Sherry Chris is the CEO and President of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate. She has over 30 years of experience in real estate technology and franchising. In this weeks show, Sherry shares valuable tips for women and how we can encourage more women to move into senior management roles.

A deeper relationship with the consumer

As real estate professionals, Sherry believes that we should take things to a deeper level with the consumer. Because sometimes, we can forget about those things and treat the business as just a transaction. But real estate is such a personal and emotional journey. It’s very important to consumers since they’re starting to look at the next phase of their lives. They are thinking about lifestyle, community not a transaction.

Sherry believes we are very lucky that we get to be a part of that.   It's actually about life, not just a transaction.

Better Homes and Gardens and Women Empowerment

Sherry believes that one of the biggest parts of Better Homes and Gardens is that it’s very female orientated. Whether it be internally within the brand and the recruitment of staff or externally when they’re dealing with customers.

About 75% of the magazine’s readership are women, but 25% are men.  25% is still a hefty number so it’s a magazine that appeals to a lot of people.  

Sherry shares that one of her early worries was that men wouldn't be interested in reading Better Homes and Gardens. But the opposite was true. 

Women leaders

There aren’t many female leaders in the industry, so we asked Sherry what can be done to encourage women to take up management positions within the industry.

Her answer – self-belief.  If you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything. You need to wake up every morning and say, “I can do this”. Exceed your own expectations and exceed your own goals. That is the first step and then everything else will unfold.

But she also thinks that the industry can use more role models. Which is the foundation of the WomanUP!® Movement. It is a California Association of Realtors Initiative that helps women in the real estate industry find mentors.

Sherry closes by sharing one of her big takeaways from the Inman Connect conference.  Less technology, but more innovative thinking. She believes that we have to use our brains more.

Watch the full interview.