Blake Rayner on why agents wake up unemployed and how two hours of calls fixes it

Blake Rayner00:00

I think a lot of real estate agents don’t realize that we technically wake up unemployed, and based off our actions throughout the day, become employed. Real estate is one of those key avenues where you can have nothing going on, and then tomorrow something can pop up and happen. And I’m a true believer in that, because prospecting is probably the number one thing that most agents have the biggest fear over.

00:25But they forget that real estate is a contact sport, where the more contacts, the more conversations you have, the bigger your book of business grows over time.

Aaron Wittenstein00:43

Everyone, this is Aaron Wittenstein, and I would like to welcome y’all to Vulcan 7 Roadmap. This is where we interview agents across the country to learn how to take an additional 17, 24, 36, 193 listings a week. And we have a very special guest today, Blake Rayner. Blake, how are you doing today, my friend?

Blake Rayner01:03

I’m doing well. I’m looking outside. There’s a lot of sun down here in sunny South Florida. A lot of people should make this their home. So we’re gonna have some fun today, that’s for sure.

Aaron Wittenstein01:13

There we go. There we go. All right. So you said something extremely powerful to me when we started chatting.

01:19Okay? Do you remember what it was that you said to me?

Blake Rayner01:24

Yes. So I think a lot of real estate agents don’t realize that we technically wake up unemployed, and based off our actions throughout the day, we come employed. Real estate is one of those key avenues where you can have nothing going on, and then tomorrow something can pop up and happen.

01:47And I’m a true believer in that, because prospecting is probably the number one thing that most agents have the biggest fear over. But they forget that real estate is a contact sport, where the more contacts, the more conversations you have, the bigger your book of business grows over time. And I think it’s not talked about, it’s not drilled in enough, and it shows.

02:13You know, there’s probably hundreds of thousands of agents all around the country, but then you see why the same group of agents are still in the top 1%, still doing the same stuff that is pounding the pavement, the bare bones, the roots of prospecting, and they’re the ones doing the business at the end of the day.

Aaron Wittenstein02:31

100%. I mean, you couldn’t have said it better. And in my opinion, the way I look at it, I don’t think, I know that is a valid statement. And if you’re not living that way… Even if you’re not prospecting, whatever way you form business-

02:53Yeah, if you don’t wake up unemployed, I don’t know what you’re doing, okay? So when it comes to prospecting, how many hours do you typically put in on, let’s say, a daily basis?

Blake Rayner03:08

So daily basis, depending on my schedule, easily a minimum of two hours. Some days that I don’t have appointments or other things I have to do for my business, I’m gonna keep calling.

03:22It’s one of those things that you get used to it and it becomes a part of your routine. You have to be disciplined with it. It’s like going to the gym, you know? The guaranteed thing is that I’m gonna call no matter what. There’s no guarantee someone’s gonna pick up the phone, and there’s no guarantee if I get them on the phone, I can get an appointment.

03:44But they’re not calling me. So I can sit here all day, no one’s gonna call me. But I’m going out and grabbing whatever I can. So I’m gonna call until I either set an appointment, because I don’t know if that person I speak to today is gonna do business with me today or it’s gonna be the next 90 days.

04:01And I’m not gonna leave it up to, “Oh, well, it’s gonna happen.” I’m gonna go out and grab it. That’s just the hustler mindset, and it’s something that real estate will eventually teach you, because no one’s gonna walk into the front door and give you a deal.

Aaron Wittenstein04:16

100%. Now, do you have a particular, like…

04:20Now let me ask you, are you an expired or for sale by owner or circle guy? Like, what’s your preferred choice of lead gen?

Blake Rayner04:29

So when I first got into lead gen, it was expireds and canceleds. Because obviously those are the ones that just tried the market, they might’ve had a bad experience with the last agent, it might’ve been overpriced.

04:42But those are also the lowest hanging fruit. And those are also, as everybody knows, if you cold called that group, they’re the most aggressive. So you have to, I call it fight fire with fire. But I also do circle prospecting, and I also do for sale by owners. At the end of the day, I’m not gonna just hone in on one, because I’m gonna basically try and go after everything I possibly can, because I know not everybody is.

Aaron Wittenstein05:08

So do you have like a system in place when you walk in the office and it’s like, “I do A, B, C, D”?

Blake Rayner05:15

Yeah. So right off the rip, I’m into the office probably about, like, 8:00. I’ll role play with myself. I’ll review my scripts. Even though I’ve reviewed my scripts probably for years, consistently each and every day, you gotta think of it like an actor.

05:33An actor’s great at what they do, but they still… Everything in life is scripted. So just having it as a, “All right, it’s there.” But for the first 15 minutes to 30 minutes, I’m role playing with myself, reviewing my scripts, and then as soon as 8:30 hits, I’m smiling and dialing.

05:53And certain days it can be longer than others, and certain days it’s not. Even if I get a person to set the appointment, I’m not done. I’m gonna keep calling, because I said I’m gonna do it for two hours this morning. I’m gonna call to 10:30, I’m gonna call to 11:00.

06:08And then I might take a break, eat some lunch, do some follow-up, and then I might do an afternoon session of hitting some for sale by owners, doing a little bit easier conversations with circle prospecting to build business for the next couple of years, because circle prospecting is mostly people that are not ready right now, but they might be in the next one to five years.

06:31So expireds and cancels, I’m focusing on business right now. For sale by owners is right now. And then circle prospecting is me building my book of business for the future to come. That way I’m constantly building a book of business to maintain a successful business and be successful in this industry.

Aaron Wittenstein06:49

So if you had to pick one. If someone came down and said, “You’re only allowed to pick one source of lead generation,” what would that source be? Hard one, man.

Blake Rayner07:01

Yeah. I like competition, and I think expireds and cancels is the most challenging, because that’s something where your tonality, your skills, your energy has to be there.

07:14Because you gotta think, by 8:00, some of these people have already gotten 15, 20, 30-something calls, and they’re hearing the same thing over and over again. But I like a challenge, because the biggest reward is there. So I would say expireds and cancels is my favorite.

Aaron Wittenstein07:33

Can I put you on the spot?

Blake Rayner07:35

Go for it.

Aaron Wittenstein07:36

You wanna role play real quick?

Blake Rayner07:38

Let’s do it.

Aaron Wittenstein07:39

All right. This is a guy that role plays 15 to 30 minutes a day, just to give you guys a heads up here. So this is how we do it. All right, so I’ll be an expired, okay? Brand-new one to the market today. I sat on the market for 257 days on the market.

Blake Rayner07:57

Okay. All right. Ready? I’m ready when you are. Just give me a ring.

Aaron Wittenstein08:06

Ring, ring. Hello?

Blake Rayner08:07

Good morning. May I speak with Aaron, please? This is, uh… Is this another realtor? Wow. Right off the cuff, you call me out on what I do best. Now, Aaron, I know you probably have received probably 100-some calls this morning.

08:21I know they’ve all promised you the moon, the stars, and the atmosphere, but I’m not here to do that for you. I’m here to help you get your home sold this time, and I know that is a strong guarantee. But there’s a reason why a lot of people use me in Palm Beach County. I’m not gonna get into the logistics of speaking about my credentials.

08:40I’ll let my reviews speak about it. But I just wanna do something to you. I just wanna be able to give you five to ten minutes of my time this afternoon, if you can meet at one o’clock or even three o’clock, come over, just tell you exactly where it kinda went wrong, and kinda give you the hope and the dream that you were looking to do when this was gonna sell.

08:59Now, Aaron, can I ask you one thing?

Aaron Wittenstein09:01

Yeah, but I mean, I gotta tell you, I think we’re just gonna hold off for, like, 60 days.

Blake Rayner09:08

I completely understand. Giving the house a little bit of break sometimes is what it needs. But what if I was to tell you that, what if someone was looking for your house and they just came to the market today, and this was the opportunity to get this house in front of them with an aggressive marketing plan, with strategic plans to get it sold?

09:25Now, if we wait that 60 days, there’s a chance that this so-called buyer could find your neighbor’s house, could find someone else’s house down the street. Do you really wanna lose that opportunity on getting this house sold this time around?

Aaron Wittenstein09:37

No, but I mean, I think, like I said… Sally Mae, she was our agent, and I-

09:48I think, I mean, it wasn’t her fault the house didn’t sell.

Blake Rayner09:52

Do you think there’s certain limiting factors that actually prevent the house from selling?

Aaron Wittenstein09:58

Um, no. I mean, it’s a great house. I don’t know.

Blake Rayner09:59

‘Cause I could see a couple myself, but I just wanna say… Well, yeah, and what I wanna do is I wanna capitalize on what brought you guys through that threshold when you first bought the house, and I wanna portray it as a story, because I’m not gonna talk bad about Sally, because, like I said, I don’t personally know Sally.

10:16But there was something that was kinda just missing, and sometimes it’s the simplest things that could get it sold. And like I said, at the end of the day, it’s only gonna take five to ten minutes of your time. It could bring you some enlightening news that maybe you didn’t even think about. And like I said, you have nothing to lose.

10:31And at the end of the day, when I show up and you’re still honed in on waiting the 60 days, I completely respect that. But I wouldn’t wanna waste the opportunity just to hear another top producing agent enlighten me on what potentially went wrong with it.

Aaron Wittenstein10:47

So what would you do differently than Sally Mae?

Blake Rayner10:49

Well, it’s hard to say currently right now without me being actually in your house. Like I said, if you just give me five, ten minutes, I’m not gonna take up too much of your time. I’m just gonna do a quick through. Like I said, I can see the videos, but there’s nothing on this page that’s really giving me that wow factor that’s gonna make me wanna step through it.

11:08And I wanna feel it from your perspective and walk it the way you would walk it, to really tell you exactly what it’s gonna take and how long it’s gonna take to get this sold. Like I said, it’s five to 10 minutes. I can do 1:30 today, or I could do 3:30 to make it easier. I’ll give you, I’ll give you three minutes.

11:27Three minutes, perfect. So does 1:30 or 3:00 work better for you today?

Aaron Wittenstein11:30

2:30.

Blake Rayner11:31

2:30. Let me just check my schedule. Hmm. I know I have another appointment down the road at 2:30. I can try and squeeze you in right before. I could change it to 1:45. Would that be better for you?

Aaron Wittenstein11:46

That’s fine.

Blake Rayner11:47

Perfect. All right. And now, I see that you have another person on title.

11:51Are they gonna be there also, or is it just gonna be yourself, Aaron?

Aaron Wittenstein11:55

Yeah, no, that’s my wife. She’ll be there along with me.

Blake Rayner11:57

Perfect. All right. So I’m gonna meet you at 1:45, and like I said, I’m just gonna take up three minutes of your time like you said. Better yet, I’ll take up two minutes and 50 seconds, and if it takes longer than that, you can kick me out.

12:07But I guarantee we’re gonna be there for a little bit of time. Perfect. All right, Aaron. Thank you so much. See you soon.

Aaron Wittenstein12:13

You’re welcome. All right. Beautiful. So, yeah, I mean, you gave enough information to have validity in what you’re doing. I can tell you’re practiced and all that stuff.

12:24I mean, you know what you’re talking about. I remember the first line… Oh, I don’t remember. I’m gonna have to replay and watch the video again over here. It was when I said you were the 17th agent to call. I don’t remember what you said, but I really liked that line a lot.

Blake Rayner12:39

So a lot of the things that I notice is it’s off the cuff, you know.

12:43It’s organic, it’s natural, because as you know, being a prospector too, there is no script that is gonna be 100% to every single person. Everybody’s gonna have a different situation. And what I’ve learned is that role-playing with your scripts, learning scripts… There’s a thousand scripts out there.

13:04You just have to learn the lingo, and you get better with time. And the more calls you do, the more hang-ups, the more nos, you just start getting a flowing conversation where you have to just start taking control and redirecting the conversation the way you want to. And what I like to do is I like to provide value, but not so much.

13:26Because if I give you the whole bread and butter, there’s nothing that I can do to add value once I’m in front of you. I wanna just get you to the point where you’re, like, on the edge of your seat, and then once I come to the house, that’s when I’m gonna try and really close a deal with you.

Aaron Wittenstein13:41

Exactly. No, definitely. That makes sense. And I mean, it’s one of those things that’s like, when you practice and you know your stuff, you know your stuff. It’s that simple. You come off in a way where… ‘Cause you came off confident, and you’re extremely confident with what you’re doing.

13:55You can tell that you’re lead generating two, three, four, 17 hours a day, which is a good thing. So let me ask you this. You’re doing a lot of work in general. Out of everything you’ve done and out of all the production, what are you most proud of when it comes to the production of your business?

Blake Rayner14:17

The most proud of my, out of my production is that, when I haven’t had listings getting showings or buyers getting under contract, it always leads back to the smaller things that end up leading to the bigger things. And as crazy as it sounds, and I was just telling this to another agent, it comes to me as cold calling, because it’s the routine, it sets the tone for the day.

14:50And I can cold call for two hours and I can get no appointments, but then other things in my business will take off. It’s kind of hard to explain, because you kind of have to see it from my perspective. And then when I do cold calling, it’s like I’m money with that, I’m confident, things continue to flow.

15:09But I’ve always noticed when you get too busy, you stop doing the cold calling. And it’s like, prime example is, like, medication, right? Take medication the doctor prescribes, you start feeling better. You stop taking it, you get sick again, and you’re like, “What the heck?” To me, that’s what cold calling is.

15:27If I’m doing it, it’s teaching me to be disciplined, where I’m gonna start being consistent and disciplined in other parts of my business, which then my production flows. So cold calling taught me to be disciplined and consistent, because it’s a numbers game, you know? And you can definitely call for two hours and get 1,000 nos.

15:48But to me, I was always taught and always said, “A no today is not a no tomorrow.” So I consistently would just keep calling. And it’s a numbers game, because like I said, everybody’s getting called, and sometimes some agents won’t call back that person, and that’s it. Well, guess what? I’m gonna call that person back Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday until they’re gonna be like, “You know what?

16:08You’ve been the most consistent. You’ve been the one that’s been basically putting your name in front of us the longest. We’re gonna give you a shot. When can you come over?” And it’s crazy when something like that happens. It’s just…

Aaron Wittenstein16:18

I think the term you’re looking for-

Blake Rayner16:20

It’s, the proof is in the pudding, you know?

Aaron Wittenstein16:22

Oh, yeah. And I think the term you’re looking for, really, I call it prospecting karma. It’s what happens when you’re lead generating, lead generating, lead generating. It may not come from your expireds, but you suddenly get a bunch of people from SOI that wind up calling you.

16:38It’s called prospecting karma, right? And I think, when… Consistency flows from this part of your business to the other part of your business and so on and so forth.

16:56Right?

Blake Rayner16:57

Yeah, ’cause it’s like, if you’re cold calling and you end up getting a lead, you get the appointment, you’re excited. Your confidence is through the roof, and you get emotional. And the opposite could be true. You get rejected, rejected.

17:12You can easily get in a downward spiral and say, like, “Oh my gosh.” But the mentality behind it is the key glue to keep moving forward, and you have to have thick skin in this industry, because not everybody’s gonna work with you. You’re gonna get cussed out. I actually like it when people cuss me out on cold calling.

17:31It’s the craziest thing, because it kinda gets me a little rallied up, you know? Like I’m back playing football. Like, “All right. Let’s go. Let’s do this,” you know?

17:40I’m still professional, you know, but yeah.

Aaron Wittenstein17:46

I gotcha. So all right, my friend, so let me ask you this, all right?

17:49So, a lot of new agents come in the business, a lot of new agents coming out of the business. Let’s say a new agent is walking down your hallway, knocks on your door and he’s like, “Blake, I hear you’re the man. What one piece of advice would you give me to bring my business to the next level?”

18:05What would that piece of advice be?

Blake Rayner18:08

So, my piece of advice is to cold call and prospect. Because if you were to buy Vulcan… And I’ve used other competitors, I’m not gonna list them, but to me I’ve found the most success with Vulcan. And like I said, you could work out a deal with your broker if you can’t afford it, you could work it out with another agent.

18:30But to me, there’s gonna be nothing more that’s gonna put you in front of hundreds of thousands of potential deals than Vulcan and prospecting, and the rest can come. You don’t need to learn how to write a contract. You don’t need to learn that. You can ask other agents. You can hire someone. But to me, the most bang for your buck is gonna be cold calling, you know?

18:52And I think Vulcan’s prices are very, very reasonable. And like I said, one call, one appointment would probably pay for the whole year’s worth of Vulcan subscription, to be completely honest with you. 100%. And like I said, I’ve used others. I’ve found the most success with this one, and I’ve had the utmost respect, to the point that I have even other agents in my company come to me like, “Who do you use?”

19:17And I’m like, “Look at my screen.” It’s literally saved on every single browser I have. To me, that’s it. You know?

Aaron Wittenstein19:27

There we go. All right, so let’s wrap this in a bow here, okay? So, what is your final last words to Vulcan 7 Nation?

Blake Rayner19:41

Vulcan7 agents, take full advantage of everything they have to offer.

19:46I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on Take 52. I’ve been on one-on-ones. I’ve found people in the prospecting. It’s a community that is just a family. I’ve never met any of these people in my life. I’ve done maybe a deal out of one or two of them, which is even crazier, because it opens another door for referral business.

20:06I might have clients in Chicago, and I met an agent on Vulcan. I’m gonna send them a deal, and guess what? I’m still gonna get paid, or vice versa. But the education and knowledge they give you, it beats out the competition. You can watch YouTube videos all day long, but seeing actual people in your shoes cold calling with you, even if you’re nervous, you’re gonna break that call reluctancy eventually to the point where it’s gonna become an addiction.

20:35And it’s a good addiction to have, trust me, in this industry. It’s a very good addiction to have. Because if you don’t have anything, like if you came to me and said, “I don’t have a book of business.” Like, if I was to ask you, you came down from New York, you don’t know anybody, the first thing you’d probably ask me to do, I’d be like, “All right.

20:53I’m getting in Vulcan. I’m gonna pull all the area codes in this area. I’m gonna pull up my MLS, and I’m gonna start calling.” And as I’m calling, I’m learning about this neighborhood, I’m learning about this person, I’m learning about the square footage. And before I know it, I’m gonna start making some contacts, I’m gonna start making some deals, I’m gonna start getting some listings.

Aaron Wittenstein21:09

There we go. There we go. All right, my friend, so do me a favor. ‘Cause you cover a bunch of areas. So what areas do you cover?

Blake Rayner21:18

Correct. So I cover predominantly Palm Beach County, anywhere from Tequesta to Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth. That’s my bread and butter.

21:28Was born and raised. I do do business in Broward County, which is a little bit south of Palm Beach County, but predominantly Palm Beach County is my strong roots. But I’ve even done deals in Orlando, I’ve done deals in Miami. But if you’re looking in Palm Beach County, I have a great list of properties for you.

21:47I can suggest some really great restaurants and give you that lifestyle and a new place to call home. And I don’t know if anybody’s said this to you yet, Aaron, because you came down from New York, but I definitely like to salt my drinks better than I like to salt my roads.

22:04So I’m just gonna leave it at that.

Aaron Wittenstein22:06

I will go that way. All right, my friend. So someone’s looking in those areas and they wanna get in touch with Blake Rayner, how does one get in touch with you?

Blake Rayner22:16

So, personal cell phone, it’s gonna be 561-252-2208. I work for Sutter and Nugent Real Estate. I’m the branch manager for our Delray and Boca location.

22:26You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at Blakebrayner, R-A-Y-N-E-R. Or you can send me a direct email to Blake, B-L-A-K-E, @sutterandnugent.com.

Aaron Wittenstein22:38

There we go. There we go. All right, my friend, I wanna say thank you very much for coming on here. This was an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me. You’re very welcome.

22:48Thank you. And I just wanna remind you, do me a favor, go make some money, and never forget to trust the process. You guys have an amazing rest of the day. Take care.