Casey Dellinger: Why Saying Yes to Everything Eventually Stops Working

Casey Dellinger said yes to everything for four and a half years and had one of the best first years any JLG agent had ever had. Then it started to cost her. In this episode, she and Justin talk through what that approach built, when it stopped working, how she and husband Billy managed two new businesses at once, and what she built in its place: a business structured enough that she can spend 45 days in the Florida Keys every January and still sell 48 houses a year.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

A common theme is that there's so many different types of people in this world. Yes. I mean, even here, right? Two people very different. And so if you think about all the people we interact with on a daily basis, clients, lenders, other agents, you have to be able to read the room and do what's best for those people. So if a client is very driven, then you have to be able to follow that suit. If they are very laid back, if they want all the data, if they just want to go with the flow, you have to read the room and be able to work with what's best for them.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Welcome to the Justin Landis Show, your real estate podcast about having conversations, building relationships, and creating freedom. And today I'm here with Casey Dellinger, one of my partners at the Justin Landis Group.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Casey, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

So, Casey, tell us about your journey from being in sales to becoming a real estate salesperson.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yeah, it came from a background in sales, but it was a very different type of sales. Um I started in software sales fresh out of college and got into inside sales and did that for about 12 years.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

I bet you were really good at it.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Not at the beginning. You know, I was 22 when I started. I was a little too young for that, but I grew into it. I learned a lot and spent 12 years in it. So by the end, I would say that I was I was doing pretty well, but it wasn't fulfilling for me. It was kind of soul sucking to me.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

So And so how did you start to think real estate might be the right fit for you?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

So interestingly enough, I didn't. Um I didn't know what I wanted to do, honestly. I the options were open. And for me, I was just gonna stay in software sales. That's what I knew. It was comfortable, it paid the bills. And my husband at the time was like, please don't. You're miserable and you're bringing that home, and I don't want you to be miserable all the time. And so he was like, Why don't you take some time and figure out what you want to do?

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Was it hard to trust them with that?

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yes. Looking back, it was the best decision I ever made. But it's hard to leave something that you know and that has worked for you for 12 years. And so he was like, Take some time and let's figure out what it is.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

What'd you do during that time?

SPEAKER_01 2:07

It was only a couple months because I'm not good at not doing anything.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

A couple months is still something.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Yeah.

unknown 2:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Yeah. So it was pretty quickly actually that I thought about real estate and then it kind of came into fruition. And I don't know if you know this, but Billy has his master's in real estate.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

I didn't know that. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

He got his master's in real estate at Georgia State. And so he's always been really he was kind of like nerds out on real estate. We would walk the neighborhood and look at all the houses and go to see open houses. And I had bought and sold a couple of houses by then personally, and had always kind of been a little too interested, maybe for my agents' liking in the process and asked a lot of questions. And so he was like, I think you would be good at real estate. Have you ever thought about that? And it just kind of took off from there.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

And to even get your license, you once you decided you were doing it, you're gonna let nothing, geography included, stop you from getting your license and getting started. You drove all the way to Savannah, didn't you just get your license?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

When I make up my mind on something I want to do, we're doing it. And so I went to the full-time class. So I spent two weeks, eight hours a day in the classroom, going to school. I had the best teacher. She really made it fun. And when I graduated that class, you have to take your state and get the license. And um I was nervous. Everyone says, you know, it's hard, it's a really hard test. And people fail all the time. And so I wanted to take it quickly. And there was nothing available in the Atlanta area for like three or four months, and that was way too far out for me. Savannah had a spot. So I drove four hours down. And on the way down there, I was like, if I have to drive four hours back, knowing I have to do this all over again, it's gonna be awful. Um, but it passed.

SPEAKER_02 3:39

And so I got to drive home with excitement and think about and for somebody listening, if they're listening to this and they have do want to be a real estate agent, you did it in a less than a month, matter of weeks. Yes, absolutely. It can be done. I'm ready to start.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

It can be done. I mean, it's a lot of work and it's a lot of studying and it's a lot of focus and dedication, but just like anything, if you put your mind to it, you can do it.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Yep. And so then you started out your career at JOG on the team during a very interesting time. You joined JLG in 2020. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

COVID years.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

So all of a sudden it was a lot different.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

What was that first year like for you?

SPEAKER_01 4:12

It was interesting. Started in January. So before we knew what was going to happen for the year. And so it's kind of normal.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

I mean, that month was a normal month.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Yeah. Full of excitement. The other January terror plans. Yeah. All the things when you're starting a new career.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

And my husband had also started a new career, January 2020. Again, because we're going to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Which is something I definitely want to dive into the dual entrepreneurship. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

And so then when COVID started to happen and things started to slow down, it was it was terrifying because maybe this was the wrong timing and I didn't know it. How would you know? And so I just kind of settled in and took what the team gave me and really trusted the process. And we pivoted as a team and we took on everything that we needed to to go with what was happening with the market and to really make buyers and sellers feel comfortable with what was going on as much as we could. And so I just rode that wave with you guys and trusted the process.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

And despite that being that year, no history in this industry, you had one of the best years of any agent who has first year ever been on JOG. Yeah. What would you attribute that initial success to?

SPEAKER_01 5:18

I think that that's just my personality, is that I'm a go-getter and I'm very type A and I want to make things work and very driven. But I also think that I was a yes girl. So I said yes to everything. I said yes to stuff in the city, stuff in the suburbs. I said yes to renters, sellers, buyers, whatever it was, I was there because I wanted to get as much practice as I could, to learn as much as I could, and just involve myself in real estate.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

What did your previous sales career teach you? How much of that was transferable to real estate sales now that you look back on it?

SPEAKER_01 5:51

A lot. A lot. I mean, it was very different sales cycles and people that I was selling to, but a common theme is that there's so many different types of people in this world. Yes, they are. I mean, even here, right? Two people very different. And so if you think about all the people we interact with on a daily basis, clients, lenders, other agents, you have to be able to read the room and do what's best for those people. So if a client is, you know, very driven, then you have to be able to follow that suit. If they are very laid back, if they want all the data, if they just want to go with the flow, you have to read the room and be able to work what's with what's best for them.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

You have to be adaptable.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

Yeah. And so if someone's listening to this that has a sales background and is wondering if it's going to translate, your advice would be generally positive to them. What would you say?

SPEAKER_01 6:38

Absolutely. Yeah, it does translate. I mean, you have to learn the skill of what you're selling, right? Software and houses are different, but all of the background skills that are necessary for sales are the same.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Yeah. Awesome. So you mentioned earlier that your husband Billy also started a business at the same time, also an entrepreneur. Yeah. Tell us a little bit about that journey of doing starting both of these things together, and then we'll get to where that journey has led you now. But at the beginning, what was it like from a you know personal life standpoint, that first year of y'all both taking on these new adventures? Hard.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Let me just summarize this in one word. Hard. Um, but we knew that going into it. And we we knew that that was what was gonna be what was gonna happen, and that it was gonna be necessary for both of us to kind of hold each other and uplift each other and walk each other through the times, the unknown times, because there was gonna be a lot of that starting new careers and new paths. And I helped him, he helped me. You know, I would ask him real estate questions, he would ask me to work events for him. And we learned we don't work well together in that sense.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

If you're that's good learning, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

It was tough, but it helped us actually get closer because we learned a lot about each other in those tough times and how to work together better.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

So it actually helped improve your relationship.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Oh, absolutely. Yes. And in the midst of it, it didn't feel like it, but looking back now, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 7:59

What advice would you give to somebody that is running the dual entrepreneurship path?

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Patience. Believing in each other and trusting each other that you're making the right decisions and that you're doing what you need to do together.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

So you just mentioned saying yes, and I know Billy was also saying yes to everything at the beginning. So you're saying yes, and it's working, but then did there come a point that saying yes to everything didn't work as well? Stopped kind of working. Talk a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah, I don't regret saying yes. And I said yes probably for the first four and a half, five years of my career here. And it taught me everything that I not everything, I'm still learning, but it taught me a lot of what I needed to know. It got me to where I am. I don't regret any of that. But at some point you have to set boundaries. And I was turning down social events, I was working until 10 p.m., waking up at 7 a.m. I was yes, yes, yes to everything. And at some point, you start to have diminishing returns personally, and when you have that, you can't give yourself fully to what anybody, to personal, you know, your personal uh relationships, to your work clients, to anything. And so there was a time that it was just like, okay, we have to look back and what boundaries can we set?

SPEAKER_02 9:11

So how can you shift? I mean, if you're used to doing the same thing for so many years and has led to a lot of success, how do you start to shift that?

SPEAKER_01 9:19

That's a great question. And I'm still working on it now, to be honest with you. I think it's the transparency.

SPEAKER_02 9:23

I think we always are working.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Yeah, I think it's gonna be forever you're working on that because it'll look different depending on where you're at in your career, who you are, what you want out of life. But I think that just knowing what you need as a person to recharge yourself, whether that be, you know, a little extra time in the morning or to work out during the middle of the day, or whatever it may be for you, knowing what that is and just being transparent with the people in your life, whether it's your clients, your husband, whoever.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

One of the things that I've been really impressed that y'all have been able to do, both running businesses, is you have a January routine that is pretty unique for real estate. Tell everybody what you do in January.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Yeah. So every January we go to the Florida Keys for the month. It started as a 10-day trip and is last this year, it was, I think, a 45-day trip. And we take our dogs in the RV and we pack up and we just go somewhere warm. It's too cold in Georgia for us, which I know the northerners would be like, that's crazy, it's not that cold. But for us it is. So we go to the Keys, we still work.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:23

But what we do is we work from a better, we have a better view, a better environment for us for that time of year. And we take the first half of the every day until lunch, we work proactively. And then the second half of the day, we do something fun while still working, but it's more of a reactive work. And we can only do that because that is the slowest time of year for both of our businesses. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

But it's 45 days. Yeah. It's so amazing. I want uh you to dig a little bit deeper into that because I think there's got, I'm sure someone listening is thinking, I could never do that. Yeah, I bet she's not doing that much business. How many houses did you sell last year?

SPEAKER_01 10:55

48.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

48 houses. So she says he sold 48 houses and she's taking 45 days out of town. What kind of prep work does it take? What's happening here on the ground? Get a little bit more into like the specifics of what January is like.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah. Yeah. So for me, I have leverage that's here that helps me. And so I set that up before I go. And I look at all of my business that I have going on at the end of the year and what I'm expecting at the beginning of the year. And I sit down with, I have somebody that's helping me with admin stuff and somebody that's helping me with like show or running stuff. And we sit down and we just talk about what to expect. Now it's real estate, so you never know exactly what to expect, but at least we have that groundwork. And so we just kind of go through it and we have constant communication. I mean, daily we're checking in, we're talking, and things change, but we at least kind of know what that path looks like.

SPEAKER_02 11:44

But don't all your clients fire you because you're not here?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

No.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

I mean, I'm joking about that because that's a common belief.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

I'm sure that I have lost one or two along the way in six and a half years because I wasn't here and they just didn't tell me that was the reason or whatever it may be. But I'm still working while I'm there. I'm still present, I'm still leading my guiding my clients the best that I can. And so they still want to work with me because they know that I'm still doing that.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

Yeah. Maybe I think that is just such a huge lesson for what really matters to the clients. You're guiding them and leading them, and you don't have to be the one to do every single thing because you're still doing the most important thing. Yeah. And helping them. Awesome. So you take the 45 days and then you come back. How is it different for you, or how do you come back after being gone?

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Refreshed.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

Um that's a lot better than your answer of hard. The first year was hard. I'm coming back refreshed. Now, this is progress.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Yes, yeah, we're getting somewhere. No, it's refreshed because I've had that time for myself to be in a better environment for me, whatever that's different for everybody. And I've had that time for me to just kind of breathe a little bit. Again, it's also because it's the slowest time of year. So, but I think that again, it kind of boils back to on a daily basis what are your boundaries because you need that time for you to be the best that you can for everybody else.

SPEAKER_02 13:02

I think on the time of year, there is definitely this is a seasonal business, right? I mean, no matter how much you want to sell as many houses in November as you're selling in May, yeah, it just doesn't really work. It doesn't really work that way. And if it does, it's complete luck. That's not the way it normally goes. And so I have always had a strategy when I was in production as well. It's you took off January, but I would do no vacation before June because I felt like if I put time in at the beginning of the year, I could basically set my year, make the majority of my income, and then take a lot of time off in the second, you know, in the second half of the year if I wanted to. And I don't know if that's the right strategy necessarily, but I just felt it got a better return for my effort to put hard work in the spring when the market was more active than to put the same number of hours in in the fall. And you're kind of saying the same thing, like in January, easier to be gone. It would cost you more to be gone in May.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Oh, yes. Once we get back in January, we don't leave again until June.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:58

We're here the rest of the spring for both of us because that is the busier time. And I do want to be here, you know, obviously, for the most part with my clients.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Yep. The final thing I want to wrap up with, and we've kind of hit on this, but I think this is such a key to this business. It sounds like that you and Billy are really supportive of each other in your business. How do you think that's helped you with this to have the support of your partner?

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Yeah, I mean, I think it's a little different for us because we're both entrepreneurs in a way, and so we both realize that it's a it's a all-the-time thing. Or not an all the time thing, but it can be an any time thing. Um, and so when we're on vacation, if I have to stop and make a call or make a text, he understands because he might have to the next day. But it's just understanding what it is that your partner or whoever has to put in to be the best they can be at their, you know, their career or whatever it is. And if that's fulfilling for them, then you support that.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

So is the support you have for each other, is that something that just naturally happened because of your, you know, path, or is it something that you've worked on and been intentional about to create over time?

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Yeah, I think we've worked on it and been intentional. At the beginning, it was definitely a source of contention for us. Um, we were both new in this journey of being entrepreneurs, and so we didn't know what that looked like. And it was very hard sometimes to be in dinner and me to be like, hey, I have to write this offer, I have to talk to this client. And he's like, We're having dinner, can't you just sit down? And again, I've set boundaries now, so I don't do that as much. I've learned along the way. But at the beginning it was tough. And then we kind of realized, okay, what's important, what's not, and when is that true time where we do not take calls or we do not answer emails or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Do you have rules or rules or boundaries around that? Or like what is your off time?

SPEAKER_01 15:38

I try not to work past 8 p.m., same for him, and not before 9 a.m. So we have evenings and mornings together.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

I love it. That's awesome. I mean, I found that, and I do think that is a good amount of time, but even if it's a shorter amount of time for someone, that most often the people you're with prefer a shorter amount of real focus time than a longer amount of I'm not actually here or present or paying attention, other than my body is physically in this room. Right type thing. So I mean, I think that's really great.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

So you and Billy both started your businesses about the same time. Tell everybody what your husband Billy does.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Okay. It's a little all over the place, but he owns a mobile bar and coffee catering company. So he brings vintage vehicles from Europe, brings them to Atlanta, gives them a facelift, and then for private events like weddings and corporate events, he does coffee and bars.

SPEAKER_02 16:31

So he and those would require being on site. This is not a virtual business. This is a in-person, we're here doing the event business that has a real timeline. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 16:40

Correct. I mean, sometimes he has 20 to 30 events in one week. So there's a lot going on there.

SPEAKER_02 16:45

Man, that is a lot. Yeah. So he's managing that, you're managing 20 or 30 clients. There's a lot happening every week.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

There's a lot going on. Yep. So that's when that's when you have to set the boundaries because you need you time, you need, you know, your time with your partner, whatever it may be. But uh, you can handle it. You can manage it.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

All right. So you were saying yes to everything, you decided you needed a pullback and started to say no to more things. Tell us specifically, what did you start to do to say no? And was there fear there? Was there excitement? Like, how did you feel about it? Tell us a little bit about the that actual process.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Fear is a good word. And I'm still struggling through that now. Or I shouldn't say struggling, but I'm still working through that now. Because the what if, what if that was the client? What that's going to refer me to 12 more people? What if that was the one that you know, what if, what if, what if? But you get to a point where you just can't take any more on. And you realize that you're not, you're not working for your clients as best you can, and you're not doing the things in your life that best you can. And so you realize, okay, what is what am I good at? Which particular clients can I help the best? And what is worth my time? And you start to focus on those. And those are also the things usually that bring you joy and that you like doing.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

And so I think that what if fear on the clients, what if I don't take this, or what if I don't show up here or do this? I'm not going to get any more. How can you get how can you because we're playing all playing that game, I think, in this business in our mind, how can you get it to the right spot in your mind so you can pass on that so that you can serve somebody else better?

SPEAKER_01 18:17

Yeah. I mean, I think if you're doing the things that you need to do, there is always business to be had. And Atlanta's a big city. There's a lot of business here. And so if you're doing the things that you need to do to legion, to be in front of people, to whatever it is that you're doing to build your business, then the next thing will come. And it always does.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

So you can be confident because you're doing the right things. Right. You're having the conversations, you're building the relationships, whatever it is, that to pass on something that isn't a great fit for you, it's okay because there's more coming from the work that you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

And if you pass on on the, or if you do work on the thing that's not a great fit, you might have to pass on the other things because you don't have time. And those are the things that are going to make you happier. Those are the things that are going to bring you joy. Those are the things you're going to like doing. And you don't want to miss out on those.

SPEAKER_02 19:02

Definitely. Thanks for listening today. And Casey, thanks for being here. Make sure that you like or subscribe so you don't miss a single episode. And we will see you again next week.