Real Estate Team OS

[Episode 7 of the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

New to Whissel Realty Group and new to the real estate industry, Max Bolanos is drinking from a fire hose. And he was kind enough to join us in this series just 90 days into that journey as the team’s new Director of Marketing.

Learn how Max developed a strategic, structured approach to omnichannel marketing and how the #1 team in San Deigo and a top team in the US and in eXp Realty globally will benefit from this experience.

Listen to this Inside Whissel Realty episode with Max for insights into:

- The benefits of pressure and intensity

- How a memorable ad campaign (and a less-than-desirable letter grade) launched his marketing career

- A definition and example of an omnichannel marketing campaign

- The challenges of marketing attribution, especially in real estate

- How he joined Whissel Realty Group and what the plan was for his first 30, 60, and 90 days

- The power of a creative brief and intake form for new listings

- A valuable change to your project management process

- Honoring different creative visions

- Balancing marketing and branding

- Getting more out of in-person events

- Leveraging the ACE team (Agent Concierge Experience)

At the end, learn about a diverse, healthy, structured, and aligned team.

Max Bolanos:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxbolanos/

- https://www.instagram.com/thewhisselway
- https://thewhisselway.com

Real Estate Team OS:

- https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

[Episode 6 in our Inside Whissel Realty Series on Real Estate Team OS]

Besides Kyle Whissel, CEO and Team Leader of Whissel Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty in San Diego, very few people have been on this team’s journey longer than Media Manager Bryan Koci. How long? Nearly a decade!
 
 In this conversation, Bryan brings you the strategies and tactics behind their agent-facing content like the Media Mayor Mastermind and The Whissel Way podcast, as well as their consumer-facing content for the top, middle, and bottom of the sales funnel.

You’ll also learn how the media team serves agents, how and why to balance “low production” (iPhone) with “high production” (studio), why they have multiple YouTube channels, Instagram handles, and Facebook pages and groups (and why you might, too), and how all of this evolved over the past decade.

Listen to this Inside Whissel Realty episode with Bryan Koci for insights into:

- The modular studio he built that we recorded the series in

- How the structure provided by EOS took the team “to the next level”

- How the evolution of the company and the media team introduced him to the challenges and questions that every team leader faces

- The importance of balancing “high production” and “low production” of your video content - and the role of each in helping your business

- The three pillars of their content strategy - agent-facing, mid- to bottom-of-funnel consumer-facing, and top-of-funnel consumer-facing

- Specific distribution tips for Facebook and YouTube all under the theme of “separate channels for separate audiences”

- How and why to bring Collaborators into your Instagram content

- Doing things because it’s right or good, not just because of the ROI

At the end, learn about camera gear that never gets used, shared Netflix logins, and boxes of cords and cables.

Bryan Koci:

- https://instagram.com/bryankoci

- https://thewhisselway.com/

Real Estate Team OS:

- https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

[Episode 5 in the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

After managing a yoga studio for a decade, Katy Carlson joined Whissel Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty in San Diego as a real estate agent. In her first 18 months, she became a mentor and helped mature the mentorship program. She then shifted to the admin side as Head of Agent Development. 

Today Katy serves as Agent Success Manager.

Learn what her role entails and how she helps get right-fit agents into active production quickly.
 
Get details on their full-time, two-week training program, their mentorship program, the three main tools agents have to learn, the balance of different types of training methods, and more!

Watch or listen to this Inside Whissel Realty episode with Katy Carlson for insights into:

- Everyone following the same sequence and heading in the same direction despite different skill levels and paces

- The scope and mission of the Agent Success Manager role

- How she chose Whissel Realty Group as an agent after interviewing four other companies

- Training energy regulation, sales skills, and mindset

- The design of the first three months of agent onboarding, including the full-time, two-week training program, the mentorship program, and the green-lit/on-probation/cut-from-the-team outcomes for agents

- The three main tools agents use (and get trained on)

- The limited changes to buyer agent training

- The types of training - role-play, refresh, required, optional, virtual, in-person, etc

- The three things she’s focused on for 2025

At the end, learn about one-way tickets, new people, and beautiful experiences.

Whissel Realty Group:
- https://thewhisselway.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/thewhisselway/
- https://whisselrealty.com/

Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

[Episode 4 in the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

Learn from school-teacher-turned-ISA-turned-sales-leader Rachel Choo how the skill of regulating emotions improves sales as we dive into the agent training, mentorship, and role-play behind the #1 team in San Diego, a top team in the nation, and a top team in eXp Realty globally.

Rachel also shares insights into their top lead sources, lead distribution process, and lead team policy, as well as the way agents move through four tiers or quartiles based on their production levels.

Watch or listen to this Inside Whissel Realty episode with Rachel Choo for insights into

- The critical balance of clear expectations and values alignment

- The scope and mission of the Director of Sales role, including key leadership roles within sales management

- The path from school teacher to ISA to Director of Sales, including the commonality between working with agents and working with parents and children

- Why agents need to build the skill of emotional regulation and ways to do so

- The three main topic buckets of agent training - and their connection to the mentorship program

- The financial and non-financial reasons mentors participate in the mentorship program

- Why they held off on training around the NAR settlement and changes to buyer agency

- Specific value propositions buyers agents have on the team - including the VIP Buyer Program and the Love It or Leave It Guarantee

- Top lead sources and how agents get access to those sources

- How they set sales goals, track pipeline, and adjust training

- How agents land in the Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum quartiles and what they mean

- How niching down will help them level up in the year ahead

At the end, learn how book selection supports resting, relaxing, and recharging, as well as learning, growing, and developing - and the preferred location for both.

Whissel Realty Group:
- https://www.instagram.com/rachooqua/
- https://thewhisselway.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/thewhisselway/
- https://whisselrealty.com/

Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

[Episode 3 in the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

From third-generation real estate agent to team operations leader, Shannon Youssefi has unique experience and skillsets. Even within Whissel Realty Group, brokered by eXp Realty in San Diego, she’s been in multiple seats from listing management to transaction coordination to (now) Director of Operations.
 
 Shannon shares lessons learned while unifying systems and technologies across the company. This never-ending process seeks to provide more leverage to agents, more clarity and efficiency for staff, and a better experience for clients.

Pay special attention to tips on storytelling with data to improve sales and working successfully with international VAs.

Watch or listen to this Inside Whissel Realty episode with Shannon Youssefi for insights into:

- How issues take care of itself when you have the right people in the right seats

- The unique experience and skillsets of a salesperson turned ops leader

- The evolution and scope of the Director of Operations role, including the people and teams she oversees and the people she connects with daily, weekly, and monthly

- Building the “backbone of the whole sales funnel” - the process and the benefits

- Storytelling with data for better training and results

- The never-ending process of improving listing management and transaction coordination, including roles, rules, and exceptions

- The core tech powering operations - and the role of the data scientist

- Lessons learned from building the international team of VAs from one to 25 members

- Why problems and mistakes are often a “me” problem, not a “them” problem

At the end, learn how a stockpile of phone cases is more attractive than selfie mode.

Whissel Realty Group:
- https://thewhisselway.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/thewhisselway/
- https://whisselrealty.com/

Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

[Episode 2 in the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

From head of acquisition for an eliminated partnership program to ISA team builder to EOS integrator and hands-on COO to eyes-on/hands-off COO, Chris VanderValk has seen and contributed a lot to Whissel Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty in San Diego.

In this conversation, he walks the line between criticism and positivity, explains how the Agent Concierge Experience team and new Agent Advisory Board help agents, talks through lead sources, and describes how and why they left the cap model and allowed agents to claw back splits through GCI.

 A top theme: creating more leverage for agents.

A primary lens: “We have to make this so valuable people can’t leave - period.”

A result: the #1 real estate team in San Diego and consistently a top team in the nation and in eXp Realty globally.

Watch or listen to this Inside Whissel Realty episode with Chris for insights into:

- Improving processes and results through a culture of “hyper criticism with positivity”

- The arrival into and evolution of the COO role and the EOS process (including a layoff, a resignation letter, and a democratic process)

- How and why they’re launching an Agent Advisory Board (including interviewing, selecting, tasking, and rewarding the agents)

- Ways to enhance agent productivity in a profitable way (including their ACE or Agent Concierge Experience team)

- How and why they successfully transitioned from a cap model to a no cap model and uniquely allow agents to claw back splits through GCI tiers

- A rundown of top lead sources from open houses to the “belle of the ball” (Zillow Flex)

- Enhancing agent leverage in 2025 through changes to the ACE and ISA teams

- Why the traditional job of a real estate agent is “illogical”

At the end, the fun and relaxing nature of catching, cleaning, cooking, and eating halibut and corvina.

Chris VanderValk:
- https://www.instagram.com/chris_vandervalk/
- https://whisselrealty.com/
- https://thewhisselway.com/thewhisselway

Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

Within a couple of days of recording this conversation, Whissel Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty in San Diego, had 42 transactions scheduled to close. On one day! This type of performance isn’t possible without mature and optimized systems.

Kyle Whissel welcomed us into his recording studio and his real estate team to help us kick off this 9-episode series taking you Inside Whissel Realty, who consistently perform as the #1 team in San Diego and a top team in the nation and across eXp Realty globally.

• How to get past vanity metrics and how to know who knows their numbers.
• Seven key inflection points on the team-building journey.
• How they know which agents to bring on and which to cut.
• The elusive power of brand building.
• How they’re keeping agents in the three most dollar-productive activities.

Kyle shares all this and much more right here in this conversation!

Watch or listen to the first episode Inside Whissel Realty for insights into:

- Two benefits of running the team on a system (specifically: what life was like before and after they implemented EOS)

- Why the systems run the company and the people run the systems - and where that leaves the leader

- Two things you can expect to hear more about in this 9-episode series

- How and why he shifted out of commercial real estate into residential

- The piece of direct mail he can still see in his mind that sent him down the team path - and two big mistakes he made in the process

- How you’ll know if you’re the right person to build and lead a team and what type of agents you should design for

- The financial and cultural upsides of “running the play that’s called”

- How they’ve built a company that keeps agents doing the three things that make money (going on appointments, prospecting, and negotiating contracts)

- How to know who knows their numbers - and who doesn’t

- Where he turns for credible, valuable insights to help him learn and grow as a person and as a business

- The power of brand, the value of video, and the challenge of marketing attribution

- Key points of inflection on his team-building journey

- Why top agents love seeing low performers get cut - and what minimum standards must be met to stay on the team

At the end, learn about a Buffalo pilgrimage, a serious student, and late-game legs.

Kyle Whissel:

- https://www.instagram.com/kylewhissel/

- https://whisselrealty.com/

- https://thewhisselway.com/thewhisselway

Real Estate Team OS:
 - https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

Shawn Getty sold 186 homes in the first half of his third year in real estate, including a stretch of 60 homes in 60 days. And he did it all with $0 in ad spend.

Shawn started the team-building process 6 or 7 times before getting the traction he has today (including losing 27 agents all at once). But Getty Group, brokered by eXp Realty in Calgary, has grown from 4 to 48 agents in an 8-month window this year.

Learn his tactics for agent attraction, the structure of his recruiting conversation, and many hard-learned lessons from the fits and starts of building his real estate team.

Listen to this Real Estate Team OS episode with Shawn Getty for insights into:

- Two basic truisms of team success

- Multiple false starts on the team-building journey

- Building an education-based and skills-based team of people who hunt together, rather than alone

- Growing agent count by 12x (from 4 to 48) in under 8 months

- How to attract agents using Instagram

- The specific conversation structure to bring agents onto your team

- A free social media tactic drives 30-40% of their business (and that other agents make fun of)

- A free social media tactic to become top of preference, not just top of mind (with a specific example)

- The two ways he’s working on the main bottleneck in his business today

- Why teams will be bigger, more prominent, more impactful, and more needed in the future

At the end, learn about “the uniform of the wealthy,” “the champion sweater that can’t be beat,” and the balance in being all on or all off.

Shawn Getty:

- https://www.instagram.com/shawngetty

- https://www.gettygroup.ca/

Real Estate Team OS:
 - https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

Four and a half years ago, Kyle Draper started Serene Team (brokered by eXp Realty in Los Angeles) with two agents he’d mentored earlier in his career and an admin.

Today, the team is more than 40 agents strong - and growing. As you’d expect, the path was filled with hard-learned lessons and supported by the guidance of mentors. Those initial team members? They’re all still contributing.

 Learn about the challenges in the 7- to 12-agent range, the nuances of a transaction management system they put into place, and which tools and tech have been vital to turning online leads, past clients, and sphere opportunities into closed transactions - including video.

Watch or listen to Ep 046 with Kyle Draper for insights into:

- Setting and managing expectations

- Three hurdles for new agents to clear in the first 21 days before earning a spot and a mentor on the team

- What he had to put down before fully committing to real estate and starting a team (at the onset of COVID)

- Which staff positions he’s hired locally and which he’s hired internationally

- Finding your right team size and the specific challenges in the 7- to 12-agent range

- Why and how he stepped back into sales production

- Inside the transaction model he’s running, including its nuances, benefits, and challenges

- Balancing investment of time, energy, and focus on online leads, past clients, and sphere - especially when the latter two drive most of your business

- How the FUB-Ylopo pairing helps the team create and close more opportunities

- When, why, and how his team uses video email, video messages, and screen recordings - including very specific stories, use cases, and wins

- Two reasons teams will get bigger in the future

At the end, learn about two competitors receiving flowers, cutting a car payment nearly in half, and the two sides of a wonderful weekend.

Kyle Draper:

- https://www.instagram.com/thekyledraper/

- https://www.zillow.com/profile/Kyle%20Draper

Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

Chase Whitney is doing geographic farming activities today that he was doing as a pre-teen to support his parents' real estate business. After more than a dozen years as an agent himself, Chase still does many hands-on, in-person, face-to-face, and human-to-human activities that can’t be scaled or leveraged.
 
But he’s also passionate about tech and improving The Whitney Team’s marketing and finances through that passion.

Learn how they expanded from a father-mother-son trio to an 8-person team, the 5 pillars of their tech stack (and his preferred vendors for each), what he learned using 7 different CRMs in 7 years, how he overcame shiny object syndrome, and much more!

Watch or listen to this Techtember episode with Chase Whitney to learn:
 - The when-you-know-you-know aspect of team culture

- Moving from a father-mother-son real estate business to the fits and starts of building out their real estate team

- Why old-school, manual, hands-on, and human-to-human marketing is so valuable in a tech-enabled age

- Overcoming the challenge of being drawn toward shiny objects

- The five core pillars of your real estate tech stack and the two rules that support them all

- What he learned by migrating their database through seven CRMs in a seven-year period

- Tips for improving your retargeting ads and alleviating ad fatigue in your target audiences

- How their direct mail strategy is targeted and tracked with tech

- Why front-facing IDX is irrelevant and what to look for in a real estate website solution

- Ways to leverage your best asset - property! - to create more valuable conversations

- The two main problems or questions that agents and team leaders reach out to him with

At the end, learn about bleeding red and gold, hours of research to save $2, and the problems with audiobooks.

Connect with Chase Whitney:

- https://consultwithchase.com/

- https://4realestatehelp.com

- https://www.instagram.com/chasewhitney_re/

Check out the book we talked about but couldn’t remember the title of:

- https://www.amazon.com/Oversubscribed-How-People-Lining-Business/dp/0857086197

Check out Real Estate Team OS episodes with people Chase mentioned:

- Ep Elena Kee https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-crm-elena-kee-technology

- Ep 043 Chelly Herren https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/techtember-operations-real-estate-tech-stack-chelly-herren

- Ep 028 Jeffery McGonigle https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-agent-proficiency-jose-samano-jeffery-mcgonigle

- Ep 041 Justin Benson https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/techtember-shaping-tech-to-your-way-of-doing-business-with-justin-benson

Connect with Real Estate Team OS:
- https://www.realestateteamos.com/subscribe

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

- https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/