The Brutal Truth About Going Solo, Building a Team, Then Going Solo Again with Christy Morrison

Q: How did Christy Morrison break into the competitive Tahoe real estate market?
A: Christy stood out by always being available, answering the phone, and responding quickly to leads. In a market where many agents prioritize lifestyle, she worked just a bit harder and built a reputation for reliability and value, which helped her gain traction in a crowded field.

Q: What prospecting habits helped Christy build her business?
A: For two decades, Christy made 20–25 prospecting calls a day, four to five days a week. She focused on building relationships and providing value to every homeowner, which established her as a trusted name and led to a steady stream of inbound business over time.

Q: How did Christy know it was time to start building a team, and what was her first hire?
A: Burnout from years of intense prospecting signaled it was time for help. Her first hire was a marketing expert to upgrade her materials and online presence, followed by inside sales agents and a transaction coordinator. She learned the importance of structured onboarding and setting clear expectations.

Q: What mistakes did Christy make when first leading a team?
A: Christy initially assumed new agents would work like she did and didn’t provide enough training or structure. This led to inconsistent service and client complaints. She later implemented checklists, standards, and a thorough onboarding process to ensure quality and accountability.

Q: How does Christy approach marketing in a second-home market like Tahoe?
A: Christy combines physical visibility—like wrapped cars and local sponsorships—with digital marketing, including a professional website, videos, and consistent postcards to absentee owners. She believes that while marketing is important, authentic relationships and trust are what ultimately drive business.

Q: What’s Christy’s philosophy on client-first service?
A: Christy always puts her clients’ interests first, refusing to cut corners or double-end deals just for a commission. She treats every transaction as a significant life event and strives to maximize value for her clients, building long-term trust and reputation.

Q: How does Christy ensure her team shares her client-first mentality?
A: She hires agents who naturally care about clients and have heart, knowing that skills can be taught but values are harder to change. Christy avoids bringing on agents who are only focused on transactions, as they often lead to more issues in the long run.

Q: What advice does Christy have for agents who want to succeed in real estate?
A: Christy’s core advice is “contacts equal contracts.” She encourages agents to build relationships, master the contracts and process, and treat real estate as a true profession. Competence and confidence come from ongoing learning and dedication.

Q: What’s her advice for team leaders?
A: Christy recommends focusing on great onboarding, setting clear expectations, and holding regular team meetings. She’s learned not to take things personally when agents leave and to concentrate on providing consistent guidance and accountability.

Christy: [00:00:00] Just like a listing, it’s like how you create the seller expectation is like how it’s gonna be. And like when you’re working with a seller, if you mess up like the first like w- three or four days, if the launch isn’t smooth, the whole thing’s gonna suck the whole time. And with agent, the life cycle is so much longer, and the time in it is so much harder, so like how you bring them in and the expectations. 

Suneet: What is up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of the Reside Platform Podcast. I’m your host today. You’re stuck with me, Sidney Jagirwala, but I’ve got an incredible guest, my friend Kristi Morrison. She’s the founder of Home and Slate up in Truckee, top 1% in Tahoe Reno market. I can’t wait to talk about that.

Suneet: And you’ve been doing this for 24 years. Kristi, what’s going on? 

Christy: Hi, Sidney. Thanks [00:01:00] for having me. This has been a long time coming, and I’m so glad to be here, so thank you. 

Suneet: How is the weather up in Truckee right now? 

Christy: Absolutely gorgeous. Might get a little rain in a little bit, and, yeah, it’s been so beautiful.

Suneet: So, as we get started, we were talking about this offline, so let me catch up all the viewers here. Kristi’s background is- I mean, I think she’s super cool, right? and this part of the background is one of the highlights for me personally. So you used to be an X Games competitor doing skicross.

Christy: Correct. Yeah. I, well, I grew up ski racing. I love skiing. I still try never to miss a powder day, and yes. 

Suneet: Tell everybody who’s listening what skicross is if they don’t know, ’cause I didn’t know. 

Christy: skicross is where five people typically go at the same time, and you, race down to the end of the hill. The first one that gets through wins, [00:02:00] and you go through big jumps and bank turns and things like that.

Christy: And I don’t know, I think… I know they got rid of the, Boardercross. they might still have skicross, but I’m not sure. It made it to the Olympics, the actual sport, but then I think it fell apart ’cause too many people got hurt. But, it’s like roller derby on skis. So yeah. 

Suneet: That I’m gonna have to, like, go to YouTube and see what that looks like ’cause that sounds intense, skicross.

Suneet: Okay, good. So what was the transition from being in the X Games to getting into real estate? 

Christy: Well, I think at, and we were just talking about this offline, Suneet. I think when you have a goal, in order to progress, especially in the world of extreme skiing, you have to push your body to a certain level, and I just got to a level where I was like, “I’m not willing to get hurt.”

Christy: Like, I am not willing to take the risks to… and then I was able to, go into real estate ’cause that’s one of our major industries up here. [00:03:00] So I chose to take my focus away from hurling my body down a hill to, trying to progress in real estate, and create a lifestyle, and a long-term lifestyle that I was gonna love and be able to ski and, do the fun things I liked, and at the same time, earn a living and all the other stuff.

Suneet: Yeah. So a lifestyle business, right? Because, I mean, yeah, if people who are watching and listening don’t know about the Truckee Tahoe area, it’s beautiful. There’s always some awesome outside thing to do, so lifestyle business is really important. Am I right? 

Christy: Yes, absolutely. Yes. And it, it also comes with some challenges too, because, you really have to be dedicated or, or just, or you just spend your whole time outside, right?

Christy: So… 

Suneet: Yeah, exactly. Like, you have to push yourself to go into work instead of enjoying all that nature has to offer up by [00:04:00] Lake Tahoe. So like- h- how was it getting into… Right? ‘Cause let me just give you some context, and we’ve talked about this, is every single time I’ve been to Tahoe in the last, oh, 20 years minimum, probably longer, I’ve always thought, “Man, I would sure like to be a realtor in Tahoe.”

Suneet: Right? I walk down the street in Truckee or Tahoe or wherever, Tahoe City, and I see the real estate offices, and I see the beautiful houses, right, all, all up on the windows. I see all the amazing price points How was it like, like starting out to be a realtor in a market like that? 

Christy: I think it’s a really competitive market because, like you probably, know that like half of my friends are realtors.

Christy: Like it’s one… You’re either like a realtor or a contractor if you want like a job that makes money up in the [00:05:00] industry. If not, now that you can work remotely, like that’s something different. But, so it is highly competitive. There’s, I think about 1,300 transactions, that occur, so what, 3,000 sides.

Christy: There’s about, 800 or 900 agents in our MLS, and a lot of people, will… A lot of agents from the Bay Area will come up and represent their buyers sometimes, so you know, they, that kinda like takes some of the, numbers away too. But at the same time, I feel like it’s easy to outwork the competition.

Christy: I feel like that’s how I was able to do so many transactions and why I still am in the business today is that because it’s such an outdoor lifestyle kind of area, it’s really hard to have people like even pick up the phone when you call. So it’s, you only need to be like 1% better than your competition, and it- it’s actually easy to do that up here in the areas.

Christy: It was, [00:06:00] for me, coming from like a ski racing background or f- just who I am, that where intrinsically I try to just like put my heart into something, it’s easy to be a l- just a teeny bit better than everybody else is what I’ve always like thought I needed to do. 

Suneet: So it sounds like you’re saying you have to outwork the competition.

Christy: Yeah. Yep. 

Suneet: Right. What are some ways that works for you to outwork the competition? 

Christy: I feel like,being available, answering the phone, answering people’s questions. W- when a lead comes in, like you have to be one of the first ones to get back to them, and it’s all about just like getting back to people, figuring out what they want, and getting it to them as the, in the quickest and easiest way possible.

Christy: So I mean, it’s so simple, but it’s so funny ’cause it’s like, it’s really hard now that I’m like a team leader, it’s really hard to find people that are like so dedicated to that process, right? So, and we can go further into that too in terms of like the process of going from a [00:07:00] salesperson to like a team leader to now I’m like going back to being a salesperson, and like all the twists and turns of this is just, it’s quite a ride.

Suneet: Yeah. So I definitely wanna talk about that. However, I also wanna ask you about prospecting ’cause you’re a beast on the phone, right? How long have you been a prospecting animal like that? 

Christy: Well, I stopped being a prospecting animal as much now with your help, thank you, and everyone, 

Suneet: But for the longest time you were, that’s how you came up too, right?

Christy: 20 y- I mean, literally, like 20 years, guys, and I’m not kidding. I was a Mike Ferry devotee and, like,I would have at least 20 to 25 conversations at least four to five days a week for seriously 20 years. Like, I’m not kidding. Like, if you owned a house in Truckee, my job was to talk to you and, and bring value, 

Christy: And, as simple as like, “Here’s what homes have sold for. Here are people that can help [00:08:00] you maintain the house. Like, when you’re ready to go, let’s go,” right? So I did that for 20 years, so my database is really great now, and the, email responses are great, the open rates.

Christy: Like, people know me because I’ve, like, spent the time to create those relationships. So, yeah. Yeah. And so I try to instill that to my agents too. My old coach, Steve Powers, would say, “Kristy, contacts equal contracts. So the more contracts you want, the more contacts you need to make,” and that’s that.

Christy: So that’s what I took home. 

Suneet: What was that transition like from being that agent with a lifestyle business and still doing the prospecting to getting into the team arena? 

Christy: I mean, I feel like,I was in massive burnout though. I mean, 20 years of making, like, basically 25 contacts a g- day, like, that sucked.

Christy: Like, that was so hard. It was like, oh my goodness. [00:09:00] Like, by the end, I was like, “I cannot. I cannot, guys. I cannot do it.” So, but I guess, that’s what I did and I feel like then I had the momentum and the ability to then now, like, I’ll get two or three, come list me calls basically every week now that I’m,more established.

Christy: And in a small town, like, that’s what it takes because, like, in a small town, there’s only a few of us that are like, quote unquote, like, the dominators, so, or the people that people would call. And the thing with Tahoe and Truckee is, like, most of our business comes from outside of the area, so you can make your business with your friends, right?

Christy: But, like, they’re not the ones most likely to buy or sell, so you have to, like, get your name out into the Bay Area where people wanna buy or sell through, agents or just, making calls to people. Absentee owners, that’s where it is. 

Suneet: Absentee owners, yes. So now with the team, you’ve got marketing director, different [00:10:00] specialists, agents.

Suneet: Like, when you decided to s- first start hiring people- Number one, how did you know it was time to hire somebody? And number two, what was the first role that you kinda hired? 

Christy: Yeah, that w- I’ve gone through so many different renditions of what to get to this point, so. But like to start it off, 

Christy: I hired a great marketing person, and, like redid my website. We did all the different drip campaigns. We created buyer packages and seller packages, and like all these like really glossy, fancy things, and I’m so grateful to her. and then I hired two ISAs to make calls for me because I was done making calls.

Christy: and then I had a great transaction coordinator, and then I hired like a sales manager to help with like onboarding the team and everything like that. it’s been like such a process, and so like, really what you guys say about like how you bring someone on is like the experience that you’re gonna get through the [00:11:00] whole process.

Christy: Just like a listing, it’s like how you create the seller expectation is like how it’s gonna be. And like when you’re working with a seller, if you mess up like the first like w- three or four days, if the launch isn’t smooth, the whole thing’s gonna suck the whole time. And with agent, the life cycle is so much longer, and the time in it is so much harder, so like how you bring them in and the expectations.

Christy: So at the beginning I was like, “Guys, I’m retiring. I’m over it. I don’t wanna make a single call. I don’t wanna talk to a single seller. I don’t wanna talk to a buyer. I hate this. Like, you guys come in, you take my deals, give me a cut. We’re good. See you later,” right? But that didn’t really work, because it was like they would take a deal and then…

Christy: But like they didn’t have the work ethic, but, that I thought required like the quality. So like they didn’t call people. So I’d get angry calls from my sphere and my sellers like, “Oh, hey, I haven’t heard from [00:12:00] this person in three or four days.” Or like, “This should’ve happened,” or, “That should’ve happened,” or this or that.

Christy: And so like I brought them on. I was like, “Oh, you guys are in the business. You can do this.” I had zero training, like really available. so then I was like, “Oh, shoot. Oh, that was cool.” and then what happened is like I started like getting my checklist and the Monday board and the, like- 

Suneet: Monday, yes

Christy: these are the things you need to do, and if you’re gonna do this, if you’re gonna take one of, take our, take my deals from then, y- like this is how you need to handle it. Like this is the minimum standards, and here are my expectations. And like really going through that process so that, it was just like a smooth transition.

Christy: So that was really good. So like I brought on like seven people and then like six out of the seven left, ’cause I was like, not a great leader, and I don’t know, I just didn’t bring them on correctly I think. Now I have one– I still have m- one who’s been on my team like originally since I’ve been like building.

Christy: I really love her. Her name’s Sarah Kane, and she’s [00:13:00] incredible. S- shout outs to Sarah, great listing agent, great buyer specialist. Love her, yeah. So she’s seen the progression through, and I just… I also think what’s really cool too is like coming from being like a salesperson to going into more of a leadership role is like you have to learn a whole new set of, relationship tools and skills that I did not have.

Christy: and I really love my team because they are like, “Wow, Christie, you’re so much nicer now.” Or like, just like, “You’ve changed so much,” or, “You’ve grown so much.” And I really think like even just in real estate, like you get instant feedback on like if you’re doing something right or well or whatever, ’cause like either a house is gonna sell and people are gonna be happy, or you’re just gonna like, have to go through that process of unhappy clients or you kinda messed up.

Christy: Like, so the feedback is like instant. It is kinda like school too, is like the feedback is instant. And as a te- and being in a team, like maybe the feedback isn’t so instant, but like you certainly [00:14:00] learn, the l- some lessons, the hard way if you don’t catch it soon enough. 

Suneet: Yes. That’s the thing with, leadership, right?

Suneet: Is, and I’ve been saying this, maybe just quietly to myself back when I was an agent, when I, just started out like, “Okay, this guy sold 40 houses this year in Sacramento, and now he’s a team leader? Like, that guy’s a dick.” Like, he doesn’t know that just because you’re a great salesperson doesn’t mean you’re a good leader.

Suneet: And the counterargument is always, “Oh, well, I’m leading my clients to a sale. I can lead a person into something.” Okay, s- whoever said that must be a salesperson and not a leadership person, ’cause I know when my first foray into leadership was in the mortgage game, and it was high pressure, high stakes, and my people called me a fucking tyrant Right?

Suneet: And what did I learn from being called a tyrant? Was that is ineffective. Thank goodness I got more reps on leadership [00:15:00] when I ran my dispensaries, which is a whole other vibe, right? Everyone there is a little bit happier, it’s a little bit chill, and I really got to hone my leadership in then. But I know, and I hear it from people every day that, “My real estate team is the first time I’ve had a real leadership role.

Suneet: How, and how do I lead these people? Because I have unrealistic expectations and no one’s doing the shit that I say.” What do you think about that? 

Christy: that’s the thing is like clear expectations, clear checklists, And this is where I falter still all the time, is like making su- holding them accountable and then confronting them when it’s not being done to that level.

Christy: I think that’s the most challenging thing that I have. But like it is so nice though when the expectations are super clear and then they’re not doing it because then you’re like, “Okay, it’s not about me, it’s not about you, it’s just about this. Like, and if we do this,” like, and then [00:16:00] it’s like, “How’s that gonna affect you positively and how’s that gonna af- affect me positively?”

Christy: And that, once you get to that realm where you’re communicating towards like a single goal without like, “You’re doing it wrong,” and, “I’m unhappy,” and all that stuff, like you Once you take the drama and the emotion out ofit’s a lot better. But it’s, it’s still, I have to say like this year has still been pretty challenging even when we do have everything outlined.

Suneet: Yeah. I mean sometimes it can never be enough because there’s all kinds of other mitigating factors that are impacting us, these days. the thing with accountability, and I love that, that you brought that up because it’s really important to me. It’s kind of my job is to hold people accountable now, right?

Suneet: And like I learned this framework years ago, maybe someone listening will, get some value out of it, is, the commitment, the activity, the standard is binary. It’s yes or no. It’s not maybe or I did some of it. It’s [00:17:00] yes or no. So that’s how the commitment needs to be laid out. It’s binary. And then if some- how bad do you want this thing that you’re committing to?

Suneet: Oh, I want it bad. Great. Would you like me to hold you accountable to that, right? And most people will say yes, because everybody, maybe not everybody, but a majority of people go towards accountability, right? So can I hold you accountable to this? Yes or no. If yes, how much accountability would you like?

Suneet: How much can I be a dick, right? But also like at the same time like, and 

Christy: we’ve both heard Chet say this, is accountability is the highest form of 

Suneet: love. And for the longest time I never got what that meant. I just nodded along like, “All right, John. Yeah. So- sounds good.” But accountability is the highest form of love because everybody wants accountability and everybody has stuff that they wanna do to improve their life.[00:18:00] 

Suneet: So when somebody is going out of their way to hold you accountable, that’s, somebody sacrificing something for themselves to care for you. Sacrificing whether, being able to have that hard conversation with somebody Right? So, that framework just changed everything for me. So I ask, “Do you want accountability?”

Suneet: I even ask it to my family, and they always say no and tell me to shut up. But besides that, everybody really, uh, veers to it. So I wanna talk to you a little bit about marketing, because marketing, especially in an area like Tahoe, the Greater Tahoe Area, is so important, right? What are some things that have been effective for you in growing your real estate business through marketing in Tahoe?

Christy: Well, I mean, when I first– I went from being like a secret agent to, trying to be everywhere. I w- tried to dominate the physical world and dominate the [00:19:00] digital world. And,when I was a secret agent, I would just make calls, and I would spend no money on marketing, and then I was finally like, “Okay, my goal is to dominate the physical as well as the digital.”

Christy: So how’d I do that? I mean, dominate the physical area. So I w- I had two cars that I wrapped. I had T-shirts. I had, like, hats, and,I just tried to be everywhere, and people would just see my name, like, everywhere. If there was, like, a school sporting event, theater, like, all the sponsorships.

Christy: Like, I just tried to make sure that, like, my name was, like, everywhere in town, and so when someone came into town, I have a office, right on a main road. There’s my van. There’s my face. I mean, my kids were mortified. I mean, literally had my face on my car. Like, they just… we all laugh about that.

Christy: My face isn’t on my car anymore, but, like, there’s definitely … So, yeah. So I started that way, and then also then I, I hired a marketing person [00:20:00] and have a really nice-looking website on homeinslate.com. Mm-hmm. And I hired, like, models to do, like, the video part, and I really invested in that aspect of it, and then I am in with CR Interactive and, do pay-per-click.

Christy: I was a big Zillow agent for a long time. and then, and then I, use realtor.com as well. I do a lot of postcards and things like that as well, so. 

Suneet: Tell me about the postcards, ’cause I was hoping you, you were gonna say that. What do you do with postcards in a second-home market? 

Christy: Well, I mean, I feel like because people are out of the area, they appreciate, like, what homes like theirs are selling for.

Christy: So I mean, I had a– There was another agent in our town who has retired, but he was, like, the master of, like, this, like, newsletter that went out that told everyone what their competitive homes were on the market and what they sold for, and I think [00:21:00] because of that, I use a company called Celebrity Agent that does the postcards for me, 

Christy: it’s very consistent, so I don’t have to think about it. It’s expensive, right? And you have to do it at a pretty high level. but I get a return, I get a return for it. I think it’s because it’s a second-home market. It’s not like they’re- I mean, people can go on Zillow and things, but it’s just like that constant reminder that I’m there when it’s time for them to list their homes or sell their homes.

Suneet: So you’ll send it to the main address in the Bay? 

Christy: In the Bay. I would– Yeah, it all goes to the homeowner. Yeah, and you have to be, you have to set it up correctly so it doesn’t go to their other address, but yeah. 

Suneet: To the empty house where mail’s just stacking, like in a PO box or something. Yes. celebrity agent.

Suneet: Yeah, me and you are both on their website, aren’t we? 

Christy: Are we? Yeah. Guess so. 

Suneet: Yeah,that’s so cool. 

Christy: I think if you just did that blindly, like that– it would take a long time to accumulate, but, how do you make a relationship? I mean, like the [00:22:00] postcards, but you have to have like some sort of conversation or text or email.

Christy: Like something has to be going back and forth. I don’t know if the postcards alone work, but that’s in conjunction with everything else. 

Suneet: Right. Yeah. It’s so hard to figure out, what piece of marketing messaging had the impact at the one moment where they decided to call you.

Suneet: ‘Cause like you said, it could be years of maybe they came in as a Zillow lead seven years ago, and maybe they’ve been getting emails from us the whole time. Maybe one of our agents called them once or twice. Maybe they drove by on, on their way into town and went by your bu- your van, your wrapped car, right?

Suneet: By your office. And then finally one day after seeing your face and, seeing all these things for years, they get a piece, they get a piece of mail and say, “Oh, Christie, yeah.” Right? Like at that point they prob- they feel like they know you Right? That is so big. 

Christy: Pretty big, for a while on YouTube videos and highlighting all [00:23:00] the areas in Tahoe, all the neighborhoods, and I’m gonna get back on that again.

Christy: but that was really effective too ’cause, if you’re looking… If you are thinking about Tahoe, you are gonna go online and start, like, looking at videos and looking at things, and that was… That’s been pretty helpful as well. And if I call them, and they wanna do some background on me to know if I’m, like, a real person, then it’s good to have the backing of the nice website, the videos, that you’re, like, a real person.

Christy: And I think as time goes on, there’s fewer and fewer real people out there. There’s just the scammers and everything going on. So the more, like, authentic, real, you can actually make that connection, I feel like as we go into, AI and everything else, like, those real connections are what’s gonna be important.

Christy: And even, like, Facebook and Instagram is so noisy, and there’s, like, so much, like, false, ideas. Just, it’s just, like, really spam now. 

Suneet: Bullshit. There’s so much bullshit on there. 

Christy: There’s so much that it’s just like, [00:24:00] be authentic, be real, have the heart of, like, you’re gonna take care of them and their interests at heart, and if they can trust you and you convey that, I feel like that’s more important than almost anything else.

Suneet: that’s so good, and I love your guys’ focus on marketing because oftentimes when I’m daydreaming, I’ll go to your website and look at houses in Tahoe, Truckee. And man, you guys launch… There was that one listing in Reno you had a couple months ago. 

Christy: Oh, yeah, over on Mormon Tea. 

Suneet: Yes. 

Christy: 6 million?

Christy: Yeah. 

Suneet: Yeah. Or- how much was that house? 

Christy: Six. Six million. 

Suneet: Yeah. That house was amazing. 

Christy: It was, yes. 

Suneet: Yes. so how do you, like, plan the launches for these amazing listings when also a big bulk of your, the prospective buyers are in a different city? 

Christy: Right. Yeah, that’s such a good question. and that’s the thing too about the core beliefs of what makes you a successful real estate agent is, like, [00:25:00] those good listings are the fuel that fuels your entire business.

Christy: A good listing will bring in buyers, bring in other sellers, And I mean, especially when you price it right. So, like, those things like professional photography, the drone, the videos, all those things to highlight, like, the lifestyle and what, not only, like, the details of the house, but, like, hopefully the lifestyle it will provide is what we really focus on.

Suneet: Yeah. You guys do s- some of those lifestyle videos, right? Yeah. It’s so funny. Like, I remember years ago before we were friends, whenever I would go up to Tahoe, I would always think, I was like, “Dude, every one of these realtors is taking cellphone pictures of these listings.” I feel like it was more common in Tahoe.

Suneet: Am I wrong? 

Christy: No, you’re not wrong. We just tran- like, the m- our market just transitioned over in, like, 2000, maybe ’15 or ’16, but yeah. Yeah, toilet seats up [00:26:00] and things. Like, it didn’t matter. They just, yeah. 

Suneet: Like, I was staying in some, like, baller Airbnb in, Dollar Point that happened to be for sale. So I went online, and we talked about…

Suneet: I loved it. That’s… One day you guys can help me find a house there. One day. although there’s probably much nicer areas now, right? But, 

Christy: No, Doll- Dollar Point’s amazing. I think you should definitely get a place there up on Holualoa afterwards, but it is, with the private beach and the pool and the dock and the, yeah, buoys.

Christy: Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah 

Suneet: so we were staying in this baller house and it was listed, so I went to Zillow, and the t- the realtor was in every photo like, like this, like, taking a photo. In every bathroom mirror. Every toilet seat was up. The lights were off. It’s like, bro. But I guess, was the thinking back then that everything would sell anyways, or it was just kinda how it was?

Christy: both. Both. I mean, I think that’s how it was. That’s what the competition was like. [00:27:00] and I remember as we moved for- like, moved through it, like, that was one of our plays is, like, wow, like, we’ll take professional photography. Like, you… We’ll make it really neat. We’ll make sure that, the bedspreads are straight and toilet seats are down and the pillows are fluffed and everything like that, and that really matters.

Christy: And, we still highlight that, like, getting your home ready and the staging and that entire process. but again, it’s so important, absolutely. Mm-hmm. ‘Cause again, people… Mm-hmm. 

Suneet: Tell me about your clients first mentality and why that’s so important to you. 

Christy: Yeah. Well, I mean, I s- I think also particularly ’cause I’m, I am, mostly a listing agent and that’s where I’m very passionate about, but I mean, we still see people in our market where, like, they won’t bring homes to market.

Christy: They’ll just bring them on as contingent, so they’ll double end it before it goes to market at a price that is low or lower, or, [00:28:00] we’ll get- 

Suneet: Just so they can get both sides, i- right? 

Christy: Yeah, and it’s so obvious in, like, a small market. This isn’t, like, a ton of transactions. Like, we all see it. It’s really interesting, and you know the agents that do it over and over again.

Christy: It’s really, it’s like, whoa. And then sometimes we’ll miss out on a bidding war, and then it’ll sell for, like, $100,000 less or things like that, so you’re just like, whoa, like That happens. it happens. And sometimes there, there’s a, other situations. I’m not throwing anyone under the bus, but I feel like there’s a lot that goes into not only the marketing of a property, but obviously, like, how you negotiate it, how you can, get the price up for people.

Christy: it’s easy to get a quick deal, but it’s, I think it’s, like, people’s lives that you’re working with. It’s their next step. It’s their retirement. It’s like they don’t do this all the time, so they really do need someone that’s, like, experienced and can help them through the process, and it’s [00:29:00] not just like every other person can do it, 

Christy: it’s… I feel like there’s an art to it, and, and that gets missed. 

Suneet: How do you portray that message to the agents that work for you? 

Christy: I’m currently challenged with it and at the same time… But at the same time, I just try, now that I’ve been a team leader for a few years, I really try to make sure when I’m hiring that I’m hiring someone that has, like, heart and consideration for others.

Christy: Because I have hired, like, some really sh- like, they’re great on paper. They’re great because they can close, and they get deals, and I love them for that. But at the same time, there’s, it’s not… It’s for them and not for the client, and I feel like I built my reputation on trying to be, like, client first.

Christy: Like, they win, you win. And it’s like the more you serve people, like, the more money that’s gonna come in, and I just have that mentality. That’s something that’s really hard to teach, [00:30:00] so I just try to make sure that the people that I bring on my team have that in their core, and then it’s not…

Christy: And then it’s actually kind of a non-issue. 

Suneet: Yes. And here’s the thing, is, we’ve all hired agents who might have been great closers, who might have done a lot of deals, but they’re the… also the ones that you get the most complaints about. And if you’re listening to this and you’re getting those calls, here’s your red flag, because let me tell you, you’re not gonna change that behavior Right?

Suneet: It’s ingrained in the, in, in some people, and that’s okay. And if that’s okay with you, then that’s okay, too. But real estate is a business that involves, like, bureaus and licensing, so it’s important to do the right thing, not only for your license, but also so you have a good reputation, ’cause your reputation’s everything.

Christy: Yes. Yeah, and, you know- Mm-hmm … I feel like, my agents that [00:31:00] have, that I was like, “Oh, yeah, you’re crushing it, but wow, like, that was an interesting decision,” or that, “Ooh, I wouldn’t have done that,” in the end, they’re gonna leave you anyway because it’s just transactional no matter what.

Christy: So you think, like, you’re, is… So I just feel like do yourself a favor and just, like, create a team with like-minded individuals that have that heart, if you have that heart, and, save yourself the pain and agony because, like, eventually they are gonna lead to some more issues that you’re gonna have to deal with, and it’s just not worth it.

Suneet: Always. I mean, I still get letters from people who haven’t worked for me for two years, like, on deals, and I’m like, “What the…” Like, this person’s s- like, there’s that many issues, right? So yeah, you can’t really fix it And if you can, if you figured it out, then send me a DM and let me know because- Yeah, me too

Suneet: ’cause I haven’t figured it out. 

Christy: I 

Suneet: would love 

Christy: that. Yes. 

Suneet: So what advice do you [00:32:00] have for real estate agents listening to this episode right now? 

Christy: well, I mean, I’d go to my core, contacts equal contracts. And it’s all about creating relationships and creating the knowledge to make you, to have the confidence to serve people at the highest level you possibly can.

Christy: Like, understand the contract, understand the process, because they’re putting, millions of dollars typically in your hands to sell their house. So, like, take it seriously. Like, you’re a doctor, you’re an attorney, you’re an accountant. Like, take the skill set seriously because it, there’s so many different details in the contracts and the disclosures and all that stuff.

Christy: like you really need to master that, and that will give you the confidence to really be like, “Yes, let’s go.” Like, “Let’s list your house. I’m gonna get you the top price that we can in this market.” [00:33:00] Understand that. So like, really like developing not only, like, the skills, our sales skills, which are really important too, but also just, like, the whole, like, technique, the skill set that you need to become competent.

Christy: Become competentin this profession, and treat it like a profession, not just, like, a hobby. And get the answers yourself. There’s so many classes, like e- through Reside, through your broker, through, your state association, but, like, understand what the game is. And then once you understand the rules of the game, then go win it, right?

Christy: But, like, don’t try to win the game when you don’t know the rules. 

Suneet: Yes. So- That’s so good. So good … 

Christy: so that’s what I would, that’s what I’d say to agents. 

Suneet: Yeah, I was, And I’ve told this story many times, but it’s ’cause it’s a good one. I was at my first daughter, what is it? Nuclear testing, where they, like, do the, scan of [00:34:00] the baby when it’s, when my wife was, pregnant.

Suneet: I think it’s called nuclear testing. I don’t know. but we’re in there, and they do the scan and the… and you’re looking at the face. Is there anything wrong with my kid? Am I having a boy or a girl? Is there anything wrong with my kid? And of course, the person doing the scan is just, like, cold face.

Suneet: They’re just Right? Taking their pictures. And then you go to another room where you meet with a specialist, some kind of somebody, right? So I remember going in that room, and there’s a big con- there’s a big binder full of all the things that could be happening with your kid, right? And all the things that aren’t happening.

Suneet: And this woman, who is I’ll never forget, she takes the binder and she flips it around so that we can read it sitting on the opposite side of the desk. She’s opening it to pages and lines and explaining what the line says without looking down at the manual at all and looking at us in the face, right?

Suneet: And then you ask agents, [00:35:00] “Hey, have you ever read the damn listing agreement?” “Oh, no. I just send it via DocuSign.” Bro

Suneet: Right? So at that moment, when that happened, I learned the front and back of every contract, and I quit doing so much DocuSign for people. Like, “Hey, let’s meet and walk through this agreement.” Right? So yeah, learning the contract and learning the game. I love that. Learn the game of real estate. What advice do you have for team leaders listening to this episode?

Christy: Oh. I feel like, whoa. Like, um, definitely what I’ve learned is, it’s all in how you onboard people through the process. And, and I feel like great onboarding really helps, and not taking things too personally, because, like, people come and go, [00:36:00] and that’s super challenging for me.

Christy: and I think, like, really becoming responsible for what you’re giving to your agents. and I know, like, John Cheplak talked about, like, the importance of team meetings, and they’re looking for you for guidance, inspiration, and accountability. And, and I think that once you make those things clear, and you actually put time and effort into it, it really shows, and people really appreciate it.

Christy: and I… So that’s what I’ve been focusing on lately. It seems to be somewhat working, but, it’s a challenge for me at all times. 

Suneet: what are you most excited about coming up? 

Christy: Well, I’m s- Well, right now it’s summertime in Tahoe, so it’s absolutely incredibly beautiful, and we’re finally in our selling season.

Christy: So h- homes are listing, and houses are selling, and there’s just, like, a lot of activity. So that’s really nice for us ’cause, usually in the wintertime [00:37:00] it gets kinda slow, so, right? we’ve all made it through the s- we’ve made it through the slow time, and so now we’re, like, super fired up to help people and help our buyers and sellers, and even listings sitting on the market are selling, so that’s exciting.

Christy: I just brought the horses back up to Truckee. I’m really excited about that. Now I have them back in my backyard, and, we have, lots of fun friend outdoor events, and swimming in Tahoe, and rafting, and padd- standup paddle boarding, and music in the park, and all those things. So that’s what I’m excited 

Suneet: about.

Suneet: Oh, man. I’m about to get in my car. 

Christy: That’s all right. Come on up. It’s great. 

Suneet: I… Yes. Yes. All right. Well, Christi, if anybody wants to send you… Number one, if you’re listening and you are a realtor and have a referral for anybody in the Tahoe area, the only person you can call is Christi. That’s the only person I’m gonna call.

Suneet: So, so Christi, When somebody sends you a referral, ’cause everybody listening will, [00:38:00] right? how do they reach you? 

Christy: Well, you can find my contact at homeinslate.com. That’s the easiest. and then you can also call me at 530-412-0484. That’s my cell number. And I’m at christi@exploretahoehomes.

Christy: That’s my email. And Christi Morrison, I’m sure you can find me on Facebook or Instagram. You can message me as well. so yeah, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to talk about real estate and what it’s like to live up here in Tahoe. 

Suneet: Yes. Awesome. You guys, make sure you do send those referrals to Christi, and go find her on social and follow her.

Suneet: If you wanna see some amazing houses, go to her website. That’s where I go. So there you go, guys. Anyways, Christi, thank you so much for coming on. Super fun. Everybody watching and listening, I hope you got something out of this episode. If you did, please click like, share with a friend, and we’ll see you on the next episode of the Reside [00:39:00] Platform podcast.