Editor’s Note: RISMedia recently released its 2023 Top 1,000 Power Brokers, exclusively for RISMedia Premier Members. In this special interview series, we talk to some of our top-ranking brokers to garner their insights and strategies for sustaining their firms’ success. For more information, click here.
For Samson Properties based in Chantilly, Virginia and covering markets in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. the “families-stick-together” approach carried the company through 2022’s shifting market, says CEO Donny Samson.
“Navigating a changing market alone is no way to do it,” Samson says. “Our Samson family came together, and we were able to outpace the market around us in sales during the tough third and fourth quarters (of 2022).”
In this exclusive interview with RISMedia for our annual Power Broker Report and Survey, Samson shares what the company also shifted focus on during the second half of last year with more masterminds, more meetings, more learning and more recruiting. In fact, the company had more than 1,200 agents join the firm last year. Hear how they did it and also what Samson believes is the biggest opportunity at his firm in the year ahead.
No. 20 Sales Volume
No. 23 Transactions
Samson Properties
Donny Samson
CEO
What was the biggest contributor – positive and/or negative – to your results in 2022? Biggest contributor to our success in 2022 was our family atmosphere. When the market started to turn, we turned to each other. We created accountability challenges. More masterminds, more office meetings, more togetherness and learning from each other. Navigating a changing market alone is no way to do it. Our Samson family came together, and we were able to outpace the market around us in sales during the tough third and fourth quarters. From a recruiting angle, being out and interacting with our REALTORS® led to more recruiting opportunities. We had over 1,200 REALTORS® join our family in 2022.
How are you keeping agents motivated and productive in the shifting market?
Classes, masterminds, accountability challenges, fresh market data. All of these things help. We run postcard campaigns for our REALTORS® for free to help get listing opportunities. Emphasized working on your database. Reach out to the people you know and love you. Connect with them and the business will come.
What are the biggest opportunities for growth ahead?
We have had a lot of strong teams join us the last few months. We had two companies join us as well. Successful REALTORS® and team leads are seeing all of the value we bring to the table. Shifting markets make REALTORS® step back and consider if their current brokerage is best for them. We have been able to capitalize on a lot of this uneasiness among REALTORS®.
If you had to pick your biggest achievement from 2022, what would it be?
Building a company with more resources and education to help our REALTORS® succeed. Recruiting 1,200 REALTORS® to our brokerage was fantastic; however, I keep my focus on making life for our REALTORS® better everyday. That focus will lead to happy REALTORS® and more recruiting opportunities.
