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Brian Buffini
Give me a minute and I'll tell you about the three biggest threats to building your own wealth. First, there's lifestyle spending. Second, something you may think you have no control over, which is inflation. And third is taxation. You can definitely do something about that. Each one of those threats is like a hole in your bucket. And when you combine the three together, it feels like the hole at the bottom is, is bigger than the hole at the top. You feel like you're working every day. I owe, I owe, so off to work I go. But I'm not getting ahead. Well, believe it or not, there's a strategy for each one of these threats to your wealth building. And when you learn how to master it and apply these principles, we're going to close those holes in the bottom of the bucket. And ultimately, your bucket runneth over. Top of the morning to you. I'm Brian Buffini. Let's talk about something that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Not how to make money, but how to keep it. Because the truth is, wealth isn't usually lost in one dramatic moment. It slips away quietly, month by month, decision by decision. And if you're not paying attention, it can feel like you're doing everything right and still not getting ahead. There are three silent threats working against you every day. First, lifestyle spending. Next, inflation. And lastly, taxation. So this conversation is about awareness and control. It's about knowing exactly what's leaving your account each month, putting strategies in place to stay ahead of inflation, and learning how to use tax advantages and pre tax opportunities to your benefit. Because building wealth is only half the equation. Keeping it, that's where the real game is won. Let me share my blueprint to avoid the three threats to wealth. First, lifestyle spending. The best book I've read on money in the past 10 years is called the Psychology of Money, written by a
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man named Morgan Housel. It's fantastic.
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Morgan says money is less about math and more about mindset.
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And the people who succeed financially are
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not necessarily the smartest case in point. They're the ones who stay disciplined, avoid catastrophic mistakes, think long term, and then control their behavior under uncertainty. And when Morgan talks about behavior, he's talking about people not making financial decisions based on spreadsheets. We make them based on emotion, sometimes ego, sometimes fear, and often personal experience. The other thing he talks about is that everybody has a different money story. Now, what's interesting about that is you have people with different money stories, and then they get married. So here's a house painter's son from the south side of dublin, marries an air forceman's daughter in sumter, south carolina. Her dad came home from work at
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the same time every day.
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He got paid every two weeks. My dad was a house painter that got paid whenever the job was finished. Do you think we had different understandings about money when we got married? And one of my favorite stories is when we first got married, we bought this little cottage on a street called mary lane, and Beverly moved in. And then when we got married, went
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on our honeymoon, and then I moved in.
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So we go grocery shopping for our very first time. First day together being married, it was fantastic. We go to the grocery store, we get to the checkout stand, and the gal says, paper or plastic? And Beverly goes, oh, always paper.
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And I'm like, I didn't know that about you. That's cool.
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So we load up the groceries, we take them home. We're loading them up in the fridge, and I notice out of the corner of my eye, Beverly is taking the paper bags and fold them up into
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these small little squares.
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Okay, never saw that before. I go off to do something over in the garage. I come back, and all those brown paper bags were wedged between the fridge and the gap between the fridge and the cabinet. And I looked at it, and I went, huh, that's odd. And of course, I mansplained to her at the time that, hey, honey, you know there's these coils at the back of the fridge that get hot. That's probably a fire hazard. And besides, it doesn't look that good. Well, most men can't tell you the day their honeymoon died. I can. My honeymoon ended that spot. And a woman that I've been married to for 35 years, and we've had very few arguments during that time that day. Her bottom lip quivers. She's on the brink of tears, and
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she walked outside to compose herself, and
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I thought, man, if we can't talk
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about the brown paper bags, we're kind of screwed here.
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So later on that year, I go
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down to sumter, south carolina, and I
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visit her grandma, Sally bell crosky. And I go into the kitchen, and Sally bell, she always called me little irish boy. She goes, little irish boy, can you get me some ass tea? I go into the kitchen, I go to the fridge, and what do I discover? Brown paper bags stuffed all the way around the fridge. I mean, some of them seem to go back to the civil war. They'd never been used for anything. But what I learned later on is that after the great depression, Americans saved things like newspapers, brown paper, string, all kinds of stuff as a safety measure because they couldn't find that stuff after the Great Depression. When I told her what you're doing
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with those brown paper bags wasn't good,
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I realized at that moment, if that's how we're different about brown paper, how might we be different about green paper? And that's when I realized my wife and I need to meet talk through. Here's what the Irish did, here's what the South Carolinians did, and here's what we need to do going forward. So everybody has a money story, especially your partner. Morgan also talks about wealth doesn't equal rich. Now, I never liked the term rich. Rich sounds entitled or spoiled or greedy. I always preferred the term my mentor Jim Rohn gave me, which was build a fortune. And so ultimately, you build a fortune. That's the wealth that allows you to
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build freedom and control over your time and choices.
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Morgan also talks about the power of compounding, which I've been a big fan of for years and years, and the whole dynamic of investing a little bit over a long period of time, that consistency makes you brilliant. And then getting rich versus staying rich, and that's ultimately how to avoid ruin and avoiding ruin. And the riskiest of all decisions is more important than maximizing your return. By the way, Morgan is actually going to be a guest at our upcoming Buffini Coaching Live event in Vegas July 30th. So there'll be about 150 people who might want to join us in the VIP section. Or you can join us for free. All you got to do is go to the brianbafinishow.com BCL BCL stands for Buffini Coaching Live. You're going to get a chance to see Morgan in person. He's absolutely fantastic. So that's July 30th, from 9 to 11 Pacific Standard Time. The second thing I talked about was inflation. Now, I could go on about this all day, but bottom line is inflation is too much money chasing too few goods. It's a general rise in prices over time, which means your money buys less than it used to. And in order to meet that demand, the government prints more money. Right? So we know that scarcity creates value. Diamonds are valuable because there's not that many of them. So when we print the money, it makes the money more available and therefore less valuable. So give you an example. In 2025, $100,000 salary has the same purchasing power as 80,000 in 2020. 74,000 in 2015, 68,000 in 2010, 61,000 in 2005 and $53,000 in 2000. So $100,000 is equivalent to $53,000 in spending power. 25 years ago, will Rogers said, invest in inflation. It's the only thing that's going up. To combat inflation, you need assets which can appreciate with a fixed payment. You cannot save your way out of inflation. And many people feel safe. My bride, she loves money in the bank, but the money in the bank is a hole in the bucket because of inflation. So you cannot save your way. You have to invest your money and it has to grow at a higher rate than inflation. Now, I'll be teaching on this in a future episode real soon because it's so valuable and so needed. But you've got to invest past inflation. You can't safety your way past inflation. And then lastly, taxation. Now, I live in California. Here are the 10 taxes I pay. Income taxes, both state and federal, obviously. Payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, capital gains taxes, corporate and business taxes, estate and gift taxes, gas and transportation taxes, sin taxes, I don't commit them, but if I was buying bills or tobacco, you got to pay a tax. And then utility and hidden taxes, which would be city taxes, hotel taxes. So when you first earn your income, then you pay tax on it. In my case, it's around 50%. Then with what's left over, I buy something and I have to pay a sales tax on that. Maybe I buy a piece of real estate and then I got to pay a tax on that every single year. Then you buy a car, you got to pay a sales tax on the car. But then when you pay a registration fee, which is a taxation for driving on the roads, if you invest the money, what's left after taxation and it goes up. Now you have to pay a capital gains tax, 20% of the feds, 13.3 right here in California. Then I decided to have six kids and now have five grandkids, and I want to leave them something. Now I have an inheritance tax. The fact of the matter is, if people understood what taxation really did and what it really looked like, man, there'd be a revolt. You know, in the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party happened because people were unwilling to pay a 2% tax to the British government. So they threw millions of dollars worth of tea into the harbor. What the heck would they do? Today? Churchill said for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. So this is right here where you need to seek professional advice, you need to find an ethical, sharp and precise tax accountant. I pay every dollar I owe on tax that's due, but I look at every possible opportunity to mitigate my tax liability. That way I can leave something to my children, my grandchildren, and the charities I believe in. There's three threats to wealth. Make sure you have three strategies to combat them.
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Show Host / Moderator
Today's Ask Mr. B is not one to be skipped over because you've already covered quite a lot of ground between lifestyle spending, inflation, and taxation. Some small subjects. What I think many are curious to hear about is how you've talked at length about real estate being the best hedge against inflation. For those who think they can't ever own a home, how can they still build wealth?
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Brian Buffini
Well, the people who listen to me from 2015 through 2020 all made millions when they heard that real estate was a great hedge against inflation and so is almost any asset class. Any asset class that grows is a hedge against inflation. At the end of the day. What I've said repeatedly, you have to invest your cash. You know, it's like your mom. Your mom is this. You know, I used to. What Lou Holtz used to say about his wife, I used to pray for her. Now I pray to her, right? Your mom is just this incredible human being on every level. But when it comes to money, your mom really only values money that's cash in the bank. Like, when I show her a stock portfolio she kind of looks at just doesn't mean anything to her or our real estate haulings. She's glad we have it, but it doesn't really mean it. To how much money we have is kind of. Well, that's what, like, I understand that. And that's what the problem has always been. Like when I talk to her, I go, hey, every year that goes by, that money is worth less. There's a hole in the bucket and it's draining all the time. And like I say, you go to Vegas sometimes a casino only has a 3 1/2% more chance than you do. So you keep winning, winning, but they're going to win three and a half times, three and a half percent more than you do.
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If you stay there long enough, the
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casino takes 100% of your money. Because if you think about it like
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if I have a bucket of water
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and has a three and a half percent hole in us, eventually 100% of the money goes away. So you have to invest your money. You have to, because you need some reserves. You need disaster funds. You need Spending money, but you have to be able to invest. So what does it mean on the housing front? Well, we live in San Diego, Right. Average sales price around $900,000. That's extremely hard. You have friends that are both working two good jobs and whatever else, and they may never be able to get enough down payment to get a house. Well, the conversation is they might have to move further out. Okay, they might be relocating to Reno or Glendale, Arizona, or parts of Idaho or Colorado Springs where they can get a house for five or six hundred grand. And what does that mean long term? It means grandma and grandpa are either going to sell their house to be near their grandkids, or grandma and grandpa are going to reapportion their assets to help with the down payment, to get somebody close. So you're not fortunate enough to have somebody help you with the down payment, you're going to have to get your own. And that just means you're going to go to states that are more affordable, tax friendly. They give you a chance to start over. No matter what, though, you have to invest your money into assets that grow. So the s and P500 has grown by 10 and a half percent for the past 40 years. That's what I mentioned in the blueprint. Well, inflation's two and a half to 2.6. So, okay, put your money in the market and then put your money into the market ultimately perhaps to take some of that. And there's a lot of vehicles now where they're allowing you to take your investment assets and to use them for down payments without paying tax on the growth of the investments. That's only going to increase. And I've been in Washington, I've been part of the discussions, and they're only going to be increasing that because they know homeownership not only is a great asset, not only will it continue to appreciate, but it produces better citizens, it produces better families, it helps kids have greater stability psychologically, emotionally. They get better test scores, all this stuff. So. So, and then also you're gonna see a continued migration.
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There are states right now that are
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pondering no property tax. Okay, In California, I pay 80 plus thousand dollars a year in property tax. So a state that says, hey, come here, buy yourself a nice house and have no property tax, that's attractive. So that's gonna continue to go. There's gonna continue to be a widening of that. And I think young people need to really realize they can do it, keep fighting for it, make your money grow wherever you can. And then if the chance Comes to translate it, you might have to move further afield or if you're fortunate enough to have a parent or grandparent help you, at some point in time, these baby boomers are going to have to hand over the real estate. And I'll say it here. Here's a hot take in the social media world. I believe the baby boomer generation is going to go down as the greediest generation in American history because they are not passing on the wealth at the speed of their forebears. They're holding on to real estate. They're holding onto assets. And I think it's a mistake. I think it's a mistake. So for me, I think the key is to get the money out of your estate early into your family's hands when they can use it the most. There's no point in leaving money. When my kids are 70, I was
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like, yeah, that big help. Thank you, thank you.
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That's great. You know, I needed help buying a house 30 years ago. So again, that's just my own opinion. Baby boomers are sitting on tons of real estate, multiple properties, and large stock portfolios. And you can't take it with you, boys and girls. There was supposed to be this silver tsunami, and it's kind of a silver trickle. So that is affecting things, too. So I just think no matter what, you got to invest, you got to beat the inflation, and then hopefully you can turn it into hard assets.
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Show Host / Moderator
Okay, so we're going to talk about inflation in an upcoming episode. What I love to talk to you right now is about taxation. People view taxes as something that just happens, but it can be strategically managed. What would the first steps look like?
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Brian Buffini
Did you ever think you and I would be talking on a broadcast about taxation?
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Show Host / Moderator
You know, I didn't, I didn't. But here we are. Hopefully we can help a lot of people.
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Brian Buffini
Right? So as a little girl, I used to read you and your brother, the Richest man in Babylon, as a bedtime story.
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Show Host / Moderator
Yes.
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Brian Buffini
And one of the principles in the Richest man in Babylon is gold is reserved for those who know its laws and obey its commands. And George Clason was right in 1926. And. And it's certainly true 100 years later in 2026. Right. So that book's 100 years old this year. So first and foremost, you have in your taxation, you have a standard deduction. Right. So that's kind of a catch off for everybody. And most people are like, okay, I have a job, I have a paycheck. I take the standard deduction.
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So as you start to grow as
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you own a business, for example, there are many more write offs available to you. So owning a business or a side hustle is a very smart thing to do. And then maximizing your deductions, anyone who's self employed, you need to maximize your deductions and get beyond the standard deductions. The truth of the matter is I spend more of my time because of the tax laws. I spend more of my time thinking about taxation than I do about growing a business. And that didn't used to be the case in America. When I, when I left Ireland, that was the case in Ireland, but that wasn't the case. And in the blueprint I pointed the 10 taxes that I pay here in the state of California. So I spend as much time as I do on tax mitigation as I do on how to grow a buffining company or all my other businesses. And that's one of the bummers about taxation that people don't get. The second thing is, and again, not to get on my hobby horse, it's just how it's been taught, how it's taught in schools and colleges. People have just no clue. So when they reduce taxes, the economy grows in such a way that, and this has been proven for a hundred years, Art Laffer wrote a book called Taxes have Consequences. And so people hate this stuff because they supply side economics and all that crap. But the truth of the matter is when you tax something, you actually punish a certain behavior. So for example, then the people spend all their time and money and the higher you go up the economic charts, then you're able to afford the kind of help to help you mitigate your taxes, avoid certain taxes and so on and so forth. Like I'll give an example, I pay more taxes than probably Jeff Bezos. Now how's that? Well, Jeff Bezos has billions of dollars in stock in his company that he built, Fair Play, Tip the Cap. But there's a loophole in the taxes, which is he can borrow against his stock and he can borrow against his stock and not pay any tax. So his stock continues to appreciate in value, goes up every year, goes up by whatever percent that stock keeps being worth more. And the money he takes out for his lifestyle, his homes and his yachts and whatever else he's borrowing against the stock, so he doesn't pay any taxes on. And that creates an even more of a Robin Hood mentality. So it's like tax the rich, the people who are taxed. Like the stuff going on in New York right now. The people are going to bear the hardest brunt are between 200,000 and 2 million. Those aren't the people with the $50 million Park Avenue Apartments. So gold is reserved for those who know its laws and obey its commands. You have to get help. You have to get help. You know your little sister Alicia? I do her taxes because dad can handle that, right? Dad can handle the 1040 EZ. But I have, at my stage of the game, I have a team of tax accountants and I have charitable giving and I have trusts and I have this and I have that and I have all kinds of stuff. And the wealthier you go up the ladder, you know, I would just prefer there was just a straight up tax and that people pay their percentages and that's it. And everybody goes home. And people at the, at the, at the most extreme are poverty or below the poverty line or struggling or whatever else, the safety net that needs to be there. Like, okay, they don't pay taxes, I get it. But the system is built so that the more money you make, the more you've got to know about the laws. And the tax code is like this. So you need help to know how to defer taxes. So I'd say first and foremost for the average person, know what the standard deductions are and then see what you're capable of. And this is what's wild about AI. Now you can find out so much information now because AI can actually search the tax codes for you in your state, in your city and nationally. Now, I still have professionals to overlook it. I'm not letting AI file my taxes for me because AI is not going to go to jail for me. You know, But I'll just say this, the system is not your friend. I consider as an Irish immigrant who became an American citizen, a privilege to pay taxes. I've been at sea for seven days on an aircraft carrier and watching these planes taking off and these 19 year old kids and I, you know, serve in the planes. I go, it's a privilege to pay taxes and it is a privilege to pay taxes. But I'll tell you this. I've learned that the system is jacked against us. I've seen the fraud and the waste and abuse that goes on, the self enrichment of politicians. I go, okay, time out. I'm going to pay every dime I own and I am not going to pay a dime more. And so the further you go up the chain, the further you go up the channel, you got to find out more and more ways and there are more and More ways in the tax
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code all the way up to the
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Bezos worlds to defer tax, to mitigate taxation, to be able to take care of your family and your children and grandchildren through trusts and all kinds of good stuff like that. And so it is the way of the world. But I spend probably, I spend probably the largest part of my week when I work on my money, right? So I'm working in the business, doing what I do for life. But when I'm working on my money, because your money is your own business, I'd say 50% of my time is about taxation.
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Show Host / Moderator
Understandably so. But you sound a little worked up about this subject and the importance of thinking about money strategically. So how do you surround yourself with people like that?
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Brian Buffini
Well, like I say, you know, it's
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funny, you talk about the richest man in Babylon. When I first came to America, I was in a church and there was a number of affluent people there. And rather than ask them for money or this and that and the other, I said, hey, could I take it at lunch sometimes and just ask them a bunch of questions? And they love this young immigrant guy who was ambitious and whatever else. I said, what advice would you have for me? Well, when three of the first four people recommended the book the Richest man in Babylon, I went and bought the book and then read it. So, you know, when you're hanging around with people who are thinking like that, you get different ideas, different thoughts. You have to find it's always managing risk and things like that. You have to manage risk. But as long as you understand that, I mean, again, maybe it's the Irish in me or whatever else, but the system is not set up for you. And you know, in the world we
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have today, everybody's in the camps.
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This group versus the left versus right, the Democrats versus the Republicans. And I'll just say this, I candidly say, neither one of them is in my family's corner. None of them are thinking about at night, about my family and their well being, none of them. And I've been there. And you know how many times I've been to Washington? When you see sausage being made, let me tell you, you don't want to eat it. So you have to be your own person here. And here's the thing, like, I didn't know any of this stuff. I never clue. I'm a painter, son, and we were barely paying the bills when I left home, so I came here. Everything I know, I learned some of it by experience, but I also learned from other people. So you do have to think strategically. You do have to have people challenge your thinking, and then you want to go and study it. So gold is reserved for those who know its laws and obey its commands. So whether it be inflation, whether it be taxation, or your own spending and budgeting, you got to learn about that stuff. And so constantly learn. And don't just get into one camp. Like, you know, I listen to Dave Ramsey, but I also like Morgan Housel you know, so you gotta find those people, different people, read different people, connect with different people. And then you'll find yourself in social circles and someone come and go, oh, I have an idea here. Or here's what I did for my kids. I mean, how did we learn about the horse business? I never had a horse in my life except going to the circus. But we had to learn. And there were people who were willing to share. Here's what we do and here's how it's a business, and here's how it's this and here's how it's that. And so we figured it out. So you gotta get help. You can't do it alone. There's a bunch of people have a lot better answers than you do. But you gotta make it like, if you want to be good at something, you gotta learn about us.
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Show Host / Moderator
Yeah, well, you'd have my vote if that makes you feel better. But let's hear from some of our audience, so you can go coach them up.
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Brian Buffini
Okay, Well, top of the morning to you. You're on Coach Em up on the Brian Buffini Show. James Sharp, tell everybody who you are and where you're calling from.
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James Sharp
Oh, thanks so much for this opportunity, Brian. It's good to see you. James Sharp in Dallas, Texas, one to one coach member for 24 years now, so a couple decades plus. And I have a burning question for you, man. Something that's just kind of been my heart and a lot of others that are in the coaching world.
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Brian Buffini
So, yeah, go for it. Let's go. I love these burning questions, James.
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James Sharp
You know, I've been doing a lot of the mentorship, the coaching with you and stuff, but one of the biggest things I'm running into right now is what I call classified the rainmaker bottleneck. So I was hoping you could kind of maybe shed a little light what you recommend to business owners like myself. I've been doing a good production, but I feel like I'm kind of the bottleneck for my development, for my business to take it to another level. And when I let the foot off the gas, then stuff Kind of falls by the wayside. And so I know I'm recognizing the. Hey, I'm looking at the problem in the mirror. You know, the bottleneck is that, you know, the rainmaker myself. But what would you recommend for somebody like me trying to take.
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Brian Buffini
Well, it all gets back to James, you know, the kind of business you want to have.
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Right.
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So real estate inherently has some challenges in it, and that is there's limits to its scalability. Now, nobody wants to hear that. And that's why an awful lot of people have spent an awful lot of time and money scaling their businesses. I talked to a guy the other day. He has a team with 400 people on it. Okay. So that's a maximization of scalability. Now his margins are awfully thin and awfully at risk. So the real key is what kind
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of business do you want to have? Yeah.
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What kind of future do you want to have? You've been a good producer for a long time. So ultimately your business is only as strong as two things. The systems you have in place and the people you've brought in to support it.
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Correct.
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And so right now, what's the makeup of your team?
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What does it look like?
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James Sharp
So it's me and two assistants. I did have three agents, and when we started the new year, we had to do an evaluation, kind of check up for the neck up, you call it. And they had not produced anything in the last six months. So I asked them to point blank, hey, do you guys really see your vision here in this team? You know, because I'm producing, I'm carrying the load, you know, as the chief rainmaker, give them opportunity. You know, I looked at the assessment. I said, you've had plenty of opportunity. We just don't have the conversion. You know, live action, no success, you know, so.
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Brian Buffini
Right.
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James Sharp
And all three said, hey, I see myself elsewhere. And what got out of the industry altogether once looking at a real estate related industry, and the one went to another brokerage thinking it's going to be grass on their side.
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Brian Buffini
No, it's good. You take the sour milk and you mix it into a new refrigerator. So here's the key. You know, the key to your success has been your ability to generate leads, your ability to go and build relationships, and your ability to generate referrals. What you need to do to grow your team is you need more than
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one person to join you.
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Number two, you need more than one lead in order to do that. And I think you need to start realizing what it is you do and what it is Someone's willing to do. I will take someone of less skill and higher ambition. And so the real key is, you know, you've got to interview people, say, what are your goals and what are you prepared to do to reach those goals? And then the last thing. And what have you done in the past to achieve a goal? What price have you paid in your past to achieve a goal? You know, one of the things that I would say, believe it or not, that has been very helpful for me is I like kids that played sports in school, and I like people who were in the military, people who played sports and people who were in the military. Military, because they understand a chain of command, and they have a tendency to show up on time and do what they're asked to do. And they have a discipline built in sports because any kid that played sports, especially in Texas, had to pay a price to be in that sport. They were doing their schooling. They had to do early or late. They had to do workouts. They had to sacrifice. And if you get those athletes, it's amazing how that athleticism translates more than grades, by the way, into success. So I just think this. I think the truth of the matter is, James, you did a little bit of what your mentor has done, which is, I am the patron saint of the lost cause, and I've sometimes hired people based on potential as opposed to performance. And so what you want to do is you want to find people who are worthy of your type of mentoring. You know, you're 24 years around this system. You could teach most of the classes I offer. You've been around it a long time. You got a great reputation. You need people who are looking for that, who appreciate that, who are going to value that. And I'd encourage you to kind of network and connect yourself around some of the real estate events. Put yourself out there. I would talk to your database and ask them, who do you know who'd like to be. Who'd be a great addition to my team? And you might find a family member or some. It's a great excuse to call through your database. I'm expanding my business. I'm looking to expand my team. Who do you know who might be
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a great addition to my team?
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I'd like to mentor and train somebody. Now, you got to really interview those people hard because they're connected to your database. But you got to, what are your goals? You know, what are you willing to pay to reach those goals? And when have you ever paid a price in your past? You have the right systems in place you just had the wrong prospects.
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James Sharp
Gotcha.
- [30:57]
Brian Buffini
If someone doesn't sell a house in six months and one other tip I'm going to give you, we have a system that's available only to our members and it's called Real Estate the Referral Way. And it's a three. It's a free video training that gives three videos and a 30 day win the day formula challenge to somebody.
- [31:18]
James Sharp
Very cool.
- [31:18]
Brian Buffini
And if some, if somebody doesn't do the 30 days, you know, very quick if they're going to make it or not.
- [31:24]
Yeah, yeah.
- [31:25]
They're either in or out. They're either a talker or they're a doer. You don't need results in 30 days. You just need to see the dedication to the effort.
- [31:32]
Yes.
- [31:33]
So talk to your coach and ask for Real Estate the Referral way and they'll give you this video and you'll be able to give it to your new team members. I would call to your database, find somebody who's worthy of being mentored by James Sharp. I wouldn't throw that away casually, my friend. You're someone I respect very highly and so don't throw your pearls before swine, as they say. Make sure you find someone who's ambitious, driven, and worthy of your time.
- [32:00]
James Sharp
Those are great tips. I hadn't thought about the former athletic people or people that played group sports or the military.
- [32:07]
Brian Buffini
Yeah.
- [32:08]
James Sharp
I think also I found somebody that's also been like a boy scout, somebody that's followed the pledge or been very disciplined and stuff there, worked towards, you know, certain achievements, certain ranking and stuff. Yeah, somebody like that. I think that's a good, good suggestion.
- [32:23]
Brian Buffini
Yep. Right on. Get some winners. You got to kiss a few fogs frogs to find a princess here and there. And so I would definitely do that. And then find yourself a couple of real winners who want to walk in your footsteps.
- [32:36]
James Sharp
Yeah, well, it was just kind of like just want to recognize that the rainmaker bottleneck is real and, you know, giving some encouragement to others that maybe have the same, you know, difficulties I'm having right now, so.
- [32:51]
Brian Buffini
You bet. All right, bud. Well, I appreciate you. Thanks for taking the time with me today. Top of the morning to you. Welcome to Coach Em Up. Judy, you are on the Brian Buffini Show. Why don't you tell everybody who you are and where you're calling in from?
- [33:05]
Judy Korzanowski
My name is Judy Korzanowski. I'm calling in from the Boston area suburb right outside Newton Center.
- [33:12]
Brian Buffini
No.
- [33:14]
Judy Korzanowski
Looking forward to chatting with you.
- [33:15]
Brian Buffini
That's great. What's One question I could help you with today, Judy.
- [33:19]
Judy Korzanowski
Well, I've been doing real estate for almost 20 years now and I'm a very consistent earner. I do my daily activities. I've been in coaching with you now since 2007, so it's helped me a lot. But one thing that gets by me is I've never actually gotten a listing from another listing. So I get referrals from past clients, but I've never gotten a listing from a listing I might have. Right. Or someone comes in, likes what I've done, that type of thing. So what can I do to get.
- [33:52]
Brian Buffini
Well, this is fabulous. In fact, and again, we've in the blitz program now.
- [33:56]
We just launched the Duplicare system that's
- [33:58]
coming your way and I have a whole host of dialogues and processes specifically designed to to help you get inter transactional referrals. Now here's something that'll encourage you. During a transaction, a buyer is more likely to refer you. And the reason being is when you're showing a buyer homes, you're already fulfilling on the promise of oh, my realtor, showing me homes and helping me as a buyer. Sellers typically wait until you've sold a house for them, until such time as they refer you, because that's what I signed a contract for. But it all gets down to the predisposition, Judy, which is this really explaining the referral methodology, which is, Judy, I put all my time and energy and effort into my clients and my goal is to do such a great job for you that when we're finished or even before we're finished, you refer me to someone just like you. And that way it allows me to take all my time, all my effort and resources and pour it into making
- [34:55]
sure I do an extraordinary job for you.
- [34:58]
That's on the very first appointment. And it's the really the brand promise
- [35:01]
of working by referral.
- [35:03]
So then what happens is as you go through the transaction, there's a couple of chances. Now really, this duplicator system couldn't be
- [35:09]
coming at a more perfect time for
- [35:11]
you where we take opportunities in the transaction to be effective instead of efficient. For example, DocuSign is super efficient. Okay, I'm in the studio today. I, I actually closed on my house today and I actually did some docusigning in between recordings today. Okay, very efficient. But let me tell you what's more effective. There are times when instead of being efficient, I'm going to go to the seller's house, sit down with them and walk them through the docusign and say, I'm going to take you through this. And even though you can sign it, I want you to know I want to take great care of you. And as it gets closer to the end of the transaction, say, you know, I'm so happy for you, but I'm a little sad for me. And you know why, Judy? Because I'm about to lose a wonderful client like you. So I would love you to do me a favor. In the next couple of months, as you're at work or at church or at a party or at a social function at a ball game, and somebody talks to you about real estate, which they always do, and if the opportunity arises for you to mention my name, I'd really appreciate it because I'd love to work with somebody just like you, Judy. So from the very framing at the beginning of here's how I work, by referral to gentle reminders throughout the transaction, that really sets the stage. And I would even get to the point in my career where I would tell a seller, hey, you might know someone who even wants to buy this home. Rack your brain. When I go, I'm going to be trying to sell this house myself.
- [36:40]
Don't just wait on the MLS or other agents.
- [36:43]
I want you to rack your brain on some friend or family member whoever said, man, I love your home. And if you pass on their name and information to me, I'll follow up with them and see if they're interested in buying this home. So it's really about framing that expectation. What I would suggest and I get from your energy, and you give off this tremendous trusted advisor vibe as a person. And I could see myself, if I was a customer, being very comfortable with you. And I would say, you tell me if I'm right on this. You're great at really doing a great job for people.
- [37:17]
Judy Korzanowski
I think I am. I think I do a great job.
- [37:20]
Brian Buffini
I'm sure you do. I. You just, you give off that vibe. And I would also say that it's okay for you to let people know that you do a great job during the transaction and that you're ready to
- [37:30]
do a great job for their friends.
- [37:33]
Because my father used to say when we were in a painting business, the work will speak for itself. And I learned that in real estate, I had to make the work speak for itself. I'm going to do a great job. I love serving my clients. You know, I love doing this here today with you. But I also had to let people know, hey, I'm never too busy for
- [37:53]
any of Your referrals.
- [37:54]
I'd love to work with somebody just like you. So I just think you start to add in those dialogues, communicate that in a heartfelt way, you'll see it. You'll. You'll be shocked to find the same people are willing to refer you. And especially in times like now and when you can sell somebody's home right now, they know someone else. They know somebody else who's thinking about moving. They all do. The stats show it. And so the goal is to put your name at the forefront of their mind and let them know that's what you're looking for. It's going to happen.
- [38:25]
Judy Korzanowski
So what about the people that come through the open houses? Right. What about those people? Because. What about the people in the neighborhood? You know, because so many agents I know will get a listing. Not necessarily. You know, we get referrals from our clients. Let's say Sally Jones down the street comes through our open house, and, you know, other agents get hired by that person. That's never happened to me. So I always wonder what I'm doing wrong there.
- [38:49]
Brian Buffini
Well, I just. I think there's a couple little techniques and a few things. One of the things I would do is to market and promote the home. I'd say come to the open house, because in a neighborhood of 250 homes, seven people are thinking about selling their
- [38:59]
home at any given time.
- [39:01]
And so are you one of the seven?
- [39:03]
Judy Korzanowski
Yeah.
- [39:03]
Brian Buffini
So I would mail to an open house anyone who's a neighborhood person. They either are looky Lou who's just nosy, or they're actually thinking about selling their home. And it's okay for you, while you're representing the home to say, by the way, if you're thinking about selling your home, I'd love to have two properties in the neighborhood to sell. I can generate probably three times the amount of buyers. And so it's just a matter of the very fact that you're asking this question. It's. I can tell you're kind of like, I'm ready for that to happen. And so I just think you need to be a little more overt, a little more proactive in both mailing, but also with your dialogues, it's just time to be that little bit more proactive. You're doing a great job, but it's now it's time for you to speak for the work and ask people. I think you'll be shocked to find out. You're going to be shocked to find other people will refer you.
- [39:55]
Judy Korzanowski
Well, I do. I do Walk the neighborhoods. Right. Prior to a listing. I try to tell people all about it, come by, I have a neighborhood preview, and I try to follow up afterward, particularly after we've sold it.
- [40:08]
Brian Buffini
Right.
- [40:09]
Judy Korzanowski
So I perhaps just have to do a little more of that.
- [40:12]
Brian Buffini
Well, yes, my guess, I do have a real strengths profile from Are you in coaching?
- [40:19]
Judy Korzanowski
I do.
- [40:20]
Brian Buffini
Okay. So if you look at your real strengths profile, I'm willing to bet you a thousand dollars that you are a facilitator in your profile.
- [40:27]
Okay.
- [40:28]
And you can go over this with your coach. I guarantee you you're a facilitator. And facilitators tend to create great environments for people to buy. They create comfortable environments for people to be comfortable environments for sellers. The motivators tend to be a little more outspoken, a little more overt. If you just get a. Not try to be something you're not. But when you become a little more overt as a facilitator, it comes across even more powerfully. Okay, so you're doing the work and you're singing the tune. We just need to make music. And that is, you just need to add, I'm not too busy to help you sell your home. Just need to get. You want to be terrific, you got to be specific. You need to get a little more specific with your dialogues and a little more directed with your conversations.
- [41:16]
And you'll.
- [41:16]
Because people think she's a fantastic lady. She's showing the house, she's doing the opening. She must be very happy. And you're like, I am very happy, but I'm never too busy for your referrals, and I'd like to help sell your home, too. Does that make sense? So that's one of the ways we need to help somebody manage your profile. So. Great question, Judy. You know what? You give off a great energy. You make, you make me feel comfortable talking to you today. And you just need to get that little bit more proactive and letting people know, hey, I'm not too busy for you either.