Avsnitt
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Leadership isn’t just about giving direction from the top—it’s about listening, learning, and evolving. In this episode, Mark shares his journey from being a top-down leader to embracing a bottom-up approach that prioritizes people, feedback, and growth. Great leaders invest in themselves, communicate a clear vision, and surround themselves with those who will challenge them with honesty and care. We’re diving into the mindset shifts that fuel real leadership: from celebrating wins and embracing healthy conflict, to staying humble, hungry, and open to evolution—every single day.
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This week, we’re revisiting one of my all-time favorite topics—Atomic Habits—and I’m sharing a personal story that hits close to the mat… I mean, home. 🧘♀️
Did I set out to complete over 1,000 yoga classes? Nope. I just kept showing up, one class at a time, until yoga became my thing. It wasn’t about hitting a number—it was about building consistency, finding joy in the process, and letting the results follow.
Inspired by James Clear’s Atomic Habits, we’ll talk about how tiny, realistic actions done consistently (even something as small as making your bed every day) can create a compound interest of self-improvement. Want to hit the gym every morning? Don’t start by crushing an hour-long workout. Start by waking up. That’s it. Then layer it from there.
Tune in for real-life examples, simple mindset shifts, and a little motivation to help you stack small wins that add up to big change. 🚀
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Sarah is 19 days into the 75 Hard challenge, and she’s learning that the hardest part isn’t skipping the wine—it’s finding the time. Between two 45-minute workouts (one must be outside), reading 10 minutes of a self-help book, drinking a gallon of water, skipping alcohol, and taking a daily progress photo, her biggest realization is how much time she used to waste.
This episode dives into how committing to a challenge can shift your mindset around time, priorities, and discipline. Sarah shares how she’s restructured her day—like walking during her son’s practice instead of answering emails in the car—and how powerful the ripple effect of consistent, intentional choices can be.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not about having time—it’s about making it.
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What if one small habit could change everything?
In this episode, we share how a simple commitment—daily morning walks—turned into a powerful ripple effect in our lives. What started as part of a challenge became a daily ritual that improved our health, deepened our connection, and set the tone for our days. It’s a reminder that big transformations often start with small, consistent steps. 🌅👟 -
We have one line that our agents are using that eliminates buyer regret in this competitive market. You definitely don't want your buyers to miss out on a home they really wanted and to feel like they could have done more to get it.
"If you heard the home sold for X, would you say I would have paid that. Or are you comfortable with the current offer we've drafted at Y price?"
If they say no, then you know that the offer you've drafted is a strong as you can make it and it's in the seller's hands. If they say yes, then it's time for a follow up conversation to maybe adjust the offer before sending. At the end of the day, it helps the buyer put their offer into perspective and solidifies what their comfort price is.
Get out of sales and into curiosity. Meet people where they're at. Help them self-discover their motivation, comfort level, and what they're willing to pay. A trusted real estate advisor obviously brings their market knowledge and expertise to the working relationship, but a big part of being a great agent is your ability to lead your clients to self-discovery.
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It's virtually impossible to have complete separation between your personal and professional life. If all of a sudden a higher performer is struggling, it's worth finding out if something is going on personally. Instead of confronting that person and saying, "Why aren't you doing as much business?" approach it out of love and respect, "Is there something going on that might be impacting you? What can we figure out together?"
There are some strategies that can help you overcome these types of situations yourself. Tackle it head on instead of trying to run away from whatever you're dealing with. Find a person (within the workplace or a friend) that you can talk to for support. Pay attention to your self-talk and how you treat yourself. We are often are own worst critic.
Stick to your routine no matter what is going on. It gives you structure. As part of that, make sure you have time for a mental transition between your personal and professional life. This can be as easy as playing your favorite songs in the car on the way to your first appointment.
Focus on micro wins and not just big wins. If you're a successful agent who sells 24 homes a year, do you only have a win on 24 days a year with 341 losses on the other days? No! Celebrate the micro wins in between those contracts.
Lastly, don't forget about self-care. If you don't take care of yourself, then you can't take care of those around you. Give yourself some space to relax and reset.
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We've been talking a lot about challenges lately on our team and in one-to-one conversations. Ignoring or avoiding challenges doesn't usually make them go away. The best way to deal with these scenarios is to block and tackle and face it head on, or if it's something you can't figure out on your own, seek support, expertise, and accountability from someone else.
Get the elephant out of the room. There is nothing wrong with needing to ask for guidance and if you're experiencing some sort of conflict with someone in a personal way, be straightforward about it. Again, ignoring something doesn't make it go away.
This is super important for conflict resolution. When you feel a certain way about something or you're talking to someone that is upset about a situation, phrase it as that's a story you're telling yourself and is that the consensus for everyone or just your interpretation?
This phrasing: "the story I'm telling myself is..." can be super helpful in conflicts between different personality types. I Personalities over-communicate, but D Personalities might be more short or brisk in their conversation. This can lead to a disconnect right off the bat even if those individuals are not actually at odds with each other.
Being able to understand personality types and how they communicate is not only vital in your personal life, but also in how you procure and work with clients. The best real estate agents are able to be chameleons and adapt to their clients. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Face challenges and conversations head-on.
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Back when Sarah sold cars, they had a deal book. It showed two numbers for each vehicle. The top number was the markup and the bottom number was called hold back, which was the amount the dealer was guaranteed to get for the car. When she was negotiating a deal for someone buying the car, she used to take the markup off the price right away. This was actually counterproductive to Sarah making a good commission, but she cared too much about the buyer. The dealership took away the deal book and just told her the price.
How does this relate to real estate? When you're helping buyers, it's not up to you what they're willing to pay for any given home. You give them their choices and they make the decision. It's not up to you to decide if they're overpaying. You're an advisor, not a decision-maker.
To take it a step further, we all know things have changed for buyers agents in the last year or so with the NAR agency and buyer agent commission. We now have to articulate our value and charge our value. We've been doing this on the list side for a long time. When asked about their commission, the best listing agents will say "Here's my commission, do you have any questions." The worst listing agents will say, "Here's my commission, but if that's too high we can negotiate." They're undermining their own value.
Know your worth. In the absence of value, the only thing you can compete on is price. You have to add value to the client experience and be able to articulate it. Also, long after the price is forgotten, the quality remains. At the time of the transaction, the client is aware of your commission and the cost. But years later, what will actually stick with them is the quality of your service and the value you provided.
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How do you feel about your business so far this year? Are you on your toes or on your heels? How you view your business and activity can affect your mindset and motivation. As Sarah says, sometimes you need to do a checkup from the neck up. If you feel like you're on your heels, then how do you fix your mindset and get back on your toes?
The first step is identifying and admitting to yourself that you're on your heels. Then go back and do the things that you and/or are good at to build your confidence back up. Find your rhythm again. Make a plan and work the plan. You'll find yourself back on your toes in no time.
In any aspect of your life, if you stay on your heels too long, it will only get harder and harder to rebalance and shift forward. We have a lot of visuals for you today...if you're up, then it's harder for something to knock you down when things go wrong. But if you're already down, it's easier to just keep getting dragged down further by every delay or something that goes wrong. It just keeps piling on.
Surround yourself with people that will hold you accountable. Accountability is a form of love. Surround yourself with people that motivate and inspire you to think differently and keep going.
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Today's discussion is all about new agent productivity. It's easy to live in overwhelm when you first get started. You're learning about so many tools and opportunities, and the trap is to try to do them all. What ends up happening is you spread yourself too thin all week, you're exhausted, and feel like nothing is working.
What's the cure for this crazy cycle? Go deep, not wide. When you go wide and do everything then you're not committing enough to any one thing. You're only working at the surface level and you get burnt out when nothing works. Pick 2 or 3 strategies / levers and go deep on them.
Apply the same process to how many leads you're working. The average conversion right now takes 26 touches - whether that's calls, texts, or other. If you have 100 leads you're heavy-hitting, can you commit to 2,600 touches in a short timeframe? 10 leads is probably more appropriate. Tackle it one chunk at a time.
Keep in mind, that a lot of these strategies are a grind. You still have to put in the work. Some days will be great and some won't. Don't give up. Keep track of how many calls you need to make to get an appointment and that can keep you motivated. Track your metrics and gamify it. This is a momentum-based business. Get wins and wins become confidence.
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What's your value proposition? Not just for making the sale, but what about after? You've heard us talk about our Forever Client Club and client events, but what about other types of relationship building?
We pride ourselves on our vetted vendor list. The critical aspect to understand is that we get nothing from it. If we recommend a roofer to a client and they go with them, we don't get a kickback or anything like that. We simply want to make sure that our clients are happy and can hire a professional that's going to do a good job at a fair price. We want to be that resource for our clients long after the transaction.
No matter what industry you work in, there is something you can do similar to this to provide continued value to your clients. Once you have their trust and build a relationship, keep it going.
*If you're a local vendor in St. Louis and you want to be considered for our vendor list, comment below "vendor" and we will forward a link to interview.
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Want to maximize your content and actually see results? It all starts with knowing your platforms, understanding how algorithms work, and dialing in on your target audience. Sounds simple, right? But finding your niche and reaching the right people takes strategy.
A year ago, it was all about reels. Now? If you’re only posting reels, you're missing out. Carousels and stories are just as crucial. Why? Because stories make your brand feel real—they're the behind-the-scenes moments where followers connect, relate, and trust you. Your feed is your portfolio, but your stories? That’s where relationships are built.
And let’s talk reach—if you’re posting reels on Instagram, why not repurpose them for YouTube Shorts or TikTok? Different platforms attract different audiences, and you should be everywhere they are.
But here’s the key: it’s not just about posting—it’s about engaging. Reply to comments, interact with others in your niche, and stay consistent. Success on social media is a long game, but with the right strategy and authenticity, you can break through.
Ready to level up your content?
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Special guest - our marketing director is here with us today so we'll spend some time talking about marketing 101. Madeline started out as our team photographer almost 5 years ago. She quickly got involved in updating our marketing - she was seeing it out in the field every day and noticed we lacked consistency. Slowly but surely we created a marketing department.
But how do you get started building all of this out? It may seem obvious, but once you have a logo, use it as your baseline. Pull the colors out of there and the fonts. Any other graphic elements? If you're not sure what to spend your money on in marketing, start with the free stuff. Make a free Canva account and create social media graphics. Experiment with the free stuff and solidify your style and branding.
Mark and Sarah talk about metrics all the time. It's the same with marketing. You have to track your metrics. What are people responding to? What is actually creating leads? Marketing is all cumulative. There is collateral impact. Maybe someone saw your signs and billboards, but then decided to make the call when they saw your moving truck.
Google is a whole other beast in itself. What do people see when they search your business on Google? Or do you even show up when someone searches "best real estate team in St. Louis," etc.? Are you asking your clients for reviews? Remember, consistent reviews matter. And don't get caught up if they're aren't all a perfect 5-stars. The way you respond to those gives you credibility and it also assures people that the reviews they're seeing are actually real.
At the end of the day, shoot for consistency in branding, messaging, and frequency.
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Sarah recently read that 50% of adult Americans have high blood pressure. Some of those people have high blood pressure for hereditary reasons, but many probably have HBP due to diet and/or exercise habits.
How does this relate to real estate? In this industry, how we view something is directly correlated to how we perform. If you look at your blood pressure as something out of your control, then that's a totally different mindset than if you view it as something you can control. If you view it as a controllable then you might be more inclined take steps to improve your diet and exercise habits. You'll have more ownership over it. Even if the high blook pressure is hereditary, you can still have some control over it by lowering it with good habits.
With your health and with your business, the best way to see the impact of your actions or non-actions is of course metrics. Diabetics wear glucose monitors and can see real time how certain foods affect them. If you start making calls for an additional hour a day, then you want to be able to track the impact of that on your conversion rate and so forth.
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Are you superstitious? Sarah certainly is—there are some things she won’t even talk about for fear of jinxing them!
It’s natural to get excited when you have a deal under contract and start imagining those commissions hitting your account. While it’s smart to plan ahead financially, remember: don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Under contract does not mean closed and funded.
On the flip side, there’s power in public declaration. When you share your goals, you turn those who hear them into accountability partners. While you can’t control every variable in a deal, you can control your effort—how many homes you aim to sell, your target volume, and the quality of relationships you build with clients. Strong relationships lead to repeat business and referrals.
Of course, declaring your goals publicly can be scary. It means putting yourself out there and taking full ownership of the outcome. But that’s where real growth happens—when you commit, take action, and hold yourself accountable to what you say you’ll achieve.
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We are all our own worst enemies. Our inner voice can be very critical. That's why it's so important to surround yourselves with positivity, people that will build you up, and people that believe in you and what you're doing.
Every person has their strengths and the ability to do great things. It comes down to not seeing potential in themselves, not taking action, or not sticking with it.
To spread positivity, one simple thing you can do is let someone know when you hear about something they've achieved or a positive attribute they have. We challenge you to pay forward the positivity at least once this week!
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You've heard about the ripple effect...that one decision could change the trajectory of your life. "Life is a series of choices and consequences, you make the choice and experience the consequence." Everything you do has a consequence, either good or bad.
Years ago Sarah was participating in a challenge with Bill Pipes. You had to commit to doing a set of things every day in themes of 10. Things like: reading 10 pages of a book, exercising for 10 minutes, 10 affirmations a day, etc. It felt too daunting, like going from standing still to doing a sprinting marathon.
Sarah knew before starting that she couldn't commit to that many things all at once, so she chose one thing to commit to every day. She and her husband Matt started walking every morning to start their day and catch up. They've now been doing it for 3 years and it's had a huge ripple effect on their lives. There's the health benefits to starting every day outside in the fresh air and sunshine, but also their relationship is stronger than before.
Modern life is chaotic. The life of a real estate agent is chaotic. If you need to make a change, choose one thing to commit to. It's enough. You don't have to make drastic changes. Even the smallest change will have a ripple effect.
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100 episodes! Thank you for being a part of this journey! And welcome to 2025.
This week is all about best practices for a successful year. It's not too late to get your plan together to have a strong year. Honestly, you have to start with having a plan to begin with. If we had decided to take a break from the podcast and not set a date for our first episode back, would we have ever started up again? Maybe or maybe not. Start with a plan and stick to the plan.
The best time to make a resolution and change your habits is yesterday. The second best time is today. For real estate agents or anyone in sales, in the new year one of the most important aspects is your mindset. It can seem daunting looking at the entire year ahead and coming up with a plan of action. Where are your leads coming from? What's your next sale going to be? How are you building your pipeline? You have to be able to visualize and see the light at the end of the tunnel.
It can be tough to stay motivated and positive on your own. Do you have an accountability partner? Do you have a team that amps you up? Find your people to help keep you energized. It's tough to be successful when you're on an island by yourself.
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How are you preparing for 2025? Have you set your goals and made a plan? Don't forget, if you're not moving forwards then you're moving backwards. There are always ups and downs in business and in life. If you stay static, then the "downs" or uncontrollables will set you back and you won't be able to get back ahead. You want to keep that forward momentum.
The number one uncontrollable in real estate is of course, interest rates. We have zero control over interest rates. Other uncontrollables that affect real estate? The stock market, inflation, economic uncertainty, jobs, layoffs, new construction, inventory...
So how do you make a business plan for 2025 with all of these unknowns? Your activity! You can control your activity. Show up every day, consistently, and with a plan of action. To be able to stay consistent, you have to be realistic. If you want to prospect for 10 hours a week, it's not practical to do 2 5-hour sessions. That's daunting and impossible to keep your energy level. Instead, do 5 2-hour sessions or 6 1.5 hour sessions.
Once you have a time block set, stick to it. Your schedule is your accountability partner.
What are the 4 things needed to be successful in any industry? 1) Mindset, 2) Skills, 3) Schedule, 4) Action
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What are some good habits or things to consider when interviewing to join a team? Depending on what your goals are, look for a team that has a lengthy interview process. Ultimately you want to find a team that's a good fit for you on a professional and personal level, and that takes time to sort out.
You also don't necessarily want to join a team that will take just anyone. If you're looking to achieve excellence, you want to join a team of excellence. Figure out what core values, leadership style, level of training, and other fits with you and how you work best.
On the flip side of things, when Sarah is sorting through applicants she's looking at everything. Did they submit a resume and fill out the DISC profile? Did they join their zoom interview promptly and know how to use the technology? All of these steps in the process matter, so when you're interviewing and going through a hiring process, pay attention to those details.
- Visa fler
