On this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered, Kris Lindahl Real Estate CEO, Kris Lindahl, is a former teacher who founded his independent brokerage in 2018, leading it to billions of dollars in closed transactions and creating a brand known by millions.
Lindahl traces his success back to his teaching background and the profound challenges he overcame, noting that trauma often drives the emotional intelligence and intuition seen in high-performance leaders. He emphasizes that his mission is measured by impact and that agents who avoid telling their stories are being “selfish” because sharing personal truth gives others permission and power to succeed.
Highlights
Lindahl details the genesis of his “Arms Out” brand, which symbolizes opening up and inviting others into the mentorship he once received. His brand success is rooted in unapologetic authenticity; the person he is in the community is the person he is professionally, which avoids the “heavy work” of maintaining a persona.
His marketing engine started with his disastrous first attempts at video, which he calls the “hostage video.” He spent two months making excuses — buying cheap green screens, lights and suits — before finally publishing. He realized he was not afraid to start the work, but afraid to publish and face rejection.
His solution was never to stop building software to automate the distribution of hundreds of low-quality, city-specific videos per day to monopolize Google search results. He uses the constant feedback and market chatter to instantly record TV and radio spots that meet consumers with real-time challenges.
For staying focused amid constant distraction and criticism, Lindahll leans on his philosophy that “how they feel about me is their business, not my business.” He is protective of his time for his family and uses his phone’s social media folders, renamed “value,” to constantly remind himself that his mission is giving, not taking. His final piece of advice for building at scale is to invest time and money in finding a mentor who has already made the mistakes you are about to make, allowing you to go faster.
Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered is now exclusively on Inman. Tune in for agent- and team-focused content on Mondays and leadership interviews on Wednesdays each week. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
James Dwiggins is the Co-CEO of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
Keith Robinson is the Co-CEO of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
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