13 minute read
WE LOVE LUXURY - Mark Willis
How Kay Evans and her partner, Bob Kilinski, built a $33 Billion Dollar a Year Real Estate Empire.
by Mark Willis. Contributors, Aaron Crawford and Ashley Lunn. | Photography by Brandon Clifton.
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When I first started thinking about the cover story for this journal, and its focus being on luxury, the name Kay Evans immediately came to mind. Kay is the owner of the Southeast Region for Keller Williams Realty, which has the highest agent count and performance of any other region in the company. In fact, in 2020 the 14,000 agents in her region sold $33.8 billion worth of real estate in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. That is incredible!
I have had the honor and privilege of working side by side with Kay for the better part of 15 years and I see her as a peerless leader; a real estate mind without equal.
When it comes to the southeastern United States, Kay is one of the most successful and influential people in real estate. During our in-depth virtual interview, which can also be found at willisleadership.com, Kay and I discuss what compelled her to get into real estate, how she built the largest region under the Keller Williams umbrella, and her thoughts on both the current luxury market and how mainstream agents can break through to become go-to luxury listing agents for affluent consumers. Enjoy the interview!
Q: Why did you get into real estate and describe the early phases in launching your career?
A: Real Estate wasn’t exactly my first career choice. In 1978 I was a high school business teacher and I hate to say this, but I have never worked so hard for so little money. After the first year, I came to the conclusion that I liked teaching, but I did not like everything that goes along with it. So, I went to night school to get my real estate license and decided that I was in a great place to try real estate over the summer, to see if I liked it. If I liked it, I would stick with it. If I didn’t, I would go back to teaching. I took to real estate like a duck takes to water – it was a fit from day one. Lafayette was heavy into the oil business and per capita income was very high. Real estate was exploding with appreciation rates at 18% annually. It just made sense. Real Estate was where I needed to be.
Kay Evans
Photo by Brandon Clifton
Q. What do you think are some of the most important changes you have seen over your career in the real estate industry?
A: Well, when I started out you couldn’t use a woman’s income to qualify for a loan. Can you believe that? This carried on during my early years selling real estate. I believe that this law had changed a few years before I got my license, but it was loosely enforced. Think of that… A single woman, unless she inherited a lot of money, could not qualify for a loan to buy a house.
That’s different now. This is one of the most important, major changes in my eyes. When it comes to the speed and efficiency of the industry, computers and cell phones coming into the picture changed the game big time. Before this happened, I used to have to carry around a large MLS folder and a handful of quarters so that I could make calls using payphones. I’m glad that we have technology that helps us to stay on track and do what we need to do.
Q. Let’s talk about the Southeast Region. How big is the region today and how is it performing?
A: We are performing very well. In 2020 we sold $33.8B worth of real estate in the Southeast Region, which is all of Georgia, Tennessee excluding Memphis, and Alabama excluding the Gulf Coast. We have 14,000 associates in our Southeast Region and 60 offices. Of the $33.8B that was sold, half was sold in the metro Atlanta area. Bob and I opened a little over 60 market centers fast, but we started with Atlanta. We made the decision to open Atlanta as strong as we could and not to branch out until we had Atlanta performing well. Our strategic plan was to build out Atlanta so strong that agents in bordering states would come to us – we wouldn’t have to work so hard to expand. And the first office that we opened is still one of the top offices in all of Keller Williams. Part of why we were so successful is that we took a handful of iconic real estate agents in each area and gave them ownership in the offices they represented through core groups. We felt like our focus should be on giving agents ownership and rapidly expanding. Our one thing was on building Atlanta to be so strong that expansion would come to us, not the other way around.
Q. I see you as an icon of luxury real estate. Give us some background on Live Luxury, and your thoughts on how the affluent consumer is today.
A: Live Luxury was a group of agents that came to me. At the time I had the leverage I needed to focus on other projects, so when they called me wanting me to be a consultant and help them take their luxury business to a higher level I said I would be happy to! The original agreement was for 6 months, and now I have been active with the group for over four years. It’s a small group of 65 agents focused on giving high-level service and consistent marketing and branding (very learning-based). In 2020, we sold $543 million worth of property, making the average sold volume per agent around $9 million. It was an unbelievable year. I am very proud of this group. Regarding affluent consumers, when I got into the business, luxury real estate was handled typically by a couple of small locally owned brokers and a handful of agents. Even in Atlanta you only had two to three brokerages and a handful of agents that controlled the luxury market. This has changed dramatically. Luxury now isn’t your parent’s luxury, and more and more agents are handling luxury transactions. The luxury market today is also younger and more tech-savvy. It’s just changed dramatically – there is room for every agent out there. You just have to be active and get after it.
Q. Do you see any core differences in the needs of the millennial luxury consumer vs the older luxury consumer?
A: Yes. Absolutely. The one word that keeps coming back when you do research about millennial luxury buyers is “experience.” The younger luxury consumer isn’t as interested in the product as they are the experience. They will pay more for the experience. They buy things that fit their style and value system, and sustainability is very important to this buyer. They are interested in buying things that don’t damage the environment, that take care of the animals, and that are manufactured in an ethical and healthy way. So, they look at things a little bit different. You still have conspicuous consumers who do buy for the status, but that’s reducing in its impact. The younger generation of luxury buyers want great experiences – not just status symbols.
Q: In building a luxury real estate practice, where do you start, and how would you approach building a luxury business today?
A: I would start by trying to put myself in the presence of affluent consumers. I would try to make contact with as many wealthy people as I can. This reminds me of a friend of mine, Jack Cotton, that says affluent people like to do business with people they know or are known by people they know. So, I think you would have to start by enhancing your sphere of influence by getting to know people who are affluent or by connecting with people who work for, or know, the people who are affluent. I also think that, starting right now, begin treating your presentations and marketing materials like they are being created for an affluent consumer. I get calls all the time from agents in a panic that have opportunities to make listing presentations for multimillion dollar properties that aren’t prepared. You know what?!
You can find them at charitable functions, wine tastings, art galleries, country club events, nice restaurants... You have to put yourself out there where they are. Remember, most affluent people have a high self-image and do not want to be associated with anyone or anything that would tarnish that high self-image. Take an inventory. Invest in yourself. Most agents that don’t make it are not willing to make the kind of financial investment in themselves to get to the next level.
Q. What if you are an agent who doesn’t yet have the money to invest in creating the personal and professional marketing presentations necessary to hook affluent consumers. Do you believe it is possible for an agent to start in mainstream real estate and move to luxury? Do you believe that is possible?
A: I do. This reminds me of a John Maxwell saying, you are who you attract. If you don’t like who you're attracting, look at yourself and change. I also believe, Mark, that one of an agent’s strengths is to work in all price points. In luxury, when the demand goes down, we still remain profitable because we work in all price points. I think that having the “bread and butter” properties that help you to keep the revenue coming in is smart.
Q. Most luxury agents are entirely the product. Their clients need a relationship with them that puts them in a struggle with leverage. If they want to scale and list more and more properties, they are going to need leverage. Yet I find that many luxury agents struggle with this. Do you think this is true, and can you share stories around agents who have succeeded through leverage – where they are not the sole product?
A: When you bring someone on your team, make sure that they represent your values. This is also true with the vendors you bring on. Let them know that they represent you and you are trusting them to have the same values and standards that you have. I do believe that there was a time when most people wanted to only do business with the lead agent. But I think we have moved a little bit away from that, as exclusively as it was. I think that if the lead agent can introduce their team and explain the value of how they work, and what each team member does while making the client feel special because all of the people that are going to be working for them, I think it’s ok.
I am a leverage queen. I believe you have to get help and that with leverage you can give a higher level of service. There is no question about that. Without leverage, you are going to be limited. You are going to be limited in the level of service you can provide, and you are going to be limited in the number of clients you can serve. I also see that many agents just don’t hire right. They hire out of crises and they don’t see themselves as employers. They have a limited belief there that works against them.
Q. Let’s talk commissions. I believe what makes agents want to move to luxury initially are the commissions being higher, and yet, I don’t find that’s what drives them forward. What are your thoughts?
A: I don’t either. I think there is more room and flexibility for them to meet the needs of their clients. They are not driven by the money.
At this point in our conversation, Kay asked me... Q: Ok, you said to me that you believe that luxury is going to be more stable now than it has ever been. Do you still believe that to be true?
A: Yes, I do. I believe there is a whole lot of money that people have not been accessing in the banking and investment systems. And in this advanced stage of our existence, I think that people are more willing to tap into that money today because they want experience. If anything, this pandemic has created awareness about the experiences that we want to have at a deeper level.
For me, prior to the pandemic, I had a very different lifestyle from the lifestyle that I have today. It has made me cherish relationships more. It has made me have a different level of gratitude for all the abundance and wanting to share that more with other people. And it has made me more willing to spend money that I may not have spent before. I think that today, a lot of consumers are not thinking so much about their estates as they are thinking about their experiences. I do think that luxury has hit a new norm. It used to be exclusive and unreachable. Today, it’s far more the norm. It’s not just this exclusive niche of the market that few people have access to.
I also think that with the world being more virtual now, people are able to do what they used to from the comfort of their homes. Rather than living in congested metro areas they are moving out more towards the suburbs and country areas. I recently read an article about the evolution of our economy. If we go back 10 years, it was about consumption. It was about consuming as much as possible, having as much as possible, acquiring as much as possible. It was about what you were able to accumulate. Now, it’s about the experiences that you can have, the memories that you can create, and having a lifestyle that you can feel. Some believe that the next movement will be to the transformation economy – and I think we are seeing a lot of transformation happening right now; systemically, structurally, we are seeing it.
I could have gone on all day talking with Kay. There is no doubt that she, along with her partner Bob, have built one of the largest, top-producing real estate brokerages in the United States and become true icons in luxury real estate in the process.
To summarize what I learned from our discussion, if you are looking to list more luxury property, here is an effective process to follow:
1. Starting today, take a personal and professional assessment of where you are and what you need to do to get what you want. As I say all the time, it all starts with self-awareness and honesty with yourself.
2. Prepare by creating beautiful and compelling marketing materials for all the properties you list, not just the high-end homes. Both the first and second step require a significant investment in yourself and your business, and it is worth it!
3. You have to surround yourself with people of influence. This means you must find ways of connecting with more and more affluent consumers. Years ago, I read an article about Aristotle Onassis and someone asked “If we take everything away from you, what will happen?” Onassis replied, “I’d get it right back.” The person then asked, “How would you get it back?” Onassis answered, “Well I would go to the most expensive restaurants in town every single night and I would have one purpose and that is to meet and connect with someone of influence that had wealth.” That’s it.
What he meant by this is that if you want to be successful, surrounding yourself with successful, influential, and affluent people is essential. This is especially true if you want to be a well-known luxury agent. The process above will help you to become just that!
Full interview on willisleadership.com
