Above: Alan J. Smith
Alan J. Smith—broker/owner at RE/MAX Professionals—has spent years building a successful relationship with Buffini & Company, generating significant ROI for the Denver-based real estate firm and the nearly 470 agents serving the thriving Colorado region.
With four-plus decades of experience in the real estate industry, Smith has enjoyed the benefits of being both a Buffini & Company Member and Certified Mentor.
“When Brian Buffini started doing his ‘road trips’ and inviting people to come hear him speak about doing business by referral, we were early adopters,” says Smith, who quickly realized that Buffini & Company’s 100 Days to Greatness® program also had great content.
Always looking to raise the bar in real estate professionalism and excellence, one of Smith’s latest decisions involved bringing Buffini & Company’s Certified Full-Service Professional (CFSP) program to his agents, establishing CFSP office designations across his seven Denver area locations.
The virtual agent training series, which includes high-powered marketing and presentation resources, hones the critical skills required of a full-service real estate professional, enabling them to justify appropriate fees in their market by applying a systematic approach to generating referrals and building clients for life.
Based on five key content pillars covering new rules for buyer representation, new rules for working with sellers, negotiation skills for a new era, cutting-edge marketing and next-level customer service, Smith notes that more than 50 of his agents are currently onboard.
To explore each content pillar, the program is broken into five video training modules, two of which are led by Buffini, who covers the new rules of buyer and seller representation and how to deliver customer service that makes an indelible impression on clients.
“We were pretty much able to pack the room with our agents who wanted to be early adopters, and we’re looking to get everyone involved over time,” says Smith.
A key part of the modules centers on how to communicate the difference in services provided by a buyer’s agent versus a seller’s agent, and how each role earns its appropriate compensation. The other three modules feature special guests, offering a deeper dive into the key skills agents and real estate professionals need to remain top of mind with clients.
According to Smith, one of the modules that resonated most featured hospitality visionary/author and leading restaurateur Will Guidara, who talked about “unreasonable hospitality.”
“It’s already got our agents stepping up their game, making sure they’re not just doing customer service, but providing that unreasonable hospitality,” says Smith, “creating an experience our clients won’t forget.”
When it comes to pivoting his company culture to one that has earned CFSP office designation, Smith says he’s tapping monthly company meetings as well as individual office team meetings to help demonstrate and reinforce Buffini & Company program protocols.
“During these monthly meetings, we share some of the skills and best practices,” says Smith, “and our No. 1 emphasis in 2025 will be getting everyone involved in becoming a CFSP professional.”
As we continue to adapt to today’s evolving landscape, it’s no longer about just going through the motions. Now, more than ever, real estate professionals must truly be engaged in delivering the best customer experience possible.
“The best value we can articulate is that our agents are elevating themselves to providing platinum services,” concludes Smith. “Thanks to the CFSP program, they’re doing things they never did before and truly enhancing that client experience—recognizing the little things that are important to clients and reacting to these individual situations to make the relationship much more personal and meaningful.”
For more information, please visit https://www.buffini.com/cfsp.
