In the “Hamptons of the South,” few stories start with Google Sheets and end with a $2 billion operation. But that’s exactly the path Jonathan Spears and Maria Coukoulis took. When they sat down with Luxury Presence’s director of content, Chris Linsell, for a conversation titled “The Billion-Dollar Routine,” what unfolded was a candid look behind the polished listings and branded signs. From humble systems to deeply personal service touches, they unpacked what it takes to build something enduring, profitable, and replicable. Their insights form an actionable blueprint for professionals ready to elevate. Here are nine unexpected takeaways that reveal what really powers one of America’s top-performing real estate teams.
Find It Fast
Turning repetition into a differentiator
Most professionals treat repetition as a rut; Spears treats it as a compass. “Our number one core value is to be excellent,” Spears said. “And that really just means doing the right things over and over and over.” Rather than chasing constant novelty, he learned to encode aspirations into time blocks. “I had to build my dreams into my calendar,” he said, tracing the roots of his growth to a routine-centered mindset. That realization turned his ambition into daily execution. He added, “If I didn’t build my dreams into my calendar, they probably weren’t going to get done.”
Scaling with structure
When Coukoulis joined Spears Group full-time in 2022, she found a team thriving on talent, not yet on process. “This young guy has had all of this success, but how do we make that success fall outside of just him?” she asked. Her response was simple, but foundational: Document what matters, operationalize it, and let the team plug in. From Google Docs and Sheets, she began building a roadmap that new agents could follow on day one. “We’ve literally brought people into our organization that had no experience and truly became millionaires from just following the process he taught,” she explained.
High performance without the micromanagement
Spears is the antithesis of the classic image of the overbearing founder. “My personality is not to micromanage at all,” he said. Instead, his systems do the management. By engineering repeatable tools that guide behavior, the group empowers agents without hovering. That same philosophy applies to agent accountability. As Coukoulis put it, “You cannot be the one that everybody comes to with questions because you’ll burn out.”
So she built decentralization into every tool, from shared documents to structured CRM tags. And for those wondering how to encourage compliance, she offered a refreshingly direct solution: “In order to get paid, you have to fill out the stuff you need.”
Just as critically, Spears and Coukoulis designed the operation with complementary strengths in mind. “You don’t need a hundred versions of yourself in your business,” Spears said. “You need someone who sees adversity in a different way.” Bringing on Coukoulis — a systems thinker with a PR background — allowed Spears to focus on relationships while she professionalized operations. The takeaway? Build a business that doesn’t depend on your presence, and hire people who see what you can’t.
Sophistication doesn’t require fancy software
The Spears Group resisted the temptation to start with expensive enterprise tech stacks. Instead, they began with shared files and lean operations. “Absolutely not,” Coukoulis said when asked whether agents need costly systems. Instead, she recommends starting with critical tools like a CRM and layering in Slack for internal conversations. What matters, she emphasized, is not the software, but the workflow. “You’re investing in a place to put the process, not in a name brand,” Linsell echoed. The approach underscores a broader principle: Clarity, not complexity, scales a business.
Mining data for clear direction
One of Coukoulis’ most pointed anecdotes involved a professional panel where an agent didn’t know how much of their business came from social media. Her reaction: “What? You could be spending thousands and thousands of dollars on social media, and you have no idea if that’s giving you a return on your investment.” For Spears Group, attribution drives decision-making.
They monitor source data, follow response rates, and constantly recalibrate. “At a moment’s notice, you could know: I have converted 10 leads this year and I’ve made $50,000 off it,” Coukoulis explained. That rigor allows them to prioritize what works and cut what doesn’t.
Branding is more than marketing
By reimagining Florida’s 30A as “the Hamptons of the South,” the team transformed itself into the local authority. They thought: “Let’s brand this area as it’s exploding.” The strategy attracted organic leads and built trust at scale. “Because we made ourselves the authority on 30A and branded it, we were able to generate so many [leads] that then turned to business.”
That authority stems from intimate knowledge. Spears explained, “Being the mayor of your market is about picking a specific geography and just obsessing over it.”
Treat every lead like a $6.7M opportunity
Where others see internet leads as low-probability noise, Spears Group sees high-value potential. “From the very top, our internet leads through Luxury Presence have been incredible,” Coukoulis said. “And that is all through just our own marketing efforts of driving people to our website.” Every inquiry triggers a consistent, high-discipline routine: Leads are assigned, called within three minutes, logged in the CRM, and tagged for leadership visibility. This structure turns speed into substance. “We just closed on a $2.5 million listing; the lead came in about four months ago,” Coukoulis added. Spears reinforced the point with another win: “Jonathan just ended a huge $6.7 million beachfront from an internet lead.” It’s a simple equation: Predictable workflows turn chance into closings.
A philosophy rooted in service
Though the team automates plenty, the ethos remains unmistakably personal. Spears described sending a condolence gift to a grieving client, and how she left a voicemail in tears: “It doesn’t seem like we have the time to make everybody in the room feel like they’re the only person in the room, but that is my number one goal when I wake up.”
That humanity is what their systems protect. “You can build processes to make people feel special,” said Coukoulis. And they do. From follow-up checklists to listing presentations, the Spears Group designs its workflow to amplify empathy, not suppress it.
Make the leap from hobbyist to professional
Spears posed a pivotal question: “Am I waking up and operating as a hobbyist or a professional?” That distinction, he argued, defines everything else. Professionals use templates, hire support, track what matters, and they invest in their business like it has a future.
For those starting solo, the advice is clear: Begin documenting now. “If you aren’t tracking all of your business in a centralized spot and you go to pass your business off one day, you don’t have a business to pass off,” Coukoulis cautioned.
How Luxury Presence builds systems
Luxury Presence has long stood for the shift from reactive to proactive, from individual hustle to institutional capability. Whether you’re an independent agent or a growing team, our tools are designed to remove friction, expand reach, and help you focus on what matters: Relationships, reputation, and results.
Ready to systemize your brand and turn your next chapter into a long-term legacy? Reach out to Luxury Presence and let us show you how to build the kind of business that scales without compromise.
Get the platform that drives results.
Agents using Luxury Presence grew sales nearly 2x faster than their peers, increased sold listings by 6%, and closed over $300B in transactions. Ready to grow your business? Let us show you how.
