Real Producers

Join a brokerage, learn, thrive and then build your own team. That's the well-trodden path of just about every real estate agent. A story you never hear is an agent joining the number 1 team in their market, only for it to completely fall apart and disband.

Having such a rocky experience has shaped how today's guest leads his own team and sets them up for success.

It taught him that who we choose to work with matters. Even though brokerages hire agents, agents also have to "hire" their brokerage because they determine your path. How does our guest lead his team and set them up for success? What's the gap in real estate that allows Zillow to be so successful? Can we use it to our advantage?

In this episode, agent and team leader, Mike Smallegan talks about his unique real estate story, how it impacted how he leads, and how he views things most agents treat as threats.

If what we're doing is worth what we're asking, people are going to continue to pay it. -Mike Smallegan

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Leverage your love for your local area

Mike built a local Facebook group that's 125k strong. What inspired it and what value are people getting out of it?

-Zillow doesn't have to be the villain

In this industry, Zillow gets a lot of flack and even hate, but it's not always warranted. What does Zillow do really well, and how can we use it to our advantage?

-Why Mike isn't afraid of the NAR settlement

With the NAR settlement, the election and interest rates continuing to affect real estate markets, how does Mike see the next few months going?

Guest Bio

Mike Smallegan is an agent in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As a lifelong resident of Grand Rapids, Mike has years of experience and intimate local knowledge. He offers unmatched knowledge of the city's diverse neighborhoods. Whether it's a downtown condo or a suburban family home, Mike knows where to find the property that fits your lifestyle. For more information, go to https://smalleganrealestate.com/.

There are two ways tragedy can affect our lives. It can turn us into victims who make ourselves smaller in the face of adversity. Alternatively, it can change the trajectory of our lives giving us an opportunity to make a bigger impact on others.

The latter is the path Curtis Shewell took. His daughter's cancer diagnosis completely upended his life and led him into real estate, which he considers his miracle job. Instead of letting the hardships define him, he's been able to get good at adversity and use it to think differently.

What was it like navigating his daughter's illness and what mindset kept him strong during that time? How did real estate find him? How does he use the empathy he's gained to make a difference in the lives of thousands?

In this episode, the coach, speaker, subject of an Amazon Prime documentary, and co-author of Empathetic Leadership talks about his story and his unique take on adversity.

If you start learning how to overcome adversity, you get very good at it, when you become good at it, it doesn't stick to you. -Curtis Shewell

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Learning from your worst moment

Having a child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness is every parent's worst fear. When he faced it, how did Curtis navigate it and become a pillar of strength for his daughter?

-An instant pivot

Curtis Shewell left a great corporate career and ended up in financial turmoil. How did real estate become the miracle job that helped his family and thousands of people?

-Don't let hard times stick to you

We all face moments of adversity and difficulties that can derail us. How do we respond to these challenges so they don't define us?

Guest Bio

Curtis Shewell is a real estate agent, coach, business mentor, speaker, subject of an Amazon Prime documentary, and co-author of Empathetic Leadership.

Get the book here and find the documentary Curtis Shewell: My Story on Amazon Prime video.

Most people get into real estate sales seeking freedom from the schedule of a traditional job. But that same freedom can be a double-edged sword - it can take you away from what it takes to succeed.

The people who get the most out of the sales role are the ones who work it like a 9-5. We know what to do, but that lack of consistent, extended follow through is what gets in the way of our results. That's what separates the top salespeople from everyone else - they work doggedly at the things that produce income.

Our guest, Mike Maletich knows this all too well. With over double the volume of the average salesperson, he is the most successful area director in the history of N2 Publishing.

What's his psychology around sales? What do entrepreneurs get wrong about freedom? How is he instilling what matters into his own children? In this episode, Mike talks about the key to success in sales and what motivates him.

The most difficult part in any sales job is setting your schedule and being disciplined. We all know what to do and how to do it, but very few follow through for an extended period of time. -Mike Maletich

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Win like the water beats the rock

There's no secret or complicated trick to succeeding in sales, but why do so many people struggle?

-Freedom vs. retirement

Business owners make the mistake of thinking freedom means working only when they want. How does this hinder your success?

-Lessons from "Feeding the Hand That Bites You"

How do we raise kids who understand responsibility, action and discipline? What steps can we take to teach the concepts when they are younger?

Guest Bio

Mike Maletich is the most successful area director in the history of N2 Publishing and the owner of 6 Real Producers franchises.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.

When it comes to achieving what we want, the biggest barriers are the ones we place upon ourselves. This is especially true for high achievers.

We can fall into the trap of imposter syndrome and feeling unworthy. We can second guess ourselves out of our own greatness. We can subconsciously set ourselves up to lose even if we say we want to win.

If we don't think of success the right way and set goals accordingly, we'll suffocate under the very thing we wanted. Ultimately, we can only rise as high as our level of inner conflict about things, so how do we remove that friction?

What are the biggest psychological traps we set for themselves and how do we escape them? Why is it critical to learn to take credit for our wins? In this episode, I'm joined by the author of 14 books including 'Get Off Your "But" and Make It Happen!' and business coach, Jonathan Sprinkles. He talks about how to become the person you would be if you weren't doubting yourself.

If you're not prepared for the blessing, you're going to suffocate under it. -Jonathan Sprinkles

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Own your successes

Successful people are taught to never take credit for their accomplishments - "make it about the team". Can that trigger imposter syndrome? How can we own our wins without being arrogant?

-How to live without limits

Losing can be as addictive as winning if we build our identity around it. How do people keep attracting losses, even though they say they don't want them?

-The power of the word "or"

If we don't set goals the right way, they can quickly turn into self-imposed ceilings when we achieve them faster than expected. How do we set goals from the start without limiting ourselves?

Guest Bio

Jonathan Sprinkles is the author of 14 books (including two international bestsellers), a TV personality, celebrity business coach, and award-winning keynote speaker. He is the founder of The Connection Lab, an award-winning company that is on a mission to help people live bigger and lead better through the power of human connection. Jonathan gets it. He knows the difference between what looks good on paper and what really works in the real world. He brings best practices from his career as a tech salesman and his 20 years of leadership experience as an entrepreneur. Jonathan has a gift for connecting with any audience, relating to them on a personal level, and inspiring them to bring out the best in themselves and the people around them. Listen to his latest audiobook 'Get Off Your "But" and Make It Happen!' on Audible.

The real estate industry has tolerated and even celebrated low barriers to entry. It's a bit like the grown-up version of giving kids participation trophies. The result: agents who can't compete in the face of disruption.

As the NAR settlement promises to compress commissions, we can expect the agents who weren't prepared to be squeezed out. This could have been avoided if agents were taught to compete instead of relaxing because the MLS always guaranteed a check.

As the leader of Kentucky's #1 team and Dad who coaches his kids, our guest has the perfect perspective on the danger of participation trophies. Is there ever a case for giving kids participation trophies? What does the NAR settlement mean for agents who didn't prepare to compete?

How can we become better marketers? In this episode, Jay Pitts talks about succeeding in real estate, and the big problem we had before the settlement.

When you compress commissions substantially on one side of the transaction, there'll be less money to go around. The result is, we're going to be left with the real true pros. -Jay Pitts

Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-The two things every agent must do

What's the difference between brand engagement and direct response marketing?

-How to live a disciplined life

Jay was inspired by his father to get into real estate. What business and life lessons did he learn from him?

-A case for participation trophies

The challenge parents face when coaching their kids' sports teams is knowing how to balance support with tough love. How can you coach your kids without damaging your relationship?

-A great opportunity for good marketers

Before the NAR settlement, mediocre buyer agents made the same amount of money as the cream of the crop. How does this shift change that?

Guest Bio

Jay Pitts is podcast host and the Broker/Owner of Jay T. Pitts and Associates, Kentucky's #1 Real Estate Team. He has valuable experience in almost every facet of the real estate industry, from management and auction, to sales and marketing of residential or commercial real estate. Jay is a second-generation real estate professional and has had years of experience prior to being in business for himself. He runs a team of similar individuals who value hard work, customer service, technology and efficiency. Listen to The Jay Pitts Show on your platform of choice and follow @jaypittsrealtor on Instagram.

Real estate involves people's most significant transaction, so agents are bound to have a memorable experience or two. Very few can say that a cold call and a listing appointment turned into an adoption journey.

Agents touch the lives of many families, but what happens when you're led to do more than help them get their dream home?

For SuzAnne Scott, the growth of her family was directly connected to real estate. The adoption process taught her something important in the face of challenges. Stay the course when you know you're doing the right thing.

How did a typical real estate conversation turn into such a life changing decision? When is it a bad idea to pivot? In this episode, the Lubbock, Texas broker shares her rare real estate story and how to run a growing business alongside a growing family.

When something gets hard, you don't just pivot, it's too easy. You stay the course when you're doing the right thing. You'll never see the fruit if you don't stay the course. -SuzAnne Scott

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Build a business that serves you

Real estate isn't a one-size-fits-all business. How did SuzAnne find and perfect the lead generation method that works best for her?

-Stay the course, even when it's hard

How did a cold call turn into a conversation about adopting a child? What were the challenges of the adoption journey?

-Double down or pivot

Everyone talks about the power of pivoting, but do we rob ourselves of something great when we shift too quickly?

Guest Bio

SuzAnne is described by her clients as being an expert, an activator that makes things happen, on top of the details, and above all else genuine and relatable. SuzAnne is a high achiever and quickly became known throughout the city as one of the top agents in Lubbock, SuzAnne started her career as an agent in 2007 Her passion for real estate started as a way for her to be available for her family and still have a successful career. Follow SuzAnne's team on https://www.residelubbock.com/

Being an entrepreneur, being married to one, and running a business as a couple is a unique path that often gets ignored in typical marriage conversations…until now.

Enter entrepremarriage…a way to help couples whose businesses play a huge role in their households and their relationships. The conversations, concerns and challenges of entrepreneurial couples are very different from the typical marriage perspective.

From goal setting and decision making, to schedules, couples who are married to the business have to take practical steps to make sure their ventures run cohesively with their personal lives.

What are some of the traps entrepremarriages fall into and how do we avoid them or work through them? In this episode, speaker Kalan Hubbard talks about entrepremarriages and how to set one up for success.

Conversation avoidance is insanely high in entrepremarriage. If there are troubles in the marriage, there's most likely 3 or 4 conversations that need to be had, and the couple either don't know how to have it or they are scared to do so. -Kalan Hubbard

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Stay on the same page

As entrepreneurs, it's really easy to set a huge goal without properly bringing our spouses and families into it. How do we make sure we're bringing them into our decision making?

-Have the important conversations

Why are entrepreneurial couples prone to avoiding the issues that need to be addressed in their marriage. How do we stop using work to hide from our issues?

-How to fight right

Conflict resolution is the biggest indicator of the health of a marriage. How do we stop fighting each other and start fighting the problems we face together?

Guest Bio

Kalan Hubbard is a dynamic public speaker and teacher known for his captivating narratives and relatable content from his roller coaster journey through business and marriage. Kalan offers practical insights, new mindsets, and useful strategies for anyone in the business and/or marriage world. Kalan Hubbard is a speaker who truly connects with his audience, inspires change, and provides people with tools for that change.

To get the free Entrepremarriage™ SWOT Analysis go to https://entrepremarriage.com/opt-in and follow @kalanspeaks on Instagram.

Kalan's Reading Recommendations

Please, Sorry, Thanks: The Three Words That Change Everything by Mark Batterson

8 Rules of Love by Jay Shetty

The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team by Patrick M. Lencioni

Dropping out of college in a country where a degree is the only way to succeed. Breaking the news to your father who sacrificed everything, and then telling him you want to leave the country. Nearly going broke trying to get a visa…only to get rejected 14 times.

That's what it took to get Herve Kidiadi to America…but the adversity (and his perseverance) didn't end there.

Starting out as a janitor making $9/hour, Herve worked his way up to manager, but he had to rebuild again and become an entrepreneur.

What drove him to fight for a dream no one else could see? How did he build a confidence that outweighed everyone's doubt?

In this episode, the investor, real estate broker, investor tells his amazing story coming from Africa and getting his slice of the American dream.

Most people have a plan B, but that's very irresponsible. To make a plan B work, you have to spend time thinking about it and giving it energy, which makes it an excuse. -Herve Kidiadi

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Your confidence outweighs their doubt

How did Herve get through the hardest conversation he's ever had in his life? What happened after he told his dad he wanted something different in his life?

-From janitor to manager

Herve was a janitor, but he set the intention that he would become a manager. How did a snowstorm create the perfect opportunity for Herve to do just that?

-Pursue something meaningful

Herve made it to America and worked his way up to a really great job. Why did he choose to leave that for entrepreneurship?

Guest Bio

Herve Kidiadi is an investor, real estate broker, investor. Aftering moving to the US 9 years ago, he started from the bottom working as a janitor and worked his way up to break it through the real estate industry and become a successful entrepreneur.

Follow @iamhark9 on Instagram.

Body language is the cornerstone of reading people, but what if the face can tell us all we need to know?

Whenever we're face-to-face with people, they are communicating with us without even saying a single word. From their ears to their eyebrows and nostrils, tiny facial expressions reveal a lot and give us clues on how to communicate, sell and build rapport.

There's up to 250 different facial features we can look at, and each of them can help us understand the people around us better and what they need.

What can eyebrow shape and even height tell us about people? How do we tweak our sales approach based on people's micro facial expressions?

In this episode, coach and founder of Subtle Skills, Brian Galke shares the power of reading facial features and expressions, and how it will make us better salespeople.

Attempting to understand someone else isn't manipulation, it's going to create rapport with people instead of pushing our own agenda. -Brian Galke

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-We're all amateur facial decoders

From Disney movies using character faces to show you the villain to common figures of speech, why are human beings naturally primed to read facial expressions?

-Eyebrows lead to eye contact

The terms highbrow and lowbrow tell us a lot about how the eyebrows factor into the thinking process. What can eyebrows tell us about what a client needs to make a decision?

-Facial recognition for humans

Did you know that the size of someone's nostrils can tell you how they treat risk? How do we tailor the same information to different people based on their facial features?

Guest Bio

Meet Brian, the Introverted/Extroverted professional who discovered the secret to success: good communication skills. In order to overcome his social anxiety, Brian intentionally pursued positions where people naturally came to him for help. With every job, he sought to improve his social skills through learning tips and tricks to interact with others effectively. As Brian's communication abilities grew, so did his career. Each new social skill he acquired brought him another promotion, leading him to become a Corporate Trainer, move into Sales, and even be flown around the US to present to high-profile clients worth over $1 million. Eventually, he was promoted to the esteemed position of Regional Vice President of Sales, and began speaking on stages alongside renowned industry leaders such as Brad Lea, Steve Sims, Greg Reid, Alex Hormozi, and more. But what was the one skill that changed everything for Brian? The ability to decode facial features. By learning how to interpret the subtle signals that people's faces give off, Brian was able to better understand and communicate with others, which in turn helped him succeed professionally and personally. For more information, and to get the free eyebrow cheat sheet, go to http://getthecheatsheet.com/.

When it comes to the NAR settlement, it's safe to say that the media took control of the narrative faster than real estate agents ever could. The result? Confusion and panic fueled by misinformation and a doom-and-gloom spin.

Some people think it's a loss for the industry - that NAR didn't protect agents, and that the days of buyer's agents are numbered.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

The settlement and the changes it's going to bring to the industry aren't all that bad. It's going to raise our professionalism and transparency, so as long as you're a great agent, it's only going to make business better.

How do we separate media misinformation from what's going on? How do we take control of the narrative and advise our clients correctly?

In this episode, I'm joined by two high-powered real estate professionals and Real Producers franchise owners, Kelly Kilmer and Devon Doran. We dive into why the settlement might benefit the industry.

As Realtors, we have to be the ones that control the narrative. This is a good opportunity to dive into conversations that got glossed over by the crazy market that low-interest rates provided. -Devon Doran

Three Things You'll Learn In This Episode

-Take control of the narrative

Media misinformation has colored a lot of the panic around the NAR settlement. How do we make sure the public is getting the right information?

-This is good for both consumers and agents

What are the advantages of a buyer-broker agreement for both the consumer and the agent?

-The worst time to be a bad Realtor

Many people believe this settlement will disrupt the entire industry, but it's only going to affect some agents. Who should be worried about these changes?

Guest Bio

Devon Doran is a top-producing agent, the Owner/Broker at Signature Real Estate Alaska, and a Real Producers franchise owner. Devon has worked in the professional field of real estate for over 15 years and brings a level of expertise that is unparalleled. In 2011 she was inducted into the VBR Honor Society and in 2013 received the distinguished award of VBR REALTOR of the Year. Most recently, Devon served as the Alaska Association of REALTORS (AAR) President and was awarded the 2018 AAR REALTOR of the Year. Follow @devons.world on Instagram.

Kelly Kilmer is a managing broker with RE/MAX and also the local area director with Tulsa Real Producers and OKC Real Producers. With over 20 years of real estate experience and a degree in education, Kelly specializes in helping Realtors, Lenders, Small Business Owners, and Entrepreneurs reach their goals and dreams through specialized coaching programs and events. Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.