GRIT: The Real Estate Growth Mindset

Episode 065 with David Anderson, CEO of LionDesk

David Anderson was born into a family of entrepreneurs. He first worked for their family-owned online travel business but after 13 years, he felt that he needed to do something different. That’s when he decided to start his own company.  He went to an INMAN event which sparked his interest in the real estate industry.  Then he went to different brokerages to see how they managed the business and found that the CRM they used at that time could use a lot of improvement. And being the entrepreneur that he is, he knew he could make it better.  

Today, David is the Founder and CEO of LionDesk, a CRM designed for ease of use and systems integration that allows just one log-in for all business tools. It has been the CRM platform of choice for over 165,000 real estate and mortgage professionals.

Recently, David was also included in the 2021 Swanepoel Power 200 (SP200) report for the third consecutive year and continues to be part of an elite group of industry professionals who are recognized for their influence and leadership.   
  
In this episode, we talked about:

06:44  The difference of LionDesk from the other CRM platforms in the industry
10:43  The importance of video texting
12:40  Who will benefit the most from LionDesk’s products
14:14  What a Good CRM should do
14:55  Which tech companies are integrated into LionDesk’s platform
17:02  What drove David to leave a place of security and venture into building his own business
20:20  What failure truly means
21:40 The challenges that Liondesk faces today
22:40 Why you need to hire the best person possible who could fire you from your own job
25:30 What excites David the most about real estate
28:41 What David sees as the biggest change in the industry for the next couple of years
34:26 Things you can do to keep waking up happy/motivated
39:05  David’s advice to those who are planning to build a business

Episode 064 with Terrence Murphy, CEO of TM5 Properties

Terrence Murphy started from very humble beginnings and worked his way up to where he is now.  He first became an entrepreneur mowing lawns for residential and commercial places when he was 12. He then tried different jobs to help his family - which also taught him the value of hardwork. Eventually, he had a very successful football career and was even drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the NFL draft. Unfortunately, an injury that left him paralyzed from neck below ended his football career.

In a situation where anyone would normally just give up on their dreams, Terrence's competitive nature and skills pulled him through.  When he recovered, he decided to start his career in real estate and this became his main focus and passion.

Today, Terrence is the CEO, Broker & Founder of TM5 Properties. TM5 has been a part of LeadingRE since 2016 which consists of the world’s market-leading independent residential brokerages in over 70 countries. In 2018 & 2019, TM5 was recognized in INC 5000 as one of the 5000 fastest-growing privately held small companies in the U.S.

Terrence is a visionary and entrepreneur at heart. Other ventures and companies he has started in the community or become a partner in, include: Jones and Associates Insurance, Asset Hero Property Management and many more.

In this episode, we talked about:

04:50 How Terrence managed to negotiate contract at 12 years old
06:58 The importance of grit and having a growth mindset
07:46 How to turn hardships in life into something that makes you stronger
10:17 Why Terrence referred to real estate as his new Super Bowl
14:06 Why you should never let anyone dictate what you can or cannot do
15:00 How he started in Real Estate
18:21 The value of giving back and inspiring other people
19:20 Why Terrence started his own podcast
23:14 Why you should never stop learning
25:13 How Terrence ends up with mostly high-end/luxury listings
27:13 Why you always need to be willing to fail
32:45 What is an entrepreneur’s best asset

 

Episode 063 with Eric Forney, Broker/Owner at The Forney Group

Eric used to be a full-time paint salesman where he also created customized paint colors for homes.  This inspired him to venture into selling homes until he decided to upgrade his career into real estate in 2015.  A year later, he was named as the #1 Selling Agent in the Ohio Valley Region.  His team was also recognized as the #1 Selling KW Team in Indiana from 2017 to 2020.

Since his career trajectory was pretty fast as an individual and as a team, Eric saw the need for an efficient program to train new agents to backfill his business.  One of the things he found most success in was taking in new agents without experience and teaching them how to be successful in real estate and to be effective in the first 12 months.

In this episode, we talked about:

(02:56)  Why there is a need to train agents to become leaders
(05:04)  How does the FIRE immersion program work
(05:20)  The value of providing your agents a clear blueprint for success 
(08:31) How to keep your agents motivated
(11:06) Why Eric prefers to train agents through problem solving activities  
(13:32) How SISU helped make meetings more meaningful and productive
(15:32) Why you need to be clear on who you want to be in business with
(16:52) The difference between value and price
(17:23) The type of agent who are best suited for the immersion program
(20:05) How third party recruiting companies work in the real estate industry
(22:56) Best source of recruiting leads 
(24:57) How SISU helps simplify the real estate business

 

Episode 062 with Ricky Cain, Founder/CEO of Cain Realty Group

In 2006, Ricky and his wife got into the real estate business with just $2,000 between them. The first 2 years were treacherous and they needed to figure things out on their own. It’s a fact that very few agents survive the first 2 years and even fewer go beyond year 5.  Despite this discouraging statistic, Ricky's biggest motivation was: to never say no to himself or his family, when they deserve a yes.  This is what made him pull through and eventually find success.

As his business grew, he decided to create a team. He determined that it is his duty and obligation to provide opportunities for other people to be blessed by real estate the way he has.  Today, he is the president of the Cain Realty Group - Keller Williams Realty- which has been awarded as America’s Best Real Estate Professionals for six consecutive years.

He is also the president of Cain Cares, a non-profit organization who serves clients of The Cain Team, their families and community in times of severe need.

In this episode, we talked about:

(2:58) The value of having a strong “why”
(7:44) Finding purpose in your life
(10:25) What is an impactful way to identify the core values for your team
(13:55) How core values attract the right people you want to work with
(17:15) What things you need to have in place when building a team
(19:42) Why you need to hire for the position and not for the person
(20:32) Ricky's three (3) favorite questions when hiring
(21:53) Why you need to dig 3-layer deep when interviewing references
(23:07) What are the benefits of shadowing
(24:23) How important is it to get buy-ins from your agent’s significant others 
(26:28) How to determine an agent’s success through their trak records
(27:07) Why leaders should also focus on their personal growth
(27:48) What is the most important thing that Ricky is doing to ensure that 2021 will be a great year for his business

 

 

Episode 061 with Peter Chabris, Team Leader of The Chabris Group

Peter Chabris has been a licensed real estate agent since 2002. Six year later, he started The Chabris Group and since 2013, it has become Cincinnati's top sales team. The Chabris Group was also hailed as the top KW sales team in the Tri-State since 2015, and one of the top 100 sales teams at Keller Williams worldwide  since 2019. 

Peter is a KW Mastery business coach for Keller Williams Realtors and Master Faculty for Keller Williams University as well. His specialties are systemizing customer experience, scaling business, sales skills mastery, and living an intentional life.

In this episode, we talked about:

(03:03) How did Peter’s team bridge the gap from 350 to 450 transactions last year
(04:35) What was their “big switch”?
(06:03) The importance of communication to the success of the team
(06:52) What are the key items to having the trajectory of growth continue through 2021 
(07:25) Teams vs. Brokerages
(09:29) What convinced them to bring in ISAs to the team
(10:37) The ISA model that works best for Peter’s team 
(15:16) How to get an agent transition into the role of an ISA
(17:07) Who should be the first person you hire
(18:02) The value of knowing your numbers
(20:07) How to Compensate Your Inside Sales Agent
(21:51) How do agent-ISA splits work
(26:12) The key to get to the next level

Episode 060 with Kyle Whissel, CEO/Team Leader of Whissel Realty Group

Kyle Whissel has been in the real estate industry for almost 2 decades now. He worked in all aspects of the industry including property management, commercial real estate investing, distressed sales (REO & short sale), flipping and residential real estate.

Today, he is the CEO and team leader of Whissel Realty Group brokered by eXp Realty. They’ve been recognized as the #1 real estate team in San Diego by The Wall Street Journal and the #6 team in the state by Trulia and Zillow. He’s also a National Speaker and the #1 Real Estate Video Influencer by Bombbomb.

In this episode, we talked about:

(01:11) How to go big in 2021
(01:50) Why we need to have a different approach for different kinds of leads?
(05:57) What activities do we want our agents to focus on
(06:09) How does the 3-Part Funnel work?
(13:33) The advantage of setting up a lot of appointments for agents
(15:54) How do you find the right ISA and how to keep them around
(18:09) What are “exempt” or “non-exempt” employees? 
(19:40) Why you should start paying ISAs based on closings and not on appointments set
(23:03) How much does an agent/ISA need to earn before they consider themselves successful? 
(27:11) Kyle’s #1 source of hiring
(27:40) How does the company make money as a whole
(28:38) Why “speed to lead” is just as important as “speed to respond”
(28:50) What’s the only thing better than a new lead?
(30:23) What program does Kyle use to train his team

Episode 059 with Kevin Kauffman, Realtor/Owner of Group 46:10 Network

Kevin Kauffman started his real estate career in 2007 - right when the market was starting to crash.  Despite his family and friend’s objections, he believed that this was an opportunity for him so he chose to follow his instincts.  Though his experience has been rough, he gained the confidence and drive to succeed against the odds.

Today, Kevin is a realtor and the owner of the Group 46:10 Real Estate Network at eXp Realty which has expanded into 5 markets in 2018. Group 46:10 has been consistently named as one of “The Thousand” A-list of the top producing real estate agents and teams in the country.  Kevin is also the host of the Kevin and Fred Show podcast (formerly known as Next Level Agents podcast).
 
In this episode, we talked about:

(06:31) What got Kevin interested in doing podcasts?
(08:36) What is the MOO method?
(09:12) The benefits of podcasting
(11:14) What’s the deal with Clubhouse?
(14:59) How creating your own media and content can be a powerful tool for your business
(16:06) The value of having the right relationships
(18:00) When to NOT take advantage of some social media platforms
(19:02) What Zillow’s buying of Showtime could mean to the real estate industry
(24:58) The importance of adapting to disruptors
(25:32) Kevin’s insight on Gary Keller’s response to competition
(39:40) Where is the industry headed to?
(41:21) Why there will be fewer real estate agents in the future
(42:36) Kevin’s advice to new agents

 

Episode 058 with Eric Lowry, CEO/Team Leader of The Lowry Team at eXp Realty

Eric Lowry started his real estate career in 1998 as a solo agent. As years passed, he has become “blissfully dissatisfied” in the path he has chosen and often found himself wanting to do more.  He wanted to not just have a job, he wanted to build a business for himself. So in 2005, he decided to build his own real estate team.

Today, Eric is the Team Leader and CEO of The Lowry Team at eXp Realty in Cincinnati. His team has built a reputation based on honest and professional real estate service. He is now considered as an industry veteran who has earned multiple awards due to his commitment to providing personal service combined with cutting edge technology to help clients every step of the way.

In this episode, we talked about:

(03:55) The 5 elements that help power an agent’s success
(06:00) How their team’s high-level custom agent training sets them apart from other brokerages.
(09:16) What technology to use to keep track of a trainee’s progress
(10:38) How Eric does his one-on-one coaching and how he makes it scalable 
(11:41) SISU’s role in identifying agents strengths and weaknesses 
(13:00) How the SISU dashboard helps refine an agent’s performance
(16:20) What key things team owners should do to differentiate themselves from the competition
(20:10) Why you should NEVER stop following up
(22:20) The one thing a real estate agent needs to learn to thrive and survive 
(23:03) What’s the precursor to success in business and in life
(27:33) The importance of using the best technology to help agents and clients 
(35:22 Why the language of business is in numbers and not opinions
(36:02) What Eric wishes he had known as he was building a team
(37:47) How does Eric gain his knowledge

 

Episode 057 with Mahala Landin, Managing Director, Broker at Rachel Kendall Team

After 12 years working in the hospitality industry, Mahala had the opportunity to work for a private equity firm where she was mostly involved with project management. Several years into her role, she discovered that she could make good use of her experience in project management, her interest in real estate development and her background on experiential sales if she jumps into the real estate world.

As they say, when stars align and a door opens, you have to walk through it. Which is why when she was introduced to Rachel Kendall of the Rachel Kendall Real Estate Team in 2014, she grabbed the opportunity and asked if she could be a member of her team.

Today, Mahala is the Managing Partner and Broker in Charge of the Rachel Kendall Real Estate Team. They have closed  450 - 500 transactions a year in the past 2 years and are ranked as 1 of the top 5 highest-grossing residential real estate teams in the country.
 
In this episode, we talked about:

(02:10) What Mahala loves about SISU
(03:35) How Mahala got into real estate
(10:31) The core foundation to what makes their team really work
(12:41) What is a common thing most powerful teams in real estate have in terms of lead generation?
(20:40) What should an agent do if they hit that place of “What’s next”? 
(24:43) Why you need to take 1 step back to take 10 steps forward
(25:42) How can team owners give agents opportunities for professional growth
(33:23) The importance of client relationship
(35:57) How to instill a culture of transparency, integrity and professionalism in team members
(38:17) What to keep in mind when picking an operations system and how to run it efficiently
(41:26) Why every real estate agent needs to know where their business are coming from
(43:02) The 3 platforms that are absolutely essential for an agent to get their job done
(44:37) The 1 piece of advice to someone who wants to take their team to the next level
(47:36) Mahala’s favorite source of learning

Episode 056 with Grier Allen, CEO and Co-Founder of BoomTown

Grier Allen developed his passion for the real estate industry early on in his life.  His father was one of the top producing agents in the Charleston area which is why his upbringing helped shape the way he views this business.

After graduating with a computer science degree, he first worked as a consultant in the brokerage where his father worked. This is where he learned that consumers are migrating to the digital to find their next home but the industry at that time was unable to keep up with the demand.  This made him realize that technology has a positive impact in terms of creating efficiencies in the real estate world.

Today, Grier is the Co-founder and CEO of Boomtown, which provides top real estate marketing software and technology. He is also considered as an industry leader and a contributor to the growth of real estate teams and the way it has taken over the industry today.

In this episode, we talked about:

(03:05) How Grier came up with the vision for Boomtown
(15:46) The value of having the right team around you 
(18:27) Does Boomtown consider Top Producer as their true competitor? 
(20:39) What were the challenges they faced when building a company through turbulent times?
(26:30) The first sign of success for Boomtown
(27:47) How to create a balance between bootstrapping the company and supporting growth through hiring
(29:32) How technology start-ups can cut down on expenses
(30:32) How coaching companies became instrumental in promoting Boomtown
(32:26) The key to elevate your game in this industry
(33:26) The importance of bringing in people who share the same passion and values as you
(35:52) Remain profitable and grow slowly vs. Raise capital to take market share
(40:05) What challenges are they facing today
(45:57) What is Boomtown focusing on now to set them apart from the competition