Many agents forget that real estate is a people-based business and that the relationship comes before the transaction, not the other way around. How can we make lead generation less stressful? How can send-out cards help us touch the lives of our prospects or database? And why should we look into building several streams of passive income? In this episode, Gayle Zientek talks about how she uses send-out cards to sell more homes and which 4 streams of passive income she’s currently using.
If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. -Gayle Zientek
Three Things We Learned
How to make lead generation more fun
Lead generation can be quite stressful, but building relationships and making somebody’s day brighter isn’t. Send-out cards are a great way to make lead generation more fun because you aren’t asking something from people, you’re just giving.
The card should be about them, not you
When you send a card, make sure you don’t make it about you and your business. Use the card to tell a story and tap into people’s emotions. You can put your name and contact information on the back of the card, but don’t transform the card into a real estate brochure.
Invest in a passive income strategy
Agents are always as good as the last transaction they had. As a result, their income isn’t predictable. The best way to make your income more predictable is to invest in passive income strategies. This could involve teaching a course, EXP shares, and retreats.
The best form of branding is giving back to the community that we’re active in. This way, each time people see the results of our work, they’ll think about us not only as agents but also as people who are willing to walk the extra mile and take care of their community. Pick a charity that resonates with you and make a donation each time you sell a home.
Guest Bio
Gayle Zientek is an entrepreneur, coach, and Realtor at eXp. With over 14 years of experience in real estate, Gayle shares the knowledge she accumulated over the years at Referrals for a Living.
Her mission is to teach others to build a relationship- based-relationship and make lead generation more fun. You can contact Gayle here.
Facebook advertising is often ignored yet is far less expensive than real estate lead aggregators. What can you use to attract attention to your real estate ads on Facebook? Why should agents ask questions about the motivation of the buyer or seller before starting a lead nurturing campaign? And what piece of information can be used to convince online leads to meet you in person? In this episode, Matt Cramer talks about how to convert Facebook ads to deals.
We’re trying to find a few nuggets of gold. We aren’t trying to turn the entire river into gold because not every lead is a winner. -Matt Cramer
Three Things We Learned
How you can keep the cost per lead low
When it comes to online lead generation for sellers, home evaluations still work. But if you want to lower the cost per lead, switch from using a landing page to a lead form on Facebook. This results in lower costs because Facebook likes it when its users stay on the platform.
Don’t nurture a lead without knowing their motivation first
Online leads, like any types of leads, work only when nurtured. The best way to start a conversation is to ask questions about the motivation behind buying or selling. But make sure you don’t mistake your leads' motivation for their goals. To find somebody’s motivation, you usually have to dig deeper.
Don’t make your leads jump through too many hoops
Longer forms don’t ensure warmer leads. Short format forms are enough to get you all the information you need. There are very few online leads who are looking to buy a house right away, so there’s no use in trying to filter out all leads for a rare type of potential customer.
A home list is superior to videos or photos of a listing because it makes people come to your office for exclusive information. When you show a listing online you give people all the information at once without receiving anything in return. If they see it and feel that they aren’t sure whether they like it, they move on. Giving away information about listings causes you to miss the opportunity of getting qualified leads to meet you in person and ask you for more information.
Guest Bio
Matt Cramer is the former Director of Lead Generation at Perna team and the CEO of Relentless Media. His mission is to provide real estate agents who are struggling with lead generation warmer leads using social media at a lower cost.
You can find out more about how he helps agents increase their revenue here.
Online lead generation works but is costly for both teams and individual agents. How can we increase our chances of converting online leads by using online reviews? Why shouldn’t we invest in online leads if we’re expecting an immediate sale? Why do we need to let people know what we do for a living more often? In this episode, Jordan Sibley talks about online and offline lead generation.
Prospecting hasn’t changed in 50 years. You still have to get in front of people. You still have to pick up the phone. -Jordan Sibley
Three Things We Learned
Many buying decisions are influenced by online reviews
Online reviews matter. Just think about it—each time you want to buy something, you probably look at what others are saying about it. The best way to increase your number of positive reviews is to ask satisfied customers for them.
Internet leads are long-term leads
Very rarely do internet leads turn out to be instant sales. Most people who are looking for homes online do so months before they actually buy or sell a property. As a consequence, you have to build a nurturing system and stick around them until the incubation time is over, and you must also be there for them when they finally decide to make a move.
Let everyone know what you do for a living
Don’t let others wonder what you do for a living. Wear a branded t-shirt. Use an email signature that mentions that you work in real estate. Everywhere you go, find a way to send the message that you’re an agent.
Instead of wasting money on Facebook advertising, as everyone else does, go to a place with less competition. The best way to get free leads is to meet with people face to face or make calls. Subscribing to a list of expireds makes it easier for you to persuade the person on the other end of the call because they already showed interest in selling a home. A dialer can help you in your prospecting efforts as well.
Guest Bio
Jordan Sibley is a residential Realtor and the lead Buyer Specialist at The Sibley Group. Her background in marketing enabled her to gain a better understanding of generating leads, both online and offline, for her team. Jordan is currently active in Slidell and Metairie, Louisiana.
Many rental property owners have tenants because they failed to sell the property. But what happens when you run into an investor? Why is it important to start the conversation with questions about why the home didn’t sell? And how many contacts do you need per day to succeed at prospecting? In this episode, we take a tour at REDEX and talk about the success principles of top prospectors.
In the marketing world, what we love doing is building trust with potential customers. -Justin Zimmerman
Three Things We Learned
How you can build trust with rental property owners
Many owners of rental properties wanted to sell but couldn’t and now they have a property and a tenant that they have to manage by themselves. As an agent, you can bring value even if you just help them determine the right price for the rent. When your prospects figure out how little they know about rental properties and how much money they lose by not knowing what to do, they will be more likely to work with you.
How asking questions reveals pain points
Ask questions instead of starting a monologue about how great your services are. When you ask questions, you get to know all of their pain points that you need to overcome. It’s easier to persuade someone when you come up with a specific solution to their problem.
How to flip the script when a rental property owner isn’t looking to sell
Don’t close the conversation if you hear that a rental property owner isn’t looking to sell. If they aren’t looking to sell, it means they’re looking to expand their rental property business, which means they’re always looking to buy.
Top prospectors keep track of their appointments and how many contacts they need to set an appointment. On average, it’s anywhere between 35 to 50 contacts per day, but keep in mind that a contact isn’t just a phone number. A contact is someone you have a meaningful conversation with. If you call a number and the person on the other side doesn’t want to talk with you at all, you shouldn’t count them as a contact.
Guest Bio
Justin Zimmerman is the director of content development at REDX and a content strategist with a background in real estate.
He started off in real estate at 24 and built a software that took local MLS housing data and transformed it into a format easy to understand both by buyers and sellers. This helped him gain a competitive advantage in a profession where the average age was 47.
His software was so successful that he started training other agents to become Certified Market Advisors and went from being a simple agent to managing 51 people.
Today, he uses his real estate and marketing knowledge to help agents create content that eliminates the need for prospecting and builds a strong database.
Gene Volpe is the founder of GVI Media and has over 10 years of experience in real estate marketing. With over 200 transactions under his belt, Gene is known as an authority in his field and is often invited to speak at events. You can find more about Gene at http://www.genevolpe.com/about-gene/#.
During market shifts is when the creativity of agents is put to the test. How can we stand out at times when the market experiences a slowdown? Are face-to-face conversations still effective for generating leads? Why shouldn't we hide ourselves behind social media advertising? In this episode, we talk about creative, random ways to generate leads.
The most random lead generation tactic is saying hi to other people. -Greg McDaniel
Three Things We Learned
Facebook and LinkedIn groups
Local Facebook and LinkedIn groups can serve as a good opportunity for you to get known by other members of your community and establish yourself as “the agent” in the area. You can do so by sharing news or updates about what’s happens in your neighborhood without delving too much into real estate.
Make it a part of your routine to have conversations with people
The less personal your way of communicating, the more time and people you have to connect with. As a result, the most powerful way to connect with others is face-to-face. No amount of social media advertising can replace genuine human connections. Look around you, strike conversations more often, and always carry a business card.
Offer something of value with your brand on it
Having a white label book with your name on it, an ebook, or even a brochure that has information of interest for your leads serves as good introduction. Having something that’s deliverable is your opportunity to establish yourself as an expert and impress.
The most successful business owners aren’t reactive when it comes to lead generation. They look at who they want to work with and get proactive about finding ways to connect with them. Don’t wait for a third-party service to offer you leads. Put together a routine with a goal low enough so you can be motivated to do it every day and become more proactive about your lead generation tactics. For some it may be conversations, while for others it may be door knocking. Find what suits your personality best and chase the people you would like to work with.
Many agents fear getting on camera, not to mention live videos where there’s plenty of room for mistakes. Do mistakes make you look more human and approachable? What type of topics should you choose to speak about on video? Why is it important to have a call-to-action in your videos? In this episode, Ross Brand talks about how you can use live video to engage with your audience.
Live streaming takes video to the next level because people can actually communicate with you through a live chat. -Ross Brand
Three Things We Learned
Timeless content is easier to monetize
When you talk about topics that will remain the same even a year from now, you’re more likely to generate leads than when speaking about real estate trends. An excellent way to find evergreen topics for your live videos is to take a look at popular blog posts and put your own spin on them.
Add a call-to-action at the end of the video
Your viewers don’t want to feel like you’re selling to them, but they do want to find out what you do for a living. A good way to mention your real estate business is to put a call-to-action at the end of the video and let people know you’re available. You might not get warm leads right away, but after you build trust, your viewers will think of you when they need to buy or sell a property.
Focus on the lifestyle people have in certain areas, not about the listing
Most agents choose to use live videos for listings, but only a very small percentage of your audience is interested in buying a house right now. Instead of focusing on a a very niche audience, you can expand it by talking about the lifestyle in the neighborhoods where you’re active. For example, you speak about fun things to do during the weekend or the best restaurants in the area.
Don’t just recycle content on social media. When you re-post your live stream on social media, the content has a relatively short shelf life. Create a website or a social media page where people can browse through your videos and interact with your content. This way, your content is easier to find and will serve your branding efforts months and maybe even years after it was published the first time.
Guest Bio
Ross Brand is a livestream strategist, podcast host, speaker, and On-AIR personality. He was named the number #1 Live Streaming Expert by Klout and was selected as one of the “5 Live Video Experts to Follow” by Switcher Studio. In the present, Ross creates content for podcasts and Alexa Flash Briefings and is the founder of Livestream Universe. You can find out more about him here.
Making radical changes to your routine might sound tempting, but in most cases this tactic leads to burnout. How can you make noticeable progress without going on and off your routine? Why is it important to get an idea of what you’re currently doing on a daily basis? How can you keep yourself motivated with a routine that takes time to see its fruits? In this episode, we talk about the compound effect and why small, consistent choices offer the fastest path to success.
The dip between taking consistent action and getting consistent results is going to be 6 months, and half the battle is just knowing that. -Matt Johnson
Three Things We Learned
Track and measure your productivity and habits
You can’t improve what you don’t understand entirely. Track your behaviors for one week, as this gives you a starting point and a better understanding about what makes you unproductive and what brings clients.
Consistent actions are more effective than radical changes
Find daily actions that can be done even if you have to deal with the unexpected. This way, you get consistent with your work and increase your chances of sticking to a work routine that might remain the same for years, as opposed to making radical chances that will lead to burnout and you quitting a few weeks later.
Celebrate your wins
Radical changes to your routine might sound tempting, but the small changes are the ones that are more likely to stick with you. And because small tweaks take time to pay off, you have to remind yourself daily that you’re one step closer to your goals. You can do so by emailing your daily report to an accountability partner or just write down all of the tasks you completed on that day.
Don’t let yourself believe that small changes aren’t enough to change the big picture. Over time, the small tweaks we make are more likely to bring results because we’re more likely to stick to a relaxed routine compared to a work schedule that we hate. But a relaxed schedule isn’t the only thing that make us more likely to stick with something in the long run. The people we work with have the same effect as well. We’re more likely to feel energetic and motivated if we get more picky about those we allow into our lives.
Networking events are challenging and the room is often filled with people who try too hard to make a sale. How can we stand out and avoid being salesy? Should we have as many conversations as possible, or should we focus on a smaller group of people? What’s the best way to follow up with potential clients? In this episode, Jeremy DeMerchant talks about successful networking.
My secret to networking is being everywhere. -Jeremy DeMerchant
Three Things We Learned
Focus on quality not quantity
When it comes to networking, there are two paths you can take: have a large number of superficial conversations or a small number of meaningful ones. The latter is always the approach that brings the most business.
Schedule the follow-up via phone to avoid wasting time
Don’t set up a meeting at a coffee shop. Instead, set up a call. This way, you’ll find out in the first 10 minutes of the call if you’re a good fit for your lead. It’s harder to leave a meeting early without putting yourself in a awkward situation, but there’s nothing awkward about a short phone call.
Control the experience they have with you from start to finish
Send all the people you want to connect with to one place. For example, send all of your leads to your website or put them in an email drip campaign where you share links to your content. This way, you control the type of information they consume. This is also a good tactic to warm up leads. The more they read about you, the higher the probability they start liking and trusting you.
Constantly fill the funnel. Not everyone has to be a sale today or tomorrow. It could be a sale 2-3 years down the road. Be patient with the people you meet and work on increasing your exposure, making a good impression, and engaging with the people that you would like to work with. Last but not least, be everywhere. The more networking events you go to, the higher the chances people remember you.
Guest Bio
Jeremy DeMerchant is the CEO of Permission To Sell and has over 20 years of experience in the sales arena. His mission is to help coaches, business owners, and professionals increase their sales and revenue. If you want to find out more about sales tactics or want to network with small business owners and sales professionals, join the Permission To Sell Group. Jeremy is also the author of 5 C's of Successful Sales Conversations, a sales cheat sheet that you can download for free here.
The luxury market is not much different from lower-end markets. What do all property owners, regardless of the value of the home, look for in an agent? What are the main motivations of buyers in the luxury market? What role does storytelling play in selling a home? In this episode, Michael LaFido talks about the latest trends in the luxury market.
Success leaves clues. Go figure out how someone else got successful at something and emulate it. -Michael LaFido
Three Things We Learned
Negotiations should be done on both sides
In a market that’s showing signs of slowing down, agents have to build a bridge between sellers and buyers. Negotiations shouldn’t just be on the buyer’s side. If sellers are determined to sell their homes as soon as possible, recommend a small discount on the property price. It’s usually quite convincing for buyers who tend to change their mind when they can save some money.
Sellers in the luxury market aren’t much different
Many agents assume that working with sellers in the luxury market requires a different skill set. However, the same problems are solved. Owners of luxury properties are just as nervous about the investment they made as any any other seller.
Storytelling in the luxury market is heavily focused on emotions and status
Many buyers looking for luxury properties don’t need a bigger house, and in some cases, it’s not even a wise financial decision. What they need is a new lifestyle and a way to feel better about themselves and their accomplishments. Your photos, videos, and all of the storytelling should focus on promoting a certain lifestyle, not just a home.
Luxury listings should tell a story about the lifestyle the home offers. In this market, most decisions aren’t made based on price but on the status and location the home offers. Emotions play a big part as well, because buyers have a bigger budget and they want to walk into a home that makes them feel good. However, this shouldn’t prevent you from trying to negotiate the price point with the seller if selling the property as soon as possible is one of their main priorities.
Guest Bio
Michael LaFido is a top-producing luxury Realtor, podcast host, author, and national trainer. He is the CEO of Luxury Listing Specialist and Marketing Luxury Group. Michael is also the creator of a Marketing Luxury Expert Certification program (LUXE) and has over 1 million listing and sales in his portfolio. If you want to get in touch with Michael, you can do so on his social media account.
Agents are constantly chasing new clients and new ways to make lead generation easier. But what if the answer isn’t in new tactics and chasing new clients? How can you tap into the law of reciprocity with your past clients and get repeat business and referrals? How can local events for past customers actually save you money and increase your conversion rate? In this episode, John Mikesh talks about how he generates up to 40% of his income by holding local events for past clients.
I never wanted my business to feel like a job. My biggest personal motivator is freedom. -John Mikesh
Three Things We Learned
Keep in touch with your past clients
Even if you have excellent customer service and your clients are happy with your work, if you don’t make keeping in touch with your database a priority, you’ll lose repeat business and referral opportunities. Your clients need to be reminded of your existence even if you’ve already made a good impression.
Customer events save you money
Chasing new clients and trying new marketing gimmicks that may or may not work ends up being more expensive than maintaining a good relationship with your past clients. Plus, when you serve the people you already served, you don’t need to prove your expertise with free evaluations, free photos, etc.
Put together a system that can be outsourced
Event planning may have to start one year in advance. Because of weddings, most venues will already be taken if you start planning only a few months before the event. Put together a system that takes care of all aspects of event planning and outsource the work so you can focus on other aspects of growing your business.
When done correctly, lead generation gives you relief. Planning events where your past clients feel appreciated is by far less stressful than always having to chase new clients and spend money on marketing tactics that way or may not work. When you work your sphere, you serve people who already know you and you like you. And because you’re investing money into thanking them for their contribution to your success, it taps into the law of the reciprocity. Every time they attend an event, they are reminded of how much you worked to make it happen. And they’ll feel a need to give you something in return as well. Usually, this translates into repeat business or referrals.
Guest Bio
John Mikesh is the owner of ROOST™ Real Estate, a real estate brokerage in Mooresville, of the Lake Norman / Charlotte, North Carolina area. His company focuses on putting the client experience first and this approach enabled him to become one of the top Realtors on the market for years now.
John was also recognized in multiple issues of Charlotte Magazine as a “5-Star Professional.
Mindset plays a huge role in how you approach your business and personal life. What happens when your mindset is less than ideal, or when you’re flooded by negative thoughts and can't seem to focus on what matters? How can you change your thinking pattern and behaviors to get closer to your goals? In this episode, Dr. Hank Seitz, talks about the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction.
Start asking for the things that make you feel good. That’s the secret to all of life. -Hank Seitz
Three Things We Learned
Why perspective is everything and how to “reprogram” yourself
Negative and positive feelings are a matter of perspective. You can change the way you feel about your life by looking at things from a different point a view. Affirmations are a good example of how you can reprogram yourself and start attracting better experiences to your life just by asking for them.
Seek to surround yourself with positive people and experiences
The best way to become happier and more energized is to shun all the sources that bring negative emotions to you. For example, the news is filled with tragic stories, but the companies behind them spend millions to find those stories. It doesn't mean we live in such a tragic place. It just means it’s easier to have access to negative stories. It’s your responsibility to seek the good even if the media wants to keep your eyes on something else.
Why behaviors can’t change unless you detect what thoughts created them
Action is a result of your thoughts. The way you see the world and others impacts all of your behaviors. You can’t change any behavior without asking yourself what thinking patterns stand behind them.
Every action you take is governed by your thoughts and perceptions of yourself and others. But sometimes you may find it difficult to be objective or to slow down and appreciate what you already have in your life. Hardships hit everyone, but what makes it worse is when your way of interpreting them causes pain. To avoid misinterpretations of reality, write down 3 things you desire and appreciate. This way, you can can start taking steps towards practicing gratitude and remind yourself of your goals.
Guest Bio
Dr. Hank Seitz is a real estate coach, author, and podcast host. He has a PhD in Mental Science and is the CEO of Agent Wealth Network where he teaches agents and team leaders how to build several streams of income.
You can find out more about Dr. Hank Seitz here.
Sometimes when we’re working it feels like the hours just flew by and nothing got done. Being trapped in low-value activities shifts our focus away from what makes money. How can you fix this? What should your schedule include and exclude to make the best of your time? Why do we have to delegate in order to scale? In this episode, Gene Volpe talks about the changes he made to become a more productive business owner.
You have to take the time off. You have to schedule that into your calendar. Otherwise, you will burn out. -Greg McDaniel
Three Things We Learned
Urgent tasks vs. high value tasks
Some tasks might not be urgent, but they can be the most important in your business. We have enough hours in the day. We just need to find a way to prioritize what needs to get done. Avoid wasting your time on tasks that have a very little impact on your business.
You can’t scale without delegating
When most people look at their calendar, they realize 80% of what they’re doing can be done by someone else. You can’t scale without outsourcing the low-value tasks to someone else.
Schedule everything, including your time off
Productivity isn’t about working-non-stop. You need to find time to relax as well, or you will burn out. But even time off needs to be scheduled so it won’t have a negative impact on your business.
You have to think about what brings the most income to your business. What’s the income driver in your business, servicing the clients who are already committed to you or maximizing the activities that bring the next round of income? In some cases, existing clients are so valuable the referrals alone work as a lead generator. But if the existing clients don’t bring any referrals, teach someone else to take care of your current clients to free up your time for more sources of income.
Guest Bio
Gene Volpe is the founder of GVI Media and has over 10 years of experience in real estate marketing. With over 200 transactions under his belt, Gene is known as an authority in his field and is often invited to speak at events. You can find more about Gene at http://www.genevolpe.com/about-gene/#.
As the real estate industry changes due to technology, how can agents take advantage of this shift? How can you use online resources to amaze your clients with your expertise? How do you know whether you should stay or leave your family business? What’s the role of conversations and send out cards in lead generation? In this episode, we talk about how new agents can impress their prospects, how to become better at nurturing past clients, and more.
Everyone wants a new hot lead now, but they don’t want to do anything for it and they want the person to be ready to buy or sell immediately without any competition. -Greg McDaniel
Three Things We Learned
What to do when you are a new agent with no experience in the local market
When asked what they want from their agents, a large percentage of clients responded that they need someone with a deep understanding of the local market. If you are a new agent, you can get your foot in the door by “faking” local knowledge with reports. Another option you have is partnering with someone who has local market knowledge.
How having 25 new conversations per day will make lead gen a problem of the past
The real estate industry wasn’t built on relationships but on chasing new clients and new leads all the time. Living in a society where instant gratification is possible thanks to technology only makes things worse. If you have 25 conversations per day, you don’t have to worry about not having warm leads. Few agents keep in touch with their database, despite having all the means to do so.
When it’s time to leave your family business behind
Many agents are trapped in businesses they aren’t sure they belong to. If the agreement is not good enough to make you enter the business even if a complete stranger makes you the offer, you’re probably staying in the business just because you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Real estate is a people-based business, but agents were always about chasing new clients instead of nurturing past ones for repeat work and referrals. It’s now easier than ever to get in touch with your past clients without sounding salesy. From send out cards to having a few conversations every day, no matter what you choose, make sure you are always in front of them.
Tragic events often force people to give their life a new meaning after everything that mattered before is lost. How do you cope with the loss of loved ones? Is there any way you can transform a tragic event into an opportunity to reinvent yourself? How do the ups and downs in your life influence your values and what you do for a living? In this episode, Matt Cubbler talks about how the loss of his brother forced him to find a new purpose and serve others through his business and speaking events.
Life isn’t about singular moments. They are all connected. Everything that happens in your life is a piece of the other. -Matt Cubbler
Three Things We Learned
No event that happens in your life is without meaning or purpose
Sometimes, the most tragic, hurtful events in your life force you to find a new purpose and move away from the past. And without those tragic events, you may never get on the path you’re supposed to be on.
Confidence is a must-have for leaders
If you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t be a leader. Confidence is what sets up leaders for success. But this doesn’t mean you see yourself as a perfect human being. It’s a state of awareness. You know what your weaknesses are but you’re also aware of your strengths.
Your business is an extension of your core values
The business you build should be an expression of your core values. As a business owner, you are able to decide who you work with and how you do it. You don’t have to follow somebody else's path to succeed.
At times, life might puts you through tragic events, but when you look at the big picture, those very events are meant to put you on the path to what you’re supposed to be doing with your life.
As a business owner, you need to find your calling, and the beauty of it is that entrepreneurs have more freedom than employees. You can create your own schedule, serve the people you like, and follow your own values.
Guest Bio
Matt Cubbler is a public speaker, author, leadership expert, CEO of I Got You, and Vice- president of Maxout Strength Systems.
In his free time, Matt uses his experience in the army to teach young teens about the importance of leadership and being accomplished in life.
Sometimes when we’re working it feels like the hours just flew by and nothing got done. Being trapped in low-value activities shifts our focus away from what makes money. How can you fix this? What should your schedule include and exclude to make the best of your time? Why do we have to delegate in order to scale? In this episode, Gene Volpe talks about the changes he made to become a more productive business owner.
You have to take the time off. You have to schedule that into your calendar. Otherwise, you will burn out. -Greg McDaniel
Three Things We Learned
Urgent tasks vs. high value tasks
Some tasks might not be urgent, but they can be the most important in your business. We have enough hours in the day. We just need to find a way to prioritize what needs to get done. Avoid wasting your time on tasks that have a very little impact on your business.
You can’t scale without delegating
When most people look at their calendar, they realize 80% of what they’re doing can be done by someone else. You can’t scale without outsourcing the low-value tasks to someone else.
Schedule everything, including your time off
Productivity isn’t about working-non-stop. You need to find time to relax as well, or you will burn out. But even time off needs to be scheduled so it won’t have a negative impact on your business.
You have to think about what brings the most income to your business. What’s the income driver in your business, servicing the clients who are already committed to you or maximizing the activities that bring the next round of income? In some cases, existing clients are so valuable the referrals alone work as a lead generator. But if the existing clients don’t bring any referrals, teach someone else to take care of your current clients to free up your time for more sources of income.
Guest Bio
Gene Volpe is the founder of GVI Media and has over 10 years of experience in real estate marketing. With over 200 transactions under his belt, Gene is known as an authority in his field and is often invited to speak at events. You can find more about Gene at http://www.genevolpe.com/about-gene/#.
Real estate is a people-based business, yet it’s easy to forget about this aspect when lead gen is now dominated by platforms like Zillow. What’s the biggest source of high-quality leads? How can you grow your database by partnering up with local businesses? What will the new shift in real estate bring, and why shouldn’t we be dependent on online lead gen platforms? In this episode, Nick Sakkis reveals the one lead gen system we should be paying more attention to.
You can be brand new in your market and never sold a deal in your life, but when you start partnering up with with local businesses, you growth hack their audience. -Nick Sakkis
Three Things We Learned
The biggest source of quality leads is relationships
Making friends and building relationships, even on social media, is one of the best ways to generate leads. Very few people are interested in videos about what direction the market is going in and real estate stats. If you get active on social media groups with the purpose of making friends instead of promoting your business, you have a higher chance of receiving a call when someone wants to sell or buy a property.
How to get discount cards from businesses
Discount cards are a great way to help people remember you, and they aren’t that hard to get either. Business owners pay quite a bit to Groupon in order to advertise their products. If you don’t take a percentage out of their earnings, they’ll often be more than happy to be interviewed by you and allow you to make discount cards in their name.
Set up a draw for a free vacation at open houses
Big companies have been doing this for years: offering high incentives for people to look into their products or services, or high incentives for referrals. Real estate agents can do the same at a smaller scale to provide incentives for their past clients and get referrals.
If you’re brand new and haven’t made a deal in your life, partnering up with businesses, interviewing business owners, and handing out discounts puts you in front of their audience. Their database quickly becomes your database because they see you talking about the things they love. As a result, you can quickly scale your database by leveraging local businesses.
Guest Bio
Nick Sakkis is the co-founder of the Sakkis group and a digital marketing whizz. He used social media groups to generate leads for his business, and he now teaches other agents how they can create lead generation machines on a bootstrapped budget at Funnelstoleads.com. Nick is also the creator of Reconnect, an app that helps agents stay in touch with their database and get more referrals.
Mornings are the perfect time for planning your day, focusing on your well-being, doing a quick workout, and spending some time with yourself. But why do so many people hate waking up early in the morning, and what are they missing out on? Why do you need some time for yourself every day? How does not having a morning routine impact both your fitness and business success? In this episode, Justin Zimmerman talks about how morning routines can bring more awareness over how much control we have over our fate.
The people you choose are the people you become. -Justin Zimmerman
Three Things We Learned
Waterproof notes
At the beginning of the day, you have ask yourself, “What does my day have to look like to make me a happier and more productive person?” You can even plan out your day when you’re showering by using waterproof notes.
Don’t let yourself drift from your purpose
Teams and agents that don’t have defined purposes and goals end up drifting. Everyone needs a direction to their life, and that direction is what determines what their daily to-do list looks like.
Don’t neglect your health over your finances
Nutrition and fitness play an important part in the way we feel and how productive we are throughout the day. Finances, nutrition, and fitness are the big 3 pillars of well-being, but when one shakes, the other aspects of our lives suffer as well.
It’s almost impossible to be productive if we have something in the back of our mind constantly bothering us. As we grow older, however, our ability to determine our own fate increases. Journaling, meditation, and planning out each day will helps us become more aware of the choices we have and how we can get closer to our goals every day.
Guest Bio
Justin Zimmerman is the director of content development at REDX and a content strategist with a background in real estate.
He started off in real estate at 24 and built a software that took local MLS housing data and transformed it into a format easy to understand both by buyers and sellers. This helped him gain a competitive advantage in a profession where the average age was 47.
His software was so successful that he started training other agents to become Certified Market Advisors and went from being a simple agent to managing 51 people.
Today, he uses his real estate and marketing knowledge to help agents create content that eliminates the need for prospecting and builds a strong database.
A large percentage of active real estate agents have never experienced a market shift. Selling homes isn’t that hard when the economy is in your favor, but how do you prepare for a drop in volume? How can you cut costs? Should you focus more on sellers or buyers? In this episode, Brian Gubernick talks about how to prepare yourself for a shifting market.
One of the dangers in real estate is the constant talk about volume, and units but we aren’t talking about net income enough.- Brian Gubernick
Three Things We Learned
We should make our fixed costs variable
During a shifting market, it’s wiser to pay more for a bonus instead of paying less for a fixed salary even when there are no sales coming your way. This will protect you during periods when you won’t have sales but you’ll still have wages to pay. Your profit margins will be smaller, but you’ll also eliminate risk.
Get better at communicating with your agents during crisis times
When sales are slowing down due to a market shift, it’s important for team leaders to be transparent with their agents. Many young agents have never been through a decrease in sales and panic may ensue. This is when leaders have to be more present than ever.
Be more listing-focused and be less picky about appointments
If you’re buyer-based, your income is less predictable. The more listing-focused your business is, the more money you make and the more predictable your income is.
The best way to prepare our team for a market shift is to make sure they’re part of a training program that prepares them for a highly competitive game. A common mistake team leaders make is not recruiting new agents, when in fact the search for talent should be more intense than ever during times like this. There is a way to not just survive a shift but to actually thrive through it.
Guest Bios
Brian Gubernick and his team Homehelper Consultants at Keller Williams Realty Phoenix have been recently named as one of the top producing teams in the U.S by Wall St. Journal & Real Trends. He has also been featured in both Forbes Magazine and Money Magazine. Brian’s team is present in 4 states across U.S, and he has built a real estate coaching business where he helps agents implement the same strategies he did when growing his business.
Gene Volpe is the founder of GVI Media and has over 10 years of experience in real estate marketing. With over 200 transactions under his belt, Gene is known as an authority in his field and is often invited to speak at events. You can find more about Gene at http://www.genevolpe.com/about-gene/#.
Technology is about to create a big shift in the buying and selling process. Will we be replaced by tech? What qualities are desirable in agents during times like this? How can we survive the shift and leverage the tools we now have access to? What will happen to the single agent? In this episode, Adam Hergenrother shares his predictions about the future of the real estate agent.
Every real estate company needs to wake up to virtual brokerages, because those are the ones giving freedom to agents. -Adam Hergenrother
Three Things We Learned
The entry barrier will be higher but the agents who make it will earn more money
The companies that afford the technology to speed up the process while delivering a superior customer experience will make it harder for agents who have only a few sales per year to survive by themselves. As a result, the entry barrier will be higher. In order to survive, agents will need to join teams where they have access to all the technology and training that they can’t get with their own money. A side effect of this shift is the fact that agents will be expected to increase their sales after receiving all the support and training needed.
Agents won’t be locked geographically anymore
With the rise of virtual brokerages, we can now live anywhere in the world as long as we have access to high-speed internet and a showing agent working for us. The only obstacle that stands in the way of this becoming the norm is the price of airplane tickets.
Virtual brokerages will also have a meeting space
Working from home has its own struggles. Loneliness and isolation is a real phenomena among remote workers. Plus the agent ends up feeling disconnected from the company and its team. To counter this, many virtual brokerages are now considering investing in meeting places for their co-workers.
The new shift in real estate caused by technological advancements will enhance both the consumer experience and that of the agent. The companies that have the budget to invest in the newest technologies will be the ones who have the leverage. The agents who want to benefit from this shift will have to join a team that gives them all the resources to make the sale (e.g., assistants, coaching and technology). The agents who now look at real estate as a side hustle will probably disappear, but those who want to make a career out if and have the capacity to adapt will actually benefit from the shift.
Guest Bio
Adam Hergenrother is the Founder & CEO of Adam Hergenrother Companies – which includes Keller Williams Vermont, Hergenrother Realty Group, BlackRock Construction, Adam Hergenrother Training Organization, and Hergenrother Foundation.
His extraordinary background includes experience in the real estate industry, construction, and coaching. Adam was mentioned in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Inc, and he was awarded the prestigious “30 Under 30” award by The National Association of Realtors.
You can find out what others are saying about his coaching programs here.
Finding the right candidate is hard, especially when you don’t know what you’re looking for. Should your first hire take care of all of the things you hate doing? Is it possible to find a jack-of-all-trades, and what’s the alternative to that? How do you build a team that doesn't fall apart if one of the key workers leaves? In this episode, Jay Niblick talks about how to make your first hire, what traits work best for different roles, and how to protect yourself in case something goes wrong.
There is someone out there who loves to do what you loath to do. -Jay Niblick
Three Things We Learned
Your first hire should take care of the tasks you don’t want to do
You need to think about what tasks you shouldn’t be doing and how much more money you can make if you delegate the mundane tasks to someone else? That said, you also have to keep in mind that you will likely need more than one hire to take care of things you don’t want to do. There are few people out there who can do a little bit of everything and maintain the same quality of work.
Don’t wait for a rockstar to join your team
Many agents make the mistake of expecting a rockstar who can adapt and handle whatever is thrown at them without having to be managed or trained. Not only are these hires very hard to find, but once you find someone like that, it doesn’t take more than 6 months to 1 year for them to figure out that they can earn more somewhere else.
Build a system that makes top performers want to stick around
The key to building a successful team is to leave room for growth so they don’t have to leave if they want to climb the ladder and earn more. You should have a system in place that retains the top performers but doesn’t rely on them completely, so the whole business doesn’t fall apart if they leave. Invest time in building a replicable system that can be used even if one of your top performers decides to go somewhere else.
You can spot traits such accountability and entitlement during an interview just by letting the candidate tell their story. Their perspective usually is telling of how they see themselves and the world around them. For example, someone who is highly accountable will always blame themselves for past mistakes instead of blaming others. But you also have to keep in mind that certain traits aren’t universally desirable or undesirable. It depends on what role you’re filling. For example, you may want a bit of entitlement, as long as it’s performance related, in a sales person.
Guest Bio
Jay Niblick is the founder of Wize Hire, a real estate recruiting software with a data-driven approach to the hiring process. You can take the personality test mentioned on this episode at https://wizehire.com/#disc-ebook-signup
You’ve probably read a dozen stories about overnight success stories. While the success might have occurred overnight, in most cases, the process of actually making it happen probably took years of work. What are the things that you can do behind the scenes to reach your goals? Why are humans so resistant to change? And most importantly, why is turning your life around 180 degrees not sustainable? In this episode, Karen Briscoe and Gene Volpe talk about success and what you can today to create a better tomorrow.
When you are operating at your highest and best self, that’s achieving success for you because each person has unique attributes. -Karen Briscoe
Three Things We Learned
You can’t decide your future, but you can decide your habits
Your everyday habits determine if you’re going to be more knowledgeable, a harder worker or just stagnate to who you are today. If you tell yourself you can’t do it, you’ll convince yourself not to try. But if you start making small changes to your everyday habits, you will get closer to who you want to be.
Small changes are longer lasting and easier to make
You may want to change everything about yourself and take a big leap, but in reality, we work by using old systems that can’t be entirely revamped overnight. Our beliefs, habits, and thinking patterns took years to develop, if you’re making big changes, the systems you built will resist. But if you make smaller changes, it’s easier for you to step out of your comfort zone and stick to your new habits.
Track your working hours
Technology makes it more difficult for us to stay focused. Now it’s harder than ever to work without checking your email or social media accounts. As a result, you may have a distorted view of how much you actually work. But this can be easily fixed if you use an app to track everything.
Success is what makes you reach your full potential. And because we’re all different, success doesn’t have a universal definition. For some of us, it means getting our kids through college. For others, it’s becoming a local rockstar in our industry. But no matter what your idea of success is, you have make sure you aren’t torturing yourself in the process. Find the aspects of your business that you’re good at and focus on those. Give yourself enough rewards to keep yourself motivated. Be gentle to yourself. Punishments and the grind only tire you mentally, and while you may eventually end up where you want to be, the process of getting there won’t be a pleasant one.
Guest Bio
Karen Briscoe is real estate coach, the principal owner of Huckaby Briscoe Conroy Group (HBC) with Keller Williams, and the author of "Real Estate Success in 5 Minutes a Day: Secrets of a Top Agent Revealed".
Her team was ranked in the top 100 teams with Keller Williams and one of the top 250 teams in United States by the Wall Street Journal.
Karen shares her tips and tricks on her show. She became a top realtor on her podcast, and blog.
If you want to ask Karen questions about her coaching program, or simply connect with her, you can find her on Facebook.
Gene Volpe is the founder of GVI Media and has over 10 years of experience in real estate marketing. With over 200 transactions under his belt, Gene is known as an authority in his field and is often invited to speak at events. You can find more about Gene at http://www.genevolpe.com/about-gene/#.
Building an online following is becoming harder because every day more content is being published and more businesses are discovering the power of content marketing. Is there a way to increase your chances of grabbing the attention of your prospects? What type of content will your audience find useful? Are there any guidelines you should follow to make sure your content not only gets read but portrays you in a positive light? In this episode, Tim Stafford talks about the power of marketing through education.
Speak from an intelligent place, but not an intelligently arrogant place. That’s the key. -Tim Stafford
Three Things We Learned
Share information your audience doesn’t already know
Make sure the information you share on social media isn’t something most people know about real estate. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and ask yourself what the regular Joe doesn’t know about the process of buying or selling a house. And then make an outline of what your audience might be interested in.
Write for short attention spans
Our attention spans are shorter than ever. On top of this, we’re constantly bombarded with information. As a result, you have to be as succinct as possible. Also, you need to make sure you don’t use too many adjectives or adverbs, as they’re shown to lower your credibility.
Don’t talk down to your audience
Speak from an intelligent place but treat your readers as if they aren’t ignorant. The difference between educating with integrity and educating with arrogance is wanting to help as opposed to having a desire to show off.
Educating prospects is more than just sharing information on your website or social media. It’s about how you share it and what it says about you as a person. It’s important to be helpful, and not arrogant. Make sure your content is scannable and easy to digest, and don’t use industry jargon. Most importantly, you have to come across as transparent. One of the most common mistakes business owners make is sharing only their success stories and avoiding vulnerability when failures are by far easier to relate with.
Guest Bio
Tim Stafford is a Doctoral Dissertation Chair and Program Director. He has over 30 years of experience in education and educational technology. In the present, he helps businesses grow their following and educate their audience using content marketing. If you want to find out more about his approach, book a free consultation with him at https://tmphd.youcanbook.me/
AI makes it easier for agents to reduce the time spent on follow-up and leads. But will AI ever replace human interaction? How can chatbots make follow-up and the selection process easier even when dealing with huge amounts of leads? And most importantly, how can A.I weed out the good from the bad and send agents only leads who are warm and highly likely to convert? In this episode, Zach Nussbaum shares how AI can help agents stop wasting time on low-quality leads and interact only with those who are most likely to convert.
Nothing beats a human response. The bots are only going to take you so far. -Zach Nussbaum
Three Things We Learned
Chatbots are powerful but they can’t replace human interaction
With chatbots, you can filter out a large number of leads without moving a finger. But the rest of the follow-up is up to you. AI will rank for you the leads from coldest to warmest, but you will still have to set an appointment and continue the conversation face-to-face.
Place landing pages and quizzes in the chat box
Most people don’t mind answering questions, especially when they know it works as a shortcut to finding what suits their needs. Quizzes and landing pages are a great way to find out more about leads and how likely they are to make a move right away.
Verify all of the information you receive
Phone verification is usually a must to weed out leads who just want to find out more without leaving their contact information. This also creates the opportunity for you to impress them. For example, you can send a seller a screenshot of their home from Google maps to verify that it’s the home they want to sell. Since agents don’t usually have the technology to do this automatically, the seller will probably remember you as a result
AI will never replace human interaction in real estate, but it can greatly reduce one of the most time-consuming and nerve-wrecking task: lead follow-up. With chatbots, you no longer have to waste time with leads who won’t convert anyway because AI can help you filter out the good from the bad by using questionnaires and ranking leads based on their interactions with the bots. This way, teams can manage a large amount of leads without having to do follow-up. Instead, they receive a report and pick only the leads with the highest odds of converting.
Guest Bio
Zach Nussbaum is a chatbox and Facebook ads creator at Braintrust. He helps agents both attract and manage large amounts of leads without having to do follow-up manually. Zach created a completely automated follow-up system for agents that ranks leads from coldest to the warmest. If you want to find out more about how you can save time and money by using AI, advertising, and email follow-up, schedule a free call or send Zach an email to find out if your can benefit from these services.
Many agents see the potential in online lead generation, but when they start out, their biggest challenge is creating content that cuts through the noise. What do people want to see in your videos? How can you use controversy and humor to your advantage? Should you be transparent both with your wins and failures or only focus on the positive side? In this episode, Eric Simon talks about how he leveraged the comedic aspects of everyday real estate fails to build his business.
Authenticity and humor can be great content. -Eric Simon
Three Things We Learned
Video is king
Investing your time into making videos is one of the best ways to engage with your audience because it targets all of the senses. Don’t make the mistake of trying to look perfect on camera. Being transparent and even vulnerable is more relatable than doing things right all the time.
Focus on a niche, don’t spread yourself too thin
Focus on finding your niche. You don’t have to talk about everything. Find a category and dominate it. Make yourself the face of that category instead of trying to create content for every platform and for all tastes.
Video is great for multiplying your relationship building efforts
Because video targets all of the senses and there’s a face attached to the voice and message, it makes it easier for your audience to get attached to you. With video you can build trust and relationships without even knowing that it’s taking place. You no longer have to speak with someone in person for them to get to know you, as many people will feel like they already know you just by watching your videos.
The best type of content is the one that suits your personality and is readable. Most of the content out there in real estate is about agents who got successful overnight, but few dare to share their hard times and be transparent about the good and bad aspects of the industry.
This approach will only hurt you in the long term because honesty and transparency is more relatable than “feel good” stories.
Guest Bio
Eric Simon is the creator of the Broke Agent, a media brand meant to entertain agents by using comedic aspects of the industry. His mission is to stop agents from feeling alone in their struggles and find humor in otherwise hard-to-digest situations. He is currently active in the Los Angeles area, and if you want to work with him you can find him here.
Our thinking controls our destiny. What happens when our believes don’t benefit us? How do we uncover the flaws in our thinking that prevent us from being the best versions of ourselves? Why does lack of transparency lead to a stressful life? In this episode, Kim Ades speaks about uncovering your beliefs and why we shouldn’t be afraid to reveal our true selves.
A lot of people aren’t transparent because they are trying to manage other people’s impression of them. -Kim Ades
Three Things We Learned
Build a team that doesn’t need micromanaging
Accountability is a hot topic, especially for team leaders. But keeping people accountable implies they can’t keep themselves accountable. Instead of investing time and money constantly keeping an eye on your team, why not go to the root of the problem and find out what prevents them from taking action? What are the beliefs that stay in the way of being productive?
Affirmations can actually backfire if we don't address the little voice in our head that doesn't believe them
Positive affirmations hold no power if in the back of your mind you don’t actually believe the things you tell yourself. You have to be able to let go of your inner critic and truly believe you can succeed.
Use journaling to get to the source of the beliefs that hold you back
Journaling can help you find out what people or events made you feel the way you feel about yourself and the world around you. Toxic people or traumatic events can distort your perception of who you are and what you are capable of, and getting to the bottom of the beliefs that rule your thinking can help you reach your true potential.
Lack of transparency never works to your advantage. It will attract the people you don’t want to work with and there will always be pressure to keep up with the persona you build for yourself. You have to accept that some people will dislike you and the fact that you can’t manage the impressions of everyone else, nor can you rely on external validation to keep yourself happy and confident.
Guest Bio
Kim Ades is the founder of Frame of Mind Coaching and Journal Engine software as well as a speaker, author, and mother of five. Kim coaches teams and individuals to unveil their thought patterns and hidden beliefs, and unleash their true potential by gaining a better understanding of who they are and where their talents lay.
If you want to find out what beliefs are holding you back from succeeding, you can take her free test here.