The Exact 3-Part System We Use to Scale Real Estate Teams Fast with Brooke Riecke

[00:00:00] Brooke: the improvement is a signal of strength and not failure. I think we sometimes think about, oh, if I have to improve something, I'm failing.

[00:00:07] Brooke: But that's totally the opposite. You're showing strength to grow and that feedback's really what's gonna fuel that power behind it. So if you really want a truly high performing team. Growth needs to be part of your team's. DNA.

[00:00:26] Lauren: All right, let's get real for a moment. If your real estate team isn't scaling the way you envisioned it is time to take a step back and reflect. Are you leveraging the right systems? Are your processes actually built for scale? And most importantly, do you have the right people in place driving those systems?

[00:00:46] Lauren: If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or constantly in firefighting mode, this episode is for you. And today we're gonna be diving into the exact framework we use to scale teams through the power of systems, processes, and the right people.

[00:00:59] Lauren: All right. Welcome back to the Reside podcast. I am Lauren Holland, the director of Team Operations at Reside, and today is a special one because I get to introduce somebody who is not just brilliant in the real estate operations space, but someone that I've had the privilege to hire work alongside in the past, onboard and now.

[00:01:22] Lauren: Get to build alongside something really cool. So Brooke, Ricky is here. She is our newest client success powerhouse, and she brings a ton of, , experience in the operations, leadership and coaching real estate teams through scale. So Brooke, thank you so much for joining today.

[00:01:41] Brooke: Thank you, Lauren. This is my podcast debut, so I'm very excited to be here today.

[00:01:45] Brooke: Full circle to be here with you right now. You and I have worked together in different lanes of the real estate world together for years now, and I consider you a friend in my personal life. So now being able to build something together at Reside is something that's really special to me. it's just been such a wonderful, like rewarding start to reside already, and it's been less than 60 days.

[00:02:08] Brooke: just think there's so much opportunity in real estate operations when you're focusing on the right things. And I'm really just excited to be here today and share that for our teams.

[00:02:18] Lauren: Awesome. Well, we're really glad that you're here. And Brooke, before we get started, , I really wanted to talk about the journey of how you got here and our journey of how we hired for this position because, , I coach a lot of real estate teams and that includes team leaders.

[00:02:33] Lauren: And, , their admins. And sometimes, you know, , I talk one-on-one with agents to really build production and I just wanted to share a story that, I think answers a lot of questions that team leaders have. So, , my mission and the mission of my department is to really help real estate teams scale in a way that creates more opportunity for the people around them.

[00:02:54] Lauren: you know, that's what expansion's really about. So, , I am eight months pregnant right now, having a baby, my first baby any day. , So we needed to hire somebody. to support all of our teams, but, , really not just to offload those tasks to, , what I was looking for, I got really clear with myself is I needed someone who could take ownership, who could go deeper than I could in training and onboarding and who would raise the bar in client success.

[00:03:19] Lauren: So, , as I said, for those you know, that are looking to make your next hire. I got really clear, I said to myself, and you have to get really honest and it's a hard journey and process because you have to look at, you know, your failures or your celebrations or you know, I asked myself what was lacking?

[00:03:38] Lauren: Where are we falling short, and what kind of person would push this forward? And I was talking with Nick McLean. I don't know, this might have been back in January or February, and he goes, Lauren, hire someone that's better than you. He goes, it's gonna create opportunities for you in the future, and it's also going to obviously create opportunities for this person that's going to step into this role.

[00:03:57] Lauren: , And you always know that in the back of your head and you're like, Ooh, okay, who is that person gonna be? 'cause you take a lot of pride in ownership in your role, right? I was like, all right, who's this person that's gonna push this, forward? And you know, also. Make our founders proud. So that was a big deal.

[00:04:12] Lauren: , So what I personally did is, , I started with a job description. I said, alright, what am I already doing? What are some things that I wanted to offload? I always talk to my coaching clients about what's your not to-do list? Like what are things I just don't bring you energy that you might not be really good at.

[00:04:29] Lauren: , That's kind of sucking the life out of you to be honest. And I think that's okay to get really honest with yourself. , And I didn't, wait until I was drowning. You know, it was a really organic conversation because, you know, stepping out for a few months on this new, exciting journey, , it was fitting because, you know, you onboarding so many teams it was the right time to bring somebody else on.

[00:04:49] Lauren: So, , I created the job description. I created a 30, 60, 90 day training plan. , And I made space before the pain got worse. we went through the interview process and , that's when Brooke reached out. It was just a sign from the universe and we talked, we connected, and within a few weeks we were partnering to build out.

[00:05:10] Lauren: New systems, , , a tech beta rollout and an entirely revamped onboarding experience for new clients. So I just wanna say, I had a coaching call last week with a team and they were like, you know, we're not sure if this is the right fit and they're not doing X, Y, z. And I, I stopped myself and I said, okay, let's get really clear.

[00:05:30] Lauren: What did the training look like? And they said, well, we haven't really put a lot of time in. And I said, okay. That might be the issue. Let's start there. I'm not saying this is not the right person, however, let's maybe start and like dial back the pages of. What did the, welcoming look like? was there an HR process?

[00:05:48] Lauren: they have a job description? were you super clear on what this role looked like? Or when they joined, did you switch it up on them? Because Brooke, we'll get into your experience, but we've been in roles like that before. Yes,

[00:06:00] Brooke: absolutely. We were very adaptable, I will say.

[00:06:02] Lauren: Yeah. So like, did you set this person up for success is always, it's gonna be a self-reflection of leadership.

[00:06:08] Lauren: So, , all that to say is Brooke has been with us for less than 50 days, and it feels like she's been here for six months. You know, and I don't just say that to brag on her. I am, She exceeded expectations, taken full ownership of her lane and already made an a massive impact. So I share that because that is the power of clarity when hiring.

[00:06:27] Lauren: And I have a lot of teens ask me. Is this the right fit or I'm hiring my new admin. So Brooke, we're gonna talk a lot about that. , So if you're a team leader listening and you're saying, I don't have time to train someone, I'm going to lovingly call you out. Okay? You don't have a time management problem.

[00:06:43] Lauren: You have a time choice problem. So when you stop making excuses and start getting really intentional, the right people will rise. And Brooke, you are living proof of that.

[00:06:53] Brooke: Well, thank you Lauren, and really that, honestly means so much, , coming for you especially, and it really is true. Coming into this role with that level of clarity has made all the difference for me.

[00:07:04] Brooke: there's been times in my career where I've been in roles or with companies where there wasn't a clear roadmap of what success looked like, so I had to figure it out as I went. And while I eventually found my way into the role I love and that, that role that brings me that fulfillment and that joy.

[00:07:20] Brooke: And I've, paved my own way and I've learned those skills. I know I could have gotten here a lot sooner with that. Right? Guidance. So that's what was so important from day one with Reside, that I had that roadmap. I didn't have to guess what success looked like. I knew what great meant in this role, not just what good or Okay, enough meant.

[00:07:38] Brooke: It was exactly this, exactly how you win your role, and I knew how to get there. So that really gave me that confidence to take ownership quickly, to speak up when I had questions, start solving those problems instead of waiting for additional direction. And it's something I tell leaders all the time is clarity isn't just helpful, it's, empowering.

[00:07:57] Brooke: And when people know what winning looks like, that's where you get that clarity and they're so, so much more likely to rise to that occasion without your guidance. I felt that here at Reside a lot. You know, from the beginning I felt trusted, equipped, expected to lead, and that's exactly what motivated me to step fully into the role from day one.

[00:08:18] Brooke: Seeing that from others as well, seeing that from the culture around me and seeing everybody's clarity and direction that also inspired me and to just get moving, hit the ground running with Reside.

[00:08:27] Lauren: Awesome. I'm always talking with my ops team about leadership is really dang hard, and I'm sure you all can relate.

[00:08:32] Lauren: It's, when you turn the phone off at night and you know this agent really needs help writing a contract and you feel like you're the one who steps in. But, It's just setting boundaries. So we're gonna dive into more of what looks like to hire the right person. So if you are in that struggle bus, don't worry.

[00:08:48] Lauren: We are going to talk about that. Or how to even get your admin reengaged. 'cause they might not be the wrong person. It's just resetting expectations to. Spring clarity and consistency along the way. So. Alright, what I really wanna talk about today is the importance of systems. So they are obviously, as you and I both know from our backgrounds, the, , unsung hero of real estate growth.

[00:09:11] Lauren: So, Brooke, , please tell us why systems are absolutely non-negotiable if you want to scale your real estate team or your business in general.

[00:09:20] Brooke: Your systems or your, tools, I like to call it, are what allow you to really scale Without that chaos, they're replacing that memory and firefighting with predictability and consistency.

[00:09:32] Brooke: And in a business that's as fast moving as real estate, that is everything. So when you're operating, you know, without systems, everything's gonna feel reactive and not proactive. You're constantly solving the same problems. You're repeating yourself. Worse, you're, dropping the ball and some of those are glass balls and they're not coming back up, unfortunately.

[00:09:51] Brooke: So when those systems are in place, you are freeing up your brain power for that strategy, not survival. You're in that thrive mode. You start thinking long term, not about just what's on fire today, what do I have to put out? Who is my problem child today, problem? not about having the tools, it's about having the right tools in place for your business and using them with that intention.

[00:10:13] Brooke: Your tool should be doing your heavy lifting for you. , You know, earlier in my career, , I was juggling dozens of transactions and listings for five different teams across the country, and I was constantly putting out fires because we didn't have clear systems and I didn't have a clear system for myself.

[00:10:29] Brooke: So I was completely unorganized and stressed out and feeling overwhelmed and there's not enough time in the day and waking up early at 3:00 AM to try to get things done and going to bed, you know, late to try to get things done. I had to take a step back and once I better understood our systems, how to utilize them to their max capability, how they were gonna affect our agents, that shift from that chaos to predictability was an absolute game changer for me, not only for me, for our agents, and overall for our clients' experience.

[00:10:57] Brooke: I had a much smoother experience with us once we got really clear of what that process and system would look like.

[00:11:03] Lauren: Yeah. I'm glad that you highlighted the, time management piece of it. So, , in our, Monday leadership calls with John Shela, John talks a lot about time management versus time choice.

[00:11:15] Lauren: So it's like, right, where are you actually choosing to spend your time? So it's the same thing going back to training. It's like, all right, , chasing your shiny object. , Syndrome. , It's are you just causing distractions for yourself so you don't actually have to face the work? Because work works and we know what that looks like, and getting back to the basics is a really good thing.

[00:11:33] Lauren: So, , I mean, what I. Does your calendar look like? And if you're ever like, I really don't have any time. We all have 24 hours in a day. And so we always ask ourselves, how does one person accomplish more than another? You know? , And so if you're in that position, go back and do an audit of your calendar, and if you don't, you're not using your calendar.

[00:11:51] Lauren: What are you doing? Hey, how are you tracking your appointments? Do you find yourself in that chaos? , Are you missing appointments? , Are you not hopping on a zoom call with your coach? Like we all experience that 'cause we're always just in that constant, period of chaos, you know?

[00:12:05] Brooke: Absolutely. I always think about that one thing. What's that one thing that you could do today that's going to. relieve the stress of everything else. So for example, with your calendar, if you just sat down and you got really granular with your calendar, would that fix all your problems?

[00:12:20] Brooke: Where, like you said, you're missing meetings with your coaches, you're missing trainings, you feel all off would, taking that 10 minutes to get really granular with your calendar, relieve all that stress, then why not do it?

[00:12:31] Lauren: Well, Sunni when I was like, okay, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed today. 'cause you can be very open and you should be very open and honest, right?

[00:12:38] Lauren: If I have any admins listening to this call or agents. , And he was like, all right, well, like, how are you gonna win the day today? And this is like, early in the morning. And so I listed all my work stuff. He goes, all right, like, what about personal? Like, or what are you gonna eat? when are you gonna drink water?

[00:12:51] Lauren: And I go, oh. Okay, so I just started listing that all down. And like, if you're not taking breaks during the day or like fueling yourself, how are you gonna pour back into other people if you're not pouring into yourself? So, , circling back into systems, Brooke, what are some examples of that we could get dialed into?

[00:13:06] Brooke: Absolutely. I think that, you know, CRMs a perfect example. So let's say you have the best one on the market, the most expensive, it works the best. Highest conversion rates, you know, yada, yada, yada. But if no one logs in, it's just an expensive address book, you're wasting money. training and adoption is so important is what's gonna turn systems into actual solutions.

[00:13:27] Brooke: So for example, you know, some of the core systems might be lead routing and follow up flows inside your CRM. If no one's reaching out, nurturing your leads, they're gonna slip through the cracks. Onboarding playbooks for agents and admin. So your hires are starting with that clarity, like I have, you know, with Reside, like we were talking about your financial dashboards as a leader in operations, can you actually see where your team's money is going and how the team is performing around that?

[00:13:53] Brooke: I think where teams go wrong sometimes is that they're trying to buy their way out of that operational pain. They invest in that software before they've identified the real workflow issue. You know, does this sound familiar? Sometimes you know, you or your team leader, maybe you go to an event or a conference and you come back with this great new tool that is.

[00:14:12] Brooke: It's just a thousand dollars a month, it's gonna solve all of your lead generation issues. , But you set it up and then you walk away and no one's gonna own it at all. That is why it's so important to have that driver. Someone has to be the champion. Someone has to update it.

[00:14:27] Brooke: Someone has to hold the people accountable to using it. And that's where operations come in. So if you're feeling overwhelmed or really unsure where to start, I think a, a quick win that you could take action with already is pick one broken process this week. Maybe that is a lead assignment. Maybe that's agent onboarding, the transaction handoff process and map that out visually.

[00:14:50] Brooke: From there. You wanna start small. What is one thing that you can do that's gonna move that needle forward today? Even if it's something very, very, very small, you wanna, at least it's something, it's better than what you were doing before, which was nothing. Mm-hmm. Even starting with a checklist, a Google Docs or something is way better than trying to scale and chaos.

[00:15:07] Brooke: The goal really isn't perfection, it's just that progress with clarity.

[00:15:12] Lauren: Brooke, that's so good. Okay. So I just wanna highlight the three places that we could start with. So, , you said lead routing and follow up inside of your CRM, , onboarding, , playbooks for agents and staff, , and then financial dashboards so you can see where everything is going.

[00:15:29] Lauren: So for example, if I'm asking you, Brooke, so, okay, how many. Files, do you have under contract right now? How many pendings do you have? And you're like, Hmm, I don't know.

[00:15:40] Lauren: so what I would say is let's dial back, let's go into your, where are you tracking these things? , A pen and paper. Okay. Let's get that onto at least a spreadsheet. You don't have to go buy the fancy tools, , or anything. To start. Let's get clarity. Use ai, you know, have an intake form if you have G Suite or even Outlook has forms, you know, create a process that is scalable, even if you're a solo agent that is looking to grow your team.

[00:16:04] Lauren: Start creating these scalable processes now so you don't have to, Build the plane while you're flying it. Sometimes that does happen, especially with real estate teams and that is also okay. But, , just start somewhere. Start with a spreadsheet.

[00:16:16] Brooke: Eventually to let more passengers on your, plane has to be built.

[00:16:20] Brooke: it works for a minute, but you have to start thinking about scalability you

[00:16:24] Lauren: do, which goes into our next segment, and that is optimizing processes. So let's, , talk about that. Systems are your tools, processes are your playbook. , Brooke, tell us more. How do we optimize? Yeah.

[00:16:36] Brooke: Totally. I think effective processes need to be clear.

[00:16:40] Brooke: They need to be documented, and they need to be accessible. And here's how you know you have process problem. Tell me if this sounds familiar. One, you're constantly answering the same questions over and over again. Number two, new hires are taking way too long to ramp up. Or number three, no one knows where to find the right way to do things.

[00:17:00] Brooke: Does that sound familiar to anybody?

[00:17:01] Lauren: Yep. Yep. And so that brings me to, Document everything. Everybody document everything. Even if it seems really, , silly. You wanna a process for everything because then you can also look back at what's working. , Admins on this call use ai, Chachi, pt, , Google the answer. , Go put your processes in and have it, write it down.

[00:17:21] Lauren: Right? , Utilize the technology that's at the forefront, like we are at the forefront of your industry. And if you're not using ai. You're behind. Is that fair to

[00:17:31] Brooke: say? It is very fair to say. Plus processes should evolve over time. You need to be reviewing them often. What worked last quarter might not work today, especially in a fast moving industry like ours.

[00:17:42] Brooke: Or if you're in a market that has, you know, strong seasonality, your processes or progress might not be the exact same. Of COVID, for example. We were not expecting that to happen, and all of a sudden our industry changed in a day and everyone had to get really granular with their processes and pivot into something that would fulfill our client's needs in that market.

[00:18:05] Brooke: And your processes don't have to be, you know, super complicated to be effective. , Some tactical tips that you can take today to start creating something would be, you know, you can use tools like Loom. Vimeo Zoom, , record those training videos for those like repeat questions or those like data minutes that you have every single day.

[00:18:24] Brooke: And some of those , programs, they have a transcript that comes along with it. You take that transcript, throw it in the chat, g pt, my best friend, and have it create your process for you. And then you can store that, you know, somewhere in like a central hub, rather it's Google Drive notion, whatever you might be using.

[00:18:41] Brooke: So everyone knows exactly where to look. Always, always, always, it's the most important thing, include who is responsible for each step. Ownership is what's gonna turn that list into real accountability. You know, one of the biggest mindset shifts I've had as an operator is that I stopped thinking of documentation as extra work, and I started seeing it as an investment in my future time.

[00:19:03] Brooke: Because every time I document a process, once I'm saving myself hours later, and now I have a visual for making it more effective, and more importantly, I empower someone else to run with it, so then I can move forward with my own opportunities. So really it comes down to, two large purposes.

[00:19:19] Brooke: One, you are creating that process to train somebody else. So then you have that at your fingertips and you can move on to your next opportunity within the team and grow. And you don't have to create a playbook because it's right there for you. You already have it. And I think another huge important part of documenting your process is having that clarity or getting really granular.

[00:19:38] Brooke: I challenge operations all the time to take their checklist or their tasks or daily items and get really small with it. Take every single task and say, what's the what? What am I doing? Who owns this? How is this process working? What's the why behind it? Why am I doing this? Why is this important? And. If you're not sure, that is a clarity problem that you need to understand how to move forward.

[00:20:03] Brooke: And then as you move forward, you can see it's all right now, right there, you can look at it. How can I make this more effective? Can I automate something? Can I leverage it to chat GPT? Can I leverage to somebody else? Can I. Take something out, out. Is this even necessary anymore with the market we're in or with what we're doing right now?

[00:20:21] Brooke: Or can I add something? Is there something that's missing here that would just make that client or that agent experience that much better?

[00:20:27] Lauren: Yeah, so what we're saying is, , getting super clear on your processes, your mission and growth. Statement, your standards and expectations for your team. , Because these give people something to refer back to and help remove those bottlenecks.

[00:20:42] Lauren: let's say agent onboarding, you're bringing in a new agent to the team, you're new to recruiting, and you're like, okay, what's the next step? It's, . What's the plan for when they first start? You know, do you have a agent agreement? , How do the leads work? , What does the compensation plan look like?

[00:20:58] Lauren: That's usually discussed in the recruiting process, however, do you have a form that they're gonna formally sign? , And then, , going back into what Brooke was saying about creating videos is like when people say, I don't have time for this, or. I don't have time to train. It's usually, , I don't want to.

[00:21:15] Lauren: However, just start thinking and scalability of, okay, what videos do I need to record? If it's so loom, if you want the paid for or the free version.

[00:21:24] Lauren: You have a limited amount of videos that you can, , record and it's, , under five minutes. If you wanna go over five minutes, just use a zoom like we're talking on right now. Hit record and then save that to your computer and upload it to some kind of system. You don't have to go get , a learning management system.

[00:21:39] Lauren: You can upload it to Google Drive or whatever folder filing system. That'll work. Work. And then have a, welcome to the team. You know, what does it look like to be on your team? what does the culture look like, et cetera. So, , document everything. Leverage your time. If you're repeating yourself through videos, teach them once, do a live training, and then refer them back to the video if they're still not getting it.

[00:22:01] Lauren: , All right. So, now the true is a people, 'cause I think this is the perfect segue into that.

[00:22:06] Brooke: Absolutely.

[00:22:07] Lauren: Because even the best systems won't save you if the wrong person is running them. And Brooke, you said it, a few segments ago, , , set it and forget it. A lot of times we set things and forget them.

[00:22:17] Lauren: So if we're not auditing our systems, , we could be losing business. So, ,

[00:22:21] Brooke: tell

[00:22:22] Lauren: us about that.,

[00:22:22] Brooke: Yeah, so you really want those team members who are not just in the role. They're not just taking the check, but they're really owning the role. They're aligned with you, they're aligned with the team, they're empowered, and they're contributing that real value.

[00:22:37] Brooke: So what ownership really looks like is, not waiting for tasks, bringing solutions and being forefront about those, knowing your lane., How to run it and raising those red flags early when something's off because you just know your role so dang well that you know when something is off with it., And then looking, you know, not really looking for micromanagement, but looking to your team leader for that clarity and trust.

[00:23:00] Brooke: Mm-hmm. And I think that's really what makes,, you so, valuable within your role and how you earn that to keep moving forward and creating opportunities for yourself.

[00:23:07] Lauren: Yeah, and I can't remember which book this is from. It might be Unreasonable Hospitality. There's so many books out there that we've read, but it's all replaceable.

[00:23:18] Lauren: Right. And I don't say that in a negative connotation. You wanna actually make yourself replace. Yeah. To create future opportunities for yourself. So like Brooke, if I'm talking to you, I'm like, okay, yeah, you make yourself replaceable in this role, not because we're trying like get rid of you. Yeah. Because you can keep giving yourself a growth opportunity.

[00:23:37] Lauren: and this is where I love the three to one rule. Are they producing at least three times that you are paying them? If not, you know, something's off.

[00:23:46] Lauren: , Either an expectations or execution.

[00:23:49] Brooke: Exactly. And sometimes , it's not a hiring issue, it's a leadership issue, and people can't really step into their ownership if they've never been given that blueprint to win, like I talked about earlier, within earlier my career. Yeah. I could have gotten. To where I wanted to be at a lot sooner had I had that clarity.

[00:24:08] Brooke: So if you want someone to truly own the role,, here's exactly how you need to set them up. One, start with a clear job description so they know exactly what success looks like when they know of your expectations.

[00:24:19] Lauren: Mm-hmm. Two, you

[00:24:20] Brooke: wanna give them a 30, 60, 90 day plan with defined outcomes, not just tasks you wanna have.

[00:24:25] Brooke: Here's the goal, here's how we're measuring it, and here's the outcome of this. You wanna create your regular check-ins where you know your people can grow, they can stretch, they can start stepping into the leadership and you can get that feedback., And, say this from personal experience. You know, when I came into reside, I was handed that roadmap, I was handed all that clarity, and that just gave me so much confidence to move fast, to make decisions and deliver that value from day one.

[00:24:51] Brooke: Again, clarity isn't just kind, it's truly empowering.

[00:24:55] Lauren: And something I always say is know the numbers. I think we talked about that. I'm asking you, how many pendings do you have, how many closings do you have this month? it's really powerful having that data. , And especially if you're having a agent one-on-one and you're like, how do I approach this?

[00:25:08] Lauren: Because, , m and I have talked about this in previous podcasts, but , a lot of the time we'll hear my agents are , lazy or they're not doing it. They don't want it. We can't want something more for somebody., Than they want it themselves. So absolutely numbers. Take the emotion away from that conversation because if you're presenting that data.

[00:25:26] Lauren: Hey, what got in the way this week? Like, how are you doing? Just coming from curiosity and that love and support, there is a way to have that conversation without coming down on them. It just depends on the personality. Some people truly do need that. Like, you're not doing it X, Y, Z, and that's okay. Just like know your team, let's really shift into that measurement piece, Brooke. , What should teams be tracking to know if their systems and people are working?

[00:25:50] Brooke: You have to start with the end in mind, in my opinion. So what does success actually look like for this role or for this system? What's your end goal? From there, you wanna track what truly matters.

[00:26:01] Brooke: , Some, key metrics I think that I regularly focus on with my clients is agent activity and follow up inside CRM. You know, we've mentioned it, but our leads being nurtured or are they just falling through the grass? That's money just going down the drain for you. Your cost per lead and your ROI by your marketing source,, where's your budget working the hardest and is it giving you that return,, your time from contract to close?

[00:26:22] Brooke: Are the deals flowing smoothly? Your percentage of tasks being completed on time in your workflows, whether that's an onboarding or your transactions, is that process working as you planned it to?

[00:26:33] Lauren: Mm-hmm., And they also help you pivot early before little problems turn into big ones.

[00:26:40] Brooke: Exactly. Give you insight, you're., On a blindfold as you leave your house and driving to the grocery store. Eventually you've done that drive before, but eventually you've gotten there, but eventually you're gonna crash. So I think here's that mindset shift is you wanna use your data to coach and not criticize exactly like Lauren was saying.

[00:27:03] Brooke: You wanna come from that curiosity, look for those patterns or those bottlenecks, and ask yourself, is this truly a people issue or is it a system breakdown? And that's how you're gonna really move forward from firefighting to that proactive leadership.,

[00:27:16] Lauren: So good. So we've talked about, hiring the right people to start and then we talked about system building these systems and processes and optimizing them, , and hiring the right people and you know, how to even get people reengaged.

[00:27:28] Lauren: So, , leaders, this part is specifically for you and I wanna remind everyone that we. All can be leaders. So whether you're a team leader, an agent, , an operations that is just starting, or, , you're a veteran, , admin. , Let's talk about your role in all of this.

[00:27:47] Brooke: , Definitely leadership.

[00:27:49] Brooke: I think it's important to note leadership is not about doing everything. A lot of leaders wanna have their hands in every single cookie jar, but it's really about creating that container where your team can succeed. If your team is feeling confused, overwhelmed, behind, it's the time to really zoom out and ask yourself, where's that gap?

[00:28:08] Brooke: Is it in the expectations? Is it in the tools? Is it in the coaching or training?, Some practical habits. I think I've found, you know, invaluable for myself would be, or in my past career, has been like weekly accountability huddles, for example, for the team and for the operations to keep everybody in line and making sure that there's, specified rhythm to that that people can expect, and having that consistency.

[00:28:32] Brooke: Also, another piece has been monthly audits of our systems and tasks, so we can catch those problems early., And then another piece too has been scorecard or like dashboards that actually get reviewed, not just ignored. They're not something you just delete from your email or you just roll past real quickly.

[00:28:49] Brooke: Yeah, the numbers are there and numbers do not lie.

[00:28:52] Lauren: Yeah. And I wanna go back into auditing your systems. We're not talking about go into every single thing every single month,, transaction coordination and listing management. Have your lead administrator go, who's owning that? I guess , the whole point of this is who the lane is This who Yes, owns this?

[00:29:10] Lauren: And if that's not clearly defined because., Either multiple people are doing it and that causes duplication, or no one's doing it because we set it and forget it, audit it. You should be in your database every single day. I think we say that every, every podcast is yes. When last time your agents have logged into the CRM , audit that go into the ponds, who's doing what they should be doing, , even audit your top agents and, .

[00:29:34] Lauren: Thinkings. I was just thinking about this and celebrate them in your weekly sales meetings. If you don't have a weekly sales meeting, get one on the schedule. Like that should be on a Monday or a Tuesday. I like, I mean, some people might not agree. I like starting off the week celebrating wins. .

[00:29:49] Lauren: What listings are coming on the market this week? who's on the top of the leaderboard? We use Follow up boss. . They usually have the gold, the bra, you know, 1, 2, 3, who's in the first to third, and that's okay if you're celebrating the same agents every week because that means they're being consistent and that they're the board.

[00:30:05] Brooke: . that is so important to celebrate. Celebrate the wins and celebrate your team members, even if it's something small. Even if it's like. these agents logged into the CRM today. Yay. That is something that people are going to take and,. be motivated from.

[00:30:20] Lauren: Yeah,. having an agent of the month, having a GroupMe, having a WhatsApp with your team, you know, like these are all, we never think of them as systems, but these are actually systems systematized to be bringing in the, improving the culture, celebrating, because you know, it's okay if like,. one person's overwhelmed, like, okay, let's go back into the calendar.

[00:30:37] Lauren: Let's figure out, let's look at the numbers again, going back to the numbers, but if it's everybody.. It might be a really good self-reflection of, okay,. how have I been leading? Let's take a step back. Did I actually, did I take myself out of production or did I just slow down and forget to do the,. basics of what the team meets me to do?

[00:30:54] Lauren: So,

[00:30:55] Lauren: , Last but not least, how do we keep improving,

[00:30:58] Brooke: continuous improvement really means creating that culture of feedback, creating that feedback loop. That looks like, you know, regular retrospective is where you're asking what's working, what's not working. And you're not just asking this in your own head, you're asking this to your operations team, to your,, staff, to your agents.

[00:31:16] Brooke: You're keeping that open channel, rather it's, you know, open dms, open doors. You're keeping that space. So team members are feeling like they can bring up problems or ideas very early on before they come a bigger problem. You know, for example, within my role, , currently. Of iterating very quickly.

[00:31:35] Brooke: , We've had to adjust our onboarding systems based on feedback, that I've had even just from one client, because if they're feeling that way, I'm sure other clients are feeling that way as well. We've also changed our rollout sequences after we've learned where clients got stuck so we can get ahead of it and really eliminate all those problems that could possibly come up for them.,

[00:31:54] Lauren: And I do wanna highlight because I think it's super important to listen to feedback and completing feedback loops. However, the devil's advocate side of that is just because one person does say, Hey, I suggest doing that., Take a look at your team. Is it a one person problem? and we can teach in coach and refine.

[00:32:11] Lauren: Or is it truly something that would optimize and make the systems better? So just take everything with a grain of salt and evaluate. You know, your relationship. So celebrate those wins because recognition, , fuels motivation.

[00:32:24] Brooke: , Exactly. And the improvement is a signal of strength and not failure. I think we sometimes think about, oh, if I have to improve something, I'm failing.

[00:32:33] Brooke: But that's totally the opposite. You're showing strength to grow and that feedback's really what's gonna fuel that power behind it. So if you really want a truly high performing team. Growth needs to be part of your team's. DNA. Yeah.,

[00:32:44] Lauren: Failing forward., all right., let's get a quick recap. Rick, you've been amazing. Thank you. So thank you. we're so grateful for you. So, to recap. If you wanna scale your real estate team, focus on your systems, your processes, and your people. Okay? The systems don't work without your people. , That's the trio that drives real sustainable growth.

[00:33:06] Brooke: Remember, it's not just about doing more, it's about doing better with intention and alignment. So take a moment this week, I challenge you all, whoever's listening to this, whatever role you're in, whatever market you're in, identify one small change that you can make, whether that's mapping a process or clarifying a role, cracking a key metric.

[00:33:24] Brooke: Those small steps are really gonna add up fast for you and you'll see improvement over time.

[00:33:28] Lauren: Yeah, and you don't have to do it all alone. Get clear, get structure, and bring in the right people.

[00:33:34] Brooke: Well, thank you so much for having me today, Lauren, for my debut, and thank you all for joining us on the Reside Podcast.

[00:33:41] Brooke: We are just getting started with these conversations and we cannot wait to keep building with you. Awesome. Thanks all. Thank you.