TEAM TALK could do this on a flexible schedule so I could spend time with my toddler. But I quickly realized that, first of all, real estate takes a full-time commitment, and second, that I needed help, and I needed to learn fast.
The Mariesa-Arthur Team
Arizona Team Leader Doubles Down on New Agent Mentorship By Barbara Pronin
M
ariesa Arthur was a single mom with a toddler 23 years ago when she began her career in real estate. She had absolutely no idea what she was getting into, she says.
But she figured it out, and came to be known as today she leads a strucCareer Agent Developtured team of 40 agents, ment (CAD). She ultiserving Maricopa County mately took the unique and greater Mesa and approach to DPR Realty, Phoenix, Arizona, with the where her team today full support and mentorship averages between $45 she longed for as a new million and $60 million in agent struggling to make sales annually in a comher mark. petitive market where the Arthur “Real estate can be a sink or swim average sales price is $365,000. effort for a new agent,” Arthur says. “Without the proper guidance and Barbara Pronin: What was support, and with no income guaran- the wake-up moment for you, tee, too many feel like failures, drop- Mariesa—way back when you ping out before they reach their first were an inexperienced agent? anniversary.” Mariesa Arthur: I went in knowing In response, Arthur developed a I was a people-person, thinking I was mentorship-based team program that a pretty good salesperson and that I 94 September 2021 RISMedia’s REAL ESTATE
BP: What did you do? MA: I read everything I could, I asked for advice and I worked my tail off to prospect and gain as much experience as I could with as many people as I could—and I was lucky. Before long, I was reaching and exceeding my goals. By then, I had become a team leader, and I understood that coaching and mentoring can be the key to success for many agents. So, I joined a mentor program and developed the bones of an extensive agent training curriculum designed to provide a pathway to success. As it grew, I realized that to be really effective as a leader, I would need to fully devote to it—which I did. BP: This was the team model now called Career Agent Development? MA: Yes. In 2002, I was hired to direct a structured training program, and for recruiting, training and managing a team of new and veteran agents along with a team of field coaches and support staff. It became CAD, and it’s the program I took with me when I joined DPR Realty in 2009. BP: How do you manage a team of 40 agents? MA: With the help of five devoted accountability coaches, plus an admin and marketing and social media manager who are both licensed agents and who are as passionate about CAD as I am. In addition to monthly business and planning meetings, each agent gets our hands-on support. We are their challengers, their cheerleaders and their devoted resources—and it isn’t just about production. We are family, with a collective attitude.
