Hey welcome to the podcast so excited having a long time friend mr philly, in the house. Tom toole check this out 20 years in the business he's only 28 years old. I'm not sure how he pulled that off, but here's the deal we're going to talk about how to get listings at scale today like that is the focus so tom for the people that don't know you that haven't seen you either on stage in an event watched You know i mean we've done a lot of stuff together um. How have we known each other for like 11 years now, i've been working with you 11 years, yeah right.

I was going through my mind this morning, so you you were like 27, 20. you're being kind 28., okay, but 20, okay, but 28 years old. So for all my from my vet vet, vet friends he's you know, 20 years in the business, but like like give him the origin story like let's go back to like when we first met, and then we're going to get into like this. Guy is masterful at all things: prospecting marketing nurturing converting winning listings five listings already this week and he wasn't even involved in him, but we'll get to that later.

Give him a little backstory sure. So you know similar to you. My dad is in the business right, and so i got licensed when i was still in college, and i was a finance and accounting major and i was like well this sucks. I don't want to do journal entries the rest of my life right.

I sold like three houses when i was home in the summer and i'm like wow. These checks are awesome, yeah and then that's where it all kind of started, and you know then i met you. 10 years later. I you know stole full-time right when i got out of college and i really saw a plateau in my business and i was like man.

I got to do something here like this, isn't working for me and signed. If i watch one of your videos online signed up for coaching yeah and then that was 11 years ago, and it's been like j-curve since well so give people uh, give people context. So last year, 355 transactions 355 sales um. When i signed up working with you, i was doing like 35 deals a year, which i want to be very clear for the people that are listening right now, whether you're listening or watching 35 transactions a year is a lot when you look at the average of Real estate professionals, and even if you take the america's best list or the wall street i mean 35 transactions - is no joke.

So what do you mean you plateaued at 35? Well, i couldn't get over the hump, though right, so it was like 32 35. Then, like it was kind of like that up and down sort of thing without a consistent growth, trajectory yep and it i just i wasn't, you know, there's no training in real estate right, like you, join a brokerage and i'm grateful to have my my dad right. He's a good mentor, but he did new construction. I don't do that, we're a resale business, so it was like.

What's the playbook, how do you get bigger? How do you grow and how do you improve your quality of life as well, which we all know realtors tend to have pretty crappy qualities of life in a lot of cases, because the business can eat you alive, and so that's what i kind of saw happening And i couldn't couldn't get that breakthrough, i was looking for and then i think it was like two or three years after working with you, we doubled like 80 transactions, and that was a big deal. It was me and one assistant right - and i like just had my son and he's our oldest - that was that was about eight nine years ago, and then it's been like it's funny once you had that one breakthrough like you'll continue to have breakthroughs, but you always Remember that first one where it's like whoa what just happened and that that is that's a moment in time. I'm never going to forget and we use that to like train our people now and tell them what i went through. So i can get them there quicker yeah.

They don't make the same mistakes that i did so un unpack. If you will like some of the mechanics of that. So, if somebody's listening right now and they're like 18 or 19, like let's be clear for all my friends that are listening, it's the it - i call it the trifurcation in this case the bifurcation right so trifurcation is 40 of the people haven't sold a house in The most remarkable real estate economy on the planet, but but tom, like so many of my friends out here, watching you fall into one of two camps: you're really successful, but you're stuck right. 32.

35. 32. 35 time resources. You know there's just not enough time in the day: that's usually the biggest issue right, exactly or you're scaling right, stuck or scaling.

Both are wildly successful. You've been in both places. Let's unpack, though, that year of the breakthrough, what was it that you did mechanically? That allowed you to make that jump. Well, realtors tend to you know they they get business coming in and they stop looking for business, and i made this decision which we're still like i'm actually getting out of it now, because our business is changing.

But this has been my life for since that time, which is i'm going in and looking for business every day, yeah on the phones yeah using it as a weapon, and you know using all the follow-up scripts that are there, understanding dialogues. Knowing the right questions to ask - and i made an appointment with myself every day from 9 to 11 - and i was on the phone looking for business and specifically looking for listings right and we're going to talk about this. Obviously, today buyers are great. You don't get the same leverage that you get with a listing.

No, you can you know our our goal, and one of the things i got from my very first coach was turn it into three more transactions. Where are you going to get the next listing? Can you get a buyer from it? How do you? How do you leverage that and then all of a sudden things start coming in? So it's that looking for listings, because that's the leverage point, that's what people want yeah they don't like. They don't really care about. Realtors they want to find a house and they come to the people who has the most houses listed so right.

That was the big change like that. That was strategically when that happened, and then we brought on team members. I stopped working with buyers and then everything kind of kind of took off from there, but it was that discipline of looking for listings every day yeah. So so, when somebody hears that, like you know again like we have such a such and i love you all very a very diverse set of listeners, we got there's someone right now, that's 16 years old.

Listening to this and saying you know, oh my god, like i want to be tom toole at like 28. Like imagine selling, you know like that many homes right and then i've got someone listening right now, that's like 68 and been crushing it for like two decades and when they hear you say nine to 11, they think cold, calling well it it's. You know you're like i know, but that's all about their mindset. It's prospecting right right, like i mean it's, finding, it's finding, listen, finding business, call what you want.

I mean it whatever it is like, then you you get that listing and then, if you have systems in place to leverage them yeah, then things start to come in and no matter what happens, and this is any business when you start making the calls and shaking The tree, like things, will come out of nowhere right. You had nothing to do with, but it's the universe, saying good job keep going and there's no science behind it. There's no data, but it happens, everybody that does. It knows but there's case study after case study, where that happens and people people can say it.

So i think it's that constant, hey, i'm looking for business, i'm not waiting for things to happen, you're being proactive, not reactive, like that's a big thing with mindset in this business. That's what a lot of people don't want to do. What's so interesting is like if my client, maxine gallons who's, you know you've known forever, 82 years old by the way, just got named number six in the world for berkshire hathaway her and her daughter right 82 years old had a monster year last year. She would listen to tom and say well yeah, that's what i mean.

That's what i started doing like you know, 22 years ago and she'll say i never did as much as my coach. You know tom ferry asked me to do, but the one thing i did is: i was hunting for listings every single day, every single and she started with me in her early 60s, now she's, 82 and she's still doing it, and so why do you think, like? Let's just talk forget, and god bless you if you're in that camp, like the forget, the one-third that hasn't done a deal right, yeah, the stuck group um. Why do you think that they resist that or do they resist or is it just they just don't have any time like they're like they're gon na say i just don't have any time, i'm so busy, i'm not busting their chops. I get it because i hear it all the time, help that person move through that.

What what are the baby steps that they can do to get more control of their time and get more focused on attracting listings? So you've said this before: if it's not in your calendar, it doesn't exist right, yes, we're putting that on the wall in our office, like that's how important this is, because literally things will just come in and they're like. Oh, i got to go to an inspection. I got to show this appointment. I got to do this and if you don't make that appointment with yourself, if you don't say yes to yourself right, that's what you're doing it's a mindset thing and it's hard to do like i mean it takes time, but once you have that breakthrough and it Starts clicking then it's like well, of course, i'm not gon na go, show that house yeah.

I can't meet you, then how's 11 o'clock or something like that yeah. So it's it's really that discipline of i'm going to do this and nothing's going to get in my way and discipline will carry you when motivation can't right so whoa, whoa whoa say that i get a little slower. Discipline will carry you when motivation can't yeah. What does that mean? What does that mean? Well, like you know, we all the same 24 hours right and you know you have the same amount of time as i do as tristan does whatever um.

But the point is that discipline is the difference like you're not always going to be motivated to make your calls yeah, you might be having a crappy day. You might have. You know something might have happened in your personal life. This is the real world.

Things happen. Yes, but when you're disciplined right like that discipline will happen because people they have their their creatures of habit right, routine, is a real thing and when you're out of routine, you don't feel right. You know just like working out. We've talked about this a lot.

It's just like eating right all these things, if you're disciplined enough to do it every day, and that will of course you don't feel like it. But then you set an appointment you're like yep. That's why i'm doing it and you'll remind yourself. So it's the discipline because the motivation comes and fits and starts it's the discipline of doing it every day, yeah.

So so, let's go back to so you you said. The first thing is hey. I just carved out 9 to 11. um and look we're talking about you know 9, 10, 11 years ago, whatever like in that range right.

So back then, who you may have been going after is very different from today. So so i want to unpack a little bit more about, let's go back to for you, 2018 2019 right you're building your team and you are crushing on the listing side, so give people context last year, 355 now remember give them a little context for selling homes. In pennsylvania during the pandemic, so we were literally the last part of the country yeah. That was named essential.

We were talking about this yesterday, where it was philadelphia and the surrounding counties right, pittsburgh, you're, good and like it was so archaic and they had testers from the state calling in the real estate offices, because you know this is what they have time doing in a Pandemic, yeah ridiculous, but um hey, i'm a cash buyer in the home's vacant. Can you come meet me and let me in and you weren't allowed to do anything in person. So this is what's going on and it was it's like. The state is trying to catch.

You guys to see if you're, actually, 100 and and you know they they came out and said, realtors are a bunch of yahoos they're not going to follow the rules. That's why they're not essential, but in new jersey and delaware, which is 45 minutes away, you're good to go right, so it was, it was. It was crazy and that was from march 19th until may 19th, when a lot of homes get sold. So we have this ramp up of the year, we're pacing really well, and then the pandemic hits in march.

Everyone remembers that yeah and we're shut down um, and it was tough and a lot has changed since then in our business internally and as well as the what's happened in pennsylvania and so we're the last state. We can't do anything, then we come out of this and we were working the entire time we had like team zoom calls to prospects like everybody working from home and right and we tried to connect and do all that stuff, but a lot of agents. They just stopped working, i mean i was, i would be in touch with realtors and you know emailing back and forth and i get an autoresponder hey. The state says i can't even respond to this email right now, which is not true, but this was the mindset right like it was.

It was crazy, so we come out of this and then it's basically like memorial day weekend right and um. We just start, like the, i think we listed 20 homes between may 19th at the end of the month like it was because of all the work we did for sure making nurturing following up staying connected. You know helping people literally, we we called and like we used a script that was, and it wasn't really a script. But it's like hey like how you guys holding up right now, like how's the work environment for you um, we were doing local business highlights for like takeout food and like salons, that were shut down they're like hey.

If you want to you want some, what you think you call it a hairpie or something like a haircut therapy like i mean like any sort of local business that was trying to stay open. That's what we were trying to do, uh, because trying to help we're part of the community, i mean you know we want to give back to the people that have provided us a great lifestyle and a great business for the past 20 years. So this is all that was going on and then we come out of it and it was ba and we haven't stopped since it was like, like a three-day period around like the holidays, where it was a little slow. But it's been like a spring market because the like everywhere else, the demand's too high, there's no inventory.

So it was tough and - and the point was if you weren't - making those calls during that time. There's a lot of agents that haven't recovered. They haven't done any business and some and a lot of people getting for load and there's all this influx of new agents coming in, because they can't go back to their old jobs. Those sales jobs are gone right where they're flying all over the country selling stuff doing those things.

So a lot of people are getting into real estate right now. So it's it's been. I mean i don't even know how to explain it. Like i'm glad we made it through and that taught me a real lesson that you just can't give up yeah, but it was, it was crazy.

I mean it was. I was losing my mind. I mean i'll, be very honest with you. I listen and i'm just gon na say like for everybody listening everybody can relate to what you're talking about whether it was two weeks or two months or for some people, as i've mentioned like i've, i have a client who has an associate who's, not left their Apartment in like 13 months and and you know, they're highly productive, but they haven't left their apartment at their team yeah like they're, petrified right.

It's that's a whole separate conversation we'll hit that in the future. Let's go back to. I want every one of my listeners to get more listings at your highest listing taken personally year. How many listings did you take 130, okay and what year was that it was two years ago i figured, i feel, like 2019 was sort of that's that's i've.

Seen 18 19. so so give people context like he's masterful, scripts and dialogues. We want to dig into that he's obviously great at prospecting you're great at follow-up um. If you were to like break down for people right now, listening that you know again, they could be brand new age.

They could be a veterinarian, maybe somewhere in the middle they're. Definitely not a lot of the that first category, they're more the stuck in scaling group. What would you say are like the five or six most important things you did that year that consistently got you business from making the phone calls to following up to handwritten notes, smoke signals you know me, i don't care like what was it, because that same thing Is going to help people get listings today, video follow-up is the number one thing i mean that no one does enough: video follow-up, let's, okay, let's go back to getting the appointment, okay, first right or getting the interest. Let's start it.

Let's start at the top of the funnel and then go to the bottom of the funnel sure where, where are these opportunities coming from and how are you going after them? So there's all the lead sources right, um, the ones i look at them that have been the most successful for us. Expired listings, a number one right and that's a tough phone call to make a lot of people are afraid of that call yeah. I look at it a little differently. They signed a listing contract with someone yeah, so they believe in realtors.

Yes, they maybe picked the wrong one. They got some bad advice, but they wanted to sell. There was motivation there and i always look for the people that are the most motivated right, because if they don't have motivation, they're going to waste your time and you've got to get clear on that, so expired listings were huge for us our sphere. Obviously, those were really the two things that have generated the most listings out of all.

So, let's just stop for everybody. Listening expired listings and past clients and sphere right like those are. Those are polar opposite in many people's minds, but you see them your reframe around expireds is no. They already like real estate agents right.

They tried to sell and they got some bad advice and you're pretty good at helping people yeah. Well - and you know, that's that's a great way. A lot of people asked me why i got into the business, and i am a big believer that we help people. This is the most stressful thing.

People go through and you could be the smartest guy in the room right. You could be an attorney uh a phd and whatever, but you may not know anything about how to sell a house right right and these people don't get it or they haven't gotten moved. They haven't moved in a decade or two and they're like how do i right yeah what's changed, and so i am a big believer that we help people and if you don't adopt that mindset yeah, then you're not going to be able to crack the code in A lot of cases, so i think that's if you're talking top of funnel yeah, knowing that i'm doing a disservice. If i don't reach out to these people, i'm hurting them, i'm not helping them like that's, fundamentally really important and that's one of our core values at our team.

So knowing that's the case, then you get on the phone with an expired listing and let's roll play ring ring ring hello hi. This is tom, uh yeah who's, this hi tom, my name's tom as well, i'm a local realtor in wynwood, and i was calling because i saw your home came off the market. Yeah yeah you got a lot of realtor calls. Huh got a few.

I wish uh wish some of you guys had actually called when my home was on the market yeah. I i hear you. I got to work with these people, so i know how you feel believe me yeah, so tell me a little bit about what happened. What were you planning on moving to well uh? You know we had a possible job transfer, you know down to florida, and you know my wife is kind of still traveling back and forth.

I know they don't go that deep, real fast, but i want to actually get to the fun stuff. You know man hey. Like look, i appreciate the call, but i'm not really interested right now sure yeah. Well, i i wouldn't be interested either.

If my home didn't sell, i hear you it's tough yeah, so your wife's going back and forth from florida, so how's that working out for you right now, it's brutal i'm just going to throw you, i'm just going to throw you objections, because your intro is perfect. That's what they needed here. It wasn't salesy. It was just like hey look.

I know you guys are trying to sell. Let's do it. One more time ring ring hello hi. This is tom uh yeah, it is tom hi, my name's tom as well.

I'm a local realtor in wynwood or insert town of where, where you're calling yeah saw your home came off the market. Why do you not say you know your last name? Why do you not say your company name like? Why do you not go in any of that stuff? Because it's about them? It's not about me and you might get hung up on. If you don't get the words out too quick, i mean that's a real thing like these people will hang up on you right. So so tell me about like the toughest objections you get and how did you overcome them? So there's really like three right: we've we've done this before i know i know, but i want to listen.

I'm going to release. I love dialogue. Yeah i'm going to re-list the same agent, i'm going to sell it myself or i'm going to wait, i'm going to wait. I'm not gon na move right.

So, let's go through it one at a time tom everything, you're saying sounds great, but like we love our agent phyllis, she is bananas yeah. Well i mean i'm sure you have a good relationship with her. You signed a contract with her totally get that so knowing that the average time on the market right now is about 30 days. Your home was on the market six months.

What's gon na happen differently? If you keep her yeah, i know man we uh, we've actually been in that i mean that's it. That's that that's all you need and they're either gon na go uh or screw you or give you a vanilla answer and here's the thing do they ever say screw. You like. You know what i mean right.

So so, let's see you in philadelphia, so uh i'm trying to be polite for my listeners out there, i'm not going to put it up full philly style. So so look tom look she's awesome! I totally gave her you're saying i appreciate the hustle man. Why don't you bring us? A buyer and phyllis is awesome, so so, obviously by you asking me to bring you a buyer tom that demonstrates you're still serious about selling. So, knowing that you should have sold the home six times and couldn't sell it once given the time on the market, would it be that crazy for us to get together to look at another strategy? Yeah i'd have to run that past, my wife.

So why don't you uh? Why don't you send me about like some information on who you are what you've done all that kind of stuff, then let me sit down with my wife over the weekend and then i'll i'll ring you back next week. I'm married too totally get it yeah and i'll certainly send you some stuff. Why don't we set up something tentatively, because my schedule tends to book up a little bit and i can just call you next week to confirm so how's monday or tuesday after three o'clock. Uh yeah, probably better tuesday, but like penciled yeah.

Of course i talked to the boss, like i said, i'm married too. I get it so why don't we plan on tentatively tuesday, at three and i'll call you next week to confirm so just for the record like phyllis, you know, as a long-time french gives a very, very good rate in terms of commission, i'm assuming you're gon na. Do the same? Well i mean she didn't, give you any rate with commission, because she didn't sell the house. I love that line.

That's i think, that's he. He isn't um like a a maestro, but no i mean i that's a great line. I i do appreciate that, but like at the end of the day like we're trying to get the most money out of the sale, so like i mean it's kind of an it's a non-starter for us. If we're, if you're not willing to, you know, negotiate the way she did on her on her feet.

Sure - and you know we haven't even met yet tom, so i don't have any expectation here other than showing you exactly how i can help you and if the meeting goes well, i'm sure we can figure something out. So i'm good with that. Let's just meet and see if we're the right fit, because if you don't like me, it doesn't matter what i have to say anyway, because you're not going to hire me yeah all right. So hey tom totally appreciate it, but i think we're just going to we're going to take the home off the market, we're going to kind of wait it out a little bit.

We just think that, like now, it's just not a good time to sell sure, and - and so i know, you told me you're moving down to florida. So is that still the plan i mean you're still gon na move down there or no it's it's kind of it's kind of off the schedule. Now sure it's off the schedule. So now, knowing that you were on the market last week, if you would have gotten an offer at your asking price, you probably would have taken that and moved right yeah.

I mean, of course, of course sure so, if i could show you how we can get that plan back on track pretty quickly, given everything going on in the market right now, would it be that ridiculous for us to get together for maybe about 30 minutes yeah? So do you ever make a like a bold, crazy promise like i could sell your home in 30 days, less especially like right now, with the market like hey, i can hit enter in the mls and get it sold. I mean like. I know you wouldn't say that, but like the people that are listening, understand the frothiness and creation of the market, do any bold, crazy promises, anything that you recommend. That's like a hook that sounds different or is it just make the damn call and be personable and connect? I mean it's, you know i i, when you look at it tactically, there's a thing here when i'm on the phone making calls i'll have the listing up in front of me, so i'm looking at it.

I know what the heck i'm talking about right now. That's a mistake: a lot of people make right where they they're, like oh where's, your house. I don't know if i see like crappy photos or there's no information. I'm like hey, there's a lot of missing information here.

If i could level this up for you, i'm clear, it will make a really big difference. Go where does that come in, though well? Is that like when they, when they try and divert when they're, trying to hang up when they're not trying to hang out? But we ask them why they why it didn't sell. That's like the third question you go to. Where are you moving to? Why do you think it didn't sell, and you know, and and right now, especially if something's not selling like there's got to be a problem like so it's and if you can demonstrate that to them right away and a lot of times they'll be like yeah.

We didn't like those photos or wow yeah you're right. There is no video and like silly stuff that should be automatic, especially given the way the market is right. I mean people are talking just for con 2019 and the 2019 market was really good yeah. It was just it was not like this, but it was still like a three-month supply instead of a one-month supply, so very seller-friendly right and just having that context of you actually took 30 seconds literally on the phone looking at the house and giving them more information.

Because a lot of these people making these calls, you got to realize who your competition is yeah, they they close like a 16 year old kid at a dance right right. They just go. Why don't you hire me? They get really aggressive yeah! No one wants someone to start arguing with them on the call when you're coming from a place of help and you're pointing out these things. It gives people a different perspective.

I also noticed you didn't do anything of like you know: we've sold, you know 150 homes in the marketplace like do you like? Do you get into that in or do you you clearly didn't, but do you and if so, why and if not, why? If you're going, if you're going for a really hard close or like hey i'm gon na uh, i already got someone else in mind. They called me earlier: yeah, hey, don't make a mistake. We are the experts in the marketplace at selling homes, other agents can't we've done it hundreds of times, and i will say that to people, because what do you got to lose right right? It's the hail mary, exactly so that will work or, if hey i committed to another agent, i'm like hey, tell me who you hired and they'll, give me their name and i will look up their production on the mls and say hey this. You know that agent sold three homes.

Last year we sold three homes yesterday, yeah. Is that really the kind of person you want handling your biggest asset, where they're doing it? Maybe once every four or five months, yep like just raise the doubt and get the meeting all you're looking for, is the meeting and that's it. People think they're gon na get it signed over the phone. I mean it.

You know that that just doesn't happen right. So if you can get the meeting prep for it, i know i'm going to out prep anybody they're going to get a video before they're going to get all this stuff. What's the video you send if they're like call me next week sure so we'll um? We have some case studies so like reviews from people whose homes expired right, um and it's a personalized video, so hey tom, it's tom here with re max blah blah blah thanks for taking the time to talk to me today. I know it's a stressful market i'll make sure to follow up.

Like i said i would next blank because i set the appointment to follow up and if you need anything in the meantime, here's my cell number yeah and make sure you smile right. Like i mean that's like the main thing so smiling eyes and mouth yeah and like the dot on your computer screen like stare at it, don't look at the screen, like you got to make eye contact with them, so it's nothing crazy. It's the extra touch is the difference, and the thing is they already probably had someone where it didn't work out. They probably didn't follow up so you're showing them hey.

I want your business and yeah. No one sends videos as much as you tell people to send videos. Nobody does it. I know i know it bugs me.

Please send more videos. Please send me a video, please, please um, all right. Let's switch gears to your sphere right, your past clients and sphere. It's 2019 three months of inventory, it's still as crazy.

It is - and i know, you're heavy on your sphere right now, like what's the tone, what's the message in 2019 that year that monster year of of listings taken what was the message? What were you saying and then maybe what are you saying now? Let's give this combination of both so that hasn't changed we've just over indexed on it um. What does that mean? Hey tom? It's your birthday, happy birthday! Yeah, hey five years ago, you bought this house. How's everything going for you guys: yeah use the ford script right, family, occupation, recreation. I never get the dreams.

That's weird, but like literally ask those first three questions and that's all you have to do. I mean it and it's. I never asked for the order on these calls. Yes, so here just call me, i'm just i'm in your sphere ring ring hello, hey tom, it's tom toole here, happy birthday, how's everything going hey man thanks for calling! I totally appreciate it.

Yeah dude we're just you know we're busy we're hustling we're just trying to navigate. You know these uh crazy times, man. How about you guys we're right there with you man, i mean. I know it's been.

It's been a crazy year for everybody, so how's everything been holding up for you help the work environment been. You know, dude, my uh, you know my dining room table and my uh, my closet have been fantastic. All kidding aside, like no, i mean it's, you know. Look we're i'm very blessed, we're very productive everybody's working, it's just different man, we're all in it together and you know just head down man just dining room table and let's go yeah.

I mean it's, it's been, it's been brutal for everybody, so i'm in the same boat. You know i'm grateful we're able to work right now. I'm grateful that my kids are okay, yeah they're getting back to school, so i hear you doing anything fun for your birthday. I know it's kind of a weird time to celebrate a birthday right man.

I wish i wish i was going to florida or doing something fun, but no, i think we're just you know we're just going to chill with the kids and you know outside you know the weather's going to be hopefully nice this weekend get some just some play Time with the kids man sure i'm i'm, you know me, i'm right there with you. Well, i'm just going to send you some birthday wishes grateful for you, tom, enjoy your birthday and you ever need anything like household related like a electrician or something just call me. I'm here for you love it like. I love that, because it's just it's just hey, hey, hey just touching man, just going a little deeper right, no okay! So i'm the biggest advocate and you've heard me say this: a million times before of like asking questions to either invoke the opportunity right we're getting people to talk about it and you did you're like you know: how's work right, how's home life.

So so, do you hear from people when you're making those calls like? Was that a normal, or do you get some people they're like dude, we're thinking about selling? Okay? They just they just bring it up. We so we've had a couple like why i called this. Just happened, and this was actually this is the best, so it wasn't even my client, it was a former team member's past client. I called him anyway, i'm like happy birthday.

What's up and get the guy's voicemail a week later, hey, we need to move like next week yeah and one over sign the contract. Um people, you don't think are selling, are going to sell and i think if you're not touching them, you don't know and then all of a sudden there's the hey. We worked with it 10 years ago and we're ready to list, and it comes out of nowhere - and maybe i called them six months ago, but it's doing that every day and especially now, because there's so much disruption in the market and it's so hard to get Listings, like i look at what i did to get listings when i was 22 years old and it was called people. I know like circle dial right like all this.

Like i mean you know, the internet like lead business was not a thing. 20 years ago. No realtor.com was like just getting started, so we've just been going back to like the super basics, because if you do the things other people don't want to do you do whatever you want for the rest of your life right. I would argue that uh, like you know, especially for my longtime podcast listeners, you're hearing this consistent theme of all of our best clients.

You acknowledge, hey multiple lead generation sources, multiple approaches don't be myopic, but i'm i'm really pushing people hard on like get back to deeper, more meaningful relationships with your sphere and the like. The joke that i play is, i say: grab your phone right, go to your contacts, look, how many people are inside there remove at least 20, because they're, probably real estate agents that you know right. So, let's just say you now have 800 people in your phone. Well, the data shows that 80 of them right now are thinking about some, i didn't mean they are they're in the research phase, 10 of all, the people in your phone are on the research phase and, and i'm calling you out for some of you out there - You have listened to me: you've created content, you've, shot videos, you're, doing email, marketing, you're doing direct mail, but if you don't go to the next level and go hey tom tom ferry how's it going like you didn't always do that, though.

So what was the? What was the shift for you? Well i mean so you know i. I had a mentor when i first got started um so john, if you're listening what's up so this guy he's still with our firm and he like he. I've never seen anyone get as much as their sphere from him and a different business model than us. But i mean literally he's writing handwritten notes doing all this stuff and it was, i saw it and i'm like duh like this is why i have a mentor, i'm gon na copy, what he's doing like i'm, not gon na try to reinvent the wheel here and But then i you know, i i had the story right.

I don't have a sphere yeah bs. Anyone remember the memory jogger you had right life by design or whatever it was a through z, yeah everything's, like 157 questions, so we take every one of our team members through that when they, when they're on board, because i don't want to hear you don't know Anybody, because you do my dog groomer, turned into five transactions, because i told him i was in real estate yeah and i gave him my card and said hey. If you need anything. Let me know yep, and i would see him every couple weeks and if you don't you don't give him that card, that's a ton of lost income right there right and that's right.

That's one example of something everyone can do right now: yeah yeah people to cut your hair right, your dry cleaning right if you're still wearing suits, but you know i mean like so that stuff is you got to make it consistent and you've got to make make It uh by design and just do it but okay, but back to the question like you, you know you did it early and then i think you moved away from it yeah. Well, i know you've come back to it. You know more. So you know in the last like five six years so so what was it? Because, like you know, you took on all these multiple pillars and i'm not i'm not calling you out, because i think it's very typical, like in our world, like we always work our sphere, but we do less of the personal touch.

We do more of the electronic stuff, the direct mail stuff, and we assume that that's going to win and it does help you have to do it all, but i'm an advocate for you got to send that personal video. You got to do that face time. You got to do that. Call when you see your ex clients home show up on the mls right with another agent.

It's a quick wake-up call yeah, so that happens. Yeah happens once it's not going to happen again. It was super high high-priced listing. I thought i was solid with them and it was my bad.

It was my i had the meeting with myself personal responsibility and that's what changed. It happened like literally one time like that happens once to you yeah now. Maybe some people don't take note or they don't pay attention, but that's what changed for me right. So, let's go back to the funnel so top of the funnel past client sphere expired listings in your biggest year ever and then walk us through, like middle of the funnel someone's like look tom.

We want to do something the next. You know, like maybe five six months, we're just gon na kind of wait, and that could certainly be even right now right so like what is the sort of follow-up strategy the nurture nurture nudge, whatever you want to call it to win that business like walk us Through the sequence, so, if someone has any indication they're going to move, send them a follow-up video send them your resume, like we have like a nicely designed one send them a link to your reviews. What's in the resume, how many like our sales volume, how many years in the business just just a little background information like it's? Not it's, it's a resume, yeah! It's and it's! We do it for every one of our team members because they can lean into the team. It can be branded for them yeah, so that that's really important, especially when you're a newer agent and people ask you those questions.

Well, hey, i did this and our team did this and they're like okay cool yeah. Let's go so there's a resume linked to reviews. We've developed our own, like google map of sales right, like you know, i've heard this before yeah, so we have all that stuff. We send it to him with a personalized video and it's like hey tom thanks for taking my call yesterday looking forward to catching up in a few months.

You need anything in the meantime. You just got questions about the market, i'm here, for you, i'm ready to serve and i'll make sure to follow up. Like i said i would yeah, they tell you to call in six months, call them back in three and cut it in half yeah, because these aren't just your leads. These are other people, lots of people and they're on lots of websites yeah.

So you know you want to cut it in half and then so we use boomtown right. So if it's in a certain category, it goes on a drip and they also get our weekly email of our real estate show that we put out um, which is all content driven, never asked for the order, like here's. What this section of the agreement of sale means or rates just went up? What does that mean for buyers and sellers monthly market update that drops every tuesday, no matter what so they get on that list? They're on a drip, we send them a video and we cut the follow up time in half yeah yeah, all right so by the way everybody uh. So i'm gon na divert from the funnel just for a second, because it's a part of the funnel right.

It's part of the top of the funnel it's part of the middle of funnel. It's the ongoing funnel how much content you put out on a weekly basis um a lot, so we have four videos to drop a week that walk us through each one. So mondays is typically like a motivational one um i'll shoot it on my cell phone, like it's kind of like i mean it's, the same thing, you're doing right, yeah, it's like literally identical, and it's all about like just getting motivated or whatever it's going to be. Yeah start the week get fired up yeah, so that's monday, tuesday, is our our real estate show and that's our consumer-facing show.

So that goes out, and it's just educating people about what's going on in the market, not looking, we never ask for the order. We don't. We don't do that. It's more of hey inventories at this! Here's, what it means for buyers and sellers like really simple stuff, you're, probably having these conversations with people all the time.

So anytime, you get a question from a client that is the next show. It's really that easy right, um wednesdays, we do our agent-facing show and it's like hey here's. What i did to get this listing or here's this agent on our team that just took three listings in the past month yeah. How did he do it yeah or she do it or whatever? So it's it's all.

It's more helping the real estate community yep! Then on fridays we got like our news show um, with myself and sarah from our team and uh. It's like we talk about like some real estate topics like usually a local topic to the greater philadelphia area, and just it's kind of like a like a fun thing. We do um that it's more like community-centric and that's kind of what we're in it's a branding play so so monday is motivational and it's what is the purpose of that like who are you trying to reach? What is the outcome? I'm trying to reach people that think like me got it like. I mean i have attraction yeah and you know it could be someone, that's a financial advisor that we're gon na work together with i mean, and he like so you know his hit.

He comes to mind because he, like kind of busted, my chops, a little bit like oh you're, posting motivational videos, and then he did a presentation for our team at our retreat. Yeah about how to save money and now he's become a client. And he refers us out and we're buddies. So it's that that's like attracts like attraction, though i mean you don't get that if you don't do that stuff yeah, that's and it could be someone that maybe wants to get into real estate, and we can have them.

Come work with us and if they're going to like what we're putting out, then that's the kind of people i want to work with so and then the tuesday goes on social yeah. We have a whole distribution calendar that that our marketing department handles. So it goes everywhere, okay, so and typically so, 33 000 emails. What's the average open rate are? Are they clicking like like mine, where they go to my site? Are they going to youtube? You go to our youtube channel, okay, so and what's the typical open rate on the email 17 to 22 percent, okay, so pretty pretty standard across the board, especially for the size of your email base.

I'm happy it's above 15.. I mean that's what i'm looking for. Okay, good all right so, and that goes there and then the wednesday show again was more like to agents. So why are you doing videos you're an agent? Why are you doing videos for agents? Well, there's a lot of agents that help me.

I mean i mean, like legitimately i mean i'm part of this ecosystem for how long 11 years that's a long time right, it's a quarter of my life more than that, so it you know you look at that and like there's someone out there, that probably can Get some value out of that like i'm, not trying to become a coach like people think they they write like oh hey, coach, i'm like i'm, not a coach guys like relax like i would be a horrible coach. I've said that to you um, but it's you know, there's stuff that i've done that can help people right and you've connected with a ton of people that have helped me yep, it's giving back one yeah. Secondly, we're looking to grow our team. So how do we recruit and there may be agents in our marketplace like i want to do more of that yeah.

It's a way for me to reach them without having to be like. You know, like prospecting for agents and doing all these things. It's it's! It's a branding play right, yeah and third, i think it just raises your your um industry right right, i think, there's a and that can become an roi for referrals. I mean you get people coming from yeah like out of state and they say well.

I saw your stuff on youtube or you were on this podcast or whatever else so, there's there's a lot of reasons to do it. Yeah yep, i i agree. I agree you told me too so i mean it's not like i'm uh, i'm sitting here not being coachable right, but you're but you're doing the work, and that's i mean that's, you know part of just the fun of our relationship is, i know you do the Work right and and like and he's got a beautiful family and i mean you're busy and you carve out time for that and making phone calls and leading people. But let's go to the last one.

The the friday show is like news today and today in philly, like here's, what's happening on the main line like that kind of stuff total brand building right right, you usually do like a real estate topic. You ever see pti on espn, of course yeah. So we have like the ticker at the top. Oh that's beautiful.

We go back and forth a little bit about like the topic yeah and that's it. I mean it's something we were highlighting local businesses for a while during the pandemic, like we kind of change it up what we see fit, but it's really hey we're here, we're part of the community and we want to talk about. What's going on, do you ever get upset uh at uh? Maybe a a view count that you thought man. That was a really good show like not a lot of people watched it.

I i, if you do that, i mean you're sitting there watching that stuff you're. Never gon na put on any content right. You got ta, be. If you look at the first video i ever posted like it's still on our youtube.

It's hard like it's bad and tristan. Just laughed like. He knows exactly what you're talking about. I mean it's horrible, but we just kept doing it and you know what it also when i'm leading a team and saying hey guys, get on video and they're all nervous about it.

I'm like, let me show you guys the first video i posted yeah and they can go, find it really easily yeah and they're like okay, and it makes everyone feel a little better. I mean because i think there is look if i can do video anyone. Can you got ta look at this face like it's fine, but people freak out about that right i mean that's how it is so you know that that's that's as much a part of it as anything else, so someone's listening to that and they're they're overwhelmed, because They're, like they haven't, hit the live button on facebook or instagram, like let alone like four full production shows. You didn't start that way.

You were you started with what like, how did you? What was the origin? This thing called an iphone right right right there. It got effective, it was like a wired mic like you can see like i clip it to my jacket and then i would set it up on a tripod like you got over there yeah and would just film it, and it was like it was it was It was total disaster like it did not, but the content was good enough. That people started like listening and watching because it was really we started with the agent or the consumer-facing show right. So if i think the first episode like philly.com came out and said it's a buyer's market and inventory was like three months and i'm like well, this is ridiculous.

This is going to be the first show and yeah. That's like the inquirer website, like the local paper site, and we just said hey. This is wrong. Here's what's happening in the market, you need any advice, we're here to help, and that was literally how it started that was after that was like 2016.

It was after a team plus event in charleston. We wrote it out. If i remember correctly, so it it was bad. I mean you know i mean the video like.

I would like right on the whiteboard like it's all crooked, like the lighting was horrible, so yeah yeah, you get better. It's progress, right, uh, big, big mental note for everybody. It's progress over perfection right progress over perfection. You got to start someplace right all those cliches journey, a million miles blah blah blah.

We all get it okay, so we were talking about the middle of the funnel and we got diverted into video. But but i think it's an important strategy for people to understand. Like when you put up this much content at scale, we say all the time like myself and jason and others, and you like, we all get like the more content you put out the more you attract your tribe, the more trust you create, the more likable you Are the more come list me? I trust you calls you get so so when you implemented. All of that did all that happen.

For you. Did you get more yeses? Was it easier? Is it still easier? I know you're in a competitive marketplace, everybody is yeah um. I remember the first time i really knew it was working is i went to a listing appointment and the guy's like hey you're, the guy who's on tv and i'm like huh and he's like your youtube channel and i'm like wow i'm like. Can i just give you the contract right now? Do we have to have this meeting and like that's when you, when you, when you someone says that to you like, but you got to be consistent, it's not the quality.

The quality is important because you want to have some sort of relevant topic. Yeah, it's more important to be uh. Garyvee says this: you want to be 85 every day versus 100 when you feel like it, and it's right. It's the same thing you talked about, and just you got you got to be consistent.

If you put out one show right, you don't do anything nobody's going to watch, it's got to drop every day you like. If, for us, it's every tuesday right, we have not missed a tuesday since 2016. yeah i mean that's just how it's a lot. That's a lot of tuesdays yeah and that's and that's an evolution of show quality content style lighting.