From furniture salesperson to real estate coach may sound like a stretch.  Still, REALTOR® Sheila Riggs has found her niche, and many of her clients will agree after succeeding under her tutelage.  

 

A self-described Air Force brat, Sheila was born in Minnesota and moved from Georgia to New York, and to Illinois (twice). She’s been back here since 1998. 

  

Sheila has always had a solid work ethic. At 16, she had three jobs – selling Avon out of her school locker, calling people after school for the company that published the telephone book, and working at Maurice’s Clothing on the weekends.  

  

Much of her background is in retail, most recently as the manager of Bruegge Furniture in Highland, IL, until they closed. It was then that she decided obtaining her real estate license was the next logical step. “I’d go to a house to take room measurements for design layouts and décor but was always fascinated with the whole house,” she said. “When I told my family I was getting my real estate license, they said, ‘Finally!’”  

   

She did so in 2017 through a self-study program and immediately began selling with Equity 55 Realty. Her background in retail management, thirst for knowledge, and drive to succeed prepared her for this career in more ways than she thought. 

 

At the end of 2019, she moved her license to Keller Williams Marquee. The Leadership Team saw her passion for the industry, love of teaching real estate classes, and desire to help support other REALTORS® so they offered her the position of productivity coach for the office’s Launch Coaching Program. This program is specifically designed to get new agents into production quickly. The ultimate goal is to have them close six transactions in their first six months. They have celebrated several agents accomplishing this since she took on the role. These successes and the agents’ graduation from that program encouraged Sheila to begin an accelerated coaching program for more experienced agents who are hungry to achieve bigger results from their business than they are currently attaining on their own. She teaches them to develop solid business models, productive habits, and accountability with weekly personal meetings and group mastermind sessions.  

  

Many people enter the real estate business with the idea that they can be their own boss. However, that can be a double-edged sword. “Most of us are terrible at being our own boss,” she said. “When we don’t have a traditional boss, we can find a ‘reason’ why we didn’t do the daily tasks that are imperative to drive our business. It’s easy to not accomplish your goals but not know exactly why because you feel like you work so hard. Checking in with a coach takes the pressure off of us to self-regulate. I even have my own coach because I believe it’s important for everyone at all levels to find someone to help us grow.

 

“This career path is like being on a teeter-totter rather than the elusive work-life balance we think we should always have. In the busy seasons, we are working a lot but there are slower times when we can devote more to our families,” she said. “It’s difficult! I show agents how they can have a life worth living AND a career worth having.”  

  

It’s crucial to identify distractions and focus on the job at the right time and not necessarily all the time. Sheila coaches her clients on time management to avoid the constant guilt of not doing it all at once. “You can say, ‘I’m going to call 20 potential clients today,’ but then you don’t, and say, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow,’ and you won’t. If you didn’t do it today, what will make you do it tomorrow?”  

  

Many agents work another job, too. There is always a challenge in finding that balance between that job and a real estate career. The challenge for many agents is working alone and not being in a trusting relationship with other agents. “Keller Williams Marquee believes very strongly in the win-win of the AHA (Agents Helping Agents).” In her coaching group, if someone is unable to show a house to a client, another agent will step in as a showing assistant to support each other’s business. 

 

She also helps agents find their niche building relationships. “We create business plans that come naturally from what they love to do,” she says. “What are you doing this week? Where are you going this week? Who are you talking to? I help them achieve their goals by ensuring they will be intentional in everything they do.

   

“Before coming to Keller Williams Marquee, I was hitting the ceiling on my own business and didn’t know how to break through. It’s frustrating to know you can do more but not have the path laid out for you in a way that works for you. I love helping agents find a higher level of success in a way that makes them love what they do!” 

  

Sheila and Ryan live in Troy, IL, and recently celebrated their 24th anniversary.   

She is the vice president of the Highland Civic Woman’s Club, where she has been a member for 18 years. “I love finding ways to make my little corner of the world a better place!”  

  

Her hobbies are reading (often something inspiring), hiking, and cooking and baking, so they recently renovated their kitchen. She added that her favorite dishes are pasta and fish. She says, “My Grams was from Italy, so I guess my preferences are in my roots.” 

  

You can reach Sheila at (618) 409-6286, Sheila.sells@kw.com, or at her office in Keller Williams Marquee, 1254 University Dr., Ste 200, Edwardsville, IL 62025