Haute Residence continued its "Chat with Haute Residence Leaders" series with a conversation featuring Anna Sherrill of ONE Sotheby's International Realty team. Sherrill is the exclusive agent representing the South of Fifth, Miami, Florida real estate market as a member of the Haute Residence Real Estate Network.
Anna Sherrill was hosted by Haute Media Group Cofounder Seth Semilof. Watch their conversation below.
The topics included Sherrill’s illustrious career joining the highly esteemed ONE Sotheby's International Realty team, her remarkable accolades as a multi-million-dollar producer, and her ascendancy in the South of Fifth luxury real estate market.
Since receiving her real estate license in 2000 and joining ONE Sotheby's International Realty in 2010, Anna Sherrill has made a name for herself, ranking both locally and internationally across boards in the Miami real estate industry. She negotiated record-breaking deals as the sales director for several luxury Miami condo developments and contributed wholeheartedly to Sotheby’s International Realty’s unprecedented growth in Florida. Anna ranked #4 amongst all individual agents in Miami on REAL Trends for 2019 sales volume, and #15 amongst Sotheby's International Realty agents nationwide. Her experience and expertise were recognized as part of ONE SIR’s Top Producing circle for 3 consecutive years from 2017, 2018, and 2019. Being a multi-million-dollar producer, Anna Sherrill has generated over $110 Million in real estate sales in 2019. Most recently, Anna has been recognized by the 2020 Real Trends & Wall Street Journal The Thousand Rankings as the #5 agent in Miami, and the #84 in the entire country.
Here are some of the questions and answers from the exclusive interview with Sherrill.
Seth Semilof: After school, what did you end up doing?
Anna Sherrill: I had some interesting sales jobs. I worked for a company that a friend of my mom owns which booked athletic teams in hotels all over the nation. I did that during college and a little bit after college. I also worked for a headhunting company which was really popular at that time, but as soon as I moved to Miami in 1999, I got my license in 2000 very shortly after. The company that had sold us our place, Suncoast Properties, was a little office in Brickell Key. The owner offered me a job and asked if I wanted to get into real estate. I got my license and started right away.
SS: In 2000, we were in a recession, so you got in at the worst time in the market, correct?
AS: It was a tough time. I was recruited shortly after by a development company called ISG, International Sales Group. They did marketing and sales for a lot of developers. They still do incredibly well. I went and worked with them right away, which was great. I got into self-developments and that is a great way to start your career. We traveled all across South America and Central America. We would go with an immigration attorney as well. We would meet with different brokers in those cities. They would put people in a room, and we would be able to present our developments. It is a great way to start because you can actually get paid. You are building a business when you are first starting and it is truly your own business. Starting with a developer, they pay for marketing and a lot of the things you maybe cannot afford as a new agent. That really helped me build my business, learn the market, and meet a lot of agents.
SS: Everyone wants to do the luxury properties and you make it seem easy. Tell us some of the learning experiences that led you up to that point.
AS: It is never easy. It is a learning curve of learning to listen to people to try to be an expert in the market. Knowledge is everything in this market and in every market. It is really about educating yourself but also listening to your client and doing what they want you to do. 90% of my business is referral business; it is repeat clients, friends, family, or brokers that refer me business. I know that every client is special and there to teach me as well because a lot of these people are incredibly smart, really savvy, know the market well, know what they want, and know the business well. You can learn a lot from your clients as well.
SS: Can you tell us about being involved in One Thousand Museum and some of the success stories you have had?
AS: People want to understand why we are the most expensive. Obviously, it is the best building in my opinion. It is an iconic building and what they have done here is incredible. Especially during COVID, the price tag here is the highest price tag, not only price per foot but total price. People are not used to paying this price tag in this area, so it really is about educating the buyers, getting the right people through the door, and building that trust. In the beginning, we had a couple of months where nothing was really happening, and it was scary. We did virtual open houses and instead of ten people showing up, we had two hundred and something people watching. We got great exposure, even though at the beginning, it was a little tough. It is all about pivoting, using your resources, knowing the agents selling in your area, following up with them, and knowing your product really well.
SS: What advice would you give to somebody that is in your shoes who might have moved to Miami or L.A., a city without real relationships, which is the majority of realtors?
AS: To start out, if you can, join a team or have a mentor. It is super important because you want to learn from the best of the best. If you want to enter a market and work for people, even if you take on a rental business for a big team, you will learn from that team. I also think if you can, get into development. Even as a junior associate, you learn so much in sales. That can also be people’s career. I am blessed to be in both, but some people are just in development sales, and they do incredibly well in that. If you are inspired by that or the other, whichever one you get into is great.
For more information, please contact Anna Sherrill at (786) 853-8484 or asherrill@onesothebysrealty.com.
To watch more real estate webinars curated by Haute Residence, visit http://dev.hauteresidence.com.
