Compared to 2023, production was down about 18% this year for The Funk Collection brokered by eXp Realty in Orlando, Florida. Co-team leader Renee Funk took no pleasure in sharing that, but also acknowledged that it’s a fact.

Many teams experienced similar results, driven by all kinds of change. But change presents opportunity and Renee is bullish on regulation changes and the year ahead.

Here in this bonus episode themed to the 2024 Wins and 2025 Game Plans episodes that immediately precede it, Renee shares some of the lessons, challenges, and wins their team faced - and what’s ahead in 2025.

FUBCON Session with Renee: https://youtu.be/ClJc94xi3ic

Subscriber-only episodes: https://realestateteamos.com/subscribe

Listen to this episode with Renee Funk for insights into:

- Why operations are the “true glue” of your team and why your first hires should be in this area

- Why there’s no single way to define success in real estate and what that means for leaving or staying in sales production

- Specific conversations to have openly within your team, including teams within the team and offboarding rather than re-recruiting

- The LB NT framework to reflect on any meeting, conversation, or time period

- Why they’re bullish on regulation changes (spoiler: it’s about clarity of value for all)

- Specific times we’ve seen the “end of agents” fear and distraction before

- How they approached training on buyer-broker agreements

- The two-stage buyer conversations to get buyer-broker agreements signed, to get more buyers to contracts, and to level up “Pop Tart” agents

- Resetting strategy with yourself, your team, and your clients

At the end, learn about a top team that’s close to home.

Renee Funk:

- https://reneefunk.com

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

- https://realtyinorlando.com

Real Estate Team OS:

- https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

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

FUBCON Session with Renee:
 - https://youtu.be/ClJc94xi3ic

FUBCON Session playlist:
 - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJiXNo93cVopyNz34nrcV-kVacpWjvAm

 7 subscriber-only episodes and email-exclusive insights every week:

- https://realestateteamos.com/subscribe

Meet and learn from four of your fellow Real Estate Team OS listeners who share 2024 wins and 2025 game plans with you.

Each person shares what's ahead in 2025, the state of their real estate business today, and what they've learned and implemented from guests on the show.

A few themes in this special year-end episode:
- People power (and supporting systems)
- Content creation (and audience attraction)
- Mortgage partners (and client experience)

Listen to Ep 050 of Real Estate Team OS with:

Jonathan Campbell
CEO and Owner of Jon Campbell Team brokered by REAL in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- Why market conditions weren't his biggest challenge in starting his real estate career in 2007
- What makes his team's productivity (45-50 transactions per agent per year) possible
- How he runs his agent recruiting conversations to find likable and coachable people
- How they set granular, bi-weekly goals for the year ahead
- https://www.instagram.com/jsooup/
- https://www.instagram.com/joncampbellteam

Jennifer Staats
Owner of Staats Solutions and Director of Ops with Digital Maverick and ez Home Search
- How she discovered real estate operations as a passion and skill
- Two categories of agents and teams who need a stronger focus on operations
- Why the right systems (and/or people) are necessary for growth and scale
- The main areas and activities she's evaluating as part of annual business planning
- https://www.instagram.com/jennifertherealtor/

Brandon Doyle
Realtor with Doyle Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Results in Maple Grove, MN
- How The Customer Experience Podcast and Chief Evangelist led him to Real Estate Team OS
- Why they doubled back into a father-and-son real estate team after growing agent count
- Learning from more people in a real estate team than the CEO and team leader
- How his YouTube channel on smart home technology helps his real estate business
- https://linktr.ee/brandondoylemn

Kim Robert Schieldknecht
Broker/Owner of Transaction Alliance, an independent brokerage in Cincinnati, OH
- Things to look for, expect, and value in a mortgage partner
- Why real estate franchise and brokerage brands aren't as important as personal agent brands
- Why Real Estate Team OS is "the best show in the real estate business" (and what else he's watching)
- The brokerage model that's led to start-up costs being covered and profitability in the first year
- https://jointransactionalliance.com/

Episodes mentioned by these four guests:
- 002 Laurie Finkelstein Reader https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/laurie-finkelstein-reader-people-over-profits
- 027 Grant Wise https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-team-performance-marketing-grant-wise
- Inside The Laughton Team with George Laughton https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/inside-laughton-team-phoenix-george-laughton
- Inside Whissel Realty with Kyle Whissel https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/inside-whissel-realty-ceo-team-leader-kyle-whissel
- FUBCON Session with Tom Ferry https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/tom-ferry-differentiation-accountability
- FUBCON Session with Mike Simonsen (Altos Research) https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/mike-simonsen-altos-research-real-time-data
- Inside Whissel Realty series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJiXNo93cVqQmwl4tTOQYebBkBoL6ipz
- Inside The Laughton Team series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJiXNo93cVr9Oc0ptse5z6Vaq5l0T1kA

Make Real Estate Team OS part of your 2025 game plan! Get instant access to seven subscriber-only episodes and email-exclusive insights every week: https://realestateteamos.com/subscribe

Meet and learn from four of your fellow Real Estate Team OS listeners who share 2024 wins and 2025 game plans with you.

Each person shares what's ahead in 2025, the state of their real estate business today, and what they've learned and implemented from guests on the show.

A few themes in this special year-end episode:
- A framework to scale your real estate team
- The gatekeeping of development from real estate agents
- The blueprint for success with online leads

Listen to Ep 049 of Real Estate Team OS for:

Cory Martin
Broker/Owner and Team Leader of Martin Group, a teamerage in Oakville, Ontario
- How their five-agent brokerage operates as a team
- Six specific episodes that have helped them develop a framework to scale
- Why they're leaning more into video than AI for prospect and client communication
- How Real Estate Team OS has saved their brokerage time and money
- https://www.instagram.com/corymartin87/

Lawrence Pritchett
Managing Broker & Partner, MODUS Real Estate Austin
- The hamster wheel of doubling your sales production
- Putting his broker license to use by partnering with two people and a Denver-based brokerage
- How to open more agents up to development
- Why he credits Real Estate Team OS for his sanity over the past year
- https://www.instagram.com/lawrencesellsatx/

Meg Schaefer
Founder of Pixel Mentor and Broker with REVEL Realty Inc in Barrie, Ontario
- How she developed experience in real estate marketing and operations
- A specific way to use Action Plans in your CRM that you may have overlooked
- Digital marketing differences in Canada vs in the United States
- How the Techtember series on Real Estate Team OS helps with her 2025 goals
- https://www.instagram.com/meg.schaefer.broker/

Scott McAnany
Broker with Vreeland Real Estate in Jacksonville, Florida
- How he found real estate success without ever having "worked a lead"
- His path from real estate agent to qualifying broker and team builder
- Where he picked up the blueprint for success with online leads
- How the Inside The Laughton Team series changed his recruiting and onboarding strategy and informed his 2025 game plan
- https://www.instagram.com/scottmcanany/

Episodes mentioned by these four guests:
- 026 Koby Sway https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/direct-model-real-estate-agent-accountability-koby-sway
- 028 Jose Samano and Jeffery McGonigle https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-agent-proficiency-jose-samano-jeffery-mcgonigle
- 037 Greg Harrelson https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-prospecting-listings-greg-harrelson
- 038 Lisa Ryan https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/inside-sales-manager-isa-real-estate-opportunities-lisa-ryan
- 042 Lee Adkins https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/techtember-creating-real-estate-tech-plan-lee-adkins
- 046 Kyle Draper https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/growing-real-estate-team-agents-kyle-draper
- Inside The Laughton Team with George Laughton https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/inside-laughton-team-phoenix-george-laughton
- Inside The Laughton Team with Billy Hobbs https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/operations-experiments-investments-coo-billy-hobbs
- Inside The Laughton Team with Justin McLellan https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-agent-productivity-skill-justin-mclellan
- Inside Whissel Realty series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJiXNo93cVqQmwl4tTOQYebBkBoL6ipz
- Techtember series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCJiXNo93cVoSlXhdFv_RC9V8G5tUw1QX

Make Real Estate Team OS part of your 2025 game plan! Get instant access to seven subscriber-only episodes and email-exclusive insights every week: https://realestateteamos.com/subscribe

Get key takeaways from The Teams Report, a first-of-its-kind report providing essential benchmarks for real estate teams.
 
Get insights into the teams of your peers and competitors in categories like: team size, org structure, roles, compensation, GCI, growth expectations, tech budget, lead gen and distribution, cost per lead, referral fees, database size, SOI and nurturing, and more.

Conducted by the team at RealScout with direct support from the Tom Ferry organization and T3 Sixty and with distribution support from dozens of brands, brokerages, and tech companies, the report is informed by more than 1,000 teams.
 
 Dive in with RealScout Co-Founder and President Andrew Flachner to learn from other teams and team leaders.
 
 Watch or listen to this episode of Real Estate Team OS for insights into:
 - Different ways data is empowering tomorrow’s top teams

- 75% of respondents expect 10% or greater growth in the next 12 months

- What respondents think about interest rates and inventory

- How questions answered in The Teams Report were developed

- The median team size and four main org structures

- Which non-agent roles are most common at different team sizes (and why ISAs may be less common than you think)

- Cost per lead and cost per referral across team sizes and why larger teams spend more on lead gen per transaction

- Why SOI and lead nurturing is every team’s greatest opportunity in the year ahead

- The future of The Teams Report

- Why more scale is possible and more standardization is key to future team success

At the end, learn about indispensable team members, the display of choice for pixel snobs, and the problem-solving power of walking and waves.

The Teams Report:

- https://TheTeamsReport.com

Andrew Flachner:

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

- https://learn.realscout.com/about/

Real Estate Team OS:

- https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

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

[Episode 10 in the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

For each of the past few years, Adrian Quijano has doubled sales production - from 15 to 30 to nearly 60. And he’s pacing to double it again this year.

Learn how and why the top real estate agent in Whissel Realty Group and a top 1% Realtor in San Diego County plugged into the team initially, followed the team’s blueprint, leveraged the team’s resources, and pushed himself on a journey of personal and professional growth. 

Hear how he’s scaled his business by adding additional leverage and delegating tasks to his own team within the team - including a co-listing agent and a showing assistant.

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

- An agent blueprint for team success

- His path from inside sales in cybersecurity and IT solutions to real estate sales

- Why he joined Whissel Realty Group and why splits didn’t matter to him

- The three characteristics an agent needs to successfully plug into a real estate team and have their business take off

- How and why the “Core Four” informed, motivated, and guided his sales success

- When and how his leads shifted from team-generated to self-generated

- How he structures his day around IPAs (income-producing activities!)

- How the need to delegate admin tasks led to building a team within the team

- The three main sources of his continued learning and growth

At the end, hear how he’s carried Semper Fidelis from the Marine Corps into every aspect of his life.

Adrian Quijano:
- https://www.instagram.com/adrian.quijano/

- https://www.zillow.com/profile/adrianquijano

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

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

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

[Episode 8 of the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

In her move into real estate, Karlee VanDyke spent six months interviewing nearly every team and brokerage in her market.

Now you can learn from that process - how to know what you’re looking for, red flags to watch out for, and one question that tells you how strong the organization is.

Today, Karlee’s a top agent with Whissel Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty in San Diego. Learn about her accelerated path from Bronze to Platinum and what that brought her. Get unique and specific benefits from being on a great team (like “pond days” and agent relationships).

Whether you’re a team leader or an agent, you’ll get helpful ideas in this conversation about how teams can best support and serve agents.

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

- Time-blocking to protect money-producing activities

- What she learned interviewing teams and brokerages and how you know you found the right one

- How the team supports her sales production

- The path to Platinum from Bronze and the benefits of putting in that work

- How she plugged into the system and started generating her own opportunities

- A simple fact for an agent concerned about team splits

- How she handles forms, conversations, and presentations after the NAR settlement

- Specific red flags as agents try to find the right team or brokerage (like shielding your top agents)

- How the “pond day” in Follow Up Boss benefitted her business (and how she made calls to those potential clients)

- The most valuable aspect of being on the team at this stage of her career: leveraging agent relationships

- Why she’s not leaving Whissel Realty Group and one question that lets you know how good any team is
- The primary sign that a team is a good one: top agent tenure

At the end, learn of a love of Padres, Chargers, and VanDykes!

Karlee VanDyke:

- https://www.instagram.com/karleevandyke.realestate/

- https://www.facebook.com/karlee.vandyke

Whissel Realty Group:

- https://thewhisselway.com/

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

Real Estate Team OS:

- https://www.realestateteamos.com

- https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos

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

[A bonus episode in the Inside Whissel Realty series on Real Estate Team OS]

Before we bring you two of Whissel Realty Group’s top-performing agents to close the series, we’re highlighting one of the most important themes you’ve heard from the team.
 
 A key lesson in the series: providing agent leverage profitably.
 
 A unique way they bring it to life: the ACE Team (Agent Concierge Experience).
 
 In this short, jam-packed episode, get the philosophy, strategy, and tactics behind the ACE Team, including specific tips for working more effectively with virtual assistants.
 
 CEO Kyle Whissel
 - The three things they want agents doing most often
 - The leverage they provide to make that happen
 - The way they do it profitably and equitably

COO Chris VanderValk
 - The macro trend that requires a team to provide agent leverage

- The specific value the ACE Team adds to the sales funnel

- The importance of the team providing this leverage, rather than agents providing it themselves

Director of Operations Shannon Youssefi

- The core services provided by the ACE Team

- The lessons she learned hiring the initial VA to building a 25-member international team

At the end, hear from our two final guests in the Inside Whissel Realty series - Adrian Quijano (who’s tripled unit sales for three years straight and is pacing to do it again this year) and Karlee VanDyke (who’s closed $45M in volume in her first two years with the team).

[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/