UDSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:04.000
And so we kind of want somebody to feel like just like a transaction.
00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.479
All right, welcome to another episode of Outside the Box.
00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:35.359
My name is Justin R.
00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:40.320
Brewster, local realtor here with John Leary, account executive at Fizbox.
00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:41.520
John, what do we got today?
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:47.520
Yeah, today we have on Richard Berman from the Berman Group at Dixon Realty out of northern Nevada.
00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:53.920
Richard and his team did 120 transactions last year and totaling over $75 million in volume.
00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:55.200
Richard, thanks for being here.
00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:55.759
Thank you.
00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:56.479
Thanks for having me.
00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:57.439
I'm excited to be here.
00:00:57.600 --> 00:00:57.840
Yeah.
00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:00.399
Richard, tell us how did you get into real estate sales?
00:01:00.719 --> 00:01:07.680
Yeah, well, it's kind of a long story, but uh been in sales most of my life, um, many years ago.
00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:09.680
Uh, I don't know if you want me to start at the beginning.
00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.079
Yeah, where do you want to listen to it?
00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:12.239
Yeah.
00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:12.560
Yeah.
00:01:12.560 --> 00:01:15.920
So right out of high school, I was working at like the Starbucks factory.
00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:25.680
I grew up in a small agricultural town, and um, I was dating this girl, and it was like Valentine's Day, and I was like, I need to buy her some jewelry.
00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:33.200
So I went into a jewelry store, and the lady selling me the jewelry is like, this would be cheaper if you had an employee discount.
00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.920
And so I was like, Well, how do I work here?
00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:37.120
She's like, You're hired.
00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:41.439
And I was like, This is the most crazy thing that I've ever experienced.
00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:43.760
So, anyway, started selling jewelry.
00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:44.719
I hated working there.
00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:46.319
It was like a little jewelry store.
00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:57.040
Um, one of my lunch hours, I went to JCPenney's, uh, started selling jewelry at JCPenney's, and uh, it was slow, so I was standing in the entryway, like where everybody comes into the store, you know.
00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.200
And this guy comes in with his wife, and they're I was like, Where are you headed?
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:13.439
And so we start talking, and fast forward, uh, I sell that lady uh a diamond necklace and the guy a watch, and he says, You know, I'm a I'm a sales manager at the dealership across the street.
00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:15.039
You need to sell cars.
00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:21.919
So I get into selling cars, and um, I actually hated selling cars, it's probably the worst job I ever had.
00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:26.159
Um, I was young, so I was like working every day.
00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:39.919
My best month selling cars, I did like 50, 50 or is yes, on 50 half deals, because at the beginning of my sales career, I really wasn't very good at closing, so I sold 25 cars, 50 halves.
00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:46.800
And my sales manager's like, dude, this kid's absolutely incredible, but he's like terrible at you know closing deals.
00:02:46.800 --> 00:03:07.199
So they put me on the phone, and um, I basically started just like cold calling people that used to buy cars, and then I would uh work like the service department, so then I got into uh one of the vendors there, they were always pulling up in these Chevy trucks, and I worked for Toyota, so I was like, You guys need Toyotas for these.
00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.199
We got the new Tundras and blah da.
00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:13.919
And that guy was like, Well, we're hiring for a sales rep, so you should just come work for us.
00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:21.599
So I started working for that guy, and then my wife at the time was working for one of the top producers in my market.
00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:25.840
He uh he's retired now, but he was selling about a hundred homes a year.
00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:32.639
And um, I wanted to start a pizza restaurant, and so my wife says, You gotta meet Alan.
00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:41.599
He she's like, he's the smartest guy uh in business because we're not gonna put our life savings in a pizza restaurant if you know you don't know what you're doing.
00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:50.800
So Alan had a client, he owned all the Burger Kings here in Reno, and um he had me sit down with that guy, and the guy's like, dude, you're just buying a glorified job.
00:03:50.800 --> 00:04:01.120
Like, you're gonna put a lot of money into this pizza restaurant, and you're gonna be there, and you're making more doing the BG stuff than you're gonna make as a restaurant owner.
00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:04.560
And so Alan says, Let's go back to my office.
00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.400
And so we sat down, and it was kind of like the version of Wolf on Wall Street.
00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:18.000
Like, Alan opened up, you know, his his ledger there with all his transactions, and it had his GCI in there, and I was like, How much money are you making?
00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:21.120
And the next day I signed up for real estate class.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:22.560
Oh, that's funny.
00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:26.240
Okay, so you went jewelry to cars to houses.
00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:28.639
You just kind of went up in the asset class there.
00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:29.519
Yeah, yeah.
00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:30.720
Yeah, yeah, basically.
00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:32.720
Make more money when you're selling more expensive stuff.
00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:33.279
That's true.
00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:40.800
Well, JC Penney's the lady, uh, I'll never forget uh the sales manager there, I was like, or the manager of the jewelry
Load full transcript
department.
00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:47.839
I was telling her, I'm gonna go sell cars, and she's like, You better not quit because JC Pennies will never hire you back.
00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:53.040
Said, Danette, I hope I never work here again.
00:04:55.519 --> 00:05:03.759
Well, uh, Sean used to work in the car business, and so maybe you were gonna ask this, but I'm curious, as someone who's worked in both.
00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:07.680
We often get compared as realtors, we get compared as to car salesmen all the time.
00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:08.079
Yeah.
00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:12.160
Uh what's the difference in being a salesman, selling cars, selling houses?
00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:13.120
Where do they overlap?
00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:13.600
What's the difference?
00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:14.480
What do people not see?
00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:18.879
So with car sales, it's more of a retail sales, like, and that's what I didn't like about it.
00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:22.480
Is like you're standing out there waiting for them to come to your storefront, right?
00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:31.600
And then the second thing is like I kind of have to befriend you, and then when we sit down at the table, I'm actually technically negotiating against you, right?
00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:36.399
You want to be at 300 a month on this car, 400 or whatever.
00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:42.160
Like, sure, let's go ride it up, and then I go in there and then I'm like bumping you up and you walk out at 600 bucks a month.
00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:45.680
Yeah, so you kind of feel like you're against your client.
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.800
Whereas real estate, I work 100% for my client, right?
00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:49.279
Yep.
00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:51.279
Like, I'm not negotiating against them.
00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:58.079
I get to, you know, use those same skills against other sales, uh, well, other realtors in the market.
00:05:58.319 --> 00:05:59.199
Yeah, that's awesome.
00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.199
Uh, so fast forward into real estate.
00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.600
So then what year did you start when did you enter the real estate uh business then?
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:07.680
I started in 2018.
00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:12.720
Um, Alan, my first mentor, he was like, you have to get into this full time.
00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:17.920
And at BG, my last company, I was making like $140,000 a year.
00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:20.319
So like fantastic money, you know?
00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:24.240
And all my friends at that time, they were still college students.
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:28.560
They're like, You're the biggest idiot on the planet to leave a job, right?
00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:34.319
Because I was I had been there nine years and I was number eight in the whole company for them.
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:39.199
Um, and so they're like, dude, you're you're you're you're stupid to leave this job.
00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:42.000
Like, you've been here, you got insurance benefits, the whole thing.
00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:51.759
And then I basically jumped full-time into real estate because Alan, uh Katie's old boss, my wife, was like, You you're not gonna be successful as a part-time agent.
00:06:51.759 --> 00:07:02.560
And he goes, You have to be doing this as like a real real professional, like a and he always viewed our profession as like a doctor or a lawyer or somebody of that stature.
00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:08.319
And he's like, if you want to be paid as a professional, you have to be a professional, and that means working at it full-time.
00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:15.600
So I quit BG and I jumped into real estate, and that first year was like the worst year of my life.
00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:23.759
I thought all my friends were right because I made 58,000 bucks, but I hired a coach, and that coach cost me $12,000.
00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.839
Plus, I had like a mortgage of like two grand a month, you know, like the whole thing.
00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:32.399
So at the end of the year, I made like $12,000, and I was looking at my wife.
00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:35.759
I'm like, we gotta figure out how to sell some houses.
00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:37.600
Uh what coach did you hire?
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:39.040
I get coached by Mike Ferry.
00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:40.319
Mike Ferry, nice.
00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:41.759
Uh are you still with him?
00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:42.800
What's your you know?
00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:44.000
I've never been a part of that.
00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:52.399
Basically, Alan, when I first started, Alan was really the whole brain behind my success and like my first mentor, my real mentor in life, actually.
00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:56.560
But he said, You're gonna do two things if you're gonna be successful in real estate.
00:07:56.560 --> 00:08:02.160
One, you have to hire Mike Ferry, who's your coach, and then two, do everything I do.
00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:09.279
And so, literally, my first year in real estate, all I did was like follow Alan around and just take notes.
00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:16.000
And then I I actually started coaching with Mike Ferry prior to me getting my real estate license.
00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:19.600
Like the first, I forget how long it takes to get your license, 90 days or so.
00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:20.079
Sure.
00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.720
I started with a coach the minute I decided to make the decision to get into real estate.
00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:25.279
Smart.
00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.920
Okay, so you you were getting coached up before you even technically had your license to kind of build that runway.
00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:30.720
Yep.
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:31.439
Yeah.
00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:37.840
Uh I am not familiar with Mike's uh with Mike and Tom Ferry's coaching program.
00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.519
Could you could you sum it up for me in a nutshell?
00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:42.480
What are the what are they coaching you?
00:08:42.480 --> 00:08:43.600
Is it more
accountability?
00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:45.519
Is it tactics, or what is it?
00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:50.799
So uh Mike Ferry is like the first real estate coach in the whole industry.
00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:52.720
He got started like in 1977.
00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:57.279
Tom, his son, has his own coaching company, so they're not combined.
00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:02.639
But Mike basically has what he calls his 21 points to successful real estate.
00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:14.879
It's like the sales system, and it's everything from like how to talk to clients all the way down to like how to follow up with them, how to manage your time, how to develop system and processes in the back end.
00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:21.120
So we're constantly like my coach and I are constantly working on how to fine-tune the business.
00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:21.679
Yeah.
00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:24.720
Now I'm being coached more on leadership, right?
00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:32.080
Because like I have three full-time assistants and the agents, and that's a whole different set of skills than just being a great salesperson.
00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:32.960
Right, yeah.
00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:41.519
Well, so leaning into that, what couple of skills do you think you had to learn and adapt to when you started to have to be more of a leader and and lead your your beerman group?
00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:49.039
Yeah, the the biggest thing that I had to learn was like to what to get them to focus on.
00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:53.600
You know, because a lot of times like you just assume that they know how to do their job.
00:09:53.600 --> 00:10:06.960
And so you gotta kind of remind them constantly like what customer service looks like, and have actually step out of being like a salesperson selling clients back to like a person selling them on the vision of the company.
00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:12.480
And I think that was the hardest part is like learning my cadence with them on that.
00:10:12.879 --> 00:10:16.000
So you said you have three full-time assistants.
00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:17.039
Yeah, yeah.
00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:18.639
That blows my brain.
00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.240
But what does three assistants do for you?
00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.120
Like I mean, I I get having one, but what what is it?
00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:26.000
What do the other two do?
00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:37.519
One is just like a general assistant, so they like maintain all the office stuff and handle our marketing and like stuff of that nature, stuff like any tasks that the agents need or I need.
00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:41.200
She also manages like uh a lot of personal stuff for me.
00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:41.519
Yep.
00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.000
And then the other one's a listing manager.
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:51.360
So when I uh get a listing appointment, we're about 60% listings only and 40% buyers.
00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:57.840
So the minute I set an appointment, it's her job to do prepare the listing paperwork, to
confirm the appointment.
00:10:57.840 --> 00:10:59.360
I have a whole listing package.
00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:06.240
And then when I go out and meet with the client and get the listing secured, it's her job to bring it onto the market.
00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:08.639
And then the other one's just a transaction coordinator.
00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:10.720
So they facilitate all the paperwork.
00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:11.600
Nice.
00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:16.000
Okay, so that I I mean, I'm just thinking out loud here.
00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.240
I mean, that really allows you, your job is really just people.
00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:34.320
I mean, just communicating with the client and being relational probably takes a lot of the stress or or the headache out of handling 120 transactions when you know all the details are being covered already.
00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:35.120
That's awesome.
00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:37.600
Yeah, and that's that's really our vision, right?
00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:47.840
Is like uh it's nice to be busier and do more volume, but if your client just becomes a number, like you're kind of you're really tearing your business apart.
00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:53.279
So we really want every client, because we know like your house is your most intimate uh possession you have.
00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.480
I mean, they have laws, like if you come in my house, I can shoot you, right?
00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:04.399
Like your house is important to each person, and so we don't ever want somebody to feel like just like a transaction or deal.
00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:08.639
Like our we really want them and me focused on client concierge.
00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.679
So the you said the first year in the business was was a little rough, right?
00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:12.639
Yeah, like 12 grand.
00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:17.200
So when did when was it that next year that you you started to see the the fruits of the labor?
00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:18.799
Did it kept take a couple more years?
00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:20.559
When did you feel like you started to hit your stride?
00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:24.559
First year I wound up so with Alan, we were on a 50-50 split.
00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:27.840
So I did 18 transactions, which would be a lot for a lot of people.
00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:28.320
Yeah.
00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.399
Um, their first year in the business.
00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:35.679
But because 50% of my income went to Alan, you know, uh, I only made $58,000.
00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:43.279
Second year, uh, I did 30, 25 transactions, and it was a little bit more income.
00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:47.360
He reduced the split between him and I because he was spending a lot of time training me.
00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:53.679
I mean, I everything I do in my business is is either an extension of something I learned from him or Mike Ferry.
00:12:53.679 --> 00:12:59.279
And then my third year, um, I was making more money than I was making at BG.
00:12:59.519 --> 00:12:59.919
Yeah.
00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:00.720
Love it.
00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:01.360
Yeah.
00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:06.559
Uh yeah, I I always joke that I I don't have any original ideas.
00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:08.159
I'm just a master of RD.
00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:09.440
Rip off and duplicate.
00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:16.480
You know, we're all we're all standing on the shoulders of giants of uh so you know, I appreciate that you said that, and I can relate to that a lot.
00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:20.159
It's like, you know, I don't have any good ideas myself, but I know a good of them when I see it, I'm gonna do it.
00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.159
That and that's exactly right.
00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:27.200
Like most everything I do is something that somebody else is doing, or I learn from somebody else.
00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.120
So I'm super grateful for that.
00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:34.159
So if you had to did you grow up in northern Nevada, is that your hometown?
00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:35.360
So I grew up, yeah.
00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:35.840
Okay.
00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:39.039
So you have some relationships and some connections that you grew up with.
00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:50.960
If you had to move to a different city and start over your real estate business, what's a piece of advice that you would give to someone who's starting fresh, or what would you do to get going to where you are today?
00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:56.480
The biggest thing I think about is like how can you build a database, right?
00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:15.519
So it would be to really from day one, and that's what made me be able to sell 18 homes and you know continue to grow, because I've I've grown pretty fast, um, is just really keeping track of everybody I know, and then really being tactical about who do they know that I should know.
00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:24.399
Um, and then the second thing is like it's always like there's two groups of people, the people you know and the people you don't know, and the people you don't know is a bigger group always.
00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:28.000
So it's like, how can I grow that piece faster?
00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:32.399
There's only a couple of ways you can do it, is like you can buy the business, right?
00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:38.879
Um, which in the beginning I didn't have a lot of income to advertise and do all the Zillow leads or anything like that.
00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:40.879
Um we still don't do that, actually.
00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:42.399
It's not even part of our business.
00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:54.320
Um, but what I did is call expired for sale by owners, door knock listings, like around our listings, our souls or actives, or even other agents where I just wanted to sell homes in those areas.
00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:00.080
So it really is tough in the beginning and it takes all your time, but that's exactly how I would do it.
00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:00.559
Yeah.
00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:03.600
I can relate to your first year
being rough.
00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:12.480
My first year in real estate didn't sell a whole lot of houses, and I think there's a misconception on how quickly it takes to make it.
00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:16.879
And I I've even experienced this uh this last couple years.
00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:28.879
I hired a full-time admin, and uh you know, I had the money to do it, I had enough home sales, but the first year I hired an admin, my initial thought was, okay, I need to sell more homes than I did last year because now I have help.
00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:32.240
And it's like that's not necessarily how it works.
00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:39.600
You know, if scaling was you know, you hire someone and you do more business the next year, scaling would be easy and everybody would do it.
00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:50.720
You know, there's a little bit of delayed gratification, and you know, you you put the work in in year one and you're gonna reap the benefits in year two and three, not necessarily the day you start trying to grind it out.
00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:57.440
And I think more people need to hear that because it's often, you know, they quit before they actually can reap the rewards of the work they put in.
00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.399
Yeah, my wife, she was in real estate before me.
00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:09.840
I bought a house while she was in college, and she she basically got her real estate license because the agent we had was terrible who sold us the house.
00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:11.840
And she's like, I can do that, you know.
00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:15.440
And then she got her license and she thought like people would just show up.
00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.960
You know, I was like, the doors are open for business, come in.
00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:23.360
Like yeah, and then she was like, Uh, I need to get an assistant job.
00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:24.399
Yeah.
00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:24.960
Yeah.
00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:32.960
I've even uh my biggest misconception when I got in the business was that people needed to know I was a realtor and then they would hire me.
00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.600
And it's like not exactly how that works.
00:16:35.600 --> 00:16:38.080
Everyone knows like four realtors, yeah.
00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:45.039
So, you know, you need to be the first choice because just because they know you're in the business does not mean you're gonna get their business.
00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:55.120
Yeah, and that's really like the hardest part in the beginning, too, is because like a lot of people you know who you think would do business with you don't because they like don't trust you, right?
00:16:55.120 --> 00:17:03.360
Like you haven't proven to them that you can do it, and then you're mad at them, so then you like in the beginning, I had to make a decision, right?
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:17.440
Like a lot of my friends or family members would buy from somebody else, and I still kept them in my database because I always saw it as like sometimes somebody will go eat at another restaurant, even though you're your the favorite restaurant, right?
00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:21.599
Yep, and so I kept them in my database in the beginning.
00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:26.960
Um, and those people now have transacted with me because in the beginning I didn't have enough reps.
00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:28.000
Of course they wouldn't use me.
00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:28.559
Yep.
00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:29.759
But now they do.
00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:33.839
So I do think most agents kind of get short-sighted and throw those people out.
00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:34.319
Yep.
00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:39.440
That's pretty crazy how you some you've said that same thing to me in conversations or how you similarly think like that.
00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:49.839
Uh I've I've joked with other realtors and my wife that I've made a career out of being a lot of people's second or third choice realtor.
00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:58.319
And so, you know, I might not get their business, but I'll get their referrals, I'll get their, you know, uh their transaction five years from today, maybe.
00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:06.960
And, you know, it's short-sighted to think if I don't get their business today, I won't ever transact with them in the future and or reap from that relationship.
00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:12.960
One of my best referring clients, I call him a client, but he's technically just a database.
00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:17.680
He's never transacted with me ever, and he never will.
00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:18.319
Yep.
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:23.119
He he's older, retired, lives in his house, his house is paid off.
00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:24.640
It's his forever home.
00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:26.799
He told me when I called him the very first time.
00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:31.440
He's like, Richard, I'm never buying a house from you, I'm never moving, I'm dying in a house, right?
00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:32.960
And I still like fall up.
00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:41.920
A lot of people would be like, Well, that's rejection, but really that guy has probably sent me at least two transactions a year in here.
00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:43.359
Absolutely.
00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:43.920
Yeah.
00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:56.960
So going back to your database that you said you just wanted to stay in front of, what are some of those like touch points, or what are you what are you doing for your database um that kind of helps keep you in front of them or um kind of client appreciate before we dive into that?
00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.559
The Outside the Box podcast is all about serving clients well.
00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:04.000
And great realtors know the move is when that service matters most.
00:19:04.240 --> 00:19:06.000
At Bizbox, we believe the same.
00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:11.680
Bizbox is how realtors support their clients through the move, delivered directly to your client when they need it most.
00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:17.200
Printed on two sides, packed
with everything they need to pack and organize, and delivered straight to their door.
00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:21.039
Your client is taken care of, and your brand stays present long after the move.
00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:26.720
With packages starting at just five boxes and free design setup, there's a solution for every budget.
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:31.759
Visit BizboxInc.com, click free setup, and own the move in minutes.
00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:32.640
Bizbox.
00:19:32.640 --> 00:19:34.480
Service when it matters most.
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:35.839
And now, back to the show.
00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.839
Yeah, so like that's uh been our number one focus from day one.
00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:46.319
And uh we really focus on building the right way, so we always want to have the most accurate information.
00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:51.680
Uh the second thing is everybody in our database, we have their birthdays, right?
00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:56.559
So if I didn't have your birthday, Sean, I'm gonna call you and be like, hey, Sean, uh, I was just looking.
00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:57.519
I don't have your birthday.
00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:58.400
When is that?
00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:58.960
Right?
00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:02.400
And then when I'm talking to you too, I'm gonna get your kids' birthdays.
00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:06.240
Because in our database, everybody gets a birthday card.
00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:11.839
And then if you're one of our better clients, you get also a Starbucks like gift card for your birthday.
00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:17.519
And then all the kids get Yogurt Beach, which is like a uh Baskin Robbins out here.
00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:17.839
Yeah.
00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.160
All the kids get something from us.
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:31.519
We call everybody once a quarter, but we've actually in our database we have like our our top clients, those guys get a call or text or something from us once a month.
00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:32.079
Yeah.
00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:35.359
And then every client gets an email once a month.
00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:37.039
We do like a market update.
00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:44.000
And then we have uh client party, which actually we're doing one this Saturday, uh, once a year for all of our clients.
00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:50.720
And then um our system automatically texts them a couple times a year.
00:20:50.720 --> 00:21:00.240
Like just uh here we get really cold in the winter, so we remind people to turn off their sprinklers, and then in the summer we text them a list of all of our vendors.
00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:00.960
Yeah.
00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:05.200
Um I'm assuming you have a CRM that you're using that does a lot of this.
00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:06.720
Do you mind sharing what you use?
00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:08.319
Yeah, we use Lofty.
00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:09.839
Yeah, yeah, oh yeah.
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:10.160
Yeah.
00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.160
Uh are they a website provider as well?
00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:21.119
Yeah, Lofty uh used to be Chime, their full IDX website, and then a CRM, and then we also built out our transaction management in there.
00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:21.759
Nice.
00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.559
Uh, you said you have a client event party coming up this weekend.
00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:25.359
What are you doing?
00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:29.279
So uh this is our first time doing this style of event.
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:34.640
We used to rent out uh we have like a minor league baseball team, so we'd rent out what they call our fun zone.
00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:47.440
But it kind of sucked because like you give everybody tickets that said they were going, and then a lot of those people don't always show up, and then other people find out that their schedule got freed up and they want to come, but you've already given out the tickets.
00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.319
So um we're doing it at a park.
00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:50.720
Okay.
00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.960
We have like a big cornhole tournament, bounce houses, face painters.
00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:57.279
Um it's all catered.
00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:57.599
Yeah.
00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:58.400
It's a fun event.
00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.839
Is that uh your team experience?
00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:00.640
Exclusively?
00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:03.039
Is that a brokerage thing or uh who does that?
00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:14.720
Our team only, and then we have some of our vendors, like lenders, um, our financial advisors, uh, insurance reps, and some of our home inspectors that sponsor it.
00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:15.680
Yeah, heck yeah.
00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.799
We just got doing Go ahead, sorry.
00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:26.480
Oh, we just like thank them for the event there, and then they set up little tables or whatever, and they get to see our clients too, because they meet a lot of them.
00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:27.039
Yeah.
00:22:27.039 --> 00:22:30.079
We just got done doing our uh we do a pool party.
00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:34.480
We rent out a uh public pool and we do it's almost identical except for it's at a pool.
00:22:34.480 --> 00:22:40.240
We have face painters, snow cones, uh balloon artists, and just bring all the kids out and have a good time.
00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:41.200
Beach balls.
00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:43.279
Oh, we went home with the beach ball.
00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:44.240
That was that was exciting.
00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:45.200
Oh, that's cool.
00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:47.920
It's it's a ton of work.
00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:56.559
We we do it as a uh a brokerage level, which um we operate as a essentially a small team, but it is a brokerage.
00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:02.160
Um and so we do it at the brokerage level, everyone can invite their clients, and it is a huge hit.
00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:10.160
Uh every year, we've been doing it for five years, and this is maybe a testament to someone who's never done a client event party that they should.
00:23:10.160 -->
00:23:14.799
Every year when we're planning it, it feels like, why do we do this every year?
00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:15.440
This sucks.
00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:16.960
You know, this is so much work.
00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:23.519
And then when the night comes around and we do it and we're relaxing at the end, it's like, how could we never how could we not do this?
00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:25.599
You know, our clients love it.
00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:30.799
Yeah, my wife had even like, I think it was about a a week or so before you uh messaged me the invite.
00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.559
She's like, hey, are are we gonna get invited?
00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:35.039
Is Genesis doing that that realtor pool party thing?
00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:36.319
Artica was asking about it, you know?
00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:37.920
It's like, I don't know yet kind of deal with that.
00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:39.440
Sean, you were asking about it.
00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:40.240
You wanted to come.
00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:44.079
I mean, hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream.
00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:53.200
So uh what, Richard, what is one mistake that you see realtors, maybe young or newer realtors trying to grow their business?
00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:58.319
What is one mistake you see them make over and over again that if you could talk to all of them at once, how would you help?
00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:05.680
Yeah, so really the biggest mistake, because I get a lot of agents now in my office that shadow me, I go out and shadow other agents.
00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:12.720
I've been to like the Mike Ferry events for years now, and I spoke actually at one of the last events in front of 4,000 realtors.
00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:13.119
Wow.
00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:19.039
But the biggest event, like the mistake I think people make is they don't treat real estate like a real business.
00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:22.079
And what I mean by that is they don't have a schedule.
00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:36.799
Like if I were to go back to working at the car lot or my last company, like we had a start time and an in time, and you were required to do specific activities all day, and if you didn't, you were written up or you were fired, right?
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:43.599
And I don't think real estate agents, because we don't have anybody like watching over us, ever actually do that.
00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:50.640
So I make it a point, even in our whole office, is to say, like, work as if the client was standing next to us.
00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:53.200
Like, would they be proud of what they're seeing right now?
00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:55.920
And if the answer to that is no, then don't do it.
00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.279
Yeah, that's great.
00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:58.799
Making me feel guilty, Richard.
00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:00.160
I was scrolling on Instagram real.
00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:10.880
Yeah, but I mean, it's serious, like you know, if you treat it like a real business, it it like you have no opportunity
not to uh, right?
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:18.079
Like you're prospecting, you're going, you're doing the lead follow-up, you're contacting the agents, you're doing all the admin stuff.
00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:29.440
Most agents put like the admin stuff in front of everything else, which is like it's it's servicing a transaction, and then they wind up not getting any other transactions because they're not talking to their people.
00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:31.519
Yeah, it's uh it's crazy.
00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:39.680
Everybody wants to be their own boss until they have to endure the consequences of uh having themselves as a boss where there's no accountability.
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:44.480
You know, you're the only boss you'll ever have that can't keep yourself accountable because it's you.
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:50.079
And then when, you know, you don't have transactions because you weren't putting in the work, it's like I suck at this.
00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:50.960
It's like, well, maybe not.
00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:53.279
Maybe you just need to be more disciplined when you're working.
00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:58.799
Well, and that's kind of where I think one of my strengths was because when I came from BG, I was the outside sales rep.
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:00.880
So I didn't have a manager over me.
00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:05.519
And I don't know if you've ever read the book, but it's like uh I I can't remember the title.
00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:09.279
It's one of Brian Tracy's, like he's the old school sales trainer.
00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:14.880
Um, and he said, like, work all day as if your boss was standing over your shoulder.
00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:18.000
And so we work all day as if our clients were watching us.
00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:23.759
And I do think like that is the really the separator for for what we do and any agent out there.
00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:24.880
Yeah, that's great.
00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:34.240
You had mentioned about how you've got some agents there and the office that shadow you around, and and clearly you at the beginning of your career, that's what helped you, right?
00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:35.440
Shadowing around Alan.
00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.160
You're like, all right, let me give back, let me help the these people grow.
00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:38.720
Yeah.
00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:44.240
So my question is then now you've got, I think you said two full-time agents with on.
00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:44.799
Yeah.
00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:48.720
So when when did that switch in your career happen mentally?
00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:51.119
We're like, okay, I've got something growing here.
00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:52.480
Let's create a group.
00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:54.559
Let's let me kind of create this.
00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:57.359
So I never wanted a group or a team.
00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:02.160
Um, I've always been like kind of like the guy that just likes to go out and do my own thing.
00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:05.440
When I got started, my wife was working for Alan.
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:16.240
And in my first year, Alan actually wound up firing my wife, and he's like, She's gonna work for you now, because um I'm not gonna pay her to train you, right?
00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:18.480
So then it was just Katie and I.
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:35.119
And then in 2019, I had we had our son, and so Katie no longer could be like my assistant and buyer's agent, and um, because I was always listening focus in the beginning, and so she couldn't do some of those things now because we had a baby.
00:27:35.119 --> 00:28:00.480
And so I actually brought on one of my close friends as uh my first agent, and he basically would show houses all the times and everything, and then he made it like three months, and he's like, I don't know how you do this, like this is just my part, and so he quit, and then I needed somebody, so we just uh basically fulfilled the role, and I have a gal here, and she's an absolute savage.
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.799
She has a single mom, seven kids.
00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:05.680
Last year she did like 50 buyer sides for us.
00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:08.480
Yeah, that is savage.
00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:12.960
I last weekend she showed 19 homes with six different clients.
00:28:13.279 --> 00:28:13.680
Whoa.
00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:16.400
I'm gonna ask a follow-up.
00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:19.200
Does she like showing houses?
00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:20.799
Oh, she loves it.
00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.279
Okay.
00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:26.319
Because it's the hardest part though is like she's also super family oriented.
00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.400
We are all family oriented on the top.
00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:31.200
Yeah, um, because we I mean she has seven kids.
00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.279
Like, you have to like kids to have that many.
00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:41.440
I don't know if I can say that on her, but you know.
00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:54.640
Um, anyway, she the only thing that like drives her crazy is she wishes she could spend more time with them, but then she's like torn between like, do I work with more clients or like you know, spend more time with the kids?
00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:57.359
So a lot of times the kids are in the denali driving around.
00:28:57.519 --> 00:28:58.880
Yeah, that's that's crazy.
00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:02.640
And this might be a hot take, but I'm gonna say it on here.
00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:05.839
As a realtor, you know, I sell 50 homes a year.
00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:09.440
Showing houses is my least favorite part about this job.
00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:14.480
And I I tell some of my close friends that, and they're just blown away because they feel like that's all we do.
00:29:14.480 --> 00:29:16.160
Is you know, you just show houses all day.
00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:20.319
It's like, no, actually, it's a relatively small part of the job, and it's my least favorite.
00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:30.400
And uh I always joke that before a showing, you
know, and maybe you feel the same way, there's like an 80% chance I know how this showing is gonna go before we get there.
00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:33.759
You know, maybe it's hey, I this is gonna be too small, I know it.
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:36.640
They just don't know it yet, but I'm gonna show it and they're gonna figure it out.
00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.960
Or maybe they don't know that street as well as I do, they're not gonna care for that neighborhood.
00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:49.759
And so I always feel like showings are can feel like a waste of time because I have a good idea on how it's gonna go, but I have to show it anyways, because they have to figure that out for themselves.
00:29:50.000 --> 00:30:01.680
Yeah, we do a really good job, and this is maybe a different strategy that we use is we we really do a good job of vetting all of the homes, and I will not take a client out there if it's not gonna be a fit.
00:30:01.920 --> 00:30:02.240
Okay.
00:30:02.559 --> 00:30:16.079
So, like back when I worked buyers, I don't do it anymore, and it's been a long time, but our we would only we would bring the client in, we actually go through like a consultation, and then I spend time really getting to know what they like.
00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:20.960
And if it if it's like a neighborhood they're not gonna like, I'll I'll tell them like, hey, you're not gonna like it.
00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:26.559
Sometimes I still have to take them out there, but I would send them out there as I hey just drive by that one first.
00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:27.359
Bingo.
00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:40.480
I because like you know, showing houses is probably I don't like it either, but it is the most amount of time that we're gonna spend with a client that we're showing versus like a listing appointment.
00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:46.000
I'm like, prepare, takes me 20 minutes to prepare, I'm there for an hour, I'm back in the office.
00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:49.680
Like it's two hours of actual time away from doing the other stuff.
00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:52.880
Like showing houses, I'll be there four four hours, right?
00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:58.799
So um we're only gonna show like five houses at a time, and I only take them out typically twice.
00:30:59.440 --> 00:30:59.759
Okay.
00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:02.160
That's my rule for the agents, too.
00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:08.240
Not because it's like we don't want to show houses, but really our time is our most valuable asset.
00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:17.039
And if I can't identify what the client wants, then we typically probably need to come back in the office, sit down again, and go over what they're looking for.
00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:22.480
Yeah, you so you do a little more legwork up front than maybe I do to figure out what they're looking for.
00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:31.359
You maybe earn the trust ahead of time to say, Hey, I'm gonna veto options if I don't feel like they're good fits and you've earned the trust that yeah, they'll listen to you.
00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:31.759
That's awesome.
00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:35.440
Yeah, I asked them at the appointment, I was like, Hey, is it okay if I talk you out of buying a house?
00:31:37.119 --> 00:31:37.599
Yep.
00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:43.519
Yeah, if it doesn't meet your goals or I think it's gonna be a complete waste of your time, is it okay if I tell you that?
00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:44.240
Yeah.
00:31:44.400 --> 00:31:47.920
Like you do you appreciate my honesty, or do you just want me, you know?
00:31:47.920 --> 00:31:50.960
And that was like when Katie and I first bought our first house.
00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:56.640
The agent that wasn't very good, she let me see a house that was 55 and older.
00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:00.000
You know, and I walked into this house and I loved it.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:02.160
I loved the community, it was gated.
00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:08.640
You know, I I came from like you know, a little duplex, like uh we I didn't have money going up.
00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:11.519
So I always thought like the gated community I had made it.
00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:13.519
I was like, dude, this is what we're buying.
00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:15.279
And the lady goes, Well, you can't.
00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:16.079
And I was like, What?
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:17.359
They already got an offer?
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:20.319
She goes, No, it's 55 and older, and I'll never forget.
00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:23.920
I looked at it, I said, Why did you waste my time?
00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:27.039
And she's like, I'm really sorry.
00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:28.400
I was like, Yeah, me too.
00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:29.680
Like, it sucks.
00:32:29.680 --> 00:32:32.400
But it's I would have bought it right now.
00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:33.759
That's so funny.
00:32:33.759 --> 00:32:34.960
Uh I'm gonna use that.
00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:37.039
Uh is it okay if I talk you out of houses?
00:32:37.039 --> 00:32:41.920
Uh I I always tell clients that I'm gonna talk you out of way more houses than I'll ever try and talk you into.
00:32:41.920 --> 00:32:43.200
That's the line that I use.
00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:44.319
But I like that.
00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:46.079
Uh asking that up front.
00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:50.720
Of course, they're gonna say yes, they're gonna feel great about you after you ask that question.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:33:00.480
And then they've basically given you the permission to, when they send over a Zillow link and say, Hey, I want to see this, they've given you the permission to veto it if you don't think it's a good fit.
00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:01.519
Because that's my fear.
00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:04.079
I'm always, and I'm sure there's others that are in the same boat as me.
00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:05.839
I'm always afraid of coming off as lazy.
00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:06.000
Yeah.
00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:08.640
Like, hey, you know, I don't want to show you that house because you're not gonna like it.
00:33:08.640 -->
00:33:16.319
I'm afraid, you know, of them thinking I'm just trying to get out of working on a Saturday or something, when most of the time it's no, that's not the case.
00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:18.160
I just know you're not gonna like this house.
00:33:18.400 --> 00:33:24.319
Yeah, and that's the biggest thing is like changing it to mean like, you know, um, what do you think about this?
00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:26.480
Or did you see that it backed up to this, right?
00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:29.039
And kind of getting them to answer that question.
00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:29.519
Yep.
00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:32.559
It's like, you know, it's it's only 1200 square feet.
00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:34.400
What do you think about that square footage?
00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:37.680
Is I know in our talk, like you wanted something bigger.
00:33:37.680 --> 00:33:41.519
Is this are you guys thinking of a smaller home now or it feels a little tighter?
00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:42.319
Yeah.
00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:42.799
Yeah.
00:33:42.960 --> 00:33:44.960
I I've that's not what we want.
00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:48.400
Well, should we still see it, or would you think we should just rule this out?
00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:49.039
Yeah.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:51.440
And then the worst is when they say we should still see it.
00:33:51.440 --> 00:33:53.759
We get there, then it's like, this is you're right, this is small.
00:33:53.759 --> 00:33:54.799
It's like, yeah, I know.
00:33:55.039 --> 00:34:00.400
Well, and that and that's why it's like, hey, in the future, when we see things like this, is it okay if I just remind you of this moment?
00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:01.680
Yeah, that's great.
00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:02.960
That's a good that is great.
00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:08.480
Like you guys came all the way out here on Saturday, you were excited to see it, and and ultimately you didn't get the house you wanted.
00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:09.840
And I feel bad about that.
00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:11.199
Yeah, that's great.
00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:23.519
Okay, hit us with uh what is a one of your top uh referral success stories that you've had, or maybe a client that referred you that sticks out in your mind of something that was impactful for for you.
00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:26.880
You want to hear the craziest real estate story that just happened?
00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:27.840
Yep, bring it.
00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:30.159
Listen to blow your mind, okay?
00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:33.519
So um I focus on listings, right?
00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:36.559
And so we we only we list properties.
00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:39.119
Every time I list a property, we adopt the buyer.
00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:41.599
So I have what we call an adopt the buyer program.
00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:49.119
I go out there after the house is sold, I get the sign and lockbox, walk up to the door, introduce myself to the buyer, right?
00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:53.119
Um, if I can't get a hold of them, we just leave like a nice handwritten thank you card.
00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:56.000
It's like, hey, uh, thank you so much for buying this house.
00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:57.440
I was the listing agent.
00:34:57.440 --> 00:34:59.119
I'm still in touch with the seller.
00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:01.440
If you have any questions, please let me know.
00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:03.840
And then we skip trace their phone numbers.
00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:07.840
So literally, this just happened like this week, and I'm I'm blown away by it.
00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:14.000
But I adopt this buyer four years ago and I call him quarterly.
00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:17.440
We're doing all the um database stuff we do.
00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:19.599
We invite them to our client party.
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:24.159
Um, we send them, they don't get a holiday gift, but they get our Christmas card.
00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:26.800
If you buy from us, you get a holiday gift every year.
00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:31.920
But if you're just like a regular client, you get a Christmas card and it's like thoughtful.
00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.400
Um, I follow up with him once a quarter.
00:35:34.400 --> 00:35:38.000
He's year two, he calls and he's like, hey, the roof's leaking.
00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:40.239
And I was like, let me get a roofer out there, right?
00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:44.960
He's like, I can't get a hold of my last agent, and you're you seem to always answer the phone.
00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:45.840
You've been in touch with me.
00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:47.119
Can you get a roofer out here?
00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:48.079
We fix the roof.
00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:59.119
Fast forward six months ago, he calls me and he goes, Um Richard, I got diagnosed with cancer, and I need my I want to get my girlfriend on the title.
00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:02.159
And so I was like, Well, the best way to do it is set up a trust.
00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:03.440
So we set up a trust.
00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:06.719
And so he gets the trust, and then I'm like checking in on him.
00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:08.800
Like, how's the doctor appointments going?
00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:11.519
Now, keep in mind this guy I've never actually met in person.
00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:13.199
It's just a phone call.
00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:23.599
Um, Monday night he calls me, and uh, well, actually, so I set him up with a trust, and he goes, Is it okay if I put you in the trust as my real estate agent?
00:36:23.599 --> 00:36:27.440
And I go, Yeah, that would be that would be honored to do that, right?
00:36:27.440 --> 00:36:34.159
He goes, Well, you've you've set this whole thing up, and then I also had like the notary set up because he's bed rating at this point with the hands on.
00:36:34.159 --> 00:36:40.079
So we got and I sent my two assistants out as witnesses for the trust.
00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:44.400
So like they sign, they do the whole notarizing and and help him out.
00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:46.800
We get the trust, we get the property in the trust.
00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:51.599
Monday night, he calls me and I could barely make out what he's saying.
00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:54.559
It's like 6 30 at night, and I'm like, What?
00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:55.679
What is going on?
00:36:55.679 --> 00:36:58.639
And I'm like, Amb uh, his name's Larry.
00:36:58.639 --> 00:36:59.840
I was like, I gotta hang up.
00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:01.119
I'm gonna call an ambulance.
00:37:01.119 --> 00:37:03.199
And the ambulance got there, he passed away.
00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:06.480
But I'm selling that house.
00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:08.960
Like the girl, the wife called me the next day.
00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:13.440
He was actually a uh uh citizen of the Philippines.
00:37:13.440 --> 00:37:22.800
Well, she's a US citizen but lives out there, and so she called me, she's like, Hey, they want Larry wanted me to move to the Philippines once he passed away, because they knew they they expected him to pass.
00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:23.360
Yeah.
00:37:23.920 --> 00:37:26.800
So, like, literally, I went out there and an hour list in the house.
00:37:26.800 --> 00:37:28.000
So that's like the craziest.
00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:29.119
That is crazy.
00:37:29.119 --> 00:37:31.920
That is cra that is crazy.
00:37:31.920 --> 00:37:36.079
And so if I understand that story right, he was an adopted buyer.
00:37:36.079 --> 00:37:43.679
So you actually all this work that you put in and you know getting the trust set up, the roof works and your assistance, you actually hadn't made any money on him.
00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:45.679
I remember that.
00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:48.000
And that's I think that's really cool.
00:37:48.000 --> 00:38:01.840
And it's awesome you see that picture come full story of just treating people for people as people and not as transactions, and how if you treat people right and you serve them well, the money's gonna follow.
00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:08.320
You don't know when, you don't know where, you don't know who, but if you treat people well and you serve them good serve them well, you know, you're gonna get paid.
00:38:08.559 --> 00:38:13.760
Yeah, and that's really our philosophy is like this uh our mission here is just leave people better when we found them.
00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:15.760
So if you need help, we're gonna help you.
00:38:15.760 --> 00:38:28.000
Obviously, we have to have some boundaries, like we can't just waste all of our time and and not do anything, but yeah, like this guy, cancer, he obviously needed it, and like the last thing I would want to do is like say, Oh, sorry, I can't do nothing for you.
00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:28.800
Yeah.
00:38:29.199 --> 00:38:29.840
Absolutely.
00:38:29.840 --> 00:38:30.320
Yeah.
00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:34.960
Um, well, I was kind of thinking, have you ever thought about doing an adopt the buyer um kind of deal?
00:38:34.960 --> 00:38:36.320
I thought that was a heck of an idea.
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:37.440
I think it's a good idea.
00:38:37.440 --> 00:38:40.639
I'm trying to think of, and maybe you can answer this for me.
00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:46.400
I'm trying to think of like there's I always joke, there's no such thing as a past client.
00:38:46.400 --> 00:38:51.519
You know, there's a client that you're working with, and then, you know, they're all fair game after that.
00:38:51.519 --> 00:38:54.239
Once they transact with that agent once, you know, they're fair game.
00:38:54.239 --> 00:39:00.719
I'm trying to think of how I would do it without I don't want to say stepping on their past realtor's toes.
00:39:01.280 --> 00:39:17.519
Yeah, well, what we do, and this is um when I go out on listening appointments, I can't tell you how many times I go there and they bought the house from another agent, or I'm meeting them for the first time, and even the fridge the like the they have the the realtor's magnet on there, right?
00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:19.920
They never have my moving boxes.
00:39:19.920 --> 00:39:25.119
No, I'm just but uh or anybody else's moving boxes in there.
00:39:25.119 --> 00:39:32.320
Um, but they um so I just know like agents just don't follow up with their clients.
00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:44.239
So basically our adopt the buyer program is like we call them and we just and you'll know right away because it's like hey, um, you know, hey Justin, is it okay if I stay in contact with you?
00:39:44.239 --> 00:39:49.760
And if you say no, you know, I I have a realtor for that, then then we just don't call you again.
00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:50.159
Yeah.
00:39:50.320 --> 00:39:55.119
But if you don't say that and you're like, yeah, that's fine, and then I go, What's a good email for you?
00:39:55.119 --> 00:40:05.360
Because we send out, you know, like a monthly marker report and these other things, and you feel like you want to plug into my system, now I know for sure, like down the road, you're mine.
00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:05.920
Yep.
00:40:06.159 --> 00:40:07.199
Yeah, absolutely.
00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:07.679
Yeah.
00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:19.039
Um, if someone was relocating to that northern Nevada um kind of market and they there's something they should know about it that they're not gonna find on Zillow or or whatever the case may be, what's what's something you would tell them?
00:40:19.360 --> 00:40:22.800
So uh, well, we probably have the best city in the whole country.
00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:27.199
And really the reason is is I'm right next to Lake Tahoe.
00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:33.119
So if you like being outdoors, you like skiing, you like the four seasons, you would love this area.
00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:39.280
Like we have all of the best um outdoor activities mountain biking, hiking, running.
00:40:39.280 --> 00:40:51.679
Um, it's also like it is we we have in the nickname the biggest little city, but it really is that like it has a small time feel, like everybody kind of knows everybody in town, which is incredible.
00:40:51.679 --> 00:41:03.519
And then, of course, we're just
minutes away or like a couple hours away from everything else, like the Bay Area, um, you know, all the places in California like people like to go, the beach, etc.
00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:04.400
Yeah, sweet.
00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:05.679
Lake Taha sounds nice.
00:41:05.840 --> 00:41:07.360
Well, do we want to switch to some rapid fire?
00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:09.119
Yeah, we should probably get them out of here, right?
00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:09.519
Cool.
00:41:09.760 --> 00:41:13.920
We like to end our time on outside the box with some rapid fire questions.
00:41:13.920 --> 00:41:17.199
Some this or that, either or questions that we're gonna hit you with.
00:41:17.199 --> 00:41:19.119
Let us know when you're ready and we're gonna read them off.
00:41:19.119 --> 00:41:19.920
Okay, go.
00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:20.400
Okay.
00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:22.960
Hoff office or home office?
00:41:22.960 --> 00:41:24.400
Office.
00:41:24.400 --> 00:41:25.280
Office.
00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:26.960
Instagram or Facebook?
00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:27.840
Instagram.
00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:29.840
Podcast or book?
00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:30.880
Uh book.
00:41:31.440 --> 00:41:33.599
What's a book you're reading right now that people should know about?
00:41:33.920 --> 00:41:38.480
Psycho Cybernetics by um Maxwell Maltz Malt?
00:41:38.880 --> 00:41:39.199
Yeah.
00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:41.760
Um, audiobook or book?
00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:43.119
Well, I do both.
00:41:43.280 --> 00:41:43.519
Okay.
00:41:43.679 --> 00:41:47.119
But I think audiobooks are a good way to do it while you're doing something else.
00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:47.519
Yeah.
00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:48.719
Are you an audible guy?
00:41:49.039 --> 00:41:53.199
Audible, but I I try to actually read because like you take notes and highlight stuff.
00:41:53.519 --> 00:41:53.920
For sure.
00:41:53.920 --> 00:41:57.440
What's an underrated app that you have on your phone?
00:41:57.440 --> 00:41:58.800
Business or personal?
00:41:59.039 --> 00:42:02.320
It's I don't know if you would call it an app, but it's called Block.
00:42:02.320 --> 00:42:02.719
Okay.
00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:04.800
And it literally locks you out of your phone.
00:42:05.599 --> 00:42:05.920
Oh, yeah.
00:42:06.320 --> 00:42:07.679
I've seen ads for that.
00:42:07.679 --> 00:42:10.800
And doesn't it have a or maybe the one I have is called Brick.
00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:11.119
Yeah.
00:42:11.119 --> 00:42:12.559
Brick, Brick.
00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:12.960
That's it.
00:42:12.960 --> 00:42:13.440
Brick.
00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:14.000
Brick.
00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:14.320
Yes.
00:42:15.039 --> 00:42:29.039
And it comes with a little thing that I put it on my assistant's desk, and then I have one at home, and then I set a schedule, and basically, like um when I get home, it shuts the whole phone down.
00:42:29.360 --> 00:42:29.599
Dude.
00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:33.760
I can take calls or text, but I can't get anything else.
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:35.280
That's crazy.
00:42:35.280 --> 00:42:41.599
I've seen ads for that for years, and I've always thought as a realtor, I'm like, that'd be really nice to have at home.
00:42:41.599 --> 00:42:46.079
That way I'm not getting I'm not having to read unimportant texts that distract me, but okay.
00:42:46.079 --> 00:42:46.880
You vouched for it.
00:42:46.880 --> 00:42:48.239
I might have to look into it.
00:42:48.239 --> 00:42:57.199
If uh last question, if a listener wanted to refer a client to you, what's the best way to get a hold of you and get in touch with you and uh get that set up?
00:42:57.440 --> 00:43:00.000
I think you got my number right there in those boxes.
00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:02.000
77545.
00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:04.400
That's actually my personal cell phone number.
00:43:04.400 --> 00:43:06.079
So I'd say call me on that.
00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:09.360
But not outside of business hours because Brick will block it.
00:43:09.360 --> 00:43:09.920
Yeah.
00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:12.880
Yeah, no, basically after 7 p.m.
00:43:12.880 --> 00:43:14.800
my phone goes goes dark.
00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:18.400
And it's funny because all my friends they think I go to sleep at 7, you know?
00:43:18.559 --> 00:43:18.800
Yep.
00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:19.440
That's awesome.
00:43:19.440 --> 00:43:34.320
Yeah, I have settings on uh uh the iPhone where I set it up to where uh I think it's eight o'clock, it starts like a nighttime routine where my it goes dark and then texts don't come through, and then 10 o'clock it goes dead dead, and so yeah, that's cool.
00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:34.880
Well, Richard.
00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:40.159
Well, that's like the worst thing, just not to cut you off, but like that's the worst thing in all this industry.
00:43:40.159 --> 00:43:43.519
Everybody thinks we're like 24 hours, like we're giving people an ER.
00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:44.239
Yes.
00:43:44.239 --> 00:43:45.199
Absolutely.
00:43:45.199 --> 00:43:46.800
Well, Richard, thanks so much for joining us.
00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:47.760
This has been really great.
00:43:47.760 --> 00:43:48.719
Appreciate your time.
00:43:48.719 --> 00:43:50.320
Uh and thanks for joining us.
00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:51.360
Yeah, thanks for having me.