Real Estate Uncensored - Real Estate Sales & Marketing Training Podcast

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How do you sell 359 homes and become the top agent in your city? Misty SOLDwisch of Des Moines, IA shares her story of becoming a great listing agent, and how she leveled up with radio and TV.

Takeaways + Tactics

Use a two-stage listing consultation process - Going through the home first before recommending a list price

If you’re a strong listing agent, radio and TV might be the catalyst to dominating your city

To be a great listing agent, you must be a great listener. That side of the business is where all the expectations are

Sellers form an opinion on your expertise based on your presentation and the information you put together on their home...I go into the home without making any presumptions. -Misty SOLDwisch

First we covered Misty’s background as an agent, team leader and broker/owner of a RE/MAX office. Misty was always a strong listing agent, and she explained her two-stage listing consultation process at the top of the show. By going into the home without any presumptions of the value, she was able to build rapport and listen to the seller’s needs and motivations, then come back with an informed presentation and price opinion. This built her credibility and trust with the sellers.

Misty explained what it takes to be a great listing agent, “You must be a great listener. That side of the business is where all the expectations are. The buy side, that’s the fun part!” Because of her listing process, her listening skills and regular communication with seller clients, she built a reputation as a great listing agent.

From there, she started in internet lead generation, which is still part of her overall strategy. However, the catalyst for becoming the top team in her market was moving into radio and eventually television. The name recognition and lead generation from those two sources feed her entire team.

To prepare yourself to dominate your market, focus on becoming the best listing agent possible. Use a two-stage process to build rapport, trust and credibility, and capture great testimonials. Then you can level up into mass media marketing like radio and TV for massive lead generation.

Guest Bio

Misty Soldwisch is a RE/MAX broker/owner and leader of the Misty SOLDwisch Homselling Team in Des Moines, IA. In 2015 Misty’s team sold 359 homes, making her the the top producing agent in her market. Learn more about Misty’s team and send referrals atwww.soldincentraliowa.com or [email protected].

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

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What if the standard team model isn’t right for you? Des Moines agent Char Klisares shares her experience trying to shoehorn her business to fit that model, and how she shifted to a ONE Agent Team built around her strengths.

Takeaways + Tactics

Find the high quality agents in your area by reaching out to lenders

Create a group of high quality agents who want to work your excess leads

Support and train the agents to handle the leads correctly so your deals actually close

I needed to find something that would be self-feeding. As soon as I started implementing this system, my production numbers shot up and have exceeded anything I did before.  - Char Klisares

We kicked off with a question on how to handle return calls when you’re away from your computer and you’re not sure what lead source they’re calling from. Greg’s advice is to be a human being, tell them that you were making cold calls earlier and ask if they’re returning your voicemail. Char’s main advice is to thank them for calling and build some excitement then ask a couple qualifying questions to get the conversation started.

Then we dug into Char’s story, and she shared how she came to the end of her rope trying to implement the standard team model. “On my best day I can’t be everything to everyone. Even with the best intention I was pissing people off left and right.”

Working with her coach, Hank Avink, they set out to find a team structure built around her personality and work style, and struck on the ONE Agent Team. As a result, Char is on track to close 9 deals this month after starting the year with only one deal in January, resulting in over $40k in commission per month (in a midwest market).

Char explained the mindset behind the structure, “If you’re chasing the dollar, you won’t understand this. My issue right now is I have so many leads coming in. For every 5 listings I manage I can only do one buyer because of the time tradeoff. A year ago I switched my focus from buyers to listings…’

Char went to lenders to find agents she could partner with to work those excess buyer leads. She secured their agreement and then setup a group chat where she and her assistant can distribute the leads. Agents work the leads, Char gives them coaching, support and a lead follow up structure, and in exchange she takes a referral fee.

We love real estate because it’s like the wild west! You can build any kind of business you want, and Char is a perfect example. Don’t make yourself miserable trying to fit into someone else’s business model.

Guest Bio

Char Klisares is a real estate agent and team leader with RE/MAX in Des Moines, IA. To send referrals to Char, connect with her on Facebook.

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

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How do you decide where to invest your lead gen budget? Denver team owner and Firepoint founder Chris Tamm shares the key metrics he tracks and elements you can improve to get you the maximum ROI.

Takeaways + Tactics

Video-based follow up email sequences have much higher click-through rates and engagement than delivering that information by text

Set up saved searches that don’t shut off automatically so you continue to touch past clients and sphere

If you prospect by calling or texting cell phones using an automated system, you’re opening yourself up to $16k fine per call/text

A lead is a conversation. Improving the quality of the conversation with saved searches, video email sequences and scheduled follow up will close the loopholes where you’re losing leads and losing money.

Guest Bio 

Chris Tamm is a team owner and founder of Firepoint, based in Denver, CO. Firepoint is an all-in-one solution used by some of the top agents in the country, such as Gabe Cordova. Learn more at firepoint.net.

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

FSBO’s have demonstrated a need for your services, so how do you convert them into clients? Aaron Wittenstein joins us to share how he prospects FSBO’s, from why he waits 3-4 wks to contact them to scripts and objection handlers.

Takeaways + Tactics

Contact FSBO’s 3-4 weeks after they go on the market - once they’ve gotten over the initial optimism and showings are slowing down

Use scripts that are being tested and proven on the ground - right NOW in today’s market

Go after low-hanging fruit - new Expireds and FSBO’s - the next best source are old Expireds and FSBO’s

This business is not very easy. If you’re not in the right environment to help you succeed, you’re going to fail. -Aaron Wittenstein

Learn from those who are active in the business and have a pulse on what’s working right NOW. If you don’t have a mentor or coach, or can’t afford one, find a great agent in your office and ask them to mentor you in exchange for sharing the commission on your deals.

Guest Bio

Aaron Wittenstein is an Expired listing expert based in White Plains, NY. Aaron is also the founder of Lead Gen Scripts & Objections Facebook Group.  Send referrals his way via www.westchestersells.com.  

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

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With so many opportunities for people who work in real estate to grow strong businesses and build wealth by investing in their own product, why are so few agents doing it? Real estate veteran, investor and podcaster Jason Hartman provides insights into mastering the market and also finding opportunities to create wealth.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Succeed by building relationships, the key is dominating one geographical location and understanding that area so that people can only think to list with you.
2. There is no second place in real estate, you either get the listing or you don’t. It’s better to be first in a small group as opposed to being 2nd in a larger one.
3. Income property is the most historically proven asset class. Single-family homes are the safest asset class and when you invest in them you get returns in different aspects and build wealth.

This is the era with so many tools at the disposal of real estate agents, but the work and the success still comes down to relationships and the key is learning to own a geographical area and dominating it.
–Jason Hartman

The hangout kicks off with a question from a listener who wants to know if it’s still necessary to sell homes through realtors, since some sellers are doing it themselves. Jason and Greg both point out that an agent cuts down time on the market and more importantly stress on the seller.

Jason Hartman tells us more about his background and career. After getting into the real estate game at 19, he worked at Remax (where became one of the top performing agents). His true interest was always on the investment side of the business which he moved into after his time at Remax. Jason Hartman advises agents to put work into building relationships and dominating a geographical era.

In his investment career, Jason focuses on single-family homes. “Single-family homes are the safest asset class because they have a universal need and when you invest in income property you earn a return from different aspects.” In terms of clientele Jason says, “Our avatar client is an investor who works hard, has equity in their home, savings or stocks, and wants to invest in 6-10 homes.”

Jason gives us his market insights including the benefits of investing. He introduces what he calls “inflation induced debt destruction” which helps people build wealth through income property. Tragically, most people in real estate miss out on this wealth because they’re not investing in their own product. If you build a productive business by dominating an area, you can join the ranks of agents building wealth while they list!

To rise to the level of being able to invest in real estate, it’s important to build a strong and productive business by learning to dominate a neighborhood and then widening your reach from there. If you can put your focus on building strong relationships within that area, you will be able to create the capital to invest. Stop selling real estate, and start selling yourself!

Guest Bio 

Jason is a real estate veteran and investment expert who has been involved in several thousand real estate transactions and has owned income properties in 11 states and 17 cities. His company, Platinum Properties Investor Network helps people purchase income property in prudent markets nationwide. He also hosts a podcast called Creating Wealth and does educational events. Listen to the podcast and learn more about Jason and his company at www.jasonhartman.com.

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more. 

As promised on a previous Facebook Live, we role play through Greg’s listing consultation, expired and other seller objections, and how Greg and Aaron are using Facebook Live to hold themselves accountable and raise their prospecting game.

Takeaways + Tactics

Use Facebook Live to hold yourself accountable to make your prospecting calls

Aaron uses a combination of Vulcan 7 and Sieze the Market data to get the best Expired data

Research and call old expireds so you never run out of people to call

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We start with Aaron roleplaying through some objection handlers, including the objection “I would never list with you because you’re too aggressive.” We also talk thought Aaron’s schedule, when he prospects for Expireds and does his follow ups, and what he spends extra time on.

Aaron shared that he has 11,000 old Expired’s going back to 2011, so he never runs out of people to call. He also shared how he sets up his clients for price reductions by weekly communication, “You earn the right for price modifications…My clients come to ME with price modifications because they know what I’m doing for them.”

If you want to step up your game and take more listings, this episode has some killer scripts and objection handlers to deal with difficult sellers. To actually get your listings sold, it’s crucial to have weekly communication with your sellers so price modifications are built into the expectations.

Aaron Wittenstein is an Expired listing expert based in White Plains, NY. Aaron is also the founder of Lead Gen Scripts & Objections Facebook Group.  Send referrals his way via http://www.westchestersells.com/.  

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

We hear all the time about how mindset is key to success, but how do you change your mindset? In this episode we talk about the mindset differences between successful and unsuccessful people and how to use audio and video materials to absorb a new mindset by repetition.

We kicked off by discussing the mindset issue most struggling agents have in real estate - a short-term mindset that tends to believe resources, leads and sales are scarce. Successful people have the opposite mindset - they have a long-term mindset and believe resources, leads, sales, even great ideas, are abundant. Successful people know that there are always more leads, more ideas, more money to be made.

We gave one quick example of how the sales cycle is getting longer. Offering a home value quote rather than asking if someone is thinking about selling. The home value offer is attractive to someone further upstream, because it’s the information they need to decide if they can and want to sell. The further upstream you catch leads the more chance you have to build trust and a real relationship before they need your services. Trying to find lots of leads who are ready to make a move in the next 3 months is a pipe dream. It’s our responsibility as real estate consultants to build relationships, build trust and nurture those leads till they are ready to make a move.

We also covered how to change your mindset if you come from a background that ingrained a mindset of scarcity or short-term thinking. Both Greg and Matt agree that you need to attack the problem with repetition. Listen to motivational material and watch motivational videos over and over and over again. Let it get into your subconscious till it becomes your default way of thinking.

It takes time and effort to build relationships, so if you excel at it you’ll separate yourself from 99% of other agents. It takes a mindset of abundance and a long-term outlook, so it really begs the question, Are you in the real estate for the long haul?

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

50-80% of people self-identify as shy. If you’ve ever felt uncomfortable in a room full of strangers, this episode is for you. Susan shares practical tips and phrases you can use tomorrow at networking events and out in public to develop real relationships with people.

We started with a common situation - the networking event - and Susan gave some great practical tips. Focus on making others comfortable with you. Recognize that at least half the people in that room consider themselves shy, and you can help them by starting conversations and getting to know them. Stick with small talk at first, and don’t bombard people with questions. You have to EARN the right to ask big questions.

Susan also pointed out how it’s hard to tell who the influencers are in a room, and even if you identify them, it doesn’t mean you should only focus on, or be nice to, those influencers. You never who knows who, so be nice to everyone in every room. Remember the old saying, The roof is the introduction. In other words, the fact that you are there in that room with that group of people gives you something in common to start conversations.

Then we dive into another common situation - when we’re chatting with someone who expresses interest or need in what we offer. Susan explained that we shouldn’t ignore or shrink back from that interest, but follow up with a question: “Oh really, what were you thinking about?” Then offer some idea and ask another question. Be careful not to grill people. “The only grilling you should do is BBQ, not people,” Susan pointed out, “Make it conversational and natural.”

We also covered how to follow up and stay in contact with someone you meet at an event to draw that person into a deeper relationship. Susan explained how she keeps up with current events through newspapers and TheWeek.com, and why that’s so important. Susan also pointed out that business cards are still important, and you should take cues from the other person on whether to offer your business card. Susan also gave a simple script for email follow up and meeting with people you meet at events.

The big takeaway is to focus on others first. Make them comfortable, make small talk, share genuine stories and build relationships first. Don’t look at people as prospects!

Susan RoAne is a keynote speaker and best-selling author of How To Work A Room, which recently celebrated it’s 25th publication anniversary. Learn more about Susan and receive your free ebook at her website: http://www.susanroane.com/ and pick up a copy of her books at local bookseller to support local businesses! If you have a burning question, email [email protected]

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

Anyone can sell 200-300 homes per year, so why do most agents struggle? Real estate coach, top producing agent and fellow podcast host Marguerite Crespillo joins us to share practical steps we can all take to be more successful agents.

Marguerite shared her views on how new agents should be brought into the business, with an apprenticeship program and a reduced commission for the first 12 transactions. She also explained that both sides need to have the training checklist so the mentor and new agent don’t sign off till they both agree that the new agent is fully trained and prepared to work a deal on their own. This would prevent most of the quality issues we see in the business today.

She explained that if you’re new to the business and your broker or team doesn’t have this structure in place, you can still reproduce this by pitching an experienced agent by offering to give them a split of the commission in exchange for an apprenticeship.

Then we tackled the issues of expansion, and Marguerite shared her views: “There’s a big thing going on right now that’s somewhat scary, which is the whole mega agent thing.” She explained that expanding into a market you don’t really know and understand in exchange for generating leads and coaching the agent doesn’t serve the agent, the broker or the consumer. This also affects how teams recruit, which is based entirely on whether an agent has done a few deals with no attention paid to HOW the agent handled those deals and if they’re really good at handling transactions.

Next we dive into why agents struggle, including the perception that agents don’t need to work hard. “The agents who are in that top 10% are the people who get up, show up and dress up...Those people do well. If you’re not willing to do any of that, you will always struggle.”

Marguerite went on to explain “Anyone can sell 200-300 homes, but are you willing to do the work associated with that? Are you willing to sacrifice?” She gave a terrific example of an agent she recently interviewed who is a single mom and built a successful business that allowed her to be off at 3pm to pick up her kids. “So what do you want your life to look like first, and then build your business around your life.”

We finish up the interview with the power of saying NO. It’s critical to know your goals so that when unrelated opportunities come up, you can confidently say NO and focus on the things that directly help you reach your goals.

If you want to stop struggling and start succeeding in real estate, start by looking at your personality and what you’re willing to sacrifice to build a successful business. Anyone can succeed as long as you Get Up, Show Up and Dress Up!

Marguerite Crespillo is the Owner of Realty First, a 20+ year veteran of the business as a high-producing agent, team leader and broker. Marguerite is also a John Maxwell Certified trainer and founder of MasterClass Real Estate Academy. She hosts a podcast called Real Estate Real World. Listen to the podcast and learn more about Marguerite at http://www.margueritecrespillo.com/.

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.

In our latest episode we take a variety of questions and share our takeaways on marketing from our recent interview with Chris Smith, founder of Curaytor.

We started with a question on how to write better offers to get your buyer’s offer accepted in a super competitive market. Greg shared a couple strategies for working your price and timing of your offer, as well as some ways to compress timelines to make your offer more attractive.

Then we tackled a big question - What are the first steps toward building a team?

Greg explained that the very first step is figuring out what type of team you want. Rainmaker with some support staff, rainmaker with buyer agents who get leads from you, or CEO type with dedicated buyer agents and listing specialists.

Matt agreed and shared that we have two upcoming guests who tried the standard KW team model, a CEO structure, but then went a completely different direction. They stripped down their business to their strengths and then built small, agile teams around their strengths and their personality. So stay tuned for those interviews!

Then we covered our takeaways from the Chris Smith interviews:

1. Old school not only works but is getting more effective
2. Do things that don’t scale
3. Every lead is an internet lead
4. Are you open to learning from someone different from you?
5. Educate your prospects so they get value even if they don’t work with you

We’re all in the relationship business. The more quality relationships we build, the more successful we’ll become. Use social media, content marketing, reviews, success stories and all other marketing tools at your disposal to build relationships first.

Click here to download your free PDF, Greg’s Favorite Scripts, featuring scripts for buyer and seller lead follow up, price reduction and objection handler scripts and much more.