Jon breaks down the 4 Cs for developing elite real estate producers: Clarity, Connection, Contribution, and Commitment, plus Consistency to make it repeatable. He shares how he shifted from individual production to leading an incubation practice that turned six producers into principals with large books of business over six years.
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Funny enough, this is something that I share with anybody in my sphere of influence as it pertains to producer development. And it's both to the validating producer that we're training, and it's also to those gray-haired folks that are going to be providing support. And that's these 4 C's. Everybody needs clarity, number 1. The clarity of the validating producer, what their responsibility is, but also the veteran producer. The second thing is everybody needs a means of connection. So as you mentioned, a gray-haired individual that's not passionate about real estate is not going to be passionate in the room with that producer that they're supporting. So it's connection to the project, to the vertical. So we have to create that. The third thing is contribution. Everybody wants to feel like they're contributing. So no validating producer wants to set a meeting And 99% of the meeting is then ran by the veteran producer. We've all been in those rooms. They love to take over. They see it going south. It's not really going south. They just don't want the opportunity to slip away, so they take over immediately. And this producer contributed nothing. They don't walk away feeling like they even participated hardly. So then that leads to number 4, and that's commitment. And that looks different. The validating producer is committed to what they're contributing what they're connected to, the clarity they have, which is their role in the room, and also what happens next. Same with the veteran. If they're committed to the success of this validating producer and to the process that we've outlined, then that's how we get to a means of winning. We lean into those 4 C's, and then I'll add a 5th because it's behind you right now, that consistency. Uh, we do that over and over and over again. It starts to, to really work itself out, and it becomes routine. Becomes desirable. We don't JV deals. That's not how this works. We lean into that side of things where we're winning together. And I think that's super powerful inside our four walls.
That's awesome. So, it's clarity, connection, contribution, and commitment. I love that with consistency being the bow that ties the whole thing together. Well said. I hope everybody took a note on that. You know, Jon, here's what I— one other topic I do want to talk to you about today. You know, you've elevated over your career from a producer to a sales leader. What lessons have you learned, and especially since you are still producing today but leading others, what lessons have you learned as you've elevated to the role of leading others in a sales position?
Yeah, let me start out with framing some context with a quick story because this is incredibly relevant. So it's 2019, 2020, sorry, yeah, 2019. I find myself in a suite at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers football game. And to my left is a family celebrating, you know, the Buccaneers. To my right's a family celebrating the Buccaneers. Like, I'm in this room full of insurance professionals that I love and I'm connected with. And Tom Brady throws a touchdown pass and everybody's freaking out. It's going great. And I find myself literally just staring like blankly through a window that's in front of me. In this suite, feeling the most unfulfilled I have ever felt in my life. And the reason why was, and I'll never forget this moment, it's because at that point in time, I realized that I care more about my team winning than myself winning. I care more about the book expansion of those individuals than I did myself. But I was not in a position to not produce anymore within my book of business to then support them full-time. So as such, I actually left that Buccaneers game unfulfilled, heavy heart, and went directly into my boss's office. And I let him know what it is that I want to do. I want to be a people leader at the highest level. I want to create impact. I want their books of business to grow beyond mine. And the only way I'm going to be able to do that is if I don't have the same production responsibilities that I have today. And kudos to that guy, because I had no right. I had not earned the opportunity to say that in any manner. And he actually leaned into that and, and made sure that I was well positioned well-trained, well-supported to be that individual to these other guys. And as such, we started to hire these individuals into the small commercial practice I was leading at the time, and it almost became an incubation center for new producers. And I'm so stoked to say that here we are 5, 6 years later, I look back at those individuals and they're now principals at the— at their firm, and they now have large books of business, and they're now contributing to the people underneath them. And what I learned about myself in that regard is, A, I love people. That's an innate characteristic. I love human beings. And I finally put myself in a position where I could exploit that. But the second thing I knew was that I can lead with a level of energy, a level of vigor, a level of that elite mindset that we already talked about that will actually propel, will be the engine for those around me. And although I wasn't polished and although I didn't have all the answers, I could bring that to the table. And what I learned very quickly is that whether you're a validating producer, a validated producer, or a principal, you will attach yourself to an undeniable energy, an undeniable vigor, an undeniable focus on success that's yours and not mine. And you'll want to run that race with me.
