From hunting and fishing to DJing and filming videos in his community, Rett Harmon is a man of many interests. As co-broker/owner of CENTURY 21 Novus Realty in Carollton, Ga, he's been involved in the real estate industry for over 15 years.
Harmon first dipped his toe into real estate as a junior at the University of West Georgia. Selling properties before he'd even earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, he soon formed a property management company partnership with Curtis North in 2008. That company now manages over 700 properties.
Additionally, Harmon has served as his local board of REALTORS® President, is a graduate of the Georgia REALTORS® Leadership Academy and served as the State Young Professionals Network chair, among other things.
With all the hats he currently wears, it's a wonder he can also manage his duties at C21 Novus Realty—but he does and quite impressively at that. Harmon actively sells with the company, which has 40 agents, and leads a 9-member agent sales associate team (with over 100 active listings and which closed 184 transactions last year alone).
On top of that, he goes out every month and films content in his community to help bolster his company's social presence. "I hire a videographer and shoot video of local community content," he says. "I've been doing it for three years."
Here, Harmon discusses his video experience, community involvement, the next big trend in real estate and more.
What first drew you to the real estate industry?
I was attending the University of West Georgia and knew I wanted to major in business but didn't know what my focus should be. After looking at the options—and they don't do this anymore—they had a green sheet that had a range of salary to expect from each major. Real estate was almost double the others such as marketing, finance and accounting. Also, real estate had many more options of specific fields or jobs to enter into.
Tell us a little bit about how you ended up at CENTURY 21...
While serving in leadership with local, state and the National Association of REALTORS®, I spent about five years researching more than 25 national franchises with the sole intent of proving that we could open an independent brokerage and provide the exact same marketing for our agents and clients.
I originally saw C21 advertising in 2011 and thought this was some type of last hoorah because all the C21 offices I knew of were sleepy and didn't have much energy. Terry Swanson of C21 Results Realty Services pointed out a few things that really opened my eyes; the way that C21 supports its brokerages and negotiates whole-office marketing prices with top tier marketing is second to none. Their technology is relevant and remains relevant. Their marketing is amazing and with the new leadership from Nick Bailey I'm even more excited for the future.
What has been your biggest obstacle as an agent?
Not enough time to get everything accomplished while keeping a normal work/life balance. I work every day to make sure that I limit the amount of time I work so that I can do all the things I need and want to do with my family.
Something you've spoken about in the past is your ADHD diagnosis. What advice would you give to other agents that also cope with ADHD?
Embrace that you think differently than others. Research ADHD and know all you can about it and try to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Being aware will help you figure out coping mechanisms that work for you to stay focused and thrive. Do not use it as an excuse to think that you are less capable than others.
Switching gears a bit, I'd like to discuss the community involvement initiatives you’re involved in.
[C21] strives to be the community expert and demonstrate this through video by highlighting local business and community happenings. We are very involved with community events that are going on already; we show up and participate.
How is your team leveraging video?
My business partner Curtis North and I opened as a startup three years ago with our property management staff and two other agents. We are now 40 agents strong. We hired a professional videographer and content creator who I spend one full day a month with shooting video.
Are you experimenting at all with live video?
Yes, more and more. With a Mevo camera, we livestream our sales meeting to a secret Facebook group each week. I also did several live videos of our participation in a local Christmas parade and our local Fraternal Order of Police's Cops, Kids and Christmas event. For that, I did a Facebook Live video walking through stores while [police officers] were shopping with kids; additionally, we shot professional video for that.
What’s the next big trend going to be in real estate?
Automation and getting back to the basics. Staying in contact with our past clients even more is probably the best plan that holds the highest rate of return.
Where do you see yourself five years down the road?
Having fun doing what I'm doing now! I enjoy speaking at real estate conferences, creating content through video, selling real estate on our Team Southern Roots Group and growing a thriving brokerage. I hope we grow at a smart and manageable rate and maintain our office culture. Novus means "new and exceptional" in Latin—we use the hashtag #thenovusway, which means "The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence."
