FEATURE STORY

When it comes to Las Vegas Real Estate, Sandi Herrera has proven herself to be a major force in the arenas of business development and sustainability. As Corporate Broker for Viridian Group, LLC, Sandi manages the day-to-day operations and progressive planning within the company. She has risen to the top by combining her visionary planning skills with an unswayable tenacity in order to create an atmosphere of prosperity for her office and her agents.

Sandi began speaking the language of Real Estate as soon as she learned to talk. In her childhood she performed clerical work and other tasks for her mother’s successful Real Estate business. From an early age, Sandi understood how integrity and maintaining strong personal and business relationships can contribute to the success of any business.

In addition to learning the inner workings of her mother’s Real Estate business, Sandi also drew strength from her father. He faithfully served the Los Angeles County Fire Department, where he would eventually retire as Chief Deputy. She says of her father, “He was always there, no matter what.”

After graduating high school as class president, Sandi continued her education by earning a Bachelor of Science degree in both Management and Marketing from California Lutheran University. Upon earning her degree, Sandi began her professional career as an Executive Technical Recruiter at a renowned national staffing company. She quickly rose to a management position and began selling the staffing services to technology companies. To no one’s surprise, she took her place among the company’s top sales producers in Southern California.

The sales philosophy she developed as a recruiter guides her to this day. She says, “Regardless of the business you’re in, it all goes back to the honesty and integrity of the relationship.”

In 1998 Sandi moved to Las Vegas and took a leadership role in developing and operating two technical recruiting firms. Then when the tech industry experienced the post-Y2K slump, Sandi transitioned into the Real Estate industry via Realty Executives of Nevada. Her professionalism and sales expertise kept her consistently exceeding sales goals and achieving sales awards.

In 2006 Sandi found her most fitting position working for Viridian Group. Upon joining the company, Sandi immediately took the reins of the Residential Division, as well as assisting in the further development of Viridian Group including the expansion of the Commercial Division, and the Vertical Sales Division which sells Sullivan Square exclusively. Sullivan Square offers high-rise condominiums, brownstones, live/work units, lofts, terraces, and a vendor-filled market street. With a vision of cohesively living well with environmental consciousness, Sullivan Square has proven to be a popular and ground-breaking part of the Las Vegas valley.

In keeping with the environmental philosophies of Viridian Group, Sandi implemented a paperless transaction and filing system throughout the company. For any paper-based Real Estate transaction there may be a file folder two or three inches thick. So for every 100 transactions, Sandi’s paperless system saves a stack of paper about 20 feet high.

Not only does the paperless system reduce consumption, but it also makes files easy to access and to share. No more rummaging through heavy filing cabinets; every document is now available in a centralized database.

After bringing Viridian Residential online and implementing the paperless transaction and filing system, Sandi continued bringing Viridian Group to a new level by expanding its departments. She is now targeting two additional divisions launching in 2008: Viridian International, and Viridian Property Management. Through these new divisions, Sandi will increase the potential of all Viridian Group divisions and drive sales as a combined force. Under Sandi’s leadership, the company’s growth has been stellar, particularly in the recent challenging times of the Real Estate cycle. This is due to Sandi’s awareness of methods that will help to take advantage of the high points in the market cycle, while creatively developing sustainable sales numbers during industry adjustments.

In order to create success among her agents despite the market’s fluctuations, Sandi has incorporated the skills she developed during her extensive corporate experience. Her talent for team building has generated a cohesive family of agents that support one another in finding opportunities. The result is a tenacity that drives sales skyward during all phases of the market cycle.

Sandi understands that before she can mold a team into a productive sales force, she must first hire the best available agents. She handpicks only the top professionals to serve in Viridian Group.

The first litmus test for hiring is the ethics of the applicant. Although she values individualism in terms of personality and style, she requires that everyone have the same basis for honesty and fairness.

In addition to ethics, Sandi looks for experienced, creative salespeople with the persistence and positive attitude to stay in the game during fluctuating cycles. She also looks for self-starters who have the integrity to follow through on commitments in a timely manner.

Ethics, integrity, and experience are optimal traits for employees of any company. The true personality of Viridian Group, in addition to the above virtues, is that every employee shares a sense of environmental responsibility. Sandi explains, “Everyone we hire has [the belief that] we can make a difference, one piece of paper or one plastic bottle at a time. Our company can make a difference.”

Setting high standards for entry into a company can limit the number of qualified applicants. In order to maintain the unparalleled quality of people in her office, Sandi’s goal is to keep each division relatively small, with no more than 15 agents, all of whom are full time. She says that a small community of agents can maintain a supportive, family-like atmosphere while allowing each agent to meet his or her production goals.

By maintaining a tight-knit office crew, Sandi is able to cultivate what she calls “the art of the relationship.” She strengthens the Viridian Group community by planning group outings, implementing rewards systems, and conducting luncheons to honor her excelling agents and to create a forum for group coaching.

Sandi’s commitment to helping her agents is part of her overarching philosophy, which stresses the importance of giving. Under Sandi’s leadership, Viridian Group donates its time and resources to a different charity every quarter. Planned beneficiaries for 2008 include Habitat for Humanity and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Sandi’s passion to improve her community has expanded her involvement to other organizations. She is co-founding the Las Vegas International Alliance in order to help socially conscious Real Estate professionals operate on an international playing field. By growing the Alliance, Sandi is helping Las Vegas professionals to draw international capital into the city. She is also highly involved as developer liaison for Las Vegas High-rise & Condominium Association (LVHCA). By uniting developers with LVHCA, Sandi provides a unified voice for developers as they relay market conditions and events to the media.

Sandi Herrera is an up-and-coming power hitter in Las Vegas Real Estate. Her skill set is strong and varied. Not only is she a mom to 6-year-old son Hunter, she has been a top-producing salesperson, and she continually goes the extra mile in team building, corporate expansion, promoting LEED-certified projects, and the implementation of environmentally sustainable policies and practices. As she takes Viridian Group to new heights, Sandi continues proving herself to be a key player in the Real Estate community.

Sandi can be reached at s.herrera@viridiangroup.com, or visit the Web site at www.viridiangroup.com.

Photography: Britt Pierson