April 12, 2025 • 25 mins
Did you know your previous career could be your biggest real estate advantage?
Whether you were a police officer, teacher, nurse, golf pro, or anything else—your past is full of trust, credibility, and connections that can fuel your real estate business. In this episode of the Agent Rise Podcast, Neil shares how to align your personal brand with your life experiences—without being salesy.
You’ll learn:
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Real-life branding ideas for agents from various career backgrounds
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How to stay top of mind with your old network (even if you’re brand new!)
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Creative strategies to make your past passions part of your Chase Pillar
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Ways to deepen relationships with newsletters, events, and niche branding
🎟️ Join us at the Agent Rise Summit – April 27-29 in Fort Myers, FL
Get tickets now: https://agentrisesummit.com
📲 Text Neil at 833-500-1135 to share your past career and get ideas for your brand!
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: Why Your Past Matters in Real Estate
01:30 – Tapping Into Your Trusted Past Professions (Police, Nurse, Teacher)
04:10 – Real Example: Branding from a Law Enforcement Background
06:45 – How To Reconnect with Your Old Network Using Newsletters
08:00 – Creating Your Own "Homes for Heroes" Style Program
09:00 – Hosting Events That Tie Into Your Brand (Party in the Park)
11:10 – Real Example: Turning Golf Into a Real Estate Brand
13:40 – Using Golf Networking, Listings, and Content to Build Authority
15:30 – Making Golf or Hobbies Part of Your Entire Brand
16:40 – Real Example: Building a Brand Around Clubs, Hobbies & Community
18:00 – Supporting Your Group Without Feeling Salesy
19:30 – How To Position Yourself As Their “Go-To” Agent
21:10 – Sponsorships, Club Events, and Private Parties as Branding Tools
23:00 – Why Your Past Is Your Superpower
24:00 – Neil’s Story: From Screen Printer to Realtor Using Past Connections
25:00 – How to Get Help Customizing Your Brand Based on Your Past
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
If you're like most agents, youmight have had a past experience,
(00:03):
you might have done something beforeyou become a real estate agent.
And statistically speaking, a lotof agents are on their second career
when they become real estate agents.
So what did you do prior tobecoming a real estate agent?
And can we tie that into your business?
I'm convinced that we can, andin this episode I'm gonna show
you exactly how to do that.
(00:25):
Welcome to the Agent Rise podcast,where we celebrate that you are unique
and one of a kind, instead of askingyou to do things that make you cringe.
We help you create a clear,personalized plan that aligns with you.
No more overthinking or wasting time.
Just a straightforward path to buildinga real estate business you love.
(00:49):
Welcome risers.
It's that time once againfor the Agent Rise podcast.
I'm your host Neil Mathway, andtoday we're talking about your past
experiences and how we could tiethat into your real estate business.
I have conversations daily,maybe not daily, maybe more like
weekly with agents that have.
Had past experiences.
(01:09):
Maybe they worked a career, maybe theywere a police officer, they worked in
the military, uh, nurses, uh, teachers,uh, the list goes on past experiences
and past careers, and now real estatehas become their second career.
So how do you tie that first career?
Into your real estate business.
So today I'm gonna give you somereal life examples around this.
(01:30):
Uh, I'm gonna use a policeofficer as an example.
I just had a great conversationwith a former officer and, uh,
he's now stepping into real estate.
So how can he use, uh, being aformer police officer, how can he
use that as a part of his brand?
Also I met with an agentthat was a former golf pro.
how do we bring that passion forgolf and everything from his past?
(01:53):
How do we bring that into his business?
And then the third one thatI have on the list here is.
I think about, uh, um, uh, Jeff, oh gosh,I can't remember his last name, but Jeff,
when I was, uh, a young agent in Madison,Wisconsin, uh, Jeff was an agent that I
looked up to that was a rugby player, andI got a lot of his business from rugby.
(02:13):
Uh, so how do you.
Step into that without being salesy.
Right?
Like that, that's an opportunityfor you to network with people
and to to, to be a part.
You're already a part of the community.
So how do you get them to know thatyou're a real estate agent and how
do you get them to be, to chooseyou as the go-to agent, right?
That's what we're gonna cover today.
Let's first talk about a formercareer as a police officer.
(02:37):
And so I, I'm talking about policeofficers, but maybe if you've worked
as a, as a fire or EMT, maybe you'veworked as a nurse, uh, any of those.
A teacher is another one.
Uh, any of those professionsare very trusted professions.
And as a real estate agent, that'swhat we're going for, right?
Like, we wanna earn people's trust.
(02:57):
And when we earn their trust,they're more likely to not only use
us as their real estate agent, butthey're also likely to refer us.
And so how do you build that trust?
It's a, it's a tricky thing to do.
Well, you've got an advantage whenyou're a police officer or a nurse, or
a teacher because those are some of themost trusted professions that they are.
And so if you are one of, in one ofthose trusted professions or have been
(03:21):
in one of those trusted professions,you should use that as credibility and
for a reason for them to work with you.
And so what I recommend here iswe, we wanna play on that trust,
and what I recommend here isto position your brand so that.
People know that you were a policeofficer for over 20 years, and you can
(03:42):
even start out by, in your bio, you cansay, after a 20 year career as a police
officer, I retired from the force andbecame a full-time real estate agent.
Right?
So it could be as simple as that.
You could also take it to another level.
I think of, uh, my good friend outin California, Connor MacGyver.
Connor and his wife have a team, andConnor was a police officer, I think for
(04:04):
12 or 13 years, and so they have a brandcalled Paris 9 1 1, his lovely wife.
Paris is the Paris and he is the 9 1 1.
And so they've, they've madetheir whole brand around.
Him being a former police officer.
So you can do these little subtlethings or you could really get loud
(04:25):
and make it a part of your brand.
Now the next thing that I would dois I would want to make sure that
everybody that I know that's on theforce to this day, make sure that they
all know that I'm a real estate agent.
So I would send them an announcementletter and I would say, Hey, if you
haven't heard, uh, I, you know, I've,I, I retired from the forest and after
(04:45):
all these amazing years, uh, but nowI am pursuing a full-time career as a
real estate agent, and I would greatlyappreciate any support you could give.
Uh, we've got these announcementletters inside of Agent Rise Academy.
We have both a new oneand a reconnect one.
In this case, most likely, you're a newagent, so you'd want to use the new one.
But you want everybody in theyour department there that you
(05:09):
want everybody to know that youare now a real estate agent.
And then following thatannouncement letter, I would
continue with a monthly newsletter.
I would send a monthly newslettermonth after month, year after year.
I would also have a section inthat newsletter that speaks.
To you being a former police officer.
It speaks to that branding and it also, itspeaks to a nonprofit that other officers
(05:35):
would be interested in supporting.
And so this nonprofit is, uh, a position,a way for you to position that you
can say every closing that we get allgoes towards helping this nonprofit.
Another thing you could do that's reallysimilar to this is Homes for Hero.
And I'm, I'm, I'm not suggestingthat you go with Homes for Hero.
(05:57):
I'm also not knocking it.
Uh, I think it's a great program and it's,it's raised a lot of money and it's a,
it's a great thing, but I think you cancreate your own homes for Hero and you can
support your own initiatives of the thingsthat you wanna support in your community.
Without having to go through that program.
So I really like the Homes for Heroes.
I think it's a great concept, but I'dsay, Hey, take that idea and run with it.
(06:21):
To create your own program,to create your own initiative.
Some other things that you could dois, is maybe offer first time home
buyer classes in the department.
So you could go, you know, and put ona class, uh, maybe have a lender come
along with you and put on a class.
Uh, for those that have not bought a homeand would like to buy a home, you could
also do home seller seminars as well.
(06:43):
Uh, additional things thatyou could provide value.
To those that are on the force.
I would also recommend, uh, uh, as apart of your sphere of influence, pillar.
So, uh, we, we teach thesphere of influence pillar.
Um, steps one through three areto build that database, send that
announcement letter, and thenstart mailing monthly newsletters.
(07:03):
All right?
Now, after you get through all ofthe agent rise steps, step number
eight is to come back to your sphereof influence and add more to it.
We call it the sphere of influence.
2.0 and I would highly recommend thatyou do this, that you add more to your
sphere and with it I would, I wouldrecommend that you add client events
(07:24):
and, uh, there's a lot of differentoptions, a lot of different things that
you can do for sphere of influence 2.0.
But one of my favorites is clientevents and for the client events.
I envisioned doing something like thatI did, was called Party in the Park,
uh, or we also had a party called SummerJam and you put on a annual party and it
could be at a park, it could have bouncycastles, uh, maybe some food trucks, maybe
(07:47):
face painting for the kids, uh, otherextra things that could go on, right.
And then.
In addition to doing all of that, youcould ask the fire department to bring
a squad and ask the police or the,the fire, I'm sorry I said that wrong.
Ask the police, ask the policedepartment to bring a squad and ask
the fire department to bring a firetruck and so the kids can climb through
(08:09):
the trucks and the cars and, andsee everything and then you are also
tying that into your brand, right?
So come, come see the firetrucks, come see the police cars.
Uh, I'm gonna have 'em at my party.
Um, and again, that's, thatbecomes part of your brand.
Uh, some other things that you could dohere is, is, you know, overall branding.
Now Paris 9 1 1, you canhave the overall branding.
(08:29):
And with that I wouldhave a, have a tagline.
You know, like, not only do we, we,we don't just sell houses, but we
are the go-to agent that works with.
All of those that serve us.
Right?
So, um, so those, that, those thatserve are the people that we represent,
the people that we work with, right?
So you can position yourself in a strongsense there of saying, Hey, we serve and
(08:52):
protect those that serve and protect.
And obviously you need to come upwith a good tagline here, but I
want to give you some ideas around.
That.
Okay.
So next, I want to helpthose that love golf.
Maybe that's you.
Maybe you're a previous golf pro, ormaybe you currently are a golf pro, or
maybe you just love the sport of golf.
How do you tie that into your business?
(09:13):
Now, before we get onto that, I wannainvite you to the Agent Rise Summit.
That's happening April 27th to the29th in beautiful downtown Fort Myers.
This is three days of clarity.
Breakthrough and connections withagents just like you agents who
are, are tired of chasing the nextthing and are on that commission,
rollercoaster that up and down.
(09:34):
Uh, we wanna smooth allof that out for you.
We wanna help you step off thatcommission rollercoaster and
build a business that you love.
During the summit, we're gonna begoing deep on the exact framework,
the three pillar plan, the sphere,the chase, and the attraction.
We're gonna be talking about content,strategies, systems, ai, video,
(09:55):
our mindset, like the list goes on,
But what makes the Summit differentis that it's not just about
information, it's about transformation.
Our goal is for every agent to leave witha clear plan that is congruent to them,
and one that they stay consistent with.
Because if you're anything likeme, you go to a conference and
(10:16):
you get all these great ideas.
You have all these ideas and allthese things that you should be
doing, and then you go home and youshould all over yourself, right?
You got all these things thatyou should be doing and, and you
don't know what to put into place.
We wanna prevent that from happening.
We want to give you a clear planthat's congruent to you, and then
show you how to stay consistentwith it so that you can go home.
(10:39):
Crush it, and all of this is possible.
Thanks to our amazing sponsors,Frita Solutions, click
Marshall and Nations Lending.
Thank you so very muchfor your partnership.
We could not put onthe summit without you.
And again, thank you so very much.
So now it's your chance to get yourtickets again, April 27th to the 29th.
(11:00):
It's coming quick.
So go to agent risesummit.com and register today.
Hope to see you there.
Now let's get onto the second example,which is those that love golf.
And this is for, uh, I had an agentthat was, uh, a former golf pro, right?
Uh, and so how can you tiegolf into your business?
(11:22):
And maybe you weren't a former golfpro, but maybe you just love golf
and how can you tie golf into your,into your real estate business?
All right.
So the, the first thing that Iwould recommend doing here is
you wanna surround yourself with.
Other people that love golf.
Okay.
And one of the best ways to do that isto run ads for houses on golf course.
(11:46):
For, for a list of all houses thatare currently active in the area that
are on a golf course or near a golfcourse, or however you wanna position
a golf course homes, click here.
And then what you're gonnabe doing is you're gonna be.
Generating leads of people thatwanna live by golf courses, and
most likely, if they wanna live by agolf course, they love golf, right?
So that's one way that you cangenerate, you could use your chase
(12:09):
pillar to generate cold leads ofpeople that wanna live on golf courses.
Uh, the next thing that I wouldrecommend is that you position
yourself as a member at one of thegolf courses and, and be very active,
uh, and, and golf a lot and be there.
And then bring your clients withyou, bring three other agents,
three other, uh, clients with you,uh, handpick some people and invite
(12:33):
people, uh, to go golfing with you.
Use golf as the way to socializeand the way for you to network.
So not only are you a member of theclub and you get to know everybody in
the club, um, and network that way, butthen when you're bringing your clients
out to the club, you're then bringingthem into that networking as well.
Right.
So, uh, so use golf asyour way to network.
(12:57):
Also, if you're a golf pro and somebodyreally that you're working with that
maybe it's a, a, a somebody else thatyou wanna network, maybe a good referral
partner that, uh, would love golf lessons,then give them golf lessons, right?
Like, help them better their golf game.
Uh, take 'em golfing and, and, andhelp them better their golf game.
Uh, so just think about the valuethat you could add, uh, to a
(13:19):
referral partner that loves to golf.
And then another idea with thistoo is, you know, not only is it
the networking, um, and, you know,bringing people together, but to
take this to another level, you coulddo an annual golf outing, right?
Host a annual golf outing and all ofthat networking and finding sponsors
(13:40):
and finding those that wanna sign up.
And, uh, all of that work is allgonna be networking work that's
going to create those relationships.
That are gonna lead toreal estate transactions.
And the last thing that I wanna bringup around golf and what you can do
to niche with this is to make it makegolf a part of your entire brand.
(14:03):
I mean, you could put a littlegolf club in your logo, a
little golf ball in your logo.
I think you should goeven further than that.
I. Think your photos, uh, onyour website should be on the
golf course and you golfing.
Uh, I think there should be old photos ofyou golfing maybe when you were a little
kid, uh, and you just started golfing.
I think all of your brandingand all of your storytelling
(14:24):
should be around your love.
For golf and, um, and you'rethinking, well, what does this
have to do with real estate?
Well, you're gonna be a professionalas a real estate agent, but now
we need to attract people thathave similar interest as you.
And that's what we're going for there.
Like somebody that loves golf, they'regonna love you as the real estate.
(14:45):
Agent, especially if theywanna live on a golf course.
So I would suggest going all in onthis, make this a part of your brand.
Make this a part of your chase pillar.
Make this a part of your, uh, your spherepillar, uh, included in your newsletter.
And then, uh, as far as thetraction pillar goes, you could
constantly be talking aboutnew listings on golf courses.
(15:06):
You could be talking aboutnew neighborhoods that
are getting golf courses.
Uh, you could go and be thatperson that is on the forefront.
Of where the listings are aroundgolf courses, and then you're
attracting people that love to golf.
That's, that's the whole idea behind it.
Now the third example is one that I wantto use here because I feel that so many
(15:28):
agents are a part of different clubs.
You know, I, I use like hockey andlacrosse and rugby and running clubs
and stuff like that as an example.
But there's even more than that.
There's small groups from church,there's, there's, you know,
card clubs and there's all.
All kinds of clubs.
Okay, so now how do you positionyourself and your brand without
(15:51):
being salesy in front of thesegroups, in front of these clubs?
And, uh, a few ideas that I havehere and I'd love to hear from
you if you've got more ideas.
Uh, but the number one idea thatI see working the best here is to
understand what others in the group.
Need help with and then give themthat help and then support them.
(16:11):
So maybe they would be a greatreferral partner, will understand
what their business is all about andunderstand who their ideal client
is, and then get busy referring them.
Because when you refer people, they willreciprocate and they will refer back.
Okay, so this is, the first thing is, isjust get really, really good at referring
(16:31):
those that are a part of the club.
Uh, and treat them likea referral partner.
Treat them like if you were a part of a band I group, uh, how would you refer them?
All right?
That's the number one strategy.
The second is, is don't be afraidto add them to your newsletter list.
Uh, if you feel more comfortable askingthem, then bring it up and just say,
Hey, I, I mailed this monthly newsletter.
(16:53):
It's kind of cheesy, uh, but it'sgot some really good tidbits in it.
Would you like to be added to the list?
Could I add you to the list?
So that's one way to do it.
Another way to do it is justto add everybody to the list.
If you've got the courage todo it, just, just do that.
Add, add everybody to the list.
It's not email, right?
So you can do that.
Another thing too is,is if you have home bot.
Uh, home Bot is a home evaluationtool that sends out an email
(17:16):
every single month with theirhome evaluation and their equity.
So you could offer that up insome small talk, like, Hey,
would you like this email?
We got this new tool called Home Bot.
Could I add you to this?
You'll get an email every singlemonth with your home value and
your equity, and then you, itgives you all kinds of options.
The open rate on these thingsare great and I, I really
think that you would like this.
(17:36):
Uh, would it be okay if I add you.
All right.
So some of these additional thingsare the pieces that you could use to
stay in touch with the people thatare in this club without being salesy.
And the best thing about sendingthem to your newsletter is that in
the newsletter you put down thankThank you section, and you thank
(17:57):
those that recently referred you.
And if they see month after month,year after year, every time you
send them a newsletter, there'speople in there that are referring.
You, they're gonna bemore likely to refer you.
And so that's thebyproduct of this, right?
So you've got this relationship.
You don't want it to be salesy.
You want to continue to stay intouch with them, use the newsletter.
(18:21):
The newsletter fits so well here.
And then in addition to that,if you sign 'em up for Home Bot,
then they're gonna get in monthly.
Email from you every single month.
You could also add Deal of the week hereand let everybody know that you send
out a weekly email with a deal of theweek, and that would be another value
add, another reason for them to sign up.
So again, you're just workingthis re these relationships.
(18:43):
You want to support them, youwanna refer them, you want to
help them as much as that you can.
And then beyond that, you want tokeep the relationship going so that
when they think of real estate.
They think of you, you can also be alittle bit more courageous in this area.
And ask them if they have a go-to agent.
If, if they were gonna needsome real estate needs, would,
(19:05):
would they know who to go to?
Or could you be that agent?
Right?
So this is more of a bolder asking.
Stepping outta your comfort zone.
But this, again, will help you positionyourself to be their go-to agent,
to also identify that right now.
Right?
Like if, if they say that, Hey, yeah,you would be my go-to agent, well then I
wanna pay more attention to them, right?
(19:26):
I want to have them high up on my list.
If you rank your, your sphere, youknow, from a Pluses to cs, uh, they're
definitely gonna be an A plus, right?
If they said, yeah, I would,I would definitely refer you.
But maybe they have a family member thatis somebody that they would refer to.
And then if they said that, I wouldask them if, well, I know that
you wanna hire them, but would yoube okay if you had to fire them?
(19:49):
Because a lot of peopledon't think of that.
They think about, yeah, Iwanna hire my sister or hire
my friend, um, to be my agent.
But I have to ask you, doyou have the courage to fire
them if things don't go well?
Uh, so that, that, that you, in that.
In that case right there, you'reha kind of handling that objection.
But also if they say, no, I've alreadygot my go-to agent, then this gives you
(20:10):
an opportunity to be their number two.
And this is a, this is agreat place to be, right?
Because a lot of a, a lot of agents comeand go, A lot of agents drop the ball and
don't do great job with communication.
So by you focusing onbeing their number two.
That's a great opportunity, right?
So, so, so be okay if theyalready have an agent.
(20:31):
You could, you could even say,Hey, do you have another agent?
Or, or, and if you do, would,would you know who to work with?
Um, because if they do, that's all right.
That's no problem.
You could be their number two andeventually earn that business.
Another thing that you could do withyour group, uh, is, is sponsor the group.
If you've got tournaments coming up orthey need sponsors, that's a great way
(20:52):
to insert your name and your brand, your.
Paying for that space.
And you can market all you want, right?
Uh, so if there's sponsorshipopportunities, step into that.
Also, if you wanna maybe host a party justfor your group, that would be another,
another way to promote your brand.
Maybe you want to just throw a cocktailparty or, or throw something and invite
only those that are a part of your groupor part of your membership or your club.
(21:16):
Uh, invite them all to your partyand, and, and throw a private party.
Just for those people.
And that again, is another way foryou to promote that you're a real
estate agent without being salesy.
Right?
Invite them to a happy hour.
What a great thing to do, uh, andto show some more support to your
fellow club members or whatever wewant to call them, your teammates.
Okay.
(21:36):
And then the last idea that I havehere is maybe there is some events
that they're already doing, right?
You've already got weekly, maybe,you know, if you're, let's say you're
lacrosse, maybe you guys play atournament every single weekend, right?
Uh, so what can you do to promote.
Lacrosse, what can you do topromote that event and help
get more people to the event?
(21:59):
Right?
So it's not only about promotingyour business, but it's also
about promoting the club.
And if you are a champion for that cluband you're out there promoting it, uh,
that's gonna number one, grow the club,but then also make you kind of stand out
as the one that is helping grow the club.
Uh, and then if you are mailing thema monthly newsletter or sending them
(22:19):
the deal of the week, or you've.
Uh, got them signed up for something inaddition to just seeing you at the club.
That's where the referrals will come from.
So the bottom line with all of this isyour past isn't something to leave behind.
All right?
It's your superpower.
That's what you're going for here.
You have already built the trust andthe credibility and the connections.
(22:41):
In this specific circle, and this isgonna help you build your business.
If I go way back to when I startedback in 2002, uh, prior to becoming
a real estate agent, I was ascreen printer and an embroider.
I owned a screen printerand an embroidery business.
And I had a database of around 300 peoplethat, uh, had, were my customers from
(23:03):
that screenprinting embroidery place.
And what I did when I became a real estateagent is I sent out an announcement letter
and said, Hey, you've trusted me withyour promotional items all of these years.
Would you now trust me asyour real estate agent?
And I would explain that I'vegot this great group behind me,
uh, or part of this awesome firm.
I've got all of this great support.
And the best thing is that I'm not.
(23:25):
Too busy.
See some of these agents that get intothis business, they're just way too busy.
And that's not me.
I'm brand new.
I've got my work ethic and my drive,and I've got time and I wanna serve you.
Uh, so would you give me an opportunity?
And that's the key too, in those letters,you've gotta ask for an opportunity.
Alright, so, so this, again,you're using not your, your past
(23:45):
is a part of your superpower.
It's part of the reason you're awesomeand the services that you can provide
and you can tap into those networks.
I think a lot of us.
When we say goodbye to our previous, uh,profession, we just say goodbye to it.
We don't want anythingto ever do with it again.
Like, goodbye.
See you later.
And I'm asking you to not do that.
I'm asking you to, to bring it with you,to make it a part of how you're gonna
(24:07):
build your real estate business becausethere's so many opportunities there,
and you could let it all slip by you.
All right.
I want to hear from you.
What profession would you like meto give you some more ideas around?
Maybe you were somethingelse in your past life.
Uh, what is that?
What else could I help you with andhow could I help you position your
(24:27):
past experiences into your profession?
So let me know in the comments.
What other professions do youwant me to brainstorm around?
And if you're listening to thison the podcast, you can shoot me a
text with any of your thoughts orany suggestions for a future show.
You can text me at 8 3 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 5.
(24:48):
Once again, that numberis 8 3 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 5.
Shoot me a text, let me know whatother professions you would like me
to brainstorm on, and what else didI leave out today that could help.
One of these three professions.
So again, shoot me a text at8 3 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 5 and I'll
talk about it on the next show.
(25:10):
Thanks so much for listening.
I hope you have a great day andlike always remember to be the
reason somebody smiles today.
If you're like most agents, youmight have had a past experience,
(00:03):
you might have done something beforeyou become a real estate agent.
And statistically speaking, a lotof agents are on their second career
when they become real estate agents.
So what did you do prior tobecoming a real estate agent?
And can we tie that into your business?
I'm convinced that we can, andin this episode I'm gonna show
you exactly how to do that.
(00:25):
Welcome to the Agent Rise podcast,where we celebrate that you are unique
and one of a kind, instead of askingyou to do things that make you cringe.
We help you create a clear,personalized plan that aligns with you.
No more overthinking or wasting time.
Just a straightforward path to buildinga real estate business you love.
(00:49):
Welcome risers.
It's that time once againfor the Agent Rise podcast.
I'm your host Neil Mathway, andtoday we're talking about your past
experiences and how we could tiethat into your real estate business.
I have conversations daily,maybe not daily, maybe more like
weekly with agents that have.
Had past experiences.
(01:09):
Maybe they worked a career, maybe theywere a police officer, they worked in
the military, uh, nurses, uh, teachers,uh, the list goes on past experiences
and past careers, and now real estatehas become their second career.
So how do you tie that first career?
Into your real estate business.
So today I'm gonna give you somereal life examples around this.
(01:30):
Uh, I'm gonna use a policeofficer as an example.
I just had a great conversationwith a former officer and, uh,
he's now stepping into real estate.
So how can he use, uh, being aformer police officer, how can he
use that as a part of his brand?
Also I met with an agentthat was a former golf pro.
how do we bring that passion forgolf and everything from his past?
(01:53):
How do we bring that into his business?
And then the third one thatI have on the list here is.
I think about, uh, um, uh, Jeff, oh gosh,I can't remember his last name, but Jeff,
when I was, uh, a young agent in Madison,Wisconsin, uh, Jeff was an agent that I
looked up to that was a rugby player, andI got a lot of his business from rugby.
(02:13):
Uh, so how do you.
Step into that without being salesy.
Right?
Like that, that's an opportunityfor you to network with people
and to to, to be a part.
You're already a part of the community.
So how do you get them to know thatyou're a real estate agent and how
do you get them to be, to chooseyou as the go-to agent, right?
That's what we're gonna cover today.
Let's first talk about a formercareer as a police officer.
(02:37):
And so I, I'm talking about policeofficers, but maybe if you've worked
as a, as a fire or EMT, maybe you'veworked as a nurse, uh, any of those.
A teacher is another one.
Uh, any of those professionsare very trusted professions.
And as a real estate agent, that'swhat we're going for, right?
Like, we wanna earn people's trust.
(02:57):
And when we earn their trust,they're more likely to not only use
us as their real estate agent, butthey're also likely to refer us.
And so how do you build that trust?
It's a, it's a tricky thing to do.
Well, you've got an advantage whenyou're a police officer or a nurse, or
a teacher because those are some of themost trusted professions that they are.
And so if you are one of, in one ofthose trusted professions or have been
(03:21):
in one of those trusted professions,you should use that as credibility and
for a reason for them to work with you.
And so what I recommend here iswe, we wanna play on that trust,
and what I recommend here isto position your brand so that.
People know that you were a policeofficer for over 20 years, and you can
(03:42):
even start out by, in your bio, you cansay, after a 20 year career as a police
officer, I retired from the force andbecame a full-time real estate agent.
Right?
So it could be as simple as that.
You could also take it to another level.
I think of, uh, my good friend outin California, Connor MacGyver.
Connor and his wife have a team, andConnor was a police officer, I think for
(04:04):
12 or 13 years, and so they have a brandcalled Paris 9 1 1, his lovely wife.
Paris is the Paris and he is the 9 1 1.
And so they've, they've madetheir whole brand around.
Him being a former police officer.
So you can do these little subtlethings or you could really get loud
(04:25):
and make it a part of your brand.
Now the next thing that I would dois I would want to make sure that
everybody that I know that's on theforce to this day, make sure that they
all know that I'm a real estate agent.
So I would send them an announcementletter and I would say, Hey, if you
haven't heard, uh, I, you know, I've,I, I retired from the forest and after
(04:45):
all these amazing years, uh, but nowI am pursuing a full-time career as a
real estate agent, and I would greatlyappreciate any support you could give.
Uh, we've got these announcementletters inside of Agent Rise Academy.
We have both a new oneand a reconnect one.
In this case, most likely, you're a newagent, so you'd want to use the new one.
But you want everybody in theyour department there that you
(05:09):
want everybody to know that youare now a real estate agent.
And then following thatannouncement letter, I would
continue with a monthly newsletter.
I would send a monthly newslettermonth after month, year after year.
I would also have a section inthat newsletter that speaks.
To you being a former police officer.
It speaks to that branding and it also, itspeaks to a nonprofit that other officers
(05:35):
would be interested in supporting.
And so this nonprofit is, uh, a position,a way for you to position that you
can say every closing that we get allgoes towards helping this nonprofit.
Another thing you could do that's reallysimilar to this is Homes for Hero.
And I'm, I'm, I'm not suggestingthat you go with Homes for Hero.
(05:57):
I'm also not knocking it.
Uh, I think it's a great program and it's,it's raised a lot of money and it's a,
it's a great thing, but I think you cancreate your own homes for Hero and you can
support your own initiatives of the thingsthat you wanna support in your community.
Without having to go through that program.
So I really like the Homes for Heroes.
I think it's a great concept, but I'dsay, Hey, take that idea and run with it.
(06:21):
To create your own program,to create your own initiative.
Some other things that you could dois, is maybe offer first time home
buyer classes in the department.
So you could go, you know, and put ona class, uh, maybe have a lender come
along with you and put on a class.
Uh, for those that have not bought a homeand would like to buy a home, you could
also do home seller seminars as well.
(06:43):
Uh, additional things thatyou could provide value.
To those that are on the force.
I would also recommend, uh, uh, as apart of your sphere of influence, pillar.
So, uh, we, we teach thesphere of influence pillar.
Um, steps one through three areto build that database, send that
announcement letter, and thenstart mailing monthly newsletters.
(07:03):
All right?
Now, after you get through all ofthe agent rise steps, step number
eight is to come back to your sphereof influence and add more to it.
We call it the sphere of influence.
2.0 and I would highly recommend thatyou do this, that you add more to your
sphere and with it I would, I wouldrecommend that you add client events
(07:24):
and, uh, there's a lot of differentoptions, a lot of different things that
you can do for sphere of influence 2.0.
But one of my favorites is clientevents and for the client events.
I envisioned doing something like thatI did, was called Party in the Park,
uh, or we also had a party called SummerJam and you put on a annual party and it
could be at a park, it could have bouncycastles, uh, maybe some food trucks, maybe
(07:47):
face painting for the kids, uh, otherextra things that could go on, right.
And then.
In addition to doing all of that, youcould ask the fire department to bring
a squad and ask the police or the,the fire, I'm sorry I said that wrong.
Ask the police, ask the policedepartment to bring a squad and ask
the fire department to bring a firetruck and so the kids can climb through
(08:09):
the trucks and the cars and, andsee everything and then you are also
tying that into your brand, right?
So come, come see the firetrucks, come see the police cars.
Uh, I'm gonna have 'em at my party.
Um, and again, that's, thatbecomes part of your brand.
Uh, some other things that you could dohere is, is, you know, overall branding.
Now Paris 9 1 1, you canhave the overall branding.
(08:29):
And with that I wouldhave a, have a tagline.
You know, like, not only do we, we,we don't just sell houses, but we
are the go-to agent that works with.
All of those that serve us.
Right?
So, um, so those, that, those thatserve are the people that we represent,
the people that we work with, right?
So you can position yourself in a strongsense there of saying, Hey, we serve and
(08:52):
protect those that serve and protect.
And obviously you need to come upwith a good tagline here, but I
want to give you some ideas around.
That.
Okay.
So next, I want to helpthose that love golf.
Maybe that's you.
Maybe you're a previous golf pro, ormaybe you currently are a golf pro, or
maybe you just love the sport of golf.
How do you tie that into your business?
(09:13):
Now, before we get onto that, I wannainvite you to the Agent Rise Summit.
That's happening April 27th to the29th in beautiful downtown Fort Myers.
This is three days of clarity.
Breakthrough and connections withagents just like you agents who
are, are tired of chasing the nextthing and are on that commission,
rollercoaster that up and down.
(09:34):
Uh, we wanna smooth allof that out for you.
We wanna help you step off thatcommission rollercoaster and
build a business that you love.
During the summit, we're gonna begoing deep on the exact framework,
the three pillar plan, the sphere,the chase, and the attraction.
We're gonna be talking about content,strategies, systems, ai, video,
(09:55):
our mindset, like the list goes on,
But what makes the Summit differentis that it's not just about
information, it's about transformation.
Our goal is for every agent to leave witha clear plan that is congruent to them,
and one that they stay consistent with.
Because if you're anything likeme, you go to a conference and
(10:16):
you get all these great ideas.
You have all these ideas and allthese things that you should be
doing, and then you go home and youshould all over yourself, right?
You got all these things thatyou should be doing and, and you
don't know what to put into place.
We wanna prevent that from happening.
We want to give you a clear planthat's congruent to you, and then
show you how to stay consistentwith it so that you can go home.
(10:39):
Crush it, and all of this is possible.
Thanks to our amazing sponsors,Frita Solutions, click
Marshall and Nations Lending.
Thank you so very muchfor your partnership.
We could not put onthe summit without you.
And again, thank you so very much.
So now it's your chance to get yourtickets again, April 27th to the 29th.
(11:00):
It's coming quick.
So go to agent risesummit.com and register today.
Hope to see you there.
Now let's get onto the second example,which is those that love golf.
And this is for, uh, I had an agentthat was, uh, a former golf pro, right?
Uh, and so how can you tiegolf into your business?
(11:22):
And maybe you weren't a former golfpro, but maybe you just love golf
and how can you tie golf into your,into your real estate business?
All right.
So the, the first thing that Iwould recommend doing here is
you wanna surround yourself with.
Other people that love golf.
Okay.
And one of the best ways to do that isto run ads for houses on golf course.
(11:46):
For, for a list of all houses thatare currently active in the area that
are on a golf course or near a golfcourse, or however you wanna position
a golf course homes, click here.
And then what you're gonnabe doing is you're gonna be.
Generating leads of people thatwanna live by golf courses, and
most likely, if they wanna live by agolf course, they love golf, right?
So that's one way that you cangenerate, you could use your chase
(12:09):
pillar to generate cold leads ofpeople that wanna live on golf courses.
Uh, the next thing that I wouldrecommend is that you position
yourself as a member at one of thegolf courses and, and be very active,
uh, and, and golf a lot and be there.
And then bring your clients withyou, bring three other agents,
three other, uh, clients with you,uh, handpick some people and invite
(12:33):
people, uh, to go golfing with you.
Use golf as the way to socializeand the way for you to network.
So not only are you a member of theclub and you get to know everybody in
the club, um, and network that way, butthen when you're bringing your clients
out to the club, you're then bringingthem into that networking as well.
Right.
So, uh, so use golf asyour way to network.
(12:57):
Also, if you're a golf pro and somebodyreally that you're working with that
maybe it's a, a, a somebody else thatyou wanna network, maybe a good referral
partner that, uh, would love golf lessons,then give them golf lessons, right?
Like, help them better their golf game.
Uh, take 'em golfing and, and, andhelp them better their golf game.
Uh, so just think about the valuethat you could add, uh, to a
(13:19):
referral partner that loves to golf.
And then another idea with thistoo is, you know, not only is it
the networking, um, and, you know,bringing people together, but to
take this to another level, you coulddo an annual golf outing, right?
Host a annual golf outing and all ofthat networking and finding sponsors
(13:40):
and finding those that wanna sign up.
And, uh, all of that work is allgonna be networking work that's
going to create those relationships.
That are gonna lead toreal estate transactions.
And the last thing that I wanna bringup around golf and what you can do
to niche with this is to make it makegolf a part of your entire brand.
(14:03):
I mean, you could put a littlegolf club in your logo, a
little golf ball in your logo.
I think you should goeven further than that.
I. Think your photos, uh, onyour website should be on the
golf course and you golfing.
Uh, I think there should be old photos ofyou golfing maybe when you were a little
kid, uh, and you just started golfing.
I think all of your brandingand all of your storytelling
(14:24):
should be around your love.
For golf and, um, and you'rethinking, well, what does this
have to do with real estate?
Well, you're gonna be a professionalas a real estate agent, but now
we need to attract people thathave similar interest as you.
And that's what we're going for there.
Like somebody that loves golf, they'regonna love you as the real estate.
(14:45):
Agent, especially if theywanna live on a golf course.
So I would suggest going all in onthis, make this a part of your brand.
Make this a part of your chase pillar.
Make this a part of your, uh, your spherepillar, uh, included in your newsletter.
And then, uh, as far as thetraction pillar goes, you could
constantly be talking aboutnew listings on golf courses.
(15:06):
You could be talking aboutnew neighborhoods that
are getting golf courses.
Uh, you could go and be thatperson that is on the forefront.
Of where the listings are aroundgolf courses, and then you're
attracting people that love to golf.
That's, that's the whole idea behind it.
Now the third example is one that I wantto use here because I feel that so many
(15:28):
agents are a part of different clubs.
You know, I, I use like hockey andlacrosse and rugby and running clubs
and stuff like that as an example.
But there's even more than that.
There's small groups from church,there's, there's, you know,
card clubs and there's all.
All kinds of clubs.
Okay, so now how do you positionyourself and your brand without
(15:51):
being salesy in front of thesegroups, in front of these clubs?
And, uh, a few ideas that I havehere and I'd love to hear from
you if you've got more ideas.
Uh, but the number one idea thatI see working the best here is to
understand what others in the group.
Need help with and then give themthat help and then support them.
(16:11):
So maybe they would be a greatreferral partner, will understand
what their business is all about andunderstand who their ideal client
is, and then get busy referring them.
Because when you refer people, they willreciprocate and they will refer back.
Okay, so this is, the first thing is, isjust get really, really good at referring
(16:31):
those that are a part of the club.
Uh, and treat them likea referral partner.
Treat them like if you were a part of a band I group, uh, how would you refer them?
All right?
That's the number one strategy.
The second is, is don't be afraidto add them to your newsletter list.
Uh, if you feel more comfortable askingthem, then bring it up and just say,
Hey, I, I mailed this monthly newsletter.
(16:53):
It's kind of cheesy, uh, but it'sgot some really good tidbits in it.
Would you like to be added to the list?
Could I add you to the list?
So that's one way to do it.
Another way to do it is justto add everybody to the list.
If you've got the courage todo it, just, just do that.
Add, add everybody to the list.
It's not email, right?
So you can do that.
Another thing too is,is if you have home bot.
Uh, home Bot is a home evaluationtool that sends out an email
(17:16):
every single month with theirhome evaluation and their equity.
So you could offer that up insome small talk, like, Hey,
would you like this email?
We got this new tool called Home Bot.
Could I add you to this?
You'll get an email every singlemonth with your home value and
your equity, and then you, itgives you all kinds of options.
The open rate on these thingsare great and I, I really
think that you would like this.
(17:36):
Uh, would it be okay if I add you.
All right.
So some of these additional thingsare the pieces that you could use to
stay in touch with the people thatare in this club without being salesy.
And the best thing about sendingthem to your newsletter is that in
the newsletter you put down thankThank you section, and you thank
(17:57):
those that recently referred you.
And if they see month after month,year after year, every time you
send them a newsletter, there'speople in there that are referring.
You, they're gonna bemore likely to refer you.
And so that's thebyproduct of this, right?
So you've got this relationship.
You don't want it to be salesy.
You want to continue to stay intouch with them, use the newsletter.
(18:21):
The newsletter fits so well here.
And then in addition to that,if you sign 'em up for Home Bot,
then they're gonna get in monthly.
Email from you every single month.
You could also add Deal of the week hereand let everybody know that you send
out a weekly email with a deal of theweek, and that would be another value
add, another reason for them to sign up.
So again, you're just workingthis re these relationships.
(18:43):
You want to support them, youwanna refer them, you want to
help them as much as that you can.
And then beyond that, you want tokeep the relationship going so that
when they think of real estate.
They think of you, you can also be alittle bit more courageous in this area.
And ask them if they have a go-to agent.
If, if they were gonna needsome real estate needs, would,
(19:05):
would they know who to go to?
Or could you be that agent?
Right?
So this is more of a bolder asking.
Stepping outta your comfort zone.
But this, again, will help you positionyourself to be their go-to agent,
to also identify that right now.
Right?
Like if, if they say that, Hey, yeah,you would be my go-to agent, well then I
wanna pay more attention to them, right?
(19:26):
I want to have them high up on my list.
If you rank your, your sphere, youknow, from a Pluses to cs, uh, they're
definitely gonna be an A plus, right?
If they said, yeah, I would,I would definitely refer you.
But maybe they have a family member thatis somebody that they would refer to.
And then if they said that, I wouldask them if, well, I know that
you wanna hire them, but would yoube okay if you had to fire them?
(19:49):
Because a lot of peopledon't think of that.
They think about, yeah, Iwanna hire my sister or hire
my friend, um, to be my agent.
But I have to ask you, doyou have the courage to fire
them if things don't go well?
Uh, so that, that, that you, in that.
In that case right there, you'reha kind of handling that objection.
But also if they say, no, I've alreadygot my go-to agent, then this gives you
(20:10):
an opportunity to be their number two.
And this is a, this is agreat place to be, right?
Because a lot of a, a lot of agents comeand go, A lot of agents drop the ball and
don't do great job with communication.
So by you focusing onbeing their number two.
That's a great opportunity, right?
So, so, so be okay if theyalready have an agent.
(20:31):
You could, you could even say,Hey, do you have another agent?
Or, or, and if you do, would,would you know who to work with?
Um, because if they do, that's all right.
That's no problem.
You could be their number two andeventually earn that business.
Another thing that you could do withyour group, uh, is, is sponsor the group.
If you've got tournaments coming up orthey need sponsors, that's a great way
(20:52):
to insert your name and your brand, your.
Paying for that space.
And you can market all you want, right?
Uh, so if there's sponsorshipopportunities, step into that.
Also, if you wanna maybe host a party justfor your group, that would be another,
another way to promote your brand.
Maybe you want to just throw a cocktailparty or, or throw something and invite
only those that are a part of your groupor part of your membership or your club.
(21:16):
Uh, invite them all to your partyand, and, and throw a private party.
Just for those people.
And that again, is another way foryou to promote that you're a real
estate agent without being salesy.
Right?
Invite them to a happy hour.
What a great thing to do, uh, andto show some more support to your
fellow club members or whatever wewant to call them, your teammates.
Okay.
(21:36):
And then the last idea that I havehere is maybe there is some events
that they're already doing, right?
You've already got weekly, maybe,you know, if you're, let's say you're
lacrosse, maybe you guys play atournament every single weekend, right?
Uh, so what can you do to promote.
Lacrosse, what can you do topromote that event and help
get more people to the event?
(21:59):
Right?
So it's not only about promotingyour business, but it's also
about promoting the club.
And if you are a champion for that cluband you're out there promoting it, uh,
that's gonna number one, grow the club,but then also make you kind of stand out
as the one that is helping grow the club.
Uh, and then if you are mailing thema monthly newsletter or sending them
(22:19):
the deal of the week, or you've.
Uh, got them signed up for something inaddition to just seeing you at the club.
That's where the referrals will come from.
So the bottom line with all of this isyour past isn't something to leave behind.
All right?
It's your superpower.
That's what you're going for here.
You have already built the trust andthe credibility and the connections.
(22:41):
In this specific circle, and this isgonna help you build your business.
If I go way back to when I startedback in 2002, uh, prior to becoming
a real estate agent, I was ascreen printer and an embroider.
I owned a screen printerand an embroidery business.
And I had a database of around 300 peoplethat, uh, had, were my customers from
(23:03):
that screenprinting embroidery place.
And what I did when I became a real estateagent is I sent out an announcement letter
and said, Hey, you've trusted me withyour promotional items all of these years.
Would you now trust me asyour real estate agent?
And I would explain that I'vegot this great group behind me,
uh, or part of this awesome firm.
I've got all of this great support.
And the best thing is that I'm not.
(23:25):
Too busy.
See some of these agents that get intothis business, they're just way too busy.
And that's not me.
I'm brand new.
I've got my work ethic and my drive,and I've got time and I wanna serve you.
Uh, so would you give me an opportunity?
And that's the key too, in those letters,you've gotta ask for an opportunity.
Alright, so, so this, again,you're using not your, your past
(23:45):
is a part of your superpower.
It's part of the reason you're awesomeand the services that you can provide
and you can tap into those networks.
I think a lot of us.
When we say goodbye to our previous, uh,profession, we just say goodbye to it.
We don't want anythingto ever do with it again.
Like, goodbye.
See you later.
And I'm asking you to not do that.
I'm asking you to, to bring it with you,to make it a part of how you're gonna
(24:07):
build your real estate business becausethere's so many opportunities there,
and you could let it all slip by you.
All right.
I want to hear from you.
What profession would you like meto give you some more ideas around?
Maybe you were somethingelse in your past life.
Uh, what is that?
What else could I help you with andhow could I help you position your
(24:27):
past experiences into your profession?
So let me know in the comments.
What other professions do youwant me to brainstorm around?
And if you're listening to thison the podcast, you can shoot me a
text with any of your thoughts orany suggestions for a future show.
You can text me at 8 3 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 5.
(24:48):
Once again, that numberis 8 3 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 5.
Shoot me a text, let me know whatother professions you would like me
to brainstorm on, and what else didI leave out today that could help.
One of these three professions.
So again, shoot me a text at8 3 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 5 and I'll
talk about it on the next show.
(25:10):
Thanks so much for listening.
I hope you have a great day andlike always remember to be the
reason somebody smiles today.
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