How Christian LeMere took 5 listings in his first month calling expireds

Christian LeMere00:00

Between when I dove into Vulcan and the first month, I took five listings in the first month-

Aaron Wittenstein00:07

Whoa, whoa, hold on. Hold, hold, whoa, whoa. Can you stop for one second right there?

Christian LeMere00:12

Yes.

Aaron Wittenstein00:12

Okay, let me get this straight. Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off, I apologize. One month in, five listings taken.

00:20Did I catch that correct?

Christian LeMere00:22

That’s correct.

Aaron Wittenstein00:22

Okay, I’m gonna repeat that again just so my ears are not clogged right here in my headset. You did one month, five listings taken, all on expired listings, is that correct?

Christian LeMere00:31

All off of expireds through Vulcan7. Yes, sir.

Aaron Wittenstein00:40

Hey, what’s going on everybody? It’s me, it’s Aaron Wittenstein, and I’m here with Vulcan7 Roadmap. We’re gonna teach you from agents across the country how to get two, three, four, 25 million listings a month, okay? And we have one of our special guests here, Christian LeMere, outside of Nashville, Tennessee, is gonna be sharing exactly how and why he’s having the success that he’s having.

01:02Christian, what’s up man? Good afternoon. How are you?

Christian LeMere01:06

I’m doing terrific. How are you doing, sir?

Aaron Wittenstein01:08

You know, I gotta say, I’m doing pretty darn well. We had a very nice little conversation before we got the party started here, and you were sharing with me a little bit about your story. Would you be so kind as to fill in everybody here exactly what you were telling me?

Christian LeMere01:24

Yeah, absolutely. So in 2015, I started working for a home builder in Florida. Had a phenomenal career in the corporate world, and spent about eight years working my way up with a publicly traded company, and ended up getting promoted to Nashville, Tennessee and became the VP of operations for the entire state.

01:48And we had phenomenal success. It went from the worst performing asset in the company to one of the top three markets that was most profitable for the company. So was really proud of that. And one day I woke up at 3:00 in the morning and had this crazy idea that as interest rates started to rise and the market started to shift, that I was gonna get into general real estate and start my own company.

02:14So really quickly partnered with a coach, which I highly recommend for everybody, and got after expireds. And the first suggestion that my coach made was Vulcan7. And it’s been very, very exciting ever since.

Aaron Wittenstein02:32

Okay. So that’s just like the baseline of what you shared with me. Okay? You’ve been doing this for a relatively not short period of time.

02:41Is that correct?

Christian LeMere02:44

Correct.

Aaron Wittenstein02:44

When did you start?

Christian LeMere02:47

So started in November of 2022.

02:52And the first person that I spoke to let me know that he was not considering selling his home, but liked my professionalism over the phone and let me know on the phone that he had $200,000 burning cash to buy an investment property. One week later, we found him an investment property, went under contract on it, and it ended up being my first closing, starting my general real estate career.

03:23So closed 35 days later. Between when I dove into Vulcan and the first month, I took five listings in the first month-

Aaron Wittenstein03:33

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Hold, hold, hold. Whoa, whoa. Can you stop for one second right there?

Christian LeMere03:37

Yes.

Aaron Wittenstein03:38

Okay, let me get this straight. Sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off. I apologize. One month in, five listings taken.

03:45Did I catch that correct?

Christian LeMere03:47

That’s correct.

Aaron Wittenstein03:48

Okay, I’m gonna repeat that again just so my ears are not clogged right here in my headset. You did one month, five listings taken, all on expired listings. Is that correct?

Christian LeMere03:57

All off of expireds through Vulcan7. Yes, sir.

Aaron Wittenstein04:01

What do you… I mean, you’re brand new, so I mean, I guess no preconceived notions is part of it, right?

Christian LeMere04:07

Yep. Yep, absolutely. I mean, the biggest thing for me working with a coach is we set up a schedule every single day. So I’ll kinda dive into that, ’cause I believe that’s the most important thing in this process, is being unwavering on your prospecting time and committing to prospecting every single day that you are working.

04:30‘Cause work-life balance is important. I commit to taking the weekends off. But Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM every single day, we’re hammering the phones. So on the phones, we’re gonna face a lot of rejection. We’re looking for motivation and cooperation, but really making sure that we’re focused on speed to lead and get in front of the prospect, and have the professionalism and communicate effectively that we can help them sell their home.

05:01‘Cause obviously we know in this industry, working with an expired, it’s a great consumer, right? They were motivated to sell at one point. They hired an agent. They agreed to compensate the agent, and then for whatever reason, that plan of action just didn’t happen. So you gotta know first and foremost who you’re dealing with, and look for that motivated seller.

05:26And once you connect with that seller, they wanna know the three most basic questions. First is how much is my home gonna sell for? What are you gonna do to sell my home? And how long is it gonna take? And part of my process is asking enough questions to feel confident to go on that listing presentation and know that when I’m at that listing presentation, we’re gonna figure out together what price your home is gonna sell for in a timely fashion.

05:59And we dig into the data of what’s the market saying, how many days on the market, what’s inventory months supply look like, and then just set realistic expectations around the first 30 to 45 days is most critical getting on the market. So just executing on our plan of action and being very ethical and upfront with that process is the most important thing for me.

06:23And sometimes I go on listing presentations and the number doesn’t work for them. And to me, what that tells me is they’re more motivated by the money rather than the move. And we’re really looking for life-changing events here to help people. And some people are still living in two years ago where they could get top dollar for their home and one picture is coming soon, the house would fly off the market.

06:50But really we’re looking for motivation and cooperation in today’s market. And I believe that Vulcan7 with a coach and with a process is the easiest way to take on listings right now.

Aaron Wittenstein07:03

Yeah, I’m gonna agree with you that 100%. It’s having the system processes and models in place, right? But here’s what I’m gonna say though, is this all starts with what do we say?

07:16And I gotta ask, I mean, for taking five listings in the first month, what did you say to people?

07:23What script did you use? Are you open to role-playing? I mean, would you be game for role-playing out right now? Would you be okay with that?

Christian LeMere07:29

Yes, absolutely. Okay. And I will share this with you. I was an idiot on fire. Didn’t have the script memorized. I was fumbling a little bit through the script, but the most important thing I believe is keep the train moving down the track and just stick to your script, follow the process.

07:49And the people that are motivated, you can book an appointment with as long as you proceed with confidence. So one of the things I’ve done as time has progressed is I’ve put together my own manual for expired listings, and we’ve got a process dialed in from the moment we get somebody on the phone to the listing presentation and then beyond.

08:12So kinda setting expectations on what’s gonna happen the first four weeks if we don’t get the activity that we expect, looking at a professional price improvement, and then what happens once we go under contract, and then of course closing. But yeah, would totally love to role play.

08:30Ring, ring.

Aaron Wittenstein08:31

Good morning.

Christian LeMere08:33

Hey, Aaron. My name is Christian. I am a local real estate professional in your area. I’m sure that you figured out that the listing on your home has cancelled. I was calling to see, are you still accepting offers on the property?

Aaron Wittenstein08:48

Do you have a buyer?

Christian LeMere08:50

Well, that’s a great question. Me and my team will sell about 80 homes this year.

08:54So when this home does sell, where are you planning on moving next?

Aaron Wittenstein08:58

You know, we’re planning on staying local to the market at this point. But like I said, if you have a buyer, bring him through. Otherwise, we’re probably gonna wind up re-listing with the same agent we had before.

Christian LeMere09:08

Yeah, yeah, no problem. And what’s got you motivated to move in the first place?

Aaron Wittenstein09:13

It’s a ton of different things at this point. But like I said, if you have… Do you have anybody or no?

Christian LeMere09:26

Yeah, so we definitely have some options for you, and we can take a look at that.

09:30Of course, I’ve never personally been inside your home, and the buyers that we work with have never personally been inside your home. I’m just curious, Aaron, what do you think stopped your home from selling?

Aaron Wittenstein09:40

That’s a great question. It was my cousin’s brother’s uncle’s neighbor who listed our house, and they…

09:50I don’t think they did it full time, so I think… I don’t know. They just weren’t very good.

Christian LeMere09:56

Gotcha. How did you happen to sign with that agent and list with them in the first place?

Aaron Wittenstein10:01

Well, like I said, they’re referred to me and, yeah, they just… My cousin’s brother’s uncle’s friend said they were very good at their job, and evidently they weren’t, so.

Christian LeMere10:12

Sure. And what would you expect from the next agent that you choose?

Aaron Wittenstein10:16

Well, if we decide to list the home, which I’m not sure if we’re gonna do at this point. I think the market would be great and we wanna sell it, but I mean, how much do you charge?

10:26‘Cause they were cutting us a deal.

Christian LeMere10:29

Yeah, that’s a great question, and we could totally review that. I mean, that’s up for negotiation. I think for me, the most important thing is figuring out how we can sell your home for the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time. And what would you really expect from the next agent that you choose?

Aaron Wittenstein10:46

To do open hou- no, I’m kidding. To get the house sold.

Christian LeMere10:50

Terrific. Have you already chosen an agent to work with?

Aaron Wittenstein10:54

At this point, like I said, we’re gonna be sitting tight for probably a month or so, and then I don’t know what we’re gonna do.

Christian LeMere11:00

No problem. Well, I would like to apply for the job of selling your home.

11:05Are you familiar with the techniques that we use in today’s shifting market to get homes sold?

Aaron Wittenstein11:09

I have no idea. No.

Christian LeMere11:12

Okay. Great. Well, when would be the best time to show you those? I have today at 2:30 or tomorrow at 4:00.

Aaron Wittenstein11:18

You know what? Before-

Christian LeMere11:18

And that’s-

Aaron Wittenstein11:19

Julie. Oh, go ahead.

Christian LeMere11:20

Sorry, I was gonna say, that’s the basics of the script right there.

11:24I mean, you find out a little bit of the motivation. You find out why their home didn’t sell, what were they expecting from the agent, and then you go straight for asking for the appointment, which everybody’s got objections. I mean, that’s the biggest thing. But just powering through them and sticking to the script.

11:44I mean, I didn’t miss any questions on our expired script here. Regardless of what the seller says, I’ve got a process, and my goal is to move them closer to the process of asking for the appointment. Not to cut you off, but I was making sure we weren’t throwing out more objections so we could get through the script.

Aaron Wittenstein12:06

I got you. No, but I like it.

12:08No, and what I loved about what you did is you were just smooth. In general, I don’t know if you notice how smooth you are. And you were confident without being arrogant, which is a big deal, and you just came across… I mean, it was smooth.

12:24I mean, it was really good. I can tell you’ve internalized that script and you’re utilizing it. It was very impressive to listen to. Thank you very much for sharing that.

Christian LeMere12:33

Yeah. No, I appreciate it. I think step one is memorizing it, and then step two is being confident with it, and then the final step is your tonality, right?

12:45You almost have to be curious and inquisitive, and maybe even sound a little confused once you get rolling. Like, “Why did the house not sell? I’m confused.” You don’t wanna come in as an FBI agent and sound like you’re interrogating. You gotta be enthusiastic and you gotta be inquisitive in order for this to work.

Aaron Wittenstein13:09

100%. It’s using those upswings and downswings and all that language right there. So now let me ask you this. Are you a numbers person? Are you tracking your numbers?

Christian LeMere13:24

Yeah. Yeah, we definitely track the numbers as far as closings, contacts per day-

13:31how many leads we’re getting a day. Just making sure that I dial this in as I grow. I mean, obviously I’m about, what, seven months into the business, so that’s a very short amount of time to really look back and say, “This is dialed in to the day.” But yeah, we track leads, contacts, appointments, and of course where our sources are coming from and things like that.

Aaron Wittenstein13:59

What’s one goal that you have… Now, first off, how long are your call sessions for on a daily basis?

Christian LeMere14:06

So from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM.

Aaron Wittenstein14:08

So let me-

Christian LeMere14:09

And every 50 minutes or so, I’m taking a 10-minute break.

Aaron Wittenstein14:13

So let me get this straight. Monday through Friday, you are lead genning for roughly about three and a half hours with 10-minute breaks, so you’re getting in about three hours a day.

14:20Is that correct?

Christian LeMere14:21

That’s correct.

Aaron Wittenstein14:21

Okay. And how many listings have you taken in total since you started from expireds?

Christian LeMere14:26

We’ve taken a total of 18.

Aaron Wittenstein14:32

So I think-

Christian LeMere14:32

I say we, but I have.

Aaron Wittenstein14:35

Okay. No, that’s ama- ’cause I mean, it comes down to the consistency over doing things repetitively on a day in, day out basis, right?

Christian LeMere14:43

Correct.

Aaron Wittenstein14:45

So what is… I’m all for granular, breaking something down to the very basic minimum. What is your minimum standard for the day?

Christian LeMere14:55

Yep. So minimum standard for the day is 20 contacts a day when we’re focused around the dialer. What I consider as a contact for me is I get the seller on the phone, I verify that it’s the seller.

15:10That’s considered a contact in our business. Because I know if I get 20 contacts a day, 10% are roughly gonna be motivated. I have the ability to book two quality, three quality appointments a week. And from there, about 50% are gonna meet with me, and then from there, 50% are going to list with me on a conservative percentage, which allows me to focus on four listings a month, essentially.

Aaron Wittenstein15:43

So basically… No, that makes perfect sense. 20 contacts a day equals four listings a month. You know what I mean? I’m sure you could break down the numbers even more specifically than that if you wanted to. Okay. Now, this is very interesting because a lot of people don’t realize is that when you break it down to basics, that’s where you see the most success.

16:03Okay? So we got like six months left in the year so far. What are you gonna do the rest of the year?

Christian LeMere16:10

Stick to the schedule. I think that’s the most important thing, right? I mean, I can’t necessarily control the outcomes-

16:19but I can control what I do every single day. And I think the real estate gods bless activity, and activity breeds activity.

16:28So it’s just extremely important to follow your process, stick to your schedule. And there’s no good day or bad day. If you don’t book an appointment or you don’t speak to the amount of people that you’d like to speak to, that doesn’t mean it was a bad day, as long as you followed your schedule. So I think that’s probably as simple as I can keep it.

16:51Between today and December 31st, it’s Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. And then to kinda dial that in a little bit more for you, after 11:30, what happens, right? So take a quick light lunch from 12 to 1:30 every single day. Agent callbacks, client callbacks, negotiating offers, kinda working through what we would call the admin time of the day.

17:22And then also preparing pre-list packets, running CMAs, getting prepared to go on a listing presentation. And then my stock times are 2:30 and 4:00, Monday through Friday. Because I wanna be able to be anywhere in the world. I could be on vacation, I could be in a different state. If I get a call back from a Vulcan7 customer, I know immediately that I can book an appointment with them at 2:30 or 4:00 PM

17:52on a specific day. So it’s just the confidence behind that. I don’t have to think about my schedule. I don’t have to think about who I have booked. My day is wide open to take a listing presentation every single day, 2:30 and 4:00.

Aaron Wittenstein18:08

That’s perfect. No, it’s absolutely… That’s great. I mean, and I hear you mention calendar, schedule, calendar, schedule.

18:13Other than prospecting, ’cause we know the prospecting is the lifeline, that’s the life of our business. What part of your day other than that would you say is the most important?

Christian LeMere18:26

Well, that’s a great question. I think the night prior. So the night prior, getting prepared for the next day.

18:33So I use a planner for my business. So I actually got it in front of me here. You can see all the notes in it. But everything starts with the night prior, so making sure I got my tasks out for the next day, if I got a follow-up with a hot lead in Vulcan, if I’ve got a call back that I need to make. I’ve got everything laid out.

18:52That way when I walk into my office, it’s action and urgency throughout the entire day. And then of course, I’m very process-driven, so I wake up at 4:20 in the morning. I’m at the gym every single Monday through Friday from 5:00 to 5:45. Sauna, cold shower, breakfast, say hi to my kids, say hi to my wife, and then it’s out the door and I’m at my office by 7:30 AM.

19:22And really what happens between 7:30 and 8:00 is I’m loading up the dialer, listening to a podcast, doing some role playing with some of the people that we just hired, just making sure that I am mentally prepared to get on that dialer so I can execute. When I do speak to a verified seller that is an expired listing, I am gonna put my best foot forward to convert on that opportunity.

Aaron Wittenstein19:51

That’s good. And so I wanna dig deep on something for you. Can I do that? Is that okay? Is that cool?

Christian LeMere19:56

Yeah, that’s why we’re here.

Aaron Wittenstein19:57

So how old are your kids?

Christian LeMere19:59

Okay. So I got three kids. I’ve got a six-year-old, one that’s gonna be five in a couple days here, and then we have a baby who is 18 months old.

Aaron Wittenstein20:11

Oh. So full house. What do you have?

20:11Boys, boys, boys, girls? What do you got?

Christian LeMere20:13

One girl and two boys.

Aaron Wittenstein20:15

One girl, two boys. And I’m gonna venture to guess that’s why you’ve built a listing-based business and you take the weekends off. Is that correct?

Christian LeMere20:23

Yes. Yep. Yeah. My previous life, I worked every single weekend.

20:28We started on Saturdays. I was at the office by about 7:00 AM. That would go till about 8:00 o’clock at night, and then Sundays was 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. And you just get to the point where you wanna be with your kids on the weekends, and people are going to events and festivals and all these things that life has to offer, and you’re missing them, and that can wear on you after a while.

20:54So it was important for me to build a business model that allowed me to live life and allowed me to be with my kids and watch them grow up.

Aaron Wittenstein21:04

I applaud you for that because those are the things that matter, and that’s the reason that we do what we do, right?

21:12So no, that’s awesome, man.

21:15So one last question before we go. You’re meeting a brand new agent. They are brand new to the business. They started today. Today, like right now this minute. What’s one piece of advice you’re going to give that brand new agent?

Christian LeMere21:33

Get connected to your goals. Figure out what your why is. Figure out what gets you out of bed.

21:41Get really, really connected to that, and take a lot of action towards it.

Aaron Wittenstein21:49

I think we’re gonna leave it there. My friend Christian, that was absolutely amazing. I applaud you for all your success you’ve had, but it’s not just because of the success, it’s you’ve done all the right things to make it happen, to have you make it happen rather than to have it make for you, if that makes sense.

22:08And just the way you come off, not that you’re not doing big things right now, but you’ve got a big world ahead of you, my friend, and I look forward to seeing it. Okay? And I thank you so much for being- You’re very welcome. You’re very welcome. And I look forward to seeing all y’all on the next episode of Vulcan7 Roadmap.

22:28So everybody do me a favor. Christian, do me a huge favor.

Christian LeMere22:31

Yes, sir.

Aaron Wittenstein22:32

Can you go make some money, my friend?

Christian LeMere22:34

You got it. Yeah. Let’s go get ’em.

Aaron Wittenstein22:35

All right. All right, take care everyone.