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The Millionaire Real Estate Agent | The MREA Podcast
118. Build a Family-First Real Estate Business With Andrea Ryan and Zach Clark
00:40:37
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- [00:00]
Zach Clark
Foreign.
- [00:06]
Jason Abrams
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. Raise your hand if you have kids. No, no, no, I'm kidding. I know most of you are driving or on a treadmill and either raising your hand. Driving or on a treadmill can be terribly dangerous. So don't do either. But I bet a bunch of you do. Today we are going to take a completely different look at the residential real estate business. This business has always been a business built on unlimited opportunities. Make your own schedule and be your own boss. This has allowed working parents all sorts of freedom to come into the business, build companies that exceeded their wildest financial dreams while being able to spend time with their children. We've heard from people on our podcast that literally pulled their kids in red wagons from house to house when they started. And I got news for you. It's happening today. You're going to hear from two real estate agents in the same episode in completely different cities that have found a way to put family first and use real estate as the vehicle to do it. The first person we're going to hear from hails from Austin, Texas. She, well on bed rest with her second kid, developed a lead generation system that's going to blow your mind. Today. She incorporates every minute she spends with her family into lead generation in a way that is absolutely beautiful. I'm talking about none other than Andrea Ryan. The second is Zach Clark. Zach hails from San Antonio, Texas. What caught my attention was his Facebook page. He made a post that Friends to me says it all. It's a picture of an adorable toddler sitting on a kitchen countertop. And it says simply this reminder. Both my sons sell real estate. I just drive them to their appointments. Gang. That says it all. Sit back and buckle up. This is Andrea and Zach, and I am joined today by my friend Andrea Ryan. Andrea, how are you?
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Andrea Ryan
I'm good. How are you, Jason?
- [03:01]
Jason Abrams
Fantastic, thanks. So tell me, how did you end up in the greatest industry in the world?
- [03:07]
Andrea Ryan
Well, it was through a dear friend. Many of you may know Joel Fisher. I actually worked for his dad back in Texas politics way back in the day when we were young and bright eyed and optimistic. And then I was looking for a transition and I didn't know what I wanted to do.
- [03:23]
Jason Abrams
Well, wait a second. I want to back up because that's an interesting background. We don't have too many former lobbyists, politicians, staffers that we end up interviewing. So what's the one thing you learned in that world that you brought forward that helped you succeed in this one?
- [03:37]
Andrea Ryan
Wow. What didn't I take? I mean, so I did communications and fundraising. Okay. So I have some of the thickest skin you could possibly imagine. I've had people yell at me. I've had people hang up phones on me. Like, you get really thick skin really fast or you're out and just logistics, project management. You are fast on your feet. You are a problem solver. And so I learned how to do that at a really young age. And it actually transitioned perfect into real estate because I always talk to strangers. I wasn't scared of people hanging up on me. And I used to ask people for a lot of money for campaigns and all sorts of things. So I had no fear in helping people actually obtain an appreciating asset like a home. So it actually transitioned very, very well.
- [04:24]
Jason Abrams
Now I love that. And you come into real estate not as an agent, but as market center staff.
- [04:29]
Andrea Ryan
Yes, yes. So Joel was transitioning out of that role, and he was like, I think this would be a perfect environment. And there was no one who knew me better than him. And I was like, I don't know. He's like, trust me. It's run by these two amazing women. You'll love the industry. It's very similar. And so I worked as the executive assistant for Melanie and Diane, who were the team leaders at the Austin Market center at the time. And that's how I jumped in in 2015, 10 years ago.
- [04:52]
Jason Abrams
All right, so you're doing that and you're crushing it. How do you end up on the sales side of things?
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Andrea Ryan
No knock to them, but being chained to a desk was for the birds. I was like, I also. This was during a transition time in Austin where I was in a lot of traffic. Basically, a lot of my time was spent on the road in traffic. And I was like, this is nuts. I'm wasting my time. Also being in the market center, I was surrounded by these amazing agents who were building these incredible lives with purpose and intention. And. And I looked up and I was like, wow. I can do that too. And it really inspired me to then run my own business and there wasn't a greater group of people to be around because everywhere I looked and turned, these agents were wanting to pour into me and train and just give all of their packets or things. So it was an amazing just group of empowering me to start my own business. And so that's what I decided to do.
- [05:49]
Jason Abrams
So you get in and you have immediate success. I mean, things are going good and you're getting busier by the minute.
- [05:55]
Andrea Ryan
Yeah. So I started on an amazing team who gave me the leverage I was looking for. Right. Because I knew right off the bat I wanted to have this leverage. I did what most people do when they start real estate was I have a commission based job, I have a baby and I buy a house all at the same time. So I'm like, go big or go home, baby. And so I'm with this great team and yes, the business is picking up and it's starting, but I also have a very young child, a baby. And so trying to balance all that was incredibly difficult, to say the least. It was really challenging because I have been up every two hours feeding my, you know, my baby human, keeping them alive and then having to then put on agent mode, you know, dress up and go on listing appointments and all these things. And so it was really, it was a growth opportunity, to say the least.
- [06:46]
Jason Abrams
Well, you kind of have the beginnings of a realization at that point. Yes. What's that realization?
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Andrea Ryan
The realization was I was trying to build an image of what I thought people wanted me to be as a real estate agent. What was so great about having everyone support you and pour into you was I had this idea that I didn't want to let anyone down either. And so I wanted to be what everyone I say everyone, but really what I thought everyone thought they wanted me to be this big mega agent who was, you know, crushing it. And what did crush it look like? It was being super busy, but then also being a present mom and million dollar production. And I was just like, I didn't feel like I could do that all and be this image. And it just made me think I need to step back and really define what success looks like for me. No right or wrong, but what does success look like for me? And my business was that difficult because.
- [07:42]
Jason Abrams
I look up and it seems like Gary Keller. And if you're new to the program, when we talk about Gary, we're talking about Gary Keller. He wrote the book the MREA Real Estate Agent with Jay Papasan and Dave Jenks, may he rest in peace. And he says that right now he sees an epidemic of people getting their values and self worth from social media, from their peer groups, and is 100% certain that that's a design for unhappiness. So when you had this realization, was it difficult?
- [08:12]
Andrea Ryan
Yes. Because as a perfectionist, you try to live up to an unrealistic expectation, which is perfection. Perfection does not exist. Right. And that's the hardest thing for perfectionists to actually cope with. Right. And so like I said, this is 10 years in this industry now, right. It took me a while to really start to define what was success for me. And I started getting that clarity. Success for me was, you know, what KW lined up. God, Family, business. Business, right? Having a structure and having purpose in my business. And so I took some time and I started thinking of that and I. I took time to reflect on what was really important to me.
- [08:52]
Jason Abrams
And what was it?
- [08:54]
Andrea Ryan
Well, having time for my family. The whole reason I was doing this was to have time for my family, but also to give back to my community. Right? So I have a greater purpose than just making money, than just, you know, having a successful business. It's to have time with my family and to pour back into my community. So my business has allow me to do that while also paying bills. Right? We all have to pay bills, but to serve that greater purpose. So then there was another major life situation that really helped me put it in perspective. Cause I was still failing forward. I was breaking my business and rebuilding it constantly. But when I got pregnant with baby number two, that pregnancy was incredibly challenging. And at one point I had to be bed rest. My doctors were like, you need no movement in bed. Stay okay? Like life or death type of things. And it made me realize, well, how am I going to keep my business going? I'm in a bed, right? Like, I can't. I can't go out and show houses again. In my mind though, I'm like, I got to keep the machine going. I got to. I have to be able to keep my business sustainable while I'm bed red. And that's when I realized I get to decide how I lead, generate. I get to decide how I grow my business and what that business looks like. And I truly believe that the best ideas come out of the greatest challenges in life. Right. Is through those obstacles. And that's when I started doing online webinars for homebuyers.
- [10:21]
Jason Abrams
Okay, So I love this. You have this realization that you get to make the rules and I think that's so refreshing. So now you're laying in bed and you decide you're gonna do buyer seminars. So I guess, number one, how did you drive people to the seminar?
- [10:36]
Andrea Ryan
So, yeah, to recap a little bit, I was like, I'm gonna keep my business going, right? And I'm gonna do homebuyer webinars. Cause they're not gon. Right. I'm situated like, I'm online. I don't have to go anywhere. And I can still talk to people and reach an audience. So basically I set up shop, you know, in my bed. So I have my laptop and I have my background strategically placed. And I was like, I can do these homebuyer webinars from anywhere. And so set it up online. Use the tried and true tools like Eventbrite and things like that to, you know, to drive traffic.
- [11:08]
Jason Abrams
But yeah, wait a minute though. I'm not going to let you yada, yada yada through how you did it because you had success. How did you get people to it? It's one thing to set up a webinar with an Eventbrite. It's another thing to have anyone join you. How did you get them there?
- [11:20]
Andrea Ryan
Eventbrite is very kind to people who stay consistent. So at some point when you're actually hosting these events, they'll start getting, hey, you might be interested in. Right? So there was some of that traffic that Eventbrite was sending me, but I was also sharing it online, right? I was sharing it through my database, through my spheres. I was running ads through command, right? So you could do little Facebook ads through there. So I was doing all the means online, right? Like that's a huge leverage, especially for a parent. That's another story for another time. But having that digital presence and being able to get that out there.
- [11:52]
Jason Abrams
So then once they were there, what's the model for the seminar itself? Get them on. How long is it?
- [11:57]
Andrea Ryan
Well, it's an hour, but it's 45 minutes. Is the presentation okay? The presentation is 45 minutes. That's the meat and potatoes. And it's all about the mistakes that homebuyers do. And I can't take full responsibility for this seminar. Cause there's an amazing agent who gave me a lot of tips around this. But it is basically avoid these mistakes, right? Avoid these mistakes with buying your home. We have a really good conversation about it.
- [12:18]
Jason Abrams
Give me some examples. What are some of the mistakes?
- [12:21]
Andrea Ryan
Some of the mistakes is not knowing your numbers. That's the number one thing we go over is not knowing your numbers, because most people go into buying a home thinking they can't buy a home. Because that's my story. My story is I never thought I could buy a home because someone told me I had to buy it with cash. And I was like, when was I going to have $180,000 in cash lying around? Because that was the price of points in Austin at the time. Just so y', all, I'll date myself. And so educating home buyers and some of the basics, like, here's a spreadsheet. I have a item of value where you can calculate your expenses, what your mortgage might look at, get clarity around that. Then once you have clarity around your numbers, then let's actually talk to you about a lender. And we bust all the myths around people pulling your credit score and things like that. And then we talk about the order, how people often do the home buying order in the wrong process. And it's like baking a cake, right. If I put the wrong ingredients at the wrong time, my cake's gonna be flat. But basically, what, what I'm telling them is work with a professional so you don't make the mistakes. Don't go out looking without a pre approval. You know, just giving them those basics of, here's how we do this. So you're gonna end up with the optimal result. And then we just kind of open it up for Q and A's, and.
- [13:32]
Jason Abrams
Then how do you turn those participants into actual clients? What's the next step?
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Andrea Ryan
Well, so it's all about emotion, right? They're coming into this process as home buying process. And my question is, are you feeling frustrated? Are you confused about the process? Do you have anxiety around it? So we're opening it up with how they're currently feeling at the beginning, which is probably all of those things. Then as I dump information on them, meaning, here's all the opportunities you have, here's all the ways to get this right. At the end, I close with, so are you feeling better about everything Went over. How are you feeling now? And if you're feeling better, great. Let's talk about the next steps. Schedule your appointment. So that's basically it. It's addressing the elephant in the room, which is your feelings. I feel scared, I feel anxious. I feel overwhelmed. Awesome. By the end of this, I'm going to give you so much information and value and contribution that you're. You're going to feel better. And then, great. Let's get started. Let's get you on a plan.
- [14:30]
Jason Abrams
It's genius. How many Ballpark, because I know you don't have it in front of you. How many people do you get in a seminar to get? One person who says, I'm over the fear. I feel better about it. Let's take the next step. And I want to work with you.
- [14:42]
Andrea Ryan
So I would say we usually on a good ad time, like if the ads are doing well, 10 to 25, a seminar. Okay. Which could get about two to three appointments a week. Okay, that's great. Here's the thing, though. These people are at the very top of the funnel, which is fine for me. Jason, I will tell you, most of my clients are a year out, which I. I'm all about. I have no problem with that. Even my listings are usually a year out because people come talk to me that early. So go ahead.
- [15:13]
Jason Abrams
It was just dawned on me, like, I, I. You fell into the. To the routine so quickly. I'm listening, and I'm like, this makes all the sense in the world. But I forgot for a moment that you're doing it from bed on bed rest, and you can't move. How did you show houses?
- [15:26]
Andrea Ryan
Great question, right? That was the next piece. Solve the problems after, Right? Solve the problems when you have the problem. So this is such a cliche, but it's so true. You have to build. It takes a village, right? You have to build a village relationship. This is a people business, but humanity is a people business, right? Like, humans have to connect with humans, you know, I guess you don't have to, but the optimal life experience is connecting with humans, right? And so one thing I really loved, having the opportunity to work at the market center is building the relationships with the agents too, right? And so here I am. I'm like, can't go show them homes. I had a Rolodex, a phone full of agents who I knew, who I trusted, and I reached out to them, I said, hey, I'm. This is where. This is life. I'm in bed. I can't go show. Can I pay you 25, 30 bucks to go open this door? And they were more than happy. Like, some people would do it for free, but I'm like, no, let me give you. Let me throw some money away, because I really appreciate you. But that I basically had, like, the showing agent model, right? With different agents, because sometimes some agents weren't available, and I had just. I would at times would just go, hey, can you open the door? Hey, can you open the store? Hey, can you open this door? And set the expectation with my clients so they weren't disappointed. They weren't shocked. They weren't weirded out because they knew they had me a phone call away or a zoom away to talk about the contract after if they want to make an offer. But someone else just opened the door.
- [16:53]
Jason Abrams
I think it's genius. And you run this play and you're living your life now. You look up and your kids are now nine and four.
- [17:02]
Andrea Ryan
Yes.
- [17:03]
Jason Abrams
And you've reordered your life. You no longer are defining your success by did I sell 100 million in real estate? You're defining it by the time that you spend with them. And now I want to get into how it actually works today because you don't wake up in the morning and prioritize, number one, how many homes you're going to sell. That's the second thing you prioritize, Right? So talk me through that. What's the first thing you prioritize?
- [17:30]
Andrea Ryan
Well, so I'm going to get a little wawa, but bear with me. So when I wait, my whole point of existence, I feel, is to give back to the world, to humanity. Right. And so purpose in being a contributing member of society is just ingrained in me. And so when I wake up every day, I feel like there's a purpose. Sometimes it's just saying hello to someone. Right. Your hello to a stranger could be the greatest thing that happens to them that day. Or getting someone a cup of coffee. Right? So every morning I really, first of all, I'm grateful that I'm even alive. I know that sounds wa wa, but I am, I'm grateful. No day is promised to any of us the next day. And I wake up and I have my calendar and I'm purposeful. I have my family time. I wake up and I'm able to be present with them. I'm able to enjoy this time with them, get them to school, get them to daycare, and then I can come and I can take care of my clients, right? Like all of this is service space. I service my family who I love, I service my clients who I love. And I do get some self time, believe it or not, I do self time. But it really all goes back to service and prioritizing that.
- [18:46]
Jason Abrams
I love that. But the rubber has to meet the road somewhere. And you have to make enough money to be able to buy shoes for little feet that seem to grow every three months. So how do you do lead generation? Because it seems like you've developed a model which is like, I'm gonna paraphrase, I do life, but I do it differently.
- [19:03]
Andrea Ryan
Yes. So here's the thing. It's like another thing I really love about real estate. And everyone needs a home, right? It's a necessity of life, whether you're renting an apartment, whether you're buying a home. And for me, it's relationship building. And that's literally what I do all the time, every day. And again, it's like the webinar is very purposeful, right? Because it's also an advocacy thing. I see it as being an advocate to the public and making sure they're informed that they get the best service possible. Who is it? Zig Ziglar said, if you help enough people get what they want, you get what. You know what I mean? It's that same mantra. I'm giving back. So my structured lead generation is very much around the webinars. And then everything else is the relationship building. When. When I'm serving my daughter's daycare, when I'm pouring into the teachers, when I'm buying them lunch, right? I'll sponsor a lunch and bring them lunch because I care about them. And I'm like, hey, if you ever have questions about real estate, I have you, right? For my other daughter's school, right, there's all of these groups, these mom groups, these parent groups, these things in the community that I'm pouring into. First, a lot of it's referral based. And I know that's like, not necessarily number strategized, but the more relationships I'm pouring into, they pour back.
- [20:19]
Jason Abrams
I think it's genius. And I get it that there's someone driving out there and they're like, nah, you can't make a spreadsheet with that. No, no, no, you're right. You can make a life with it, though. And that's what's so impressive. Because at the end of the day, I think that you've managed to look up and say, I'm committed to being present in my kid's life. And so every second I'm with them doesn't mean it's a second that I'm away from what I do for a living. You are bringing real estate into life. Anyone you meet at the PTA is someone who might need help with real estate. And you're purposeful about it.
- [20:49]
Andrea Ryan
Absolutely, Absolutely. I mean, I'm leading with who I am, genuinely who I am, which is someone who wants to serve and who wants to help and who loves to advocate for people. And then real estate comes up because again, everyone wants to know, how do you have this time? What do you do for a living? And I. You know what I mean? Like, I'm sharing that. Like, yes, if you have any questions. And they see it on social media, right? Like, that's the other thing. They see the things that I'm. My seminars. They see the ads that I'm running, but they also see me doing the business element of it. They see the pictures of my clients, my clients post about me. Right? So all of that is going to be there. I just, I think the biggest lesson I've learned from this is if I'm showing up as my genuine self, not what people, not what I think people want me to be. And I'm focused on what I really care about doing most, which is serving people, which is advocating for people, which is being present and giving back to my community, the world. It's going to show up. And having strategy around it is great. And I can have both, right? That's the thing. I can have both. I can have a purposeful, strategized lead generation method, which is my webinars. But then I can also build these relationships through just being authentically involved in my community and giving back to people.
- [22:08]
Jason Abrams
I think it's genius. Andrea, I love your heart. I love your mission, and I love the way that you think about family and real estate. I think you're the best of us, my love. I love it.
- [22:18]
Andrea Ryan
Thank you.
- [22:20]
Jason Abrams
How good was that? I mean, think about that for a second. She's literally on bed rat. If you told me, Jason, you're not allowed to move from your bed, I have flashbacks to the grandfather from Willy Wonka. I don't know what you do at that point, but Andrea, did you see? She looked up and said, what can I do from bed? She doesn't grade herself only by the number of homes she sells. She looks up and she realizes that her life is a holistic journey. Her first priority is her family. And while she's interacting with them, every person she meets can fill the database. She's a genius. Listen to how Zach Clark thinks about it. And I am joined by the men, Clark, Zach and Felix. Zach, how are you, sir?
- [23:05]
Zach Clark
Hey. I'm doing great, brother. How are you?
- [23:07]
Jason Abrams
I am doing well. And Felix, how are you?
- [23:10]
Zach Clark
Fee, how are you, buddy?
- [23:12]
Jason Abrams
It's so good. Now, how old is Felix?
- [23:15]
Zach Clark
Felix is going to be 15 months next week. Just over a year old.
- [23:18]
Jason Abrams
Okay, gang, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, why is there a toddler on the show? And I love. Exactly. Because if you ever needed a why, this is the why? Wait till you hear this story. Zach, how did you find your way into the greatest industry in the world?
- [23:36]
Zach Clark
Like most folks, by mistake or by luck, however you want to call it. I was a elementary school and middle school teacher for 11 years and had honest plans to do that for the next 30 after that. I was a lifetime teacher. I loved it. Incredible career, most noble profession I think a person can have. And it was, it was really good to me. In January of 2022, we found out we were pregnant with our oldest, Arthur. And it was, it was incredible, man. As a parent, you know what it's like to find out you're having a child and totally puts everything in a different light and a different perspective. So we were just so overwhelmed with excitement. We had experienced a miscarriage and some delay in getting pregnant again. And I was just such a relief to find out we were, we were pregnant and going to get to be parents. And man, you know, the next few days after that, I. I just started to realize what that was going to look like in the role that I was in. I was coaching middle school sports. So my schedule during the school year was honestly getting up at about 4am, going to the gym for myself, going to school for morning practice before school, started teaching for eight hours in a day. And then after school, either going to sports games or going to afternoon practice. The coaches all drive the buses down here, so we got to take the kids to and from games, take the bus home. And you know, some nights I'd be getting home seven, eight, eight, 30, nine o' clock at night. And I just, man, I realized that I was only going to see my kids, you know, on the baby monitor when they were asleep in the morning, and then, you know, maybe get home to catch the end of dinner and put them to bed at night. And that, that broke my heart. That was a tough realization. It's tough to even talk about now. And I just wanted time. I just. I just wanted to find a way to, to figure out a way to do this, to sit at home with my boys, to be home for their first steps or hear them say mama or dada for the first time. And I, almost immediately, it was on, you know, job sites looking for overnight work where I could just work while the boys were asleep and then get to. Get to stay home with them. Some friends wrangled me into real estate. They said, why don't you just do real estate school through kw, through Case Corps, get your real estate license, come give it a, give it a shot. So that March. I started case for March of 20 seconds, was licensed by June of 22. Took ignition down here in San Antonio with the legendary Margie Beecher. And the rest is. Rest is kind of history, as they say it, man.
- [26:17]
Jason Abrams
Okay. By the way, gang, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking it's distracting. He's got a kid. Yeah, you know what? I know so many of you do too. Friends. I know how many of you do this job. While juggling a kid in one arm and driving with him in the back, I'm reminded of Kristen Cole throwing her kids in the back seat to take them to show houses. This is who we are and we should be damn proud of it. We are real estate agents and it becomes a family business whether you intended it to or not. Zach, when you got in in 22, did you have immediate success?
- [26:50]
Zach Clark
No, definitely, definitely not. And thankfully I had a lot of, you know, great mentors, great friends that I met, KW and other places that let me in on the inside of what my first, you know, six months to year is going to look like. And I noticed a lot of people, they've been in real estate for five years or 10 years or 15 years, really successful people all kind of told me the same thing, that it's really hard to start. If you can ride this out for six months or eight months or sometimes a year and you can really get some traction, it will be worth it. And that was, that was incredibly helpful because I didn't have my first closing till the end of December in 22. So really six, seven full months after I got into the business and if I hadn't had all those conversations, that obviously would have been very panic causing thing, especially since we, we had gone from two full salaries, my wife and I, to no salary for me. And she was on maternity leave with Arthur, so she was down to 60% of her salary. So money was tight. It was, if you looked at it from the outside, it would have been very stressful. I know for my wife it was very stressful, but I felt like something was coming. If I can ride this out another month or if I can do another open house or I can make another connection somewhere, this will happen.
- [28:12]
Jason Abrams
You know, I'm thinking back to our pre interview and Felix was so quiet during it. It dawns on me now you were feeding him at the time and that probably was the key to the pre interview. But so, but dude, you figured out something because you did 20 transactions last year, you're going to do 23, 25 this year you have figured out how to do dad full time in 20 to 25 units a year. What's the play that I need to run if I want to do that? What'd you do? Tell me exactly how to do it. Gang, we're about to unpack Zach's model. Don't take the notes. I'm taking the notes. You can get them@mreanotes.com Zach, tell me exactly how to be full time dad and sell 25 homes a year.
- [28:54]
Zach Clark
The short, sarcastic version would be to have cute kids. But in all honesty, I put myself around some really great people and this is not to pump up KW too much, but landing at the market center that I landed at at City View, surrounded by those types of folks, people who were like me, you know, teachers going to a new career, business people, new career people with kids at home to have that mentorship and that guidance is obviously crucial for any business. And then my big thing early on was working a ton of open houses. I really started working full time July and August of 22, and we just had a few months before Arthur was due and I knew I needed to be working all day, every day, seven days a week. And that's what I did, man. I tell new agents that I spent more time outside of my house and in other people's homes than I did at my own. So it took some sacrifice, some time away from my wife and vacation time, things like that were accustomed to. And it was a. It was a grind, man. It was a big, big challenge for sure.
- [29:58]
Jason Abrams
How many open houses were you doing a week?
- [30:01]
Zach Clark
I was hosting on most weeks. Six open houses. I was doing them back then. Wednesday night, Friday night, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. And I always kind of chuckle with folks. I would do it a little differently schedule wise. You know, I would. I wouldn't bother picking my signs up Saturday and moving them to a new house and doing two in one day. I would just stay at a house longer if I was doing it again now, but getting out there as much as I did and really, I think shaking the rust off a lot. You know, when you're first showing houses, you're hosting open houses. There's a lot of practicing and conversations you have to go through. So, man, I hosted probably over a hundred open houses before I had my first client. But my first ever transaction, real estate, that December closing was a. A couple that I met hosting an open house. So that was my first ever sale in real estate. Was a stranger.
- [30:52]
Jason Abrams
Six open houses a week is a Job. What are the one or two keys to running an open house that made you successful? Or was it simply quality over quantity and quantity over quality?
- [31:03]
Zach Clark
I truly believe it's all the stuff that happens before the open house. The open house is just kind of in my head. A bonus. If somebody comes in and I get a client from an open house, that, to me, is a huge bonus. I could go back through my transactions and see where I got leads, or I got business from neighbors or from people. While I was out walking, dropping off flyers or. Or inviting people to the open house.
- [31:28]
Jason Abrams
Tell me exactly how to do it. You got an open house coming up? What exactly did you do?
- [31:32]
Zach Clark
Yeah, I'm getting the open house scheduled the week before. So back then, I'm scheduling my next open house. While I'm sitting at the current open house that I'm working at, I'm having all my flyers made up and ready. By Sunday night or Monday morning at the latest, I'm doing my door knocking. All five days, I'm out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Dropping the flyers off, knocking on doors, bumping into people, mowing their grass, or walking their dog.
- [31:58]
Jason Abrams
What do you say? Walk me through. Exactly. You knock on my door, and I answer, hey, Zach. Or I wouldn't know your name. I'd say, hey. Hello. What do you want?
- [32:07]
Zach Clark
Hey, thanks for answering the door. I'll let you get back inside. I know it's 110 degrees right now, but I'm hosting an open house this weekend in your neighborhood. I'm sure you're not looking to move two doors down, but if you got some friends or family, you love the area, why don't you come down, show them the house on FaceTime, or invite them over? Or if you have questions about the market or ever selling your house, all my contacts on there, give me a shout.
- [32:29]
Jason Abrams
Dude, that's awesome. So it's soft, it's all value, and you're just giving them a document and walking on?
- [32:34]
Zach Clark
Yep. I mean, if you think about it, if somebody knocked on my door right now, what are the odds of me answering the door? Probably pretty slim. I primed changing a diaper, letting him sleep, so. So just having that conversation, you don't want to overdo it with people. Just get to the point. Let them have your contact info. If they have a need, they'll know where to find you. On Saturday and Sunday, they'll have your contact info, and they'll reach out to you.
- [32:58]
Jason Abrams
Love it. All right, then you're having the open house. What's Next, respond to everyone and follow up.
- [33:03]
Zach Clark
Yeah, open house. You know, as a matter of fact, the first folks that I sold that house to, they came in, I had my first ever sign in sheet, you know, of. What's your name, what's your phone number, what's your email? And I used to ask, are you working with a licensed realtor? That way I knew who to bug and who not to bug. Basically those folks walked in, they filled it out and they put yes, that they were working with an agent. So there wasn't at the time any intended follow up. I always send a thank you to everybody who comes and puts their number down. Same similar thing. Thank you so much for coming to the open house. If there's ever anything I can do for you or your family, feel free to let me know. And I sent them that text. I can't even remember if they responded. Two weeks later, I'm sitting at home working, I get a call from a lender and it says, hey, you know, Jess and Kevin wrote you down as their, as their realtor, is that correct? And I said, oh, heck yeah, that's correct. Yeah, of course I love Jess and Kevin. So just that interaction, just not being pushy, being sincere, thanking them for coming to the open house. When they got to the lender and they needed a realtor, they had my card, they had my info and they wrote me down. And that's, that's my first closing right there, man.
- [34:08]
Jason Abrams
It's, I, look, I love Jess and Kevin. This is fantastic. All right, so the open house has got you launched now you've evolved a little bit because now you got Felix. Are you still doing six open houses a week? And if not, what are you doing to close the 25 units?
- [34:24]
Zach Clark
Definitely not open housing as much as I was previously. I'll still host a few throughout a month, but obviously with two boys now, I gotta, gotta be a dad at home, be present as much as possible. The obvious, you know, sphere of influence, staying in touch with people and just, I, I guess just being a genuine friend, you know, not calling them to talk real estate, just staying in touch with people. They see my life as a realtor online and as a dad. And then the other one is also not reinventing the wheel, but we do a lot of community based stuff. When I was getting out of teaching, on a personal level, I felt some guilt. If you talk to teachers who leave the profession early, they'll tell you that they feel like they're walking out on their students and the families and all these people that have supported them, and they've been a part of their lives. So we started, my wife and I, we started a scholarship fund, if you will, where every house we sell, we donate $500 to a local San Antonio senior. It was not started as a marketing piece. It was really started as a piece to stay connected to the community and to just say thanks to, you know, past coworkers, past families, past students. And that inadvertently has been how people know that I'm still doing business. You know, instead of the champagne pictures or the big title closing signs, when people see me post about another kid getting a scholarship, they know like, oh, he sold a house. He gave a scholarship. And it's been awesome, man. It's been great.
- [35:56]
Jason Abrams
Genius, brother. I'm going to let you go, I can promise you. Felix wanted this to end 10 minutes ago. I will say I'm wildly impressed with the number of Cheerios that this young man can take down in one sitting. This is my kind of guy.
- [36:09]
Zach Clark
He's gonna go turn these Cheerios into SpaghettiOs right now, I think, at the dinner table, man.
- [36:13]
Jason Abrams
All right, well, let's get him into some pre licensing right away, because the future for this family lies in this industry. Zach, congratulations on all the success. Thanks for joining us today.
- [36:23]
Zach Clark
Thank you so much, brother. I appreciate you.
- [36:27]
Jason Abrams
What did I tell you, gang? Did you get anxiety just listening to that hearing his little guy in the background? If you're watching it on YouTub, you see this kid is crawling all over the place. And you know what he said to me? He said, hey, Jason, is this okay? And you know, yeah, this is okay. You're damn right it's okay. That's life. What's happening right there. I know. I see you, gang. I know that we have the greatest audience in the history of the real estate multiverse. And I know a lot of you literally have kids in hand while you're listing and selling real estate. That's what you love about this industry. Number one, we wake up every day on the quest, on the mission, on the holy calling to help as many people as we can. And I know for a fact that a lot of you help people with no expectation of personal gain. The gain comes second. Number two, we're able to take our families with us when we do it. You want to know if real estate is a family business? I guarantee you it is. Ask me how I know. Here's how I know. Because when my kid was six years old, he knocked my open house signs directly into my Mercedes. And it took all of us to pay to fix that car. That's the essence of a small family business. You see, residential real estate is the most human of all the companies out there. You know why? Because we sell the thing that literally defines where people are going to live and that defines where they're going to shop, the food they're going to eat, the peer group they're going to have, and in many cases, where they're going to be educated and have recreation. That's why the choice of where to live is one of the most human choices you will make. The fact that we're able to do it with our families and in many cases, pass on amazing real estate teams to our children is just one of the things that makes this the greatest industry in the world. 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 and 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 The Millionaire 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.
- [39:51]
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