How David and Kim St. Jean Built a Faster Path from Training to Agent Production
With Agent Development, the David St. Jean Real Estate Group built on its investment in agent training, helping new agents gain confidence, get into production sooner and bring fresh momentum to the team.
David and Kim St. Jean had put real thought into helping their agents succeed. They had organized learning materials, introduced training platforms and scheduled in-person sessions. Kim guided the learning, and David brought his experience into training and role plays.
They wanted agents to understand the team’s standards and have the support to build a business of their own.
Yet they were seeing a challenge many committed leaders recognize. An agent could understand the material, do well on a quiz and leave training feeling enthusiastic, then hesitate when it was time to pick up the phone. David and Kim would step back in to help, while the agent waited for the first signs of traction.
David understood how much that time mattered:
That difference in that timing could be the difference between them leaving the industry and not.
For an agent waiting on a first sale, the pressure could reach beyond work. Bills still needed to be paid. Confidence could begin to fade. David and Kim wanted to give their people a stronger opportunity to move through that uncertain stage and establish themselves.
Their next investment focused on how agents turned learning into action. Through Agent Development, they built on their existing foundation with a process for practicing skills, demonstrating readiness and developing the habits that support production.
Building on the Standards They Had Already Established
David and Kim were already investing in their business and looking for ways to improve it. Joining Agent Development meant considering the resources, the implementation work and the difference it could make for their team.
For David, the value was in examining how those resources translated into performance. An agent needed to understand the purpose of a presentation, deliver it effectively and demonstrate that ability. The development process needed to give leaders a way to assess it.
Kim could adapt Agent Development’s frameworks, lessons and presentations to the team’s own way of doing business. Ongoing support gave her a structure for implementing the changes. Together, they were creating a more consistent way to transfer their standards to the people representing their business.
Preparing Agents for the Conversations Ahead
One of Kim’s most important observations was the connection between practice and confidence.
David and Kim wanted agents to feel supported. They also wanted that support to prepare them for the challenging conversations that come with building a real estate business. Their decision was to make room for those moments during training, where agents could receive feedback and try again.
Sessions could focus on just a couple of skills. Agents practiced alongside their peers, heard where others struggled and learned that a mistake was something they could recover from.
As Kim put it:
We needed to create this environment of challenge and uncomfortable moments where we work through it.
She began seeing agents become more willing to make calls and prospect. They had already experienced uncertainty in practice and worked through it with support. A difficult conversation in the field felt more manageable because it was no longer entirely unfamiliar.
Scheduled calling blocks and recorded activity carried that learning into the workday. Agents repeatedly set aside time, made calls and followed up. The cohort was building confidence through the work itself, alongside the skills to do it.
Seeing Their Investment Show Up in Earlier Production
David reported seeing agents sell houses within their first 30 days after completing the program. Previously, the team sometimes needed to revisit material and provide further training before agents began gaining traction.
With the new approach, agents practiced throughout the learning process. They worked on using a skill before progressing to the next topic, so finishing a module meant more than having covered the material.
Kim also saw an early difference in prospecting activity:
They were out-calling all of our other agents within two weeks.
For the new cohort, those calling habits felt normal. David described new agents treating 100 calls a week as part of how they worked. He also shared an example of a new team member securing a $2 million listing.
For David and Kim, these were meaningful signs that their investment was carrying through. Agents were taking action, developing momentum and beginning to see what they could accomplish.
For the agents, early progress gave them something concrete to build on: experience making calls, confidence handling conversations and results that could help them move forward in their careers.
A Cohort That Inspired the Wider Team
The new agents’ progress began attracting attention across the team.
Existing agents grew curious about the cohort’s activity and early wins. They could see newer colleagues doing the work consistently and wanted to understand what was helping them get started that way.
Kim recalled their response:
I want to go in that program. Put me back in.
David and Kim were seeing interest in development grow from the agents’ own experiences. The cohort’s progress gave others a visible example of what was possible and a reason to want that experience for themselves.
Kim also noticed a stronger bond within the group. They had practiced together, worked through challenges and supported one another. That connection continued as they moved into production.
The team shared and celebrated wins. The benefits of the first cohort were reaching further than its individual members, bringing encouragement and fresh momentum to the wider group.
Giving David and Kim a Clearer View of Progress
The changes also strengthened how David and Kim worked together as leaders.
Kim had a clearer framework for overseeing development and bringing information to David. Activity and performance data gave their discussions a concrete starting point: what an agent was doing, where support was needed and what action to take next.
Kim described how she could now bring that evidence into a leadership conversation:
Here's what the data's telling us on what they're actually doing. We need to make a call.
David could keep a broader view of the business while Kim led the day-to-day implementation. Their conversations had a stronger basis for making decisions together, with both leaders able to see what was happening.
Kim brought her operational expertise to the implementation, adapting the resources to the team’s standards and guiding agents through the process. The system supported her leadership with a consistent framework for development and clearer visibility into agent progress.
For leaders who care deeply about their agents’ potential, that clarity matters. It helps them direct support where it is needed and assess progress with greater confidence.
Kim identified more consistent measurement as an important next step. Establishing baselines and reviewing results would help them continue improving the system as their team grew.
Recruiting with Confidence in What Comes Next
When David reflected on the first 90 days of the beta cohort, recruiting confidence stood out.
He could speak more confidently about the systems the team had in place and how they developed agents. Behind those conversations were experiences he and Kim could point to: new agents taking action, earlier production and a group supporting one another as they learned.
That also made the next stage of growth easier to see. Kim had a framework for guiding development. David had greater visibility into progress. New agents had a process for building the skills and habits they would need.
Reflecting on the investment, David said:
Looking back I can't even think of a time where we invested an amount of money into our business where we got the same sort of return.
David and Kim’s commitment to their people was there from the beginning. They chose to strengthen the system behind that commitment, and they could see the difference in both their agents and their own experience of leading.
The next group of agents could enter a team where practice and prospecting habits were built into development. Kim could guide that process, and David could recruit with greater confidence in what happened after someone joined. Together, they had a stronger foundation for the business they wanted to grow.
What Could a Stronger Development System Make Possible for Your Team?
If you have invested in training and want to see that effort carry through more consistently into agent performance, David and Kim’s experience may feel familiar.
Their story shows how a thoughtful change to development can support the people you believe in while giving you a clearer path forward as a leader.
Book a free clarity call to explore how Agent Development could support your agents and the team you want to build.
