Share these five tips with your team to boost their optimism and give them skills for being more productive.

We asked top producing real estate professionals across the country about the daily habits they’ve developed to help them succeed. Now, we’re sharing their insights to help brokers better train and motivate agents who might need a helping hand.

Here are five tips to share with your team.

1. Top professionals have unbridled, passionate optimism.

Optimism is more than seeing the glass half full. Optimism includes confidence, assuredness, enthusiasm and hopefulness. Unbridled, passionate optimism is being able to express that confidence, assuredness, enthusiasm and hopefulness in all your actions and words—which are part of your daily habits.

Even in the face of huge challenges and disappointments, expressing yourself with optimism makes a difference in both business processes and outcomes. W. Clement Stone, author of The Success System That Never Fails, said, “There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is attitude.”

One way to protect your optimism in the face of what may seem like an insurmountable challenge or foregone “blown deal” is to internalize the phrase, “It’s too soon to tell.” Just as situations and deals can sour, they can also regroup, revitalize and bloom. By internalizing and expressing “It’s too soon to tell,” you’re leaving yourself and your clients with open-ended options. And no one ever knows where open-ended options will lead.

2. Top professionals have superior market knowledge.

Superior knowledge of your market goes well beyond pricing, comps and market trends. Superior market knowledge includes developing relationships with companies (via your strong networking skills) that are in the process of or planning to move executives in or out of your specific market. Superior market knowledge involves knowing which financial options are available to your clients on all tiers of the wealth spectrum. It is your ability to find inventory even when there is no inventory listed on your local MLS.

3. Top professionals are relentlessly upgrading their skills.

Top professionals know the skills they used in the past that rendered them successful will not work as well, if at all, in this current market. 

Top professionals are consistently upgrading their presentations to sellers and buyers alike. Just as tech companies are constantly upgrading their apps and software, top professionals are constantly upgrading their technical skills so they can capitalize on improved and enhanced apps and products. Top professionals are also upgrading their social media skills and are relentlessly improving their remote presentation skills. Top professionals know that remote work and servicing their clients remotely are here to stay, and they act accordingly.

4. Top professionals say yes more than they say no.

Top professionals are willing to say yes even if they don’t know how to do what it is the client is asking them to do. Top professionals educate themselves through research or find a source that can meet whatever want or need their clients have. 

And, it goes without saying, that the more you learn about whatever it is, the more confident, self-assured, enthusiastic, and passionately optimistic you will be about serving your clients.

5. Top professionals lead rather than follow.

Top professionals are proactive rather than reactive. They are versatile, stable and don’t stand for unnecessary drama. They do not let their emotions eclipse their purpose, which is serving their client at the highest level, while at the same time expressing compassion for their client and their client’s interests.

This habit of leading rather than following is well served by the expression we previously mentioned: “It’s too soon to tell.” It reinforces that unbridled, passionate optimism and it gives you permission to stay calm and neutral regardless of someone else’s emotions, mistakes, or omissions.

The bottom line here, brokers, is to help your agents row their own boats by reinforcing the above habits of top professionals. If you’d like to learn more, check out our podcast, where in each episode, we break down what it takes to be a successful real estate practitioner..

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Brokers and team leaders can use these tips for delivering constructive feedback with tact and authority.

As a broker-owner or team leader, your agents look to you for
leadership and guidance. Offering sales associates constructive feedback
is an important way to share your vision and help them improve their
skillset.Here are five tips to help you provide advice that associate brokers,
agents, and team members can use to reach their sales goals. Chances
are these tips will lead to more trusting relationships among those in
your office and greater productivity for everyone.

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

As the broker for CarMarc Realty Group, Carrie J. Little views content creation as one of her biggest job responsibilities. Here, she shares her top social media tips.

When it comes to mastering social media in real estate, there are dozens of sites and apps that offer advice, content creation, and even outsourcing for agents. Brokers, on the other hand, are often left wondering how they should handle their channels. Should they focus on agent-facing recruitment messages? Buyer and seller content? Listing highlights, agent successes, and company appreciation events?

While many brokers are left unsure about how to harness social media, CarMarc Realty Group’s designated managing broker Carrie J. Little has a clear outlook. In a session at the 2021 REALTOR® Broker Summit on June 30, Little offered seven proven social media strategies that brokerages can employ as they build or rebuild their social media presences.

1. Create content for the agents in your office.

A smart way for brokers to reframe their social media, said Little, is to consider what their agents may want to share with their clients. One example that Little gave was to create visual market snapshots, using local data that may interest and excite agents and the customers they serve. ​​​​​

Beyond data, brokerages can also highlight their agents with exclusive, personal content. “Agents like to be acknowledged,” Little said. They also need content to share, and content that will help them bolster their reputations. That’s why CarMarc Realty Group creates new listing graphics for agents and then posts on the brokerage page. These graphics can then be shared by the individual agents. “It gives them content, it lets the consumer know that they’re working, it lets their sphere of influence know they’re working, and it shows that they’re actually working a transaction from beginning to end.”

2. Create professional and organic content.

A broker’s online image is dependent on the images and videos they’re posting, Little said. That’s why she always recommends posting high-quality photos of everything—from listings to agents and brokers to images used in posts about staging, gardening and more. Whether or not each agent is in a suit coat or a jean jacket matters less than the quality of the photographs, said Little. “[Brokers] need to think about hiring that professional photographer.”

Professional imagery doesn’t mean stuffy content, though. Little encourages brokers to create and share organic, less-filtered content about how their business life operates. Whether it’s a series on what it was like to build the business from scratch, a behind-the-scenes peek at what it means to comply with the REALTOR® Code of Ethics or tips on how agents and brokers help buyers navigate the market, Little believes that it’s important to tell honest stories about the real estate profession. Video content provides an entry into creating honest, “real life” style content.

3. Collaborate with industry partners.

Next, Little recommends that brokerages work with loan officers, inspectors, attorneys and other partners to get different perspectives and unique content that consumers can’t find anywhere else. “Why not interview a loan officer about how, instead of being prequalified, maybe you should be preapproved or … fully underwritten.”

Other options are to interview inspectors about what they are seeing in today’s homes, or real estate attorneys about what happens behind the scenes during escrow. For these interviews, Little recommends that brokers use Facebook or Instagram.

4. Use hashtags and locations.

“When we talk about hashtag and location-based marketing, [that’s] when the end user can find you based on a hashtag or location,” Little explains. She offered this example: If someone is looking for an agent in a broker’s city, and the broker has properly used hashtags or location tagging in their posts, the consumer would be able to find them more easily.

Beyond this use case, consumers who are looking for local content are more likely to come across a brokerage’s posts if they are properly tagged. Whether posting images of a city concert series, a new café, or other local attractions, a brokerage’s posts will gain traction if they are hashtagged or tagged by location—it allows users to find a brokerage’s content on their own terms.

But brokers should be careful not to go overboard with hashtags, Little cautions. Each platform has its limits on hashtags and for some platforms, like Linkedin, going overboard isn’t necessary and can actually stifle a user’s efforts because it messes up the algorithm.

5. Engage on social media.

Engagement, said Little, “is having a conversation with your followers. It’s just as important as seeing people in person.” She recommends that when a broker or brokerage employee responds to a post, they always use five words or more. Not only will this come off as more authentic and conversational, but many social media platforms move longer responses to the top of the page and make them more visible.

6. Include video content.

Video content doesn’t have to be high-production or take a long time, said Little. “You can build a 60-second story on Instagram. You can build a 60-second story on TikTok.” The key is to just get started.

Making the videos accessible is also important. Little recalls a time when her son told her to add captions to her videos so that he could “watch your videos while we are in class.” While she didn’t encourage that behavior, it did help Little to understand how important captions and accessibility are to gaining more views from users who aren’t able to watch in a traditional way. Much of the time, users have the volume on their devices low or off, and captions make it easier to garner the message of the content without having to turn the volume up.

7. Social recruiting.

Instead of the typical broker outreach where you message an agent about their production and ask if they’d consider moving companies, Little recommends that brokers offer something of value to agents. This allows agents to begin the recruiting process on their own.

Acknowledging that agents are overwhelmed by continuing education classes, but still want to learn about new tactics or business tips, Little shares that she has been creating chunks of educational content shares through Instagram videos. The goal is to show potential recruits that she is a hands-on, digitally minded broker who is there to help agents succeed. When they reach out, she is ready to help them join her brokerage or to connect them with brokers in their own markets.

Whether you’re the broker-owner, designated managing broker or a digital marketing person, Little said, these seven strategies will put you on the path to a stronger social media presence. She also reminded digital newcomers to pick one new strategy, rather than trying to implement every strategy all at once. “Don’t make this hard,” she reminded the brokers in the audience. “Start today.”

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

In this digital age, your agents need an active, authoritative online presence. Help them build one with this step-by-step breakdown.

I recently met a newer agent who shared that despite networking, door knocking and even a bit of advertising, he hadn’t landed his first listing.

After discussing some of the ways he could get in front of potential sellers, I searched his name online and found very little. He had a website provided by his brokerage, but that was it. When agents come to their brokers and are unhappy with how their businesses are advancing, one suggestion a broker might make is that the agents spend time honing their online presence.

Build a Strong Personal Brand

People do business with people they know, like and trust, which is why a strong personal brand is so important today. The foundation of any effective brand is based on three factors you’ll want to counsel agents to embody in their online marketing.

Principles

Principles guide all humans. Ask your agents to consider what they believe in so strongly that it affects who they work with and how they conduct business. An agent’s answer will be the foundation of their brand.

Brokers can help agents understand why they serve a particular niche, what they do and don’t do for clients and what causes or passions they stand for outside their work. Whether it be service, equity or even building wealth, these principles guide how they live and work and should be communicated. Using principles to guide their online presence will help them attract their ideal clientele.

Messaging

Everything an agent says or does needs to align with their brand. Once they’ve figured out their principles, brokers can guide agents to develop their pillars. They serve as a North Star, guiding all the messaging in a cohesive direction.

In my public relations firm, I start by having clients identify the five principles they’re most passionate about and use that to direct all messaging across all media. Agents can do the same.

Aesthetics

While this is the first thing most people think about branding, it’s the last part of the equation.

In crafting an online presence, aesthetics refers to color palettes, graphic elements like a logo, cover photos and marketing materials. Encourage agents to make sure these elements are cohesive across platforms. Explain to them that this helps them form a recognizable brand. If your brokerage already has a color palette, logo, fonts and styles picked out, consider putting a branding package together for your agents to use.

Acquire Testimonials & Reviews

There are a couple of distinct differences between testimonials and reviews: Testimonials are usually solicited by the agent. Reviews are usually written by the customer and posted on a third-party website, like a Google Business Profile. Also, reviews are usually only text, whereas testimonials can be in any format.

Ideally, your agents will want video testimonials because they can be more persuasive. Think about it like this: When you see a written testimonial on someone’s website, attributed to “Mike S.,” how convincing is that? But a video where someone is describing their experience working with an is far more authentic and persuasive.

People tend to get nervous on video, so you can encourage your agents to provide clients with some bullet points. This gives them structure, which helps put their minds at ease, and tees them up to use stories that highlight what makes the agent stand out.

Advise your agents that testimonials can be embedded on their website and used in newsletters and social media posts. They can also create a montage of their best testimonials, which should be embedded on their website homepage.

Leverage Case Studies

A case study is a brief report about a problem a client had, how the problem was solved and what the outcome was. In this case, the problem was that your agent’s client needed to sell their home or buy a home. The solution was your agent’s approach to helping the client achieve their goal. The result was the end: the client achieved that goal and was satisfied with their service.

You can tell your agents that the key here is to leverage storytelling to get people emotionally engaged. They will want to include enough details and data so readers can clearly see how your agent can help them with their buying or selling goals.

Three to five should be plenty but advise your agents that they’ll also want to replace case studies from time to time with new ones as they move forward in their career. This is important because the market changes frequently, and if the circumstances of a particular transaction don’t align with current market conditions, the case study may not seem as credible to potential clients.

Agents will want to make these available as pages on their websites, and they should also make a PDF download available as well. The download gives potential clients something they can walk away with and use when comparing agents.

Use Search Results to Inspire Trust

Before a seller lists their property with an agent, they will run to their favorite search engine and look that agent up. Help your agents by highlighting the importance of crafting a strong presence in the search results.

Step 1: Have a Complete Profile on the Brokerage Page

The first step is to make sure they have a profile page on your brokerage website, because it has some degree of authority from an SEO perspective, so it should be easy to get that page to rank for their name.

Step 2: Use Social Media

Next, you’ll make sure they have a profile set up on at least one major social media network—preferably more than one—and that their profiles include a descriptive bio that differentiates them from other agents. Make sure they include a professional headshot and cover photo as well. They should also be active on these platforms, by consistently posting useful content that demonstrates their expertise.

Step 3: Publish Articles on the Brokerage Website

If you can publish articles on your brokerage website, you should encourage your agents to do that because it benefits them and you. If your website is built and optimized properly, these articles will rank for your agents’ name so they’ll show up in the search results when someone looks them up. Over time, by helping your agents demonstrate their expertise in this way, you’ll also increase the overall organic search traffic, and as a result, leads to your website.

Step 4: Become a Media Source

You can also encourage them to start writing for other publications and getting featured in the media. Doing so adds third-party validation to the equation. Think about it like this—these publications have a barrier to entry, meaning they won’t feature just anyone, so when they do, it sends a clear message to prospects that the person featured is among the best of the best. Plus, these publications tend to be authoritative from an SEO perspective, so the content will likely rank well for your agents’ names.

For a technical step-by-step guide that breaks down SEO, here is a comprehensive article Entrepreneur magazine asked me to write on the topic.

Earning a listing requires the kind of online presence that clearly demonstrates an agent’s expertise, positions the agent—and thus, the brokerage—as an authority in the market and inspires trust in potential clients. These steps help an agent cultivate and communicate their authority in the profession and their dedication to their clients.

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

The Sitzer-Burnett verdict spotlights the need for more transparency when it comes to compensation. Help agents understand the importance of the written buyer agreement and how to communicate its value to their clients.

The October 2023 Sitzer-Burnett verdict has reinvigorated the conversation around compensation and transparency among real estate professionals. The topic of written buyer agreements is top of mind in the real estate industry, and for good reason: due to the proposed settlement reached in the litigation brought on behalf of home sellers relating to broker compensation, all MLS participants providing services to a buyer will soon be required to enter into a written agreement before the buyer tours a property on the MLS.

The legally binding contract provides protection and transparency for the agent and consumer alike. 

“It solidifies and quantifies the responsibilities of the broker to the buyer and the responsibilities of the buyer working with the broker,” states Lynn Madison, a REALTOR® in Schaumburg, Il. and CEO of Madison Seminars.

Rather than relying on a verbal conversation or assuming an understanding, a written agreement during a transaction spells out expectations, including the services provided to the buyer, the agency relationship, how the brokerage is compensated, and how that system serves the buyer’s best interest.

In recent months, more brokerages have been working to relay the importance of written buyer agreements to help ensure clarity and transparency between the broker and the consumer. Consumers deserve transparency and need to understand the full breadth of the services provided by buyer brokers, which means agents need to be able to communicate their value effectively. Given the coming practice changes, Madison feels that brokers should train their agents now on the use and significance of written agreements and how to present them to consumers.

Make Sure Agents Understand the Buyer Representation Agreement

“They help the buyers, the sellers, the agents and the broker,” says Gretchen Pearson, president and owner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Drysdale Properties in Danville, Calif. Written buyer agreements have been mandatory for her 900 agents since the start of the pandemic.

She started training agents on written buyer agreements before the pandemic hit, but when it did, real estate professionals in California were required to have buyers sign statements regarding exposure to the virus. Certain public health requirements had to be followed, like airing out the home for two hours before a property could be shown, and the statements acted as a binding contract stating the agents would adhere to those requirements.

Pearson said the written agreements formalized the relationship and the responsibilities of each party. When regulations around the pandemic lessened, Pearson says it was a natural fit to continue using written buyer agreements even after the COVID protocols were no longer required.

To help agents understand the importance of using these agreements, they need to understand them. Explain to agents that written buyer agreements are legally binding documents that are designed to protect both the consumer and the broker, and that they clearly outline the duties and responsibilities of both parties. With everything outlined clearly, the consumer will understand what they can expect the broker to do for them.

When thinking through the use of written agreements, consider these points:

• Written agreements will soon be required before a buyer tours properties listed for sale in the MLS.
• Expectations and duties are on paper for all to see and understand. 
• Written agreements explain how consumers can work alongside agents to ensure ideal outcomes are reached.
• Through transparency and clear expectations, the written agreement fosters trust and understanding for the consumer. 
• Consumers will better understand that many agents are self-employed, make a living helping people buy and sell their properties, and how they are compensated for these services.

Buyers will understand how the broker will be compensated for their work.

Explaining the Buyer Representation Agreement to the Consumer

Ensuring agents understand what’s in the agreement is the first step in helping agents realize the importance of using them. The next step is to quell any fears they have in presenting the written agreement to consumers by making sure they’re comfortable explaining the terms of the agreement.

To start, the agent should be able to explain to the consumer how the agreement protects both parties. The agent should also explain how a written agreement makes the homebuying process more transparent.

Madison is a frequent instructor of the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) designation course for the National Association of REALTORS®, and she speaks to brokerages across the country about the topic. “The Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) course, which NAR is currently offering to members at no cost, includes many ideas and resources to help the agent articulate their value proposition in order to get the buyer representation agreement signed,” she adds.

What to Include in a Written Buyer Agreement

If your brokerage does not have a standardized written buyer agreement, reach out to the state or local REALTOR® association.

“There is no (national) standard buyer representation agreement just like there’s no national standard listing agreement for sellers either,” states Madison. 

If neither your brokerage nor your local or state REALTOR® association has a written buyer agreement, consult legal counsel to draft an agreement to ensure it complies with your state laws and MLS policies.

Madison says a written buyer agreement should include the amount of compensation for the broker’s services, how the broker is compensated, as well as statements describing the agent and the consumer responsibilities. For example:

Agent duties may include:

• Use diligence in its search to locate a property which is acceptable to the buyer.
• Arrange showings of properties of interest to the buyer.
• Disclose to buyer any known information that would materially affect the buyer’s decision ot acquire a property.
• Use professional knowledge and skills to assist a buyer in negotiating for the purchase of such property.
• Assist the buyer throughout the transaction and to represent buyer’s best interests.
• Protect any confidential information that a buyer discloses to the buyer’s agent.

Buyer duties may include:

• Provide accurate and relevant personal information to buyer’s agent regarding buyer’s financial ability to purchase real estate.
• Advise the buyer’s agent of any home offered for sale to the buyer where the buyer may have an interest in purchasing such property.
• Submit through buyer’s agent any offer to purchase or contract on a property which was shown to buyer by buyer’s agent.

“A buyer representation agreement memorializes everything you have said to your buyer, and they can’t come back and say, ‘You didn’t say that,’” Madison comments. “Now, everyone knows what their responsibilities and duties are.”

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Agents can’t be the only ones building relationships. Doing so is just as important for brokers and can lead to long-term success and stability.

Over the past few years, building relationships took a backslide for many in the industry. Pandemic-related restrictions and a market frenzy made it difficult to find the time and bandwidth to get to know people. The market is on the other side of that now, but tight inventory and high prices mean industry professionals are back to playing the long game, which requires cultivated and trusted relationships.

“If you are respectful and honest, then everything falls in your lap,” says Michele Harrington, AHWD, CEO of First Team Real Estate in Newport Beach, Calif. She also serves as federal political coordinator for the National Association of REALTORS® and as a director for the California Association of REALTORS®.

Relationships are the cornerstone to long-term success in real estate, which is just as true for brokers as it is for agents. From your community to business partners to your own office, taking the time it requires to build relationships could make the difference in your brokerage’s success.

Your Agents

Your agents are one of your most important assets and building a relationship with them signals that you care about more than their production numbers.

“Real estate is one of the most stressful industries. It’s a roller coaster ride,” says Monet Yarnell, broker-owner of Sell 207 in Belfast, Maine.

At Yarnell’s office, health and wellness are high on the priority list. She lets her agents know that she’s invested in them by supporting their health goals.

Each team member wears a performance monitor that tracks cardiovascular health, sleep and fitness metrics. It analyzes data that to show what them what they can do to feel better daily. Since the profession is stressful, she says, the monitor is a useful way to help mitigate that stress and boost team morale.

“This builds a relationship on a human level. If we aren’t feeling good, we won’t perform well as professionals,” she says. “We try to work out together and go to a fitness class together.”

She also makes it a point to support agents’ individual fitness goals. One of her agents is in the military, so she’s participating in a fitness challenge sponsored by the U.S. Army.

“We encourage her as she trains for that. What’s important to them should be important to you, too, and you need to show up for each other,” Yarnell says.

Harrington has more than 2,000 agents, so it’s hard to build a bond with each of her agents in the same way that Yarnell can, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It just looks a little different.

“You want to be available, and you want to respond when they are reaching out to you, even with just a quick reply,” she says. Communication is a key component to creating a cohesive and inviting environment.

Harrington sends out an email each Monday with a motivation for the week. If someone replies to the email, she makes sure to reply to ensure her agents know that she’s an active participant in the communication and that she’s available. “It takes five seconds, and it’s really important to do it,” she says.

It’s also important to have great relationships with your managers, because you might not be able to make contact with every agent, but your managers do. “Your clear vision of what you want for your company should be [communicated] constantly to your managers so you have a united front,” Harrington adds.

She does schedule one-on-one meetings and mastermind meetings with top agents, with free-flowing conversations.

“I get to know them, and they get to know me,” she says.

Office Staff

Agents often look to members of your office staff first, since they’re readily available, Harrington says. These staff members are an integral part of the team and help to ensure everything runs smoothly. They will look to a broker for leadership and support, and they should be treated as a valuable resource.

“They really need to know who you are as the leader of the company. Meet with them in groups. Ask them what’s not working in your company. They will know,” she says. “If they call you, you will answer the phone and be available to them, so they know they are important.”

Culture is another important fundamental in building an office that is cohesive and successful.

“But culture is different to different people,” she says. “Some don’t care about a happy hour or a mastermind meeting. Some just want to go to a baseball game together,” she says, speaking from personal experience. So, in May, a group event allows team members to attend an Angels game together.

If you want your office staff and your agents to be happy and performing well, figure out what culture means to each of them. Ask them what they want, and then be prepared to deliver in a way that makes sense for you.

Industry Partnerships

Symbiotic, professional relationships help lead to a successful career when it comes to real estate. A strong network of industry professionals helps agents succeed, which in turn helps the office prosper.

Working with loan officers, title offices and even carpet cleaners, Yarnell likes to offer value. Relationship building is a long game, she says, especially in business.

“If there’s a way to provide value with no expectation of getting something in return, that’s a way to start a friendship and business relationships,” she adds.

But if she shows up and plays pickleball with her favorite loan officer every Tuesday, then they begin to build that relationship naturally. That way, when a need or a business opportunity arises, the relationship is already established.

The Community

One of the best ways to build relationships in the community is to invest in them. Your agents are already a part of their communities, and many of them are doing work to improve their neighborhoods. As a broker, you can help them make a difference.

“Your agents are an extension of your company. They are the face of your brokerage,” Harrington says. “So, it’s important to make sure you are supporting their efforts in the community.”

That means getting involved in the efforts of your agents. Find out what they’re doing, where they’re volunteering, and ask how you can help.

Another way to get involved is to jump in at the brokerage level. The 2023 Member Profile report found that 67% of NAR members are already volunteering in their communities, and as the broker, you can build giving back into your business model.

Harrington says that her office rallies during the holidays, throwing its support behind neighborhood initiatives like trunk-or-treats and toy drives. But giving back is more than a holiday-season affair. If there’s someone they know working through a tough medical issue or has been affected by a disaster, her office works to help raise funds or rebuild.

Yarnell offers her brokerage’s building to groups or organizations for meetings and events. The building is centrally located downtown with access to parking.

“I’ve found the different organizations that use it really appreciate that they aren’t kicked out by 8 p.m. like most of the meeting places,” she says.

Yarnell’s office has become a central hub for events and meetings happening outside her brokerage, which establishes her office as a central community builder.

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission

Massachusetts real estate forms are now available in multiple languages, thanks to Paul Yorkis.

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” —President John F. Kennedy at his 1961 inauguration speech.

Paul Yorkis, watching President Kennedy’s speech as a teenager with his parents at their home in upstate New York, took Kennedy’s words to heart and made them his lifelong mission statement. “Kennedy had his personal flaws,” says Yorkis, CRS, AHWD, president of Patriot Real Estate in Medway, Mass., “but I think about the Peace Corps and other things he did to make the world a little bit better place. In my own small way, I try to make the world a little bit better place for others.”

Twenty years after watching that speech, Yorkis moved to Massachusetts to take a job in higher education. “After many years of working as an administrator in higher education, he says, “I had the opportunity to work for myself and help folks pursue part of the American dream, and it is a decision that I am very happy I made.”

‘We Can Do Better’

An interaction with an immigrant family in 2017 gave Yorkis one idea for making the world a better place. He was showing a home to a Portuguese family that relied on their 7-year-old son to interpret. “That’s not how our profession should be practiced,” Yorkis says. “None of the required forms were in a language that was accessible. So I talked to people in the state government and I said, ‘We need to change this.’ ”

A ‘P.I.A.’ in the Very Best Way

In 2021, at an event with then–Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Yorkis seized the opportunity to begin lobbying. “I introduced myself to Karyn Polito, because I’m a shy person,” Yorkis says, with a hint of sarcasm. He explained the form language issue, and Polito connected him to a member of her staff. “Eight weeks later, the agency disclosure form had been translated,” Yorkis says. During that period, Yorkis was diligent about ongoing communication and regular follow-up.

With Yorkis as the driving force, state forms have been translated into seven languges, such as Portuguese, Spanish, Creole and Mandarin Chinese.

Yorkis is a self-proclaimed “P.I.A.” (pain in the “a—”), but building relationships with government officials is one of his superpowers. In 2017, Yorkis served as president of the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, a position that connected him to state leaders. “I had a bully pulpit, so I started leveraging that activity, and I was able to get people’s attention,” he says.

Mass. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll swears Yorkis into the Norfolk County Agricultural High School Board of Trustees.

“Paul has been a strong advocate for equitable housing policy and has been a true partner in increasing access to housing opportunities,” says Mass. Gov. Maura Healy. “His work spearheading language access in Massachusetts shows his commitment to this state, and it’s due to his work that people are able to use our state’s resources—regardless of what language they speak.”

Jonathan Schreiber, who serves as legislative and regulatory counsel at the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, has witnessed Yorkis’ activism in action.

“Paul puts a ton of thought and intention into what he’s doing. If he reached a decision about something, it’s because he truly believes it’s good for the industry and especially for people in need,” Schreiber says. “We have a team of people to try to influence government institutions. And Paul will just take it on himself, and he’ll succeed because he will follow up and follow up. He doesn’t take no for an answer—but in a very positive and constructive way that gets outcomes.”

With Yorkis as the driving force, additional forms have been translated into seven languages, such as Portuguese, Spanish, Creole and Mandarin Chinese. And two forms dealing with lead paint disclosure are on their way to translation.

Lighting the Torch

Another passion for Yorkis is inspiring young colleagues to advocate for their own causes. A conversation at a recent event led to a new collaboration with Ashley Gendreau, an agent who is also an American Sign Language instructor. Yorkis teamed up with Gendreau and Catherine Taylor, director of education and associate counsel for the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, to work through NAR’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion grant application process.

Yorkis talks business with Cynthia Nina-Soto, broker-owner of Nina-Soto Realty and a REALTOR® in Salem, Mass., who uses the translated forms every day.

“This grant will create a training program for one member from each of the local REALTOR® associations in Massachusetts to be trained in American Sign Language so that they can be a resource to other real estate professionals,” Yorkis says.

“It’s an example of how we demonstrate to the residents of Massachusetts that we want to provide services to everyone, including people who are deaf.

“Ashley can now take a skill set she acquired in college and combine that with her real estate skill set and make our state a little bit better than it was before,” Yorkis says.

Continuing to expand homeownership opportunities while inspiring the next generation of real estate professionals to do the same, for Yorkis, is what it’s all about.

“I just try to advocate and make a better community. If I can help another agent or broker do good for their community, I’ll spend as much time as I have to; that’s just how I am,” he says. “Isn’t that what President Kennedy’s hope was for everybody?”

National Association of REALTORS®
Reprinted with permission