How to Be Successful as a Real Estate Agent [3 NONNEGOTIABLE Principles]

Summary

Stay Paid Podcast: How to Be Successful as a Real Estate Agent [3 NONNEGOTIABLE Principles]

Release Date: February 24, 2025
Host/Author: ReminderMedia
Guests: Rob Stein

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Introduction

In this insightful episode of the Stay Paid Podcast, hosts Luke Acree and Joshua Stike delve into the essential strategies that real estate agents need to thrive in a competitive market. With the guest Rob Stein, a renowned authority in real estate education, the conversation uncovers the critical principles and actionable steps that can elevate an agent's career from struggling to top-tier performance.

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The Reality of the Real Estate Industry: High Attrition Rates

The podcast kicks off with a discussion about alarming statistics circulating in the real estate industry, suggesting that 70-74% of agents fail to close a deal annually. Rob Stein provides context to these numbers:

“I would not be surprised at all if 50 to 60% of agents did not close one deal last year.”
(02:00)

Rob attributes this high attrition rate to several factors, including the lack of comprehensive training beyond obtaining a license. Many agents are ill-prepared for the nuances of lead generation, prospecting, negotiation, and relationship building, which are crucial for sustained success.

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Market Challenges and the Importance of Relationships

Addressing current market conditions, Rob highlights challenges such as rising interest rates and increasing inventory, particularly in hotspots like Austin:

“Even in 2020, we had like three weeks of inventory, and now it's up to seven or eight months.”
(03:32)

Despite these hurdles, Rob emphasizes that the cornerstone of a successful real estate business remains the ability to build and maintain meaningful relationships. He points out that in an age of instant gratification, many agents overlook the long-term value of personal connections and referrals.

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Building a Successful Database from Scratch

A pivotal conversation revolves around the necessity of a robust agent database. Luke Acree poses a question about the ideal size of an agent's database, to which Rob responds confidently:

“You can start with zero in your database and crush it within a year. I say that because I did it.”
(07:05)

Rob shares his personal experience of relocating to Austin with no existing network, eventually closing 22 deals within seven months by leveraging intentional relationship-building strategies. This underscores that success is attainable even for newcomers with no initial contacts.

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Lead Generation Strategies: Open Houses and Networking

Rob delves into effective lead generation methods that have proven successful for his students and himself. He highlights three primary strategies:

1. Open Houses: Hosting open houses consistently allows agents to meet potential clients face-to-face.
2. Business Networking Groups: Engaging with local businesses and networking events to expand one's sphere of influence.
3. Community Groups: Participating in community activities to build a presence and foster trust within the local area.

“The three primary ones I use were open houses, business networking groups, and community groups.”
(07:34)

These strategies are backed by Rob's own achievements and those of his students, demonstrating their effectiveness in diverse market conditions.

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Rob Stein's Personal Journey and Lessons

Rob recounts his transition from teaching to real estate, highlighting the initial struggles and eventual triumphs:

“It took me five months to get my first client. It took me seven months to have my first closing. But then within the next six months, I closed 22 deals.”
(07:34)

This narrative serves as a testament to the power of persistence, structured frameworks, and the willingness to push through challenging periods without immediate rewards.

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Implementing the Open House Framework and Scripts

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the practical aspects of conducting successful open houses. Rob outlines a structured approach:

1. Initial Interaction: Building rapport with visitors as they arrive.
2. Conversational Scripts: Utilizing conversational, non-robotic scripts to engage prospects effectively.
3. Setting Appointments: Transitioning conversations to secure follow-up appointments using the ABC Script (Action, Benefit, Commitment).

“When an agent says, 'I'm not really good at scripts,' it's simply probably just because they haven't practiced it enough.”
(15:25)

Through role-play scenarios, Rob demonstrates how to naturally incorporate questions that elicit personal information, thereby fostering genuine connections and trust.

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The ABC Script: A Method for Securing Appointments

Rob introduces the ABC Script as a transformative technique for converting open house visitors into committed appointments:

1. Action: Clearly state the desired next step (e.g., scheduling a meeting).
2. Benefit: Highlight how this action benefits the prospect.
3. Commitment: Secure a definitive commitment by proposing specific times.

“You're going to get the appointment because you did the first part properly.”
(22:46)

This method contrasts sharply with generic follow-ups, ensuring that each interaction moves the prospect closer to a business relationship.

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Overcoming Obstacles: Mindset, Consistency, and Practice

The conversation shifts to the psychological barriers that impede many agents from succeeding. Rob emphasizes the importance of a resilient mindset and consistent practice:

“Knowledge without implementation is useless.”
(25:56)

Rob advocates for relentless consistency and massive action, drawing parallels to athletes and musicians who continuously hone their craft. He stresses that building a successful real estate business is akin to launching a rocket—initially challenging but achievable with the right dedication and resources.

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The Role of Mindset in Achieving Real Estate Success

Rob introduces his forthcoming book, "Impossible to Fail," which outlines his formula for real estate success:

1. Blueprint: Having a structured framework to follow.
2. Massive Action: Implementing the blueprint with unwavering effort.
3. Time: Understanding that success requires patience and sustained effort.

“If you can stick through it long enough, you will win. It's impossible not to.”
(28:41)

He also shares an inspirational analogy from a biblical story, illustrating the importance of following through with dedicated actions despite initial frustrations or setbacks.

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Conclusion and Key Takeaways

The episode wraps up with actionable advice and motivational insights:

• Practice Regularly: Consistently rehearse scripts and interaction strategies.
• Build Relationships: Focus on genuine connections rather than superficial engagements.
• Maintain Persistence: Understand that the initial stages may be slow, but perseverance pays off.
• Implement Structured Frameworks: Utilize proven methods and scripts to guide interactions and follow-ups.

Rob offers listeners exclusive access to his coaching programs, further reinforcing the episode's emphasis on education and structured support as key drivers of success.

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Notable Quotes

• Rob Stein (02:00): “I would not be surprised at all if 50 to 60% of agents did not close one deal last year.”
• Rob Stein (03:32): “Even in 2020, we had like three weeks of inventory, and now it's up to seven or eight months.”
• Rob Stein (07:05): “You can start with zero in your database and crush it within a year. I say that because I did it.”
• Rob Stein (15:25): “When an agent says, 'I'm not really good at scripts,' it's simply probably just because they haven't practiced it enough.”
• Rob Stein (22:46): “You're going to get the appointment because you did the first part properly.”
• Rob Stein (25:56): “Knowledge without implementation is useless.”
• Rob Stein (28:41): “If you can stick through it long enough, you will win. It's impossible not to.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of the Stay Paid Podcast serves as a comprehensive guide for real estate agents aspiring to elevate their careers. Through Rob Stein's expertise and practical advice, listeners gain valuable insights into building a resilient business foundation, mastering essential skills, and maintaining the mindset necessary for long-term success. Implementing these 3 Nonnegotiable Principles—relationship-building, consistent lead generation, and relentless perseverance—can transform an agent's approach and outcomes in the competitive real estate landscape.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Stay Paid podcast where we help agents and entrepreneurs master the latest business trends to unlock growth and create a life of freedom. Brought to you by Reminder Media.

[B]

Welcome to Stay Paid. I'm Joshua Steich.

[A]

And I'm Luke Acree.

[B]

And before we bring on our guest today, we'd love it if you take a minute to subscribe to Stay Paid on Apple podcast or Spotify and YouTube as well.

[A]

Yes, please do.

[B]

While you're there, drop us a review. We would love to read it here on the show. Our guest today is Rob Stein. Rob is one of North America's leading authorities in real estate education. Having had his own success in real estate becoming one of the nation's top 5% of agents. He's leveraged his master's in education to spend the last 20 years working tirelessly to help others create successful businesses and lives for themselves. Rob, welcome to Stay Paid. Thanks for being here.

[C]

Thank you. Josh, Luke, pleasure to be with you guys.

[A]

Yeah, Rob, it's great to have you on the show finally. I've been now a fan of your work since getting introduced to you a while back. Maybe it's been, you know, six plus months ago. Yeah, at this point we've done some things together but yeah, you are stud in the industry, especially when it comes to teaching agents how to succeed. I want to dive right in. You know, there's a stack going around the web, Inman news post it saying 71% of real estate agents didn't do a deal last year. And I think it was Jared James, another real estate agent coach had posted on his Instagram or something. He said it was like 74% regardless of the exact percentage. Yeah, I mean that is freaking large. Insane, right? So what is your take on that? Do you really think that literally 2/3 of the industry is not doing deals? And why would that be, you know.

[C]

As far as an exact number. But you know, I really haven't looked at where they got that data. You know, it's not like they, I.

[A]

Think they got it from NAR is what I've heard. I don't know if the stats are exactly right though, because of how people report deals. You know, teams don't necessarily report correct.

[C]

I mean that number may be a little high, but I would not be surprised at all if 50 to 60% of agents did not close one deal last year. And there's a few reasons for that. Now, you know, this coming from a guy that you know, specializes in helping agents get from that five figure to six figure mark, helping agents that have done three deals last year, do 22 deals this next year.

[B]

Right.

[C]

Those are real stats from my students. So there's a few flaws. Number one, 80% of agents will quit within the first two years. New agents. Because when you learn how to get your license, you don't learn how to become an agent. You don't learn how to lead, generate, how to prospect, how to get deals, how to negotiate, how to build rapport, how to do a contract. You learn. You really just learn how to. How to get a license. And there's over 2 million agents in the country. And so what a lot of people do is I think they have a misconception of what it's going to be like. As with any industry, you look at someone doing something really well, it looks easy. Everyone knows five realtors, at least. So you might see a realtor driving a nice car, making it look easy. Because you only see the outside from the outside. Looking in, you say, hey, man, if I close one deal and I could make 10, 12 grand, yeah, I'll get a license. And then you think everyone's going to want you to be their agent. And so it is very challenging. It's a lot more challenging than people think. I think the other stat. I think the other part of that stat comes from we are in a challenging market right now. It's super challenging. Interest rates have gone up. You know, the inventory is at least here in the Austin area, there's a ton of inventory. We have more inventory than we've had in a dozen years. That's very new for Austin, where I live.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to say that's not. I'm not hearing that a ton. I do hear inventories on the rise, though. Yeah, but where you're at, you're seeing way more inventory.

[C]

Oh, yeah. I mean, even in 2020, we had like, three weeks of inventory, and now it's up to seven or eight months. So. But. But the other. The other part of it is. And you know, Luke, you and I talked about this previously. I do a lot of mindset coaching, and I always really want to be very positive, But I also really want to tell it how I believe it is. Take, you know, take it for what you want. I think a lot of agents were spoiled in 20, 20, 2021, 1H22, latterH19, where, quite frankly, it was really easy to be an agent in that time. Money was free, Interest rates were in the 2 and 3%. So if you were listing a house, you didn't know how to take pictures, you didn't know how to negotiate. The only words you had to know were best and highest. That's it. And they could get away with that and brag about selling the property for over asking because everyone wanted to sell, everyone wanted to buy. Well, it's harder now, but I don't think it's. It's rocket science. I think it's just a little more challenging than it used to be. I think a lot of agents got that were newer in that time got a little spoiled by how easy it was. But part of it is also that we live right now in an instant gratification society. We live in a world, in a society that says everything is easy if it's hard. There's an app, there's a hack, there's a pill. There's a thing that can change your life. And the reality is, you know, agents were closing lots of deals before social media. My dad's been in the industry 40 years. When he got in the industry, interest rates were 14%, and so people were still closing deals. The magic is relationships. That's what I coach. How to close at least 30 deals a year through relationships and referrals. Now, there are things like the incredible services Reminder Media provides.

[A]

Thank you. Thank you.

[C]

That help you supplement. They didn't ask me to say that, by the way. I'm actually.

[A]

Let the record show we did not ask him to say.

[B]

Rob, it was great having you. Thank you very much.

[C]

I engaged with Reminder Media before I ever became a coach. So I'm a firm believer that's how we met. But, you know, there are like, those incredible servers help bolster you. They're part of the business, but the foundation of the business must be, you need to know how to build relationships with people. People in general, much less agents, have a hard time building relationships these days. They live on social media. They live on comments and texts, not talking. The prospect of sitting down and having a coffee with someone, it's like, oh, I got to take this time out of my day. You're not taking time out of your day. You're investing time in your future by building these relationships. But I think society today has a hard time building relationships, and a lot of agents want the quick fix. And there are certain things that can help, but the reality is the foundation of your business. If you want to close deals every month in any economy, you need to have enough relationships where enough people know you, like you and trust you that they will refer you or use you. And that's really the foundation of my coaching is how do you do that to be able to always close deals, regardless of what's going on in the outside world.

[A]

Have you seen, for numbers sake, for many of your students, like, what the size of your database needs to be? I was asked a question today on a webinar presenting to agents. Where was a new agent that said, I don't really have that big of a sphere, you know, and essentially I'm asking, how big do you feel your database needs to be? Obviously you'll start with whatever you can have and you add to it, but are you seeing most of your people succeed when they are having 150 in their database? 50 relationship, like what, what is that number in your mind?

[C]

You can start with zero in your database and crush it within a year. I say that because I did it. When I moved to Austin, I was a brand new agent in a brand new city. I did so I had, I didn't even have a CRM. I had no database. And I'm in one of the hottest markets in the nation, surrounded by over 20,000 other agents and didn't know anyone. It took me five months to get my first client. It took me seven months to have my first closing. But then within the next six months, I closed 22 deals.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

But I didn't know anyone. And so when agents say, I don't know anyone, I'm in a new market, that's valid. But I think a lot of these things that agents want to emphasize are. I don't know if overrated is the right word because obviously over time you build a database, you maintain it. That's how you get a really consistent pipeline going. But you don't need any of that to start. What you need to do is know how to build relationships and trust to meet people. So for example, in my course, I provide my 12 proven methods of free lead generation. How I close deals with every method. The three primary ones I use were open houses, business networking groups, and community groups. My first client came from an open house. I hosted the open house. Most agents don't do open house as well. They don't know how to talk, build rapport, and they also don't ask for appointments at the open house. The point of every open house is to set one buyer consult before they leave, like in the books. And I teach that exact framework, the scripts, all of it, the videos. I, I have open house on site, demo videos in my coaching where you can literally, it's almost like you're in the open house with me watching Me do it, watching me set those appointments. But my first three deals that all closed in month seven in one week, it was about $47,000 in commissions I made in my first week of getting paid from three deals. All came from open houses, which means I didn't know those people. I was in an open house. They come in, build rapport, ask for the appointment, have a buyer consult, and it turns out one of them was a buy and a sell, and the other one was a buy. I didn't know those people. I knew zero people when I met them. But I was intentional about going about it. Would it have been easier if I launched my career in the state where I came from? Probably. I probably would have got started sooner. I would have had a huge SOI to start with, but it's not necessary.

[A]

That's interesting you say that, because with Acre Brothers Realty, you know, my brother had just graduated Liberty University, similar as you had moved there, didn't know anybody but some college buddies. And of course, most of your college buddies don't stay.

[C]

Right.

[A]

And he did 35 deals his first year. But the main source in building up his fear was open houses. Like that was the main source. He was running them for other agents. So if you have the ability, that's a huge golden nugget. I also want to point out for the audience something I don't want them to miss, that you said for the first, like, five, six months you didn't do any deals.

[C]

Nope.

[A]

But it didn't mean you didn't do activity to put you in the presence of opportunity for those deals. And I think the instant gratification does more damage than we realize because it distracts us. And we're not closing, so we're pivoting all the time and we're not staying consistent. Versus, hey, you might go six months. And I'm thinking of, like, Ricky Carruth, who we had on a while back. He said it took him like six months, seven, maybe nine months. I can't even remember to close this first. So I think there's something there that, hey, as an agent, be prepared to go six months. I hope not, but be prepared to go six months with no deals. Yeah, but if you work the relationships, you can win, right?

[C]

Well, you know, I have. So I have my first book coming out this year. It's called Impossible to Fail. And I've come up with what I call the impossible to fail formula. What can you do to literally make it impossible to fail? Well, the first thing is you get a blue in anything. You're trying to do. You get a blueprint, you get a framework, coaching, a roadmap from someone that's been there and done that. Then three things you got to implement that blueprint with massive action, relentless consistency, and time. Those three things together guarantee you're going to win. One thing is missing, you won't. And what you're talking about there, Luke, and you're right, is the time factor. So I worked relentlessly hard in that first year. I wasn't. I didn't have finesse, I didn't have systems. I just worked really hard, and inevitably you get better. Right. I hosted an open house every Saturday, every Sunday. I didn't take a day off for about a year and change. Was I working harder in month seven, when I finally got paid than I was in month one? No. I just got better. And what agents forget about is, hey, being a realtor is a skill set you need to develop. Talking to people, learning how to talk to people, learning how to build rapport and ask for an appointment confidently is a skill set. It would be like, hey, if I want to step on the basketball court, I've never played basketball. Let's say I never played basketball. I want to get really good at basketball. Oh, I've been practicing for a month and the ball isn't going through the net every time. Let me try something else. Like, no, you just need to get better. And part of getting better is, number one, having something to practice. So if you're an agent that, let's say, doesn't take my coaching, you have no framework, you have no scripts, you don't know anything. And you're just guessing. That's why 80% of agents will quit in the first two years. How long can you be in a commission only business without getting paid? Yeah, but even with the perfect framework, let's say you start a new sport, you have the best coach in the world, you still need to practice enough to get good. And that's where it comes from. And so it is definitely an exponential hockey stick level growth. And make no mistake about it, those first seven months were hard. My wife and I had some tough conversations. I was stressed. Super.

[A]

She was trying to let you down easy. She was just like, hey, Rob, it just, you know, you're really good, but maybe this isn't for you.

[C]

Well, the thing is, we did it together.

[A]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[C]

Okay, so when we were in New Jersey before we moved here, we were both born and raised there. We both used to be teachers. I had quit My teaching job and built my first business in the music industry. Unrelated. But she was still a teacher. She was making sixty something thousand dollars a year, amazing health benefits. And so that was like the rock, right? She had a steady income. Even though my business made more income, she had a steady income, and mine was cyclical. And she had great health insurance for us. Then we moved to Austin. She quit her teaching job, got her license. We did real estate together. So we completely burned the docks. So we were both all in here.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

And there were a lot of hard nights, teary eyes in the couch. We get what I call the open house blues, which every agent has had. At some point, you're setting up for the open house, and then like, no one comes, like, where's the line around the door? Or everyone has an agent and you get no leads and you're super depressed. We had a lot of those nights wondering, did we make a mistake? We had such a good thing going, but we just kept pushing through it. And eventually. And the thing is, the thing about relationships is you never know which one is. Is going to be the one. When the family that wound up being my first clients of a buy and a sell, it's not like when they walk through the open house, they had big flashing neon lights above them that said, we're going to be your first clients. I didn't know. I actually wound up following up with them for about six weeks with zero response. And then one night I was in my office working late, and I got a text saying, hey, Rob, we've been super busy. We'd like you and your wife to come over tomorrow to help us start the process of selling and buying. And we said, okay, yeah.

[A]

What a golden nugget. Six weeks, zero response kept going. Most people gave up.

[C]

Yeah. Because most agents think they must not like me. But in reality, they're doing life. And you're not the most important thing in their world until you are. Which is why you have to follow up. But the reality is that grit delayed gratification work will never go out of style and there will never be anything that can replace it.

[B]

What is your process? Like you talked about every open house, you should be trying to get that buyer's consultation. Like, what is your. What's kind of your process? Your advice towards how do you actually go about that?

[C]

Yeah. So we have the open house blueprint. So in. In Earth to Orbit, which is literally hundreds of videos, thousands of interactive videos, slides. I mean, the resources are just unreal. But we have a whole separate course just on open houses. So we have the 12 methods of lead generation plus a course on open houses. So I'll give the summary here. And actually if anyone wants to even just email my team afterwards, whether you engage with the coaching or not, I'll just give you these resources for free and I'll tell you.

[A]

Wow, that's awesome, man.

[C]

I mean, we got it. We got to, we got to help each other. So the first thing is the at the Open House script. Now I'll just pause for a moment and say a lot of agents initially have this wall up where I don't use scripts. They're, they're too impersonal, they're very robotic. The reality is there is a, a scientifically proven framework in a language of sales, of bringing someone to a decision to engage with you. And in real estate, we're selling ourselves, we're selling people on the idea of working with us. And a script must be very conversational. So when an agent says, I'm not really good at scripts, it's simply probably just because they haven't practiced it enough. When you practice something hundreds of times, then it becomes conversational. So the neat thing is when you watch the open house training, you see me in my actual open house talking to real people. I'm using the script, but it's really just a conversation. So the first thing. So here's the framework. There's two times when you're going to talk to a prospect. When they're on the way in and when they're on the way out. When they're on the way in is when you build rapport for two to five minutes. When they're on the way out is when you ask for the appointment. You need to structure the first half that when you ask for the appointment, you're going to get a yes. So the first half is just setting it up. The back half is execution. So when they're coming in, that's when you build some rapport and trust. You introduce yourself. Want to do a little role play real quick?

[A]

Yeah, that'd be great.

[C]

All right, here we go, Josh. So you come in, you say hello. I say hey, welcome. My name is Rob with, with ABC Realty. What's your name?

[B]

I'm Josh.

[C]

Josh, it's a pleasure to meet you. So I gotta remember your name. I have people love the sound of their name. So agents remember their name. Okay. And then we ask an open ended question that is gonna allow you to give me some info. Here's what I like to start with. So, Josh, awesome. Do you live in the area or are you from out of town?

[B]

We're in the area.

[C]

Oh, where?

[B]

We're in the next town over. We're about five minutes away.

[C]

That's cool. How long have you lived in next town over?

[B]

About seven years.

[C]

Okay. What has you come and considering this town?

[B]

Well, we're looking for a larger home.

[C]

Larger home. You got expanding family?

[B]

I do. I've got seven kids. No, I've got a kid on the way. Yeah.

[C]

Kid on the way.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Oh my gosh. Congratulations. So now what I'm going to do is I'm going to start asking you about the kid on the way. So if we notice, it's very simple, it's very conversational, but what I'm doing is I'm asking you questions, I'm listening and then I'm asking you more questions based on what you say, not what I want. And this is right away where most agents critical. Yeah, you're going to come in and I'm going to say, hi, do you have a realtor? What's your timeline? Have you been pre approved? You know, like, dude, I don't even know you. Right. But what I want to do is say, Josh, that's awesome. Oh, you have a kin on or if you said we have to, you know, we need a better school district for the kids. Tell me about your kids. If you were to say, well, for sure we need a bigger backyard for the dog. Tell me about your dog. Rather than, well, we need a bigger house. Sweet. How does this house work for your budget? I didn't even ask why you need a bigger house. Right. So those are what I call off ramps. The opportunity to listen. And now ask you a non real estate related question based on something that you say. So if I were to say, you know, do you live in the area or Fremont of town? You say, oh, well, we're in the town visiting family and we may move here to be closer to them. The wrong answer would be cool. What do you think about the neighborhood? The right answer would be, oh, who lives here? Which family lives here? Why do you want to be closer to them? And I'm asking you questions about you. What a concept. And that goes on for a couple minutes. Not very long. Don't too long there. It's weird. There's a line between the longer the conversation is at the beginning, the potentially less likely you are to get a yes at the end. So that just comes from experience. You toe that line two to five minutes and then eventually ask you to sign in And a quick, quick pro tip on the sign in. At the top of my sign in sheet, I teach you to write, owners require all parties to sign in. Do we really have to sign in? Hey, the owners just want to know who's coming through their house. You would too. I'm not selling your info or anything. Yeah. And I've usually got very little pushback. So the most important thing is Josh, when you come in, Josh and Luke, when you guys, when the prospect comes in, ask questions, take off ramps. I love that open ended question at the beginning because then they're going to reveal info and then you let them tour the house. Again, pro tip gang don't show people around the house. In the open house, they don't want to have a tour, they want to browse. And also you're missing out on conversations. You got to man the door. So I'm thinking about you and remembering what we talked about. Now you're on the way out and this is where we, we start heading to the appointment. One or two things are going to happen. If you're interested in the house, you're going to come up and talk to me. If you're not, you're probably just going to leave.

[B]

Really?

[C]

Yeah, Right? I mean, when, if, if someone's interested in the house or the neighborhood, they may say, hey, you know, is there any other houses like this in the neighborhood? Or they might just leave and be like, hey, wave, maybe not. Or they're just going to leave. So if you start coming up to me asking questions about the house, great. Agents, if you see someone leaving, obviously they're not interested in the house. Don't ask them, do you like the house? Do you want to make an offer? No, they don't. Otherwise they would have talked to you. So then what you do is say, hey, Josh, real quick, I see you leaving. It was so great meeting you. Let me ask, if I may, what do you need in a house that you don't see here? Because obviously there's something that's missing. Otherwise you'd probably talk to me and then you're going to go, oh, wow, well, and then you're going to tell me a little bit more. And so then we just really start qualifying. What are you looking for in the home? Does this work or not? Eventually I'm going to start asking you some more, you know, what's your timeline? In a perfect situation, how soon would you want to be in your next house? Well, six months. Why six months? Well, I got to transition out of this job, you know, we're moving, or whatever. Whatever the reason is. And then eventually we lead to what's called the ABC script. Action, benefit, commitment. And this is when I discovered this. It literally changed everything for me. Because agents, if you want appointments, you need to ask for appointments. If you want more clients, you need to have more appointments. How do you get more appointments? You ask for them. And there's a difference between making a statement and asking a question. So, for example, if you're on the way out and I say, josh, if you need an agent, I'd love to help, you're gonna be like, okay, bye. I'll call you. And I'm like, oh, he's gonna call me. He said he's gonna call. Wow. Babe. He said he's gonna call. He's not gonna call. Right. But what I would do is there's a big difference between that and asking. So the abc, the action. What do you want the prospect to do? So the ABC script, you're gonna use either to set appointments or sign rep agreements. The point of every open house is to set a buyer consult. The point of every appointment is to walk out with a rep agreement, buyer, or seller. So, you know, Josh, the next thing to do for us to talk about getting you into the perfect home, bigger home, for your expanding family is just set a time to meet, you know, in person or on zoom to talk about the process. That's the action. What do I want you to do, B. The benefit? Why does it benefit you to do that? Why would it benefit you to do this? You know, Josh, I know you're. You live in the next town over. Trust me, no one knows this town better than I do. And, you know, we just had our first kid a few years ago, so I can completely relate to that. You've got a lot to worry about. And let me and my team kind of worry about these logistics while you and your wife are focusing on your new baby. So let me ask, when is the best time for us to meet? Would a weekday or weekend be best?

[B]

Weekend.

[C]

Weekend. Okay, cool. Morning, afternoon, or early evening?

[B]

Mornings.

[C]

Awesome. Would Saturday at 11 or Sunday at 10 be better? So we see what I did there, right? That's the. That's the framework. Weekdays or weekends? Morning, afternoon, early evening. Proposed two times. So what I didn't say was, gosh, Josh, I'd love to meet with you. I. Right. I told you the action. Here's what we need to do. We need to meet. Why does it benefit you to do that? Now, agents, here's another reason why you listen and take these off ramps. You want to customize the benefits section of this script to show I'm listening. I don't want to have something just super boilerplate. You know, Josh, we should meet to talk about this. I'm the best agent in the neighborhood. When's the best time to meet? You know, Josh, I'm super experienced, but I also know what it takes when you're having that first kid, because I've been there. There's a lot of moving pieces. Let me help you with this so you can focus on that. I'm listening to you. I'm talking about your unique situation. And then I ask you, when is the best time to meet? I don't ask you, do you want to meet? I say, when is the best time? And then we mornings, afternoons, early evenings, propose two times. And in that way, you're going to get the appointment. Now, if Josh were to say something like, handle an objection like, oh, we got to double check the schedule or something, I also have over 60 objection handlers in my course that teach you how to actually walk out with the appointment. But when you're intentional about, build rapport, build trust, ask for the appointment and get a yes, because you did the first part properly. If you're doing two open houses a week, you're doing six to eight open houses a month, and you've perfected this, and you have four to six appointments every month. You'll close at least two to three deals a month from open houses alone, not even including anything else. You can work two days a week and have some appointments and, and close 24 deals a year, which statistically will put you in the top tier of agents and at least a, you know, 200k in any market. But you got to be intentional about it. You can't just go to open houses and talk to people. There's a. There's a framework that you got to follow.

[A]

Yeah, it's so. It's so true. That's so good. It's funny, the more agents I talk to, it's like the head knowledge is there, but it's like the heart knowledge of the commitment is where they fall down. It's like they know, okay, this is what I got to do. But their consistency and ability to act that out. What you just said is the hard part. Do you see that in your courses, too? Like where people sign up for the coaching, they're taking it, they get it, they're telling you yes, but they don't follow through. And that's. How do you Break that down with somebody. How do you break through that wall with them?

[C]

Yeah, I mean that, that's very consistent. I think that's just a human trait. You know, I don't think it's unique to agents. I think a lot of people get excited about something. You know, there is a, a proven effect that people in general severely overestimate their ability to succeed at something new.

[A]

Hmm.

[C]

So like significantly, like you've never done this thing. How good do you. I think I could do that pretty well. Like that's, that's just a human characteristic. And so again, because it is very challenging and takes a lot of time to build a skill set. Yeah, lack of follow through is, is very consistent. What I, what I really do when people sign up for the coaching now this is whether I engage because, you know, there's over 10,000 agents in my training right now. A lot of those agents come from brokerages, corporate partners, where we team up with a brokerage, it might have hundreds or thousands of agents. We actually brand the training for that brokerage, build it out for them, and they provide it to all their agents. So that's one way. Or an agent will choose to engage with my coaching on their own if their company doesn't provide it for them. But no matter what we do, we have a launch call or an agent comes on and I meet with them on Zoom. And it's the same thing where a lot of it just has to be set proper expectations in the course. There's even, there's an intro and there's like a multi hour mindset course where I'm just coach. And that's the first course is mindset. Because in order to apply any of this, you got to have the right mindset. Knowledge without implementation is useless. And that's what you're talking about, knowledge without long term commitment to implementation. And so I tell agents, look, I call it Earth to orbit because I, I liken launching a real estate career like launching a rocket into space. It's the hardest part of the journey. Statistically, most people won't do it. It requires a ton of energy. But it's easier to float in orbit than it is to get there. It's harder to build a business than it is to maintain a business. My job is to teach you how to get into orbit with massive action, relentless consistency, this proven framework. And when you're in orbit, that means you're closing 24 to 30 deals a year based on relationships and referrals. You got your systems in place. However, what my coaching does is give you the guaranteed blueprint to get into orbit in the shortest amount of time compared to, let's say, if you were trying to figure it out on your own. However, you still need to launch. You need to do the work. And even with the perfect framework, it's still going to be incredibly challenging. It's going to take a lot of work. You're going to have doubt, fear, hesitation, and you're going to have to overcome that. But I guarantee you, if you can stick through it long enough, you will win. It's impossible not to. But again, in an instant gratification society, people have a hard time facing rejection. People have a hard time even just talking to people if you're dealing with maybe younger realtors that just live on social media and don't have a lot of personal interactions.

[A]

And one thing I've seen is like, the concept of like, the juice isn't worth the squeeze. That what happens to them is that, that they start doing it, but they go, the juice that they're getting, they're like, I don't really know if I want to do that. And then the narrative of the grass is greener or there's something else to do. Like, I see that a lot is that people are like, well, I have my why, I know why I'm doing this, or I have my goal and it's more of just like, I don't know if I really want it at that level that would put me through that adversity. I don't know if you have found similar. That's what I have found with.

[C]

Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, it all stems from the why and the motivation. And I do think most people have a very powerful why. You know, part of what I coach people to do is go a little bit deeper on their why. I have an exercise called the three levels of why. So, for example, if you were to ask me, Rob, what's your why? A surface level would be like to. To provide the best quality of life for my wife and my daughter so that. So that they could just, you know, we can have an amazing life together. Cool. Why? Oh, well, because money was really tight for me growing up and I saw the stress that put on my dad and my family. And I don't want my family to have that great why not? Oh, and to really go deep, deep, deep on the why. Because ultimately what I don't really want is a great quality of life. What I really want is to never have to have that stress or miss opportunities or let the stress of Finances dominate a quality of life like it did when I was a kid, for my family, that is the purpose. And so if I were to think of that in hard times, rather than the new car that I want or something like that, that's going to be pretty powerful. But again, I think ultimately it comes down to there's no shortcut. There's no hack for learning how to be a Realtor. There's great coaching like I have, and amazing resources like you all have. But ultimately, it's going to take time, grit, delayed gratification, and really, really, really hard work, which is not too common to say these days. It's not popular to be like, oh, I know you think you're working hard, but you're not working hard enough. It's not popular to say that. But I'll talk to agents that say, rob, I'm doing open houses. It's just not working. How many open houses did you do last month? 2. How often do you practice the scripts? I didn't. You're not working hard enough stuff. Yeah, you know, that's just the reality. You got. I'm sorry. Like, there's no. And it's very interesting. And not to make this like a. A religious call, but you know the. The story of. Of Naaman in the Bible, he had leprosy, and he goes to. He wants to see Elijah to heal him. And Naaman goes to Elijah and he said, and. And if you're not into God or faith, just take the story. And so you have this guy who's this really big leader, and he's got leprosy, which is a horrible skin disease. And he goes to this prophet Elijah to try to heal him. And he brings all of these offerings and gold and jewels and camels and livestock. And he treks all the way across the land to Elijah's house. And Elijah's servant greets him at the door, and Naaman says, hey, I want Elijah to heal me. And the servant goes to Elijah, says, elijah, what do you want to do? Elijah says, tell him to dip himself in the water seven times and he'll be healed. And the servant says, hey, basically, he's not available, but he says, dip yourself in the water seven times and your leper will see you be gone. And Naaman is pissed. He's mad because he's like, first of all, I came all the way over here. I don't even get to talk to the guy. Number two. That's it. Dip myself in the water. How is that going to help? Now, if the servant would have said, okay, on a full moon, you need to right? Like if the answer was really complicated, he would have been like, great. But no. And it worked. And he dipped himself. It's the same thing that agents want. Oh, okay. You want the secret On A Tuesday at 5:47pm if you say these special words to the seventh person in your CRM, you're work harder. Practice the scripts. Like these things are not popular, but the truth is you just got to build your skill set and that takes time.

[B]

So true.

[A]

Spot on, man. Spot on.

[B]

Love it. Rob, thank you so much for coming on and sharing that, especially parts of those from your course. So we would love, if you take an opportunity, let people know how they can connect with you, how they can learn more about your courses, get involved 100%.

[C]

You can check out the [e-mail] that's just tell you a little more about me and everything I do. The training is www.earthtoorbit training.com so Earth2 to earthtoorbit training.com and what if I may, I'd like to just make an offer for your audience. Anyone that's on here?

[A]

Yeah, please do.

[C]

There's a couple products of coaching I offer. You have the Earth to Orbit, which is hundreds of on demand training videos, over 10,000 agents in the coaching. Then I have what's called the Earth to Orbit tribe, which is group coaching. Multiple group coaching calls every single week. 24. 7 Access to me and my coaches on an app. And so that's typically $97 a month for the group coaching. Earth to orbit is 119Amonth. What I'd like to do is for anyone listening to this podcast, if you engage with the [e-mail] I'm going to gift you my group coaching for free. And as long as you pay for the courses, you're actually just going to get that free group coaching. Shoot my team an email. Say, hey, we heard you on the Stay Paid podcast. We're going to give you that, that free access. Make sure that you have the tools you need because I never want anyone to fail for lack of resources. I think if more agents had the training and knowledge they needed, that 80% dropout rate would drop dramatically. So really my mission is to increase agent success through just having 24. 7 access to what they need.

[B]

That's awesome.

[A]

Yeah, it's so good.

[B]

Rob, thank you again so much for joining us and thank you all for listening. You can dive deeper into this episode and get the links that Rob mentioned over@staypaid podcast.com where you can get the show notes for this episode as well. If you enjoy this episode and want to show your support, head on over to Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Drop us a five star review along with a comment. We will read it here on the show. And the best way to show your support is to simply share this episode with somebody that you know. If you want to get hold of me or Luke, you can email [e-mail] and of course you can follow us on social media. We are at staypaid podcast for this episode of Stay Paid. I'm Joshua Stike.

[A]

Guys, I'm Luke Acre. Rob man, thank you so much. You did not disappoint. We will have to have you back as a another time.

[B]

You have.

[A]

You're just a wealth of knowledge. I know. I'm trying to set up and I believe we have a date on the calendar. I want to get you in front of our audience from a webinar perspective so they can go even deeper and even ask you questions and stuff like that. So I believe that's coming up on the 27th, if I'm not mistaken. We'll put links and all that stuff in the show notes, but I want all of you guys to attend because really believe in what Rob's doing. One, because the content that he's putting out there is the real deal. And then two, he's, he's a practitioner himself. So he is practicing. He's done it. He has students. I know I got on a call with you at one point and was able to meet some of your students and talk to them and, and they were the real deal, which is awesome. So guys, please go check out Rob and all of his stuff. Here's your action item. I mean, you heard so many great tips, but all of it means nothing if you don't put it into implementation. And I'm curious if you sat down and asked yourself right now, how much practice time have you put in this week? Have you put in. If you're listening to this on a Monday, how many, how much practice did you put in last week? Then you think of all the greatest musicians, the greatest athletes, the greatest in their craft. They are constantly practicing. They are spending time in the film room. When was the last time you recorded your listing presentation? When was the last time you actually recorded one of your phone calls and listened back? Tom Brady, Imagine him playing in the NFL and never watching his film.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

My challenge to you this week is watch the film, put in the practice reps. Remember the difference between the top producer and a mediocre producer in every business. Stop. Producers. Take action. Take action on that today.