← The Millionaire Real Estate Agent | The MREA Podcast
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent | The MREA Podcast
128. 420 Deals, 90% Repeat and Referral Business With Erica Deuschle
00:30:17
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- [00:00]
A
When you're a giver, true and true. This business just comes back to you tenfold.
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B
This idea of providing a ridiculously high level of service, something that you take very, very seriously.
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A
You've got to be relentless to build something that truly grows on its own. If you have that in you and you can tap into that and keep it going, sky's the limit for sure.
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B
How do you do that?
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A
I hate to say this because it might drive people crazy. The answer is,
- [00:28]
B
come spend some time with me at the crossway of caring and capitalism. That's what you're going to hear today. And it's going to make you crazy because we're going to hear from somebody that hails out of the Philadelphia mainline area. They close over a 420 units year in and year out. And that's for over $215 million in volume. You would think that this must mean that there are step by step systems for everything. Gang, you'd be right and wrong. I am talking about none than Erica Duchel. Her team runs on a very simple idea. When you care about people more than anybody else can, then you will get repeat and referral business. Because here's the byline, friends. 90% of their deals come from repeat and referral business. Yes, they have incredible touch programs. Yes, they do incredible events. And yes, they are going to tell us exactly how to get 90 plus percent of your business from repeat and referral. Sit back and buckle up. This is Erica Duchel and I am joined by Erica Duchel. Erica, how are you?
- [01:36]
A
Good morning, Jason, how are you?
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B
I am fantastic. Thank you for asking. So I start every show the same. I ask everybody. How did you end up in the greatest industry in the world?
- [01:48]
A
I ended up in real Estate in 2009. I was in a career that I actually really enjoyed, but not what I ever thought I'd do. I actually have a broad.
- [01:58]
B
Really?
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A
That's what I went to college for. Yes, I was actually a Howard Stern intern.
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B
Okay, stop the tape. You were an intern for Howard Stern? Like when I used to listen to Howard, he would get real harsh with his interns.
- [02:11]
A
I was an intern in 2002 when he was still at KROQ and this was when the E. Channel was in the same hallway.
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B
Wow.
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A
So it was quite the experience. I was Scott the engineer's intern.
- [02:24]
B
Get out of here. Really?
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A
My job. I had the best spot. I had to drive to Manhattan about an hour and Howard and Ronnie the limo driver would wait in the parking garage for me to get there. And then we'd all go up together. So my job was to set up the studio, do the mic checks, make sure everything was ready to go for the show. And this is at a time where he was on KROQ in Manhattan. This was a radio station. So part of my job for Scott, the engineer was, let's say Howard was talking about Heineken beer in the morning. We had a great barbecue this weekend, and we drank Heineken. My job was to make a commercial on a reel to reel, which doesn't exist anymore, but I knew how to use it because I had a radio show in college and I knew how to use reel to reel. So I would tighten it all up, make a commercial that would air the rest of the day on kroq throughout the rest of the day.
- [03:16]
B
You were kind of making shorts before anyone was making shorts.
- [03:20]
A
Yes, I was. Long story short, fell in love with my husband. Gave up the broadcast dream. We moved to Florida. We did all sorts of things. In 2005, we were living in Florida. My parents home that I grew up in had a horrible house. Fire gone. Whole house gone.
- [03:36]
B
It's devastating.
- [03:37]
A
It was devastating. But you know what? They weren't there. They were on vacation and my little brother was with them and everything was okay. So we moved back up from Florida pretty quickly and I jumped into some odd jobs. But in 2007, got married. 2008, had my first child, and I was working a recruiting job that I actually loved and was really good at. But after I had Wyatt, I thought, you know what? I want to start building something for my family. Just tapping into where were my passions. My passions were coming from very humble beginnings. My mom was a nurse, my dad was a mechanic. But they always had a beautiful home and they were do it yourselfers. So I grew up with watching them transform homes that we lived in with their own hands, basically figuring things out. I always joke that when I was a little girl, I was mouthy, always mouthing off. And that's all I got in trouble for, really. I'd be punished for a weekend, I'd be like, that's fine. You know, And I'd rearrange my bedroom and I'd move the bed and heavy furniture. And so I always joke that I always had a knack for design too. And I feeling comfortable in your space has always been important to me. So I kept the full time job that I had. And when Wyatt was three months old, I took real estate classes. At night, I'd leave my full time job and I'd go straight to class, and I probably didn't get home till 10 o'. Clock. So it was a very hard transition. But as soon as I was licensed, that was it. Quit my job, and I was the one that had the benefits. My husband was in contracting at that time.
- [05:09]
B
Wow.
- [05:10]
A
Huge risk. We were charging groceries on a credit card. We had a mortgage, and we were broke as a joke. So I had a lot of people that said, you are insane. Because as we know, the market wasn't that great in 09. But for me, it was the perfect time to get in. And I just didn't quit.
- [05:29]
B
Did you have success right off the bat?
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A
You know what? Which is really funny. I had a listing on deck before I got my actual license. It was a coworker at my previous job. Her house was listed with somebody else for, like, six months. And she hired me, and I drove to Harrisburg to get my license because I already had a listing ready to go. And I actually sold the listing. This is a really funny story. I sold the listing in a week. And the kicker was at settlement, the buyer brought me a gift.
- [06:00]
B
Really?
- [06:01]
A
Yes. The buyer bought me a gift because I was so helpful. Her agent, he was awful. He was awful. This was a long time ago. Looking back, I, you know, but how funny that my first settlement ever, when I was representing the seller, the buyer brought me a gift.
- [06:15]
B
Unbelievable. But that's sort of your thing. Like, we're going to get into it later. Like, this idea of providing a ridiculously high level of service is not just lip service for you. It's something that you take very, very
- [06:27]
A
seriously, what it's all about. Yes.
- [06:29]
B
Well, you're probably right, because y' all are doing something incredibly well. I want to set the stage for the audience, though. So, gang, Erica and her husband Dave, they run a real estate team. And the two of them, their production was about $90 million. Of the 216 million that they closed, they have another last year. Right. And they have, give or take, 15 agents that made up the difference. So this is a giant business, and I want to unpack this because you guys are producing a tremendous amount of leads. But here's what's fascinating. 90% of the 420 units that closed last year were from SOI repeat and referral. That defies the way a lot of folks will think about the real estate business. So, Erica, I want you to tell us exactly how you run a business that generates that many referrals. Now, before you do, gang, you know the drill. We're about to unpack Erica's model. You don't have to take the notes. I'm taking the notes. Head over to MrEanotes.com and put your email address in. They come out every Thursday. We send you an email with a PDF. Erica, how exactly do you generate enough leads to sell this much real estate with 90% repeat and referral?
- [07:43]
A
I naturally go back in my mind from when I started. And what did that look like? Cause that's where I got my foundation. That's where the foundation was built. And I decided when I first got in that I was going to be a solo agent, not on a team. And that was important to me. As we know, 18 years ago, teams weren't as much of a thing, but there was different opportunities to be on other people's team. And I thought, you know what? Do your own thing and build it in your way. Because I'm from a small town, it was kind of easy to get started because I was social butterfly, let's say, in high school. And this was the time in 09 when Facebook kind of became popular. So I started using Facebook to reconnect with people from my past. But what I always say about those early days is even when we were broke and I needed a paycheck, I always put the client's best interest first. So that's paramount. That's first and foremost. Obviously, going into this business, you have to be able to put any commission, even the thought of it. Right. It has to be completely removed from your mind, in my opinion, to educate your clients, to make sure that everything is being done the way that it should be done. Their best interest, of course, you know, always at the forefront. I would knock everybody's socks off, meaning I would do things for my clients that they would never expect me to do. I would find ways to genuinely connect with them on a human level. And I made them friends. These people became my friends. And when you are able to do that and you have the emotional bandwidth within yourself, it's exhausting. Right? Especially if you have children or a spouse or if you're able to do that, though, during the course of the transaction. And I'm not talking about crossing any, like, professional lines. I'm meaning finding ways to connect with them emotionally to where when the transaction is over, they actually miss you.
- [09:45]
B
Wow, that's a big idea. So how do you do that? Is it just natural for you? This is like your superpower.
- [09:51]
A
It's a natural, I think, because of intuition. It's like when I first started, I would sit opens and I would meet People at the Opens, I would be able to morph myself into something that would make them feel comfortable. Right. I mean, there's people that walk into Opens that they don't want to talk to you, and it's okay. But I would find a way to make them feel comfortable enough to at least get it started. Did they have a kid with them?
- [10:19]
B
And.
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A
And maybe the kid had a backpack with a character on it, and I knew about it because my boys had it. Right. It's the littlest things. I always say, you either have that or you don't. And that kind of frustrates some people. But it's an intuition on personality, on temperament. It's an intuition to, what is this person like and what's going to make them comfortable?
- [10:41]
B
Okay. This makes perfect sense to someone who's highly emotionally intelligent and I'm not. So can you make it make sense? I need a model. I need. Because this feels like. This feels like hopes and wishes to me. But I know it isn't because of the volume of business that you do and the fact that you have 15 other people within your organization that are all selling a lot of real estate. Okay, so what's the. Where does the rubber meet the road?
- [11:03]
A
All right, so say you don't have maybe that emotional intuition. What can you do to make your clients feel comfortable? One of the things you can do that's tangible is know what's coming next and tackle it before it comes. So if you know the business and you know the contract and you know what needs to happen and you're able to put yourself in somebody else's shoes, what are they going to be worried about next? And how can you put a fire out before it starts? Because when you can do that, you automatically gain trust. You automatically give them confidence, right. That they're working with the right person, because you were, in their mind, putting fires out before they became issues. So that's something. It's like, I always use the analogy of, have you ever waited tables? Maybe, maybe not. Right? If you serve someone a burger and fries, what else are they gonna need with the burger and fries?
- [12:01]
B
I need a chocolate milkshake at all times.
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A
Besides that.
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B
Oh, ketchup. I need that ketchup. That's it.
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A
Right? So I know that that's so silly, but when you are eyes wide open and truly, truly focused on each client, you're going to learn their personality pretty quickly. But you're going to learn, all right, based on what they've showed me till now, this is coming down the Road, Let me get ahead of it.
- [12:24]
B
This makes perfect sense to me. So I have to get these clients to feel and be authentically friends with me at the end of a transaction. I need to anticipate what's going to happen and be there first, because that's what makes for the smooth client experience. Yes, I understand this. There has to be a robust touch program, though, to keep all these people coming back for more. Yes.
- [12:47]
A
So the answer is for years and years and years. No. I used Facebook. Keep in mind, I was a solo agent till 2015, from 09 to 2015, and I was doing about $40 million of business on my own. No buyer's agent, no assistant, no nothing.
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B
Wow.
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A
With two boys at the time, one with special needs that I was running to therapies all week long. But I used Facebook as my CRM because that's what was free. And I found ways to use it. I monitor it. And I still monitor it every day. I actually have. My marketing director also monitors, you know, for me as well. Never missed a birthday. If someone lost a parent or a grandparent, I was dropping off dinner. Someone has a baby, and we still to this day, you get a beautiful monogram blanket. But I used Facebook and. And was hyper focused on it every day to not miss anything.
- [13:45]
B
Okay, wait a second. Because this feels natural for you, but this is a model. This is a system. You're using Facebook as your Central Intelligence Agency to track the people that are in your database.
- [13:58]
A
Yes. We've had a CRM for three years. That's it. Which is crazy.
- [14:04]
B
And when you see things happening, they're having a birthday, they're having a baby. This then fires off some sort of response on your side. So you gave a great example. You said if someone's having a baby, they're getting an amazing monogrammed baby blanket. What are some of the other things you do when someone's having a birthday?
- [14:20]
A
What do you do when somebody has a birthday? Nothing. Just a happy birthday wish.
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B
Okay.
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A
If it's someone that's older and they would really appreciate a little plant or something like that, like little popeyes. I keep candles in my car, branded candles. So, you know, a lot of times I'll drop something off. During the pandemic, I went through and came up with a list of healthcare workers, you know, clients that I have worked with. And I would send them gift cards to local restaurants. So I wasn't only supporting the local spot, but also kind of thank you so much. And I cannot imagine what you're dealing with. Right now, having to leave your house, having to, you know, go out and take care of people while you have your own family at home. So always finding a way to keep those connections. But to be a giver, I hate to say this because it might drive people crazy. When you're a giver. Truly true and true. This business just comes back to you tenfold.
- [15:17]
B
Well, yeah. I mean, it's give and take, not take and give. So, like, this makes sense to me, which kind of leads to the next thing that y' all do. So well, you're wild about philanthropy, but you've turned philanthropy into an event that I think is industry leading. Tell us a little bit about the May soiree. What is it and what's the genesis? And then I want to unpack exactly how to do it.
- [15:38]
A
Yep. So for me, I'm one of those people where I always need a big project to be working on. My husband laughs because I torture him because he's simple and I'm not. I always need the next big thing. So the maisonire started four years ago where a good friend of mine's sister started a nonprofit. And they were brand new, off the gate, no money, no real backing. It's called well Rooted. And I thought that it was an interesting concept because this woman fosters children. The problem in the foster world is that once these kids age out of actual foster care, they're kind of on their own. Like, once they're 18, they're on their own, and they don't really have families. They have their foster family, but. But a lot of times they're living on their own. Well Rooted is a nonprofit to support those people. So I thought to myself, I need to do something for Katie and her group of people to get them to hit the ground running. I thought, I need to have a big event. So what does that look like? Big events don't stress me out. Being around a lot of people don't stress me out. I knew that I would cover the cost of the event, so I decided to have it at our home on our property. So basically, it's a vendor event. Right. So I got 30 clients that sell goods, artisans, focaccia, jewelry, you know, all sorts of people that I've worked with. Right. So now I'm getting them to participate in this event. They set up a 10 by 10 booth. They're selling their goods. They're paying an entry fee to participate, which goes right to the charity.
- [17:16]
B
What's the entry fee?
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A
100 bucks.
- [17:18]
B
Okay. So in my mind, and tell me If I have it wrong, I'm thinking of like the most high end art fair or Sunday market on the planet.
- [17:27]
A
It's a market, it's a vendor market on our property. There's a dj, there is a signature cocktail, and the name coincides with whatever the charity is. There's food, picky food. I have branded plastic cups. So when you sign in, everybody must sign in. You get your branded Erica Duchel real estate team cup, and that's what you use at the bar. You get a tote bag to carry your stuff. But it's such a layered event because these businesses are getting showcased. All of the proceeds are going to the charity. And it's just fun. It's always on a Thursday in May, usually the first Thursday in May, hence
- [18:08]
B
the name, the Mesoiree.
- [18:10]
A
Exactly. Which my aunt came up with that name. I mean, I toyed with all sorts of names.
- [18:14]
B
How many people do you get to one of these?
- [18:17]
A
About 350 people.
- [18:19]
B
Wow. So it's, it's not just. Are most of them, I'm assuming, in the database, but some just have to drive by and see what's doing?
- [18:26]
A
That's correct. Hence where everybody has to sign in just because we have to have some quality control. My whole team works the event. Their spouses work the event. My teenage boys work the event with all their friends. We have a parking plan, but yeah, I mean, it's a huge event that people look forward to, but it's an event where everyone on my team participates. All of their clients and family come. So it's a way to get all of these people together for a good cause, raise money, and it's just really fun.
- [18:55]
B
Now, social media, you, I mean, you mentioned Facebook. Are there photographers? Are you posting these things?
- [19:00]
A
Absolutely. So every year is videoed. My guy Brendan comes, we take pictures, we do videos, we do reels of previous soirees as we're building up to it. I always interview the head person for the association that we're helping. And we start promoting, you know, in January. Here's the date, save the date. And we just slowly build upon that. It's wild that so many people would come out, but it's amazing.
- [19:24]
B
All right, so if I'm gonna go do this, give me some of the hacks and the tricks that you've learned over time that I just am not gonna see coming.
- [19:31]
A
What are you, first of all, passionate about? Is there an organization that jives with you in your community that you feel passionate about? So find something that intrigues you, that you Want to support. That's number one. You have to believe in it. Right? I would say figure out where I am lucky enough. We actually just moved in the spring and our new property is even bigger. But where are you going to have this event? If it is a vendor event, Outside is best. And you need to hold the vendors accountable for their own setup. They need to bring their tent, they need to bring their tables. Everything's spray painted out. Here's your booth number. So it's quite the operation. Your committee must be small.
- [20:10]
B
Oh, what does that mean?
- [20:12]
A
Four people on your committee. You don't need any more than that. You need four doers on your committee that you trust, that get the vision and that are implementers. You're going to do raffles, so you need probably two people on your committee to start calling around, getting, you know, raffle baskets. What could go wrong? It could rain.
- [20:34]
B
Everything could go wrong.
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A
So you want your DJ to be covered.
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B
Are you asking folks as they come, are you getting their physical addresses? Are you asking for referrals? Are you doing anything real estate related?
- [20:46]
A
So we have a sign in sheet. You're not coming in unless we have your name, your email address and your physical mailing address.
- [20:53]
B
And then once you have this physical mailing address, we. What sort of touch program do you run for folks like this?
- [20:58]
A
We use Follow up boss and they all get logged into Follow up boss. So when we send out, hey, save the date, we have their email addresses to be able to do that. The beauty of an event like this is when you host something like this, I'm blessed because I already have kind of that name face recognition. In the little town that I grew up in, our business has grown five counties around and Jersey. But it's like a solidification. It's like, wow, we already knew that her and her team were leaps and bounds number one in this township. But she does this, you know, and I got to meet her and she was behind the bar serving me a cocktail.
- [21:39]
B
I love it. This makes perfect sense to me. So when I think about this cake you're baking, so to speak, in order to get all these referrals, it's number one, put the client first. It's number two, make sure that we become friendly with these folks. And I mean, on a deep level, anticipate the problems. Then use Facebook as your intelligence agency and make sure you're marking all of their moments with your magic.
- [22:01]
A
Yes.
- [22:02]
B
Then have a touch program. And one of the touches is gonna be this incredible event to bring the whole community together. It feels like the last piece, at least based on our pre interview, is making sure that you bring the right people into your organization so important? Yeah, but it's hard, right? Because we all want our companies to grow. So when you think about the right person for your business, what does that look like?
- [22:24]
A
So just take it back a little bit. I did this for so many years by myself, and I built an incredible foundation, which I was always very proud of. When you do that and I quote, unquote, like, you do it the right way, for me, it's personal, because now whoever I bring on is associating with me and my reputation. And some team leaders might think I'm crazy, but, you know, there was someone that came to us in 2025, and he did 30 million the previous year on another team at another brokerage. And I didn't take him. And I didn't take him because he had an ego. And some people might say that that's crazy, but for me, it's not.
- [23:04]
B
So what's the makeup of the right person?
- [23:07]
A
The right person is a kind soul.
- [23:11]
B
Okay.
- [23:11]
A
You have to have a kindness and a warmth about you. You have to have a need to work. Right. I want workers.
- [23:20]
B
Well, yeah, if you don't have a need, you don't work much.
- [23:22]
A
Yeah. I've been doing this a very long time. I don't necessarily need to still be in the trenches, but I am. So it's important that when people join me, they really do want to work. We're blessed with so many referrals that the reason why we built a team was to offload the business. So that's, I think, also is what makes us successful, because our team agents know that if you show up and you do the right thing, consistently right, and you prove yourself in this group, you're going to be rewarded for that.
- [23:55]
B
It all makes sense. All right, last question. For me, you've been having a lot of success for a very long time. And when I look up at you and Dave, the two of y' all combine husband and wife about 90 million of the production.
- [24:08]
A
Mm.
- [24:08]
B
What keeps you at this point? Because you can live anywhere you want. You could drive anything you want. You can go anywhere you want on vacation. I mean, you're incredibly successful. But doing 90 million means you're going in and out of a lot of real estate. What keeps you guys listing and selling instead of.
- [24:22]
A
I think the reason for that is the way that we grew up. We both grew up very, very humble. Means we never thought that we would own a $4 million house at the beach. We never thought that we would own a $3 million. We never thought. Because that's just not in our world. We were never. The beauty of it is we're so grateful for it. So when you are so grateful and just so blown away, but also using your platform to help other people, we still wake up every day like do or die. We have to help these people.
- [25:01]
B
This is why it's the greatest industry in the world. If you have a servant heart and you wake up and want to. You want to consult people to make the best decisions possible in the largest asset class in the world, this is the industry. And here's the reality of it, because you mentioned all the things that you have, you don't get any of those things unless you give a hell of a lot every single day. Yes, that's the lesson you've taught us, Erica.
- [25:27]
A
No, I mean, I'll list a $300,000 house. No problem. If you call me and you want me to do it, I'm going to do it. I'll list a $3 million house. Every single person gets the same love. And for me, that really is what it is. I think that people can feel the love that I have for the business and the love that I have for helping people. If you can find that in yourself and be relentless about it, you got to be relentless to build something that truly grows on its own. If you have that in you and you can tap into that and keep it going, sky's the limit for sure.
- [25:58]
B
It's not going to get any better than that. Erica, thank you for joining us. I love your heart. I love your mission. Tell Dave I said hi.
- [26:04]
A
I will. Tell Gary I said hi.
- [26:06]
B
I will. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
- [26:08]
A
All right, take care.
- [26:10]
B
You want it to make more sense than it does. I know. So let me make sense of it for you, because Erica and Dave are geniuses. I take all of this and I put it into three buckets. Number one, you have to care about people. And there's an easy way to define it. Do they become your friend at the end of the transaction? And if the answer is yes, you know it. And here's the dirty secret. If the answer is no, you know that also. Then number two, you have to give back to these communities. Someone once told me the small town is the greatest thing that ever happened to the top real estate agents because they become known. But why? Why do they become known? Because in a small town, what you do and who you are matters. Because everyone's all up in your business. They know what you're doing, so you're forced to live at this higher level. That's the key for all of us. How are we going to show up for our people regularly on their special days? You heard what she says about Facebook. She literally uses it like the nsa. She's watching to find out who's having life events, what is happening to them. And then she goes into the real world and shows up. When the virtual world intersects with the physical world, you know you are doing it right. When you see that someone had a baby, she then delivers the baby blanket. It's examples like that that don't sound like much until you see that they compound. Because here's the reality. Compounding relationships, it might be more powerful than compounding interest. Which leads us to her third bucket. She's gonna give. With philanthropy, the spring soiree is an incredible idea. Here's why it works. It works because everyone is looking for an incredible event. And when good people are given the opportunity to do something good, they take it. That's why she gets 300 people to come have a cocktail and walk around and see all these artisan booths. It works because all of the money is going to a great cause. There's no question that her people come back every year to be part of something good. And then finally, make sure you bring the right people into your organization. And I get that totally. When you bring knuckleheads around your kids, don't you worry about your kid acting like a knucklehead? Sure you do. It's the same thing. We are all made up of the people that we associate with. And you heard her. I would rather have less people than the wrong people. Friends, there is so much to learn from Erica. But here's the one thing I want you to take away. If at the end of the day, relationships are where the wealth is, and when you look back at your life, it will be graded not by the amount of listings you took, but the number of relationships that you made. How purposeful are you about being highly relational? Because I'll tell you what, Erica and Dave, they are 100% in on relationships. Go forth and do like this. If you're enjoying this podcast, I want you to click the subscribe button anywhere that you get your podcasts. We want to be the voice in your head every single week. And every week, we're dropping new content. We also send out a newsletter at the conclusion of every show to make sure that you get the highest points in the models and systems that were discussed. So if you want to sign up, I need your name and your email address. Head over to themillionaire agent podcast.com 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.
- [29:35]
C
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