The Gilezan Griffin Team Has the Hook-up, and a new Look-up…
at Keller Williams Realty
--by Lisa Johnson
I’ve always heard that Stephanie Gilezan was a strong and aggressive woman who knew exactly what she wanted and had all the determination to get it. With a reputation like that, I was expecting someone like the Tasmanian devil to burst through my door on the day of our interview. I knew that Stephanie does things big, and I guess I was watching for the marching bands, the stealth airplane, and the entourage, I don’t know, but had I not been looking when she came in the door with her husband, Sam Griffin, I would’ve never known she’d arrived. She shook my hand with a strong yet feminine grip, and I was intrigued by the fact that even the way she moved was coolly calculated.
Sam put his things down and shook my hand. I had met him before while doing closings and we talked a little about that. I did not know that he and Stephanie had gotten married and had a baby. “Oh, yeah, we met and became friends about five years ago,” she said as she smiled and looked at Sam, “we dated and got married and now we have a 3 month old baby girl named Emerson.” Now the two are a team who recently made a sizeable decision to move to Keller Williams.
“We brought our entire real estate firm, Camp Gilezan, over to Keller Williams,” she said with a certain level of
pride and excitement. “We were approached by a lot of various franchise companies. We took the time to explore each one because we wanted to be fair in due diligence, to our employees, our agents, and our clients. The real estate industry is so competitive and we knew we could not afford to give agents a more generous split. It literally took me 30 seconds to identify that Keller Williams was where we should go. Not only do they offer profit sharing to any agent who’d like to participate, but they also have a tremendous education system that’s loaded with great resources and tools. Classes are offered on a weekly basis here, 8 per week as a matter of fact. You take all that and combine with the level of support and then the retirement…” It was great to see how confident Stephanie is in her decision. She went on to talk about how, in a real estate sales career, there’s typically no retirement benefit, but at Keller Williams, you still get that profit once you retire, and it’s also offered as a death benefit to your survivors. “I decided that if I were going to make a change, I was going to take it a whole lot further. We could see the vision and my people trusted our decision.”
The Gilezan Griffin Team, now settled in at Keller Williams, is moving forward at full throttle. “We have the absolute best Administrative Coordinator, Leslie Cooper,” said Sam as Stephanie nodded in agreement, “and Cheryl Case does a lot of our marketing and phone leads. They’re both very good at what they do and we’re poised for tremendous advancement in the market today.” Sam is a very approachable guy. His diverse background enables him the experience to work well with people. He was in the restaurant business prior to his transition into the real estate industry. He worked with restaurants such as Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, and Houlihan’s. “He ran various locations in New York, Atlanta, Columbus, Orlando and Myrtle Beach prior to coming back to Louisville to manage Captain’s Quarters and its turnaround.” Stephanie said as she looked at Sam. She laughed and said, “One day he just walked into Camp Gilezan and offered us his new menu. And that’s how we met.” They joked back and forth about that and then Sam added, “From there I did some work in the mortgage industry and that’s a great value added benefit of working with our team. I offer mortgage consultation and I ensure our clients are getting the best possible loan program for their situation.”
Stephanie seems as though she’s always thinking in a progressive direction. The biggest thing I determined right away about her is that she’s driven. She told me her drive and sense of conquest fuels her motivation each and every day. “I’m always setting out to do what people say I can’t do, to achieve things that I know I can.” Stephanie is a calm and collected person. She projects a level of confidence and control that make me feel safe and secure in her presence. “I guess I fell for some of that reverse psychology when I was growing up,” she laughed a little, “I’m motivated by people who tell me things can’t be done. I was raised in a world where the man did it all.” She lowered her voice as she leaned in towards me and she said with a smile, “Well, Mom did a lot but Dad got the credit. That’s what made me who I am today.”
She went on to describe how she graduated from college and decided she didn’t want to invest time into working her way up the ranks. “I wanted to do more than that with my career, and I was very interested in real estate. So I enrolled in the classes, got my license, had a baby, and literally 3 weeks later I launched my real estate career!” She could tell by the way my mouth was hanging open that she needed to say a little more about that, “I was a single parent. I had to succeed. I wanted to be there for my son Dylan and I wanted to know success early on. I guess you could say I wanted it all and I wanted it right then. I knew there was a way to achieve it, and that’s exactly what I set out to do.”
Sam added that Stephanie’s son Dylan, now 7 years old, is also a highly skilled negotiator just like his Mom. We laughed about that and exchanged stories about the world according to our small children. I got the impression from Stephanie that yes, she works very hard, but she also plays hard. I have no doubt that she and Sam get right out there in the back yard and throw that Frisbee or dive head first into a big mess of Play Doh.
The Gilezan Griffin Team manages a balanced combination of residential, commercial, and investment properties. “And land, we’ve got that too,” Sam added. He sat up straight and I could tell he was about to say something really strong, “Stephanie is 29 years old. At 8 years in the business, she’s had over 900 transactions.” I started to do the math and then he said, “I’ve been an agent for 2 years, and if I put my transactions on to that equation, together we’ve done over 1,000 real estate deals.” I stopped typing. I just sat there, looking at them both. I was amazed. If I could be half that productive I’d be considered successful. What does that make them? Wow! In all my years of working with real estate agents, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered someone with a record of this magnitude.
“It’s not about those kind of numbers though,” Stephanie started trying to bring me back around, “I keep in touch with my past clients and when it comes to new business, thinking outside the box is what will make you successful. If you get to know me, I will show you who I really am. I do it big, and I’m not scared. I’m not afraid of change and trying different things. My clients know me, and they know I’m willing to take the risk of trying something new. They like that.”
I had to know how she did it. She said, “Well quite frankly I was a pest when I first started out. I figured I could go after FSBO’s and get a couple deals, or I could focus on builders not represented by agents. I stayed on those guys, I was painfully persistent, and it paid off. From that point came the career. I needed help only a year after being in business.” I love listening to her talk because she has a certain tone that holds my interest. “I learned a long time ago that you have to invest. You have to market your products and services. You have to pay to advertise. Open houses are important. Redecorating and reorganizing for sale is important. The bottom line is you have to be prepared to make an investment in what you’re selling.” Stephanie’s willingness to share her story meant a lot to me and will to many others I’m sure.
“I use the Internet to showcase our inventory,” she continued, “I actually sold 2 houses sight unseen last year, just by using the virtual tour. And, we create business.” I gave her a puzzled look, “We find land, and then we find developers. I’m always looking ahead; I look at property that’s not for sale yet. I create a need for, well, me! I’m the expert. I keep my network all beefed up and I connect people. I will save them money. I tell people ‘don’t you dare do a home improvement until you talk to me first!’ I help them get what they want. I am the total resource, and I only refer companies who I’ve used myself.”
Sam and Stephanie talked about finding balance with their new structure. They don’t want to be known for servicing high dollar areas. “Our inventory ranges from $2,000 to $11 million.” Sam told me, “We service Greater Louisville on out. When someone asks us where we focus our real estate sales, we tell them, Kentucky.” Stephanie added that shifting markets are going to be forever changing and they want every price point. “Just like it’s not about the numbers, it’s not about the dollars either. What it’s about is that when people make a decision to move, regardless of their location or lifestyle, they are starting over in one way or another. I’ve been there, I’ve started over, and with our recent move, it’s like we’re starting over again. But that’s what life is about, making your move, taking chances and not being afraid. I want to be part of that.”
Stephanie Gilezan is highly intuitive. She said she could peg people in a second (and I believe it!). “I know what people want even before they do,” she laughed as Sam raised his eyebrows and nodded his head. “I’m here at Keller Williams to keep this thing growing! We want to talk to agents who have the passion and the right ingredients. If they have the potential, then it will happen here. I gave up my dream of Camp Gilezan because I could never give what Keller Williams can give. Support, knowledge, and commitment, if I know it, then my customers are going to know it and my fellow agents are going to know it too. We’ve got a lot of great experience and we’re here to share it with anyone who wants it.” Stephanie not only focuses her drive and ambitions on her real estate career, but she is an idea machine for all agents who approach her. Her mind is never on slow motion. There is always a new idea, a new way, and she loves sharing so everyone has the same opportunity at success.
After the time I got to spend with Stephanie and Sam, I felt like I benefited greatly just by writing about them. I learned so much and hope to experience them again in the future. People of this caliber are hard to come by in today’s times, and Stephanie Gilezan will definitely move you.
You can contact the Gilezan Griffin Team at Keller Williams (502) 371-1144, , and