I am honoured to receive the 2014 Pinnacle Award for Real Estate Entrepreneurship presented by Keller Williams. The Pinnacle Award was established to recognize agents who have built exceptionally strong businesses. They asked me to answer the questions poised below. Thank-you.
1. What has been the key to your continued success?
Exceptional focus and hard work. I love working in real estate and I don’t ever rest on my laurels. Instead, I keep looking at initiatives and opportunities that will allow us to provide greater added value services to our clients and friends. The real estate business is changing and I am changing with it, which keeps it exciting and fun. I am focused on providing exceptional real estate services for each and every client, and I work hard to ensure we do just that. I consistently strive to be better and better.
2. What keeps you motivated?
I think motivation comes from within. I am driven to always reach higher, to set goals and to attain them. I continually reflect on how I can provide better services for all my clients and friends. I have also learnt that I need to spend most of my working hours involved in areas of the business I enjoy, to ensure my excitement and enthusiasm continues. The aspects of the business that I am not so passionate for, I delegate to other members of my organization. In essence this means that I look forward to every work day.
3. How do you keep your team motivated?
At Team McDadi, we undertake a number of key strategies to ensure the team is motivated. We meet weekly as a group for training seminars and discussions. We motivate each other and we discuss new strategies for improving our business. This is the time for brainstorming together any issues that may have arisen—this is very beneficial as we all have different areas of strength. Also, I do instill goal setting for both individuals and for the team as a whole. We strive high, but realistically, and when the goal is reached, the team is rewarded with vacations and such. In fact, as I write this article, the team and I are in Las Vegas. Lastly, the team is motivated because I firmly believe in taking a holistic approach to life and business, meaning I value nutrition, exercise, mental wellbeing, etc. Our team is motivated and can work hard because we feel healthy, happy and balanced.
4. What’s one thing you do every day in your business that sets you apart from the competition?
Team McDadi has developed a comprehensive business model. We have brought all required real estate business pieces in-house, giving us complete control. We have full-time stagers (including a 6,000 square- foot warehouse that is stocked with furniture and accessories), a full-time home inspector, a full-time marketing team (that includes two graphic artists, a photographer and videographer), as well as a full-time social media specialist. Careful thought has gone into every detail of our business model. As well, Team McDadi is situated in our own centrally-located, three-storey office building. To further enrich our clients’ dealings with Team McDadi, this central hub houses our entire staff, and includes individual offices as well as two board rooms, including a 40-person board room. Having everything in-house gives us the ability to manage our business completely, on our time and on our terms.
5. What advice do you have for new agents looking to build their business?
To be successful in real estate, all professionals should be self-motivated. It is a challenging business that requires a lot of focus and commitment. You should love what you do and you should be fully committed to work hard for each and every client. It is important, early on, to find the areas of business that you are passionate about. This will be different for each individual; it could be working on expired listings, or for sale by owners, or door knocking, or farming etc. Once you determine where you will focus, find the industry leaders in that part of the business and emulate them (keeping in mind you want to make it your own mark).