Elite Agent Growth

Which CRM are you using? Are you even using one at all?

A CRM should be the most essential tool in your business. It allows you to stay organized, tells you who to call and when, can alert you to 'handraisers' in your database and also automate some of the follow up.

But most agents do not have one, or at least don't use it effectively.

If you spent an hour in your CRM 6 days a week it would absolutely transform your business!!

In this short video I break down the favorite features of the CRM that we live and die by (Follow Up Boss)

Are you calling leads but not getting them to answer the phone?

Well, there are better days and better times of day to do that to increase your chances of them answering.

Wednesday and Thursday have almost a 50% better pick up success than some other days

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM and then 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM are the best times of day.

Secret tip... Saturday morning is a GOLDEN time as well.

So work these days and times into your time blocking for prospecting and see if your pick up rate increases. I have a suspicion that it will!!

If you want an exciting life... you had better get used to a boring one.

How does that make sense? Well, you probably want more vacations right? Maybe a nicer home? Maybe even a vacation home somewhere? Maybe you want to retire early?

Well, if you want these things then you had better get into good habits with your work. You had better do the really boring things not only well, but REALLY consistently.

The 'magic pill' is rarely ever that. We know what it is. It's the monotonous work that we try to avoid. We try to be an innovator before we've even mastered what we know actually works!!

I was talking to an agent on the team yesterday and they have massively stepped up their activities recently. They said that they couldn't believe what a change in results they are seeing.

That is to say, doing twice the amount of work is leading to more than twice the results... that's the compound effect.

So get used to doing the boring things CONSISTENTLY and you'll get to enjoy the 'exciting' results of a 'boring' life.

Let me guess... nobody comes to your open houses?

Open houses are getting very popular again but it''s super important that you take ALL the steps to make it a successful one. You can't just post it on the MLS and put 5 signs out!!

Here are some super easy tips to make your next open house a great one.

1. Choose the right open house - bust location at a convenient time

2. Shoot a video outside the home 4 days prior and post to social at least twice in the days leading up. Also, text it to clients who are looking.

3. Door knock at least 10 to the left, 10 to the right and 10 opposite and invite the neighbors to a VIP sneak peek.

4. Signs... lots of them. When you think you have done enough, do more.

5. Make sure you engage the people who come through and give them value they can't find online

6. Send a personal video text to every person who came through while you are still at the home.

Let me know what is working for your open houses!!

Stop chasing 'likes' on social media.

I know it can be disheartening to spend time coming up with an idea for a video, reshooting it 5 times, posting it with the perfect caption and... 2 likes. It feels like it's not even worth the effort.

I want to encourage you to chase the consistency, not chase likes.

What I mean by that is that of people are consistently seeing your content on social then at the time that they hear of someone looking to buy or sell, or they are thinking of it themselves, they are more likely to remember you.

They don't have to 'like' your videos when they see them. They just need to see them.

Spend less time worrying about perfection and more time on posting consistently.

Stop learning new things!!! Whaaaaattt??

Yes, I said it. Real estate agents are among the worst for hopping on webinars, going to trainings, learning new things... and then doing absolutely nothing with it.

Why is that? Well, part of it might be because we are trying to avoid work that we don't want to do.

The problem is that often that work we are avoiding is stuff that has already been proven to work... it's just not glamorous or easy.

I want to encourage you to lean into the stuff that you don't want to do that you already know works in your business. That might be cold calling, lead follow up, open houses, social media posting.

Whatever it is... avoid all trainings and webinars for 90 days and focus ruthlessly on doing more of what WORKS and see the difference in your results and pipeline at the end of it.

What are the 5 apps that I use most often and get the most benefit from??

Sorry to break it to you but it's VERY boring. You see, rarely do we need any new shiny objects. We need to master and ACTUALLY USE what we already have and know.

The 5 apps I use most commonly that give me a huge ROI are the alarm, calendar, CRM app (we use Follow Up Boss), camera app and a mass email app.

Find out what I use them for by watching the video and let me know which apps are the most important in YOUR business.

Give me all your old leads...

and watch us close them...

Yes, you heard me. The average time from a lead coming to being at the closing table is about 12 months currently for an online lead. Yet agents think getting new leads is going to immediately solve a problem in their business.

I would rather have 100 leads that are 12 months old or more, that have been receiving property updates, are searching on my site and have been receiving our educational content over time.

So, if you have old leads... go back through them. Literally EVERY day we're finding gold in the old and you might too!!!

Want to convert more buyers, especially from sign calls? (I know, that's a trick question). I have an idea for you 💡

The next time you show a buyer a home for the very first meeting, show them THREE homes.

A recent study showed that if you can show 3 or more homes on the first meeting then the chances of them using you to purchase go up considerably.

So, go the extra mile. Show a couple of extra homes. Watch yourself convert more opportunities into buyers!!

Part of my New Year's Resolution was to talk to 25 agents per week. In doing so over the last month I have come to realize that 2023 didn't pan out the way most of them wanted it to.

It's no surprise... 2023 had the lowest number of home sales in the US for around 30 years. There's a couple of common themes that I hear when I dig deeper with people as to why it might not be going as well as it could for them.

1) The don't know the activities that should be non-negotiable EVERY day. Either they got licensed during the pandemic when selling homes was easy, or they got away from doing the basics at some point and can't (or don't want to) get back to them.

2) They know what to do but they don't have a leader to hold them accountable or they don't have enough opportunities to put those activities and skills into practice.

That's where I can help. Our team sold 30% MORE homes last year than in 2022. If you are thinking about a change and want to make 2024 your best year in real estate, but just don't know how to make that happen then please reach out to me.

We have more opportunities on the team than we do agents to work them and we are looking for new agents to join us immediately.

Exploring an opportunity costs nothing, but it might make all the difference.

Let's face it. We all give ourselves an easy ride sometimes. We tell ourselves that we are 'hustling' and working our butts off when in reality we are just filling our time with minor tasks to make ourselves feel busy.

What I want you to do at the end of each day is to sit down and and decide.. if you had to pay yourself to do the work that you did today, would you fire yourself??

This will reframe the way that you look at your day and make sure that you prioritize the income producing tasks. It should also make you more focused as well.

Since I have been doing this I have found that I'm locked in for the first 3-4 hours of each day with the stuff that I know I NEED to be doing (even if I don't WANT to do it).

So, ask yourself... what would you pay yourself for waht you did yesterday??

Your business is more like Apple 📲 than it is like McDonalds 🍔

That will be a relief to those of you who do not like McDonalds. But let me explain what I mean by that.

Let's say there is a hurricane coming and all stores need to close for 3 days...

The McDonalds store loses the income that it would have had. Yes, customers will come in after it opens back up again, but that 3 days of revenue is lost.

For Apple, they don't lose the income. The same people who were going to buy a computer or an iPhone before the storm are still going to buy one after the storm.

When your potential buyers or sellers tell you that they want to put their plans on hold, rarely does that mean 'forever'.

So, keep in touch with them. Educate and inform them and be top of mind so that after their storm has passed, they are able to hop right back in and you are able to close your sale. Make sense?

Real estate is not a 'common' purchase for people. For some it's literally once in a lifetime. So remember that the income isn't lost until you stop providing value and following up with them.

2024 is the year of ‘real estate teams’

But teams does not mean leads.

A lead is nothing without having a system to convert it.

The benefits of a team are leadership, training, better systems, listing and buyer closing coordination, marketing at scale and so much more.

My success as a leader is dependent on my ability to be able to get my team to do the mundane activities day in and day out that create success.

So, if you’re struggling, join a team. But not for the leads… for so much more!! Do NOT get left behind in 2024

Are you an unemployed Realtor?

If you are a real estate agent and you don't have a home under contract at the moment then I have a newsflash for you... YOU'RE UNEMPLOYED!!! ❗️

I understand this might sting and it might be an unpopular opinion... but how else can you look at it??

And yet.. what do we do to change it? 🤷🏻‍♂️ Rarely the things that we know that we should. We'll show up at the office sporadically (or not at all). We'll make some social media posts to make ourselves feel productive.

But we should be prospecting DAILY. FSBO's, expired listings, calling old leads, open houses, door knocking... 📲

Hold yourself accountable the way you would be held accountable if you had a REAL job.

We had a BRAND NEW agent join our team 60 days ago and do exactly this... the result is that they have 2 homes under contract, 2 new listings, and they are working with 4 hot buyers... No real estate experience... no excuses. Just doing the work. 💪🏻

So challenge yourself to doing 40 hours a week in real estate with the right activities. If you want help, then reach out to me. I'm happy to help guide you to make 2024 your best year yet in real estate!

Let's grow together!! 1% per day.

This is a tough market for buyers and sellers to navigate at the moment .

Heck, it's a tough market for real estate agents to navigate. The best way to move people from being in a place of fear 😨 to being in a place to take action is to properly educate them.👨🏻‍🏫 Show them hyperlocal market info, talk about emerging market trends. Give them all of the information that they need to have in order to make a decision...

And then... you wait. Just enough time for them to process the info. That might be a day or two for some people, it might be a week or more for others. Everyone moves at different speeds. But ONLY once they have the proper information AND they have had time to process will they move into action.

So.. don't give up on people who are indecisive, turn to education to close more business.

As the # of homes sold hits record lows a lot of people are saying that it's time to 'get back to basics'. My response to that is why on earth did you ever get away from them in the first place?

Prospecting, open houses, good email campaigns should be the absolute cornerstone of every successful business. But, of course, they are the less glamorous part of the job that most of us are just not excited about doing daily.

I want to challenge you though to spend 1 hour a day (5 days a week) prospecting, do 2 open houses per week and send 2 educational emails per week to your database for the next 90 days.

My suspicion is that you will see your business transform.

Now, don't give up after 30 days, the results are going to be delayed from the action. Keep with it for the full 90 days and let me know how you are progressing along the way.

"I'm going to put my search on hold until after the holidays".

I know some of you are hearing this, and if you haven't then you likely will. Here are 3 steps to working through this.

1. Ask them to help you understand why it's important for them to wait...

2. Ask for a clarifying time frame. Are they looking to SEARCH after the holidays or be IN THE HOME after the holidays. Some people will say be in the home and not understand that means that they need to be looking and making offers NOW.

3. Use the take away. Ask them if they would be willing to lose out on their dream home if the opportunity came up during the holidays.

I hope that you find this useful. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!

Here are 3 things to focus on with new leads...

1. Speed to lead - please call them within 5 minutes of them registering. This gives you an 8x better chance of working with them going forward. If you are not able to consistently do this, do not buy online leads.

2. Speed to response - after they respond to you... how long is it taking you to respond to THEM? How soon are you able to set up the showing for them? You've already done the hard part in getting them to respond. Don't drop the ball now!!

3. Speed to add value - this is SUPER important. How are you able to add value to the process? How can you alleviate their fears, how can you educate them on financing, how quickly can you give them information about the current local market?

Concentrate on these 3 metrics and watch your online lead conversion soar. We have been doubling down on this over the last 6 months and we are seeing great results from it.

If you are having any issues with online leads and have any questions then feel free to let me know. I'd be happy to give you my input.

How well are you able to articulate the real estate market to buyers and sellers? Do you even have a grip on it yourself? 🤷🏻‍♂️

If you want to move people away from fear and overwhelm then you need to be able to explain where the market is at, and where you see it going. This is going to move them towards action.

You see, buyers are only hearing about how the interest rates are high and it's a bad time to buy. But, is that the case? 🤔

Take a dive into your MLS data and look at how the inventory is changing. What's happening with the number of homes going under contract? Are you expecting prices to rise, fall, or stay level?

Having these conversations with people will make them more confident that they are making the right decision for themselves in the market.

So, be the expert. Know the numbers, know the trends. And sell some real estate!!

If you are with a team (or thinking of joining one) then it's likely that you are looking for leads. But, not all leads are created equal. Make sure that you ask you team leader or broker "what type of leads am I getting, and how many?" 🧐

Now, I have spent over $1 million 💵 in online leads over the years and have a good grasp on what works and what doesn't.

Lead sources can vary massively in terms of price ($130 for a Zillow lead anyone?), the cadence of the follow up that you use, the intent, and the conversion rates. 📉

This is a very high level overview of the 3 most common lead types and the average conversion rates. So, don't feel bad if you have had 30 Facebook leads and not closed any. It's going to take a few of those!!!

Also, the time to close varies a lot as well. PPC leads, for example, are averaging close to 370 days currently. Zillow leads average closer to 90 days on our team. ⏳

If you want to talk about online leads then feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to give you my opinion and point you in the right direction.

Want more of your prospects to pick up the phone? Have you tried the double dial?? 📲

If they don't answer the first time, do NOT leave a message. Instead, hang up and dial right back. You would be AMAZED how many times people pick up the phone on the second dial.

I sit and listen to people every day in our office using this and it's a secret hack (not any more) that you can use in your business now as well.

Try it, and let me know how it works for you.

Let me guess... you've had a buyer recently tell you, "I'm going to put my search on hold for a bit." Haven't you?

What do you say to them when they tell you that? Well, first I would go deeper with some assumptive questioning to try to uncover exactly what driving that decision.

But in any answer you give them I think it's important to do two things.

1. Empathize - tell them you understand why they would do this. I mean... we ALL understand why someone would think twice at the moment right?

2. Pivot - this is where most agents will get it wrong. Rather than tell them "here's why I think you should buy" you should say "here's what worries me if you wait"...

You see, people are more driven by the fear of loss than the thought of gain. It's why people sell stocks when they start to fall instead of as they are rising for the most part.

This subtle shift has worked wonders for my team for all sorts of objection handlers and I hope it does the same for you...

P.S. - What other objections are you seeing in the market right now??

My two biggest takeaways from being in the #1 room in real estate for 2 days. 🤯

Andrew Duncan told me that I need to get in the rooms with Jon Cheplak and his coaches… so we took a week away from our business to do just that. The result is a profound shift in mindset.

The biggest take aways that will put fuel on fire for our team? 🔥

Prioritize personal health. Without it you are a liability to your family and your organization. You owe it to them. Alec Cheplak spoke right to Sarah and me and we’re ready to dive in further in our health journey. 💪🏻

It’s why we’re paying for gym memberships for our team and looking at other options for a full wellness package for them. Don’t overlook it!!

Second, obsess over human behavior and building deeper relationships. “Throw away every business book that you have and spend the next year reading books on human behavior”.
I’ve already been doing this for a year, but some of these people are light years ahead… emotional intelligence will separate you in your business.

Develop and understand human beings. Period

And, this might all sound a bit ‘froufrou’ or ‘kumbaya’. But like Jon says, the kumbaya is getting pretty great freaking results.

How many pillars does YOUR business have? We like to have a minimum of 3 - but preferably 4 - for the agents on our team. The key is that you should MASTER these 3 or 4 before you add other pillars to your business.

Some examples that anyone can do are

Open Houses 🏡
Online Leads 💻
FSBO and Expired
Sphere of Influence 🤝
Past Customers

But some under-utilized ones are

Church groups
Kids sports groups/school groups
Attorneys
Hobby clubs
Gym

but there are literally endless opportunities.

Don't go wide though, like I mentioned, go deep!!

That means doing in-person events 3-4 times per year for your sphere as well as contacting them in person by phone once per quarter.

It means holding 3-4 open houses per month and doing them the right way by door knocking, promoting them correctly and knowing how to talk to people that come into them.

It means mastering your FSBO and expired scripts and being consistent in your follow up (not giving up after 3 attempts).

What is one pillar that you have had success with that you never considered previously?

For me, it's my local food review page Hernando County Food Lovers

OK, I can predict your future 🔮

If I told you that every 15th visitor that you had to an open house would buy a home how many open houses would you do? One a week? Four a week? Two each day?? 🏡 I know it would be a heck of a lot more than you're doing now. I'm predicting 2 every day and you'd be out the front on roller skates with a spinning sign!! 😆
The conversion rate for open house visitors is 1 in every 15. So why are you not doing more open houses? It's likely because you did a couple in the past and didn't get any traction. Maybe it's because you think they don't work...

If I was a newer agent I would find a listing in a high traffic area and offer to do an open house EVERY day. If they have wi-fi then I could do my work from there and make it my office 💻

Now there are other things that can determine your success. Being able to attract people to an open house. Greeting them with intention. Giving them irresistible value before they leave. Following up after the open house. 📲

But why would you not want leads that convert higher than Zillow (6% nationally) and are basically FREE? 🤑

So, do MORE open houses. Do them with intention.

P.S. Who would find it useful for me to put on a FREE class to show you how our team works open houses?

P.P.S. You can Google "Tom Ferry Mega Open House" for a plan if you don't have one and want to download something.

168 Hours ⏱️

That's what we all get in a week. You, me, Elon, Zuck... we all get 168 hours. So what are you doing with yours that make you successful (or, distract you).

When people say that they don't have time for something, it's often not to case. And.. I'll go one step further. If they don't have the time then it's not because of poor time management, it's because of poor CHOICE management.

So examine what you do with your time that you have, examine your choices. Create good habits. Learn to say NO to things. The change that you will see in your personal and professional growth will be exponential.

If you don't start showing up for yourself then you're going to be forced to start showing up for someone else. Period.
🚨I hope this is the wake up call that some of you need to hear today. Because this market is tough. And with interest rates rising it's not looking like it's going to get much better over the next 6 months. Maybe your business is down 15% or even 30% this year. Or you don't even have enough of a business for it to go down 30% and you're wondering if you can make it at all in real estate. 😤
Be accountable to someone but start by being accountable to yourself!! Show up every day and treat this like a job. Your boss wouldn't let you clock in late, take an extra 30 minutes at lunch. ⏱️
Your boss would want to know how many calls you've made, where your pipeline is at. But we as real estate agents will find every reason and every excuse not to do the things that WE KNOW we need to do!!
In this market, that's going to mean an exit from the industry and I don't want to see that happen to ANYONE.
So start showing up as the best version of yourself each day. Be accountable. Treat it like a job and it can give you financial freedom that you can't likely find anywhere else.

If you are struggling to see results of hours spent in your business then you need to ask 2 questions.

✅ First, ask yourself if you are doing to RIGHT things. Are you doing the activities that have been historically shown to add customers and work in your business? Sometimes we can be 'busy' without being productive.

✅ Next, ask yourself have you been doing it for long enough? Most of the time we give up before we have put in enough time to see results.

For example, the calls that we make today will come to fruition 3/4 months from now. If you try geo-farming marketing then you need to do it for 12 months to track if it's working or not.

​In an "Amazon Prime" world we all want instant results.

We have seen it time and time again on the team that consistency over time equals results. So, if you are doing the right activities, make sure you are giving them enough time to work. ESPECIALLY in this real estate market where things are getting tough and results may take longer to show.

Choose 1/2 things to throw yourself into - ALL IN. Track them for at least 6 months and see where you can make small improvements that compound the result.