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Name: Vincent Kessel
Title: Team leader
Experience: 2 years
Location: South Florida
Team name: Kessel Luxe Lifestyle
Team size: Team lead for 3 individuals
Transaction sides: 26
Sales volume: $25,838,850
What are 3 reasons you should be in the Team Spotlight?
We are all young, new to the area and we will sell north of $26,000,000 this year as a team. I recently sold a $8,000,000 home and one guy on my team sold one for $5,750,000.
How did you get your start in real estate?
I’ve had lifelong exposure to the real estate industry, having been immersed in it from an early age. Real estate has consistently been a passion of mine, a realm I’ve always been familiar with.
When the time came for me to venture into the field, I approached my dad with the desire to work alongside him, but he declined. Undeterred, I sought guidance from both him and a few mentors, ultimately making the decision to move to Jupiter, Florida, and join a team.
After spending approximately three months with that team, I opted to make a change and joined Compass, where I took the initiative to establish my own team.
What’s something you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
A valuable lesson I’ve learned is the significance of managing expectations, something I wish I had known from the beginning. Establishing clear expectations and boundaries is crucial, particularly in transactions to help avoid impediments.
For example, when it came to writing offers I would ask buyers what they wanted their offer to look like. When it came to competing with other offers, I would write what they would ask me to, in turn not getting our offer accepted or receiving unrealistic counters.
After one or two mistakes very early on, I started to suggest the best way possible to get an accepted offer, still allowing buyers to make their choices while setting the expectation of how to get an accepted offer.
Tell us about a high point in your brokerage career.
A significant milestone in my career occurred when I recently successfully closed a deal on an $8,000,000 property. I’ve also had the privilege of addressing the audience from the stage at the Tom Ferry Summit.
My opportunity to speak at the summit was directly tied to my production in the first year of my career. Achieving around $12,000,000 in production that year gave me the opportunity to share my experiences as a young agent in the industry.
Tell us about an epic fail you’ve experienced as a team lead.
During my journey as a team lead, one notable challenge happened when my business partner chose a career move, leaving me with both increased business expenses and a new assistant. During this transitional phase, I embraced an open and giving approach with my new assistant, offering flexibility and support in various aspects of her life.
Despite these positive intentions, challenges arose during my personal best month when my assistant started showing a noticeable shift in the quality of work. She allowed several crucial aspects of her job to slip through the cracks, leading to a missed opportunity and negative repercussions that impacted a significant sale in my career.
In the end, this experience taught me the importance of maintaining a balanced and transparent approach to professional relationships. It emphasized the need for clear communication and careful consideration in handling matters within the team. Moving forward, I’ve incorporated these lessons to foster a healthier and more sustainable team dynamic.
Name 3 people you admire.
I hold deep admiration for God, my Dad and motivational speaker Tom Ferry. I consider myself truly blessed in my business journey, appreciating the opportunities, financial stability and lessons from both highs and lows.
A core belief I’ve embraced is that you can’t outgive the giver, and my faith has played a significant role in my blessings. My father, a source of inspiration and my mentor, shares his business knowledge and advice. As the saying goes, “A smart man learns from his mistakes, a wise man learns from others’ mistakes,” and my father exemplifies this wisdom.
Tom Ferry, a major influence, captivates me with his podcasts, positivity, knowledge and, most importantly, his emphasis on mindset, which has left a lasting impact on my day-to-day business.
What makes a good leader?
I would say boundaries are really important to being a good leader, as well as fairness, leading by example, and the ability to share a vision and goals. In my business, I am all about leading by example, going to battle with your troops, creating boundaries and setting expectations in business, all while being fair.
Something that I learned as a young leader (keep in mind, I am younger than everyone on my team) was leading by example, including being in the office every day, making north of 100 calls, etc.