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Name: Philip Gutman
Title: President of PGutman
Experience: 20-plus years
Location: Miami Beach, Florida
Brokerage full name: PGutman LLC
Philip Gutman is the President of PGutman LLC and Managing Director at The Continuum Company’s La Baia Bay Harbor. Gutman’s role is dedicated to business development and overseeing operations on the ground in Miami, Florida.
Prior to his current role at The Continuum Company, Philip was President of Brown Harris Stevens, Miami where he oversaw a sales team of approximately 200 multilingual, award-winning Realtors. Before joining Brown Harris Stevens, Philip was Vice President of Sales at Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, where he spearheaded the sales strategies for some of the brokerage’s high-profile Florida projects, amassing a portfolio of more than $3 billion dollars in real estate.
How did you get your start in real estate?
I started in the mortgage industry. I found that spending most of my time in front of a computer was not something I truly enjoyed doing. I preferred face-to-face interactions with clients, sitting with them and understanding them, in order to find the right fit for them based on their housing criteria. It was soon after that that I got my real estate license and made the switch from mortgage.
What do you wish more people knew about working in real estate?
In real estate, you need to put in 100 percent of your effort. It is not a part-time job, and even with an exuberance of effort, there is still a learning curve that needs to be anticipated.
People also need to be aware that this is not a profession in which you get rich quick; that comes with time and effort as well. As independent contractors, we do not get a weekly paycheck.
Tell us about a high point in your brokerage career. How did you get there?
I have had two stand-out high points in my brokerage career. The first high point is coming from very little, to being appointed the President of Brown Harris Stevens, a reputable firm in Miami.
The second high point is being able to bring the La Baia land site to Ian Bruce Eichner. He believed in my vision and purchased all of the lots. Now, I am handling the sales and I get to watch what I always knew to be a good project come to life. I get more of a thrill from this than simply selling homes.
What’s your top tip for freshly licensed brokers?
My best advice for freshly licensed brokers is to shadow a top producer and align yourself with a team and a company that can provide you with the proper training. School can only teach so much, and the hands-on training will help you excel in becoming a successful agent in real estate.
What makes a good leader?
This may be redundant, but a good leader is someone who does not tell people what they want to hear, but the truth and facts. You have to be honest and transparent, and let people make their decisions based on that. I frequently hear from real estate developers who are tired of brokers telling them what they think they want to hear.
