Todd and Danielle Brown have perfected the art of leaning into their individual strengths so that each complements the other as part of the successful Todd Brown Group in Morgan Hill, CA.
Todd’s gregarious, friendly manner has made him a natural at interacting with clients. Danielle’s analytical, practical side keeps the backend flowing smoothly.
That combination has helped them stay on top of the rankings in their area and, even more importantly, given them a comfortable life where they can provide opportunities for their two sons.
A New Season
The two actually first started working together in a ministry. Although the work was rewarding, it was difficult, Todd noted. After 16 years, the couple were ready, Todd said, for a “new season.”
His personal family background also weighed in on the decision to leave his position with the church, he said.
“I grew up pretty poor,” he explained.
His family was loving, he added, but a lack of stability meant they moved “at least 17” times.
That background was integral, he noted, to his desire to ensure his children grew up with home and financial stability.
During his tenure with his church, he had also been doing some part-time work in real estate on the side which he enjoyed. He decided to try pursuing that full-time while Danielle transitioned to a job in accounting, then teaching.
Finding Buffini & Company
Todd was initially introduced to Buffini & Company through Brian Buffini’s podcasts. He actually didn’t know Brian had a coaching company at first, he admitted. But Brian’s inspirational words deeply resonated with him. When he looked further into Brian’s background and learned about the work by referral method, Todd was intrigued. He started implementing the core system of calls, notes, and Pop-Bys.
Doing those activities then led him to the decision to join coaching.
“My personality is to just jump right in!” he laughed. “So I was like, I want all of it. I need all of it!”
The couple initially decided they would try coaching for six months and see how it went.
“I think sometimes people push out too far,” Todd said. “But there’s a lot of time you could waste. I said, ‘I’ve got to work.'”
Danielle, who describes herself as more conservative financially, added it was definitely “a leap of faith” to join coaching.
But, as she said, it made more sense to invest in themselves and build on the relationships they had instead of mindlessly sending out flyers each month.
The Value of Coaching
Prior to joining Buffini, Todd had been successful, but his business was “up and down.”
Working with a coach gave him a plan to follow, systems to implement, and accountability.
It didn’t take long to see the benefits.
“We definitely saw our sales volume and the number of transactions increase even in our first year of coaching,” Todd said.
Danielle, who joined her husband’s office as his operations manager, was pleased with how coaching helped him become more organized.
“He had a plan to follow and someone who was going to hold him accountable,” she said.
That accountability of answering to a coach was critical to his success, Todd added. That was particularly evident when he decided to pause his coaching membership for a bit.
Although he was still successful, he could find himself not quite sticking to the systems that had helped him achieve his prior results.
“I missed the phone calls and the accountability,” he said. “I noticed I wasn’t inputting the data into my system as I used to, so it wasn’t in front of me every day.”
“The accountability was what I missed the most and looked forward to having.”
The experiment over, he was soon back into coaching.
Family First
For Todd and Danielle, their business has always served a larger purpose.
They are able to pay for their sons’ educations and help establish them both for a strong future. Terrell is studying to be a doctor of physical therapy while Derk is pursuing his dream to become a pilot.
“I always wanted the boys to be able to go as far as they wanted in college, to be able to do whatever they dreamed about,” Todd said. “I love the freedom that our business has given us to let our sons do the things they want to do and pursue their education without debt.”
“For me, the good life is we bet on ourselves and believe in ourselves. It means dream it, go get it, go after it and accomplish it. I feel so lucky that we get to do what we do and that our family is able to do what they want to do.”
“I don’t think it gets any better than that.”
