Stay Paid Podcast: Episode Summary

Episode: He Built a $4B Real Estate Company by Doing ONE Thing Better Than Everyone Else | Anthony Lamacchia
Release Date: February 23, 2026
Host: ReminderMedia (Luke Acree & Josh Stike)
Guest: Anthony Lamacchia, Broker/Owner, Lamacchia Companies

Episode Overview

This episode features Anthony Lamacchia—a renowned broker, owner, and CEO—who has built one of the fastest-growing real estate organizations in the U.S., with over $4 billion in planned annual sales. Through candid conversation, Anthony details the operational and cultural strategies behind his company’s explosive growth, focusing heavily on company acquisitions, recruiting agents, and the importance of hands-on leadership and authentic communication. The discussion is loaded with tangible advice for agency and brokerage leaders seeking sustainable, competitive growth and meaningful agent relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Anthony’s Acquisition Strategy

• Criteria for Acquisitions
  • Location and size are critical factors. Typically considers companies with $50M–$100M+ in annual sales volume.
  • Leadership in the acquired company is crucial; new team must respect and follow leadership through transitions.
  • Most acquisition deals lead to previous owners earning more through structured payouts (earn-outs).
  • [02:44] — “Location plays a part, size of company plays a part… Most of the deals that we've done, the owners are making much more money by selling to us.”
• Post-Acquisition Challenges
  • Bumps generally occur if agents don’t give the new ownership a chance or if incumbent leaders lack authority or rapport.
  • Period immediately following acquisition is a “dicey period” with potential for agent turnover due to industry competitiveness and agent poaching.
  • [03:51] — “The breakdown is when people don't give it a chance…with a leader that isn’t quite able to get the agents in line.”

2. Industry Dynamics: Integrity and Market Competition

• Escrow Account Issues
  • Criticizes some competitors for unethical practices (using escrow funds), citing a real case where an owner was jailed.
  • [05:15] — “Some of these companies…are dipping in escrow like it’s their money. It drives me nuts. I wish every state would audit the escrow accounts of real estate brokerages because I think I'd have a quarter less competitors.”
• Recruiting is the Core Game
  • The main brokerage business is about attracting and retaining agents.
  • [07:38] — “The brokerage game is recruiting. That's it. That's the number one thing you have to focus on.”

3. Lead Generation & Business Model Differentiation

• Generating Company Leads
  • Lamacchia’s company generates about 20% of its own business (ex: TV ads, “sell in 70 days or I’ll buy it” offers), giving them leverage with new and struggling agents.
  • Most competitors depend entirely on agent-generated business.
  • [08:17] — “About 80, 82% of the business last year was agent produced, and about 20% was ours. 20% of 6,000 sales, that's a lot...on those, you can be tougher on the split.”
• Lead Sources and Strategy
  • Buys leads from Zillow and Realtor.com but avoids Zillow Flex for control reasons.
  • Uses PPC and Facebook leads (with Ylopo for nurturing) but notes agents often lack patience for long-term leads.
  • [09:16] — “We decided against Zillow Flex...Some of their expectations were a bit much. Our agents work at La Macchia. They don’t work for Zillow.”

4. Agent Training, Coaching, and Consistency

• Origin of Training Program
  • Lamacchia’s high conversion rates on Zillow leads led to demand for training from other companies, starting with informal Skype sessions and evolving into a scalable online training center.
  • [12:00] — “You can influence agents to do the right steps with the leads once they have the leads. But getting them to take action before they have leads...is where I've always had the difficulty.”
• Challenges in Getting Agents to Take Consistent Action
  • Recognizes that even with training, cultivating consistent follow-up and proactive engagement requires ongoing coaching.
  • Hired Jason Posnick as a dedicated coach with a gift for motivating agents.
  • Emphasizes building authority and thought leadership among agents—not just working a sphere, but influencing it.
  • [12:53] — “The coaching really helps with that. Now, I don’t coach...I have no patience for people with coaching...Jason has been growing our coaching arm.”

5. Innovations: Certified Real Estate Consultant Program

• Elevating the Agent’s Role
  • Launching a certification and training program—“Certified Real Estate Consultant”—to elevate industry standards and agent reputation.
  • Encourages agents to perform annual “equity checkups” with clients, echoing financial advisor models.
  • Intends for the certification to eventually justify agents charging annual fees for service.
  • [15:59] — “Look at life insurance agents. They became financial advisors...now we're teaching agents...do an equity checkup with them...and down the line, I’m going to teach agents to charge an annual fee for it.”

6. Combatting Negative Industry Perceptions

• Differentiating the Profession
  • Addresses the public’s negative perception of agents.
  • Certification program aims to create real differentiation for agents in the eyes of consumers.
  • [16:53] — “Society and consumers as a whole look up to consultants...There's no way in hell to your way through obtaining our certification. It's not possible.”

7. Tactical Advice for Struggling Agents

• Immediate Actions for Tough Markets
  • Winter and slow periods lead to increased agent anxiety; reminds agents to reach out to their past clients—phone calls and home visits—to check in, not just to solicit sales.
  • Scripts don’t need to be complex: “Hi, how are you?”
  • Consistent, authentic, relationship-driven outreach yields dividends where most agents fail to act.
  • [19:12] — “The number one thing I'm doing right now is I am getting in touch with every single past buyer that I sold the home to, unless I despised them.”

8. Leadership Principles

• Communication and Authenticity
  • Treats people how he’d want to be treated; open, repetitive communication is vital, especially as a company grows.
  • Emphasizes the need to over-communicate—even the same policy or update multiple times in multiple venues.
  • [23:17] — “Communication...very clear, open, and repetitive communication. That's something that most leaders fail.”
  • [24:54] — “Don't ever tell me you told a staff member or an agent something. When you really told them something once in passing. That's not telling.”
• Meeting Routines
  • Outlines a regular monthly cadence of executive meetings, staff meetings, and all-company updates for information sharing and clarity.
  • [25:51] — “We have an executive team meeting on a Friday…then Tuesday afternoon we have an all staff meeting…and then Wednesday. This is once a month, this cycle, Wednesday. We talk to the whole company…We call it monthly company updates, 12 times a year.”

9. Media, Messaging, and Attention

• Bold Messaging Gets Attention
  • Discusses parallels between company/internal communication and effective political messaging—headline statements, “billboard” messages, and deliberate clarification afterward.
  • [27:56] — “You have to get attention. It’s the first rule of marketing.”
• Handling Criticism
  • Willingness to push boundaries and withstand criticism in order to achieve wider reach and industry leadership.
  • [28:49] — “If I went on camera and said, I do not agree with these cases, I believe they are unfair... who would tune in? Nobody.”

10. Reflecting on Growth: What Would Anthony Do Differently?

• Start Sooner
  • Focus on recruiting earlier in the company’s life—saw exponential growth when it became a daily focus (92 to 500+ agents in four years).
  • Convert to a brokerage model and scale up acquisitions sooner.
  • Accept not every agent will be a top performer.
  • [29:37] — “Recruiting sooner is definitely a big one. Converting from a team model to a brokerage model…I wish I started everything sooner.”

11. The Power of Acquisitions and Looking Ahead

• Future Focus
  • Foresees acquisitions as the main driver for future growth, inspired by models from other industries (Microsoft, Facebook, Compass).
  • [33:18] — “The more time I put into focusing on acquisitions and dialing the phone, the more that we grow. And that's where most of my focus is going to be in the years to come.”

Notable Quotes

• On acquisitions:
  “Location plays a part, size of company plays a part… Most of the deals that we've done, the owners are making much more money by selling to us.” — Anthony Lamacchia [02:44]
• On post-acquisition pitfalls:
  “The breakdown is when people don't give it a chance…with a leader that isn’t quite able to get the agents in line.” — Anthony [03:51]
• On lead generation model:
  “With us, about 80, 82% of the business last year was agent produced, and about 20% was ours…on those, you can be tougher on the split.” — Anthony [08:17]
• On training consistency:
  “You can influence agents to do the right steps with the leads once they have the leads. But getting them to take action…is where I've always had the difficulty.” — Anthony [12:00]
• On elevating agents:
  “Now we're teaching agents…do an equity checkup with them...and down the line, I’m going to teach agents to charge an annual fee for it.” — Anthony [15:59]
• On outreach to sphere:
  “The number one thing I'm doing right now is I am getting in touch with every single past buyer that I sold the home to, unless I despised them.” — Anthony [19:12]
• On leadership:
  “Communication...very clear, open, and repetitive communication. That's something that most leaders fail.” — Anthony [23:17]
• On communication standards:
  “Don't ever tell me you told a staff member or an agent something. When you really told them something once in passing. That's not telling.” — Anthony [24:54]
• On marketing and attention:
  “You have to get attention. It's the first rule of marketing.” — Luke Acree [28:51]
• On business growth:
  “Recruiting sooner is definitely a big one...I wish I started everything sooner.” — Anthony [29:37]

Essential Timestamps

• [02:44] - Acquisition criteria and approach
• [05:15] - Escrow fraud and industry integrity
• [07:38] - Recruiting as the brokerage core
• [08:17] - Lead generation model specifics
• [12:00] - Training and coaching differences
• [15:59] - Certified Real Estate Consultant program
• [19:12] - Tactics for struggling agents
• [23:17] - Leadership: communication essentials
• [25:51] - Monthly meeting cadence and communication
• [28:49] - The role of attention in marketing
• [29:37] - What Anthony would do differently
• [33:18] - Future growth: focus on acquisitions

Final Actionable Takeaway

Call Your Sphere:
“The number one thing they should be doing right now to change their business in the next 30 days: Call your sphere. If you're a broker, owner, team leader, you should be calling the recruits that you're trying to recruit in. Make the phone calls. It's the difference between top producers and mediocre producers.” — Luke Acree [34:29]

Connect with Anthony Lamacchia

• Instagram: @ajlamacchia
• Website: lamacchiarealty.com

This episode delivers a masterclass in agency growth, integrating practical tactics, leadership wisdom, and high-level industry perspective—perfect for brokers, team leaders, or any agent aiming to scale their real estate business through relationships, training, and strategic vision.