Next Level Agents: The Kevin & Fred Show - Interviews with the best and brightest minds in the real estate industry

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This episode is brought to you by: Kevin and Fred's Referral Guarantee https://kevinandfred.com/referral/     Agents ensnared in 'Newsday' investigation boycott housing discrimination hearing NRT CEO Ryan Gorman was the only one of 68 agents and company representatives to show at New York State Senate hearing in the wake of the 'Newsday' fair housing investigation   In an apparent act of solidarity that did not please lawmakers, all but one of the 68 agents and company representatives asked to appear Thursday at a New York State Senate hearing on housing discrimination failed to show, Newsday reports. In response, the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations announced subpoenas would be served to no-show agents to “compel their testimony,” according to Newsday, which revealed evidence of systemic violations of fair housing laws on Long Island during a three-year investigation.   “The remaining 67 individuals either neglected to respond or outright refused to provide testimony,” Sen. James Skoufis said, according to Newsday. “There’s an easy way to go about things and a hard way. So following today subpoenas will be served to many of these individuals to compel their testimony.”       Ojo Labs Launches Referral Program   exclusive buyer and seller leads to a small network of highly vetted real estate agents

About the Episode On this episode, I’m joined by top-producing agent turned successful tech entrepreneur, Tyler Smith; whose story and journey is inspiring because it proves that real estate can be a launching pad for successful businesses and products. In Tyler’s case, real estate wasn’t just a launching pad. His platform, SkySlope was actually born out of him making his real estate operations more efficient. He turned real estate transaction pain points into a solution, which became the foundation of his new business. Tyler’s business stands at the intersection between real estate operations, understanding consumer behavior and technology; making him a great person to talk to about the changes and shifts coming down the pipeline in our industry. Tyler is the founder and CEO of SkySlope, a B2B SaaS platform that is focused on helping real estate agents manage their transactions online. He is a former top-producing Realtor who realized efficient transaction management software was lacking in real estate. SkySlope is the industry leading Digital Transaction Management software provider, offering a powerful suite of mobile, cloud and paperless transaction processing solutions. SkySlope is proud to serve more than 25% of the top 100 brokerages in the U.S., including almost half of the top 25 brokerages. The consumer is in the driver’s seat of the shifts we’re seeing in the real estate, and at the core of that is a need for transparency, speed, and working with experts and practitioners they can trust before, during and beyond the transaction. If we’re not leading with these 3 things in our communications and operations, we won’t be able to measure up to the new standard the consumers have set. Platforms like Uber have successfully fed into the needs of the consumer, and so have iBuyers. As an industry, we need to be willing to do the same, or else we will get swept away.     In Today’s Episode, We Talk About; - Tyler’s journey starting in real estate at 20 - Why Tyler left real estate even though he was at the top of his game to start SkySlope. - How Tyler identified a solid business idea. - The transition from top-producing real estate agent to running a tech company. - How Tyler sees our industry changing in the future. - The 3 things about consumer behavior we need to be building into our businesses. - Tyler’s top tips for having a better life and business. Guest Info Tyler is the founder and CEO of SkySlope, a B2B SaaS platform that is focused on helping real estate agents manage their transactions online. He is a former top-producing Realtor who realized efficient transaction management software was lacking in real estate.SkySlope is the industry leading Digital Transaction Management software provider, offering a powerful suite of mobile, cloud and paperless transaction processing solutions. SkySlope is proud to serve more than 25% of the top 100 brokerages in the U.S., including almost half of the top 25 brokerages. Website: https://skyslope.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asktylersmith/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE0H1vgJA3ffI0GlcHmQF5YK3oC1GzVtX

We've talked about the ease AND the confusion for clients using iBuyer options... but how easy is it for them to change their minds once they start the transaction?

Reconnect   Connection...   How would you grade yourself on how you connected with the most important people to your business in 2019?   If you're like me, you have some opportunity for improvement.   This week we explore how to start to turn this around.   Make a commitment to better communication in 2020 with your database. I'll show you how to start...

Okay, you're willing to work "with" iBuyers instead of fighting the industry's changes. But the question on everyone's minds is... "Can I get commission/financial compensation for bringing a seller to an iBuyer?"

Keller Williams chief product officer out amid tech rollout   Chief Product Officer Neil Dholakia and Vice President of Product Miguel Bracchini both quietly departed over a one-month span after Keller Williams President Josh Team initially denied both were leaving.       HomeSmart acquires 650-agent indie brokerage TriStar Realty   HomeSmart International, which also owns a franchise division, vowed on Wednesday to double its agent count over the next three years. In announcing the transaction, the company – which also owns a franchise division – revealed ambitious plans to expand to double its nearly 18,000 agent count over the next three years.     Realogy CEO Ryan Schneider Says the housing market itself is what is he is most closely following going into 2020.   One is literally just what is going to be happening with the housing market. After a very tough end to 2018 and a tough start to 2019, we’ve had multiple quarters of improvement and I’m excited about that. We have low rates, a pretty healthy economy. I’m rooting, of course, we all are, for a strong housing market, the trajectory of it has been good and we hope that continues.     WeWork drama could be coming to the big screen: Report   Screenwriter Charles Randolph, of Oscar-winning “The Big Short” notoriety, is reportedly penning a new screenplay about the rise and fall of WeWork. The film will focus on the relationship between WeWork founder Adam Neumann and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son.

On this episode, I’m honored to be joined by founder of eXp Realty, Glenn Sanford. As a part of eXp, we’ve seen first hand what makes this company and its leadership so outstanding. It’s a company of entrepreneurs who are building something special together, and this all started with the forward-thinking model Glenn envisioned back in 2009, when virtual brokerages hadn’t begun to take shape. What always struck us about Glenn was his deep understanding of the challenges real estate business owners face, and the opportunities that are available to us. It’s this business-minded approach, and his drive to create an engaged company culture in a virtual setting that has made eXp grow to take 2% of the US agent market, and helped it continue to grow globally.  After being involved with a number of internet start-ups in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, including a stint at AOL, Glenn started a highly successful real estate career in 2002. In 2006, his fourth full year in the business, Glenn and his team closed over $60,000,000 in real estate almost entirely from online lead generation and was ranked as one of the top 50 teams nationally with Keller Williams. After the downturn in 2008, he and his team developed the first cloud-based brokerage model that uses a 3D avatar-based online office to collaborate and communicate while abandoning the physical bricks and mortar infrastructure normally associated with real estate brokerage. In the last 9 years, since launching with 25 agents, eXp Realty has grown to over 15000 agents in all 50 states, DC and 3 Provinces in Canada and over 400 different MLS market areas. eXp Realty refers to itself as Agent-owned and the company became a public company in 2013 and in 2014 started to distribute equity to its productive agent owners. eXp Realty provides the first ESOP style Stock Ownership Program for its agents and brokers as well as a revenue sharing program all designed to enhance the agent-centric business model.    What has made eXp Realty such an attractive company for many Realtors across that  globe is that it’s a company of entrepreneurs who are building something together. It’s a culture that doesn’t just promote innovation, it also rewards entrepreneurs for it. The success of the company stems from the early vision its leaders had to lean into the virtual model, without losing engagement, commonality and the shared context of being a Realtor in today’s world.    In Today’s Episode, We Talk About;   -  Glenn’s background before eXp. - Where the idea for eXp Realty came from, and the pieces that came together for it to happen.   - The power of building into a future trend early.  - How to get a virtual brokerage right and uphold the team environment in a geographically dispersed setting.   - Why Glenn decided to make eXp a publicly traded real estate company and  building a vehicle for ownership.   - Building a strong team and why hiring generalists is better than specialist. - The goal to scale eXp.   - What Glenn sees on the horizon in real estate and why agents shouldn’t be too panicked about change.  Guest Info   Glenn is the founder eXp Realty and CEO of eXp World Holdings, Inc. eXp Realty refers to itself as Agent-owned and the company became a public company in 2013 and in 2014 started to distribute equity to its productive agent owners. eXp Realty provides the first ESOP style Stock Ownership Program for its agents and brokers as well as a revenue sharing program all designed to enhance the agent-centric business model.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenndsanford/