Inman is exploring what the future of real estate leadership should look like through a series of articles, Q&As with industry pros, and an upcoming 5-part series called Leadership Week. Please send your feedback to leadership@inman.com. If you’re a leader who wants to join us for our exclusive Disconnect in The Desert event on March 26-28, or want to recommend a colleague, send a note to brad@inman.com explaining why.

Lion & Orb’s founder Audie Chamberlain manages all aspects of a public relations firm that specializes in tasteful and effective publicity specifically for real estate companies. Their clients have been recognized as category leaders around the world and are regularly featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Inman and many other national and international media outlets.

A recent international media blitz included placements in over 35 top-tier media outlets that featured a Hawaii Life listing, reached approximately 1 million high-net-worth individuals and ​was​ shared on social media over 16,000 times, resulting in a record-setting +$20 million sale on the Big Island.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Audie and find out where he sees real estate leadership going in 2018.

As a leader, what keeps you up at night?

Scaling. Building a platform and recruiting talent that can take us to the next level.

Audie Chamberlain

If you could change one thing in real estate, what would it be?

If I could change one thing in real estate, it would be the broker’s and agent’s belief that their client’s address, sales status and photos is data that belongs to them.

As a consumer, the photos and description of my home are not your data, and I am not a lead. As a consumer, the whole thing is a huge turn-off. I started my career in the music industry and became somewhat knowledgeable of how record deals, publishing, copyrights and digital distribution work.

This is a long-standing grievance in the real estate industry that consumers (backed by technology) will remove from the conversation. Eventually the consumer will get what they want — we’ve seen this in other industries. No sacred cows.

I would also love to see people’s perception of real estate agents as just salespeople change. Real estate agents have a comprehensive knowledge that straddles multiple disciplines and isn’t understood by the consumer as much as I’d like it to be.

How have your expectations of your management team changed over the past two years?

We were in our first year back then, so expectations have changed a lot. Today, we’re not only expected to perform at a high level, but we are also expected to manage teams and build a system that makes it easy to replicate consistently.

How do you keep your team competitive?

We stay competitive by always trying to break new ground. We believe that competition is good for innovation and business. Staying focused on our customers and emotionally invested in their success is another way we stay competitive.

I tell my clients that it’s not enough to tell people you are the best at something, you have to figure out what makes you the only one who’s doing it the way you are.

With so much disruption in real estate, what’s your best advice for managing change?

For us, it starts with extreme flexibility. The way you did business yesterday may not be the way you do it today or tomorrow. Apps like Venmo and DoorDash and services like Clear have changed some of my behaviors as a consumer almost overnight, and they have changed how we navigate the world from small tasks to big adventures.

The idea of having to go to an ATM changes dramatically once you move that functionality to your phone. Some things don’t change like building and maintaining relationships and focusing on your customer.

Want to connect with Audie? You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Email Matthew Shadbolt

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
Only 3 days left to register for Inman Connect Las Vegas before prices go up! Don't miss the premier event for real estate pros.Register Now ×
Limited Time Offer: Get 1 year of Inman Select for $199SUBSCRIBE×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×