Rising Through Resilience: Ricardo Beer of The Agency On The Five Things You Can Do To Become More Resilient During Turbulent Times
An Interview With Savio P. Clemente
The more you are told “no” the better — — — In sales, it is easy to be disheartened when somebody hangs the phone up on you or slams the door in your face. But we need to remember that with each “no” that you get, you are closer to getting a “yes.” And there’s no better feeling in the world than getting that “yes.”
Resilience has been described as the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Times are not easy now. How do we develop greater resilience to withstand the challenges that keep being thrown at us? In this interview series, we are talking to mental health experts, authors, resilience experts, coaches, and business leaders who can talk about how we can develop greater resilience to improve our lives.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ricardo Beer.
Ricardo is an Experienced franchise sales and operations executive with a demonstrated history of working in the real estate industry. Skilled in Franchise Sales, Operations Management, Employee Communications, Project Management and Business Strategy. Ricardo is the Vice President of Franchise Sales. He is directly responsible for signing, recruiting, and/or onboarding over $1.5B in annual production.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
Serving as The Agency’s Vice President of Franchise Sales, West, Ricardo Beer originally joined the brokerage in 2012 and has held a diverse range of positions over the past decade within the company. His vast experience has provided him with a deep understanding and involvement in The Agency’s mission, structure and unique value proposition. Ricardo has been instrumental in overseeing The Agency’s growth into various domestic and international markets, helping the company grow from less than ten agents in one office to a network of 50+ offices worldwide.
Previously, Ricardo was the sole employee in the expansion division as Director of Franchise Communications and later Director of New Office Operations. In his current role, he is joined by industry veteran and executive Jim Ramsay, who previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Engel and Völkers in the Americas, to facilitate the company’s strategic growth with a focus on North America.
Originally from Southern California, Ricardo attended Penn State and graduated with a degree in public relations and advertising. “Office owners are my clients, the office owner’s clients are the agents, and the agent’s clients are buyers and sellers,” he says. “If I can provide white-glove service to my clients, it makes it easier for them to provide the same level of service to theirs. If we can continue that all the way to the consumer, then we can truly deliver a boutique experience in any location The Agency is in.” Among his accomplishments, Ricardo has been featured in The Los Angeles Business Journal as an industry thought leader and is responsible for having recruited and onboarded over $1.5B in annual sales volume for The Agency.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
Thank you so much for having me. I am a first-generation American and was born in San Diego, CA. My parents immigrated in the mid 80’s from Mexico and have called America home ever since. I went to Penn State University and received degrees in public relations and advertising, which has greatly benefitted me in my current role. It is important to know that no matter what the job is, whether it be an accountant, sales or anything in between, being an effective communicator is an incredibly important attribute to have. I started working at The Agency as an intern in college a few months after its inception, and have been in love with real estate and sales ever since.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Wow, there are so many! I think what really sticks out for me is my career journey as a whole. I started as an intern out of college when The Agency had only three employees and ten agents, and have worked my way up the ladder, now serving as Vice President with the brokerage having more than 200 employees and 1,500 agents. The biggest lesson I have learned throughout my career is to take things one day at a time. It is incredibly difficult to look 10–15 years ahead when you start at the very bottom of a company’s totem pole, but it’s so much more manageable to look at being the best employee I can be today.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
I am fortunate to work for a company that is constantly pushing the envelope with creative branding, but I think what resonates the most is how tight-knit of a community we are within the company. We truly celebrate each other’s successes and lift each other up in times of need. A few years ago, a hurricane hit our then brand new Turks and Caicos office and created wide-spread damage throughout the island. Within a few days, our agents and staff chipped in to raise tens of thousands of dollars to support our fellow agents and their families in the area. Similarly, when the Malibu wildfires destroyed one of our sales manager’s homes, our agents immediately gathered to provide a tremendous amount of support, both moral and financial, to their fellow colleague. There are countless examples of our community in action!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Definitely The Agency’s CEO and Founder, Mauricio Umansky. He took a chance on hiring a 19 year old with no “hard” or technical skill when building his company. Throughout the 11 years of working with him, he has been able to provide me with a tremendous amount of guidance and support as my role has grown within the company. I remember the day he asked for my opinion on a highly important matter, one which would ultimately shift the direction of the company. He trusted my judgment. Before that moment, I was a sponge and would constantly ask him questions (probably more than he would have liked!), and now to come full circle, recognizing and building on the trust we have built throughout the years, it was one of the proudest moments of my career. That said, I am still a sponge when it comes to taking advice and learning more.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Everybody gets knocked down. Whether it be at work, or one’s personal life, we all go through trials and tribulations. I believe resilient people make it happen regardless of which way the wind is blowing. The ability to show up with a smile, no matter what is going on in your personal or work life, and being the best version of yourself you can be that day, is being resilient.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
As I previously mentioned, I started with The Agency as a 19 year old college student. I was told time and time again by people that my opinion wouldn’t matter because I was so young, or that I should be looking to get into an industry that aligned with my educational background in public relations. Those moments hurt, but I knew that I was making the right decision to continue down the path of being in the real estate industry. When I became The Agency’s sole employee in the franchising and growth department, people once again told me that it would be impossible to not only service our global partners, but to also expand our footprint into new markets. It wasn’t easy, but I worked day and night to grow the company’s strategic footprint nationwide and around the world. Today my department has expanded tremendously, with more growth to come.
Did you have a time in your life when you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever?
Something I am grateful for is joining a company that was in its infancy, allowing me to learn new skills and lessons at a significantly faster rate. I am grateful to The Agency’s leadership team for having the confidence and trust in me to always figure things out, especially when growing and developing a brand new department.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
1. The more you are told “no” the better — — — In sales, it is easy to be disheartened when somebody hangs the phone up on you or slams the door in your face. But we need to remember that with each “no” that you get, you are closer to getting a “yes.” And there’s no better feeling in the world than getting that “yes.”
2. Go with the flow — — — If I would have said “that isn’t in my job description,” I wouldn’t be where I am today in my career. Go with the flow and show that you are an invaluable, resilient employee capable of doing anything.
3. Challenge yourself — — Whether it is in your personal or work life, it is easy to be comfortable being comfortable. To become more resilient, I strongly believe that taking yourself out of your comfort zone is a key to success.
4. Stop making excuses — — By confronting the things that make you want to create excuses in the first place, you are sure to become more resilient in your mindset.
5. Set goals — — By setting goals and holding yourself accountable, you are likely to make that call you are too tired to make, or think outside the box in order to find solutions so that your goals become realities.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.
No question- Mark Cuban. Not only has he been tremendously successful throughout his career, but one of the things I most admire about him is that he has openly admitted that during the dot-com boom, he was in the right place at the right time. Where others would be too proud to admit that, he shows humility in saying that luck has had a tremendous effect in his career trajectory. He also doesn’t take himself so seriously. As a bonus, even though he has an extremely high level of technical skill, he considers himself a salesperson. Mark has consistently said that the sales team is the lifeline of any business, which sells products. It would be one of the greatest honors I can think of to spend some time with him and pick his brain.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
