Erin Sherwood – Buffini & Company’s 2022 Mentor of the Year
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Dermot Buffini, Buffini and Company Chief Executive Officer; Erin Sherwood, Buffini and Company Mentor of the Year 2022; and J’aime Nowak, Buffini and Company Director of Corporate Development
‘If you are an agent and sell 40 houses that is great. But if you teach 40 people to sell 40 houses that is better for everyone!’
For Erin Sherwood, a Broker/REALTOR (R) with OWN Real Estate in Norfolk, Va., leading teams and mentoring others has always been a passion.
That trait is something that others have acknowledged in her as well throughout her career, as they tapped into that inherent strength.
Recently she received another honor for that skill, as she was named Buffini & Company’s Mentor of the Year for 2022.
‘An Amazing Mentor’
Each year Buffini & Company Training Consultants nominate two mentors from their roster for Mentor of the Year. For Roni Warhol, Erin was a natural choice.
“Erin is an amazing mentor who puts her heart and soul into her classes,” Roni said. “She continuously offers training to her agents, whether it is for newly onboarding agents or continuing ed for current agents.”
A Passion for Helping Others
Erin has been in sales, she said, “in one way or another, since I was 14. And customer service is in my DNA.”
Before she started in real estate she worked in direct sales. When she joined her first real estate agency, she was soon named Rookie of the Year and after two years she was given the chance to lead the office.
“I oversaw 30 agents,” she said. “I loved the training and mentoring.”
Five years ago, she joined Own Real Estate, an independently owned brokerage that covers the Hampton Roads area in Southeastern Virginia to the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Utilizing Buffini & Company Training
Under Erin’s leadership, agents meet every Friday for a Buffini & Company real estate agent training. That training and support has helped her office retain and increase their number of agents, even throughout the pandemic.
“In 2019 we started with roughly 15 agents and increased to 29 agents. In 2020 we pivoted to Zoom classes but kept up trainings all during Covid and ended the year with 34 agents,” she said. “In 2021 we ended the year with 63 agents.”
In 2022 her office had over 100 registered students take classes, including 100 Days to Greatness, The Pathway to Mastery: Essentials, and Peak Producers.
“They are all focused on working by referral. We attribute our agent growth to some other variables as well but the fact that we have a brokerage of agents working out these core principles and have had proven success is definitely one of the reasons our agents are so successful,” Erin noted. Everyone is yearning to know what to do. Buffini gives you those strategies,” she added. “You work hard but in an active way. You focus on your legacy and your end goals.”
“It provides you steps to do every day no matter what. You are not floundering or questioning what to do next. Just work the program!” she stressed.
Helping Others Grow
“It’s important to help others find success and be able to share the blessings,” Erin said. “If you are an agent and sell 40 houses that is great. But if you teach 40 people to sell 40 houses that is better for everyone!”
Agents in her office who have worked with Erin praise her commitment to helping them be the best they can be, personally and professionally.
“She is a one-of-a-kind leader who truly cares for the people around her and wants them to be successful,” REALTOR(R) Margo Savage said.
“Erin is one of the top mentors I have ever experienced in my real estate career. She has guided me through transferring brokerages with ease, giving me the confidence to take my business to the next level, and constantly encouraging me to grow through personal and business ventures,” REALTOR(R) Taylor Hudgins said.
More Time to do the Things She Loves
For Erin, who has been married for 16 years and has two children, giving back to her community is also important. For the past 10 years, she has overseen an Affordable Christmas Store with her church for families in need.
Every year her office has a company trip for employees and spouses. She has also taken vacations abroad with her family and gone on a mission trip to India.
Leaving business deals behind for most agents would be an uneasy proposition but not for Erin, thanks to the Buffini & Company methods she has installed in her office.
“It is important to take time to do the things you are passionate about,” she said. “I implement systems so that I can trust my business will be taken care of when I leave and truly enjoy the time off.”
Training your team and strengthening agent relationships has never been easier! From the promotional plan to the class agenda to weekly action steps, all of Buffini & Company’s industry-leading training programs come with everything you need to get your team on the path to success. Learn more at buffiniandcompany.com/training/certified.
Erin’s Top Tips for Success
- Know the WHY and the WHAT of each of your agents. Why do they love real estate and what could real estate afford them the ability to do in their lives? This will help you keep them motivated using their own motivation.
- Never stop offering training. Real estate never stops and neither should learning.
- Most people learn by doing, so offer opportunities to practice what they learn.
- Equip using the MAWL Principle: First Model, then Assist, then Watch and then they will be ready for you to Leave them to succeed on their own.
- Practice what you preach! Be sure to be working the systems and believe what you are teaching.
