After 18 years selling real estate on Chicago’s northside, Phil Byers and his team at Compass have built a strong referral-based business and the satisfaction of knowing he’s doing right by his clients throughout every transaction.
“We’re here for the life changes our clients are going through,” he says. “That could be job change, marriage, having kids, or moving on after a divorce.” Whatever the situation – from joyful to nerve-wracking, Byers makes it his priority to leverage the power of his team to ensure a smooth transition for his clients. “We’re a tight-knit team and we’re really good at leaning into our strengths so we can solve problems quickly and easily for our clients as go through the stress of moving.”
“We’re focused on bringing experience and local expertise to our clients so they can make good/informed decisions,” Byers says. “These sales can never be about me or my commissions or my team – it’s about our client and what they need to achieve.” Noting that consumers come into deals with many pre-conceived notions, this multi-year Chicago Association of Realtors top 1 percent agent makes it a point to start by educating clients about the housing market and setting expectations for what the hurdles will be during the process.
One of the disarming things about Byers’ personality is how upfront he is – there’s no mincing words, no sugarcoating. As a client, you can trust you’re going to get straight-talk. “It doesn’t do us any good to ignore the real challenges our clients are facing during these transitions” Byers says. “I live in ‘problem-solving mode’ – and that removes a lot of the stress so clients can make great decisions.”
Navigating COVID-19 this past year, Byers found comfort during a challenging time by building a garden and working on the home in Union Pier, Michigan he and his wife Gina bought back in 2019. “Until a couple years ago we had never spent any time in Michigan and didn’t know there’s a little slice of heaven just 80 miles away! We feel very lucky to have spent so much time there during the stress of 2020.”
