- Words by Angela Cowan Photography by Don Denton

This March, Anna and Max Carbone celebrated a successful five years since they acquired in Kelowna, having grown the company from 60 to more than 90 high-performing realtors and gaining the distinction of being named Century 21 Canada鈥檚 number two overall rated brokerage in the country.

The pair both love the Okanagan, and researched for five years to find a business to bring them here鈥攁 place where they could help people succeed and prosper in all aspects of their lives.

鈥淲e feel that the Okanagan is the best place in the country to live and work,鈥� says Max, explaining why he and Anna moved here from Toronto. 鈥淭he people are friendly, it鈥檚 more relaxed, it has a more enjoyable pace of life, but also has a thriving entrepreneurial culture.鈥�

Both had experience in real estate prior to moving to the Okanagan. Anna came to the table with a long and successful career in sales and senior management positions in media companies, including CHUM Television, CTV and Bell Media, and grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and property investors. And Max had worked in commercial real estate in the GTA, facilitating multi-million-dollar deals, and had also established his own strategic planning firm, which worked with many of Canada鈥檚 leading real estate firms, corporations, entrepreneurs, not-for-profits and more.

Taking on Century 21 made sense, but it was also an opportunity for the pair to turn their efforts to something more personalized.

鈥淲e thought it would be nice to help people prosper, and not just businesses,鈥� says Max. 鈥淲e enjoy helping new realtors to get going and be successful, as well as helping experienced realtors improve their careers while having time to enjoy the amazing Okanagan lifestyle.鈥�

In addition to personalized high-performance strategic coaching, another impactful aspect of the brokerage is Elevate 21, a comprehensive in-house marketing service provided to every real estate agent, ensuring that each listing has the same high level of photography, social media exposure, signage, professional website and more鈥攁nd all for a lower cost and higher value than if the agents had to do all the work themselves.

鈥淲e have exceptional photographers and a terrific marketing team. We do all of the photography and high-quality virtual tours. We support the property marketing for our realtors,鈥� explains Anna. 鈥淭his saves realtors an incredible amount of time, which they鈥檙e able to then spend with their clients, or with their families enjoying life in the Okanagan.鈥�

Elevate 21 is also what helped attract Dean Desrosiers to the company. After being in the real estate business since 2008, Dean has recently signed on as a partner with Max and Anna after working as an associate broker for several years. Dean, an accredited real estate coach, is passionate about working with and helping people on a very personal level, whether that鈥檚 the agents he鈥檚 working with, or their clients.

鈥淩eal estate is one of those professions where you can work 12 hours a day very easily and still not have success, and it can wear you down,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ith Elevate 21, we deliver a win-win, where the agent can sign up a client and we鈥檒l work together to help the realtor look great with that client.鈥�

Moving into the partner position, Dean鈥檚 shifted to a more behind-the-scenes role in supporting agents.

鈥淚t鈥檚 super important that agents know that they have somebody behind them who understands what can go right and what can go wrong,鈥� he says, adding that Century 21 in Kelowna has an incredibly (and unusually) high ratio of brokers to agents. With three brokers and five senior managers ready to support the cast of agents, someone is always available.

鈥淎n agent might need to talk to one of us for two or three minutes, and it鈥檚 not a lot of time, but it makes a difference,鈥� says Dean. 鈥淭hey might need someone with experience to bounce an idea off of, and we always want them to feel and know that they can call us anytime.鈥�

鈥淒ean is also a licensed coach and he鈥檚 a really solid member of the leadership team to help the younger and inexperienced members evolve,鈥� says Anna. 鈥淚t can be pretty daunting, graduating from your real estate course and not knowing where to start.鈥�

Max pioneered a proven purpose-based coaching program that 鈥渉elps realtors and entrepreneurs determine their life purpose, values and goals,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very powerful approach, as it鈥檚 based on helping them create and execute a plan that鈥檚 in line with their personal and career aspirations.鈥�

Anna says, 鈥淭he people who are attracted to living in the Okanagan are here for very deliberate reasons, so our brokerage鈥檚 ability to lighten up realtors鈥� workloads helps them align with their life values.鈥�

Max adds, 鈥淥ur company philosophy is to 鈥榚nable prosperity,鈥� both financial and in personal wellbeing.鈥�

That approach has resulted in a win-win for staff, realtors and their clients.

鈥淗onestly, I think we have the best agents in the Okanagan at our brokerage,鈥� says Dean, 鈥渄own to every last one of them.鈥�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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