I think I speak on behalf of 20 + other real estate professionals that their business mindset was dramatically changed from attending the Closing Table Mastermind. Closing Table Mastermind is an elite mastermind of real estate professionals that meets 3-4 times a year! When I say elite, I mean bad ass mofo’s elite. It isn’t cheap either! I thought I would write this weeks post based on the biggest takeaways from the event!
Takeaway #1- Be Different
What are you doing right now in your real estate business that differentiates you from your competitors? Quite often we look at other’s success and then try to mimic it, but what we should really be doing is looking at what our competitors are doing and then figuring out a way we can outshine them. What can you do that nobody else is?
Think about it…
Being like every other agent is boring. One of my favorite speakers at the closing table mastermind was Jesse Itzler. You can look him up for yourself if you like, but the dude is a bad ass. Jesse was the co-founder of Marquis Jet & Zico Coconut Water. The key to Jesse’s success was not conformity, it was quite the opposite. This dude went from being a white rapper to becoming an elite CEO. His successes followed a simple formula; be different.
You don’t get rich being like everyone else.
You get rich by doing what everyone else isn’t or won’t.
Sounds pretty easy doesn’t it? Well, not so much. The only way you start doing things that others aren’t, is by doing things that make you extremely uncomfortable. Nearly every success story I’ve ever heard or read about required the entrepreneur to step outside their comfort zone.
If you are not doing things in your business that make you uncomfortable, then you most likely aren’t doing anything that’s going to make you different. Part of growing and pushing the limits on what you can accomplish requires you doing things you may not like doing at first. Things like reading, learning new skills, traveling, and failing along the way.
One does not ever succeed until they fail first. I don’t know of a better way to learn, do you?
Jesse referred to having a differentiator as his “brownie”. He explains that every business needs a special brownie that makes them stand out. For Jesse, it was originally being one of the only white rappers. Then it was creating a time share like jet service. Then it was with Coconut water. The point is that you need to find your “brownie” in your real estate business if you want to stand out.
I want to show you several “brownies” you should try digging your teeth into right now that can help you stand out from the herd of Realtors. It all starts by willing to do what others can’t or won’t. Here are a couple of “brownies” I see happening right now in our space.
- Adapt Video- I see so many agents so scared to get in front of a video camera, but the truth is you better start getting really uncomfortable in front of the camera fast because if you don’t, your competitors will. I like using green screen videos exactly for this reason. Nobody else is doing it.
- Sharpen your marketing skills– Sellers today don’t hire Realtors, they hire marketers. Your real estate license doesn’t help your clients get a higher sales price, your marketing skills do. As much as you may want to avoid learning about all the new technology, running Facebook ads, or learning how to use text messaging autoresponders with companies like Call Action, not doing so only hurts you.
- Quit Being A SalesPerson– Nobody wants to be sold, but everybody wants to be served. How are you positioned? Start thinking about what you can do to absolutely wow your clients that nobody else is doing. Maybe that’s picking them up in a limo for showings. Maybe that’s turning all of your transactions into a reality show. Point is you should focus on how your service can stand out and enhance the client experience at the same time(more on this later).
Takeaway #2- Embrace Being “Uncomfortable”
There is no easy route to success. All of the speakers at Closing Table Mastermind shared a common story. They were all willing to do what their competitors would not They were willing to innovate and give an extra 40% when things got tough. Part of being “different” or creating something “new” requires lots of trials and tribulations to getting there. If being successful were that easy, don’t you think everyone would do it? Here are some awesome quotes that were shared at the Closing Table Mastermind.
“Your goal has to be greater than the comfort for getting there”
“Remember how you are going to feel tomorrow”
“Having not enough time is a fucking excuse”
“I didn’t come this far to only come this far”
All of these quotes are now on my wall. The truth is that the majority of people reading this post will not have the guts to do what it requires to really push the needle. Hey, if you are cool being average then go ahead and keep doing what you are doing. If your desire to reach your goals exceeds the uncomfortableness of getting there, now we’re talking. In other words, if the desire of getting to the top of your game is present, you will find a way of getting there no matter how hard it is.
This is currently a situation I’m LIVING right now. I just moved my family across the country without a job leaving a very good paying career to follow my gut.
Why?
Because I’ve been fucking uncomfortable for 3 years and am willing to do whatever it takes to reach my goals I set. It’s very stressful, but my goals are greater than the stress of reaching them. Fuck being comfortable!
Takeaway #3- Focus On Enhancing Your Client’s Experience.
YES, there is a HUGE paradigm shift occurring and you better get your head out the sand and open your eyes to what’s happening in the market. The public doesn’t necessarily have the highest praise for real estate agents.
WHY?
- The public thinks we’re fucking lazy.
- The public thinks our communication is horrendous.
- The public thinks we are a necessary evil to buying or selling real estate.
- The public thinks we charge too much.
- The public thinks we suck in general.
- 9 times out of 10 the public is right.
Hey don’t shoot the messenger, I’m on your side. However, the truth is that if we accept the current status quo to the level of service the industry provides we are all fucked. For example, popping a sign in the yard and putting your listing in the MLS is NOT a marketing plan. Isn’t that what a flat fee brokerage pretty much does?
Kent Clothier, another one of the speakers at the Closing Table Mastermind brought up some great points. Kent runs one of the largest real estate investor training companies in the United States. Although Kent concentrates more in the investor space than Realtor space, the way he runs his business is no different.
Kent created a consumer experience second to none in his space. He created an experience to investing in real estate that none of his competitors have. It’s very simple if you think about it. People will pay more for an experience they seek. This is why there are places you can get your haircut for $15 and others for $99. Both will cut your hair, but the more expensive hair cut comes with an experience.
Price is only an objection to your real estate business when your service lacks value.
“Count on your competition’s mediocrity”-Kent Clothier
I heard one of my favorite quotes the other day that is so true. People don’t care what you do for them, they care about how you make them feel. One of the last things Realtors still have control of is the consumer experience. As a matter of fact, I would go on to say that enhancing the consumer experience is exactly how we compete against Zillow, Purple Bricks, Red Fin, and all the rest of the technologies companies that are trying to take us out of business.
YES, they are coming for us.
If you don’t think there are large technology companies trying to cut Realtors out of the equation, you are in denial. It’s happening and happening fast! The one way we can compete against them is through enhancing the experience because that’s exactly what they can’t control. Sure, Silicon Valley can gather a bunch of inaccurate information and outspend us online, but they cannot help buyers and sellers make a better financial decision through automation. They may disguise their service as a “cost savings”, but we all know it’s BS. A good agent helps their clients make good decisions.
A good agent understands the value they bring to the table. If your involvement in a real estate transaction DOES NOT create a better experience and financial decision for the client, you need to go back to drawing table and start getting very uncomfortable very fast.
Takeaway #4- Find Other Income Streams/Verticals
A true business person finds multiple streams of income in their business. In real estate, we often find ourselves blind to this. The truth is that there are multiple verticals for real estate agents to maximize their income potential. This was about the time I started to feel like the dumbest guy in the room, but that’s the kind of room I want to be in. It felt really uncomfortable and I liked it. That’s what Closing Table Mastermind is all about.
Meet Daron Campbell, a real estate broker and investor who has sold over a BILLION dollars in real estate. Here’s a guy who absolutely killed it as a real estate agent making his investors boatloads of returns until he finally just became the investor. He was making everyone else rich except himself. He repositioned his business and is now doing things he would never have been capable of if he didn’t start thinking outside the box.
Real estate agents comes across some of the best deals out there, but so many are not investors themselves. Daron capitalized on the opportunity and now creates real estate investments as a principle partner in very creative ways!
Mike Bjorkman, from Santa Clarita, CA owns a property management company that manages over 700 doors. The property management company is a HUGE additional income stream that feeds his real estate business. I’m sure starting the property management company was very tough and uncomfortable for Mike, but right now his entire business is recession proof.
The co-creators of the Closing Table Mastermind, Sam Khorramian and Oliver Graf, own Americas fastest growing real estate brokerage Big Block Realty. They got there by doing the complete opposite of what traditional brokerages do. I remember meeting Sam for the first time in another mastermind in 2010. I still recall him standing up in the middle of the room and telling everyone he was going to start a 100% real estate brokerage in 2010. I mean who the hell was trying to open a brokerage back then? We thought he was nuts, but he knew what he was doing the entire time. Big Block Realty hit #26 on the Inc 500 in 2016 and #31 in 2017! They developed several income streams for their brokerage that 99% of other companies never thought about.
I would love to list all of the various ideas we discussed over the 3 days we were together, but if you really want to hear them all, get very uncomfortable and come attend the next Closing Table Mastermind. Feel free to message me and I’ll put you in touch with the people who run Closing Table Mastermind.
The point here is that you should always be looking for additional opportunities of income streams within your business. For some of you that might involve starting a cleaning company to assist your clients and others, it may be starting marketing company to support your own agents as a broker owner. Follow your gut!
In Closing
The Closing Table Mastermind was a wild experience. Minds were blown and lives were changed. My best advice for you reading this is the following;
- Define your service in a way that nobody else is and focus on what makes you different.
- Then do whatever it takes to implement that idea in your business.
- Make sure it caters around the client experience.
- Look at every aspect of your business as a potential additional income generating opportunity.
- Get off your ass and look into attending the next Closing Table Mastemind.