What got you here won’t get you there with Stephanie Anton

About this podcast

Stephanie Anton, Senior Vice President, Corcoran Affiliates, joins York Baur on the podcast for a candid conversation about her figure skating life that lead her back to The Broadmoor, her career in real estate, and what got her to where she is today, and the lessons she learned to get her where she wanted to be.

Stephanie Anton is the Senior Vice President of Corcoran Affiliates at the Corcoran Group, and Managing Director, Global Service for Realogy. For almost 20 years, she has served the real estate community in various roles including most recently as president of a global luxury real estate network. Previous to that, she held several senior marketing positions in brokerage as well as franchise operations. Anton holds a Masters in Integrated Marketing Communication from Northwestern University and a Bachelors in Communications from Boston University.

Follow along with the transcript below.

York Baur 

Hello everybody and welcome to the latest edition of The REAL with MoxiWorks. I’m York Baur, CEO of MoxiWorks, and we’re here at the beautiful Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, and you’ll hear a little background noise probably from the water, the beautiful waterfalls and fountains and everything that make this one of the one of the most exotic destinations for an event like this. We’re at the Gathering of Eagles, and I’m joined by Stephanie Anton, who’s Senior Vice President at Corcoran Affiliates at Realogy (now Anywhere). Thank you for taking the time.  

Stephanie Anton 

Oh my gosh, please, thank you for having me.  

York  

Of course, and I understand you have a little bit of a personal history with almost being here and then not, and that this is actually your first trip to the Broadmoor, so tell us about that. 

Stephanie 

It is, yeah, I’m, I regret telling you, but um, yeah, no, I I was a figure skater, competitive figure skater growing up and we used to train. I lived in Chicago, and we trained at the Broadmoor, here at the Broadmoor Skating Club, and then in Vail, because when you train at altitude, then when you go down you know, sea level, you can compete better. 

So every summer we would come here, and the first half of the summer was Broadmoor, and the second half of the summer was Vail. And, I was supposed to come here for one summer, they would come every summer, it was my first summer, and I injured myself, and so I didn’t make it to the Broadmoor. And I did make it to Vail that year, and then the next year I stopped skating, so I never made it to the Broadmoor.  

And so when I saw that the Gathering was gonna be at the Broadmoor this year, I said, oh, gosh, one more reason I have to go. Got so excited to come here, come to the property and see the ice rink. I get here and the ice rink was torn down in 1994.   

York 

Oh, no. Well, at least you’re here, though. And it is spectacular. And the event’s been great. So let’s talk, though, about and that’s a great little story as an intro, by the way, because what I love in exploring people’s backgrounds is, is how did you get to where you are? And you’ve been to our office, actually, at Moxi. And those of you that haven’t, we have a variety of sayings around the office, one of which is What got you here, won’t get you there. And so I find that, that high performance people tend to constantly reevaluate, reassess, and essentially reinvent themselves to the next stage. And you have a long history of doing so. And in fact, you already have a little bit of that, I think, at Realogy (now Anywhere). Because in addition to your role at Corcoran, uou have also a broader role within Realogy (now Anywhere), so tell us a little bit about that. 

Stephanie 

Well, so first of all, I remember coming to your office and all the sayings that you have on the wall. And that’s not the saying that I, that I remember.   

York 

Okay, well for the listener, the one that everyone comments on is the one that says, ‘Get shit done’.  

Stephanie 

It’s very memorable, and I have a Moxie tshirt  that says, ‘Get shit done’, and I wear it when I walk in the morning. 

Corcoran started franchising a year and a half ago and so I came on to help with the growth and oversee the franchise business. But in addition, I also oversee global service for all of the other brands, except Sotheby’s because Sotheby’s is a direct model. So, with all of the other brands, so Century 21, ERA, Better Homes and Gardens, Coldwell Banker. We sell a master franchise, so you sell a country, and then that master then is responsible for selling franchises. So, I have a service team that works with all of the international and global affiliates for all of the brands.So it’s really fun. I’m not bored.  

York 

I was gonna say, what do you do after lunch? I mean, come on.  

Stephanie  

Yeah, it’s interesting because I started in the middle of the pandemic and so it’s been really easy to manage everything because no one’s traveling. So, it’s gonna be more interesting when travel becomes, you know, more real, we’ll see, but so far so good. 

York  
And, and I think, you know, that we’ve talked a lot about it, both you and I, and also others at this conference about the shift back now to in person, but the, the sort of resounding theme is the importance of relationships in real estate. And so I’m just curious, you know, how did you ultimately originally get into the real estate industry and why? 

Stephanie 

Yeah, why? Why is a good question?  I wonder sometimes. No, no, I love it. I’m a lifer. There’s no question. It just gets in your bones, you know.  My father was a real estate developer, so we literally grew up talking about real estate at the kitchen table. It was just something that was always in my DNA, and I’ve always loved it.  

And after college, I worked in advertising and pr, and I went back to grad school for marketing. And when I finished grad school, I had a really great opportunity to go work at GMAC when they were in the franchise business and they were outside of Chicago. So that was my first really introduction to the business of residential real estate.  

I was to tell you the times, this was 2002, 2001, 2002, and my title is the director of communications and internet.  

York  

Oh, yeah. Back when people are trying to figure out how to spell that.  

Stephanie 

I mean, it’s just like, you know, the first website, the first intranet we built for them. Trying to convince agents why they needed to have an email address. And so, you know, I’ve been around a long time at this point. Like that’s a lifetime in the real estate space. So, and since then I’ve just had a lot of wonderful opportunities and I’ve gotten to try lots of different things. And so it’s been really a great industry for me.  

York 

Yeah, and I think, you know, two of the attributes that we talk a lot about at Moxi are our intellectual curiosity, which you must have if you’ve done all these different things, but also grit. And you were kind enough to be a contributor to a book we published last year in the middle of the pandemic called Grit Unlocked. We really felt it was important to get people focused on the future, not just wallowing in the depths of the then pandemic. This was May, I believe, in June of last year.  

So tell us a little bit about your philosophy on grit, you’re clearly someone that exemplifies grit. You wouldn’t have achieved what you have without it.

Stephanie  

And luck.  

York  

Well, yes, and luck and mentorship we all rely on, but we have to bring our game and you’ve done that. So tell us a little bit about what grit means both to you personally, but also what maybe some of the things you would tell the industry as you did graciously in the book.  

Stephanie  

Yeah, no, I mean the book first of all, I just, I thought it was a really, you know, it was a beautiful gift to the industry that you gave at the right time because it was a really great way to tap into, I think, some really great thought leaders. You had a wonderful collection of people. I was honestly honored to be involved in it because I was really inspired by reading the other people’s entries too, you know, and it was especially at a moment when you really needed it because we didn’t have those personal connections. We were all at home and, you know, getting used to Zoom and you know, I think that the people that excel in real estate, we have introvert/extroverts and then extroverts, but like, I’m somebody who I’m an extrovert extrovert and I just like to be with people and I get energy from being with people.

And so the pandemic was hard for me, particularly at that moment. But I think, and I know that for me grit, it’s a, such an amazing topic, but it, it all kind of stems back to passion. And I think I’m a big believer in, you have to be passionate about what you do. And if you are, things are easy, right?  

My first job out of college, I worked for a guy who has a small advertising agency in Boston. And he said to me once, Stephanie, don’t worry about the money. Do what you love and the money will come. And, you know, he was 85 years old and he was like a cookbook writer and, you know, he made great success for himself by writing cookbooks, you know, because he loved it. And it was a really inspirational thing for me because it helped me follow my passions and not always worry about, you know, what I’m getting paid or what my path looks like. And just sort of kept my head down and worked really hard, because I loved it. And I was, I had a lot of opportunity and people really recognized me and gave me more responsibility. 

And thus the two jobs at Realogy, like, you know, John Payton is the one who hired me and he’s gone, but he was like, you know, but you want to do both of these things. And I was like, totally, like bring it, you know? And if I can’t do it, I’ll raise my hand, but give me a chance. So for me, grit is really about following your passion because then it’s not hard. It’s not work. 

York 

I couldn’t agree more. And actually the formal definition that we often talk about at Moxi around grit is the Angela Duckworth one, which to your point, it’s, it’s the persistence and passion for achieving long-term goals. And I agree with you, the passion is magic.  

And you know, I have a somewhat analogous path and I had like you, a lot of people that believe in me and we should recognize at this point, all of the mentors in our industry that are willing to give back like your boss back in the ad agency days. You know, we all stand on the shoulders of those that came before. And so I’ve always been grateful for that. So a little bit of what we try to do with the book, too, is bring all these thought leaders and mentors to the industry when it was needed.  

Stephanie 

That’s why I say it’s a gift to the industry, but it’s also, if you’ve been given, you have to give back. You have to give back just ways like this, but also in mentoring people that not just work for you, but, you know, young people. Not even young people, but like, you know, being in a position where… You walk the walk, and you do what you say you’re going to do, and you have integrity and honesty and, and you can model that for people because, you know, it makes a difference. 

York 

It does. And especially for you as a female leader, I want to, this wasn’t on the list of questions, but I’m going to inject it regardless. Yes, I’m passionate about that. Because you are, and I know that about you because especially in, it’s true in real estate, but it’s especially true in technology we really have a dearth of women, particularly as you go more toward the technical role. It’s something we talk about frequently inside of Moxi and we have a program to try and encourage, we’re a member of several organizations that we can have help recruiting women, et cetera. But talk about that from your perspective is like you said, you’re very passionate about it. I’d love the audience to hear your thoughts. 

Stephanie 

Well, this is a wonderful moment to be a woman in real estate and, and technology because there are all those opportunities like that. People are recognizing it. Whereas 20 years ago when I started in real estate. No, you know, and it was like, you know, sit and be pretty and, and, you know, like it wasn’t ever that bad.

York 

But it was certainly an undercurrent of that. I’m sure for sure.  

Stephanie 

Yeah, and I’m pretty easygoing, so, you know, I didn’t like, I haven’t had, I don’t have a lot of stories of being mistreated, but I didn’t have opportunity like I have today. And like, I think women have in our industry today. You know, and there’s between things like WomanUp! and Realogy (now Anywhere) has some incredible programs. One called What Moves Her, that Sue Yannaccone, who’s now the Realogy Franchise Group, started at Coldwell Banker, and now it’s extending to the rest of Realogy brands.  

But it’s just opportunities for women to learn from each other and be mentored and have panel discussions. And, you know, men are included too, so it’s not exclusionary, but the topics are more for focusing on mentoring women and giving women opportunities. And so, I am shockingly, like when I, when I first started interviewing with Realogy, not to make it about Realogy, but you know, I kind of joke and say, it’s not your father’s Realogy because the company has changed a lot. And I work directly for Sue Yannaccone and Pam Liebman, who is the CEO of Corcoran. And working for two strong women, it, you know, a wonderful moment in my career to have that kind of opportunity. So I think it’s changing, and you look around and used to be that there were no women who were leading brokerages. And now, you know, Corcoran, 60 percent of our affiliates are run by women. 

York 

Oh, that’s awesome. And we had the pleasure of seeing both those female leaders today on stage. I agree with it. It was awesome. Yeah.  

Stephanie 

There’s an EQ component and it’s just nice to see it come to the industry. And there’s a place for it, and it’s all additive. It doesn’t take away.  

York 

And I love that you use the word you know, inclusion versus exclusion, because I do think the mistake that we can potentially make from here is, is re-siloing everything now around the, the groups that were excluded, but that’s not a solve either. It really has to, you know, all voices at the table.  

Stephanie 

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I think that’s important to comment on it. You know, like with the WomanUp! group, which is run through the California Association of Realtors. There’s plenty of men that attend that, you know?

York  

Yeah. We’re a sponsor and I’ve been involved in those things. Yeah. It’s, it, it, it’s the melting pot that is the power in all this.  

Stephanie 

Yeah, but it’s good for me to hear that technology is mirroring that, too. You know, it’s not just something we’re seeing in real estate. I think it’s something as a culture and society that’s happening, and it’s not just happening in the US, it’s happening everywhere. I had an incredible opportunity a couple years ago to go to Bulgaria for work and I met with these, there’s a ton of women CEOs because Bulgaria is a country that was sort of restarted after, you know, like economic crisis, and a lot of people left. And so the women sort of stood up and said, we’re going to run these companies now. 

So I went to this lunch with these women and it was all these incredible, like Bulgarian women that ran energy companies and entertainment companies. And I was like, you wouldn’t see this in the U.S., we’ll get there, but Bulgaria is ahead of us.  

York 

Yeah. And I think that global perspective to even, even within the U.S. frankly, the travel around the regions of the U.S. is instructive, but particularly if you can get your head out of the U.S. and truly be the foreigner and learn.Back to the intellectual curiosity thing.  

Stephanie 

Well, you and I both had an opportunity to travel quite a bit, in fact, and together oftentimes. And it does. I agree. It really, it broadens your worldview, and it makes you a better human.  

York 

It does. And I really wish that for every American, but especially people in business, because it does open your mind. I kind of cheated and had a head start because I grew up in a German speaking foreign household. My parents were immigrants. And it just, it just gives you a whole different lens to look through. So yeah.  

So let’s talk marketing to kind of wrap it up. You have a tremendous background of marketing, besides your formal education. You’ve spent a lot of time in that angle here in our industry, particularly in luxury. And I’d love you to, to just give your thoughts around how going forward now, especially, particularly as we’ve seen prices rise so dramatically and the home be much more of a sanctuary and taking on a kind of a different role maybe than it had. What is your latest sort of cutting edge thinking around how people should approach marketing of real estate, particularly in luxury?  

Stephanie 

So, well, particularly in luxury, I think that what’s happened, what I’m, I fear has happened right now, and so I want to make sure that people are inspired to not do this. You know, it’s so easy to sell a house right now. And so I, I mean, I have agents, even luxury agents that I’ve heard of that will say, I don’t have to take professional photos, and I don’t have to do what I would have done in the past to market a property, because it’s just easy to sell it. And my job has changed.  

And I think that it’s literally the opposite, because what an incredible opportunity right now to invest even more on staging and beautiful photography. And, and then I think the thing that I still don’t see agents doing enough of is the storytelling around a luxury property, right? 

And so whether it’s through video, whether it’s through blog posts, whether it’s through websites, it’s, you know, you have to explain not the assets of a home, but how it feels to live in a home and it can be done at every price point. But I think at luxury it’s even more important. So, it’s not necessarily about like a whiz bang tool. It’s more, I think, a philosophical approach to caring for something and exposing it in its best light and really you know, make the best opportunity you can to really to market something. 

York 

Yeah. And I think, you know, people are often surprised, I think when they hear me say what I’m about to say, but as a technologist, it’s not about the technology. I mean, the technology is helpful and it needs to be there and it’s used in this modern context, but it’s all about what you’re putting through, the content that you’re putting through the technology, which we as a technology company, aren’t providing. It all should be from the brand and, and the local resources and ultimately the agent to bring their game.  

Stephanie  

It’s the agent and the seller in that case, right? You have to partner with the seller to uncover what makes a home special. And the truth is that every home is special for some reason. And it’s not the four walls and the ceiling, and especially in luxury, it’s not a shelter decision. So no, you know, no one needs a 2 million house. So you have to tell those stories to help people understand why to pay more for something.  

So just like Louis Vuitton, you know, I could buy any purse, right, but I’m going to spend more on brand because it makes me feel a certain way. And that’s branding, right? And whether it’s a house or a purse, it’s the same things.  

York 

And I’ve held marketing roles, as you know, and I’ve got to get my Harley Davidson thing in here as a guy. But it’s the same thing there. It’s all about the story. And, I mean, yes, it’s about the product as well, but only after you’ve been hooked by the story. 

Stephanie 

Well, and then think about how, how Harley Davidson now treats you differently and the things they do. And now the emotional connection you have because they make you feel special. That’s exactly it.  

York 

Yeah. And I do. I mean, the joke is, you know, the abbreviations HD and that’s cause it’s a hundred dollars if you walk into dealer, no matter what you’re going to spend at least a hundred dollars.  

Well, so, your comments are interesting because I do think what’s working now in this crazy market is going to work until it just doesn’t work one day. And we kind of go back to a different kind of market. 

So what, as a sort of a closing thought, what would you say to a fellow real estate brokerage leader that is that you would encourage them to think about and prepare for in, let’s say, 24 months time? What are they not thinking about that you would encourage them to? 

Stephanie 

Well, so first of all, I am talking to our brokers and our agents about taking care of themselves right now, because my big fear is the burnout factor. And I think agents aren’t paying enough attention to it. And Pam Liebman mentioned it this morning, you know, that everyone’s tired and so I think we have to be thinking about long term. And I think as in this industry, we’re so trained for the ups and downs of the business. And so you’ve got to work really, really hard because you know that it’s eventually going to fall off the cliff and you’re going to make as much as you can. And we have to stop thinking that way. We have to start thinking long term as a long term investment in this business, in both our business and our health, you know? 

So I would say invest in your people. And taking care of your people and everything that that means from, you know, from emotional and personal to the professional side. So ensuring people are continuing to focus on learning and making themselves better and, you know, educating themselves. And nobody has time for that right now, but you quickly fall behind if you don’t stay ahead. 

So, you know, focusing on the things that are important, not just the urgent is always the challenge, but right now, especially.  

York

Yeah, unfortunately, that’s a disease I think we have in American business. That’s again, back to the foreign, exposing yourself to foreign business environments because many of them do think more long term. Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up, you know, long term.  

Stephanie 

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly.  

York 

Well, as always, it’s been a pleasure. I’ve enjoyed this. Yeah, you have too. Thank you all in Moxieland. This is another edition of The REAL with MoxiWorks and we’ll see you on the next one. 

Thank you. Thanks.  🎵