Most team leaders think the fix for flat production is simple. Hire more agents. In this episode Brooke and Karlton Utter from Reside sit down to push back on that instinct and explain why so many teams are quietly solving the wrong problem. They get honest about the real difference between a hiring problem and a development problem, and what it actually costs you when you confuse the two. Karlton walks through how to reverse engineer a production goal into the exact hires you need, why recruiting without a real support system is unfair to the agents you bring on, and how the right onboarding experience sets the tone from day one. Brooke shares what she sees inside teams every single day, from rosters full of agents who have not logged in for a month to piles of leads that never get touched. Together they dig into accountability that actually sticks, the one on one conversations that move the needle, and the patience it takes to give a new agent a real first year ramp up. If you have ever looked at your roster and wondered who you would trust with your next big referral, this conversation is for you.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) Why most teams are solving the wrong problem
• (00:03:11) Recruiting as strategic growth, not just adding bodies
• (00:08:04) Reverse engineering your production goal into the right hires
• (00:12:58) What a real onboarding and training system looks like
• (00:17:46) Treating real estate like a job and checking in daily
• (00:23:35) Why experienced agents leave and how to keep them
• (00:29:42) One on ones, the Oreo method, and the got a minute trap
• (00:35:28) What the first year really looks like for a new agent
• (00:41:15) Development problem or mindset problem
• (00:47:33) Where to start: systems, tools, and your best recruiters

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!

Christy Morrison didn't plan on real estate. She planned on the Olympics. After years of competing in X Games skicross, she traded one extreme sport for another. Building a top 1% business in Truckee while still trying not to miss a powder day.

In this one, she sits down with Suneet and gets honest about what 24 years in the game actually teaches you. The 25-calls-a-day grind. The seven hires turned into six exits. The marketing that finally moved the needle in a second-home market where half your buyers live three hours away.

She talks about going from solo agent, to team leader, to back-to-solo, why "contacts equal contracts" still runs her business, and why she's done hiring closers who don't actually take care of clients. If you're scaling a team and feel like you're constantly cleaning up after the people you brought on to make your life easier. This one's going to hit.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) - The Onboarding Lesson That Costs Teams Their Best Agents
• (00:01:40) - From X Games Skicross to Top 1% Truckee Realtor
• (00:04:23) - Outworking 800 Agents in the Tahoe Market
• (00:07:23) - 20 Years of 25 Calls a Day: The Mike Ferry Grind
• (00:09:55) - Building the Team — ISAs, Marketing, and First Hires
• (00:14:00) - Why 6 of 7 Hires Walked Out the Door
• (00:18:08) - Dominating a Second-Home Market with Postcards and Wrapped Cars
• (00:24:19) - Launching Million-Dollar Listings with Lifestyle Marketing
• (00:27:32) - Hiring for Heart, Not Just Closing Power
• (00:31:55) - Master the Contract or Stay an Amateur

Links and Resources:

• Home & Slate Real Estate Website
• Christy Morrison on LinkedIn
• Christy Morrison on Facebook
• Contact Christy: (530)414-7811
• Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal
• Reside Platform
• More Reside Platform Podcasts

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 Lucy Ham, a real estate powerhouse who has been in the business since 1974. Operating out of Flushing, Michigan — a small town of just 30,000 people — Lucy consistently carries 50 to 60 listings at a time and was once the #2 agent at Prudential nationwide, selling over 140 homes in a single year with no assistants and no internet. Lucy shares how her upbringing on a South Dakota farm instilled an unstoppable work ethic, how adopting Mike Ferry's scripts instantly boosted her listing conversion by 25%, and how she brought her son Justin — a former geologist — into the business. She also reveals her secret to longevity and avoiding burnout: taking a full week off every month. Whether you're a solo agent looking to sharpen your discipline or a team leader trying to recruit and retain buyer agents, Lucy's five decades of wisdom will challenge everything you think you know about building a real estate business.

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) - Lucy Ham's secret to never losing a lead
• (00:01:00) - What it's like running real estate in small-town Michigan
• (00:02:00) - How Lucy started selling homes in 1974 with a newborn
• (00:04:00) - When buyers couldn't access any market data
• (00:05:30) - Becoming the #2 agent at Prudential nationwide
• (00:06:30) - Selling 140 homes a year with zero assistants
• (00:08:00) - The farm-kid mindset that built a real estate empire
• (00:10:00) - How her geologist son read Rich Dad Poor Dad and changed careers
• (00:12:00) - 25 years of Mike Ferry coaching and the script that changed everything
• (00:15:00) - How Lucy and Justin split the business without splitting the family
• (00:18:00) - The coaching call that led to 12 weeks of vacation per year
• (00:20:30) - Team structure: office manager, listing coordinator, and buyer agents
• (00:21:00) - The new hiring strategy to recruit 6 buyer agents by December
• (00:24:30) - The #1 piece of advice for every real estate agent
• (00:27:00) - Advice for team leaders and how to contact Lucy

Links and Resources:

• Website
• Lucy Ham on Facebook
• 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!