Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mari Albertine . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mari, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about growing your team – how did you recruit the first few people, what was the process like, how’d you go about training and if you were to start over today would you have done anything differently?
I began my career as a Realtor 5 years ago after leaving a highly autonomous career in medical device sales. Anyone in outside sales will tell you that your car is your office, and your main interactions with people day to day are with clients, not co-workers. I loved the freedom of working by myself, so when I joined a real estate brokerage I essentially hung my license the day that I passed the exam, skipped their two day training and put my prospecting skills to work to grow my solo career. Fast forward 4.5 years and organic growth from zero clients to thousands, and I was at a point in which I could not serve every client to my standards as a solo agent. Throughout my career I have stayed consistent on social media, which allows me to connect with clients and agents alike. Many agents had reached out to me over the years looking for mentorship, which sparked me to create an online Realtor Bootcamp to share my tips on how to grow your business without shelling out thousands of dollars per month for leads. The local students of my course then began asking if I would ever open my own company, as they were seeking more hands on guidance, and I finally made the plunge. I had started a small team at the brokerage I was with, but always wanted the creative control that I couldn’t have under another company. Marketing and branding are my favorite aspects of this career, so the ability to have free reign over how my business was presented down to the bright pink signs and business cards was enticing. During my previous interviews with the big name, luxury brokerages, all of them mentioned that they were gravitating toward sleek, simple marketing with no photos of the agents on their signs. My brokerage is pretty much the antithesis of the typical “luxury” look. The marketing I put out has always had a cheesy, fun flair that I feel allows me to connect with people on a more authentic level, and I simply don’t like to take myself too seriously. Our bright pink signs with our photos certainly stand out amongst the majority, which is ideal for driving new business and drawing attention to our clients’ listings. Once I earned my broker’s license and attained a business license and an office, it was like I had opened the floodgates. I had effectively marketed my new business, and had agents coming out of the woodwork to join. It was very, very flattering and shocking to have so many amazing young women who wanted to be a part of what I was creating, but flattery does not run a business. I quickly learned that hiring a huge volume of agents was not going to work for my business model. I was very client heavy, and needed agents who could handle working with my clientele. I will admit that my standards and what I expect from the agents in terms of hard work and professionalism is very high, but I wasn’t willing to throw away what I had built or put my clients in a less than ideal situation to appease a realtor who wanted to join. I had to become more exclusive, which is not natural for me whatsoever. I will also admit that I saw the transition from agent to broker as a lot simpler in my mind when I was going into it, but hiring the right people has been the most taxing feat that I’ve had to overcome by owning my own company. When other people represent your brand, you have to give up control that you’re not used to handing over to someone else. I was used to being a one man band, and had to completely shift my business model to account for all of the new business coming in. As far as the interview process is concerned, I’ve found it’s not easy to determine how someone will be in real estate until you actually see how they do in the field. Real estate is so autonomous, but when you’re handing out leads there is a layer of extra management that is necessary to keep the business intact, reputable and profitable. The fact is that it is relatively easy to get your real estate license, so the bar for performance is set quite low as a whole. I can say confidently that the ratio of agents that I hire to the ones that make it with me long term is ten to one. Most brokerages are looking for a volume of agents that bring in their own business in order to make a split on their sales. My main goal throughout has been to serve my clients effectively, to have the best agents in South Florida representing the brand, and to provide the highest level of customer care possible to maintain a healthy business and make the process as seamless as possible for our buyers and sellers. If you asked me 6 months ago how my team was looking, I wouldn’t have been even half as confident with my answer as I am now. I can genuinely say today that after all of the interviews, trainings, and day to day management that implements our best practices, I have some of the best agents in the industry representing Mari Juliette Real Estate. These women are extremely hard working, driven, and best of all they’re fun people that our clients enjoy spending time with. I love seeing the camaraderie that has been created by the agents door knocking together, previewing properties in tandem and even spending most of their off time together grabbing lunch or hitting the town. If I were to rewind a year and do this all over again, I genuinely wouldn’t change anything. While it has been a practice in learning a completely new set of skills in management that I had never used before, I have never learned at such an accelerated pace in my life due to the necessity of keeping my already thriving business intact. I’ve learned extremely valuable tools that help me to work alongside others and trust their abilities and strengths. There is no shortage of challenges that you face when you transition into a business owner, but I know that moving forward I have this newfound experience under my belt that can only propel me forward. The most valuable lesson I’ve deducted from this experience is that business and emotions do not belong in the same room. There are so many opportunities to give into your emotional turmoil with every given fire that you need to put out as a CEO, but becoming the most calm person in any tumultuous situation has been serving me well as of late. I would say the one factor that has kept me in this business without selling to a larger company are the learning experiences I’ve been so fortunate to experience, and the people that I’ve seen thrive and flourish within my company. It is only up from here!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Mari Juliette Real Estate specializes in supreme customer care. I ensure that clients are not mindlessly sent listings on an automated setup. Each client receives custom properties, virtual tours and income projections on a regular basis to ensure that they are making the best and most well informed purchase. I also provide a unique benefit to my sellers by giving them maximum exposure to their listings. The average number of views on a zillow listing is 2500/month, while my custom marketing bring in over 1,000,000 eyes monthly for my clients. It is a service that is so unique, yet so important today. Most people need to see a property online before they ever view it in person, so my social media exposure has helped tremendously to push our listings out to as many people as possible virtually.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The professionalism and service that I provide to every single client regardless of budget is really what has strengthened my reputation. Early in my career I made custom videos and postcards for every single listing that really solidified the value that I was bringing to my clients. I now work off of a lot of referrals, as I have proven myself to be very “on point” when it comes to my communication with clients and respecting their time. I have always been and will always be extremely grateful to my clients, and since I’ve gained my clientele organically I feel even more connected to them on a personal level. I genuinely care about them, which can sometimes cause me added stress, but I will always exhaust all possible options to make my clients happy. I envision seeing them smiling and at ease at the closing table while feeling confident due to the service, information and guidance that the agents at MJRE and myself provide.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I am 100% owner of my business, and have funded the operation with my own capital. Growing up I was obsessed with saving money at a very young age. I believe I had over $1000 saved by 8 years old from babysitting, birthday money, etc that I saved in a box in my room. I loved accounting for what I had saved, and to this day I am very diligent about it. I don’t like the feeling of living above my means or being in any debt, so I have really built my business on a budget and continue to operate that way. I could have the biggest, fanciest office if I wanted to, and I could take out a loan to increase efficiencies here and there, but the fact that I didn’t have a lot saved when I became a realtor taught me how to gain business without spending a ton of money on advertising. I’ve quickly learned what works and what doesn’t, and I know that I can rely on my own organic marketing to bring in business that only requires my sweat equity. Female business owners are often discounted, because people assume that their husband or significant other is carrying the cost of them following their dreams, but I can say that is not the case for me as it isn’t for many successful women. We are more than capable of working off of our own capital to create something profitable and something to be proud of.
Contact Info:
- Website: marijuliette.com
- Instagram: @marijuliette
- Facebook: Mari Juliette Real Estate
- Linkedin: Mari Juliette Real Estate
- Twitter: N/A
- Youtube: Mari Juliette
- Other: Tiktok: @marijuliette Podcast: The Evolution of Confidence