Ken Covers: Building a Luxury Business and His Breakout Year at 24 Years In
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Ken Covers of Engel & Volkers didn't set out to become one of Atlanta's most respected luxury real estate agents. In fact, real estate wasn't even his first career, or something he particularly wanted to do. On this episode of The Justin Landis Show, Ken joins Justin to share the full story behind becoming Morningside's go-to luxury expert.
From Retirement at 40 to Real Estate School
Ken retired at 40 after a successful first career, moved to Atlanta, and quickly found himself bored and dealing with depression. His own realtor suggested he go to real estate school, an idea he initially turned down flat. Three weeks later, he drove himself to class anyway. The real challenge, he says, started after he got his license, realizing that in a city where seemingly every third person has one, standing out meant actually getting good at the craft, not just having the credential.
The First Three Years: Finding His Voice
Ken describes his first three years in real estate as a period of working on a team without quite finding his own voice, doing open houses most weekends but coming on too strong, the common trap of a brand new agent trying too hard not to look new. The turning point came when he met Scott Askew, who led the luxury home division at a boutique firm. Ken left his previous brokerage to work under Askew's direction, and credits that mentorship with shaping him into the agent he is today.
What Made the Mentorship Work
Ken is candid that wanting it badly enough mattered as much as any specific guidance. He credits his upbringing, one of five brothers in a family where discipline wasn't optional, with giving him the scrappiness to compete. He also realized early that his actual skill wasn't spelling or paperwork, it was helping people visualize how they could live in a space, and advising sellers on small changes that paid real dividends. Trust, he says, was the single biggest lesson from his mentor: without it, nothing else in the business works.
The Fundamentals: Be Early, Dress the Part, Be Prepared
Ken's advice for newer agents centers on real estate being a service business first. Be early, not just on time, since realtors have a reputation for running late. For one showing of a large Morningside home, Ken explained he checks in hours ahead of a showing just to handle the practical reality of a home with working homeowners, kids, pets, gardeners, and dozens of lights to turn on. He also talks openly about appearance and preparation: a clean car, a sharp outfit kept ready for the next appointment, because a seller is often judging an agent on very limited information.
Building a Reputation as the Morningside Expert
Rather than working all over the city, Ken deliberately built his business around one neighborhood. After seeing a business model work in a neighboring Atlanta community, he brought that same focus to Morningside and stuck with it, getting involved with neighborhood organizations, picking up litter on his own street, and hosting an annual Halloween candy chute event from his roof that's become one of his best marketing tools of the year. The common thread: consistent presence and genuine investment in the community, not just transactions.
Trusting Your Instincts About Who You Work With
One piece of advice Ken shares candidly: not every client is the right fit, and that's okay. He treats listing appointments as a two-way interview, since the relationship with a seller can be an intimate one. He's learned, often the hard way, that overriding his own instincts about a potential client rarely works out well.
A Breakout Year, 24 Years In
Ken has lived in Morningside for 24 years and is candid that this year is his best yet, a genuine breakout year after decades in the business. He attributes it to a combination of preparation, patience, and simply being given the opportunity: one big listing led to another, and then another. His advice for agents still waiting for their own breakout moment is simple: do something different, stir it up, whether that's a small adjustment or a big one, and face your fears.
Facing Fear: The Surprising Truth About Ken
Despite his polished, confident presence today, Ken describes himself as one of the shyest people on the planet, someone who had to actively work to become comfortable in his own skin and find his voice. He calls himself a late bloomer who spent much of his early life watching rather than participating, which makes his current success feel even more earned.
What It Really Takes to Work in Luxury Real Estate
For agents aspiring to break into luxury real estate, Ken's advice starts with being realistic about motivation. Bigger homes and bigger checks come with significantly more behind-the-scenes work: coordinating a team to keep the landscaping, exterior, and every detail of a home in top shape. One detail he insists on: never using a lockbox on a luxury listing, since being present to greet buyers, answer questions, and give real-time feedback is part of the value he provides.
The Leaf Blower and the Eight-Minute Window
Ken shares some of his more memorable, practical habits, including always keeping a leaf blower in his car to clear a front walkway before a showing, and watering a seller's flowers every three days for eight months to keep a listing looking fresh. He ties this back to research on first impressions: studies show people form lasting impressions of a college lecture within the first seven minutes, or a TED Talk within fifteen seconds. Buying a home works the same way. The first few minutes of a showing shape everything that follows, so Ken treats those minutes as something to actively design, not leave to chance.
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Justin Landis is the founder of Justin Landis Group and Bolst, two of Atlanta's leading real estate companies. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and three daughters and has been selling Atlanta real estate since 2008.
