Christopher Brown of NEXT Real Estate: Lessons I Learned From Last Year To Take Our Organization to the Next Level in 2025
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
…No one died while I was gone, nothing was dropped, the systems and delegation worked and my team was not burdened with extra work due to my absence. That was the first big step at setting my companies up for me to be replaceable…
This series aims to discuss the experiences and lessons learned by top executives over the past year, and how these insights are shaping the landscape for change and innovation in 2025. The past year has been a time of unprecedented challenges and opportunities, requiring adaptive leadership and innovative strategies. We believe that sharing these experiences can inspire and guide others in their endeavors to drive positive change in their organizations and industries. I had the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Brown of the NEXT group of companies.
Christopher Brown is the Creative Evangelist and Principal of the NEXT group of companies, including NEXT New Homes Group, NEXT Crafted, Inc., and NEXT Real Estate Group Inc., all based in Northern California. A national speaker, he shares insights on technology, sales, and marketing at top industry events. With nearly 30 years in home building and a Master’s in Residential Marketing (MIRM), he is passionate about innovation and embracing cutting-edge tech to enhance operations and customer experiences. Outside of work, he travels the world with his family, sharing their adventures through his travel blog, Life’s About Experiences.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share a little about your background and what pivotal moments led you to your current position as an executive?
I got into home building earlier than planned after being injured getting ready for the 1996 Olympics as a rower. Quickly changing my timeline, I pivoted and started my career in home building selling condos on the beach in Santa Barbara while finishing my degree in Business Economics from UCSB.
I eventually moved back home to Sacramento and quickly grew into leadership roles with a series of public and private home builders. I was at the top of my game then the market meltdown of 2008 quickly brought me right back down to the bottom. In that year, with no prospects of a job anywhere on the horizon, I teamed up with a former competitor to start the first of the Next Companies, Next New Homes Group. We provided outsourced sales and marketing for small to medium sized builders.
It was the worst time possible to start a company in the home building space. However, there wasn’t any option to fail as the world was melting down around us. My wife and I had just adopted a little boy, and she was in the middle of a startup at the same time. So, we had to fight forward.
Next New Homes Group focused on providing a high level of sales service, and provided in-house marketing services. The marketing services were our hook to growth and were innovative at the time. We made that part of our inclusive pricing model. This allowed struggling builders who were clawing back from the brink to do the marketing they desperately needed but could not afford.
Over the years we’ve grown the base operation to include a home building division and a resale real estate division. We’re now the #1 Awarded new home brokerage in Northern California.
What were the early challenges you faced in your career, and how did they shape your approach to leadership?
My first major challenge came within months of being promoted to sales manager for a large public home builder. The person who recruited me and was my boss, decided to step down into a sales role for personal reasons. I had to figure out how to navigate managing my former boss and an entire sales team whom he recruited. Shortly after that time our Division President was terminated. That left our VP of Construction and me, a green Sales Manager, to run an entire division of a publicly traded company. We managed to pull it off for over a year and grew the division while doing it.
Trail by fire forces you to figure out who you are and how you are going to deal with life. There are really only 2 outcomes — failure or success. What I love about moments like this is you are going to fail along the way. Each of those failures teach you sometime. The act of getting back up humbles and strengthens you. Failure should be seen as a good thing, not a bad one. If you fear failure, you’re never going to try hard enough to create something great.
The market meltdown of 2008 was a moment of failure for so many people, myself included. Starting a company during this time really should have been a massive failure, but I didn’t have an option. No one wanted me during this time. I had to create my own future, because no one was going to do it for me. Through failure I had to find a way to get up. I had to lead by example to create my new future.
I jumped in to do the work needed to bring each project to life for our clients. That has carried forward to my current management style. No work is small enough for me to do. Our running theme around our companies is leadership’s role is to take the trash out. This theme is about making sure our frontline people don’t have obstacles in their way and are allowed to do the job they are hired to do to the best of their ability.
We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?
Lying on the soccer field after a career ending knee injury, I realized my path just changed. Up until that moment I was going to row in the ’96 games in Atlanta then the 2000 games in Sydney. After that I would get into home building. That split second moment altered my plan for the next 6 years.
I mourned the loss of what I thought my future was going to be for a couple of weeks. Then I set to work on what was next — my home building dream. I focused on graduating early and started networking to find a job with a home builder in a market where there was little building going on. I did that and started with a local home builder while I was still in school.
As I was starting on my new path, I was lucky enough to meet a woman who I never would have met had I still been focused my original path to the Olympics. That woman become my wife a few years later and we’ve now been married for 25 years.
That “mistake” of stepping on the soccer field for a light cardio workout after a race created an epic life that I could have never planned for nor dreamed of. I learned that pivoting from your original plan can often create even better opportunities. Being flexible and open to change allows things in to your life that you never would have seen before.
As an executive, how do you define success, both personally and for your organization?
Success for me is freedom of time. The time to do what you want when you want. Nearly 10 years ago I flatlined from a heart attack. Since then, my wife, son and I have made a deliberate effort to take a break from work to travel the world. Having that time and creating those experiences has meant more than any money I’ve made.
Reflecting on 2024, what was the most unexpected challenge you faced, and how did you navigate it?
The market did not come back the way we expected nor planned for. Interest rates went in the opposite direction, and yet homes still sold. We had to pull out old marketing strategies and create new ones to sell homes to a market that was fearful to make the wrong decision. Our efforts focused on education and guidance to alleviate or mitigate the consumers fear. We also created incentive strategies to help bridge the affordability gap for many people.
What was a significant risk you took this year, and how did it turn out?
My wife and I took a month off from our jobs to travel to the Maldives to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. We left our companies in the hands of staff and partners and shut off from the world. In fact, my out of office was very blunt and told people their email would be deleted. It gave them people to contact for needs that were urgent.
My team at the office knew the code word to put in an email title that would get through my inbox filter. I would check my inbox in the mornings for those messages, which there were very few over the month. I returned after a relaxing time to an inbox of about a dozen emails. Everything else was deleted. I got to spend a month of uninterrupted time with my wife and clear my mind. Most importantly I came back refreshed and focused on continuing our growth.
No one died while I was gone, nothing was dropped, the systems and delegation worked and my team was not burdened with extra work due to my absence. That was the first big step at setting my companies up for me to be replaceable.
How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?
At our core, our agents come first. If our agents are set up for success, then our clients are happy because the homes in their communities are selling at the pace and price needed. With an employee first focus we know our goals are aligned.
Have you ever faced a situation where your commitment to your purpose and creating a positive social impact clashed with the profitability in your business? Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?
We had a client who tried to change the terms of our contract halfway through a project. They then tried to poach an employee and then fired us. We had to hold the line and enforce the terms of our contract. It was a contentious negotiation, but we were able to come to a resolution without getting attorneys involved. It came down to holding the line to the terms agreed then showing flexibility to come to a resolution.
Could you list the top five things you’ve learned in 2024, with specific examples of how these lessons impacted your decisions or strategies? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . Agility and Adaptability Are Non-Negotiable. When the industry makes a major shift and people are scared, lean into the change and look for opportunity. As the real estate world reacted with the change brought about from the series of commission lawsuits, we leaned into the change. We started training our entire team on how to deal with the changes. We wanted our agents to be the leaders in helping clients, but also helping fellow agents who were not as educated about the new rules. It helped us stay positive when the industry around us was so negative.
2 . A Customer-Centric Business Model Drives Growth. We’ve been customer centric from the start. With our unique business model, we have 3 primary customers: the Buying and Selling Public, our Builder Clients and our Sales Agents. Our focus begins with our agents. We’ve learned if the agents are the focus of our company, then our other two customer groups are well taken care of. Our system is designed to touch our agents at least once a week, whether that’s a 1 on 1 meeting, team meeting or a simple check-in. Through this we can offer real time feedback, training and problem solving.
3 . Brand Authenticity and Storytelling Drive Market Success. It’s more critical now more than ever to truly connect with your customers, not just speak at them. We started a shift in how we market to customers in 2024 and will really be ramping that up in 2025. All our marketing efforts began with the customers first and how can we help them. We started including more behind the scenes looks into the office, our agents and our communities. Pulling back the curtain gave customers an insider look and deeper connection to our company. This was a limited roll out in 2024 and will be a major focus for 2025.
4 . Strategic Partnerships Unlock New Growth Opportunities. Being open to new ideas is how we’ve grown the companies. Over the years we’ve chased opportunities that didn’t work and many that have. Each effort made us a better company and forced us to evolve. I ran into an old friend on a flight in 2024. Through the conversation on that flight, we took on a major new project in a different state. This has been one of the most challenging projects we’ve been involved in. We’ve learned to manage multiple vendors and teammates in multiple time zones while keeping everyone focused on the singular goal of introducing a major development to the world on an island the doesn’t see a lot of new home development.
5 . Innovation + Execution = Long-Term Success. If your company is not making changes and improvements each month and each year you are going to cease to be relevant. We’ve never sat still to enjoy what little success we may achieve. We’re constantly coming up with new ideas and evaluating ways we can do it better. Get comfortable being uncomfortable and you’ll ensure you’re doing great things.
How have these top five lessons from 2024 changed your outlook or approach for 2025?
The market is always shifting, no matter what industry you’re in. Real estate is in the middle of a major shift right now. Many are fearful of this change and that’s where opportunity is created. We’re leaning into this change and creating marketing and systems to grow in this new environment. This change has created uncertainty and a loss of revenue for many brokerages that didn’t or were unwilling to adapt. Those brokerages are on our M&A radar this year and are a great opportunity for us to grow. It’s also an opportunity for a generation of owners to create an exit and for us to help their performing agents grow in this new environment.
In terms of innovation and adaptation, what’s one change you implemented in 2024 or plan to do in 2025 that you believe will be crucial for the future of your business?
Increased story telling and less selling is our focus for 2025. People don’t want to be sold, but they love a good story. Marketing needs to shift from selling to storytelling. We started that shift on a small scale in 2024 and plan to make that the basis of our marketing efforts in 2025.
As a leader, how do you foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your team or organization?
It starts with the example. If I’m seen constantly learning, trying new things, breaking old things, then it’s easier to inspire others to do the same. The next step is offering opportunities to learn. We have a robust training program through our partnership with ERA Real Estate and Anywhere. They have made some major evolutions just in the past month of how they deliver these learning opportunities. This updated delivery method was based on feedback from their users and better matches how people consume information today.
Looking at the broader industry landscape, what emerging trends do you think will be most influential in the coming year?
M&A is going to grow for residential brokerages this year. We thought 2024 would be the year, but there just wasn’t enough pain in the market. I think we’ll see the old guard starting to look for exits while the next round of innovators are looking to evolve and grow. We’re looking forward to being one of those growth companies.
The evolution of the Buyers Agent is going to continue to wipe out a large swath of agents across the country. This is a great opportunity for the industry. It’s going to get rid of the amateurs and the many part timers. The smart agents and brokerages are going to lean into the term “Real Estate Professional”. The real pros are going to shine in this market. We plan to be the magnet for these agents and help them grow and differentiate themselves from the historical perceptions of the industry.
If you and I were having a conversation one year from now, and we were looking back at the past 12 months, what specifically has to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
For me to be happy I’d like to see us improve our systems. I’ve been working on being replaceable in the company. Success in 2025 is making major improvements in our systems so that my business partners and I are less in the weeds and more in the clouds this year. That’s going to take discipline on our part and focus more on future planning. By getting into the clouds, we can create more blue-sky opportunities for us and everyone on our team.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
On Instagram with links to our other social media you can find us @nextnewhomes @nextrealestate @nextcrafted and you can find me and my travels on @lifesaboutexperiencesnotthings
To learn about our various companies people can go to next.cool
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
Christopher Brown of NEXT Real Estate: Lessons I Learned From Last Year To Take Our Organization to… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.