Today we’d like to introduce you to Tommy Pistana.
Hi Tommy, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started in real estate a little over 10 years ago. I quit my corporate gig that was super comfortable and jumped into real estate. I had a new home with two little girls and a wife to take care of so honestly, I was scared to death when I started. In the end, though, this is what got me to where I am today. I was motivated because it had to work. I didn’t have a choice because I had a family to take care of. So, when the phone rang, I picked it up and hustled each and every day. I quickly learned you have to be motivated no matter what you do for a living. Within a few years my business took off and I became one of the top agents in DFW and ranked nationally in the top 1% of all agents nationwide by The Wall Street Journal.
A little over three years ago I made the move to Compass as a founding agent in the Southlake office. Today I operate The Pistana Group at Compass, a real estate team of 10 agents. In the past 3 years, we have seen our sales grow on average 52% each year ranking us nationally among the top teams in America. In 2021 we will near $100 million in sales. Something I never dreamed that would happen.
I also operate a coaching business called The Endurance Agent, working with agents from different brokerages from all over the country, coaching and mentoring them on how to grow profitable real estate teams. I try to instill gratitude in all the agents I work with because I feel it’s the biggest return on investment in yourself.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
You cannot be successful in anything without hitting obstacles. In real estate, it often feels like one big obstacle. At the end of my first year in real estate, I was completely broke. I ran up over $15K in credit card debt trying to get my business jumpstarted. I must had quit at least two dozen times in my head before the end of that first year. I felt like I had failed my family. Little did I know, all that money that I spent, I invested in my business so a little after my first year I started to see a significant increase in my business from all that hard work, and then I never looked back.
Growing a team has been one of the most difficult but rewarding things in my career. Balancing working with your clients and also making sure your team members stay on track and that you are there for them is a tough task. I think it takes a certain type of person to manage a team and be able to keep your personal and team goals on a track.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Pistana Group at Compass?
I am the Founding Agent and Team Leader of The Pistana Group at Compass. A team made up of 10 agent with a focus on residential real estate sales. I think the biggest difference between myself and others in the business is how we market to our audience. We like to have fun so we often create really fun or goofy videos that attract the people’s eye. Many real estate agents take themselves way too serious. At The Pistana Group, we focus heavily on self-awareness. We know what we are good at and we go 100% at whatever that is. Too many others focus much of their day trying to improve their weaknesses when honestly, those don’t matter. Also, culture and brand are probably the most important elements of my business. There is a saying that I have tried to engrave into the agents on my team, “Culture eat’s strategy for breakfast”. See, many other teams out there have these amazing systems in place and are super streamlined but their team members are miserable. At The Pistana Group we focus on culture first. We have fun, we host events, we do things together. Because if your culture isn’t right, it doesn’t matter how streamlined you are. Lastly, “brand” is everything today in business. I am trying to create a brand that our clients want to work with. Each agent on my team understands first I work for them, it’s not the other way around. I love when a client calls to list a home with “our team”, “our brand”, not just me. By creating a great brand, it sets you up for success.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up I was a super active kid playing all types of sports. This continued all the way through high school. I have always loved people, loved to talk to others, and had a really big personality. Today, people often tell me that the reason they work with me is because I have an ability to make them feel comfortable. I feel like I developed that trait early as a kid. I was never the smartest kid in the room but I a way to always connect people and build relationships fairly easy. I think this has played a huge role in my real estate success.
Contact Info:
- Email: tommy@thepistanagroup.com
- Website: www.thepistanagroup.com
- Instagram: @tommypistana
- Facebook: @tommypistana
- Youtube: @tommypistana
