The Keys to Success: One-on-One With Dermot Buffini

When it comes to succeeding in real estate—or any industry—there are no secrets.
Instead, Dermot Buffini, CEO of Buffini & Company, said there are only keys that anyone can use to take charge of their lives, careers and business outcomes.

In “The Keys to Success,” Buffini joined RISMedia President, Founder and CEO John Featherston to discuss his top leadership strategies for real estate professionals to take control of their success—no matter how the market shifts.

The one-on-one, break-out session, which Featherston moderated, was held during RISMedia’s 2021 Real Estate CEO & Agent Leadership Exchange. Co-presented by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the exclusive, full-day virtual event attracted thousands of industry professionals on Sept. 14.

Featherson asked about some of the pearls of wisdom that Buffini learned about leadership over the last year and a half.

“This last season, leaders have had to be very present and very consistent, and I don’t see this letting up because we are living in a world that is even more distracted,” Buffini said, adding that good leaders have leaned into the fundamentals of business and leadership to weather the shifting market.

Buffini also noted that leaders used the past year to grow and develop amid the increasing number of distractions during the pandemic as well as the market shifts that have occured.

“If you have these keys and you put them in the right place, and you turn them in the right direction, you’re going to be successful,” Buffini said, offering three of his most imperative keys.

– Be Clear: “You must be clear in what your value is in the marketplace, and you must be clear in what you want to achieve financially, in your business…and at whatever else is important to you.”

– Track your Progress: “One of the ways we help people make progress fast is we help them measure. Nine times out of ten with our clients, you’re making the most kind of progress when it doesn’t feel like you are because you’re in it.”

– Get help: “The more successful you become, the more help you need.”

Zeroing in on RISMedia’s robust audience of real professionals, Featherston also asked Buffini to shed light on his take on approaching business with a leadership mentality no matter career level.

“Whether you’re a broker with five agents or you own a company with 50,000, it’s the same process,” Buffini said, encouraging viewers to take charge of their personal and professional goals while also charting their path toward accomplishing them.

“At the end of the day, if we take responsibility for our life, it gives us power,” Buffini said. “It gives us energy, it motivates us and it encourages us, but it also allows us not to become a victim to our circumstances or our past.”

In the session’s final moments, Buffini offered his thoughts on leadership across generations and how older professionals can work with younger real estate professionals more effectively.

“Give the principles that they need to engage and build trust in what you know will help them be successful,” Buffini said. “Your way and your attitude might not be the way that the younger generation wants to be led, and if you can adjust and focus on those people, you’re not going to have a problem leading anybody from any generation.”

RISMedia is providing free access to select sessions from the event. Hear from Buffini in this insightful one-on-one with Featherston: