The anti-recruitment strategy behind this 175-agent, $545 million team
What happens when a former Zillow executive returns to production and builds one of the most successful teams in Northern California from the ground up? You get Colby Culbertson, founder and CEO of Culbertson and Gray Group at eXp.
In this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, dive deep with Culbertson about:
- How he grew from 6 to 175 agents in five years
- Why he starts every recruitment conversation trying to convince people not to join
- The only requirement his team must meet, otherwise they are out
- The culture killers who quietly destroy teams
- Why ‘ego’ is the real enemy of collaboration
This episode is both a blueprint and a gut check for leaders who actually want to scale something meaningful.
Highlights
Culbertson reveals the real story behind his 875-unit, $545 million company. He talks about why the culture eats manufacturing for breakfast and why his team looks more like a startup than a traditional real estate agency.
You learn:
- Why He Recruits Top Cops (And What He Tells Them in the First Five Minutes)
- The onboarding challenge that every agent must complete before joining
- His “no asshole” rule – and how it even applies to $50 million producers
- How a shared tech stack keeps 175 agents aligned
- Why Some Cops Are Bad Negotiators (and How to Fix It)
- What Zillow got right – and what it’s still missing
Culbertson built a scalable, culture-driven company using systems, honesty and a ruthless focus on the right people – not just more people.
Contact Colby Culbertson at LinkedIn.
Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered is now exclusive to Inman. Watch agent and team-focused content on Mondays each week and leadership interviews on Wednesdays. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
James Dwiggins is the co-CEO of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
Keith Robinson is the co-CEO of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
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