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Cheri Benjamin With Village Premier Collection

May 24, 2024 by Jacob Lapera

Atlanta Business Radio
Atlanta Business Radio
Cheri Benjamin With Village Premier Collection
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Cheri Benjamin stands as a trailblazer in the realm of real estate, with a journey marked by remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication. Her entrance into the world of Real Estate commenced in 2000 as a Loan Officer, where she not only excelled but also expanded the business to include a team of 22 Loan Officers. Throughout her tenure, she shattered sales records that endure as testaments to her prowess over the past two decades.

In 2006, she transitioned seamlessly into the role of a Real Estate agent before returning to her roots in Atlanta. As the CEO of The Benjamin Group, Village Premier Collection (VPC), and WEINSURE JAG companies, her leadership has propelled VPC to #676 on INC 5000 and secured its position as one of the Top 5 Commercial real estate brokerages in Metro Atlanta. Village Premier Collection stands as the Largest Minority Female Owned Real Estate brokerage in Georgia, boasting a roster of over 500 agents.

Her insights and expertise have garnered national and local recognition, with features in esteemed publications such as the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the Business Chronicle newspapers. She has been a sought-after voice on platforms like 11 Alive News, lending her perspective on the intersection of the Real Estate Market and the evolving economy.

Her accolades, including being named the 2018 Coach of the Year by Club Wealth and achieving the prestigious 2019 Multi-Million Platinum status, underscore her unwavering commitment to excellence. With over $450 million in revenue, her impact reverberates across the industry.

Beyond her professional endeavors, her commitment to service is evident in her role as a US AIR FORCE Veteran and her dedication to coaching five brokerages nationwide. A devoted wife and mother of five sons, she epitomizes family-centric values and community engagement.

Her vibrant personality and tireless work ethic ensure that every real estate experience under her guidance is not only professional but also pleasant. As she continues to empower others to flourish and thrive, Cheri Benjamin remains a beacon of inspiration and excellence in the real estate landscape.

Connect with Cheri on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

  • About Village Premier Collection

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Brought to you by On pay. Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Onpay. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the Atlanta Business Radio, we have Cheri Benjamin with Village Premier Collection. Welcome.

Cheri Benjamin: Hi. Thank you, thank you.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to get caught up with you. For folks who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about Village Premier Collection? How you serving folks?

Cheri Benjamin: Yeah, so Village Premier collection, we go base to base just short of VPC. So we break that on down. Make it a little bit easier for people. But we serve real estate needs. Whether you are buying, selling, investing in residential or commercial or doing development. So we service a lot of different angles in the real estate space.

Lee Kantor: So what is the climate in today’s real estate world? Is it a good time to be in the real estate business?

Cheri Benjamin: I mean, you’re asking a person who loves the real estate business that question. Absolutely. This market that we are in right now is really starting to make a huge shift into those that space that is very viable for buyers, sellers, investors, all of that is what we’re really seeing. A lot of people back in the fourth quarter of last year were interest rates spiked pretty high. It slowed down a lot of our demand that we had based upon our supply. And now we’re starting to shift a little bit more back into that very high supply. And we’re getting those folks to come on out now in order to meet that this the supply and the demand need that we have here. So the market is doing fairly well and it’s really starting to climb now.

Lee Kantor: Is that the metro Atlanta market in general or is it across the country?

Cheri Benjamin: This is actually what we’re seeing in more than just the Atlanta metro area. We actually service the entire United States. Now, there are some markets that are still having a little bit of a time getting rebounded from there. But generally most markets is starting to we’re seeing a large increase in the amount of homes that are going on the market, the increases in prices that are happening. Um, the on the commercial space, we’re seeing a lot more of the commercial properties that are that’s going to be the difference there. Those properties are a little bit harder to get rented out. So anyone who is doing any leasing of commercial spaces, there has been a little bit more of the less there in the opposite of the supply and demand for those that are out looking for commercial spaces. But on the residential side, everywhere in the US is really starting to catch up to what you’re seeing in Atlanta is really starting to happen across a lot of markets now.

Lee Kantor: Is it that folks have just kind of accepted that, look, interest rates are going to be a little higher now for a while. And just like I mean, I remember when I bought my house decades ago, interest rates were higher than this and we just adapted to it. And then, you know, when they got lower by a certain percentage, we refinance and we refinance our way down to when it was low. I mean, it just isn’t it kind of cyclical.

Cheri Benjamin: I don’t think that people are getting used to it. I do believe that what is happening is that their interest rates have softened a lot from where they were. I mean, they got almost up to 8%, and in some areas they were at 8%. And, you know, really not to talk about either one of our ages. But yes, I do remember my first house and where I closed it was higher than that interest rate, the interest rate that was offered, um, no matter what your credit score was, was a lot higher than what we have seen. But people don’t. People weren’t looking at buying back then. You know, when I talked to a person who’s ready right now and I tell them, you know, when I back when I bought my first house, I was at 8.375. They really think, well, that’s great for you, but I’m thinking of what’s happening right now and the affordability right now for my property. And with the interest rates softening from that 8% and trickling back down, especially in the markets where builders and people are doing buy downs of interest rates. So we’re getting very creative when it comes down to the financing side of it. In order to make the homes more affordable, uh, for those that need loans.

Lee Kantor: Now, are you seeing kind of the aggressive financing that was around maybe back in the day a little bit where there were, you know, balloon payments or adjustable for the first few years and then, you know, larger payments after that. Is that happening?

Cheri Benjamin: Well, those loans are still available, but those loans are not what we generally see from most. And the reason why is Dodd-Frank came in, and it really did help with making it so that back in those days where someone would do a two year, 228 is what it was called fix for two years, adjust for the next 28 years. That adjustment, you know, went so high that that’s what sent us into the recession is that we had an influx of people that they they could not afford their mortgages anymore. Those types of things we don’t generally see. Can you get an arm? Yes you can. You can still go and get A51, A31, 271, a ten one. You can still get those. And those will give you a much lower interest rate, um, to start off with. So those are still available but those are not the deals. Whereas in 2005 the ARM deals were dominating the market. Now in 2024, the ARM deals are a very small piece of the market. And I believe that’s because we’ve learned our lesson. And that is the one thing I’m very proud of when it comes down to the to the real estate industry as a whole, whether it’s on the mortgage side, whether it’s on the, uh, buyer and seller side, and including what has happened with the regulations that have come down. I do believe that that has helped our industry as a whole that will keep us from going back into that recession again. So we’re not seeing a lot of those that we used to see before. People are not I think we have a much more educated buyer nowadays, uh, versus what we had back in, you know, rewind the clock back 20 years ago. We had a we have a much more educated buyer nowadays.

Lee Kantor: Now, what’s it like to be in the real estate business if you’re a realtor? Is this a good time to be a realtor?

Cheri Benjamin: I think so. I have enjoyed my real estate license for the last 24 years. I’ve seen a lot of ebb and flows of real estate that has happened. I’ve seen people come into the market and get out of the get out of the Or come into the industry and then get out of the industry. I’ve seen all those different things happen. For a person who is looking at starting to get into this business, treat it like a business. I want for people to understand that when you get into the real estate space, you are getting into entrepreneurship. If you’ve never been an entrepreneur, so you are getting into entrepreneurship and you do need to treat it as such. You need to treat this business no different than what you would treat your carpet cleaning business, or your brick and mortar that you would have that you would go into on your 9 to 5. You really need to structure your business, create the leverage around your business and understand what you’re getting yourself into. There is a lot of mentorship. There’s a lot more coaching. Youtube can be your friend in some aspects of these things too. Whereas we didn’t have these sort of accesses to this type of education 20 years ago. Nowadays we do. And so a person who’s looking at getting into the real estate space, I always tell them mentor and coaches are number one for you because they will you don’t know what you don’t know, and there’s going to be pitfalls that you want to get around. And so let’s get them in place that can help you with your pitfalls. And then also make sure that your business is structured properly in order for it to grow.

Lee Kantor: And then it’s like you mentioned, this isn’t like a job where you show up and you’re going to get a starting salary and you’re going to get bonus based on what how the company does this is kind of an eat what you kill. Uh, you’re learning, you’re making investments, and then you’re seeing the fruits of your labor if you do well over time.

Cheri Benjamin: Correct. And you’re also. Need to understand those that you’re helping and how that works. You know, your buyers, your sellers, your investors that you are helping that is out there. And as you grow and you grow your knowledge and all those different areas, there’s more people that you can that you can assist and that you can help, um, that’s there. So it’s not just understanding the business itself. You have to understand the business. You have to understand client acquisition. You have to understand relating relating to your clients and understanding your clients and getting to the root of what your clients are really looking for as their ultimate outcome. And can you provide that? And if you say that you can provide that, you better deliver, you better deliver, because this is a business that everyone that gets into it, the only thing you have is your name. When you first get into this, you have your name. And that’s the one thing that I can’t get rid of. I’m not getting rid of that sucker. I’m Sharif Benjamin every day when I wake up. So that’s the one thing you have. And if, Lee, if you were my client at the time, then I want you to continue to use me. And so therefore, I have to get to the root of what it is that you are looking to accomplish. Make sure that I can check all those boxes. And if I can’t check those boxes, then who can? Who is the right person in order to do that? Or who is the right person for me to bring in in order to assist us in getting that done, lowering down the egos, understanding what you don’t know, putting your client at the center of your focus and your client’s outcome and your client’s experience is what is number one. And making sure that your business can handle the ebb and flows of real estate. And that takes time and it takes patience, but everyone gets there.

Lee Kantor: Or they don’t.

Cheri Benjamin: Were they done? Did they run? Can get there.

Lee Kantor: So now when you started at VPC, I believe you were the first agent that they hired or was hired.

Cheri Benjamin: Yes. Oh, wow. You’ve been to the vault? Yes. So they used to be village royalty, and I was their very first agent, uh, that they hired back in. Technically, it was 2013 because I moved on December 30th 1st to 2013. So January the 1st. I started off with just them. Uh, so. Yes. So that’s where I started off with them in 2019. They approached me about purchasing the company. I purchased the company in October 2019. Uh, the acquisition reduced our agent count. We went from 112 agents down to 67. And now, since then, just the evolution of what village has done and what village has grown into. We recently just brought on and did a partnership with Rio. So we’ve taken those 486 and offered them the partnership with real that we have. Also what happened with that is that it then exploded us across the United States, um, by doing so. So we have grown immensely and, um, very grateful for all of the growth that we’ve had, um, over the course of the years. I don’t think that I’ve even envisioned all of it that has taken place. So this has all been a blessing, um, to us by just putting people first. So I just believe in putting humans first. And this is what has come from doing so.

Lee Kantor: So now, what’s it like leading an organization that’s nationwide now? Like what systems in place? What are some of the things you’ve done to enable you to be successful? You know, in taking something that was maybe local, regional and now kind of scale it?

Cheri Benjamin: Yeah. So we had already scaled it. So we were in prior to um, joining, we were in moving the organization. We were already in eight states, so we were already going through. So it’s almost as if we had we got the groundwork done. So we didn’t have to make a lot of system shifts from how we already showed up. There was not a lot of shifts that we’ve had to make. What we have done, though, is we’ve deepened a lot of our connections so that we can go wide and go deep at the same time. Um, but I’m very strategical when it comes down to how our growth is. We’re not for everyone, and everyone is not for us. And I am 1,000% okay with that. I believe in attracting our like mindedness for growing out our tribe. Um, and so with that, we didn’t we didn’t haven’t had to use brand new systems and anything of that nature. We were already in eight other states. Um, so we’ve just added on.

Lee Kantor: So who is a good tribe member for you? What do they look like? What are they? What are they? What work are they doing right now that you’re like, hey, I’d like to get on their calendar.

Cheri Benjamin: A good tribe member for me doesn’t have to do always with how many transactions they are doing. It has to do with the human. So I’m much more with getting to who is the human behind this. So do the value system align? Do we have a shared vision? It can. What you are looking to grow to in your business? Can that be done here or can it not? And having true authentic conversations in reference to that. And that’s where a lot of people so we don’t do any sort of a recruiting. We do more attraction, meaning that we are looking for those that are more similar to us, those that believe in reaching behind you and pulling the next person up, those that believe in taking care of that person that’s next to you. Um, those who don’t believe in glass ceilings, that it’s a glass ceiling for a reason. It’s meant to be broken through. Let’s keep growing those with same similar style drives, those that are willing and that want to deposit more into those that come from them, and even those that don’t, you know. So we have a saying that’s called m’butu, which means I am because you are. So can I look at you and deposit into you and know that I’m going to receive everything that I should receive just from depositing into you? It makes me who I am to deposit and to invest in you. That’s really at the core of us, you know. So the real concept of work hard and be kind. And when we link these two things together, it’s just a full alignment for our agents. So that’s who we attract and that’s what we’re looking for. Those that are more like minded, that operate in authenticity, that believe in, if I’m going to put something out, it needs to be ecological. It needs to be good for all, not just good for self. And that’s the community of the tribe that we have been growing and that we are continuously growing.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How can we help? You mentioned residential. You mentioned commercial. Um, what do you need more of?

Cheri Benjamin: All of the above. It is really all of the above. This business was built in order to. Fill the spaces for those that come into it, and to be able to invest in those that come into it. So if it’s in the commercial lane, we have that. If it’s in the residential lane, we have that. If it’s in the more of content creation side, we have that. If it has to do with I want to grow from an attraction piece of my YouTube channel, we’ve got that in the coaches for that. So villages really meant for a place where the our real estate entrepreneurs can come to thrive in their lanes, that they choose to do it in and to build a community around that. So any and any of those that fit that, but the center of them is that I want kind individuals.

Lee Kantor: So now what is.

Cheri Benjamin: That’s what’s really at the center is the kind individual. Right.

Lee Kantor: And the value alignment and what so if there’s a real estate entrepreneur out there right now that maybe is frustrated, maybe is plateaued, is that like what kind of pain are they having right now where they should, you know, go, hey, maybe I should check out village.

Cheri Benjamin: A lot of people are just not being supported. That’s what’s what I see a lot of right now. We have a lot of people that are not being supported and people don’t see them. So at village, it’s really big for us to see you and what your light is and not put you into the same exact boxes with the next person’s light is. And I’ve been at several companies, several big box ones and not so big box ones, and I’ve seen this where they like to paint one one brushstroke and put everybody underneath that. That’s not how we are. That’s a lot more of what is authentic to you. And then helping that grow and turning up that dial of whatever your light is, uh, is how we really look at our approach is to coach, lead and train and help those agents, because the more and more agents I help coach, lead, train, navigate through business, grow their business vertically, the more other agents. They’re going to reach out to and let them know about the company.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody.

Cheri Benjamin: Wants, that’s really how we see it. There’s a lot of agents out there that are just struggling.

Lee Kantor: Right. And it’s like you said, they feel like they’re in an island. They were sold a bill of goods, and then it’s kind of sink or swim on your own and good luck. And, um, they don’t really have the support and the mentorship and the coaching needed to help take, you know, maybe somebody who needs a little more guidance to the next level. So if somebody wants to, if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more, what’s the website?

Cheri Benjamin: So in order to connect and learn more with us, you can actually visit a real village.com. And if you visit a real Village.com, that really does explain a. A lot of who we are and our main website is Village Premier. Com so you can also go there too. They both link to each other, but a real Village.com does tell you how about who we are? And you can always dig and dig and dig even more if you’d like to.

Lee Kantor: Well, Sherry, thank you.

Cheri Benjamin: But you can reach out to us there. You can contact us there. You can learn more about us. Join the tribe. You can do all those things there.

Lee Kantor: Well, Sherry, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Cheri Benjamin: Thank you so much. Thanks for having us. All right.

Lee Kantor: This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

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Tagged With: Cheri Benjamin, Village Premier Collection

Cheri’ Benjamin with Village Premier Collection

November 14, 2022 by angishields

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Cheri' Benjamin with Village Premier Collection
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Cheri-Benjamin-headshotCheri’ Benjamin is the CEO of The Benjamin Group, Village Premier Collection (VPC), and Weinsure Jag companies. She began her journey in Real Estate as a Loan Officer in 2000 and became a real estate agent in 2006.

Since then, Cheri’ has worked diligently to have VPC recognized as one of the top 5 commercial real estate brokerages in Metro Atlanta and ranked #676 on INC 5000. VPC is also the largest minority veteran and female-owned real estate brokerage in Georgia with over 470+ agents and 22 loan officers.

Cheri’ has been featured in several national and local publications including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Business Chronicle. She is regularly invited to share her expert real estate insight on Atlanta’s 11 Alive News, as well as a host of other Podcasts, radio, in-person speaking engagements and online interviews.

As a national real estate coach, she remains passionate about helping others flourish and is currently mentoring five brokers from around the U.S. Her vibrant personality and drive to get things done well makes for a pleasant, and always professional, real estate experience.

Cheri’ is also a proud US AIR FORCE Veteran, values being active in her local community and is a family-oriented individual. She and her husband have 5 sons.

Follow Village Premier Collection on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Growing a business from fewer than 50 agents to a multi-million dollar company in 10 states and several markets
  • Slow to hire, quick to fire
  • Character traits that have helped become successful in business

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. This is going to be a fantastic conversation and it’s part of our real estate series. Please join me in welcoming to the show CEO with the Benjamin Group, Village Premier Collection and Weinsure JAG companies. Ms.. Cheri’ Benjamin, how are you?

Cheri’ Benjamin: How are you? Stone Thanks for having me.

Stone Payton: Well, I’m well, but I’m feeling a little less than accomplished as I rattle off three different companies. My goodness. Tell us a little bit about mission Purpose. What are you in in your teams out there really trying to do for folks?

Cheri’ Benjamin: When a person really gets to understand who I am, you understand what drives me. It’s just a lot of what I’ve seen that wasn’t out there. A lot of leading with a lot more compassion and empathy and all of that. And I’ve just been in this for a while and there’s just a lot of things I saw. And, you know, whenever we have our opportunity to make a change and be a part of that change, I think we should just go and jump ten toes into it.

Stone Payton: Are we talking residential real estate? What is the focus here?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Yeah, so it is in reference to real estate. So Village Premier Collection is founded in the heart of Atlanta, right in the middle of Atlanta. We are at the intersection of Linux and Piedmont. We sit in that Atlanta tech village. The owner of that building is actually who our founder is, and I purchased it from him and we used to be called Village Realty, but I bought that back in 2019. It’s really funny how that happened. I was his very first agent that he hired ever. So seeing the growth of what that company did over the five years that I was there prior to owning it was a was a good accomplishment for him. For him, it’s just that he got involved in a lot of different tech startups where, you know, ATV is the fourth largest tech hub in the US, so he has his hands in a lot of different things. And then we had this little itty bitty old baby brokerage that I said, You know what? I think I’ve got a couple of ideas of what I can do with this. So I’ve just taken that and we’ve had a great amount of growth over the last now three years, even through the course of the pandemic. So yeah, it’s been a fun ride. And so all of them kind of feed into that. The Benjamin Group is a team and then you’ve got we Insure is a property and casualty company also.

Stone Payton: All right. So if you don’t mind, let’s go back a little bit further. How did you get into this line of work, into the real estate arena? Were you in a different profession prior to that?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Oh, I was. And from when I was a little gal that was very young, I was always encouraged to just, you know, it was hard work and make sure you’re true to who you are. I went to school. I’m originally from Maryland, but then we migrated on down to Atlanta to help my parents help start up the Georgia Lottery back in 94. You know, when you say that time, I feel like it’s only like 20 years ago. But it’s not 20 years ago. But it’s okay. But in my mind, I’m like, oh, no, that was like just 20 years. No, it was like almost 30. Okay. But that’s when we went down there. I went, I actually graduated from Lithia Springs High School out in Lithia Springs, Georgia, when I was 16 with a 4.0. And I got a bunch of scholarships, I’ll tell you that. But then I really it just wasn’t school wasn’t challenging enough to me for some odd reason. So I decided to go into the Air Force where I could kind of grow and test my limits and in different ways that traditional academics couldn’t do. I rose through our ranks, got a top secret clearance. It’s I had a nice, tough job. I, I always tell people, I say I carried a nine work every day.

Cheri’ Benjamin: I worked underground. Then you had to go through a cage. Then you had to take an elevator to go a little bit further underground, where I sat side by side with the with the general of our base on these decisions. So a lot of B lines and IAMS and all of that fun stuff you see in movies. Yeah, that was I was one of those people, but I actually got out of the military, I want to say back in 90 now, 99, I got out of the Air Force, My ex husband and I moved to Colorado, try to get a fresh start. He was still in the Army at the time. I tried to become a stay at home mom. And let me tell you, kudos to every stay at home mama that’s out there because there’s no way I could do that. That just was not my thing. And I stumbled across this ad one day for a loan officer position and I answered the ad, and I don’t know what was wrong with those people, but I actually got hired, but once again rose through those ranks. I ended up closing the most amount of transactions, and I think my record still stands from the last I was told in that company, and it only took me three months to do that.

Cheri’ Benjamin: But as Baby number three started making its way on, we decided to move out of Colorado and move back. You closer to Atlanta, where my family was a few years after that, we got divorced, and that’s kind of where my real estate side of my career took off. And then, yeah, so let me think. 2016, I joined a company, coaching company, stayed with them for a while and then rose through those ranks to becoming one of their national coaches, where I helped a lot of agents go from 200,000. My personal achievement was helping them go from 200,000 to over 2 million in profit in 12 months of their their 12 month profit worth. And then, like I said, in 2019, I bought Village in. When I purchased it, we had 118 agents, 51 of them left immediately. So the acquisition happened. So that was rough. And then a pandemic hit, which made it even harder. But, you know, today we are just shy of 500 agents. So we’ve had a massive amount of growth in the last three years. And we’ve also added on 22 loan officers. So it’s been it’s been a ride stone, I tell you. But that’s kind of how the start really happened and how we got here.

Stone Payton: Well, other than your obvious charm and your contagious enthusiasm, what do you attribute the growth and the success to? How did you crack the code on this growth?

Cheri’ Benjamin: You know, I it’s really hard to say exactly one thing, but I there’s core values. You know, when you serve, there are certain things that stick with you forever. I believe that at least it’s stuck with me forever. Honesty service before self integrity in everything that you do. So I’m really big on core values, living them out, holding myself, holding others accountable, putting those blinders on, and just staying fully focused on your commitments. Some people say goals. I use the word commitments because I think that when you commit to doing something, you do it rather than a goal that you can keep on pushing out and pushing out and pushing out a little bit further. So, you know, being a veteran and at the time, I think a big part of my shift and a little bit of who I am really came from when September the 11th happened. And, you know, I look at my younger children right now who don’t understand the impact that it had in our country. My ex was stationed down at Fort Carson. I was pregnant with our with my third. I’ve got five boys. So I had to figure out which kid it was with a third son. His birthday is actually September the 15th of 2001, so he came out four days after that.

Cheri’ Benjamin: But one of the things, you know, I remember being pregnant and watching those burning buildings, tearing down and tears coming down my face and everything. It was just it was so life altering. And I think that those of us that were blessed to be alive during those times and that we’re still alive now, we the one thing we remember the most is September the 11th. But the number one thing that stands true to me is not September the 11th. It’s September the 12th, because on September the 12th is when we fell back in love with our countries. September the 12th is when we all became brothers and sisters. The the the things that we see on social media and all that stuff that happens in our our country right now was not happening on September the 12th. We were one nation, one cause. And for me, from that day forward, especially being a spouse of someone who later went to war, and I lost a lot of a lot of people and I have a lot of friends who were left without their spouse and children, who were left without their parents or one of their parents from that that it’s it’s made it to where I’m just so determined that I’m going to leave my mark and my mark is going to be a positive one.

Cheri’ Benjamin: It’s the love, the the dedication that I believe that I’m instilling in my organization. And that’s just true to the gut of who I am. There’s a proverb. It’s called a mutu, and it’s an African proverb. And it means that I am because you are, which is very hard for people to understand. We don’t get anywhere in life without the assistance and the help of others. So outside of just I am because you are. That’s a hard thing for someone to understand. I’m going to poor and I’m going to invest into you for the greater good of you without looking for an indirect return for me. And I just understand that if I put great out, then good always comes back to me. And that’s really just the core of it. And I think that operation Out of Love first, putting your agents first, going deeper than what you’re comfortable going deep with to understand who they are and taking yourself out of the equation is really how you can create a shift. And I believe that’s what I believe, that that’s probably the magic a part of the businesses that I’ve been able to grow. It’s about the people and it’s about hearing them and understanding them and really just putting them first.

Stone Payton: Well, you make such a marvelous point. And no doubt with with what you’ve accomplished and the teams that you have built, you certainly have have landed on some some discipline, some some things that you are just going to live by when it comes to recruiting, developing, retaining folks. I bet you have a good little list of do’s and don’ts and principles that you live by in this regard, don’t you?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Oh, yeah. There are standards and you’ve got to meet those every day. I mean, there are you have to have discipline. I mean, discipline is laser focus, right? And I always tell people I said, you think about a racehorse and there’s a reason why they wear blinders because they’re not looking to the left or the right. Right. It’s that beauty. It’s that. And when you think about how powerful they are, that focus is that discipline. But the constant pursuit is your diligence and you must have the diligence there. You leaders as leaders, we have these commitments and we need to keep those commitments. And so I wholeheartedly believe in showing up. I believe in doing what you say you’re going to do every single time. I live in Las Vegas, I lived in Las Vegas since I’ve purchased this company. I lived in Las Vegas before I even bought the company. It takes discipline. It takes diligence to operate 2000 miles away from your entire team. And remember, Stone, I said we entered into a pandemic right after I bought it. Six months, actually six months, almost six months after it, our world started to shut down. And so there wasn’t any traveling for me to go back and forth and go into Atlanta, to touch and to love on them and to help them and all of those things.

Cheri’ Benjamin: So I had to do the things that I knew I could do. Thank goodness for Zoom, thank goodness for modern technology. But part of that is also, you know, I had agents that told me, you know what, Sheree? I have a lot of things I have to do. I need to start getting up earlier. So I cannot that out. I’m committed to waking up at 4 a.m.. And I’ll tell you this. Stone they told me that they were committed to waking up at 4 a.m.. I set my alarm for 1 a.m. and at 1 a.m. I woke up and I texted them, Are you up yet? Wow. Making sure you’re awake because that’s what they told me they wanted to do. I’m not holding anyone accountable to something that I believe that they should do. It’s them about them. It’s their legacy. It’s their commitment. It’s what they’re driving and striving in order to achieve. I’m going to stand there and I’m going to say that I’m willing to go through this with you supporters. You know, the word support is a verb to me.

Stone Payton: Did it take a while to to get good at this? Was there some scar tissue along the way? Did you fall and skinned your knee when it came to hiring and firing?

Cheri’ Benjamin: And of course, we don’t go through anything. But you know what? I believe it takes dirt in order to grow. You know, you think about a plant, you think about a tree, you think about something solid. It takes dirt in order to grow. And so there’s not a such thing as a failure. Do we all have the wrong hires at time? Absolutely. But I do thank them for the time that they were willing to commit. I do appreciate the effort that they gave, whether or not it was the right fit for that position. I do at least show enough gratitude for them showing up every day and making that attempt. Now we have to make a lot of adjustments. There’s tons of pitfalls that happen on a daily basis and trying to grow to where you’re where we’re ultimately trying to get to. And I don’t put a ceiling on any parts of that. You know, there’s a lot of different things that in decisions that come my way all day long, and it’s just about what’s best for everyone as a whole, not necessarily what’s best for Shari, you know, And that’s how I’ve just chosen to lead, is to take my person, my personal self out of it and look at everyone else and where are we collectively getting to and can we collectively get there faster based upon whatever this decision is? And how does that help us as a whole?

Stone Payton: Well, you are clearly finding the work incredibly rewarding. What are you enjoying the most at this point in your career? What’s the most fun about it?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Oh, boy. The most fun is when I see them reach a new level. It’s almost like you know us as parents. When we see our kids hitting certain milestones, it’s that proud feeling. Sometimes it’s a little bit overwhelming, that proud feeling that comes. But that’s the thing that I’ll be honest with you. It keeps me going. I had an agent one time tell me, you know, I say I am because you are. And she had hit a huge milestone in her career and she was so excited. And she messaged me and she said, you know, I know you say I am because you are. And she said to me, I am because you had the courage to be. And Stone, I tell you, when all the waterworks came, she sent me that message. I was in the middle of a meeting and I looked down and I said, Oh my goodness. And I couldn’t contain it. I couldn’t hold it back because. It’s. It’s as if they get it. They understand. And the job is not easy, but the job is a service. And I just believe that servant hood just goes so much further than trying to just get everything for yourself. And when you see that people understand, it’s just like when your kids finally become adults and I have adult kids and I’ve got a little one. So these five boys, they go from 23 down to six. And when the older ones come and say, You know what, Mom, I know that this one time was hard for you and I know what you did. And thank you so much for not giving up on me or thank you so much for sacrificing for me. It’s it’s kind of that same exact feeling. And that feeling is really what keeps me grinding and it keeps me going, you know, every day.

Stone Payton: Okay, let’s get a little bit of a state of the industry, state of the climate, if you will. What’s happening in real estate at this point in time? What’s happening now?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Whoa, boy, I tell you, Turn off the news, everyone, now. We service a lot of states, so I do have a little bit of a different perspective. We are in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Nevada, and Washington. So I’m just going to give you a little perspective from that. Actually, I think it was a Bloomberg I saw a quote the other day that said 37% of real estate agents couldn’t pay their rent in October, which was actually up 10% from September. So these rising interest rates are affecting not just the consumers, but they’re also affecting your real estate agents, your loan officers, mortgage companies. It’s impacting all service industries, your painters, your electricians, your flooring, your FAC, your remodeling contractors, people who install appliances, people who want you to come purchase these new appliances. It really affects so many different people outside of just what the general public thinks. Real estate agents, loan officers. That’s what the general public thinks. It has a far greater reach than that. Inflation is making everyone hold on to their money, like when we were hoarding toilet paper back during the pandemic. Know interest rates have been creeping up closer to 8% and everybody is really worried about buying. But I’ll tell you, you know, when I started back in 99, we were at 8%. I remember that if I offered a 7.875 interest rate, seven and 3/8, people were like, Oh my goodness, it’s a steal. Take it. You know? And so I kind of I really do get it. I get why we had a raise in the interest rates. I think that the rates are probably going to end up settling coming down to about five and one half to six and one half percent.

Cheri’ Benjamin: I think that’s probably where we’re going to be at. We see it tether a little bit up and down from there, but I think somewhere in that 1% range of that five and one half to six and one half percent, if I was a betting woman, that’s kind of where I think we’ll end up landing. Home prices are starting to level out because the government’s trying their best to stabilize our economy, and that’s really why we’re seeing these rate hikes. The good thing is that we don’t have as many people that are panic buying like we did back in this time last year. You know, we saw a lot of that where people were going in and offering 50, 100 grand over on the price of what the sellers were even asking for that house, you know. So we don’t have a lot of that right now. Instead, they are a lot of the buyers have been pulling back because they’re afraid to buy. And here’s one thing that I think the buyers really need to know and understand is that sellers are doing negotiations again. And the sellers that we’re seeing that are coming on the market are not sellers or they’re just coming on to throw it against the wall to see what sticks they’re actually selling because they truly want out of their home. That means that they’re really willing to negotiate and to listen to what the buyers requests are. You know, I have a we have some few listings now that are we’re starting to see sellers are paying closing costs against sellers or know, getting a little bit less for their home or if they’re getting more for their homes or getting right at the asking price is because the buyers are now getting those closing costs paid back again as if it was pre pandemic.

Cheri’ Benjamin: And that’s really what we’re shifting back towards. You know, home equity is still going to continue to rise. It might not be at this 15 to 20% that we saw in the last two years. Typically, year over year, the increase is about 4 to 6%. And that’s kind of what we believe that we’re starting to see and where we’re going to level out at. Again, I’m one of the believers that what the pandemic did was actually re correct where we should have been. If you remember back in 2008, our tale of 2007 going into 2008, so right around 2013 or 14, that deep that that real recession that we were in and how the housing prices just plummeted down and everyone was upside down in their homes. If you just go back to that phase, go back to zero eight and just calculate a 4 to 6% increase year over year on that one home from when they bought it. Right. So they bought it pre the recession. Kidding. And you just did the 4 to 6% year over year. Each year you would land right on where home prices are today. So that’s why I kind of believe that what we went through in the recession just kind of are not the recession. I’m sorry. The pandemic shifted us right back to where what you would have been paying for the homes had that not have happened.

Stone Payton: Real estate strikes me as such a competitive arena. I got to ask, how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for an organization like yours, work for you, work for your agents? How do you go to market and differentiate yourself and get that new business, get the listings and that kind of thing?

Cheri’ Benjamin: I think it’s just very different. So the power of social media has shifted a lot of things now. So you’re seeing a lot of agents go to where their clients are. We all have phones nowadays. We typically have them in our hands and our pockets and our purse or wherever that might be. But our phones are generally with us and just about everyone is on some sort of a social platform. And that’s what you’re seeing real estate agents do now is going to where their clients are there not as many that are doing the radio or the the traditional radio, let’s say that, or the TV ads. They are shifting a lot more into the social media. A lot of the when you think about it, there’s a lot of people that are doing a lot more connected TV. So we’re seeing real estate agents shift over into connected TV rather than doing your traditional channel. Three’s Channel fives, those type of stations. They’re going to the Hulu’s and they’re going to those types of connected TVs now because that’s where most people are shifting to. I know for myself, I being honest, I don’t watch the news at all. I don’t watch any of them because I just I I’d rather have my own thoughts. I think if you’re of one opinion, you watch one station, if you’re another paying, you watch another station, and they all appeal to who their listeners and who their audience is.

Cheri’ Benjamin: I just could just take the bullet points and that’s it. And I can make my own decisions based upon that, you know? And so with that being said, though, there is some strength still in certain radio. There’s strength in podcasts, there’s strength in your series, your XM radio’s your iHeart stations, and that’s where I’m seeing real estate agents shift to. What I do believe is that. Buyers and sellers. All of us are looking for more of a sense of community. You know, we had two years of not being able to be around each other in the fashion that we chose to. Let me say that to where now more agents are starting to develop that. It’s more of a sense of community. It’s not this old, you know, get an Internet lead and let me go close it right now, know, build relationships with people. This is a relationship business. And, you know, it actually makes me smell that we are shifting more to going back to that. And the agents that I believe are having more success are those that believe in building relationships with their clients, not just treating their clients like another transaction.

Stone Payton: I’m so glad that I asked, and I think that’s incredibly wise, Counsel. I’d like to go back to this character conversation for a moment if if we could, because I sense that there’s so much more you could you have to share with us. Aren’t there some some aspects of your personal character that that you’ve identified or you reflect back on and say, okay, you know, that’s maybe part of why I’ve made a go of this thing. Character traits that not only we should maybe try to identify in ourselves, but maybe be looking for as we’re trying to grow our own teams.

Cheri’ Benjamin: Yeah, you know, I, I, I think that I kind of command attention.

Stone Payton: Yes, you do. That box is checked.

Cheri’ Benjamin: Okay. I speak with a little bit of authority when I’m talking business. I trust myself, and I just don’t compromise on that. I’m very analytical, though, and so I tend to see holes in business strategies and scale until I have the tools to overcome any roadblocks, you know, just kind of slowly growing my growth. When I purchased Village, I looked at the budget and I immediately changed that overhead, which was way beyond its growth trajectory. And I think that’s where a lot of business owners and when we’re speaking about real estate agents, I truly believe that real estate agents are a little different. Real estate agents are 1099. You know, they hang their license at their companies. And so therefore, they are really all business owners and they are the CEO of their business and they should treat their businesses as such. And that’s that’s a really core thing for me. You know, the staff of originally of 118 agents when I acquired it is that I had then is actually equivalent to the staff that we have right now that supporting almost 500 people. You know, I have the ability to kind of adapt to any situation or group of people, and I try my best to be a really good listener. I was encouraged to explore many different cultures growing up so that I can kind of adjust to any scenario or situation that I’m in.

Cheri’ Benjamin: A technique that I think that really helps is I’ve learned how to mirror the way the person speaks to me and by mirroring and matching their body language, their vocal cadence, it creates a level of trust and a feeling of comfort and ease, and that causes people to open up about their wants in their needs. This approach really helps me, especially when I’m coaching an agent, because as soon as I see a little bit of a glimmer of light, I kind of like to pour kerosene on it and help them turn that down all the way up on whatever their hopes and what their dreams are, you know? And then this also benefits the clients because I can decipher what they’re truly looking at, desiring and help them come up with a strategy in order to make that happen. And as I said before, you know, it’s like it’s my purpose is really to help amplify what people want and gain faith in their own abilities. So I just believe that that’s probably some of those characteristics of myself that has just poured over into business that is really helped me.

Stone Payton: Yeah. I am not at all convinced that you’re qualified to answer this next question, but I like to ask it of many of my guests, and I’m going to take a swing at it anyway if it ever occurs. How do you choose to address the the fear of failure?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Uh, yeah. I believe that failure is when you quit. The reality is, if you’re persevering, then you’re not failing. You’re learning a lesson. If you’re shifting to understanding something new or different, once you embrace that reality, it changes the way you think all the way around. Remember I said it takes dirt in order to grow. Right. For progress is how we stay in alignment with our purpose. If you don’t understand what your purpose is, you know that’s okay. Because as it comes to you, as long as you just keep on moving forward, you know, release some of that pressure that we put on ourselves for you to get to whatever that outcome is and that fear of failure. I just believe you have to. We give Grace out so much and we don’t give grace to ourselves. And we really have to when we’re learning something, when we’re growing through things, we have to have grace with ourselves and just understand that what you’re doing, you’re not failing your learning and you just say it as many times as you need to. I’m not failing. I’m learning, right? And then ask yourself, what am I learning? And then be sure to look back and evaluate your process and your progress. Right? Athletes, I love sports, so I do do a lot of sports.

Cheri’ Benjamin: When I talk to people, I relate things into sports a lot. I love sports. It’s all it’s typically like a team effort that goes behind a lot of it. There’s different layers. You know, you have coaches, you have the people that are grinding, you have the people that are that are sitting there calculating the Xs and the O’s. Wow. The live action is happening. Everything that has to do with it. I really love sports. And when you look at it, think about an athlete and think about the coaches and think about the people who go over the game plan. What do they do once they’re done? They look at game film. Why? Because they’re looking to gain a closer look into every era that could possibly be there to help them further improvement. If a lineman, for example, steps back on the wrong foot, he might not protect his quarterback the right way. And sometimes you don’t see that until you watch your game film. So one of the things that I’ve always told people is that you have to look at your game film. Do not be afraid of that. It’s it’s going to help propel you forward. Looking at your game, film and studying those things and honing in on those skills and that skill set that you need.

Cheri’ Benjamin: I definitely believe that sometimes you have to slow down the process in order to speed up the results. And a lot of times people have a fear of even doing that because they have a fear of failing. And what they don’t understand is that when you slow down the process sometimes and you give yourself the grace and you understand that you’re learning and you take a look back and you look at your game film, you see where your errors were, you then go into correcting. What you do is you almost put yourself in a slingshot so that when it’s time you catapult past anyone that might have been just keep on trucking along and not taking a look at it. So that’s kind of how I’ve always been able to address my personal fear of failure. I just take it and throw it out the window. I look at my game film, I give myself grace. I understand that I’m just learning. And then I always watch what is going on in between the ears because we talk to ourselves more than what others talk to us, and we are the person that we really need to listen to. And that’s really the tongue that we need to watch.

Stone Payton: If we could adopt the disciplines and engage in the habits that you’re describing, I have to believe that it would not only have a significant impact on our on our professional lives, but that’s got to bleed over into our personal lives, make us better husbands, spouses, fathers. All of that, right?

Cheri’ Benjamin: Yeah, it improved to me. I think it improves every aspect of your life and improves your parenting skills because you’re able to relate to your children when they’re frustrated or they’re feeling defeated. And you can really encourage their growth. It makes you a better spouse, a better partner, because you can offer support when they feel like giving up. And you can be that rock in business, you can redirect those you lead to show them what they’re learning rather than them seeing that they’re failing. You become the rock for others. When they think they’ve lost, you’re able to show them the opportunity and those lessons. It’s so powerful to see them become re-energized and go back into the world. And just knowing that you played a little bit of a role in that or a great role in that is so self fulfilling that it just it to me, I know for myself, it just keeps me doing it even more.

Stone Payton: I do not want to end this conversation, and I’m going to because I have to let you get back to running all your companies and leading your people. But oh my goodness, what a delight this has been. Thank you so much for investing the time and energy to share your perspective. I have found this this conversation inspiring, informative. I know our listeners have as well. Let’s make sure that they have an easy path to connect with you or someone on your team about real estate or, I don’t know, maybe even about some of these other topics. Whatever you feel like is appropriate website, you know, whatever. But I want I want folks to be able to tap into your work. This is fantastic.

Cheri’ Benjamin: Oh, thank you so much. Stone So, yeah, so my our website, our main site is just village premier, No E on the intercom and then anyone can reach me. My name is Sherry and it’s spelled c h e r i. So if you have friends, you might say Sherry, but it’s Sherry at Village Premier dot com and if anyone wants to give us a call, it’s especially for the Atlanta listeners it’s 40496543 80 and I am more than happy to schedule a time to talk with any one of your listeners.

Stone Payton: Well, Sherry, thank you. Again, this has been marvelous and what a terrific way to end to invest a Thursday afternoon. Thank you so much.

Cheri’ Benjamin: Thank you. Stone And thanks for all your listeners for taking the time out.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Sherry Benjamin and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

 

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