Bike Taxis, Baseball, and 50 Transactions a Year | Tradd Bastian

Tradd Bastian (@traddbastian) is the founder of Bastian and Associates and a top producer with Serhant. A native Charlestonian, Tradd consistently closes over forty transactions per year, has been recognized as a Charleston Top 40 Under 40 leader, and has spent nearly two decades building one of the most authentic, relationship-driven businesses in the market — while not paying for leads.

In this conversation, Tradd reveals:

• Why he recommends not paying for leads — and what he tells new agents who ask about it
• How baseball is integral to his sanity and his business
• How he went from flipping washers and dryers on Craigslist to owning investment properties with zero dollars of his own money
• Why communicating the way your client wants to be communicated with is the most underrated skill in the business
• What he tells every new agent before they get their license
• The mindset shift that separates agents who last from the 80% who leave within two years: patience + consistency

Tradd doesn't dress it up. He doesn't sugarcoat. He's been through the grind — property management, construction jobs, bike taxis, the whole thing — and he'll tell you exactly what it took to get here. This one's a masterclass in building a real business without shortcuts.

Follow Charleston's Leading Producers: @jakecummings_homeloans

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hey leaders, I'm Jake, a loan officer obsessed with business growth and finding out what's actually working in our market. If that sounds useful, hit follow. Now, this week's leader.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

Today, I'm sitting down with Trad Bastion. Trad is the founder of Bastion and Associates and a top producer with Sir Hands. He is a native Charlestonian and consistently closes over 40 transactions per year. He has been recognized as a Charleston top 40 under 40 leader and as a girl dad of two. Trad, welcome to Charleston's leading producer. Thanks for having me, yeah. So I want to go back to the beginning. You actually started in property management before moving into sales, correct? Yep. What was the initial catalyst for that transition to start?

SPEAKER_05 0:54

For the transition from sale from property management sales?

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 0:58

Uh property management sucks. So it's just like I say this as the only person of the team doing the property management. When you're gonna do property management right, you really need a staff. Like, and I was young and dumb and didn't realize all that. I did, I feel like, uh, over-deliver for my clients because the people I sent them to afterwards were not as good as a tenant as I am because it had thousands of properties they were managing. Nothing wrong with them, but it just I think I I set the bar too.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

I so what year was this?

SPEAKER_05 1:31

So I got my license in 07. Uh got into property management probably mid or early late, something like that. And I just kind of fell into it. It was like friends of mine going, hey, I got this property. My dad had a buddy that got a property, and he wasn't happy with his happy property management company. Imagine that. And so he gave me a shot, he ended up selling that uniform later down the road. But um, but yeah, it was uh it was a way to keep uh some money in my pocket while I was doing everything else and I was on the while the market was you know tanked and everything.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

Man, so you're coming up on 20 years in this industry. Yeah, does it feel like it or is it like yeah?

SPEAKER_05 2:13

No, um, it's funny, man. Uh I don't um it's just been such an interesting journey from then to now, and I look back at that and just I can't even imagine being where I'm at, you know what I mean? Like for at that point, like it was I lived off $2,000 a month and it was still had money in my bank. Yeah, right. That just doesn't exist now.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

I I love that like the simplicity of those times though. Uh like I mentioned in the intro, you know, girl dad of two, I've got two young kids, like everything is just in constant motion, like just trying to figure out our Thursday night. We've got gymnastics tonight, and I've got a happy hour event after work, and like my parents are coming in, the grandparents went, and we've got birthdays, and it's just like chaos, constantly, constantly, and like just thinking back to you know the early 20s there and just having everything so simple. You just go to work, grind, and figure stuff out.

SPEAKER_05 3:07

Like, well, and that's I think that's the the tricky thing is like I don't know that I would be able to, and I I commend people that get into uh real estate later in life, and I I don't know how they do it because that'd be me, yeah. Because I don't um I don't think I could uh I couldn't have done it the way I did it now. You know what I mean? Like the first year I think I made like 50 grand. I can't live off that right now, yeah. Which is unfortunate for me. But it's it's a truth. I mean, like it just I've got staff now, I've got you know, my mortgage is higher, my everything's higher, you know. Um, but it's one of those things where it's just like you know, good for you for doing it and taking the risk. Just make sure you get your your nest egg in place because it's gonna be you know six months before you get paycheck sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

So that's a great thing for people to hear. A lot of people have listened to this podcast either just getting into it, yeah, you know, or thinking about diving into real estate, whether it's the loan side or the the realtor side, you know. Um, and there's some people that definitely sugarcoat that truth.

SPEAKER_05 4:11

Well, I I try to I don't try to scare people out of it, but I try to be honest with them because it's your livelihood. And I've had plenty of clients that after they work with me, either whether they were friends first or not, they've come to me and said, Hey, you know, I want to get my real estate license. I'm like, cool, why? Well, I love looking at homes, I love not having a schedule, I love you know the potential of making as much money as possible. Like, cool, yeah, that's what everyone says when they want to get into this business. It's not your schedule is everyone else's schedule. Your boss is every client you have. And yes, you can make as much money as you want, but you have to do the work, and some people just aren't willing to do it. And the hardest part is that factor of not getting a paycheck for potentially six months. And when I lay that on them, they're like, Well, yeah, I can't live off of nothing. I'm like, I'm no shit. So, what I usually tell people is like, get your license, put it in referral status, send me all your business, I'll give you 25%, and then create that nest egg. So now you could have generated business, you've proven to yourself that you can generate business, I'll teach you what you need to know about contracts. That's that's easy, that's the easy part. The hard part is finding the clients and people who want to trust and know and work with you and that kind of stuff. Um, but now you've proven to yourself that you can build that database, all those clients I'll give right back to you. They're not mine, they're yours. That's fine. And then now you have six months of bills in your bank account, so you're not stressing about it, so you're not making bad decisions as an agent and telling people stuff that they shouldn't be telling them. And I've had one person get the license after that.

SPEAKER_02 5:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:46

So it's it's I think it's one of those things where TV and everybody else makes it sound like it's so easy. And they're listening my business model is different than others. You go to some of these larger teams and you'll make money initially, like right up the gate, because they're gonna pump you with weeds. And as long as you make me calls, you'll get it paid. I personally don't want to do it that way. It's just me.

unknown 6:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

Well, and somebody who is in that situation has just worked with you, you have a way of just kind of speaking and being around you that makes it feel easy, you know?

SPEAKER_01 6:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:21

The whole point is for the client to feel like this was the easiest thing possible because that's that's the service I put off by. Right. You know, so it it does it. I think it again, it's kind of like the property manager thing. I'm setting a really high bar because I've referred uh clients to other agents. And I'm like, hey, so you know, just checking in with the client. I'm like, how'd they do? I mean, they were good, they weren't you. I'm like, well, you know, that's not a really high bar. But I mean, yeah, I'm kind of being funny, but at the same time, it's true. It's like, you know, not every agent is created equal, and um some are just better than others at that those small details.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

Well, you mentioned too those early days, yeah, and like trying to get your business off the ground um and those early years. Did you find success right away, or was it more of a slow bill for you?

SPEAKER_05 7:08

Uh it took me five years to get into sales. Five years to do that. So I would say it was, and I I love my dad, and I I preface this every time because you know he was going through like you're talking about all the things in life and whatnot, but he was in commercial real estate, still kind of is, um, and did a lot of development.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

And uh is he local here? Because you're a local guy.

SPEAKER_05 7:29

Yeah, he was. I mean, like I'm sixth generation was part of it, so he's been here forever. But him and my grandfather both were in residential and commercial development for a hundred plus years combined, right? So um, but when I graduated, uh, I didn't realize it, like he was about to get divorced, my parents were, and uh, I think he was probably not on real estate in general. So he wasn't really guiding me. I also wasn't asking any good questions. It just kind of felt like we were just kind of like ships in the night, kind of passing, just not getting anything done. And and um, and so I went the property management route, got you know, it was a bike taxi, worked at 182 call center. I did all kinds of dumb jobs, construction, all stuff. Um, and just to you know keep the lights on, keep the bills paid, all kinds of stuff. And then um, when he moved out of town, uh I switched brokerages because it just made sense. And then he also didn't believe in MLS because commercial 70% of it's done off market anyway. So I was like, well, I'm trying to I'm trying to rent these properties and I'm having to use freaking credulous. And I'm like, yeah, I need access to MLS. I don't know, you know. I'm like, fuck me. Yes, I do actually, but okay. Um, so anyway, T-Move and then I switched brokerages, and it was partially timing the market was better, it was 2013, uh, partially having access to MLS and then you know, partially asking our questions and not stuff and getting things wrong, but then the first year, uh, I think I did like 12, nine or 12, which is you know, nothing to write home about it. It was great. It was the most money I've ever made in my life at that point. So I was like, the first deal I did was actually with my grandfather who did not meet me, he'd been doing real estate forever. Um, so I thought it was really nice of him to allow me to do that. Uh I made the my first commission check, which was nine grand. I was like, I quit everything else, I'm doing this.

SPEAKER_00 9:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:18

And at the time, that was, you know, almost five months worth of living.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

If you're yeah, I mean, if you're doing a bike taxi gig, and then all of a sudden you get a check for nine grand. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:29

If you get the bike taxi, it's it was it was uh it was my the that turning point. And every every agent has this because regardless of how many bills or what you have to pay, whatever, there's a point of no return where you have to pull the trigger and get and stop being a part-time agent, be a full-time agent, and then then you'll see your business grow. And that was the point. And I pretty much doubled my business every other year after that, and at leverage and you know, built out the team and all that kind of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Yeah, so how many people do you have on your team right now?

SPEAKER_05 10:01

So, right now we've got um an in-person assistant, a virtual assistant, and another agent, uh transaction coordinator. Um, and the agent we brought on is it's relatively new. She she just got a license that tomorrow because she was a teacher.

SPEAKER_02 10:16

Oh, that's what I was a teacher, too.

SPEAKER_05 10:18

Yeah, teachers, teachers and food and dev, like servers, not all of them, but generally speaking, are make really good agents because teachers specifically you're you're teaching your client through the process. It's no no different than guiding them through an algebra class. I mean, it's the same thing, they don't know what they don't know, you're guiding them through it, and that's basically it. Yeah, so and they're usually more detailed than most agents.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

I love that. Actually, I just talked to yesterday a financial advisor who was a former teacher as well, and I was like, man, what a perfect role! Like, you know, you're doing the exact same thing, but I think a lot of us coming from the education world, we run into the same thing. You mentioned the food and bev. You kind of have that like sales train chops in there where teachers can former teachers can get stuck a little bit in that just like education mindset, you know.

SPEAKER_05 11:11

So you gotta combine the two. I I hear that to an extent. So I it's it's funny because I don't feel like uh you know I get on TikTok or other you know social medias, you get you hear this negative stuff about you're just a salesperson. I'm like, the only thing I'm selling is me. Like I'm not selling you a house. You're it's your money, it's your house. Like you're gonna buy the house you want. I'm not gonna force you into buying a house or selling a house. I'm guiding you through the process. So while yes, you need to be uh sociable and be trustworthy, you don't necessarily aren't really selling anything besides you. So that's where the authenticity comes into play. That's where you know you you present yourself in a true form, and then you don't have to hide your, you know, you're just you all the time. You're wearing max, essentially. So if you can do that, then it just makes it easier for everybody.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

And you've done a really good job of that on your social media, making just meeting you in person here, it's the same person that I saw on social media. Why do you think that that is difficult for a lot of people?

SPEAKER_05 12:21

Because they I mean, listen, when I was just getting started, I you know, I wear a closing uh suit. And in August, I hated it. And I had no closing bow tie. I even re-reposted something from uh I don't know, six or seven years ago where I had my closing bow tie on and I was singing closing tie on the same bow tie every closing? Yeah, okay, a one in one. Okay, and so it you know, and then I would I would dress up more because I felt like that's what I needed to do. And at the time it probably didn't hurt because I was young, I didn't know anything, so at least I looked apart. Um, but it just takes time to be comfortable in your own stand and figure out what you're like. At one point, I was like, I just want to wear jeans and a t-shirt every day to work. If I can do that, I want, period. And now, I mean, besides the summer, that's pretty much what I do. And it doesn't matter what price point I'm working in. You know, I've sold everything from a $5,000 piece of dirt to a $3.2 million house. Half the time, the people that look at the higher price points are in worse clothes on it. You know what I mean? They're they're in jute gym stuff, and I'm at least got nice shoes on, you know. So it's it's one of those things that's funny, but um, but yeah, I think a lot of people overthink that. Uh the the clothes, the car. You just need to know your market. If you know your market, none of that stuff matters. Like it, it really doesn't. I mean, obviously you want to show up showered and you don't want to show up nasty, but you don't need to you don't need to be in a three-piece suit to sell a house.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

And that way too, you're attracting with and working with the clients that are gonna work for you.

SPEAKER_05 13:59

Well, and the people that actually like you for who you are, not what you can, you're not your persona that they see on you know, because the other reason I did that is I had people start going, well, where's the suit when I like show up the show house? I'm like, I do that for closings. And so then I had to explain it. So I'm like, if I'm having to explain why I'm not wearing a suit, then I should never wear a suit because I don't want to wear the dance suit, like it's not who I am. So I think I own like three suits now.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

That was gonna give you an exposure detail of a wooden bow tie for the next one. Give me the wooden bow tie. Still sit with uh in the closet, something like that.

SPEAKER_05 14:33

Yeah, I I mean I pulled out every once in a while for weddings and a special, you know, for Valentine's Day and stuff like that. Yeah, you know, I'll dress up a little bit, but man, I'm I'm not doing that on a daily. That's that's too much. Yeah, that's too much.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

Well, one of the other things you do on the daily is flip cars.

SPEAKER_05 14:50

Yeah, I used to. Uh been a little bit slow recently, but yeah, I'm on my 48th vehicle right now. So um I I actually turned it started with washers and dryers. So my obvious natural trajectory of flipping cars. But um, so my dad's buddy uh asked me if I wanted this wash and dry. I was like, what's wrong? He goes, nothing really stopped crazy. Yeah, sure, I'll take them. And so he gave them to me. I picked them up and I was already had a washer and dryer that worked perfectly fine. And I was like, I'm just gonna sell them. So I sold them for like 300 bucks. I'm like, well, that was easy. So then I started going to Craig's list looking for broken drivers because wash was a little bit more a pain in the ass, but drivers are easy to fix. So I did that a handful of times, got enough money to buy my first car off of uh GubBeals.com, which is a old and a poly cop car. Okay, bought it for I don't know, say three grand, sold it for four grand and you know, 7500 bucks. Or 30, whatever it was, 3,500 bucks. Um, and uh I made something, I don't remember what exactly. Anyways, um and then I just kept my nose, uh, realized that was not the clientele I wanted to work with, and so I switched over to Debi's, and then uh I think I had like eight of those. And the last one I sold, I actually flipped that into my first investment property and had zero dollars technically because the washing part was free. So I had zero dollars in my own money in that deal and used my commission to pay down rest. Um and I bought two two single-family homes on the same property essentially for 60 grand. Was cash flowing 700 bucks a month.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

When was this? What year?

SPEAKER_05 16:36

2014. 2013, yeah. Yeah, it doesn't exist anymore. Yeah, I wish I still have them because I could sell them both for $200 each. Yeah, but um, but yeah, so uh so yeah, so I mean the the cars beget more like the the washer dryer, beget the car, beget the house. You know what I mean? So it just kind of kept rolling. And I I think I sold those in 2018 and walked like 50 grand, plus they had been cash fund the whole time. So I was like, this was yeah, you know, so and you could see that compound interest on not just stocks, but also on your investments.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

So, and you kind of mentioned the transition from a washer and dryer to a couple houses, yeah. But is there something that's connected between the way you work with clients, the way you communicate with clients, and that mindset that you just described of maybe not just flipping cars, but okay, this is how we make money in this?

SPEAKER_05 17:29

Yeah, I mean, I think that there's always opportunities. It's just are you willing to see them? And it and it'd be and that's not even that's that's just happening, but then are you willing to actually take on the opportunity because a lot of people are are scared to do that because of risk. And I get that, but if there's no risk, there's no reward kind of thing. Um are you comfortable in risk? Um, yeah, I think you have to be as a real estate agent. I mean, you're 100% commissioned, there's no safety net. You know, I've I've I've known people that do part-time and they've got you know a salary, and there's one guy specifically that was making like, I don't know, 75K at his job, and then was killing it in real estate. I was like, this is not fair, sir. Like you have you have uh health insurance and a salary, and you're still doing almost the same amount of business as me. I'm like, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Yeah. So um, but yeah, I mean, I think you have to have uh a certain comfort level with risk to be a solo agent. I mean, now if you're on a team, you it's less risky, right? Because they're putting up all the money, they're they're providing the leads, they're gonna get you to a point of making money quicker than say I would, because I'm a database-driven, it's a database, like my sphere of influence and an agent agent referrals, which took me a long time to build. But now I I just have people calling me. Like it's you know, I can't guarantee I'm gonna get a certain amount of money each year, like at the beginning of the year, but I'm averaging 100,000 on GCI just out of agent agent referrals consistently.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

I I've heard I've talked to a few agents recently that they they built the lead system or are working with lead system, as you kind of mentioned from their team, but they feel like totally trapped in this. I can't kind of like branch out because I can't stop the leads that are coming in because my business will stop, you know, and they almost feel like they're in this just like wheel of almost working a real job, you know, like you mentioned, and you get out of the reason that a lot of people get into this to begin with, you know.

SPEAKER_05 19:31

Well, I think that it's you know, I think there's a lot to be learned from going into a team. And I I I go back and look at that and think to myself, what would my trajectory have looked like if I had started? Teams weren't as big of a thing in 20 or 2007 to 2016, maybe. Um, but I I can go back and look and say, you know, what if I did that? How would that have changed? What hurdles could I have surpassed without the pain points? What could I have learned out later dying to then make my business better now without having to have paid for that financially and emotionally and all the things, you know? So I think that you know, I get that feeling tracked, but I think that there's a it's just like anything. It's just the same thing as if you're at a job and you start as part-time, and you're trapped in that job until you get to a point where you can go on your own. Now, it's a little different in that your lead source is your you know, the team, but at some point you're going to be, you know, you you need to be developing you and your business. And yes, this should be a supplement. And that's how I kind of talk with my agents that come on my team. It's like, listen, I'm not gonna give you, I'm not gonna hand you leads. We'll we'll have some that come in, you know. We we've got a couple lead sources that are just kind of trickling stuff, they're not always the best leads, but they're leads. I'm like, but I'm gonna teach you how to grow your database, and it's gonna take time, but by the time you you give it two to three years, then you'll have people coming to you versus you chasing them. You're attracting, not chasing.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

Yeah. And you can put yourself in a much more comfortable position now, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 21:12

Yeah. Well, I mean, it's you know, I I will say this every year starts at zero, uh, unless you've got something lined up from the previous year, which even then, um, and they're not guaranteed. So one of the things my dad taught me very early on, even before I was getting my real estate license, like you don't count the money until it's in the bank. Because I mean, he was doing, you know, huge development deals where they would take him like three to five years, and yeah, he could make a million dollars on a deal, but it could fall apart in the 11th hour, year four, and you get nothing for all that work. So I'm like, yeah, I don't love that. I think I think I'm gonna stick to the residential side where the it's a 60 to 90 day turn.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Still feels really long sometimes when those deals fall apart at the end.

SPEAKER_05 21:55

It's it does. Well, it does, and the thing of it is like, you know, you you can have your little pity party for Up maybe a day. That's probably even too long. And then move the hell on because you're gonna have you have to find you're gonna have to. I tell people all the time, it's like uh I might see like, well, I don't know when they're gonna sell, they might sell next year. I'm like, you're gonna need money next year too. Just stay in touch with them and keep building that relationship and add value to however you can. So it's it's you know, yeah, they suck and you lose them, but it should motivate you to go find another.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

You mentioned bringing people onto your team. Yep. And for younger agents, um, whether they're joining your team or not, what what do you recommend as like the first activities to build that initial database?

SPEAKER_05 22:40

Spreadsheet. Okay. I mean, I think I know it sounds stupid, but like put everybody, I don't care if you have a CRM, I've been working off a spreadsheet since 2013.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

I got a Google Doc that I love. I can't get away from October C and I was in my.

SPEAKER_05 22:54

Well, I've I've graduated it. So I mean it's funny because I had it all in one sheet, or I have it all in one whatever. Like a book or something. Yeah, and then I have different sheets for the each year. So I can go back to 2013 and see exactly what I did and who I did it with. Yeah, and then you can see the progression of the spreadsheet itself. So, first and foremost, take all the people out of your phone and put them somewhere. I don't care if it's a CRM, a spreadsheet, piece of paper, and a notebook. I don't give a shit. Just put them down somewhere because then you can see them. They're in your phone, they're in the ether, man. You're never gonna so find the people that you actually want to talk to, not everybody, because you might have that cousin that you take. Don't call them, don't call her. It's gonna be okay. They don't need your resistance. Um, but put them in a place that you can see them every day and communicate with them. And the biggest key for that, I think, is communicating with them the way they want to be communicated with. You know, I went through uh some training where it's like you gotta call them, you gotta call him, you gotta call them. Like, yeah, if I can call this guy 30 times, he'll never answer the phone. If I D him, DM him one time on Instagram, we'll talk for three hours. So it's like you gotta know, and that's again, why you have a database, whether it's a sheet of paper, CRM, whatever, put that in as a note of like they would rather be communicated with via DM versus phone call. So now you're communicating with your clients the way they want to be communicated with, and you're not beating your head against the wall if you're not getting anywhere and you feel frustrated.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

One of the things that seems to have just run through our whole conversation so far is you are meeting people where they are. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 24:35

Yeah, I'm not trying to force them into my my ecosystem. Right. Like there, there's certain aspects of the deal that we have, you know, we have an app, we have a process, we have certain people that we work with, and I tell everyone every time that listen, if you have someone that you want to work with, a inspector, an attorney, contractor, whatever, totally fine. If you don't, I have all of those people and I have multiples so that you can they can choose. I'm not forcing you to use one person, but here's some options. And I've been working with these people for at least five years or more. Some shit, some over ten years. So it's like the the key for for me, and I think for any agent is to mitigate as much of the variables as possible throughout the transaction to make it as smooth as possible. And you can only do so much. Like I can only control me, ideally, our inspector, our lender, our uh closing attorney, contractors, not necessarily every time because I'm not steering anybody to do anything, but ideally, that's how it goes. So I know what to anticipate. And if I'm giving them three options, then I've worked with all three. I know all three can close. Like a lender. I can know I know all three can close on time, never had a problem. Cool. But it's it's just mitigating those variables so the deal is the transaction is easier for the client and easier for the agent. But you you can't control the other agent, you can't control your client. You can't control your own client. Like they're the most people. Like, I'm not trying, like, I I can guide them, but I can only lead a horse to the water, man. Um, so it's one of those things where you just have to understand you can you to control what you can as much as you can, and then the stuff that you can't control, just know it's gonna something is always gonna go wrong. And maybe something small, maybe something big.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

That's great advice. Um, what's something that you see a lot of the agents doing in real estate right now that you feel like is completely shit?

SPEAKER_05 26:29

Oh man, it's kind of gone away a little bit, but the Mary the Date or Mary the House date rate bullshit. I I never said that. I would never say that. It's just it's it's a dangerous phrase. I feel like I think it's less it was everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

When I started in this business, I would have been coming up on like three years when I started this with everybody.

SPEAKER_05 26:49

Yeah, I think so. And have the rates gone on both sides, have the rates gone down?

SPEAKER_02 26:53

They've tried. Yeah, but have they?

SPEAKER_05 26:55

No, and so I literally had a client that reached out to me and he goes, Hey man, listen, um, I want to let you know before you saw it uh we're gonna be blisting our house. I'm like, that's weird. I didn't send you any listening agreements. And he goes, Yeah, so we're gonna use someone else. I'm like, yeah, I kind of figured it's and I um I was I was he's a buddy of mine, so I was doing some shit about it. Um, and at the end of it, I was like, listen, dude, it's all good. Your deal is not gonna make or break my ear. I want you all to you know be happy, do what you gotta do, whatever. But um, but one of the things that he mentioned is that the interest rates didn't go down. I was like, I told you they may not like, and that was one of the reasons I was like, could I have done anything different? Because anytime I ever lose a client, the first question is what could I have done differently to retain you as a client?

SPEAKER_03 27:39

Great question.

SPEAKER_05 27:40

Because I want to know, like legitimately want to know. It's not me trying to, you know, do anything besides be better. So he started listing all this shit that had nothing to do with me. The house had a the uh roof was leaking, there was something in the crawl space. He's like, Yeah, we missed this on the inspection. I was like, I mean, it may not have been leaking on the inspection, it's a 1900s house. Like we talked about this, like it's like an old car. You're always gonna be working on this thing. Um, but then the rate came up, and I was like, man, listen, I I appreciate you giving me this, but like, what's the real issue? Because none of these things have anything to do with me. And I even think I told you the rate, be comfortable paying this amount in perpetuity because it may be that way, it may never go beyond 3% again. It probably won't. So just be comfortable with what you're paying. And he goes, Yeah, that's fair. He's like, and then he kind of let it slide. He's like, Well, if it's up with me, I'd still work it.

SPEAKER_04 28:34

He's like, ah, I got it, I got it now. I got it. I can follow this path.

SPEAKER_05 28:38

Yeah, see what I was like, don't even, and I've had comments before for whatever reason the wife likes who they like and the husband wants to work with me, and whatever. I'm like, listen, you're gonna lose that argument a hundred times out of a hundred. Yeah, I'm not even gonna ask you to make the argument because it's pointless. You're gonna get pissed off at me, she's gonna be pissed off at you. This is already a sensible situation enough. Yeah, just go sell your house. It's gonna be fine, man. And I appreciate you giving me the opportunity, you know? So it's it's funny. I've had people that have done that and then they come back around because I wasn't an asshole about it. You know what I mean? It's like, I'm sorry that it didn't work out. I'd be happy to help you, round two, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

Yeah. So you've been in, we actually talked about it almost 20 years. Yep. Been in this industry. What is one belief you had earlier in your career that you feel like you've changed their mind on now?

SPEAKER_05 29:30

Um, I would say having no every answer to every question. And I think a lot of agents um stress about that. You're not gonna know everything. There's gonna, I mean, I've been doing it for, you know, let's call it, you know, 16 years. No, what is it? Yeah, 13 years, full-time sales, right? I'm still learning stuff every day. There's still stuff that comes up like exactly. Well, you know, contracts change, this changes, the zoning change, whatever. But I was so worried that I was gonna tell someone the wrong thing that I didn't say anything. Like I was just like, uh, I don't know. I don't know is fine. I don't know, and I will find out is better. I would much rather you say I don't know than bullshit someone, but you should find your job is to find out the answer. So I don't know, but give me 24 hours on how to make it so, and usually, and that's why I like some problem with my iPad because if they want to know what the taxi would be, it's not gonna be the taxis that are currently that are currently paying because it's gonna adjust the new price. So it's like, hold on one second, you have a tax estimate and look it up and have an answer while we're standing in the house, you know. So it's it's one of those things, not all of them you can do that with, but getting that answer promptly is huge because it shows that a client give a shit. Yeah, and that you're actually doing the work. And even if you don't know, it doesn't mean you're you're done. It's just it that's never come up before, you know, and like there's a different bunch of different autom examples of that, but that's the biggest one. It's just like just don't don't bullshit people, they'll figure it out eventually, then you're street. I mean you it's not all right.

SPEAKER_02 31:08

Usually pretty quick.

SPEAKER_05 31:09

Yeah. Well, especially now with Chat GDT and all that stuff. I mean, Google, even with Google, you can figure it out pretty quickly, but now it's even worse. Yeah, better. I mean, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 31:17

Yeah. Um, when you hit on like some of the insecurities that I think a lot of us feel, because you mentioned the like feeling they need to answer every question right away, and then you mentioned like the feeling of needing to dress up, and it's just like these insecurities that we're just trying to cover of I don't know, just like faking it till we're making it in those channels.

SPEAKER_05 31:38

Yeah, which I mean, I I don't love that term. I I would I I haven't come up with a better one, but I feel like learning it until you make it is better than faking it until you make it.

SPEAKER_02 31:51

I mean, well, yeah, and that's exactly what you're saying. Yeah, like it's okay to not know and not know, but as long as you're willing to dig in and figure it out.

SPEAKER_05 31:59

Well, and the the dressing up thing, I think, was more of a, you know, you got a uniform. Everybody has a uniform, whether you like it or not, you have one. And I tried to make it as simple as possible like, hey, look, you know, I've got the same pair of tackies, the same pair of shoes, and five or six button-down white shirts. And that was my uniform. And then it got too hot, and I was like, uh, we're gonna go. I get five blue shirts, and I have five green shirts, and I have jeans, and I have a pair of, these are like some uh performance, you know, golf pants, essentially, that are lightweight for the summer. And I got you know, the same pair of shoes. I mean, like, I try to make the the options in the morning as simple as possible, so it's one less thing for me to think about.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

It's that decision fatigue. There's past presidents that did this, they they have the same suit all the time, so I don't have to think about it. You know, uh and we mentioned the chaotic lifestyle of like 40-ish year olds, you know.

SPEAKER_05 32:51

It's one less thing I gotta decide. Well, and and you know, it's it's easy. I literally have them staggered, so it's blue, green, blue, green, blue, green. And I just pick whichever one's gonna think. So yeah. Unless I'm feeling green today, I'll switch it up, you know.

SPEAKER_02 33:06

On those crazy days, those crazy Tuesdays. That's what I that's right. Yeah, well, just a couple more, then we'll wrap up here. Yeah, um, I've asked a lot of top producers how they generate business. I don't think any has ever mentioned a baseball league.

SPEAKER_05 33:20

That's because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one, at least here.

SPEAKER_02 33:24

You got that market corner. Now, definitely.

SPEAKER_05 33:26

So um, so I've been in this men's league. It's funny enough, my dad actually was the second president of this league. Oh, wow. I used to go to his games and do the books for them.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Is it like I I this seems to be popping up more now, like straight up, like throwing hard baseball.

SPEAKER_05 33:41

Like, not yeah, no, no, not top one. Um, but so he was a president, second president of the league. I would go out and do the books for him, and then after college, I started playing the league, and it probably took me. I mean, again, I wasn't in sales full time, so I wasn't really thinking of it as a networking opportunity. It took me a note. Um, but now I teach a class called the Hobby Hustle, where I teach people, I mean, it's not rocket science, guys. It's you literally just show up, be yourself, and I pay for some uniforms, put my logo on the back. That was it.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

That's so old school, man. That's how like every softball league in the 80s ran.

SPEAKER_05 34:20

The problem, the problem I think most people get into is they think they can just throw money at it, put a logo on it, and people are gonna call. They're not. You gotta be there. So anything, and that's one of the main points about the hobby also like whatever you're gonna put money into, you need to put time into. So you need to be present for the thing, otherwise, it's not gonna work. Now, you can always do, and I can for clients and stuff like that, dude. I'll I'll sponsor like their little league stuff, just because you know, it's a fun thing to do. Whether they put my blood on it, I don't care.

SPEAKER_03 34:47

Right.

SPEAKER_05 34:47

I'm just doing it, it's a feel good for me, and it shows my client I give a shit about it. You know, so but um, but yeah, so I've been in the league for I don't know, 18 years now. And in the last eight years, I've probably done about $520,000 in GCI and maybe spent $40,000. The ROI is insane. Yeah, and I basically get in I get paid indirectly to play baseball. So I'm I can sit on my myself a professional baseball.

unknown 35:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:21

Well, actually, I was um I was looking up your stats a little bit on there. Yeah, before we started, professional, I don't know. Well that's where it's not a hall of famer, not a hall of famer, but I'm I'm getting like 250. I saw that, yeah. Because I was looking, I was like, is this like on baseball? That's fun, too. Actually, there was one guy, shout out to whoever this guy is. I can't I can't remember, but I looked at it and I'm like flipping through these stats. I was like, shit, this is for real. He had played six games, and I think he had been hit by pitch like seven times. And I was like, what is this guy doing? Crowd play is what he's doing.

SPEAKER_05 35:56

I probably did it at least once and then went on my team.

SPEAKER_02 35:58

Man, what commitment to the uh to the Beer League baseball? So I I for years I played in uh the adult league hockey here, and that's one of the reasons I want to go back and start showing up every week because the networking is great.

SPEAKER_05 36:11

Well, it's it's you already so the biggest thing with with your hobbies, right? It's something that you already have a connection with with everyone in that group. So you're you're already got a shared topic of interest, then they get to know you. And as long as you're not an asshole, they're gonna like you. And then when they go to think of who to work with from a lender standpoint, from an agent standpoint, from a roofer, whatever the hell it is, it doesn't matter. They're like, Oh, I got a guy. I know he's on my baseball team, or he's in my league. I mean, I've had people reach out to me that I've never met before that played in the league, and they're like, Oh, yeah, my coach or my guy on my team told me to call you, sell my house.

SPEAKER_00 36:47

So I was like, Hell yeah. Yeah. So I mean it's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 36:50

It's one of those things, it's no different than any other networking, except for it's not some like networking event that you go to, you feel a little awkward until you have a couple drinks in you, and then start chatting everybody up. It's something you actually enjoy doing. And I mean, we play twice a week. Uh there's a spring and fall league, and then I'm actually heading to um West Palm Beach next week for a tournament.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 37:12

So we're going down there, it's a bunch of guys, and uh at least one of them, I think more than one, one of them's already gonna find is gonna be probably still in my dust.

SPEAKER_02 37:25

Um, and the the one thing that I jotted down here, if there's like one thing that I think people can take away from this area, put yourself where your dollars are. Yeah, like that's so simple, but it's so good. Don't throw money something and then don't show up. Put yourself where it is.

SPEAKER_05 37:40

Yeah, well, and it's and you know, my the agent that just joined our team, she she sent me a text and she's like, Hey, so have you ever had um have you ever paid for for leads? I get this, I'm starting to get these texts about leads and like I just put no. I mean, and and she goes, Well, that was very precise. I was like, Yeah, so let me expound. Uh, every time I've ever paid for anything that someone has called me on, it has never worked out. And I've done it more than once. So learn from my mistakes and don't pay for that crap. If they want to get paid when I get paid, cool. If there is one dollar of upfront money, I'm not doing it because they obviously don't believe enough in their system to develop leads to then send to me to close. Therefore, I'm just paying their salary. Not gonna do that.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

So we're gonna wrap on that line's that's I love that. Um, so just to kind of wrap us up with one question. Yeah, I want you to think back to the trad in the, let's see, this would have been in this like 2013 phase. And you mentioned even that you can't think of where you would be now, you know, at that time. So to the Trav who is like just getting into sales, just getting it started, grinding it out, going through a lot of these kind of learning lessons that you mentioned here. What's one thing you would tell that version of yourself?

SPEAKER_05 39:01

Be patient. The and and that's what I tell a lot of agents that get into this business too, is like just be be consistent with what you're doing and be patient because the consistency will drive your business, the patience will allow you to not leave the industry. Because a lot of people, I mean, I don't know what the stats are, but like 80% don't make it after two years or something crazy, right? There's still a shit ton of people coming in right behind you every year, but 80% leave in two years. So it's one, get your get your finances right before you make that jump. Two, stay consistent in your daily activities, whatever those may be. They don't have to be the same for everybody. It's whatever works for you the best, and it's gonna take a minute, it's gonna take you a while to figure out what it is that actually that you enjoy doing and actually produce your leads. So, you know, door knocking, open houses, baseball leads, whatever it is, cold calling, whatever it is, do all of it. Figure out what you like doing, and then double down on that. So, like my business, 97% of it's uh sphere of influence and agent agent reports. Now, the baseball lead I've carved out is a separate thing just to track it, but it's sphere of influence, same thing. But so like I randomly have somebody that I'm working with that I don't have some kind of connection with, which makes it that much easier to work with them because I'm not trying to prove to them that I'm not trying to screw them over the entire time. Like you get a lead off of Zillow or you know the internet, they just clicked a button, they don't care about you, they they just want you to show them the house right now, and you were happened to be the one that was available to do it. Cool. Now you have to build that trust, which you can do, but throughout that transaction, they're gonna still think of how they met you, and it's a transactional basis versus someone referring them to you or them being some of the RB, it's a lot easier conversation, and generally speaking, they'll trust you more in your guidance because of that connection. So that's I'd just be patient.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

You've got incredible advice, Trad. I appreciate you doing this today. This has been great. Um, if anybody who did listen um wants to reach out to you, just to ask follow-up questions, you know, talk to you about your team or just anything you mentioned today, how can they find you?

SPEAKER_05 41:21

Um, all the social medias, uh, Trad Bastion, um, Instagram, Facebook, TikToks, um would probably be just shooting you a DM. That'd probably be the easiest way.

SPEAKER_01 41:31

Sounds great, man.

SPEAKER_05 41:32

I appreciate you doing this. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_01 41:35

Thanks for listening to Charleston's Leading Producers Podcast.