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Realtor Conversations
By Brad Goulet and Stig SandellBusiness
Realtor Conversations episodes
- Brandon Sigette
Brandon Sigette with Real Broker and the Grant Johnson Team, who taught golf for 15 years before real estate became his full-time job, joins us today. This is his first year as a full-time agent, and his business is already up nearly 400% compared to last year. Brandon’s first deals came from club members asking about homes being built on the golf course where he worked. He now finds most of his clients by staying in touch with people he met through golf. He tells us what has surprised him the most about other agents and what the best part of selling real estate is.
In this episode:
- How the length of the Minnesota golf season limited Brandon’s income.
- What Brandon noticed when he compared his golf income to the revenue he generated.
- Why 175,000 miles of driving convinced Brandon to sign up for real estate classes.
- What Brandon thought at his first big brokerage convention.
- What a team of 150 agents can get that smaller teams can’t.
- How Brandon describes the culture on a team of that size.
- Why access to every tool and resource doesn’t make someone a good agent.
- How a few conversations a day can change an agent’s entire business.
- The referrals Brandon gets from golf contacts without even asking.
- Why Brandon sometimes makes Instagram posts that are unrelated to real estate.
- How Brandon can tell that pushback is coming from the agent, not the client.
- What happens when buyers choose the first agent who responds to them online.
- Why he sympathizes with buyers who don’t trust him at first.
- The interesting question Brandon kept asking his caddy at Whistling Straits.
- What Brandon says holds back most golfers with a 10 to 15 handicap.
Contact Brandon:
Cell: 701-739-0657
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/SiggySellsMN
26 min - Alex Boston
Alex Boston of eXp Realty pitched baseballs at 90 miles an hour in high school and college before he turned to real estate. He’s only 21-years-old, a junior at the Carlson School of Business, and about one year into his real estate career. After growing up in the backseat of his mom's car while she showed homes, he now runs showings for her clients. He tells us what baseball taught him about failing constantly. He also explains how he deals with clients who fall in love with houses they can't afford yet.
In this episode:
- Why Alex started taking real estate classes before he finished high school.
- Why he wanted his own business more than he wanted a job.
- What Alex's mom does instead of hand-holding him through tasks.
- Why his mom no longer does any showings herself.
- Why every showing agent on their team speaks Spanish.
- The embarrassing experience Alex had during his first ever showing.
- How the discipline Alex learned in baseball greatly helps his real estate work.
- Why immigrant buyers need optimism just as much as information.
- What Alex wishes high school had taught about personal finance.
- The word Alex uses to describe his mother's work ethic.
- Why Alex prefers to do showings rather than open houses.
- Why receiving so many questions from clients has made Alex better at his job.
- What Alex wants to automate next as the business continues to grow.
Contact Alex:
Cell: 651-200-8770
Email: [email protected]
26 min - Julie Heifner
Julie Heifner of Lakes Area Realty spent a decade at an IBM offshoot traveling the world to train sales teams. She left that company to raise her kids and build a dot-com business making wedding invitations at her dining room table. Then, after 33 moves of her own left her dissatisfied with every agent she hired, she finally landed in real estate. Her business now runs entirely on referrals, and she arrives at listing appointments with hours of research already completed. She walks us through the market from 2008 onward, and lands on a definition of winning that stretches beyond the closing table.
In this episode:
- How Julie’s plan to teach turned into training sales forces overseas.
- What traveling the world for a data storage company taught her about people.
- What 70-hour weeks as the GM at a mom-and-pop operation revealed about working for another family.
- Why moving 33 times and being disappointed by agents pushed her into real estate.
- How Julie helped a widowed veteran clear a house holding 3,000 clocks.
- A story of previous agents speaking only to the husband of a couple that Julie worked with.
- Why a wall lined with baskets became a lesson in communication for Julie.
- Why Julie gives sellers three different prices for the same house.
- The 8-step pricing process behind every number Julie brings to a listing.
- Why Julie won't teach other agents how she does what she does.
- The months-of-inventory number that reveals whether a market is balanced.
- Why prices in Hudson are pushing buyers toward other towns.
- What winning means to Julie, from saved deals to closing day.
- The one thing that Julie says unsuccessful agents aren’t doing but desperately need to.
Contact Julie:
Cell: 715-410-9021
Email: [email protected]
35 min - Amber Steiner
In this episode we’re welcoming Amber Steiner with LPT, who became interested in real estate after experiencing her own home buying journey. We hear how she rebuilt her career after hitting rock bottom and why gratitude became the key to success. From thank-you cards to client events, she shows us why the job is less about transactions and more about the people.
In this episode:
- How Amber ended up working as a nanny in Long Island.
- What her trade show work experience taught her about logistics and people.
- How buying her own house made real estate feel like a great opportunity.
- How having a tiny network made early career growth extremely difficult for her.
- The lesson she learned about how leads can require months of follow-up.
- How open houses helped her build face-to-face trust with prospects.
- Why obtaining her Wisconsin license became a foundation for referrals.
- What fishing, family trips, and cabin time reveal to her about balance.
- How hitting her career rock bottom forced a return to business basics.
- The client events that Amber designs around connections instead of transactions.
- How your communication style needs to shift according to each client’s needs.
- The current state of the market, which Amber describes as the “Wild West.”
- Why Amber prefers to team up with other solo agents to hold events.
- The NAR settlement and how it has affected buyers in Minnesota.
Contact Amber:
Cell: 651-285-5510
Website: https://www.ambersteiner.com
Email: [email protected]27 min - Charlie and Tera Lawson
In this episode, we trace how GCS Title evolved from a closing service into a title company shaped by change, service, and relationships. Husband-and-wife owners Charlie and Tera Lawson, plus Marketing Director Nicole Michel, are here for the conversation. The story begins in 2007, when closings disappeared overnight and the company had to pivot. From there, we hear about how COVID changed client expectations at the closing table and how the team keeps deals moving when problems hit.
In this episode:
- How GCS Title began after mobile closings expanded during refinance demand.
- Why the 2007 market collapse forced an overnight business pivot into titles.
- What Tera brought to GCS Title from her lighting sales experience
- The reason Nicole returned after pursuing animal rehabilitation during COVID.
- How mobile closings happen in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.
- How COVID changed closing logistics and client expectations.
- The shift away from shared closing tables and in-person gatherings.
- Why relationship building remains vital to repeat real estate business.
- How GCS Title agent support includes social posts, open houses, and coaching.
- Why transaction problems require solution-driven communication under pressure.
- What title teams value most from lenders during closing delays.
- Why the GCS Title team loves working with Bell Bank.
- Promotions for potential clients that GCS Title is offering in Spring 2026.
- How referral incentives are supporting recruitment at GCS Title.
Contact GCS Title:
Email: [email protected]
Tera’s cell: 651-245-1247
28 min - Rick Morris
We’re alongside Rick Morris with Lakes Area Realty in this episode. In addition to being a Realtor, he also works as a Salesforce Developer. This technological background shapes the way he approaches clients, contractors, marketing, pricing, and follow-up. Rick turns each transaction into information that he can use to make the next one even better.
In this episode:
- Why child adoption costs provided the extra push for Rick to become a Realtor.
- How his tech consulting work has revealed business patterns across industries.
- Why unorganized data prevents making informed business decisions.
- How Rick uses Salesforce to organize contractors, referrals, surveys, and sales.
- What reviews have revealed to Rick about service quality and missed opportunities.
- The clear link between marketing effort and client acquisition.
- Why listings require stronger strategy than just buyer representation.
- How Rick uses census data to guide his marketing plan for each home.
- What economic uncertainty is showing in buyer and seller confidence levels.
- Why AI-generated CMAs can greatly reduce pricing research and comparison time.
- Why Rick says that “putting himself out there” has been the toughest part of real estate.
- The food-inspired names of all six of Rick’s cats.
- How community involvement heavily influences Rick’s real estate goals.
- Rick’s digital billboard advertisements, along with where you can catch a glimpse of him.
- Why buyers need to carefully weigh maintenance, distance, and asset value.
Contact Rick:
Call or text: 763-442-5443
Email: [email protected]
24 min - Dylan Seurer
In this episode, we’re joined by Dylan Seurer with Lakes Sotheby's International. As a new member of the Sotheby’s team, Dylan shares his thoughts on how brokerage differences impact agents. We also hear about his detailed buyer consultation process where he covers inspections, earnest money, and strategies that many agents skip.
In this episode:
- How an early start during college shaped Dylan’s real estate career.
- What different brokerages actually offer agents at different career stages.
- The challenge of starting young without a built-in network or reputation.
- How open houses and door knocking helped Dylan build early momentum.
- How separate business styles still work under one team model.
- Why buyer work remains a major part of Dylan’s daily workload.
- What buyers often misunderstand about earnest money and inspections.
- Why inspection decisions depend on property details, timing, and strategy.
- The limits of inspectors and the expectations buyers need early on.
- How poor guidance can lead buyers through avoidable stress and confusion.
- How open houses reveal problems with how some other agents submit offers.
- How Dylan operates across both the Minnesota and Wisconsin housing markets.
- The contract differences that change inspection negotiations in each state.
- Why one canceled deal stands out to Dylan after years of steady transactions.
- How extra work for clients can extend beyond selling houses.
- Why referrals matter most as proof of strong client experience.
Contact Dylan:
Cell # 612-803-1956
Email: [email protected]
40 min - John Ahnemann
In this episode, John Ahnemann with KW Integrity Lakes joins us and explains how he launched his real estate career in 2019 with no savings. John makes regular TV news appearances in the Twin Cities area, showcasing his expertise on topics such as cash buyers and housing challenges for elderly homeowners. He shares his thoughts with us on wholesaling practices that target vulnerable sellers and how flippers impact first-time home buyers in today’s market.
In this episode:
- How John’s move to Keller Williams has been full of positive chaos.
- The process John goes through when he’s requested for a TV appearance.
- The mechanics of wholesaling and the damage caused to vulnerable homeowners.
- How flippers brought more entry-level inventory than new construction last year.
- What a brokerage said to John when he was 18 that shifted his plans.
- What side hustles funded the first stretch of his full-time real estate career.
- How a garage sale cleared four garages packed with vintage furniture.
- How John dealt with a foreclosure case involving a late husband, unpaid rent, and cleanup costs.
- How John put up his own cash to prevent a client from getting foreclosed.
- What current market segments show about buyer pools and uneven competition.
- Why John thinks condos in Minneapolis are a great deal right now.
- How spreadsheets should be used by every agent with a competitive property.
- Why Zillow leads and open houses often serve agents more than buyers.
Contact John:
Cell # 651-528-9654
32 min - Aslim Zrinsky
Today we’re joined by Aslim Zrinsky with Coldwell Banker Burnett, whose path into real estate has taken her from Turkey to Wisconsin to Minnesota. She explains that despite being a relatively new agent, a family fireworks business taught her valuable lessons about risk and growth. Additionally, building her own real estate portfolio across state lines has prepared her for the challenges of the industry.
In this episode:
- How growing up in Turkey shaped Aslim’s early path in language studies.
- Why studying American culture and literature pushed her to experience the US firsthand.
- How Aslim ended up launching a family fireworks business in Wisconsin.
- What first sparked an interest in real estate for Aslim.
- How a move to Minnesota opened the door to becoming an agent.
- Why brokerage support and team culture mattered so much when getting started.
- How rental ownership in Wisconsin gave her hands-on experience in real estate.
- How landlord and tenant expectations differ between Turkey and the United States.
- Why Aslim views buying a home as moving from one life event to another, rather than just a transaction.
- The reasons why she enjoys working with both sellers and buyers.
- What Aslim is seeing in the market right now, especially when it comes to inventory.
- The advantages of getting involved in Minnesota real estate compared to other markets.
Contact Aslim Zrinsky:
Cell # 608-844-0495
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aslim.zrinsky
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aslim.zrinsky
38 min - Jen and Rick Scherek
Today we’re joined by Jen and Rick Scherek of LaBelle Real Estate Group. Based in Stillwater, they bring over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry. In this episode, they share what it takes to succeed as a modern real estate agent—from having the right support system to marketing homes in ways that resonate with today’s buyers. They also highlight current interior design trends and recommend some favorite local spots to explore.
In this episode:
- Jen and Rick share what inspired their move to LaBelle Real Estate Group.
- How they stay motivated and avoid complacency in a competitive industry.
- What a true full-service real estate experience looks like—and why it matters.
- Their favorite local happy hour spots to check out.
- A behind-the-scenes look at their day-to-day, both on and off the clock.
- Insights into inventory trends over the past few years—and what’s ahead.
- What today’s 28–38-year-old buyers want (and what they won’t compromise on).
- Why working with an experienced agent is especially critical in a low-inventory market.
- The behind-the-scenes work great agents do that often goes unnoticed.
- How personalized letters can help clients win competitive deals.
- Why video marketing is a powerful tool for selling homes—especially on social media.
- Current home design trends that are resonating with buyers right now.
- Their favorite local shops and small businesses worth supporting.
Contact Jen and Rick Scherek:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jen_and_rick_homes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jenandrickscherek/
Text Jen: 651-283-4463
Text Rick: 651- 558-6139
33 min
About Realtor Conversations
From the publisher's feed
Realtor Conversations is a show about two Minnesota base power mortgage lenders who interview successful real estate agents.
Each week, hosts Brad Goulet and Stig Sandell will discuss how to successfully navigate the real estate market and mortgage market.
Let Brad, Stig and their guests be your guide in helping to EMPOWER you with valuable insider information and tools that you need to buy, sell, refinance, and move through the loan process seamlessly.