Be the Solution with Maria Quattrone

Beyond Comparison: Tina Caul on Finding Your Genius in the Real Estate Journey

Maria Quattrone Season 1 Episode 312

What separates long-term success from fleeting achievement in real estate? The answer might surprise you. In this raw and revealing conversation, powerhouse agent Tina Caul pulls back the curtain on her 25-year journey from struggling beginner to thriving team leader.

Tina's childhood mantra—"figure it out"—became the foundation of her business philosophy. Growing up with working-class parents who couldn't attend her sporting events, she developed resilience that would later fuel her willingness to take risks, including relocating her entire business 700 miles from Michigan to Raleigh, North Carolina.

The most counterintuitive insight? Passion doesn't lead—it follows. Tina outlines the "Six P's" of professional development: Process, Practice, Patience, Power, Passion, and Purpose. Most agents quit during the uncomfortable Practice phase, never experiencing the Passion that comes with mastery. "When you first pick up a golf club, it's not fun. You suck," Tina explains candidly. This applies to prospecting calls, scripts, and every other real estate skill.

Both Tina and host Maria Quattrone acknowledge the persistent challenge of imposter syndrome, even decades into their careers. The difference? Top producers use discomfort as a growth signal rather than a stop sign. "When we feel discomfort, we go 'yes, now I know I'm onto something,'" Tina explains.

The conversation delves into practical strategies for success, including adapting communication styles to different personality types, discovering your "Working Genius," and why consistent conversations remain the bedrock of business building. Despite the allure of social media and reality TV shows, the quiet millionaires in real estate still focus on fundamentals and human connection.

💡 Key Takeaways:

  • “Passion doesn’t lead — it follows mastery.” Get good first. The fire comes later.
  • “It’s not about who you think you are. It’s about who you’re afraid to become.” Watch out for self-sabotage as you get closer to your goals.
  • The six P’s to mastery: Process, Practice, Patience, Power, Passion, Purpose.
  • The power of adapting to client communication styles: "Be who they need you to be."
  • Why the fastest way to grow your business is by talking to people — not tweaking your logo.
  • How to build a business around your working genius (take the test at workinggenius.com).

📚 Books Mentioned:

  • Everything Is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
  • The Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni
  • The Passion of the Christ (reference to passion = suffering)

🗣️ Quotes to Share:

  • Tina Caul: “You’re not passionate when you start. You’re scared. Passion follows the art of mastery.”
  • Maria Quattrone: “Don’t stop when momentum is behind you. That’s when you double down.”
  • Maria Quattrone: “It’s not a script. It’s a skill — and it takes time to master.”
  • Tina Caul: “The fear of succes

Connect with Maria Quattrone:
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Website: MQrealesate.com
Office number: 215- 607-3535

Speaker 1:

I'm Maria Quattrone and this is the Be the Solution podcast, and this morning I am very excited to have my guest, tina Cole from AXP Realty in Raleigh, north Carolina, join us. Tina is a powerhouse. She has been in this industry for a couple decades now and has built her business to a whole nother level that I know that everybody here listening would love to be at. But it didn't start that way, tina. It started with an idea, with an idea that you had and you entered the industry and you were in one market and moved to another. Not many people do that.

Speaker 2:

No, no, they don't. It's scary, it's scary. So I yeah, I've been doing this 25 years. I started up in Michigan, so a little closer to you, and I remember the first seven years of my career were more like you know, just figure it out. And that takes me back to my childhood, my mother and my father. They never came to any of my games, my soccer games, my track meets, and I remember feeling so mad that they wouldn't come. But when I would ask them, hey, can you just come to my game today? And they'd say you know we can't do it. Your dad works all day. He was a short order cook. My mom watched handicapped kids that had special needs through the foster care system. So she'd say you know we can't do it. Your dad works all day. He was a short order cook. My mom watched handicapped kids that had special needs through the foster care system. So she'd say I can't bring them all in the car, so you've got to figure it out. And I have a t-shirt now that says figure it out.

Speaker 2:

I didn't realize those words would shape my entire life, and so the reason I share that is because I think sometimes you know when we're growing and we're doing something scary. We all feel like imposters and I always say that I've never been. I've never been ready for any of the roles that I've ever had in life being a mother, being a wife, being a realtor, being a team leader. But I just figured it out. I just stepped in with faith to say you know what, let's just try. And so, um so, moving across, you know, down, 700 miles away, uh, in 20, 2010,. I knew I had to figure it out, and so um, yeah, you said something, tina.

Speaker 1:

You said let's just try. And I want to touch on that for a minute, because I think people think they try but I don't really think they try. Yeah, I had a conversation years ago, I remember, with Michelle Saber and we were talking about and we were talking about prospecting and listing appointments and he said, oh, I'm going to try, I'm going to actually try, because I think a lot of times we just go with what we know.

Speaker 2:

And are we really trying to level up or are we just being? I think most of the time we're just being or we're trying at a level that doesn't move the needle, if that makes sense, Like just trying. I remember when I just started calling expireds, you know I could have just tried to call two and gave up, or just tried to call a few Fizbo's and gave up, and that when I look at agents that and I know you're a beast when it comes to calling you know expireds and Fizbo's and being on the phones, If you just tried to call a few, how are the first few that you called when you first started trying? They're not fun, they're hanging up on you. You feel dumb because you're not really that good at the objection handlers, You're not seasoned enough, and so what people think is and I always say this in my presentations passion doesn't lead, it follows Meaning.

Speaker 2:

When you start something you're trying, it's hard. I always say there's these levels. The first level is you have to learn a process. It's the six P's. So you're learning the process. Well, that's not fun. When you first pick up a golf club, it's not fun. You suck. The second P is practice. You have to stay in practice mode a long time and pick up the club and do it over and over again and it's boring. The third P is patience. So you have to have patience in the process and the practice.

Speaker 2:

And usually that's year three. You're like okay, is this even working when I'm doing my new venture? Finally, by year four, you're in power mode. You feel empowered to do the thing. You're like man, I've done a lot of expired calls, I'm getting pretty good, I'm getting traction. By year five you finally have passion, because you're like damn, I'm good at this, Now you're masterful. So you have some passion there. And finally you have purpose. Okay, Now I have passion and I found purpose. What could I do with this new found thing that I have? And so, because agents want things, overnight, they do it five times. It doesn't work. And they're like I tried, no, you didn't try. And so exactly that they don't try for a long time and they give up. And then they just say I didn't have a passion for it. Well, you can't be passionate about a golf club that you can't swing or a phone that you can't master or a script. You know what I mean. So passion follows the art of mastery.

Speaker 1:

Passion follows the art of mastery, and indeed it does. Because what I found is that when you're really good at something and you know you can impact others, you want to reach as many people as you can. Yes, whether it's leading a team or it's working with sellers or buyers, or whatever it is that you do, you want to be able to impact as many people as you can. Especially like we'll just take like Expires, for example, can, especially like we'll just take like expireds, for example, if you you know that if they don't list with you the next time, they may have a bad experience again and they may not get sold again. So it's almost like this I have to get to them, I have to reach them so I can show them how this can be done.

Speaker 1:

And their house really? Yes, because, let's face it, selling a house sucks. Yes, I don't know anybody that's excited to actually go through the process of selling their house, right, right. So it's like helping them as much as you can to walk through that process with the least pain as possible, and that starts with really working with somebody who really knows what they're doing. In that example but you mentioned something and it reminds me of my childhood it's like figure it out and everything is figureoutable, figureoutable, right? Marie Forleo says that Everything is figureoutable, figureoutable, right? Marie Forleo says that Everything is figureoutable. I don't know if you follow her, but she's an interesting woman and so you had to figure this out. So what did you do?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, well, I think also what I wanted to say too, because this brought up a thought in my mind. As you're going into that new process and you finally go through process and practice and patience and power and passion, you still wake up every day, and this is what I want people to really hear. I've been in the business 25 years. I still get imposter syndrome sometimes I think we all do when we go into some new venture or we meet new people or we walk into a room. I mean, maria, you went and set a hundred appointments this month. When I first met you, you're like I'm going to set a hundred appointments. I'm like what she's crazy, you did it, you did it. You set out to do something big.

Speaker 2:

And I think everybody when they start something new, can feel like that imposter. But you've got to work through those feelings and you said my way I figured it out was moving forward, into pain, into action, into the unknown, into what if this could fail? What if this could be great. You have to go into an unknown territory because everything that's in front of you is the future, and so when people can't control the outcome and they can't shape the future to exactly how they want it. They're nervous.

Speaker 2:

And what do they do? They stay in the same place, doing the same thing, getting the same result, because the same result is duplicatable, it's safe, it's comfortable. And the people that I know like you, maria, which I get excited because it's like oh, she's doing something so amazing. We're okay with the uncomfortable. In fact, you thrive in uncomfortable. When we feel top producers, when we feel discomfort, we go yes, now I know I'm onto something, because I know I'm going to grow here. Yes, it's scary, yes, I feel like an imposter, yes, I may fail, but damn, I need to go explore this. So we're like the explorers of life.

Speaker 1:

We just go. So you know it's interesting. And I remember back in and you were Mike Ferry, so you may remember this story Mike told a long time ago there was an agent who said this is a story like it happens all the time. I'm going to do X and let's just say X was 15 sales in the month of June. We'll just say that's what X is. And it's June 26th and they did 13 sales and it's there.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes what happens is that people get scared and they stop right when they're at the goal and this will manifest in sickness. All of a sudden they're sick All of a sudden. It usually manifests in some kind of sickness or something. They put this out there and I had this experience and they bring this up because I really think this is really important for people to realize. You'll be like oh my god, this is happening.

Speaker 1:

And then you manifest somehow this made up sickness. I don't know, I don't know it wasn't really made up for me on Monday. I finally ill on Monday morning where I got sick at the office and I left. Now I'm so close at that time to meeting where I needed to be and I'm like am I self sabotaging myself? Did I just manifest all the sickness. I never throw up, never unless I have a norovirus. I couldn't understand what was going on. So now I'm home and I said, okay, lay down, take a nap, get it together, get your together, because the imposter system, no matter how it comes in, that's a good example of it, is it there? And, and it could have been like oh, sick, sick, sick, exactly.

Speaker 1:

I'm not going to keep doing this. I'm exhausted. I had to take three naps over the weekend. No, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do it this time. And I have seen this happen to people over and over and over again and they quit right when they're at the goal, and I think it goes back to this imposter syndrome. Who do I think I am Well, who do I think I'm not?

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, yeah, or that. That too which is so hard to you compare yourself to everybody. And you know I think it's hard because you know you see people doing all these things. But what I want everyone to understand is you can compare yourself to anybody out there. You will never be them. They will never be you because you are perfectly perfect the way that you are, imperfectly perfect.

Speaker 2:

We're all imperfect, but at the end of the day, everyone's so dynamic in their makeup, in their history, in their belief system, and so it's how your family shaped you, your tribe shaped you. They gave you your first taste of life, your first ideals, your first religion, your first whatever. Your first ideals, your first religion, your first whatever. Then it's up to you to say do I believe? That? Is that sit with my soul? Because sometimes our parents didn't tell us the right things, they just had it brought down from generation to generation. And so sometimes it's rewiring the wiring of your brain and to say this is not for me or this is not how I believe.

Speaker 2:

And I think it's the comparison trap, it's imposter syndrome, like you said, and it's self-sabotaging. And I think it all stems from fear. Fear, failure, fear of caring what other people think, oh God, if I start this and people see me pick up the phone and call and expired and I don't get it, oh, I'm a failure, who cares? And so do you feel that way, like when you were first starting? You know your ventures, maria. Do you feel like you cared what other people think?

Speaker 1:

No, not really. That's not really. I think I had, early on, probably. I remember 2010-ish comparison is a thief of joy. Yes, comparing myself to other people, where I never would be able to do that, I didn't have the same. You can't compare yourself to others. We're all running our own race. Yeah, and the day that I realized that we were all running our own race and the only one that you're competing against is yourself, my life was a lot better. Yes, yes, and the brokerage I was at the time. It was a competition internally against each other and that created anxiety, which created other things that weren't good. Yeah, yeah, and that was a long time ago. But you know, I think there's another thing too, tina the fear of success.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 1:

Yes, the fear of success or the fear of failure?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. And the thing, too, to think about is you know, I always think in my mind there's always someone faster, smarter, skinnier, richer, always If you look around, you will never win the game of comparison ever. And you know rich people look at, you know, even rich millionaires. Deca millionaires, deca millionaires are looking at billionaires, Like there's always somebody with more, and so that is a life of failure comparing, because you will fail at winning that game.

Speaker 1:

It's no win situation for sure.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, we could be number one one year. Guess what. You could try to strive to be number one. But I think, with competitive people, what's beyond the win, what's beyond high performance, because we're both very high performers, we want to win, we want to go, we're old enough now to know that it doesn't matter what people think, the game is against ourselves.

Speaker 2:

But what is beyond high performance? Because I think everyone you know, they try to get to the thing right. They're getting hits, getting them to the thing, they get the thing, and then there's crash and burn mode and then they need a new toy to get, right to get, and then there's crash and burn. And so when you think about life, the life of a high performer, it's a lot of this. But I think, for me personally, now that I'm safe as far as financially safe, which a lot of people need to get to and now that I'm safe as far as financially safe, which a lot of people need to get to, now I just go. I just love the process.

Speaker 2:

I fell in love with the process of real estate, the process of meeting new agents, the process of getting them onboarded onto my team and helping them through this life, this crazy life of real estate and it satiates me. It makes me happy that I just go. Okay, I can give this gift to other high performers. Help them through it and let them see that it's them against them, there is a light at the end. They can achieve a goal. And it's not all for nothing and they are going to feel like imposters throughout, but that's okay too, as long as they're moving forward.

Speaker 2:

But at the end, know that there is no finish line. You don't just wake up and go oh, I made it. No, you're always going to move that finish line. But you don't have to have the desperation of like the gap, oh my God, I'm not there yet. I'm desperate for it. Just enjoy the ride every day. Plant you know, be where your feet are and just enjoy the moment of the day and the process that you're in, and I think it's going to be an easier ride. That's why it took me 10 years to build what we built here in North Carolina and I went. I have a 10-year goal. I'm just enjoying the ride every day, so don't try to make it the next day. I think the younger generation wants it now. I want it now, but, maria, it took you how many years to get to where you are 25 years, 20 years, 21 years.

Speaker 1:

There you go 25 for me. So I would hope, after 20 and 25 years, that we would have some sort of success in our life. Yeah, I think it takes a lot longer than people think. Yes, you know. Now it's how, how do you? Why is it that I was able to make all those appointments? Well, it's the planting of the seeds for so long. It's the relationships that I've had for 20 years. It's the people that have entrusted me with their real estate as a real estate advisor, as investors who own millions. I mean, I have, I own hundreds of millions of real estate and I've sold them a bunch of it.

Speaker 1:

So, when you're surrounded by, you know these types of of individuals and they trust you. It brings level. You're at another, a different level. I did a role play for a fellow and they asked me why your voice is different than when you regularly talk. I said yes, because if I spoke how I usually speak to everybody. I said yes Because if I spoke how I usually speak to everybody, as a DI, a driver, right, yeah, and expressive people would probably hang up on me, I'd be like let's go, come on, got to go, let's go. Yeah, if I was on the podcast like this right now, who the heck would want to listen to me? Go on, yeah, no, no. That's how we present.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 1:

We mirror and match the people we're speaking to. We know who they want to be spoken to. It's a level of skill that takes a long time to understand. There's no script around it, right? You should know the questions to ask at this juncture. Yes, you shouldn't. It should be an easy ebb and flow of a conversation where they're like they reached out. I'm so glad you're called because I'm thinking of buying a place in Puerto Rico and I want to sell my duplex in Philadelphia. And then four or five years people in there, 10 years, it all comes together. I think people give up too quickly in the industry and they look around. Look in your market. How many people are still in the game that were in it when you entered?

Speaker 2:

It's so much less, but you hit it right on the head. You know it's what I, what I about you and listening to you is. I know that you fell in love with your craft along the way. I can sense it. You know that when you talk about being masterful and it's you know it's. It's been your tonality, like I've. I've talked to you off camera and it's different than when I you're on the phones or even now you're the show, because when you're in presentation mode, that is a skill and I think a lot of agents they go.

Speaker 2:

Well, I just want to be me. This is who I am. Okay, well, you're going to potentially turn off a three quarters of the public because of being you. So be you, boo, but just know that if you can't be adaptable, if you can't be who the client needs you to be, if you, if you're high, high expressive, you can't be who the client needs you to be. If you're high, high expressive, you can't tone your shit down for a hot minute to get in rapport with these people, you're missing out on money and you're missing out on service and future customers.

Speaker 2:

Because, again, adaptability and versatility is what we were taught by our coaches Be who they need you to be, so that way you can help them. And I truly wanted to help people. I know you do too, and so I'm okay being uncomfortable being the one that has to adapt. Change versus thinking. My client has to accept me how I am. This is who I am. A lot of these young generation agents well, this is who I am. They don't want to wear suits anymore. They don't want to wear suits anymore. They don't want to look presentable because this is who they are and you go. Okay, I appreciate that, but you're probably not going to rise to the level that you want because your versatility is lacking. Can you speak on that a little bit?

Speaker 1:

Oh, that is if you do not learn how to talk to people, you know, you have to know your customer. You have to know your client. If you're not learn how to talk to people, you know, you have to know your customer. You have to know your client. If you're on the phone with somebody who's a high level D and their power right, their whole thing is their power. D is power that's only 7% of the population, right, you need to know who that person is and you better be quick and you better be succinct and you better be to the point and that conversation better be less than two minutes. Yep, there is no two minutes or more follow-up boss in that conversation. That's right and I can attest to it because I've scheduled appointments with these people in less than two minutes, yep and personally, I don't like to be on the phone for more than a couple minutes.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's my personality. However, some people it's 11 minutes on the phone. I track it all, but then you're with the expressive. They just want to tell you how they're doing right. You have to be able to listen to them and can only connect with you. 75%, like you said, is gone. And when you learn the mastery of being able to connect with all personality types and deliver them what they need, you know you can't just talk to an analytical on the phone. They need to see facts and figures. They want to know data. You have to go into that, knowing ahead of time and present that the market is and present statistics. If not, you lose. You don't have even an opportunity. You're not getting up to bat. They're not even going to give you an opportunity to get up to bat.

Speaker 1:

And I look back on many listing appointments, say 10, 15 years ago, and I can think about some of them because I was very. I either was bringing out the D or the I. That's right. I talked myself out of so many listings because I wouldn't shut up. Now it takes a lot of time and skill to master any business and I think that you know for me, I was in sales for 32 years, so I had a little leg up when I entered the industry because I sold to businesses. I was I wasn't, you know consumer based and that's why I ended up acclimating more to developers, investors, people, a little bit more on the business side. It was easier.

Speaker 1:

I learned to usually start the opposite way more residential, regular people. I learned how to be better for them. I just wanted to be, but how much business and opportunity was lost. And I always say trust the process, trust the process, follow the cadence, because there's a cadence to the business and when you do this so many times, you develop something. I just heard Gary Keller say it yesterday.

Speaker 1:

I have to look up the word because I never heard the word before. But it's something internally in your brain that you develop that it's not even you're in it. I'm not thinking about how I'm going to talk to somebody. Maybe it's competence, it's another level of that. It's really interesting and I caught yesterday in a brief moment and I haven't had an opportunity yet to really look up the word and understand it at another level, but it made me think. I was like, wow, that makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 1:

So you know, it goes back, tina, to we always have to be learning, we always have to be growing and you know I want to go back to when you went and moved to North Carolina. You started all over again and you started a team and now, for those of you that do not know this, tina has somebody that runs her organization, tina's job. She's in the real estate world for like 10 hours a week doing her thing, but she has people. Now she built this whole system and now she teaches other people how to become their genius. What does that mean and how do you use that at the highest level? Because when you're in that, in your genius this is what I heard you say the other day sky's the limit. There's no stopping you.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. Well, we talk about everybody has. There are six geniuses, there are six letters in work, and anytime you have work, you want to have those geniuses all together, those six, and what happens is I have two, you. So if we're working together on a project, maria, and we have four geniuses, there's two that are going to be missing, or we could share one, you know where. Now we only have three geniuses of the six.

Speaker 2:

So what I share with people is you need to know what your genius is, where your strength zone is, so you can stay in that zone for 80% of the day, or 80% of the time where you have most joy and fulfillment. Because if there's joy and fulfillment, you're going to want to leap out of bed every day, you're going to want to do the work, but if you're in your frustration for most of your career, you're going to be miserable. That's where the body breaks down. That's where you know disease develops, that's where crankiness is. We've all had a cranky employee. Probably they're working outside of their genius and they're wishing they were over here and they're over here. I think it's important to take the test. There's a go to theworkinggeniuscom, take your test, see where that sweet zone is.

Speaker 1:

I saw that there was a test and that was in the missing lane on the couch after the throwing up.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, take your test, maria, but yeah, I will be taking my test after next.

Speaker 1:

after, that's right. Because, you know you don't stop when you're doing, when you're, when you're on a roll, you keep going. Don't stop. You have the wind behind your back, you have momentum. It's pushing you forward. So you know it's. The other thing is be chasing business.

Speaker 1:

Attract attracted in and I mean like okay, so you do the appointment right and then you'll see people call. I'm just following up. Yeah, no, keep, keep giving them items, value, so that when they are ready, that you're the natural choice and there's nobody else that they're going to go to. So it's just like you know you're the natural choice and there's nobody else that they're going to go to so true.

Speaker 1:

It's just like you know you're building your, you're building the XP or wherever, in your case, the XP giving people enough value. So when it's they have a choice where to go, who do they go? Exactly, it's the same thing.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

No matter what industry you're in, if you build and you be in contribution and you offer them enough value, make it so. It's so easy that it doesn't feel like they're calling saying, hey, sign me up.

Speaker 2:

I just went there with the mentality that I'm their agent, it didn't matter because I was going to give them so much value, I was going to come with so much information and just inundate them with it. Where they asked me to be their realtor, and I would say 90% of the time people ask me, can you be our realtor? I'm like, absolutely. I never had to say do you have an agent? Did you sign a contract? Sure, we crossed that bridge there. Agent, did you sign a contract? Sure, we, we crossed that bridge. There was an issue, or they. They said but just come empowered with knowledge. You purposely gain that knowledge and then you deliver it to the customer and boom, they're yours.

Speaker 1:

And I think it's, you know, it's also the power of assumption.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, power of assumption.

Speaker 1:

I assume that if you're calling me to list your property, that you're going to list your property with me, right, right, the power of assumption. So meaning I have someone that called yesterday. They're in the database, they're a past client. I didn't ask them. So are you interviewing other agents, right? I said do you know how much like I was? Just like Greg, do you know what you want for the property? He's like blah, blah, blah. I said Greg, that's a bit high, I know. I said, okay, greg, we're going to play this dancing game. So I'm going to call you and say we don't have any showings, you've got to reduce. Anyway, it's commercial business, so it's a little bit different, but you've got to have the power of assumption. And what do you think today, tina, people, agents, if they would do this, their life would be so much better.

Speaker 2:

Well, one of my guys always said, well, which I think you've coached for them too little hinges swing big doors and so the little hinge. The secret of real estate is if they would, if they get in their head which I had to get in my head years ago the one action that moves the needle every day is talking to people, and so they want to come into the office and do busy work and emails and create their flyer or whatever they're doing, fix their database. Okay, great, how many people did you talk to today about real estate? And so the power is in the telephone, the cell phone, the whatever phone. Get in the room and talk to people. If you move to any town USA I don't want a CRM.

Speaker 2:

I don't have any clients. I don't want marketing budgetM. I don't have any clients. I don't want marketing budget because, great, I could spend $100,000 a month and put my face on every billboard in town and I still can't control when somebody is going to call me. So I don't want your marketing dollars. I want a phone and I want a list of people and then I'm going to go and attack that list and see if I can be of service. I can control that every day. The agents that don't get that are not going to be in the business very long and we've seen them 70% lead. Why? Because they won't do that. One action that gets them the result as.

Speaker 1:

I always bring up. I never went to a settlement or closing that didn't first start with a conversation, Absolutely. How can you have a paycheck if you're not going to talk to people?

Speaker 2:

Exactly, exactly, and three of them.

Speaker 1:

The millionaire real estate whatever it's called. Show, really messed up what people think the business is.

Speaker 2:

A thousand percent. You see it's funny. You know you watch Ryan Serhant and these are shows and people didn't see Ryan when he was leasing properties. He was a nobody, he was grinding every day and he will share, picking up the phone and calling people like a crazy person. And he got lucky to get on TV and that catapulted his business. That's one in a million.

Speaker 2:

Not everyone's getting a show and so he is an actor who has a business now and he's leveraging that business. That is not a duplicatable path. But put an agent in front of me and let me show them scripts and dialogue, let me bring them into that activity every day of talking to people. They're going to get better every day as long as they're patient and they do the activity and they're going to get business. But again, agents will not do that one activity. They're leaving the business in droves.

Speaker 2:

So I agree with I think it's. You know, we know it because we've lived it. We're proof. And how many of us exist? A lot of us. We're all in a group, we all followed each other, we're in masterminds together and that tribe of agents is my tribe. You know. They're very successful. They're quiet, they're not even on social media. These people are multimillionaires because they've done the craft and so it's my to teach people that same craft so that fire doesn't die in the industry and everyone thinks they have to be a social media star. It helps and it's wonderful. We're prospecting based marketing enhanced. But you can't start with social media and have it be duplicatable fast. It takes time.

Speaker 1:

It takes time. You started with it and, asking me about the podcast, I said I've been doing it since 2020. Exactly, does it work? I don't know it works. People watch it. They have clients that say I see your podcast.

Speaker 1:

I send out at least two emails a week, sometimes three, and they're mostly nothing to do with real estate and I have a Monday morning motivation that goes out. So it's a little picture and then it's me speaking in verbiage, written word, and then you could click if you want to watch the video and all I have people look at me at a party. I love your stuff, I love your Monday. So I do motivation, inspiration, aspiration. I love it. And I do it with real estate. I love it.

Speaker 1:

So it makes it easier when you make the call because they've already consumed your content. But you can't just start with that. You have to start with the basics of having a conversation with people and I think for a new agent or somebody who's been in the business, who doesn't have the amount of business that they want, I think joining a team, picking the right team and joining a team that has opportunity, that you can just sit and call their database, I think is one of the quickest ways to build your business, because now you don't have to worry about hunting for the business. Now that Rainmaker has brought in that business, you just have to follow up and service it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I always share with agents joining our team. The first thing I care about if I think about a pie on one side of the pie is let's build your sphere business. I know our team. With the support and leverage that they give the agent, we can double their business. So if we sell five, I know we can do 10 in that bucket. We can add one a month. So that's 12 deals on their sphere side. So we focus heavily on their sphere. On the other side of the pie is our leads and the icing on the cake all the things that we do to give them more business. So we know we can add another deal a month there. So between both sides, with our leverage, we can add 24 deals. What can they bring to the table? And so when they see that they can go from what two deals a year is the average agent in most markets, and then 36, and then 40 plus. Yes, they might be paying a commission, but, my God, their business is now growing.

Speaker 2:

They're a volume-based business and Mike always taught us that Don't worry about the price points, don't worry about volume. Worry about your units how many units can you sell? How many people can you serve? Don't worry about anything else, but hit your unit's goal, and I always focused on that with Mike. I didn't care if I was servicing $150,000 client. Which one of those clients bought $150,000 house from me and ended up being the owner of Carhartt Jeans in Carhartt and I served them multiple, multiple times. She bought so many homes from me and I didn't care because I treated everybody equally, and so I think that's where a lot of agents get stuck. It's like, well, I want to be a dollar luxury, great, but when the market crashes, those are the first to crash. Just be an agent that serves people. How about that? And then all of the beautiful referrals stem from every single human in every single deal and you never know who you're dealing with.

Speaker 1:

So I wasn't focused on just serving whoever was in every single deal, and you never know who you're dealing with, so so I wasn't focused on just serving whoever was in front of me. I wholeheartedly agree, and that's something that was instilled with me by going coaching with Mike over the years and it's been a while since I've coached with that outfit. But that focus on units, focus on how many people can act, because those people are referrals.

Speaker 1:

They give you. You do a great job and you get referrals. The more transactions you do, the more referrals you get. The more signs you have on the street, the more you can build your brand. I was never about volume, always about Unicount, yeah, and you can figure out how to make that work for your business. Like, we have a minimum you know fee we charge. So even if it's a price that's really low in our market, we still make X.

Speaker 1:

And if people don't pay, that's fine, no problem. You can move on to the next person. I'm good, Exactly, you have to have that attitude. So, tina, I have a question for you. What's your guilty pleasure?

Speaker 2:

Guilty pleasure. I love to play golf. I love it, love it, love it. So I have not made time for it lately, but usually I would get out and play three times a week and it takes five hours. So it's definitely it makes me feel guilty sometimes when I do it. I love it.

Speaker 1:

My husband and I aspire to be golf players, maybe in five years.

Speaker 2:

There you go. I love it. We'll start now, so you're good in five years. Well.

Speaker 1:

I have to make the time for that, tina, and right now I don't know, we'll see. Maybe we'll go hit some golf balls this weekend. So my other question personally what are you most excited about for your future?

Speaker 2:

Oh, my goodness, what I think I'm most excited about right now is I know the work and the effort and the sacrifice and the suffering that I put in all these years to do my passion, because if you look up passion in the dictionary, it is a form of suffering, life is suffering, but what's so beautiful is I know what's on the other side, and the other side is freedom. Beautiful is I know what's on the other side, and the other side is freedom. It's financial freedom. It's able, uh the ability to my parents' homes and visit them and take vacations with my husband where I don't have my phone attached to me, servicing clients.

Speaker 2:

Um, I know that, uh, the next phase of my life God willing that I'm here is going to be about travel and pouring into others, that I'm here is going to be about travel and pouring into others, helping agents, have and feel the life that I have now. That is, that's the next phase of my life. It's the purpose phase, the live to give back phase, versus the. You know, try to survive and you know the survival.

Speaker 1:

Oh, so different.

Speaker 2:

So different yeah.

Speaker 1:

There are two different things. And yeah, passion. I mean, if you think of the passion of Christ, it's the suffering of Christ, that's it. You know that's what it's about. Like, think about that passion of Christ. Why do they say that it's the suffering of Christ?

Speaker 2:

Life is suffering, you know, and so you have to embrace it.

Speaker 1:

We'll just keep on life school. We're just here in life school. We're here to learn, that's right. That's right and be in contribution, be a good human. I just want more people to be good humans, agreed.

Speaker 2:

Agreed. Well, you're a human and I'm so glad we met.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you too. I'm so glad we met too. Well, this has been an honor to have you on today, tina. I'm very excited. I'm right, journey, and it's been really great that we finally, after two decades, have finally met and we know all the same people and it's so crazy that we haven't met before.

Speaker 1:

I love it Until a couple of weeks ago, so that's right. Well, more fun things to come. Couple weeks ago, so that's right. Well, more fun things to come, great things to come. I'm excited to have had you on the show today and many, many, many more. Thank you.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for having me on. Thanks, everybody.