Real Estate Rewind Nick Baldwin

In Episode 12 of Real Estate Rewind, host Nick Baldwin speaks with Lana Rodriguez, from the Lana Rodriguez Group, Keller Williams Premier in Colorado Springs, CO. Lana describes the obstacles and failures she experienced, and how she overcame them, on the road to closing 245 transactions in 2019.
Episode Highlights: 
Lana Rodriguez finished 2019 with 245 transactions.
Client events are the biggest source of lead generation for Lana’s group, and she recently presented about client events at the HyperFast Sales Summit.
Lana moved from Latvia to the United States, at the age of 19, for schooling. She lived in Louisiana, and then moved to Texas where she lived for 10 years, and met her husband.
Lana transitioned through lots of different jobs, like food service, dental assisting, and retail. What she realized is that she was really drawn to the people aspect, and making customers happy.
Lana met her husband at one of her retail jobs, and they married less than a year later, before he left for active duty in Afghanistan.
At that time, Lana bought a townhouse, that they still own today, as a rental property.
When her husband returned from deployment, they attended a real estate investment seminar.
Lana’s husband used his VA loan to purchase a quad-plex, which began their foray into real estate as a career.
The army then moved them from Texas to Colorado Springs, CO.
Lana decided that she wanted to have a baby before she was 30. Her husband said that if she wanted to have a baby, she was going to have to go back to work.
Lana evaluated the retail market in Colorado Springs, and realized she would have to travel an hour away, to Denver, to gain valuable employment.
At that time, they were also purchasing their third property, so her husband suggested she get into real estate.
Lana’s experience with the real estate agents involved with their prior three property deals, left her feeling like she could make it in real estate.
Lana passed her real estate exam, and began her real estate career with ReMax in fall of 2014.
Language barriers, and her accent, is a constant work in progress for Lana, and something she struggles to overcome.
Because of this, Lana quickly realized that cold-calling wasn’t for her. Face-to-face was her selling style, and allowed her to do what she loved most, interact with people.
Identifying your selling style is extremely important.
Lana completed 31 transactions in 2015, as a solo agent who was brand new to real estate, and brand new to the Colorado Springs area. She was also pregnant, and her husband took on a more demanding role in the military.
Her first year in real estate, Lana relied on training by Brian Buffini to build her referral business. She enacted small client parties and hand-written notes.
Lana describes some of the client appreciation events she’s hosted, including a pumpkin patch where over 600 people attended.
Lana spent $100k on client appreciation events in 2019. However, that is the majority of her marketing budget. Her team does not pay for online leads.
Lana rented two party buses and took 100 guests to a local Backstreet Boys concert, as a client appreciation event. It was expensive, but garnered a lot of attention.
Bringing her parents to the United States to live the American dream, was Lana’s goal and her “why”. She was able to accomplish that in 2016.
In 2016, she had 119 transactions as a solo agent. She was completely overwhelmed and decided to start a team. She felt ReMax wasn’t well equipped to assist her in building a team, so she decided to move to Keller Williams.
Her success is built on repeat and referral business.
The value proposition that Lana offers new members joining her team is that they share their database with her, and she guarantees that their database will start referring business to them.
Lana’s team is building a boutique office in downtown Colorado Springs.
Lana’s 2020 goals are to continue to learn and embrace the KW methods so that

In Episode 11 of Real Estate Rewind, Kathrin Rein, star of CBS show The American Dream and real estate advisor at Keller Williams, speaks with host Nick Baldwin. We learn how Kathrin overcame numerous setbacks to become a highly successful realtor. She shares how she manages her energy, how she built her business, and what motivates her to succeed. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
Kathrin Rein came to the United States from Germany to be an au pair to a five-year-old girl, then decided to stay.
A long bout of mono that she experienced in her youth still affects her energy level today.
She maintains her energy by going to bed early, being purposeful about her time, and reserving her energy for where it is most needed.
Kathrin faced a major setback when her father died.
Her father wasn’t able to leave his children with much despite his hard work and frugality. She decided she wanted to do it differently for her own children.
She now works purposefully to provide for her family.
At one point, Kathrin was a standup comedian in Los Angeles. 
She was also offered a scholarship to UCLA for tennis, but it didn’t fully cover expenses so she was unable to take it.
She wants her children to be able to pursue any opportunity without money being an issue.
When she entered real estate in 2011, she encountered a broker that told her she would never succeed.
She built her business on repeat and referral business.
She likes to look people in the eye and even makes a point of talking to new clients on Skype.
She has coffee, or lunch, with a client every single day.
Kathrin thrives on learning from other people.
Instead of envying others, talk to them about how they achieved their success and try to replicate it.
In her first year of real estate, Kathrin pitied herself and complained.
Then she realized that there’s always something to learn from your mistakes.
Even if you lose a client, there’s always more business out there.
Kathrin’s typical day begins with lead generation. Then she has a client lunch and spends the afternoon in showings.
Kathrin shares strategies for shifting your mindset around money.
She now looks at the value things bring.
Many agents don’t think like business owners or entrepreneurs.
Kathrin has zero-tolerance for negativity and discouraging others.
Kathrin is focused on her career right now and would like to make more time for her family next year. 
She published a book in Germany last year and would like to publish a book in the United States next.
 
3 Key Points:
There’s always something to learn from your mistakes.
Shift your money mindset by looking at value instead of cost. 
When you miss an opportunity, move on. There’s always more business out there for you.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Nick Baldwin: LinkedIn  Facebook  
Findessexandunionhomes.com
Kathrin Rein website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube
The American Dream (tv show)
Lab Coat Agents Facebook group 

In Episode 10 Carl Carter Jr., founder of the Beverly Carter Foundation speaks with Nick Baldwin, host of Real Estate Rewind. In this important episode, Carl educates realtors about precautions we should all take to ensure our personal safety. He pays tribute to his mother, Beverly Carter, who was tragically murdered in 2014 and tells us more about the important work he does in her honor.
 
Episode Highlights: 
 
Carl Carter Jr. became a realtor after his mother passed. He got his license to better relate to the people he was speaking to. 
Carl describes his mother as a lovely person who loved the industry.
Nick Baldwin remembers that Beverly’s story was a huge wake-up to everybody in the industry.
Carl tells the tragic story of what happened to his mother in September of 2014.
Carl never would have thought that this would be his path in life, but it is something he is very passionate about.
He saw an opportunity to teach, speak out, and educate.
What are some really good ways that we can all stay alert and always be aware?
Consistent client screenings are key.
Insist on meeting in a public place first and submitting their IDs.
How you screen one client applies to all.
Inform your clients about the best safety practices when their home is on the market.
We could all ask more questions and reinforce safety protocol.
Nick requires people at open houses to sign in or they can’t come in.
Nick encourages his team to put their schedules on the team calendar with addresses.
Some MLS technology has evolved to address safety concerns.
Video surveillance is a huge deterrent for crime.
Carl uses a cloud-based camera and takes it to open houses.
Know your local laws for surveillance.
Some agents use sellers’ recording devices to their benefit for safety reasons.
All the time you need to be on your toes, even if it's somebody that you have shown homes to multiple weekends in a row. 
Nick never goes up or downstairs first.
If someone is not willing to do a public consultation with you, you don’t want to work with that person. 
Carl has met many people with stories involving assault, stalking, and harassment.
Carl largely speaks to realtors but also to home health professionals.
He became known as the safety guy.
As he spoke to more and more people and learned their stories, he felt that there weren’t enough solutions. He wanted to advocate for agents.
The public perception that agents are wealthy can make them targets.
Flashing status symbols can be unsafe.
Stories shape change and stories shape the world.
Email Carl if you’d like to get involved with his foundation or you’d like advice on starting a non-profit of your own.
 
3 Key Points:
  Consistently screen clients. Meet in a public place first and ask for identification.
  Help sellers navigate safety while their home is on the market.
  Consider using surveillance during open houses.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Nick Baldwin: LinkedIn  Facebook  
Findessexandunionhomes.com
The Beverly Carter Foundation 
NAR Conference
Email carl@beverlycarterfoundation.org

n Episode 9, realtor Ken Pozek speaks with Nick Baldwin, host of Real Estate Rewind. Pozek describes the many ups and downs he has faced in his evolution as a realtor, from buying his first home at 18 to leading a successful team in Orlando, Florida. Pozek shares his actionable strategy for building your business from referrals. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
Ken Pozek started his real estate career at 18 when he bought his first home with no money down. 
He was an investor/flipper when the market crashed in 2008.
At that time, he cold-called banks to get into the REO business.
In 2012, his business strategy had to adjust again. He refocused on open houses and building his database.
He has always had a coach to help him through these transitions.
You’ve got to do a little bit of everything to thrive in this business.
Pozek moved his family to Orlando and built a new business in a place where he didn’t know anyone.
In Florida, he built his business on agent referrals.
Provide value to other agents to build your agent-to-agent business.
Pozek shares his strategy for building his agent database.
When you take notes at conferences, offer to share those notes and capture addresses.
Pozek shares his strategy for holding successful open houses.
Baldwin shares his strategy to capturing physical addresses at open houses.
Handwritten thank-you notes are a dying art.
Hiring is hard because we don’t do it very often.
They discuss how Pozek’s team generates leads.
Pozek describes a mistake he made in his business that only made him better.
He does not work on Sunday and approaches work-life balance through counter-balance.
When Pozek moved to Orlando, he immediately began creating video content.
He regularly receives leads from YouTube.
Baldwin and Pozek share reading recommendations.
 
3 Key Points:
You can evolve and adapt as you face different challenges in your business.
If you want to build agent referrals, find a way to provide value to other agents.
Think outside the box to refocus your business model when things aren’t working.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Nick Baldwin: LinkedIn  Facebook  
Findessexandunionhomes.com
Ken Pozek website, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook
No Money Down (book)
Coach Mike Ferry 
Coach Tom Ferry 
Ego is the Enemy (book)
The Obstacle is The Way (book)
Stillness is The Key (book)
Never Split the Difference (book)
Objections (book)

In Episode 8 of Real Estate Rewind, Samantha DeBianchi of Million Dollar Listing Miami speaks with host, Nick Baldwin. DeBianchi describes how she became a thought leader in real estate with a globally recognized brand. She shares how she created opportunities for herself on television and beyond. 
 
Episode Highlights: 
Samantha DeBianchi started her first business in first grade selling her parents’ possessions and her own toys to classmates.
She works without a publicist. Every time she’s been on television, they’ve booked through her directly.
Early in her career, she wrote articles for the local newspaper for free.
She was willing to see the long-term benefits of doing work for free.
DeBianchi works with people, not price.
She sees so many agents focusing on the deal instead of the people in front of them.
Present your clients with great opportunities.
DeBianchi owns nine properties that she rents out with Airbnb. 
She enjoys combining her background in hospitality with her love of real estate.
Her vlog showcases what she has done with these investment properties.
When she knew she wanted to be on tv, she received media training.
They gave her one chance to do well and loved how she performed. They asked her back many times.
Not everyone will be good at being on tv.
DeBianchi and Nick Baldwin discuss being a niche celebrity.
Million Dollar Listing helped her business in a major way. 
A very small percentage of realtors can go on television. 
This is still a people-based business.
She feels that technology takes her further away from her clients.
DeBianchi describes her methods for staying in touch with clients and building genuine, caring relationships with them.
DeBianchi Real Estate currently has six agents.
DeBianchi shares some of her skepticism about large real estate teams.
What good is having an enormous business if you can’t enjoy life?
 
3 Key Points:
Create opportunities for yourself by being the authority. 
Be willing to do free work, such as writing articles or being interviewed. You’ll gain value.
This is a people-based business. Don’t get lost in social media. 
 
Resources Mentioned:
Nick Baldwin: LinkedIn  Facebook  
Findessexandunionhomes.com
Sam DeBianchi Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,  vlog 
DeBianchi Real Estate
Million Dollar Listing Miami
HARO 
Bought and Sold on HGTV

In Episode 7, Josh Anderson, of the Josh Anderson Real Estate Group, speaks with Nick Baldwin, host of Real Estate Rewind. Anderson describes what led him to leave the banking industry and how he found success in real estate by mastering the basics. He will inspire you to abandon shiny object syndrome in favor of building your business through consistent hard work.
 
Episode Highlights: 
Josh Anderson began his career in investment banking. He didn’t have a mentor and didn’t feel he was growing.
He got into real estate because he wanted to buy an investment property. That didn’t work out, but getting his license did.
Anderson recently advised an intern about how important it is to find a mentor to learn from.
He initially had misinformation about being a realtor but it ended up being a perfect fit.
In his first year, he succeeded because he helped wherever he could and listened to conversations people were having around him.
Anderson utilized his own database using a simple spreadsheet. He shares his early process for following up with leads.
They discuss shiny object syndrome in the real estate industry.
Anderson reveals the early mistakes he made as he built-out his team.
They explore motivation and how it affects different team members.
Former members of Anderson’s team have left, but were trained so well that they have thriving businesses of their own.
Anderson loves seeing former team members succeed.
They discuss the value of a P&L statement.
Anderson’s business is 75% sphere of influence and 25% video and other leads.
His team has a high profit margin because they know their database.
Having a highly visible office was a factor in increasing his team’s average price point.
Another way to increase your average price point is to work expired listings in very targeted areas.
Additionally, former first-time buyers are moving up, which increases the average price point.
Anderson’s team does not farm geographically.
They try to genuinely connect with likeminded people.
Anderson is still in production but enjoys team-building most.
Doing things repetitively and consistently is boring but it will bring you success.
Never give up future business for business you already have.
Anderson describes what it was like talking about his business, on stage, with Gary Keller..
 
3 Key Points:
Josh Anderson started his career in investment banking but felt his growth was stalled. When he earned his license he approached the business with the desire to learn. 
Even if it sounds boring, working hard and working smart is how you succeed in this business.
Master the basics and put good processes in place.
 
Resources Mentioned:
Nick Baldwin: LinkedIn  Facebook  
Findessexandunionhomes.com
Josh Anderson website, Facebook
Mega Camp 
The Five Love Languages (book)