Sean Hellmann, a real estate agent active since 2004, describes how hiring coach Lars Hedenborg (hired June 2014) transformed his business: he deepened use of systems (e.g., Commission Sync, Top Producer), gained clearer vision and recruiting practices, grew from one to three buyer's agents, and moved off buyer-side transactions to focus 100% on listings, team training and management—trading transaction volume goals for improved work–life balance. The piece is a first-person testimonial about coaching, systems implementation, recruiting, and leadership.
I've been in real estate since 2004 and about 2011 and 12, I really dove into the concept of building a team, thought there'd be a better way to leverage my business and so started getting into some coaching programs and learning how to build my team. And I came across Lars. Actually met him at a different real estate company and quickly learned Lars created a coaching company and In June of 2014 I hired him as my coach. And really I consider to be the beginning of my journey of building a solid real estate team. What's changed in my business since hiring Lawrs, number one, is I was able to take systems that I had in my business that I bought when I was associated with other companies. And I took those same systems and broke them down and made them a lot more detailed. I used them a lot deeper and more of the tools. Instead of just using some of the surface stuff, I'm using them more effectively in my business. The second thing that really came clear to me is learning how to have a clear focus, having a clear vision and a clear path on how to build my team effectively and is more effective than what I had done in the past. The last thing too is just one of the hardest things for me in my business for the last year and a half is recruiting. And I've gotten a lot better at how to recruit, how to train and build up my team. For me it's just more consistency, more predictability and knowing that I'm doing things now that will continue the growth scale, knowing what the next step would need to be. But I know my. A year ago I had taken about almost six months implementing certain systems and now I'm seeing kind of the fruits of my labor. A year ago I had only one buyer's agent. I now have three buyer's agents. This year also, I moved myself out of the buyer side of the business 100%. I work with only sellers and I do all the training and managing of the team. So a lot less roles that I had last year and more focus on the listing side and the leadership side of the team. Well, I think a lot of it is just the relationships with other brokers that you've seen. They've been a part of this group now for a year, two years and just having sharing successes. The great thing I think about B School is we all really have almost the same systems and learning what they're doing a little bit better that you can bring back. And since we're using the same system, whether that be Commission Sync or Top producer, how to make that more effective in our business and also sharing that with them and helping them maybe with something in their business having problems with. So I think it's having a lot of similarities and having some of the same struggles but knowing that as a group we can help each other improve our business. If you're thinking about hiring Lars as a coach you have to think how big you want your team to be but also how it's more not just about the real estate business, about being a leader, about having a well balanced life and that's something that's always been a big draw to me. I haven't grown my business to maybe 300 transactions but to me the trade off was quality of life, more time off with my family, not working evenings, not working weekends. And that's stuff that I've achieved a lot faster. Had I not hired Lars I don't think I'd have that in today's business.
