August 3, 2023 • 43 mins
What if you could penetrate a new real estate market and build a successful team from scratch? This can be a tall order, but not for our guest, Lance Willard of the Willard Home Team. With an inspiring 17-year journey in real estate, Lance divulges his secrets to breaking into the real estate market, building relationships, and creating a powerhouse team. We navigate through his transition to a new state and how he employed cold calling, circle prospecting, and relationship building to earn his name in the field.
This episode isn't just about making your mark, it's also about maintaining it. Ever wondered how to stay connected with your clients? We glean insights from Lance's unique strategies - from offering free coffee to passersby to sending handwritten cards. But it doesn't stop there, Lance also elaborates on how he fosters a team environment that inspires creativity, innovation, and risk-taking. He provides valuable advice on preparing your team to excel in the industry, and the importance of high touch in real estate.
Lastly, we delve into the nitty-gritty of team structure, lead generation strategies and communication methods. Lance talks about his unique approach of introducing himself with his phone number to potential clients, and the significance of frequent quality assurance calls. Join us as we unpack this wealth of insights from a seasoned professional, and learn how to build a strong team that can weather any storm in the real estate market.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Gulf Coast, to Space Coast.
Charles Ruttenberg RealtyPodcast.
Thank you for tuning in.
My name is Mike Webb.
I am the broker here at CharlesRuttenberg and this is the
podcast to help you guys findout where the rubber meets the
road in real estate.
We want to give you everythingwe can to help you build your
(00:20):
business.
So today we have a very specialguest in the house and we're
going to talk about teams, realestate teams.
It is the way of the future.
They're starting to dominatethe industry and we want to give
you guys some nuts and boltshow to build your team, start
your team, make your team better, whatever it may be, or
possibly join a team.
So today we're very fortunateto have one of the biggest teams
(00:44):
in our brokerage here to sharesome information with us, and we
have Lance Willard from theWillard Home team here today.
Lance, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Not much.
Thank you for the awesomeintroduction.
I feel blessed to be here Wellwe are blessed to have you.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
You and I were talking before the podcast
started, and you got some crazygood numbers running with a very
efficient team.
It's pretty impressive, and I'mreally excited to get to dig
into this a little bit and giveeverybody out there the
listeners a chance to see whatyou're doing, how you're doing
it and maybe how they canincorporate some of those into
their business.
So before we get started,though, Lance, how long have you
(01:22):
been in the real estatebusiness?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I've been in real estate for going on 17 years and
locally here.
So I started real estate inOklahoma and a much different
real estate market back in theearly 2000s and Oklahoma market
just different in general andmoved here to Florida in 17 and
really didn't start.
I didn't plan on starting ateam at all.
(01:46):
I really didn't know what Iwanted to do.
So this is my second go aroundbeing in real estate and prior
to this I was running a companyout of Dallas and resigned from
my position there, moved toFlorida because I want to be
close to the water and just hopback into being a realtor and
really didn't know what theplans are going to be.
But it's been a great, greatrun and built a team in the
(02:08):
interim.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Welcome to Florida.
You exchanged a sunshine forincome when you moved to Florida
.
So when you retired or hung upyour cleats at your former
company that you were running,what made you decide?
When you came to Florida, whathitched and said I'm going to
get back in real estate?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Passion for real estate, love for helping people
and I really see real estate asserving the community number one
.
You've got to have some skillsbehind that and be able to
create a business, run abusiness, but it's really the
service.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And that's probably why you guys are so successful
in your teams doing so well isbecause you're getting into it
with the right intent.
Most people we talked to why'dyou get in real estate?
Because I wanted to get rich,yeah, no, I want to get in and
serve people.
Yeah, I love that.
That's awesome.
So in 2017, take us from there.
What happened?
(03:05):
Who'd you sign up?
Where'd you hang your license?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
first, and yeah, so I hit the grounds, took me about
six months before I realized Iwant to get back in real estate
and I didn't know the area, Ididn't know anyone.
I had one friend here and so Ihad to get acclimated to the
landscape of Florida.
It's a lot different thanDallas, that's a lot different
from where I grew up, in SanDiego.
(03:28):
So a little bit of a cultureshock, somewhat, I bet.
And then I started interviewingbrokerages and I got my license
and then obviously, brokersstarted contacting me,
interviewing me.
I just like vultures, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Like crowns, pants on you, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And it was interesting.
I've got some funny stories Iwent and interviewed with I
can't remember the guy's name.
I sat down with him, gave mezero attention, was interviewing
me like I was a flea on hisback and I just left there
thinking wow.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Unimpressed.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Unimpressed and also, to compliment myself a little
bit, he doesn't know who wassitting in front of him.
No, he didn't.
So that was the first brokeragethat I interviewed with.
I then interviewed with anotherbig brokerage in Palm Harbor
and I ended up joining a team,and I've never been a part of
team, I've always been.
Was this one of these?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
franchise brokerages.
Yes, okay, one of thewell-known franchise brokerages.
You joined a team because,probably made sense, you needed
to understand the landscape andwhat's going on in Florida.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Got it.
So I joined that team and itwas a good run.
I got to learn what I didn'tlike about teams, what I liked
about teams.
I got to understand the areaand also had the.
It gave me the catalyst Ineeded to start selling real
estate and start buildingrelationships in the area, which
(04:59):
I didn't have.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
How long did you stay with that team?
One year, okay, exactly.
It was like straight up oneyear you did your little tour of
duty there and said straight upone year.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So when I walked in the door I shared my vision with
the team lead and let her knowI'm going to start, I'm going to
show you what I have.
I'm going to give this a year.
After a year's up, I'm going tocome back with you and relook
at my position.
I'm not so much just a salesrep or an agent.
(05:29):
I want to do more for you, dowant to do more for your team
and get more involved.
And the year came to expire andcame back to the team lead and
didn't offer me the what Ineeded.
I needed some creativity, Ineeded to sink my teeth into
something.
So I wasn't provided.
That opportunity Really wasn'tabout money at all.
(05:50):
You know I asked for more money.
I did, but it was, of course,that goes along with it.
You kind of have to, yeah itwasn't about the money, it was
about having some more creativefreedom.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You know I wanted to Some autonomy maybe, and be able
to.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I wanted to coach, I want to make a difference, I
wanted to help build somethingreally.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
So roughly.
How many team?
How many members were on thatteam?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
There were five or six, okay, yeah, so compact unit
, big producer too.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Okay, yeah, and, and were you only going out with
buyers on this team?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Yeah, what that looked like.
So, when, when in the structureof this team, how would they
kind of drop some leads intoyour CRM and hold you
accountable to go work them?
How did that look like?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yes, so they they use a lead pool, so they would drop
leads into a lead pool,basically opened up their CRM to
me to where I could go backfive years, six years, 10 years
a month and just go grab andstart talking to people.
So I really believe in calling.
I really believe you know, themajority of what we do, our team
does now is we're on the phones.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And so I and I've been in sales and I've been in
relationship building my entirelife, so I grabbed their
database and I made something ofit.
You know, I really wasn'tgetting fresh leads.
I wasn't, you know, I wasn't aseasoned agent with a team.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
You know they Were these, were these internet
inquiry leads or were they, youknow, generate, like you know,
let's we can say, were theyZillow leads?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
or realtorcom leads Everything Zillow.
Realtorcom I mean everythingyou could think about.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
And did they have a platform that generated their
own leads, some squeeze pagesand stuff like that?
No, no, no, okay.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
There was not really like landing pages, squeeze
pages or anything like that.
I didn't have access toprevious clients, that previous
buyers or sellers the sphere theold didn't have the sphere.
If I had that, I would havecrushed that.
I would have hit that first.
Yeah, so I first year I sold 60homes, helped 60 homes, built
60 relationships based off ofthe you know what I had
(07:46):
available to me and it reallyhelped with hitting the streets
and learning the area andchallenging too.
You know, being brand new tothe area, needing to learn the
condo communities, needing tolearn the neighborhoods you know
our area does not have a lot ofmaster plan communities and
running through neighborhoods,learning what types of homes are
(08:07):
there, parking on grass, whatdoes that mean?
Just a lot of different thingsthat I wasn't accustomed to.
So it definitely was great.
It definitely put me in aposition to grow and learn.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So 60 homes in your first year in a new area is
killing it.
Let's just say what it isthat's killing it.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
That's better than a deal a week Working my butt off.
Yes, you were.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
You were going at it hard.
So when you were, did you everdo any straight up cold calling?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
or was it more refreshing these leads or trying
to touch points with it when Iit wasn't with the team, when I
did cold calling, when I brokeout on my own.
That's when I started coldcalling.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Okay, so let's back up.
So you come in 2017, you stayhere a year at a bigger
franchise type of brokerage witha team.
So then you go out on your own.
Where did you go then?
What did same brokerage?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
No, I came to Charles Rutenberg Realty Wow there.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
now he's starting to make some really good decisions,
as we know what.
So you know we'll do a littlereal quick.
What homework did you do?
How'd you end up at CharlesRutenberg?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You know I had the broker and not my team lead at
the other brokerage.
I went to the broker.
I had a good relationship withthe broker and, being new to the
area and being new relationshipI had with the broker, sat down
with him and I chatted with himand let him know what was going
(09:33):
on and where should I go and hedirect me here.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Well, I'm gonna have to send him a fruit plate or
something.
That's awesome, you know.
And I will put another littleshameless plug in.
I was counseling with an agentabout a week ago and she had
been with a large franchisebrokerage that we would all
recognize.
She's been there like 20 years.
She was actually her broker.
(09:58):
Would teach her how to trainthe agents to go up against
Rutenberg agents, because youknow they're on like a 70% split
.
It wasn't gonna get much better.
Maybe if you were a rockstaryou got up to 75% split.
So when they had a littlefallout at that brokerage we're
a non-competing office here.
None of the brokers here sellreal estate.
We support you guys in thefield.
(10:20):
So when she had a little issuewith the broker's son taking
what she felt was a listing ofhers you know this happens in
the brokerage she went to thebroker just like you did.
The brokerage recommended thatyou should go to Rutenberg then
and she did and she's been veryhappy ever since.
So gotta throw a little point.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
The politics can be tough with the franchises.
You know it can be tough.
I experienced it and I was.
It wasn't a pleasant experience.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
No.
The politics yeah, yeah, no, itcan be, and at that point they
almost want you to leave.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I was pretty much asked to leave.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
When you're not obedient and staying in line
anymore.
They was like okay, it's timeto go to Rutenberg, we'll take
all you disobedient agents outthere.
So, as we're listening, okay,so you go out on your own.
What that looked like.
How long do you?
You came over to Rutenberg.
You go out on your own.
Did you continue to sell as anindependent agent at that time,
or did you start thinking aboutyour team?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Had no team in mind.
I came from managing a lot ofpeople and training sales and
managing overall 700 people andI was really tired of managing
people.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah that can be exhausting.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
It's very exhausting, and real estate it's tough to
manage.
Agents too, you know you've gotto have the right personality
and so forth and have the rightwork ethic and drive.
So I didn't have the intentionand so I started on my own cold
calling.
I picked up some marketing youknow some major brand stuff
realtorcom, zillow and then Istarted circle dialing.
(11:52):
You know I Circle prospectingone of my favorites and again,
I'm still new to the area.
I'm only a year in but you know, helping 60 people within a
year.
I got into a lot ofneighborhoods.
I built some greatrelationships and those
relationships, you know, end upcoming with me and it wasn't,
you know, direct I wasn'tgetting direct business from
(12:14):
these people that I helped withthe team, but I did such a great
job with serving them.
After the fact they didn't wantto go back to that brokerage.
They wanted a further family tome.
So I had a little bit of a kickthere coming from referrals
from the previous team I waswith.
But mostly I was reallygrinding the phones and outside
of grinding the phones I stillneed to learn the area.
(12:35):
So I would my.
I mean, the secret in the saucewas real simple having a rhythm
and a schedule that would keepme active and learning the area
and staying busy.
So I would circle prospect inthe morning, yeah, I'd go 830 to
1030 or 8th year, 11.
Yeah, that time I would headout.
(12:56):
I have to get out of the house,build new relationships, built
some great relationships withbusiness owners and then also
was hitting communities andlearning communities.
So we have a lot of condocommunities in Pinellas County
and it's very diverse, verydense, yeah.
So I would go into thesecommunities and learn where the
pool's at, where's the clubhouse, at, what does the condo
(13:20):
community look like, what's thevalues in these communities?
So really dove into in theearly morning or late morning,
early afternoon, dove intobasically learning the area and
educating myself, that's that's.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I love the plan where you were probably time blocking
in the mornings to do yourprospecting.
For me it was always when I wassharpest, when I felt like I
could do the best you know goodon the phones and talk to people
I was sharp on my game and thentake a little break and you go
out and maybe do a little moremindless stuff where you can see
the area, and I love that.
So, would you say, your morninglooked like prospecting until
(13:54):
you couldn't take it anymore,until you had him locked out and
you got out.
And what did your afternoonslook like?
How did you?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Afternoons so I would head out and it definitely
wasn't aimless roaming.
You know I had an intention, hada plan, had a plan and it was
to build relationships and meetpeople and to this day I have
those relationships.
So my afternoon, so cold call.
In the morning I'd go out andlearn communities say 11 to 1, 1
(14:21):
.
Afterwards I would be, I wouldbe in businesses and you know,
not really not intentionallystriking up conversations, but
looking for, like naturalconnections.
And so, example one of my goodfriends to this day she's
actually an agent on our team Goback to 2018, I was.
(14:45):
I would go to her store and havecoffee with her.
She owned a coffee shop, so I'droll in there and we just
clicked and it had nothing to doabout real estate, but my
intention was to meet people andmeet good people, right, and
you know, through that processshe would say you know, I mean,
when we first met, what do youdo for living?
I'm in real estate and shewould be.
This specific relationship isfunny because I'm pretty tatted
(15:08):
up.
So I'd come in and tank topsometimes and shorts, and she
thought I was a bum.
And then I'd come back the nextday or the following and I'd
have a suit on and she's likewhoa, whoa, whoa, what do you do
?
And so I shared with her.
I do real estate and we juststruck up a conversation and
struck up the relationshipreally.
So I ended up having building areally good relationship with
(15:29):
her and on Sundays, when thecoffee shop was closed, to get
really ingrained in thecommunity, I would just open the
doors of her coffee shop andI'd offer free coffee to people.
So this isn't done, eden.
So people would be rolling bythe doors open, they come in,
they try to order coffee and I'dsay, hey, you know what?
The store is closed, but we'vegot coffee pastries.
(15:50):
And I happen to be a localrealtor and if you have any
questions about the local realestate market, sit down.
And it worked beautifully.
Building relationships, however, it works for you.
Yeah, so my afternoons werereally focused on building
relationships.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And you still have to .
So when you were circleprospecting, I think.
By the way, I think circlesprospecting is great, especially
at a brokerage the size of ours, because all you have to do is
watch it for a great new listingto hit and then in your circles
prospecting you can simply say,hey, we just wanted to let you
know we just listed anotherproperty, and that's an accurate
(16:26):
statement.
It doesn't have to be yourlisting, it has to be the
brokerage is listing.
And with the type of listingswe got going up every day, you
will never run out of goodcircle prospecting to do no it's
really endless if you allow itto be natural and do it enough
to be natural.
Did you ever call FISBOs expires, anything like that?
(16:46):
Absolutely OK, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
You know, when I first started Real Estate in
Oklahoma, that's all I did and Iconquered, I was relentless.
So I would call them, knock ontheir door, offer special
incentives to come with me as arealtor, put trust in me and
build that relationship.
So I did hear, I did.
I called FISBOs.
I never really did.
(17:12):
The expires, no, no FISBOs andcircle dialing.
So I'd like to get freshhomeowners and just talk to
homeowners.
You know they're holding thekey to the kingdom.
They own a home.
They may want to sell it.
Yeah, expires.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
They're already aggravated with a realtor
somewhere.
It could be tough.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I've never hit expires.
It's definitely a great avenue,though, you know, I've just
never done it.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
For some people it seems to so if they get on your
list, they either got to buy,sell or die to get off your list
.
Right, right.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah or forever.
You're on my list and we'regoing to chat about real estate.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Absolutely.
I love it.
I think that it's critical tohave a good balance between high
tech these days, but you got tohave the high touch.
Yeah, if you're not touchingpeople, I don't believe there's
going to be an app to ever putus out of business.
No, a real estate transactionis way too complicated and
unique For there ever to be analgorithm that's going to run
(18:09):
that for us Absolutely.
And there's humans involved inthis Absolutely, and the
algorithm is not going to workfor that.
So you can use these tech toolsto leverage your time, but you
better have some personal skillsto make relationships with
people Absolutely, to get youthe business.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
And touching on the personal skills and
relationships.
So our team is based aroundlike grassroots thoughts.
You know we write.
I don't write them, but we havea team member that's hired to
write no cards, your personalhandwritten notes 100% we don't
send anything out generic I havemy.
(18:44):
She's relationship manager.
She deals just withrelationships, so is that a?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
and we'll talk about that.
That's obviously a position onyour team.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
It's a position on an admin of back side.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I um, through my real estate career, I um listened to
a trainer that I had not likedabout 20 years ago and I till I
sold my brokerages up and youknow, just recently, um, I would
do two handwritten cards a day.
They I would put them on my, onthe keyboard of my computer.
So when I came in, there wastwo cards that I had to write
every day before I could evenstart logging on to my computer,
(19:16):
because then I get in there andget into emails and sometimes
you start putting out fires andtalking to people and agents and
that's not making you any money.
But those two handwritten cardsevery day were, you know, that
was only I didn't work onsundays, that was 12 a week that
I went out and I will tell you,uh, the response from that is
phenomenal and it's beautiful.
You've got somebody dedicatedto do that in your office.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I think it's great.
I think the challenge with alot of uh, a lot of teams we're
not.
The challenge I think that theymiss is is remaining very
connected to their relationshipsand their past buyers and
sellers.
We stay so connected throughanniversaries, birthdays, um,
(19:56):
but you know, kids coming,births, um just every event in
our buyers and sellers liveswere there with them and it
continues for life and that'salways front of mine 100% and
that's, that's.
Uh, you know it's a grassrootsthing, you know you stay
connected, somebody.
So it's note cards, it's phonecalls, it's text, it's stopping
by and seeing them, littlepop-bys we call them yeah, and
(20:18):
you know pretty soon before youknow it, you're like the
governor of uh uh panellascounty only, and you're in home
depot and you see people fromfive years ago, two years ago,
last month, and and there'salways a good taste in
everybody's mouth when youservice them right though, and
you're doing all these rightthings and they love to see you.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
The, the pop-bys were always fun to do too.
You know we would uh uh go outonce or twice a month and, and
do you know, 15, 20 pop-bys,little less than five dollar,
trinket with a little card leaveit, and if they're not there,
I'd leave it on their doorstep.
I take a picture of it and Itexted to him hey, sorry I
missed you today.
We you know, if it was thestart of summer we might leave a
little uh thing of sunblock orsomething with a cute little
(20:56):
name tag or something like that.
And and people love that stuffthey eat it up.
So 2018, you're out, there,you're.
You're told us what your daylooks like.
When did I would assume thatyou got so busy that you said,
hey, I need help.
Is that what was?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
the premise for the team.
It's exactly what happens um Imy first year out on my own.
I closed, I think, 85transactions.
That's killing it man and thenext year, um, I, I had to do
something because I was workingseven days a week, 15 hours.
You're gonna burn out, love itand and still had plenty of
(21:32):
energy, um, but uh, it takes atoll on life.
It takes a toll on therelationship with your.
If you have a significant other.
It's a great uh toll on therelationship I have with my dog.
Um, you know, so that'scritical don't mess that up.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
We all love pets, or?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
it was after that first year.
Um did a great job.
I developed the processes, puteverything in place and I and I
always create these processesfor growth and I didn't plan on
a team.
The very next year I had tobring a teammate on okay so?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
so what did that look like you?
You did, you um, you had theseleads and you said I need some
help.
So you decided did.
Did you think about a specificum area you wanted this person
to work in?
Or did you just think I want agood agent, I'll develop them,
they can do what I do.
Or did you just bring them onto handle your buyer leads?
Perhaps I?
I?
brought them on specifically forhelp period so you were looking
(22:26):
for a good person that youcould develop into correct
somebody that sees the businesslike you do somebody can train
too.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
So you know my my uh.
Whenever I bring a teammate on,it's not to train them to be a
part of my team.
I want them to be successful inreal estate period.
So the way I look at trainingsomeone is, yes, processes for
our team, um, how our teamfunctions, relationship training
.
But I also want them to, ifthey decide to leave, take the
(22:52):
skill as I've given you and godo something on your own.
So I mean I I don't a lot ofteams will do that they'll train
you specifically for one thing,because they want to kind of
keep you in a little box, right?
I want everybody that joins ourteam to be treated well, number
one by me.
I want them to make money and Iwant them to go out and
flourish and create goodrelationships.
So once I got that point whereI really couldn't handle any
(23:14):
more I and I really believe innatural connections too so I had
a transaction with a kid thatwas on another with another
brokerage.
He came in, we had a dealtogether and he told me this
himself he goes there'ssomething different about you,
and so he tracked me down to bepart of the team.
I love that.
That that shows the initiativeon his part I think I know who
(23:34):
you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
By the way, he is really something and, yeah, he
gives you all the love andcredit for that too he's amazing
.
We had a good run.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
You know he's not with the team anymore, but while
he was there, had a great run,um, he taught me a lot of things
, I taught him a lot of thingsand it was a great relationship
and so that's how I got my firstagent think and this doesn't
specifically speak to teams, butI think agents sometimes think
(24:02):
that every other agent out thereis their competition.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
That's not really the case all the times if you will
take time to form and help andbe decent to other agents and
even somebody on the other sideof a transaction from another
brokerage that maybe doesn'tunderstand something.
Coach him up a little bit.
Absolutely, those relationshipswill reward you.
Forever down the road They'llsay hey, that's that Lance guy
(24:26):
man, he's good to work with andthat stuff goes a long way.
Absolutely, throw that outthere.
Okay, so you got your firstteam.
When did you decide to?
What kind of systems did youdecide to start putting in place
for Legion and marketingadvertising, and at what point
(24:47):
did you bring on a transactioncoordinator?
Did you pull a plan together?
Speaker 2 (24:52):
So the process, kind of going back to the grassroots
and branding that process wasdeveloped really early on.
So that way when we servesomeone and we go through
relationship and they close ontheir home, that process is in
place and the relationship justcontinues.
So going past that, it's reallyabout feeling confident and
(25:17):
knowing where you got to feelconfident in building these
relationships and knowing that alot of people worry about the
money.
Yes, so hit that.
So it's people worry about themoney.
If you worry about the money,you're not going to be
successful.
So with the process in place,our main focus is building
relationships.
So I really dove into thatprocess because that's really
(25:38):
what pulls out referrals fromyour base, your base of clients.
So that process was bringingtwo to three referrals every
month.
And then I was investing inZillow Realtorcom and that's a
whole other beast.
Internet leads are totallydifferent on how to handle those
, how to work them.
There's a lot of a nominated Ican't say that word right now.
(25:58):
Their internet leads want toremain anonymous and so it's a
different beast with prospectingthem and trying to get their
attention.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
And to nurture that lead and take much longer.
So we it's a very good pointthey do they do a whole
different process bringing thatalong than a warm lead or a
circle prospect lead orsomething like that it could be
an immediate buyer or seller orit's going to be 90 days out to
maybe two years out.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
So our bread and butter is really our referrals
and that's where the process wasreally tight on how we treat a
current and past client notclient but buyer or seller.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Great point on the Zillow lead and the processes.
We had an agent here thateveryone was a little surprised
when she came in with like an $8million closing big fat check.
So I interviewed her a littlebit on it and she said I've been
working this lead for fouryears.
It was a Zillow lead.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
And it took time.
And here's the irony to it whenthey first started looking on
the Zillow lead, she said theywere $600,000, $700,000 buyers.
They wanted a second home inFlorida.
Absolutely, their businessexploded and the next year they
turned into a million to twomillion.
She said they still didn't findanything.
Their business back in anotherstate continued to explode.
(27:16):
There were some IT very youngcouple, by the way and they
wound up being a $7 millionbuyer that she nurtured for four
years.
And so to your point, spot on.
So you got the systems in place.
Is this an ever-evolvingprocess for you or do you think
you kind of got this thing downand we're going to talk about
your numbers here, if you'reokay?
Yeah, absolutely, spittin' thatout Today.
(27:38):
You have a team of I think yousaid you have four, got four
agents.
You got four agents and you andmyself and yourself and your
dog and my dog Dog's critical.
Yes, keeping your mental healthstraight.
Without the dog, you'reprobably a hot mess out there.
How many transactions in thelast 12 months have you guys
closed?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Roughly Last.
Oh gosh, I know we did thisyear.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Okay, tell me this year.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
This year we're at 95 closed transactions and $35
million.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
So you're on track to do a couple hundred
transactions and $70 million,yes, with four people.
Absolutely, let's do some quickmath.
Those agents are making goodmoney.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Absolutely yeah, yeah .
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Because, even if the lowest split possible which I
don't think you do yeah, so talkabout that.
You think it's really andLance's team runs it a little
different than most of them outthere.
Talk about that how you want toincentivize your agents.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Yeah absolutely so.
Being a part of a team beforeexperiencing that and then also
bringing previous lifeexperience with running a
company, the table teamenvironment is super important,
but also making money is veryimportant, and what we do is not
easy.
Being in real estate is not aseasy as everyone thinks it is.
It's not like HGTV says it'snot.
(28:58):
It's an absolute grind.
So anyone that we click withand have a natural relationship
with as far as an agent goes,coming on our team, I make an
initial promise You're going tomake $100,000 or more as long as
you follow my lead, and it's alot to ask someone to follow
your lead, yeah.
So along with that, I thoughtthat I should be offering higher
(29:20):
commission, and that's also oneof the pieces that's nice with
Charles Ruttenberg Realty iswith the 100% commission.
I don't have any other brokertaking splits off, so I can give
a higher split.
So we graduate from 50% to 70%based on skill set and based on
performance, and so our topagents have a 70% split and I
(29:41):
think that's a great place to be.
I don't know that anybody elsedoes that and I feel good going
to sleep at night that my agentsare making great money and it's
interesting.
It kind of goes back to thebasics of real estate.
If you focus on the money,you're never going to make money
.
No, that's your right intent.
If you focus on buildingrelationships, you'll make money
.
So with a team, you just kindof pull out and do the same
(30:03):
thing.
Well, if you focus on treatingagents right and you teach them
how to build relationships andyou pay them well or have nice
splits like this, it's all goingto come back to everybody,
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
So what structure I mean and I know that you're not
a book guy here, so you probablydidn't read a book or go to a
seminar and figure out how toput the Willard Home team
together but do you think you'remore into what team structure?
You're certainly not the mentor, mentee type of person.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Who told you I don't like to read?
I don't.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
I just didn't Based upon.
I haven't because I haven'tread your team model anywhere,
so I'm thinking this is a veryunique one.
He must have put it together bynecessity and what's working
for you, you know.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
I talked to a lot of people and looked at their
models.
I didn't read anything.
Talked to team owners.
And then it was also part of ateam and looked at.
I really based my team off ofhow that felt being a part of a
team being treated the way I wastreated, how I was limited.
I was limited with commission.
I was limited with what I coulddo, kind of handcuffed yeah,
(31:11):
handcuffed really and you can't.
In my opinion, I don't everwant to be handcuffed.
That's the best way to losesomeone.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
You got to thoroughbred.
You got to take the reins offsometimes and just let them run.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
And it's hard because I'm a micromanager, you know I
like to have control.
So our team, I let everybody bethemselves, I let our agents
list properties, work withbuyers there's no box that I'm
putting anyone in and it allowsthem to be creative, it allows
them to feel good aboutthemselves and allows them to be
the best version of them everyday, the better version of them
(31:41):
every day, and it's worked thusfar, you know it keeps the
mundane out of it too.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
You know, if you think, oh my gosh, all today I
get to do is open doors forpeople, you know it can get
boring.
It can get boring, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Now we really do function as a team too.
As I was chatting with youbefore we started the podcast,
we always double up, you know.
So if we're going to go on alisting appointment, I always
want four eyes there and Ialways want four years there,
and it's not so much to justtrain people, that's more so
having the support.
So either I'm going to be sideby side with our agents for
listing appointments or they'regoing to double up and go on
(32:16):
listing appointments themselves.
I happen to have an all femaleteam, so I really don't want
them in homes alone with aseller we haven't met Good point
.
So it's going to be two.
It'll be either me, and if it'sa little bit of a dicey
relationship that we're hearingover the phone, then I'm going
to be there.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
I have found over the years that women actually make
better realtors, for the mostpart, than men.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I've got a solid group of ladies.
I mean solid, they are allbosses, they are amazing and
actually the entire team.
So, hitting the next part ofthe structure, we've got
relationship manager.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
And then we've got I've got a marketing manager.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
So what does it look like for your relationship
manager?
What tasks does she handle inon a day to day, weekly basis?
Speaker 2 (33:01):
This is huge.
Nobody does this.
Quality assurance calls, shecalls.
That is huge.
She calls every single personthat we come in contact with,
not just all of our activebuyers and sellers.
She calls all of our prospects,the internet leads that aren't
answering the phone, that won'tanswer a text or respond to
emails.
She can get them.
(33:21):
She's calling them to say hey,how is Taylor doing?
Taylor's been in contact withyou for two weeks.
Hey, how Lance is doing?
I even put her on me.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I love that quality assurance.
So they're back touching all toeverybody to kind of check up.
Wow, what a great idea.
I don't think you're right.
I haven't never heard ofanybody doing this concept.
No, it's great, it's fantastic.
That's gotta be a really biglead source for you, it's huge.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
So she also touches base with people for reviews.
You know we've got, we'repushing 200 reviews on Google.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
That's critical, which is huge.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I'll tell everybody listening that's a lead
generator right there.
That's huge, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
What about?
I don't wanna jump in here andbreak your train of thought.
Your free Google business pageGot one, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
If you're not doing it.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Is it one of the best lead generators you possibly
have?
Speaker 2 (34:13):
I literally receive 15 contacts a month easy from
the free Google paid businesspage.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
So a free Google business page with the quality
assurance and all the reviews isjust, guys, I hope you're
listening to what Lance issharing with you right here.
It's gold.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
It really is.
So she does quality assuranceand then she does reviews and
then she's our hand writer.
She's my niece.
She does the notes.
She's my niece in San Diego.
Her name is Skye oh really.
So she sends out handwrittencards.
She loves it, and that's againnaturally choosing somebody
that's gonna fit your team.
She loves it, so she sends out.
We've got little magazines thatwe send to prospects.
(34:51):
Buyers are sellers, so shesends those out with little
handwritten note cards or a hand.
She writes on the inside of thecover of the magazine and sends
them to prospects.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Is that a?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
monthly thing you put out.
So quick example somebody callsus, wants some help with
selling their home.
Immediately I put a task on herto send a seller's guide to
that person's home, even if I'mgonna go meet them.
So what happens is I meet them,chat with them, have a
presentation.
Next day in the mail they get aseller's guide.
So we're just constantlytouching.
(35:21):
So she assists with constantlytouching Our prospects, our
current clients, past clients,past sphere.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
How many contact points a month would you try to
get with your sphere?
At least one, or what's yourthought there?
Do you have a plan With eachpast?
Yeah, with your sphere.
Past, customers and sphere.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
They are actually getting touched bi-weekly and
monthly.
There you go, depending onwhat's going on.
So bi-weekly newsletter andwhich people are very active
with our social media andthrough our newsletters, people
actually watch us.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
So when agents are out there listening to this and
they'll call the brokerage andthey'll ask for me and they'll
say you're not giving me anyleads and I explained them our
compensation plan.
This is the stuff you want.
You want your own leads, Causeif you're not generating your
own leads, you never have anyfreedom of anywhere from a team
or brokerage or anything.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
No.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
Yeah, no.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
And it's the mindset is really what's hard.
You know the process and thethings that are in place are
pretty simple, but to wake upevery day and push through that
process is where people fail.
Yeah, it's groundhog day.
Get up and do it again everyday.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
You know that's what we gotta do, so all right.
So, wow, I've just learned alot there.
I'm really really knocked outwith some of the things you're
doing.
It's kind of a deep dive intoyour contacts.
A lot of people just touch themone time oh, they didn't want
to buy, they didn't want to selland they lose them.
They don't ever touch them, youguys.
They're never getting off yourlist, like.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
I said, they buy, sell, leave the world.
Not one person has used adifferent realtor when they buy
with us.
So not one person.
And I track people, I track ourprospects.
So if someone buys with us,they sell with us.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
And I can tell you the volume you're doing.
The brokerage never hearsanything.
So, yeah, there's a lot that wedo hear about, but not from
your team.
All right, so we got the.
You got the roles you have.
Talk to me exactly about yoursetup now.
You've got your niece in SanDiego.
I love that.
She's doing that side of it.
You have a TC as well.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
We do.
I'll hit marketing manager realquick.
So our team got so big, thesocial media need got so big,
our grassroots things that we dogot so big.
I moved my assistants that hadbeen with us for two years into
a marketing role.
So she's now marketing manager.
She handles all of our socialmedia.
She handles, you know, creatingpostcards a lot and she's very,
(37:49):
very cutting edge, I'll say,you know, staying on, you know,
social media and so forth.
So her role is huge.
And then I just hired afull-time TC.
So I've always thought aboutthis hybrid role of someone
being licensed and being a TCand doing both roles.
So before I'm going to grabanother agent, I want our TC to
(38:12):
get really good at being a TC.
She's got some commercialexperience, so she's amazing.
She just started about twomonths ago, okay, and I am
putting her through school toget a real estate license.
And you know you're not goingto make all the money in the
world being a TC.
She's definitely busy, but I'mgoing to get her, or she's
getting her real estate licenseso she can be a weekend warrior.
And you know I specificallywant to feed her nice and easy
(38:34):
referrals to get, you know, thatweekend warrior money.
So with the salary she'sgetting for being a TC, plus
getting some hand-fed deals onthe weekends, she's going to be
making over a hundred grand too.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Keeping her in tubes.
No better way to keep peopleincentivized and make sure they
got money coming into theiraccount.
That's what I've found.
So you got the marketingmanager, the TC and the agents.
So you've got the four agentson your team right now and they
do what's their role look likeJust exactly like yours.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
It is.
I'm currently the top producer.
So once I started the teambrought the first agent on.
I've done a hundred homes orcondos.
You know a hundred propertiesevery year and I'm just tired,
that's exhausting.
It's exhausting.
I'm pulling back and so my roleis going to change here this
year moving into 2024, more as amentor and coach.
(39:29):
But I'm still going to be inthe field because I believe in
staying in touch.
I don't want to lose touch withthings Because you know moving
a hundred homes in the first sixmonths of the year.
You know the trends, like weknow what's going on the market
period, so I don't want to losethat.
So I'll always stay active.
But we'll be looking foranother agent and then the
agent's roles, their producers.
(39:49):
You know we talk constantly.
We're always talking aboutrelationship building, strategy
with buyers and sellers and youknow we touch on.
Our business is all aboutrelationships.
But you still do have to talkabout sales.
I mean, you know and strategyand how you speak to people and
how you bring people to thetable.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Yeah, there's a point in time in the relationship
that you go ahead and ask forthe sale.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Correct.
That's great to get the ordersto ask for.
We ask on the front end, okay,and we also do Not shy about
that.
Yeah, we also assume the sale.
That's a huge one.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Assume it, yeah, but assume it, then ask for it, and
it's all a mindset to do that.
I would just ask you this Ifyou saw somebody out there that
was and I'm sure you get thisquestion asked to you all the
time an agent that's either on ateam or a pretty good producing
agent that's thinking aboutstarting a team, or an agent
(40:40):
that's on a team that isexcelling and would want to go
out, what would you tell them todo to start their own team?
What would be your two or threepieces of advice?
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Number one create a process, and that process has
got to be put in place beforeyou get into action.
And then number two is focus onthe relationships.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
Have the processes focus on the relationship with
positive intent.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Number three, I think , is the biggest reminder for
everyone is money is noteverything, relationships are
everything, and so two and threekind of come together.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Money won't show up at your funeral, will it?
But people will.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
No, and you can't take money to grave either.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
No, you've never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse.
No, all right, well, so listen,we're gonna wrap this up, lance
.
How could people get ahold ofyou or your team, or to talk to
you, or they wanna buy or sellreal estate Cause we do have
people that aren't realtors thatactually listen to this show.
How would they track you down?
Speaker 2 (41:45):
Awesome, awesome.
I answer my phone almost allthe time.
Crazy concept Almost all thetime If I don't answer my phone,
you get an immediate text thatI'll call you right back.
So I would say, if you'd liketo contact me, best Way is gonna
be my cell phone Telephonenumber 727-487-1894.
And always happy to help, andout to the realtors too, with
(42:06):
the brokerage that are listening.
I'm also open to helpinganswering questions as well, and
I think the mentorship programthat's being started is amazing.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
Appreciate that and we are going to certainly get
some mentors into you.
So just a novel concept.
I mean, we talk to people allthe time.
They tell us oh you can getahold of me on Instagram and
TikTok and Snapchat and allthese different things, Lance,
you just roll out there and givethem your phone number.
I love that.
I think that's great.
So, hey guys, we're gonna haveto wrap it up this week.
(42:35):
Maybe we can get Lance to comeback, because we didn't even
scratch the surface on what hecan do to help you guys
understand about building a team.
But until next time, we willsee you guys at the top.
Hello and welcome to the Gulf Coast, to Space Coast.
Charles Ruttenberg RealtyPodcast.
Thank you for tuning in.
My name is Mike Webb.
I am the broker here at CharlesRuttenberg and this is the
podcast to help you guys findout where the rubber meets the
road in real estate.
We want to give you everythingwe can to help you build your
(00:20):
business.
So today we have a very specialguest in the house and we're
going to talk about teams, realestate teams.
It is the way of the future.
They're starting to dominatethe industry and we want to give
you guys some nuts and boltshow to build your team, start
your team, make your team better, whatever it may be, or
possibly join a team.
So today we're very fortunateto have one of the biggest teams
(00:44):
in our brokerage here to sharesome information with us, and we
have Lance Willard from theWillard Home team here today.
Lance, what's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Not much.
Thank you for the awesomeintroduction.
I feel blessed to be here Wellwe are blessed to have you.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
You and I were talking before the podcast
started, and you got some crazygood numbers running with a very
efficient team.
It's pretty impressive, and I'mreally excited to get to dig
into this a little bit and giveeverybody out there the
listeners a chance to see whatyou're doing, how you're doing
it and maybe how they canincorporate some of those into
their business.
So before we get started,though, Lance, how long have you
(01:22):
been in the real estatebusiness?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I've been in real estate for going on 17 years and
locally here.
So I started real estate inOklahoma and a much different
real estate market back in theearly 2000s and Oklahoma market
just different in general andmoved here to Florida in 17 and
really didn't start.
I didn't plan on starting ateam at all.
(01:46):
I really didn't know what Iwanted to do.
So this is my second go aroundbeing in real estate and prior
to this I was running a companyout of Dallas and resigned from
my position there, moved toFlorida because I want to be
close to the water and just hopback into being a realtor and
really didn't know what theplans are going to be.
But it's been a great, greatrun and built a team in the
(02:08):
interim.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Welcome to Florida.
You exchanged a sunshine forincome when you moved to Florida
.
So when you retired or hung upyour cleats at your former
company that you were running,what made you decide?
When you came to Florida, whathitched and said I'm going to
get back in real estate?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Passion for real estate, love for helping people
and I really see real estate asserving the community number one
.
You've got to have some skillsbehind that and be able to
create a business, run abusiness, but it's really the
service.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
And that's probably why you guys are so successful
in your teams doing so well isbecause you're getting into it
with the right intent.
Most people we talked to why'dyou get in real estate?
Because I wanted to get rich,yeah, no, I want to get in and
serve people.
Yeah, I love that.
That's awesome.
So in 2017, take us from there.
What happened?
(03:05):
Who'd you sign up?
Where'd you hang your license?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
first, and yeah, so I hit the grounds, took me about
six months before I realized Iwant to get back in real estate
and I didn't know the area, Ididn't know anyone.
I had one friend here and so Ihad to get acclimated to the
landscape of Florida.
It's a lot different thanDallas, that's a lot different
from where I grew up, in SanDiego.
(03:28):
So a little bit of a cultureshock, somewhat, I bet.
And then I started interviewingbrokerages and I got my license
and then obviously, brokersstarted contacting me,
interviewing me.
I just like vultures, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Like crowns, pants on you, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And it was interesting.
I've got some funny stories Iwent and interviewed with I
can't remember the guy's name.
I sat down with him, gave mezero attention, was interviewing
me like I was a flea on hisback and I just left there
thinking wow.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Unimpressed.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Unimpressed and also, to compliment myself a little
bit, he doesn't know who wassitting in front of him.
No, he didn't.
So that was the first brokeragethat I interviewed with.
I then interviewed with anotherbig brokerage in Palm Harbor
and I ended up joining a team,and I've never been a part of
team, I've always been.
Was this one of these?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
franchise brokerages.
Yes, okay, one of thewell-known franchise brokerages.
You joined a team because,probably made sense, you needed
to understand the landscape andwhat's going on in Florida.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Got it.
So I joined that team and itwas a good run.
I got to learn what I didn'tlike about teams, what I liked
about teams.
I got to understand the areaand also had the.
It gave me the catalyst Ineeded to start selling real
estate and start buildingrelationships in the area, which
(04:59):
I didn't have.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
How long did you stay with that team?
One year, okay, exactly.
It was like straight up oneyear you did your little tour of
duty there and said straight upone year.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
So when I walked in the door I shared my vision with
the team lead and let her knowI'm going to start, I'm going to
show you what I have.
I'm going to give this a year.
After a year's up, I'm going tocome back with you and relook
at my position.
I'm not so much just a salesrep or an agent.
(05:29):
I want to do more for you, dowant to do more for your team
and get more involved.
And the year came to expire andcame back to the team lead and
didn't offer me the what Ineeded.
I needed some creativity, Ineeded to sink my teeth into
something.
So I wasn't provided.
That opportunity Really wasn'tabout money at all.
(05:50):
You know I asked for more money.
I did, but it was, of course,that goes along with it.
You kind of have to, yeah itwasn't about the money, it was
about having some more creativefreedom.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
You know I wanted to Some autonomy maybe, and be able
to.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I wanted to coach, I want to make a difference, I
wanted to help build somethingreally.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
So roughly.
How many team?
How many members were on thatteam?
Speaker 2 (06:10):
There were five or six, okay, yeah, so compact unit
, big producer too.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Okay, yeah, and, and were you only going out with
buyers on this team?
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
Yeah, what that looked like.
So, when, when in the structureof this team, how would they
kind of drop some leads intoyour CRM and hold you
accountable to go work them?
How did that look like?
Speaker 2 (06:32):
Yes, so they they use a lead pool, so they would drop
leads into a lead pool,basically opened up their CRM to
me to where I could go backfive years, six years, 10 years
a month and just go grab andstart talking to people.
So I really believe in calling.
I really believe you know, themajority of what we do, our team
does now is we're on the phones.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
And so I and I've been in sales and I've been in
relationship building my entirelife, so I grabbed their
database and I made something ofit.
You know, I really wasn'tgetting fresh leads.
I wasn't, you know, I wasn't aseasoned agent with a team.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
You know they Were these, were these internet
inquiry leads or were they, youknow, generate, like you know,
let's we can say, were theyZillow leads?
Speaker 2 (07:12):
or realtorcom leads Everything Zillow.
Realtorcom I mean everythingyou could think about.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
And did they have a platform that generated their
own leads, some squeeze pagesand stuff like that?
No, no, no, okay.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
There was not really like landing pages, squeeze
pages or anything like that.
I didn't have access toprevious clients, that previous
buyers or sellers the sphere theold didn't have the sphere.
If I had that, I would havecrushed that.
I would have hit that first.
Yeah, so I first year I sold 60homes, helped 60 homes, built
60 relationships based off ofthe you know what I had
(07:46):
available to me and it reallyhelped with hitting the streets
and learning the area andchallenging too.
You know, being brand new tothe area, needing to learn the
condo communities, needing tolearn the neighborhoods you know
our area does not have a lot ofmaster plan communities and
running through neighborhoods,learning what types of homes are
(08:07):
there, parking on grass, whatdoes that mean?
Just a lot of different thingsthat I wasn't accustomed to.
So it definitely was great.
It definitely put me in aposition to grow and learn.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So 60 homes in your first year in a new area is
killing it.
Let's just say what it isthat's killing it.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
That's better than a deal a week Working my butt off.
Yes, you were.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
You were going at it hard.
So when you were, did you everdo any straight up cold calling?
Speaker 2 (08:33):
or was it more refreshing these leads or trying
to touch points with it when Iit wasn't with the team, when I
did cold calling, when I brokeout on my own.
That's when I started coldcalling.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
Okay, so let's back up.
So you come in 2017, you stayhere a year at a bigger
franchise type of brokerage witha team.
So then you go out on your own.
Where did you go then?
What did same brokerage?
Speaker 2 (08:57):
No, I came to Charles Rutenberg Realty Wow there.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
now he's starting to make some really good decisions,
as we know what.
So you know we'll do a littlereal quick.
What homework did you do?
How'd you end up at CharlesRutenberg?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
You know I had the broker and not my team lead at
the other brokerage.
I went to the broker.
I had a good relationship withthe broker and, being new to the
area and being new relationshipI had with the broker, sat down
with him and I chatted with himand let him know what was going
(09:33):
on and where should I go and hedirect me here.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Well, I'm gonna have to send him a fruit plate or
something.
That's awesome, you know.
And I will put another littleshameless plug in.
I was counseling with an agentabout a week ago and she had
been with a large franchisebrokerage that we would all
recognize.
She's been there like 20 years.
She was actually her broker.
(09:58):
Would teach her how to trainthe agents to go up against
Rutenberg agents, because youknow they're on like a 70% split
.
It wasn't gonna get much better.
Maybe if you were a rockstaryou got up to 75% split.
So when they had a littlefallout at that brokerage we're
a non-competing office here.
None of the brokers here sellreal estate.
We support you guys in thefield.
(10:20):
So when she had a little issuewith the broker's son taking
what she felt was a listing ofhers you know this happens in
the brokerage she went to thebroker just like you did.
The brokerage recommended thatyou should go to Rutenberg then
and she did and she's been veryhappy ever since.
So gotta throw a little point.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
The politics can be tough with the franchises.
You know it can be tough.
I experienced it and I was.
It wasn't a pleasant experience.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
No.
The politics yeah, yeah, no, itcan be, and at that point they
almost want you to leave.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I was pretty much asked to leave.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
When you're not obedient and staying in line
anymore.
They was like okay, it's timeto go to Rutenberg, we'll take
all you disobedient agents outthere.
So, as we're listening, okay,so you go out on your own.
What that looked like.
How long do you?
You came over to Rutenberg.
You go out on your own.
Did you continue to sell as anindependent agent at that time,
or did you start thinking aboutyour team?
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Had no team in mind.
I came from managing a lot ofpeople and training sales and
managing overall 700 people andI was really tired of managing
people.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Yeah that can be exhausting.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
It's very exhausting, and real estate it's tough to
manage.
Agents too, you know you've gotto have the right personality
and so forth and have the rightwork ethic and drive.
So I didn't have the intentionand so I started on my own cold
calling.
I picked up some marketing youknow some major brand stuff
realtorcom, zillow and then Istarted circle dialing.
(11:52):
You know I Circle prospectingone of my favorites and again,
I'm still new to the area.
I'm only a year in but you know, helping 60 people within a
year.
I got into a lot ofneighborhoods.
I built some greatrelationships and those
relationships, you know, end upcoming with me and it wasn't,
you know, direct I wasn'tgetting direct business from
(12:14):
these people that I helped withthe team, but I did such a great
job with serving them.
After the fact they didn't wantto go back to that brokerage.
They wanted a further family tome.
So I had a little bit of a kickthere coming from referrals
from the previous team I waswith.
But mostly I was reallygrinding the phones and outside
of grinding the phones I stillneed to learn the area.
(12:35):
So I would my.
I mean, the secret in the saucewas real simple having a rhythm
and a schedule that would keepme active and learning the area
and staying busy.
So I would circle prospect inthe morning, yeah, I'd go 830 to
1030 or 8th year, 11.
Yeah, that time I would headout.
(12:56):
I have to get out of the house,build new relationships, built
some great relationships withbusiness owners and then also
was hitting communities andlearning communities.
So we have a lot of condocommunities in Pinellas County
and it's very diverse, verydense, yeah.
So I would go into thesecommunities and learn where the
pool's at, where's the clubhouse, at, what does the condo
(13:20):
community look like, what's thevalues in these communities?
So really dove into in theearly morning or late morning,
early afternoon, dove intobasically learning the area and
educating myself, that's that's.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I love the plan where you were probably time blocking
in the mornings to do yourprospecting.
For me it was always when I wassharpest, when I felt like I
could do the best you know goodon the phones and talk to people
I was sharp on my game and thentake a little break and you go
out and maybe do a little moremindless stuff where you can see
the area, and I love that.
So, would you say, your morninglooked like prospecting until
(13:54):
you couldn't take it anymore,until you had him locked out and
you got out.
And what did your afternoonslook like?
How did you?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Afternoons so I would head out and it definitely
wasn't aimless roaming.
You know I had an intention, hada plan, had a plan and it was
to build relationships and meetpeople and to this day I have
those relationships.
So my afternoon, so cold call.
In the morning I'd go out andlearn communities say 11 to 1, 1
(14:21):
.
Afterwards I would be, I wouldbe in businesses and you know,
not really not intentionallystriking up conversations, but
looking for, like naturalconnections.
And so, example one of my goodfriends to this day she's
actually an agent on our team Goback to 2018, I was.
(14:45):
I would go to her store and havecoffee with her.
She owned a coffee shop, so I'droll in there and we just
clicked and it had nothing to doabout real estate, but my
intention was to meet people andmeet good people, right, and
you know, through that processshe would say you know, I mean,
when we first met, what do youdo for living?
I'm in real estate and shewould be.
This specific relationship isfunny because I'm pretty tatted
(15:08):
up.
So I'd come in and tank topsometimes and shorts, and she
thought I was a bum.
And then I'd come back the nextday or the following and I'd
have a suit on and she's likewhoa, whoa, whoa, what do you do
?
And so I shared with her.
I do real estate and we juststruck up a conversation and
struck up the relationshipreally.
So I ended up having building areally good relationship with
(15:29):
her and on Sundays, when thecoffee shop was closed, to get
really ingrained in thecommunity, I would just open the
doors of her coffee shop andI'd offer free coffee to people.
So this isn't done, eden.
So people would be rolling bythe doors open, they come in,
they try to order coffee and I'dsay, hey, you know what?
The store is closed, but we'vegot coffee pastries.
(15:50):
And I happen to be a localrealtor and if you have any
questions about the local realestate market, sit down.
And it worked beautifully.
Building relationships, however, it works for you.
Yeah, so my afternoons werereally focused on building
relationships.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And you still have to .
So when you were circleprospecting, I think.
By the way, I think circlesprospecting is great, especially
at a brokerage the size of ours, because all you have to do is
watch it for a great new listingto hit and then in your circles
prospecting you can simply say,hey, we just wanted to let you
know we just listed anotherproperty, and that's an accurate
(16:26):
statement.
It doesn't have to be yourlisting, it has to be the
brokerage is listing.
And with the type of listingswe got going up every day, you
will never run out of goodcircle prospecting to do no it's
really endless if you allow itto be natural and do it enough
to be natural.
Did you ever call FISBOs expires, anything like that?
(16:46):
Absolutely OK, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
You know, when I first started Real Estate in
Oklahoma, that's all I did and Iconquered, I was relentless.
So I would call them, knock ontheir door, offer special
incentives to come with me as arealtor, put trust in me and
build that relationship.
So I did hear, I did.
I called FISBOs.
I never really did.
(17:12):
The expires, no, no FISBOs andcircle dialing.
So I'd like to get freshhomeowners and just talk to
homeowners.
You know they're holding thekey to the kingdom.
They own a home.
They may want to sell it.
Yeah, expires.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
They're already aggravated with a realtor
somewhere.
It could be tough.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
I've never hit expires.
It's definitely a great avenue,though, you know, I've just
never done it.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
For some people it seems to so if they get on your
list, they either got to buy,sell or die to get off your list
.
Right, right.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Yeah or forever.
You're on my list and we'regoing to chat about real estate.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Absolutely.
I love it.
I think that it's critical tohave a good balance between high
tech these days, but you got tohave the high touch.
Yeah, if you're not touchingpeople, I don't believe there's
going to be an app to ever putus out of business.
No, a real estate transactionis way too complicated and
unique For there ever to be analgorithm that's going to run
(18:09):
that for us Absolutely.
And there's humans involved inthis Absolutely, and the
algorithm is not going to workfor that.
So you can use these tech toolsto leverage your time, but you
better have some personal skillsto make relationships with
people Absolutely, to get youthe business.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
And touching on the personal skills and
relationships.
So our team is based aroundlike grassroots thoughts.
You know we write.
I don't write them, but we havea team member that's hired to
write no cards, your personalhandwritten notes 100% we don't
send anything out generic I havemy.
(18:44):
She's relationship manager.
She deals just withrelationships, so is that a?
Speaker 1 (18:49):
and we'll talk about that.
That's obviously a position onyour team.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
It's a position on an admin of back side.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I um, through my real estate career, I um listened to
a trainer that I had not likedabout 20 years ago and I till I
sold my brokerages up and youknow, just recently, um, I would
do two handwritten cards a day.
They I would put them on my, onthe keyboard of my computer.
So when I came in, there wastwo cards that I had to write
every day before I could evenstart logging on to my computer,
(19:16):
because then I get in there andget into emails and sometimes
you start putting out fires andtalking to people and agents and
that's not making you any money.
But those two handwritten cardsevery day were, you know, that
was only I didn't work onsundays, that was 12 a week that
I went out and I will tell you,uh, the response from that is
phenomenal and it's beautiful.
You've got somebody dedicatedto do that in your office.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
I think it's great.
I think the challenge with alot of uh, a lot of teams we're
not.
The challenge I think that theymiss is is remaining very
connected to their relationshipsand their past buyers and
sellers.
We stay so connected throughanniversaries, birthdays, um,
(19:56):
but you know, kids coming,births, um just every event in
our buyers and sellers liveswere there with them and it
continues for life and that'salways front of mine 100% and
that's, that's.
Uh, you know it's a grassrootsthing, you know you stay
connected, somebody.
So it's note cards, it's phonecalls, it's text, it's stopping
by and seeing them, littlepop-bys we call them yeah, and
(20:18):
you know pretty soon before youknow it, you're like the
governor of uh uh panellascounty only, and you're in home
depot and you see people fromfive years ago, two years ago,
last month, and and there'salways a good taste in
everybody's mouth when youservice them right though, and
you're doing all these rightthings and they love to see you.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
The, the pop-bys were always fun to do too.
You know we would uh uh go outonce or twice a month and, and
do you know, 15, 20 pop-bys,little less than five dollar,
trinket with a little card leaveit, and if they're not there,
I'd leave it on their doorstep.
I take a picture of it and Itexted to him hey, sorry I
missed you today.
We you know, if it was thestart of summer we might leave a
little uh thing of sunblock orsomething with a cute little
(20:56):
name tag or something like that.
And and people love that stuffthey eat it up.
So 2018, you're out, there,you're.
You're told us what your daylooks like.
When did I would assume thatyou got so busy that you said,
hey, I need help.
Is that what was?
Speaker 2 (21:11):
the premise for the team.
It's exactly what happens um Imy first year out on my own.
I closed, I think, 85transactions.
That's killing it man and thenext year, um, I, I had to do
something because I was workingseven days a week, 15 hours.
You're gonna burn out, love itand and still had plenty of
(21:32):
energy, um, but uh, it takes atoll on life.
It takes a toll on therelationship with your.
If you have a significant other.
It's a great uh toll on therelationship I have with my dog.
Um, you know, so that'scritical don't mess that up.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
We all love pets, or?
Speaker 2 (21:47):
it was after that first year.
Um did a great job.
I developed the processes, puteverything in place and I and I
always create these processesfor growth and I didn't plan on
a team.
The very next year I had tobring a teammate on okay so?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
so what did that look like you?
You did, you um, you had theseleads and you said I need some
help.
So you decided did.
Did you think about a specificum area you wanted this person
to work in?
Or did you just think I want agood agent, I'll develop them,
they can do what I do.
Or did you just bring them onto handle your buyer leads?
Perhaps I?
I?
brought them on specifically forhelp period so you were looking
(22:26):
for a good person that youcould develop into correct
somebody that sees the businesslike you do somebody can train
too.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
So you know my my uh.
Whenever I bring a teammate on,it's not to train them to be a
part of my team.
I want them to be successful inreal estate period.
So the way I look at trainingsomeone is, yes, processes for
our team, um, how our teamfunctions, relationship training
.
But I also want them to, ifthey decide to leave, take the
(22:52):
skill as I've given you and godo something on your own.
So I mean I I don't a lot ofteams will do that they'll train
you specifically for one thing,because they want to kind of
keep you in a little box, right?
I want everybody that joins ourteam to be treated well, number
one by me.
I want them to make money and Iwant them to go out and
flourish and create goodrelationships.
So once I got that point whereI really couldn't handle any
(23:14):
more I and I really believe innatural connections too so I had
a transaction with a kid thatwas on another with another
brokerage.
He came in, we had a dealtogether and he told me this
himself he goes there'ssomething different about you,
and so he tracked me down to bepart of the team.
I love that.
That that shows the initiativeon his part I think I know who
(23:34):
you're talking about.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
By the way, he is really something and, yeah, he
gives you all the love andcredit for that too he's amazing
.
We had a good run.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
You know he's not with the team anymore, but while
he was there, had a great run,um, he taught me a lot of things
, I taught him a lot of thingsand it was a great relationship
and so that's how I got my firstagent think and this doesn't
specifically speak to teams, butI think agents sometimes think
(24:02):
that every other agent out thereis their competition.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
That's not really the case all the times if you will
take time to form and help andbe decent to other agents and
even somebody on the other sideof a transaction from another
brokerage that maybe doesn'tunderstand something.
Coach him up a little bit.
Absolutely, those relationshipswill reward you.
Forever down the road They'llsay hey, that's that Lance guy
(24:26):
man, he's good to work with andthat stuff goes a long way.
Absolutely, throw that outthere.
Okay, so you got your firstteam.
When did you decide to?
What kind of systems did youdecide to start putting in place
for Legion and marketingadvertising, and at what point
(24:47):
did you bring on a transactioncoordinator?
Did you pull a plan together?
Speaker 2 (24:52):
So the process, kind of going back to the grassroots
and branding that process wasdeveloped really early on.
So that way when we servesomeone and we go through
relationship and they close ontheir home, that process is in
place and the relationship justcontinues.
So going past that, it's reallyabout feeling confident and
(25:17):
knowing where you got to feelconfident in building these
relationships and knowing that alot of people worry about the
money.
Yes, so hit that.
So it's people worry about themoney.
If you worry about the money,you're not going to be
successful.
So with the process in place,our main focus is building
relationships.
So I really dove into thatprocess because that's really
(25:38):
what pulls out referrals fromyour base, your base of clients.
So that process was bringingtwo to three referrals every
month.
And then I was investing inZillow Realtorcom and that's a
whole other beast.
Internet leads are totallydifferent on how to handle those
, how to work them.
There's a lot of a nominated Ican't say that word right now.
(25:58):
Their internet leads want toremain anonymous and so it's a
different beast with prospectingthem and trying to get their
attention.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
And to nurture that lead and take much longer.
So we it's a very good pointthey do they do a whole
different process bringing thatalong than a warm lead or a
circle prospect lead orsomething like that it could be
an immediate buyer or seller orit's going to be 90 days out to
maybe two years out.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
So our bread and butter is really our referrals
and that's where the process wasreally tight on how we treat a
current and past client notclient but buyer or seller.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
Great point on the Zillow lead and the processes.
We had an agent here thateveryone was a little surprised
when she came in with like an $8million closing big fat check.
So I interviewed her a littlebit on it and she said I've been
working this lead for fouryears.
It was a Zillow lead.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
And it took time.
And here's the irony to it whenthey first started looking on
the Zillow lead, she said theywere $600,000, $700,000 buyers.
They wanted a second home inFlorida.
Absolutely, their businessexploded and the next year they
turned into a million to twomillion.
She said they still didn't findanything.
Their business back in anotherstate continued to explode.
(27:16):
There were some IT very youngcouple, by the way and they
wound up being a $7 millionbuyer that she nurtured for four
years.
And so to your point, spot on.
So you got the systems in place.
Is this an ever-evolvingprocess for you or do you think
you kind of got this thing downand we're going to talk about
your numbers here, if you'reokay?
Yeah, absolutely, spittin' thatout Today.
(27:38):
You have a team of I think yousaid you have four, got four
agents.
You got four agents and you andmyself and yourself and your
dog and my dog Dog's critical.
Yes, keeping your mental healthstraight.
Without the dog, you'reprobably a hot mess out there.
How many transactions in thelast 12 months have you guys
closed?
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Roughly Last.
Oh gosh, I know we did thisyear.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
Okay, tell me this year.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
This year we're at 95 closed transactions and $35
million.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
So you're on track to do a couple hundred
transactions and $70 million,yes, with four people.
Absolutely, let's do some quickmath.
Those agents are making goodmoney.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Absolutely yeah, yeah .
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Because, even if the lowest split possible which I
don't think you do yeah, so talkabout that.
You think it's really andLance's team runs it a little
different than most of them outthere.
Talk about that how you want toincentivize your agents.
Speaker 2 (28:36):
Yeah absolutely so.
Being a part of a team beforeexperiencing that and then also
bringing previous lifeexperience with running a
company, the table teamenvironment is super important,
but also making money is veryimportant, and what we do is not
easy.
Being in real estate is not aseasy as everyone thinks it is.
It's not like HGTV says it'snot.
(28:58):
It's an absolute grind.
So anyone that we click withand have a natural relationship
with as far as an agent goes,coming on our team, I make an
initial promise You're going tomake $100,000 or more as long as
you follow my lead, and it's alot to ask someone to follow
your lead, yeah.
So along with that, I thoughtthat I should be offering higher
(29:20):
commission, and that's also oneof the pieces that's nice with
Charles Ruttenberg Realty iswith the 100% commission.
I don't have any other brokertaking splits off, so I can give
a higher split.
So we graduate from 50% to 70%based on skill set and based on
performance, and so our topagents have a 70% split and I
(29:41):
think that's a great place to be.
I don't know that anybody elsedoes that and I feel good going
to sleep at night that my agentsare making great money and it's
interesting.
It kind of goes back to thebasics of real estate.
If you focus on the money,you're never going to make money
.
No, that's your right intent.
If you focus on buildingrelationships, you'll make money
.
So with a team, you just kindof pull out and do the same
(30:03):
thing.
Well, if you focus on treatingagents right and you teach them
how to build relationships andyou pay them well or have nice
splits like this, it's all goingto come back to everybody,
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (30:16):
So what structure I mean and I know that you're not
a book guy here, so you probablydidn't read a book or go to a
seminar and figure out how toput the Willard Home team
together but do you think you'remore into what team structure?
You're certainly not the mentor, mentee type of person.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Who told you I don't like to read?
I don't.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
I just didn't Based upon.
I haven't because I haven'tread your team model anywhere,
so I'm thinking this is a veryunique one.
He must have put it together bynecessity and what's working
for you, you know.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
I talked to a lot of people and looked at their
models.
I didn't read anything.
Talked to team owners.
And then it was also part of ateam and looked at.
I really based my team off ofhow that felt being a part of a
team being treated the way I wastreated, how I was limited.
I was limited with commission.
I was limited with what I coulddo, kind of handcuffed yeah,
(31:11):
handcuffed really and you can't.
In my opinion, I don't everwant to be handcuffed.
That's the best way to losesomeone.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
You got to thoroughbred.
You got to take the reins offsometimes and just let them run.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
And it's hard because I'm a micromanager, you know I
like to have control.
So our team, I let everybody bethemselves, I let our agents
list properties, work withbuyers there's no box that I'm
putting anyone in and it allowsthem to be creative, it allows
them to feel good aboutthemselves and allows them to be
the best version of them everyday, the better version of them
(31:41):
every day, and it's worked thusfar, you know it keeps the
mundane out of it too.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
You know, if you think, oh my gosh, all today I
get to do is open doors forpeople, you know it can get
boring.
It can get boring, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Now we really do function as a team too.
As I was chatting with youbefore we started the podcast,
we always double up, you know.
So if we're going to go on alisting appointment, I always
want four eyes there and Ialways want four years there,
and it's not so much to justtrain people, that's more so
having the support.
So either I'm going to be sideby side with our agents for
listing appointments or they'regoing to double up and go on
(32:16):
listing appointments themselves.
I happen to have an all femaleteam, so I really don't want
them in homes alone with aseller we haven't met Good point
.
So it's going to be two.
It'll be either me, and if it'sa little bit of a dicey
relationship that we're hearingover the phone, then I'm going
to be there.
Speaker 1 (32:32):
I have found over the years that women actually make
better realtors, for the mostpart, than men.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I've got a solid group of ladies.
I mean solid, they are allbosses, they are amazing and
actually the entire team.
So, hitting the next part ofthe structure, we've got
relationship manager.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (32:53):
And then we've got I've got a marketing manager.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
So what does it look like for your relationship
manager?
What tasks does she handle inon a day to day, weekly basis?
Speaker 2 (33:01):
This is huge.
Nobody does this.
Quality assurance calls, shecalls.
That is huge.
She calls every single personthat we come in contact with,
not just all of our activebuyers and sellers.
She calls all of our prospects,the internet leads that aren't
answering the phone, that won'tanswer a text or respond to
emails.
She can get them.
(33:21):
She's calling them to say hey,how is Taylor doing?
Taylor's been in contact withyou for two weeks.
Hey, how Lance is doing?
I even put her on me.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I love that quality assurance.
So they're back touching all toeverybody to kind of check up.
Wow, what a great idea.
I don't think you're right.
I haven't never heard ofanybody doing this concept.
No, it's great, it's fantastic.
That's gotta be a really biglead source for you, it's huge.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
So she also touches base with people for reviews.
You know we've got, we'repushing 200 reviews on Google.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
That's critical, which is huge.
Speaker 2 (33:55):
I'll tell everybody listening that's a lead
generator right there.
That's huge, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
What about?
I don't wanna jump in here andbreak your train of thought.
Your free Google business pageGot one, Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
If you're not doing it.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Is it one of the best lead generators you possibly
have?
Speaker 2 (34:13):
I literally receive 15 contacts a month easy from
the free Google paid businesspage.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
So a free Google business page with the quality
assurance and all the reviews isjust, guys, I hope you're
listening to what Lance issharing with you right here.
It's gold.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
It really is.
So she does quality assuranceand then she does reviews and
then she's our hand writer.
She's my niece.
She does the notes.
She's my niece in San Diego.
Her name is Skye oh really.
So she sends out handwrittencards.
She loves it, and that's againnaturally choosing somebody
that's gonna fit your team.
She loves it, so she sends out.
We've got little magazines thatwe send to prospects.
(34:51):
Buyers are sellers, so shesends those out with little
handwritten note cards or a hand.
She writes on the inside of thecover of the magazine and sends
them to prospects.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
Is that a?
Speaker 2 (35:00):
monthly thing you put out.
So quick example somebody callsus, wants some help with
selling their home.
Immediately I put a task on herto send a seller's guide to
that person's home, even if I'mgonna go meet them.
So what happens is I meet them,chat with them, have a
presentation.
Next day in the mail they get aseller's guide.
So we're just constantlytouching.
(35:21):
So she assists with constantlytouching Our prospects, our
current clients, past clients,past sphere.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
How many contact points a month would you try to
get with your sphere?
At least one, or what's yourthought there?
Do you have a plan With eachpast?
Yeah, with your sphere.
Past, customers and sphere.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
They are actually getting touched bi-weekly and
monthly.
There you go, depending onwhat's going on.
So bi-weekly newsletter andwhich people are very active
with our social media andthrough our newsletters, people
actually watch us.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
So when agents are out there listening to this and
they'll call the brokerage andthey'll ask for me and they'll
say you're not giving me anyleads and I explained them our
compensation plan.
This is the stuff you want.
You want your own leads, Causeif you're not generating your
own leads, you never have anyfreedom of anywhere from a team
or brokerage or anything.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
No.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
Yeah, no.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
And it's the mindset is really what's hard.
You know the process and thethings that are in place are
pretty simple, but to wake upevery day and push through that
process is where people fail.
Yeah, it's groundhog day.
Get up and do it again everyday.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
You know that's what we gotta do, so all right.
So, wow, I've just learned alot there.
I'm really really knocked outwith some of the things you're
doing.
It's kind of a deep dive intoyour contacts.
A lot of people just touch themone time oh, they didn't want
to buy, they didn't want to selland they lose them.
They don't ever touch them, youguys.
They're never getting off yourlist, like.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
I said, they buy, sell, leave the world.
Not one person has used adifferent realtor when they buy
with us.
So not one person.
And I track people, I track ourprospects.
So if someone buys with us,they sell with us.
Speaker 1 (37:06):
And I can tell you the volume you're doing.
The brokerage never hearsanything.
So, yeah, there's a lot that wedo hear about, but not from
your team.
All right, so we got the.
You got the roles you have.
Talk to me exactly about yoursetup now.
You've got your niece in SanDiego.
I love that.
She's doing that side of it.
You have a TC as well.
Speaker 2 (37:27):
We do.
I'll hit marketing manager realquick.
So our team got so big, thesocial media need got so big,
our grassroots things that we dogot so big.
I moved my assistants that hadbeen with us for two years into
a marketing role.
So she's now marketing manager.
She handles all of our socialmedia.
She handles, you know, creatingpostcards a lot and she's very,
(37:49):
very cutting edge, I'll say,you know, staying on, you know,
social media and so forth.
So her role is huge.
And then I just hired afull-time TC.
So I've always thought aboutthis hybrid role of someone
being licensed and being a TCand doing both roles.
So before I'm going to grabanother agent, I want our TC to
(38:12):
get really good at being a TC.
She's got some commercialexperience, so she's amazing.
She just started about twomonths ago, okay, and I am
putting her through school toget a real estate license.
And you know you're not goingto make all the money in the
world being a TC.
She's definitely busy, but I'mgoing to get her, or she's
getting her real estate licenseso she can be a weekend warrior.
And you know I specificallywant to feed her nice and easy
(38:34):
referrals to get, you know, thatweekend warrior money.
So with the salary she'sgetting for being a TC, plus
getting some hand-fed deals onthe weekends, she's going to be
making over a hundred grand too.
Speaker 1 (38:45):
Keeping her in tubes.
No better way to keep peopleincentivized and make sure they
got money coming into theiraccount.
That's what I've found.
So you got the marketingmanager, the TC and the agents.
So you've got the four agentson your team right now and they
do what's their role look likeJust exactly like yours.
Speaker 2 (39:07):
It is.
I'm currently the top producer.
So once I started the teambrought the first agent on.
I've done a hundred homes orcondos.
You know a hundred propertiesevery year and I'm just tired,
that's exhausting.
It's exhausting.
I'm pulling back and so my roleis going to change here this
year moving into 2024, more as amentor and coach.
(39:29):
But I'm still going to be inthe field because I believe in
staying in touch.
I don't want to lose touch withthings Because you know moving
a hundred homes in the first sixmonths of the year.
You know the trends, like weknow what's going on the market
period, so I don't want to losethat.
So I'll always stay active.
But we'll be looking foranother agent and then the
agent's roles, their producers.
(39:49):
You know we talk constantly.
We're always talking aboutrelationship building, strategy
with buyers and sellers and youknow we touch on.
Our business is all aboutrelationships.
But you still do have to talkabout sales.
I mean, you know and strategyand how you speak to people and
how you bring people to thetable.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Yeah, there's a point in time in the relationship
that you go ahead and ask forthe sale.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Correct.
That's great to get the ordersto ask for.
We ask on the front end, okay,and we also do Not shy about
that.
Yeah, we also assume the sale.
That's a huge one.
Speaker 1 (40:20):
Assume it, yeah, but assume it, then ask for it, and
it's all a mindset to do that.
I would just ask you this Ifyou saw somebody out there that
was and I'm sure you get thisquestion asked to you all the
time an agent that's either on ateam or a pretty good producing
agent that's thinking aboutstarting a team, or an agent
(40:40):
that's on a team that isexcelling and would want to go
out, what would you tell them todo to start their own team?
What would be your two or threepieces of advice?
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Number one create a process, and that process has
got to be put in place beforeyou get into action.
And then number two is focus onthe relationships.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
Have the processes focus on the relationship with
positive intent.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Number three, I think , is the biggest reminder for
everyone is money is noteverything, relationships are
everything, and so two and threekind of come together.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
Money won't show up at your funeral, will it?
But people will.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
No, and you can't take money to grave either.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
No, you've never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse.
No, all right, well, so listen,we're gonna wrap this up, lance
.
How could people get ahold ofyou or your team, or to talk to
you, or they wanna buy or sellreal estate Cause we do have
people that aren't realtors thatactually listen to this show.
How would they track you down?
Speaker 2 (41:45):
Awesome, awesome.
I answer my phone almost allthe time.
Crazy concept Almost all thetime If I don't answer my phone,
you get an immediate text thatI'll call you right back.
So I would say, if you'd liketo contact me, best Way is gonna
be my cell phone Telephonenumber 727-487-1894.
And always happy to help, andout to the realtors too, with
(42:06):
the brokerage that are listening.
I'm also open to helpinganswering questions as well, and
I think the mentorship programthat's being started is amazing.
Speaker 1 (42:15):
Appreciate that and we are going to certainly get
some mentors into you.
So just a novel concept.
I mean, we talk to people allthe time.
They tell us oh you can getahold of me on Instagram and
TikTok and Snapchat and allthese different things, Lance,
you just roll out there and givethem your phone number.
I love that.
I think that's great.
So, hey guys, we're gonna haveto wrap it up this week.
(42:35):
Maybe we can get Lance to comeback, because we didn't even
scratch the surface on what hecan do to help you guys
understand about building a team.
But until next time, we willsee you guys at the top.
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