← The David Greene Show
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to Real Talk Real Estate, the show where we cover how to build wealth in real estate with no fluff, no BS and no sales pitches. I'm David Green and I've been doing this for over 10 years. I've seen the ups, the downs and everything in between. This is the show where we pull back the curtain and show it to you too. So if you want to build wealth through real estate or you just love learning about it, you found your home. What's going on, everyone? Welcome to Real Talk Real Estate. I'm David Green, he's Chris Lloyd and this is Real Talk Realtor. And let us be the first to tell you, happy New Year, Chris. Thanks for being here today. How did your New Year's Eve go?
- [00:35]
B
New Year's Eve went really well. We had some friends over, we had a taco night and it was just a great time. Great time with good people and went right back to it New Year's Day with hitting the phones with some expired listings with the team. Great first day too.
- [00:52]
A
Okay, you're also a newly married man. Was this your first New Year's that you were able to spend with your wife or did you guys, were you dating for a while and did this already ready?
- [01:00]
B
No, this was my first New Year's with the wife. Yep.
- [01:04]
A
That's pretty fun.
- [01:05]
B
I like that.
- [01:05]
A
Did you guys make it all the way to midnight?
- [01:07]
B
We did, yes. We made it all the way till about 1 or 2am okay, so you're
- [01:12]
A
somebody who has been going through some life changing phases right now. You got married, you left your, your previous broker and came to open Coast To Coast Real Estate Virginia with me. You brought your team over. You're crushing it as far as starting the new year. Had a really good day. You're involved in setting up meetups, you've got branded stuff going for Coast To Coast Real estate. You are getting license in other states. So Chris will be able to help recruit people in Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida possibly. He's doing great. He's kind of like Christian was with the one brokerage right now with Coast to coast. And you're also selling houses for people. So I mean, what do you have to say about how well you're doing and how much progress you're making at a time when so many people are saying, well, what's the point of trying? Everything sucks.
- [01:59]
B
I will say first off, I do feel extremely blessed for the way that things are going. However, I will say that a lot of the success that we see is due to the fact that when we started seeing the market slow down, we dug in deeper, and that is what you have to do if you're going to be successful in this business for the last couple of years. And I was a Covid Realtor, I got started in 2021, so I rode the wave. But one of the things that I was blessed with before coast to coast, I had an amazing broker and she let me know when the market started slowing down, that I needed to double down on my marketing. I need to perfect my brand, I need to investigate other lead sources, I need to get on the phones and I need to get aggressive because in this slowdown it is going to determine which agents were meant to be in the business and which ones weren't. So I'm blessed for the business that we have. But the business that we have is the result of a lot of hard work, sleepless nights and, you know, endless phone calls, working weekends. You know, it's finally culminated to all this.
- [03:05]
A
What's the motivation behind this drive that you have to dig in deeper at a time when the market is more tough?
- [03:13]
B
Well, it originally started with the fact that I just didn't want to go broke because I had left the shipyard, which was my background. I worked in logistics at the shipyard prior to real estate. You know, I followed the, you know, the age old advice of go to college, get a Safe, stable, secure W2 job with benefits, did all that. And then I decided to start investing in real estate because this David and Brandon guy on the Bigger Pockets podcast were telling me how great it was. And so I started investing in real estate, got the bug, got my license and, and was like, you know what, I think I want to do this because I was really motivated not only to do it myself, but I've always had that drive to teach other people to do things I was passionate about. So, you know, growing up I, I competed in a lot of triathlon. I even did it through college. And one of my biggest passions in college was building up our triathlon team over at vmi. So I've always been passionate for building up, you know, groups of people and pouring into them and showing them things I like. And when I found house hacking, I was like, I gotta share this with more people. So I got my license, started building the business, left the shipyard, and then shortly after leaving the shipyard, the market started changing and I was like, I need to dig deeper if I don't want to go broke. So that was the original motivation. After that it really started settling back into, I like to contribute to people I want to pour into them. I want to see their success, not just mine. That's our clients, that's our agents. That's everyone.
- [04:53]
A
Yeah. You have a huge heart, man. And in the couple of months that we've been doing this, I've seen that there's already, like, really big growth markers in your life. And so you're one of those guys that I'm like, it's going to be crazy to see how much progress you make in a couple years if you keep your foot on the gas exactly like you're doing right now. Like in the jiu jitsu world, you're one of those guys that gets his black belt really fast. I'm curious to see what your real estate black belt looks like also. You understand that that comes with lumps. You're not one of those people who's like, how do I do this without it being hard? You're like, no, it's going to be hard. There's no way around the hard. I'm just going to embrace the hard and run right into it. Where does that come from?
- [05:31]
B
That honestly does come from my college background. So for those of you that don't know, I'm a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. It's a military college. You cannot get through that college without suffering. I mean, at the end of the day is you come in, they shave your heads, they PT you all the way to the ground in hell week, and then you are doing classes on top of all that, continued for about another six months. All individuality is stripped from you. And the only way that you can succeed is being your best every single day, not just for yourself, but for everyone else around you. And I really embraced it there and carried it with me into the workforce. And that's really where I have no problem with hard things. At the end of the day, it's going to be hard, and the faster that you can accept that, it's going to be so much better. Once I walked in. So my first day, Hell Week, you know, I woke up that first morning, I was like, what in the world world did I do? Like, what did I commit to? All my friends are going to, you know, other colleges, you know, living it up, having a great time their freshman year. And here I am with a shaved head, wearing a uniform, up at 6am doing PT and going to classes, then more PT afterwards, and then studying till about midnight or 1am every single day for four years. That was the lifestyle that I chose. And when I just accepted the fact it was going to Be hard, but it was going to lead to great results. It. Everything followed through and it. It was great. So I figured, okay, let's just apply that to everything in life. Everything will be hard run towards hard run towards challenge, and you got to thrive off solving problems.
- [07:16]
A
Do you think that there's value in everybody going through a hard thing in life, even if there's no reward from that specific thing? It was just hard in and of itself?
- [07:29]
B
Yes. I 100 believe so. I do. I never served, but we do have people on the team that are active duty or prior military. I definitely see the same grit and integrity with them. We have other agents that did Division 1 athletics in college football, and they have that same type of mentality. Everyone has their own level of heart. And, you know, different people are exposed to different things, but you have to be able to go through something, in my opinion, that really breaks you down to your breaking point. And you're like, I just need to accept the fact this is the way that it is. I need to embrace it, and I need to move forward with it. Instead of, oh, woe is me. This is so hard. I need an easy way out. I need an excuse. I need to sit off to the side because my leg hurts like you. Don't make excuses. Move forward.
- [08:26]
A
I remember being maybe 20 years old, super skinny, and trying to work out, and I was not very strong, and I was very insecure. I'd go to the gym, and it was full of meatheads, and I'm this, like, bean pole, and I just hated every minute of it. Sometimes I'd have to pray that God would give me the strength to not leave. And I'd finish my workout because there was just this voice screaming at me, you don't belong here. You're an idiot. Everyone's laughing at you. Just go. And I remember working with, like, the dumbbell bench, and I remember thinking, you know, even if you didn't get stronger from lifting weights, I would still do it. Because there's something about the mental muscle that I felt myself building when you're trying to pump out another two reps when you're tired and it burns that I could feel. Something in this is making me tougher. Something in this is. Is making me tap into the ability to focus that I didn't have before I came to where when things get hard, it's like I had a whole nother gear I could move into where I just. I could focus that I didn't have before I did it. And I wonder how many things in life work the same when you go through a difficult time, when somebody is treating you negatively, like I would imagine if somebody showed up to the, the college experience you had, by today's standards, there's people that would call that abusive. You're abusing these people. Right. But you didn't look at it with that negativity. You didn't let yourself believe you were a victim. And so it didn't break you. It strengthened you. So now in your real estate career, you're doing things like calling expired listings and you're very young to be having your broker's license and you're growing in knowledge very quickly and you're already solving problems that people have been doing this for a decade more than you don't know and aren't willing to learn. Like short sales don't scare you. You are already familiar with short sales and you're jumping into that. I haven't seen a thing yet that intimidates you. And I just think it's a, it's a testament to the fact that you shouldn't be running away from hard.
- [10:18]
B
Absolutely. Run towards it.
- [10:20]
A
All right, so tell me, what are your plans for 2026?
- [10:24]
B
2026 is going to be a huge year. Huge. We are currently up in southeastern Virginia and it is my ambitions to be up in northern Virginia by the end of the year, have our brokers license in North Carolina, Tennessee and a couple of the other states north of Virginia. We'll see what order makes the most sense for us. And then also any other states that don't have any brick and mortar requirements. I mean, I, I want to go full into getting these brokers license and getting coast to coast up in as many states as possible as possible. I mean, all right, that would be fantastic.
- [11:01]
A
So you're thinking, hey, I want to expand how many agents I'm able to recruit and train as well as selling houses. What are some of your goals for making sure that your production stays high in 2026?
- [11:12]
B
One of the things that we're really going to be focusing on is how to build not, I wouldn't say a huge team, but a productive team that I can trust. And that's going to be. That's going to be difficult. We have to find a way that when I bring in clients, when I, when I get referrals from past clients or previous clients that want to work with me again, that when they come on board with me this time and one of my agents is working with them, it feels just like I never left. It feels like My experience. And that's where a lot of team leaders struggle, and that's why a lot of teams fail. There is a certain. Most teams start because there was someone that was a really productive solo agent. We can start that. However, when that solo agent transfers into a leadership role, it can go one of two ways. And I really think it's, what is their goal? What is their intent? Like, why did they start a team? Did they start a team to step away from work or step into a new role? I wanted to step into the new role of training and developing agents to be the best that they could be. But I know plenty of other team leads that started their team to get out of production. That was their original. That was their intent. They wanted to stop selling houses, and they wanted passive income, you know.
- [12:37]
A
Yeah. Yep.
- [12:38]
B
And believe it or not, I'm just gonna let all the agents on here that are thinking of starting a team know your first year starting a team, you will make less money than you were as a solo agent the year prior. Almost guaranteed you will be taking a cut if you're doing it right. So make sure that when you're starting a team, you set the realistic expectation with yourself that it's going to be more work for less pay. Mm. But if you do it right, you can grow a really awesome organization. And so far, we're about a year into my team, and we've got some rock star agents that work with us. Our reviews are still saying super high. They're extremely responsive. And I do feel pretty confident that the agents we have on my team give that same experience to the clients, as if I were still there.
- [13:26]
A
Tell me some of the things that you think are leading to your team success. And what is different than some of the other real estate teams or brokerages that you've seen compared to yours.
- [13:37]
B
So it really comes to the way that we run things. My agents don't have to fear about not knowing anything. So when they're lead generating, I tell them, get on the phone, convert the lead, book the appointment, everything else. After that, we can get you to the table. So every single day, 12 to 12:30, they know I've got my open office hours. If there is a problem that comes up, they know within 24 hours they can get that problem solved with me on a live call, period, every single day. So if something comes up that they don't know how to handle, they know they can reach out to me. If they can't get to me right away on a phone call, I usually try to answer as much as I can when I'm on it. But they know that they don't have to worry about not knowing anything, because if they don't know anything, we will get them that knowledge very quickly because we have that support system. So I would say that you.
- [14:29]
A
It's support is what I'm hearing you say. It's that you're not just like. Maybe I'm putting words in your mouth right now. But from my experience, what I've noticed is that the majority of brokerages are all hat, no cattle, right? They get this great marketing sheet where they're like low splits and low cap and MLM and free stock options and. God, what else am I seeing them offering? Like, points on your credit card if you join this thing, right?
- [14:57]
B
Free car washes.
- [14:58]
A
Free free car washes. That's very. Yes, I'm seeing that one. Right? Like, you gotta be looking good if you want to sell houses. I can tell you of every Realtor I've ever hired. I don't care what their car looks like. I care what their confidence is like when I talk to them and what their market knowledge is. But yes, that is exactly it. And these brokerages have been financially successful not by offering training, not by offering support, not by offering mentorship, but by offering bells and whistles. And many people don't realize that they operate their real estate brokerage as a loss leader. So you come over there and you get all these things that sound really good to you, and they make money off of you from desk fees or admin fees or technology fees, or using their title and escrow company or using their mortgage company. Zillow's in hot water for doing this right now. A lot of these discount brokerages, it sounds great. And then you realize there's a catch. And it's everything other than let us help you serve your client better. And this isn't. This is David's opinion right now. This is why the real estate industry for so long has had such a bad reputation, right? Imagine a bunch of kids whose parents don't raise them and invest in them and train them or discipline them. They just want their kids to like them and they throw candy at them. You'd have a whole bunch of spoiled kids that are not very disciplined and don't really know what they're doing. And they're not productive members of society. They just whine a lot. It's kind of what realtors turned into. And I don't even know if I blame the realtors. I blame the brokers, right? Now and you're saying you're going to do the opposite. You want to provide all the things that the other brokers are not providing? Did I put words in your mouth or is that a fair assessment?
- [16:31]
B
No, that's. That's precisely what we're doing.
- [16:34]
A
Yeah. Where did the motivation to do that come from?
- [16:40]
B
I would have to say personally, probably my faith. I do feel, you know, called to provide to other people and, you know, that's what brings me satisfaction. That's what makes me feel good, like I'm making a difference with my life. So.
- [16:54]
A
So your mic went a little bit there. So your faith is what's driving you to just be of service is what you were saying?
- [16:59]
B
Absolutely, yes.
- [17:00]
A
Yeah. Okay. Did you have a really good mentor when you got into the game that you noticed made a big difference or were you lacking a mentor and so you're like, oh, I want others to avoid the pain that I went through.
- [17:10]
B
I was extremely blessed to have an amazing mentor. My initial broker when I got into the business is one of the biggest reasons why I was actually successful. She, we had a lot of one on one coaching. I went with a small boutique brokerage. So if you're listening to this and you don't understand the difference between, you know, big box brokerage or boutique brokerage, your big box brokerages are your big names such as, you know, brands like ReMax, Berkshire Hathaway, Keller Williams, stuff like that. Your local boutique brokerages are Jane Doe Realty or you know, your local mom and pop shop where there might be an admin assistant sitting at the front desk and really no one ever in the office. The one thing about those boutique brokerages is unlike the big box brokerages, you oftentimes have a direct line of contact to your broker. So I was extremely blessed with the fact I had an extremely responsive broker. And that's why I have put into place these office hours every single day for my agents. Because I realized that I was successful because of the support I had. Even though that brokerage had a lower split than a lot of other places that I interviewed. If I had a client, I knew I could get them to the closing table. If I went to the big, the a lot of the big name brokerages, they could give me a ton of clients, but they couldn't teach me how to take it to the table. So I don't care if I have five clients that I can't close. I would rather have one client that I know for sure I can close. And that's the value that was provided to me when I got in. And that is the model and how we are building up coast to coast.
- [18:50]
A
All right, so what are some things in 2026 that you're looking forward to?
- [18:55]
B
I'm looking for. It's, it's. It's going to be hard to phrase this. Okay, so I'm looking forward to a challenging market. I'm looking forward to properties sitting on the market. I'm looking forward to disgruntled sellers. I'm looking forward to economic struggles. Because the reason being the skilled agents are going to be the agents that thrive in this market. In 2026, we are entering what I think is going to be a stall in at least our local housing market in the Southeast Virginia region. I don't think we're going to see the appreciation that we've seen the last couple of years. Years. I think prices are going to stall. And one thing unique to our area is we have a lot of 0% down VA home loans on properties where they finance their funding fee. And if values are not going up, we're going to see an increase in short sales or people needing to bring money to the closing table. And you're going to need a really good agent to mitigate those losses and make sure that you don't lose your tail. We. I'm looking forward to. To being able to train our agents to pitch how they can help their sellers a whole lot better than anyone else. So we're looking forward to the challenges because we really think that our model is better positioned to thrive in this market.
- [20:15]
A
Yeah, I mean, that's a great point. There's not a lot of brokers that are interested in investing in their agents as much as extracting something from them. So if that just hit a nerve when I said that. If you recognize, yeah, my broker feels like they're trying to take from me, they're not trying to give to me, probably in a toxic real estate relationship, and it's time to break up with them and look for something else. When you found your mentor that you felt like, oh, this person's the right person to teach me the game, what were some of the emotions that you experienced? What were some of the things they said? How did you know this was the right fit for you?
- [20:51]
B
So it was pretty easy to find them. When I took my real estate licensing course, it was actually the instructor for that course that ended up being my broker. So immediately, she was absolutely wonderful. I could tell she was extremely knowledgeable. She knew the answer to every single question that Was asked, and she was able to break down complex concepts to a real basic understanding. So I loved the way that she was able to communicate that to people. And I was like, well, if she can communicate that to us, she knows how to communicate value to a buyer or a seller. And then one day, I came in little bit early to the class. Her door was shut, but she was cracking the whip for one of her clients. And she. I. I don't remember the exact what was going on with that. With that exchange, but she was, I could tell, very stern in her tone. She was fighting for her client's best interest and not budging on what she thought was right because she was facing adversity from the other side. And I was like, this is a woman that I thought was super nice, super knowledgeable, always great. But I realized she had a switch, and she understood when to flip that switch at the appropriate moment. And I also knew that was something that I needed to learn.
- [22:15]
A
Does that mean that your default was more kind of, be nice, be agreeable, go along to get along? And that was a gear you were missing?
- [22:22]
B
It was, yes. Yeah, I. I was too agreeable when I first got into the business, and I needed to build up the skill of looking. Looking into conflict with other people. I've always gone forward to challenges, things that were hard, but disagreements between people is where I really struggled when I first got into the business.
- [22:40]
A
It's so hard, man. I mean, I'm probably unique and that I came from law enforcement, so I had the opposite problem. Yeah. I was like, I wanted to fight everybody, and I had to learn how to be flexible. I had to learn that, like, I made enemies of everyone I talked to. And then I would talk about it like we were at war, and my mentor kind of sat me down. He's like, you know, you can keep doing this, and you have a strong personality, and you could probably make a career of it. But you know what's a lot easier is if you get these people to like you, and if you make the other agents think it was their idea, not your idea, and you get to the closing table with less stress. I was like, why would I want to do that? He's like, because if you're burning less energy, you can close 10 deals instead of two. Something about the way he said that clicked in my head, and I thought, oh, my ego is what makes me want to challenge everybody. But if I was of service, I'd be saying, let me give these stupid agents what they want, or, let me talk to my Clients in the way that they need to hear it. So I can close more of them, I can help more people, I can stop them from getting with agents that were ripping them off. You're on the other side of the spectrum, and I think that's where the majority of agents are. Most of them are going to be high I. On the disc profile. They're not, or they just haven't lived a life where there was a lot of conflict like in law enforcement, that you're thrown into it all the time. This is really helpful for the agents that struggle with how you have those difficult conversations and, and how you kick in that gear. First question on that topic. How do you know when you need to be more bold or when it could be making things worse for you by doing that?
- [24:09]
B
That that's where you have to stop and think before you act. Because sometimes you may feel that your client is in the position of getting screwed over, but escalating the situation may not be the appropriate move at that time. And that's one of the things we. We have had multiple conversations with our agents over the last two weeks. You know, leading. We're wrapping up the end of 2025 with situations like this. You have to understand how to have a civil disagreement, but make it a win in the end so that the other agent still respects you as a professional in the industry. So you have to learn how to respectfully disagree. However, when your agent start, or sorry, when your client starts getting taken advantage of by the other side, you need to figure out how to get stern. But you need to figure out how you need to get started. That could just be reading the other agent and understanding they're a yes, no. If you say no and shut them down, that's it. However, there's some agents that you're going to have to smoosh them up a little bit, make them feel good, but then let them know, hey, we can't make this happen. And one of the best books that we. That I tell all the agents to read is the Chris Voss book. What was it?
- [25:29]
A
Never Split the Difference.
- [25:30]
B
Never Split the Difference. Yes, that's what it is. That book right there is the Art of How to Negotiate but Not Kill Relationships. Because one thing you don't want to do in this business is burn bridges. And it's tough when you have to be stern and protect your clients best interest. But you can't burn the bridge for the next one.
- [25:47]
A
If you guys are listening to this and this sounds interesting, we have a meeting every single week with coast to coast real estate, where we go over some of these techniques. And in last week's meeting, we talked about when your client ties a request, let's logically make sense to them to a factual request. So the example was the person wanted a $500 concession from the seller, but they said, I want it because there's a GFCI that needs to be replaced. And that put them in a bad position because the seller can easily say that cost $30 to do. And so what we talked about was, how do you separate the request from logic? Because if you tie logic to it, the seller can argue with the logic. And we describe, hey, they want 500 bucks. It doesn't matter why. If you choose to tie logic to it, you can, but then you put yourself in a position where the other side can argue. Now, there's an argument over what's actually fair, but it doesn't matter. What matters is, are you willing to give us a 500? And for the buyer, are you willing to walk away if you don't get it? Those are the conversations that need to be had. Can you share how you've learned to navigate some of those situations without putting yourself in a situation where you feel like you've made enemies of the other side?
- [27:05]
B
Yeah. Can be extremely difficult, and you gotta proceed carefully. I'm trying to think of a circumstance in particular where we ran into that kind of situation. Situation. Do some thinking on that. We'll use that example actually, that you just covered that we talked about in last week's meeting. We were representing the seller in that interaction where the buyer came saying, hey, we need $500 because of that GFCI. That's the information that we were presented. Now, let's just assume we were representing the buyer like David said we would present them with. Hey, we completed our inspection. There were a couple of things that were un expected in the inspection. We're requesting a $500 credit, and our buyers prepared to walk if we can't come to an agreement. That's all you have to say. It was presented to us as gfci. So when I went to my seller to explain this information, I told him, hey, this buyer is willing to walk. Which they were. They were willing to walk on that property over $500. And I told him, hey. And they were. They were already bringing cash to the table. It was a very, you know, tight transaction. They need to get rid of it. We're looking at potential short sale. And I just had to see them under. I just had to make them understand hey, look, this isn't about $500. This is about the fact that the buyer wants to feel like they won. So we have to make sure that if you want this property sold and we don't have to pursue a short sale, which is the next best alternative, we're gonna have to find $500 to keep this thing alive. Right. It was not worth the fight over that $500 because it was a GFCI. That's irrelevant at this point. The buyer wants to win, and you don't have a better option in this circumstance. Do you want to do a short sale or do you want to find 500? And that was how we had to navigate that situation. Had we gone back and tried to fight it, our seller would have had to do a short sale. Their credit would have been wrecked. They wouldn't have been able to buy another house for about two, three years. So it would have had extreme ramifications. Even though the request was absurd.
- [29:19]
A
It's a great point. What are some of the other ways that you've learned that you can keep transactions going smoothly as opposed to hiccups that you found that blow them up that you just no one told you about when you were a new agent, you didn't know to look at out for this stuff?
- [29:34]
B
Yeah, well, one of the big things is you are negotiating against the other party until you become. Until you go under contract, until you ratify that agreement. One of the things that I do, if the negotiations were a little bit toughest, reach out to the other agent. Be like, hey, Mr. Mrs. Agent, I am so glad we were able to come to an agreement. I just wanted to let you know that, that we are super excited. We're looking forward to closing. And I just wanted to let you know that I view this as a team relationship, and we need to get both of our clients to the closing table. Just build. Build that rapport up front. Let them know, hey, even though the negotiations were tough, we expect a couple hiccups down the road. But I'm. I am now working with you to make sure that both of our clients get what they want. Your seller can sell the house, the buyer can buy theirs. It may not be smooth, but. But it is our jobs to figure that out for our clients, regardless of how we feel, the negotiations.
- [30:31]
A
Yeah, it's a really good point there. When you see top producing agents that are doing well, what are some of the characteristics of theirs that you want to kind of develop in yourself going into 2026?
- [30:44]
B
Who, honestly, I think one of the Biggest things that I struggle with that I have been working on relentlessly. So hard time blocking, protecting my time and making sure that I have certain times allocated to certain activities. 8 o' clock through 12 o', clock. Lead generation, 12 to 1230 office hours for my clients. 1230 to 2. Prospecting for new agents to bring on board to coast to coast or new brokers to bring on board with Ghost to Coast. After that, it's appointments and working on the business. I. Whenever something comes up with one of my agents, because of my drive to contribute to them, I want to pick up the phone right away if I get a call at 9am and solve their problem. However, solving their problem is good. It's kind of like that little shot of epinephrine. But it's not going to be good for them long term if I can't work on the business and build our systems to better serve them in the long run. So one of the things that I've been working on is making sure that I have these boundaries set aside in my business to make sure that I knock out everything that I need to in the day. So that's one of the things a lot of top producers have. You know, a perfect daily schedule. A lot of agents. And if you're listening to this right now and you're a solo agent, I would say about 90% of y' all fly by the seat of your pants. You feel like a chicken with your head cut off. Run around all over town with no rhyme or reason between your appointments or stuff falling between the cracks. Unless you've got a wonderful TC making sure that everything behind the scenes is going perfect. But it's craziness. It's craziness. The top producers do not have that problem. You know why? Because they can't sell the amount of homes that they do without systems in place.
- [32:34]
A
Yeah.
- [32:34]
B
Without time to accomplish everything that they need to and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Top producers are not running around with no schedule.
- [32:45]
A
Can I give you some unsolicited advice?
- [32:48]
B
Let's hear it.
- [32:49]
A
One of the ways that I learned to save myself time that I was afraid to do in the beginning and it's never backfired for me, was the way I started conversations with someone. So if somebody, if I've got like an hour set up to Legion or an hour set up to put out the fires in my escrows, or an hour set up to. To deal with the maintenance guys that I have working on my cabins, whatever. Because I would frequently get asked, David, how Do you do all these things? I've got the one brokerage. We've got Coast Coast Real Estate. I've got Coast Coast Getaways. I have my own investments. I'm writing books. I'm recording podcasts. It's amazing how much you can get done when you just focus on what needs to be done and not everything else. Okay, so I would start conversations by, let's say I'm calling a handyman. I know the guy is a Southern boy that just likes to talk. Okay. I'd say, hey, insert whoever. Thanks for taking my call. I got 30 seconds before I gotta jump and head into recording. I just wanted to know. I know you're heading to fix the hot tub at this cabin. The guest said that the. The pilot light isn't working at the fireplace. Can you check that for me when you're there? Oh, yeah, that sounds good. And he might ask me a question. Do you know where the circuit breaker is? You know where the thing is? I would need to do that. What do you want me to do if the hot tub's bad? Hey, if that happens, give Angela a call. Or, hey, if that happens, send me a text. I can respond to you when I'm in my next meeting or whatever. And then if you think of anything, when we got off the phone, text me. I've given him clear instructions of how to communicate with me. I have not made him feel like he's not a priority, like he's not important. I actually went out of my way to make sure he was successful at what he did. But that is so much better than if I'm like, hey, man, what's going on? And he starts the long whatever, oh, we haven't talked in a while. He wants me to like him. So I keep giving him business. And I'm sitting there like, oh, no, this is going to crush me. I learned to do this working in restaurants. I would go to my table, and if they started talking to me and I couldn't get out of there and my food was up and I needed to run it, or I had to put the order in for someone else, or someone wanted more drinks, or there's a problem, and I'm stuck listening to this one person that wants to tell me their life story. So I'd walk up to them and say, hey, folks, I've got a second before I have to take some food to another table. Are you ready to order or do you need more time? And if they weren't ready, someone like, hey, let them go. And then they'd get refocused, and then I would go do the thing that was so much better than when I left it open. So this is one of the things that I've just learned with everyone. When I'm time crunched, I'm like, hey, man, I got about two minutes. And what I'd like to figure out is A, B, and C. Is now a good time to talk? I've never had a person that said, no, two minutes isn't enough time. They're always like, well, let's get what we can done. Here's what I really need from you. And I always end it with, send me a text if there's anything that comes up we couldn't send. Talk about. You get comfortable doing that, and you figure out you get a lot of time back. And I've yet to have a person that resents that I started the conversation like that.
- [35:39]
B
That's gold. That. That. That's fantastic. I'm definitely going to be implementing that myself, actually. Yep.
- [35:44]
A
Yeah, I would use that if I was you when I got, like, a rude tone from an expired listing, and you're like, you could just tell, oh, they don't want to talk to me. Hey, I understand that you don't like me. I'm a new person talking to you. I wouldn't like me either if I was you. Can I have 45 seconds of your time to tell you what I would like to do? And if you think that this doesn't work, I promise I'll let you go and I'll just wish you the best. Very few people are gonna be like, no, you can't have 45 seconds when you've been so straightforward. They're gonna be like, what? And then you're just like, I saw your houses expired. I assume you wanted to sell it. I'm really good at selling houses that other people couldn't sell. I'm not here to try to. To give you false promises or give you false hope. I think you'll like me and you'll like what I'm here to talk about. Can you just tell me why you think the house didn't sell, or can you tell me what your plans are with the house? As much as you're comfortable telling me people like that when they already didn't like you, and you're like, hey, I don't care that you don't like me. I'm here to help you. They're way more likely to talk to you versus, you know, you don't have to say that. If they do like you. But I think a lot of people get intimidated when they hear a rude tone. They shrink back, like, oh God, they don't like me. And then they stutter and they stumble and then the person now I don't like even more. You almost want to run into the discomfort and then they'll usually back off.
- [37:01]
B
Absolutely. I like that.
- [37:04]
A
Yeah. And I think you're going to do well with it. Last minute advice for the people listening. The realtors who want to have a better 26 than 2025, what do you have for them?
- [37:14]
B
Do the work. Seriously, buckle down. Take a look at your advertising budget, see what's actually converted, what hasn't converted. Look, you need to be. If you're spending money on leads, you need to be finding out which ones are actually converting, which aren't. Double down on the ones that are working. Cut your spending on the ones that are not. Show up, do the work, make the calls, be a good person and the business will follow.
- [37:39]
A
That's, that's great, man. If people want to reach out to you, learn more about you, give you a follow, where can they go?
- [37:44]
B
They can go to Chris Lloyd Underscore Real Estate. That's Lloyd, spelled Lloyd. That's on Instagram. You can also get me via email@chris lloyd.com.
- [37:59]
A
that sounds awesome. If you guys would like to hear us go live on YouTube, give me a follow at the David Green Show. If you're listening to this on Apple or Spotify, if you're not good, give us a follow there. Chris and I go live on YouTube sometimes in the evenings when you're coming home from work to talk about trending real estate news, lawsuits, what's going on in the industry, or sometimes if it's big economic news, we'll talk about that. Also, if you're a person of faith, I've got some free content coming out for you as well. Go check out the YouTube channel Spartan League 24 and give it a follow. There's no content yet, but it will be coming soon. And if you would like to join our free faith based mastermind, we meet every Wednesday night. Just send me a DM and say, hey, I want to hear about your faith group. There's no catch, there's no fee. We just want to get to know you better, to see what we can do to pour into you so you can have a better 2026 than 2025. Thank you guys all for listening. Thank you for being loyal David Green show supporters. We appreciate all of you and we want to get to know you better. If you guys want to talk to me, head over to davidgreen24.com and you can use the chat feature to connect with me and follow me on instagram @david green24. We'll see you guys next week on Real Talk.
- [39:06]
B
Realtors.