109. Host Micro Events to Build Consistent Referrals with Meg Daday

Summary

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent Podcast – Episode 109

Title: Host Micro Events to Build Consistent Referrals with Meg Daday
Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Jason Abrams
Guest: Meg Daday
Podcast Network: Keller Podcast Network

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Overview

In this episode, Jason Abrams sits down with top-producing solo agent Meg Daday to unravel how “micro events”—small, highly curated gatherings—can become a powerhouse for consistent real estate referrals. Meg discusses how her introverted nature led her to build a thriving business not through massive open houses or huge parties, but by orchestrating intimate, activity-driven events that appeal directly to her ideal client. Along the way, Meg opens up about the personal and professional habits that have shaped her success, from transformative keystone habits to marketing strategies that keep her referral engine humming.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Meg Daday’s Journey Into Real Estate

• From Law to Real Estate: Meg shares her winding path from law school and working with major Chicago law firms, to a dream gig handling contracts for large-scale events—and ultimately finding herself laid off and rethinking her career.
  • Notable quote: “It was a series of point of no return decisions that I let go of the things that weren't working and went all in on what works for me.” (02:32)
• Discovering Her Strengths: Her background in strategy and marketing, along with “pocket presence” (the ability to read the field and anticipate moves ahead), set her up for her unique real estate approach.
  • “One of my strengths, and maybe my superpower, is... you can kind of see the whole playing field and know what's going to come next and make cool, quick adjustments as needed.” (04:31)

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Keystone Habits and Personal Transformation (06:25–12:47)

• Identifying What Holds You Back: Meg candidly discusses feeling “stuck” in 2022 despite solid production, tracing it back to nightly wine habits that undermined her energy and focus.
  • “‘What's stopping you from getting everything you want?’… I responded, ‘It's my nightly habits of drinking wine every night...’” (06:55)
• Making a Point of No Return Decision: She committed to a 30-day “Dry January,” which proved transformative and became a catalyst for deeper life change.
  • “Three years later, it's totally changed my life and I haven't had a drop of alcohol since December 31, 2022.” (08:48)
• Keystone Habits Defined:
  • “What's the one thing that ... makes everything else easier, unnecessary.” (08:19)
• Adding Positive Structure: Training for a half Ironman introduced greater discipline and momentum, with physical routines supporting business productivity.
  • “The structure of training for anything ... helps put a lot of structure in the rest of my life.” (09:52)
• Facing Fear and Resistance: Letting go of familiar anchors takes courage, but the most resistance often signals where you most need to grow.
  • “The fear is in the resistance... The thing that we're being called to is the thing we probably most need to tackle.” (12:03)

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Micro Events for Relationship-Driven Business Growth

Why Micro Events? (15:03–19:49)

• Personal Style and Market Fit:

  • Meg’s introversion and dislike for large or impersonal networking events led to creating smaller, tailored gatherings.
  • “I get super overwhelmed by the idea of like a hundred person event. And so I really keep these events to 15 to 20 people, sometimes as little as five. And it's all centered around an event, activity of value.” (19:59)

• Know Your Client Avatar:

  • Distilled her target market to specific profiles: first-time buyers (often women or new couples), upsizers (with kids/dogs), suburban moms, and downsizers.
  • “I just needed to meet 30 women exactly like Kari.” (15:54)

Designing and Executing Micro Events (19:49–32:38)

1. Get Crystal Clear on Your Audience
   • Begin by knowing exactly who you want to attract.
2. Select Relevant Activities
   • Curate events around client interests: wreath making, holiday mixology, breathwork, walking tours, clothing exchanges, etc.
   • “Wreath making ... holiday mixology for cocktails or mocktails, breathwork... clothing exchange...” (19:59)
3. Keep It Intimate & Purposeful
   • Activities drive the event, reducing social pressure and fostering deeper connections.
   • “They all have something in common, which is there's an activity or a purpose which probably takes the pressure off of having to be the life of the party.” (20:45)
4. Invite Structure & Guest Flow
   • Use Eventbrite to manage invitations; guests must register themselves, helping collect their information for follow up.
   • “I set it so that the person that I text the link to can only register themselves. They have to forward the event to their friend.” (25:08)
5. Strategic Invites with Referral-Oriented Messaging
   • Incorporate Phil Jones's “exactly what to say” language, making the ask easy and natural.
   • Example: “Hey, Jenny... Who do you know that would love to join us?” (25:12)
6. Venue Partnerships
   • Partner with local boutiques or studios—often women-owned—to host events, minimizing overhead and accentuating community ties.
   • “Finding those partners is super important.” (28:58)
7. Event Execution
   • Keep it light: simple food, two-hour window, social rather than salesy.
   • “All I do is a cheese plate. It costs $160. I buy the same one every time. Wine and NA beverages…” (29:02)
8. Managing No-Shows
   • Acknowledge drop rates; send reminder emails and highlight limited availability to boost attendance stickiness.
   • “The drop rate for events is extremely frustrating... like a 20 to 30% drop rate.” (26:19)
9. Post-Event Real Estate Touchpoint: Loom Market Update
   • Send personalized Loom videos with market data to each attendee (or their neighborhood), strengthening your position as a useful resource.
   • “A loom video of a market update for their neighborhood... that’s brilliant.” (30:07)
   • “You can see on Loom how many people viewed it too...” (30:59)

Social Media & Ongoing Nurture (31:47–34:40)

• Exclusivity First, Sharing After
  • Events are promoted on social media post-facto to maintain exclusivity while showcasing value.
• Building Client Story Brand
  • Social and newsletter content elevates the client as the “hero” of the story, using testimonials and narratives that highlight real wins and relatable challenges.

Metrics & Impact

• Events Drive the Database:
  • “80% [of clients] have either come to an event or their friend came to an event.” (32:49)
• Newsletter as Secondary Nurture:
  • Regular stories, market updates, and event content; frequency target is weekly but achieved biweekly.
  • “The goal is to do them once a week, but that is not happening right now. It's probably two a month.” (34:40)
• Keep It Real and Work In Progress:
  • “Perfection is highly overrated... It will always be [a work in progress].” (35:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Personal Transformation:
  • “Three years later, it's totally changed my life and I haven't had a drop of alcohol since December 31, 2022.” – Meg (08:48)
• On Clarity of Audience:
  • “I just needed to meet 30 women exactly like Kari.” – Meg (15:54)
• On Event Structure:
  • “I keep these events to 15 to 20 people, sometimes as little as five. And it's all centered around an event, activity of value.” – Meg (19:59)
• On Invitations:
  • “I set it so that the person that I text the link to can only register themselves. They have to forward the event to their friend.” – Meg (25:08)
• On the Follow-Up System:
  • “A loom video of a market update for their neighborhood... that’s brilliant.” – Jason (30:07)
• On Metrics:
  • “80% that have either come to an event or their friend came to an event.” – Meg (32:49)
• On Imperfection and Growth:
  • “Some of this is a work in progress and that perfection is highly overrated.” – Meg (35:43)
• Reflection on Meg’s Approach:
  • “Her power comes from her willingness to be transparent and look into her life and ask the questions that many people aren't willing to ask.” – Jason (35:53)
  • “If you're trying to connect with everyone, I bet you connect with less of them.” – Jason (36:36)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:32] – Meg’s unconventional journey into real estate
• [06:25–12:47] – Keystone habits and personal breakthroughs
• [15:03] – Why and how Meg chooses micro events over large gatherings
• [19:59] – Step-by-step breakdown of micro event creation and execution
• [25:08] – Practical invitation workflow with Eventbrite and referral language
• [29:02] – How to run and pace the event itself
• [30:07] – Post-event strategy: personalized Loom market update
• [32:49] – The measurable impact of micro events on referrals and client database
• [34:40] – Email newsletters as supplemental nurture content

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Summary in Meg Daday’s Own Words

• “Movement creates momentum. So by making that one change, I was able to just drive everything else in my life forward.” (11:10)
• “I keep it simple. Like I have been an individual agent for a long time and you know, the only way to do these events is to just keep them super manageable.” (31:27)
• “Perfection is highly overrated... It will always be [a work in progress].” (35:43)

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Conclusion

This episode unpacks how strategic, authentic connections—via small, value-driven events—can yield a steady stream of referrals and lasting client relationships. Meg Daday’s approach demystifies event-based marketing for real estate agents, demonstrating that being purposeful, focusing on your strengths, and serving your ideal client community can drive outstanding business and personal growth.

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For more models, systems, and episode notes, subscribe to the MREA Podcast newsletter at themillionaireagentpodcast.com.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, everyone. 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 are not going to escape the power of events. Friends, more than any other topic on this program, people tell us Jason, love being on the show. The key to my business is events, and today is no different. We are heading to the Windy City to catch up with a solo agent with a couple of folks that help produce some showings that leans on micro events as her weapon of choice. Friends, if you're introverted and still want to connect with people, this one's for you. Or we're gonna cover the habits that you need to be successful and then we're gonna walk you through exactly how to throw killer micro events that lead to referrals. And when I say exactly, I mean we're literally gonna unpack a specific event that she is doing. I'm talking about none other than Meg Dede. She is a force of nature, incredibly transparent in this talk and the thing that I love most, and I'm forewarning you ahead of time, she brings an energy that's gonna have you feeling better about your life at the end of the program. I promise you. Wait and see. Sit back and buckle up. This is Meg the Dee. Meg, how are you?

[B]

I'm doing amazing today. So excited to be here.

[A]

Friends, if you're listening on the podcast and you're not watching on the new YouTube channel, you don't know that all of her books are color coded and. And the shelves behind her. Meg, I love that.

[B]

Thank you. Yeah, it's a work of art.

[A]

It definitely is. So I ask everyone the same question. Meg, how did you end up in the greatest industry in the world?

[B]

I think I'm a bit like most people in that it was a series of point of no return decisions that I let go of the things that weren't working and went all in on what works for me.

[A]

So, ooh, tell me more.

[B]

Yeah, so I graduated from college and taught for two years, went right to law school, so didn't realize until Much later that that might not have been the right path. But I spent six years grinding away at big firms in Chicago, kind of just working 12 hours a day, reviewing contracts, reviewing documents. And then the last two years, I was an attorney. I was associate journal counsel for a company. It was a startup that did mud run obstacle course races and a large scale music festival. So, you know, 80,000 person music festival. I was reviewing everything from Porta Potty contracts up to the Foo Fighters artist agreement. It was crazy. And it was honestly my dream job. So I, when I applied to that job, I literally said, this is the dream job I didn't know existed because it combined my love of running with music. And it really kind of started out that way. And the dream kind of came crashing down two years later because I was let go from that company and we called it the Red Frog family. So it just really felt like, you know, I was being kind of kicked out of the family and it was crushing. I had the best legal job that existed in Chicago. I really had no idea what to do from there. So I kind of sat on a friend's couch for like six months and babysat. And just for the first time in my life, I started to think, like, what do I actually want to do and what are my strengths?

[A]

And I gotta ask, because I've never had this experience where I went from high school and then screwed around for a little time, and then you end up in the real estate business. And so this is now my 27th year. You had this gift of these six months on this couch. What came out of that? What was your biggest aha. When you just spent time with yourself, that.

[B]

I really love strategy and marketing and working at a startup, I was able to get involved in every department of the company. And I really helped kind of oversee some social media and, you know, what went into contests and things like that. And I think that I realized that one of my strengths and maybe my superpower is what Brene Brown talked recently about on her podcast, which is called Pocket Presence, and it's apparently a football term. I know almost nothing about football, but it's really this idea that you can kind of see the whole playing field and know what's going to come next and make cool, quick adjustments as needed. And I played college water polo, and that was, honestly, now looking back my strength then as well, Like, I wasn't the fastest person, I certainly wasn't the most coordinated, but I was a starter on the team because I knew what was going to happen and could play that Several, you know, plays forward.

[A]

And do you marry that with then an incredible work ethic to go actually do the work, or are you the visionary who sees it all coming that needs 300 people working for you to go do the work?

[B]

So far, it's just been mainly me with, you know, a lot of amazing people helping out and working alongside me. But I'm still a solo agent with two showing partners who work really hard and a profile transaction coordinator. So, yeah, I think it's like a combination of that grit and agility.

[A]

I love it. So we're going to start unpacking this, gang, and we're going to talk about the habits that make for incredible success. And then we're going to unpack micro events in an incredibly detailed way. You're in going to want to miss it. Don't worry about taking the notes though, gang. I'm taking the notes. They come out every Thursday. If you don't get them, go to mreanotes.com that's M R E A notes.com and sign up. Okay, Meg, I'm going to need some habits. Tell me exactly what habits I need.

[B]

Yes. So this really stemmed from, you know, I took another look back in 2022 at really what was keeping me stuck. So around that time, I had been with Keller Williams for about four years. I had been in real estate since 2015, but when I got to Keller Williams, I really started digging into the models and systems. So my first day at the company, someone came. She was giving me the tour of the office and said, this company will change your life if you let it. And I was like, what does that even mean? And now I know after, you know, just diving right in, that it is the models and systems and coaching and training that's going to change everything. So in 2022, was working with Jordan Freed as my maps coach at the time. And it was our last call of the year. So almost exactly three years ago, and I really was feeling stuck at that point. I had a good business. I had been the number one individual agent in the Mid America region for like three years. I was doing 40 to 50 transactions, but everything on the surface looked great and I just felt like I wasn't moving forward. And he just said, what is stopping you from getting everything you want? And I honestly responded. It's my nightly habits of drinking wine every night, just sitting on the couch. I know that I operate best when I wake up in the morning, work out, you know, get into a solid routine. And I just couldn't bring myself to do that. So he challenged me to take 30 days dry January and truly commit to it. And so I think for me it was really deciding like what was the keystone habit that's standing in the way of all of these other things.

[A]

When you say keystone habit, by the way, I love your transparency and your bravery. The fact that we're having this conversation is so refreshing for me. When you say keystone habit, what does that mean?

[B]

What's the one thing that, as Jay and Gary wrote, makes everything else easier, unnecessary. And I think for a lot of people it's not a huge thing. Like for me, taking a 30 day break from alcohol was a big deal and it was really hard. But I wasn't trying to do 75 hard. I wasn't trying to change everything at once. I just took that one tiny habit and went all in.

[A]

I love that. What was the result? Did things change?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, three years later, it's totally changed my life and I haven't had a drop of alcohol since December 31, 2022, so. But what really changed was honestly everything else. I mean, my business, my productivity, I'm much more clear headed and I was finally able to get onto a good trajectory of feeling a little bit more productive. I had more free time. And I don't think, you know, not everyone's going to be giving up alcohol. But it's really just coming to terms with what's that thing that you go to when you're stressed or anxious that if you weren't doing that, everything else would be easier.

[A]

And I think it's genius.

[B]

Well, it's just really being honest with yourself.

[A]

I think that's genius. So when I think about these habits, this keystone habit, what's the thing that if I got into a different habit would change everything. Now you mentioned a couple. Number one, there was something you needed to cut out, which was alcohol. But number two, you then mentioned exercising, which is something that you added in. Talk me through that.

[B]

Yeah. So at that same time, in January 2023, I had at megacamp committed to. Well, I sort of fake committed to doing a half ironman with Craig Zuber and a few other KW friends. And I think Craig texted me on January 3rd, like, hey, are you still in? And I suddenly had all this free time. I had done triathlons long ago. And so the structure of training for anything really like helps put a lot of structure in the rest of my life. So I had these 10 workouts a week I needed to do. You know, maybe it was a 20 minute swim plus a 20 minute run and just putting those blocks on my calendar was a great foundation for getting everything else.

[A]

You know what you're articulating Gary Keller, when he thinks about how people make change in his life. And if you're new to the show, by the way, Gary Keller, Jay Papasan and Dave Jenks, may he rest in peace, they wrote the book the millionaire real estate agent which is the namesake for our show. But he says that Masogi challenge, and if you go all the way back in time, this is this idea that you set this challenge that's so big that it forces you to do two things. Number one, change the way you think and number two, change the way that you behave. And that's really the key to seeing fast, meaningful change. And it sounds like that's what this half ironman was.

[B]

And it's the concept of point of no return decision. So Ben Hardy talks about this in be your future self now. And I believe 10x is easier than 2x. But it's really like, how can you. You know, I left law behind, I left alcohol behind. And you know, I didn't know how transformative at the time those would be. But by just deciding that I was going to go all in on real estate and all in on a new lifestyle, then it just. Movement creates momentum. So by making that one change, I was able to just drive everything else in my life forward.

[A]

Was there fear? Because fear is a very natural thing. But when you're leaving behind things that you a worked hard for, it's not. Look, I don't know. But it can't be easy to become a lawyer. I'm guessing it isn't. And things that you're spending a lot of time doing. Because when you look up and you give something like that up and you have all this extra time, was it scary?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, I think that I didn't realize how much time I was spending or how much every activity revolved around alcohol. I live in a big city. You know, the grocery store has a great wine bar, my gym has three bars. So it was just part of my lifestyle. And I think for a lot of people, you know, it might again, might not be alcohol, but like, I want to cut back on sugar now. And it's just, it's part of going out to dinner and ordering dessert. Like there's so much you realize. I think the fear is in the resistance. And Steven Pressfield in the war of Art talks about the fact that thing that we're being called to is that we're Feeling the most resistance around is the thing we probably most need to tackle.

[A]

Sage advice. Now, before we switch gears into micro events, I want to ask you this. There has to be days when it's harder to say no to alcohol. There has to be days when it's gonna be harder to say no to sugar friends. I am living that Reese's Pieces. I'm just saying, what do you do on those days, Meg? Cause it's gotta feel lonely.

[B]

So now it's not hard. It was very hard in the beginning. And yes, and this leads us into events because I found other community and other activities to do. But I think that I created a version of my future self that was super healthy and, you know, was doing other activities, wasn't just sitting on the couch watching mindless TV. And I know Craig Zuber has a 10 year letter course and book. And I had around this time I was reading Ben Hardy's Be youe Future Self now. And I had done Craig's tenure letter exercise many times. And I just created this version of myself that had the business I wanted to, that was hiking and biking outside every day, that was able to kind of work remotely. And so little by little, I've been working towards that. And nowhere in that letter was like drinking wine with friends. It was hanging out with friends. That could be any number of things. So I think a big part, you know, we talked about movement creates momentum and identifying that one microhabit. But then really, who's that North Star that is already doing the things that you want to do? And for me, my future self became my own North Star.

[A]

It's so good. You don't know, but I know. I know for a fact, because we're closing in on 2 million downloads and there's a hundred thousand people a month that hang out with us. I know you're connecting with someone right now who is going through it and who needs the change that you're talking about. And I just want to thank you on behalf of that human.

[B]

Thank you. Well, thank you for, you know, inviting me to chat about this. I feel really passionately about this and that's why I'm excited we're having this conversation.

[A]

Love it. All right, so you've made us better humans. You've taught us habits, now make us richer. Because that's one of the things we do on this program and you are crushing it with micro events. So I want you to walk me through and tell me exactly why micro events and then give me all the tricks to go run the best ones.

[B]

Yes. So I am an introvert. I've said many times I love just sitting on my couch. You know, I have to really force myself to get out and be among people. But I, when I was an attorney, I went to a million networking events where everyone was standing around in suits and you got two free drink tickets. It was fun, but you know, it just wasn't that exciting. I think we've all probably been invited to like a lender happy hour where you also get free two free drink tickets. I live in a city where, you know, it takes 20 minutes to get across town and you have to find parking. It's a hassle and I'm not going to go even when I did drink for just like, you know, cocktail. So there has to be something of value and I knew that there was something that I could create that was much more fun than what I was already being invited to. So I think micro events really serve three purposes. It's to connect with your audience, right? You know, the people that you already have in your sphere. It is to nurture your pipeline and really grow your database with like minded people. So I love meeting the friends of my raving fans. And I think really the starting point, and I think you've talked about this before, is knowing who you want to serve. So back in 2018, right as I was coming to Keller Williams, I was working in open house and a woman named Kari came in. She was wearing very similar shoes to me. They were Rothy's. We're now really good friends. When I met her a few weeks later or a couple days later for her buyer consultation, it was at, you know, she was moving from San Francisco to Chicago to work for Google. So I met her at her office. We had the same bag. We just automatically had a lot in common right from the start. And I was working on my goals for that year and I realized I didn't need to continue to work four open houses a weekend to try and connect with everyone in Chicago. I just needed to meet 30 women exactly like Kari. So at the time she was in her, you know, early to mid-30s, first time home buyer, had a budget of around 500,000. We had a lot of the same interest. She is a type a woman working in consulting, tech, you know, law. So I got at that point super clear on the women that I really wanted to connect with.

[A]

I think it's so interesting that you mentioned the shoes because if friends, if you don't know the Rothy story, we're talking about 200 million plastic bottles that have already been recycled because of what that company is doing. And so if you know, you know, and people like me see it from across a room, I love that Meg.

[B]

I love that you can recognize Rothy's shoes.

[A]

That's I'm just that good.

[B]

Well, so at that point I decided in order to meet more women like Kari, I want needed to create events that would attract them to me. And you know, I help everyone, but I really want to meet people who I enjoy working with and who have things in common with me. And so now I kind of have three avatars that we primarily work with. So it's first time home buyers now they're not as often single women. They're usually engaged or like within a year of their wedding. So that same kind of age group, 28 to 34, but usually just got married last summer. And for me, a lot of my clients, even if they are in a couple, the women is making, you know, she's more of the decision maker so I'm really trying to connect with her. The next avatar is more similar to me in mid-40s. I don't have kids, but they have kids or are just looking for, you know, a yard for their dog. So that upsizer that's selling that first condo, buying something with a little bit more space and then the third avatar, I guess third and fourth. So my sister is a showing partner on our team. She lives out in the suburbs, an hour away. She's a mom of four. You know, just the other avatars, other moms, families out in that suburb. And then my parents live near her as well. And so downsizers, people looking to just. Yeah. Not be dealing with a big suburban house anymore.

[A]

Sure. So knowing this allows you to focus on who you're going to spend time with.

[B]

Exactly. And it makes the events easier because I know exactly what these women want, what they're going to be interested in. You know, Rothy's for example. Yeah. Maybe we would do a shopping event with them. But by knowing exactly who we want to serve, we can just create marketing and events that speak directly to them.

[A]

That makes perfect sense. Okay, walk me through some of these type of events because I want you to imagine I'm sitting out there. I've never done a micro event and that micro just means less people. Is that how you think about it?

[B]

Exactly. So I get super overwhelmed by the idea of like a hundred person event. And so I really keep these events to 15 to 20 people, sometimes as little as five. And it's all centered around an Event, activity of value. So the ones that we have coming up are wreath making, holiday mixology for cocktails or mocktails, breathwork, a holiday housewalk, just buying tickets to that and getting a group together. And then another one that I just did that I loved was a clothing exchange. So we got 20 women together. Everyone brought like things that they're no longer wearing. And we just, you know, in a very sustainable way, like exchange them. And. And it was an amazing event.

[A]

These events all have something in common, which is there's an activity or a purpose which probably takes the pressure off of having to be the life of the party.

[B]

Exactly. Yes. A great book on this is actually the two Hour Cocktail Party by Nick Gray. And that's exactly what these are. They're two hour cocktail parties on a Wednesday or Thursday night, all centered around some activity. And I want to be in bed by nine, so they're from like six to eight. And because I know that timeframe works well for my audience, but for someone whose avatar might not be professional women, you know, I think getting clear on what it is that are your interests. Like I know in KW there's someone who runs his entire business around pickleball, golf, tennis. It can really be anything. And I think the key is just knowing that avatar first and then designing things around what they're going to want.

[A]

You know, the book that you mentioned happens to be on my bookshelf. And if memory, the thing I liked about it was it's this idea that you can build big relationships with small events.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

And the primary reason is because you can connect with the individuals. This isn't a question of the number of humans that you're contacting. It's a question of how deep the connection is going to go, often based on a shared experience or hobby. Because those are the people you connect with.

[B]

Exactly. And I want to meet people exactly like my raving fans. And so when the raving fans come to an event, my goal for the wreath making, for example, Is to have 10 of our database and 10 of their friends. So everyone's always invited to bring a friend. And I don't even ask them to bring someone who, you know, might be transacting in the next year, but they do it automatically. They'll bring someone, hey, she just got engaged. I know they want to buy a place next or hey, they just had a second baby. You know, they're going to be growing out of their space. So my clients, without even being told, are, are trying to help that, you know, they see the value in These events, and they want to give back by bringing someone.

[A]

I want to use the wreath event as an example and what I'd love for you to do. Can you walk me through from concept to whatever the post close is? Walk me through. How do I go and do this? What do I think about what's step one?

[B]

Step one is to get clear on your audience and who you want to serve. So for the wreath event, it is the women that are more similar to me in their 40s. Step two is just deciding on an activity that they're going to love. And for the wreath event, you know, I've done that five years in a row now.

[A]

How does it go? You know, oddly enough, I've never been invited to a wreath event. I think we can solve that, you and I. After this, you can just invite. What is that?

[B]

I love the craft events because people just love getting their hands dirty. And so we'll go to Boutique in this case, and they'll have all kinds of flowers and, you know, stems laid out with a, like, frame where you craft your own wreath. And it takes about an hour and a half. It's super fun. They get to bring it home. That one costs about $100 per person, and so it's about a $2,000 event. I get all of it sponsored except for $500. So I want my cost to be about $500. So to kind of walk you through, it's deciding on the audience, it's deciding on the event. Usually I'll see something on Instagram or walking around town, and, you know, I just think that looks fun. So how the wreath event started was I saw these being advertised, and you can buy tickets to them, though if someone, you know, wanted to do this and didn't want to just plan it themselves, buy four to six tickets to an existing holiday event that's already happening in your community and invite six or three of your raving fans and three of their friends. So after I've nailed down the date with the boutique or with the activity provider, then I start really, it's all about spreading the word. So I create an event on Eventbrite. I like Eventbrite just because there are free things that you can use. But Eventbrite you can collect name, address, phone number, email. So I want all those pieces of information, and I set it so that the person that I text the link to can only register themselves. They have to forward the event to their friend. So I don't want them buying too tickets. I want their friend to register as well.

[A]

So because you want to capture their information.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Smart. Okay.

[B]

And I bring Phil Jones's exactly what to say language into the text invite. Because I'll say something like, hey, Jenny, I can't believe it's been a few months since you closed. We're hosting this wreath event on December 3rd. Who do you know that would love to join us? You know, we'd love to see you and a friend. So just keeping it really simple. So I make the eventbrite invite. I text it to kind of that probably top 50 to 100 of those women in that group that I've already identified. So why I stick to kind of one avatar is I want to invite people that are going to have something in common with each other. So the events kind of become this community within the event where people now come to a lot of the events. They've met people through them, you know, like they're becoming friends with each other. And so I, like you said, it takes the pressure off me. Like I can have a conversation with everyone there, but they're doing an activity, they're talking to each other because they have something in common. So.

[A]

Okay, so spread the word. So now you got your invites, they've registered. What happens next?

[B]

Well, so there's a few touches around that. So I text the invite to those people, that 50 to 100 people, and I email that same invite out still to that same group. If it's not filled by that point, which they often are, then I will include it in the database, full database email, to just get it filled up. They'll get a email or text reminder, like two days before the event. The drop rate for events is extremely frustrating. It's normal, it happens to everyone, but there's like a 20 to 30% drop rate. And so my. It's crazy, especially because these are free. So typically I'm not charging, you know, my clients to come to the event and I need to kind of do something to fix this. But they don't always realize, like, I'm paying $100 per person for this event. So they don't feel the stickiness all the time. But by kind of sending a reminder email, like, hey, we have a wait list. This is full. Are you still able to make it? Or if not, like, let us know and we'll fill your spot. So that reminder email is really important to, like, offset the drop rate.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

So at the event, it's really all about just. It doesn't feel like a real estate event. I mean, there are often sponsors, like a mortgage Lender. We're an attorney state so an attorney will sponsor. But I basically stand up at the beginning. I introduce myself. Hi, Meg Dady from Keller Williams. Our team is Heyday Homes. We love supporting other local women owned businesses and building community. Sometimes I'll give a very short like 30 second market update. Like you know, inventory in our area is still very low. We're helping people prep for the spring market which begins right away in January. You know, we're so excited to see you and you know, can't wait to see your wreath. Something very simple. It's not about real estate. They'll talk to me, you know, ask how the market is introduced. A friend that might be doing something in the next six months. But I kind of want to keep it more of a social event. It feels more like a social club. So the event itself is super simple. There's no like Pinterest worthy swag. Usually it's at a cute boutique. So if it's not at somewhere that's hosting the. This is going back a little bit. I think a big key is at a free venue. So I host a lot at my house. At my office we have a gifting studio that we buy a lot of our client gifts from. She has a cute boutique. So I think you know, with the wreath making, it's at a boutique that's hosting the craft. But other ones, mixology, it's going to be in an interior designer studio. So finding those partners is super important.

[A]

So yeah, we're at the event now. It's. And everyone's having a good time.

[B]

Exactly. And all I do is a cheese plate. It costs $160. I buy the same one every time. Wine and NA beverages. So my output on the food is probably like less than $400. Food and drinks. I don't want a ton left over. The event is usually from 6 to 8 or 5:30 to 7:30. So that you know, these girls brought their friends, they can go to dinner afterwards. It's really designed to be a two hour cocktail party, not like a, you know, really fancy dinner event.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

And then post event is where kind of the real estate comes in a little bit more. I send a loom video of a market update for their neighborhood. So each individual person, it depends. So if there's a, you know, like where the event was. I live in Bucktown. A lot of my events are held in Bucktown. So you know, a lot of times where the event is a lot of them are from the neighborhood. So I'll just do that. Specific neighborhood or I will do three neighborhoods that the attendees came from.

[A]

This is the first time, gang, that anyone has said that on this show. And we are, well, 100 episodes in Genius. A loom video of a market update for the guests. So now they've had a great time. You're hitting them with a piece of education, but you're keeping your face front and center in a video format. That's brilliant.

[B]

I love Loom. It's such a great tool and super easy. So if someone's not familiar with it, it's just a screen share. So we have infosparks through our mls and so it's a very short market update of here's, you know, what's happened in the last 12 months in Bucktown. And I text the link to them or usually I'll do a text follow up as well as an email follow up with that link.

[A]

That's so smart. And then that has to elicit a response. If someone wants to talk about real estate, that opens the door wide open.

[B]

Exactly. And you can see on Loom how many people viewed it too. So that's super helpful. It elicits a response from some people, but it's just staying in front of the people and reminding them, you know, if they were someone's friend who wasn't familiar with how I do real estate, it shows them that we're really into data, that we are really educational and consultative and that's kind of the picture I want to paint to them.

[A]

It's brilliant. Any other pieces? I mean, it's a full system as far as I'm concerned.

[B]

I keep it simple. Like I have been an individual agent for a long time and you know, the only way to do these events is to just keep them super manageable.

[A]

Now where does social media show up and does it show up? Are you taking the world along on this journey and making these posts or what? What sort of posts are you making?

[B]

So we are taking the world along after the fact. So the events, I want them to feel really exclusive. Like you have to be kind of part of our inner circle in order to get an invite. So after the fact we do promote them. Social media I love and I really follow the building a story brand kind of like model for social media or for marketing in general, which is making the client the hero and ourselves the guide. So, you know, we are a guide to our community, a guide to our, you know, neighborhoods and community as well as our kind of community around the events and just a guide to the real estate process. So Social media, I think, chose people that we work with, people just like them, that have the same interests. And you know, that we are take a really educational, consultative approach.

[A]

I think it's all brilliant. And the reality, when you look up, call it 30 million average annually, what percentage do you think are people that come to at least one micro event a year?

[B]

It's probably 80%.

[A]

So 80%, I thought you were going to say like 40 or 50%.

[B]

80% that have either come to an event or their friend came to an event. So I guess out of those that's huge. Maybe it's more like 40 to 50. But our database is really nurtured through the. Obviously through the events and also through an email newsletter. And so.

[A]

All right, walk me through the email newsletter. If that's piece number two, what make. What is that?

[B]

Also based on building a story brand. So we have a few different content buckets for our email newsletter, which are client stories. And I love those. Those do really well on email. And it's basically telling the story and the client tells it in their own words. So we send the client a questionnaire about what it was like to work with us. The questions are basically, you know, what made you fall in love with your current home? What drew you to the neighborhood? There's like 10 or 15 questions and only one of them is, you know, what was it like working with the Hay Day team and Meg? And that's kind of the testimonial question. But what we want people to see in these stories is that they have struggles. You know, they're buying a home because they need more space, but also in to solve a problem of, you know, they need a garage or they need a bigger backyard. And so people see like, oh, I can actually buy and sell at the same time. And it's not going to be this huge, overwhelming process because they were able to help.

[A]

You know, it's social proof that you can help them solve their problem.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

And by the way, that's what Donald Miller talks about in the book, that the person with the best story wins. And this is about articulating those wins.

[B]

Exactly. Yes.

[A]

It's brilliant. It's brilliant. Okay, so you got the client story. What other pieces in the newsletter? Anything else that's a may stay our.

[B]

Events, a market update. We really only use one or two of these content buckets for each email because I don't want them to be super long. The goal is to do them once a week, but that is not happening right now. It's probably two a Month. So, you know, if there's a habit that I'm working on, it's consistency with marketing. But the events solve that. Because by putting an event on the calendar, I'm forced to start spreading the word. So the events are a way, you know, like the entire business is built around my strengths and weaknesses. And if consistency isn't a strength, then putting something on the calendar and forcing yourself to spread the word is a pack around that I love.

[A]

Because, you know, sometimes we get folks on the show and it sounds like they have everything together. And I listen to all these episodes gang, just like y' all do. And I'm driving in my car and I feel like such a loser. Halfway through, I'm like, unbelievable. What I love is you're willing to admit that some of this is a works in progress and that perfection is highly overrated.

[B]

It's all a work in progress and it will always be.

[A]

I love that. Meg, thank you. Thank you for sharing with us today. I'm so grateful.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[A]

That is a powerful human. She is powerful. And by the way, if it's subtle, then you might miss it. So allow me to shine a giant spotlight. Her power comes from her willingness to be transparent and look into her life and ask the questions that many people aren't willing to ask. You know, as I've done more and more interviews with more and more successful people, one of the patterns that I'm seeing is they're willing to ask the questions of self that others aren't willing to ask. But moreover, they're willing to then go change their lives in ways that others are not willing to change. Yeah, Meg wakes up in the morning and she's introverted in some ways. But I gotta tell you, that didn't stop her from building a business that's based on connecting with people. And that's the trend. You're seeing it in almost every episode of this show. That as a real estate professional, you're going to need to connect with people deeply. Why? Because when we talk about houses, this is the most important decision someone will ever make. And you say, wait a minute, Jason, that sounds really blown out of proportion. Does it though? Because think about it. Where you live dictates maybe where your littles go to school. It dictates what stores you shop at. It dictates what food might be available to you. It dictates what hobbies are within driving distance. I got news for you. You want to be a world class surfer and you live in Ohio. Gonna be difficult. It has to do with where you're living. And in order to trust somebody to help you make that decision, you have to connect with them. And sure, Meg is an amazing expert at connecting, but think about the tactics she's using. Number one, she's 100% clear on her avatar. What type of people do I want to connect with? Because if you're trying to connect with everyone, I bet you connect with less of them. Number two, what are the types of clients that I want to serve because it's my business and I, I get to say number three, I know that I'm not wildly gregarious, so I'm going to choose activity based events. So the activity carries the weight of the event. And I just get to show up and have a good time, then invite the people that I want to spend time with. I'm seeing something about them or understanding something about them that makes me interested in them. That's so much easier than casting a net and inviting everybody, then simply having a good time. And then the genius in her model, which is crazy to say, is the market snapshot loom video. I mean, that is so smart. She's sending them data that they want, but she's making sure that her face is omnipresent in their life. And because it's about real estate, it opens the door wide for someone to drive right through it with their real estate needs. I got news for you, Meg is a genius. It's simple, it's plain, there's not extra steps. And it's based on something very, very human. I'm going to connect with people that I want to connect with and then help them make better decisions. That's what's happening here. I'm going to just say this. I think everybody could use a little Meg in their life. And the way she thinks, that's what I think. Go forth and do likewise. 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. Hey gang, if you're enjoying this as much as we are, I want you to subscribe. Hit the button right now. Do it on YouTube, Amazon Music, Apple Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 millionaire agent podcast.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. This podcast is for general informational purposes only. 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