Coffee Break with Scott Webber

DMAR: Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into real estate?
Scott Webber: I'm one of the few REALTORS® who actually wanted to be in the business right after college. I worked my way through college selling houses in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was a student at the University of Utah and it worked with my schedule. I was an old ski racer and that wasn't a very good way to make money, so I got into big-ticket sales, namely real estate. My first sale was $32,000… so obviously a big commission [laughs]. 

I started in the business in Salt Lake City and sold real estate for probably eight or 10 years, then ended up gravitating more towards the leadership side and opened my first office in 1980 in Salt Lake City. Being kind of a natural builder, which I didn't know at the time, I ended up with four different offices in Salt Lake City, Park City and the Ogden, Utah area. In 1985, Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate recruited me to be part of a national company they were building, so they bought my company.

I was in the Coldwell Banker world for about 22 years and ended up with an opportunity to come to Denver in 1989. I was here for a while and then bought the business back as a Coldwell Banker franchisee around 1989. That was in the Utah area, and then I expanded it over to here in '92. But my roots in Denver go back to 1989… so I've been around. 

DMAR: Why do you think being a REALTOR® is important and why is it important for your agents to belong to DMAR?
Scott: I'm a huge supporter of organized real estate. I was the 1989 President of the Salt Lake Board of REALTORS® and I've been very actively involved in RPAC. I encourage all of our people to get involved and contribute their time and their energy to the REALTOR® Association. I'm a huge believer in what the local Association does, as well as the state and national Associations. We're incredibly lucky to have our industry organized at the level that it is thanks to the Associations. You'd be surprised at how much you appreciate that when you go out of the country. There are so many countries that don't even have licensing, let alone a Code of Ethics. The real estate industry in the United States is truly advanced because of the REALTOR® community, the local boards and the state and national Associations. 

TWEET THIS: "We're incredibly lucky to have our industry organized at the level that it is thanks to the Associations. You'd be surprised at how much you appreciate that when you go out of the country. There are so many countries that don't even have licensing, let alone a Code of Ethics. The real estate industry in the United States is truly advanced because of the REALTOR® community, the local boards and the state and national Associations." 

DMAR: What would you say has been the biggest obstacle that you've encountered in your career and how did you overcome it?
Scott: I've never looked at anything as an obstacle. Maybe that's because I’ve never paid attention to them. When you're committed long term, there are going to be bumps and challenges along the way. Maybe what other people look at as obstacles, I see as opportunities. Being naturally competitive and having a lot of determination, I haven't slowed down long enough to think of anything as a serious obstacle. 

DMAR: How do you define success?
Scott: I think the definition of success is unique to every individual. We define success around here as getting out of the business what we're in it for. We don't focus a lot on awards or accolades. We work hard at understanding what all of our people are here to accomplish. Why are they in the business? Why are they here with LIV? We want to know what's important to them and then figure out a plan to help achieve that. I think success in our business is achieving the results that are important and that's different for everybody. I'm not big on people running around saying they're number one. I think that's all kind of an ego-trip and we try to stay out of that as much as possible. Instead, we keep our focus on our people, on our brokers, on our support staff and on our clients. That's what it's all about. We're focused on long term relationships, and people who bring their careers to our brokerage and end them here. We work hard every day to try and make that happen. 

TWEET THIS: "I'm not big on people running around saying they're number one. I think that's all kind of an ego-trip and we try to stay out of that as much as possible. Instead, we keep our focus on our people, on our brokers, on our support staff and on our clients." 

DMAR: How would you say LIV Sotheby’s is different from other brokerages?
Scott: First of all, the Sotheby's we present as a national realty brand is a big deal. We feel extremely fortunate to be part of that and we embrace it at the very highest level. We take the brand seriously. We are all about making sure that our people are utilizing all the resources as much as possible because it helps make them more productive and helps them deliver a higher level of service. The brand is a game-changer and a big difference-maker for us - it makes a unique difference in the experience we deliver and the results that we produce. That's the first differentiator.

LIV is our local approach to delivering the Sotheby's brand. The Sotheby's brand is 300 something years old. It's prominent, it's powerful, it's international and it's right up there with the top brands in the world. The LIV piece is how we present the brand and how we execute it with a local lifestyle flare according to a model that we've created on our own here in Denver and have shared now with other offices that we own and operate in the western United States. That's the energy behind the brand and the personality. It's definitely marketing intensive.

The way we run our business is also people-oriented. It's all about developing our people, helping them grow personally, helping them grow professionally and helping them grow financially. We've come up with an approach with the LIV model to help people capitalize on the Sotheby's brand, and it's created a local culture for us. That culture is about trust. It's about our people, it's about innovation and it's about a service and support mindset. Those are the important values that we take seriously every day. 

DMAR: When we think about LIV Sotheby’s, we tend to think more about luxury homes and perhaps higher price points. How would you define luxury? Do you think it is a price point, a lifestyle, an experience or something else?
Scott: Certainly to an extent it's a price point, but we look at it more as a quality orientation. Luxury is quality. It's quality at every price point and it's quality in everything we do. We have a service model for clients that our brokers deliver. Every client we deal with gets the same level of service no matter what the price point is. We don't differentiate that much. Certain price points have different needs, and so we do have some different approaches based on the price point, but very few. So we're not oriented to price point as much as we are to the client. Whatever the client needs to accomplish, we're there to help them. And if that's a $50 million property, great. If it's a $300,000 property, that works too. We're happy to help. 

DMAR: Can you walk us through what a typical day is like for you?
Scott: My world today is very different from when I started. We've built a fairly large organization and I am responsible for the vision of the company and the senior leadership people. I've been in the business for 46 years and so now, in the twilight of my career, I get the opportunity to train, mentor and teach my leadership team all that I've learned over the years. I create opportunities for exposure and always make sure that we're maintaining high standards. I’d say I’m focused on the fundamentals of the business. 

On a typical day, I'm on calls, in virtual meetings and still have a lot of in-person meetings. My real strength and certainly my preference is to be with our people. I tell people in the office that if I'm here, I'm not doing my job because my work is out with our people. I travel a lot - I'm constantly with our brokers, our support staff and our leadership team re-enforcing what we're doing, how we're doing it, why we're doing it and keeping everybody on the same page and in alignment. 

Last week, for example, I was at our Telluride office for an event we had there. I was also in Reno introducing a new managing broker… so I get around. 

DMAR: Has your “normal” day changed due to COVID-19 and all the restrictions? 
Scott: Like everybody else, we've been on virtual meetings for five months and everybody's getting tired of that. More and more people are getting comfortable with getting together. We’re certainly being cautious and smart about it, but on the other hand, we’re REALTORS®… we're naturally risk-takers. We don't mind pushing the limits a little bit and taking some risks, we just want to make sure we're smart about it. But no question, the industry has gone through a lot of changes and with that has come new opportunities to do things differently and better. We're taking full advantage of that. 

TWEET THIS: "... no question, the industry has gone through a lot of changes and with that has come new opportunities to do things differently and better. We're taking full advantage of that." 

DMAR: Do you think any of these changes will stick around? More people utilizing technology for virtual tours and homes, etc.? 
Scott: Absolutely. I think technology is helping to make the process a little bit more efficient and less time and labor-intensive. We're constantly looking for new ways to take advantage of technology and other tools and resources that are being developed to help our brokers work smart and have a life. This business can be consuming and we work hard to help our people keep their priorities straight and work smart and still think big but not to be completely consumed by work. 

DMAR: When you think of companies like Redfin and Zillow, do you consider them disrupters or just new models that will perhaps create change for other brokerages?
Scott: Having been around for a long, long time I've seen plenty of different players come and go. The jury is still out on a lot of them. I think our model here at LIV is still a bit old school but with progressive nuances. It has surprised me at times but on the other hand, it's refreshing that we’ve stood the test of time. Consumers still need a trusted advisor to navigate the process. As prices have increased, the stakes have gotten higher. The transactions have never been more technical and more tricky so people need a competent, qualified, trusted REALTOR® as their advisor. We're more oriented to the above-average sales prices, and so the higher you move up the price point, the more important that becomes. 

TWEET THIS: "As prices have increased, the stakes have gotten higher. The transactions have never been more technical and more tricky so people need a competent, qualified, trusted REALTOR® as their advisor." 

We're still bullish on the future of the business, still supporting our business model which is built on a foundation of support. We have a robust infrastructure of support for our brokers and our clients. The challenges and the opportunities associated with partnering with our brokers in delivering service to clients have become more operationally intensive, expensive and necessary, frankly. 

The business has become increasingly complex and with so many moving parts, it's a challenge for REALTORS® to cover all the bases and perform their duties at a high level without missing something. So we believe strongly in being able to support our brokers at a level that makes the business more manageable, more predictable and more efficient while producing a higher income and return on the gross commission that's generated. We feel good about our strategy and feel that the consumer mindset - even in the last four, five months -  still supports it big time. 

DMAR: What do you think is the biggest barrier to success for real estate agents today?
Scott: Probably the same barriers that there have always been. Whenever someone gets into the business -  and even after they’ve been in the business - the clock is always ticking. You only have so much time to make things happen, whether that’s generating an income or creating a result. The industry has allowed itself to get spread so thin that the margins are just not there for most firms to deliver a level of support that people need to figure this out fast enough before the clock expires. That really is a function of formal sales training. One thing I've learned over the years is that until somebody's had formal sales training, they're not trained, they're winging it. And yes, some wing it better than others.

There's also a lack of leadership. Many of the leaders are out selling real estate themselves and they can barely afford to allocate any of their time to lead. We’re lacking leadership direction and support. Anybody that's getting into anything - especially in this business - needs leadership and mentoring. There's a lack of both and there always has been. It's not getting any better as the margins that allow for that to be created get slimmer and slimmer all the time. It makes it harder for good people to come into the business and learn it and build on it quickly enough to be able to be part of it long term. 

The business is not getting any easier. If anything, it's getting more complex and more technical so the learning curve is steep. A lot of good people that should be able to be successful in our industry aren't because they don't have the support around them at the right time. That's been a big problem in the industry and sadly, I don't see it changing.

DMAR: What are your thoughts on the Denver real estate market? We have an affordability issue, we have low inventory and possibly moving into next year, depending on who is in office, we could have rising interest rates. What are your thoughts?
Scott: As long as rates stay down, there's going to be strong buyer demand. We're just not building a lot of new homes and there's a supply and demand imbalance. It's not unique to Denver, it's probably the same in almost every market in the United States. We have record low interest rates and as long as that's the case, there's going to be a lot of people wanting to do something in the market. Again, it's not unique to Denver. We do business in probably 10 or 12 markets around the western United States and it’s the same scenario everywhere. Denver and Colorado have a geography that is attracting a lot of people. It's our quality of life with a healthy, active lifestyle. A lot of people have always been attracted to that and I think certainly in the last six months, that kind of thing has become an even higher priority. We're going to continue to attract people. We have an educated population with a strong work ethic, and our state offers an amazing lifestyle and quality of life. 

DMAR: If you were not working in real estate, which industry do you think you would be in?
Scott: I'd probably be in the hospitality industry. I love choreographing an experience for someone that blows them away. The quality, the execution, the planning… I think it's an exciting challenge to choreograph an experience that seriously exceeds all expectations. I talk a lot about that with our brokers; look at every client opportunity as an experience you deliver with a goal that when you get to the closing and the transaction is complete, your client feels like they got a bargain. That what you did for them, compared to what they paid you, represents a bargain. 

Recently we had a client send us a check for $40,000 and tell us, "Our REALTOR® did an amazing job for us and we want to pay her more money." That is what we're talking about. I can't say I've had that happen a lot, especially with that kind of a number, but what a compliment? For a broker to have a client feel so cared for that even after having paid a significant brokerage fee, they wanted to pay more money. This wasn't just a case of wine, this was a $40,000 check made payable to LIV Sotheby's International Realty, and the client just said, “I want you to add this to our REALTOR®'s compensation because they were so amazing.” That's the goal.

TWEET THIS: "This wasn't just a case of wine, this was a $40,000 check made payable to LIV Sotheby's International Realty, and the client just said, 'I want you to add this to our REALTOR®'s compensation because they were so amazing.'" 

It was seriously satisfying to be able to call that broker and say, "I got this amazing letter with a check inside of it." I think that's the ultimate expression of appreciation and gratitude. The broker had worked with these people for seven years. This property was uniquely challenging and very high-end. She ultimately got it done and got it done in a way they felt that way about it. That is the ultimate compliment. It's funny because I've certainly talked about that a lot, but honestly haven't seen it happen very often, let alone at that level. 

DMAR: What are your hobbies outside of work?
Scott: I have a lot of hobbies. I'm seriously passionate about aviation; I'm a pilot and I fly my own plane. That is a serious adventure and something that I enjoy a lot and spend a lot of time on. I also love golf. I don't play as often as I wish I could but still as often as I can. I'm lucky to be able to play golf in some cool places. My roots are in skiing though. I've skied all my life; I basically live to ski. But anything that's outside - mountain biking, road biking, hiking… my wife and I are very active so we do a lot.

I'm also an active father and grandfather. I have children and grandchildren and I enjoy spending time with them more than anything. We do all these things together. They play golf, they ski, they hike, they bike. I also love to cook, so entertaining is a lot of fun. I'm a Harley guy too. I'm into the leather, the chrome, the steel and the loud rock and roll. The thing about me is I'm always having a good time. Nobody ever has to wonder if Scott Webber's having a good time because no matter where I'm at, no matter what I'm doing and no matter who I'm with, I’m having a good time. 

DMAR: Is it hard to balance your professional life and your personal life?
Scott: For me, work is part of the lifestyle. When you have the level of responsibility that I do and that I created, it's a 24/7 thing. Fortunately, I've got amazing help around me. It makes it all a little bit more manageable and a lot of fun. One thing about LIV, we have a good time. It doesn't take much for us to find a good reason to turn it into a party. This business is consuming, it's challenging, it's intense and it's exhausting so we make sure that this is a fun place to be and a fun place to work. We try to make life and this business a lot of fun.