Candice Van Slembrouck & Alyse Robertelli

Best Friends Building a Relationship-Based Business

By Jane K. Asher, Ph.D.

Photos by Dawn Townsend Photography and Design Photos taken at Cranbrook Custom Homes -The Heights in Rochester

In 2002, newly licensed agent Alyse Robertelli met administrative assistant Candice Van Slembrouck while they were working together at Real Estate One, and they instantly formed a strong connection that would go on to shape their personal and professional paths for years to come. Now, almost two decades later, Alyse and Candice’s charismatic bond is the driving force behind The Robertelli Team at Max Broock REALTORS®. As lead partners of their team, Alyse and Candice have leveraged their skills and their friendship to thrive in the relationshipbased business of real estate.

“One out of two marriages ends in divorce,” Alyse said. “As work wives and best friends for many years, we beat the odds and are still going strong! Being able to work with your best friend on a daily basis and to accomplish your goals together is an awesome and rewarding experience.”

Early on in their friendship, Alyse was recruited by a developer and was offered a position as an on-site sales manager for new construction sales. Alyse was interested in the position but also adamant about bringing her own assistant with her because she knew that she and Candice would make a great team. Alyse was right, and that’s when these two friends teamed up to become a dynamic duo in the industry.

Later in their careers, Alyse and Candice formed The Robertelli Team, an equal partnership centered on teamwork, relationships and community. With a career volume of $120 million, over $18 million of which they generated in 2019, Alyse and Candice are proud of being the number two agents in their office based on sales volume. They also pride themselves on being young, innovative and technology-driven “pretty likable people.”

“Every day, we work with ‘plus 10’ attitudes and smiling faces,” Candice said. “We set ourselves apart in a competitive industry with our builder relationship/third party marketing services. This gives us an advantage to leverage our marketing degrees and new construction sales experience.”

Alyse and Candice have been designated as 2016-2019 “Hour Detroit” Real Estate All-Stars and Real Estate One 2019 President Club recipients as well as nationally ranked as top 1% real estate agents. Additionally, The Robertelli Team makes a habit of giving back by donating a percentage of each sale to the Alzheimer’s Foundation. They also host an annual event to fundraise for several charities, and the Real Estate One Foundation matches their fundraising efforts.

At the end of 2019 — their best year to date as a two-person team — Alyse and Candice brought on two new team members: REALTOR® Lauren Salome and Director of Operations Deborah Hughson. Lauren comes from a family of real estate developers/builders and brings her years of knowledge to the team’s growing portfolio of third-party marketing for builders. Deborah, who has years of experience as a licensed agent, knows the ins and outs of the industry. Deborah’s top priority is overseeing the team’s transactions to ensure their clients receive “a top-notch experience” founded on stellar customer service. “We all work together to make house shopping fun and selling seamless,” Alyse said. “From helping our clients get their homes ready to market to impressive marketing materials and strong negotiating, we have found our recipe for success!”

The success of The Robertelli team materializes from Alyse and Candice’s shared values and skills: They both are passionate and driven businesswomen with strong problem-solving, organi- zational and interpersonal skills. Like most successful business partners, Alyse and Candice bring different strengths to their team. Candice, who is more type A, focuses on data and analytics. “My mindset is trackability,” she said. “I analyze where our clients come from, how we gain new client relationships, our annual business growth and the quality of our service.” Alyse, who is more type B, is the cre- ative negotiator and strong closer.

“Candice likes a stand-up desk, while I prefer to sit down — JK, but it is the truth!” Alyse said. “I admire Candice’s dedication to our clients and how she is an overachiever.”

“I admire Alyse’s ability to manage a successful business, motherhood and social life,” Candice said. “As the mother on the team, she tends to provide lunches!” 48 • September 2020 Alyse and her husband Kevin Robertelli reside in Bloomfield Hills with their two daughters, Sloane, 8, and Harper, 3. Alyse appreciates having a flexible schedule that allows her to attend her children’s school events. She enjoys family vacations — espe- cially trips up North and to Florida — hosting pool parties at her home with family and friends, reading novels — as long as they don’t make her cry — listen- ing to pop and classic rock and watching ‘80s movies.

Candice and her husband Doug Van Slembrouck, who she met on an Amtrak train, live in downtown Rochester with Lilly, their Silk Terrier. Candice and Doug are adventurous and outdoorsy; they enjoy hiking, biking and traveling near and far. They recently purchased a cottage in Au Gres, Michigan, and are in the midst of a large renovation project. Candice is a big fan of Nicholas Sparks books and movies and describes herself as “a sucker for a love story.” She also enjoys all genres of music.

Candice grew up in Farmington and earned a mar- keting degree from Westwood College in Chicago. Candice names her mother, Penny Jones — a sin- gle-parent who worked two jobs— as her most in- fluential role model and greatest inspiration in life. “My mother showed me how to be a strong, smart, confident, motivated and independent woman,” Candice said. Alyse, who grew up in West Bloom- field and graduated with a marketing degree from Michigan State University, has always looked to her grandfather, who is now 94 years old, for guidance and inspiration. “My grandfather has been a real estate investor throughout his life and has inspired me to follow my dreams and encouraged me to be the best I can be,” Alyse said.

Alyse and Candice depend on one another in life and in business. The longevity and strength of their rela- tionship — as both best friends and es- teemed partners — is founded on their shared work ethic and is sustained by their commitment to communicate with and understand one another.

“My advice to others who may be considering partnering up is to find someone you are comfortable being with on a day-to-day basis, someone whose business structures align with yours and someone with whom you can openly communicate throughout your business venture — discuss each oth- er’s strengths and weaknesses and how you can help improve,” Candice said.

“When you work with someone else as closely as we do, we find our- selves finishing each other’s sentenc- es and knowing what the other one is thinking!” Alyse said.

Dynamic Duo - Candice Van Slembrouck & Alyse Robertelli