John Kitchens Coach Podcast Experience

In this episode of the John Kitchens Coach Podcast Experience, John sits down with Ryan Smith, combat veteran and CEO of the Ryan Smith Home Selling Team, for a conversation on leading through adversity, hiring for grit, and why AI is about to separate the agents who thrive from the ones who get left behind. With nearly 20 years in the business and close to 4,000 transactions, Ryan brings a rare dual perspective — balancing an active military career with running a growing real estate team — and doesn’t hold back on what it actually takes to build (and rebuild) a winning culture.Key Topics Covered:* Staying intentional while juggling two demanding careers* The data-driven decision to rebuild the team from the ground up* Hiring for “humble, hungry, smart” — and why the driven part is hardest to spot upfront* How agents self-select out when adversity hits, and what that reveals* Leading people who can walk away vs. people who can’t* The habits (dollar-productive activities, mastery of craft) that carry agents through a down market* Ryan’s deep dive into AI — from P&L analysis to building a one-to-one nurture system for 30,000 contacts* Where team leaders should start their own AI journey“It doesn’t matter how many houses you sell, it doesn’t matter how many years you’re doing this — these things that you experience as a rookie still happen to me now, having done this for almost 20 years... It doesn’t end. It’s a career-long journey.” — Ryan SmithReady to think like a CEO? Book your strategy call at 7figurecall.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnkitchenscoachpodcast.substack.com

In this episode, I sit down with Nick Bergman, one of the five owners behind the Benson Crew, a team formed just over a year ago out of three merged businesses in Ontario, Canada, now chasing a $2 billion production goal by 2034. Nick’s path here started far from real estate — he was a heavy machinery mechanic before a rough experience selling his own home pushed him to get licensed. We get into what it actually takes to merge three cultures into one: aligning over fifty agents around a single set of standards, holding the line on core values that are still being adopted team-wide, and knowing when to coach an agent up versus coach them out. Nick and I also dig into the difference between running a family and running a team, why the word “expectations” sets people up to fail, and how the Benson Crew uses hard numbers instead of gut feel to navigate a tough Ontario market.Key Topics CoveredMerging Three Cultures Into One Team* How the Benson Crew formed from three separate businesses just over a year ago* Why alignment, not volume, is the real bottleneck after a merger* Building one shared identity, standard, and set of core values from three different starting pointsFamily vs. Team* Why a family keeps people no matter what, but a team hires to the function* How “Timmy” thinking (finding a place for someone you like) creates dysfunction* Building job functions first, then fitting the right people to themExpectations vs. Agreements* Why the word “expectations” primes people for failure* Replacing expectations with agreements the team actually buys into* Using core values as decision-making filters, not wall artReading the Market Without Losing Momentum* Navigating an Ontario market down sharply year over year* Reframing 135 active listings as opportunity instead of overwhelm* Why tracking real numbers beats going by feel when things get tightCoaching Agents Up or Out* The base camp, lift, and summit framework for tiering agent support* Knowing when to invest more in an agent versus when to part ways* Auditing every agent’s commitments and production this quarter to reset alignment“You don’t have a family, you have a team. A family keeps people no matter what. A team hires to the function first, and the person fits the function, not the other way around.” — John KitchensConnect With UsReady to work on alignment, growth, or your next merger? Book a call at 7figurecall.com.Follow us: Instagram @johnkitchenscoach · LinkedIn @johnkitchenscoach · Facebook @johnkitchenscoach This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnkitchenscoachpodcast.substack.com