Partner & Profit Podcast

Grant Wise
  • 5.0 (50)
  • Marketing

The Partner & Profit Podcast is all about answering one powerful question: how do you turn your relationships into revenue? Hosted by Grant Wise, the show features conversations with leaders in real estate, real estate investing, home services, and other industries who are building successful businesses through partnerships and strategic relationships. Each episode uncovers the real strategies top performers use to generate opportunities, referrals, and recurring income by collaborating with the right people. Instead of relying only on traditional marketing or advertising, these leaders share how they leverage partnerships, networks, and mutually beneficial relationships to grow faster and more profitably. If you want to learn how the most successful professionals turn connections into opportunities—and opportunities into income—this podcast will show you how.

  1. 1d ago

    Why Your Best Affiliates May Already Be Customers with Nicholas Raschella

    Nicholas Raschella has spent years on both sides of affiliate marketing. He started as an affiliate himself, making his first online sale by reaching out to a couple of friends. Over the next few years, he learned email marketing and copywriting, eventually becoming a top affiliate and earning the opportunity to meet Tony Robbins. That experience eventually led him into affiliate management, with Dean Graziosi becoming his first client and opening the door to working with some of the biggest names in the industry.  Today, Nicholas helps businesses build and manage affiliate programs, and his approach is rooted in relationships. He believes the best affiliate partnerships are built on people knowing, liking and trusting the product, rather than simply chasing a commission. In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, Nicholas and I get into what it actually takes to build an affiliate program that works, why your existing customers may be the best place to start, and why having a great offer matters before you ever recruit an affiliate. Nicholas also shares how he thinks about commissions and customer lifetime value, why money isn't always what motivates people to promote, what businesses need to have in place before launching an affiliate program, and why a simple thank you can go a surprisingly long way. Here’s what we covered: How Nicholas got his start in affiliate marketing and made his first online sale - 01:07The 4F protocol he developed after dealing with imposter syndrome - 04:00How affiliate marketing helped Nicholas build relationships with his mentors - 05:40Why making money for your mentors can open doors - 06:18What Nicholas looks for in a strong affiliate partner - 08:43Why your current customers may be your best affiliates - 09:12The difference between relationship-based and traffic-based affiliates - 09:43Why Nicholas sees affiliate partnerships as a long game - 10:28What you need before starting an affiliate program - 11:46The tracking, assets and training an affiliate program needs - 12:15Why money isn't always enough to motivate affiliates - 14:51How customer lifetime value should influence affiliate commissions - 15:26Why thanking and recognizing your affiliates matters - 18:11Borrowed space vs. owned space in your marketing - 19:32Why you only need a handful of strong affiliate relationships to create momentum - 19:32Follow Nicholas Raschella for more on affiliate marketing, partnerships and building affiliate programs. IG: @nicholasraschella Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share the episode if you enjoyed the conversation.

    Why Your Best Affiliates May Already Be Customers with Nicholas Raschella

  2. Oct 21

    From Lunch & Learns to 1,500+ Real Estate Agents: Gavin Ekstrom’s Growth Strategy

    Gavin Ekstrom has been in the mortgage business since 1993. He still originates today while also running a branch and a region, but the way he builds relationships with real estate agents looks a little different than the traditional loan officer model. Instead of relying entirely on one-on-one meetings, Gavin has built a one-to-many approach around educational events. What started as lunch-and-learns with around 10 to 15 people has grown into about six events a month, where Gavin teaches real estate agents things they can actually use to grow their businesses, from buyer and seller presentations to overcoming objections and winning more listings. Last year, he says his team spoke to more than 1,500 agents through those events. In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, Gavin and I get into how he built that model, why he believes teaching agents beyond mortgage products creates stronger relationships, and how he thinks about the connection between adding value, marketing and profitability. Gavin also shares the leadership lesson that changed how he thinks about running a business, how he uses sponsorships to help cover the cost of his events, how he filters agents into different rooms, why social media and email help build familiarity before the first conversation, and why the follow-up after the event is so important. Here’s what we covered: Gavin’s journey in the mortgage business and why he still originates - 00:31The “conductor” lesson that changed how Gavin thinks about leadership - 03:09Why Gavin moved from one-on-one meetings to a one-to-many model - 05:09How he turned lunch-and-learns into larger events for real estate agents - 05:35What Gavin teaches agents beyond mortgage products and programs - 06:20How teaching agents to grow their businesses helps him build deeper relationships - 07:52The client conversations, scripts and strategies Gavin teaches agents - 08:14How the events increase profitability and how sponsors help cover the cost - 11:46Why Gavin prefers spending 90 minutes with 20-30 agents over a coffee meeting - 13:35How his events put him in front of more than 1,500 agents - 14:05Why marketing, social media and email help build familiarity with agents - 15:29How Gavin filters agents into different events - 15:53Why consistency creates credibility and confidence - 16:59Why the follow-up after an event matters so much - 17:53How to get Gavin’s event and marketing playbook - 18:26Connect with Gavin Ekstrom: Gavin shares his approach to mortgage, real estate relationships, marketing and business growth through his social media channels. Instagram: @gavinekstrom Gavin also offers his event and marketing playbook to anyone who wants to learn more. Just follow him and send him a DM saying you heard him on the Partner & Profit Podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share the episode if you enjoyed the conversation.

    From Lunch & Learns to 1,500+ Real Estate Agents: Gavin Ekstrom’s Growth Strategy

  3. Oct 14

    How Ricky Carruth Built a Personal Brand That Grew Beyond Real Estate

    Ricky Carruth has had quite a journey in real estate. He made his first million, lost it all during the housing crash, and eventually rebuilt his business to become the number one agent in his market for eight years. He also became the number one RE/MAX agent in Alabama for three different years. Over his career, he closed 1,000 properties as a solo agent before retiring from sales in 2022 to focus on helping other agents build their businesses. What's interesting is what happened next. Ricky took the skills he had developed through email marketing, phone calls and postcards and applied those same principles to social media, building a national and global personal brand through organic content. In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, Ricky and I get into his approach to building a personal brand, creating organic content people actually want to watch, and earning trust with an audience over time. Ricky also shares why he believes so much social media content gets overlooked, how he develops ideas from his own experience, why he spends so much time thinking through an idea before creating it, and what business owners often misunderstand about turning an audience into revenue. Here's what we covered: Ricky's journey from losing everything to becoming a top-producing real estate agent - 00:54How he used his real estate marketing experience to build a personal brand - 02:37Why consistency matters when building trust through social media - 05:36What separates content that gets attention from content people scroll past - 07:13Why your own experience matters when developing content ideas - 11:18How Ricky thinks through his short-form video scripts - 13:44The strategy behind his recognizable green-screen video openings - 15:04How he's built an audience through consistent organic content - 17:41Why he doesn't rely on a lot of direct calls to action in his organic content - 18:24The mistake business owners make when trying to monetize their audience - 19:22Why selling starts with understanding what people actually want - 20:39Connect with Ricky Carruth: Ricky shares real estate advice, market updates, and content for agents through his social media channels and email newsletter. Instagram & YouTube: @rickycarruth Sunday Agent Devotionals and newsletter: Sign up here! Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share the episode if you enjoyed the conversation.

    How Ricky Carruth Built a Personal Brand That Grew Beyond Real Estate

  4. Oct 7

    How Dave Fanale Built 40 Years of Business Through Relationships

    Dave Fanale has spent more than 40 years in real estate. He’s built properties, owned a brokerage for 21 years, invested and flipped homes, and today works as a growth manager with the Align team while helping agents grow their businesses. Through all of it, one question has stayed pretty consistent: What can I do to help you? In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, Grant sits down with longtime friend Dave Fanale to talk about what decades in real estate have taught him about relationships, trust and doing business with people you actually like being around. Dave shares why he thinks the invitation can be just as valuable as the event itself, how agents can create simple opportunities to stay connected with their sphere, why a script should never stop sounding like you, and why trust ultimately comes down to doing what you said you were going to do. In this episode: Dave’s 40+ year career in real estate - 01:03The question he still uses to approach relationships - 02:18Why “the invite is just as important as the party” - 03:08A simple weekly event idea for staying connected with your sphere - 03:08How Dave thinks about identifying the people he wants to work with - 05:05Why your scripts still need to sound like you - 08:14How longtime friendship has led to business opportunities - 13:19What Dave believes actually creates trust - 16:37Why collaboration and helping people are still at the center of his work - 17:23Dave hosts Real Estate Talk TGIF every Friday at 11:00 AM Eastern on his personal Facebook page. He also invites listeners interested in connecting or partnering with him to reach out at dfanale@gmail.com.  Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share the episode if you enjoyed the conversation.

    How Dave Fanale Built 40 Years of Business Through Relationships

  5. Oct 1

    Matt Fagioli on Why Events Still Drive Business Growth

    You can have the right 10 people in a room and have a $5,000 to $50,000 day. Matt Fagioli and I spent some time unpacking why events can be such a powerful way to build relationships and grow a business. Matt has been in and around real estate for about 25 years. He started as an agent, built a top-10 team in his state, sold the team, and later moved into the technology and industry side of the business. He also spent 10 years building the Xplode Conference, bringing 500 people together at a time in cities across the country and working with major partners like Realtor.com and Zillow. We talked about live events, virtual events, partnerships, audience-building, offers, webinars and the work that happens behind the scenes long before you ever fill a room. Here’s what we covered: The role events can play in building relationships and business - 02:52Why virtual events offer a level of scale that physical events can’t - 04:41Finding the right audience instead of simply chasing bigger numbers - 05:38Why human connection could become even more valuable as AI becomes more prevalent - 06:32How AI can give businesses more time for actual relationships - 07:29The combination of subject matter expertise, trust and a strong offer - 09:31What goes into consistently filling a 500-person event - 11:03How Matt used partnerships to build and fill his events - 11:50Why Matt sees webinars as a major opportunity in real estate - 14:11The time, money and patience required to make an event strategy work - 15:30Connect with Matt:  Instagram: @mattfagioli Dirty Disciple on Amazon If this conversation brought you value, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who’d get something out of it too.

    Matt Fagioli on Why Events Still Drive Business Growth

  6. Sep 28

    How Ricardo Bueno Turns Customers Into Superfans Through Community and Events

    Ricardo Bueno has spent more than a decade in real estate tech building partnerships, communities and customer experiences for companies including Diverse Solutions and Follow Up Boss. His approach goes beyond selling the product. Ricardo believes customer adoption and retention deserve just as much attention as acquiring the customer in the first place. Educate people. Help them get more value from what they bought. Build an ecosystem around them. Do it well enough, and a customer can become the person recommending your product to everyone else. In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, here's what we got into: Why Ricardo leads with education instead of product features - 03:16Customer retention, adoption and creating superfans - 04:46Why your best customers can become your best advocates - 07:00How Ricardo went from small coffee meetups to a 510-person real estate event - 11:05How he used smaller events to create FOMO for the next one - 14:06Why every detail of an event contributes to the customer experience - 15:58How Follow Up Boss approached its events as more than a traditional user conference - 17:24Why superfans create referrals and an automatic transfer of trust - 20:47Building an event backwards from the feeling you want people to leave with - 22:15Ricardo’s goal wasn't simply to put on events. It was to create experiences people remembered and a community customers wanted to champion.  Connect with Ricardo Bueno: Subscribe to his email list and follow his journey at ricardobueno.com Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share this episode if it brought you value!

    How Ricardo Bueno Turns Customers Into Superfans Through Community and Events

  7. Sep 24

    How Aaron Martinez Uses Organic Content and Paid Ads to Grow a Business

    Aaron Martinez has been making videos online since he was nine years old. By 15, he had received his first check from YouTube. Today, his work sits at the intersection of video content, organic marketing and paid advertising.  In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, Grant and Aaron dig into what actually gets someone from watching your content to becoming a customer. Aaron explains why he sees YouTube as particularly effective for building trust, why short-form content needs to be created differently when growth is the goal, and how AI is changing what audiences need to see before they believe your marketing. They also get into paid advertising, rising acquisition costs, tracking the numbers that actually matter, and why declaring that ads “don’t work” after spending $10 or $100 misses how much testing goes into finding a system that can scale. In this episode:  Why Aaron believes YouTube is particularly effective for building trust - 03:51  Long-form vs. short-form video content - 05:14  Why repurposed podcast clips don't always perform as short-form content - 05:25  Building trust with content in the age of AI - 07:10  Why Aaron sees livestreaming as another way to establish trust - 09:20  How content can make the eventual sales conversation easier - 13:19  Why Aaron sees a role for both organic content and paid ads - 15:47  Why $10 or $100 isn't enough to decide whether advertising works - 16:47  Using numbers instead of feelings to diagnose marketing problems - 19:47  The $140K testing story and what happened after the funnel finally worked - 21:31 Connect with Aaron on YouTube (@AaronMakesVideo). Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share the episode if it brought you value.

    How Aaron Martinez Uses Organic Content and Paid Ads to Grow a Business

  8. Sep 21

    From 8 to 81 Homes: How Lisa Chinatti Built Her Real Estate Business

    Lisa Chinatti sold 8 homes in 2015. One year later, she sold 81. The shift wasn’t one magic strategy. Lisa got serious about the business, learned how lead generation worked, figured out online lead conversion, and as she sold more, her confidence grew with it. In this episode of the Partner & Profit Podcast, Grant and Lisa get into what happened next: building deeper relationships, earning trust, staying genuinely curious about people, and getting comfortable actually asking for the review, referral or business.   In this episode, you'll learn:  How Lisa went from 8 homes sold to 81 in one year - 03:07  Why trying to be liked by everybody can lead to less genuine relationships - 06:52  Why she prefers deeper one-on-one connections over mass outreach - 07:54  The $10M referral lesson she learned from Tom Ferry - 09:57  How curiosity can change a 3–5 minute conversation - 11:04  Where trust is made or broken with a client - 13:45  Why the best salespeople ask more questions and talk less - 16:01  The mistake Lisa sees people make after building the relationship - 17:26  Why fear of rejection and sounding “salesy” keeps people from making the ask - 18:10 Connect with Lisa on Instagram: @lisachinatti Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review and share the episode if it brought you value.

    From 8 to 81 Homes: How Lisa Chinatti Built Her Real Estate Business
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About

The Partner & Profit Podcast is all about answering one powerful question: how do you turn your relationships into revenue? Hosted by Grant Wise, the show features conversations with leaders in real estate, real estate investing, home services, and other industries who are building successful businesses through partnerships and strategic relationships. Each episode uncovers the real strategies top performers use to generate opportunities, referrals, and recurring income by collaborating with the right people. Instead of relying only on traditional marketing or advertising, these leaders share how they leverage partnerships, networks, and mutually beneficial relationships to grow faster and more profitably. If you want to learn how the most successful professionals turn connections into opportunities—and opportunities into income—this podcast will show you how.

Information

  • Creator
    Grant Wise
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    61
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Partner & Profit Podcast
  • Show Website
    Partner & Profit Podcast