On this episode of Keeping It Real, we sit down with Chuck Richards, Senior Product Manager at Real Geeks, to discuss what role automation plays in real estate.

During our conversation, we explore:

• The basics of automation
• The difference between automation and workflows
• Creative ways to utilize automation - Best practices for workflows
• The future of automation

Whether you are new to incorporating automation in your business or a seasoned pro looking for exciting new ideas, you’re going to want to tune in. 

Check out Chuck’s previous appearances:

Setting Up Your Website for Success: https://youtube.com/live/mmXFixZeBl0 

CRM 101: https://youtu.be/ORx4GIwJBX4

You’ve got a CRM! Now What Do You Do?: https://youtube.com/live/VyzNv9ohQU0 

On this episode of Keeping It Real, Dale Archdekin is back to help you prepare for and manage some of the new objections you might encounter related to the NAR settlement. 

Despite the uncertainty around the NAR settlement, don’t wait until everything is in stone to start implementing some of the upcoming changes. Dale shares some of his master objection-handling skills to help you deal with some of these new obstacles you might face.  

During our conversation we dive into:

• When to have the conversation about buyer agent agreements with online leads

• Setting expectations about compensation 

• How to address the contingency of having the buyer having to pay what the seller doesn’t cover

• How the news cycle creates more objections 

• A real-world example of how to address the “I don’t want to pay a buyer agent’s commission”  

• How to handle common objections such as “So and so represents buyers for free”, “ I don’t want to be tied to one agent”, and “I don’t want to pay for a buyers agent” 

For more of Dale's great insight check out his Youtube channel:  @Smartsalescoaching  or to work with Dale go to: http://www.smartsalescoaching.com 

Last year, Theresa Bastian had her best year in her entire 25-year real estate career. On this episode of Keeping It Real, she joins us to share what she attributes to that success and some of the major lessons she’s learned along the way. 

Theresa talks to us about the importance of: 

• Approaching your business like a professional in any other field would  

• Having control over your time 

• Surviving the crash in 2008

• Getting to a skills-based model for a balanced market 

• Having foundations in place

• Knowing the market well enough to be confident in the conversations you need to have

• How giving the perception we are always available devalues what you bring to the table 

• Working with your ideal clients

• Operating with a business plan

• Standing out from the automatic responses 

• Knowing your value propositions and articulating that value

• Understanding that you are a business owner

• Learning that you can work remotely 

• How to successfully delegate

We sit down with Dr. Benjamin Ritter for a special mindset-focused episode of Keeping It Real to provide coaching many agents don’t usually get.

Dr. Benjamin Ritter is an international leadership and career coach, Sr. Talent Management Consultant, Top Career Development and Executive Coaching Voice on LinkedIn, international speaker, values-geek, online instructor, and host of two podcasts.

During our discussion, Dr. Ritter provides actionable steps for dealing with:

• Feeling a lack of control

• Self-leadership

• Holding yourself accountable 

• The Three C’s: Clarity, Confidence, and Control 

• Getting over the fear of calling your leads

• Managing your schedule 

• Tackling an overwhelming to-do list

• Delegation 

• Job satisfaction

• Managing change 

• Comparing yourself to others

• Having difficult conversations 

If you are feeling stuck in your career or want help optimizing your workflow, you’ll want to tune in. 

On this episode of Keeping It Real, we sit down in person with Aymen Alobaidi at Pouch 6 Studios in Austin. 

Aymen has been laser-focused on becoming a real estate agent since he was 14, strategically choosing jobs in sales and hospitality in order to accumulate skills in preparation for his career in real estate. Now he’s in his second year in real estate and is killing it.  

In our conversation, Aymen shares some of the lessons he’s learned starting out, including:

• Learning how to handle objections

• The chaos of change creating opportunity 

• Focusing on the client instead of the commission 

• The payoff of making 100 calls a day

• Working with your clients on their timelines 

• Working with difficult buyers  

On this episode of Keeping It Real, Theresa Bastian is back with us in person at Pouch 6 Studios in Austin.

Theresa shares her takeaways from the proposed NAR settlement, including: 

• NAR as a lobbying group

• Corporate home ownership

• How the NAR settlement could make it harder for individuals to get into homes

• Tough conversations we need to be ready for that may not even occur

• As an industry, we’ve not done a good job of showing our value to the media, our consumers, and the general public  

• How we are not taking a good job of articulating the value we bring 

• That this could be healthy and level the playing field 

• Fears surrounding buyers rep agreements 

Tune in to hear about what parts of the settlement you need to be aware of, take seriously, and will have the most impact on your day to day.  

The announcement of the NAR settlement has caused quite a stir in the real estate world, leaving many agents unsure about their futures in the industry. In this episode of Keeping It Real, Todd Tramonte is back to share his insights on how this will affect the future of our industry and how to turn this into a major win.

If you can provide value and communicate it effectively, the opportunity is a massive. During our conversation we dive into:

•  The basics of the NAR settlement
• Why consumers view buyers' agents this way
• Why the consumer is right 
• How to turn this into an opportunity
• How to provide and communicate value
• How our industry has weathered much bigger storms than this one
• How NAR locked in higher compensation for higher-value agents
• And a whole lot more 

Todd has also generously provided a digital download PACKED with valuable information to help you get through these changes, which you can download here: https://hub.realgeeks.com/nar-settlement-with-todd

If you aren’t sure what to do to prepare for these upcoming changes or just want to get ahead of them you’re going to want to tune in.

In this episode of Keeping It Real, Darren Woodard shares his journey in real estate and how he leveraged SEO to generate leads.

From door knocking and using a reverse directory book to find phone numbers to his first real estate website in 2006 which he quickly started optimizing for SEO with neighborhood-specific content and has been crushing it with SEO since.

Some of the topics we explore in this episode are:

• Creating neighborhood-specific content
• How his business took off during the 2008 recession
• What to do when you are hit with a Google penalty
• Why you need more than just a WordPress site
• Optimizing URL structure
• How technology has changed follow-up
• Recruiting opportunities

We also have a quick chat with Darren’s marketing director, Lisa Broussard, about going through a company rebrand.

Tune in to hear how Darren’s business has evolved and some of the lessons he’s learned along the way.

For this very special episode of Keeping It Real we are joined by Chicago based broker and podcast host D.J. Paris.

On D.J.’s podcast, also named Keeping It Real, he sits down and talks to real estate experts to share what is really working for them in their business and the state of industry.

In this episode, we dive into some of the hot button issues today including:

• The NAR lawsuit, including possible changes
• Portals like Zillow becoming major players in the real estate market
• The potential of A.I.
• Today’s interest rates

Tune in for some killer insights on some of today’s biggest concerns in real estate and also be sure to checkout D.J.’s Keeping it Real podcast at http://keepingitrealpod.com or wherever you get podcasts.

Click HERE to check out D.J.'s recent episode about the NAR lawsuit on his podcast. 

In this episode of Keeping It Real, Scott Vancea, the co-founder of Optimize5, joins us to explain why your Google Business Profile is even more important than you may realize.

Scott dives into:

• The key elements to optimize your Google Business Profile
• Why your Google Business Profile important 
• How to avoid common mistakes
• Ways to differentiate yourself by showcasing your unique offerings
• Additional tips to get your Google Business Profile to rank higher

If you want to get more organic leads and stand out above your competition, you will want to tune in for all of Scott’s killer tips.

To get a free branding consultation, go to https://optimize5.com/

A team is more than a group of people sharing a logo, a copier, and a website. Todd Tramonte is back to share his insights from almost 15 years of coaching and helping teams grow.

In this episode Todd goes beyond just sharing his essentials for launching a team.

Some of the topics we cover are:

• When to start a team
• How to have a healthy team
• Knowing when to subtract someone
• What systems your business needs no matter what
• Some differences between a brokerage and a team
• Leveraging technology you already have for recruiting

If you are considering building a team or just want some best practices that can help your team become more successful you’re going to want to check out this episode.

To learn even more about building a team check out Todd’s Team Scale Live event coming up on Feb 5th and 6th in Dallas Texas. Details at https://www.teamscalelive.com/

Download "The Commoditization of Man" by Todd Tramonte HERE.