Wayne Reuter, a consistent top producer with RE/MAX Excels, is also a big believer in teamwork and delegating tasks when needed. Reuter was ranked fifteenth in the region by RE/MAX Excels in 2014. He is a member of RE/MAX’s exclusive Platinum Club, an honor bestowed on the company’s most productive agents.

Teresa Reuter started Team Reuter in 1990. Wayne joined in 1997, leaving behind a corporate career to help her cover territory in Saint Charles, Geneva, Batavia and Elburn. Their team grew as their children joined, first their son Rob in 2004, then their daughter Mary in 2006. Agent Melissa Johnson also came on board in 2001. While Rob Reuter eventually left the agency to work for the National Association of Realtors as the director of communications networks, the rest of the family is still in the business. They set objectives to help their team stay on top.

Reuter gets ideas and inspiration from his son. While NAR won’t let Rob make any sales while he’s working for the organization, he can talk to his family about what other agents in other locales are doing. He’ll tell them about what other agents are doing in Colorado or in Texas, giving them ideas to explore and try that they might not have come up with themselves.

The team meets regularly to determine how best to meet their goals. It’s a collaborative effort that has helped Reuter hold on to his top spot. Team Reuter has averaged at least 100 properties sold since 1998 and has been ranked No. 1 at RE/MAX Excels in Illinois since 2011.

“We focus on our goals,” Reuter said. “If you want to get to the next level, do whatever you need to do to get that, whether it’s hiring that assistant, delegating tasks or taking some type of coaching.”

Quaid and Rooney draw energy and motivation from their team and the new ideas they help generate, whether it’s something new for the next season or a suggested change for a current listing. When the market slows down from their usual 30 listings to 12 or so, they spend time planning new ways to approach clients and market properties.

“You can’t just follow what everyone else is doing and become a top agent,” Quaid said. “You really just have to take it one step further and try to think of things that no one else is doing to attract a buyer.”