancillary services are actually helping you open those doors and have those conversations more easily?
[00:14:44] Yeah, because sometimes the conversation isn't, oh, my gosh. Like, you should join me. The conversation usually starts. Zach is like, tell me about your business. And a lot of times I'm like, oh, yeah, we're questioning him. I'm like, OK, so what do you guys do for mortgage? And they're like, nothing I get we do this, this or I've been wanting to, but I don't know how. OK, what are you doing for title. And then they're like, oh well nothing. I just know, I know the title Girl Down the Block and then I just start digging a little deeper.
[00:15:09] I'm like, what if I can show you that this is something that you can be a part of? What if based on the amount of business that they're doing, I know whether they are a good candidate, at least my world, to make that introduction. And then I say, look, I'd love to show you what's working for us. And a lot of times the question is like really like, is that something that I can do? And we just really introduce a relationship and introduce an opportunity. My biggest goal is that, you know, if you're out there building this business and you're out there selling one hundred fifty two hundred homes, three hundred homes, I just want you to know what the opportunities that you have in front of you, because I was blessed with that by some mentors of mine. So I've made a promise to bless it forward. So I lead into the conversation. I have people that right now, being a part of our worlds as far as from the real estate side is not the right thing to do for them, but. We were able to introduce we were able to show them the ancillary service. So for me, that is always a conversation starter and that's how we've been able to expand into other markets and build relationships and partner with people across the country.
[00:16:16] A lot of people, a lot of team leaders out there, they want to get into that. They want to figure it out. And you're able to provide that value.
[00:16:23] Yeah, I mean, and it's everything's on the up and up and it's just making sure that they're a good fit that they can hire for. They can have the right positions for it and we give them the roadmap. And that is why, again, we we have been able to grow into the future.
[00:16:37] Look at what twenty, twenty one looks like with massive scale and extend into other markets that we never even imagined we can do. So. Ancillary services have been great. I love them. We had the courage to do it and it's exciting.
[00:16:56] So Saurus, switch gears a little bit here. Tell me a little more about this data analyst. Is is he actually you said he's analyzing all of these agents data points across what the 60 or so agents that you have and I mean full on running statistics and stuff. I mean, what all is he doing?
[00:17:15] Yeah. So Eric came on to our team during the pandemic. I actually met him. This is so crazy. I met him on the beach. Yeah. So but not like that. He we were one of our agents came out to meet us and she brought him and we were just talking and I'm very outgoing and me I'm like, hey, what do you do for a living? And you know, we're just talking.
[00:17:40] And he was telling me he worked for large hotel as a consultant for large hotels, Marriott, Hard Rock, Cafe, Rock, other companies.
[00:17:48] And they would analyze the behavior of the agents who would upset. Well, why can some people upscale penthouse y how can they get them into the suite? And just the behavior of the revenue driving factors that, you know, top employees or top salespeople would do. And with the hotel industry, unfortunately, taking a hit during covid and I just started saying, what else do you do when he started telling me what he does was like, you know what, I actually have an account that our conversion has to be a certain metrics. And I am looking for someone like you to help me measure our agents. But like, I would like a like a data geeky person that just loves this. And that's not me. But I know how to self. I know how to sell something to somebody. But I need to be able to track this behavior, understand and make sure that we are meeting these conversion metrics. Where can I find someone like you? And he told me what kind of degree it was. It was like, oh, mathematician, algorithm, architect out of all this stuff. And that's way over my head. That's for you smart people over there.
[00:18:57] But for me, I knew he had the qualities of what I was looking for and I was on the verge of opening up my Issei department. And I knew I needed someone that really was obsessive with the data. I had the sales team and I needed the person that was obsessed with the data. And because the hotel industry was taking a hit, I use that as an opportunity. And I was like, well, how's everything at your current employer and would you be willing to be a consultant? And this is when we were obviously kicking off, relaunching Zillow offers, relaunching the flex account, some other things that we we are a part of. And I was. Really focused on finding someone that had a specific DNA and this person was right in front of me, so when I approached him about consulting, I just want to head and say, why don't I just make this guy a job offer? He wasn't out of work, but I just felt like it was just the right timing. I shared what our vision was. This was someone that had tremendous experience in helping Fortune 500 companies and analyzing their behavior. I said, I want that person on my team. I want that person on my team. This is going to help me scale into the future. We built our Issei division within 60 days with the information that we had analyzed and what we were looking to measure. And instead of calling them ISA's, we call them IPAs Inside Performance Advisors and those inside performance advisors basically play an ambassador for the consumer and also our agents and their their working side by side with them. Right. And then he measures them and measures our agents.
[00:20:33] And then we pretty much are creating the same avatar of that successful agent, and that's how we're hiring. So video is a big thing for us. And we've analyzed all the agents who joined us that came on through our new hiring process have outperformed the agents who did not come through us with that hiring process. So we archaia, I don't know if anyone's mentioned it.
[00:20:57] Well, while they were on here, I didn't make it up. I work here and I'd be more than happy to share what that looks like. But Sparke higher. And that's thanks to Kyle. So, you know, I didn't come up with that on my own. I think Kyle told me about it and we implemented it. But in order to join our team, you must submit your video interview and go through the process. And what we have found is the agents who do video tend to do better on our team and they are willing to then do all the things that we tell them to do during our onboarding. Like every agent is required to send a video text after it comes in. Our IPAs are required to do a video introduction with the agent on the thread in the chat when they're doing a warm transfer or when they're setting up an agent for an appointment, which is then inspiring the other eight, the agent. And that's actually part of our standards that they have to respond back via video. So what we found is this new hiring process. And again, this is the behavior that he measures.
[00:21:56] Everything that we do, we're looking like what what is the what are the habits that we're seeing that these agents are doing that the ones who aren't having success on our team? We're not as much success.
[00:22:08] And those are things like sending video messages. I mean, what what are do you have some examples of what those things are in your experience of what he measures?
[00:22:18] Yeah, he measures a lot of data points. He measures how many like John Sharp, like as my coach. So like, how many tests are they doing? Four to one text messages to one call. And he's literally in because we use Boomtown and obviously Sisu right now and seeing whose notes are accurate, I mean, who's updating their notes within the first hour. Again, those those traits are the things that he's measuring, who's doing open houses, who's doing video text, and then he literally can show you this data. And I'd be more than happy to have him send you that information.
[00:22:51] Zach, with all the world to bring back and show what he measured, one data nerd to another data nerd, I would love to see it.
[00:23:00] Also measure is who's good with online Legian and who's better with referrals? Who's who's better with face to face, who's better with higher price points? Who's better with bilingual agents? I mean, bilingual clients.
[00:23:13] So because in central Florida we have a very heavy, predominantly Hispanic market, we we want to make sure that the right agent is servicing of the preferred language that a consumer might want. So we look at all of that. And Eric's job is just to get just really pinpoint those behavioral data points that will help us improve and really start building that avatar of the agent that we want to be in business with and that it's been really fun.
[00:23:47] Yeah, no, I'm I'm I'm wondering why I haven't talked with Eric Monticello's right up my alley, but yeah, there's so much data out there, so much in your CRM. There's so much if you run into Sisu you've got so much and Sisu and it can get overwhelming. But I think there are a few key data points you can really hone in on. The source conversion is one of them. I like to say that Sisu kind of put some of those key metrics a little more front and center for you. If you don't have an Eric that's going to come in and run all these crazy programs, it gets your data.
[00:24:17] So, yeah, I mean, I'm kind of like and the topic was think big. I'm always thinking differently. Right? I think more think differently. Like I have a fun coordinator now. Her job is to do nothing but put a smile on our agents face so our clients like that's her only job is to. Make everyone feel warm and fuzzy, like I'm willing to make investments in my business with the things that matter the most, if I can understand what the behaviors are and I can understand, like, you know, what's working for our agents to get them out the gate swinging, get them to have success as quickly as possible and get them going and build them, build the habits that they need to have and then how do we keep them happy.
[00:25:01] So I'm all for investing in keeping my agents happy, keeping my clients happy, showing them that they matter.
[00:25:08] What are we doing for them on their anniversary? What are we doing when they start embracing video and really start doing the things that we encourage them to do? I just launched for our agents. We did a challenge on Sisu, who had the most Facebook lives, who had the most videos, who's doing the things that we asked them to do and implementing them. And I just launched one of my agents, her own podcast. That was our gift to her. She won the challenge.
[00:25:33] She did a contest and the winner got to launch their own podcast.
[00:25:38] Yep. We paid for the digital. We paid for the for the intro. We paid for the whole set up. And that was one of the that was our way of of saying.
[00:25:47] So she had she had a couple of different choices and she chose the most, I think the smartest one, which is an asset that will outlive just the competition. And now now we have three to four other agents who are now striving to win that as well broadcast. They want to launch their own podcast.
[00:26:08] They want to launch their own show. I think hers is called Live with Live. I was the first guest on it and she's interviewing small businesses. She's doing all this stuff and now she's really embracing it and she is actually inspiring the agents on our team to do the same. So all those agents who used to be afraid of video, they're like, oh, my gosh, look at Olivia. She's crushing it. And, you know, Danny, starting Hustle of the Day, you know, his thing is, again, he's documenting his daily habits. So it's really fun when I have my more seasoned agents say a new age is smoking just like I need I need this. I need to step up my game. And it's really fun to see them all inspiring each other, but that they're using the challenges to really move their business forward by really positioning themselves as experts and leaders. So I'm really excited that Sisu was a part of that challenge and inspired us to reward them not just on closings or listings. It's rewarding them on the activities that we truly believe will help them become a better agent and build a business that I would say is around their authority that they're building.
[00:27:14] Yeah, that's why I mean, that's why the challenges are there and sees you other than they're just fine. But you can match something that, you know, needs to happen in this scenario. You knew that Facebook what was the Facebook lives was one of the main was the metric.
[00:27:29] You know, it's funny when you get new agents that because we love new agents, one of the things that I do, I do an orientation in my first day that I work with them. I work on mindset, I work on mindset and fear. And I work on what's what's what's going to get in the way. And I'm building up this fear mindset, overcoming fear mindset, because at the end of the day, at the end of the class, I'm going to have them do a video and you should see how they are freaking out over this video. So from day one, we're inspiring them to do video. So the video is kind of like they don't find out about it until the end, because one of the things I say is what's going to get in the way, right? What's going to get in the way of you having a thriving real estate career. So then once we set up that mindset that they are going to do video and they have to overcome that fear because a lot of them have the fear video. Next thing you know, they do their first video. They're feeling good about it, but we remind them that is a standard on our team. So that's why video is something that we always reward on our team, because it is part of who we are as a team and put yourself out there, too, and to overcome that fear.
[00:28:35] And it's just it's it's no different than prospecting, right? A lot of people get in. They have fear of picking up the phone. And that's kind of like the old thing was getting over that. Not that prospecting is old, but, you know, getting over that fear of making those phone calls. Well, now it's getting and putting yourself out there on social, which is something that I love, that you push that with a contest. I love that it was exponential, that after the contest, it's going to be one step further. Now we're going to launch podcast for you. Right. Which is even more putting yourself out there. Yep. Yep. It's book.
[00:29:08] And I want them to do things that are going to really outlive just even the team. Like, I want it I want it to be something that they take with them.
[00:29:15] And obviously, because we we we offer a growth roadmap on our team because we probably will say we want them about a year and a half to two years if we can. And then we say, go, go be a team leader yourself, we'll help you because we're so it's in our.
[00:29:32] But it's it's fun to watch them develop their. Brand, and it's fun to watch them grow and it's fun for them to start thinking big. So we're like by the time you graduate from being with us, we want you to be ready to lead other people. So that's one of the things that we encourage all along.
[00:29:51] Well, Veronica, it's been awesome talking with you. Anyone who has comments when we only got a a little little bit of time left. But anything you want to leave us with, Veronica?
[00:30:02] No, I'm I'm just excited to see what we can do in twenty twenty one together with Sisu and all the cool things. I appreciate you guys putting so many amazing people together. And like I said, selfishly, I want to learn from them. So I'm going to go back and watch this one.
[00:30:17] There's a lot of good sessions, a lot of good content here. I am going to let you go here. Veronica, thanks for hopping on. I'll see you soon.
