Real Producers

On this podcast, we've seen many traits and habits that lead to real estate success.  Of course, drive, discipline, and sales mastery are necessary if you want to build an awesome business and legacy.  But the exceptional agents we feature on this show have another thing in common.  Their ability to withstand temporary pain in the pursuit of long-term growth.  That pain takes on many forms: being...

Success in real estate—or any sales-driven business—isn't just about chasing leads. It's about cultivating real relationships and intentionally putting yourself in the right rooms. Because let's face it: leads can get you in the door, but relationships are what keep you in the game. The environments we choose to step into can radically accelerate our growth. Being in the right rooms—whether that's...

In some jobs, being authentic and outspoken on social media can get you fired. But in real estate, that authenticity could be the thing that separates you from cookie cutter agents and gets you hired by buyers and sellers.  That was Ryan Cecil's experience. After getting fired for her social media content, she found that real estate agents who show their personality attract more clients.  Her onli...

In real estate, many agents who decide to build teams are focused on what the team will do for them. It's often about using leverage for the team leader to achieve what they personally want.  Maybe that's why the industry has so many problems around perception and professionalism.  What would happen if a leader built around the concept of how they impact others and focused on the "why" of their pe...

Most businesses and entrepreneurs are laser focused on building brands that appeal to the consumer. They spend a ton of money on getting Instagram followers and going viral, but to no avail.  What they don't realize is that there's a better (and less expensive) way to get in front of the consumer - and that's through real estate agents.  One relationship with a top producing agent in your city cou...

In real estate, agents wear many hats. We're marketers, advisors, entrepreneurs, and salespeople, but one important role we tend to overlook is community builders. We're in a unique position to influence and inspire people, using homeownership to close the wealth gap. It's easy to focus on what real estate can do for us, but we can't lose sight of what it does for our communities. Through real est...

Horses and human beings during a real estate transaction are a lot alike - they need to be handled with emotional intelligence. Purchasing or selling a home is a high stakes scenario with a lot of money and emotion on the line.  Just like horses are sensitive to the emotions of their riders, consumers are sensitive to the emotions of their agent.  Unfortunately, a lot of deals go south and people...

"Invest in real estate, it's the true path to wealth" they say.  That's not the whole story.  True wealth doesn't come from simply racking up assets, but by building business enterprises that produce passive income.  So while buying up single-family, multi-family, short-term rentals and other investments is a big piece of the puzzle, that's only step one. To fully experience the power of real esta...

Over 100 episodes of the podcast, we've talked to people who have made it big in real estate. When you have enough of these conversations, certain patterns become clear. You realize that the most successful people are just different.  They know with crystal clarity what matters and they clear everything else out of their way. They are aware of the opportunities in front of them and they go after t...

In real estate, it's easy to get distracted by flashy opportunities, side projects, or things that seem more exciting than the work in front of us. But here's the truth: every time you divert your attention away from what truly matters, you're sacrificing long-term success. Shelley Cooley knows that feeling all too well. She started as a teacher, transitioned into real estate staging, and ultimate...

Many people in real estate think being a generalist is the fastest path to greatness. That couldn't be further from the truth.  We see it constantly with the agents we feature on this show. Some of the biggest and most successful names in this business are the ones specializing in the smallest niches. The more you can dominate your own corner of a market, the longer you'll survive and thrive throu...

In real estate today, starting a team is considered the ultimate competitive advantage. The problem is, team leaders don't have the right framework for a healthy team culture.  There's a reason why some of the best teams are run by former athletes or coaches. That's because sport is the ultimate training ground for a job like real estate. Athletes and coaches come into the business with the secret...

In sales, we hear about the 20-60-20 rule: 20% of people you meet will always buy, 20% will never buy, and 60% are on the fence, waiting for you to tip the scales in your favor.  The concept is widely accepted for initial sales, but we rarely apply it to ongoing relationships or repeat business, and we should. Many of us assume that once someone buys from us, they're automatically in the "always-b...

In business, especially in sales, it's easy to get comfortable once you've experienced some success. You attend conferences, listen to experts, and take notes—but how much of that information actually gets applied? How much of it truly makes a difference in your business or life? For many, the answer is: not much. Year after year, they hear the same advice, nod along in agreement, and yet nothing...

Between challenges in the market and the changes to legislation, 2024 wasn't the easiest time to be in real estate. It's hardly surprising that we're expecting a 20% to 40% exit rate of licensed agents. But for some agents, tough markets are actually the best time to grow.  Even though the market was at an all time low, some agents have been able to thrive, raise their commissions and grow their m...

In real estate, it's easy to get caught up in the pursuit of success, especially when the stakes are high and the market is competitive.  For people like Molly Bloom, an entrepreneur, former professional skier, and mastermind behind one of the most exclusive high-stakes poker games in the world, the allure of wealth and power took her down a dangerous path.  Molly's poker games attracted Hollywood...

In real estate, you can get away with being a transactional salesperson - going from one deal to the next - for a limited amount of time. At some point, you'll have to shift to being relational if you want long-term success.  Anybody can get one deal…but it takes a completely different skillset to keep a relationship and get business for the rest of someone's life.  There are many ways we can nurt...

If you've been round the real estate block, you'll know that this job comes with shifts, disruptions, and unexpected shifts. If we want to have long, successful careers, we have to constantly reinvent ourselves and adapt to changes we didn't see coming.  Interest rates, inventory dips, the market coming to a screeching halt after a booming few years….these are things we've all had to deal with rec...

The US real estate industry is unlike any other in the whole world. The speed of the transaction, the number of times people move and the solutions that drive homeownership…these are all opportunities that don't really don't exist anywhere else.  A lot of those opportunities are possible because of the National Association of Realtors. With 1.5 million+ members, NAR has a strong voice on the natio...

Success doesn't happen by chance. It takes more than talent—it requires a team that consistently shows up, day in and day out, aligned with a shared vision of collective success. Yet, creating this level of synergy and commitment can feel impossible without the right framework. Building a billion-dollar real estate team isn't just about effort—it's about strategy, leadership, and culture. It's abo...

Success often boils down to one simple question: Are you willing to take the stairs while others look for the escalator? Building a thriving real estate career, growing your personal brand, and achieving true success demands effort most people aren't willing to put in. The average person chooses the easier path, hoping for shortcuts. But successful agents and investors understand that taking the s...

What if I told you that the painful failure you're experiencing isn't the end of the story but just the middle? My high school basketball coach dared to believe we could take on the best team. Inspired by the story of Jericho, he walked around the massive Wigwam arena for 7 days, praying for a victory.  The result? A brutal loss. But that's not where the story ends. Fast forward a decade, and that...

Imagine going from earning $700k, getting all the accolades and being able to afford whatever you want to the brink of bankruptcy. Hiding your Range Rover from the repo man, your own home going into foreclosure and counting every penny. Back in 2008, that was enough for many real estate agents to throw in the towel and leave the industry.  For Michelle Fermin failure wasn't an option. It's easy to...

Real estate has always been a human-first business but that might be changing soon.  As AI becomes more deeply ingrained in our daily lives, everyone wants to know one thing: can AI mimic the very qualities that define us and make us great at our jobs?  Can it simulate the self-awareness, empathy, adaptability, and genuine connection of human beings?  Not yet. While AI can certainly support real e...

There are two ways to maximize your income as a real estate agent. You can stay in production, hold onto the entire transaction and never experience the time freedom this business offers.  Or you can relinquish the transaction, get your time back and earn money through leverage and expansion.  For the short-sighted, option 1 works, but that's how we end up with agents who are stuck selling real es...