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September 18-19, 2025   |   San Diego, CA

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Excellence isn't a value. It's a business strategy.

Escape the Grind. Reset the Vision.

More revenue doesn't automatically mean more profit. Buffini Leadership Conference is two days for real estate leaders ready to build a business that grows and performs at a higher level.

October 14–15, 2026 | Dallas, TX

Register Now

This is THE event for leaders.

Become the leader your business deserves. See why (and how) Excellence Wins.

Leadership Conference | Buffini & Company
  • Practical leadership strategies that turn high standards into consistent execution
  • Real-world systems for scaling teams, culture, and accountability
  • Peer collaboration with high-performing leaders committed to excellence
  • Clarity on leadership structure, decision-making, and follow-through
  • Opportunity to bring/grow alongside a trusted peer or fellow leader

Get out of the weeds and get back to leadership

Growth changes the job. What worked when you were responsible for production won't work when you're responsible for a team, a culture, a customer experience, and a business that needs to scale. That's what these two days are built for.

Come to make decisions vs. taking notes.

This is THE event for leaders.

Leadership Conference | Buffini & Company
  • Build the business
    Get clear on where you’re going and what needs to change to get there. Taught by Brian Buffini, chairman and founder of Buffini, the largest real estate coaching company in North America. Brian has built and sustained a successful business through every market shift over the past 30 years, and he’ll show you exactly how he did it.
  • Raise the standard
    Build a business where excellence is expected, defined, and repeatable. Taught by Horst Schulze, Co-Founder of Ritz-Carlton. Horst spent five decades building a culture of service excellence from the ground up, and he’ll show you how to define your own standard specifically enough that anyone on your team can execute it the same way, every time.
  • Protect the profit
    Make sure increased production actually creates increased profit. Taught by Mike Michalowicz, Creator of Profit First, the system used by over a million companies worldwide to build permanent profitability. Mike will help you reframe profit as an obligation to your customers and team, not a reward left over at the end, and give you a system to protect it as you grow.
  • Clear the clutter
    Eliminate work that consumes time without creating meaningful results. Taught by Juliet Funt, Founder of an efficiency training firm and author of “A Minute to Think.” Juliet will share the Four Thieves of Time, the strengths that turn into liabilities when left unchecked, along with practical tools to protect your calendar and reclaim the space you need to think and lead well.
  • Turn ideas into action
    Turn good ideas into the decisions, systems, and behaviors that actually change your business. Taught by a powerhouse panel of Buffini Leadership Coaches and Clients, facilitated by author and podcast host Ethan Beute. Over the past two years, Ethan interviewed more than 150 top team leaders to study brokerage and team models past, present, and future. He’ll press the panel on team versus brokerage, indie versus franchise, and what actually drives agent productivity.
  • Develop your people
    Stop being the answer machine. Start being the coach. Taught by Valorie Burton, Master Coach. Valorie will show you the model that breaks the habit of giving answers and teaches you to ask the right question instead. You’ll leave with tools to navigate change with more confidence and build the kind of trust that makes a team perform at its best.

Spotlight On Our Speakers

Every speaker here built the standard before they started teaching it.

Brian Buffini | Founder & CEO, Buffini & Company
Brian Buffini

Trained more than 4 million real estate professionals in 47 countries, with clients who earn 10 times the national average.
Full bio

Horst Schulze | Co-Founder, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company | Global Authority on Service Excellence
Horst Schulze

Co-founded Ritz-Carlton and wrote the service standard the hospitality industry still runs on.
Full bio

Mike Michalowicz | Author and Entrepreneurial Advocate
Mike Michalowicz

Creator of Profit First, the accounting system over a million businesses use to make profit non-negotiable.
Full bio

Juliet Funt | Founder & CEO of Juliet Funt Group | Keynote Speaker & Leadership Advisor
Juliet Funt

Paid by Fortune 500 companies to find and remove the work that wastes time without producing results.
Full bio

Ethan Beute | Chief Ambassador, Buffini & Company
Ethan Beute

Interviewed more than 150 top real estate team leaders to study what actually drives performance.
Full bio

Valorie Burton | Founder & CEO, Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute
Valorie Burton

Master certified coach and USA Today bestselling author, shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Award.
Full bio

Horst Schulze | Co-Founder, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company | Global Authority on Service Excellence
Horst Schulze

Co-Founder, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company | Global Authority on Service Excellence

Mike Michalowicz | Author and Entrepreneurial Advocate
Mike Michalowicz

Author and Entrepreneurial Advocate

Mike Michalowicz | Author and Entrepreneurial Advocate
Mike Michalowicz

Author and Entrepreneurial Advocate

Reserve Your Seat

Event Agenda

Doors open at 8:30 a.m. | Sessions begin at 9 a.m. and conclude around 5 p.m. each day.

Day One: Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Sessions 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

9:00–10:30 a.m.

Session 1: The Excellent Business with Brian Buffini

Session 1 — “Lead, Grow, Win.” with Brian Buffini

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

10:30–11:00 a.m.

Break 1

11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Session 2: Excellence Wins with Horst Schulze

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

12:15–2:00 p.m.

Synergy Lunch

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

2:00–3:15 p.m.

Session 3: Excellence Produces Profits with Mike Michalowicz

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

3:15–3:45 p.m.

Break 2

3:45–5:00 p.m.

Session 4: Excellent Thinking with Juliet Funt

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

6:00–8:00 p.m.

Networking Mixer

5:00 - 6:30 pm

Day Two: Thursday, October 15, 2026

Sessions 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

9:00–10:15 a.m.

Session 5: Excellence in Action with Ethan Beute, featuring a panel of clients and coaches

Session 5 — “Breaking Through Leadership Barriers” with Craig Groeschel

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

10:15–10:45 a.m.

Break 1

10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Session 6: Winning Methodologies with Brian Buffini (selling coaching)

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

12:15–2:00 p.m.

Synergy Lunch

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

2:00–3:15 p.m.

Session 7: Lead Like a Coach with Valorie Burton

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

3:15–3:45 p.m.

Break 2

3:45–5:00 p.m.

Session 8: Coaching You Up with Brian Buffini

9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Event Details

Hyatt Regency Dallas

October 14-15, 2026


Day 1: Sessions 9:00 am–5:00 pm |
Evening Reception 6:30–8:30 pm

Day 2: Sessions 9:00 am–5:00 pm

Hyatt Regency Dallas

300 Reunion Blvd
Dallas, TX 75207

Buy tickets  |  View map  |  Book hotel  | Agenda

Buy tickets  |  View map  |  Book hotel

USD

United States Pricing
$ 1,495 General admission
  • Leadership Coaching Free*
  • One2One Coaching $995*
  • Buffini & Company Mentor $995
  • Referral Maker PRO & CORE $1,195
  • All others $1,495
Reserve Your Seat
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CAD

Canadian Pricing
$ 1,999 General admission
  • Leadership Coaching Free*
  • One2One Coaching $1,349*
  • Buffini & Company Mentor $1,349
  • Referral Maker PRO & CORE $1,599
  • All others $1,999
Reserve Your Seat
This is text element

Coaching Members – Your guests can join you for just $995 ($1,349 CAD) by calling Buffini & Company at (800) 945-3485 x2 to register.

Notice: Cancellations for paid tickets to Leadership Conference within 60 days of the event will be subject to a $250 cancellation fee. Registration is not transferable.

Notice: Cancellations for paid tickets to Leadership Conference within 60 days of the event will be subject to a $250 cancellation fee. Registration is not transferable.

Hear from attendees

Brian Buffini

Chairman and founder of Buffini | NYT Bestselling Author | Global Voice on Business & Success

Brian Buffini is chairman and founder of Buffini, the largest real estate coaching company in North America. He emigrated from Ireland and built his real estate business 100% by referral, becoming one of the top-producing agents in the country before creating Work by Referral, the system behind the company today. He has since trained more than 4 million professionals in 47 countries, and Buffini-coached clients earn 10 times the national average.

Brian is also a storyteller and speaker. On The Brian Buffini Show, he has interviewed guests ranging from astronauts to Oscar winners, bringing that same mix of wit, wisdom, and real-world strategy to every stage he’s on.

Brian is a New York Times bestselling author and an inductee into the Real Estate Hall of Fame. He is a champion of the entrepreneurial spirit who helps people build lives of meaning, freedom, and abundance. He doesn’t just teach success. He lives it, and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

Connect: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 

Brian Buffini is the founder and chairman of Buffini & Company, the largest training and coaching company in North America. Based in Carlsbad, California, Buffini & Company has trained more than 3 million business professionals in 41 countries and has coached more than 25,000 business people.

Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Brian emigrated to San Diego in 1986, where he became the classic American rags-to-riches story. After becoming one of the nation’s top performing REALTORS®, he founded Buffini & Company — an organization that provides a unique and highly-effective lead generation system. In addition, Brian’s podcast, The Brian Buffini Show, has more than 12 million listeners in 178 countries. In 2017, he became a New York Times, Amazon and Wall Street Journal best-selling author with his latest book, “The Emigrant Edge.”

Today, Brian travels the world sharing a message of encouragement about how to “live the good life.” He has been inducted into the RISMedia Real Estate Newsmakers Hall of Fame and has been recognized in the Swanepoel Power 200. Brian and his bride, Beverly — co-founder of Buffini & Company — have six children and reside in Southern California.

Horst Schulze

Co-founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company

Horst Schulze co-founded Ritz-Carlton and wrote the operating standard the hospitality industry still runs on.

Schulze’s career began more than 65 years ago as a server’s assistant in a German resort town. He worked for both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in 1983, where he created the operating and service standards that became the industry benchmark.

As president and COO, Schulze ran $2 billion in operations worldwide. Under his leadership, Ritz-Carlton won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award twice, the only hotel company ever to win even one.

In 1991, HOTELS magazine named Schulze “corporate hotelier of the world.” In 1995, he received the Ishikawa Medal for his contributions to the quality movement. In 1999, Johnson & Wales University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree in hospitality management.

Schulze has since been named a “Leader in Luxury” by Travel Agent magazine and its sister publication, Luxury Travel Advisor.

After leaving Ritz-Carlton, Schulze founded The Capella Hotel Group, where he managed some of the world’s most exclusive properties and continued to define the luxury hotel industry. Today, he serves on several boards, consults across industries, and recently completed a new book on building a culture of excellence.

Mike Michalowicz

Creator of Profit First

Mike Michalowicz is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and business transformation expert who founded and sold multi-million-dollar companies and is best known for helping struggling businesses become profitable and sustainable. He created Profit First, the accounting system over a million businesses use to make profit non-negotiable. He flips the standard formula: instead of Sales minus Expenses equals Profit, Profit First takes profit off the top first and makes expenses fit what’s left.

Mike is also founder of The Prosper Group, host of The 4 Minute Money Makeover, a former Wall Street Journal columnist and MSNBC business expert, and the author of several bestselling business books.

Juliet Funt

Founder of Juliet Funt Group

Juliet Funt is a keynote speaker and trusted advisor to the Fortune 500. As founder and CEO of Juliet Funt Group, she built her career on a simple discovery: busyness and productivity aren’t the same thing. Fortune 500 companies pay her to find and remove the work that consumes time without creating results, and her insight has been featured in Forbes and Fast Company.

Ethan Beute

Chief Ambassador at Buffini

Ethan Beute is chief ambassador at Buffini, where he amplifies the voices, successes, and insights of the community’s clients and coaches through podcasts, presentations, and digital content. He is a Wall Street Journal bestselling co-author of Human-Centered Communication and Rehumanize Your Business, and has spent more than a dozen years helping real estate professionals scale their businesses through authentic connection. Ahead of this event, Ethan interviewed more than 150 top team leaders to study brokerage and team models past, present, and future, research he’ll bring directly to the stage.

Before joining Buffini, Ethan was principal brand marketing strategist at Zillow Group, following tenures as chief evangelist for both Follow Up Boss and BombBomb. He has hosted nearly 500 podcast episodes across shows including Real Estate Team OS and The Customer Experience Podcast, and has delivered numerous national presentations, including featured TEDx talks. Ethan holds an MBA in marketing and brings his background in communication, media, and technology to his work championing client advocacy across the industry.

Valorie Burton

Founder & CEO, Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute

Valorie Burton is founder and CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute, a master certified coach (MCC), and a USA Today bestselling author who was shortlisted for the 2025 Thinkers50 Award. She holds a master’s in applied positive psychology and helps individuals and organizations build resilience and happiness through research-based strategies. A regular guest on the Today Show, Valorie has worked with organizations including Google, Apple, NASA, Bank of America, and the U.S. military, and has trained coaches worldwide through the CaPP Institute