Since launching in 2011, the Keller Williams Growth Initiative has fueled historic gains, including a 43 percent increase in associate count that has made Keller Williams the #1 real estate franchise by agent count in North America. More impressive, it has positioned the company at the doorstep of becoming #1 in agent count throughout the world. As vice president of growth, John Davis leads the Keller Williams Growth Initiative- a comprehensive, results-oriented accountability program for operating principals (OPs), team leaders (TLs) and market center administrators (MCAs). The Growth Initiative has succeeded by developing metrics, delivering tools, providing accountability and keeping stakeholders focused on the activities that lead to proven results. Keller Williams has always succeeded by leveraging systems to build great businesses. The Growth Initiative takes that model to a new level by coordinating recruiting and retention across regions. The Growth Initiative is simultaneously a suite of tools, an accountability system and a mindset. Following are a few of its major components:

Weekly Calls

Each week, Davis hosts three separate Growth Initiative conference calls with OPs, TLs and MCAs. All of the company’s leaders are expected to participate in the hourlong calls. And all of them are expected to show up prepared. In advance of each call, leaders review the multiyear trends for their market center or region. They study their numbers, compare the results with their goals and keep an eye on the competition. (The calls are archived on KWConnect for associates to access.)

The Language of Real Estate

One of the most effective tools at Keller Williams leaders’ disposal is recruiting with the language of real estate (LORE). Through scripts, dialogues and spreadsheets, team leaders learn to study the numbers of prospective Keller Williams associates and compare their results with the numbers for their local board of REALTORS® and for the market center. LORE allows team leaders to talk to talent in their marketplace with results-oriented language they innately understand.

John Davis teaching associates at the Minneapolis Lakes market center

Do The Two!

If the Growth Initiative has a rallying call, it’s “Do the Two!” The phrase was adopted to reinforce the baseline expectations for team leaders: schedule two recruiting appointments a day, 10 a week and 40 a month. With three solid years of data, Davis has accumulated reliable metrics about how many appointments lead to gross recruits and how many gross recruits lead to net recruits. These metrics allow informed projections and help identify ways to increase performance.

Tracking Tools

Another proven strategy for fueling growth is the use of straightforward tracking tools – basic spreadsheets and checklists to help market center leaders keep up with their associates and recruits. The Pipeline Report, for example, helps market center leaders keep track of who is likely to be joining Keller Williams when. The Pipeline Report complements the Growth Initiative’s emphasis on cap management, which helps boost profitability and profit share throughout the year by purposefully distributing the months that associates are likely to reach their market center cap for the year. Keller Williams market centers return approximately 50 percent of profits each month to the associates who help the company grow. To date, 97 percent of market centers are profitable for the year.

Training Tracking (T2) helps team leaders keep up with who has taken part in which training opportunities within the market center and compare those agents’ results with the associate population that has not completed that course. For example, Arlington (Texas) market center leaders produce a great training program, take attendance and track results. They look at the numbers and communicate those numbers to associates. From 2006 to 2013, Arlington’s associate count jumped from 60 to 415. More important, the office went from basically breaking even to generating $2 million in profit. By 2008, Arlington was the top real estate office in its market. A year later, it was the top market center in its region. And in 2013, it became the most profitable Keller Williams market center systemwide.

Big Results

By systematically walking leaders through the numbers and explaining how the Growth Initiative tools can help them achieve their goals, Davis is connecting the dots between what a team leader or an MCA does on a daily basis and the overall impact on Keller Williams associates and their families.

Profit share, for example, has never been higher. A few months ago, cumulative profit share since the program’s inception surpassed $500 million and is on track for another record year.

The average number of associates per market center has jumped from 107 to 158 in the past two years, which is creating economies of scale that justify additional resources to help associates grow their businesses.

The link of activities to bottom-line results has also emboldened Keller Williams leaders to take on seasonality. Historically, January is a month in which real estate offices slide backward. In January 2014, Keller Williams reversed the trend, thanks to a record increase in activities.

“Friends, we’re not a traditional real estate company,” Davis said. “As we know from The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, our models and systems are designed to succeed in up markets and down markets. This applies to the calendar year as well. By focusing NOW, we can kick seasonality in the ankle!”

Through Davis’ leadership and the commitment of thousands of Keller Williams leaders, the Growth Initiative is achieving unparalleled success.

“What we’re doing is fulfilling the promise of ‘careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living.’” Davis said. “We’re picking up the pace in the race and building momentum for the best year the real estate industry has ever seen.”