SPEAKER_00: 0:30

My name is Hershey Leonis, and I'm with the Samsung Properties Brokerage and I'm with the Hartman team. And I serve first-time home buyers, sellers, and renters too.

SPEAKER_01: 0:42

Awesome. I can't wait to learn about just everything else you do within all of this. To start us off, can you share your story and what originally drew you into the world of real estate?

SPEAKER_00: 0:53

You know how everyone says the I've always dreamed about real estate. And when they're like, okay, last year I thought about it. I dreamt of real estate my whole life. My dad was actually a real estate agent back in the Philippines. He owned his own brokerage. And I used to do international tours with him. And it turns out to be something I really loved. I wanted to learn more about people and expand. So I took in a lot of different sales jobs beforehand. But one of the biggest things what really pushed me towards it is when my mom was, we were new to the country. My dad was military and we traveled so much. And at one point they wanted to purchase a home. And I wanted to help them out. And I translated for my mom. But it turns out that every agent that we spoke to, they were just saying, this is what you got to buy, and that's it. There's never guidance into it. So when I came into real estate, I told myself, you know what? The first thing I want to do is I want to help out military families, right? I want to make sure that they understand the process and they're able to feel guidance instead of pressured because they could purchase at home. You have a 0% down, but they don't understand what they're doing. And I've seen that a lot lately where veterans are just buying homes because they trusted someone and said, This is it. That's all you can afford. And that's not the case.

SPEAKER_01: 2:19

Wow. Having that personal experience as a child, too, I think it really just set the record for what the change that you wanted to make in the work that you do.

SPEAKER_00: 2:28

Yeah. And there, I remember my dad always saying that didn't feel right. They my dad was in the military and he never purchased because of that. That three, I want to say three experiences that they tried that they pulled back because, and just last year, my dad purchased his very first home. He was vacationing back in the Philippines. And everything, he's like, You got it, you know what to do. I was like, I'm not licensed here. I was grateful enough to have a referral agent help me out understand what's going on. And he's living in his beautiful Texas mansion now.

SPEAKER_01: 3:04

Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Good for him. Good for him.

SPEAKER_00: 3:08

No, I'm very excited for him because that's finally his, right? Is that the hard work that he put in as being in the military, being a veteran, he's able to have a piece of something.

SPEAKER_01: 3:21

Wonderful. It's definitely paid off. Yeah, it is. Awesome. And before becoming an agent, you built a strong foundation in sales across different environments. How did those experiences prepare you for real estate?

SPEAKER_00: 3:36

Honestly, it prepared me to have more of an emotional experience for all my clients. Any when I did sales at the mall in the car business, it's I always like to say it's how they feel. There's never anything that you can sell anyone that they don't want. They're when they're coming in, they already know what they want. You just now have to help them. And for me, it's what really helped me understand this whole sales aspect is the listening. And I and when I do my training, there's a lot of times that I realize that when you were agents, they don't listen. And I'm like, oh, I was like, this is the first thing we need to learn is learn to listen. When I'm telling you what my needs are, I need you to listen to that and give it back to me. Because with you just confirming to me that you were listening, that gives me a good feeling. If you feel good about me as an agent that I'm listening to what your needs are, what your families are, and your stories, there's nothing more than that to create a great relationship. So I think that's one of the biggest things. Second is really the understanding, right? Understanding that it is their journey. I can I had one client in North Face who purchased a hundred like jackets, a hundred. And I'm like, oh my God, I'm like, what a great bonus for this. And for me, just listening and asking the right questions to him and me understanding, and just a little discount helped him. He brought in more of his company to us. And I've always been grateful for that. And to this day, I'm still friends with him whenever they come back from their trip. Yeah. And I think it's just real estate itself is just such an emotional thing. And it's just really important that there's guidance, there's understanding between both sides.

SPEAKER_01: 5:32

Absolutely. Being able to be a part of such big milestones for people's life and being able to make it happen for them. Yeah. I can't imagine how rewarding that must feel at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_00: 5:43

It is. It really makes you feel it makes me feel good. But I know in the end, they feel good about it. It's something that they've been looking forward to. And there is never a time where they're like, I freaking regret this. Or I'm like, are you happy? The first thing I ask my clients is after we write out an offer and they get accepted, I ask them, Are you happy? I just want to make sure. It's not about commission, right? It's about how you feel. And I always tell them when you come into the house exactly how we felt when we met, and you're like, we have the right connection. Does that feel the same? And I and it's crazy because you're like, it's a freaking house. I had a client who asked me, it's a house Hersh. Now it's like, yeah, but can you see your daughter here? Can you see her going up and down that stairs? And she's oh yeah, no, I can't see them going up and down that stairs. I'm like, I was like, oh god, then this is not the right house.

SPEAKER_01: 6:42

Yeah, you have to be able to have that vision and see yourself in it. Yeah. And I love that personal personality aspect that you have. I can definitely tell you're just a people person. And I think that is the best trait you could have in a field like this.

SPEAKER_00: 6:55

Yeah. No, I think I people like working with people, right? No one likes working with a smart there. Okay, you're I work with them too. And I'm like, okay, I'll match your vibe. But then I was like, but tell me more though. Yeah. But that is one of the biggest concepts about like real estate. It's that they're like, you guys are just trying to sell, right? You think you know better. There's times where clients over talk, and then there's agents too who try to say, this is what's going on. And yes, that's understandable. We know the market, we know what's going, what's happening. But they want you to talk to them as if they're just your friend, too.

SPEAKER_01: 7:37

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 7:38

They want to just have an understanding. It's not about knowing who knows more, it's about having that understanding that, hey, look, this is where we're at. Is that something that you're okay with? I'm gonna treat you like a person. Please respect me the same way. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 7:54

And I think that's the best it can get in this in this situation. And be being able to provide that honesty and transparency about the whole process. And I think that's great.

SPEAKER_00: 8:03

Yeah. No, I think transparency is also a really great thing. But that comes into a relationship, right? There's I always say there's always like one client, you never know whether they like you or not. I've had that, and I'm like, man, she does not like me. And but she's the one who sent me three people. And I'm like, oh, you do like me.

SPEAKER_01: 8:24

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 8:25

There's like thanks, but you don't show it because I'm very expressive. And she's nope. And I'm like, okay, we're fine.

SPEAKER_01: 8:34

That's reviving. That's awesome, actually. I love that. We show our love, everyone shows their love in different ways.

SPEAKER_00: 8:40

Yeah, and I'm like, all surfee and jumpy. She's no, I'm like, okay, sure.

SPEAKER_01: 8:45

Well, she'll jump with me later. Sure. It all comes from a good place. Yeah, yeah. And you made the transition into real estate during a major life change, becoming a new mom. How did flexibility and balance influence that decision? Oh, flexibility.

SPEAKER_00: 9:03

Man, after I gave birth to my daughter, right? I told you that I went straight to real estate. I think I was able to be flexible because I had my family guiding me. And then I found a great group of people that was able to watch after my kids. And with me just having the most very, how do you say this? Unhinged schedule. The most unhinged schedule. But my it was very understanding in some point. At some point, it's a lot of work that goes into real estate. It is not what Phil Dumpey said, okay? I have a lot of beef with Phil Dumpey, but it was hard at first, I want to say. But I think the biggest thing is that I when I see my daughter, who enjoys letting everyone know that I'm her real estate agent or my mom's, you ask her, she'll say, My mommy's Hershey Leonis, Samson Properties, the Hardman team. She's a real estate agent.

SPEAKER_01: 10:04

Oh my goodness. How sweet.

SPEAKER_00: 10:06

Yeah, so she has a mouthful of it, but it's a big transition because now from staying home to being with my babies all day, to hey, here I am cutting things, but they love it. They understand that this is for them. I'm trying to build a legacy for them. And if one day they decide to continue on, I would, I feel like it would be a goal of mine for one day to say, you know what, your mom helped me with my house. And I want to give you this opportunity. If and I hope she takes that with Grace and my son the same thing. But I don't think he wants anything to do with real estate. Because this house isn't too much, mom.

SPEAKER_01: 10:44

Sure. But I know you can see the strive that you have every day to show up in whatever profession he decides. But maybe your daughter, maybe a future real estate agent.

SPEAKER_00: 10:52

Yeah, no, I see it in her. She's my marketing girl. I've gotten clients because of her. She passes my cards to, I always run out of cards and I wonder why, but it's because of her. She's giving it to the, she's giving it to her director, to her teacher. She never lets them forget that I'm a real estate agent. She's got your back. Yep. She's yeah, she's my girl. Like, yeah, no, I think something that I do appreciate is that by the time I get home, it's really, did you sell a house? Before my son would be so upset if I said I didn't get any contract. And it was a lot of pressure. He's like, no contract this week.

SPEAKER_01: 11:31

And he's crying and bawling, and I'm like, I'm sorry. Having those building blocks at home, that that support system, they really help hold us accountable sometimes.

SPEAKER_00: 11:41

Yeah, they do. They do. They're my biggest cheerleader. Like sometimes it's just the pressure, but they make me work harder. They're always my why. I like to strive for them. And then I'm hoping that, like you say, my work ethic will pass down to them and see it. I want them to have the vacations. I want them to have that. I'm able to go on vacations. And but there's times where I am on the at the beach and a laptop. Sure. And they're like, mommy's making a contract. I was like, things, buddy. The grind doesn't stop. Yeah, the grind doesn't stop.

SPEAKER_01: 12:16

I love it. I love it. And you've spoken about real estate being deeply personal for you. How do you approach each client relationship beyond just the process itself?

SPEAKER_00: 12:27

I think it's really just getting to know them, I want to say. It's really sitting down. And when I do my consultations, it's never really a consultation. So much is like, let's just sit down, let me know if I'm the right agent for you. Tell me what you want. And maybe I'm the wrong one for you. I like to always ask, is how can I help you? How can I help? How can I, how can I be in guidance to your family? Do you think I'm the right fit? That all comes in after they tell me exactly what their need, their experiences, where they're from. Because I want the more I know about them, is the better that I can protect them. Absolutely. So we build them to that relationship. And I remember, I want to say I have great memory, but I would remember everything they say, or sometimes I would write it down. And when there's times where I feel like they need those reminding back, I say, Hey, you said that you needed this and we have this timeline. Is that still gonna work? Or would you is this something that you're willing to negotiate? And they're like, you know what? You're right. Thanks. Let's get back at it. I was like, awesome. But I feel like the conversations we have per personal, there's times they're vulnerable about things. And I like to explain, I like to tell them, ask me a million questions. Because the moment I see you stop asking me questions is the moment I'm gonna put a stop on everything. They're like, why would you do that? And I was like, because if your headspace is not clear and you're not understanding what we're doing, there's going to be a part of it where you're gonna say, Oh man, I have no idea what I'm doing. I would never use Hirsch again. I was like, my my business is built in referrals. And I want you to let everyone know that she was able to help me understand the process. And towards in the end, if you want to be a real estate agent, cool. I was like, join in my team, I'll recruit you in because now I know that you know the contract, you understand the contract, you un you understand how it feels to be a buyer, to be a seller.

SPEAKER_01: 14:31

Yes. I think it speaks worlds to be able to sit down and fully just be transparent and explain the whole situation. It speaks a lot as opposed to trying to rush through anything. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 14:42

There's no real estate changes so much, and rushing through things sometimes it it could get hectic for some. And then again, their conscious is not gonna be clear. There's gonna be regrets, right? When you rush through anything and you're like, crap, what did I just do?

unknown: 15:00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 15:00

And I was like, I would, I was like, that's the last thing I would ever want you to question yourself. Want you to go in there, sign those papers, and you're like, I know what the hell I did. Good for you. Let's go celebrate.

SPEAKER_01: 15:11

Yeah, keep keeping everyone informed. Yeah, perfect. And persistence making a pivot. Persistent plays a pivot, a big role in your journey from licensing to building momentum in your business. What kept you motivated through this chapter of life? I love success.

SPEAKER_00: 15:31

I'm not gonna lie. I love I honestly love the feeling of I did something right. I'm not missing over that I can change a few things or the president, but I know at least I made one impact. And every single time that I do it, it's you get this thrill of I want to do it again. I want to help another family. I want to continue doing this, and I see what I've built, and I want again, like I want that for my kids. I want one day for them to come in and say, wow, mom built the legacy and I want to move, I want to continue with this, right? If they love it, then they want it great. But in the end, I know I made somewhat of an impact in the world.

SPEAKER_01: 16:13

A hundred percent. You're definitely making changes out there, especially in our community. Thanks. Of course. And joining the Hardman team was a turning point in your career. What stood out to you about their values and culture?

SPEAKER_00: 16:30

Honestly, it's treating people like they're people, right? What they wanted to do is give back and give more. Because the more you give, there's some of us who kind of raise, okay, I'm gonna give so much to you that I'm hoping that you give something back to me. For us in the Hardman team, we know it takes time, right? But at least against the impact that we're building. It's based on the go-giver. The Hardman team is all based on the Go Giver book with Valberg, but the whole aspect of it is just being with people who's willing to collaborate and have a sense of kindness. You don't have to be like, you don't have to be the smartest person or anything, but we're all different in our aspects that we were able to help each other grow. And that's something I really love. Like Sam, my team lead, he is honestly passionate about helping other agents. And whenever I need something from him, I know he's there. And it's always from the heart, it's never because I'm gonna do it because I have to, I'm a team lead. But so it's because I know that's gonna be great for my agents and I want to make it happen for them. And everyone wins. And my biggest thing is that when I came in to interview with him, I had asked because I just started my business technically. I was like, I want things on my name. And he says, Yeah, it's your business. And I was like, No, because there's some teams that they don't, and they're like, No, he was like, I have built my business 20 years for the last 20 years. My job here is to help you guys build your business. And because for me, that's really important. Like, I wanted a team lead that's gonna want to see me grow, right? Whether is it going to be part of this team or is it gonna be somewhere else where she can grow and blossom, know that I was a one-point part of that. Wow. And that's right there. I appreciate and it was never pressured. And I get a shopping spree. Get a get get a shopping spree when I hit my quota.

SPEAKER_01: 18:35

That definitely helps, right? Yep, it definitely does. But wasn't what an amazing team you have standing behind you. Yeah, that's so great.

SPEAKER_00: 18:43

I do, I really do. The collaboration, Carla, Anna are one of my in real estate. It's a lonely, it's a really lonely business. I didn't know Bill Dumfey didn't make it look like it, but finding your people is really important because there's days where you're like, I do not want to do this anymore. I'm very tired and I'm exhausted and I don't know what I'm doing. But then when you come around with people who's motivated, who's got your back, and maybe feeling the same way can go crazy together. But when you have that group of people, it just helps the business a little bit more. Because then you're getting ideas. You're like, you know what? Let me try networking now. You try networking, you're like, not for me. It's a lot of time, open houses. Most of my business is built on that. So I'm like, okay, let me train pe train agents to see if maybe this is a success for them. If it's a success for me, maybe I can teach it to them that they can go with it and find success themselves. Cool calling. I used to cool call too. It's lonely. You get yelled at. And I remember there was a an agent that I had to train and they were getting yelled at. And I'm in the background just laughing. And they're like, Why are you laughing? They're yelling. And I was like, You've got to take a fun of it because someone picked up. We've been calling for the last 30 minutes, and no one has picked up, but someone picked up. And you gotta say thank you. Thank you for picking up. Might not be the right fit, but I appreciate you. And that always turns the conversation around.

SPEAKER_01: 20:22

Absolutely. I think we're all just looking for like humanity at the end of the day. Yeah. Especially in today's times, you know, how things are evolving rapidly. We just want to be able to talk to a human and be talked to the way we would want to be talked to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 20:35

I mean, I'm look, AI does great, but nothing like a human interactions patting you saying, You got this.

SPEAKER_01: 20:43

I get you. And with that, real estate markets are constantly evolving. What shifts are you seeing right now that buyers and sellers should be aware of?

SPEAKER_00: 20:56

There's there is more homes sitting in the market, right? But they're not a lot of sellers are not that motivated because of the interest rate, right? That's something we can't control. But those who are constantly looking and saying, okay, maybe this is it, there's a lot more fixer upper right now that I'm seeing. But like Manassas itself is booming, which I love because there's a lot of opportunities. Some I see leaving a little bit more towards Winchester area because they could afford there, afford that area. They want a bigger home. But now it gets to the springtime, it's a little bit more competitive. We're seeing more builds happening, which is I'm seeing a lot of condos, right? And some are just not a fond of it. And I said, and it's okay. That means now we gotta shift our mind and know that this is what we have to do to win, and this is what you know has to happen and different market. Every, I want to say every city is a different market. Like Fairfax itself, it's its own market, Loudoun itself, it's its own market, Manassas or Winchester, Stafford is its own market. When things were sitting for were flying off the walls, Stafford still had about 10 to 15 days on the market. And that for us is long. And in the last three months, it's honestly been a weird shift with everything. That's been going on. People are unsure. But in the end, you still have those buyers who say, Hey, I'm going to buy. I need it at this point because rent is just going up. Sure.

SPEAKER_01: 22:42

Absolutely. Being able to meet them where they are and create a personalized experience is such a wonderful thing.

SPEAKER_00: 22:48

Yeah, it really is. Because, you know, when you finally have an understanding with the buyer and you're like, okay, where exactly? Some of them like, I want to stay right here. I'm like, okay, we take a look at what's out there. And you're like, maybe we shift right there. And I'm like, hey, I'm like, look, it's your journey. But what I'm going to do now is open it up for you. And I always like to give my clients homework. I'm like, I want you, these are you what you want. And for sure you drove around it and you did everything you can because that's what you're picking. But I always like to give them two other options. I was like, do you mind driving around here and here? Take a look for it. I don't like coming with them because I want them to have the experience themselves. And experience is a lot different. And then I come back and say, How did you feel? How did it make you feel? Because sometimes when we're there, I feel like there is still that point of, oh, maybe she wants us to think this way and that way. I was like, I never want you to feel that way. So I want you to go out, see it for yourself. Go out and try out Rockwood. Go to the target even. Do you like that target or do you did you like the other target? But it's always that experience and meeting their, and then they we all come together and say, okay, you know what? We consider that. I think we would like to move forward within this area. Give us options. Next thing they're under contract. Wow. And we're celebrating. And like, I knew this was it. Uh-huh. It was meant to be, right? It was meant to be. But again, they us real estate agents, that's why we're here. We want to give them an open up, especially if they're not from here. There's always we're not quite sure regarding to this to this area. And I was like, okay, let you know, go ahead and take a chance, take the family out for dinner and just see if you guys like the atmosphere. Then they actually end up finding some new friends within that area.

SPEAKER_01: 24:45

So it's like paying attention to the details. They seem like small things, but they're actually very big things. It's gonna be a part of your everyday life, your everyday commute. They're super important. And I love that you just really hone in on that as well.

SPEAKER_00: 24:59

Yeah. For some, my my dad was military, and so we PCS so much. And so I understand the whole new place. The great thing about moving to a new place is that you start over. What exactly do you want that you didn't get last time around? And when you hear a client, I've had military clients and there's always saying, I really did not like how tiny those stairs were. Or I really didn't like how there was barely any restaurants. I was like, okay, if you look at this area, are you gonna be okay with that? Because that is that area. Or because you wanted a little bit more land, or if you go here, it's more of a subdivision. Kids are able to play right next to their to your neighbors, and you know, the school is walking distance. Is that something that you would like? She was like, I don't want it. There's just too many people. And I'm like, let's take a look. Sure. We take a look at one home falls in love, and the kids are already having friends. And I notice a lot of parents, when they see their kids glow up on certain places, that's where they want to be. Because for them it matters and how they feel too. So it's almost like I need to know how they feel, and they need to know how their kids feel and how it makes them feel too. And towards we're all happy. And they there's always that point where when the transaction's over, like I I'm like, this doesn't mean it's the end, right? So I'm always calling them. They're like her, I'm doing fine. I'm like, I know, I'm just making sure.

SPEAKER_01: 26:35

Having those relationships are the best. You create some long-term friends along the way.

SPEAKER_00: 26:40

Yeah, no, I get the greatest gossip. No, but no, yeah, it really does. And I grow close to them. And then some of them have started business, and I always want to support it and then make sure that I'm able to support them as much as I can within my business. So I honestly, there was there's one client that I who gave me a chance out of all of my years. There was a struggle in part of my my career that even with that, she says, I'm gonna give you a chance. You're still my girl because we have a relationship. And just because of that one chance, she she let me realize what kind of agent I want to be and who I want to be. And till this day, she's someone I run to. And she's always like, How's the business? What are you doing? Are you happy? Are you good? And I'm like, I am. And I always tell her the and she's recommended me so many times. I always tell her that I'm grateful for her. Because if it wasn't for her, I would have been rethinking everything. Because she was, and again, it was knocking on the door, having a con a conversation and asking for an appointment. And from that point, it's history. So I always tell my agents, I'm like, take a chance, right? It's cold out there, it's hot out there, take a chance, knock on door, build a relationship with anyone because you never know.

SPEAKER_01: 28:10

That's right, you never know. Yeah, and like how this beautiful full circle moment has come. Yeah. Awesome. And as we wrap up, is there anything you would like to add that I haven't touched on today?

SPEAKER_00: 28:24

I think it's gonna be maybe more like the Filipino. Yeah. The Filipino community, and how honestly, I think I didn't see the way I needed to because I can't I didn't know how important my culture was until a little bit, and then when my daughter didn't know how to speak it, and I'm like, oh man, this sucks. I'm that Filipino now. But the importance of just having a community within a community, a lot of like my Filipino clients have actually come to me. And the fact that I could still speak my language, that it helped out. But there's always that we didn't feel comfortable because we wanted to find someone from our place. And I didn't, I I think I always was like, oh, I don't know if they want, because I don't know if they want someone like within the Filipino knowing about every little details, but it turns out they do, they do, and they appreciate it because there's somewhat of a sense of home in it. And I'm not gonna lie, even with me, when I'm working with Filipinos, I feel the touch of home. Of course. I reminisce a little. I'm like, oh my gosh, like I need to go back home. Oh, like we have the greatest beach, we have all of these things, but they definitely have taught me to love within my culture. Absolutely. To support within my culture because that's what I have going on. And they say they told me that if you stay within your cult culture, help yourself. They love to give. And now all I want to do is to give back as much as I can to them and be in front of them and say, I'm here to guide. And they want someone who's there to guide, and they want someone that's gonna be a touch of home. And I did, and again, it took me three years to be exact to get that and ideal that, and now I'm posting a little bit more in Tagalog. They say it's broken, but but you understood. We're doing great.

SPEAKER_01: 30:38

Oh my gosh, that's amazing. And I can definitely see how it brings a sense of comfort, a sense of home, a sense of familiarity. So, yeah. Good for you, girl.

SPEAKER_00: 30:49

Thank you. It took a long time. It took 80 years old to tell me.

SPEAKER_01: 30:53

You know what? Rome wasn't built in the day. Yeah, there you go. Thank you so much, Hershey, for joining me on the podcast today and sharing your knowledge and inspiring story with us.