Real Estate Uncensored - Real Estate Sales & Marketing Training Podcast

Borrowing against life insurance policies are a creative (and possibly tax-free) way for buyers to come up with their down payment. Insurance Planning Specialist Rob Hansen joins us to share how that works as well as lessons he’s learning building referral relationships with Financial Advisors.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Homebuyers in their 40’s to early 60’s with 10+ year-old life insurance policies are great candidates for borrowing against their policies

2. Hone your elevator pitch to referral partners by focusing on the benefits to them of working with you

3. When building referral relationships, look the part. Your dress and style should convey that you are a part of their world.

In summing up his approach, Rob explained that people buy from you based on three things: Why should I work with you? What do I get out of it? and How does it benefit me to work with you? Focus on answering those three questions and you’ll attract more clients, more referral relationships and more business.

Guest Bio

Rob Hansen is an Insurance Planning Specialist at BKA Financial. In addition to helping consumers with their insurance needs Rob also drives revenue for financial advisors by identifying and delivering life insurance solutions for Financial Advisors and their clients. Connect with Rob via phone at 925-200-3635 and via email at [email protected].

With the rise of shows like Entrepreneur on Fire and Smart Passive income, many agents are interested in hosting their own podcast. In our latest episode, we talk about the 3 specific purposes for real estate agents to host a podcast, and interview John Lee Dumas, host of Entrepreneur on Fire, on the nitty gritty details of hosting a consistent, high-quality podcast.

Takeaways + Tactics

First we address the reasons a real estate agent might host a podcast and the target audience for each. 1. Real Estate Market Show- Similar to a real estate radio show, this would be aimed at a general audience of buyers and sellers. 2. Community & Local Business- This would be an interview show with key vendors, contractors, lenders and local businesspeople, speaking to a general audience. This allows you to build relationships with key referral partners and stay in front of them by providing value rather than just by contacting the to ask for referrals. 3. Recruiting - This would be aimed at local agents, giving tips and strategies that are working for you and your agents, attracting other agents to join your team.

We kick off the interview with John Lee Dumas by going back to how John started Entrepreneur on Fire, meeting his initial target guests in person at events and approaching them about coming on the podcast. One great strategy he shared is that when he spoke with potential guests he referred to the first 20 guests he was booking as The Power 20 , which is a great strategy. Giving something a name and a personality can make it far more enticing.

From there, once he had a few high-profile guests he was able to leverage their name and credibility to book his next round of guests. We also discussed how far in advance he would book guests, and John shared the story of moving around a dentist appointment in order to accommodate Seth Godin’s schedule, in comparison to his schedule now which runs 8 interviews back-to-back on Tuesdays.

Next we talked about the curse of knowledge and why John doesn’t prepare for his interviews other than skimming their 50-word bio just before the interview. It only took about 450 interviews to get to the point where John is completely comfortable with that approach.

Knowing your target audience is critical to growing your podcast, and John shares exactly who his “avatar” or ideal listener is and how he developed that avatar to the point where he named the avatar and can describe this ideal listener in great detail. John points out that if you try to resonate with everyone, you end up resonating with no one. Find your niche, build raving fans, get initial momentum and then look to broaden and expand out from there.

John also shares why you need to take every opportunity to engage with your listeners, and ask them what they’re struggling with so you as the host can help create the solution to those pain points. That’s been the key to John’s monetization strategy, which has led to his founding Podcaster’s Paradise, Webinar on Fire and the Freedom Journal.

We finish up by talking about the challenges of putting out a daily podcast, how John records and maintains a consistent 7-day a week publishing schedule while building other parts of the business, and how John would launch a new podcast in this saturated environment.

So if you’re thinking of starting a podcast, start by identifying exactly what your goal is, who your ideal listener is, and get out there and meet them. Learn what their struggles and challenges are so you can create content that helps address those pain points, and then make it easy for them to appear on your show and share it with their friends.

Guest Bio

John Lee Dumas is the founder and host of Entrepreneur on Fire, a top ranked business podcast featuring interviews with 1,200+ of today’s most inspiring entrepreneurs. In addition to running his flagship 7-day-a-week podcast, John also founded and runs Podcaster’s Paradise, Webinar on Fire and recently launched The Freedom Journal, a goal-setting planner that has raised well over $300k on Kickstarter. Learn more at thefreedomjournal.com and check out his podcast at eofire.com.

Are you trying to create win-win deals when you negotiate for your client? Wrong move, says our latest guest, Michael Lee, author of Black Belt Negotiation and Cross-Cultural Selling for Dummies.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Practice negotiation in your daily life by negotiating everything
2. Don't worry about the other side - if they accept the deal, they believe it's in their best interest
3. Reach out to FSBO's by offering a free book that breaks down the sale process and shows the real value Realtors provide

As Americans we are raised in a non-negotiating culture, which puts us at a disadvantage when making the biggest purchases of our lives, like homes and vehicles. We negotiate because we must, not because we want to. Time is money and we’d rather save time by spending more money, versus other cultures where time is more plentiful and money is scarce.

Michael gives some practical tips for improving your negotiating skills by looking for opportunities in your daily life, plus tips for working with clients from other cultures who want to negotiate hard in a seller’s market.

You’ll also learn Michael’s approach to FSBO’s, including his FSBO booklet and how he follows up to get the appointment. Make sure to skim past the tech issues, Michael had internet issues at times but he gives some great information throughout the episode.

Guest Bio

Michael Lee is an 8-time published author, speaker, multi-cultural selling and negotiation expert. He is currently the Managing Broker of Realty ONE as well as President of EthnoConnect and a member of the National Speaker’s Association. Connect with Michael by phone 800-417-7325 for any of Michael’s books, speaking engagements or information on joining Realty ONE.

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As Jim Rohn said, Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of self-development. For our latest episode we’re joined by mega-agent, team leader and business coach Jeff Latham, who shared his entrepreneurial story and some of the self-development strategies and mindset shifts behind his success.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Be the lighthouse, not the tugboat

2. Everything is connected - lack of development in one area of life inevitably affects every other area, including your business

3. Recruiting isn’t about process or tactics - becoming the best version of yourself will attract amazing people and those people will attract more business

When we become the best version of ourselves we can possibly be, everything in life gets better. And the better it gets, the better it gets. And the right people come into your world very effortlessly, and all you gotta do is just take care of yourself and be happy. -Jeff Latham

We started by reviewing Jeff’s background, including his initial success in his 20’s and how he went from a 6 figure income to selling only 8 homes a year after the market crash. His key decision was to invest in training to learn how to sell bank-owned properties. By implementing what he learned he was able to turn his business around and list and market these properties, which led to hiring buyers agents and put him on the path to growing a successful team.

Jeff pointed out that you don’t have to wait till you have an overflow of buyer leads to start bringing on buyers agents. For Jeff’s team, he’s looking for three things in a buyers agent: they have high energy, grit and they care about people. Bringing on amazing people is like a magnetic force, they will attract more business to the team through their efforts.

This brought up the topic of how Jeff attracts agents to his team, which is part of his larger philosophy on success. He shared the concept of the lighthouse and the tugboat and how that informs his approach, which is to focus on being the best version of himself, which in turn, attracts success to him.

“It’s all connected. If you’re crushing it in business and you’re not paying attention to your family, your significant other, that’s going to draw on your business.” Jeff shared how he focuses at five things: Faith, family, fitness, finances and fun, and zeroes in on the ONE Thing he can do in each area.

We also dig into Jeff’s morning routine, including meditation and journaling, which help Jeff get a sense of clarity. Greg also shared his dream book and how he uses it to review his goals daily, and Matt shared how he uses post-it notes to review his 90-Day Objectives and One Year Goals daily.

Success isn’t about the single-minded pursuit of money or fame, it’s a process of becoming the best version of yourself possible. Everything is connected, so find the ONE thing you can do to grow in your five key areas of life, and you will attract success to you like a ship to a lighthouse.

Guest Bio
 
Jeff Latham is a mega producing agent and founder of Latham Realty Unlimited, a successful real estate brokerage selling over 200 units a year in Washington state. Jeff is also the co-founder of Latham Coaching Unlimited and The Freedom Evolution, which trains mega-producing agents and mortgage brokers how to develop the best version of themselves, increase their income and systematize their business while working fewer hours. To apply for Freedom Evolution Coaching, visit: Applyforfreedom.com .

If you don’t understand 1031 exchanges, you might be costing your clients thousands. 1031’s apply to any property with a business or investment component, this could include primary residences if there’s a home office, farm or commercial space involved. So it’s important to understand 1031’s to help your clients roll their equity over into a better investment property and help them build wealth.

1031 exchanges allow you to preserve all your equity, reinvest into a better piece of investment property. It’s a dream come true when it comes to investment property in real estate. -James Callejas

Takeaways + Tactics

1. 1031 exchanges allow you to pay zero taxes - it’s a dream come true for real estate investment property

2. Rule of Thumb - 1031’s can apply to ALL except: primary residence, 2nd home and flipper properties

3. Identify the next property before selling the existing property - and bring in a 1031 expert early in the process to facilitate the deal

Now that you’re armed with the basics of 1031’s you can look for opportunities to serve your clients better and, in the process, present yourself as a trusted advisor looking out for their long-term interests. This separates you from every agent who just wants to take the listing and collect their commission.

Guest Bio

Over a period of 17 years, James, IPX1031® Vice President and Account Executive, has learned about 1031 Exchanges from the bottom-up, starting with documenting the process in accordance with IRS regulations all the way to running seminars and educating audiences. James has received the prestigious CES® (Certified Exchange Specialist) designation by the Federation of Exchange Accommodators. James frequently speaks to investors, commercial brokers, REALTORS®, attorneys and CPAs on the “ins and outs” of exchanges, associated tax implications and how to build wealth within real estate by utilizing 1031 Exchanges. You can connect with James by email: [email protected] or phone: (415) 291-5181.

We see so many agents struggle because they’re overwhelmed by choice. They attempt too many things at the same time. So in this episode we focus on the options -the pillars - you can choose to build your business on, and why you should work on just one at a time.

3 Takeaways:

1. Top teams are often built on just 2-3 pillars that drive 80% of their business
2. Each pillar of your business requires mastering a new skillset - The more you focus on one pillar, the faster you build the skills that make that pillar work for you
3. Go talk to 3 people in your Sphere of Influence TODAY. Sphere leads are still a key pillar of top teams around the country, even those who generate thousands of online leads

We started by sharing some tech tools like IFTTT, Appear.in and Facebook Mentions, and handled a couple of questions on losing listings by not getting the paperwork signed at the appointment. Greg reminded us all that it’s not about the close, it’s about the open. Your listing appointment is your opportunity to put them on the Value Rocketship. If you show that you bring more value than any other agent then signing the agreement is natural and you don’t need to push them to sign it on the spot.

Next, Greg shared the results of his year-end sales evaluation, why his team is dropping online lead generation systems (except eQQuity), how they grew their business 23% from 2014-15. We also talked about Greg’s 2016 strategy, which involves hiring a calling assistant to work the online leads they already have, and what really determines a “lead.”

Matt then shared some stats from Jeff Cohn’s team in Nebraska, which made around 100,000 calls in 2015, including the average time it takes for an online buyer lead to close (6 months) and how many legitimate leads they need in order to expect one deal (33). We also went over Jeff Cohn’s “3 Buckets” framework which are Sphere, Internet Leads & Prospecting.

But why work on just one pillar at a time?

First, every pillar involves mastering a new skillset, and the more you focus on one pillar the faster you build those unique skills. It’s better to be a mile deep and an inch wide, than a mile wide and an inch deep.

The second reason is time and testing. If you want to build a successful pillar such as a marketing strategy, it rarely works perfectly right out of the gate. It will take testing, iteration and gradual improvement to get things dialed in. Greg recommended 8-12 months at minimum to see results from any one marketing strategy.

We share our top 3 fastest-converting lead sources

We all have a tendency to overestimate what we can get done in the short term, and underestimate what we can get done in the long term. Rather than working on 50 different ways to get clients, focus on one pillar, master it for a year, then add another pillar next year.

Investors struggle to find great properties and agents struggle to generate listings leads. In our latest episode, investor Peter Vekselman shares how his investing-first approach appears to have solved both of those issues. He also shares what he’s doing and the results they’re seeing with one of his referral partners, Pete Kuc in Jacksonville, FL.

3 Takeaways:

1. Take a consultative approach in your listing appointments. Be the trusted advisor, not a salesman.
2. Work with an investor or investment group to give yourself a powerful option in your listing appointments to create a win-win deal for everyone
3. Set your timelines, money and execution plan first - long term commitment and testing are the keys to marketing success

There’s no secrets in marketing. We all do the same thing, except 99% of people don’t know how to do it the right way, and the other 1% make all the money. -Peter Vekselman

First, Peter explained that his strength is marketing - in the Atlanta market alone he’s generating around 1000 inbound calls a day - so he set up a call center that negotiated investment purchase deals with those seller leads. All the leads he couldn’t work with, - so called “dead leads” - were being wasted because he had no way to turn them into good referrals to local agents.

The key was flipping the process. By using the call center to “scrub” the leads first and turn them over to an agent, he was able to build a system that still accomplished his goal of finding investment properties but also created so much goodwill with sellers that he was able to turn those “dead leads” into real listings for his partner agents.

That unlocked the door for nationwide expansion. Years of marketing experience and testing allows Peter to generate a 20% response on postcards versus a typical 3%, which means he can go into markets around the country and immediately generate hundreds or thousands of seller leads. The leads are scrubbed by his call center and turned over to partner agents (like Pete Kuc) who follow up, set listing appts and take listings. Pete Kuc then shared his experience with this type of seller lead - which include running 40 CMA requests per day - and how this process creates a very consultative approach.

Here’s the key for agents that don’t have the team structure in place to partner with Peter. You can partner with an investor (or investment group) who are prepared to fund purchases, and you can go into listing appointments with that same consultative approach, with multiple options in hand for helping that seller. Imagine having the ability to give the seller options even if they desperately need to sell and can’t afford to fix their home properly.

Toward the end, Peter shares his approach to marketing, using direct mail as an example. If you want to master direct mail, you make a long-term commitment, in terms of timelines, money and execution, and then you test and evaluate over that time period till you have it dialed in. You don’t send 50 postcards and then abandon the idea or draw a lot of conclusions from that. We hear this from agents a lot, they tried something once, or they tried sending postcards for a few months and it “didn’t work.”

If you want more power in your listing appointment, having an investment group behind you as an option to listing the home is a powerful card to play, and helps you take a consultative approach in the listing appointment. By truly putting the client’s best interests first and looking for alternative solutions to their challenge, you earn their trust and become a trusted advisor and not a salesman. If there’s one thing you take away from this episode, it’s that. Be the trusted advisor, not a salesman.

Guest Bio:

Peter Vekselman is a real estate investor and entrepreneur based in Atlanta, GA, having bought and sold over 3,000 properties and managing 100+ construction projects. Peter is expanding his seller lead generation system nationwide and looking for top agents with strong listing partners in place to handle the leads Peter is able to generate. In Peter's home market he's currently generating over 1,000 inbound calls a day from prospective sellers. Connect with Peter by calling 404-915-9685 or email him at [email protected].

Pete Kuc is a real estate investor, team leader and entrepreneur based in St. Augustine, FL. After years on the development side, Pete transitioned into locating and putting together investment deals, which led to meeting Peter. Since then he has developed a team of agents to work the seller leads generated by Peter Vekselman's system. Connect with Pete on his video blog: http://mayrealestategroup.blogspot.com/ or email [email protected].

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With rising home values in markets like San Diego and San Francisco making it near-impossible to make monthly cash flow on rental properties, investors are looking outside of the state for investment opportunities. But how do you know which markets to look at, and how do you evaluate properties you can’t see in person?

Takeaways & Tactics:

1. Look for markets where homes can be purchased for between $100-150k and generate $200-300 monthly cash flow
2. Look for BORING markets with steady growth - stay away from areas with high fluctuations in home values
3. Cut to the chase with savvy investors - Show them how the numbers work

In our latest episode, Ben Smith from the Real Wealth Network join us to answer those questions and share strategies they use to connect investors with turnkey property rehabbers and property management companies to create new investment opportunities.

Ben explained exactly how they find markets with good cash flow potential, how they find a seasoned turnkey investment company in that market and pair them with great property management (if necessary) to create the infrastructure for a good investment location. You can reproduce this yourself by connecting with agents and companies in out-of-state markets, or you can use Real Wealth Network who already has those connections.

We talked about Ben’s favorite markets, like Jacksonville and Cincinnati, why those markets are so fantastic for out-of-state investment, and the differences in working with beginner versus savvy investors. Beginner investors need some handholding with buying out of state by helping them narrow down all the choices to just 2-3 potential markets; whereas savvy investors are mainly concerned with the numbers.

Toward the end of the episode, Ben shared exactly how to become a millionaire real estate investor in 12 years with only 10 homes. By purchasing each home for around $100k and taking the cash flow from all the properties and applying them to pay off each home in succession, you’ll have 10 paid-off homes and well over a $1 million in net worth. This is a great retirement plan for real estate agents!

If you work with investors or clients who want to use a 1031 exchange, educate yourself on out-of-state investing or refer them to Ben at Real Worth Network (membership is free). And if you plan to stay in this business, get into investing and start acquiring properties to build your net worth to the point where you are “job-optional.”

To connect with Ben Smith, call 925-280-2817, visit http://www.realwealthnetwork.com/ or email [email protected].

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Events are a great way to connect with your database and past clients and have fun while building your business, and in our latest episode Greg shares how to run the 3 types of events that have been successful for his team.

We start by sharing our favorite podcasts for business, marketing and entrepreneurship and answering a question about scripts for calling people listed on Zillow’s Make Me Move.

Next Greg shared his structure for monthly events to connect with his sphere on a regular basis, and how to create an event that fits your personality and target market. Then Greg explained why you should be throwing quarterly events for just the clients who worked with you in that quarter, and why it should be a step up in quality from your monthly event.

Last, Greg shared how to throw a yearly blow-out event for all your clients, past clients, leads, friends, family, referral partners and your entire sphere. Greg’s team event is so well known to his database that the one year they decided not to have the event they actually received calls from their sphere asking if they had been taking off the invite list!

3 Takeaways:

1. Invite everyone in your sphere to a monthly event at a venue that fits both your personality and your target market
2. Throw quarterly events for just the clients who worked with you during that quarterly
3. Look for charity events or causes to get involved in or incorporate worthy causes into your event calendar to connect with your sphere and meet new people

Now that you have the structure, look for unique venues for events, causes you can get involved in, and social events that you can model to create your own event calendar for your business. Throwing events allow you to build genuine connections with your sphere and build your business while having a lot of fun.

How do you break into the business as a new agent, or break into a new market? Ashley Horcher did both, getting into real estate after moving to the Bay area. In our latest episode, Ashley shares how she built her business over the past two years on 5 low-cost lead generation activities, including Zillow and Facebook private messages.

3 Takeaways:

1. Get more Zillow reviews by sending a closing gift with handwritten request note paired with an email with your Zillow profile link
2. Send Facebook private messages to reconnect with your database and generate referrals
3. Pick up as many Open Houses as possible - They're one of your best free marketing options

So follow Ashley's example: Start with your sphere and use free and low-cost options to connect with them combined with Open Houses. This allows you to break into your target market while capturing as much business from your personal sphere as possible.