Keeping It Real Podcast • Secrets Of Top 1% REALTORS ® • Interviews With Real Estate Brokers & Agents

Jeff Proctor is one of the most successful real estate brokers in Chicago. Over his career he has closed over 500 million in real estate sales. In the past six years alone he’s produced 385 million. In our conversation Jeff talks at length about market trends (past, present and future) and how agents should adapt to meet their client’s needs.

Jeff Proctor can be reached at [email protected] and 773.517.6026.

To watch this interview on YouTube, please click here.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show. Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the most listened to podcast made for real estate agents by real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your guide, and host through the show. And we are really excited to get a lot of things happening at the podcast that you may or may not know about. So I’ll spend just a few moments before we get to our interview with the great Jeff proctor in just a few. First of all, we have a new website coming. So keep your eyes peeled at keeping it real pod.com That is our website, it will be easier to navigate easier to find the episodes you want. We’re going to be grouping all of our episodes into different categories just to make it a little smoother for you and you can stream every episode we’ve ever done. I think we have 130 episodes up, and you can listen to it right in your browser. So again, visit keeping it real pod.com. Also, I want to talk about video, we have added video now to all of our future episodes. And I want to explain how you can watch these videos because this is kind of complicated, in a sense, right? Because right now you’re probably listening through a podcast app. So if you continue to listen to the podcast app, you’ll continue just to hear the audio components, which is absolutely fine. We’re thrilled to have you doing that. If you want to watch the video of today’s interview, for example, in the show notes. So if you go into your podcast app, if that’s where you’re listening, you’ll see notes about the episode. And there’s a link right to the YouTube video. Also, though, just to further complicate things, what we’re also doing because it’s really fun and people seem to be reacting to this in a great way is we’re going to be streaming all of these live on Facebook as we’re recording them. So for example,

Prior to becoming a top Chicago real estate agent, Amber Kardosh was in the corporate world. Oh, and she was an Ironman athlete, too. In this episode Amber talks about her daily disciplines around client communication and prospecting. She provides tips on how to use LinkedIn to find out what’s going on in your contacts’ lives and how to rise above the thousands of other brokers to establish deeper relationships.

Amber Kardosh can be reached at 773.726.2070 and [email protected].

Would you rather watch this interview on YouTube? Click here to see Amber!

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show.

Hello, and welcome to keeping it real the largest podcast and most listened to podcast made by real estate agents for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host and guide through the show and we are so excited to announce that we finally have video we are now recording with video every single interview that we do starting with Amber Kardos, who you are about to hear or see in just a few moments. Now, if you’re current if you’re listening to this via a podcast app on on iTunes, Google Play on Stitcher, Spotify, but nothing will change you’ll continue to be able to listen to the episodes. But if you want to see the episodes, there’s a couple of ways where a couple places you can go to watch them. First is keeping it real pod.com Our website we’re going to have links to every single video interview inside of the episode in the show notes. Also, by the way, in the show notes on your app, there’ll be a link directly to the YouTube video so you can always watch it right there. But we also really encourage you guys to go to Facebook and subscribe to our page. So it’s facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod. Not only do we continually post the links to the audio episodes, but now also the video episodes and sometimes we’ll even be broadcasting it live as we record it right on Facebook. So guys again facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod. Let us know how you guys like watching versus listening really want your feedback. And this will help us continue to make the show better. So you know just shoot us a message on Facebook or via our website. Let us know what you like how to make it better and we’re so excited and thank you for continually reminding me to get video up and running so we have it so guys, please continue to support the show tell a friend if you know any other re...

Welcome to the February episode of our Learn With A Learn series with Joel Schaub!

How do you stay top of mind with your clients in 2020? How often should you schedule client appreciation events? What’s the best way to navigate networking events? And why did Joel stay in on Friday night emailing every client of the past few years? Another amazing episode with Joel Schaub of Guaranteed Rate!

Joel can be reached at [email protected] and 773.654.2049.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00On this episode of Keeping it real is brought to you by Joel Schaub at guaranteed rate. As a realtor it’s important to partner with only the most trusted name in mortgage lending. Joel has 1000s of satisfied clients and gives $1,500 of his commission back to your buyers on every closing. He is known for his ability to close even complex deals start to finish in only 14 days to learn what 1000s of others already know. Make a note to call Joel at 773-654-2049 or email [email protected] Guaranteed Rate is an equal housing lender licensed in all 50 States Consumer Access Number 2611 And now on with the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast made by real estate agents for real estate agents. Today we have our monthly feature which is learning with a lender with Joel shop from guaranteed rate. And before I talk about Joel’s bio which I’m about to read Joel is by far the best loan officer I have ever met and work with super honored to have him on the show. But if this is your first time hearing an episode with Joel, let me tell you a little about him. Joel is the vice president of lending at guaranteed rate. He has been doing loans at a high level since 2003. And has gotten to that level because of what he does directly for agents, which is he gives part of his commission back to the buyer on every transaction. Last year alone 2019 Joe gave back over $291,000 in closing costs directly to the buyers who worked with him and that put Joel’s volume in the top 1/10 of 1% of all loan officers nationwide. out of 410 loan officers in the country. Joel is in the top 150 year to date. And this is only January, he or sorry in the last year rather Joel did 326 transactions for just under 117 million in closings it was his highest year ever. It this year alone in the month of January Joel’s close already 6 million in sales. Now to get in touch with Joel he can be reached at [email protected] Again [email protected] or call him at 773-654-2049. Let’s say hello to the biggest Cubs fan. I know Joel shop.

Joel Schaub 2:36Welcome, DJ, thanks so much for having me today.

D.J. Paris 2:39We’re, you know, I wasn’t even joking when I said you’re that you’re the best loan officer I’ve ever spoken with. It’s definitely a high bar to clear what you’ve said. And would you mind before getting into what you wanted to discuss today? Would you mind sharing what you told me how you spent your Friday night, which you probably did not ask me to share? I would like but this just goes to show just how great of a loan officer your

Joel Schaub 3:02DJ asked me. So before we got on there, he said,

Ben Lalez of Compass grew his production from four million in 2017 to 24 million in 2019. That kind of growth in remarkable – even more remarkable as 2019 was Ben’s second year as a full time real estate agent. In this episode Ben discusses how he started in real estate, how he shifted into top producer status, and why having a previous knowledge of contractor work helps separate him from other brokers.

Ben Lalez can be reached at [email protected] and 847-452-9675

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also, nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast made by real estate agents for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris. I am your host and guide to the show. And if you’re brand new to the show, here’s what we do we talk to top 1% producers all over the country and ask them how they grew their business so that other realtors can learn from their success. You probably already knew that this probably isn’t your first episode. So thank you for letting me do that. But a couple of quick things before we get started with our episode with Ben Lalas. First tell a friend if you know even one other real estate agent that could benefit from listening to interviews from top producers like Ben shoot this over, you can listen to every episode we’ve ever done keeping it real pod.com By the way, new website is coming in about a week and it’ll be a lot easier to navigate and find the episodes you’re looking for. So I’ll let you know once that’s live. Also, we’re adding video. So all of the episodes going forward will be video podcasts. So not only will you be able to listen like you are now but you’ll also be able to watch our guests on YouTube and some other areas we’re going to be sharing that so be on the lookout for that the best place to find out exactly what’s going on with our podcast is on Facebook, visit us facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod again, keeping it real pod. And every single day, we post an article that we find online written by some expert industry expert about how you can help grow your business. And of course, we also post all of our episodes. So please go there and engage with the other fans of the show. And also send us your feedback. Any guests you think we need to talk to any ideas you have to make the show better. We are thrilled to hear that so you can always send us a message through the keeping it real pod.com website Facebook a million ways to find us. Alright guys, enough of me. Let’s get on to our amazing interview with the great Ben lawless.

Sam Shaffer of Chicago Properties is not only a top 1% producer, but one of the most respected brokers in Chicago. In our conversation Sam talks about starting out at the bottom and how he built his massive real estate practice (and brokerage) through consistent follow through, honesty and integrity. His energy is electric and Sam provides tips that all agents can utilize to take their business to the next level!

Sam Shaffer can be reached at [email protected] and 773.297.9792.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also, nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast made by real estate agents for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your guide and your host through the show and in just a moment, we’re going to be speaking with Sam Shaffer a true legend in the Chicagoland area. Before we do that, a couple of quick announcements. Number one, we are doubling the number of episodes in 2020. So you’ve probably seen an uptick in the number of episodes we’ve been releasing regularly since the beginning of the year. And we will continue to do that because number one, you’re asking for it. And number two, we have sponsors now that help us do more episodes. So if you notice at the beginning of this show, we have a sponsorship, if you are someone who has a company that promotes to real estate agents, products, services, and you would like to sponsor an upcoming episode, by the way, we have 1000s of listeners on every single episode nationwide, let us know reach out to us through our website, keeping it real pod.com. By the way, speaking of the website, it is going through a major overhaul. And in about a week, we’ll have a brand new website up and running for you. And we’re going to be grouping together different types of episodes. So as you know, we do our interviews like the one we’re about to do with Sam. And we also have other regular segments. So we have episodes with regards to what brokers need to know about what’s going on in the lending. And our training. And all sorts of other are Monday market minute. And so we’re going to be doing that you’ll be able to pull all of those in a much easier way right from our website, which again, is keeping it real pod.com. And lastly, Oh, and one other thing before we get to the last, we’re going to be starting to do video as well. So starting also in about a week, you will be able to watch these interviews, in addition to listening them the way you are right now through your podcast app. So be on the lookout we’re still working out the technical arrangement there, but we’re almost we’ve ever pretty well figured out so we’re excited beca...

Welcome to the January edition of Monday Market Minute with Carrie McCormick from At Properties!

In our first Monday Market Minute of 2020, Carrie discusses the real estate market both nationwide and locally in Chicago. She also talks about the importance of making a home look as close to perfect as possible before listing it – buyers are demanding it in the Instagram and HGTV era! I provide a tip about how to send mailers in a way that adds HUGE value.

Carrie can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 312.961.4612.

Please follow Carrie on Instagram by clicking here.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made for real estate agents and by real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host and guide through the show and today we have another one of our Monday market minute which is our regular feature a regular episode we do every single month with a Chicago legend Carrie McCormick from App properties. If you are not familiar with Carrie, she is one of the top top top producers in Chicago the top 1/10 of 1% Out of over 46,000 brokers in the city. She has been a top producer for over 20 years. And by the way should all check out her new website which is Carrie McCormack r e.com. And also follow her on Instagram. She has the very best Instagram account I’ve ever seen for a realtor, which is Carrie McCormick real estate. So go to Instagram, look for Carrie McCormick real estate. We’ll also link to it in the show notes. But once again, welcome Carrie, thanks for being on the show.

Carrie McCormick 1:53What an intro. Thank you so much for having me. As always, this is one of my favorite things to do.

D.J. Paris 1:59Well, we’re super excited to have you and the fans and the listeners love it. And you just bring so much great content, you’ve actually are our oldest guests, you’ve been on the show for several years. Like oldest, no, not oldest in that way you are since the beginning. You stuck you were with us when we had no listeners. And now you have 1000s and 1000s of people who listen to every episode. So we’re super grateful that you’re with us, and the fans. Love you. So we’re glad to have you.

Carrie McCormick 2:24Awesome. Well, thank you very much. And I appreciate that. And I always like to start by saying, you know, it’s about giving back in our community as well.

Can realtors use YouTube as a source of buyer and seller leads? YES! Jackson Wilkey, one half of Portland and Seattle’s famous YouTube Agents is living proof that prospecting on YouTube works! In the past four months they’ve closed 12 million in production ALL from YouTube. They’re on pace to close 100 sales transactions in 2020. In this interview Jackson shares his YouTube secrets that anyone can do to drive more qualified leads right to you!

The YouTube Agents have a course for brokers to learn this process. Click here to check it out!

Use promo code “DJ” for a special discount!

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that is everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also, nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made by real estate agents. And for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host, and guide through the show. And in just a moment, we’re gonna bring on the YouTube agents who get 100% of their business through YouTube. And they’re crushing it. I’m super excited. They’re from Portland. That’s a good time to mention that this show is now nationwide we’ve always had nationwide listeners. But now we’re getting nationwide guests. So if you know someone in your market that we need to feature on our show a top producer doing unique things that people need to know about, then you please let us know you can always visit us at our website to contact us which is keeping it real pod.com Of course we have every episode we’ve ever produced streaming on that website. And of course, you can subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play Spotify, Pandora, anywhere you listen to podcast, just search for keeping it real look for the one that has the name DJ, that’s me. And because there’s a few others with the same name, but you’ll find us pretty easily and guys, also, please tell a friend, we are committed to doubling the number of episodes that we did last year this year. So we’re going to do that but we need your help. We want to double our listenership. All I’m asking you to do is think of one person, one real estate agent that could benefit from hearing the secrets of top producers and pass this over to him you’ll be doing this a huge, huge favor. And thank you very much in advance for that. And lastly, guys, follow us on Facebook. So that’s facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pot every single day we post an article that we find online that is designed to help you grow your business. That’s pretty much all we post along with updates to all of our new episodes. So our whole intention is to help you take your business to the next level by talking to people who are already at that next level. So thanks again for your continued listenership.

Welcome to our BRAND-NEW monthly feature, Social Bootcamp With Gogo Bethke!

Gogo Bethke is the author of Gogo’s Bootcamp, the #1 real estate social media training program in the industry. She came to the U.S. with no money, no sphere of influence and no experience. Within a few years Gogo became a top 1% producer through her social media strategies. She’ll be on the show each month teaching you how to drive more business through social media. Today’s topic – what realtors ® should be doing in 2020 to increase their Instagram effectiveness.

To sign up for Gogo’s Bootcamp, click here!

DISCLAIMER: Gogo’s 30-day moneyback guarantee is no longer available.

Gogo Bethke can be reached at [email protected] and at her Instagram account.

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00Today’s episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Looking to add value to your investor clients recommend nest egg a Chicago based app that has everything your clients need to manage their rentals in only minutes a month. Nest Egg is the only app that gets things done at the rental including on demand maintenance, and services like tenant placement and snow removal. Also nest egg is free to use which makes your clients investments 20 to 30% more profitable. Join nest egg today by downloading the app or by visiting mistake dot rent. That’s nest egg dot rent, use promo code keeping it real to get your first hour of maintenance for free. And now on to the show.

Hello, and welcome to keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made by real estate agents for real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your guide, and host through the show and we’re just about ready to have gogo from gogos bootcamp.com. Come on and talk about social media and what Realtors need to be doing in 2020 to up their social media game. Before we get to go go, I’m asking everyone for a huge favor. Could you think of just one realtor, one real estate agent that you know that could benefit from listening to top 1% producers? Right? Of course you can we all know at least one who’s eager to learn but maybe doesn’t exactly know how to get those tips and strategies from the very best producers. Well, this is what this podcast is all about. If you’re listening you already know that but a lot of brokers don’t yet know about the show. So if everyone goes out there and just tells one other person that will double our listenership we’ll be able to do more episodes. Just this month alone, we have 12 episodes booked and scheduled and ready. So this is our year 2020 to literally double the number of episodes we’re going to provide. So we’re asking you to help us double our audience. So just think of one broker one realtor that could use this kind of information, pass it along, we’d greatly appreciate it. Also,

Welcome to the January episode of Coaching Moments with Ryan D’Aprile!

Over the past decade Ryan D’Aprile has personally coached hundreds of real estate agents to top producer status. He has devoted his career to sharing the strategies that have worked for him (and for countless others) to help agents get to the next level. In this episode Ryan provides the disciplines needed to make 2020 your best year ever in real estate. Follow his suggestions and then send him a thank you! 🙂

Ryan D’Aprile can be reached at 312.590.6416 and [email protected].

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00This episode of Keeping it real podcast is brought to you by nest egg. Are you worried about balancing your rental properties with your day job, worry no longer because nest egg is here to help. Nest Egg is an all in one management solution that handles maintenance, expert advice and rent collection for you. There 24/7 Help Desk will take care of all of your management needs to keep your properties running smoothly. Best of all pricing starts at free. So please give it a shot. Visit nest egg dot rent to sign up today. That’s nest steak dot rent. And now on to the show.

Welcome to another episode of Keeping it real the largest podcast in the country made for real estate agents and brokers by real estate agents and brokers. My name is DJ Paris. I am your host and guide through the show and today we have our monthly episode called coaching moments with Ryan de Abril. Ryan is a progressive thought leader focused on providing for his agents and staff. His strengths are his motivational skills coaching style and his dedication to training. He has 14 offices throughout Chicagoland and in Wisconsin and Indiana and Michigan, and hundreds and hundreds of brokers deep real properties is a coaching company with eight strategic coaches who work week in and week out with every agent individually focusing on business planning, coaching and accountability. If you’d like to take your career to the next level, or if you’re just not getting the attention you need at your current firm. Check out dia real properties visit deep real properties.com welcome Ryan de abril to the show.

Ryan D’Aprile 1:52Thanks, DJ. How are you doing, buddy?

D.J. Paris 1:54I’m good happy holidays. And happy new year.

Ryan D’Aprile 1:57Yeah, New Year’s right around the corner. We’re coming in early next week. And we it’s that time of the year right where everybody starts reflecting on the previous year and coming up with these new year’s resolutions. I think in our last session, I said everyone should treat the end of each quarter. Like, like a new year. I think a lot of people come out of the gates running. But then 10s of fizzle out. And we’re going to come into that time where we make our New Year’s resolutions. We’re ready to rock and roll. You blink your eyes and it’s February 15. And the excitement’s faded. So I think that happens a lot of people. So coming into this, keep this in mind you guys, when you end the first quarter of next year, which will be here before you know it.

Welcome to the January episode of Learning With A Lender with Joel Schaub!

In this episode Joel Schaub talks about the importance of aligning yourself with a cause that you believe in. Not only is it the right thing to do, but you’ll see that over time clients want to work with brokers that give back. Next, Joel talks about joining groups (such as a college alumni program or an online neighborhood group) and providing value there and over time you’ll start to attract more clients! Last, Joel discusses how loan limits have changed and how borrowers can house-hack more easily than ever before!

Transcript

D.J. Paris 0:00This episode of Keeping it real is brought to you by Joel Schaub at guaranteed rate. As a realtor it’s important to partner with only the most trusted name in mortgage lending. Joel has 1000s of satisfied clients and gives $1,500 of his commission back to your buyers on every closing. He is known for his ability to close even complex deals start to finish in only 14 days to learn what 1000s of others already know. Make a note to call Joel at 773-654-2049 or email [email protected] Guaranteed Rate is an equal housing lender licensed in all 50 States Consumer Access Number 2611 And now on with the show

Welcome to keeping it real the largest podcast in the country for real estate agents made by real estate agents. My name is DJ Paris, I am your host and what a year it’s been we have doubled our traffic and our listenership and we have now expanded nationwide with our guests and also with our listeners and we’re so excited to continue to bring you this kind of content today on the show. We have our monthly episode with Joel shop from guaranteed array called Learn with a lender if you are new to the show. Let me tell you about Joel Joel is vice president of lending at guaranteed rate. He has been doing loans at a high level since 2003. And has got to that level because of what he does directly for agents he gives back part of his commission to the buyer on every transaction every time. Last year alone, he gave back over $271,000 in closing costs to buyers who worked with him and that put Joel’s volume in the top 1/10 of 1% of loan officers nationwide. out of 380,000 loan officers nationwide Joel is ranked number 181 year to date, he has closed 317 transactions for just under 113 million in closings in the month of December alone, which is no closings happen. Joel has already done 10 million in closed transactions. And Joel can be reached at [email protected]. Or you can always call him directly at 773-354-2049. Let’s say hello to the biggest Cubs fan. I know Joel Schaub Good afternoon, sir.

Joel Schaub 2:39Hey, DJ, thanks so much for having me on again. And the accolades and the numbers that you you know, you share with the listeners, they’re great, but I love this time to come on and give back and go through some of the things that I’ve seen other agents doing that can help them really, really grow their business, and not spend a lot of money. I’m gonna go through several things that I have seen other people doing and really give back here today. So I’m really excited to be on the show.

D.J. Paris 3:11And, and thank you, we’re so excited. You’re a fan favorite. And we’re so appreciated by our audience. And I would like to tell the audience, just how dedicated Joel is. Joel is catching a flight tomorrow to go out of the country on safari, which is super exciting. And he does not have time to do this right now.