Why 10% of Agents Sell 90% of Homes

0:09You're listening to The Vault Unlocked, where the real secrets of success are revealed. Every episode, one founder, one confession, one strategy that created income scale and unstoppable growth. The code is cracked. The vault is open. Today, I'm excited. We have the leadership guru. Awesome, awesome entrepreneur, Lee Brown. Lee, how are we doing? I'm even better now because I get to show off my little retro kitchen. In fact, you got your little fancy high-tech background. We're like yin and yang here. I actually noticed that. I do like your little fancy retro kitchen. What was the inspiration by that?

0:48Oh, it's a long story, so I don't know how much your listeners want to hear, but the very first female-led syndicated TV program was out of Charlotte, North Carolina back in the 50s, and it was a lady named Betty Feaser. so it was one of your home ex shows she showed you how to cook things and how to you know fix a stain and then a few years ago i found her set in the basement of a house that i was going to list for sale and i was like that's betty feezer's kitchen and so i asked if i could buy it shazam i have taken her whole set and recreated it here in my office and it's my favorite backdrop ever and with that story i love it and i know if you haven't actually little plug here.

1:26If you're listening on Apple, come to YouTube so you can actually physically see the set we're talking about. I love it. So Lee, tell us a little bit, who's Lee? What is Lee all about? Well, I'm a North Carolina native and my roots here go all the way back to the colonial days of North Carolina. My family are patriots and the birthday of the country is coming up here next year, which is wild. We are a farm family and I grew up into a kid who went to go to Wall Street, which wasn't for me. I sold chainsaws. That was great, but it wasn't for me. And I landed in real estate as an entrepreneur 25 years ago.

2:01I still live here. I hang out with my family as much as I can. I have two kids who are eligible to fly the nest as soon as they can get a good job and a husband who is more patient than he should be and basically living the American dream every day. I love it. And with a lot of energy too, it's awesome. It's awesome. So a estate agent? Well, I would say I'm actually a real estate broker because that's fancier. You know, vocabulary matters when you're trying to elevate your game. I do own my own brokerage and I have worked with buyers and sellers personally for 25 years. But at this stage in my career, I work with a select few buyers and sellers because, you know, I can cherry pick, which is a good perk.

2:43And now we can educate all over the world on how to conduct real estate in a more professional way and be more profitable. Okay. So I want to get into that because that's very interesting because I actually have a little bit, I used to do some real estate training. So I remember back in the day, the lunch and learns and the guy would come in at lunch and sell you a product and speak to real estate agents. Believe it or not, I'm aging myself back then, I was selling websites before real estate agents were even on websites. Yes. So we were telling them how, you know, if you don't have a website, you go out of business nowadays, right?

3:19If you don't have even social, heck, if you don't even have a podcast, you probably go out of business these days. So I get it. I love it. But you didn't just turn and you're right. You didn't just turn into a real estate agent. You create your own brokerage. How many agents do you have? Oh, there's only four of us. You know, we're still a bit mighty. Yeah, I love it. We're still one of the top 1000 brokerages in the country. And it's always a good reminder of people that size is not always the way you measure things. If you have highly productive people, I'd rather have my small crew of highly productive people than a bunch of non-producers.

3:51So already, we're going to change that for you because when I hear the language and terminology, I want to make sure we catch on. We said small, but we ain't small. We are boutique. You're a boutique brokerage. But I generally don't like that word. Can I tell you why? Oh, yes. Because it imports an opinion that we're the luxury top end kind of brokerage, but we work with everybody from a single wide trailer and we do represent luxury homes too. Okay. I avoid the word boutique and you can fix me on this if it would help, but I don't want the person at the lower end of the price spectrum to feel like they can't call me because I want everybody to have top professional service.

4:33So help me recraft. Yeah, that's great. So we would have to figure out what's another way of saying boutique that doesn't isolate. Just with everything that you were, the way you speak and the way you hold yourself, I actually thought you were luxury. Well, thank you. I'll tell my hair's red after he appreciates it. Yeah, I thought for sure you were probably doing a little bit more. Well, I mean, are we talking ultra luxury, you know,$30 million homes? But I'm definitely thinking you're doing at least$1 million plus homes, not dealing with, you know, trailers, I think you said, right? But you go all the wide range.

5:03It's the original affordable housing. And one thing I learned from my dad, my dad's a retired realtor. I should absolutely point out. He was, by the way, the first realtor in Charlotte, North Carolina, to have his own website. He was kind of fancy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Pretty good. But he told me on day one in this business, and actually he told me this in my other sales lives too, when the phone rings, it is someone who could have called anybody. Anybody, yeah. You have received the honor of that phone call. never put them down. And so from day one, it's, I don't care what your price point is.

5:37I'm going to treat you like you are the multimillion dollar property because you never know what's happening in somebody else's life and how you can lift them up by being the one person who poured into them when everybody else told them they weren't enough. And I love my luxury properties. They're pretty fun to sell, but there's something special about the person who scratched and scraped and made it happen because now they're in the game too. I absolutely love that. Again, I see how real estate's bigger for you than just selling homes and commissions right out of the gate. And you just said it there indirectly.

6:15The last thing is people who scraped and figured out whatever they had to do, meet the down payment to get in their first home. It doesn't matter the size of the home. You're helping people get into a home. People who maybe thought they never even had the ability to get in a home, you find them the right home, you're finding them right, like the right process for them so they can walk in with their own keys. And I can see that you're very passionate about that. So that's fantastic. Well, we want people to build a future that's financially stable. And I think every entrepreneur, one of our goals is to hire people so that we can provide a future for other people.

6:49It's so exciting when you get to grow jobs because other people then get to change their lives. Real estate's the same way. When somebody gets in, now later they can play up. But if they don't get in on step one, they're never going to be able to progress. And man, it's just so empowering to watch somebody else make it happen. I didn't do it for them. I just helped show them the way. And then they get to go do big things. And I get to sit back like a mom and say, good job, baby. Good job. Yeah, I love it. And you do that with a small, mighty, like we said, a small, mighty, strong team. You're not looking to be bloated.

7:26You're looking to go deep and you're looking to be effective. Well, honey, I've had those days. I've had the lots of agents days and it's lots of headaches because the larger number of agents, you still have a core that are wildly committed professionals and they are crushing it. And you have a whole bunch. You're like, I don't have enough leads. Yeah. So let's talk. I mean, it's not, this broadcast isn't about that, but let's, let's talk about that. Cause I think, uh, there's something there for all salespeople, which, and I, and I, and I don't know what the stat is, but back in the day, it was something like that, again, typical, like 10 % of the real estate agents make 90, you know, sell 90 % of the homes.

8:05Why, why, why do you, what'd you say? Still accurate. Yeah. So why, why do you think that is? Well, I personally believe that because real estate, you have to make a disciplined choice on day one, you're either in or you're not. And I love part-time agents who feel like they could sell a house here and there, but they're not in and they don't get up and treat it like a job and give themselves the discipline and manage themselves to success. Those top producers, they're up in the morning, they have a calendar, they have a schedule, they've got a plan, they got checklist, and they will knock it down.

8:41The person over here who wants to sell one house every three years isn't committed. And the commitment takes you from the bottom to the top in a way that knowledge really can't do. I love it because what I, uh, indirectly what I always say is there's no such thing as being half pregnant. You are, or you're not AKA you're committed and you're all in, or you're out. There's no such thing as I say. Um, if I, if I was teaching or selling real estate, if I was in a real estate room right now, I'd be saying this is there's no such thing as a real estate agent who gets to take his cape off on Friday.

9:18Correct. You either take that, you put that cape on and you, and you become it. It's not what you do. It's who you are or you're not because there's too many other real estate agents, as you know, that are committed and they're just going to eat your lunch. And that's where the 10 % come from. I make up 90 % of the homes. Well, it's so funny. You mentioned that because my hairdresser who I paid exorbitant amounts of money to look like this, I'll be very honest. And he's wonderful. He texted me the other day and he said, one of his clients has gone into real estate. And I said, oh, do tell. I can't wait to hear about it.

9:49And this person, because they're trying to break into the market, is offering everything for free. And he said, that doesn't make any sense. I said, you're right. It doesn't. Because in our business, we are paid success fees. And until you've sold the property, you ain't getting paid nothing. And so he's putting all this money out in hopes of one day getting compensated. He'll be broke within the year because he doesn't understand the value that he brings. The value isn't in the stuff. The value is in you, your ability to listen and help somebody else figure out how to respond in the marketplace.

10:21And that comes from communication, being aware, being knowledgeable and being in there, not about throwing money at it. You can't throw money at things and expect it to get fixed. Let's unpack this if we have the time. Oh, my God. There's so much there. Right. Right. So we can't throw money at things. Right. Without what I heard here is like without actually understanding, communicate and really know what you're doing in this job. So let's let's this is really interesting. I love this. If we were to take a step back and say, OK, what do you what is a real estate agent? We understand what a real estate broker is and a real estate broker owns the office and basically owns the business and has real estate agents under them.

11:01But in this case, what is a real estate agent? What does a real estate agent really do? The truest explanation of a real estate agent is a professional problem solver. Wow. Okay. Well, that's what sales is, is problem solving. That's, I mean, welcome to sales 101. Yes. I'm compensated when I solve a problem. So I'm not an amateur and I get very irritated with people who don't understand that the difference in a professional and an amateur is compensation. And if you suck at sales, you're not going to get compensated. In fact, there's always an episode of the office that will correlate to things in life.

11:38And if you remember when Pam tried sales and she was mad that she wasn't making any money and she said, oh, I guess it is fair that I don't get paid when I didn't sell anything. It was hilarious and true. So I'm professional and I'm a problem solver because in real estate, I don't know what I'm going to encounter. I don't sell commodity. I'm selling on emotion all the time and not just my client, but the other side. and then I might have a survey issue, an inspection issue, a money issue, a human issue. I don't know, but my job as the pro is to say, okay, that's what we got. Let's figure it out.

12:11And every day it's a, let's figure it out day. And it's, it's interesting because you're solving one of life's biggest problems, right? For like most people is owning a home, finding the right home with a budget that they're excited about and that they're going to be, again, I'm against the mortgage stuff, but buying to a mortgage for 30 years. Well, we want to look at the mortgage and the way that it's properly processed, which is it should be considered short-term debt. Smart people lever themselves to get into the game and then pay it down. Yes. If you have a 30-year mortgage last 30 years, you did something wrong.

12:46Okay. So I'm from Canada, right? So it's a little different there with the mortgages. But what I have, so I have this philosophy is you buy, you rent out what you own and you rent where you live. What's your thought on that philosophy? It depends on the person because you as a single person and you're not emotionally connected, that might work. But if you are a parent and you've got a spouse and three little kids, they need stability. And if we look at what happens to children's educational futures, the longer they stay in properties, the better off they are as they learn and grow because kids need stability.

13:33So if you're a family with kids, you buy it and you live in it instead of paying somebody else rent. And then when the kids are out of the house, sure, become an investor or be super duper smart, buy a duplex. But your family on one side rent the other side out. There's ways to accomplish it, but it boils down to the fact that it's got to be a personalized solution. And isn't that everything in life? We should start monetizing everything and get back to how each person has a unique perspective on it. True problem solver in front of us. Right. Identify the problem. We'll figure out the solution.

14:07I love that. So if there's agents, I mean, salespeople like sitting here, because I've even thought many people have told me, oh, you should be in real estate, you know, agent. And I've always said, no, like, I know what I am. I know who I am. And it was just, it never really spoke to me. I understand it. Sure. The commissions are incredible, especially when you get into like the five, 10,$20 million homes, but it's not for me. But what I love about it is what you just said. It's problem solving. It's sales. You're in the people business. Well, are we all? I mean, isn't everything sales? You have to have a winning package to get people to listen to your show and to watch your show.

14:48And that package is how you present it, how you put it together and who you bring on the show. It could be you're in the well, let's go back to the office again. Dunder Mifflin was a mid-level paper processing company. But what was their key was the salespeople who sold the product so that somebody else could have their needs met. People who are good in real estate are people people. We're probably terrible with the details, but we hire for that. Everything in life, if you would think about it, is sales. Dating is sales. I have a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old. They're terrible at dating, which I think all the young people are now.

15:20You should do a whole series on what's happening to dating. But they're scared of failure. And I keep telling them that's the whole point. Dating is for the failure so that you recognize the success when you find it. And it's no different than me talking to some buyers and can't help you, can't help you. Got one. It's just all a numbers game. Yeah, we can go down that date. I just did actually a video on the whole dating, what I think about the dating world. But we won't go down there. But the point of that video was very simply was the whole dating world is messed up right now. because actually being real and authentic is actually seen as weak today.

15:59You have to be manipulative. You got to play games. You got to gaslight if you want to win, which is so complete backwards of what true dating was, what chivalry was, what picking up a girl and being your authentic self and showing her who you are and showing your heart and being kind. You do that, you lose. You actually lose the date. It's crazy. I don't want to get into it because that's not what this is, but it's actually doing their lips explain that to me oh my god i don't even get me i oh we're gonna go down that road because i'm middle-aged because i look at it i'm thinking baby girl what are you doing the it's not even what's happening to their physically to their body but it is destroying them mentally and they don't realize it and what happens is is as you No, like they start being delusional.

16:51Like they get body dysphormia and they start like forgetting that, like their lips are already too big. And you know who I actually blame outside of everyone else. You can blame, you know, media, all that. But the injectors, if the injectors were like you who cared about their people, they would turn people away. So I know some professional injectors where I live. They tell me horror stories where they, but they turn people away. They don't let, they don't. And then, but the problem is those people will go to another one, another one, another one until they find someone who's willing to just inject them.

17:25And they have these big lips. And I feel so bad for these young girls because they think it's pretty. They think it's cool. They think it's Miami and it's so gross. And it's, and, and men don't like it. All ages, men don't actually like it. We, we don't. It's, it's not each other. And that's where the, you go back to the flaw in dating. If women are trying to impress other women instead of the men they're trying to attract, then they wonder why the men aren't attracted. Play to the right audience. That's sales. You play to the right audience. You're always talking to somebody where they are so that you can connect.

17:59But if you're talking in a horizontal fashion instead of a vertical fashion, that's why you're not moving up. Yeah. No, I hear that. I love that. So let's talk about, you're established now, right? So I would say as a result of all your hard work, your commitment, your dedication, I'm sure the phone rings for you. You don't have a lead problem. You pick up the phone, you close. But what was it like before that? Because you had to work hard to get there. So what was your process? What did you do to get to the position where you know the phone's ringing? I go everywhere people are. Now, I'll preface this by saying I'm an introvert.

18:38I'm an INTJ. And so I had to fight my own preferences to go be successful in this business. But I wanted it because I wasn't cut out for the corporate world. I did not fit in corporate sales. So if I don't fit there, I may as well make this work. So, for example, at the gas station, one of my favorite stories ever, you spend a lot of money on gas and real estate because you're hauling and hoping you're taking people all over. And instead of paying at the pump, I would go inside and pay for my gas. Well, the same fellow was in there all the time. And finally, he said to me, why are you buying so much gas?

19:11And I said, well, I'm in real estate. Why are you here all the time? And he said, I own this gas station. And I said, tell me about that. And he said, why would I spend money on labor when I can work here myself? Because a lot of our gas station owners are very understanding of their labor cost. Well, he and I struck up a friendship. And as it turns out, he owns 22 gas stations in the area. Yeah. Commercial broker. I am because I was in there all the time. Yeah. He had a very congenial relationship where I wasn't the kind of customer that I see on the TikTok who walks in thinking they're better than the proprietor.

19:44I engaged with him. And so he has my business cards and he hands them out. And then I would volunteer at places that mean something to me, like my church and also Habitat for Humanity. Not just going to a nonprofit because other people are there, but the places where my heart is. Yeah. spend time and wherever you spend time and people can figure out who you are, they will reward you with business. And it's not an overnight success, but it's a long-term strategy that actually works. So what came up for me there, and I just was so important was intention and integrity. And when I say intention, you were intentional of where you went.

20:23Because you just said, you're not just showing up there because your broker told you to, or someone told you to do that. You're showing up because you know, yeah, it could help with business, but you're intentionally showing up to the places where business or no business is where you're supposed to be. You're also getting something out of it yourself just for being there, providing, whether it's giving or taking. And as a result, you're intentional in your integrity. And that's the type of people want to be business with. They want to be in business with people that they can know, like, and trust.

20:54Well, and especially if you look at the changing world of AI, which I don't like, in so many ways, but I use it in several ways. So I guess I'm a hypocrite, whatever. You got to use it. You got to respect it. You got to use it, but you got to understand how to use it. Because I believe that we live in a world, there's two things are going to happen, like two groups of people. The group that's going to fight it, you're going to say, AI is not taking over. And then the group that understand it's been here forever, but it's here and it's here forever. And the ones that learn how to use the AI and adapt to the AI They're the ones that are going to exist.

21:32They're the ones that are going to succeed. And the ones that are fighting it, they're going to find themselves beautifully equipped to live in a world that no longer exists. Well, but they can also be in my third group of beautifully equipped by knowing AI, but still hating it. And still not knowing that it should take over and won the world. So we'll be in the third questioning group. Yeah, but you're using it. You know you've got to tap into it. I really am, but I use it for, I take my human piece and let it, I can be a little abrupt in emails. I'll admit it. And so one of the good uses of chat is to take my very abrupt emails and say, please soften this a little bit.

22:07And then I can edit because it needs to be edited because I don't use 87 emoji. And so spoiler alert for any of your viewers and listeners, if you use chat GPT, go back and backspace over those 47 emojis. Get rid of the emojis and the dashes. The dashes. What are you leaving the dashes in? I tell people like, oh, you don't want to get caught in GPT. Two things just simply do take out the emojis and take out the dashes. That is it. No, it's going to start using ellipses soon because that's what my mother uses in every one of her texts. And so GPT is going to learn that from her. And then I got three things to watch for.

22:43But anyway, so I can go back and I can take my piece, get it softened and then edit it. So it does add a step in, but it actually helps me with my connections and I'll take the help side of AI. But I brought that up because if I think about where it's going to interrupt relationships, salespeople are going to have a lot of relationships interrupted because they're forgetting the intentionality of the face-to-face. And an example I'll use is this. I can get the grocery store app to put my list together, calls the grocery store by scanning my little barcode, knows exactly what I'm going to buy week over week and replenish it.

23:20But I will not do that because when I walk into the store, I get to interact with the staff and the other customers and I can strike up a conversation. Here's my favorite sales trick. I will pick up my phone and say, good afternoon, Lee Brown. And I say it nice and loud so everybody around me can hear that I'm in the store. And then I'll hang up my fake phone call and they'll come over and say, oh, I had a question about this and that. and I'll say, oh. Wow, you do that. Of course I do. That is the easiest prospecting ever. You know what it cost me? Zero dollars. I don't think people picked up that.

23:55I don't know if a lot of people would have picked up what you just did there, but I did. That's genius. So you know, again, know your audience, know yourself, be self-aware. You want to be a great salesperson. You know your audience, you know the city you're in. It sounds like it's a smaller mom and pop, everybody. I mean, I'm sure your billboards are everywhere. And everybody knows Lee Brown. So Lee Brown walks into the grocery store and brings her phone out. This is just awesome. And she goes, hey, Lee Brown here, right? Has a little bit of fake conversation gets off. Oh, who's Lee Brown? I know Lee Brown.