REB 129: Getting Leads from God?

Many professionals have asked me how I was able to get a hot start in the industry and maintain my momentum year after year without buying leads.  My leads have always come rom a different, and, I believe, greater source.  And I have God to thank for all of them.  Let's talk about it.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey guys, welcome back to real estate bites. This is episode number 129. Um, so I'm going through a little bit of a transition right now with my company, and uh it's it's nothing nothing bad. It's actually very, very positive. Uh nothing earth-shattering, and it'll be announced when it's complete. But nevertheless, the transition is is taking up a bunch of time. So I I have not been able to prepare for this week's and even last week's real estate bites like I usually would. So this one's coming at you off the cuff, but I do want to talk about something that is critical, has been critical, um, to my success in real estate sales and the growth of my business. And that is basically lead gen, right? So I have had dozens of professionals, real estate agents from within the company that uh obviously I now own, within the brokerage that I worked with beforehand, real estate agents from other brokerages that I'm not affiliated with, people from other industries like financial planners, insurance agents, things like this, right? I've had dozens of people who have invited me to lunch or coffee to ask me the question, how have you done it? How have you built your business? And I think the thing that they find or found remarkable and what intrigued them um was I was able to get off to a very quick, a very hot start. And I I didn't, I've never bought leads, right? I've never gone and purchased a list of numbers and leads from an organization that wants to suck the blood out of the industry. Um, and uh you know, uh I I've just I've never done that, and I I never will, um, but I've been able to start quickly and and and make a really good run of it so far. And you know, so I sit down with these folks, and then you know, it's the same thing. It's it's my story, right? And and what I have done to generate these leads and what I do to generate business. Uh, and you know, people they just don't like to hear it, you know, and it basically comes down to get involved. I I tell them to do the get involved and not you know get involved with your trade organization because you know, people love to go to these networking events with a bunch of other agents in there and either cry on each other's shoulders or most of it's puffing your chests out and talking about how awesome you are. And it's one of the reasons I don't go because I can't stand that. But, anyways, get involved with your community, right? The people around you, the marketplace, the people who are going to ultimately bring you the business is who you want to be involved with. And and what is it in my case? Um, I had coached youth athletics for a long time before I got my real estate license. I had sat on numerous boards and or commissions, um, the Board of Zoning and Appeals in my community, which as you can imagine helped tremendously for real estate knowledge. I sat on the planning commission, which also helped. I currently chair the park board in my community. Um, you know, and so through these sort of volunteer endeavors, this community involvement, uh, this is where my business comes from. If I were to look at all the sales in the last two to three years that I have, and I followed those sales, if I were to follow the referral tree down to the roots, I would say over 90% of the business has come from my network that was created through my community involvement, right? And I explain this to people, and I, you know, they just they don't want to hear it. You know, they it's like they they expect me to have some magic, you know, underground group that I'm part of that, you know, we sit and we do spells and we create leads out of the ether and we spread them around, and you know, we do some alchemy in some back room of a library, and uh all of a sudden it turns into money. And that's just that's not how it works. You gotta get in front of people, you gotta know people, you have to seek relationships, and you got to maintain those relationships. And it's all very uh cliche, but for some reason it's very difficult for people to do. And you know, here's the thing though you know, I named my company Civitas, Civitas Real Estate Group. And it's because when I was seeking some sort of a name for it, you know, I had a lot of people tell me, name it after yourself, name it after yourself. And I never wanted to, um for whatever reason. Well, there are very specific reasons, but I I never wanted to. Uh, it just felt um it felt uh I don't know what the word is. I I don't know. I it just felt icky, I guess. But um I wanted to name it after some sort of community thing. Well, when I was looking at the state for names of businesses andor brokerages, there were too many with community. I also subsequently found out there were too many with my name in it, and the state wouldn't allow me to name it after myself anyway, uh, because after I couldn't find a community option and enough friends convinced me I should name it after myself, I tried to go that route and was rejected by the state. So I wanted to find a word that reflected who I was and what I was about, um, which is community. And the word civitas is Latin for community, and it's perfect simply because not only does it mean community, it's it's more than that. It's more than just the assembly of people who have like-minded interests or needs or beliefs or activities. It also the word civitas means the collective spirit of a community, like what a community is about. And it just was perfect. It was a the perfect word to name the brokerage. And I'm I'm dedicated to this guy. So it's not only just about being involved, it's it's about, you know, because you can go join a networking group and get involved with your Lions Club, or your you can become a Rotarian, or you could go, you know, but if you're going there and the specific thing is to leverage that membership for business, it's probably not going to work out that well, right? Because ultimately they're going to see through the fact that you're not really there to do what the rest of them are there to do. You're not really there to pursue the mission of that organization. You're there simply to build yourself and your pocketbook, and it's probably not going to turn out so well. Um, so you have to be committed, you have to have a genuine interest andor desire to be involved with what the group or the community is doing and what they're about, and to help further those ends, right? I am I'm committed to this, guys. I you know, it's uh I end every program saying, take care of yourselves, take care of one another. I love you people, and that's that's really what it's about. You know, um I I love people, I do, I care about people. People are the centerpiece of everything that we do in this world and in society, with the exception of hermits or monks or nuns or wild people out in the I mean, you know, with the exception of the very few, everything that we do is really sort of about people, you know. Um, I meet plenty of people who tell me I hate people, this and that, and that's because their relationships have gone poorly, whether it's their fault or not. But in some way, shape, or form, they have been so deeply disappointed and scarred through the interactions that they've had with other people that that has become their attitude, right? But in the end, you know, in the business world, regardless of what we sell or represent or do, what services or products that we're hawking out there, we have to sell them to people. We have to buy them from people. You know, it's it's people whom we interact with. And the relationships that we create and the quality of the relationships that we create are going to have a tremendous and significant impact on our lives, on our businesses, you know, blah, blah, blah. So I'm deeply committed to it. You know, um, one of the prayers that I say, probably the prayer I say most frequently, uh, is I ask God, humbly ask God to be a vessel for his Holy Spirit and for it to work through me and to bring light and love and positivity and inspiration into my home, my for my family, my neighborhood, in my community. Um, and I sincerely ask this. It's it's it's what I desire. And and uh of course, I'm always questioning how well I'm doing that. Um there's there's always some doubt around my effectiveness, but but that's what I ask. And you know, I ask um for the ability to do God's will through my actions, through my deeds, through my words, and in a hope to inspire people. I mean, I you know this July it'll be 24 years since I've had a drink, and that's not because of some religious discipline sort of thing. It's because I did it when I was a young man, and I did it a lot, and I did it frequently, and I ruined it for myself. Basically, I sucked at it and I had to give it up, otherwise, I was going to completely destroy myself, right? Um, and I say this because, you know, in making lots of poor decisions as a young man, I really dug a hole for myself emotionally, psychologically, certainly financially, you know, and first thing I found was prayer. And through a dedication to just becoming a better human being, um, I have been able, by the grace of God, to build a life that I'm so grateful and happy for. Like, I'm a happy dude. I'm a happy dude. I see the world around me, and I don't see enough people who are truly happy with what they got going on. And there was a time in my life where my desire to inspire those folks, especially the ones who are close to me and the ones who I care about the most, to sort of find a way to feel, in a sense, what the way I feel, to have the relationship with myself and with my God, and the way I feel. Um, I mean, I was almost desperate to affect this on people, to to be able to touch them and get them to see and understand that, you know, I'm nothing special, guys. I am average by every measure. And, you know, I why, you know, I am not um a guru, nor am I some super rich guy, but my family lives very comfortably. We can we can do pretty much anything we want to do. Um, well, maybe not anything, but we we we live comfortably, I'll say that. And uh, you know, I've just been so very blessed that to discount that would would be foolishness. I mean, I say to anybody who cares to listen, I I said it once yesterday, just yesterday, I told Jeff Russell, who I happened to meet, um the owner of the former brokerage I was with, happened to run across him in Panera in Westlake, Ohio, gave him a big hug, asked how he was doing, and you know, through conversation, I told him, I said, listen, Jeff, if you ever hear me complain about my life, you have my permission to slap the shit out of me because I have no reason to complain about anything. I am so very lucky and blessed. And okay, you get the point. Um, so at any rate, I'm committed to that. I'm committed to not only being involved with my community as a youth athletics coach. Right now, I coach the varsity soccer team, the girls' varsity soccer team. Again, I chair the park board. I'm very involved. I have been for a long time. Um, I'm committed to being that vessel for God's Holy Spirit and trying to bring that into my community and improve my community, improve the lives of others around me if I can, if they'll allow it. Um, and that's how I generate my leads. That is how I have grown my business. It is all symbiotic. I could not have the business that I have without the community involvement that I've been in. Um and uh the business that I have helps me be more impactful in my community involvement by way of finances, but even more than just the finances, even more than being able to donate to various things within my community. Um, the relationships that I've built in the business of selling real estate have allowed me to become a much more resourceful person for my clients, for my community members. I know a lot of people. I know a lot of people who do a lot of cool stuff, and I know a lot of people who are very productive and who are into things. And I oftentimes meet people who endeavor into something in their life. Um oh, and by the way, I know this guy back here who does this other thing that could probably help you out. I'm gonna make that connection. And uh, you know, you guys go off and do something beautiful, and that feels awesome. And that's how I generate leads in a tough market where we have all-time low recorded sales, where we have, even though we still have this terrible, terribly short supply and inventory, we still have diminishing demand. There's a lot of FUD in the market, and uh, you know, that said, I had my very best year last year as an individual agent. Um it looks like I might beat that this year, even though we're only in Q1, but the trajectory I'm on uh says that I'll probably surpass last year. You know, the company itself is doing great already. Q1's not over, and we have surpassed the volume in Q126 that we did in the entire second half of last year. Um, so we're rocking. And that's how, and that's why, guys. It's because of the dedication, the sincere dedication and commitment to community. I've never been, like I said, I've never bought leads. Um, I commend those dudes, and I've seen them. They they start this business and they spend a bunch of money for hundreds and hundreds of phone numbers, and they sit and pound the phones and pound the phones day after day, day after day to drum up the business. I can't do it, I won't do it, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm actually very impressed that they have that sort of drive and willingness to just call and call and call and call. Um, but that's not me. That's not my MO. Uh, I've done a job like that once. I didn't last very long in it, I hated it. Um, I did some of that when I first started, but it was very limited. It was nothing like what I've seen some of these other fellas do. Um, they worked way harder than me. Uh, so at least on the phones. So um, you know, that's how it's done. That's how I've done it. If any of this resonates with you, if you are, I don't care if you're an agent who's looking for advice. If you are a professional in any field, especially if you're local to me, and you want to have a conversation about how to impact your community and how to make your involvement symbiotic with your business and how to leverage both to grow both. Let's talk. Let's talk. I'd love to have that conversation. It is my favorite conversation to have. Um, with that being said, thank you guys for joining me again this week. Take care of yourselves, take care of one another. I love you people.