Q&A with Sandra Pike, The Pike Group

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From an accidental entry into real estate to building one of Nova Scotia’s most system-driven businesses, Sandra Pike has spent more than a decade refining a model rooted in discipline, organic marketing and long-term thinking. After entering the industry in 2010 with no local network and a background outside real estate, Pike focused on listings, education-based marketing and operational stability.

Today, Pike leads a tightly structured team serving Halifax and surrounding markets, combining high-touch client service with data-driven decision-making and a strong emphasis on compliance, consistency and sustainable growth.

Brokerage: The Pike Team, Royal LePage
Team members: Four full-time (plus one additional agent under review)
Markets: Halifax, Nova Scotia, and surrounding areas; expanding into Chester, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg

2025 production: 101 ends (57 sellers, 44 buyers)
2024 production: 83 ends (46 sellers, 37 buyers)


REM: When did you first get into real estate?

SP: I got into real estate in 2010 — almost by accident. At the time, I was selling advertising to real estate agents with the Daily News. One day, I was sitting with an agent who kept talking about how busy she was and how crazy the market was, and without really thinking it through, I said, “You know what? I’ll take the course and get into real estate.”

In hindsight, it was a bold move — especially since I wasn’t from Halifax. I’m originally from Newfoundland, lived in Ottawa for about 20 years, and had only moved to Halifax a year or two earlier. I didn’t know anyone here except real estate agents. I was working in a completely different career, took the course from home, didn’t really know what I was getting into — and here we are now in 2026.

REM: When did you decide to build a team?

SP: That shift happened in 2014, when my role started changing. I became more of a listing agent and less of a buyer agent, and that year was terrifying. Four years into the business, I realized I couldn’t do everything myself anymore.

I hired my first administrator and then brought on my first buyer agent around June. That year, we did 73 ends, and it was chaos. The brokerage I was with wasn’t set up for teams. On our very first deal, the splits were taken incorrectly — and that was my sign.

I decided to move to Royal LePage. When my broker found out I was leaving, my licence was cancelled, with 53 active listings sitting in limbo. I couldn’t contact my clients. It was a complete fiasco. Thankfully, I had an incredible administrator and teammate who held everything together during the transition in October 2014. That experience shaped how I build systems and teams to this day.

REM: What role do you play today?

SP: I still work in my business every single day. I’m predominantly a listing agent and personally sell between 40 and 50 homes a year. On the buying side, I only take two or three buyers at the beginning of the year and pass the rest to my team, who complete roughly 37 to 45 purchases annually from people who contact me directly.

At this stage, doing 70 deals myself isn’t worth it. I’m intentional about work–life balance, so I focus on listings, strategy and lead generation. I blog almost every morning, maintain the website, oversee lead flow, and run a lead-generation system that feeds directly to my team. I’m still an active agent — I just don’t believe in doing everything alone.

REM: How is your team structured?

SP: We have a full-time licensed assistant with 30 years of experience who is the backbone of the team — calm, steady and drama-free. We also have a virtual marketing assistant based in Toronto, whom I’ve worked with for three years.

There’s one full-time agent I trust completely and rely on for listings when I’m away, a buyer specialist who works primarily with relocation clients, and an agent who is a builder’s daughter and is being groomed to eventually take over that account. Plus myself — four full-time team members — and one additional agent currently being assessed for fit.

REM: What were the first three hires that changed your business?

SP: My first administrator, a buyer agent, and a seasoned licensed assistant who brought structure and stability.

REM: What advice would you give to a team leader making their first hire?

SP: Hire an admin first — always. Work out systems and processes before bringing on agents. Once your admin understands how you operate, onboarding becomes simple.

I made mistakes early by hiring without intention. Now, anyone joining the team goes through a six-month probation period before being formally added to the team and website.

REM: What are your three main lead sources today?

SP: Past clients and sphere, agent referrals and organic search and AI discovery.

REM: How do you think about marketing spend?

SP: My annual overhead is roughly $230,000, covering staff, systems and marketing. I focus heavily on organic marketing — weekly market blogs, monthly newsletters to more than 3,000 people, and hundreds of pre-written blog drafts annually.

Paid advertising is selective and strategic, with a strong focus on education rather than branding.

REM: If you had to cut one channel tomorrow, what would hurt the most?

SP: Organic marketing. Blogging, SEO and GEO are how trust is built and how people find me long before they ever call.

REM: How are new leads handled?

SP: Leads are assigned round-robin through our website, placed on drip campaigns, sent customized property websites for listing inquiries, and added to our newsletter. We don’t use an ISA. Online lead conversion is three to five per cent. In our markets, there’s no reason agents can’t do their own follow-up.

REM: What CRM systems do you use?

SP: I use Streak as my sales pipeline because it integrates directly into Google. It allows me to track sellers from first meeting through closing — even people I met years ago who haven’t listed yet.

For staying in touch, we use monthly newsletters, birthday and home anniversary cards, flowers for key anniversaries, and annual calendars — staying top of mind without being annoying.

REM: How do you think about money and ROI?

SP: Marketing runs about 20 to 30 per cent of revenue. I’ve invested in coaching and systems continuously since 2014. Cost per listing is roughly $2,500 under $700,000 and about $3,100 over $700,000.

REM: What behaviours do you reward?

SP: Positivity and genuine effort. One of my proudest examples is a young agent on our team — a builder’s daughter — who took feedback, went back for training, and came back committed to learning. Effort matters. Intent matters. If someone is genuinely trying, I’ll go to bat for them.

REM: What gets someone benched?

SP: Lip service. I don’t tolerate dishonesty or empty words. Action, integrity and follow-through matter. Once trust is broken, it’s very difficult to rebuild.

REM: What had to be adapted when entering new markets?

SP: I built my business in Nova Scotia without knowing anyone. More recently, adapting to post-COVID market psychology has been critical. Inventory remains low, but buyer mentality has changed. Educating sellers using real data — especially original list prices versus final prices — is now essential.

REM: What rules are non-negotiable when opening in a new city?

SP: Network relentlessly. Join professional groups, host open houses, and if needed, join a team first to understand how that market works before branching out.

REM: ISA or transaction coordinator — what comes next?

SP: Neither — not until systems are working. Start with one admin, then one agent. Scale slowly. ISAs are unnecessary in this market.

REM: Minimum follow-up cadence for leads?

SP: Rotate touchpoints — text, call, email, video. Hot leads get contacted every few days. Longer-term leads receive two to three touches per month. If you’re not following up, another agent will.

Lightning round