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CARRIE HOLLE: Soaring with the Un-sales-y!

2 • March 2018 www.realproducersmag.com • 3

SOARING WITH THE UN-SALES-YBrian Ramsey

Well, if it is not a word, then it

should be! Everyone knows the

characteristics of someone

who takes the elements of

sales too far so that the

experience is less than

authentic. We have

seen skits and funny

shows about the man or

woman who is always

influencing someone

to do something or

buy something with no

regard for its benefit or

need. Instead, people

love to work with the

trusted advisor or

the one who has

a relationship

with them. That is

exactly how one

could describe

Carrie Holle of the

Carrie Holle Group

– “un-sales-y.”

Carrie attended Purdue University and studied broadcast journalism. While there, she compiled a plethora of experience not only about the field of communications but also about philanthropy and the social development of clubs. Upon her comple-tion, Holle sent out over 200 resumes and waited for the avalanche of responses. One “easy-listening” station from northern Indiana asked her to work for them – for $12,000. To call the situation “devas-tating” might be an understatement.

Holle is never one to give up – at least not without a fight. A friend who was working from a model home was selling new-construction homes. Carrie thought that might be a good source of income until the “perfect” job appeared, so she accepted a position in sales with a production builder in 1995. The rest – as they say – is history. At that time, building was booming, and Holle found it a meaningful experience with good success. In 1999, Holle’s husband and two friends left the business to establish a real estate company that is today known as Highgarden. Carrie teases the partners that her role was best described as “founder,” but she quickly morphed into a differ-ent capacity – motherhood.

Not long into the new venture, Holle started a fami-ly, and for the next eight years her focus was on the needs of the domestic front. She did find pleasant distraction by starting a nonprofit that furnished furniture to underprivileged families whose tagline was “making a house a home.” Over time, Carrie allowed her real estate license to expire, but her du-ties at home were quite fulfilling. When the market tumbled, Holle and her husband decided that it was time for her to make a comeback.

Holle re-took the exam and describes the re-entry as if she had never departed. The interesting challenge was that her new circle of friends was unaware of her real estate background. Carrie had to completely build a brand from scratch – certainly not for the faint of heart. Deep down, Holle loves this kind of challenge. She notes that real estate is great, because it lets one control their own destiny. She loves the in-dependence and the work in building something that she wants to create. The main challenge ahead then became the balance of work and personal demand.

Carrie loves to soar. She describes success as never satisfied, so it becomes a little elusive. When she reaches a goal, she begins to think about how to improve her work, and the process starts again. Ul-timately, there may come a day when she can look back and see the results of her progression, but she is not counting on it. Holle has nothing to prove to

anyone else, so she just keeps persevering to stay true to herself.

A couple of years ago, Holle began to dream about her own office (enter the music to the “soaring theme”). The partners challenged her to make it a reality, and that is what she did. Last year, her six-person team accumulated over $50 million in sales. This year it will be interesting to see what the 12-person team can accomplish. Carrie explains that each agent carries their own numbers and that most agents in the group are new to real estate. Holle teaches the virtue of working hard yet playing hard. She also stresses mak-ing friends and relationships first.

To those who desire to enter the world of real es-tate sales, Holle challenges them to understand that they will need to work very hard. “It is not enough to say that you enjoy houses, for that is a small percentage of what realtors do,” she quips. Carrie explains that real estate is a sales business that offers the opportunity to extinguish fires, calm ten-sions and solve problems. People who want to build relationships, make friends and work a business will have plenty of opportunity to excel.

Holle has been married 19 years to her husband, Brian. They have three children: Gage (16), Brody (15) and Crew (12). The family loves to travel (Car-rie’s favorite thing is to plan the trips), stay busy and always have social events planned. They rarely stay at home on a Friday or Saturday night, as they are often with neighbors and friends.

To describe Carrie as fun, energetic or driven is not quite good enough. She says that she is from a strong mother and doting father, but her role model was her maternal grandmother. Holle describes her as having a distinct ability to laugh, become the president of many local clubs and as having a multitude of friends. Carrie says that her grandma was “a lover of life,” and she knew early on that she wanted to emulate her example.

Carrie has a written blog called "Confessions of a Realtor" and a very successful video blog called "Green Couch Confessions." She describes the video blog as a picture of the team’s DNA as they discuss topics in a professional, knowledgeable and heart-felt way but in total fun. The subjects usually tackle the hilarious and strange things that realtors encounter in their daily lives.

Carrie Holle will continue to soar ahead. It is very difficult to hold her back, but one thing is for sure: She will never rise to the high level of the ladder of achievement in an un-sales-y way!

Carrie Holle