REality

From Sportscasting to Real Estate Success: Lessons with Jay Colley

• Gary Scott

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When sportscaster Jay Colley steps up to the microphone for William & Mary games, he arrives early and meticulously prepared – the same principles that have kept him in the top 3% of realtors across the country in production. His journey from broadcasting booths to the real estate arena reveals powerful success strategies that work in any market.

Success leaves clues, and Colley's four-decade career provides a masterclass in fundamentals. "Be on time, be mentally and physically prepared and you'll be ahead of 90% of your competition," he explains. This disciplined approach built his broadcasting reputation across Nashville, Charlotte, and Rochester before he found his permanent home with William & Mary's Tribe and the real estate industry.

The transformation from solo agent to team leader didn't happen overnight. Starting informally by mentoring new agents, Colley built a proper team structure after his son-in-law joined the business in 2017. Today, his team provides the responsive service modern clients demand – something impossible to deliver consistently as a solo agent in fast-moving markets.

Perhaps most compelling is Colley's "bird dog" strategy – nurturing 10 key relationships that consistently generate referrals. His reward system? Delivering fresh-baked brownies to their workplaces, creating additional exposure when curious coworkers inquire about the treats. "They've done their job by giving you a name and number," Colley explains, emphasizing that he recognizes referrals regardless of whether they close.

His approach to pricing reveals equal wisdom. Using a two-step listing process that incorporates both preliminary research and in-depth property analysis, Colley provides sellers with realistic price ranges. By asking about timeline preferences on a scale of 1-10, he aligns pricing strategy with seller motivation. "The best agent can't sell an overpriced home, and the worst agent can sell an underpriced home," he reminds us.

Ready to elevate your real estate business? Implement three strategies from this episode, set attainable quarterly goals that build toward stretch annual targets, and remember: when challenges arise, look in the mirror first. As Colley's mother taught him, "Take care of the little things, and big things take care of themselves."

Gary:

Welcome to Reality Podcast. Real people, real experiences, in real time. How do I grow my real estate business? Today I am absolutely fired up. A special, special guest from Williamsburg, virginia, jay Colley. Jay, how are you today?

Jay:

Gary, I'm great, Looking forward to this occasion. We tried this this is take two, as you well know about three weeks ago and went through probably the perfect 45-minute conversation. It would have ended world strife, world hunger and all the rest, but alas it didn't come through technically, so we have to do it over again, and perfection is hard to duplicate.

Gary:

So here's what I would say. By the way, I agree with you that that podcast was the best one that I have participated in. I think it was going to challenge Jason and Travis Kelsey new heights with Taylor Swift, Like I think they are so lucky that we were unable, due to technology, to capture the incredible conversation you and I had. So I love the fact that you and I get a chance to spend more time together. We have so much in common, real estate being one of them, but so much more, and Jay, so thanks for being with us. Excuse me, we're really excited to have you here for so many reasons. You've been in the business a long time. You've got a great background that translates to exceptional real estate experience. And just a reminder to our listeners, our goal is Simple in Reality podcast, and I want you to take three things that Jay and I talk about today and I want you to bring it to life tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day and the next day, so that you know that by our 45 or 50 minutes, you're going to grow your business by executing and implementing something that Jay shares with you today.

Gary:

So I have your bio here. Every once in a while, Jay, I read a bio. I'm going to read a little snippet and then I'm going to have you give me a little history of that. So, Jay Colley in fact, if you are a William Mary sports fan, you have heard Jay. He's been the voice and continues to be the voice for William Mary's football and basketball games for the past 35 years. Welcome, the voice of the tribe. Great having you with us today. So my first question I want to go back in time a little bit. Jay, Tell everybody how you got involved in sportscasting, because from take one, I think it is an awesome story.

Jay:

Well, so my dad will tell you that when I was a kid I would be bouncing the basketball in the driveway and at that time I'm from Nashville, tennessee I was following the Vanderbilt Commodores and of course I had every starter and substitute mentally, you know, in my own mind and I would pass the ball to myself, talking about the names I was passing it to, and then such and such would take a shot and make it. And so he said, I started probably when I was 10, 11, 12 years old, and then also a secondary thing that I think got me interested in sports broadcasting in particular being from Nashville, we didn't have a major league sports team to broadcast when I was in my youth in the early 70s, so I would tune in to late night radio broadcast in St Louis, missouri, in Atlanta, in Chicago, and hear Jack Buck, skip Carey and Harry Carey broadcast game baseball games particularly, and that's kind of where my real love of sports broadcasting came from. We don't have enough time to go through every year. Since 1979, when I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a communications degree, I was very fortunate enough to get a job doing the Nashville Sounds Games. The AA team for the Cincinnati Reds Lasted a couple of years there as an associate assistant, if you will Went to Charlotte as the number one broadcaster. Spent eight years in Rochester, new York actually nine years in New York as the number one broadcaster. Spent eight years in Rochester, new York, as the actually nine years in New York as the voice of the Rochester Red Wings. So many of the folks I'm sure hopefully listening are other than Nashville. I've been the footprint of Howard Hanna a little bit with Rochester In the Rochester era is when I got the job at William Mary.

Jay:

They had an opening in the early 80s for a position for their broadcasting team and I applied because I had not done on the college level. I'd done professional baseball but not on the college level. And I stayed in that broadcasting scenario, doing baseball in the spring and summer in Rochester and then football and basketball in the fall and summer in Rochester and then football and basketball in the fall and winter in Williamsburg. And what better scenario. I mean the weather was perfect in both areas during those time frames and I got to spend a little time in spring training for eight spring times going to Miami to watch the Orioles at the time.

Jay:

But then I got married and the old adage two can live as cheaply as one is not only a lie, it's a damn lie, gary. So I needed to do something else to make a little money and I got into real estate in 1990, and I've never looked back. It's been a hand-in-glove experience. I did get out of professional baseball, but with being the voice of the tribe and hanging my license with a real estate firm, it's been wonderful.

Gary:

So just a refresher, if you will. So you got your real estate license in what year Jet?

Jay:

1988.

Gary:

license. In what year? Jay, 1988. So I like to share this with our listeners. So I got mine in 86. So I'm just going to go on the record that, combined today 75 plus years of experience. And anybody that knows me knows that as much as I can't wait to talk to you about real estate and your business and your team and your growth, that everybody knows that in another lifetime I would like to be the voice of a sports team and so for the next 40 minutes I am going to live vicariously through my good friend, jay Colley, and we are also going to share some I'll call some secrets, recipes, strategies to grow your real estate business.

Gary:

So anyway, jay, the other thing you brought up, it's hilarious Take one you didn't talk about. You know, when you were playing basketball, you know passing it to yourself and then calling the game. I remember being in a friend of mine, one of my best friends, growing up in Wilmington, delaware, and I would be. He had the greatest basketball kind of layout of all of our driveways and I was allowed to go there with or without him and I pretended I was the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers and I was nine years old. So I'm thinking that I went from Wilt Chamberlain to Jerry West, maybe even Elgin Baylor that time. So you brought back an incredible childhood memory of I was all five players on the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers, so that is very tangential to our topic at hand.

Gary:

So, jay, one of my favorite questions and I remember asking one of your colleagues in Virginia, justin Acosta, who did a great job on our podcast you know he had 22 years in the Coast Guard and so what did you learn? What do you learn? What did you learn? What do you learn, what have you learned in the broadcasting business? That has translated beautifully to your success in the real estate business and something that you believe that everybody listening today should put their arm around, embrace and say, hey, in my business, am I doing this? So share a little bit of that transition if you don't mind.

Jay:

So it's a great question. I would tell you that it's similar to what I told my kids as they were growing up Be on time, be mentally and physically prepared and you'll be ahead of 90% of your competition. Show up first thing. Well, I've done. You know I haven't done the math in a while, but it's upwards of 5,000 sporting events in my career at one level because I was doing high school games in high school and early years of college.

Jay:

So if you add them all together you know 13 years of minor league baseball. Blah, blah, blah, never been late, never been late. So you know it's, and I and I'd like to think of myself as being prepared, but most every game that I've ever broadcast. That's certainly a credo of most outstanding broadcasters that I've followed and read about over the years. You can't have enough preparation. Dick Enberg, a longtime wonderful national broadcaster, said he had two and a half to three times as much information at hand as he would use in any particular game. So there's that, and I think that would be the first thing I'd comment on that, and I think that would be the first thing I'd comment on.

Gary:

So I love that, and one of the things that I love about it is, you know, we could sit here and talk about AI, we could talk about social media. I want everybody to listen carefully, be on time and be prepared. And on time in our business, I believe, should be early, not on time. And so if I have an appointment at 1, be in the driveway at 1240. And if you've got a meeting with a buyer or a seller in a consultation and it's 1240, be there at 1230. And you know, take a sports analogy I think Tom Coughlin, former Jaguar and New York Giant, and I think Boston College football coach, if you're 10 minutes early, you're still late. And so I love that, jay, and you know I love the preparation.

Gary:

I had a conversation yesterday with one of our offices and one of our branches here in the Carolinas and we were just talking about, you know, the importance with buyers and sellers of making sure that you customize your listing consultation or your buyer consultation. Customize your listing consultation or your buyer consultation. Don't do and say the exact same thing to everybody, because you haven't then taken the time to be best prepared for what's important to them. And so I think those are two incredible takeaways. And I think often about your broadcasting. And you know you study, you know you know the tribe pretty well, right, you know the players, you know the numbers, you know you probably have a spotter helping you saying that number 28 made the tackle, but you know that. But every week, every twice a week, in basketball, you've got to know the Delaware Blue Hens. You've got to know the Elon. You've got to know UNCW College of Charleston Richmond. You've got to know that.

Gary:

So I appreciate that preparedness and being on time as kind of pillars to your success. So thanks for sharing that your success. So thanks for sharing that. The other question I love being let's see, you've been in the business now 37 years. Was there a transaction or a person early in your career that provided that learning or that light bulb where you said, aha, because our listeners on reality, some are thinking about getting in the business, some have just gotten in the business, some are thinking about reinventing their business and some are thinking about selling their business. So we've got the incredible audience that really spans the spectrum of others like you being in it 37 years and others who are halfway through the pre-licensing class. So was there an event or a person that had incredible impact on your career, jay?

Jay:

Yeah, there are several, gary. I think we talked about a couple of these in that perfect one we did about a month ago and the first one is in a negative sort in the business. A year, year and a half, and you know, as most of us, I was struggling a little bit and I had a buddy of mine, really good friend of mine, call me up one day and say hey, jay, greatest things happened to me. What happened? I bought a house, my wife and I bought a house, and I tried to hold my emotions. I bit my lower lip, hung up from him, and I was just incensed. I went back to my wife we're never going to go out to dinner with them again and I'm being a little bit of dramatical here because I'm not sure I was quite this way, but you get the picture. And then I learned where the culprit was. I found out where the culprit was, who the real problem in that transaction was, and I looked in the mirror and I saw him. And I never will forget that moment where you know what, what did I do wrong, not what did he and his wife do wrong? What did I do wrong? Not to get that deal done. And so I've always remembered that I had a and to follow up on.

Jay:

You know, a secondary comment to the person, joe Schenholzer. She was a manager of me back in the day, one of the early managers, and she was just a wonderful person, a lot of wisdom. She said. He told me the old adage about real estate the first year you creep, the next year you. First year you weep, the second year you creep and the third year you leap. So be patient, be patient in the business.

Jay:

And she was an older lady at the time. I mean I'm not as old as I am now, but seemingly an older lady to a young real estate agent. Anyway, she said she would get out of her car in that driveway, put up the trunk, get one of our temporary signs out and drag it to the front door and leading up against the door at her listing appointments and the people would answer the door. And I mean you talk about confidence and what else are they going to do? You know you've already got the sign and the dog on uh to put in the lawn, particularly if you're in competition. You know that that was a let she's. She thought. She thought it was a leg up. So a couple of uh yeah, I've had a lot of great mentors over my life and I never will forget the mirror lesson as well.

Gary:

That's a fan favorite of mine, jay, and our family. That was probably the most constant thing we ever heard from my father, who also was in the real estate business. He used to love talking about our business being the last bastion of free enterprise and you know, one of the few places you get paid what you're worth and you know, inevitably, you know you'd come in and talk to him and say, man, you know I've been dealing with this person and they bought it by owner or they went with another person and you know he would very kindly stand up, he'd walk you to the men's room and he would guide you in and say, after you've spent a few minutes taking a look at that mirror, you come back out. We're going to discuss things. So you know, I think it's as I said, you and I have a lot of kindred experiences, so I appreciate that.

Gary:

The other thing that's interesting and I'd like to share this with our listeners because I think it's really important I had never heard of year one weep creep leap. I think that is really critical. You know the average. I think this is the right, jay. The average startup business isn't profitable for year three to five. So why do we believe, as real estate professionals, that I get into my own business. A reminder we are our CEO, cmo, coo, marketing. We are it. So why do we think that we should be incredibly profitable year one when data proves out that new businesses? So takeaway for our listener you are a business, so let's just you know, let's take that very seriously.

Gary:

I want to share a stat that you're going to appreciate, jay, and that is the percentage of brand new agents in our industry who make it 12 months across the country is 20%. Wow, only one in five. Wow. And you know what I could not be more proud of In Virginia, north Carolina and South Carolina Howard Hanna, and now, by the way, howard Hanna Allen Tate Real Estate. I hope you like what transitioned last week in the brand new evolution of the Carolinas Pretty exciting, absolutely. So our three states and we hire about 250 to 280 brand new agents a year in our three states from Virginia, north Carolina. Over 70% of our folks make it a year Nationally, it's 20. And the reason I share that is I think there could be some listeners who are in I'll call it weep year. There's some in creep year and there are so many that are just a step away from leap year, so I love that. So be patient, but you also better have a plan of action.

Jay:

Gary, if I may, yeah, please. I think that it's changed, though. I mean, that was that way. Some old adages go out of style and I think I'm certainly.

Jay:

Uh, yes, I am tooting howard hannah's uh, and our company is a horn, but I think if you're with howard hannah, you got a chance. You got a really good chance to skip that weep year, because it that's it, it's it's, you know, because howard hannah does such a great job in preparing. I mean, there was no uh, fast start program when I was coming along. It was truly, you know, getting out, sending it out there to the wolves and, you know, good luck to you type deal. So I think it's a little different in today's world, because I think real estate agents are more professional, they're better prepared now, which I absolutely love the fact that we're getting a more professional landscape and I'm going back 10 years now, I'm not just saying that's happened in the last three to five and I think in the last 10 to 15 years, real estate, in particular Howard Hanna, as the training level, has grown by leaps and bounds.

Gary:

Well, I appreciate you saying that. You know we're just FYI to everybody out there, jay and I, it is August 20th and that is the day we are recording. I usually start with good morning, regardless of when you're listening. Jay and I got started right before noon and today at 10 o'clock, one of the things I would recommend any and all listeners take advantage of educational opportunities. Sharpen the saw. Iron sharpens iron. Interact with high performers. So just today, jay, at 10 am to 11 am, next level strategies. At 10 am to 11 am, next level strategies how social media that sells. And so everyone, and again, and if you're not in our company, I'm sure your company has educational platforms but leverage the resources that are provided to you and do it in an intentional and strategic way.

Gary:

Jay, I just took a glance again at your resume. He's in 19, since 1992, not in 1992. Jay has been in the top 3% of all realtors across the country in production. So my favorite question and I think I remember, take one your answer how have you stayed in contact, in flow with, in communication with your clients? And again, I'm going to frame this up I'm not talking about past clients, because a client is a client for life. So the phrase past client I'm eliminating that from my vocabulary. So how have you stayed in touch with your clients to ensure repeat referral? Next generation, the next, next generation. I think I love how you have handled that.

Jay:

Well, I think I remember the story that I told you. I've got a twofold story before I get to the big one, but by making my wife very irritated because inevitably I'm on the phone a lot, particularly since the advent of the cell phone and, yes, I was in the business before the cell phone but so I'm on the phone a lot, talking to friends, talking to clients, blah, blah, blah. So there's that. Clearly I send out the mailers. Over the years I've sent out magazines and done all the stuff that we're supposed to do, not as conscientiously as I should do. But one of the things I think you may be talking about is I go hard, get hard on my sphere of influence and I call them bird dogs. I've got 10 people that I literally massage until they feel guilty unless they give me a lead, and I've got a pretty good relationship, obviously, with these people. Some of them have been 30-year clients, some of them have I've known for seven or eight years, but nonetheless I've got about 10 people that I keep on a list of some sort calling, visiting, going out to lunch, having coffee with you, name it. It's there and I will ask them, maybe not every time we talk, but certainly it doesn't go three times that we talk, that I say, hey, do you know of somebody that wants to buy or sell a home? I'm desperate. Of course we both laugh about that comment, but we're always desperate, aren't we? So that's A B.

Jay:

Early on, I would send out to any one of these bird dogs or, very frankly, anybody who gave me a lead I would send to their place of business. I, back up, I had sold a local chef a house, and he is one of his specialties were sweets. So he made these brownies that were to die for and I convinced him, for a price, to make a dozen brownies. Get that chef's hat you can see him in that big white hat and deliver it to their office, these bird dogs. If they gave me a lead, they got 10 brownies delivered to their office.

Jay:

Why to their office as opposed to their home? Well, first of all, they could share the goods, the goodies, the baked goods. But secondly, that person would ask some of their office mates where'd you get those cookies? Oh, my realtor. Oh, a good friend, a realtor, sent me these because I sent them a lead. And, by the way, so note, many of those leads never worked out. Many of those leads were rentals. Many of those people didn't qualify, so I'm not saying. Something had to come to fruition for business. They did their job. They gave you a name and a number, and so I was happy to deliver a dozen brownies to them.

Gary:

So there's so many parts of that that I love, jay. You know so many of us as we grew up in the business. You know you have your a list, your b list, your c list, you know. Then, then again, I, like you, started at a time when there was no internet and cell phone was four dollars and 17 cents a minute, so we weren't dialing. Uh, and I remember what you said to me is when you get in the car, you call people.

Gary:

So my question for everybody listening do you have your top 10 list? Now, my experience tells me, jay, and correct me if I'm wrong those bird dogs may or may not have ever used you, correct, they are your team. And then. So question number one for everybody listening do you have an A plus team, not an A team, but an A plus team, those people that you can count on and have counted on? And I love what Jay said add a little humor, add a little fun, add a little gamification. Right, hey, I desperately need a referral. So he's built that relationship. And the second thing are you recognizing and this is a question for our listeners, jay are you recognizing, in a creative, innovative, consistent way, those who are giving you referrals. The other third takeaway of that little segment that Jay just did so beautifully and it doesn't matter whether it closes or not. I want you to think about those three things. Do you have an A-list when you get a referral, do you recognize them appropriately and accordingly and creatively and consistently? And then number three is, again make sure that it doesn't matter whether it's a closing.

Gary:

What did you say, jay? They have done their job. So great, great, great segment. Love that, love that. The other thing I like is that, jay, you have acknowledged there are some things that maybe you could do more of that we all share with you. Whatever those strategies are I made a note here do what works for you and be the best at it. You know we are all better. You know Steve Jobs always said less is more. Do fewer things in your plan amazingly well, instead of being average in a ton, and Jay has proven that in his career. So great, great, great stuff. Let's talk a little bit. You know you've evolved from Jay Colley, the individual agent, to a very, very high-performing team, and that is a strategy that is out there for everybody. Talk a little bit, jay, about when did you go to a team? Why did you go to a team? And then we'll ask about what you've learned about that journey.

Jay:

Well, I've learned a lot, I mean. So I guess it probably started in the early 2000s, if I really think back, and it wasn't really a team at that point in time, formally as much as it was me grabbing maybe a newbie in the office and quote unquote, allowing them to learn, as I used to kid them, you're going to be doing 50% of the work and getting 10% of the proceeds. Why? Because you're going to be learning how to do this business and so for the first probably 10 years of that, you know, hopefully I trained some folks in good ways and they went on to become pretty good realtors, and I can name a few of them that have, but won't at this occasion. But fast forward to 2017, my son-in-law got in the business.

Jay:

I was in St Lucia with my son-in-law and my daughter shortly after they were married and they were living in Little Rock, arkansas, and my wife didn't really like that because we could see grandkids on the horizon and Little Rock was a long way away from Williamsburg. So we're sitting on the beach and I get a phone call on my cell phone and answer it and talk for about 10 minutes, hung up the phone and turned to Colby Roberts, who's an outstanding agent, by the way. He's going to outsell me this year, but that's another story. Seven years down the road, he's going to outsell me this year, but that's another story. Seven years down the road, or eight years now in the business, and he said what was that call about? And he said, well, that was a real estate call and I just made $10,000.

Jay:

The light went on in Colby's head and we formed a team and we truly have been a team. We've added two more guys since that time and it's one of the things in this day and age I mean we've all been through it in times where one person is not enough. I could be showing a property in this day and age of home selling overnight and quickly, and we've all been through those type markets to have three or four members of your team and sincerely look that client in the eye, whether they be a listing for you or a buyer lead for you. Look, we're not going to be leaving you in the lurch. There's going to be somebody available. You hesitate to say 24-7, but you do. It's 24-7 service and we're here to help.

Gary:

Awesome. Well, you are correct. You know, not just Colby, but your other two members of your team are outstanding and you all are aligned culturally and philosophically and all of those things. So you are listening to Reality Podcast with special guest Jay Colley, well known as the voice of the William and Mary tribe.

Gary:

I am going to go to a question that I think is a fairly it's number one. It's really important in the market that we are in today and the topic that I want to go to, jay, is pricing. The topic that I want to go to, jay, is pricing and what I call it. What are the success strategies? You know, as the market moves and the market shifts and, yes, inventory is growing, yes, prices are going up slower. You know, I think we've all read the I'll call it the combined headwinds and tailwinds of our industry, whether it be interest rates or inventory. But I do believe that today remains a very, very vibrant market for buyers and sellers, if the motivation is right. But pricing, particularly coming off 2021, kind of the COVID and then now the post-COVID just share with our listeners Jay Colley's philosophy on pricing a property. You go out to a seller. Just walk us through your journey to proper pricing in today's world.

Jay:

Okay, it's a two or three-step process. First of all, I do like the two-step process of listing homes. I'll go out after doing a market analysis prior to going for the first time. I will go out with certainly a price range in my own mind and then talk to the client, see what they're feeling, see what their motivation is in sales, look at their home, listen to their story and ask for them to be able to come back because I want to do a little more research now that I've seen their home Upon that second visit. If I'm unprepared, if they say no, you know, we're going to, you know, make a decision tonight. We've already interviewed two or three agents. We're going to make a decision tonight. I'm prepared for that number, but I prefer a two-step process A because I do want to really think about it and B because I want to get back in their home again. I don't want them to make any decisions until I can do some more work on the process, particularly at home. So you know pricing is. I think we do a lot of important things, but gosh, it's certainly in the top two Because I've often said this the best agent in the universe can't sell an overpriced home and the worst agent in the universe can sell an underpriced home.

Jay:

So the price has got to be at your value. You've got to get it right, and I certainly. The other question, the other staple I have is I give my clients a range and I tell them, you know, on a scale of 1 to 10, how fast you want to sell this home. Now I'm speaking from past, not current, you know, do you want to sell it in 3 minutes or 10 minutes or 30 days? But in the past I would say do you want to sell it in 30 to 45 days? Do you want to sell it in two and a half months? Do you want to sell it in six months? Does it really matter if you sell it? Are you just doing this to see what you can get? Listen to their answer and price it accordingly. Now I don't want to be that guy that takes it in six months.

Jay:

There was another old adage you, like my weep, creep and leave analysis. There was another old thing Back in the day you wanted to be the person. You didn't want to be that first realtor when it took three realtors to sell it down the road. So you needed to get that price right. You didn't want to take an overpriced listing, work your tail off and then find out that it sold at the original price. You thought it would have sold for six, eight months down the road.

Jay:

So I don't know if that answered your question, gary, but those are kind of the things that I think about when I'm going on a listing appointment, even in today's world. Because, yeah, oftentimes they'll you know they'll we'll talk about appraisers, appraisal numbers. Well, an appraisal number is looking the back, looking back six months. I want to kind of be that guy that looks forward and, by the way, that number in my career hadn't always gone up looking forward three or four months. Sometimes it's gone down, but you certainly didn't get the best price of your home. That's why I discourage people from getting appraisals, because I tell people that's looking back six months. We want to go forward.

Gary:

So interesting, Jay, First of all, I think you hit the nail on the head on two particular topics. Interestingly enough, we had a call this morning before we kicked off our episode, and, Hobie, we were talking about pricing and we were talking about the two most important things are in today's world, you know, would be. Number one is, you know, make sure that you provide a range, right, I think, because that would be number one. Number two is and you were very clear in your explanation you really need to determine the motivation. If my motivation is I want to try to get the most money I can, but I don't have to sell, that's one thing. If I've already bought a house and I've been relocated and my kids need to start school tomorrow, then that's another thing. And so it goes back to the other pillar that I really have become more passionate about as the years have gone on, and that is just the importance of curiosity and asking more questions to really unearth the motivation. Once you unearth the motivation, you then can create and you can set the clear expectations to meet the motivation.

Gary:

And I think oftentimes, if we look at transactions or listings that didn't go quite well, it's because I didn't assess the motivation and I didn't align expectations with motivation. So I love, I love, love, love. Where you went on that, and the other piece that I would say today and I love it, let's go forward, not backward, particularly in today's market is I personally and I've shared this on a couple podcasts and some other interviews I've been on I think today the most important comp is the other listings on the market. Yes, yes, Not what closed a week ago. What is happening if you list my property, Jay and I've got seven competitors. What happens to those seven competitors next week and the weekend? That is the story.

Gary:

If one sold and that buyer didn't look at yours, that gives you something to think about. If they looked at yours and they bought that. Well, now you know something, and again, it requires the real estate professional to just work a little smarter and a little harder to ascertain the why. So I love, love, love. That keys to success and you talked about be on time and be prepared. I'm going to expand on a couple of those. As you think about other keys to success. Now, this could be in your experience in radio, this could be in real estate, this could be in a community, and so just you know you've got such a wealth of experience and knowledge and success. What are some other keys that our listeners should grab their, grab a hold of, wrap their arms around, embrace to just success, just general success in anything that one does.

Jay:

So I'm I'm 68, gary, and I don't know how many seminars and I enjoy reading your work weekly, and Helen Hannah puts out her morning minutes on Mondays and I truly feel, even at 68, as many deals as I've done. If I don't learn something from every seminar article that I read, podcast that I listen to Again, I need to be looking in the mirror, because it's not the presenter's fault, it's your own fault. If you haven't learned something Now, you may learn it again. It's maybe something that you've practiced and preached your entire life but forgot. So there's that. But certainly in this day and age, there's something new all the time. You know one of the early things I learned. I think it was from that same manager. Maybe it was from a previous owner that I learned this from.

Jay:

But what a great profession we're in. No two deals are alike. Imagine that. What other professions can you say that? First of all, the personalities change, your buyer-seller changes, the other agent changes the price of the home, the location of the home, I mean, it's always a moving target. So everything changes. So you're learning something with every doggone transaction you do. And again, some are easy, some are difficult, but you certainly should lean something out of that I've written down a couple of other things that I think that you know I kind of lean on every now and then.

Jay:

Don't work hard, work smart. You haven't been lucky, you've been blessed, and I set measurable and attainable goals quarterly and maybe outside goals yearly. Everybody's different and, gary, you may be different. I've heard some of your comments and teachable moments and I think you're one of those guys that really want to set high goals for yourself, because if you don't set high goals you won't achieve them. But I'm more of the guy that I want to be happy every three months. So I set attainable goals quarterly and stretch goals for a yearly and then I balance my attainable goals with those yearly goals at the quarterly marks.

Gary:

So interesting. Jay, I'm with you a thousand percent, and we've talked many times about the great book called the 12-Week Year and you know massive high goals for a 12-month. That can be daunting and we forget to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Pick three goals for the next 90 days and hit them. Every one of your goals for 90 days has to lead you to your stretch goal. So, interestingly enough, I think we do it exactly the same way. Okay, and I've always said, if I pick three for the third quarter this year and I only hit two, well then the third, then that one goes to the next quarter. It's okay. I've always said it's okay not to hit them, it's not okay not to set them Right, and I think that. So I love, love, love. I love your 12 week year. Okay, here's my quarter seven listings three closing six, this four, that. So, uh, so I love that. Uh, jay, very, very much.

Gary:

You reminded me of a, of a, of a post, a blog that I wrote right after COVID, and it was what did I learn from it? What did I confirm that I already knew because of it? And what am I committed to? Continuing to do? Great and learn, confirm, continue LCC. So you think about what you just said is LCC. So you think about. What you just said is it is our responsibility as the learner to learn. Yes, the presenter has to teach, but if you go into anything listening to a podcast, reading a book, going to a seminar, going to your business meeting with Fred, or when Grogan stops by it's our job to take a nugget. That's our job Like it's not their job. Yeah, and I think I don't think everybody does that to the degree that I think is important. It goes back to our mirror theory. I think one of the things that has been consistent in our 45 minutes is everything Jay Colley shares is what I call. It's about ownership and it's about Jay taking ownership of everything responsibility ownership, and not externalizing any particular situation. So I encourage every one of our listeners own it, own the good, own the challenge, grow from the adversity, grow from the chaos, grow from that, and I think Jay speaks to that.

Gary:

So there is a story that I have been dying to tell. I think in take one, jay. We brought it in way earlier. But I think the other thing about great real estate professionals is they pay close attention all the time, and so I'm going to share the story. Probably five, six, seven months ago I was with Mike Grogan, mike regional vice president for Virginia, doing an outstanding job. Jay, as you know, really, really have enjoyed working much more closely with you and your team and Mike and Mike and I you know one degree of separation. As a matter of fact, we had another one yesterday which I'll share with you, which you'll appreciate.

Gary:

So long story short, jay William Mary, a William Mary alumni and former basketball coach, is a gentleman named Charlie Woolham. Charlie Woolham was a great basketball coach at my alma mater, bucknell University, and Charlie was the coach while I was there back in the early 80s and Mike and I got talking. He says I'm a great friend of Charlie, I see Charlie once a month. We have lunch. So I said man, I would love to meet Charlie Wollum. I'd never met him, I'd seen him coach, I knew his son, his grandson, just had coffee with my son.

Gary:

You know one degree of separation, right, it's about a broad network and I was there the first week of June and Mike and I head out to a country club, beautiful looking out over I don't know what fairway it was, and there is Jay Colley and Charlie Wolf, and the reason I share that story is Mike Grogan took note of something that I shared with him. That would be important. He didn't have to do that, and I want you to think about that story as it relates to every interaction you have with your clients' sphere of influence. How can you make a lasting impact? You know we talk about the red penguin and the green penguin.

Gary:

Jay right, how do I separate myself in a sea of sameness? Maybe a dozen brownies separates me in a sea of sameness, maybe, you know, maybe delivering it to the office, not to the home, separates me in a sea of sameness, you know, maybe delivering it to the office, not to the home, separates me in a sea of sadness. You know, maybe that Mike Grogan made it important enough to do that for me. That's just. I think there's a lot of lessons to unwrap in that. So, again, I enjoyed being with you there.

Jay:

It was a real cool lunch and Mike picked up the tab, so let's do it again.

Gary:

Exactly. And then the other thing that I think is really important is Jay and I were talking and I happen to know the color commentator for the Delaware Blue Hens, hailing from Wilmington, Delaware, one of my great friends, and so he, a guy named Billy Harmon. Jay knows Billy and Billy knows Jay. You know, every time they play, they share niceties. And so I called Billy right after I said you'll never believe who I had lunch with. An hour later, Billy called Jay. Hey, Jay, I heard you had lunch with my good friend, Gary Scott.

Gary:

Like guys and gals, that is what business we are in. We are in the relationship, connecting, expanding network. Do something special to separate yourself from the sea of sameness, and success will roll your way. So, Jay, I got two more questions and then we're going to put a bow around this incredible take two of the Jay Colley Gary Reality podcast, One of my favorite questions that I learned over time to double check first. So I used to do a segment Jay called Meet Jay Colley and I would ask five questions and it would range from your favorite food to your favorite movie, to your favorite binge and, I would say, your favorite book. And I had a number of guests say Gary, I really appreciate that question, but I don't read a lot of books and so it was an uncomfortable, so now I preface it before I ask the question. And Jay said I don't read a lot of books, but there's one that is sitting here on my desk each and every day, so just share the title of that and what that book does or means for you.

Jay:

Downstairs when I first meet folks at the office and I'll slap it in front of them. Sometimes they say something about it, sometimes they don't. If they do, I'll say, well, read number 18 for me, and they'll open up the book. Number 18 before number 16 is to be the first to say hello. Number 17 is live beneath your means, number 18, drive inexpensive cars, but own the best house you can afford. So it hits. It hits the home. Pardon the pun, but anyway it's got a lot of nice little.

Jay:

It's a very quick, quick read. Every now and then I'll just open it up and read a couple of lines. So that's, that's one. And I, you know you asked me about my mom and I did remember what the the thing that she always kind of impressed upon me as a, as a kid. My mom used to have a saying and it's not original, but what is? But take care of the little things, and big things take care of themselves. And I and I that's one of my credos as well to try to to our profession, man, I mean, it's uh, if you don't get that work done, you don't want to, you don't want a big thing happening on on on game day, which I call closing day how about this, jay?

Gary:

I'm gonna wrap a bow. Be on time, be prepared. Pay attention to the detail. When you take care of the little things, magic happens, whether it's in your real estate business, your broadcasting business, your family business, your community business.

Jay:

So I got, I got one more, Gary, if you go, man, I'm ready. Well, no, and it's. It's something that my first owner boss, tommy Smith, who passed away and he hired me in real estate taught me how to get into real estate when I had a couple other professions back in 1988. And he always said at the end of every meeting remember the golden rule treat others as you wish to be treated, love it.

Gary:

Let's not make yeah, let's not make things too complicated, right. Let's stay true to the basic fundamentals and do them great, do them consistently, expand on them, and every listener today on Reality with Gary and Jay needs to take three things at least. I'm thinking the dozen brownies is on my list. I'm thinking the bird dog is on my list. I'm thinking the enhance your preparation is on my list. I think 12 week year is on my list. I think don't forget stretch goals is on my list, and I think that if we take care of the little things, big things take care of themselves. Big. Thank you to Jay Colley on today. Enjoy it, man. Thank you, good to see you. Can't wait to see you again in person. Go tribe, let's go.

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