What To Say Now

F.E.A.R. with Michael Maher

• Dan Stewart • Episode 3

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The fear of change is something we all face, but how we handle it can make all the difference. In this episode, we explore how real estate professionals can learn to embrace change and turn fear into opportunity. 

In this episode, I’m joined by Michael Maher, best-selling author of The Seven Levels of Communication (7L). We talk about how different agents respond to fear and change, and how some rise above to become more professional and successful real estate agents.

We also explore the benefits of real estate events like RM's summit, where you can gather insights and find opportunities to advance your business. Michael shares his tips on applying strategies from these events to achieve success. 

Don't miss this eye-opening conversation with Michael Maher. Listen to the episode now to learn how to turn fear into a stepping stone towards success.

Specifically, this episode highlights the following themes:

  • The role of real estate events in professional growth
  • Building and leveraging a referral-based network
  • Strategies for facing and overcoming fear in the industry

Links from this episode:

Happy Grasshopper helps real estate agents and brokerages grow sales and recruitment. To schedule a call and learn how we can help you, visit https://happygrasshopper.com/tour

Happy Grasshopper utilizes best practices to deliver emails, text messages, voicemail drops, and handwritten notes in order to help real estate professionals succeed and convert more leads to closings by building relationships through conversation.

Michael Maher [00:00:00]:
The thing that we really want to master right now are commission conversations. What to say when you're having conversations about money, and I will tell you, there are a lot of people out there who have a hang up about money, and I want to just get a message out. Don't fear the commission conversation, the money conversation. Embrace it and be proactive with it. In fact, if you're afraid of it, it'll come up and you'll mess it up. But if you bring it up and you control the narrative, it will work out in your favor.

Dan Stewart  [00:00:37]:
Hey, everybody, you're listening to what say now, a podcast that's dedicated to helping real estate professionals have better conversations. And there is literally no one better today to help with this than my guest, Michael Mayer. Many of you know him already because he's an all around awesome guy. He's the author of that wonderful seven levels book that so many of us have read. And better still, he's my personal friend. Yeah. Thank you. Look at that.

Dan Stewart  [00:01:05]:
Look at that. There's the book right there. How are you, Michael?

Michael Maher [00:01:10]:
I'm doing awesome. Just happened to have one right here that I was signing, so it's a nice shameless plug there.

Dan Stewart  [00:01:16]:
Yeah.

Michael Maher [00:01:16]:
I'm excited about this. Always great to have conversations with you. We've had a lot of great conversations over the year, and I've always learned from you and love the wisdom that you always share. You come from a great place, and you've done an amazing thing for this industry. So love it. Appreciate it.

Dan Stewart  [00:01:33]:
That's very kind. Thank you. You know, I feel like none of us get through life alone. And whenever there's times of challenge or uncertainty, what do we do? We turn to the people around us. Right. We do that. We invest in each other over time. And as we're recording this here in mid August, 2024, there's an enormous amount of change taking place in the real estate industry, and I'd love to get your take on that.

Dan Stewart  [00:01:59]:
Michael, what sort of things are you hearing from the agents you serve?

Michael Maher [00:02:02]:
Isn't this awesome? Isn't this awesome? Now, that's not what I'm hearing, but I am so fired up about this. I think it's awesome. And there's so much hubbub, and people with their different responses to change and fear has been very good to see and very interesting to see. And the thing that I've been telling people is, what if I told you that in six months, you're going to sit down and write a handwritten note to Michael Ketchmark, the attorney who started all of these class action suits and actually won in Missouri. What if I told you in six months, you're going to write a handwritten note expressing your appreciation to him for shaking up this industry and raising the professionalism and the competence in this. In this industry? What if I told you that, and that's an instant reframe for all the agents I'm talking to right now, and, you know, and I'm serious. I'm dead serious, that we need to be in appreciation right now. Not in panic, not in anxiety, not in fear.

Michael Maher [00:03:11]:
We need to be. We need to be in appreciation. This is a. You know, not everybody's going to survive it. And maybe that's okay. Maybe that's a good thing. You know, everybody's been surviving in real estate for a while without a lot of skills, and. And now it's a skill based industry instead of just merely a service based interest being there.

Michael Maher [00:03:34]:
You know, you not only have to be there now, you also need to know, quote, unquote, what to say.

Dan Stewart  [00:03:39]:
Yeah, well, hey, someone should start a podcast using that in the title. I think that'd be helpful.

Michael Maher [00:03:45]:
Brilliant. I love the idea I'm in today right now.

Dan Stewart  [00:03:48]:
The thing you're sharing here that I love so much is that the first thing we have to do is figure out what to say to ourselves. Times have changed, right? There's something that's different. We need to adapt to that internally before we can really show up in a way that's powerful for other people. And I know from having attended your events and got to know you over many years of time, like, you're a guy who really believes in investing in the relationships you build with people. So I would just want to encourage the audience that think of all those people you've served over the course of your career. Think what they see every morning when they turn on the tv, right? There's some doom and gloom headline about how real estate has changed forever, and yet, you know what? Most of those people are going to need help with their next transaction, and 100% of those people are going to need to live somewhere. So I say lean in. That's what we need to do as an industry, 100%.

Michael Maher [00:04:47]:
And, yeah, what I'm seeing is there's three types of agents out there right now, and it's all about fear. And there's four different acronyms for fear. The first one is for everyone, a reality. Fear is a reality. It is. Everyone feels fear. We've all felt fear, and it's probably kept us alive. And that is that is deeply and rooted in us, to keep us alive.

Michael Maher [00:05:14]:
And that's why the homo sapiens have done so well so long, is because of this. This ability to feel fear and respond to it. Right? That's. That's the whole Stephen Covey thing, is. Is response. Ability to respond, result, right? And so it's one of those where fear is a good thing for everyone, a reality. Now, it's our response to fear that puts us into three types of agents right now. The first type of agent is going to quit.

Michael Maher [00:05:47]:
First type, they're going to quit. And their response to fear is a new fear acronym, which is forget everything and run. Just forget everything and run. I've. I've. I've been in this business. I've done what I, you know what? Look at all these changes. It's scary.

Michael Maher [00:06:04]:
I don't know what to do. I'm not getting leadership. And, you know, Nar let us down. And, gosh, if Nar can't do it, I can't do it. I'm out. And, you know, they forget everything and run. That you've seen it. I mean, look at the Facebook groups lit up lately with these forget everything and run panic.

Michael Maher [00:06:22]:
The sky is falling. It's the worst thing ever.

Dan Stewart  [00:06:25]:
You know what I think it is, Michael? I think some people are looking for an excuse to fail. Right? They need that. That external event to happen to justify their desire to give up. Right?

Michael Maher [00:06:38]:
That's right.

Dan Stewart  [00:06:39]:
Because this is not a career for the meek. It just isn't like if you're going to really thrive as a real estate professional, some people have made. They've done okay sitting on the sidelines. You know, friends and family come along. They do a handful of deals every year. But there's a big difference between that person and the truly dedicated career professional who's constantly investing and doing a better job for other people. Yeah. So for all those agents who are thinking, hey, maybe it is time, let's just forget everything and run.

Dan Stewart  [00:07:10]:
I say you got to go to. I'm going to. Here's a shameless plug. Go to realtyconnect.com, hang your license there. Right? Generate referrals, still work your database. Like, if you're looking for an off ramp, there's your off ramp. Go ahead and do that. You don't have to invent what to do next.

Dan Stewart  [00:07:26]:
It's already been done.

Michael Maher [00:07:28]:
Don't just let it go. Right. Put it somewhere. Absolutely. And figure it out. Like, if you're in a holding pattern, a great place to hold is at realty, connect and connect through Dan. Right. The second type of group, we've also seen this online quite a bit.

Michael Maher [00:07:44]:
And this is the agent that is the type to wish it were going to stay the same. And they really dont want to make any changes. They want everything to be normal. And they have a different response to fear. And their fear acronym is fight everything and resist. Fight everything and resist. And theyre just, they're ready to fight, and they're looking for the loopholes, and they're going to make it as normal as it was before, and they're not going to change. They're going to show the home without knowing what their commission is, they're going to just do it as normal, and it's going to lead to a lot of heartache, a lot of frustration, and, you know, they may end up moving into that, that first group as well.

Michael Maher [00:08:33]:
Right. So forget fight everything and resist there. And I have a message to them is drop the dukes, right? Drop the gloves and just maybe look around and is it worth it to fight, or is it going to be worth more to adopt and change? And that's the third group of agent that we're seeing out there, and that is the adopt and change. They're the group that is like, all right, so these are the new rules of the game. Let's go play the game. I'm going to adopt and adapt. I'm going to adopt the new rules and I'm going to adapt to the new game, and I'm going to, and I'm going to win the new game. And they have a different response to fear.

Michael Maher [00:09:18]:
And they have a new acronym. And the acronym for the third group of agent is face everything and rise. Face every turn. Face it. See what's going on and rise to the occasion. Go up, take it to the next level, become more professional, become more competent. Oh, I wasn't doing buyer consultations before. I'm going to do them.

Michael Maher [00:09:42]:
I may suck at them for a little bit. I need to practice on my family first. I need to practice on other colleagues first, which I highly suggest. And, but I'm going to do a buyer's consultation, and then I'm going to work through the conversation so I know what to say during the buyers consultation to help people with the commission conversation, which is really the biggest difference between how it was done before and how it's being done now, is the seller and the listing agent are having commission conversations. The buyer and the buyer agent are having commission conversations. And here's the difference. The listing agent and the buyer agent are having commission conversations. So the thing that we really want to master right now are commission conversations.

Michael Maher [00:10:32]:
What to say when you're having conversations about money. And I will tell you, they have, there are a lot of people out there who have a hang up about money. They avoid the money conversation. And I want to just get a message out that everyone needs to embrace the money. Don't fear the commission conversation. The money conversation, embrace it and be proactive with it. In fact, if you're afraid of it, it'll come up and you'll mess it up. But if you bring it up and you control the narrative, it will work out in your favor.

Dan Stewart  [00:11:06]:
Jeff, completely agree with that. You've got to embrace that thing. Right. Whatever it is that you're afraid of is not going to resolve itself. You've got to grasp the nettles. Right. You've got to get in there and work through it. And of course, you don't have to invent the way that it, that it's being done.

Dan Stewart  [00:11:24]:
This is one of the most beautiful things I think about our industry is that, you know, you look around and there's always an example of someone or some area or some geography where what you need to master is their normal. And there are 16 states where buyer's agency already requires a signed agreement prior to going out to show property.

Michael Maher [00:11:45]:
Kansas and Missouri. Right. So we did buyers consultations. We got 100% of our EBA signed, and that's how we've been doing work for four years. So borrow on our experience, like Florida has it. Right. Florida has never really necessitated an EBA or a buyer broker agreement. And, you know, they hadn't been doing, a lot of agents hadn't been doing buyer consultation.

Michael Maher [00:12:09]:
So borrow mine. You know, have mine, use mine. And until you get creative with it and then go from there. Howard Brinton, one of the greatest, he gave me the greatest advice ever. He one of the greatest mentors I've ever had and one of the greatest mentors in real estate trainers. And he said, you know, whatever you want to learn or whatever you want to do, go out and find out what the best is doing and copy what they're doing. Don't reinvent the wheel. R and D, reinvent the wheel.

Dan Stewart  [00:12:40]:
R and D, rip off and duplicate. Let's go.

Michael Maher [00:12:42]:
That's right. Or, you know, I think there's nicer ways to put that, but, but I I definitely think that it's, it's. Don't reinvent the wheel. You know, there, there's answers out there. Go, go gather them and then put together your, your solution.

Dan Stewart  [00:12:57]:
Well, let's talk about Florida for just a bit here in this context. Right? Because being a Floridian, I can speak to this first person. We have thousands and thousands and thousands of people who decide that their Sunburn is a little too sensitive today, and it's time to open realtor.com or zillow or do an IDX search or, oh, there's an open house sign. Let's just go take a look. They enter a real estate funnel in complete dream phase. They're not ready to actually buy, sell or invest in real estate. They're just curious. And in Florida, there are countless buyer's agents who have been victimized by that process.

Dan Stewart  [00:13:38]:
They're investing lots of time and energy showing those people homes when if we'd had buyer's agency in place and that EBA was required, it just would not have happened. So I think what we're about to see is in a lot of states, buyer's agents have just been given a huge gift, right? They've now got a giant chunk of their productivity. They can invest somewhere else. Which big silver lining, I think.

Michael Maher [00:14:04]:
Well, 100%. There's these seven principles of influence and persuasion, essentially. And one of those is commitment. And listen, I don't know how protective the document is, if it really comes down to it, because are you going to sue a client? And I think you are going to see more agents and broker sue clients in the future if there's instances. Whereas the process before, it didn't necessarily give it that power. Right. Well, but them signing a document that says that they're working with you is the first step to commitment, and it gives you an open license to be as motivated as your client. Whereas before, you could spend a lot of time, lot of effort, a lot of energy and not get anything out of it because you were an unpaid tourist guy to Florida for, for the people.

Michael Maher [00:15:03]:
And in this case, all right, now, it's, it's a commitment thing. And if they're not willing to sign it, then you don't go show, you can pass it on to the next unpaid tourist guide. And, and that's, that is a gift. You're exactly right. It's a gift and a silver lining that, that is out there. And I, I think we just, the biggest thing that, I think we just have to learn how to communicate better. And that's, you know, that's why I called the book the seven levels of communication instead of the seven levels of marketing. An agent told me, you know, twelve years ago that, man, if you call that the seven levels of marketing, you're going to sell like 50,000 copies, that you'll do it really well with it.

Michael Maher [00:15:44]:
And I really debated at the time. It was like, you know, the average book sells 250 copies, you have a chance to sell 50,000. And, and then I just really reflected and I got to be me and it's like, I truly believe that communication is more important than marketing. And this is really about communication more than it is about marketing. And people are like, well, I'm posting on Facebook about the new change and it's like, don't do that. What you're trying to do is communicate a one solution to 5000 or 15,000 people who, the solution is different and customized for each and every one of them. They're not going to relate to your, the things have changed and here's how it's going to work. They're not going to relate to that.

Michael Maher [00:16:29]:
They don't care right now if they're not in the market. And even if they are, they're not going to know necessarily how that relates to them. And it'll probably come off wrong because it's in text form and not in conversation form.

Dan Stewart  [00:16:43]:
Even words we use every day, like buyer's agency. What I mean to a consumer, what is that? I know what both of those words mean. You put them together, I have no clue what we're talking about.

Michael Maher [00:16:54]:
That's right.

Dan Stewart  [00:16:54]:
So I think to some extent you've got a cumbersome process that occurs very infrequently in the life of a consumer. And part of what they expect is there's stuff they're not going to know. They're going to have to trust someone. Here's, you know, sheet after sheet of paper that needs to be initialed and signed. This is just another sheet of paper that needs to be initialed and signed.

Michael Maher [00:17:18]:
Well. And we're definitely on the plus side of that in the referral game, you know, with, with, if you're referred, you already have the trust element there. So, you know, what referrals do is when you say, come in for the buyer's consultation. They come in for the buyer's consultation. When you go through the buyer's consultation, show your value and you say, you need to sign this before it can show you properties. They sign the document or initial the document and then, you know, and then you say, hey, listen, we're going to see three to five homes and then make a decision. They see three to five homes and make a decision. And then, you know, it's one of those where if you're chasing a lead, and this is why the whole touring guide that zillow put together, and a lot of these lead generating companies, they're scared right now.

Michael Maher [00:18:02]:
They're a little worried because it used to be, what was the conversion rate before? Half of 1%. Well, that's going to be cut in a half or a fourth even, to where it's going to be nearly impossible to convert a lead to a client. And then you top that off with what you know about the FCC and everything else. You might want to speak about that, because I actually learned about that from you. They're on dangerous ground. The sphere, events, referrals world is the place to be. It really is.

Dan Stewart  [00:18:40]:
You know, what all of these changes do is they just point you in the right direction. We say real estate is a relationship business, right? We've believed that for a long time. And yet the companies that become multi billion dollar, publicly traded global conglomerates, they're in business to sell agents leads. That game has changed. It's definitely changed. And relationships are the thing that's going to get agents through these transitions with the NAR settlement and through the FCC. Changes come in later this year. So, yeah.

Michael Maher [00:19:16]:
So how is that going to change? Have you already spoken about that to this group? Just about how the selling of leads to multiple agents, that kind of thing?

Dan Stewart  [00:19:26]:
It's something we've talked about quite a bit here, but a quick summary for the audience. This is important enough to say over and over and over again, there's three major components that are going to change the way leads are distributed, sold, worked in real estate. The first is two words, explicit consent. And boy, doesn't that sound interesting. Explicit consent? What are we even talking about here? You know those forms where you're filling out your information online? There's usually some fine print that says by checking this box, by submitting your information, by blah blah blah, you're giving permission. A, B, C and D. Well, in the past, that's largely been ignored. Whatever that fine print said.

Dan Stewart  [00:20:09]:
Oftentimes a lead registers in one place. They're thinking maybe they'll get outreach from one agent and that lead gets sold, you know, 710, 15 times, who knows how many times? That's something that's going away. So these companies who are in the business of selling leads are going to need to increase the price per lead to make up for that change. So, gosh, that sounds like bad news. If you're an agent who buys leads? And yet you won't be one of many who are now working that lead. Now, let's take that use case a little further. Let's say I'm a broker owner or I'm a team owner. I'm investing in leads and then distributing them to my agents.

Dan Stewart  [00:20:50]:
I may have a pool or a pond. We don't have absolute clarity yet on what the FCC may consider sharing that lead. If it's in one organization, perhaps it's fine for multiple agents within that organization to reach out where it's absolutely not okay for that lead to be sold multiple times. Right. So that's the first issue. There is explicit consent.

Michael Maher [00:21:16]:
Yay, consumer.

Dan Stewart  [00:21:17]:
Yeah, that.

Michael Maher [00:21:18]:
Chalk one up for the consumers.

Dan Stewart  [00:21:19]:
Yep, that. That's huge. And the second big area is text messaging. Right. I mean, how many times a day so far, each of you listening, have you been interrupted by a text from some source? You have no idea where they came from.

Michael Maher [00:21:33]:
Right, for health insurance.

Dan Stewart  [00:21:34]:
I'm right.

Michael Maher [00:21:34]:
Just for health insurance.

Dan Stewart  [00:21:36]:
Yeah. Your car warranty. I mean, it could be anything. It comes over and over. And as we're in a political season, we're getting lots of that as well. That is not the purpose of text messaging. Right. Text is very one to one.

Dan Stewart  [00:21:51]:
I'm getting geeky here, Michael. It's a synchronous communication. It's like if I knock on your door, I'm really there. When you answer your door, I'm really there. That's what a text message is supposed to be like. So if you're using software to send out thousands of texts to people, just know that that's something that's not going to survive. As these changes are implemented, that's going to go away. Texting should be one to one and not one to many.

Dan Stewart  [00:22:20]:
You can automate the first text as part of a lead conversion sequence. You should not be automating text for months or years into the future. Just shouldn't be doing it. So those are two major things that are coming here. And you add this all together. Everything's pointing towards the value of relationships, and that's where I really want to focus with you because our relationship has allowed us to experience some things together. And we have this awesome event coming up in September. So I'm stoked because RM's 22.

Dan Stewart  [00:22:52]:
Seems like it was years ago, because it was.

Michael Maher [00:22:54]:
It does, doesn't it?

Dan Stewart  [00:22:55]:
Yep.

Michael Maher [00:22:56]:
The last one was a while back. It feels. And I'm excited about RM's 2024. We literally just were working on the backdrop of it and some of the design. And I love the unleash your superpower tagline. I love the superhero theme. I love what we're doing with it. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Michael Maher [00:23:17]:
First of all, I think, I mean, when was the last time the conference was designed around being fun? And that's the thing, there isn't. Right? And then also we have all of this powerful content through the breakouts. We have choice. There is going to be a little overwhelm. You're going to have three to four choices for a breakout four times a day for two days. But it's just so much more manageable with 300 people than it is like a 5000 or a 10,000. And the speakers we have are going to help you maximize your referrals. We have Aihdem speakers on AI marketing follow up events.

Michael Maher [00:23:57]:
Any event you've ever thought about doing, you're going to get every answer you ever wanted about doing that event and probably more answers than you had ever thought of before. Sphere events, referrals fun, you know, fun. And that's the whole thing about the referral mastery system is, you know, funleadgeneration.com dot fundprospecting.com and I just got those URL's. And what's hilarious about that is are you telling me that in the 15 to 20 years of URL's and domain purchases that nobody had ever thought to put the words fun and lead generation together or fun and prospecting together? Guess what? That's what we're doing. If it ain't fun, we ain't doing it and we're going, we make. Now here's the thing with fun lead generation. Are there things that are difficult? Yeah. When you get 28 referrals at your next event, you, you then have.

Michael Maher [00:24:58]:
It could be fun, but it's also going to be work. You've got to follow up with those 28 people in a really powerful way. Which is one of the focuses that we have at RM's is the fortune is in the follow up. We've got Dustin Fox coming down who has been using it for, for a lot of social media as part of his follow up. And you know, you're there, you're speaking. We have, we have just some of the best and the best in the business who are about relationship. And here's the thing, here's what you're probably not going to hear from stage, which will make, which you'll laugh, but the rest of the agents I'd be interested in their feedback is you're not going to hear it's all about relationships. You're not going to hear that because, like, I mean, it's so funny.

Michael Maher [00:25:43]:
I was just watching the simulcast of a breakout, and the panelist goes, well, you know, just like always. It's always. It's all about relationships. And the other panelists were like. And then the moderator is like. And everybody in the audience is. And it's like, I want you to know, it's. It's.

Michael Maher [00:26:02]:
We all have relationships. Everyone has relationships. It's not about relationships. It's about how do we bridge the gap from relationships to referrals to opportunities? And that's what this entire summit is about, is how do we go from having relationships to getting referrals, getting opportunities, getting introductions and connections, and building our tribe of trust and building our business? That's what's different. You know, it's just different. Everybody kind of, well, it's back to the basics. It's like, what the heck? No, how about, like, back to the masters? Back to masters.

Dan Stewart  [00:26:42]:
I love it.

Michael Maher [00:26:42]:
You know?

Dan Stewart  [00:26:43]:
Yeah.

Michael Maher [00:26:43]:
Back to mastery.

Dan Stewart  [00:26:45]:
There are specific things that go into that. I mean, you can have that sort of general understanding, but what does it actually mean? What's the tactical next step to actually do that? And you know, that one of. One of the. I gotta circle back here to this point because earlier I said, you know, what do people do in times of change or crisis or when they're feeling stressed, they turn to other people. And part of what I really loved about RMS 22 is that you created the environment where there were agents from all over the country with all different levels of experience and yet a common understanding of their desire to show up as a real person who provides real value to other people. And, you know, some of the people I met at the event, I'm just going to call it some folks here. Cindy Hayden. Hi.

Dan Stewart  [00:27:30]:
If you're listening, she's going again.

Michael Maher [00:27:32]:
She's speaking this year.

Dan Stewart  [00:27:33]:
She's awesome. I loved her strategy of using her love for food to create these magical moments where she assembles a group of people at a local restaurant, right? They're there for the food and the camaraderie. And guess what? They all have to live somewhere, right? You don't have to show up as someone who's like, are you ready to buy, sell, or invest in beachfront real estate? Even though that's the kind of stuff she represents, showing up as a human being with a shared affinity for something first is much more powerful.

Michael Maher [00:28:05]:
All right. And before you even name the second name. I've got to make some points there, right? Because Cindy is Genjin. She is the generosity generation. She lives it. She embodies it. And what you just said really about is she's doing events, she's getting referrals from the events. But the first step on any event is, is it fun? What will make it fun? And the first step of any successful event is fun.

Michael Maher [00:28:28]:
So no home buyer seminar? No home seller seminar? No first time home. You're going to just have a fun event for friends and family. And the second one is, what are you going to love the most about this event? Or where's the love? Where's the love? Do you have the love for something? And for me, I did not love bowling, but we had some of the biggest, best bowling events ever because, you know what? Because the bowling was a lot of fun for a lot of people who didn't do it. A lot. You know, it's a pretty, pretty safe sport that almost anyone can do. And watching people goof up and fail is great. And that's another thing I love about RM's is the number one comment. We get referral from referral mastery summit.

Michael Maher [00:29:12]:
Is there just the lack of ego in the room? Everybody's going to share everything. Nobody has an ego. And it really is the end of the ego era and the beginning of the generosity generation. And this is the event for the generosity generation.

Dan Stewart  [00:29:28]:
It's a great segue to another thing I really love about the event, because whoever you are that's listening to this, you are enough. You are exactly what you need to be to provide value for people in your community.

Michael Maher [00:29:42]:
That's right.

Dan Stewart  [00:29:43]:
And I think, like Pauly D, for example, Paul dominance, right?

Michael Maher [00:29:47]:
Yeah.

Dan Stewart  [00:29:48]:
He's a hyper productive, super, just amazing energy kind of guy. His personality is one where, like, if you see him and you go, oh, my gosh, I could never be that. That's okay. Like, it's just one exit. Like, Paulie and Cindy couldn't be more different. And yet, you know, they're both succeeding at the very highest levels with different strategies that suit their own strengths.

Michael Maher [00:30:12]:
I love that. Paulie is a huge extrovert. Cindy has a lot of introversion. Right? And that's what I love about this is a lot of events are really catered to extroverts. Are we going to have quite a few extroverts there? 100%. Especially for an. Unleash your superpower. And we're telling people to dress up as superheroes.

Michael Maher [00:30:33]:
You're going to have some eyes fulfilling some dreams. But the thing about it is, is you're also going to see these super quiet people who just did 140 transactions on their own with a small team or with just a transaction coordinator who you've never heard of. And they do it all through, like, just three events a year. And that's what I love is, I mean, Toro white Toro in the star power world, people really didn't know her, and because she was so quiet and she would kind of stay to the side, and she would never volunteer to be on a panel. Well, Rm's. She's speaking and things like that. She's a legend. She's a poster child for the referral mastery system.

Michael Maher [00:31:17]:
And everybody, everybody loves her like they should. And we've, you know, we kind of managed how to, like, get the best out of them. Like, and sometimes it's an interview, sometimes it's, you know, you don't have to carry the speaking, and, you know, Paulie, just get out of his way, right? And just like, here's the stage. Do ten minutes, you know, whereas with some, we really have to just like, isn't it weird that not everybody wants to be the star on stage or the sage on stage? A lot of them just want to be the guide on the side. And what I love about it is, is that most people are more the guide on the side than the sage on stage. But they're hearing from the sage on stage to learn how to run their business like a guide on the side. And guess what? They're not going to run their business like the sage on stage. They need those guides to guide them on how to run the business guide on the side.

Michael Maher [00:32:11]:
And here's what's beautiful in today's world is the guides on the side are winning. The guides on the side are doing more transactions. They're doing better, they're having an easier way, they're getting more referrals than the superstar. So I love it. Dan, here's what I love about you is some people would say, I went to RM's. It was a lot of fun. And you know what? The whole I love you a lot day you guys did on Saturday morning was a lot of fun. And I got my coffee, and, like, I met a lot of nice people.

Michael Maher [00:32:45]:
And, no, you're giving these, like, leader, take a step back, helicopter view insights to what RM's is really about. And I would even say a lot of the attendees might have missed what you're saying. And I love that you're bringing it up. I love that you think you kind of pierced through that and see it.

Dan Stewart  [00:33:09]:
Thank you. I will say, having attended I don't even know how many different real estate events that the strategy I'd recommend to any agent going to any event. Is that what you're going to learn from the guide on the side? Right? At breakfast, at lunch, at dinner, at cocktails, at the club, at two in the morning, if that's you, not me, but have a great time. Wow. That's like the value there is just incredible. So, you know, what you hear on the stage at RM's is going to be things that are designed to help you think beyond your normal comfort zone, for sure. And then you'll have plenty of time to really invest and get to hear the stories of people. And I love the setup and I hope you do it the same way where we had all these roundtables and there was ample time given to actually experience the implementation of these new ideas and processes that's so important.

Dan Stewart  [00:34:11]:
Otherwise you go, you're standing at a waterfall of things and you take a couple of drops home here you've got bucket loads of value that you get to actually implement.

Michael Maher [00:34:22]:
Well, I love that because Howard Brinton with star power, God love him. Rest in peace, Howard. How would people describe star power or mega camp or family union or Inman, is that it's like drinking water out of a fire hose? Well, we still have those moments, but we have moments where we turn off the fire hose so they can figure out what's in their cup. And it's like, all right, what is the part of this water that I want to take home and I want to take as a part of me? And I really, I use the analogy of literally taking the cup and what are you going to pour inside of you and just like internalize it and commit to it? And just like, all right, this is, I'm doing this one strategy in my business and it's going to make a difference. And if you walk away with three of those, then that's it. That's good enough. You know, you are enough. You are the gift and take it from there.

Michael Maher [00:35:23]:
At first, people are going to go to your events because they're fun. Eventually they'll go to your events because of who you are. And that's what I love. And that's, that's, that's, I mean, Lynn Fascelli just wrote the most awesome thing in the genera it. We have joined Gengen.com. it's a Facebook group, and join Gengen.com. she was just talking about that she's just so in love right now. She is just in, she, you know, be loved.

Michael Maher [00:35:49]:
Do generosity have prosperity? And she's just overflowing with love. And, yeah, it also helps that she's moved to a new area and she's a leader and she's doing all these transactions. Right. But she's coming from a really, really good place right now and it's super attractive and she's rapidly becoming the top producer in her area. And she's only been there like six months. So it's exciting. It's very cool when that happens.

Dan Stewart  [00:36:21]:
Yeah. I love that we're going to see so many of the same faces because just like speaking to that agent who might be hosting their own local event, they'll come initially because it's fun. They'll keep coming because the relationship they have with you, like every RM's is kind of like a reunion. I know we're going to see so many of the same people and a whole bunch of new people as well. And it's, it's just a special time. It really is.

Michael Maher [00:36:45]:
Well, that's the other part of it, too, is what you just said is our sponsors, we're not going to have 22 sponsors. We're going to have five to ten sponsors. But here's what different with the sponsor partners of, first of all, we're going to generate leads for them instead of them having to, like, you know, feel like they need to sell. Sell. The other thing is that our vendors, our sponsor part, are in the room for the sessions and they're getting hugs. Trust me, at mega camp, nobody was hugging the vendors. They weren't right. But you know what they were doing? All the agents were hugging each other.

Michael Maher [00:37:24]:
And that you're. And why? It's because Dan's in growth mode. Chris Dreher's in growth mode. Amanda Churchwell, big time growth mode. You know, these people are in growth mode, so they're a part of it. Plus, Dan's a referral machine. Chris is a referral machine. Amanda is a referral machine.

Michael Maher [00:37:43]:
These people are, you know, these people are all referral and they want to learn how to get more referrals. So, you know, it just, that's what I love about it is you're right. You are getting the hugs and you deserve the hugs. And you are a part of the gen Jen and the community. And I just love how that fits, you know? So it's a session that even a vendor partner, sponsor partner would want to be in.

Dan Stewart  [00:38:05]:
It's an unexpected, just wonderful gift to discover a community of people that have the same expectations of themselves. Right. Cause that's really where it starts.

Michael Maher [00:38:17]:
That's right.

Dan Stewart  [00:38:18]:
So many people find themselves in a real estate career with kind of a chip on their shoulder about sales. Right. They just. They chafe at the idea of being described as a salesperson. They've got all this manipulation associated with what that is. And, you know, I've noticed in my career that the most successful sales professionals don't seem like salespeople at all. They. They don't sound scripted.

Dan Stewart  [00:38:43]:
They don't sound insincere. They show up as true fiduciaries. They really take care of people. And, you know, all the people we've mentioned on this podcast certainly fall into that category, and. And I'm stoked to see them. So I'd like to close today's session with a couple of quick questions. Just to pick your brain, Michael, and serve people maybe who haven't been exposed to. To your community in the past.

Dan Stewart  [00:39:08]:
Right. So one of my favorite question to ask every guest on the podcast is this. Let's imagine this scenario is happening. You're an agent, and you have 24 hours to get a listing signed, or the world is going to end. What's your strategy to go get that listing agreement signed? What do you do?

Michael Maher [00:39:32]:
That's a great question. If I had 24 hours to get a listing, isn't it sad? That is how we have to think on a daily basis in some cases, right? So, I mean, if I had to, it might be for sale by owners or expireds, which would surprise a million people. But I also have the skills to convert those. But let's say I had 24 days, and I didn't want to just get one listing. I would have an event in 16 days, and I would invite the top people that I knew, and I would. Instead of just relying on who I knew, I would rely on who the top people in my network knew. And I would probably come away from that event with eight to ten solid listing opportunities. And that's no exaggeration.

Michael Maher [00:40:28]:
Eight to ten is probably low. But that's the difference, I think, that we need to think is too many agents think it's up to them alone. And I did not succeed alone in Kansas City, setting records and doing everything we did. The reason I succeeded was because I had an army of ambassadors. I had this army of people who were looking. And the true answer, Dan, to your question is I probably woke up with a text message and an email with a listing opportunity already on it. That's probably what happened. Now, why did that happen? Is the best time to build a relationship was ten years ago.

Michael Maher [00:41:13]:
The second best time is today is I intentionally built great relationships and I gave my army of ambassadors talk abouts, things to talk about so they could talk about me. The house warning party, that was a huge talk about. We did a house warning party for every buyer, and they talked about it during the transaction before it happened and after it happened. And that usually generated eight to ten opportunities for us right there. So I think that's the long winded answer to the question. But, you know, if I were in. If I were dropped into a place where I didn't have any relationships, and I. It would be expired or fsbo just because they, they've raised their hand and.

Michael Maher [00:42:01]:
But the thing is, it would take me all day to probably do that because I would have to find the information. I would have to find out their number, I would have to find out. And, you know, is that the current information? So it would. It would be a lot of trouble. And thank God I don't have to worry about that. Thank God that. That I woke up with a text message or two that said, my sister needs to sell and my brother needs to buy. You know, that's a great question.

Michael Maher [00:42:31]:
What are answers to that? What are other people?

Dan Stewart  [00:42:33]:
Well, so fsbos and expireds are right up there. Door knocking is another common answer that.

Michael Maher [00:42:40]:
Well, the only problem with door knocking is you only have so many hours you can do it, and it's. It's not very efficient to me. Right. Is it's just like, it's. It's, you know, there's time with phone calls, I can do one, hang up and do another one or get hung up on and do another one, and it would be the worst day of my life. I'm just telling you. That would be. That would be.

Dan Stewart  [00:43:01]:
Yeah, I mean, it really is a gotcha scenario, for sure. And. And I think your answer is my favorite so far, because, you know, you reframe the question to do it in line with the way you're actually willing to work. And there's such an important lesson there, because the reason our industry has such a high churn rate, 87% of agents dropping out every five years, is they're spending those five years trying to convince themselves to do something they're not willing to do. If the playbook for success is make 100 cold calls a day and you can't stand making cold calls, everything is stacked against you. Right. There's a better way to do it, there's a better path forward.

Michael Maher [00:43:41]:
Well, you hit it on the head. That sounds like the great model for a game show, right. Where it's like, you have 24 hours. Like, you have the undercover billionaire. You've got so many days to create a business. Right, but this is 24 hours to get a listing. I wouldn't volunteer for that. I.

Michael Maher [00:44:03]:
And if they asked me to do it, I would turn it down. Right. Because that's not how I do my business. You know?

Dan Stewart  [00:44:08]:
I think your answer is really perfect. I just might tweak one little thing here. I'd list my own home. Right. Save.

Michael Maher [00:44:15]:
Oh, that's the answer.

Dan Stewart  [00:44:16]:
That's great. Done. List my own house. We're done.

Michael Maher [00:44:18]:
That's the answer.

Dan Stewart  [00:44:19]:
No problem. And then I'd spend those 24 days getting ready to take eight to ten listings.

Michael Maher [00:44:24]:
Yeah. Or move. Right? Get ready to move. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But. But that is the right answer, is list a rental. Like, I could do that. I could do that right now.

Michael Maher [00:44:33]:
You know, I wouldn't want to. Because the best strategy in real estate, and I'll tell you right now, the worst things I've ever done in real estate were sell the rentals I had in Kansas City. But it was like, man, management. It's in Kansas City. I mean, we still have two of our best, but. But it's just like, man, we sold all those over time, and now they're worth twice as much. It's like, ugh. So that's.

Dan Stewart  [00:44:57]:
There you go, Michael. I can't wait to spend time with you face to face in Atlanta. Where can our audience go to find out more information? Where can they get their tickets?

Michael Maher [00:45:07]:
All right, so rms 2024.com. Rms 2024.com. Use the code happy and you'll be happy with the discount code. So.

Dan Stewart  [00:45:17]:
All right.

Michael Maher [00:45:18]:
Use the word happy. Happy. And we've got a really, really nice discount code because you. You know, we're all. You were listening to this podcast and you're a friend of Dan, and you're gonna love that discount. It's our early bird pricing that you can get, you know, for the next. I think it's till. So 13 days, something like that.

Michael Maher [00:45:39]:
So for the next week or so, you can get that. This is not a hardcore sales pitch. You got to do it tonight. You have 24, but it's eligible till August 31. So whenever this goes out, you'll have that amount of time. And then join genjen.com dot. If you're the type of agent that loves to hear what Dan is saying, and listening to a podcast that says what to say, then you're probably a great candidate for the generosity generation. Join genjen.com.

Michael Maher [00:46:06]:
that'd be great.

Dan Stewart  [00:46:07]:
Excellent. Thank you so much, mister mayor. Can't wait.

Michael Maher [00:46:10]:
Hey Dan. And I want to, before you sign, I just want to say thank you for who you are and what you're doing to this industry. I really, it's funny is you are the sage on stage, you're a great speaker, but you have been like the master guide on the side in this industry for so many years and what you've designed through Happy Grasshopper and everything you do. You know, we don't just pick any sponsor partners and we go with the best of the best and the ones that represent love, generosity and appreciation. And you're like the first three calls, you're it. And that's high praise in itself. But the bottom line is, I just want you to know I really appreciate what you have done for this industry and continue to do for this industry. You're an advocate for realtor.

Michael Maher [00:46:57]:
You would have a sign that says I am a realtor and proud of it. And I just love you and love what you do, man. I appreciate it.

Dan Stewart  [00:47:06]:
Thank you very much. Yeah, gosh, it's an honor. I haven't worked in 14 years. It's just been a privilege to serve people. I'm glad that, I'm glad that we'll be face to face here before we know it. So again, thank you. Keep up the great work and we'll talk again soon.