Vic Simjanoski Top Dog at DOBI

Meet Vic Simjanoski. A seasoned agent here at DOBI from the start who has been closing deals left and right, and knows what it means to ‘Boss Up’. Vic and his team, The VS Group, have also had a back-to-back Top Dog win this month and the third time this year! 🏆 We had the chance to sit down with him to learn how being at DOBI has helped grow his business, team, and network over the years.

DOBI: How long have you been in real estate?

Vic: This April has marked my fifth year in real estate. My background is actually in steel manufacturing, but made the move to real estate and haven’t looked back. 

DOBI: You’ve been at DOBI from the start, how do you think DOBI has supported you in growing your business and differs from other brokerages? 

Vic: I’ve been a part of DOBI since day one before it was even DOBI, but we all worked on a team at another brokerage. DOBI is different because of all the collaboration and culture here. People are all willing to help each other. At other brokerages, people would all be scared you’d steal their business, so no one helped each other. It is nice coming to DOBI, and knowing you have the full support of the staff, but also other agents.

DOBI: You’ve had 3 Top Dog wins this year with the last two back to back, recognized as Top Producer – Real Producers of Oakland County, and recently won DOBI’s Choice award. How do you do it? Advice?

Vic: There’s a few things. At the end of last year, I decided to refocus on real estate. I had put too much focus on social media the last quarter of the year and had even hired someone to do that for me. I stopped trying to be an ‘influencer’, focusing too much on home trends, plate settings, and fluff content that just wasn’t resonating with my followers. I decided to take this into my own hands, and studied top agents in the area, looked at their social media, and noticed the value they brought. I started posting my listings, what I’ve closed, market stats, sharing my experience, answering questions, and most importantly, bringing value to my audience. I also utilized new features on social media, such as Reels. I did 3 Reels on my new construction homes, just 15 seconds of the house and what it would look like when finished, and sold them all that month. I do all my social media now and know what works for my brand. It is also important to know your demographic. As much as social media is important for me and my brand, it is not what is usually bringing me clients. Most of my clientele comes from my sphere of influence, referrals from past clients, print ads and magazines, so I try to stay on top of that. I was just featured in HOUR Detroit Magazine and will also be in the next three issues of SEEN Magazine.

DOBI: What is your advice for a new agent?

Vic: Get comfortable being uncomfortable. I say it all the time to my team. Make those calls you wouldn’t have made, talk to everyone, and don’t be scared to let people know what you do for a living.

DOBI: Advice for other agents in this crazy market?

Vic: Tell clients to be patient. Don’t put your clients in a bad situation with all the over asking, waiving appraisals, just don’t do it. A lot of agents look at it as a paycheck, the dollars will come on their own. Client above all, always.

DOBI: Your team has grown from 4 people as of last year to now 10, which is over twice the size so far this year. How did you do that?

Vic: I’m still trying to figure that out, LOL! I talked earlier about how I added value to my social media page, and I think other agents liked what I was doing, my approach, and wanted to have someone mentor them and be in a team environment. Initially, I was looking for a buyer’s agent, and it grew very quickly from there. I am still getting about 2 DM’s a week asking to join my team, but I think I have my hands full for now – I just encourage them to join DOBI, the environment is naturally very collaborative. I enjoy having a team and helping someone out, especially when first starting. When I started in real estate at my first brokerage, I had to figure it out. It is rewarding being able to help new agents and be someone I wish I once had.

DOBI: We talk a lot about the DOBI Difference here. What is your DOBI Difference?  

Vic: There is so much, but I think the broker support stands out the most for me. You have direct access to the broker. At other brokerages, the broker doesn’t talk to you and isn’t always available. Here, you have a broker with experience that mentors daily, shares ideas and their knowledge. We also have Boss Up meetings where we can talk about our challenges, wins, what’s going on in the market, etc. with our broker. In addition, the marketing here is unlike anywhere else. From a dedicated social media consultant to help with training and brainstorming, from bouncing around marketing ideas with Ben, our creative genius. You also have Olivia designing tons of graphics, and Chapin and Lauren with some amazing videos. If you think about it, here we have a fully dedicated marketing team, basically 1 marketing person per 10 agents, and the staff grows as our agents do, so you never feel a lag in support. In other places you have one marketing or staff member per 100 agents, making it hard to get information and resources. You have everything you need here to be successful. You just need to put in the time and hard work, it’ll pay off in time. I tell my team, you have the tools, you just need to learn how to use them!

DOBI: So, speaking of the resources here, the agents here at DOBI do more volume per agent vs. the competition.

Vic: I believe it. You guys actually deliver on what you say you will do – from training, marketing support & materials, agents have all of the tools and resources at their fingers. Other places charge for everything – at DOBI it is all included. It is all covered and we have the right people here to help.

DOBI: You specialize in new construction and luxury? How did You get into that?

Vic: When I first got into real estate, I knew I wanted to get into new construction, because of my manufacturing background. I love the process of designing and building clients their dream homes.

DOBI: What are some of the challenges you face with new construction?

Vic: Right now, the cost of materials, appliances taking longer to come in, light fixtures, quartz, and other materials being on backorder, have put the process to build a home more costly and time-consuming for clients. COVID really put things behind. 

DOBI: What is your favorite part of real estate?

Vic: That is simple – helping my clients find their dream homes and putting a smile on their faces.

DOBI: What accomplishment are you most proud of this year?

Vic: I hit my goal for the year within the first 4 months! So now I need to reassess my numbers for the year. Also, last year and years past, the first quarter was never this busy, but I think after COVID, people are nervous about rates, the home buying and selling process is sped up, and buyers’ needs have changed. Clients are looking for functional space, backyards, home offices, and finished basements.

To learn more about Vic or get in touch with him, head to his bio page here.