Reside Platform Podcast

If your real estate team runs smoothly only when you are in the room, you do not have a people problem. You have an operations problem. Lauren Rathgeb-Holland and Brooke Riecke unpack why growing teams often hire another agent when what they really need is stronger ownership, documented systems, and operational support. They share practical ways to identify the work only you can do, spot the tasks that are quietly draining your time, and build a team structure that supports growth without making you the bottleneck. Whether you lead a small team, manage a busy production business, or are preparing to scale, this conversation will help you create more capacity, accountability, and consistency.

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 Why your team falls apart when you step away
• 00:02:00 The hidden cost of doing every small task yourself
• 00:04:00 Knowing when you are no longer the best person for a role
• 00:06:00 Keep recruiting while you diagnose your operations
• 00:08:00 Build a role around the work you need to release
• 00:11:00 Document your processes before details get lost
• 00:14:00 The five quiet mistakes that limit growth
• 00:18:00 Using CRM data and AI to coach with clarity
• 00:23:00 What an operations leader can own for your team
• 00:28:00 Your first operations hire and the people, process, performance framework
• 00:34:00 Consistency, delegation, and making room for real growth

Links and Resources:

• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

Being good at selling houses doesn't mean you've built a business that can run without wearing you out. Andrea Kugler knows the difference. After years as a solo agent doing everything herself, she started putting systems in place and launched a real estate team. In this conversation with Suneet Agarwal, Andrea shares what changed when she stopped relying on memory to follow up, started using a CRM, and got support through Reside. She also gets honest about the part of leadership that checks your ego: holding yourself to the same standards you set for your agents. For team leaders and brokerage owners wondering where social media fits into an already full day, Andrea explains how showing up consistently brought past clients back into her world and helped two agents find her through TikTok. Along the way, they talk about building resilience, keeping content simple, and taking the next step before everyone around you understands the plan. If you're producing but still doing too much yourself, this is a practical conversation about building a business that doesn't depend on you remembering and handling everything.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Building a Real Estate Team Before You Feel Ready
• (00:02:00) From Solo Agent Burnout to Business Systems
• (00:05:00) Using a CRM to Fix Real Estate Follow Up
• (00:07:00) Leadership Accountability Starts With You
• (00:09:00) Coaching Agents Through Difficult Moments
• (00:11:00) Instagram and Facebook for Staying Top of Mind
• (00:14:00) Creating Real Estate Content Without Overthinking
• (00:17:00) Repurposing Content and Getting Started With AI
• (00:19:00) Investing in Support and Committing to Your Team
• (00:21:00) Connect With Andrea for Ohio Referrals

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Andrea Kugler on LinkedIn
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

Suneet sits down with Dan Gandee, principal broker of The Operative Group in Oregon, for a conversation that is less about AI hype and more about what actually pays. Dan is on pace for 200 closings this year and he walks through the exact direction his team took the technology: a scrubbed and appended investor mailing list that turned roughly two grand in postage into a $15,000 commission check, a portfolio audit offer that gets absentee owners to raise their hands, daily CRM audits that land in Slack at 8:00 AM so nothing sits in lead status, and an agentic operating system his team built after canceling their project management tools because none of them spoke real estate. Suneet shares his own side of the ledger, including five new social brands running years of archived content on autopilot, an autonomous agent handling SEO and website pages after he let his vendor and staff writer go, and a daily email agent that rewrites subject lines for non openers. Both of them keep landing on the same point: the win is not asking a chatbot to write a listing description, it is handing the machine your whole operation, your recurring busy work and your quarterly goals, then letting it tell you what to systematize first. Dan closes with the simplest starting move any team leader or solo agent can make this week, plus how he squeezed a six month onboarding process down to about 45 days and where automated coaching reports fit into agent productivity.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) The $15,000 check that started with two grand in mailers
•  (00:01:12) Dan Gandee on 174 closings, IDX roots and why tech obsession pays
•  (00:04:22) Five new social brands running years of archived content
•  (00:07:05) Building the investor direct mail machine, list scrub to send
•  (00:11:20) The portfolio audit offer and five referral partners that open doors
•  (00:16:10) Letting the SEO vendor go and handing the website to an agent
•  (00:20:05) Daily CRM audits posted in Slack where every agent sees them
•  (00:23:15) AI calling, retargeting and screening the hand raisers
•  (00:28:10) Why they canceled Monday and Asana and built their own system
•  (00:33:20) Coaching reports, 45 day onboarding and where to start today

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Dan Gandee on Linkedin
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

What should real estate agents kill, keep or change as they build a stronger business? Lauren, Brooke and Karlton turn that question into a lively conversation about the prospecting activities that still create real opportunity. They discuss replacing generic cold calls with intentional warm conversations, using open houses as a low cost way to meet buyers and sellers, approaching door hangers and neighborhood outreach with more value and respect, and building a real system for paid internet leads. They also explain why for sale by owners are one of the clearest opportunities for agents who want more listings, why buyer consultations set the tone for a professional client experience, and how focused neighborhood farming can compound over time. The through line is simple: choose a strategy that fits your business, bring real value, and follow up consistently.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Why the kill, keep or change game matters
• (00:01:08) Cold calling becomes intentional warm calling
• (00:07:13) Why open houses still create opportunity
• (00:10:01) Replacing door knocking with value driven outreach
• (00:14:32) When paid internet leads make sense
• (00:20:15) Why agents should keep working with FSBOs
• (00:26:52) The case for buyer consultations
• (00:34:12) How neighborhood farming compounds over time
• (00:39:52) The next generation of real estate prospecting
• (00:40:32) Final thoughts and an invitation for feedback

Links and Resources:

• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

Anna Pisarski got her real estate license at 19, and ten years later she is a licensed broker, Director of Agent Support and Development at The Courtney Group in Reno, Nevada, a competitive bodybuilder, and the agent behind an Instagram account pulling hundreds of thousands of views a month. In this episode, Suneet sits down with Anna to unpack why most agents have social media backwards. Her argument is simple: if anyone in your sphere is not using you as their realtor, you do not have a lead generation problem, you have a conversion problem. Anna explains how she treats Instagram as a CRM for her sphere instead of an influencer play, why she runs two accounts when everyone says you should not, and how she decides which content actually builds trust versus just juicing the algorithm. Suneet shares the AI driven analytics system he uses to track every post across every platform, plus the scheduling workflow that lets one piece of content work across Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok. The conversation then shifts to leadership. Anna breaks down how The Courtney Group coaches agents through the messy middle, what the second 90 days should look like, and why their six week accountability groups came back as the top rated item in every agent's midyear review. She closes with the mindset that keeps her locked in (time under tension, ruthless self accountability, and getting the hard stuff done before the day starts) along with what it means to take over a top producing team from her mother, Kathy Courtney, as Kathy heads into her final two years. If you lead a team or own a brokerage and want your agents posting with purpose and holding themselves accountable, this one is for you.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) You don't have a lead generation problem, you have a conversion problem
• (00:04:50) Licensed at 19: surviving the real estate rollercoaster as a teenager
• (00:07:05) Coaching agents through the messy middle and the second 90 days
• (00:12:50) Why Anna runs two Instagram accounts (and why it works)
• (00:14:35) Social media is a CRM for your sphere, not a lead gen tool
• (00:18:05) Tracking every post with AI to find the patterns that work
• (00:20:55) Instagram vs Facebook vs TikTok vs YouTube Shorts for realtors
• (00:25:55) Accountability through self discovery and running accountability groups
• (00:29:45) Grit, time under tension, and what keeps Anna locked in
• (00:34:20) Taking over a top producing team and advice for team leaders

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Anna Pisarski on Instagram
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

Ross Hardy helped grow his real estate team from just over 200 annual transactions to a projected 400 by confronting the leadership habits, staffing bottlenecks, and inconsistent standards that were limiting its potential. In this conversation with Suneet Agarwal, Ross explains how virtual assistants gave his transaction, listing, and marketing departments more capacity without adding unnecessary overhead, why his team hired a director of agent growth, and how a mentor program helped new agents reach production faster. They also discuss intentional recruiting, daily huddles, office culture, prospecting, skill development, and the importance of building systems before the team is overwhelmed. For team leaders and broker owners who want to scale without becoming the bottleneck, this episode offers an honest look at the decisions, people, and leadership shifts behind sustainable growth.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Breaking through leadership ceilings
• (00:03:20) The team structure behind 200 transactions
• (00:07:45) Using virtual assistants to create more capacity
• (00:12:20) Hiring a director of agent growth
• (00:16:10) Finding great talent through Indeed
• (00:20:05) Mentorship and faster agent development
• (00:24:25) Building culture through standards and community
• (00:28:40) Where AI helps and where human judgment matters
• (00:32:00) The opportunity ahead for real estate teams
• (00:35:10) Why team leaders need coaching and proximity

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Ross Hardy on LinkedIn
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

Most real estate teams do not need more content. They need marketing that is connected to operations, built around the client journey, and simple enough for agents to use consistently. Rachael Little, Chief Marketing Officer at Gale Group Realty Brokerage, joins Lauren Rathgeb-Holland to share how the brokerage grew from 20 to 60 agents while building a dependable in house marketing department. Rachael explains how clear messaging, a central request line, repeatable onboarding, project management, and fast support created a stronger experience for agents. She also breaks down the difference between making attractive content and developing marketing that earns trust, strengthens culture, supports recruiting, and helps a team scale without sacrificing service.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00): Why expensive marketing can still miss the mark
• (00:04:00): How Rachael moved from photography into real estate marketing
• (00:08:00): The systems that supported growth from 20 to 60 agents
• (00:12:45): Content creation versus strategic marketing
• (00:17:00): Why marketers should work closely with operations
• (00:21:30): What to look for when hiring a real estate marketer
• (00:25:00): The simple request system behind the marketing department
• (00:28:30): Keeping marketing repeatable, recognizable, and easy to implement
• (00:31:00): Culture, messaging, and the right first hire

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Rachael Little on LinkedIn
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

Growth creates a difficult tension for real estate professionals. The more clients and transactions you earn, the less time you have to keep generating new business. In this episode, Lauren and Karlton explain how solo agents and team leaders can identify the work that truly requires their attention, delegate the rest, and build support without sacrificing the client experience. They walk through the four hats every agent wears, share a simple 30 minute time audit, and explain why a transaction coordinator, virtual assistant, marketing partner, or buyer's agent may be the right next hire. You will also learn how to evaluate every investment by the time and revenue it can create, why delegation does not mean giving up control, and how consistent time blocking can help you grow even before you are ready to hire. If you want to scale your production while creating more freedom in your business and life, this conversation offers a practical place to start.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) The transaction trap that can stall your growth
• (00:02:20) Knowing when you have outgrown doing everything alone
• (00:04:35) The four hats every real estate agent wears
• (00:06:30) Using a 30 minute audit to find work you can delegate
• (00:09:00) Choosing support based on return on investment
• (00:12:10) Reinvesting a portion of every closing
• (00:15:10) Why a transaction coordinator can be the best first hire
• (00:17:00) Letting someone own the 70 percent so you can excel at the 30 percent
• (00:20:15) Protecting the client relationship while handing off paperwork
• (00:24:20) Using time blocking to grow before you hire

Links and Resources:

• Karlton Utter on LinkedIn
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

The habits that make someone a successful solo real estate agent can become the very habits that limit a growing team. In this episode, Brooke and Karlton unpack the identity shift from top producer to true team leader. They explain why hiring agents or support staff does not automatically create leverage, how unclear expectations turn leaders into bottlenecks, and why goals, systems, accountability, and honest conversations matter at every stage of growth. They also share practical ways to protect your calendar, coach more efficiently, help agents make confident decisions, assign roles around individual strengths, and decide whether stepping out of production is actually right for you. If you lead a real estate team, own a brokerage, or are preparing to make your first hire, this conversation will help you build a business that supports your people without depending on you for every answer.

Chapters

• (00:00:00) Why top producers struggle with leadership
• (00:03:00) Hiring people does not make you a leader
• (00:06:00) How team leaders become bottlenecks
• (00:10:00) Define team goals, production, and roles
• (00:12:00) Time blocking for team leadership
• (00:15:00) Scale support through group coaching
• (00:18:00) Empower agents to make decisions
• (00:21:00) When to step back from production
• (00:25:00) Build roles around each agent's strengths
• (00:32:00) Lead with empathy, accountability, and service

Links and Resources:

• Karlton Utter on LinkedIn
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!

What would happen to your business if you disappeared for three weeks? Suneet sits down with Michele Mamo, team leader of the Dwell Well Group at eXp Realty, who just returned from a three week family trip through Europe to find her best month ever waiting for her, plus nearly 40 deals already pending for the month ahead. Eighteen months ago she was seriously thinking about quitting. In this conversation she breaks down exactly what changed: getting obsessed with her database, working Follow Up Boss every single day, joining the Zillow Preferred program, building a leadership team that watches out for every agent, and creating an onboarding school inside Agently that turns brand new agents into producers. Michele also shares her remarkable origin story, from leaving a federal government job at the U.S. Treasury in 2002 to restarting her business from scratch in Cincinnati with $200 short sale consultations, along with her honest take on referral fees, online leads, and what it really takes to win listings. If you are a team leader or broker owner who wants a business that keeps producing while you actually live your life, this episode is proof that it can be done, and that it is never too late to start over.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) The $200 short sale hustle that restarted her business
• (00:01:08) Three weeks in Europe without touching the business
• (00:04:41) Coming home to a record month and a packed pending board
• (00:06:23) The database obsession that changed everything
• (00:10:22) Leadership meetings, agent pods, and accountability
• (00:12:04) Training new agents with a team school inside Agently
• (00:13:47) From the U.S. Treasury to a career in real estate
• (00:17:38) Divorce, a new city, and starting over in Cincinnati
• (00:21:12) The honest truth about online leads and Zillow Preferred
• (00:25:31) How to win listings, plus advice for agents and team leaders

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Michele Mamo on LinkedIn
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• Reside Platform Website

Thanks so much for joining us this week. Want to subscribe to the Reside Platform Podcast? Have some feedback you’d like to share? Connect with us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube to leave us a review!