Above: Tami Bonnell
Tami Bonnell recommends a question every real estate professional should ask themselves on a daily basis, and proudly admits not coining its creation.
“Did you earn your keep today?”
As one of six children growing up in Massachusetts, Bonnell, a 40-plus-year veteran of the real estate industry and co-chair of EXIT Realty Corp., learned the value of an admirable work ethic and a winning mindset from her father, who was involved in building and developing homes. She credits him with teaching her the importance of establishing authentic relationships and focusing on the individual needs of people.
“Dad would always say that ‘your standard is the lowest level you’re willing to accept,’ explains Bonnell, “and have us ask ourselves if we earned our keep that day.”
Bonnell’s career answers that question in spades. An internationally renowned speaker, she joined EXIT Realty International in 1999, was appointed CEO in 2012 and co-chair in 2021. Inducted into RISMedia’s Newsmakers Hall of Fame in 2024, she has been recognized with many honors, including RISMedia’s Real Estate Leadership Award in recognition of her commitment to blazing new paths to success for real estate professionals. A member of the National Women’s Council of REALTORS® and NAWRB’s Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Council, Bonnell is also known for her keen sense of real estate market trends.
Consistency and discipline are what Bonnell credits for her success and longevity. How has she perfected those traits? Easy. She loves to fight.
“I find a lot of people in the real estate industry ebb and flow while things are going really well. The majority of them will just kind of take orders, but they’re not fine-tuning their skills to excel even in a bad market,” explains Bonnell, who has been in martial arts for more than 30 years. “It’s much more of a way of life than just kicking and punching. It’s a lifestyle. The more you train, the less you bleed, so it’s important to be on top of regular habits.”
Bonnell relates that there are certain core beliefs she imparts when speaking to audiences, something she does close to 100 times a year. A personalized approach and the value of making personal connections and understanding the “why” behind what clients do are core tenets. Another is putting together an action plan each month.
“I’ve been doing that for decades, and it’s really made a huge difference on results going forward,” she says. “I always recommend that people rate themselves on relationships, on a scale of one to 10. Where are you with your family, your friends, your community and your clientele? And what can you do to make the relationship better? If I’m on a seven with a client, how do I get to an eight and then a nine? If you think about that with your clients, you’re going to be much more personal.”
Bonnell notes that there is a common link between the establishments where she has trained in martial arts and the offices where she has worked, with both providing a culture and environment in which people are secure and encouraged to achieve their goals.
“People grow where they feel safe and can trust the environment,” she says. “Our company is built on human potential, so you have to have an environment where people feel like they’re going to be helped. You’re not going to take chances around people you don’t trust.
“I really love Taekwondo,” adds Bonnell. “My husband and I are referees and judges, and he’s already a master. The school that we belong to, they build leaders. I love to fight, but I also love that whole mind and body connection. Everybody in my household is a second degree black belt or above, so we did it together as a family, too.”
Bonnell goes on to explain what she recommends brokerage leaders do following the tumult of 2024, when lawsuits and difficult market conditions put the industry in a negative light, stressing that those staying the course will be the ones who fly the highest.
“You need to make sure your people are over-communicated with,” she says. “Educate them like crazy. It’s the fear factor that’s keeping them at bay. We focus strongly on where somebody’s mindset is. If you’re focused on fear, that’s what you’re going to get. But if you focus on fine-tuning skills, this could be a great opportunity for the industry as a whole.
“There’s a lot of people who jump into real estate when the market’s really good, then jump out when they can only be an order taker,” she adds. “They never really become a professional. Make sure you’re following up and following through and showing your value.”
Bonnell’s introduction to real estate came at age 13. She’d been scraping windows for new construction when one day the builder was upset with an agent’s error and put his fist through a wall when a sale fell through. Bonnell drove him to the hospital. Yes, at age 13.
“On the way there, he was talking about how bad the real estate profession is, and ranting like how can somebody not do their job, and all that sort of stuff,” she says. “And I’m like, ‘How hard is it to sell a house?’ He said, ‘You think you can sell houses?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And he said, ‘Good. Start Saturday.’ So I did.”
Bonnell proceeded to work a new construction subdivision.
“I looked older than my age and definitely dressed up to look older than my age,” she says. “I’d hold open houses, walk people through and show them the potential in terms of what the house could become. I got paid $500 for each house sold.”
Bonnell had been happily working years before then as well, answering phones for her dad’s company at eight years old.
“I’ll never forget it,” she says. “‘Good morning, Grand Builders. How can I help you?’ All of us in the family worked; that was part of our life. Everybody made a contribution.”
Lest anyone think it was all work and no play, Bonnell tells it differently, then and now.
“Everybody gets an opportunity to be able to have fun, and an opportunity to be able to connect,” she says. “When we have to get work done, let’s all roll up our sleeves and go to work together. But there should be time to kick back and celebrate once in a while.”
Bonnell notes that the learning curve never comes to an end, and her earliest lesson still holds true.
“I’m going to be a student my entire life,” she says. “In this business especially, you have to be a student of people, not just understand the business at hand. You really have to understand people and be able to work well with others and make them a priority. You have to check your ego at the door to do that.”
For more information, please visit https://exitrealty.com.
