Real Estate Thought Leaders

Matt Johnson
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  • Marketing
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What's working for residential real estate coaches, speakers and authors? Find out from your fellow experts and thought leaders...in their own words. Through industry interviews and analysis, you get an inside look at how they're tackling challenges like: How to reach and engage agents How to build a sense of community and shared mission among agents How to deliver razor-sharp messaging and cut through the noise How to deal with marketing platforms getting more expensive and less effective You’ll hear from thought leaders who are in the trenches talking to agents and creating content for them every day. Brought to you by MicroFamous, a video marketing agency with 10 years experience launching video shows for experts and thought leaders. Our story started with the launch of Real Estate Uncensored in 2015, which went on to get 3.5 million views across multiple platforms. Since then we've worked with many your fellow coaches, speakers and authors. From Michael Maher (7 Levels of Communication) and Marki Lemons Ryhal to launching the first video shows for team leaders like The Team Building Podcast with Jeff Cohn, Club Wealth TV with Michael Hellickson, and Real Estate Business Builders with Lars Hedenborg. To launch or take over production of your video show, visit GetMicroFamous.com to learn more. rethoughtleaders.substack.com

  1. 5d ago

    Agent Insights Hiding Inside YouTube Auto-Complete

    Last week Aaron Hendon shared how he puts his content in front of agents who aren’t looking for it, and don’t even think they need it. This week I want to piggyback on that with some concrete examples. YouTube Auto-Complete & Search Results Tools Required: None Start with a word or phrase you think agents are searching for. For an easy example, we’ll use some industry jargon, ‘seller leads’ Let’s see what YouTube offers to auto-complete for us. (Done Sat, Aug 8th, Incognito Chrome browser, fresh instance of YouTube, no account signed in) A quick skim and you’ll see this is a mix of: * searches from different people (agents and investors) * looking for different things (leads to buy, leads they can generate themselves) * for different reasons (easy, motivated, best, etc.) Each variation of the keyword ‘seller leads’ has a different intention behind it. The good news is, YouTube already knows exactly what that intention is. YouTube has a history of videos that perform well for each variation. Click on that variation and you get to see those videos, too. The kinds of videos YouTube offers high in the results reveals a lot about the intent of the people searching and what satisfies that search. Only see Shorts and 1-3 minute videos? People want fast answers. Maybe they’re filtering to see if this is even worth their time before diving any deeper. ‘Seller leads for real estate’ is the opposite. Not counting sponsored videos and the Shorts carousel at the top (pretty standard if you’re not logged into YouTube Premium), the top 3 videos YouTube serves up are 26, 16 and 19 minutes long. If you make long form YouTube videos, this is great news. But it’s not just about what works on YouTube. To me, this signals that agents expect complexity in this topic. That’s why they’re prepared for longer videos, which YouTube is happy to serve them. The more complex a topic is, the more agents seek out detailed content. That’s your opportunity to teach, train and lead. Now you don’t want to draw conclusions too early, so effort counts in research. Take the time to look up those other variations. Some variations will pull up shorter content, content aimed at investors rather than agents, content that over-promises (fast, easy, etc). All of that matters…even if you never shoot a single YouTube video. Because it reveals the intent of the agent using those exact words. Sidenote: You can simplify auto-complete research with a tool like Airtable and a simple formula. Airtable can take all the variations of a keyword you paste in and turn each keyword phrase into a clickable YouTube search link. So you just click each link, take note of the results, and move on. Keyword Research + AI Tools Tools Required: Google Ads Keyword Planner and Google Trends (minimum) SEMrush is a good option if you want more robust data and easier documentation. You can get a lot out of a 14-day trial. I also hooked up Claude to DataForSEO, which gives you the ability to ask for keyword data in a chat. Whatever tool you use, for this purpose you don’t want low competition keywords. By definition, those are the keywords fewer agents are using. The first thing you want to know is the dominant keyword. Then you want to get a feel for the intent behind that keyword. ‘Seller leads’ is a tricky keyword because there’s so much crossover with investors. So here’s an example from SEMrush for the keyword phrase: ‘real estate agent marketing’ In this screenshot I’m using the Questions filter. Those are the actual questions agents type in, which reveals interesting patterns in phrasing. These results are sorted by ‘Volume’ on the left, which shows that the top words that appear along with ‘real estate agent marketing’ are ‘new’ (as in new agents), and ‘automation.’ This would indicate that when agents look for content about marketing, a high percentage are either new agents, or they’re looking for marketing automation. Same keyword phrase at the core, but the full phrase reveals different agents with very different intent. Once you have results like that, you can compare different keyword phrases by volume to determine the dominant keyword agents use. Then take a look at the search results (manually or within tools like SEMrush) and see if the sites that get served up are a good match for the agents you want to serve and their intent. Sidenote: With DataForSEO connector in Claude, you can approximate that SEMrush Question filter by asking for keyword results to be limited to only those including what/where/when/how/why/best/fastest/easiest, etc. The DataForSEO connector for Claude is promising but I haven’t extensively tested it yet. Scrape Actual Agent Words & Analyze with AI Tools Tools Required: AI tool + scraper app or virtual assistant (VA) If you run a Facebook Group, those posts and comments are a goldmine.Same if you have reviews for a book or podcast or YouTube channel. But you can also find real estate books on Amazon and look up the reviews…Find real estate podcasts and YouTube channels with reviews and comments… Scrape everything you can (ethically) get your hands on, all the comments, reviews and feedback. A few years ago you’d pay a VA to scrape results manually, copy/pasting into a doc/spreadsheet. Still works. If you’re more tech savvy, tools like Apify can automate this, and also connect directly with AI tools like Claude. Once you have a bunch of scraped data, throw it into an AI tool. Ask for help parsing the data and uncovering the real words being used. Not just the problems, fears, frustrations, etc. But the actual words agents use. Sidenote: Ask AI to confirm counts, give real examples, and show how it arrived at totals. If you have a ton of data, split the analysis into multiple stages like input, formatting, pruning, then analysis. If you throw a bunch of data into an AI model and give it a single-shot prompt, it might generate a report that’s confidently wrong. Understand the Marketing Game You’re In Right Now I don’t share these things because we all need to become algorithm engineers. I mainly want to encourage you to sharpen your understanding of the words agents use and the intent behind their words. So your marketing becomes sharper and more effective. When you use the exact words agents think and speak, that alone is powerful. If you choose one keyword to dominate…even more powerful. As I was using YouTube auto-complete, it hit me one day. Why does no one FOCUS on one of these keywords? Imagine if every time an agent searched YouTube for ‘listing presentation,’ half the videos in the search results were ONE coach? That coach would have instant authority before a single video is watched. Authority with an agent already looking for content on a complex topic that’s perfect for teaching, role-play and an ongoing coaching relationship. My bet is that there’s room in the industry for coaches, speakers, leaders and experts who specialize in every major keyword that shows up in YouTube auto-complete. But instead, everyone does a little content about this, a little content about that, until everyone’s content covers all the same topics. And what’s left are the content creators who make it their full-time job to figure out the algorithms. And once they figure it out, they split 90% of the views, and everyone else fights over what’s left. That’s the game right now. The deeper we get into this era of AI and algorithms, the more convinced I am that the attention, the visibility, the authority, is right there for the taking…for the few who are willing to focus. Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file for the full chat, or search Real Estate Thought Leaders on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or Hit Reply and tell me what you’re seeing Quick Links & Resources DataForSEO SEMrush Appreciate you reading or listening! Send me any feedback, pushback or places where I’m missing it. I’m a damn good analyst, but the better the information I have, the better the analysis. -Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Here’s how we can help… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your message - So you’re excited to create content, and you have a ‘signature talk’ you can take to stages and guest interviews. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call.. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

  2. Aug 6

    Get Your Content Discovered w/Aaron Hendon

    Mindfulness. Agents don’t know they need it, they aren’t looking for it, and when they’re made aware of it, they don’t immediately see its potential. Aaron Hendon sells mindfulness training.(on top of running his brokerage, speaking, podcasting and Substack-ing.) Here’s how Aaron puts his content in front of agents who aren’t looking for it. Non-Obvious Insights from our Conversation: Meet Agents Where They Are “So how do I position this so that it’s in their way? So it’s where they are, right? That’s our job as marketers is to put our product where the people already are looking, right? Not to get people to change how they look at it. We have to change our thing so that it looks like what they want. As long as it also delivers the promise, it can look like whatever you want it to look like. It’s not a bait and switch if you actually deliver on the thing in the first place, right?” - Aaron Hendon Aaron creates content that starts with an urgent problem agents relate to…and ties it to mindfulness. That’s something any expert or coach or speaker can do. Start with where agents are, offer a solution to an urgent problem they’re dealing with, but the solution is a small, tactical piece of your full methodology. When that tactic works, it proves that your content is worth coming back to, and starts that slippery slide we all hope for - where the right people binge our content. Want support to create your best content…consistently? Check out our Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We turn raw footage into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. Visit GetMicroFamous.com to learn more and schedule your Free Brainstorm Call. Put Your Content in a Different, More Urgent Category AH: “So the way I’ve started to position this is it is a performance enhancer. And that is what they’re looking for. They’re looking for a way to perform better…And the metaphor I use to demonstrate that mindfulness and meditation…increases performance in a way that people can hear it is…Phil Jackson, AKA the Zen master….There is no human being on the planet more competitive than Michael Jordan. But Phil Jackson had him meditating. Phil Jackson has 11 rings. You wanna think meditation is soft and woo-woo, knock yourself out. But it is a performance enhancer. There’s not a professional sports team in the world now that doesn’t have a mindfulness coach, doesn’t have someone to handle mindset. So I have to reposition what I do to get it out of the wellness space and into that.” For the right agents, that puts mindfulness into a category they already care about, a category they probably already spend money on. So instead of trying to create new demand and new spending from scratch, he can tap into existing demand and redirect existing spending. And how do you find those categories that agents already care about and spend money on? Use AI, YouTube and Keyword Research to Uncover Insights into Agent Language AH: “There’s AI tools for this. What are the keywords, all that stuff. And you can run this through Claude or Perplexity or anything you want. This is what I think AI is great at. Not so much creative stuff, but analytical stuff. Say [to the AI], ‘Here’s my offer. What are the components of this that people are looking for? How do they speak about it?’ If you have reviews of your product, which I do, I took all my Google reviews of my class and I put it through, added it to AI.” I’ll dive into some specifics next week. For now just note that there are a bunch of ways to do this kind of research, but effort definitely matters. I’ve come across research lately showing that AI queries perceived as low-effort or low-cognition (read: lazy), get allocated less computer power by the AI tools. In other words, Ask AI lazy questions, AI gives you lazy answers. One of the quirks of the AI models we have right now is they can confidently deliver accurate-looking reports, analysis and recommendations…based on inaccurate data. AI sometimes skims, takes shortcuts and makes stuff up. Never assume AI has done the work properly unless you spot check at every stage. Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file for the full chat, or search Real Estate Thought Leaders on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or Hit Reply and tell me what you’re seeing Steal This: Aaron has been on 50 podcasts in 4 months thanks to a tool called PodPitch. It’s an AI-powered podcast pitching system, Aaron says it’s about $300/mo but was well worth it and their customer support and AI learning have both been excellent. Couple caveats to keep in mind: Aaron’s targeting podcasts in AND outside real estate, so if you’re just looking to get on real estate podcasts, those numbers would be tough to match. Also time is of the essence, as AI tools have no moat, everyone can send the same kind of pitch emails. When everyone sends the same pitch emails, they lose their effectiveness. Quick Links & Resources Aaron’s website Aaron’s story Mindful CEO Podcast Mindful CEO on Substack It was so cool to have Aaron on after meeting years ago through Real Estate Uncensored! He took on a big challenge of selling mindfulness to agents, but he’s got the strategy right. Now the challenge is to keep meeting agents where they are and offering mindfulness as the performance enhancer it is. If you’re looking for a great guest to share that perspective, reach out and I’ll make an intro! Talk soon, -Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Here’s how we can help… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your message - So you’re excited to create content, and you have a ‘signature talk’ you can take to stages and guest interviews. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

  3. Jul 30

    Marketing to Prospects Who Are Wired Differently From You

    Humans are empathetic, so we assume other people are like us. Feel like we feel. Think like we think. It’s probably the most human assumption to make. When we market our business, everything we do and say is built on that assumption. The conversation with Angela shined a giant spotlight on that assumption. So much of what she shared may sound counterintuitive to leaders. But when she’s on stage at a real estate event or speaking to a brokerage, I guarantee you a huge percentage of those agents are thinking, “FINALLY, a leader who understands me!” Lately I’ve been doing some work on better understanding my personality and behavior, from Enneagram to Human Design. Super interesting, and in some ways, scary accurate. And that work uncovered some fundamental mismatches in my wiring, and the wiring of the coaches, speakers and authors I serve. Mismatches that create friction. Which led to this takeaway: Great marketing starts when we step outside ourselves. When we market and sell to people who are wired differently, we’re going to have some massive blind spots. I have them, so I’m documenting this for myself as much as for other leaders. Here are three practical ways we can step outside ourselves and market to people who are wired differently. Set Aside Our Own Ego…Temporarily Ego is part of the drive to teach, train and lead. Without it, no one would speak on stage or do a podcast interview. I’d be running a different business. So I’m all in on having a healthy ego. Just not when we’re crafting our marketing strategy. Prospects have their own ego…their own story about their identity, their successes and failures, their strengths and weaknesses. If we don’t understand that story, what’s the foundation of our marketing? Our own story. I hear it when I speak to coaches and leaders. Agents need…Agents should…Agents have to… It all starts from their own story. Agents have their own story…what they need, what they should be doing, and what they have to do. Especially when it comes to the things they buy, the leaders they follow, the brokerages they gravitate towards. By setting aside our own ego, we open ourselves up to their story. Want support to create your best content…consistently? Check out our Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy. We turn raw footage into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. So you get visibility and authority, without more complexity, guaranteed. Visit GetMicroFamous.com to learn more and schedule your Free Brainstorm Call. Question Our Assumptions When we craft our marketing, we do it from a set of assumptions. What if many of those assumptions are wrong? Angela pointed out that leaders and agents all use the word support… but mean completely different things. When it comes to assumptions, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A couple months ago I stumbled onto a fascinating book on ‘power phrases for selling to entrepreneurs.’ [show screenshot] The book pointed out that most marketing to entrepreneurs is around ‘growth.’ But in actual research with entrepreneurs, the word ‘growth’ didn’t resonate. Growth has connotations of busy-ness, higher risk, higher demands on time and energy. All clashing with the drive for freedom…the real reason they became entrepreneurs. When we question our assumptions, we open ourselves up to a deeper, more accurate understanding. We give ourselves a chance to see our prospects as they really are, not how we want them to be. And that allows us to… Meet People Where They Are I grew up in church, my dad was a youth pastor when I was young, he planted two churches before I was age 10, and I helped him plant another at age 21. He’s a deep thinker, and he wanted to share that deep thinking from the pulpit. That drew in people who were starving for that. It worked for him, as he drew in people who wanted the exact thing he was wired to give them. But he never figured out how to draw in people who are wired differently. So his churches grew organically, mostly by word of mouth. When it comes to marketing, meeting people where they are can take different forms * Marketing on the platforms they’re actually on…so they don’t have to go somewhere else to find us * Changing our phrasing to be more supportive and positive…so they don’t feel shamed or preached at * Catering to their actual buyer journeys…so they don’t have to change their decision-making process to buy from us It’s all about dealing with reality on reality’s terms. Meeting people where they are and inviting them to take steps toward us, rather than trying to get them to come to us on our terms. And if we really commit to meeting people where they are, that approach doesn’t stop there. We might even build products and services around their actual behavior and decisions…so they don’t have to change to get results. Hope that sparks some new ideas. Appreciate you taking the time to read or listen, and talk soon! -Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Here’s how we can help… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your message - So you’re excited to create content, and you have a ‘signature talk’ you can take to stages and guest interviews. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

    Marketing to Prospects Who Are Wired Differently From You

  4. Jul 23

    Unlocking the Potential of the ‘Other 80%’ of Agents

    So we know that 80% of agents aren’t wired like the top performers. And since coaches, team leaders and broker owners come from the ranks of top performers, there’s a major disconnect between how leaders are wired, and how agents are wired. But once we understand the psychology, what does real support look like? Here are the… Non-Obvious Insights from our Conversation: Help Agents Craft a Lead Gen Strategy Rooted in Their Identity Angela’s experience as an agent and mother, joining a local homeschool moms group, changed how she looked at traditional lead gen advice. AKT: “They [moms] were using me themselves and referring me to everybody that they knew. I didn’t have to pick up the phone and make another cold call…I just stumbled into this lead generation gold mine… by being more of who I am and less of who I’m not, and now business just falls in my lap.” That experience also shaped her leadership and coaching: AKT: “When I started coaching, I would tell that story, and I would help agents start to figure out what is their thing. Guess what? It worked!” “That’s where I start with my agents. It’s helping them with identity work. Who am I? Who are my people? What do I love to do? Because right in there is your business. Right in there. Now, I call that your Heartprint.” Help Agents Reverse the ‘Normal’ Emotional Flow of Their Day Angela points out that most agents start out with an emotion when they wake up in the morning, and then the day ‘kind of drizzles off from there.’ The industry hands every agent the same set of tools; make a vision board, replace negative thoughts with positive, be more disciplined. And for top performers, that can work (for a while). But that approach doesn’t match how the 80% of agents are wired. So it fails. Angela contends that leaders and coaches could take a different approach: Give agents a different set of tools to handle the uncomfortable feelings and nervous system triggers that come up in an average day. AKT: “…we’re addressing the emotions that come up for them as triggers…their nervous system responses. So now, we’re actually addressing all of it, and reversing their natural flow. We start with the Heartprint, and then we go backwards.” When agents get handed the same set of tools, simply because they work for top performers, they feel unsupported. And when 80% of your agents feel unsupported, retention becomes a major issue. This Will Make or Break Your Agent Retention Angela makes a strong case that brokerages and teams are consistently bleeding agents by tailoring their support to the very people who need it least. AKT: “If you’re focused on the top 20%…they’re gonna do it regardless. They’re the high Ds, the high Is. Those are the people that are the top producers. They consistently produce. They’re like machines.” “The reason the majority of agents leave, they say is support. Well, guess what? They go to the next brokerage and the [brokerage] does the same thing. And they don’t feel the support there either. So they keep hopping from brokerage to brokerage until they find somewhere where they do feel supported…leave the industry completely…Or they just stay at the last brokerage…produce inconsistently, and shame themselves as they’re doing it. They continue to believe that they are the problem, and they’re just not good enough, and they never will be…” This changes everything I love about real estate…turning an amazing opportunity for freedom and unlimited income, into an impersonal machine that shames people for who they are, shames them for not producing, and then shames them if they leave. And I know you…the leaders and coaches of this industry. That is absolutely NOT your heart or intention. So I hope if you’re reading (or listening), you’ll take this episode in the spirit in which it’s intended: As an opportunity to reframe how you see the ‘average agent.’ Instead of seeing 80% of agents as perennial under-performers who take more time and energy than they give back in profit…see them as people who need a different set of tools to unlock their potential. Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file for the full chat, or search Real Estate Thought Leaders on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or Hit Reply and tell me what you’re seeing…who’s doing a great job retaining that 80% of agents who are wired differently from the top performers? Ask This: Does any of my coaching, training or leadership approach start with an understanding of the agent’s identity? If not, take it as an opportunity. Create different tools, classes and internal training. Find that agent who does 20-30 deals a year off referrals from their kids playing sports, give them a platform to teach agents who are wired the same way. For the ‘other 80%’ of agents, that has a much bigger impact than hearing from the listing agent who hits the phones 3 hours every morning. Quick Links & Resources Rooted Agent Method - Angela’s online, courses and resources Angela’s Story Once again, massive thanks to Angela for sharing and I hope the message resonates with leaders and coaches. I could just as easily have been one of those bouncing around, shaming myself and thinking I’m the problem. Instead, I was one of the fortunate ones. The right mentors and the right books shifted my perspective. I was able to overcome a bunch of head trash and nervous system triggers from childhood, and build a successful business around how I’m wired. If you can help agents do the same, you’ll change a lot of lives. Talk soon, Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS When you’re ready, my agency provides… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your message - So you’re excited to create content, and you have a ‘signature talk’ you can take to stages and guest interviews. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

  5. Jul 16

    80% of Agents Aren’t Wired Like You w/Angela Kristen Taylor

    What if your core assumption about agents was wrong for 80% of them? What if everything you assume about their mindset, motivations, and behavior was more of a mirror on YOU than an actual understanding of agent psychology? Think that might affect your ability to lead, market and sell to agents, and ultimately, have the kind of positive impact you want to make in this business? That’s the topic for today’s guest, Angela Kristen Taylor. She’s a veteran of a variety of coaching and leadership roles in real estate, and today runs Rooted Agent Method, which you’ll hear more about in Part 2. Let’s jump in.. Non-Obvious Insights from our Conversation: Most Agents Aren’t Driven by Money…They’re Driven by a Nervous-System Need for “Home” and Freedom “They have a subconscious desire to help people find home in the way that they did not have, but they saw other people have. They know it’s possible. They want it for themselves. They have been unable to create it, and they want to help others find it. Because in helping others find it, maybe they’ll be able to find it and keep it for themselves. Freedom is [not] being under somebody’s thumb, right? This is where that motivation comes from. When you’re under somebody’s thumb your whole life, somebody telling you who you are, what you’re about, and, and that everything that you believe about yourself is either wrong or not okay…you want to escape that.” Given my background as a pastor’s kid, I can totally relate. Freedom is my #1 value. Not because I had a bad childhood (in many ways, it was perfect for how I’m wired). But I was still under someone’s thumb, even someone loving and well-intentioned. Traditional Lead Gen Methods Trigger Fear & Shame for Most Agents AKT: When an agent has to pick up the phone and make a call to a stranger, could’ve been a warm lead- still a stranger, right? They’re gonna go back to that experience where they had to ask someone in authority for something, a boss, a parent or a teacher, somebody in authority that they had to reach out to and ask for something, and they got yelled at, they got talked down to, they got shamed....Whatever the case, there was something there that told them, “I’m not allowed to do this. It’s not safe to do this.” Their body creates this record in their nervous system that says, “This is not safe.” Every single lead generation activity taught in real estate activates that record.” Want support to create your best content…consistently? Check out our Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We turn raw footage into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. Visit GetMicroFamous.com to learn more and schedule your Free Brainstorm Call. Toxic Positivity Doesn’t Get Stalled Agents into Action AKT: “Toxic positivity. Let’s make a vision board. Let’s just get our mindset right. That doesn’t fix a stalled out nervous system. When agents take a class, and get, “How much money do you wanna make? And let’s backtrack that to how many calls you need to make to get to that amount of money…” Agents don’t care about money. So they check out. They show up inconsistently, ‘cause they don’t know what’s wrong. But when they have heard their entire lives that they are the problem, they’ve been conditioned to believe it.” Absolutely brutal, and I know because I experienced and pushed through it anyway. It massively sucked. I got RedX, I made the Expired calls, I won the listing appointments…for a while. Until the cognitive dissonance caught up, and I burned out on being something I wasn’t. But isn’t this all just a mindset problem? Here’s Angela’s take. AKT: “This is not about mindset, and that’s another problem that we have in the industry right now…When we understand agent psychology, we change all of our language. We change our tactics. We change how we motivate agents.” That’s it for Part 1 of my conversation with Angela Kristen Taylor. In Part 2, we get much more practical. Angela walks through: * how to help agents build a business and lead-gen strategy around their identity * how leaders and coaches can design frameworks that work for the silent majority of agents * what real support and retention look like when you actually understand agent psychology. So if you felt called out or challenged by anything in today’s episode, good. Stick around for Part 2. Angela walks us through what to do differently. Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file for the Part One audio, or search Real Estate Thought Leaders on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or Hit Reply and tell me what you’re seeing with the silent majority of agents. I’m always open to another perspective, and I’m happy to feature opposing views! Ask This: Think about YOUR personality type…the motivations that drove you into real estate…and then to higher levels of success. Does your personality type and behavior match the majority of agents? If not, you have just held up the mirror to yourself. Odds are, you have a very different internal wiring than the majority of agents you’re leading, marketing to, and trying to impact. Quick Links & Resources Rooted Agent Method - Angela’s online, courses and resources Angela’s Story Massive thanks to Angela for coming on! I love deep conversations that dig into the real cause-and-effect relationships that are often glossed over. She’s spent years in the coaching trenches helping agents become more successful, and sees the aftermath of all the hyped-up conferences, sales meetings, brokerage churn, and industry changes that are rocking agents’ world right now. The better you understand agents’ internal wiring, the better you can serve and impact them. Talk soon, -Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Here’s how we can help… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your message - So you’re excited to create content, and you have a ‘signature talk’ you can take to stages and guest interviews. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

    80% of Agents Aren’t Wired Like You w/Angela Kristen Taylor

  6. Jul 9

    Micro‑Shifts That Unlock Real Audience Growth

    Note: This is the first installment in Micro‑Shifts That Unlock Real Audience Growth, featuring stories from real coaches, speakers and authors, the deeper principle at work, and one micro-shift you can make today to unlock the audience growth your content deserves. When I saw an ex-YouTube employee admit that YouTube didn’t provide a growth playbook for the Partner Program, that was a lightbulb moment. Her entire role in the Partner Program was to look at channels that were getting some traction and help them get serious growth. You’d think YouTube hands her a playbook of best practices on day one. Nope. YouTube taught her to build a custom growth playbook for each channel. That hit me because the thought leadership space is full of people copying our heroes. We’re trying to podcast like Mel Robbins, run events like Tony Robbins, while creating content like Alex Hormozi. Sometimes all at once. We look at the stuff they’re doing now…after millions of views and truckloads of books sold…and copying their tactics. While mostly ignoring how they broke out of obscurity, all the risky, unproven tactics they tried along the way, and how wildly different each of their paths were. So let’s look at a couple examples of thought leaders who didn’t copy anyone else’s tactics, but used the same underlying process. Story: Pat Scopelliti Pat was a well-known, specialized coach in the recruiting space. Along the way he created some of the most powerful material on goal-setting and success I’ve ever seen. I met Pat as a podcast guest back in 2015. In the years before he passed, he became an incredible friend and probably my favorite mentor since my own father. In the 90s, Management Recruiters Intl was the KW of recruiting, and Pat became a fixture in that franchise network. At one point Pat coached both the #1 and #2 MRI recruiters at the same time (despite a fierce rivalry). His work grew their revenue and profits by millions each year.He rode the growth of MRI and the recruiting industry. But dig into his story, and it turns out Pat stumbled onto recruiting through a random cold call. In the late 80s, he signed up a single recruiter to his business coaching practice, had some success and learned more about the industry. Based on limited data, he decided to double down. In the process of working with recruiters, he wrote The Switch - a short manifesto on goal setting and success. The Switch put his signature framework on paper, in an accessible format that helped his clients get better results. The Switch also made it easier for his clients to share his content, creating word-of-mouth. Through trial and error, he found that speaking at industry events also worked well. He was recommended publicly by clients, MRI leadership and their top franchisees, and prospects approached him at events and after. None of those tactics were on Pat’s radar when he started. The entire recruiting industry wasn’t on Pat’s radar. But Pat was a data guy, obsessed with metrics. He dug into his own data, saw what worked, and doubled down on it. Story: Rod Santomassimo Rod built the #1 coaching firm in commercial real estate. 400 active clients. 40 staff coaches. Today he runs high dollar, in-person events that often result in 30% of the room signing up for coaching. Generating millions in coaching contracts. But he didn’t start with high-dollar live events. His first big break was an interview-style book. He wrote the book when he was a new coach working out of a spare bedroom. Coaching in that space was so rare that when he interviewed top producers, not only did they not know him…they didn’t even know what a coach did. Coaching was new. Writing an interview-style book was new. Rod tried it anyway.“That book became a bestseller for the commercial brokerage space. Within three years, I was the #1 coach everyone knew about because of the book.” - Rod Santomassimo Then he doubled down, writing more books. Books built the initial audience, Rod capitalized on that by running live events, which kept growing til they became the foundation of his sales and marketing. All from trying stuff, watching what worked for him, and doubling down. Micro-Shift: Copy the Process. Not the Tactic. It’s so tempting to copy the tactics of our heroes because In many areas of life and business, it works. Copy Alex Hormozi’s workouts and meal plans, and you’ll get jacked. Copy what he’s doing on YouTube right now…and all bets are off. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. What’s the difference? The environment. With health and fitness, your body is the environment. Cause-and-effect is direct, proven, and crystal clear. More workouts + fewer calories = More muscle and less fat. In thought leadership, it’s completely different. Cause-and-effect isn’t clear. Tactics that work for one coach can fall flat for another. Algorithms have added even more uncertainty, creating winner-take-all dynamics. For example: When everyone chases the same broad audience…everyone’s message gets watered down. All the interesting, uncommon, quirky or controversial edges get sanded down. Everyone’s content starts to look and sound and feel eerily similar. Algorithms respond by finding a winner…and giving the winner 90% of the visibility. On YouTube, once the algorithm finds a channel that consistently has a slight edge in the right metrics, that channel gets the majority of impressions. All other channels get throttled in the algorithm. Less visibility, less influence, less impact. But there’s no winner-take-all in health and fitness. When you copy Hormozi’s workout and meal plans and get jacked, there’s no algorithm that gives the rest of us love handles and cankles. That’s why this micro-shift is so critical. There are just some areas where copying tactics doesn’t work. Thought leadership is one of those areas. So instead of copying the tactics of your heroes, copy the underlying process. Going back to the ex-YouTube employee…that’s what she learned in the Partner Program. Don’t copy tactics, copy the process. * Try a bunch of stuff * Dig into the data * Find something that shows promise * Tweak and improve til it works Then double down. Talk soon, Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Want to double down on content that’s already worked for you? If you’re like our clients, you’ve already done guest interviews. Maybe more than a few. Audiences respond, you get leads and you get sales. You know your message resonates and the format works for you. But you probably also saw the ceiling on guest interviews. You don’t control the message, and you can’t find enough good shows to get booked on. You need your own show.Your own audience.Your own message. That’s where we can help. You record raw video. We turn that into professional YouTube videos, podcasts, newsletters and social posts. We dig into the data, find what’s working, help you tweak til it works even better, and double down. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. See how we do it at GetMicroFamous.com and schedule your Free Brainstorm Call. A free 15-minute Zoom where we brainstorm on your show idea and see how it stacks up with our Winning Formula Checklist. If the brainstorm gets you excited about launching a show, we’ll share what it’s like to have all the production handled. So you can focus on what you do best…delivering your message. That’s GetMicroFamous.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

    Micro‑Shifts That Unlock Real Audience Growth

  7. Jul 2

    Fear & Fatigue w/Mark Peebles

    Fatigue just hit a 5 year high in search interest (per Google Trends).That’s the environment we’re in. And Mark sees it all over real estate, too. ‘I’m seeing a lot of fear in agents….a lot of agents…have been leaning on…Zillow or Facebook leads or YLOPO…And they’re seeing those leads decrease a little more, every month, every quarter. And so there’s this fear out there because agents don’t know how to generate the business.”- Mark Peebles Leading an indie brokerage of 140 agents gives Mark serious insight on agent psychology. Speaking around the country, talking to agents at events, and hosting his podcast gives him the 30,000 ft view, too. So just sell them the tools and tactics to generate leads and they’ll be fine, right?Not so fast… Agents Aren’t Taking the Business Seriously MP: “We’re seeing professionalism in the industry…go the opposite direction. Agents are not investing in their own education, and a lot treat it like a hobby.” If you’re creating educational content to get in front of agents, this isn’t great news. If agents respond to fear and fatigue with inaction, that’s fewer agents finding your content or buying your course. How is Mark responding? Lead with Vision & Purpose, Not Tactics PM: “I try to bring in that it’s about more than just your business, right? “I have a program, it’s called the Ultimate Success Framework. It’s an online course that I put out. We spend the whole first section of the course talking about ‘What is your personal vision and what’s your purpose?’ “ The course is based on how Mark leads his brokerage agents, and reflects Mark’s personal experience with fatigue and burnout: PM: “I learned years ago…around 2018, 2019, where I started seeing a counselor. I found…that I had really become a workaholic, a lot of which was fear-based. I had a fear of not having enough business, of not performing at the level that I knew I could perform. And I had become so fatigued. It was affecting my relationships. It was affecting my marriage. And through a really powerful process, I came out on the other side realizing that there’s nothing more important than my marriage, there’s nothing more important than my kids.” By leading with vision, Mark connects the tactics to the bigger picture, an aspirational vision that sparks energy rather than drains it. Want support to create your best content…consistently? Check out our Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We turn raw footage into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. Visit GetMicroFamous.com to learn more and schedule your Free Brainstorm Call. Use AI Tools to Create the Time & Energy for MORE Human Interaction PM: “AI has made my life so much better, honestly. I sit with AI up all day and have conversations with it….But here’s the thing. I think more and more what I’m seeing is people truly desire human interaction…And so give me all the AI in the world as a tool, it will never replace the relationships that we have.” Some agents are looking to use AI avatars in their marketing - to put AI between themselves and their prospects. Mark is leading his agents to do the opposite. I couldn’t agree more. Producing video shows in other industries gives me insight into how the broader culture is responding to AI. In some industries the feedback is very visible online (reddit forums, LinkedIn, etc). Right now we’re seeing the first major wave of backlash against AI. Especially when AI is used to directly interact with prospects in the sales or marketing process. People don’t like receiving AI avatar videos, reading AI-written emails, or getting AI-generated DMs or comments on their posts. Focusing on the human side takes agents’ focus off themselves, their fears and fatigue.And that’s not just good mindset and mental health.That’s good marketing strategy, too. Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file for the full chat, or search Real Estate Thought Leaders on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ask This: Are you meeting agents where they are…in mindset AND the topics they’re searching for? Speaking to the topics agents care about…in the exact words they’re using…is critical. Get that right, and agents watch your content, show up to your speaking session, or click on your program or your book. Once they do, whether they stick around or buy is based on how you make them feel. Tie the topics they’re searching for, in their exact words, to content that speaks to their bigger vision and sparks a burst of positive energy. That’s a powerful recipe for engaging content that creates sales. Quick Links & Resources Mark’s website Mark’s podcast & YouTube channel (Check out Mark’s YouTube studio setup!) Mark’s background & speaking topics NavX Realty - Mark’s brokerage Mark exudes energy and positivity, so I can see why agents flock to his brokerage. Massive thank you to Mark for being generous with his time and featuring me on his show as well. He’s a great podcast guest and speaker, so if you want a personal introduction, just reach out! Talk soon, -Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Here’s how we can help… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your ‘Signature Talk’ - So you have a message you’re excited to take to stages, guest interviews and all your content. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

  8. Jun 25

    'Messaging Drift' Keeps You Invisible

    I recorded an audio version of the newsletter with additional comments. If you like having audio (even without guests), let me know! AI has cut Tim Ferriss’ book sales 80% from 2022. He shared the numbers in a blog post this week. But in that post, he has this amazing line: “I’d rather write books for 10,000 people than make short-form video clips for 10,000,000..” Tim Ferriss But he hit on something many coaches, speakers and authors struggle with. Messaging Drift - The tendency of content to drift away from the core topics, the core beliefs and opinions, and ultimately, away from the target audience. Tim knows exactly who his 10,000 are. Do you? That’s where AI can either be helpful or harmful, because you can use AI… Haphazardly - creating unfocused content that keeps you invisibleIntentionally - creating laser-focused content that is easy to categorize, consume, and push Let’s dive into those three concepts - Categorize, Consume, and Push. Algorithms Push Content that is Easy to Categorize. That seems to be one of the consensus takeaways from Google’s landmark 2016 paper: Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations (and further research). YouTube’s algorithm works like this: * A viewer spends above-average time watching a video * The algorithm reaches for similar videos to recommend. Same category, similar concept, format, length, topic, etc. * Similar videos that add value get recommended first But the algorithm doesn’t really have a real-world understanding of every video. It doesn’t have: * Deep industry context * Coaching experience * Access to real time conversations in Facebook groups It has to rely on your titles, thumbnails, descriptions and metadata. So content that is very focused is easier to categorize and gets pushed more. Jefferson Fisher is a great example. 6 million Instagram followers. ONE theme, ONE format, ONE location (sitting in his vehicle).Laser-focused content. Easy to categorize, consume and push. But in 10 years of working with coaches, speakers and authors…How many truly choose a niche and create focused content?Easy to categorize, consume and push? Very few. Because… ‘Hard-to-Categorize’ Content is EASIER to Create And I don’t mean that in a lazy way. When smart, curious people follow their muse…Without a 30,000 foot view of their content…The result is messaging drift. Content for 3+ different types of prospects, on a wide variety of topics, in a bunch of formats. The algorithm can’t easily categorize the ideal viewer…Can’t confidently predict how viewers will consume the content…Can’t predict what will happen when it pushes the content… So it doesn’t. And using AI tools in the content production process doesn’t automatically fix this. Recent studies show that AI has its own ‘drift’ problems…drifting toward the same writing style, promoting the same ideas, recommending the same business strategies. And ultimately, serving its own goal of keeping people using the tools. But after the conversation with Matthew Rathbun I realized that… AI Can Make It EASIER To Create Focused Content IF you set it up properly. You set up your initial brand documents, codifying who YOU are, the impact you want to make, the kind of content you want to create. How you deliver transformation for clients or attendees, the key beliefs and opinions you want to infuse in all your content. Then you set up an AI messaging strategist that reviews all your content, hunting for anything that drifts off course. * Hooks and headlines that sound like everyone else * Topics that draw the wrong audience * Guests who don’t fit your target audience * Phrases that aren’t authentic to you * Content that isn’t easy to categorize * Session titles that don’t fit your speaker niche Setting that system up starts with knowing WHO your 10,000 people are. Once that decision is made, you can structure AI to push back, give you the 30,000 foot view, and alert you when your content starts to drift. Algorithms Aren’t Going Away Algorithms create fast-growth stories. Those stories grab attention.Everyone flocks to the platform with the most attention, trying to be the next fast-growth story. So if you’re going to use those platforms, give the algorithm what it wants. Create focused content that’s easy to categorize, consume and push. And use AI to keep you from drifting off course. Ask This: If I could ONLY serve one kind of agent, who is it?If there are 10,000 of them, fantastic! That’s all you need to make 7 figures as a thought leader. Quick Links & Resources Tim Ferriss - Has AI Already Killed ‘How-To’ Non-Fiction? Google paper - Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations YouTube official article - On YouTube’s Recommendation System If you know a coach, speaker or author with interesting opinions and insights to share, reach out. I’m always looking for good guests! Talk soon, -Matt Agency Founder & Author of MicroFamous PS Here’s how my team and I can help… Done-for-You Content Production & Strategy - We turn raw video into professional YouTube videos, podcasts and email newsletters. All with zero overwhelm, guaranteed. From Michael Maher and Lars Hedenborg to Jeff Cohn and Marki Lemons Ryhal, we’ve been the content team behind many of your fellow real estate coaches, speakers and authors. We start every client engagement by developing your ‘Signature Talk’ - So you have a message you’re excited to take to stages, guest interviews and all your content. Then we launch your flagship video show - supported by podcast and email newsletter, delivered with pro-quality and relentless consistency. We promote with short video clips and social posts on any platform where you’re active. Each month we give you research-based video title and topic ideas, scripts, outlines, even slides. Plus all the support you need to stay consistent, from email updates to strategy calls. So if you’re not putting out the quality of content…consistently…to become the thought leader you’re meant to be, let’s talk. Click here to learn more and schedule a Free Brainstorm Call. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com

    'Messaging Drift' Keeps You Invisible
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What's working for residential real estate coaches, speakers and authors? Find out from your fellow experts and thought leaders...in their own words. Through industry interviews and analysis, you get an inside look at how they're tackling challenges like: How to reach and engage agents How to build a sense of community and shared mission among agents How to deliver razor-sharp messaging and cut through the noise How to deal with marketing platforms getting more expensive and less effective You’ll hear from thought leaders who are in the trenches talking to agents and creating content for them every day. Brought to you by MicroFamous, a video marketing agency with 10 years experience launching video shows for experts and thought leaders. Our story started with the launch of Real Estate Uncensored in 2015, which went on to get 3.5 million views across multiple platforms. Since then we've worked with many your fellow coaches, speakers and authors. From Michael Maher (7 Levels of Communication) and Marki Lemons Ryhal to launching the first video shows for team leaders like The Team Building Podcast with Jeff Cohn, Club Wealth TV with Michael Hellickson, and Real Estate Business Builders with Lars Hedenborg. To launch or take over production of your video show, visit GetMicroFamous.com to learn more. rethoughtleaders.substack.com

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