This week on RealTrending, Tracey Velt chats with Alex Derenne and Alexis Hirsig, the masterminds behind The Powerhouse Partners, a group with The Real Brokerage that blends coaching and marketing in a real estate network that collaborates, rather than competes.
Alex and Alexis dive into how building authentic personal brands on social media has helped them connect with clients, and how AI tools, from content creation to scheduling, are boosting their productivity. With a mission to grow a supportive community of agents nationwide, Alex and Alexis also share their vision to expand Powerhouse Partners to all 50 states.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
Collaboration, rather than competition, can create more growth in real estate.
Authentic branding attracts aligned, loyal clients.
Social media and marketing knowledge is a must-have tool for modern agents.
When used right, AI greatly boosts efficiency and sparks creative content ideas.
Know your ideal client avatar to properly tailor your marketing strategies.
The industry is always shifting toward consumer-first strategies.
Related to this episode:
The Powerhouse Partners | Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thepowerhousepartners/
Alex Derenne Realtor
https://alexderenne.com/join-me/
Alexis Hirsig | Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/milwaukeerealtoralexis/?hl=en
The RealTrending podcast features conversations with the brightest minds in real estate. Every Monday, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts join us to share their secrets to success, trends, and the lessons they’ve learned. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
Alex and Alexis dive into how building authentic personal brands on social media has helped them connect with clients, and how AI tools, from content creation to scheduling, are boosting their productivity. With a mission to grow a supportive community of agents nationwide, Alex and Alexis also share their vision to expand Powerhouse Partners to all 50 states.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
Collaboration, rather than competition, can create more growth in real estate.
Authentic branding attracts aligned, loyal clients.
Social media and marketing knowledge is a must-have tool for modern agents.
When used right, AI greatly boosts efficiency and sparks creative content ideas.
Know your ideal client avatar to properly tailor your marketing strategies.
The industry is always shifting toward consumer-first strategies.
Related to this episode:
The Powerhouse Partners | Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thepowerhousepartners/
Alex Derenne Realtor
https://alexderenne.com/join-me/
Alexis Hirsig | Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/milwaukeerealtoralexis/?hl=en
The RealTrending podcast features conversations with the brightest minds in real estate. Every Monday, brokerage leaders, top agents, team leaders, and industry experts join us to share their secrets to success, trends, and the lessons they’ve learned. Hosted by Tracey Velt and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Building your personal brand can be tough and sometimes you just need a little help and that's
00:06what my next guests offer. It's Alex Doreen and Alexis Herzig with Real Brokerage and they
00:12developed the Powerhouse Partners which is kind of a blend of coaching and marketing help in a
00:17network of real estate that collaborates rather than competes. It is not a team and they have
00:24some really great tips for using AI, social media marketing and really understanding how to get
00:32your name out to consumers. So enjoy the podcast. So Alex and Alexis, welcome to the Real Trending
00:40Podcast. Thanks for having us. Yes, thank you. Yeah, I want to start by just kind of giving a
00:48little background before we get into kind of the Powerhouse Partners, you know, a little background
00:54about your journey into real estate. So Alex, we'll start with you. Sure. So I've been in real estate
01:02going on five years now, just about to hit my fifth year anniversary. I, prior to real estate, was in
01:09hospitality sales for the Harley Davidson Museum and the world of COVID. Unfortunately, we stopped
01:16having weddings and events and all those good things. So I found myself unemployed and looking
01:22for somewhere to land. And I interviewed a successful real estate agent, asked a lot of questions and
01:27thought, you know, I think this is a career path that I could find a footing in. And said, hey, what do I
01:33have to lose? And tried it. And five years later, here we are. Great. Alexis? I love it. So I started in real
01:42estate right after college. So I graduated in 2020. And we all know what was going on in 2020. Kind of very
01:47similar to Alex. So we have very similar stories that align in different ways. And so I graduated
01:52college in 2020. And I jumped headfirst into real estate. And I was like, I'm just going to go for it. I'm
01:58going to look back later and at least say I tried it if it doesn't work out. And I built my business on
02:02social media. So that's one way. And I really just want to take a different approach with that. But that's kind of
02:09what got me started in here to start a relationship based business. Okay, and we'll stay with you, Alexis. So I
02:14want you to I want you to talk a little bit about your kind of the aha moment that led to you forming
02:19the powerhouse partners together. And like, what gap were you aiming to fill with it and talk a little
02:26bit about what what the powerhouse partners is as well. Yeah, so the powerhouse partners is a not a
02:33traditional team. We're not a team structure at all. We're a community of agents that have come
02:37together to collaborate, feel each other, put each other up, to all help each other's businesses,
02:43and everyone runs an individual business. And that's really what the foundation of the powerhouse
02:48partners is, is that we want to teach agents value to implement into their businesses, so they can
02:53continue to grow. And that aha moment. So I started phase one of the powerhouse partners a couple years
02:59ago. And that was the powerhouse collective. And so I kind of took that and then met Alex, and we
03:05formed our heads together to put two very different brains into one. And that's what launched the
03:11powerhouse partners. And we really wanted to drive forward with kind of that initiative that we're
03:16not a traditional team. We aren't viewed as team leaders, but we're there kind of just steering the
03:20ship for the agents and providing them with value teaching courses and also enabling our agents to
03:26teach courses as well. Okay, great. And Alex, you know, what have you learned through the whole
03:31collaboration? The collaboration was eye opening for me. So when I first joined real estate, I did
03:39start on a very, it was a team, but I wouldn't call it in any means a traditional team. Similar to the
03:45collective method where it was independent agents running alongside of each other, but we did put the
03:51messaging out that we were a team. So when I chose to become a solo agent, you know, I outgrew where I
03:58thought I needed that team lead support. And now I was an island of one, one woman show running around
04:04my head cut off. And I unfortunately had to undergo a major, major hip surgery. And I looked at my
04:10business and I said, Now what I'm alone, no one can help me. And thankfully, I had a relationship with
04:18Alexis through our chair and co chair of YPN. And I started to see the value of running alongside of
04:25someone in business who has similar goals and ambitions, but not necessarily financially tying
04:31myself to them and their success. So the pivot of my brain of, well, there is more than enough
04:38business to go around, why don't we grow alongside of each other, and push each other to be better,
04:43because ultimately, the better we are as agents, the better we are for our consumer. And once I shook,
04:49you know, the pride of I can do everything by myself, and seeing the value and help from others,
04:54that was my aha moment with Alexis of, there's something big here. And we just need to dive
05:00into what is that correct structure for people similar to us.
05:05And so Alex, I mean, it's really a mindset shift from, you know, the usual real estate agent,
05:11which is competition, you're competing with everyone, you want to win. I mean, obviously,
05:16you still want to win. But you really focus on collaboration, more than competition.
05:22So Alex, how do you kind of foster that collaboration with the agents in the network?
05:30Absolutely. It is first and foremost, breaking down that barrier mindset,
05:34that everyone in the room is your competition. Are there seldom chances that you may compete on a
05:40listing, or you may compete for a buyer? Sure. But in the end, is it every day cutthroat?
05:46Probably not. So fostering that environment, Alexis and I both took the approach of pulling down the
05:53walls of our businesses and showing the agents within Powerhouse, the exact playbooks that we
05:59wrote. They're very different from each other. Alexis built a business on social media, she mentioned,
06:04and I've built a sphere based business. And we decided, why gatekeep the secrets? Everyone is going
06:11to do it differently. Even if we wrote the manual, no one will follow it step by step. And there will
06:16be their own unique personal spin on the business, because it's them and who they are. And that's the
06:22coolest thing about the real estate industry is your brand yourself is your business. We're not
06:28adherent to, you know, Nike and all the corporate jargon, right? So that was, that's how we foster and we
06:35nurture, we pull down, we pull down the curtain, we show you the real, the raw, the data, the how we did
06:41it. And then we work with those agents to do it their own way, their own spin, to make sure it feels
06:48authentically them. And Alexis, you built your business on social media. So talk to me a little
06:54bit about what you think clicked and what really, you know, where was that moment that it really just
07:01all started coming together. Yeah. And it's, I looked at social media in 2020 up here in Milwaukee
07:07and just seeing what's out there and trying to like, see what people were doing. And I just want
07:12to do things differently because I didn't have a sphere and my sphere is still growing. I would say
07:17my roots are always still growing and it's where Alex and I's businesses differ. And when I turned to
07:22social media, I was like, you know, how can I connect with people? How can I have conversations
07:26in a time that you can't in person? And, but I also wanted to show who I am and take that approach.
07:32And the clients that I've met through social media have some been, been some of my best clients and
07:37turned into my very best friends because it's an instant trust factor in there of, hey, you can see
07:43my life, I can see yours. And that's what we teach our agents is that I know that's a topic of conversation
07:48that we always get. And that's kind of what fueled all this at the beginning was teaching on social
07:53media is, hey, I want to do this. And how do you actually see results from it? Because it's
07:58challenging in itself, but being yourself on it and who you are as your brand, you attract a
08:03like-minded client. And at the end of the day, we're always going to attract who we want to work
08:08with and who you are as a person. And so that's why it's so important to show who you are on social
08:14media. Yeah, absolutely. It's all about authenticity, right? I mean, I think a lot of, you know,
08:19influencers are, you know, kind of becoming obsolete because people are catching them
08:25in their inauthentic self. So, you know, really understanding who you are and putting that out
08:31there really makes a huge difference. And Alex, for you, how did you build your sphere? Was some of
08:37that through your hospitality job? A bit. So I'm born and raised in the Southeast Wisconsin area. So I do
08:47have a vast network of friends and family from prior. I make it a point to be very active out in
08:54my community. I go to social events. I engage with people and I get to know them. So one of my favorite
09:01places to meet clients is my gym. I go to group-based fitness classes and I get to know those people
09:06because one, we're having fun. I am competitive in the gym. So I want to, you know, have fun with a
09:11little bit of competitive banner and things, but I want to make sure I have a friendship to support that
09:15banter. So I've made it a point to get to know people, take them out to coffee. They all have a
09:21life and maybe a business I can help support. So my genuine approach to anything sales related is
09:28make a friend, make a sale. If you genuinely care about that person on the other side and you actually
09:32want to know them, eventually they likely will become your client as well. Yeah. So Alex, you know,
09:38building relationships is so important and even like Alexis is doing social media, but she's building
09:43those relationships online and taking them offline. You're kind of doing the opposite. You're building
09:48them in person and keeping them in person. But real estate is all about relationships, obviously. So I love
09:57that you both have different tactics for the same goal. It's really interesting. And I wanted to talk to
10:04you now, both of you haven't been in the business for a super long time, but regardless, you really kind of
10:11hit that, a lot of agents hit that kind of ceiling and production and they want to break through to
10:17get to that next level. So Alex, what, what are your recommendations to agents looking to do that?
10:25How are you helping them through your network kind of move, move to the next production level or move
10:30to that next niche or whatever it is they're trying to do? Yeah. So the very first thing I recommend to
10:36anybody that says they want to grow their business, scale their business, whatever way that means to
10:41them typically production is, well, what's the goal, right? We have to have trackable data. If you
10:47want to go from 1 million per year in sales to 2 million, or if you want to go from 10 to 40 million,
10:53you know, what is that jump? And now let's reverse engineer what that means. How many listings does
10:59that mean? How many buyers does that mean? What percentage listing of buyers? So really getting that
11:03data down in front of them. And then we set obtainable metrics to that. How many calls are we making?
11:09How many Instagram posts? How many open houses? And a lot of the times I find agents don't know the
11:16data about themselves, right? We just kind of treat this job as a passive and we have to be active and
11:23aggressive and know what we're targeting in order to be successful. So although it's sometimes that
11:28mirror you don't want to look in, Alexis and I have gotten very accustomed to being the tough love mentors
11:35of saying, all right, let's treat this like a business and how are we going to succeed?
11:41And I want to throw something else on there as well. As I always, I look at it too, is like the
11:46definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting another result. And if we're doing
11:51the same thing over and over, how can you expect to break that ceiling? You have to change it up. You
11:56have to implement something different and you have to look in another direction to try something new so you can
12:01keep growing because we all don't know everything. I mean, we're all human and we're all still learning
12:06every single day. And the key piece of that is just trying something new and putting yourself out
12:11there because that's how you continue to grow. Yeah, absolutely. So Alexis, especially being on social
12:18media, when we talked a little bit about authenticity and personal branding, how important is that right
12:24now? And what are some ways that you're cutting through the noise in the industry to really get your
12:29voice out there and, you know, kind of, kind of give people a positive vibe about, you know,
12:36obviously the market's kind of sucky right now. So. Yeah. So it's, I think it is authentically being
12:44you. And for those who know me in person, it translates onto social media that they know that I am the exact
12:50same person, quirky and funny. And I like to goof around and have a personality. And I try to implement
12:56that into my business as well and through social media. And I think they kind of go hand in hand
13:02because looking at social media and then having those relationships in person, like Alex said,
13:06and then also having them on social media, you can then translate everything together. So everything
13:12kind of comes together cohesively that way. So then that way you're, that way you know each other and
13:18you continue the relationship. Yeah. And I've talked to several brokers recently who have really been
13:24working with their agents on mindset and shifting it and, and not focusing on what's happening in
13:29the market, but just focusing on what they can control and what they can do to get more business.
13:35So what are some, some things that you, and I'll go to Alexis first, what do you recommend to help
13:40agents kind of future proof their business as they move along and grow? As into like, try new things.
13:48It's kind of like, I think you have to look at what you enjoy and kind of taking into that. Like if you
13:53have a hobby, if you have anything that you enjoy, you need to build your business that way for people
13:59who love to be social, like play pickleball. Like you can meet all kinds of people that way. But if you
14:05do something that you don't enjoy, like I don't enjoy cold calling, that's not for me, but somebody to
14:09my right could all really love cold calling that works for them. And I think it's really finding what
14:14resonates with you because then you'll enjoy it and you'll try new things, but you have to enjoy it
14:19to do it and hold yourself consistent to do it. Alex, any thoughts? Yeah. I echo a lot of what Alexis
14:27said. And we, we also talked to the agents, you know, do something right. We can all get easily
14:33paralyzed by the idea of there's so much to do. Right. So we tell our agents perfect one to two things,
14:40pick those two before you add three, four or five, six, you know, master a skillset and then
14:46scale that skillset because eventually you can delegate that out. We're big proponents of business
14:52systems because we only have so many hours in the day. So can you get into scheduling your social media
14:59posts, scheduling a content day? Absolutely. That's easy. And that's obtainable when you're financially
15:04sound. Can you get into the virtual assistant assistant reality where maybe someone cold calls for you?
15:10They schedule your posts for you. That's reality too. So it's taking that mindset with the agents of
15:15we're going to get there, but we have to perfect one thing at a time in order to add more.
15:22Yeah. I mean, you know, with AI too, it makes it a lot easier to kind of be more efficient as an agent
15:29or either of you using that. And Alex, I'll start with you. I couldn't go a day without using AI.
15:36It's integrated in almost every segment of my business. And to those that haven't got on board,
15:42I'm not sure what you're waiting for. It's absolutely a game changer in productivity and
15:49creativity. Sometimes I'll just brain dump my goals into AI and workshop with it. And all of a
15:56sudden I have literally last week, Alexis and I start working on a new business model we'd never
16:00thought of before. So it unlocks another part of you. So I want to stick with Alex first. I want
16:10your top 10 hack or tip that you can share with agents for using it. You kind of talked about the
16:17brain dump. That's a good one. Give me another tip. Yeah. So brain dumping is a great one to
16:24definitely evolve another part of your brain. But as far as social media scheduling and social media
16:31creation, you can train your AI to talk like you come up with topics that fit your niche. We talk
16:38about at Powerhouse all the time, you should know your ideal avatar of a client. What do they look like?
16:43What do they do for a living? What's their age dynamic? XYZ. Tailor that social media to them. And you
16:48can have 100 captions in a matter of 15 minutes of bantering back and forth with AI. So absolutely for
16:56those that want to get in the more of the social media side, AI is a game changer. Yeah. And Alexis,
17:01tell me how you're using it and some tips that you have as well. Yeah. I am using it every day of
17:08my life. Alex and I are equally that way. But it increases efficiency like no other. And like Alex
17:14said, if you haven't started using it, I don't know what you're waiting for. Because it really can do
17:18so much for you, but you still edit it and make your own. So it's not like it's taking over your
17:23life. It's not taking over the business by any means. It's just making you more efficient. And
17:28a big way, social media captions is a huge way. So there's no reason that we can't be posting on
17:33social media because it's literally doing it for you. Emails all the time. Campaigns, putting those
17:39together. But I think the big piece is email because we've all had those emails that we get every
17:45once in a while. Like, oh, could you help me soften that one up just a little bit? We've all used it
17:49for that. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I've used it for that too. So definitely. And so both of you are
17:57leaders. I mean, you've started this Powerhouse Partners. What was maybe, Alex, I'll start with
18:03you. What was the biggest kind of leadership lesson that you learned during this whole process?
18:09So we're still in our infancy stages. Powerhouse Partners has only been
18:13opened for four months. I'm fortunate for, you know, all the success it's had. I think for me
18:20personally, the biggest leadership hurdle is not over parenting, right? Everyone's their own
18:28independent business owner, and they need to have a little bit of that sink or swim mentality. Or if
18:35you're from the 90s, like me, the love and logic that our parents were taught, I will never forget
18:40that. But let them make their mistakes, let them learn, be there to support them and everything.
18:48But any, I'm not a parent at this point in my life, but any parent knows your kids are only going to
18:54learn through experience. So for me, it's a little difficult to let it happen. But seeing the learning
19:01and the enjoyment as they do let it happen has been really rewarding.
19:06Great. Alexis?
19:07Yeah, I think for me, it's that you can't force somebody to want it. Either they want it for
19:11themselves or they don't. And they're in full control of their businesses and how they want to
19:16take it. And we all have a different definition of the success. And I've said that forever. And we're
19:21all going to take it in the direction that we want to. And if maybe 30 deals for somebody a year is
19:27mega success, but maybe five is for somebody else. And that's okay. So that's how I kind of do this
19:32business.
19:34Yeah. And that's a hard one to kind of accept as a leader, too, because you want everybody to want
19:39it most, you know, want it more, want it more, want it more. And the truth is, they want to maybe
19:44want to just do really, really good at less. So it's, it is a lesson to learn for sure. I want to
19:52talk a little bit about trends in real estate right now. Alex, what are you seeing out there,
19:58as far as trends in the industry, not necessarily the housing market itself, but actual industry
20:05trends that you're seeing, you know, agents adopt or affecting your business in a positive way or
20:12negative way could be either.
20:15Yeah, I think one of the biggest industry trends is no secret. It's, we're all becoming
20:21marketing firms, right? We're social media influences, influencers, excuse me, we are
20:27YouTube channels, we are, you know, we are marketing, you know, the world of real estate
20:33has changed, the consumer needs to know us through video through presence. And if we are not there,
20:39you know, standing above the rest, your business will not succeed. So it's diving into the world of
20:46social media, the world of video content creation is not going anywhere anytime soon.
20:50So it's, for what I'm predicting, and I'm sure many would agree, those agents that are taking that
20:56time to hone in on that skill set, those will stay successful as we go through the ups and downs of the
21:01markets.
21:03Alexis, what are some of the trends that you're seeing out there today that are affecting the,
21:08your real estate practice, or you're seeing implemented by top producing agents, or, you know,
21:15just maybe consumer trends that you're seeing that are impacting your business?
21:19Yeah, I think I'm going to stick on the social media train, because I've seen a lot of that.
21:23I've seen a lot of property tours going on. And it's a great way for agents to be able to
21:27share themselves, share listings, and kind of, sometimes you can put a little bit of humor into
21:32it, because I've seen those on social media all the time. Like I know that there's an agent
21:37specifically that will is in Illinois that I've seen, but puts a lot of humor into it, and you can make
21:42it your own. And I think that's one thing in the industry is being able to kind of showcase who you
21:47are, but also tying real estate in at the same time.
21:51Yeah, yeah. And I feel like, really, it's a even on the brokerage level, there's a focus on
21:56consumers more so than there ever has been. You know, it's always been a focus on consumers that in
22:03a way that will help your agents reach them, do business with them. But now a lot of tools and
22:10products and services are being built around kind of serving the consumer. In, you know, like you say,
22:18you're going direct to them with the social media with the with the meat, you know, the meeting them
22:24at classes, things like that. But it's really kind of changing the way business is done. In that,
22:33you know, the actual brokerage is deciding, okay, we have to cater to consumers, not just agents.
22:39Have you noticed that at all? And Alexis, I'll start with you.
22:43Yeah, in terms of the brokerage targeting clients themselves. Yeah, no, absolutely. It's,
22:49they're also looking at it from another angle of, hey, we are attracting from the brand,
22:53and then that's more brand recognition for our agents. Because you can also tie it back to it,
22:58because I know there's very, very reputable brands out there that people know. And that then creates
23:03consistency with the brand for the agent of who they're brokered with. Yeah, absolutely. And Alex,
23:09what is your ultimate goal with powerhouse partners? What, you know, what do you envision it turning into?
23:16Yeah, I'm going to piggyback off your last question and go into that a little bit,
23:20because they go hand in hand. So I think what we're seeing this huge shift of brokerages focusing
23:26on the consumer, right? We have our brick and mortars, our generational brokers that have been
23:33around for a long time, right? And their brand recognition is huge. And consumers just recognize
23:38those as the only options. Now we're in this era of cloud based. And the brokerage doesn't
23:45necessarily mean and carry as much weight as it once did. Rather, the brokerage and the agents
23:52are changing the dynamic to be about the consumer. And we're seeing everything marketed towards the
23:58consumer and less about the brokerage. So powerhouse, the goal of powerhouse is we are a marketing launch
24:06pad for agents. As we've said a few times in the chat here, we're not a team, we don't take team
24:13splits, and we're not team leaders. But what we are giving agents is a brand they can use to build
24:21their own consumer focused business, you know, with a little bit of recognition, taking some of that
24:26overhead of getting logos and signs and those sorts of things, and letting our agents really focus on
24:33building a business consumer forward. So our goal is to hopefully be within all 50 states within the
24:41next five years. Right now, Alexis and I are on a mission to find similar brained individuals to
24:48collaborate with, just like ourselves to be state leaders who want to grow a powerhouse network in
24:53their own state, see the value of collaborating over competing, see the value in pulling down industry
25:01secrets, because in the end, we're just trying to educate agents to be the best for the consumer.
25:06We won't go down a rabbit hole. But if we all were the best for the consumer, maybe these
25:11NAR historical lawsuits that we just went through wouldn't have happened, right? The goal is, let's
25:18all be the best we can be for the consumer. And that's what powerhouse is trying to do with putting
25:22business into the hands of real estate agents. Great. Alexis, your thoughts on that?
25:31Yeah, absolutely. And it's creating that that platform for agents to basically have a launch pad,
25:36because when you all come together and you can all network and you can have those conversations to
25:40build your business, it's only going to create increase just more better trust with your clients
25:46and better service for your clients, because you're getting ideas and you're getting perspectives from
25:50all over the place. And that's really one of the big principles of forming the powerhouse partners is to
25:56be able to have that just to continue to all grow and use launch pad. And like Alex said, it's our goal in
26:01the next five years to be in all 50 states. It's kind of what we're looking to do to kind of help
26:05grow and make this more of a national scale. Well, Alex and Alexis, I wish you much luck. I think
26:11it's a great idea. And I, you know, I hope that you're uber successful with it. Thanks so much for
26:17joining Real Trending. Thank you so much. Thank you, Tracy.