Coaching Turns Busy Into Productive And Builds Systems That Last

Most agents don’t fail because they lack talent.
They fail because talent without structure, accountability, and coaching eventually collapses.

In this episode of Real Estate AF, host Mark Jones sits down with Art Fernandez, a 29-year real estate veteran and founder of Bear Coaching, to break down why coaching is the real separator between agents who survive market shifts and those who burn out when things get hard.

This is not a motivational fluff episode.

This conversation dives into:
• Why uncoached talent fails
• The difference between being interested and committed
• How ego blocks growth and kills scalability
• Why routines, systems, and habits matter more than goals
• The real difference between training vs coaching
• Why “busy” doesn’t mean productive
• How abundance mindset beats scarcity every time
• The biggest lies new agents believe about real estate
• Why flexibility without discipline leads to failure
• How accountability accelerates results
• Why most agents avoid uncomfortable conversations — and pay the price
• How to build a repeatable, duplicatable business instead of winging it

Art explains why coaching isn’t about motivation — it’s about execution, accountability, and truth. He shares how top producers operate, why systems matter more than talent, and how success is often just boring fundamentals done consistently for a long time.

If you’re a real estate agent, loan officer, business owner, or entrepreneur who:
• Feels stuck
• Feels burned out
• Knows you’re capable of more
• Wants structure instead of chaos

This episode will challenge you — in the best way possible.

Because hope is not a strategy.
Coaching is.

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📘 Short Facebook Description (≤ 500 characters)

Most agents don’t fail from lack of talent — they fail from lack of coaching.

In this episode of Real Estate AF, I sit down with Art Fernandez to break down why uncoached talent collapses, how ego blocks growth, and why systems + accountability beat motivation every time.

If you’re serious about results, this one hits hard.

⏱️ YouTube Chapter Timestamps (Learning Moments)

0:00 – Why Coaching Is the Real Differentiator
1:12 – Interested vs Committed
3:04 – Art Fernandez Background & Coaching Journey
7:04 – Ego, Coachability & Growth
14:26 – Scarcity vs Abundance Mindset
19:25 – Routines, Habits & Systems
24:14 – Why Uncoached Talent Fails
30:08 – How Coaches Identify Coachable People
34:20 – What Coaching Actually Looks Like

Transcript

Mirror Test And Daily Improvement

SPEAKER_00 0:00

At the end of every day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better. Wednesday, get better. If you do that for five years, ten years, fifteen years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.

Mark Jones 0:38

And welcome back to another episode of Real Estate AF, where the AF stands for and finance, and I'm your host, Mark Jones, and we are powered by LoneBot, smarter mortgage matching now available on the App Store and Google Play. And today, guys, since we just flew by January, everything happened so quickly. I think one of the most un or one of the topics that is not talked about as much as it should be is coaching. And what we're gonna do in this episode is we're gonna help agents, business owners and all those alike understand why coaching accelerates results, what actually causes burnout and attraction, and why the what the commitment actually looks like in real life. And in this discussion, I chose a gentleman that I've known for quite some time, believe in everything that he preaches. Matter of fact, I probably should jump in your coaching program at some point. But without further ado, let me introduce Art Fernandez. Art, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Doing man, doing good, man. Thank you for having us here today.

Mark Jones 1:44

Absolutely. And this should be a fun one because I think for the past two years, everybody has struggled, struggle, struggle, struggle.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Right.

Mark Jones 1:52

And a lot of the feedback that I'm getting from those that are not struggling as much as those that are, and the differentiator is they have coaches, right? Myself included. And it's one of those things that I feel as though anytime a coach, especially mine, is trying to sell a new person to the program or educate them on what's important about coaching, it's like pulling teeth when it should not be that hard for that individual that truly wants to excel in sales or in whatever it is that they're trying to accomplish to grasp the concept of having a coach. You look at gosh, Michael Jordan, anybody you name, they've got a coach for every aspect of their life, not just one. Not just one, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

Right.

Mark Jones 2:41

So before we get into it, if you could give us a rundown of who is art.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

Right, man. Thank you again for having us today. I thought when you were introducing the show, it was, you know, AF, Art Fernandez, because you know here today so happy to show up and show up.

Mark Jones 2:54

AF stands for Art Fernandez.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Art Fernandez, right? Love it. Uh yeah, thanks for having me. Hey guys, for those of you who I have not had the pleasure of meeting Art Fernandez, April's gonna actually be 29 years in the real estate game. Wow. And uh blessed to be here, right? And so it was back in 08 when the last real estate market shifted, yeah, that I learned more about the dynamics of coaching and being led and helped by others who knew more than me. Sure. And so I've had the pleasure over the last 29 years since 2009. So the last 15, 16 years really did a lot of transitioning and movement into the development and coaching side of this. And it's uh been a fun journey. And, you know, I appreciate you saying that when you're trying to connect with others about the benefits of coaching, it has, and at times does feel like pulling teeth. So I've been very grateful, and again, you hear me say blessed a lot because I don't know how else to explain it. Uh, moved into a phase of life, especially over this last year where it's like about attracting. And if it makes sense to people, I'm not selling anybody on anything. I teach and train around the entire city three to five days a week, and I don't pitch or push coaching to anybody. If they have questions, they inquire. If it's a good fit, we move forward. And if it's not, I'm not offended. I'm like, hey, keep coming to the classes, which we'll talk about the difference between training and coaching here a little bit later. But yeah, it's been a you know a fun journey. Uh, had the pleasure, taught somewhere north of like 8,000 classes. Wow. Trained uh a little over 1,800 realtors across the nation in my time in the development side of it. And so it's it's fun, man, to always be learning. And and you know, we have, and I'll reference them throughout this session. Uh, we have some amazing mentors and coaches that just pour into us relentlessly because they understand, right? Y'all have all heard that good old saying, you want to go fast, go alone. Yeah, you want to go far, go together. Amen. And I loved your analogy there because one of the things that I say, right, is we all well, most people like sports. You know, these athletes that are performing at that high level, do they really need somebody telling them what to do? Not necessarily. I mean, sort of, but they need somebody helping them be accountable for what they're capable of doing. And you guys see it every day in any sport. People get dropped, they get contracts not renewed, they get traded left and right. We could talk about all sorts of talent that just wasn't coachable and didn't fit in organizations. And some of them sadly never will because they don't have that mentality, that spirit, that understanding of knowing that if you want to go far, you got to have somebody help you.

Mark Jones 5:21

Amen to that. So you mentioned a couple of things that I want to hone in on before we dive into our conversation today. Someone that knows more than me. You mentioned that. And and and I'm a firm believer in getting in rooms that I'm not the smartest one in. I'm a firm believer in shutting the hell up sometimes and listening, absorbing, taking taking it in. Right. And in many cases, it's not replicating, it's just extrapolating and then doing it your way, so to speak. Right. Yeah now. Is that something that you find very difficult in this realm of coaching? Is people getting in their own way, the the ego piece of it. I know better. Oh, I I I have my own. All the time. Does that make sense?

Interest vs Commitment And Standards

SPEAKER_01 6:14

No, all the time. And and I'll tell you, we had at our church a few months ago, we had the pleasure of hearing a very uh famous local MBA star speak. And what he spoke to was the love of the coach, which you guys all know. Can we name drop on that? Yeah, absolutely. Right. He was talking about pop, and you know, pop wasn't a religious guy, but what he said, this this gentleman, he was talking about how pop had an innate gift, like this amazing ability as a coach to meet people where they're at and develop them, right? So, like his point was like you never saw Tim be a loud, boisterous, get crazy kind of guy, but he was the first one there before everybody, and he was the last one there. And Pop poured into him in that context. So I think one of the things that I've been able to adapt and learn, if somebody is actually, and you're gonna hear me say this a few times, there's a difference between being interested because everybody's interested in coaching. Of course, not everybody's committed. Yeah. And and just last week alone, I had to tell two people, like, look, you're really interested, but you're not committed. I'm not the right fit for you. And that wasn't about their style, that was about them willing to accept coaching and want to work outside their comfort zone because I'm not the kind of guy who's gonna tell you what you want to hear. I'm directly the person who will tell you what you need to hear. And that doesn't work for a lot of people.

Mark Jones 7:24

Well, in addition, in addition, it wasn't just about them, that conversation that you had. It was a little bit about you because you do have standards, you do have a level of uh, I don't know, gratitude for yourself that I'm not just gonna take your money. Right. I want you to have some measurable outcomes that that's what you signed up for. That's what you signed up for. You know, absolutely. So being able to part with somebody and be honest with somebody to say, hey, maybe this isn't we're not a good fit, maybe this isn't for you, is losing business, but at the same time, what are you losing?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Right. You know, I came to a realization years ago too, and it was a hard trial because look, here's the reality of it. I want to help everybody, but I can't. And it's the same thing for realtors, right? Like when I trying to educate and help them understand their vision for their business and their ideal client and all that great marketing. Who's your ideal client, man? Because you can't be everything to everyone. And you guys who have been to several of my sessions, you've heard me say, you know, who makes more money, a generalist or a specialist, right? I'm a specialist and I help people who want to be helped. And that's not everybody, and that's okay. Yeah, right. I have a style again about I would do want to meet them where they're at, but we have this like baseline metric. Like, if we don't do these things, I'm not for you. And there's people who inquire and they start okay, and then after a few weeks, we'll get into all this, but like they don't they don't stick with it, right? Because nobody nobody likes it.

Mark Jones 8:49

It reminds me of I keep seeing this ad on social media over and over. I don't know what the guy's name is. You may actually know, but in order to start his coaching program, his fitness, etc., you got to make him at least 150 grand. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who is that?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

I forget his name, but yeah, the perform fitness of these dudes. And he's like, I'm not being a jerk, I'm just not for everybody.

Mark Jones 9:07

And I'm setting my expectations and my standard of operation right now. Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

And if I wanted a six pack, I would call him. That's right. I'm not interested in that. I like being fluffy for this cold weather. I just have to be prepared for text. More to love, baby. More to love.

Mark Jones 9:21

Yeah. So let's let's take it back just a notch. I want to give folks a little bit of a background. You being in real estate, damn near as long as I've been alive. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_01 9:35

The jokes are like some of the people on my team, they're like, oh, you started when I was born.

Mark Jones 9:38

I'm like, so what has going through coaching led you to start bear coaching?

Abundance Mindset And P&L Reality

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Right. We had uh, I guess back like I said, during the that oh shift in 08, 09 and being able to learn, being able to be exposed to and in rooms with people who knew more than me. I just really that that inerrant passion for wanting to help others succeed and knowing, you know, one of my claims to fame is look, I don't have the only way to be successful. I never said that. What I do say with a lot of love is I do have proven ways to be successful. Boom. And again, I'll try to meet you where you're at, but whether whatever the context of your personal business is, we got to have standards. And if we don't meet those standards, I don't want to hear your BS that coaching doesn't work. Does coaching not work or you don't work? Because we're gonna talk in a minute about systems. And I'm like, OCD anal retentive about systems. So like you can't tell me nothing. Like I'm always willing to grow, listen, adapt, and hear. But yeah, I think it's you know one of those opportunities that came into life where I just felt like, wow, this is kind of like what I feel called to do. And for a long time, I was doing it for free. And then I was like, what the hell am I doing? I got six kids. I can't be doing this for free. And look, some of y'all coached with me during COVID. You know, I next to about charged y'all nothing because I wanted to help y'all. And some of those people are still some of the most biggest raving, cheering fans. They may not be in coaching anymore, but they're constantly encouraging people to come to my development sessions or to inquire about coaching. And so, yeah, man, I would say it was one of those opportunities that just kind of turn into a blessing of wow, man, this is really what I'm passionate about doing. And as we were kind of joking before the session, you know, if I could have it my way, uh, next April, 2027 will be 30 years in the game. And God willing, if things keep going the way that they are with our personal team, I'd like to hang up my production shoes and just pour into the team or organization and others looking to succeed at high levels. And so that's the vision right now. I got uh 14 people on our team. They're amazing. Most of them are new to real estate. Yeah, so I love that part of it because they don't have bad habits that I got to break. Amen. They listen, they eventually listen to what I say. Not initially. I wish I have never had anybody initially. There's always some, you know, breaking that horse in tactics behind it.

Mark Jones 11:48

Yeah, you step on a few landmines, you blow off a leg, and then eventually you hobble back over to art and say, Okay, you were right.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

And then and then they start doing it and they're like, hey, that worked. And I'm like, Oh, really? Yeah, you know, and that funny thing because I was born last night, and exactly. Well, and it's that funny thing, right? Like we joke about it sometimes with our spouses and significant others that I could say the same shit over and over and over, and it's like falls on deaf ears. Somebody else does, somebody else does it, and they're like, That's such a great idea. And I'm like, no, that's cool. I haven't been saying that for the last year or seven, exactly or ten. And so yeah, man, it's it seems that was fun.

Mark Jones 12:23

You I mean, it sounds to me like you filled a void because most people, when they jump out to do a new venture, they're either doing it for themselves, they're doing it to fill a void, or they're doing it to solve a problem that they they see. Was it one of those three or all three at the same time? I know it's a weird question.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

No, that's a great question. You know, I had the the pleasure. Some of y'all have heard the story back in '96. Um, my mentor and friend Janice uh took me under her wing and really just kind of uh she mr. Miyagi'd me. I don't know how to say it. I've said it in other episodes of things before with the chopsticks and everything. But no, guys, like I learned by just sitting there and it was so phenomenal. Everything that was stowed upon me and gifted to me because she was just, you know, she's this like little four foot-nothing Norwegian, and she was slang in like 50, 60 houses a year back in the 90s. And for those of you who weren't born, the average prices in the 90s were like in the 90s. Yeah. So like commissions were like 2,700 bucks. You sold a$200,000 house, you're like, oh, they must be a doctor. That's all you're like, you're your baller, right? You got a$6,000 commission. Right. Now you guys these days are bringing home 9, 10K checks on average with big K bonuses. I think, you know, to answer your question, why did we develop air coaching and how did I fall into it? Really feeling like it was a calling because Janice gave me so much that I saw this opportunity to help others succeed and and truly throughout the years of development and the rooms that I've been in, having that abundance mentality and mindset. Like, look, there's enough business out there for us. Yes, sir. If I and listen, I've taught at numerous different brokerages, all their broker owners can attest. I don't try to recruit, I don't try to push coaching. It's like if it makes sense, cool. Right. But one of the things is I always hope those agents leave with something of value, something that they'll actually take action on today to make an impact. Because I do believe with my whole heart, guys, that this game, this real estate business, it is a get-rich business. It is a basic business. And the CEO personally of our of our company, you know, he had a post or a tweet, I don't know, a few weeks ago. And this guy's, you know, he was like 30 under 30, top agent in the nation. He's a phenomenal gentleman. He had a post that he just simply said, you know, the the the guys on the top, the biggest of the big, they're they're the people who've been doing the same shit for the last 10 years. The same, no, he even said it the same boring stuff for the last 10 years. They just got really good at it. Yep. And they understood that, and this is where Janice taught me like, I still co-call, I still lead generate, same here. I still do the same things that I was doing back in the 90s. So when people are like, well, you've been doing it so long, I've been doing the same stuff for so long. That's right. And we can we run a predictable business. Is it does it fluctuate sometimes based on other extenuating factors, economics, things like that? Of course. Sure. But for the most part, like we don't ride the highs and the lows of, oh man, I'm poor. Oh, now I'm rich. Oh, let me post like I'm too blessed to be stressed on a vacation. You know, it's one of those. And, you know, have we had hard times, guys? Absolutely. It's those of you who have tuned in before, man, there's been at least, well, in 29 years, there's been at least like six or seven times that I'm like, I'm done. Yeah, I'm out. Yep. And I have great people around me who are like, no, you're not. You got six kids, you ain't going nowhere. No, that's fair. That's fair. Let's go back to lead generated. I can make some money, you know.

Habits, Systems, And Atomic Habits

Mark Jones 15:38

Now you you mentioned something that I believe wholeheartedly, and I think it is a mindset 1000%. And that is the difference between someone that thinks with a mindset of scarcity versus abundance. And me personally, just like you said a moment ago, when I'm especially now being the CEO of Lone Bot, I'm talking to loan officers, branch managers, regional managers all around the country. And when I come here locally, people ask me, well, why is it that you can bring different lenders on your podcast? Why don't aren't you worried about worried about what? Like that's not competition. My only competition is right here, and there are plenty of opportunities, people that need to buy homes, people that need advising, and people that need the truth. And for those of you that have tuned into the new playlist, the mortgage truth, it's necessary. But the mindset of the scarcity, it I don't know. It's one of those things that can cripple you in any situation that someone with a mindset of abundance rolls their sleeves up and says, There's plenty. Let's go. Let's go do more of the things that we know how to do. We'll just do more of them. More of them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Yeah. No, and I love that. You know, and and just if if you guys are listening and find yourself at times with that scarcity mindset, listen, it's not uncommon. I would say that, you know, if you're a human being, at times there's always that thought of like, well, should I? The reality is, is I always try to take people back to that basic concept of like, if you start your day with gratitude, it's really hard to focus on all that negative stuff. Because to your point, we're in a, at least here in San Antonio and the surrounding counties, like we're in a very thriving economy. So when people are talking, even, you know, when rates were a little bit higher than they are now, and they're like, oh, I literally have had people blame the market or the rates or fill in the blank. And I'm like, no, it's because you suck and you don't work. You know, you think your tweet or your post or your five mailings or your, you know, whatever it is that they're doing on a small scale is enough. And the reality is, is if it was enough, you'd you wouldn't be complaining. Yeah. Right. And there's that again, that hard realization that me personally, I do have the just a style of like tough love. And that's just the way that I was raised. And that's just the way that I I choose to be with people. So I say with a big heart, like, I'm not for everybody. I'm not with everybody forever. Some people come to us and they need three, six months of fine-tuning, and they get it. They're abundance, big picture thinkers, they understand the importance of running your P and L's, which most of you don't do, right? Paycheck to paycheck is stressful. I have been there, done that. I don't try to sit up on a soapbox and be like, look, I've been balling for 30 years. No, man, I have had some times in our career where it's like, yeah.

Mark Jones 18:24

Well, I mean, to add to your point, for those of you real estate agents, real estate professionals out there listening, and this kind of goes the same for loan officers, but not as much as it does for realtors. If you are not running your PL and you're like, wait a minute, my broker has a PL. Well, yes. But you should also have a PL. What did you win on? What did you lose on? Have you recouped? What should you spend more on because your return of investment was there? I could bet you anything, coaching would be up there on the list. Now, Ark, before I get into the the big questions, I and you mentioned something that made me write this down. How important to you and to anyone out there are routines? And and you mention every morning I get up, I am gratitude. Every morning I wake up, I also am thankful for what I have today, thankful for what I could have today. And then I jump my ass in the cold plunge, and that is part of my routine now.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

Got to. Right.

Mark Jones 19:27

How important is that?

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Man, so if you guys have listened to anything that I said before or talked about, one of my favorite books is Atomic Habits. And that quote somewhere. And that quote from atomic habits, you don't rise, you don't rise or fall to the level of your goals. You rise or you fall to the level of your systems, and your systems being part of your habits, right? So I'm gonna make a comment here a little bit later on about some of that as well, too. But I would say of the utmost importance. So in some of our sessions, we dive into, you know, the ho, why'd you get into this? And you know, I often hear things. Like freedom and flexibility. And my question is always the same, man. It hasn't changed in like 15 plus years of coaching. When they say freedom, I'm like, what's real freedom? Getting up at nine or 10 when you feel like it or walking into that home that you just paid off. Walking out to that car that you dreamt of that you don't have a car note on anymore.

Mark Jones 20:19

And that is a great point because those are definitely two different types of freedom right there that many don't even think about the second one. Ever.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Right. They just think I can come and go as I please. So I would say habits and systems are going to be the one of the pillars of your foundation of whether you actually make it or not, because the truth is, and you guys probably all know agents who still wing it and have been winging it. The problem with winging it is not duplicatable. And if you're not duplicating it, then your entire success is going to continue to hinge on your productivity. Right. Right. And that's not, if you read any of the financial literacy books, that's not how you develop lasting or real wealth. And do we were on like a powerful call with one of our coaches yesterday morning and we had this real estate mogul guru just pouring into how like you have to have at least 14 streams of income. And she was talking though about her habits, and she spoke lots of love and life over all the mistakes she made. Like she led with that. So it made it very real and relatable because, like I'm trying to share with you guys, I don't have it all figured out. I've not ever had it all figured out. My it's like parenting, man. I hope, like, do as I say, not as I've done.

Mark Jones 21:25

Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

Because I've, like I said, I've got proven ways. They're not the only ways. And my hopes in people who are committed to coaching is that they can find their way.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

You know, find their way to build lasting sustainable wealth or income, whatever that means to them personally, that's my always my goal. I love that. Changing people's lives. Because they always talk about generational wealth. And I'm like, yeah, but how do you do that, man? How do you do that when you're paycheck to paycheck? That's right.

Mark Jones 21:49

You know, and so and I can speak personally about the the idea of creating systems and duplicating systems and then duplicating yourself, having done that gosh, for many years now. And I think for me personally, it has helped me jump back in the saddle when necessary without a hitch. And I have grown teams, I have lost teams, I have shifted teams, etc. And now I'm in a season, as they call it, where I'm back producing, like riding a bike. Right. Bring me all my systems back that I used to use, and now production is through the roof. Why? Because I'm doing what I always did that worked. Worked, you know.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

And when you get down to it, I mean, would you say there's anything has changed?

Mark Jones 22:37

Nothing has changed.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

Right. And that's where again when people try to reinvent the wheel, the the means of communication has changed.

Mark Jones 22:43

Other than that, what is communicated, still the same.

Why Coaching Beats Talent Alone

SPEAKER_01 22:46

Right. Still, and I love that. I love that. I'll share some stuff that one of our other mentors says often. And his words rang rang true to me because you know, he's um a phenomenal person. He'll be here in a few weeks to hang out with us. So if you guys are tuning in and want to come hang out with us and our uh multimillionaire mentor, his name is Jay Kinder, he's out of uh the Dallas area. But you know, he'll he'll talk to us straight about you know his ups and his downs. And he calls it the bitch lap when he's had to get back in production because he didn't have all the systems fine-tuned in place. And now, fast forward, he's still fine-tuning him. He's still pouring into us multiple days a week uh with different opportunities and resources on the coaching side of it to if we choose, have unlimited opportunities for diverse streams of earning. That's right. That's right. Yeah, love it.

Mark Jones 23:31

Well, now a big question, and and this could lead many places, but I I think you can handle it. Why is coaching so important for real estate agents in particular?

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Right, in particular, I I would tell you guys this, and and just stay with me because I made notes so that I don't go off on my soapboxes on a whole bunch of other stuff. But one of the things that I wanted to share with you guys that I believe wholeheartedly is that you know, talent alone doesn't fail. Amen. I say uncoached talent fails.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

I say that with love because most most agents, most don't lack potential, they lack structure, accountability, and someone who's willing to tell them the truth to their face. And I do have a knack for that. Like I'll be your cheerleader, but I'm also not gonna dance around the fact that if you're not doing what you said you were gonna do. And so that that's that's a hard part of people to to digest in that coaching aspect, right? Like, coaching isn't about motivation, it's about execution, action. That's right. Right? It's about execution, action and accountability, and accountability. And like I said, man, like I want to help meet people where they're at, but the for most of you agents listening, here's the reality. Here's another tough truth. Most of you are not, you most of you are drowning in information between the new ways of communication, social media, marketing, you are drowning in information, but lacking direction. Okay. Because all that's left there is the application of it. Right.

unknown 24:58

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

Because if effort alone worked, you y'all would all be making mad stacks. So so let me ask you, what happens to these talented people that don't have guidance? Well, I mean, that's where you see them after five years. Either they don't make it or they're struggling. Yeah. Right? They didn't build any infrastructure, they didn't build anything sustainable, or you guys know them. And listen, I love you who are listening, who are always late, like chickens with your head cut off, trying to remember what you were going to do next. It should not be that way. Your attorney, your doctor, your surgeon, you don't see any of them running around stressing out because they have systems in place. That's right. Right? They have systems in place.

Mark Jones 25:35

And so, matter of fact, that's a great analogy because they are very system oriented.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

Right. Yeah. So when you ask me, you know, why do I think it's important is because hope is not a strategy. Coaching is good point.

Mark Jones 25:49

Good point. Yeah, sign sealed delivered. So when it comes to coaching, what do you believe? Because you've been doing this for quite some time. Matter of fact, I would go as far as to say that you personally are being coached as well from coaching and what people go through in coaching start to finish, start to beyond, what creates the biggest return on the investment for these folks that are joining? I mean, it can be the skills, the mindset, the accountability. What because there is so much that you can get out of coaching, right, dependent on what you're joining coaching for.

SPEAKER_01 26:27

Right.

Mark Jones 26:28

What would you think the best ROI is? And there's no right answers. It's just your experience.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

You know, my experience, I think a lot of the folks that I've seen really blossom and flourish are the ones that have the mindset and the heart set of being coached, being coachable. Oh, baby. Right? Because everybody says that. And listen, again, if you're tuning in and think I'm talking to you, you're right. I probably am. But there's been several people who are like, hey, I'm really interested or I'm serious about your coaching. And I'm like, no, you're not, because everything else you're doing still shows me that you are stuck in the same patterns and not willing to change. And I'm not your father, I'm not your boss. I'm just not the right fit for you, if that's what you want. I love that.

Mark Jones 27:11

And and I actually made a note because that was the second thing that you spoke about in the introduction here, which was, and you didn't say it specifically, but you just did, which is coachability. Right. As a coach, for as long as you have been, does it still take you a little time to determine if someone is coachable? Can you kind of spot that within a couple of conversations with them? And and then furthermore, do you give them an opportunity to prove you wrong or right?

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Right. No, that's a great question. I I feel like just because listen, understand, right? With a big heart, I am old and I'm older and then almost three decades.

Mark Jones 27:48

Almost three, three decades of this guy in a bottle and freeze him up.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

I don't want, I don't want to judge a book by its cover. So I want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I make it really simple with like some intake forms. Sure. And that tells me a lot within the first 48 hours.

SPEAKER_04 28:01

Okay.

Coachability And Intake Expectations

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Because I have some people who are just as bad OCD anal retentive like me, and they get it back to me in the clearest and most digitalized format possible with extensive notes. That doesn't always necessarily mean they're going to succeed. As a matter of fact, that's a personality.

Mark Jones 28:16

That correct. And that also may be the thing that you need to coach them away from a tiny bit. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

I've got to mean I've got some, you know, analysis, paralysis, yeah, analyticals that just I'm going to do my thing because this is what works for me. And I I try to meet them where they're at, man, but I try to also speak that truth. I give them the truth that if that was gonna get you where you wanted, you wouldn't need me. Ooh, love it. I love it. Yeah, but then I get the, I get the, you know, I get called the asshole coach, right? Like in the context, list. I'm also very blessed. If you guys don't know, in our organization, I get the honor of saying, like, I get to work alongside with what I would say the other top two coaches in our city, JJ Godana and Coach Matt Della Cruz. So like the three of us get to power a lot. We all have different strengths and different styles. But if you had to paint a picture on it, I am definitely the a-hole of the group, right? Because I'm just like, look, I'm not gonna judge you by a cover, but you want to square true and like straight up, like within the first day or two, because I don't want to waste your time because or my time. Yeah, right, or my time, man. I got I got a lot of people that depend on me and people that I'd love to help, but your actions almost initially will tell me the story of like whether or not you you are about this, because I have some people who turn in some chicken scratch horrible stuff, yeah, but they show up, right? But they show up and they're willing to put in the work, right? And I have some on my team that they they're succeeding because they show up. That's right. And so I try not to judge the book by its cover. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but we have some simple intake processes that start painting a picture pretty quick for me. And I kind of I use that pretty immediately within the first 72 hours to determine whether or not I have obviously, because of my time in this industry, I have a lot of friends that I've known for a long time. And so I might give them a little bit more grace, knowing any of their personal dynamics or things that they're dealing with. But guys, look, and again, I don't know what book I'm stealing this from, but you guys have all heard it. You can have reasons or you can have results, but you can't have both. That's right. Right. And listen, some people are like, well, fill in the blank. I got this or I got that. And I'm like, dude, I got six kids and like four different jobs. Like, what do you what now? That's right. Well, you're built different. Cool. Thank you. That's a that's a it's a compliment. Guess what?

Mark Jones 30:31

We're still flesh and bones, baby. But it's a choice. I agree 1000%. It's a choice.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

I don't have to get up at 3:30.

Mark Jones 30:36

I want to get up at a note for those out there, the choice that he's talking about, it's not a choice that you make once. It's something that every single day you make that choice. Matter of fact, every night you make that choice. I'm going to bed at this time so that I can get up at this time. And then when the alarm goes off, you make that choice to get your ass up. No, that that's you're on the money. And I knew you would be, of course. I, JJ, good friend of mine, knows his shit, love him on the show. What is the other gentleman's name?

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Matt Delacruz.

Mark Jones 31:08

Matt Delacruz, I've never met him. I need to meet him.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

He's amazing, and Matt's got an extensive background.

Mark Jones 31:12

Nothing but great things.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Same thing, almost three decades in the coaching and development space. And he does uh our tech or tune-up Tuesdays every Tuesday morning. Okay. And so anybody listening that ever wants to chime in, Coach Matt does a little 30-minute inspirational, very heartfelt, very spiritual felt, focused, inspirational session every Tuesday morning via Google Meet. So you're always welcome to jump in. It's amazing. Uh, we actually have, and I know this won't come out till next week, but every other month we have a session called Jam. Okay. And I just made that up. I didn't even put it in Chat GPT. I just, I was like, it's Coach JJ Ard and Matt. And so every every other month we're having a jam session. And so, like this Friday is our our third one, our third one. And so they're always sold out and packed. We make them exclusive, we make them small, 50 people. This one's sold out at uh yeah, sold out in like a day and a half. Free. It's free. We're not charging you to come. We just want to pour into each other. And so, like I said, I'm very fortunate to like be in the same space with these amazing gentlemen. And I love it, man, because all of our minds think in the same direction but with different angles. Yes. So it's really cool to be able to hear that. And then again, we have people bigger and better and done way more than all of us that are pouring into us consistently. And I love the way that you said that because it's not like they're pouring into us once a month or when they feel like it. These are all scheduled coaching sessions that we all have access to. We have to choose to get plugged in. We have to choose. And there's stuff almost every day of the week that with our mentors we can get plugged into, but it's a choice. Amen. And we prioritize that choice because why not? Right. Well, it beats the alternative. Right. And and you coach and don't coach plenty of the alternative. Alternative. I don't have time to listen to that. Okay. You're choosing not to make the time. What do you have time for? Right.

Mark Jones 32:56

That's my question.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

Right.

Mark Jones 32:57

You got time to do this, this, and this, but you don't have time to work on your business. Right.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

Most of you waste at least three to four hours a day scrolling, doom scrolling, or not intentional scrolling, which again, listen, I have some people that's their jam, and they make it their jam and they're very efficient with it. But then most of you don't. That's right. Most of you don't. Most of you are doom scrolling or shopping for stuff you shouldn't be buying, anyways. That's right. No, you're on the money. Yeah.

Training vs Coaching: Implementation And Accountability

Mark Jones 33:23

Okay, so let's say someone after watching this show, they're like, Man, I love the way that Art portrayed himself, what he's about, mindset, what he believes, the whole nine. But they didn't get to kind of hear a synopsis of what coaching looks like. So what would a week-to-week, I don't know, session structure, what does that look like?

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Right. And so most agents that we've moved into here in 2026, the the sessions for coaching are weekly. I prefer in-person. If you have to meet uh via video conference, that's okay. But they're 45 minutes to hour sessions in person every week. And if you miss one, that's on you. I I don't vacation if ever often. And if I do, you're gonna know like six months in advance.

Mark Jones 34:14

And so remember, he's got six kids. I got six kids.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

That's an expensive. We're going down to South Park. Sandcastles, y'all gonna like it. And they do, they're all cool, they're all great, amazing kids. And so that that's the the flow basically is that weekly meetings, in-person preferred. If we had to do a video conference, I have a really neat coaching tracking system. And so all the meetings are recorded, both video uh for video and AI. So you get this cool platform that you can go back and look at. Well, what do we talk about? What actions that I give you. So every every coaching session will end with a specific number of actionable items. Everything is recorded. So once the meeting is over, you can also go back into my platform and you can look at the meeting synopsis with all the takeaway key points and specific details on your action plans. It's available on the web and it's uh it's got a downloadable app. So agents who are like, I didn't remember what you said. I was joking before we came over here. Look, and I was joking before we came over here with personal team members, and I was like, Well, hey, you haven't logged into our coaching platform in like a month, so I wouldn't expect you to know where it is. And they're like, No, I have. And I'm like, it shows right here, last logged in, one month. And so that's that's the way we structure coaching. If people want more, I'm happy to talk about more. It just really I found that weekly being able to share that 45 minutes to an hour together is super intentional. Plus, again, and even if you're not in coaching, guys, find me on the social feeds. I've got again three to five in-person training and development sessions between different industry partners, different builders throughout the city. We're just at our Broadway office, we'll be out with some builders tomorrow. We'll be out at our Alamo Ranch office on Thursday. We don't try to recruit, we don't try to push coaching. If you've been to my stuff, you know I'm speaking truth because it's not about trying to sell anybody. And I say the same thing for clients. I ain't selling anybody on anything, right? It's about attracting. If it makes sense, cool. Ask more. Maybe it's a fit, maybe it isn't. You're still always welcome to I love that.

Mark Jones 36:06

Now, I want to give from what you just mentioned, I want to give the folks out there a little nugget. Those of you that are continuing to post online, what should I do with chat GPT? What should I and that's maybe not how you sound, maybe it is arts classes, arts coaching sessions. He puts them in a format where you can go back to them. And this works with anything. Take the transcripts, throw it into chat GPT, and have it provide you a couple of not a script, a couple of scripts or content that now you sound like the professional. Now you sound like you know what you're talking about. Because what you're saying is factual, whether you've done it or have not, it's still factual. So the idea of fake it till you make it, we all do that. But at the same time, we're not lying to folks when you do that. Leverage what you have, what you've been given, what you're paying for, and leverage it. Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:06

And I love that you said that, right? Because sometimes people are like, Well, you're teaching the same context of information. And listen, I have like 60 different classes that I've made up.

Mark Jones 37:15

Most of the books have what you've talked about.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

Before Chat GPT, I made up these 60 plus classes. And I have had some industry partners or agents and be like, Well, it's all the same thing. And I was like, look, if you don't know who Leo Pareja is, go back and look at his quote about millionaires doing the same thing over for the same boring thing over for 10 years in a row. If you don't know who he is, go read Mamba Mentality. I think most of you know who Kobe Bryant is. Yes, sir. And Kobe Bryant was asked, why do I stick to the basics? And he said, I never get tired of them because the basics are what I fall to when I'm tired. Right? They were interviewing him at four in the morning while he was doing layups and they're like, why? He goes, because when I get tired, it's the fundamentals that go away if I don't train them. That's right. So don't listen to me, don't listen to Leo. Maybe I'll have a big heart and listen to the late, great Kobe Bryant who said the basics are how you survive regardless of the market, regardless of what challenges you might be facing. There's opportunities out there. If you find the basics and stick to them, and I fully acknowledge that those might be and look a little different in this digital age with social stuff, right? Like I said, I used to market on I used to market on freaking Craigslist, same here and MySpace. Like that was my game.

Mark Jones 38:24

Oh my god, same here. My first ad that I ever put out for lending was on Craigslist.

SPEAKER_01 38:29

Straight up. I used to run ads on Craigslist for like 25 bucks and pull like a hundred plus leads, right? I get it. It's for murderers now. And if you want to get kidnapped, so I'm not endorsing it. I'm just saying. So times are different.

Mark Jones 38:40

Yeah, for sure. Now you're talking about back to the basics. And I want to say, for the last man, uh at least two months, we do an episode a week, at least two months, probably longer. We've been talking about, and this is all of the experts that we have on here, including myself, we're talking about going back to the basics. Right. And when it comes to all of the newer to the business agents, even those that got in 2020, 2021, I have an assumption that I believe that they never really got to establish the basics.

Back To Basics And Generational Selling

SPEAKER_01 39:12

No, they didn't because business was just falling out of the sky. You're right. Right. And and I love that you say that. And please, again, if you are offended by me saying you say I always go back to the basics, you know, with my all my heart, I don't care if you're offended. The basics are what keep us going. And I have 60 varieties of different basic strategies. I've got the modalities of the hunters and I got the modalities for the cultivators and stuff in between because I get it. Not everybody's a co-calling, door knocking, open house, pound the pavement junkie. I get and fully acknowledge that. But if you're gonna be a tweeter and tic tacker, then you got to do that at a high freaking level. You can't keep using your dirty camera with your shaky hand and your shitty audio quality. Like you got to step up your game, right?

Mark Jones 39:52

Can I pause for a moment of silence for that one? Okay, we're good. That was fantastic. You're on the money. Right. And and why is it that saying those things can be offensive at times to people? Is it because they just don't like hearing the truth? Right. Or they feel like they're you're talking directly to them.

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Yeah, you feel like I'm talking directly to you. I hope you do something with it. Right. So look, let me give you a specific one. You guys always hear the same. Well, this is a relational business. Yes, listen, here's the thing. I feel like a lot of agents quit or fail because nobody prepared them for the reality that this is a performance-based business. And when they talk about the quality of the relationships, I was telling a story this morning about somebody who was like, Well, I haven't, they're they're a service provider. And they're like, Well, I haven't heard from you. And I was like, I opened my phone. I was like, you haven't messaged or called me since April. And they they had the audacity to be like, Well, you don't send us any business. Honestly, with all my love and heart, like as kind as I can be, you guys know, out of sight, out of mind. That's right. And and while there's enough business out there for all of us, please also remember you are in a competitive industry. Facts. So if you're not the first one they think about, you may not be one they think about at all. Because if you're not first, you're last.

Mark Jones 41:12

Right, Ricky Bobby, baby. Man, shake and bake, baby. Shake and bake. So so you saying that leads me to what do you think? No wrong answers, no right answers. What are the top three reasons that realtors fail in this business?

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Okay. You guys confuse activity for productivity. You're busy being busy, right? You want I would say first and foremost, you confuse activity with productivity. You guys want, secondly, and there's nothing wrong with this. We all want flexibility without discipline. Right. And you guys have heard the the biggest of the best, the Elons, all these innovators, the Bezos, you've heard them all say, you gotta do what others won't do so that you can do what others can't do, right?

unknown 42:04

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 42:05

So I would say the activity with without productivity or confusing it. I would say the flexibility without discipline. And this one is gonna hit some of y'all. And I hope that it helps empower you to move forward in a different capacity. But most of you guys avoid uncomfortable conversations. Ah. And look, I'm not just saying with clients, I'm saying with yourself. I'm gonna keep doing what I've been doing because it's gonna get me different results. But if that was the truth, it would have already happened. Man. Right? You don't, guys, a lot of y'all have the skills, you lack the self-management.

SPEAKER_04 42:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:41

And that's why I have coaches. Because I don't always feel like doing everything. You think I want to, I want to get up most days at 3 30, but not every day.

Mark Jones 42:50

You get up every morning at 3, 3:30. Damn, dude. I sometimes I don't even go to bed till 3:30. I burn that menu.

SPEAKER_01 42:55

I'm like in bed like by nine, dude. I believe that.

Mark Jones 42:58

When I texted you last night, I went, shit, I shouldn't have done that. I bet he's asleeper.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

I'm about to text this full back at 3:30. I was gonna thumbs up heart it and do the, you know, whatever. I was just crawling into bed. And so, man, those would be my big three things. The activity, they confuse it with productivity, the flexibility without the true understanding of the discipline that it takes to have that. And then the just the fortitude to have those uncomfortable conversations that that start with yourself, right? That whole mentality, that whole mindset behind, like, I love your sign over there, right? Whatever it takes, and and everybody says that, but when the rubber reets the road, it's it's about that self-management. Like most of you guys with with again, and I keep saying this just to hope to, you know, it'll stick appeal to your that I'm not being a total raging a-hole, but most of you guys lack that self-management. You you say you want it when you feel like it. And then I love it. This is the thing my pastor says. He's like, he said, it, and you guys have probably heard it in other books too, act first and your feelings will follow. True. Act first and you'll feel better when your bank account is a negative. Preach. Right. Absolutely.

Mark Jones 44:07

And and in asking that question, you didn't give generalized answers. That is very specific. It it shows me not only that you've been through it personally to determine that that's what the issues are, but coached enough people that these are spot on and things that are fixable, right?

SPEAKER_01 44:26

Absolutely 100% fixable. Right. And we'll talk about that in a second because you know, we joked earlier about PL, and some people listening are like, what's P ⁇ L? They're they're Googling it or chatting it right now, and that's okay, guys. But that's why you got to learn from others who have laid the path before you, right? Because it's about being able to see those blind spots or having somebody at least help you in the times that you're struggling. And listen, if you're spiritual, you guys all know biblically, we're not meant to do life alone. So you gotta, again, you gotta have somebody there who's helping you along the way. Maybe it's a mentor, maybe it's a peer. That just becomes a little bit more cloudy because you know, you got two people, sometimes the blind leading the blind. That's right. And so just caution folks with that as well, too. Very good.

Mark Jones 45:07

Very good. So let's let's let's dive into this. This is a tough question that I have for you, but I think you'd be able to tackle it. What do you think the biggest lie that new agents believe about real estate?

Top Reasons Agents Fail

SPEAKER_01 45:27

That it's easy. Okay. That it's easy. They think that just because they know people that they're automatically going to work with them. And if you guys have again attended any of our sessions, most of you guys know the average consumer knows at least 12 realtors. Right. And so one of the things that like I press into my team hard is being able to answer that that inherit deep-rooted question, like, why should I hire you? Yeah. And most people can't, or they give you some carte blanche because I'm hardworking and honest. And response. I'm hardworking and I'm a good communicator. I love to conversate. Okay. Like that's baseline bullshit that everybody can say. And so I've challenged everybody on our team and they don't like it. They don't like standing up in front of the group of 14 or 15 and saying, why, why should I hire you? until they find themselves in that situation with a prospect or a client. And again, there's enough business out there for all of us. The reality is we are in a competitive industry. And if you cannot articulate authentically and with passion and purpose what makes you different, because we all have the same stuff. We all have the same MLS. We all in a nutshell do the same dynamic marketing and tactics. How we deliver those is considerably different. And no, I don't hit it on the head every time. I don't always get it right. I don't win every listing. I don't close every buyer. Do I feel like I can articulate our value to them without any question when they're asked? Yes. And so what's a what's a lie that new agents believe is that it's easy and that people are just going to automatically use you because you feel like you're in a relationship with them. Right. At the end of the day, guys, please remember too, your buyers and your sellers are ultimately going to choose to work with who they think is going to make the most financial sense for them. Yeah.

Mark Jones 47:08

Yeah. So I'll stop picking on agents after this next question. What do you believe? And you know the answer to this, but in regards to daily tasks, daily needle, I call them needle-moving activities. Some call them income-producing activities, others call them non-negotiables. Right. What do you believe are a couple of non-negotiables that agents should be doing on a regular basis if they want to succeed in this business?

SPEAKER_01 47:38

Well, you know, we talked a bit ago about how this is a performance-based business. And so you guys have heard it from all sorts of different books as well out there too. But when we make that basic comment that this is a contact sport, I'm going to say this so that hopefully, again, it sinks into some of you guys. Liking my post does not make us friends. And liking it or commenting on us on a post that I shared does not mean that we're in a relationship or friendship. That's right. So stop assuming. And look, in one of the series that I teach, we always talk about when you're looking at the relationship aspects of building a thriving business, whether it's with partners or with prospects and clients, every relationship is an investment of time, energy, and money. So you got to ask yourself, like, are am I willing to invest the time, the energy, and the money?

SPEAKER_04 48:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:26

And so don't let that lie that it's just going to fall in your lap because you're cute. And you know, everybody keeps reposting that one post with that attractive female walking in, and they're like, you could let her show you a house or your husband a house, or you could let me work what works for you, man. Like, you know, if right now doing that kind of content is what's about bringing in the money and paying the bills, just know that it may not last forever. So true. And it's like any dynamic in the marketing space. Remember, guys, marketing is important because it attracts. It's important. It's a dynamic aspect that I talk about in all modalities, whether you're hunting or cultivating marketing is fundamental. It's about attracting. Yeah. However, the prospecting, let me just call it, is about the relational development. Right? It's true. So you get you got to get into that contact part of it where if I ask them fundamentally, like, how many people did you connect with today? And listen, again, meet you where you're at. Those could be chat conversations on social platforms. Those could be text dynamics. Those could be pop eyes, your face-to-face, your voice-to-voice. When you can't answer for me, how many people did you connect with today? Meaning a connection, a two-way chat-to-chat, voice-to-voice, face-to-face. That would be one of the solid foundation pieces of like, well, you need to answer that every day. If not for me, for another coach, for an accountability partner, and at the end of the day, for yourself.

unknown 49:46

Wow.

Weekly Coaching Structure And Tools

Mark Jones 49:49

Fantastic. We'll move on from the agency. So give them a break. Give them a break. So now there are plenty of folks out there, and I teach many classes mostly these days on technology and how to leverage that to win in this industry being a realtor or a lender. And I think that's important because it's there. If you're not using it, somebody else will. And then they're going to streamline their process a lot faster and systems are coming together sooner, et cetera. And then there is the difference in coaching. So you've got classes that people go to, and many of the classes that realtors go to, they get that feel good after they're done. Hands down, if the the the speaker, the the presenter is a great speaker, grabs the crowd, uses emotion, uses their own testimonials with it. Man, you're hooked. It's like a drug. As soon as you leave there, you're ready to go do whatever it is. Fast forward 24 hours later and it kind of peters off. Right. Whereas coaching, that's a day-to-day commitment, weekly commitment. What is the difference between a class or going to classes, maybe even at the same rate as you are in a coaching program?

SPEAKER_01 51:06

Great question. I love that. And so I've got some professional class takers out there. There you go. Every every class that we offer, and that's phenomenal. Training, training will tell you what to do, right? Coaching will help ensure that you actually do it and help you fix it when it's not working like you might have expected. And sometimes it's about modifying the plan. Sometimes it's just about modifying the procedure.

SPEAKER_04 51:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:32

Right. Because I say in you guys, again, sometimes it's not what you're saying, it's who you're saying it to. That's right. And sometimes it's what you're saying and who you're saying it to.

Mark Jones 51:40

Yeah. And so and how you say it to them basically leaning on your emotional intelligence to determine how you should say it to them.

SPEAKER_01 51:49

Well, I love that you say that, right? Because like last week I did a session on generational selling and just understanding like you can't call, you can't text and tweet certain generations because they won't check it. Nope. And so when you ask about between training and coaching, you know, training is information, but coaching is more of the implementation, right? It's the accountability, it's the metrics, it's the behaviors, it's that mindset exposure. And you know, and and one of my friends over here, they didn't listen to me for a few months. They were, they had some limiting beliefs that we had to work through because of their accent and nationality. Sure. And once we worked through that, you know, in their in their first nine months, they listed almost 20 properties in their first year. Boom. So when people tell me, well, I'm new or I can't, I'm like, that's a lie that you're telling yourself. Absolutely. Training is good because it's information. Coaching makes sure that you'll actually get it done. Right. And I got several people like that who it's just like, you know, again, breaking that horse. Like, all right, do it your way for a minute. And then when you're, you know, tired of that, try it this way. Not the only way, it's a proven way. Yeah. Depending upon what you're doing. And this could, again, dynamically be all sorts of different ways to get into those daily contacts, like you talked about.

Mark Jones 52:59

So you're saying that information alone isn't going to provide those results that they're looking for? Man, I wish it would. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_01 53:07

But no, no, it's not. And I love that you said that, right? Because I would tell agents, look, you don't need another class, you need someone who won't let you lie to yourself. Ooh. And I know that's hard. That's I know that's hard, right? Like, I got a new CPA who's not lying to me. Yeah. She's like, you're an idiot. You eat, you eat out way too much. You spend way too much money on Chick-fil-A. Like, you should just own a damn franchise at this point. And then you repeat, I've got six kids. I've got six kids, you know? You and I were joking earlier. I was like, dude, I haven't bought a new pair of J's in almost a year now. March will be a year. So I'm getting that itch, man. I'm like, oh, but do I want to trade what I want most, which is some of the financial goals that I've set? Do I want, do I want that the most or do I want what I want in the moment? Right. And so the classes are great. They're phenomenal for development and for, you know, being in rooms with people who are like-minded. But that coaching aspect, that's going to help hold you accountable. And I understand that that's a loaded word because nobody likes being told they didn't do what they were said that they were going to do. No one, right? But if you want what you never had, you got to do what you never done.

Build A Simple Plan With AI

Mark Jones 54:08

Boom. Yes, I love that. Matter of fact, I think I was 17 years old when I heard that the first time. My coach rounded us all up and he he told us two stories. And the first one was if you want it as bad as you want to breathe, you'll breathe. Hold the head down. He did the whole thing. Absolutely. And we were all just like dumbfounded. Damn. Okay. And then he moved on to the concept of if you do what you've always done, you're always going to get what you always got. And the concept of that, and it wasn't, I don't know if it was the camaraderie of all of us taking in that message at the same time. But I tell you, we went very far the next two years just on that message alone. Love it. We are getting out of our comfort zone. We are going harder than we ever went. When you think you've got nothing left, guess what? There's still more gas in the tank. That's right. And I love that you mentioned that. Now I want to ask because there's coaching programs all over the place. Everybody and their mother is a coach without the results. Because it's it's it's easier to teach than to actually do, but the great coaches have done and are now kind of laying the foundation and providing that roadmap to it. So what is it, so to speak, that bear coaching does differently? What what separates you from all the rest of the track? I'll call them track coaching.

SPEAKER_01 55:39

No, I love that. You know, and again, working in the space that I get to with some other phenomenal coaches here locally, I can tell you that everybody's style is different. And so mine is one of I'm just gonna tell you what it is. It's direct, tough love. I will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. I'm telling you from and like I love the way that you referred to it there. My my constant claim to fame is I'm in the trenches with you.

SPEAKER_02 56:00

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 56:00

I'm not reading a book, I'm not YouTubeing this or giving you some hypothetical BS that I saw on some blogger. I'm walking and talking and going through the same stuff with all of you guys out there every day, day in and day out, competing, connecting, cultivating, and working on building something that's lasting that I can pass on to our team. That's right. Right. And so with Bear Coaching, I love to just say, again, with a big heart, 30 years of time tested, proven skills. I actually even changed the name of my course catalog, the 60 plus classes that we offered. I named it instead of a course catalog, I renamed it field tested agent curriculum.

SPEAKER_02 56:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 56:39

Because this is all field tested. And I'm not gonna teach you an AI class, partner up with somebody who knows more than me on that. I'm not gonna teach you a social media class. Well, team up with somebody who knows more than me than that. I'm not gonna teach you a financial literacy class because I've been a jackass with my money over 30 years, okay? But I've got good partners that can help speak that life and love into all of that. Do I know a lot of the foundational basics to get us going and get us on track in those aspects? But listen, if you never make money, we don't got to worry about what you're doing with it.

SPEAKER_02 57:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:09

So I get you into actually making money so that you can figure out what your next steps are with somebody. Like I said, we got way too many resources and tools. Uh Bear Coaching, we're gonna roll up our sleeves, we're gonna get in the trenches, we're gonna do work. And if you're willing to do it and you're committed, I can't guarantee anything in life, but I know that for certain, I have hundreds, if not thousands, of agents who would attest to we've helped them change their lives. I love that. By the choices they made.

Mark Jones 57:33

Factual. Wow. And if someone were to commit fully to coaching, what what changes do you think you they would see? Right. And I can't say do you think, what changes have you seen? You know?

SPEAKER_01 57:50

Well, we're gonna remove excuses. Okay. And listen, excuses are comfortable. And I really appreciated when you said a minute ago, and one more thing that I'd pour into that's different about bear coaching, that I'll just be very upfront for you. If you just want to stay in your comfort zone, I'm not your guy. I'm gonna 100% tell you with a lot of love that my personal belief, one of my foundations around coaching and growth, is you got to get outside your comfort zone. Yeah. Because again, if it was easy, you would have already done it. I love it. And so there's gonna be a lot of changes with the removal of excuses, the consistency in the daily habits. You're not gonna like it, but if you're willing to commit to it, you will see changes, right? Both in your both in your personal and your professional life.

Mark Jones 58:31

Yeah. No, that's great. Now, advice for our listeners, and and I will be everything that we've discussed thus far is advice for the listeners. If you're not tuning in or you didn't catch any advice that you can apply, hit rewind. Good thing it's recorded. By all means, rewatch it. Throw it, throw the transcripts in chat GPT and let it tell you what what are the highlights. That's right. But what is something that someone let's see, how how do I phrase this? Okay, somebody just finished watching this within the next 24 hours. What's something someone can do that's applicable, doable, and measurable that they can go do?

Focus Funnel, Buyback Rate, And Delegation

SPEAKER_01 59:21

And listen, I love that you've made several AI and we've joked around ChatGPT stuff. If you're not proficient or know how to use things as simple as AI or like Chat GPT, get in there, tell it a little bit about yourself and what you're hoping to accomplish. And here's where I'm going with this is, and I will tell you all experience levels from my brand new rookie to some 10-year, 15 year veterans, I get I get to connect with a lot of people of all experience levels. And stay with me, guys. I get to connect with these people. And a lot of them don't have a simple business plan. So what I'm saying is if you don't have a simple plan that breaks down what you personally need to be doing daily or weekly or monthly in regards to your specific. Vision for your plan, start there. Start there. I get into the nitty-gritty. We got, we got to get connected with John Chaplack, who's like a coach that you pay like$2,000 for like 20-minute calls. We got to be on his business planning clinic with him. So I use some different prompts and tools for business AI planning classes with our agents in development. We have some very basic, I think we've done some basic business planning sessions together. If you need something to get started, use chat to get grounded with tell it more about yourself, what your vision is, what are the areas. Well, I want to do social media, I want to do open houses, I want to do, give it at least two or three different areas that you want to try to target for business growth. Tell it what your financial goals are, tell it what you're worried about, and then see what kind of context it gives you, at least to get started with a fundamental plan on well, what does that look like today in specific respects to how many contacts, connections, right? Whatever you need to frame this in your mind to get around it, I'd like lead generating. I'm a little messed up in the head. The thought of calling and turning a connection with somebody I have no previous relationship with into an opportunity gets me all hot and bothered and ready to like, oh man, we could go sell this half million dollar home and make 15K off of this stranger. I love it. I was just in my channels. They don't even know that I was in my tantar hunts and I made this call. Like that works for me. That may not work for you. So something that I hope you take away from today is start with the plan. Use the AI technology available to you. If you're interested in getting something foundational, I've got business planning classes every quarter. They're free. So do all my other coaching partners. Get plugged into somebody somewhere. None of these sessions are of cost. They're things that we do to help elevate agents. Because to your point, most will come in and get fired up and then they'll never look at it again. Right. Right. So I don't do business planning clinics just in the fourth quarter. I do them every quarter. And listen, I love that you asked this question because if someone says coaching doesn't work, what they really mean most of the time for me is that they don't want to be accountable. So get a plan. And then if coaching isn't for you, find at least a peer or friend who will help hold you accountable. But here's the thing, and and I heard this from again, one of our mentors, you're never going to be criticized by somebody doing more than you.

Mark Jones 1:02:11

Nope. Not never. So if you or doing better than you, or you're exactly correct.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:16

Rewind that and listen to it again.

Mark Jones 1:02:17

If you're going to do a peer or mentor, as a matter of fact, I'm going to go a step further. And if you do, that person cares about you. Because they're willing and able enough to give you that feedback.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:31

If they do more than you. Correct. Right. Because if they do, if they don't do more than you, it's just criticism.

Mark Jones 1:02:36

You just shouldn't be listening. That's exactly correct. Uh Dylan Shively had a perfect quote for that. I don't remember what it was, but he said it. Go back to that episode, guys. It was fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:46

Right. I talk about those four basic basic math equations, right? Like they got to be, you got to stick with the adders or the multipliers. If they're dividers or subtractors, you don't need them in your life. That's right.

Mark Jones 1:02:55

That's right. And and and at a bare minimum, see what I did there? If you guys have not heard of the focus funnel, have you heard of the focus funnel? Okay, so the focus funnel is very, very, very simple. And it's it's procrastinate on purpose from I don't know what the heck the guy's name is, Rory something. Anyway, essentially what you're talking about is on the money of the basics that you can do. Find out and list the things that it takes you to do your job to be successful. Just list them all out to determine what of those things do I need to do? What of these things can I automate? What of these things can I delegate? And what is left that I can either eliminate or me personally has to do.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:39

Right.

Mark Jones 1:03:39

That's bare minimum. Bare minimum.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:41

And we we had that amazing, powerful coaching call yesterday where they challenged us to calculate our hourly rate and what our buyback rate was. And I was just sitting in this call with uh with one of our coaches and mentors and the guest speaker they had, who again is a phenom. And I was just like, oh man, I'm doing a lot of stuff that I'm shouldn't be doing.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:59

Right. It's not my average hourly rate. This is losing time and money. Right. That's those are things that I can be delegating. You might be thinking, I'm not there yet. And I understand you'll never know when you're there if you don't know what you need to do to get there. Facts. Because again, if you're winging it, it's not duplicatable, right? And so, yeah.

Mark Jones 1:04:15

Well, art, I've got one little section left, and it's called rapid fire.

Rapid Fire Takeaways And Closing Quote

SPEAKER_01 1:04:20

But before I get into that, do you have anything you want to I found this quote that I was gonna tell you guys, and it's again, I butchered it earlier, but it says, uh, what does it really take to succeed long term? Success is boring, done well, every day for a long time. I love that.

Mark Jones 1:04:35

That's a great quote. Matter of fact, I'm gonna end the show with a quote that I recently fell in love with. I'm gonna find it here while I'm getting this ready. What the heck is it called?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:45

It is I found the quotes you're looking for. What what do you mean? The quotes that you said, oh, Dylan quoted. Oh, really? What is it? Go ahead, JC, enlighten us while I'm looking mine up. Build the man you admire to give that man to the world. You're the most qualified to help the person you used to be. Ooh, that's it. And maybe you're maybe you don't know how well you're doing because you keep raising the bar.

Mark Jones 1:05:16

Okay, okay.

unknown 1:05:17

Thank you.

Mark Jones 1:05:17

I'm telling you, Dylan's full of them. And like we always say, if you stole it from me, you stole it twice. Truly. So it's time for rapid fire. So all right. So quick answers, quick questions. Let's see what you got. Best zero dollar, zero dollar habit that an agent can do. Call people, you know, see how they're doing. Best tool that they can use that's under a hundred dollars a month. Most CRMs. Okay, very good. And I love that you said that because I just got off of a call on a demo with a mortgage company demoing loan bot. And we were talking about this concept of CRMs and how loan officers are predominantly they don't work. They don't work. And I told them, nope, you don't work. Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:04

The CRM does what you do with it. I keep sharing this quote and I shared it with an office last week. If your clients, prospects, friends, or family are not in your CRM, they're in someone else's. They're in someone else's. Boom.

Mark Jones 1:06:15

Absolutely sorry. That was a brief pause from the rapid fire. One script that every agent should memorize.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:23

Keep it simple, guys. When we talk about the age-old Ford family, occupation, recreation, and dream, nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care. And if you can't tell me what's going on in my life and listen for those pain or pleasure points that drive real estate needs, you don't know me. Biggest myth about success in real estate. Comparison. People think that, you know, they see the highlight reels on social media and they think people are successful. Success is, you know, subjective to each individual. So don't compare. Be grateful.

Mark Jones 1:06:53

Okay, and the final one. What one word that defines top producers?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:00

Faith. Okay. They believe in themselves. They believe in themselves more than anything else. Kind of like that quote he met.

Mark Jones 1:07:07

Amen. Okay. Well, Art, you got anything else that will we close this out?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:11

No, man. I just want you guys to know how grateful I am to be here today. I will share the one thing that I do tell folks. If you're interested, it's one thing. If you're committed, I'm going to just drop this as we close out. But your calendar will tell me everything that I need to know about you. I love that.

Mark Jones 1:07:26

And for those of you, Art, tell them how they can get a hold of you. Is there a website? If you, JC, if you want to throw that up on the screen, bam. This is Art and Bear Coaching. Just so you guys know, here, I would imagine that there's probably a website that you guys can go to and visit. Our website's still a thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:42

I have my MySpace account. You can find MySpace check it. What well party the one man party is my MySpace account.

Mark Jones 1:07:48

I'll build you one for free.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:50

We don't because here's the thing. I'm old school. I'm like, I got it on Facebook and Instagram under Bear Coaching and ArtFernandez. I'm all about connecting with people, man. And so I do the stuff on social to be accountable to the people that I'm coaching to do it, but it ain't my it ain't my jam. It isn't how I attract and connect with people. And so yeah, find me on the socials and you, you know, send me a message. I do, I or somebody on my team checks them every day, multiple times, and tells me when people inquire. I absolutely love that.

Mark Jones 1:08:18

And I love conversing with you. I love learning from you. I love absolutely. It's been too damn long, truly.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:24

I appreciate it, man.

Mark Jones 1:08:25

Those of you out there, I hope you're getting something from these. Now, I would like to close in light of everything that's going on. I want to leave you with a quote, poem, so to speak, that I recently discovered. And I'm just I'm enamored, I'm in awe by this poem that I'm sharing it everywhere I possibly can because it has so much meaning for different people. And it goes as the following, and this is uh somewhere saying that Stephen King is the one that wrote it. I also found that there's some lady that wrote it. I I don't care. Here it goes. We did not ask for this room or this music. We were invited in. Therefore, because the dark surrounds us, let us turn our faces to the light. Let us endure hardship, to be grateful for plenty. We have been given pain to be astounded by joy, and we have been given life to deny death. We did not ask for this room or this music. But because we are here, let us dance. Guys, we will catch you on the next one.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:30

At the end of every day, look at yourself in the mirror and ask, did I get better today? Monday, get better. Tuesday, get better. Wednesday, get better. If you do that for five years, ten years, fifteen years, how much better will you be? Are you getting better every single day? That's the real question. And it all comes down to taking small steps. You don't have to accomplish everything in one day or even one week. Just focus on getting a little better every single day.