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The Super Connector: From Selling Knives to Connecting the Real Estate Elites | All Roads LTR Podcast | Ep. 52
55 Plays7 months ago
Today Matt sits down with the unstoppable Colleen Rippey, a powerhouse in sales, networking, and industry leadership. From her early days as a top-performing Cutco saleswoman (she sold over $2 million in knives!) to running Baltimore’s Real Producers magazine—the premier networking hub for top real estate professionals—Colleen has mastered the art of connection and influence.
Matt and Colleen dive into her journey, the power of building relationships, and how she went from rapping at lunch-and-learns to ranking #1 out of 130 franchises. If you want insights on what makes a true super connector, how top realtors think, and why relationships are everything in this business, this episode is a must-listen.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:10
Speaker
a little while since I've been on. So first off, this is Matt Ryan with All all Roads Lead to Real Estate. And Colleen, ah you're my lovely, wonderful, special guest, and you've been recovering from an illness. That's why we've had a delay a little bit. I know. I'm so sorry. I've been dying to come in. Yes. Well, you're here, literally dying almost. Yeah, literally almost dead. But I made it. I made
Transition to Real Producers Magazine
00:00:31
Speaker
it. But she made it. So guys, this is Colleen Rippey, and she is, i I think I've known you probably, I'm trying to guess, eight to 10 years. Yeah, yeah, probably like 2000 back when I was selling Cutco. I met you that during that time. Yes. Oh, yeah, I'm going to get into it because I just i I hope you're comfortable with compliments because I rarely give them out. I'm not i'm going to deal with that anyway. Yeah. And when I do, I would like to do it ah as honestly as I possibly can, because when I started thinking about what I wanted to speak to you with today and those that know Colleen are going to be interested, I think
00:01:05
Speaker
and a little bit about your journey and why you do what you do and how, quite frankly, how you even do what you do. Because I'm inspired by it as someone who speaks and talks for a living. What you do is different than what I do. And it amazes me. And so um Colleen is one of the most successful young women that I know.
Networking and Community Building
00:01:25
Speaker
You've been able to be one of the most successful salespeople in Cutco. And so for those that don't know, Cutco is a premium brand of cut wear.
00:01:34
Speaker
And it's I think everybody has been approached at some point to buy Cutco. I think so. It's you know, it certainly has a great marketing arm that you are a part of, but it's actually a good product. I use them daily. Same. And so it's a great product with a great marketing arm. But you just kicked ass. And so we're going to get into how successful you were. But you're a Hall of Fame status. you I think you said two million over two million dollars in Cutco. And that's a lot of knives. There's a lot of knives.
00:02:01
Speaker
It's not like we're so talking about homes that sell for 500,000. Right. That wouldn't be too impressive if that was my exact total volume in homes. but and You're slinging a lot of knives. And just taking that and transitioning that into a business that you that you have, you have a franchise where you highlight, real it's called the Real Producers magazine for the Baltimore area.
00:02:22
Speaker
And this is your baby. And you've subsequently created another chapter over for Delaware and Maryland beaches. Yep. And that's called Coastal. We got it. Yep. And so that's already doing soe what so well in just a short period of time. Yeah.
00:02:38
Speaker
And, yeah I mean, you're currently ranked your number one out of like a hundred and what, 30 franchises? He's got 130 franchises. So Baltimore is number one out of all the top 500 markets. So there's two different tiers. Tiers, okay. Top 500 and then Coastal is number one now in the top 300 tier.
Organizing Successful Networking Events
00:02:54
Speaker
Wow. So we're dominating out there.
00:02:57
Speaker
Dominating. and So it's just so interesting. So if I was listening to this, trying to figure out who is Colleen and why do I want to hear her story, it's just to hear someone that was selling knives to realtors and convincing us to invest because it's not a small investment as a closing gift. Right.
00:03:13
Speaker
And the way you did that was very unique. And I'm going to ask you about how you had the idea and how it's just, I don't know, it's just so fascinating to hear to see that. And then for you to to own the room when you do these, that when you're in this event planning mode, we go to these events. I just went to one you had at the Porsche dealership, yeah very fancy, where you had cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and all these people that are so busy all came there because of you, honestly. and ah you it's just You pulled it off. I don't know how you did it, um but that's what we're going to learn about. and I want to know your insights into how real estate agents think, how consumers should think about their real estate agents because you're not a real estate agent. and so You have a very
00:03:54
Speaker
interesting perspective on our industry because you're not one of us, right? But you have to talk to us all day. Exactly. Got to deal with you guys. that gay Exactly. So, I mean, just thinking about my compliments for you and then we're going to get into the interview. It's just like what I was describing to my friends when I was discussing you today is just like you're one of the the bravest people I know for doing what you've done in front of rooms of very talented people. You get up and you speak.
00:04:21
Speaker
I think you're you exude fun, you exude talent, and you're incredibly hardworking and as as a super connector.
Importance of Realtor Relationships
00:04:30
Speaker
those are That's the way I perceive you. So yeah I don't know how much of that you resonate with or you believe, but that's that's how I would view you. Well, thank you. That that means a lot to hear those words. And the ah super connector, the last thing you said, definitely resonates and is kind of how I think that's how I want to be viewed. And that's also something that I'm very passionate about.
00:04:52
Speaker
And I think is kind of at the crux of real producers as a platform and kind of what we aim to do kind of as an organization, right? It's just drive connections, elevate the industry, inspire people, you know, and I think connection is at the core of it. Right.
00:05:07
Speaker
And it's a unique, it's it's positioned uniquely because prior to you opening up this Baltimore real producer for, you know, platform for all of us that are in that space, I wasn't aware of anything like it. And it's interesting because you connect us and that sometimes that's the only reason I see these people that I deal with on a regular basis because I have no reason to otherwise. We're busy.
00:05:31
Speaker
Exactly and so it forces us to say hello and it's beneficial to everyone in the room to put a face to the name and It's just next time you call and they met me and just had a beer with me, you know last quarter It does help and it helps my clients. Yeah, and I think the I think everyone agrees with that yeah yeah yeah I think um yeah clients may not understand how all of these things connect because how realtors knowing each other and being in relationship with each other could actually have that trickle down effect. And I honestly didn't even know when I started Real Producers because the angle that I was coming at it from was being a vendor in real estate myself selling Cutco, trying to reach these agents and sell them a product.
00:06:16
Speaker
and understanding that from my wearing my vendor hat, like, okay, how do I reach my ideal clientele? How do I get in front of them? Okay, I could go to their office meetings, I can go to their seminars and their trainings, and you saw me at all those things. Yes, all of them. Any avenue that I could get in front of realtors at scale, that's where you'd find me. And it's not that it didn't work, it did. But the driving question for me was always, well, how do I get in front of the real movers and shakers?
00:06:43
Speaker
the top producers, the real producers, which is how that that name came from. How do I get in front of those agents consistently? Because none of those other avenues did that consistently. And so that's kind of where real producers made sense to me. But what I didn't realize at the time and was obviously pleased to find out was that it created so much value for the realtors as well, not just to be connected with our vendors that they could partner with and that can help be kind of a part of their extended team.
00:07:10
Speaker
Also, those relationships with the other realtors are so
Impact of Reputation in Real Estate
00:07:14
Speaker
valuable. And not being a realtor myself, like I don't even know the extent of it, but I hear stories about how valuable those relationships are and how knowing the agent on the other side of the deal can really have a distinct advantage, yeah which then helps your clients too.
00:07:29
Speaker
It builds trust and a lot of what we do, especially on the listing side, I just had a listing in Howard County and had multiple offers. And the i they were so close, the top three offers. One of the deciding factors is who do I trust to work with? Because as a listing agent, I'm responsible for to my in my client's eyes for a smooth transaction.
00:07:51
Speaker
And if the price is the same, for example, at the top and this is the the terms are super similar, what's the deciding factor? And it very well could be that I trust this producing agent because they've sold hundreds of homes. I've sold 20 of them with them and I trust them. And they're not going to screw me over and subsequently my client to sell with this one house. yeah Whereas someone who sold no homes or very few homes, they have no relation, never heard of them.
00:08:16
Speaker
and I feel less like they're going to make sure that this goes smoothly for the benefit of our future deals and relationship. Totally. Because I take that very seriously because I'm like, if I lose my root my reputation, I'm screwed because you lean on that. And I do. I lean on it. So I try to make a habit no matter what you think of me um of being an honest person and being reliable. And I do what I say I'm going to do. Yeah, me too. And because if you lose that, what else do you have?
00:08:44
Speaker
Yeah, reputation's huge. Yeah. It's everything. So, so I don't know. And you cater to the egos of these people. That's the other thing. So you get on a magazine cover. I brought mine. Check that out. She put me on the cover. Yeah. So, I mean, catering to the ego, we all have it. We claim sometimes we don't have as much of as we do, but we do. We put our names on signs. We put our faces on signs wherever, you know, it's we technically are the brand in which we sell. And so it's useful. It's helpful.
Challenges and Appreciation in Real Estate
00:09:13
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, it is. And, you know, dealing with the the egos in in the industry, it's it's a labor of love. Yes. But it's, um you know, it there's it kind it's challenging at times for sure. um When you get into like the inter politics of, you know, the relationships between the agents or the vendors and who doesn't like it, like when you're creating a community.
00:09:37
Speaker
um But you know when we are putting people in the magazine on the cover inside the magazine and Recognizing people even just celebrating who's in the top 500. Yeah on the one hand. It's like oh, it's it's an ego play. It's also like Genuinely reflected back from agents taking the you know, the ego or seemingly superficiality out of it like people just love to be recognized sure and acknowledged. sure And that's kind of at the core of what I love about what we do. Stripping away like the ha ha kind of like I always joke about like, oh, these egos, whatever. But like on the genuine side of things, like I love that we get to appreciate, acknowledge, recognize people in this industry that otherwise can tend to feel very underappreciated, taken advantage of or just
Personal Transitions and Learnings
00:10:26
Speaker
run down. You know, it's a you're in this business.
00:10:29
Speaker
I don't know what it's like to be a realtor. I just see and observe and hear. it it's It's extremely challenging work. It is a grind. Yeah. And it's not what you see on social media. It is not the happy faces at settlement table. It is a grind. It will beat you up and kick you out so fast.
00:10:48
Speaker
I, you know, it's just having survived it for as long as I did. It took yeah a couple of years to get in your magazine, and you know, and then once you're in it, I'm curious, just what's the likelihood you stay in it? Do you have a big turnover or do you see, let's say your top 100 typically stays in the top 100? Yeah. Does that make sense? There's a lot of turnover in the bottom 200, for example.
00:11:09
Speaker
Yeah, and the exact data. ah This is probably an Achilles heel of mine is knowing a lot of the numbers of the business. We're getting a little bit better at that. But I will say like just holistically year over year because we're about to turn over into January as of this recording.
00:11:25
Speaker
um Typically like last year around this time when we pulled the data for the new top 500 it was about I think out of the 500 about 125 Turned over so I don't know what the that might be like 25% Yeah. Mm-hmm. I think that at math. Yeah out of math, but Well a hundred would be 20% so yeah, it's 25 right? Yeah, so yeah about 25% I But it's not that they're all forever then, like sometimes people have a down year and then they're back on it. What does it take to be in the top 500, so to speak?
00:11:58
Speaker
It changes every year, because it's kind of a moving target, because it's based on your relative to other people's numbers. But jeure generally, like last year, the agents that made the top 500 for 2024, it was like 10.7 million or 24 units, I believe. okay So we we do something unique in this market too that none of the other real producers do, which is, it's it's like complicated too, but I feel like it's more equitable, is we do a blended total of volume and units.
00:12:27
Speaker
Meaning like you could hit it by hitting a certain unit count and like some of the agents who made it who could did 24 units They move only sold 5 million, but because they exceeded the threshold got it That's because they work in your lower price lower price point Um, and that was actually a decision just a few years ago to start doing that. And that's a, I think a big differentiator that we're proud of in Baltimore. Literally no other franchise does that because it's cleaner and easier to just face it all, you know, $2 million dollars and you're at a, that's a little bit different. Yeah, and and I think it's not a level playing field when you consider all the factors of where you grow up, your sphere of influence, race, there's all these different layers to it and considering all of those things and like, you know, you know, we want to make the group as diverse as possible, but still maintaining some sort of standard, but basing it on total volume.
00:13:16
Speaker
didn't necessarily, it's cleaner to just be like, oh, this one metric, easy, instead of having to do these two things and combine them together. um But I just felt like but that and that actually as has been well received for those who kind of understand that or have benefited from it and because they're now a part of the group or otherwise they may never make it because the average price points 100K or something like that.
Community Building through Events
00:13:39
Speaker
I can appreciate, I'm in an office where we have some people that do lower price point but sell 50 homes, like they crush it. Exactly. It's just they're selling a different price point so I can appreciate where you're coming from and they work as hard or harder than anybody I know. That's exactly why I kind of justified it. but Like, okay, they may not be earning as much commission, right but why should we base it on that?
00:13:59
Speaker
Right. Well, it's I want to kind of go back just for a second because how I met you once again was through Cutco. And I just think it's just the more the most interesting pitch at the time. So I was a young buck. I was probably in my I don't even know late 20s. Yeah. And I the reason I was at all those I was at all of them yeah ah because I wasn't selling anything. So I had lots of time to focus on education. Right. I quit my medical sales job and I wanted to become educated and learn the business. So I just I had a i like ah coach and I trained and i went I flew around the country. All I did was focus on education to try to learn something before I did something. Because I felt like I was a poser because i didn't I didn't have the volume. So that was the, I had to deal with that poser syndrome for the longest time. And I thought if I knew enough, that's why I got my broker's license. I upgraded because I was like, if I could just become super educat educated, maybe I'm not a poser. you know i'm not I'm not lying to myself that I can do it. right It's really weird.
00:14:57
Speaker
um But I met you at that time in my life and you would rap and you get up you you do a lunch break and you sponsored the lunch, for example, and you would get up and stage in front of these people. They could be 100 people. as all You don't know, but three of them probably and people like me who went to all the classes and you would go and rap about Cuckoo.
00:15:17
Speaker
Yeah. Do you remember all the raps? Oh my God. I have one. I'm a note on my phone. If you're about to ask me to rap, I'd almost have to. I don't have to perform. I mean, it would be cool, but you don't have to do such a thing. But um it was the most memorable thing at the time. And I'll be damned if I didn't buy some. cutco Yeah, I literally did write them out before I would go. I like rehearsed them. It's like I wanted to like I wasn't like a freestyle rapper where I was just off the dome. That's that's next level. I like prepared and it was legit. That's what was impressive. Like if I tried to rap, you would just laugh at me because you'd be like, that's that's the corniest white boy you've ever seen. But you pulled it off like it actually sounded good.
00:15:55
Speaker
I feel like I want to try to find if I can do it without you doing recording your height, like at least like a line or something like my mind is like blank. I'm like, why can't I think of a single? I didn't want to put you on the spot because I hate when people do that. But it's it was memorable. And that's why I that's what the the basis of who I thought you could be was based on that. I'm like, whoever has the courage to do that. I mean, I don't know why it's not even coming up.
00:16:23
Speaker
ah that guy I'm like, I can almost see it in my head. I'm trying to remember even just like a line. Cut Co. 1949. Oh, it'll come to me. I can't i like i remember there's this one rap that I reused many times. I just have to get, you know how like you get the first line and then you remember the rest? It's like, I just got to get started. It'll come to me because I'll just sit here stammering if I can.
00:16:48
Speaker
Yeah, that was um that was so much fun. That was something that I loved most about it was like the entertainment value yes and just being creative with the sales pitches because you gotta be memorable in some way and you gotta get their attention and in the first place and then you know be memorable. And that's cool, you remember that because again, it was something that stood out like instead of, hi, I'm Bob, we do inspections, call us.
00:17:13
Speaker
No offense Bob that doesn't inspections, but you know it's like that was what I was used to hearing it these things Yeah, and then you're rapping at us for like it wasn't a two-line rap you would rap for like two or three minutes Yeah, I'd be like right how much time do I have all right? That's how long the raps gonna be yeah, it was crazy so but it's that energy right It's that ball of energy that is I think infectious. That's probably it's the natural charisma You can't teach certain things And I think that is what helped you, I think, to obviously sell a lot of KUTCO, but now you're highly profitable in a new business venture. And but first off, is KUTCO business still operating? Do you still have some a side hustle from that or is that? Yeah, very side hustle. You know, I think like my total sales to date in KUTCO might be like 20,000, which isn't, you know, it's something. It's not
Success and Insights from Cutco Experience
00:18:01
Speaker
nothing. 20, maybe 30,000. You're not rapping anymore at lunches. Right, exactly. And so I kind of passed off the the database to a team and he he takes over a bunch of like you know veteran cut co-reps who move on to other ventures and they just kind of continue marketing. I think it's still in my name even with like some old headshot. I get emails from you.
00:18:21
Speaker
Okay, from coco then then yeah, that it's still in my name, yeah um which is cool, because then when orders come in, it's just kind of this like passive thing. Occasionally I get a text from somebody, I got one like two weeks ago, like some woman in Delaware, I need sharpening. but So I just pass it off.
00:18:37
Speaker
Yeah, and so how do you think that prepared you for what you do now? I mean essentially you have to own a room That's what you do with these events. You have to give people's attention and I think you have to justify why we all buy into it. It's kind of I think part of what you do Yeah, yeah. I think, yeah, that you mentioned the like the charisma. I think that like sales acumen, I have to credit Cutco a lot for teaching me how to sell, how to communicate with people um and how to like kind of run your own business.
00:19:10
Speaker
In both cases with Cutco and real producers, I'm grateful to have kind of this like umbrella parent company behind it. It's like, it's nice because I feel like I have autonomy, but I'm still like supported so that in real producers case, I don't have to like physically like print, and mail, distribute, like they, the home office handles a lot of back end stuff, which is super helpful. And same with Cutco, like I had the support of this huge, you know, 200 plus million dollar corporation. The product sold itself.
00:19:38
Speaker
So that was super helpful, but the sales skills and the communication skills I think were huge and the ability to kind of like run your own business like a like with Cutco parlayed really well into this. um And I feel like I was always, even before I had to be,
00:19:59
Speaker
very light like a connector, um like even in Cutco. like I had really strong relationships with the other vendors and the other the other people that even I wasn't necessarily directly selling. right um and I think I always just valued those relationships. So it translated really well right into real producers. Right. And so how long have you been doing the magazine?
00:20:20
Speaker
We launched in January, no, March of 2017. So coming up on our eight year anniversary. So our eighth anniversary soiree is this summer, which you usually make it out to the the big summer soiree. I try, but don't you always have it in June? Yeah. it's always my Maybe you don't make it. because Because you do it on my wedding anniversary. That's right. But it might be, it's a week earlier than usual this year.
00:20:43
Speaker
And that's because Juneteenth is on the usual Thursday, we would have it. Got it. So we're going to do it like I think it's the 12th or something. So maybe you better make it. I'll be able to make it. Yeah. Yes, we've missed you. Of course. I'm such the belle of the ball with these things, trust me.
00:20:56
Speaker
You are. You are. Yes. ah I don't think so. ah But I try. I try to get out there and actually socialize. I'm a little bit of a working hermit crab. I know a lot of us are. Yeah. out of A lot of us are. I just I don't live I don't live inside of a big brokerage office anymore. And so I have my own office. And so the people I see are the people that work with me. That's it. Yeah. And so it's really that's why I say I credit your what you guys put together as one of the reasons I get to see these people.
00:21:22
Speaker
Yeah, I do get that a lot. Like people, even if they do have a big brokerage, especially post COVID, a lot of people are just very siloed and they're running in their own race, which is great because they're not worried about what other people are doing necessarily. But that also can feel lonely sometimes and you're not getting to interact across brokerage lines with other top people.
00:21:44
Speaker
And there's just the relationship value, but it's also like learning from them and hearing from them, just getting a pulse on what they're experiencing. Sometimes it's just validating to know like, OK, he's struggling to. It's not just me or whatever. Or, you know, you can pick up a tip or or something from them. I think the career that many of us selected is a secondary choice and not many of us choose to do it right out of college. I got licensed right out of college, but I didn't choose to do it full time out of college. I thought it was crazy, actually. It's the same reason I didn't do financial advising right out of college because I didn't know anyone. Yeah. And I said, that's a great idea. That's what I really wanted to do. And then I realized I have no database. Who the hell am I going to sell to? Yeah. And so I went and worked for a company and sold drugs. So love it.
00:22:30
Speaker
you know You do what you have to do right out of college. right um It was medical sales. I should ah should be more yeah more careful how I say it. But it was it was drugs. I worked for Eli Lilly. so um But my next question to you is just like as you think about this magazine, the people that I know, I think you're kind of an enigma. Not everyone knows you that well. And so they see you for a brief moment. And so for the people that I think don't have a relationship with you or barely just, but you know, maybe the 25 percent that come and go every other year. It's like, how do you describe, you know, how you I don't know how you put this stuff together? Because one of the honest questions I have for you as someone who puts events together, like more specifically, the events.
00:23:15
Speaker
I try to do k client events and even getting 100 people together for a, you know, a Christmas event we just did or a pie giveaway for Thanksgiving. That takes a lot of planning, like way more than you think. And it's over. before It's like a wedding almost like yeah it's over before it starts. It's like you blink your eyes. It's gone.
00:23:33
Speaker
How do you possibly do this? You got to share some of your secrets. Like, do you have any concerns that no one's going to show up? Because I always feel that way when I do anything like, oh, my God, 10 people can show up today. Like, like, give me kind of what goes through your mind and how you do this. I need to know some insight. Okay, so I will say over the years, it's definitely gotten better and more streamlined as you would probably hope and imagine, right? Like it's definitely not getting worse. And the number of events just keep increasing, especially since we added the second franchise. Looking ahead at this year, we have 12 events.
00:24:07
Speaker
And it starts in February with two and then two, it's it's crazy when you double that. So I think like a few things come to mind in terms of, you know, what what makes it easier and more streamlined is definitely leverage, which is like the answer to everything, right? like When I'm not doing everything, wow, magically things get easier. So, and I was previously, and I do, I was talking about this with the team yesterday because we're just bringing on literally right now. um We sent over an offer, you know, to make it official with a new
00:24:41
Speaker
event coordinator. I actually don't know what her official title is going to be yet because she's doing all of our events plus wearing a few other hats. She happens to be good at graphic design, some other things. Excited to have Maddie on the team in case she's watching. Shout out Maddie. Shout out Maddie. Yay. So we were just talking about this yesterday, but I i do things have gotten easier with bringing on Hannah. Hannah was our she's our COO and basically just operations guru. She wears a ton of hats like small teams. Everybody always wears yeah too many hats.
00:25:10
Speaker
Um, she kills it and she's helped with a lot, a lot of the event planning. Um, now we'll have like an actual person, like really laser focused on the events, which is huge. Um, so that has helped a ton, but I still have an unnecessary tight grip on the events.
00:25:28
Speaker
and That's like a huge area of opportunity for me to start to let go of and I'm very transparent about that because I am like a little bit of a Control freak when it comes to that because I have the same what you just said. I have the same fears even eight years in every event we host it's It baffles me every time because I go through the same roller coaster of emotions, like the initial excitement of, all right, we're going to send out the invites. Gay. And then, you know, not as many people sign up in the first few seconds as I expect. And I'm like, oh, my God, nobody's going to come. And then all of a sudden it gets to this point as we get closer where there's too many. And then I'm like, oh, my God, we're going to. It's the same exact trend. It's oh, my God, nobody's going to come. And then.
00:26:08
Speaker
Oh, my God, we're going to have too many people are going to run out of food or run out of space. And then I start to, you know, as the events right around the corner, people like, oh, sorry, I can't make it. And and I'm like, oh, my God, back to nobody's coming. It's so it's actually like insane. Yeah. And I don't know that every, you know, franchise owner that does this or event plans goes through the same roller coaster of emotions, because I'm just like.
00:26:32
Speaker
Mentally ill I think but it just makes me feel good that you have some vulnerability because the way you appear at these things are the ultra confident like ah you're engaged during conversation like you float around the room and It makes me feel like you're so loosey-goosey and I'm like damn her like she threw this huge Event that I could never throw and you seem to just be hanging out. I'm so glad that that's the perception But i also what it want I also want to just dispel it right away because I am an anxious ball of just to yeah if If I were an analogy, it would be this clenched fist is like just my essence. And I'm trying to I'm trying to get to where i you perceive me to be, which is loosey goosey, fun, just free flowing. I'm easygoing. I'm not easygoing. Like I'm I'm very I got a tight grip and I need to loosen up. And the people I surround myself with help me with that. Sure. Therapy also helps. A lot of things help. Yeah. um
00:27:27
Speaker
But it's it's extremely stressful. I'm not even going to pretend like it's easy. It's extremely stressful because I know that unnecessarily the perception of what makes a successful event. So much of it is tied with like turnout and some of these seemingly like superficial metrics. Sure. And even I'm guilty that sometimes I'm like looking around at an event. and I'm like, oh, wow, they it not a lot of people came. I'm like, why am I judging people on this? like Because I really think the quality of the event should and is actually more determined by like who's in the room and what the conversations are like. Sometimes my favorite events that I've ever been to have been the most intimate, you know, just a handful of people where you get to go deep. And it's not like, right hey, how are you? Hey, how are you? Hey, how are you?
00:28:13
Speaker
Lots of more shallow quick conversations well some feedback on that because I have thought about this because it's such a large room and it can be somewhat intimidating to walk up to a bigger producer than yourself and Yeah, we all kind of know with the pecking order like we know there's certain agents that are just like been doing it for 40 years And it's just you know them there and they're like entities. Yeah, yeah at this point They're not a person and then if you're in the community, you know You know, it's just like it would be interesting if you did a more curated. ah We're having dinner for 12. You're invited and you could get one sponsor or one connector to sponsor. It would be an interesting. Yeah, I think that could be incredibly valuable and.
00:28:52
Speaker
What because a lot of the bigger agents have teams or might want to recruit so it'd be an interesting thing I think everyone would show up and be super engaged in a yeah very and they'd feel special because they were Not just this blanket invite. Everybody's invited. I mean everyone in the community is invited. It's like oh, you're one of 12 and this is a Curated group little like dinner mastermind or maybe it's I don't know how structured it would be but that's what I could figure out and Something but you could do it. I don't know I always thought that would be interesting because sometimes I don't approach these people because I'm just like I have no idea what to say to this person and If I was invited to that dinner opportunity, we'd be forced to we made a table Yeah, or at a cocktail or something. I don't know. I that was feedback for you or I I agree. i I think that's great. That's a really good idea. You just need more events What I heard is you needed more things to plan Exactly, exactly. Like the only hesitation I have of doing any great idea that I hear is really just the function of the time and energy. How do you implement it and how do you do it? Yep. Because everything also goes back to like, because our team has actually been trying to figure out how to create more intimate event environments. And one of the ideas I think we're going to implement this year is doing more group photo shoots. so We do them for like special editions anyway, like industry icons short and things like that, and like 30 under 30, all of that.
00:30:06
Speaker
But like give people an option like they could do a one on one photo shoot like what you did where we go to a location you choose or we can funnel people like one of our partners is DRB homes. Maybe they have a beautiful model. We could use a few different rooms in the house. Right. Bring everybody in and like by everybody I mean like 10 people. Sure. And do this like photo shoot where they have a chance to network.
00:30:28
Speaker
and get their photo shoot done. It's like very like productive sure and drives community and DRB homes to be happy. So that's just an idea of floating around, but it's in the spirit of what you said. It's not the same thing, but it's like, how can we create more connection on an intimate level?
00:30:45
Speaker
um you know And in doing something we're already doing in that case is just photo shoots. So it saves a lot of time. And one of your ideas right before we started this podcast is that you eventually would to have your own podcast and what your idea was. Am I allowed to mention what your idea is? Sure. So it's about community and anyone listening to this kind of gets that overarching theme with how you think.
00:31:05
Speaker
um I've always wanted to do something similar. I've just never even known how to approach it. But any of us that have a business, I have thousands of people in my own database. Hundreds, I mean, just this year, it's close to 150 families I've served. wow And it's like, so these are a lot of people, they do a lot of interesting things, every walk of life, every type of you know, entrepreneurs, I have, ah does that make sense? I have doctors, I have lawyers, yeah you have everybody. got I've had the head cook of various restaurants. So it's really interesting. I've always wanted to create a and more intimate community. I wish someone like you had a mind like that could say, Matt, I'm gonna give you the entire framework. And I've already hired three event coordinators that can do it. Give me your database. like Take two days to explain to me who these people are and what they mean to you. We're gonna help make this happen.
00:31:54
Speaker
I would pay you. You name the I'll get to bring a check next time I see you because I would just because i I can't be the only one that wants to implement it. No idea where to start, how to plan it or do it. It's just dead on arrival.
00:32:05
Speaker
and When you say it, are you talking about like how to create more of a community amongst your clients? What you do with the real producers, how you have an event, people show up, but it looks lovely. Even if they don't come, they had a very formal invite, they see the photos afterwards. right they so they It's mostly around the events. like how to You get a touch whether or not they show up or not, let's be honest. yeah so You get that And I think if people see that there's value, they'll show up. yeah But I love people to network within, because I have a community that I'm not, I think, embracing properly. yeah And I think most of us as successful realtors have a community that we have, but how how well am I integrating that community together? yeah If I had to give myself a score, it'd be a one out of 10. I'm very critical because i'm like I'm so focused in my day job. yeah And if I did that community aspect, I think that would be incredible.
00:32:58
Speaker
yeah and I think yeah part of the reason why it's easier just to let you off the hook a little bit because like it's i there are challenges with it and not insurmountable ones but like what makes it easier for me is just all these people are in real estate, they're all in the same space and it's kind of like easier and understandable to be like, Driving attendance to an industry specific right event all based around this magazine like it's like a okay You're ranked in this group. It's just like kind of formulaic in a way um But and that so I don't know don't you think if what about new parents? I probably have 25 new parents this year at least that I've served
00:33:40
Speaker
because they buy homes when they have new babies, right? yeah And so it's just like, I think I could have a community for new parents yeah or you could have a community for people that tried to make a business on their own and now they're finally doing it. yeah Or just all these very or people nearing retirement or trying to to move downsize or there's all these opportunities. That's true.
00:33:59
Speaker
Yeah, somebody, I feel like who does it well, do you know Tim and Michelle Langhauser? huh Yeah, do you do you ever observe kind of, I don't know if you're following them. Yeah, because I guess I'm in there, they call it the Big Mouths Group, or I think it's called like, it's CHG, Compass Home Group, Big Mouths.
00:34:16
Speaker
And I love that that name. It's like memorable and cheeky. um And that's their private Facebook group. But they have great engagement in there. They host and coordinate so many different events. And the feedback I've gotten from even like attending and being kind of a part of it with them.
00:34:32
Speaker
They always invite Jill and I's because we're we're good friends um is that they've created relationships amongst each other, which is like the goal, right? Like sure everybody that you would invite to these events has a relationship with you, but you also want them to have relationships with each other. gar gru Just kind of like makes it more sticky and they all get to come and and it gives them more incentive to also continue to be a part of it because they're getting value. They're building relationships.
00:34:55
Speaker
i It's a win-win for everybody, but there's I have so many people that move here that don't know many people. And I am the person they know. Yeah. But unfortunately for them, I'm the busiest person they might know. Right. And so you don't have a Facebook group, do you? That's like the cure all. But that I mean, again, not that you are you're not short of ideas. It's probably more. Oh, I give you every idea we could sit down for that. It's just the Emily. Emily, we need you. That's why Emily come. She has another thing I know.
00:35:26
Speaker
yeah Another thing on her higher ten more people, but it's just I don't know so that's one of the reasons I admire you so much because the things that you've been able to accomplish are things that I wish I had accomplished and A fear of anyone that does what I do It's when you take your eye off the my my number one goal my number one task. It's I've your production stops or slows I Exactly. That's the hard part, right? And so I've had the best year of my life in a turbulent year I think because I've put my blinders on full blast and I worked and good for you this is the best year by far Wow. Yes Congrats. matt Yeah, it was it's been an it's been a fabulous year and but I think I've I did I had no distractions Are you going to ask me how many events I went to this year? The answer would be almost none. I think yours is just the only one I feel special
00:36:12
Speaker
So that's how serious I took it. I've said no. It's like the power of no is a yeah very amazing thing. And I never knew how to say no. Me neither. I'm starting to get better. But it's hard because it's about like, no, I don't want to let people down. Yeah. I mean, it's all in my head. But yeah, as if they're like hanging on bated breath, like, is Colleen going to do this? And like I break them if I say no, it's it's all just.
00:36:35
Speaker
That's not real. Well, all right. So enough of that. So another question I could think of, because if other people were talking to you right now, they want to know how in the world do you select who actually gets featured in your magazine? Because I know agents that are dying to be on it. And yes, the cover is like, you know, what they the most coveted space. You only have 12 of those a year. But even being inside of it, how do people find their way on it? And it's like a mystery for some.
00:37:02
Speaker
Yeah, no, I'm glad to share because we could do a better job of communicating that. Yes. The fact that everyone has that same question, that just is a reflection back to like, all right, people should be able to easily find this information or we need to be pumping it more in our content and everything else. So thank you for asking, first of all. um So the the easiest quick answer is The first step is to be nominated. So that's something that's also just a good myth buster because a lot of people assume that the people it's like a lot of different magazines that they have to pay to pay to play. Right. That there's no nomination. They may fake a nomination and be like, you know, top agent reach out and they're like, you've been nominated. But basically, they're just want you to pay.
00:37:45
Speaker
um So there's no pay to play. um So first you get nominated. And how do you get nominated? Simple answer is just go to BaltimoreWheelProducers.com or CoastalWheelProducers.com, depending on the magazine. And there's a link there, nominate an agent. And we try to post that link in different places too, but again, we're not consistent enough with it because we have so many nominations and then when we run low, like, you know, it's like, sure we just aren't consistently kind of like marketing the nomination piece.
00:38:11
Speaker
But it's easy and free to nominate and um that's what kind of kicks off our process. So this is like Jill's lane, 100%. This is where Jill and my wife and our editor in chief kind of lives. um So she will get that. It's just a simple Google form, goes on a spreadsheet and then she kind of pulls from that and anybody who's on that list will then get an application and that just allows us. They all get one. They all get one.
00:38:34
Speaker
And how many nominations do you typically have for the ballroom real producers in a year? Jill would know. i the The quick answer is I have no clue, but even just looking at the spreadsheet, and I don't know when they started though, but there's like a couple hundred people on there. well There's a lot. And some of them are repeats. Like some of them are like, someone got nominated multiple times. sure So it's kind of like removing the duplicates. I don't even know where we land, but they come in spurts cause we, you know, we'll pump it and then, you know,
00:39:02
Speaker
Forget about it for a while and be like, oh, we need more nominations. Let's pump it again. Yeah. um So they'll get an application. It's not always right away, but because we don't want there to be a huge gap between that and when they get featured. So they'll get the application and that just really gives them some skin in the game because sometimes they were nominated by someone else and they don't even know they've been nominated. So it's like if they want to participate, that's the next step to learn more. Tell them who nominated them. Yeah, yeah, we do. Sometimes it's multiple people, which they're really excited about. And sometimes it's just one. But yeah, we we always we always communicate that, assuming we have that information, which we should, because we have the form. Sometimes people just kind of verbally, you know, sometimes it's not as well tracked, but we try to keep track of all that.
00:39:43
Speaker
um So then after the ah after the application, we read you know we, meaning like Jill mostly, kind of reviews it. um I do take part sometimes when she has questions, you know, just sometimes she's like, all right, she'll just send it to me like, is there any reason we shouldn't nominate, we shouldn't feature this person? Because she doesn't know what I know. Like, oh, who knows, maybe there's There's dirt on them. Yeah, dirt on them are some reputational thing that she should be aware of. But we're just kind of trying to look at them holistically. but We have something we call the 5C criteria and that's just like helps us have some sort of like it's a kind of a template for us to kind of run through with any candidate to see just to assess them in each of those five areas, which hopefully I'll remember them all. But it's
00:40:26
Speaker
It's competition, which is we wanted it all to be C, so it all yeah fit. Basically, that's like their production. So competition, collaboration, how well they they get along with other peers and their colleagues. um Contribution, which is like how well they give back to the community. That could be if they participate with Baltimore Real Producers, because that is a factor. Like if I've never seen them at an event or they've never participated,
00:40:51
Speaker
it's it's not a It's not that we won't feature them, but it's it's kind of a ding against. We do want people who care about the community and are engaged, because that you know why why would we otherwise? um Character, which is just, again, this kind of their overall reputation. and um And then finally, I think it's compelling story, something like that. like Compelling story, or it could be like challenges that they've overcome.
00:41:18
Speaker
So that speaks to more like, you know, they could have very low production, for example. And and some of these other areas may be like, you know, aren't like the highest. But if they have an amazing story like they, you know, they were covering from addiction, they went to jail. It doesn't have to be super dramatic like that, but they have an amazing like hero's journey but or just something that's really unique and compelling. Well, that's a big factor because that's yeah that's great content and people would would be able to learn and be inspired by that.
00:41:48
Speaker
Yeah, I because I can I think their question the reason you get it so often is because people are competitive and So they want to be featured and when they see someone who is let's say less production than them They just think it's production numbers. Well, I sold double they'll look them up instantly. I guarantee i get emails like that all the time Yeah, like this person sold less than me, but I haven't been they featured and I haven't been featured yet.
00:42:10
Speaker
and You don't have to tell me but I just know you can blink twice ah People that annoy you and make little bitchy snarky comments. I'm like, you're not getting it's not doesn't help your chances people I know I know and a lot of times for the most part like a recent email that came in Yeah, it came from a ah heartfelt place. It was kind of genuine curiosity sometimes it's not packaged as nicely sure and then I'm not as receptive to it, but I Sometimes it's just like we said that i that has to reflect on me. We're not communicating it well So if they think it's all about production, that's not necessarily their fault like the community is kind of built on production numbers sure So people just assume but that to be featured you have to it's almost like we're going down from number one like yeah in order or something and it's it's definitely not like that there's people in the top 10 that we haven't featured and on purpose because they don't fit well with some of those other metrics. Be a character. I was about to say character. Yeah. yeah Sometimes you're at the top and, you know, I've, I'm always reluctant to, when everyone else throws shade on someone that does really well, because I'm just like, you know, Kat Williams is a comedian and he always likes to joke. He's just like, if you don't have a hater, like you're not doing anything. I love Kat Williams. You know, he's just like, if you only, have if you don't want your hater, tell him to gate on me.
00:43:25
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, exactly. He's like, because, you know, it's just like you're not doing you're not very successful if no one else says something bad about you. And so I'm always looking through the lens. It's just like maybe if I was twice as successful, I'd have twice as many people that don't like me. Right. It's, you know, but also some of them are just jerks. So you can't it's not always that reason. But yeah sometimes they're just not nice people.
00:43:46
Speaker
It's true. It's true. and we We have we have some of those but yeah, generally speaking um Yeah, people are I think when they reach out with those questions are coming from from a good place Yeah, it's the egos. It's the you know, and again, they just they want to be recognized. They see their friends up there Sure, and they want the same thing and we can only feature so many in a month So my usual answer to them is just like give time time like we're not going anywhere. We can only feature 36 people a year, you know, that includes the covers and That's not a big pool. No, because how many thousands of agents? I'm sure you know that. and Yeah, there's in Central Maryland, which is kind of the area we're focused on, which is like Baltimore and the five surrounding counties. And this is based on probably data two years ago because I haven't got the updated number. But so it's probably less now, but like 12,000. Got it.
00:44:33
Speaker
So it's pretty big number. The real estate, if you count all licensees, it's 52,000, I was told. In Maryland. Yes, in all of Maryland. So 52, but that could be everybody. That's me when I graduated college and got licensed and didn't sell anything, I would have been included. So I think maybe 13,000 people that have sold at least one home a year. That would be my thinking based on what I've heard. Yeah, that sounds about right.
00:44:58
Speaker
but the average agent sells five or fewer homes, full-time agent. yeah So when you hear the statistics, it's pretty crazy. Yeah, and like the top 500 in the real producers community, um there that's 500 people out of, let's just call it 12,000 total agents in that market. That's only like 4% of the population. yeah They're doing 78% of the business.
00:45:21
Speaker
and the top 100 in that community probably do, I'm just assuming, 80% of the business? Yeah, probably. 20% rule typically follows. So my guess is your top 100 do the vast majority of the business in the whole region. Yep, yep.
00:45:36
Speaker
And it's just kind of it's it's weird how it works, but they treat it like a business. That's what I when I try to teach younger agents what to do, not even younger, just newer agents. It's just treat it like a business and it will treat you know your bank account will reflect it eventually. Yeah. Time on task um because most people don't treat it like a business. It's true. And so it's fascinating. I've always I i beat that drum so often. I don't know what ah what other industry where you can make the kind of money we make and you don't treat it with the respect that you you should.
00:46:05
Speaker
Yeah, and that's that's kind of why we wanted to do real producers right is to just connect the people who are treating it like business. um No disrespect to people who want to treat it like a hobby or a side piece or whatever. And there's other opportunities to network in other groups like that. But this was kind of ah though designed to be for the real people who are actually doing stuff. And and that leads me right into the next idea or or conversation is just what commonalities have you seen? Once again, you're not a realtor. So what do you see with this community that you interact with on a regular basis? Like, you know, if you're not in the group, ah how like what qualities or attributes would you say would get you in there? So outside of, of course, the production element, which is, you know, that the natural piece that allows you to be in. Well, that's the results. Like it's the be the act. OK, yeah, the activities and the behaviors that yeah get you to got it. Got it. That allow you to be a top agent.
00:47:04
Speaker
um Of course, it goes without saying, like, strong work ethic, right? Like, I mean, some the agents in the group are yeah know the biggest hustlers, I know. And a lot of them are at a stage where they have a lot of leverage, which helps, and that gives them more time freedom. So it's not to say they're all killing themselves, because who wants to do that?
00:47:24
Speaker
um But yeah, they work hard and they make themselves available for their clients, for their colleagues, you know, they they're responsive. I think that's huge. And I think, you know, in terms of culturally, they really embody something that we preach in real producers um and we try to like create a culture in our community and inspire this, which is like collaboration over competition. It's not to say they're not competitive.
00:47:53
Speaker
I'm competitive. yeah I think it's healthy to be competitive. In ego, we keep talk downplaying how horrible ego is. Ego is healthy. Yeah. Without ego, you're not going to be in this group. Yeah, it's true. You have to have some level of ego. Yeah, yeah. I completely agree.
00:48:08
Speaker
so yeah collaboration over competition just meaning that they they strongly value the relationships with their peers and their other agents and that they understand how important that is and They don't take it so far as to be focused on what everyone else is doing um You know and then not focused on Themself and their own business because they're just so focused on it's like that meme with ah Michael Phelps and that other swimmer, I can't remember, but do you remember that meme that went viral? like but Whoever lost to him, it has ah it's a it's a shot of him looking at Michael Phelps' lane while he's swimming. The guy who lost, I think he was from South Africa, maybe, I can't remember. And then Michael Phelps is just straight, he's just focused. So it's kind of like that analogy. like yeah
00:49:00
Speaker
run your own race and they're focused on what they're doing. It doesn't mean they're not looking around wanting to learn from their peers and they're like ignoring what everyone else is doing. It's more like just focus on what you're doing, running your own race, not not getting distracted right by shiny objects over here or here or what someone else is doing or seeing other people's success as somehow taking something away from you.
00:49:24
Speaker
which is but similarly the abundance for scarcity mindset. I think that's say that's a huge piece of the culture too of a top performer is abundance over scarcity. I can win and that doesn't mean you can't not also win. Yes, we can all win together. right There's enough, it's not just one pie and you take your piece and that means there's less pie for me. Like we can all have our own pie. Right. We can all have our own pie.
00:49:51
Speaker
It's possible and I think um i don't know i just it's it's so interesting to hear what you say. It's what I observe too. So I'm i'm i'm grateful that you have the same style of of interpretation of what I see and I think I'd love a culture of of professionals.
00:50:07
Speaker
And I hate to say it about my own profession, but I don't think we are in a profession ah based mindset. yeah And yeah you might not see it as much because you're in this little group of people that are in production, but most people aren't. And I think you you if you're not a realer, you don't understand a lot of our job.
00:50:25
Speaker
you know if you do 100 deals a year, it's how many of those do you, I do both agents jobs sometimes, right? And anyone in that's done production understands this and you have to keep it all together. And you have, that's why you select to work with an agent who you know is in production that knows their stuff, because you're not, you just know they're gonna give better advice. They have resources to solve problems when there are, because there will be problems. And it's like, what's the value of, for example, if you're a consumer hiring someone that's in this group,
00:50:53
Speaker
like I'd be interested to know your viewpoint on it, but one of my viewpoints on that is that they probably have resources and experiences that allow them to solve problems maybe before you ever hear about it. Like if anyone that's a client of mine says, wow, that seems so simple, like that was easy. It's like that's because you didn't see any of the hard parts and it should feel effortless on your end.
00:51:14
Speaker
Yes. Does that make sense? Totally. And I totally see that too just from the people I've spoken to my own experience as a client of a few real estate transactions and um the level of responsiveness is just the level of communication. Right. I think is at a whole other level. I think communication is like So important everybody would say that right and it's like probably overused but between you you know you as a realtor with your client but then also between the lender and you and between the lender and All parties have to be communicating seamlessly. There's so many moving parts and it's time bound and sometimes it's very urgent. Yeah
00:51:57
Speaker
And so, like, I feel like the quality of the experience is very tied to the level of communication. Sometimes you don't even have like an update, but I so appreciate an update that there is no update. it You know, absolutely. That's valuable because a that the silence is deafening in a sense that it's like it's giving me anxiety.
00:52:18
Speaker
junk, like that automated spam. yeah Some transaction coordination companies do this to me as an agent. I just want to vomit. It's like it's this generic, you know, they do updates, they communicate, but it's spam. Right. And he goes right like, so I think some agents fall into that category. And I'm I am nervous for our industry because we're being attacked.
00:52:40
Speaker
At all times, we've been attacked for years by Zillow, by Redfin, by these other corporations that and so that are trying to drive. There's a benefit to consumers. They're driving down the cost of transactions. That's the goal. But the secondary goal, they're replacing the average agent. And many of them deserve to be replaced. It's the truth. um It's like if you don't deliver exceptional value, you're going to be replaced by AI.
00:53:01
Speaker
yep It's coming. I believe that. And in certain in certain fringe parts of our, I don't know, of this transactional, if you're purely transactional, you're getting replaced. That's what I mean. That's the most articulate way I could think I could phrase that. Yeah, I i completely agree. And probably all industries, right? Oh, it's coming. yeah The AI is fantastic. I don't know how much you use it in your business or with copyright. it's just It's getting so crazy good so quickly.
00:53:30
Speaker
I want to use it more. It's like the speed of its advancement is far outpacing the speed of my ability to like, yeah. And do even just like learn, it take time. You have to be proactive in time block, like anything else, like learning what's out there and what's new.
00:53:46
Speaker
We are using it, but it's really just for copywriting, like helping with posts or coming up with ideas um to help with certain articles, just like fine tuning it. Like we still have a writer actually writing it, you know, where we're OG with it. Some real producers across the country are 100% AI now. They don't even have writers interviewing. They just have them fill out of question a questionnaire. Oh, I love the interview process. I know. It was your mom. I love it. That's that's why that's right. She was very professional, very talented. I told her your feedback after at the fact because you told me and and I always want to relay that back to her. And she was, of course, like that fills her up. I love that she loves that. That's why we haven't taken it away because, yes, it's more costly for us, but it's part of the experience. And if you didn't know any different, maybe you wouldn't be like, oh, that sucked because you had to fill out a questionnaire. But
00:54:34
Speaker
I feel like it's a better experience and that you're reflecting on because you had that personal touch. You had a human being asking your questions, caring about your story. There's something therapeutic and cathartic too about reflecting on your journey and being able to share that verbally, like out loud. If I had to write it down, I think it would be very different. You'd be like self editing the whole time, I feel like.
00:55:00
Speaker
yeah knowing that someone was recording it and listening to me and is going to write about me based on what I say is a little bit nerve-racking because I say a lot of, um this is a slightly cleaned up version of me that we get to hear on this your podcast, but it's, you know, I don't know what I'm going to say. I run my mouth all day. So you just never know. um But it's like, why do you do what you do? like That was one of her questions. And I'm like, uh,
00:55:23
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. I've been doing it a long time. I don't think I can be a guitar player at this point. Like I can't make a living in doing that. I've kids. um It's too late. i it But then beginning behind like the reasons what makes you tick. What what do you get from this experience of this job? It's just like I see people like I'm getting old. I'm turning 40 soon, like two weeks. And it's like you start reflecting on are you making an impact? Are you doing anything that you can be proud of? Is it just a paycheck?
00:55:53
Speaker
because no one gives a rat's ass about your bank account other than like you and your little and you know teeny family. That's it. yeah you know it's just it's a It's a weird world. yeah And those questions make you reflect on it for a moment. Yeah, yeah and that that's some of the feedback we get too is how much people just love the interview experience, just being able to to talk through that and to to even think about it. It's like a live journal exercise really.
00:56:22
Speaker
Well, and then the other question I have for you um is simply, you're not in real estate, but everyone wants to know. Every cocktail party where it's the holiday season, we're recording this before you know the holidays, right? And so everyone wants to know how the real estate market's doing. And I want to know how you, Colleen, would answer that question at the holiday party. from an from You're not really an outsider because you're in the business, so to speak, but what do you see happening?
00:56:48
Speaker
I think how would you answer that? Yeah. So someone's like ran. So it it also depends on if they're in the industry or out of it, of course. But if they were just some random person like, oh, how's the real estate market doing? Because they know that I work with a lot of people. um I'd probably say like.
00:57:06
Speaker
and ah Holistically speaking, like this year, last year were some from the real estate agent perspective. So again, it's dependent like for them as a buyer, you know, I think it just depends on what the angle is. But like from my experience speaking with realtors and also all the vendors that you know are largely fed by realtors in terms of like the business that they, the leads they get and everything.
00:57:32
Speaker
um These last few years have been more challenging for them um That doesn't mean like in your case that business is down It just was like in order to either maintain in some cases grow But you're actually somewhat of an anomaly in a really good way and that you actually had a growth year Yeah, so that's why I was like So proud and impressed. And when you said that, because a lot of people are I mean, it was a it was almost a win to maintain. Right. And probably the average, I don't even know what the percentage is, is down year over year, um you know, attributed to all the factors that I'm probably not qualified to talk about, because, you know, the economy confuses me and interest rates and all that. It confuses the experts. Yeah. They don't even get it right. Yeah. But I know that all I know is the result which was a lot of Realtors had to work possibly twice as hard or to get the same result right and that trickled down to me, too um Because it affects, you know where we get revenue is from the real estate vendors um Who are getting business from the realtor? So if they're down they're down and then they start looking at marketing advertising I really yeah money there right exactly and
00:58:47
Speaker
Fortunately, similar to you, though, we we did have a growth year. um That wasn't because it was easier. We had this was the hardest year in terms of I i should say, like, I've never done so many appointments. The at bats had to go way up like the number of meetings I had with potential prospect perspective vendors um was way far and above. I don't know the exact numbers, but it's probably like maybe twice maybe maybe at least like 30 40 percent more than any other year um so back to the original question though i think it was but like well i mean when you do this it's interesting because you do a sales call that's a sales call do they expect immediate results your name is on the list of vendors now next year you're going to get 10 new mega agents to come use you like is that to some just think and then that's not
00:59:40
Speaker
going to happen if they don't know that. Like it's- Some do. Yeah. and And I've gotten good at ah dispelling that early on and sniffing it out. So like my whole conversation with them is also built around extracting, ah telling them how this works of course, but then also seeing how they understand it and what they expect. So I can tell them what they can expect, but I also want to hear from them like,
01:00:04
Speaker
Okay, all this said, like, what are you actually expecting to happen? Because sometimes, immediately based on how they're responding, I can tell that it won't be a good fit. That just happened the other day. It was more casual, it was like a holiday party, I met this particular inspector. And he just shared a story about something he invested in recently that he paid this much and he only got this much back. And it was a similar model in that it was more of a branding, relationship building model, not direct response.
01:00:32
Speaker
And I was like, and then he was like, so do you want to send me something? let's And I was like, actually, like not saying no, but just hear me out. I'm not sure based on what you said that right that this is going to be the same experience that you just had. But you're actually going to spend more money here. yeah And you're like, it's not inexpensive to be in your program. No, no. It's an investment. No, it is. yeah and And I have to be really good at conveying to them, like, because they they're not marketing branding experts. I mean, but I'm saying I am and I have a degree in marketing, but I... Oh, you're getting there. What ah what I do is is is around that piece. Like, that's exactly what we do. We're a marketing platform for them. So I have to explain to them how it works and the time horizon.
01:01:16
Speaker
to expect a result which is really just modeled by our agreements because they're either two three or four years long like yeah they're committing and sometimes that's like oh my god but the way that I presented is like well this is how it has to be because If we did it month to month, you'd be reassessing whether this works on a month to month basis psychologically. Right. Like we should only be coming back together in a few years to see what kind of traction that you've gotten. Right. um Not on a month to month basis because i I can tell you right now nothing's happening.
01:01:50
Speaker
And if they're listening to this, determining who you are, what you do, and what product you sell, it's just from ah from an agent who you're marketing to, which is people like me, I actually look at those lists. I look at who responds when people post questions, because you have a community page in Facebook, and it's one that I actually use. Awesome. And I look it up, so because you never know. Sometimes, with especially with producers,
01:02:13
Speaker
They might have had relationships with certain kind like either remodeling companies or electrician, whoever, like all these different vendors we have to have. You don't they might retire or they might have a falling out or I always say to all my vendors and if they're listening to me, they know this is how I speak to them. They I'm super loyal to the point that it's like gross. I'm super loyal until you give me a reason not to be.
01:02:36
Speaker
I expect nothing in return and just give me great service to my clients because that you are part of my value yeah to use me. yeah You have access to the people I trust. That's part of what I offer to my clients, right? So you get tremendous loyal. So I'm not going to give you 15 electricians. You're going to get one or two. That's it. I trust them. And then when they screw over my client or they something bad happens to an extent where I'm like, you can't recover from that. you're off the list entirely. That might happen tomorrow or that might happen in two years and what one of the resources I'm 100% going to is your platform. That's great, that's what we want. So your point is they might not get a return tomorrow but in two years my electrician does something crazy. I just had one of my vendors, don't wanna say which one, he was drunk on a ladder at one of my client's houses and the client called me and said, do you know this son of a gun, what he just did?
01:03:28
Speaker
he's done now i need to know i don't want to say this the littleline so yeah i'm just like but you don't know when that's going to happen and your platform is a resource that we all use thank you for echoing that and yeah that that's like our goal and i'm glad to hear that coming from an agent because ah our expectation of the agents that are a part of real producers just to get any other agents listening. It's not like gun to your head, you better use our partners or F you like, you know, like um some days I want to be now I'm kidding. But um but like but that's our that's, of course, our goal because we want to create an environment where, you know, you're motivated to use and to patronize our vendors because that obviously helps make this whole thing go around.
01:04:12
Speaker
um But the hope is that when you when there is a change, and that could be, like you said, it could be tomorrow, it could be a year, it could be five years from now, that you'll at least reference our list and consider it, to use a marketing term, part of your consideration set. yeah At least consider the people on our list, not just because they pay and I say so. like It's a good curated list of you know, crowd sourced businesses from the community. right And same as you, like, I want to be recommending these businesses until they give me a reason not to. sure And it's very rare. We have had a situation where I've had to like kind of fire a partner because their reputation had just reached a point that was unrecoverable. Multiple agents calling me like totally unrelated. Like, I use them because they're on your list and that hurts us. Sure. Some reasons it would hurt me if I were recommend you or refer you to deliver or else I look bad.
01:05:08
Speaker
So I do care and I always want people to give me feedback. Don't get drunk on ladders at my client's house. Yeah, that's that's a hard no. Yeah, it's egregious. But i I appreciate that because that's that's what we want. And going back to the vendor perspective, like and hearing that and understanding that you have to know, like timing is everything. right They're not just going to drop everything and be like, oh,
01:05:28
Speaker
They're on board, so I guess I'm dropping this guy, and it's it's on with you. like That would be unreasonable, and you wouldn't want that in reverse. like You want loyalty, so respect the loyalty they have, and but don't don't get it twisted. Change happens all the time, as adult because people drop the ball, or they retire. Just things evolve relationships. Somebody just- Personalities shift, or the person that I was using that would answer all my calls and text messages,
01:05:55
Speaker
left the company and I'm stuck with whoever this other person is and they, they're horrible. Yeah. That's happened to me before. Yeah. Or you have a really strong number two who's just edging their way in there because they really, you know, they're, you're like on their, you're on their list, right? They want to start working with you. So they just, they start building that relationship and then you're number two. And I'm not dealing with cold calls. People, I get cold calls. I, people laugh. I probably 10 a day.
01:06:17
Speaker
from vendors and people calling me directly, that is the worst way to get my business. I will not even consider you. No one gets a lunch with me. No, I can't imagine I'm the only one because we get so many of them. Oh, I'm sure you'd be like, let's grab coffee. It's like no offense. No, I'm not doing that. Yeah, nobody got time for that. No, I'm not going to be that rude and be like, I would love for you to buy me lunch and I'm never going to use you. I'm not that kind of guy. Yeah.
01:06:42
Speaker
If somebody this is a good question for you because this is something that I actually teach vendors to do is To actually like because this is a good example you were featured in the magazine if somebody who knows somebody may have even done this already But read your story found something that they connected with and reached out to you wanting to, like be whatever it was, let's just say, like you know they're like, oh my God, I was so inspired that you went through that. I went through something similar with my mom or you know whatever it is and you know found that like heartfelt connection with you, reached out and was like, you know I'd love to just get to know you a little bit better, hear more about your story. I just feel like we have a connection about this.
01:07:25
Speaker
Would you would you pay more attention to that? I won't necessarily say you would do like a lunch or a happy or like a whatever Yeah, but would that at least resonate a little bit more than just the random? You know call or text. Yeah, it would and I think I did get several of them So I knew you were coaching them because you did I got a couple of them Okay, good. And I'm like, my story wasn't that awesome. Like, come on, people. And I was like, I tell people, like, don't be generic about it, because they'll be able to see through that too. Like, it was such a great story. And like, find something that you actually don't, like, don't be fake. They all touched on the fact I'm a farm boy, because it's just unique in Maryland. There's not many farm boys left. So they were just like, you grew up on a dairy farm. I like milk.
01:08:08
Speaker
great like you know there were like like that you know It wasn't that corny, but it was a little see-through But that that's one thing I my advice to them if I if I had to get to someone like me is like That's great. And I just don't give my time to anybody.
Client Value and Law of Reciprocity
01:08:27
Speaker
My time is my most precious thing. If I'm not working, I'll go home because I have three little kids. So it's like I want to spend my time there. So what I'd encourage him to do is try to offer value directly to the client. If I was on your list, I'd be offering directly to whoever it is, if they're on the in the magazine, whatever. I'd be offering them a free home inspection.
01:08:46
Speaker
and you can treat your most challenging client or whoever, like whoever you need to look good in front of to a free home inspection and you can say it's from you. Like- That's cool. It would be something of value if they're an electric, because you have every vendor, they're under the sun, they can movers, you have everybody. So they could offer something that makes the agent look good, have value to me directly. And all I ask in return is you chat with me for 15 minutes or I'll see you at the at the appointment or whatever. can Who wouldn't, I'd say yes to that because it's giving me an opportunity to look great in front of my client. I love that. So that's what I would do. That's a great idea. And if they're spending the money that they're spending to be in your world. Right. Pick a handful of people that you do resonate with that you do like the story that you're like, give that to them.
01:09:30
Speaker
Yeah, that's great. that's what I would do because I'm telling you I don't need another coffee break. I'm adding that to my my ways to win pathway to success doc. Yeah, the whole the whole like, you know, just again and like a crowdsource list of like best practices or tips. Sure.
01:09:46
Speaker
on how to make the most of being a preferred partner and just ways to make inroads and connections with the agents. um I love that idea. And I think i'm I'm going to find a way to kind of like like reciprocity. It's like the law of reciprocity. what Of course, I can't remember the name of St. Jude's. They always would give you return labels or return stickers for your envelopes. Oh, yeah.
01:10:09
Speaker
and then they'd ask for a donation, and the donation rate like quadrupled as soon as they started that, even though it was relatively inexpensive because of reciprocity. Well, I took them and I'm gonna use them, so I better give them something. yeah So smart it's just like anything that they could give of real value, and if it's something that you're already selling, or if it's your own time, that they could do. They just don't get necessarily paid for it, but it doesn't have a hard cost associated with it.
01:10:36
Speaker
Exactly. I think that's really smart. Yeah. And just like anything else, only a percentage of people will do it. But that's good because that's they'll rise to the top and they'll be more memorable. Yeah. Because they'll stand out because not everybody's just going to start doing that. Like not everybody's willing to go out on a limb like that. I think it's a really that's a really good free tip for the day. Thank you. I'm taking that. yeah putting that in my pocket. Well, and I wanna kinda conclude this on just, I don't know, just any thoughts that you have or any anything that that you think we should discuss that we might not have shared. We've been yapping it up for now over an hour. I can't believe it's been over an hour. Yeah, it was, oh my gosh, yeah there's the time there. Yeah. This has been great though, very natural. um Gosh, what else? Is there anything else that you wanna share with the world? And only the most devoted are still listening at our,
01:11:26
Speaker
I know at the hour mark. It's got to be your family. I'm I really wanted to remember that rap. That was how I really wanted to end because was that would be badass. That's how I remember you. That's forever. You'll be 70. And that's how I'll remember you. Cut. code Oh my God, like how did it start? Um, cut closing gifts. You know what we're going to do? Because we have a real producer in the house that's doing this. We can find, do you have any video of it or anything? Oh, I think I do. Oh, and then we can just place that thing in here.
01:11:57
Speaker
Yeah. Okay. And that'll be you at your peak.
Creative Marketing and Engagement
01:12:00
Speaker
Cause man, I would love to just be able to just bang it out right now. Cause we got good sound equipment and everything. He records vocals in this beautiful place. Like I just, and I couldn't, it usually, I thought I had it saved on my, I'm giving it one final shot. I thought it was saved on my notes on my phone and I have service. So that can't be an excuse. Um, I'm just putting in 1949. Cause I know that was part of it.
01:12:24
Speaker
Wait, here it is. Okay, let's do it. Let's hear it. All right, ready? I need a beat box in the background. No, he'll edit that in. Come on, roll.
01:12:36
Speaker
Realtors let me get your attention. I have a great system I really want to mention to help improve your client retention and take your biz to a whole other dimension. Great client gifts are really hard to find, especially ones that keep you top of mind. And not just for a week, we're a really long time and we all know it can't only cost a dime. So what are some gifts realtors often buy? Gift cards, baskets, liquor, wine. The problem with these? They're gone in no time, which generates zero ROI. Now, co-closing gifts, there's a great idea. Trust me, you ain't gonna find these at IKEA. If you ain't heard, they're the best kitchen knives made in USA since 1949. Uh-uh. Whoo! There's a chorus, too. I mean, was it it was?
01:13:25
Speaker
It's time for cut-code gifts. I can't remember the tune though. It's like, it's time for cut-code gifts to give your biz- I can't remember the tune. Time for cut-code gifts to give your biz a lift. Gonna get you some cut-code gifts. I can't remember the tune of it. There's and there's another verse too, but I'll see you guys.
01:13:43
Speaker
But you got the flavor. That gave everybody the flavor. That's the Colleen I know people. That's why she's yeah running a magazine. You hear that? Can rap, you know? That's all you needed. That's all you need to be successful. If you get anything from this podcast, learn how to rap about Coco.
01:13:59
Speaker
Yes, thank you guys for humoring me on that. That was amazing. That brings me back. It's nostalgic for me. Yes. I miss rapping. That was my second calling. I mean, you know, I can still... There's time. Maybe I should do a rap about a real producer's rap. That could help. Why not?
01:14:16
Speaker
You know, just for entertainment value. I don't know what I think it's start the next like at the venue that would get every, you know, everyone's talking. You have to get them all quiet. Yeah, start rapping that's true. Yeah, just turn it into like a performance. You should name and call out the people in the room though. Like I try not to make like this is the kind we all want to look at a star.
01:14:34
Speaker
my Be the star. Be in all yellow. be Be flamboyant in the sense that you're just there. Everyone sees you, the star. I would do it and if I were you. I won't do it because I'm me, but if I were you, I would be doing this. Well, I'll expect you in the front row just like, yeah. No, I'm like in the you know the the blue blazer that looks like every other corny guy you've ever met. the most forgettable my my My outfit selections are very clean cut and forgettable. I like it. It's like I can wear it four days a week. You would never know.
01:15:03
Speaker
Yeah, I like it, though. It's it's like it's it's unassuming, but it's like polished. It's clean. Yeah. I had a manji who's a lender. His wife. I like him. I like him. She's amazing. And she did all this. She's a. Oh, she's there. Yes, that's right. That's right. With Tom James. Tom James. Great. Shout out. That's right. Yeah. She does a great job. Yes. Yeah. Didn't they just have a baby? Yes, they did. Yeah. Yeah, Mr. Family Man over there. Yeah, they're cool. They're cool people. Yeah, I'd like to know him better, but they're cool. Well, get him... Has he ever worked with you? He should, AS. Shout out, AS. Ready to check, get in the list. We've met about it.
01:15:44
Speaker
didn't you know Didn't pull the trigger, but you know, I've met with so many people over the years that, and I can't tell you. I can tell you eventually circle back to people that said no four years ago. Exactly. I was about to say there's, I could tell you so many stories of like met with this business owner in 2021, three years later.
01:16:03
Speaker
the timing is right. I never go anywhere like I'm i'm always lurking around just yeah nudging people yeah subtly pretending like it's organic but it's very strategic. Oh yeah of course. All right well I don't want to take up your whole day so thank you so much for joining me and I'll see you at the next soiree. Can't wait. Baltimore real producers. Thank you for inviting me on here this was so much fun I wish we could keep going you can tell I'm trying to drag it out.
01:16:28
Speaker
yeah Well, it's lovely. I'll have you back at some point. I get just amazed by your success and wish you much many more years of continued success. Oh, thank you. You too, Matt. All right, thanks.