How to Become a Legend in Your Industry with Gene Frederick

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. brought to you by High Level, the all-in-one sales and marketing platform. Today, we'll be breaking down how to become a legend in your industry. To drop these value bombs, I have brought Gene Frederick into EO Fire Studios. Gene has led in the real estate sector for more than 40 years. His expertise in sales, leadership, and recruiting has inspired agents around the world. And today, we'll talk about setting huge goals, five leadership standards, recruiting talent through Team A, the power of FU, and oh, so much more.

0:35And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Gene and our sponsors. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today. Fire Nation, success isn't a solo journey. It's about who you surround yourself with. That's why I built the Freedom Circle, a powerful community of entrepreneurs ready to support, inspire, and share the ideas that move you forward.

1:16Visit freedom-circle.com to learn more. All right, Fire Nation, we are diving in with Gene Frederick, my man, my neighbor down in Puerto Rico, my brother from another mother. I've known him for years now. We've taken trips together. We did a 26-day river cruise from Bucharest to Amsterdam, although he did jump off halfway because he got a little bit bored. But it was still a great trip. We loved it. And he and his wife, Susan, are just dear friends of ours. They're going to get to see Bo grow up, which is really meaningful and impactful to us as well. In fact, they have a grandchild about the exact same age as Bo, which is super cool as well.

1:54And we're talking about how to become a legend in your industry. So as I mentioned in the pre-interview chat, Gene, I mean, we have a lot to talk about. But I do want to get a quick rundown of your backstory. What inspired you to chase big entrepreneurial goals in the first place? Well, I think I wasn't until I was about 29 years old, JLD, and I think this will resonate with a lot of folks. I was in the corporate world for about seven years and just knew it wasn't for me. And I think that's when I got the entrepreneurial spirit. And I actually struck it in real estate. And when I say that, why real estate?

2:34I had no idea. I just started taking classes and it kind of hit a string. But I would think, to me, once I got into real estate, I went, well, I have not. I've been self-employed now, John, for 41 years. So, you know, I mean, to me, I think I've got some good points to help people along the way. because it's not something we're we're we're we're a different crowd let's face it I mean we're we're we're running our own businesses maybe and we're trying as hard as we can and and it's not when you come from the corporate world you're used to a structure right you used to uh you know maybe a boss telling you what to accomplish that that day or not and I think I found the key to success that I'd really love to share with you that I think really helped me in my 40, really in my second year as an entrepreneur.

3:32And that's what I'd like to share right off the bat for everybody. Let's dive into it. Well, for the first time in my life, I actually went to a seminar, I went to a three-day seminar and they said, you've got to write down your goals. Of course, we all know that. You have to have a strategy for your goals. We know that. But you've got to take massive action to accomplish those goals. Now, what happened, I spent three days, and I'm telling you, John, for the first time in my life, I wrote everything down. What do I mean by that? I just didn't put it on the computer. I just didn't sit there. I literally sat there and strategized.

4:08How am I going to accomplish huge goals, not a little goals? you know and and i think for most entrepreneurs my first year i did not succeed really well and i think that's really important to tell people i wasn't the rookie of the year of my officer for my company out of 700 agents in fact i almost got out of the business after a year so i think teaching myself to track my goals and my massive action and here's the key i kept those goals with me, John, every single day, my second year in the business. And I looked at him every single day. Now, until then, you know, I might have had, you know, it's funny how we all tell each other, oh, work hard, you know, you don't have unbelievable innovation, you can work hard.

4:52But if you don't really track what you're doing, and adjust to your actions, what's working and what's not working. So my second year in the business, fast forward, I was the number one agent out of 700 agents. And just months before, I almost got out of the business. I mean, it was that much of a difference. And I went, wait, I found the key. You mean this is what I should be doing in my business world? Now, here's the big key. I mean, we look at Elon Musk and other You're unbelievable people that have done great things. I think bigger than most people. And I think if you set huge goals, you're going to take different massive action.

5:37Okay? And I think that's what counts. You know, I read a thing the other day. It says, what counts is not hard work. We've always said, well, you've got to work hard. But how much you grow. So when you take massive action, like I did that second year in business, I grew a lot. I mean, I was adjusting. I mean, I was gaining the skills I needed in leaps and bounds. I mean, I was growing every single day. well the second year um i sold 50 homes or 56 homes my third year in the business i sold over 100 homes and i continued that for three or four years and this is when john most people were not selling but maybe five ten homes right this is a big team these were and so a lot of people go how did you do it and i said i don't know you know they used to have me on stage for some of these seminars how'd you do it i said i wrote down my goals i mean and they go what do you mean what do I kept it with me, John.

6:33I've only, I've done this a few times throughout my career when I've done other things. If you really write them down and say, this is what I'm going to do. It's not just the discipline to do it, but I'm going to track what I do. And I'm going to set bigger goals than anybody else. I think that's kind of like - Gene, to be fair, because I've known you for a couple of years, like you've done that. And that is amazing and incredible. But one thing that I've always really admired about you is your recruiting of talents. You've surrounded yourself with amazing people because you're the first person to raise your hand and say, hey, I'm not a tech person.

7:07I'm not good at tech. I'm not good at this. I'm not good at that. You're good at a couple. Actually, let me rephrase that. You are great at a couple things. And then guess what? You recruit talent to surround yourself with the rest of those things. You have a unique way of recruiting through TMA, T-M-A-Y. So break it down for us. What is it? How does it work? Why is it a game changer in attracting top talent. This is, you know, I've been recruiting, I've been recruiting now for almost 35 years of my career. Team A is tell me about yourself. Now I know with the internet now with Google, you could internet, you guys could pull up me on LinkedIn right now and go, Oh, what's Gene Frederick and blah, blah, blah, blah.

7:47I don't do any of that, John. When I interview talent, I said, tell me about yourself. I want to hear it from them. I don't want to read a bio, I want to hear it from them. Now, here's the key to team A. Every single time I recruit somebody, I said, well, tell me about yourself. And here's the key. I shut up. I shut up. This is really hard for all of you on this call. I shut up and I listen intently. I don't just listen. I quit listening. I listen intently. John, I turn off my cell phone. I leave it in the car when I interview people. I don't even bring my cell phone in. They know that when I'm talking to them, I really want to get to know them.

8:29And I really do want to get to know them. I mean, I want to know if this person is going to be a fit for us, we're going to be a fit for them. And quite honestly, I'm really good at finding what people's gifts are. I take it that, you know, what I'd say gifts is what's the Lord give you, quite honestly. The Lord's given us all gifts. John, I've seen your gifts. I've seen other people's gifts that you and I hang out with. We're all different. But what's funny is what I define gifts at is what you do and it gives you energy. For some reason, when you do it, you go, well, that wasn't work. That just kind of felt like it flowed.

9:09Some people are really good with computers, right? Some people are techie where They just, man, it just flows. Other people, I'm a networker, right? It just flows for me. I could network all day long and it doesn't feel like it's hard work. So I had to learn. And by the way, all these skills that I learned, by the way, before I didn't tell everybody, those seven years in the business world before I got into real estate, I was an accountant. I was a financial analyst. People go, well, you don't seem like a realtor when you were doing that. I go, I know, but I wasn't using my gifts. I was speaking of gifts, Gene, like you have so many gifts that we haven't even been able to touch on yet, which I think is so important when we're kind of breaking down exactly what it is that you've created here with your life and your business.

9:56And I want to move on next to the power of FU. And now FU, don't raise your eyebrows, Fire Nation. That means following up because you have found that recruiting does not stop after the first yes or no. So talk about why is following up such a critical piece of building the strong team that we're talking about? And what is your system for doing it right? Well, doing it right is, you know, I'm just old school, JLD. I think I've just grown up in the right environment. If I interview someone, by the time they get to their car, they've got a text from me. I mean, they're not even almost out the front door to their car and I text them how much I enjoyed them.

10:37The other thing with follow-up, what I find when I'm interviewing talent, guess who has control over that whole situation? Ah, their partner, their spouse. I found as soon as I interview somebody with talent, I go, let's set up another appointment right away with your significant other. I mean, I do it right then. The second interview is going to be with them because what I find out is I might want them to work with us. I think they could be really good for our team. But then they go home and go, hey, I'm going to leave and I've got to move to Puerto Rico. Just kidding. I got to move somewhere, you know, and I really like this.

11:14But then their spouse goes, hey, we ain't leaving Omaha. That ain't happening. So in other words, I found really the big key to follow up is I text them right away. I tell them how much I enjoyed them. If I enjoyed them, it's real. Why? because they saw me listening intently, taking notes. I hardly said words in these interviews because I want to get to know them, right? I'm going to know them better than they're going to know me. And then I follow up with a spouse and I always set up that second appointment right away. Love that, Gene. And Fire Nation, you are going to love what is to come as soon as we get back from thanking our sponsors.

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13:02So visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial and see why thousands of businesses are switching. That's highlevelfire.com, where marketing, sales, and automation finally come together. High level, join the revolution. Fire Nation, let me drop a truth bomb. The biggest bottleneck holding most entrepreneurs back isn't lack of ideas, tools, or hustle. It's lack of connection. And when I scaled my business to eight figures and mentored thousands of entrepreneurs, I saw the same thing again and again. People trying to do it alone. And that's why I created the Freedom Circle. You've heard me end every episode of Entrepreneurs on Fire by saying you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

13:43That's not just a quote. It's the reality of success. The Freedom Circle instantly becomes your family of five and then some. It's a community of driven entrepreneurs ready to pour ideas, connections, and support into every part of your journey. So Fire Nation, if you're ready to level up and finally create freedom on your terms, head to freedom-circle.com to learn more. That's freedom-circle.com. Gene, one thing that I really feel like you've done well, and I've definitely admired you for this, is that you're willing to ask for help. Like when you don't know something, you're just like, hey, John, how do I do this?

14:19Or Joel, how do I do that? Like you're willing to ask for help. And you're really good, by the way, at finding mentors because too many entrepreneurs, I mean, they try to go at it alone. Talk about how asking for help and specifically like leaning into and on mentors has shaped your journey and why every entrepreneur should be doing this sooner than later. Well, my first year, I never told the story, but my first year when I almost got out of the business. I instantly found a mentor because I went in and asked for help. And it was the name was Mike Brody. I just, in fact, I just had lunch with him like eight months ago in Dallas, Texas.

14:56He's been my mentor now for 40 years because he believed in me. Here's the key to mentors. He says, Gene, you can do anything you want to do. And I went, wow, somebody believes in me. So you need to have someone that really, really believes in you. And that to me, that's a big mentor. Every decision I've made in the last 40 years, I've counseled with him. And I've had other mentors throughout that, too. Here's my key. The problem with the technology age right now that we've grown up in, which I have, too, you know, right? Let's just Google it, John. Let's just Google it. Let's just AI it. Let's chat GPT, get the answer.

15:37I'll tell you what. I'd much rather ask you about podcasting. I'm not AI in podcasting. I'm calling you. No, seriously. You know what I mean? In other words, I want to go to the expert. I want to go to the, I want to find out because I still think this is a belly to belly business because the more relationships we can build, that's how big our goals can be. We need those people in our lives. And I'm not afraid to ask. I think it's a problem with our actually with the younger generation right now they just won't ask I think that's a great point because they feel like asking makes them look weak or makes them look like they're not intelligent but my point is like why should you know something you've never taken the time to do before or you've never been educated on before it's like of course let's go to the source let's go to the people that do things right which I think Gene is kind of one of the reasons why you decided to finally sit down and write a book because now you can utilize this book and this book can be a mentor for so many people, for real estate agents, for entrepreneurs, for small business owners, because of the things that you put in this book.

16:49I mean, you talk about setting these huge goals you can actually achieve. You talk about the five leadership standards that build a winning team. You talk about recruiting through teammate, which we touched upon. And of course, the power of following up, help asking for help and finding mentors. Why, Gene, did you write this book? What are you hoping to get out of it? And who is it for? You know, I think it's for all entrepreneurs. You know, it's funny. I got to tell you this, John, I, I just did the reading of the book. Oh, cool. So you can get it. You can get on audio. It took me, it took me like three days in Denver and I, and I found a good guy.

17:24I mean, it was hard. I don't know if anybody's ever done this, but I have. And I'm a podcaster and it's hard. So believe me. It's hard. It's just hard reading every single word and making sure it's right. So anyway, I found this guy in Denver and we had a great time reading it. And I think I found out from reading the book is afterwards, he's an entrepreneur. He's a guy that set up, you know, he does a lot of audio stuff and I found him in Denver. And he says, Gene, I got three other businesses. and this related, all this stuff you're talking about, can we talk later? And he hears this stuff all the time, by the way.

18:02Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he's actually just listening to me. He goes, I can use this book. And he has three side businesses that were totally different than audio, right? But he goes, you know, so I think my book, what I wanted to give back is what I found to be successful, which worked for me. And I think that's why as entrepreneurs, we want to share and and joel calm my my co-author you know i give him all the credit because he he says gene everybody i talked to says you really know your business but why haven't you written a book and i said well no hey it just i didn't feel like that was a gift well that was joel's gift that's joel's gift he's written 15 books he goes well why don't i why don't we write one together and i go hey hey hey yeah yeah i'll do a book with you i'll do a podcast with jld Hello.

18:53Hello. It's just I really have never been afraid to ask people to help me. I don't think, like you said, I don't think it's a weakness. You've got to ask or you shall not receive. I mean, it's really that simple. So, you know, if you're asking the Lord to help you or whoever you pray to, I got news for you. I have no problem asking people in my life, you know, help me. because I'm not good at all this stuff. I'm really not a renaissance man. I laugh because people are like, oh, he's this, he's a piano player, then he does this and he plays. I've just been really good at sales and recruiting and leadership.

19:35Which, by the way, happen to be critical talents for success as an entrepreneur, for sure. I can tell you that having done 13 years of interviews, 4 ,791 interviews to date. So, Gene, what is the name of your book? And just in a couple sentences, is what's it about well uh the book is be the legend and you can go bethelegendbook.com to take a look at it and it's really the three things uh i i discuss when i say discuss it's almost like a workbook john i've taught for such a long time in the sales business that i didn't want to write something that people didn't go through like chapter one and go okay at the end i said go do these things please before you go to chapter two you know it's almost like a workbook Why do I do it like that?

20:21Because I don't want to write something that you guys read and just go, oh, that was nice. I want you to take action. I want you to take action while you're reading my book. So I discuss how to be a – first of all, how to recruit talent. You brought that up. I think I've been the number one recruiter six times with Keller Williams and one of the number one recruiters with my new company, EXP, in the last 10 years, basically the number one recruiter. And so not a lot of people talk about recruiting, John. They just don't. Right. They just don't. They don't talk about how to recruit talent. Then I talk about leadership.

21:00I've ran some of the largest offices for Keller Williams, 640 agents in one office with a major staff. And so I teach about how I made those offices profitable through proper leadership. And then the last thing I talk about, of course, is sales, because I really believe networking to me in sales. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, I'm sure you read it. it was probably the number one sales book to me and he didn't even think it was a sales book right because he talks he talks about connectors oh uh davin michaels oh connector joel calm connector you know people that that when you meet them they go oh wait well i know like connectors run the world right i mean they really do so i i teach people how to identify connectors how to identify mavens, which know everything, and how to network with salespeople.

21:58And to me, that's how you create. You know, John, I love living in Puerto Rico with you guys. I mean, why do you love being in that neighborhood? I told people tonight, I said, this is unbelievable. I've never been in a neighborhood where I can network with this many entrepreneurs, this many connectors, and have the people. I mean, they're so techie. John, I don't know what they're talking about. Everybody has a different background. That's what I love about it as well. And we're just able to learn from each other and inspire each other. We have different strengths, different talents, and it all melds together in the special place of Palmas Del Mar.

22:35And listen, Fire Nation, Gene's a very humble guy. He truly is. But let me tell you, if you've seen what this guy's all about, and I've seen it for a long time now. Success just oozes from his pores because he's lived it for so long in such a great way. So bethelegendbook.com. Go check that out, Fire Nation. That is the place to learn more, to acquire this book, to, you know, of course, listen to the audio version of Gene talking it through because I know you're a podcast listener. You love the audio version. So go check it out on audible and any other place that it's available as an audio book.

23:12And Jim, just one final takeaway. What do you want fire nation to know before we say goodbye? Uh, here's the big key. I told you the fire nation is that surround yourself with people that know a lot more than you. I mean, I'm telling you what, I have no problem. I want to be around other, you know, it's so funny. we moved to Puerto Rico and we moved there seven years ago for tax reasons. I wouldn't move now for the world. They could get rid of it. And you know why? Because I've surrounded myself with people that are just phenomenal. And that is really, I would leave this with you. You go find her, not just your mentors, but you go hang out with the crowd that's super positive.

23:56That when I say positive, it's a reason they're positive because they're taking steps to take massive action. And you know what? Go get a little obsessed with your business for a while. I love to be obsessed. Be obsessed. I love that word because I got news for you. I was obsessed with EXP 10 and a half years ago and we only had 400 agents. And now we have close to 90 ,000 agents in 10 and a half years. The number two real estate company in the United States. And when I look at it, I go, how did that happen? Well, you know, big goals, big strategies, massive action. And you know what? little Gino was a little obsessed for a while.

24:33Little Gino. Now listen, Fire Nation, be obsessed. And of course, bethelegendbook.com because you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. You've been hanging out with GF and JLD today, so keep up the heat and for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Just type Gene in the search bar, G-E-N-E and the show notes page will pop right up. Gene, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. today. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. My pleasure, John. Thank you. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Gene for sponsoring today's episode.

25:14And Fire Nation, are you an entrepreneur on fire who's looking to share your amazing message with the world? If yes, we are now accepting applications for entrepreneurs on fire. To learn more about becoming a guest, visit eofire.com slash guest. And I'll catch you there or I'll catch you on the flip side. Are you ready for the ultimate all-in-one platform for entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and agencies? Build funnels, automate follow-ups, manage clients, and even white label your own software. Say hello to our featured partner, High Level, and visit highlevelfire.com to start your free trial today.

25:53Fire Nation, success isn't a solo journey. It's about who you surround yourself with. That's why I built the Freedom Circle, a powerful community of entrepreneurs ready to support, inspire, and share the ideas that move you forward. Visit freedom-circle.com to learn more.