Watters International Realty’s Coaching Program Lays Out a Clear Roadmap for Success

Eight years into its young existence as a company, Watters International Realty continues to find its groove and stay atop the always volatile and ever-changing real estate market. Watters International has made this difficult feat simple by crafting systems derived from its own leadership team’s experience and investing heavily in its people.

Providing ample support and resources to a tight-knit team is something most real estate agencies cannot claim and it has made all of the difference for the Watters International team. Coaching and training programs have created the foundation on which the firm has instituted the superior client services that make it one of the most sought-after real estate firms out there.

“When I was an agent at a big-box brokerage earlier in my career, I wasn’t given any direction as far as my professional development was concerned,” said Chris Watters, Founder and CEO of Watters International. “Instead of leaving that to our team owners and agents to figure out, which benefits no one, we’ve made sure our team builders have every tool for success at their disposal and they know how to use them.”

Coaching program development

Due to the meteoric success of The Million Dollar Real Estate Team, a how-to manual for real estate team builders that Watters and his business partner Bradley Pounds released in 2017, the pair has fielded near-daily requests from agents and brokers for one-on-one coaching. Based on the pair’s jam-packed schedules and numerous other responsibilities, this wasn’t a possibility, but they knew they needed to come up with another viable option to give their readers the additional support they were seeking.

“After saying no to coaching requests for about a year, we came up with a way to create that individualized moment our readers were seeking,” said Pounds, President and COO of Watters International Realty. “By developing a small-group, limited-engagement coaching program, we found a viable way to add onto our coaching program and overall support system,” Pounds said.

Pounds explained the coaching program spans 90 days and is available to any of the book's readers who intend to build a highly profitable team, regardless of if they are involved with Watters International. While noting there’s only so much that can be covered in the program’s set time frame, it provides a distilled set of concepts for the team builders to grasp, then implement. The program largely deals with building and scaling leadership at its core.

Program structure and content

“Working intently on this pillar at the beginning makes everything else happen for our team owners,” Pounds said. “Assembling the right people, setting the culture and figuring out how to hold them accountable is the first challenge. We then gradually throw in other elements as the 90 days progress that move the ball down the field and accelerate their growth curve,” he continued.

Some of those other elements added to the coaching program include marketing-, listing- and revenue-related tactics as well as methods for productive buying and recruiting.

“Our model is built on specialization and utilizing everyone’s diverse talents, and that informs our coaching strategy as well,” Watters said. “Through introductory and ongoing coaching, we train them to know everything about their markets and employ varying strategic tactics to maximize the exposure of every home,” he added.

By holding one-on-one sessions with participating team builders at the end of the 90 days, Watters International’s leadership team can receive feedback and make sure their people feel comfortable and confident implementing what they’ve learned in a real-life setting.

“Why go through the investment of time and treasure if you're not going to implement what you’ve learned practically?” Pounds asked. “Our primary focus is on creating actual steps to help our team owners take action on an individualized plan."

By remaining personally involved in the coaching program, Watters and Pounds are able to serve as mentors to agents and team owners, giving them the chance to learn from the duo’s experience and ultimately grow much faster than they would on their own. The coaching model hones in on Watters International’s experience and expertise to help team owners learn practical tactics to take advantage of to positively impact their performance.