Episode 117: From an Agent’s Assistant to a Successful Team Leader with Trey Willard

The journey to success in building a real estate team is never a straight line. Some start off in a conventional manner, while others take on a more interesting path.

And whatever path you choose for yourself, you’re bound to encounter failures along the way.

But as long as you look at failures as opportunities to learn from those experiences, you will keep moving forward and hopefully impart the lessons you have learned to those who are just starting out on their own journey in real estate.

Brian Charlesworth joins Trey Willard, Team Leader at Keller Williams Realty Inc. as Trey shares his journey from being an assistant to leading a team that has produced $126 million in pending and closed volume this year, and some tactical and strategic things people can implement in their real estate business today.

Top Takeaways:
(02:33) What is an assistant to an agent?
(06:26) Why 2017 was the worst year of real estate in Trey’s entire life
(08:37) A lesson for top producers out there
(09:28) Why hiring someone from outside the industry to handle the operations side could be a game changer
(11:42) The good thing about failure
(14:02) Who is running Trey’s expansion team?
(15:56) How to create pathways for your agents so they can continue to grow inside of your organization
(17:02) What is Trey’s team doing differently?
(18:25) What Trey loves the most about Sisu
(19:24) What have sales contests done for Trey’s business?
(19:42) Why agents should stop focusing on the number of conversations and dials
(23:08) The systems that Trey uses
(28:23) The biggest challenge with working with family
(32:48) How Trey’s team is being impacted by the massive shift happening now
(33:47) Why Trey thinks the real estate industry needs a purge
(36:03) Why it’s not always about agent count
(37:35) Trey’s last words of advice


Connect with Trey Willard
LinkedIn: Trey Willard
Website: The W Group/ KW Geater Baton Rouge


About the guest:

Trey Willard graduated from LSU in 2007 and went to School for Business Communications and Technical Sales.  He thought he’d be selling medical devices at that time, but then he realized that knocking on doors and getting in front of people wasn’t his thing.

Then a friend of his who was growing his real estate business decided to hire him as an executive administrative assistant. Two and a half months later, he got his own real estate license. In his first year with Keller Wiliams, he became Rookie of the Year and sold 33 houses.

In 2017, Trey decided to build his own team. However, this proved to be a painful experience as he watched his business account dwindle away.  This became his wake-up call to start changing how he does things.

Fast forward to 2020, Trey hired a listing coordinator who eventually became his Operations Director. This is when his business started to take off.

Last year, Trey’s team sold 334 units amounting to $91 million in production. This year, they’ve already closed 367 units, with 61 pending, which equates to $126 million year-to-date.