In this eye-opening episode with guest Lindsay Dreyer, we unpack one of the biggest misconceptions in real estate today: treating social media as if it's the whole game instead of just one player on the team.

Whether you feel pressured to post daily or frustrated that your content isn't converting into clients, this episode is your wake-up call. We're pulling back the curtain on what actually brings you clients with or without social media and how to create a strategy that is uniquely you.  

You'll learn:

• The critical marketing question every agent must answer to stand out
• The role of real conversations in a digital-first, algorithm-driven world
• Why your posts might not be converting—and how to fix your message
  
• Which marketing channels are actually worth your time and energy
  
• How to create intentional, strategic outreach that gets appointments, not just likes

When you think about having the real estate business and life outside your business you've always wanted what comes to mind?

For most of us, there is a moment of dreaming big followed at some point by a thought like, "I'll never be able to have that." Or, something along the lines of "Sounds great, but I have no idea how to make that happen."

Why do we do this to ourselves?

Why do we think we can't have what we want, or that what we want is somehow an impossibility for us? That what we want and our ability to actually have it are not equal?

Life is too short not to have it be exactly the way we want it to be. 

Like, why can't you be a successful real estate agent and have a great life too?   Make good money and have some free time to enjoy it…that doesn't seem like an impossible dream to me.

It's not asking for too much out of life, yet so many agents I talk to think a life like this is not in the cards for them.  

Once you realize what you reallllllly want in life and how you've been holding yourself back, it can bring up a lot of emotions–sadness, anger, frustration, and after all that comes hope and then finally the thing that matters most–action.  

In today's workshop-style episode of Confessions of A Top Producing Real Estate Agent, I'm walking you through a 7-step process so you can make whatever you want happen.  

And, because as Lee Iacocca said, "The disciple of writing something down is the first step to making it happen," I'm also giving you a free workbook for you to use as I walk you through the 7 Steps to Get Anything You Want.  

Get The 7 Steps To Having Anything You Want Workbook Here

Having anything you want is not a catch phrase and it's not too good to be true.  It's something each one of us is capable of, but only if we remove what's in the way. 

This 7 step process will help you do that.

Let this be the year you say I will _________________________ and then truly go for it like it's going to happen.  

Don't just wait and see what happens, decide and then commit to make it happen.  

​​Not in a stressful way, but in a "I'm worthy and capable" kind of way.  

Because you are. 💖

To your success,

Jennifer

Click here for the shownotes and transcript of this episode.

Click here to get the workbook mentioned in this episode.

If you're ready to make 6 or even 7-figures in your real estate business AND have time for a life, without needing a team to do it, learn how here. 

Every summer, we host the Agent Grad School Summer Book Club.  

July's book club pick was Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear. 

This book introduces the idea that success is not a once in a lifetime transformation, but instead a byproduct of our daily habits. 

Want different results?  Create new habits. 

There are so many golden nuggets in this book that can be applied to real estate, from how to create new habits, to how to know if you've created a habit that will stick, and even how to break bad habits.  

Here's an excerpt from our book club discussion so you can hear how we are applying the concepts in this book to our real estate businesses. 

Next month's book is Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss.  Are you reading that one along with us?  

Never miss an episode of Confessions of A Top Producing Real Estate Agent by joining the Agent Grad School Inner Circle.  It's totally free and you can join here: AgentGradSchool.com/InnerCircle

In today's episode, we'll be talking about the perfect way to keep in touch with past clients during tax season.

Not only does this touch point add value to your buyers and sellers who worked with you last year, but it is an easy marketing opportunity for your business since it:

Keeps you on the top of your client's mind;
Makes you look organized and professional; and
Brings in more business naturally by way of repeat clients and referrals.

A win-win for both you and the client! Listen to today's podcast episode to learn more details about every step of this touch point. And get the exact letters we've used and our students still use so you can quickly change them for you and your business and get them out to your clients!

Today's free training on Confessions of A Top-Producing Real Estate Agent is a must-hear if you like simple marketing strategies that cost you $0 to implement. We lovingly call this the "Is This Your Year?" Email -- and it's one of our students' favorite emails to send to their clients.

How to attract your ideal clients like a magnet right to you--clients you love working with, coming to you, seeking you out as the best real estate agent for them.   

Once you've got these three steps down, you can then go on to apply them to any marketing tactic that you like--postcards, open houses, social media, your website, etc.

These are unconventional methods and not what you'll hear elsewhere, but they work like a charm.

The #1 goal of this podcast and Agent Grad School in general is to help real estate agents build successful, profitable and fun businesses—a businesses that not only brings them great success in their work life, but allows for the same in their personal life too.  This past year has been a HUGE growth year for Agent Grad School and me personally and I hope sharing what went well, what didn't go well, and the decisions and actions I had to make in order to continue to have the business and life beyond my wildest dreams, will help agents as they build their own businesses.  

Today on Confessions of a Top Producing Real Estate Agent, I am interviewing one of the original graduates of the AgentGradSchool.com program, Lauren Kolazas. Lauren went from struggling to successful and tripled her income in just one year!

Lauren's story in real estate is not unlike many other agents. Although she held a real estate license for years, she was scared to truly commit to growing a successful business and would keep other jobs that stood in her way.

Lauren says "At the time, I thought I was only saying I was in marketing because I didn't like certain aspects of the job of being a real estate agent. Having hindsight now, I realize I was saying it to protect myself from failure."  When she found herself unemployed, seven months pregnant and trying to decide between another 9-5 job with her baby in daycare all day or working for herself, she reached out to me.

I recently attended the Inman Connect Conference in San Francisco and while I was away, many agents were asking me whether it was something they should attend in the future.  There was also what the Inman daily newsletter seemed to make "breaking news" coming from the conference to every agents inbox, so many agents were asking me what it was like to be there, whether they should be and what some of the newsworthy announcements meant for their businesses.

So, in an effort to answer this questions as well as answer the overall question, "should you take the time and money away from your business and family to attend one of the Inman Connect conferences," listen to this episode of the Confessions of a Top Producing Real Estate Agent podcast!

In today's episode of Confessions of a Top-Producing Real Estate Agent, my bookclub co-host, and Agent Grad School graduate, Amy Wease,  and I talk about the Entrepreneurial Real Estate Agent Book Club's monthly book choice "So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love" by Cal Newport.

The concept for this book came to the author, Cal Newport, as he was watching a Charlie Rose interview where he asks Steve Martin what advice he'd give other actors to become successful and Steve says, "it's not what the want to hear.  What they want to hear is how to get an agent, how to get a TV show, but what they need to be successful is to be so good they can't ignore you."

Those few words not only launched an entire book, but also is the topic of today's podcast.  How can we be so good we can't be ignored AND how can we avoid passion burnout?

Full show notes at https://agentgradschool.com/008

If you want to be wildly successful in real estate there is one thing that you have to do, first and foremost. Not doing this one thing is the biggest mistakes I see almost every single real estate agent make.

If I could shout from the rooftops and tell every single new or struggling real estate agent in all the land the ONE thing that can change everything for the better for them it's to do this.

https://agentgradschool.com/007

Every, single real estate agent should be able to attract more clients than they know what do with...but unfortunately, most agents don't.

In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors, 80% of real estate agents leave the business after only being licensed for two years because they don't have enough clients or income!

Not only should every real estate agent have more clients than they know what to do with, but these clients should be seeking YOU out, not you chasing them down begging them to work with you.  Homey shouldn't play that...

Find the full show notes at https://agentgradschool.com/realestateagenthavemoreclients/

Amy Wease was my very first agent at the brokerage I started back in 2012, Dwell Residential Brokerage. Amy is featured today as part of the How I Did It series. Amy was the catalyst for me creating Agent Grad School, and I am so excited to have her here to talk about her career in real estate.

Amy shares how she noticed that Jennifer was doing things differently and wanted to do what she was doing. Amy reached out to Jennifer, she learned Jennifer's system and her life and real estate career has completely changed. She now has a plan and system in place for real estate and her life. She shares her love of real estate, and how she went from fear to fearless while building a sustainable business.

You can find Amy here:

Amy Wease

Show Notes

[01:42] In 2011, Jennifer had just opened Dwell Residential Brokerage and Amy and Jennifer had only done one deal together. Amy reached out and called Jennifer, and Jennifer feels like it changed her life for the better.

[03:22] Amy was struggling to get her business going and she remembered seeing Jennifer give a client a huge folder of information. She had never seen anyone do that.

[04:33] Amy thought Jennifer was doing something right with buyers and she decided to see if Jennifer could help her get her business going.

[05:29] Amy became the first agent, and Jennifer wanted to show her how to do things right.

[05:59] Jennifer had so many clients and business that she needed help, but she wanted her clients to go through the same process and experience that they would go through with her.

[06:45] She wanted to train Amy on every small little step, and she felt committed to Amy and wanted to help her succeed and prove to her that she could do it.

[07:41] Amy was smart and a hard worker, and Jennifer knew that if she was willing to do the steps should be a huge success.

[08:00] This is why Jennifer created Agent Grad School Buyer Edition.

[09:41] Amy's mom suggested real estate. Amy was determined to be a writer, but she finally decided to try real estate. She got a license and then didn't know where to go from there.

[11:30] Amy worked in new construction and did well. In 2007, she sold 34 million dollars of real estate.

[12:23] There was a vivacious environment. There were a lot people counting their chickens before they hatched, but his haunted people after the bust. Amy was doing a good job, but she didn't have a system for her client database or taxes or other important business building systems.

[14:02] Jennifer's business grew substantially during the bust.

[20:03] Amy wanted to do what Jennifer is doing. She was excited to work at Dwell. Jennifer focused on clients and shared how she did it. They had the same client focused core beliefs.

[21:45] Jennifer said she would train Amy if she promised to do everything she said. She wanted Amy to put clients through Jennifer's process.

[22:39] The training sounded like a lot of stuff with a lot of steps. You have to be willing and open to go through the training. Having a plan is what helped her. Practicing the system and building results helped with her confidence. The system actually worked.

[26:19] It's not just building confidence for the client it's also about building confident in the agent. If something doesn't work, it not a right fit. There is no reason to beat yourself up. Clear steps with results.

[30:22] Things started to change and Amy started to feel like a professional. Now working with clients is second nature to her.

[32:14] Amy's sales have grown over the last five years that she has been at Dwell.

[32:56] She stays in touch with people in a systematic way to grow her business.

[33:36] Amy has even prepaid her taxes this year.

[34:32] She is also investing in a real 401k this year. She sat down with an investment manager. She is looking towards the future with a 20 year trajectory.

[35:46] Real estate has ups and downs, so you have to have business systems in place. Downturns weed out the strong who survive. The person who has built a strong foundation.

[37:34] How the steps insure that people remember you when the market goes down.

[38:59] Each business needs to be built with a strong concrete foundation.

[41:14] If you want to have a sustainable business, Agent Grad School is worth every bit.

[42:52] Amy created a real business. Her numbers were surprisingly good. There is freedom in not worrying about paying the bills and being able to do or buy fun things. Thinking about what you are bringing to the table financially and emotionally. The whole thing has been a completely different and fearless shift for Amy. Having the fundamentals in place work for her.

Links and Resources:

Agent Grad School Buyer Edition

Join the Entrepreneurial Real Estate Agent Book Club

Jennifer@AgentGradSchool.com

Stick around and stay connected by subscribing to Confessions of Top Producing Real Estate Agent on iTunes. Head over to Agent Grad School and sign up for my Free Weekly Training. You can also stay connected on Instagram or Facebook.

If things are happening slower in your real estate business than you imagined, I hope this episode helps you.  

What I learned from being a real estate agent over the last 19 years is that we need to be patience--actively patient--in four very specific areas of our businesses:

• Patient with ourselves;
• Patient with building our career;
• Patient with the market; and
• Patient with our clients.

Learn more about how to be actively patience and how it can actually speed things up in your real estate business on today's episode.  

For this episodes show notes go to: Agentgradschool.com/activepatience/

To grow your real estate business go to AgentGradSchool.com

I share my story in this first episode of the How They Did It series where I'll be highlighting different agent's stories. We'll be talking about how they got from where they were to where they are today. We'll talk about how they changed their businesses and applied the things that we are teaching here at Agent Grad School.

I am sharing my story of how I went from rock-bottom to millionaire real estate agent, and why I created Agent Grad School. The number one question I have been getting asked is why start another business when you already have a thriving real estate business.  In this episode, I set the record straight and answer the question of why I created Agent Grad School.

I'm also going to share a few things that I hope you can directly apply to your own business. I share the pivotal question that I asked myself when going from struggling and rock-bottom to making over a million dollars a year selling real estate.

I'm also going to share three strategies that I applied to my business that turned out to be the cog that turned the wheel:

1.) The riches are in the niches

2.)  Choosing a unique selling proposition (usp), which means being able to answer the question, "why should someone choose you, among all other options, including doing nothing at all."

3.)  Have a weekly email that went out to these clients that I chose and attracted so that there would be consistent contact with the information they needed that they couldn't get anywhere else.

Doing these three things, at the same time, is what changed my business and I started to get clients seeking me out.  I never had to pay for an online lead, but instead learned how to create my own leads for free. 

Take a listen to the entire episode now and I'd love for you to subscribe and even review it over on iTunes too! 

I hope you can apply these lessons to your own business and it helps you feel like you have a magic wand that you can just move anything separating you from where you are to where you want to be.  That's how it feels once you get this all figured out. 

Show Notes

[04:12] What I was doing before becoming a real estate agent and why I expected the same immediate success when I became an agent.  

[08:30] My first home-time buying experience was so life-changing and necessary for me to be where I am at today. Sometimes the worst experiences turn out to be exactly what we need to get from where we were to where we are today.

[09:01] Even if something terrible happens, try to use it for good.

[09:50] Buying your first house should be the best experience. I found a need and though I could fill the need.

[11:07] Instead, I couldn't get clients. Finally, one of my friends bought a house with me. I was in real estate for two years and only sold one house. I was going to the office every day and was kind of like a glorified receptionist.

[12:43] I asked every agent I worked with what they did, and I tried everything. The only place I was making money was at Rock Bottom Brewery. I was l hitting rock bottom in every way, and I was at literally at Rock Bottom every night.

[13:56] I had good intentions, but nothing was working.

[14:25] I sat down and decided that I either needed to figure it out or go back to a PR job.

[15:03] The question I asked myself that changed everything.  This is the question to ask if yourself too if you struggling in your business.

[16:12] I knew I had to stop looking at what everyone else was doing. What everyone else was doing wasn't working for me or the other majority of agents.

[16:48] How I went from feeling like being "successful" in real estate was unattainable to figuring out my answer to that question creating clarity for me to know exactly how to be successful (and you can use this same strategy to go from overwhelm to clear too).

[17:58] I decided to look outside the real estate industry at other ways for me to get clients.

[19:13] The things I was learning were blowing my mind. I felt like I was learning secrets of marketing that actually worked. I became obsessed and read every book and listened to every tape (there were no podcasts back then, lol!). I was also noticing patterns, and I implemented those things.

[20:42] I started marketing online and slowly but surely things started to work. It was like a marketing snowball.

[21:09] Implementation, consistency, and making adjustments until things work for you.

[21:41] I learned that the riches are in the niches and the idea of a unique selling proposition from Dan Kennedy.

[22:04] Being able to answer the question of why someone should choose you over all options including doing nothing and having a niche will change your business.

[22:36] The third concept was having a weekly email to a list of people.

[23:00] Once I heard and understood these concepts, I still had to learn how to apply them on a consistent basis.

[23:28] I started studying and seeing what everyone else was doing. I started to see patterns again.

[24:01] Four years into a real estate career and I had sold 2 houses.

[24:23] I chose a niche and answered the question of why someone should choose me.

[24:46] First time home buyers were the only people who I knew more than because I had already bought a house. Plus, if I can make it a fun experience, why wouldn't they use me.

[25:17] This gave me the confidence to keep going. All I needed was eight or ten people.

[25:53] I resisted choosing a niche, but it makes all the difference.

[26:36] I had my target audience, and I knew why they should choose me. You need to know who and how?

[27:52] Who, how, and why they should choose me and why they should buy. Putting these concepts together and my business took off. I want from tips to almost $80,000 a month.

[28:56] Niche down who you are marketing to and your business will change forever.

[29:07] I wanted to create a brokerage that specialized in first-time home buyers. I created Dwell Residential Brokerage.

[30:14] I attracted clients and agents who wanted to work with those clients.

[30:46] In 2011, I was doing more business than ever. Agents wanted to learn and I hired ones who generally wanted to niche and do right by their clients.

[31:34] I had to train my step-by-step system to all of the new agents. I knew I couldn't keep doing this over and over, so I created a recorded module system and taught the agents who joined my broker, which at the time was Dwell Residential Brokerage, now Dwell Residential, an RLAH Company

[33:29] When I gave an agent a lead, they had to put the lead through the buyer edition program. Eight modules of exactly what to do and create a one of a kind experience.

[34:17] We have an email that we send to each lead. Then we have an initial consultation.

[34:33] This program ended up becoming Agent Grad School.

[34:55] I realized seeing agents go from being new or struggling to thriving was something that I loved.

[35:45] It wasn't my intention to grow a large brokerage. I'm good at training, not managing.

[36:21] I partnered with a company to help me manage the brokerage to free up my time to share Agent Grad School with agents across the country.

[37:14] I started teaching and mentoring other agents what I was teaching at my office. I love helping people take something that seems impossible and showing them how to make it possible for yourself.

[38:12] Get the step by step roadmap and then have the courage and perseverance to do it and know how to adjust and get back on course.

[39:17] The information here is never theory or fluff. I have so much exciting stuff coming up. Stick around and stay in touch.

Links and Resources:

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Rock Bottom Brewery

Tony Robbins

Dan Kennedy

Shift Happens

Dwell Residential Brokerage

Sign Up for Free Weekly Training

Jennifer@AgentGradSchool.com

Stick around and stay connected by subscribing to Confessions of Top Producing Real Estate Agent on iTunes. Head over to Agent Grad School and sign up for my Free Weekly Training. You can also stay connected on Instagram or Facebook.

My friend and colleague Amy Wease is here to talk about how to use the book The Paradox of Choice to help your buyers make better decisions faster. I started a book club with the agents that I work with because every day I reference certain books. The concepts in the books we talk about can be applied to our lives, our businesses, and with our clients.

If you want to help your mindset and grow your business, you may want to join us in the book club!  You can join here. It's free and it's fun and it will help your business grow!

Every month, I choose a book that has profoundly changed the way I think and do business. Then a month later, I have a conversation about the book. Join and you will get your first book club pick right away and then the discussion will be four weeks later.

You can find Amy here:
Amy Wease

Show Notes

[03:59] How this book helped me to become a better decision maker, and it helped me to help my clients become better decision makers.
[04:21] We must first narrow our options then we can make a decision.
[05:19] How having more options makes decision making more difficult. When I see clients struggle with decision making, I actually send them the book.
[06:06] You don't have to look at every house and every neighborhood. We can start by casting a wide net, but buying a house is a process in decision making. It is my job to help clients narrow their choices right away.
[07:19] Applying the principles in the book has helped people make decisions better and faster.
[08:08] How having too many choices make people shut down and stop.
[08:22] If you see clients struggling, it is time to start narrowing the choices.
[08:40] How to create a framework to help people make decisions.
[08:57] Budget, location, and criteria such as bedrooms etc. Organizing decision points in these categories makes it easier to make a decision.
[10:04] Picking one thing that doesn't change and then narrow from there.
[12:30] The danger of having too many decisions points and using the framework to narrow things down. Ask the client how long they want to live in the property?
[13:29] Why Amy decided to join the book club.  The book choice seemed unexpected because it wasn't real estate specific. This sparked her curiosity.
[15:14] How to help clients feel confident and happy about the home buying process.
[17:02] Amy's mom didn't understand the connection of reading this book for real estate purposes. How the book helps us understand how people make decisions and the pitfalls they run into and how to apply it to home buying.
[19:38] How looking outside the real estate industry to be better at our jobs. We are here to help clients for life and show that we are different.
[20:44] Maximizers versus the satisfiers. There are two types of people. Satisfiers make decisions fairly quickly. Maximizers have to have the best of the best. They may focus on status and what other people are doing.
[22:23] No one is exclusively one or the other, but understanding the concepts helps us understand what the client is going through and what their wants and needs are. This helps agents to not waste time when all of the boxes need to be checked.
[24:48] If you keep hitting a dead end, you may be dealing with a maximizer. It helps you to recognize it and know what you are dealing with.
[25:30] The way people make decisions in other aspects of their lives also affects how they will make decisions about buying a house.
[26:19] How the idea of more is better is constantly promoted. Even though, more choices can be overwhelming.
[27:12] Constantly wondering if you can do better and how that can hurt home buyers.
[28:39] Getting what you want when you become crystal clear about what you want.
[29:23] The importance of being upfront and honest when there are trade offs.
[30:04] The concept of the imagined alternative. It is an agents job to cut this off by adding clarity to the home search. Jennifer sends them a list of houses that have sold which can eliminate the imagined alternative or let them know that it exists through waiting.
[33:23] How clients always ask the what if question. Giving evidence and using the resources you have at hand helps give clients a sense of peace
[35:01] Jennifer wants every real estate agent to read this book and understand how more choices leads to bad decision making.
[35:35] Amy found that taking the client through the process and being more than just a house hunter has had a positive impact on her clients lives. These people start making decisions better and faster. This new way of thinking even helps people become happier.

Links and Resources:
The Paradox of Choice
Join the Entrepreneurial Real Estate Agent Book Club
Jennifer@AgentGradSchool.com

This is part two of two of how to plan for a successful year in real estate.

If you haven't listed to part one yet or read those show notes, start there.

As that episode and show notes explains, there are three steps to planning for a successful year in real estate.

Step One: Where are you now?

We covered this step in part one of this episode.

The goals of step one is to figure out where you are currently. Think of it as point A on the roadmap.

In order to figure out where you are going, you must "come clean" and be honest about where you are currently. Only from that point, where you are right now, can you chart the course and create a roadmap from where you are to where you want to be.

Step Two: Where do you really want to be one year from now?

This is where this episode begins. We discuss what they really want for this upcoming year. Not how they are going to get there yet, but what they really actually want.

Most importantly, though, we ask why. Why do you want that to be the outcome one year from now?

What they really want is not just how many houses they want to sell. How do they want to feel. What if they want to be able to sell the same number of homes, but do it in less time or only working one weekend day?

I've experienced it time and time again and see it in the agents I coach. We think we want something, we focus on the "thing," the goal. "I want to sell four homes a month," but then when we look at the why or we look at what they really want, "so I can spend more time with my kids" we run into conflicts. Sorting out what you really want and why leads to more specific goals that are often times easier to accomplish than we think.

Step Three: What is the easiest, most direct route to get there?

Sometimes the way we think we are going to get somewhere might not be the only way. Just like a roadmap when you are driving from point a to point b, there are several routes to get to the destination, some longer than others, some more direct. Some may be more miles, but you go more quickly, like on the superhighway vs. the back country roads.

So, we look at the specific steps of how they want to get where they are going. Is how they think they can accomplish what they really want truly going to get them where they want to be? Is it the only way? Is there an easier/less expensive/less stressful way to accomplish the same true end goal they are looking to achieve?

In part two, this podcast episode, we take you through how to plan for your year ahead. How to know exactly what's possible and achievable for the next twelve months.

Want to take these same steps to plan for a successful next year in real estate?

I have a guide that can help you. You can get that here.

In order to figure out where you are going, you must "come clean" and be honest about where you are currently. Only from that point, where you are right now, can you chart the course and create a roadmap from where you are to where you want to be.

From that perspective, at the end of every year, I sit down with each of the agents I work with and we do a business planning session for the following year.

This planning session involves three steps:

Step One: Where are you now?
We start by pulling up the document we created for them at last year's meeting. That document is full of notes, goals and commitments we wrote down for them for the year we just went through.
We review and remember what they wanted one year ago and how far they've come. We discuss and celebrate the big and little wins they accomplished.

This defines where they are currently. Point A in the roadmap.

Step Two: Where do you really want to be one year from now?

We discuss what they really want for this upcoming year. Not how they are going to get there yet, but what they really actually want.

Most importantly, though, we ask why. Why do you want that to be the outcome one year from now?

What they really want is not just how many houses they want to sell. How do they want to feel. What if they want to be able to sell the same number of homes, but do it in less time or only working one weekend day?

I've experienced it time and time again and see it in the agents I coach. We think we want something, we focus on the "thing," the goal. "I want to sell 4 homes a month," but then when we look at the why or we look at what they really want, "so I can spend more time with my kids" we run into conflicts. Sorting out what you really want and why leads to more specific goals that are often times easier to accomplish than we think.

Step Three: What is the easiest, most direct route to get there?

Sometimes the way we think we are going to get somewhere might not be the only way. Just like a roadmap when you are driving from point a to point b, there are several routes to get to the destination, some longer than others, some more direct. Some may be more miles, but you go more quickly, like on the superhighway vs. the back country roads.

So, we look at the specific steps of how they want to get where they are going. Is how they think they can accomplish what they really want truly going to get them where they want to be? Is it the only way? Is there an easier/less expensive/less stressful way to accomplish the same true end goal they are looking to achieve?

In this podcast episode, I take you through step one with one of the newer agents in my office. This is part one of our planning session, focusing on the past year.

You'll love hearing his perspective on how although he didn't reach his sales goals, this year was a huge turning point for him and how he gained the knowledge and confidence that will change his business forever.

Want to take these same steps to plan for a successful next year in real estate?

I have a guide that can help you. You can get that here.

Every summer, we have a book club here at Agent Grad School.

Our students pick the books–one for June, another for July, and a third for August. At the end of each month, we discuss the books and share how we are applying what we learned to our real estate businesses with you.

If you are following along with us in the Agent Grad School 2022 Summer Book Club, June's book was This Is Marketing by Seth Godin.

his book is a true must-read for every real estate agent. Why? Because it completely redefines how we think about and approach our marketing.

Author Seth Godin breaks marketing down into 5 steps, and on today's podcast, a few of our students and I are sharing how we are applying these five steps to our real estate businesses.

Learning and most importantly, applying, these five steps will change the way you think – and the way you act – when it comes to marketing your real estate business.

Marketing is more than how to find clients, or how to attract clients. It's about finding your niche, and seeing your marketing as a way to help those people find the change they are looking for.

We hope it helps you redefine how you market yourself as a real estate agent as much as it did for us.

Listen in as the AGS book club and I discuss how we are applying what we learned from this book to our real estate businesses.  

For more podcasts like this, go to AgentGradSchool.com/podcast.

Have you ever been told you need to be "everywhere" online to get clients or be a successful agent in today's market?  

Sounds like a recipe for burnout to me.  

You absolutely don't have to be everywhere on social media to have clients coming to you and have a successful business.  

On today's episode, learn what to do instead:

• The first decision you need to make when it comes to being on social media;
  
• How to know where you should be online;
  
• Why being "everywhere" online is a waste of time;
  
• How the decision about which platform to be on determines the content you should be creating;
  
• And so much more!

Shownotes: AgentGradSchool.com/NotEverywhere/

If you are ready to make six figures as a real estate agent AND have a life without a team, without old-school tactics and without posting on social media all day, join Agent Grad School to learn my 5 Pillar System for a six figure real estate business.   AgentGradSchool.com/enroll

Here's what you'll learn in to today's episode:

• How to successfully attract clients using social media;
• The very important difference between social media tactics vs. social media strategy;
• Why social media without the right strategy will never work; and
• My easy 3-step process to social media success.

For the shownotes go to: https://agentgradschool.com/socialmediastrategy/

If you want to make six figures as a real estate agent AND have a life, all without a team, go to AgentGradSchool.com. 

Here's a sneak peek into what you'll learn in this episode:

• How to set expectations about how quick you'll see results when you start something new; 
• Why focusing on metrics and "the numbers" can sabotage you and what to focus on instead; 
• What to do if you aren't getting any results and how to know if you should stay the course or jump ship; 
• How to know if you are on the right track towards your goals, even if you don't have the results you thought you would by a certain timeframe;
• and so much more!

Episode Show Notes: www.AgentGradSchool.com/episode100.

Little did we know, but when we became real estate agents, we also had to become money managers.

But, no one teaches us HOW to make these important decisions and even what decisions we should be making.  Things like:

How much should I be paying myself?

How do I know if I can take that vacation?

Can I afford to hire an assistant to help me in my business?

What should I be spending on marketing?

Do I have enough saved for taxes?

None of that should be a guessing game and using the Profit First system gives you all the answers.  

Listen in to today's episode to learn more.    

To access the free resources mentioned in the episode, go to this episode's show notes here: AgentGradSchool.com/profitfirst

Over the last two decades of being a successful real estate agent, I've learned a lot about money.

How to make it.  How to spend it wisely. How to keep more of it.  And how to grow it.

On today's episode, I'm sharing what I've learned about money and being a real estate agent over the years.

Everything I'm sharing came at a very high price and a huge learning curve.

My hope is that by me sharing the lessons I've learned about money as a real estate agent, you'll be able skip some of the painful money lessons I've had to endure and reach your money goals much more quickly than I did.

Here's what you'll learn on today's episode:

• the three steps to making money as a real estate agent;
  how to spend money on the things that will help your business grow;
  the financial management things I skipped for years as a real estate agent that cost me tens of thousands of dollars;
  what to do to keep more of your hard-earned commission dollars;
  And more.

Shownotes: www.AgentGradSchool.com/money

To learn more about how to launch and grow a six figure real estate business go to AgentGradSchool.com.  

You can spend time or you can spend money, but you're always spending one in your real estate bsuiness.  

You are always, without exception, spending one or the other.

Learn when to spend time, when to spend money and what to expect when you are investing in each on today's episode.  

To learn more about how to have a successful real estate business, go to AgentGradSchool.com. 

There are two types of "leads" that come to us as real estate agents and yes, I'm comparing them to cookware.  

Learn how to help the Crockpots™ who move more slowly and the Instapots move faster.  Most agents only focus on the Instapots.  

Huge mistake.

You need a real estate business that welcomes both.  

Learn how in today's episode.  For more information to help you grow your real estate business, go to AgentGradSchool.com.

As you reflect on your accomplishments for this year, you may or may have not hit your goals.  

The real question, though, is what are you going to do if you didn't hit the goals you hoped to? 

Your answer to that question will determine what happens next.  It will determine not only how 2023 goes for you, but the entire trajectory of your real estate career.  

Yes, this moment is THAT important.  

If you didn't hit your goals this year, move the "T" as we say here at Agent Grad School.  

Learn more at AgentGradSchool.com/MoveTheT

Learn how you can have a 6-figure real estate business AND a life without a team here. 

How to be content even if we aren't where we want to be yet with aduthor of Radically Content, Jamie Varon.  

My guest today is Andy Mulholand from 5 Simple Numbers.  He used to have one of the top teams in Minnesota.  Now, he is a outsourced CFO and book keeper for real estate agents.  He's come up with such a simple way to look at the financials in our real estate businesses.   He says it comes down to just 5 simple numbers. 

Listen in as he explains how simple the financial part of your real estate business can be AND, how once knowing these 5 numbers in your real estate business can empower you to make good decisions, help you budget AND help you invest in the right places in your business, including yourself.

Even if you have a bookkeeper already and/or a CPA, understanding these 5 key business of a real estate business is crucially important to sustaining and growing your successful real estate business.

Learn more at AgentGradSchool.com/5simplenumbers

Unfortunately, being a real estate agent means being able to handle a lot of rejection. My guest today is one of our students and she coined the term casual indifference.  It the perfect mindset to have as a real estate agent so I asked her to share it with all of you!  Thanks Regan!  For more great tips on how to succeed (and sometimes survive) being a real estate agent, go to AgentGradSchool.com.  

Do you ever daydream about opening your own brokerage one day? Be a fly on the wall during my conversation with one of my favorite indie brokers, Lindsay Dreyer of City Chic Real Estate. She shares her inspirational story about why and how she became a broker and the powerful strategies she implemented to develop a thriving brokerage. You'll hear her talk about her transition from an independent agent to a successful broker-owner, how she assembled a team of amazing agents, and the one step she regrets not taking early on that would have saved her a lot of trouble.

For more great tips on having a successful real estate business go to AgentGradSchool.com.

Listen in as I interview LinkedIn expert Donna Serdula on how us real estate agents can use LinkedIn to become known as the real estate expert in our area and bring clients to YOU.  

With over 740 million users, this is a social media platform worth using in your real estate business.

For more free success strategies for real estate agents go to AgentGradSchool.com.

For more strategies to create a successful real estate business go to AgentGradSchool.com.

Today I'm talking with one of Agent Grad School's mindset coaches, Nancy Anderson.  She is a master at helping people not just set a goal, but actually achieve it with her S.M.A.R.T.E.R goal process.

Here's what you'll learn:

• What's missing from most goal setting advice that leads to us not achieving our goals;
• How to know whether the goal you are setting is achievable;
• What to do along the way to achieving that goal so you know you'll hit it;
• Each step in the S.M.A.R.T.E.R goal process so you can use it too!

Whether you want to work on business goals or personal goals, today's podcast will show you a proven process to help you reach any goal you choose. 

To learn more about Nancy, the S.M.A.R.T.E.R Goals process and get a free S.M.A.R.T.E.R goals process cheat sheet go to AgentGradSchool.com/CoachNancy.

If you're ready to finally make 6-figures or more per year AND have a life, learn how at AgentGradSchool.com/Mentorship.

Whenever you set a goal for yourself, how certain are you that you'll actually achieve it?    Listen to today's episode to learn how you can know for sure whether you'll achieve your goals.  For more strategies to create the real estate business and life you want, more go to AgentGradSchool.com. 

I swore off business planning  until I met my guest today, Erin Bradley.

Her theory is that our business plans should not just focus on our businesses, but that it should actually be a lifestyle plan first and foremost.

A business plan that puts your life first. Brilliant.

Because why else do we have a business at all if it isn't for the life we hope to create with it?

In this episode, Erin walks us through the five step process she uses to design a business and life that leaves enough room to enjoy the time and financial freedom that we hope having a business plan will create for us but most business plans completely skip this part!!

And, the best part is that the entire plan fits on one page. So, you can reference it all year long and make sure you are on track.

You'll definitely want to pause while you're listening to this episode and take notes.

Erin is sharing her one-page lifestyle and business planning worksheet so you can follow along as she walks us through how to create a life we love and a business we won't want a vacation from.

Download your free worksheet at AgentGradSchool.com/businessplan

On today's episode, we are talking about Pillar 5 of the 5 Pillars of a Successful Real Estate Business--The After Phase.  This phase is about keeping in touch with your past clients in a way that doesn't bug them for business or take much of your time, yet still provides referrals and repeat business.   The point of keeping in touch with your past clients is not to "get" clients or referrals from them.  It's to help them be great homeowners, provide resources for them, and position you as the real estate expert in their life even if they aren't buying or selling anytime soon. 

You don't need to spend a lot of time or money to create a "wow" experience for your clients when they go under contract.  Learn how to do that on today's episode.  

Today, I'm diving deep into the Doing Phase, which is Pillar 3 of the 5 Pillars of A Successful Real Estate Business.  This is the phase when you are literally doing what your clients hired you to do--buy or sell a home or both.  This marks an incredible opportunity for you to create a one-of-a-kind experience your clients will want to tell everyone about, which, in turn, brings even more clients to you.   

Don't skip this crucial step with your buyer and seller clients--the initial consultation.  An initial consultation is not about selling or telling, it's about figuring out why your client wants to move, creating clarity about when they want to do that and most importantly educates them on how you can help them make that happen.   Be curious, be interested and don't skip this step! Learn how and how to create amazing initial consultations on today's episode.  For more go to AgentGradSchool.com/initialconsultation

You can't sell any houses if you don't first "sell" someone on one very important thing: You.

Not just you, but why someone should choose you as their agent vs. all the other options they have available to them.

Learn why traditional real estate agent marketing doesn't work very well and the 5 questions you can answer to come up with a compelling reason why someone should choose YOU.

For more, go to AgentGradSchool.com/marketingyou.

These 5 pillars exist in your real estate business whether you know it or not. They are also the very same steps you and your clients go through during every transaction. Find out what they are, why they are so important, and how to know which pillars you need to work on to strengthen your real estate business and create a business so rock-solid that can thrive in any market.

"You can have excuses or you can have success; you can't have both." <—- My favorite quote from the Agent Grad School August Book Club choice.

Here's another one: "If you're ready to make more money, you can."

So, then, what's standing in our way?

There's only one reason: what we believe about money.

Listen in to today's episode as we discuss this awesome book--You Are A Badass At Making Money by Jen Sincero and learn how our thoughts are reflected back to us in our real estate businesses and in the amount of money we have in our bank account.  

What if you could create a real estate business where your answer to this question determined everything:

Real estate is emotional. Our clients have emotions, we have emotions and other people in the transaction have emotions.

When you decided to become a real estate agent, you probably didn't realize what an emotional roller coaster it would be!

Not just for you, but also for your clients and everyone involved in the transaction – there are a lot of ups and downs coming at you from all sides.

Understanding how to handle the emotions as a real estate agent is so important, I tell our students it's the #1 skill they need to learn to succeed in this business.

Learn how to do that on today's episode.  

For more information on how to build a six or seven figure real estate business, go to AgentGradSchool.com.  

To view the shownnotes for this episode, go to: AgentGradSchool.com/Emotions.

Do you want to get more done in less time? (Who doesn't?)

What about a way to keep track of and keep in touch with all your leads, current clients, sphere, and past clients.

How about getting everything that's in your head off your plate?

You can do all this and so much more with the right CRM.

But, how do you know the right one to choose? When is the right time to get one? How do you set it up quickly and easily? Is the free one you get at your company good enough?

After using and/or trying out almost every CRM on the market over my 18 years as I real estate agent, I can unequivocally say that Realvolve is the best CRM available for real estate agents.

In this episode, Realvolve's COO, Dale Warner, and I talk all things CRM.

Here's what you'll learn:

What a CRM is and why every real estate agent needs one;
When the "right" time is to get one;
How to know which CRM is the best option for you (usually the cheapest option is not the best option);
What mistakes to avoid when choosing and using a CRM; and
How you can get all my Realvolve workflows and email templates.

I truly believe having the right CRM is the most powerful tool you can have in your real estate business.  I hope this episode helps you choose the right one for YOU.  

Go to AgentGradSchool.com for more.