When Richard graduated from school, he and his brother started a construction business focusing on painting. But their skills focused on administering remodeling projects, from small to very big projects. They hired architectural and administrative staff in Milwaukee and Chicago, and built all over the country. In 2003, they sold that business and went into development, initially focusing on offices but then condo conversions took off.
By 2008, they were buying troubled projects and turning them around. His ...
When Richard graduated from school, he and his brother started a construction business focusing on painting. But their skills focused on administering remodeling projects, from small to very big projects. They hired architectural and administrative staff in Milwaukee and Chicago, and built all over the country. In 2003, they sold that business and went into development, initially focusing on offices but then condo conversions took off.
By 2008, they were buying troubled projects and turning them around. His organization saw what was happening, and knew there were opportunities to work with projects. They leveraged new programs for sales to mitigate downside risk, upgraded common areas, and rented a number of the units. Richard knows the real estate market gyrates, but generally always goes up over time. Richard notes that if you’re not failing you’re not trying! You can’t innovate without experimentation.
Richard and his team came up with unique ways to get people to be comfortable with buying at the bottom of the market. They went deep with questions to understand the motivations and fears, and how to bridge both!
Richard believes the real estate market gyrates, but generally always goes up over time. As a result, he operates with ideas that help him figure out how to meet the market’s needs:
- If you’re not failing, you’re not trying!
- You can’t innovate without experimentation!
In 2015, Richard bought a team that was doing $30-$40 million in sales. He grew this four-person team up to 18 people (9 agents, remainder are administrative) doing $180 million in sales–almost all of it by repeat business and word of mouth. 90% of their appointments start with a hug, because they know the people! At that time, he wanted to build a business around his life, since he was well capitalized.
Richard does a lot of mentoring with individuals, teams, and groups. He treats everyone as if they have a compelling story, regardless of how much they have sold. And he focuses on what is a win for the seller and the buyer, not just traditional solutions like CMAs. The administrative staff provides a lot of support for the agents, and all work together to sell homes. The goal is for all of the team members to make more and work less.
Contact Richard by email at richard@thefrgteam.com. Visit Richard’s real estate website, The Falk Ruvin Gallagher Real Estate Team. Stop by his Facebook page or his Instagram page to see what’s new with his real estate business. Check out Richard’s LinkedIn page.
Follow David at @daviddmorse on Instagram and Joe at @joe.quattrucci. Join David & Joe at Keller Williams Arizona Realty, where productive agents redefine their business. Reach out by DM, email at davidmorse@kw.com or directly at 480-767-3000.
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