Welcome back to The Grant Wise Show! In this episode, we sit down with Chris VanderValk, the COO of Whissel Realty, the #1 team at EXP Realty by volume.

Dive into Chris’s fascinating journey from military admissions advisor to real estate powerhouse, and discover how his experience, mindset, and strategic insights have propelled Whissel Realty to new heights.

Chris discusses the importance of putting the consumer at the center of real estate marketing strategies and how companies like Zillow, Walmart, and Amazon have revolutionized consumer convenience.

Learn about creating internal teams to support agents, managing margins, and transparency in achieving revenue targets.

Discover Whissel Realty’s unique approach to investing in their agents through a tiered reward system based on productivity and the importance of equitable solutions over fairness.

Also, Chris shares insights on how real estate professionals can adopt business lessons from major players like Zillow, Uber, and even HomeSnap, to enhance local real estate marketing efforts.

Chris and Grant discuss the critical aspect of managing growth during tough times and applying the “five whys” strategy for problem-solving in business.

Key moments:

00:00 Introduced to business, learned and grew rapidly.

05:27 Joined team, rose to lead acquisitions, remained committed.

08:09 Excited by new job, values teamwork over solo.

10:55 Focusing on productivity, noticing uneven work distribution.

13:26 Respectfully request old guard to keep quiet.

17:03 Complexity requires relentless curiosity in problem-solving.

19:53 Childhood views on Walmart and Amazon’s impact.

25:30 Venture capitalists fund companies to achieve growth.

26:14 Real estate agents’ mindset change, financial support.

31:21 Frustrated Microsoft guy, high D, traveling experiences.

35:09 Make app more accessible to rural areas.

37:32 87% realtors fail, industry needs higher standards.

40:12 Target audience, overlap between millennials and Gen Z.

44:47 Discussing aspirations, seeking guidance for extraordinary pursuits.

46:05 Stay focused, don’t stress, address real problems.

48:23 Focus on YouTube, innovation, and failure.

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