by Tami Bonnell, CEO, EXIT Realty Corp. International
Borrowing a phrase from Simon Sinek, EXIT Realty plays an infinite game. We have a strong culture with the ability to fund our own existence.
Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve witnessed other companies treating their people like line items on a spreadsheet, laying them off with no apparent consideration to their contribution to the company. Shareholders with no connection to the lives they’re impacting drew a line in the sand and said, these expenses need to be cut.
I strongly believe that a leader must be responsible for their people first. Even as a leader of a publicly traded company, your job is to fight for your people. Instead we’ve witnessed them cut, duck and cover.
By contrast, I couldn’t be more proud of EXIT Realty and who we are as a privately-held company. When the pandemic hit, everyone at corporate headquarters rose to the occasion, rolled up their sleeves and asked how they could help. I believe that a true leader is someone who builds other leaders and we’ve seen every single person at corporate headquarters, regardless of their job title, become a leader. This thing called EXIT is bigger than all of us. We want to be part of it, contribute to it and protect it. It’s awe-inspiring.
More than a decade ago during the recession and now during the pandemic, the catalyst behind every action was the answer to the question, “Who are we as a company?” We didn’t respond with a knee-jerk reaction to lay people off, instead we reached back to our touchstone – the incredible culture we’ve built – and asked, “How can we all contribute to keep this thing that is so wonderful going?”
We created a $50 million stimulus package offered as a special member benefit so our associates could shore up their skills and hit the ground running when business opened up again, as we’re now seeing in many areas. The training we offered covered everything from focusing on good health to understanding personality profiles, to prospecting and internet marketing, and more. Having all of our trainers participate by volunteering their time and expertise helped to ensure our associates are well-equipped to serve the consumer.
EXIT’s Take Action Stimulus Package also included access to technology typically only available to our Elite members, whereby consumers could text the EXIT agent’s personal vanity code in front of any listing on the MLS – not just an EXIT listing – to obtain information on that listing right in the palm of their hand. If the consumer was thinking of moving, they could drive around, stop, text for information in front of, say, ten listings, then narrow down their choices to the three they most wanted to visit in person. This technology helped our agents serve the consumer to the best of their ability.
Our Engagement Leaders helped to spread the word. Engagement Leaders are agent peers who demonstrate EXIT’s technology and resources in their individual offices. They volunteer to be part of the program because they want to mentor others and make a difference.
EXIT Realty is real estate humanized and we always have been. Our Founder and Chairman, Steve Morris, founded and built this company on human potential. We are an exclusive by-invitation-only club, a club worthy of membership.
