Kelli Phillips Realty Group, Marietta, Georgia
How did you get involved in real estate?
I came to it as a second career. I had been in sales and marketing for more than 20 years and was staying home with my three sons. My best friend lived in a new master-planned community and her neighbor needed someone to do some real estate marketing for them. So, I thought, “I’ve got 20 hours a week—I can do some postcards and marketing.” Fast forward six months and I had negotiated a full-time position with a salary, and I loved it. A few months later, I received my license and earned Rookie of the Year in my Keller Williams office.
How did you learn about the CRS Designation?
I’ve always been somebody who believes in education. I joined the brokerage I am with because they stress education and technology. At my local association, I chaired the education committee for several years, and I started learning about all the designations that were available.
As I became more involved with the state level association, people asked, “Why don’t you have a CRS Designation? Are you going to Sell-a-bration?” I made it one of my goals to earn the designation. I was extremely impressed with the RRC instructors in terms of the quality and relevancy of what they were teaching. They weren’t recycling the same information from five or 10 years ago. My next CRS goal is to become an instructor.
What is going on with your market?
Limited inventory, multiple offers and properties selling at a price dramatically over list is common here in northwest metro Atlanta. The pandemic only exaggerated the low inventory we were already experiencing. My agents are working much harder to get an offer accepted. Currently, I am training on techniques and tactics to craft a well-structured offer and how to win the bid.
What is your go-to method for communicating with clients?
Video. It has been the biggest game changer for us. And it’s not just videos to market a listing— although we create phenomenal videos! We use video for client (and agent) communication. I’m so used to talking to somebody on camera versus just chatting—it has become my norm. My coach told me four or five years ago that you’ve got to get out of your own head and start doing videos. Now I’ll pick up the phone and shoot a video message as a response to someone. My team uses video email to communicate emotion and authenticity. People relate better when they can experience tone and see emotion. I can talk and shoot a video response faster than I can type.
How have you and your team handled working through the pandemic?
Georgia REALTORS® were very blessed. We were deemed essential workers early in the shutdown. My team had a couple of closings that were totally virtual, but we have been doing that for a few years. Virtual closings, online sales and virtual staging weren’t new for our team. We’ve had a Zoom account, completed 3D Matterport tours, held virtual open houses and toured homes via FaceTime for clients. We were happy that we didn’t have to learn to use new tools on the fly, so we focused on improving communications and taking time to streamline systems. Today, we are scaling for the growth expected in 2021.
It was a challenging year, but I think it was a good one. When you look at the numbers, we came out ahead of where we had projected we would be. But the team grew in a big way—more than just the transactions.
The biggest thing I want to celebrate from last year is we came out on the other end of it as better humans. We learned to connect more, listen and ask better questions. We learned to slow down so that we could be intentional in what we wanted to accomplish.
Kelli Phillips, CRS, achieved the CRS Designation in 2019. She can be reached at kelli@kelliphillipsrealtygroup.com or 770-315-2063.
Photo: Scott Lowden
