100. Become #1 on Google: Reviews & GLS Made Simple With Toni & David Zarghami

Summary

Episode Summary: The Millionaire Real Estate Agent Podcast

Episode 100: "Become #1 on Google: Reviews & GLS Made Simple With Toni & David Zarghami"
Host: Jason Abrams
Guests: Toni & David Zarghami
Release Date: September 15, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this milestone 100th episode, Jason Abrams sits down with Toni and David Zarghami of Sarasota, Florida—former teachers turned leading real estate agents—to unveil the precise systems and strategies behind their team's $160M annual success. The focus: how to dominate organic leads via Google, master the art of collecting and leveraging Google reviews, and effectively utilize Google Local Services (GLS). This conversation blends tactical models with authentic stories, demystifying digital marketing for agents aiming to be the default answer when clients search for “the best Realtor” in their market.

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1. Origins: From Teachers to Real Estate Power Couple

[02:12–06:11]

• Background: Both Toni and David started as teachers (Toni—4th grade, David—middle school math).
  • “When Toni was getting her real estate license, I was literally teaching sixth grade math…so commissions, percentages, fractions—I was working on it with the sixth graders.” – David [02:52]
• Entry to Real Estate: They began by flipping homes, which sparked their interest, but leaving secure teaching jobs for real estate was daunting.
  • “It’s a little scary, you know, to give up a thing called a salary and health insurance…so we kind of flipped a coin.” – Toni [03:10]
• Early Career: Toni went full-time first, quickly found success through mentorship, shadowing, and partnerships.
• Major Transition: After building a successful business in North Carolina, they relocated to Sarasota, FL, with no local database except Toni’s parents.
  • “Our database was two people: my mom and my dad, who were our second clients because we forced them to buy a house with us.” – Toni [06:03]
• The MREA Playbook: Discovering the Millionaire Real Estate Agent (MREA) book was a turning point.
  • “It just gives you a step-by-step playbook…of how to actually build a business and not have your first year in real estate over and over again.” – Toni [06:23]

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2. Division of Strengths: Finding Their “Lanes”

[06:52–09:40]

• The Zarghamis discovered their natural fit: Toni thrives as a listing agent; David excels with buyers.
  • "We specialized because, you know, three months later, one of us would be on the phone and hear the other one and go like, wow…because she went all in on just focusing on her piece of the craft." – David [07:01]
• They frame roles in terms of “flying different aircraft” (listing vs. buyer’s agent): totally distinct skills, both vital.
  • “If you can fly this airplane…that’s like putting you in a helicopter…the switches and everything are different.” – David [08:43]
  • “I think I’m a sole listing agent. I think with much less stress. Listings are hard, man.” – Toni [08:38]

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3. Google Reviews: Why They Matter and How They Unlock Growth

[11:31–18:28]

Why Reviews Are a Game-Changer

• Massive Differentiation: Toni's team has nearly 950 five-star Google reviews—far above local competitors.
  • “Most people, when they are looking for a real estate professional, are going to hop on the Google machine…and when you can pop up first and show 924 reviews, we get a ton of new relationships.” – Toni [11:31]
• Credibility Builder: Mentioning the reviews in conversations adds instant trust.
  • “If they haven’t noticed our reviews, we always kind of drop it in…People do it for restaurants and nurses…Why wouldn’t you do it when you’re buying a house?” – Toni [11:31]
• Real Impact: Both high-end and normal buyers use reviews.
  • “We’ve had some very nice multimillion dollar relationships come to us via reviews.” – David [14:26]

Debunking Review Myths

• Myth: Luxury clients don’t check reviews
  Reality: They do; the data proves it.
• Myth: “It’ll take forever to catch up.”
  • “We started our Google review four or five years ago…you’ve got to start somewhere.” – Toni [15:13]
• Myth: Fear of negative reviews.
  • "I love a bad review…so much more the way we respond to that review. Like, 'Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry that you had that experience, our owner is going to call you today and see.'" – Toni [16:08]
• Myth: Reviews only attract strangers, not referrals.
  • “People want to brag on you…Your sphere wants to help you out more than anybody. So start there.” – Toni [17:50]

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4. How-To: Step-by-Step Model for Google Reviews and Google Local Services (GLS)

[18:28–31:53]

Step 1: Build Your Google Business Profile

[18:39–21:00]

• Ensure:
  • Professional business address (not your home)
  • Professional photos
  • Correct phone number and office hours
  • Linked website
    • “If you don’t have a physical, we have an office…if you don’t, I would use your market center.” – David [19:17]
    • “If you don’t have a physical location that’s different than where you eat chicken, I think you have a problem.” – Jason [19:38]

Step 2: Register for Google Local Services (GLS)

[21:04–22:49]

• GLS gives a verified “thumbs up” badge.
• Involves license verification, mailing address, and Google checks.
  • “And then of course, Google, there’s a payment mechanism where Google monetizes this…as a GLS member, you are going to pay.” – David [21:44]

Step 3: Collect Reviews Consistently

[23:34–24:47]

• Focus on steady, weekly growth (not huge bursts).
  • “If you blast out to a thousand people like, oh my gosh, please write me a review, Google’s gonna recognize that…and they don’t like that either.” – Toni [24:02]
• Aim for organic accumulation: 2–5 reviews/week is ideal.

Step 4: Make It Easy & Personal for Clients

[25:10–27:33]

• Don’t ask for “a review”—ask clients to “share their experience.”
  • “We say, would you mind sharing your experience of working with Zarghami Group? We talk about these and we show them every week at our team meeting.” – Toni [25:10]
• Text a direct, shortened link (they use zgfeedback.com)—3-click process.
• Encourage written feedback, not just star ratings, and ask for specifics.

Step 5: Respond and Celebrate

[29:18–30:40]

• Respond to every review within 24 hours (positive or negative).
• Highlight reviews in team meetings, text them back to clients as gratitude, and build team culture.
  • “We shared it in team meeting. This is amazing…Our agents get all like, oh, it’s such a, like, culture builder to be sharing these.” – Toni [30:40]

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5. Maximizing Google Local Services for Leads

[31:53–33:55]

• Phone leads from GLS are exponentially more valuable than generic internet leads.
  • “The conversion rate on these is insane…80 plus percent.” – David & Toni [33:18]
• Cost per GLS lead in Sarasota is ~$40–$60 per call—but worth every penny.
  • “We have our credit card with Google on wide open. Take as much as you want. Yes, there’s no budget.” – David [33:41]
• Calls are routed to available team members, not just one person, to ensure every call is answered.

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6. Pricing Listings in a Shifting Market

[34:10–37:10]

• Listing strategy: Use honest data, candor, and empathy.
  • “So help me understand…how your property is $75,000 more in value-adding features than all of these that we just reviewed.” – Toni [34:27]
• Consistently update sellers on Tuesday calls with market changes and feedback.
• Always discuss “Plan B” from the first week on market.
  • “If the market is not strong enough to get you that number, what’s our plan B?” – Toni [35:39]
• “Every single home is either priced to sell theirs or price to help everybody else sell.” – Jason quoting Cody Gibson [36:48]

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7. Building Business and a Marriage: The Zarghamis’ Partnership Model

[37:12–40:06]

• Emphasize alignment on family and mission over everything.
  • “It’s hard to be in business with your spouse. It’s also my favorite thing, and I wouldn’t have it any other way…We’re trying to set that example for our kids that we do hard things and we fail forward.” – David [37:56]
• Keys for success:
  • Define clear roles (“stay in your lanes”)
  • Separate business partner discussions from personal ones
    • “Your husband is coming down to get you. Not your CEO…We have learned to have business partner conversations that are very different than husband and wife conversations.” – Toni [39:22]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I love a bad review because I feel like that means that this is authentic…So much of it is how you respond.” – Toni [16:08]
• “Be on the market or be in the market.” – Toni [36:48]
• “Don’t read too much into what they choose to write or not, because they have different personality and communication styles. But we want to prompt them to be a gusher as much as we can.” – David [29:18]
• “If you don’t have a physical location that’s different than where you eat chicken, I think you have a problem.” – Jason [19:38]
• “We have our credit card with Google wide open. Take as much as you want.” – David [33:41]

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Key Takeaways for Real Estate Entrepreneurs

• Google reviews are the new referral. Start now, be consistent, and make it systematic.
• GLS is a goldmine when combined with robust reviews. Conversion rates are exponentially higher.
• Respond to every review—positive or negative. Public responses show professionalism.
• Divide and conquer with your partner or team. Clear roles amplify both business success and personal harmony.
• Consistent, honest, and empathetic communication with clients is non-negotiable—especially with listings.

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Recommended Action Steps (Podcast Model Recap)

[40:30]

1. Set up a professional Google business profile (not your home address).
2. Register with Google Local Services (GLS).
3. Start collecting reviews—consistently.
4. Reply to every review within 24 hours.
5. Celebrate reviews internally and with your clients.
6. Use your reviews as social proof for every new relationship.

“It’s an easy model. It has never been more important.” – Jason [40:30]

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For Aspiring Agents

Jason closes by reminding listeners: The systems and habits you put in place today are the engines of a bigger business and a better life.

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Missed the notes? Visit mrEAnotes.com for the full playbook and PDF model, or zgfeedback.com to see the Zarghamis’ review link in action.

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End of Episode Summary

Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Welcome back to another episode of the Millionaire Real Estate Agent podcast. I'm Jason Abrams and this is the place where we lift the curtain on the world of real estate like never before. Every week I sit down with visionaries, pirates and mavericks. We're here to document, demonstrate, and most importantly, demystify their game changing models and systems. What secrets propel them to the top and how are they living their dreams? This is about passion. It's about strategy. But above all, it's about real, tangible success. So buckle up and let's dive in. This is the Millionaire Real Estate Agent podcast. You know, they say that being married is a challenge. But friends, how about being married for 20 years, working together for 15 years and building an absolutely incredible company? That's not a challenge, that's a calling. You're about to hear from two former teachers turned real estate entrepreneurs. They are a perennial $160 million a year team hailing from Sarasota, Florida. I am talking about David and Tony Zaragami. Friends, they are going to tell us exactly how to get organic leads from Google and how to master the Google reviews. Now you need to hear this conversation because as the world moves towards AI, you're gonna want to be there. When people ask their system, who's the number one real estate agent in blank market, they know the answer. We are gonna talk all things Google location services, all things Google reviews, and all things listing and pricing. Friends, this is a wide ranging conversation. Sit back and buckle up. This is David and Tony Zargami. David and Tony Zargami, gang, how are you?

[B]

Fantastic.

[C]

Yeah, thanks for having us.

[A]

Yeah, I'm thrilled to have you. So I ask everybody, everyone know. I'm going to ask you the same question. How did you end up in the greatest industry in the world? Tony, take it away.

[C]

So David and I used to be teachers. I was a fourth grade teacher, he was a middle school teacher.

[A]

Stop the tape. I had no idea that you all were teachers in the past you taught fourth grade.

[C]

Fourth grade. And David was a middle school math teacher.

[A]

Can we just talk middle school math? So I got a 12 year old. I looked at it the other day, my friend. Between the prime numbers and the this and the that.

[C]

Oh, I tapped out.

[A]

He just needed to buy a giant like Texas instrument calculator.

[B]

Oh, yeah, that's scary. I'll tell you that. When Toni was getting her real estate license, I was literally teaching sixth grade math. And the math was the same. So commissions, percentages, fractions, decimals. I was working on it with the sixth Graders.

[C]

Tony was studying his, helping me work on it because. Yeah, yeah, it's fascinating.

[A]

It worked out okay. So, Tony, back to. You have teacher hearts.

[C]

Yeah. And I think that carries forward in our real estate business. But we love HGTV just like the next person. And we thought, like, maybe we should flip a house. That seems fun. People are doing that. So David joined an investing group. We started kind of buying houses, renovating them, selling them, and got a little bit of the real estate bug and figured, you know, if we loved renovating them and fixing them and selling them, maybe I can do that. But it's a little scary, you know, to give up a thing called a salary and health insurance. So we kind of flipped a coin, in a sense to say, well, who's going to get into real estate first?

[A]

So you flipped the coin, Tony. You either won or lost, but either.

[C]

Way, I don't know how that story goes. Yeah. I became the real estate agent. It was really fun. I wound up joining the office where my real estate school was because I didn't know, you know, any better and kind of took off pretty quickly. I found a couple of great mentors that let me follow them around and shadow them. Found a great lender partner that helped me understand this business. And thank you. Taught for one more year after that and said, let's go all in and do this together. So David got licensed right after I did.

[A]

What happens next? Do you have instant success?

[C]

Yeah. It's so funny looking back, it feels a little bit like we did, but it was all the working, you know, 80 hours a week and open houses every weekend and all of the things. So 17 years later, it feels like it came pretty easy. But I'm sure there was a ton of work that went into it.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, Tony, you know, had that other hockey stick situation, and she tried to keep her other job and, you know, get into real estate. And then of course, at two months in, clear that she had to burn the boat and, you know, just charge into this thing. And so she did. She went all in, built out some builder relationships. She ended up being on billboards, and she was the top five agent in this market that was a smaller market. We didn't know at the time, but yeah, so she had great success within five years, going from zero to a very established real estate professional. But then. Yes.

[A]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's my favorite part of every real estate story.

[B]

So Tony's family had moved to Florida. We were in North Carolina. Our son was born. We had a vision for raising our kid with a family structure. And we couldn't get her parents to leave Sarasota, Florida. So we were flying down. They were flying up. We had this, what felt in our mind like golden handcuffs of a very successful real estate call to practice because we were solo practitioners. And so we had to have a reckoning, was like, could we do this again? Could we go be successful in a different market? That felt incredibly scary because you get all the limiting beliefs in your head. Like, maybe we just were in the right place at the right time and we got a good.

[C]

Can't recreate this.

[B]

Right, yeah, recreate it. So that was exactly when we found Keller Williams. Exactly when we picked up the first copy of mrea and we decided to sell that business there, move down to Florida in 2013, and start from scratch. And we started it with the team model.

[C]

And here we are talking to you. Yeah. 13 years later.

[A]

I actually didn't know that part of the story. I didn't realize that this $160 million a year juggernaut that you built, you didn't build it from a giant database because you both, like, grew up in the area.

[C]

No, our database was two people, my mom and my dad, who were our second clients because we forced them to buy a house with us. So, no, we literally knew my mom and my dad in this town.

[A]

So when you read mrea, because any time. And I never ask about it, but it ends up coming up in every single interview we do. And I always say, what was it about the book? When you read it, what happened? And what was your aha?

[C]

When we were in North Carolina and doing real estate, our offices were next to each other and I had an assistant and David had an assistant, and we just did our thing. And he'd say, babe, what are you doing today? And I'd say, oh, I have a closing. And he'd say, great. Like he didn't know I had a closing. We were not running a business. We were having the same year in real estate over and over again. And then when we moved here and we found Keller Williams and read the mrea, it just gives you a step by step playbook that no one else told us of. How to actually build a business and not have your first year in real estate over and over again.

[B]

Exactly. And then the thing that happened when we first got here, because we didn't have any administrative help yet, it was just the two of us. So I think we got down. It took us six months to take a listing. You know, we were burning through cash. It was scary, it was stressful. And it was one of my, I think, like our second listing. And I was talking to this person and I noticed when Tony would have a conversation, she would move on. When I would have a conversation with the seller, I was carrying this thing and we kind of had some self realization that you're better at just having these difficult, direct conversations, telling people what they need to hear. I prefer to kind of hold a buyer's hand and, you know, skip through the meadow and, you know, do the warm fuzzy. So we're like, okay, you're a listing agent and I'm a buyer's agent. And the magic I always tell the story happened when we specialized because, you know, three months later, one of us would be on the phone and hear the other one and go like, wow, that she's really good. Because she went all in on just focusing on her piece of the craft. And I did the same. And that's kind of been the foundation of building out our whole team. And we've gone all in on this beautiful Keller Williams model of how to identify talent and put the right person in the right seat on the bus so that they're going to thrive in their role and be fulfilled by it. And that's been our mission with this team, is how do we get the best, most amazing people doing the thing that they love and are best at. And that's the magic formula.

[A]

I love that. I want to stay with that, though, for a second, David, because when I talk to real estate agents that are coming up, there seems to be listing agent envy, which is there's this idea like I'm less than because I'm a buyer's agent. My whole life should be about becoming a listing agent. And I want to preface this with we generate leads for listings. We know that from the book. But buyers and representing them, that's as much of a calling, David, as anything else. And you can make an incredible amount of money.

[C]

I think I'm a sole listing agent. I think with much less stress. Listings are hard, man. Yeah.

[B]

And I firmly believe they're two different skill sets. We all have ego and we all like to say, I can do everything. And that's true. But can you go be great? Tom Brady doesn't play offensive line or didn't. Right. World class in one position. Not very good at all if you put him in a different position. And I think in our team, we actually talk about aircraft and we say, if you can fly this airplane, you know, they're a buyer's agent, but you want to be a listing agent. That's like putting you in a helicopter. Like, you still have flight dynamics at play. However, the switches and everything are different, you know, and you really need to understand, do I want to do that? And I need to stretch my brain in a whole different way. And so, yeah, I believe I talk to my team all the time because we do feel that listing agent envy. And we create a path where they can get. We call it certified. Just like you fly this aircraft now, you can fly that one. But it's not for everyone. And I remind them, like, this is not the path. You know, a lot of people will go to it and get certified, and then they'll realize, like, yeah, you're right. I don't like that. And they'll come back and, you know, play in the space that makes them feel good.

[A]

Yeah, I love it. For the record, I think Tom Brady can play any position on any field in any sport.

[C]

That said, that is fair.

[A]

Friends, this is the moment. You know what happens on this show. We are about to unpack a model, so you don't have to take the notes. I'm taking the notes. If you're bombing down the highway in a brand new Escalade, which I love the front of the new Escalade Cadillac, you finally got it right. I know you listened to the show because you emailed me the other day. Thank you. And you nailed it. We are going to get into a model. If you don't get the notes, then I need you to go to MrEanotes.com that's MrEanotes.com they come out every Thursday as a PDF. Trust me, you need them. We're about to unpack this model, but I want to unpack another one for you really quickly. It's called the Jason Abrams Vacation Model. The world's best real estate podcast partnered with the world's best vacation rental company. Here's how it works. You are going to go to MrEanotes.com Airbnb and you're going to sign up. Friends. It's only for real estate agents and it's free. Once you sign up, you're going to get access to localized market data about rentals in your area so that you can start talking to your homeowners about the opportunity. You're also gonna get invited to a webinar. And here's the coolest part. If you decide to refer out any of your clients, they're gonna pay you a referral fee. Friends, it's a win Win, win. You can't go wrong. MrEanotes.com Airbnb gang, this business is driven by many things, but we cannot underestimate the power of, of having 946, five star Google reviews, because that's a big deal. So, Tony, I want to start with you first. Why does it matter and how does it show up in the actual business having all these reviews?

[C]

Yeah, it's such a big deal on our team and we spend a lot of time focusing on it because most people, when they are looking for a real estate professional, are going to hop on the Google machine and all of a sudden chatgpt and they're saying, who is the best Realtor in Sarasota, Florida? And when you can pop up first and show 924 reviews, we get a ton of new relationships into our atmosphere because people already know, like will trust us because of the number of five star reviews. People do it for restaurants and nurses and to go get a pedicure. And so when you can show up with that amount of confidence behind you, it's amazing. We also talk to our real estate partners. When someone calls in, if they haven't noticed our reviews, we always kind of drop it in. Like, you may have noticed our almost 950 five star reviews on Google because then that new person, we'll go do that and be like, oh, it's such a credibility builder. It's been a long time working on it and it's been a game changer in the amount of new relationships brought into our world by people Googling us and seeing that. And 900 and almost 950 is amazing. So much of it is about like the differentiation because if we have 950 but another real estate team has 2,000, it's not helping. But if we've got 950 and the next one has 100, it's a big differentiator. When people are trying to find someone to help them buy and sell real estate.

[A]

Does it come up, Tony, in conversation, does anyone ever mention it to you.

[C]

About our Google reviews? Yeah, almost every time we have a new relationship.

[A]

Get out of here. I don't believe it. I don't believe it.

[C]

Yeah, a lot of times it's very simple as, hey, I googled best Realtor in Sarasota and you guys came up at the top. I did it six different times. You were at the top every single time.

[B]

I'll say.

[A]

You're everywhere.

[C]

You're everywhere. That's another thing that we hear, which is great. We are everywhere. And then when you get into relationship with people and it's, you know, your listing conversation or you've been out driving around looking at houses for a couple of weeks and together like, hey, I noticed your Google reviews. It organically comes up a lot.

[B]

Well, the other place you'll see it is if you read our reviews. People will reference our reviews in our reviews. And so they'll tell the story of how they were searching for a real estate professional. They found us online via a Google or an AI search and they read our reviews and they felt they could trust us. And then they came in and then they did, and it was a phenomenal experience, etc. Etc. So, you know, that tells a story that people. And then I love that because it reinforces to the next person who's doing their search that yes, these reviews are legit and you can trust them and you'll be pleased.

[A]

Okay, well then, David, I want to stay with you on this for a second. I want to talk about the myths around the Google review. Because, friends, if you're listening, we've been preaching, go get your Google reviews now for more than two years. And no, not enough of you are doing it. And I just want to remind you, in the generative engine optimization world, which is how do I show up when someone asks their AI reviews is going to play a big part. But I think some myths keep people from starting. David, myth number one, reviews are great for small ticket items like restaurants and whether I'm going to get the cheese fries. But wealthy people in expensive homes, they're not looking at reviews. Your thoughts?

[B]

Data would prove otherwise. We've had some very nice price points that we have here in Sarasota. We're a waterfront luxury community, so we've had some very nice multimillion dollar relationships come to us via reviews. So, you know, you could follow logic and say, you know, someone of that level of success is going to have their team of advisors and they're going to work that network. And sometimes that's certainly the case, but you know, there's always gaps. There's always someone that doesn't have that thing or that person or someone wants information now. And we're just all trained to jump on our phones and search up an answer. And if, you know the, if the data online backs it up and they feel there's credibility, even people at that caliber of success will trust the resource.

[A]

The second one is, it's gonna take too long. I don't have any today. It's gonna take me a hundred years. To get to a thousand Tony, what do you tell me?

[C]

Well, it might, but when is the best time to plant a tree? That whole thing. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. We started our Google review four years ago. Four or five. Four or five years ago we started paying attention to this and we're at almost 950 in a five year span. Doesn't Gary Keller say you can be a totally different person in five years? You can build your Google reviews in five years. You've got to start somewhere. And I also think sometimes people that have a good number, they may drop off or retire. So don't feel like it's a game you can't win or something that you can't become first or second or third in, but you got to start somewhere.

[B]

Yeah. If it was a race car analogy, you might not get the pole position right away, but you're going to be picking people off along the way. And that's the nice part. Because there's so many realtors in any given marketplace, adding five or ten reviews can probably jump you past a whole bunch of people.

[C]

Consistency.

[A]

I love that. The next one I hear is as soon as I start encouraging people to give me a review, I'm going to get some. Even if I'm great that give me bad ones. I'd rather not take the risk of getting any.

[C]

I love a bad review. I love a bad review because I feel like that means that this is authentic. And we didn't ask my mom to write 900 reviews. They're very authentic. And we had a review come in. I think it was two or three stars one time. It's so much more the way we, we respond to that review. Like, oh my goodness, I'm so sorry that you had that experience. Our owner is going to call you today and see because. So I think so much of it is how you respond to that review. So I think two and three star reviews sprinkled in there are fantastic.

[B]

Or one.

[C]

Yeah. Or one star. Yeah. Because it shows that you're real, they're authentic reviews and how you respond matters. We're not perfect. We're going to make mistakes. Clients are going to be upset. How you respond to those and show up. That matters.

[B]

Absolutely.

[C]

Every now.

[B]

And you study, you know, the best models of customer service brands like the Ritz, for example, they have whole systems built around when something doesn't go right, when someone's displeased and then they turn that negative into they plus it. Not only do they fix it, but they one up it and make the customer glad that the thing happened, you know, and so that's our mindset around when one of those comes in, there's going to be a phone call, we're going to have a conversation. You know, there's some interesting folks out there that you come in contact with and sometimes you can get some very unreasonable stuff. But I think people generally understand that about humans. And so if someone blasts you and they're just sounding unreasonable and you know, and you have a very professional response that shows this professional group is a reasonable group that care about people. But you can't please everyone. And I think people understand that.

[A]

Okay. And then finally, the number one myth and the number one reason people tell us they don't do it. Their business is based on soi. They're getting repeat and referral. And reviews are only for strangers. Do you find that any of the people that mention your reviews are in your database?

[C]

Absolutely. I think it's like a gift because people want to brag on you, your friends and your family and your sphere of influence. They want to say great things about you. So giving them the gift and the platform of where to do that, like don't make it about yourself. And I don't want to do this. Let them say great things about you. I think your sphere wants to help you out more than anybody. So start there. Build your reviews with your sphere. That's fantastic.

[B]

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that. And then you're just demonstrating with a plaque on the digital wall that I work with wonderful people who trust me and think I'm great. And there's going to be strangers who are going to be attracted to that. And if you don't want them, send them to us or another agent in your market. Let me pay you a referral.

[A]

It's so good. All right, David, tell me exactly how to do this. I'm starting tomorrow. I got no reviews. Walk me through it like I'm a cocker spaniel or a seven year old.

[B]

Okay, so you need to set up your Google account. You need to have your Google business profile. You need to make sure that's correct and accurate and it's got your hours of operation in your correct physical location, your office and your website, some photos, you know, put the time into setting that up correctly. Then you need to register for Gls.

[A]

Hang on, I'm going back to number one. Stay with me for a second. So I'm going to go set up my Google business profile. And you rattled off a list of Things you said, make sure the address is right. Put some photos, give me the hacks. Like if you could go back in time, save me the trouble of making every mistake you've seen. What sort of photos do I want to put in? What's important information?

[B]

I mean, it's pretty straightforward. And, you know, I wouldn't put your house right. You know, it's going to map to your location. If you don't have a physical, we have an office space here that's got its own address, but if you don't, I would use your market center.

[A]

Well, you laugh about that, but I hear all the time from some of my friends at digital companies that it's really difficult to not have a standing place of doing business.

[C]

Yeah. Use your market center address. Yeah.

[A]

Because the minute you use your house, the consumer actually discounts you as a business owner.

[B]

Yeah. I drive around in my car all the time and the screen is showing me the Google map and it's pulling up realtor names in these residential neighborhoods. And so I see it's a house. Tom Jones with such and such realty. And it's his house, I truly believe.

[A]

And it isn't a knock on anybody, but if you don't have a physical location for doing business that's different than the physical location where you eat chicken, I think you have a problem. If you're gonna use the Internet and try to do SEO, CEO and geo.

[B]

Yeah. I wouldn't trust a doctor that only worked out of his or her house or a surgeon or an attorney.

[A]

You know, I've seen movies about that sort of thing.

[C]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[A]

So I set up my Google business profile. It's filled in. I have professional photos. I have a professional business address. I have my professional business phone number. What's next?

[B]

Website, of course. Yep. All the credibility pieces so that when people find you via the Google, they say, okay, this is a real business. This isn't just someone doing a side hustle.

[A]

When you've spent a lot of time on your business's website, is there one or two things that you think is mandatory for a website for an agent out there?

[B]

I think the key is a clear value prop, a clear call to action. A clear, you know, something that matches. If people are going to Google you or find you or hear about you or see that you're signing the yard and then they stumble upon your website, does it convey that same message as their consistency with whatever that message happens to be?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Got it. Okay. Love it. I got all that stuff set up. What's Step two.

[B]

So step two, you're going to register with Google for their GLS program, which is a Google Local Services or Google Local Screen. The terminology changes, but it's basically a process by which you have to jump through a few extra hoops to prove to Google so that Google can say, yeah, we checked them out and they're legit. And it does involve, you know, them verifying your license and some other things. It's not a very difficult process, but a few extra hoops that you have to jump through and wait for some approvals on Google's end.

[A]

You're the first person that we've interviewed on reviews to tell me that step. And so walk me through. Why does it matter whether I just start getting reviews or I'm actually registered with GLS again?

[B]

So this was a layer that Google added in where before in the old days, right, you could just type in Google and it would play the sponsor game and who was the best money, who had the best SEO. And Google said, well, hey, we can actually do better and we can monetize this better if we tell the public, like, we'll check them out for you and we'll give you the Google thumbs up. And that's what GLS is, is the Google thumbs up or the blue check mark or whatever you want to call it. And then of course, Google, there's a payment mechanism where Google monetizes this because as a GLS member, you are going to pay. So you're going to set a budget with Google and say, we are willing to spend X. You know, every time someone clicks here and calls based on you telling them that we were worthwhile.

[A]

Well, and friends, this is big business. I was reading the quarterly report. I think it was about 3 billion that Google generated through pay per click last year. So they have this down to a science. I want you to know though, in my mind, the reviews, Tony and David, the reviews are the key to getting people to click on my GLS so that I start getting incoming leads. Do I have that right?

[B]

You do. So a couple of things we've talked about the hoops to jump through to get on there. That's a positive step. But a lot of your competitors are doing the same thing. And so then Google says, great, well now we have 500 or 6,000 or whatever the number is in your market of people that we've checked and we give them the thumbs up. So how the heck does a consumer decide or choose so they have limited information there to go ahead and make their choice and So a huge differentiator is the reviews. And more important than a raw number is how your reviews compare to your competitors in your market, who are also showing up.

[C]

Up.

[A]

Okay, so that then brings me to step three. So I've went and I've set up my business profile. I'm registered, and they've checked my blood type and my fingerprints, and I'm all good on gls, but so is everybody else that spent the hour doing it. What's step three?

[B]

Pump up those reviews. Start getting as much as you can.

[C]

Start.

[B]

Getting your reviews consistently is huge. There is another component about GLS which has to do with answering the calls. Google doesn't want to look bad when they say, hey, so and so real estate is Google approved. And then they call you and it goes to your voicemail. You don't like that live? Yeah, that actually dings against you. So you need to have a system and a plan in place if you're going to do this. How do I make sure I grab those phone calls every time they ring?

[C]

Also, when you're doing Google is very smart. If you blast out to a thousand people like, oh my gosh, please write me a review, Google's going to recognize you're doing that, and they don't like that either. So you have to organically be getting the same amount of reviews week after week. Our team gets between two and five reviews every week, which is amazing. But if all of a sudden I, oh, I was teaching a class, Jason, I didn't ask for it, but a bunch of people hopped on and gave me a review, and Google hated that, and they took away like 30 of our reviews. So it's a bit of a game. So you have to build it consistently and be getting this. If Our team got 20 every week, Google would know that and they'd let them through. But consistent, same number of reviews every week will get you there faster than, like, the shotgun approach of trying to get everyone at one time. Google will not allow that.

[A]

That's such a great piece right there, Tony. Thank you very much. Walk me through. Cause you say pump up the reviews. I love that. Keep in mind, if I'm bombing down the highway right now, I have no idea how to start. I don't know how to ask. I don't know who to ask. I find this weird and embarrassing. I'm gonna call my mom after this podcast and ask her to leave me one. But that's my mom. How do I do this and not come off like a giant ne?

[C]

So one of the things That I do is I call all of our clients and I don't ask them for a review. And I think about, have you ever been to Home Depot? Which I love, but Home Depot, you get your receipt printed out and the kids like, here's a link for a review and they give you a receipt. I'm not going to do that.

[B]

You could win $5,000.

[C]

Yeah, I'm never going to do that. But if I got great service at Home Depot and the person that helped me for a half an hour pick out my new washing machine said, hey, would you mind sharing your experience of working with me? It would mean a lot personally to me. We actually share these at our weekly team meetings. I get a shout out in front. I 100% will do that for that person because they added value to my life and because they asked about sharing the experience. So we don't just say can you send a review? We say, would you mind sharing your experience of working with Zaragami Group? We talk about these and we show them every week at our team meeting. And I'd love to be able to share your great experience of buying a house with us and also shout out our agents that helped you through it. And so as asking about the experience is huge. And we just have a link, we send them. So we've made a link that we text them, it goes directly to Google. It makes it very. They don't have to go find it or take extra steps, text them the link, they just click and spend 45 seconds.

[A]

Okay, well the link is a key piece of this because if you just tell someone to go give you a review, it's like an eight step process that involves even searching. So David, walk me through this quote unquote link. How did you build it and what does it do?

[B]

Oh, it's the easiest thing in the world. So yeah, you're right. The process with Google is they have to Google you. Find your Google my business profile, click on it, scroll down to the right spot, click that button to leave a review. And then that brings up the image we all know which is the five blank stars where they click how many stars they want to fill in. And then there's a blank text box, they don't have to type anything. But we'll come back to that one because it's important that they do. So we just took that URL, which is a big clunky, ugly thing, and we just bought a vanity domain. In our case it's our team is Zaragami group. So it's zg feedback.com. you know, we don't expect them to remember that. So we'll just text it to them. And like Tony just said, she'll say, I'm, you know, as soon as we hang up, I'm going to text you a link. You can click it. And so it's literally three clicks. They click that link once. It's the stars and the text box and we make it as easy as possible. The one caveat is that Google has to know who they are and so they have to be registered. You know, they have. Most people these days seems like have a Gmail account.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Or something. But once in a while you'll come across a person, they're like, oh, I don't have a Gmail. Google, I don't have it. I'm not in Google system. And then you have an opportunity to help them advance their technological prowess.

[A]

I'm giving you a review as we speak. So as soon as I typed it in, gang, this was easy. I typed in and then it brought up the five stars. I then have this little text box. Why does it matter? As I'm typing in the text box, David, why does that matter?

[B]

So people don't have to leave any written text. You know, if they're just being quick and they're, oh, she asked me nice, I'll do it, you know, and they hit your five stars and it goes in. It counts for your raw number, David.

[A]

It's letting me add a photo. So that's the photo you're watching.

[C]

That's for you guys driving down the road. This is.

[B]

Yes. And so. So a review with just stars and no text description will bump up your number. So it's positive when we get these on our team and we joke about it because it's always a little like they couldn't. Couldn't say anything, but it still helps. We'll take them. It just bumps those to the bottom of the pile. And obviously Google's not going to show those to people, but it does help your number. So it's better than nothing. But like Tony described asking them, you know, people don't quite understand what a review looks like. They don't necessarily know. Know that it's helpful for you to explain all the things your agent did to get over all these different obstacles and challenges. They might think that's wasting time and energy. So we love to lean into that and say, please share your experience. And sometimes you can prompt them a little bit. Would you mind mentioning about the low appraisal? The low appraisal or the credit that we got or the way we handle this or that, because you can coach them up a little bit. And what we find is you get gushers. You know, we have people that will go on for paragraphs. And not every client that we work with is as articulate and verbal and, you know, sometimes times you could do an awesome experience, and they write, you know, Sarah was cool, you know, and then you're like, okay, we'll take it. Thank you. And the next person will go on for four paragraphs about every single detail that Angie did in helping her with the process. And so I always remind my agents, like, don't read too much into what they choose to write or not, because they have different, you know, personality and communication styles. But we want to prompt them to be a gusher as much as we can.

[A]

So I posted my review with a photo of me here. Right. But as soon as I did it. Now I'm looking at your reviews, and I'm the newest one, by the way. I just gave it a heart. I thought it was brilliant. I wrote, these guys are the best. They crush it in every way and wake up every day and only work to get better. But the minute that I submitted, someone commented on it on your team. Here's what it says. Hey, Jason, thank you so much for the enthusiastic review. Your kind words mean a lot to our team. We're always striving to improve and give our best every single day. We truly appreciate the support. Oh, my gosh, Number one, how did that happen so quickly? And does that matter?

[C]

Yes, it does matter. Because when you leave a review and then someone instantly or I think it's within 24 hours, we work to do that, will pop on and say, thank you. That means a lot. So, yes, we respond to every single review. And another piece, too, is if you are a team leader that is listening and you have a whole market center, I would encourage you during your team meetings to ask your agents to send in their inventory. Do a segment of your team meeting where you are sharing the reviews. Because then what we do is we take a picture of it on our iPhone and I text it to my client and say, jason, thank you so much for this review. We shared it in teaming. This is amazing. If you're a team owner like we are, and you do your own team meetings, it's such a big part of our meeting. Everyone cheers and claps. Our agents get all like, oh, it's such a, like, culture builder to be sharing these. It's amazing.

[B]

And I would encourage you to think of this whole Google review system as if someone just came to your office and sat there quietly and just watched you work. How do you interact with people? How do you communicate? When something's great, what does that sound like? When something doesn't go well, what does that sound like? And that's why the responses matter so much, because the majority of them are really positive. But you still take the time to acknowledge their experience and thank you for that feedback. It means the world to us. And then of course, sometimes, like you mentioned, what about the person that goes on and blasts you for this or that? That is an even better opportunity to show the potential customers, clients of the future, how you respond when something doesn't go smoothly. And that matters so much.

[A]

I think it's brilliant. I love it. So I'm setting up my Google business profile. I'm registering with gls. I'm making sure that I'm now consistently, every single week getting reviews. Not like a huge blast and then a drop off, but consistency. I'm replying to Every review within 24 hours and then I'm highlighting the review to the person who left it and giving gratitude for them doing it. Is that it?

[C]

You nailed it. It's so simple and such an amazing step to build culture, to build credibility, to share with your clients because now you can share back gratitude. It's just, it's amazing. GLS and Google reviews are amazing. We're so passionate about them.

[A]

I love it. Let's talk math. So you mentioned that as people click on your Gls, they click on the little phone icon. Your phone rings, talk to me about money.

[B]

And you answer it.

[A]

You answer the phone, and you answer the phone. What's the range? Because I know it changes every day and it's gonna be different in every market, but can you give me any sor of guidance?

[B]

I believe in our world it's something like 40 to $60 a phone call.

[A]

Hang on a second. 40 to $60? I mean, I can buy like 70% of a new Nintendo game for that. This has to be incredible because people will say to me, jay, I'm buying Internet leads on my CRM at $8 a piece. But the quality is not the same. David.

[B]

No, Our team trips for themselves. They trip over themselves to answer these calls, phone calls. Because think about the, what went into this phone ring? A human had to go and say, all right, I don't have a real estate connection that I trust. And like. So I'm going to ask Google the next best thing. Google, who's good in this area. And they're in real estate agent search mode. So many of our people are in house mode and we have to intersect with them. But in this case, they're looking for a human agent to represent them and guide them to buy or to sell. We get them for both sides and they've done their research, they've found their way to us, they've read reviews and they've decided to call. And so unless we cuss at them on that initial phone call, which is not in our policies, it's ours to lose. So you've already got the credibility because they called.

[C]

The conversion rate on these is insane.

[B]

Fantastic.

[C]

Fantastic.

[A]

Give me a number.

[B]

Oh, 80 plus percent. I mean, the only reason we don't is that they're not actually going to buy or sell.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Or, you know, you do get a mix of some silly stuff where they were looking for a painter, you know, and I don't know why that happens sometimes. And Google will, now that they have AI, they'll listen to the call and strip it out and they won't. And they won't charge you for that. But listen, Jason, we have our credit card with Google on wide open.

[C]

Take as much as you want.

[B]

Yes. There's no budget. And I encourage you, and that's an important thing too, is take as much GLS as you can get because there's such gold and you're limited by the flow of searches in your marketplace. So in our position, we couldn't buy enough of these.

[C]

A little secret sauce too, Jason, is that when a GLS phone call comes in, it rings our agent, partners on our team. It doesn't just ring my phone or David's phone because it has, has to be answered. So the way we have it set up is it rings our partners that are available to take those calls. So we make sure we answer them.

[A]

I think it's absolutely brilliant. All right, I want to switch gears, Tony. In three minutes or less. The world is changing, the market is changing. There's less deals happening, there's more deals falling out. You're a listing agent. Talk to me about pricing strategies. How do you explain it to a.

[C]

Seller with a lot of care and a lot of candor? I think a lot of our sellers in our market, because our market is down, prices are down, inventory is the highest that we see it, they think the market is different than it is. So you really have to know your data, but you cannot just throw data at their face. They have to know that you care so, so much of it is in your delivery of this. But one of my favorite things I've been doing lately is you go through your market analysis and you see that there's three active listings at 550,000, there's two pending that were listed at 500 and there's four sales at 475. Market value is 475. So when your seller wants to go in and price at 550, you calmly and pleasantly say to them, I get it, Jason, I understand. We definitely want to get you top dollar for your property. From what actual buyers in today's market are paying is 475. You'd like to price at 550. That's a $75,000 difference. So help me understand you know your property better than I do. Help me understand how Your property is $75,000 more and value adding features than all of these that we just reviewed.

[A]

It's elegant and yet I still know that some people are still going to say, doesn't matter, that's where I want to price. How are you talking to your people as the house sits on the market?

[C]

Here's my least favorite part of my job is Tuesdays because every Tuesday I call my active sellers and have a conversation and I hate it because they want to know what am I doing? Why am I not selling. It's my fault somehow, just because I'm the closest to it and I'm the real estate agent. So what's really cool about our Tuesday calls is we send them a new market update and say, look, three of your neighbors went pending, but they were listed 25,000 less or they had just done a price adjustment. So we need so having that what your neighborhood is doing is really important. And then a little bit of the takeaway too. Like Jason, I understand that you want to sell at 550. What's our plan B if the market is not strong enough to get you that number. So asking about plan B is really powerful. And it's not if I can't get you 550 and it's not what Tony thinks, thinks it should be listed. It is always if the market is not strong enough to get you that number. What's our plan B? I think we need to be talking about it. I start that on week one of being active on the market. We start talking about plan B.

[A]

You know Cody Gibson, who is the president of the Keller Williams coaching company Maps, it's the largest one in the world. And what he said the other day, he said every single home is either priced to sell theirs or price to help everybody else sell.

[C]

I am going to use that. But we talk about being. It's in the shift book. Being on the market or being in the market. So, Jason, we've gotten 20 showings. We have not seen an offer. The marketing's working. We are on the market. What we need to do is we need to adjust to get in the market to be one of the 400 contracts that our market writes every single week. So we don't need to be on. We need to be in not one.

[B]

Of the 300 homes that expire and come off.

[C]

Not one of the 300 that expire every week. Yeah.

[A]

David, how long have you been in the industry?

[B]

It's been 15 years.

[A]

And how long have you both been married to each other?

[C]

We're coming up on 20.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. I knew that's how the math was gonna play out. So here's my question for each of you to close this out. You are in my mind, and I have been an admirer of yours from afar, and then I was lucky enough to get close. Your relationship is an avatar of a model that the world needs. The way that you show up for each other, the way that you love each other is so big. David, what's the key to building a life together and a business together and not killing each other?

[C]

We haven't figured that number.

[B]

Can I let you know? Yeah, give me another 20 years.

[C]

We've gotten much better at it.

[B]

So here's the deal. It's hard to be in business with your spouse. It's also my favorite thing, and I wouldn't have it any other way. And, you know, as much as there's friction and challenges and stress, you know, outside this office, our two kids are running around because it's important that we had them here with us to experience this today. And we're just so aligned in them being our North Star and our family being our North Star. You know, our mission on our team is moving families forward. And that started when we were teachers and trying to have our own family. The real estate became the vehicle to help do that. And now we're so blessed to be able to help people on our team as well as our clients, propel them forward. And so, you know, it's all just this personal growth journey. I'm trying to be better, she's trying to be better. We're trying to set that example for our kids that we do hard things and we fail forward. And, you know, that shows up in real estate. Real estate is Just the vehicle that we're so lucky to play in. But at the end of the day, like, we're just really aligned on. Let's do hard things together, and good things will come from that.

[C]

Thank you for saying that. I love you. I think there's two things I want to add on to that is, early on, we discovered our strengths, and David and I have two very different roles on the team. I think when you're working with a spouse or a partner and you're both doing the same thing, that doesn't work as well. Like, define your role and move forward in that. So staying in our lanes has really helped us. And then Jason, one time. I will never forget this. No, it's good story. I made a mistake, and it cost our business, like, $8,000. And it was about commission, all the things. And he kind of got on as the se. Rightfully so as the CEO of the company. He kind of got on me about it, and I started crying because what I heard is, you're a terrible mother and how dare you. And like, I was taking it all on as a human. And so I went into the parking lot and I am crying my eyes out, and David text me and he said, your husband is coming down to get you. It's going to make me tear up. Like, not your CEO. Not that I'm mad at you about this 8000, which he rightfully was because it was my mistake, but your husband is coming to take care of his wife. That's upset. So we have learned to have business partner conversations that are very different than husband and wife conversation. So when one of us does something in the business, that's a business partner discussion argument, whatever. It's very different than our relationship conversations.

[A]

That's so good. It's so good. Friends, we are not going to do better than that, gang. David, Tony, thank you so much. I love your hearts. I love the way that you treat each other. I love how purposeful you are about your family, and I love the business you've built. And I have 946 other people who think the same. Congratulations on all your success.

[C]

Thank you so much for having us. This was fun.

[A]

They are so in love. By the way, if you're not watching this on YouTube, I get it. You couldn't see, but every time Tony starts talking, David starts smiling. That's why I was laughing about it the whole episode in my head. They're in love, but they're incredible entrepreneurs in love when they lay out this model. So simply set up your Google business profile. Make sure that it links to a business address. Make sure that it has the photos. Register with Google Gls. Kick this thing off by getting a ton of reviews and build it. Consistency. Reply to Every review within 24 hours and then highlight how you're using the reviews and send them to the people that gave them to you. It sounds like an easy model. It has never been more important. The data shows shows that people are more apt to read a review and do what it says than listen to a trusted friend. That's amazing. And unless you're one of those people that think the Internet is like a fad, like it's going away, you need to get on board. You think you have time? You don't. You know how I know? Raise your hand if you use Google anytime in the last week. And now that every hand is up on the treadmills out there that you're running on, ask yourself why? Why have I not been doing this from the start? What am I waiting for? Unless you're getting out of the real estate business in the next six months, you need to start doing this today, not tomorrow. Today. Go forth and do likewise. Before you go forth and do likewise. Wait a second. Earlier, we talked about Airbnb, and I don't want you to forget it. Airbnb has joined the most powerful podcast in the industry to roll out the Airbnb Real Estate Agent Referral Program. Go and sign up. It's free, gang. And you're gonna get the localized market data so you can be the economist of choice. When your clients are thinking of putting their home for rent, you'll be able to tell them how much they're gonna get, how long it's gonna take, and if vacation rentals even make sense for them, then if they decide to put their property into the system, you're going to get paid. It's a win, win, win. You can't go wrong. MrEanotes.com Airbnb There it is. That wraps another episode. Friends, I don't know what you're taking out of this. I really don't. I'll tell you what I want you to be taking out of it, which is these are the people that are having tremendously big lives. And the reason it's happening is because they're setting up the models and systems to do just that. Gary Keller told me that leadership is teaching people how to think so that they do the things they need to do when they need to do them, so that ultimately they get the things they want when they want to have them. And that's what I want for you. You're all leaders, but it begins with leading ourselves. If you're enjoying this podcast, I want you to click the subscribe button anywhere that you get your podcasts. We want to be the voice in your head every single week and every week we're dropping new content. We also send out a newsletter at the conclusion of every show to make sure that you get the highest points in the models and systems that were discussed. So if you want to sign up, I need your name and your email address. Head over to themillionaire agent podcast.com millionaireagentpodcast.com Enter your name and your email address and every week that newsletter will be in your box. Friends, you just went on a journey. I hope that what happens between now and the next time we meet is absolutely wonderful for you. Thanks for listening. I'll see you next week.

[D]

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