How Danny Burgess earned $360K in GCI calling canceled and expired listings

Danny Burgess00:00

Let’s pretend that we had the perfect avatar of somebody who was full-time in real estate and no other commitments. You guys should absolutely be role-playing somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 or 8:00 to 8:30. I would appreciate it if it was in the office, and I would appreciate if you did all of your prospecting from 8:00 to 10:00 or 8:30 to 10:30 from the office.

00:27And I would appreciate follow-up from 10:00 to 12:00. And then I would say everything else doesn’t matter. Like, guys, if you’re listening to this, I hope it impacts one person. Nothing would matter in your life. All your money problems would go away. Everything that you’ve ever dreamed of would happen if that’s what you did with your schedule.

00:50Like, it’s a guarantee. I coach agents across the country, and you’d be surprised how week in and week out, nobody, 0%, accomplishes this schedule and the level of prospecting that they intend to do, because they allow other things to get in the way.

Aaron Wittenstein01:27

What’s going on everybody? It’s me, it’s Aaron Wittenstein, and we’re here with Vulcan7 Roadmap. This is how we teach you how to take two, three, four, 53 additional listings a week. And I’m really excited to have a really good friend of mine here. I’ve known him since back in the days, if everybody remembers Clubhouse, okay?

01:45This goes back like two or three years. He’s based out of Sacramento, also has a team in San Francisco. My good friend, Mr. Danny Burgess. How you doing today, my friend?

Danny Burgess01:53

What’s up, brother? How are you? Thanks for having me.

Aaron Wittenstein01:55

Oh, you’re welcome. You’re welcome. And real quick, just tell us where you’re at right now.

02:00Would you be so kind?

Danny Burgess02:02

I am sitting in the middle of a labor union. So we are hosting a massive buyer seminar right outside these doors. Spent $1,000 on food, and we get to sit in front of 66 potential first-time home buyers and educate them on how they can get into this really expensive and challenging Bay Area market.

Aaron Wittenstein02:24

See, that’s great. You know what I mean? Because we talk about sellers and listings here, but there is a buyer business as well, and what I love about it is there’s only so much you can do on the Facebook and the Google and all that type of stuff, where you have to just get out belly to belly on the buy side and meet people. And I just think that’s a phenomenal idea, man, and I know you told me it took a couple months to get it together, and I think it’s a really good idea.

02:47So good work.

Danny Burgess02:49

You know what’s really cool, man? I got to stand in front of these guys like 10 minutes ago and pump them all up on their real estate journey. I mean, I literally lit them up. I said, “How many of you guys think it’s impossible to buy in the Bay Area with your current salary and your current…”

03:02All of them raised their hand, and I said, “Look, this is your time. We’re your people. We’re gonna help you get there.” And I said, “I want you to set a goal today, whether it’s buying in three months or buying in three years. You put it on the calendar, and we’re gonna help you make it happen.”

03:17And then I walked away, and you could just tell that they had an instant transformation of their world and real estate, and it was fun. And now the girls are out there crushing it.

Aaron Wittenstein03:28

And I know this is about them, okay? I know this is about, you know, especially you, the giving agent, doing so much stuff to help others.

03:34How did that make you feel?

Danny Burgess03:36

Even right now, 10 minutes later, 15 minutes later, I still feel emotional about it, because often we work with these high-end clients who have 40% down payment, and they’re these huge Silicon Valley tycoons, right? Money’s not really a challenge for them.

03:53But to be able to speak to people who really need us and really need our knowledge, it just makes me feel better about what we’re doing. You know? There’s just a different vibe to it, and it’s special.

Aaron Wittenstein04:07

That’s awesome, man. No, I can appreciate that, definitely. So like I said, I know we like to talk about listings here, and there’s very few people in the real estate world, if you will, that I can appreciate that do expireds and cancels as much as my friend here.

04:24So kind of give me your background on the expireds, canceled listings, kind of how you got started, what’s your production look like, that type of fun stuff.

Danny Burgess04:34

Sure. Well, we’re gonna probably close at about 75 units sold for right around 100 million. And the last two years we had been right around 100 units for $120 million.

04:48And my personal production, when I was doing canceled and expired and open houses religiously, I was selling between 45 and 60 homes. I think my highest year was 67 million sold by myself. So most of that was canceled, expired, open houses, before I started growing agent referrals nationwide and sphere and past client referrals, which is mostly what my business is today.

Aaron Wittenstein05:18

Got it. So basically what you’re saying is you built your business on prospecting, right?

Danny Burgess05:23

100%.

Aaron Wittenstein05:25

And just…

Danny Burgess05:25

Zero marketing, dude. The worst marketing and the cheapest dude you’ve ever met, right here in front of you. Now I only spend money on online leads just so I can pump my agents with lead flow.

05:37But if I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t be spending nearly any money on marketing. It would probably be a niche farm and prospecting.

Aaron Wittenstein05:45

So, I mean, I think what’s interesting here is everybody should be putting in, as we know, three hours a day, five days a week of prospecting, okay? And you start here with the intention of building up a database, to be able to still do the expireds and the for sale, but just making them a little bit more, I would say, strategic, if you will, and then to build that database.

06:05So can you kinda share with me the progression that you took of working the expireds to where you are right now?

Danny Burgess06:11

Yeah. Interestingly enough, I was on a podcast interview yesterday, and I was like, “Oh, I don’t do canceled and expireds that much anymore.” And then literally that day I had received a check from a canceled and expired I got from January 1st, 2023.

06:25So January 1st of 2023, I was on the phones, and I closed a listing yesterday from those calls. But let’s start. In the beginning, I didn’t know what a phone call was supposed to sound like. I didn’t know who I was supposed to call. I was literally just looking on Zillow and pulling out the for sale by owners and calling them and crashing and burning.

06:51And as outgoing and extroverted as I was, the calls were really painful for me. I had that call reluctance. Unlike you, superstar Aaron, I didn’t come from a sales background. I came from bartending and Lyft driving. You don’t get rejected in that world, right? You get praise.

07:09People love their bartenders. You don’t get rejection. So my calls my first year were real tough, and I was doing circle prospecting. I was doing for sale by owners, and I had a really great first year, full-time first year in business, if you just looked at GCI. But prospecting-wise, it was tough. So I was leaning a lot on open houses.

07:29Now, my second year I got more comfortable, just because I had so many calls made that finally something just clicked, and I was like, “It doesn’t matter what they’re saying.” It literally doesn’t matter what they’re saying. All that matters is I hit my numbers. Because I know if I hit my numbers, none of it matters, right?

07:52None of the rejection, none of the pain, none of it matters. I had this weird moment where I specifically remember one day I was just like, “Oh, I can call and I don’t care what they say.” So that next year I ended up doing about 360K in GCI from canceled and expired listings, and I spent probably an hour and a half to two hours every day, Monday through Friday, prospecting, and I’d say I did that maybe 35 out of the 52 weeks.

08:22And so not the full year by any means, but a lot of it. And through that I met a lot of people, and my way of business was appreciated by a certain amount of those people, and I took those listings. And then the following year I said, “Well, why don’t we double down on this?”

08:46Right? And so we got a little bit more robust on what we did for the canceled and expireds, and this was shooting video in front of their house and coming up with whiteboard stuff behind us and things of that nature. And then it became, like you said, just a game of building the database and building your referral network.

09:05And then all of a sudden I go from three reviews online, now we have over 200 five-star reviews online, and you start to be able to leverage all the things that you did in the past to get more business in the future. And that’s where we are today. I still feel like I’m in the beginning.

09:20I really feel like I’m still beginning this stuff, even though from the outside looking in, the numbers look big and all those things. But it still feels like I’m just still building the business, you know?

Aaron Wittenstein09:32

Yeah. ‘Cause I mean, you know this. It’s building and building, and the moment you think you got here, you get knocked down to here.

09:37And the moment you think you’re up here, you go even lower, you know? And I just think that’s the interesting part that comes across. So like I said, I know you have a pretty, what’s the word I’m looking for? Robust team now, a bunch of agents that work with you on a pretty regular basis.

09:50What do you like to see their prospecting look like? What do you expect from them on a weekly basis? Not so much results, ’cause I’m a firm believer in activity. You know what I mean? You do the activity, the results will follow. So…

Danny Burgess10:02

Yeah. I will say it’s customized to them and their schedule.

10:10As we talked about right before we started, one of the agents on my team has four daughters, right? And she’s basically a full-time mom. So her schedule’s gonna look a little different than the person who is on our team who is young and has no children and no real commitments, right? They shouldn’t be doing anything else besides prospecting.

10:31But let’s pretend that we had the perfect avatar of somebody who was full-time in real estate and no other commitments. You guys should absolutely be role-playing somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 or 8:00 to 8:30. I would appreciate it if it was in the office, and I would appreciate if you did all of your prospecting from 8:00 to 10:00 or 8:30 to 10:30 from the office.

11:02And I would appreciate follow-up from 10:00 to 12:00. And then I would say everything else doesn’t matter. Like, guys, if you’re listening to this, I hope it impacts one person. Nothing would matter in your life. All your money problems would go away. Everything that you’ve ever dreamed of would happen if that’s what you did with your schedule.

11:25Like, it’s a guarantee. I coach agents across the country, and you’d be surprised how week in and week out, nobody, 0%, accomplishes this schedule and the level of prospecting that they intend to do, because they allow other things to get in the way.

Aaron Wittenstein11:43

Yeah, no, it’s true, ’cause I mean, it’s all a schedule.

11:45It’s all sticking to your commitments. And I’m just gonna assume, I don’t like the word assume, but I’m gonna assume that you run a relatively rigid schedule on a regular basis. ‘Cause like I said, from knowing you, a big part of your life is you like to travel, you like to take your family different places.

12:03And you have goals in mind that make it so you can do that, right? But like I said, what does the typical day of Danny Burgess look like?

Danny Burgess12:14

These days it’s pretty chill. I focus most of my energy on myself. So my personal growth is where I focus like 90% of my energy.

12:28So in the mornings I’m up by 4:00 to 5:00, somewhere between there. I simply go and sit on my couch and I write for five minutes. I then skedaddle to the gym. I try to sauna as much as I can, which is really where a lot of the thinking time comes in. So I do a lot of thinking, and then reading in there as well.

12:50And then after the exercise and the personal time, I knock out 90% of my emails and set up my day with current clients or agents well before 8:00 AM. And then, if I’m not coaching between 8:00 to 10:00, I’m prospecting for my own personal business. Now our database is up to 12,000 people, so I could literally spend forever in my database and nowhere else.

13:20And so that’s where I try to keep most of my time. And then the afternoons, once again, I’m probably exercising, spending time with my kids, or looking into… We’re also doing direct-to-seller stuff out of state, so we’re dabbling in that business, and yeah, that’s what it looks like, man.

Aaron Wittenstein13:41

I mean, when you work as hard as you work, you eventually get to a level where you get that flexibility in your day, because the number one thing is taking care of ourselves.

13:50I mean, no matter what, if you’re not good, nothing around you is good. That’s really the best way to put it. So knowing, like I said, everything that we have here, when it comes to real estate, what is your personal favorite part about the real estate business?

Danny Burgess14:09

Hmm. It used to be servicing clients. It used to be servicing clients. I used to take real pride and ownership with literally being like a five-star server. When I was a waiter, I was the one who came up with the competition board at every restaurant I ever worked at, where we posted the credit card tips and you saw the percentage between all the waiters.

14:32So I was the one who came up with that at every restaurant I went to. I was so competitive. I moved that into real estate, and I loved servicing clients, and I loved them coming out of the deal saying, “Wow, you were amazing. You saved this deal,” or, “You saved us a ton of money.” That used to be my pinnacle.

14:49Now I think my big success is looking at my financial scoreboard and my passive income. My dream is to have enough passive income to not have to do what I’m doing right now and do truly the passions that I love, which is traveling and helping people. And so I think that’s my biggest joy now, a race towards passive income.

15:14Like, how do I get to 40,000 a month passive income in the next two years, right? For me, that’s this race that’s going on in my head that drives me crazy every day.

Aaron Wittenstein15:27

And here’s one thing I’ll say, is the one thing that I think is underlying with you, I mean, it just goes by your handle right there, is the giving agent, and you can bring the servicing and giving and giving and giving.

15:39How can I put this? Why is that portion so important to you? Because a lot of people, what you’ll find out, they take. A lot of people are takers, okay? Yet with you, you get the sense that you wanna give, give, give. Where did that come from?

15:57You know, why is that?

Danny Burgess16:02

Honestly, probably a few things, and I’m radically transparent, so guys, don’t mind me. 20 years ago I was kind of not a great human, you know? And I think as I got older, I realized, dude, not only do you have a lot to make up for the time that you wasted, but we only have a certain amount of time left, right?

16:23And so I have children that are gonna look at me and look at my legacy and say, “Who was my dad?” Right? And so I want them to know that I was the person who, every time he ran across any human, no matter who they were, he did better for them, right? He was a source of inspiration. He showed up for them.

16:43He was there for them, right? And I do that for everyone that comes in my life, or at least I try to. And then the other selfish part of it, which I’m sure you realize yourself, Aaron, is the more you give, the more you get, right? Selfishly, the more abundant you are and the more that you give, whether it’s financially, your time, or whatever else, the universe just takes care of you.

17:08Have I fallen on tough financial times in the last nine years in real estate? Absolutely. But I do find having an abundant mindset, and being like, if someone needs their kids’ braces to get paid for, right? I’m gonna step in whether I have the money or not and help them figure it out.

17:28And like I said, selfishly, it’s that the universe will take care of you as long as you have an abundance of giving.

Aaron Wittenstein17:38

See, here’s the thing though. I wanna challenge you on that thought process, if that’s cool with you.

Danny Burgess17:42

Yeah, please.

Aaron Wittenstein17:42

Is that it’s not selfish. Doing good things, you get things as a byproduct of doing good things.

17:48I don’t think it has to do with anything about being selfish, because being a good person innately is not a selfish act. Thinking you’re going to get back because of it is a selfish act. But you do good, you get good, byproduct. There’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. So like I said, just a challenging thought there.

Danny Burgess18:06

Well, it is weird to think that me giving a burrito to a homeless person makes me feel good too. You know what I mean? Do I get anything back from it? Not directly. But imagine being my son and seeing a really scary person on the side of the street, and your dad walking up to that person and treating him like a human.

18:30And seeing if they could help him. I’m not saying, “Son, go up to these crazy people and put yourself in harm’s way.” He knows better than that, right? But there is an interesting dynamic where, when my son sees me do all these amazing things, you can see him registering like, “Whoa, that’s cool.

18:49My dad’s cool,” you know?

Aaron Wittenstein18:51

Yeah, no, I agree. And it’s just doing good things to do good things, and good people do good things. You know what I mean? And that’s really it. One thing I wanna jump back to for a second is you said the last nine years in real estate.

19:03You’ve had your times, you know? And I’m not hidden behind a curtain or whatever. There’s people that are struggling right now. I mean, that’s really just the way that it is. And some people are scared, some people are nervous and worried, and rightfully so, wondering where their next paycheck’s gonna come from, yada, yada, yada, so on and so forth.

19:21I don’t know the exact area you’ve been in, but we’ve all been there. What would you share with somebody who’s in that position?

Danny Burgess19:32

Well, the only three phases that I’ve come across, like being an individual agent and just not selling enough houses.

19:38Right? Which is, I bet, most people that are watching this, so let’s just start there.

19:43You’re an individual agent, you’re not selling enough houses. Look, guys, if you’re not selling enough houses and you’re going into massive debt, and you’re taking action in the business, get another job. Get a job Lyft driving at night. Understand that this is gonna be a season of suck for all of us, this market currently.

20:02But for you in particular, who’s also not selling houses, doesn’t get referrals, all of these things, it could be 6 or 12 months before you’re off the runway. So I would set up a financial plan that says, “Hey, 6 or 12 months, I’m gonna be cool. How do I do that?” And that could be being a Lyft driver, being a bartender, being a waiter.

20:20Find a job that isn’t a nine-to-five, right? ‘Cause the nine to five will kill your real estate career. Find a job like Lyft driving or Uber driving that you can just stay afloat with, right? ‘Cause you can do that stuff around your schedule. And then if you’re in the second phase, which is the leverage phase, I would say be very cautious of your expenses right now, and make sure you’re inspecting every dollar that’s coming in and out of your business.

20:47That was a big failure of mine in year three or four, where I tried to scale out really quick. I almost buried myself. I would go back to the drawing board, read the book Shift, and Profit First. Those two books in combination, you’ll change your life. And then if you’re in my phase right now, what I’m telling myself is I have to work extra harder as a leader of the pack.

21:14I need to go 10X right now just for the gravitational pull of everyone that’s behind me. And that’s what’s been happening the last 90 days with my team. I’ve been going hard, right? If you see your team leader setting more appointments than you, you’re like, “Whoa, how is he outworking me right now?

21:30He runs three businesses,” right? So I think that’s an important thing as a leader right now, too, is you need to outwork everyone.

Aaron Wittenstein21:37

Beautiful. All right, so this is a question I ask everybody that comes on here with me, okay? You’re sitting at your desk, you know what I mean? You’re typing up a couple emails.

21:46You’re sending out a referral, and a brand-new agent comes across your desk and he’s like, “Danny, give me one piece of advice. What do you got?”

Danny Burgess21:54

Well, we’ll make it two. Be cautious of who you surround yourself with in this business. There’s a reason why 90% of agents fail. So you may be getting advice from the wrong person.

22:06You may be shadowing or following the lead of the wrong person. So I would be very cautious of who you surround yourself with. And just because you’re the top producer and you’re getting awards at your office doesn’t mean you’re in the right office. So I’d say be very cautious of your environment.

22:21It’s just a critical key component. You hear that from everyone who’s successful, right? “Who you surround yourself with matters.” So that’s a big, big one. But the main one, guys, is you have to show up every day. And no matter how hard it gets, show up every day, work on yourself every day, show gratitude every day, understand why you’re doing this thing every day, and prospect every day.

22:46That’s it. That’s the magic bullet. It’s not rocket science.

Aaron Wittenstein22:50

I love it, man. You know, it’s amazing how many people I talk to, and they all relatively have the same thing that they say. It’s not mind-blowing, but it’s not shocking. All right.

23:01All right, my friend, I wanna let you get back to your buyer seminar there. What final words do you have for everybody here today?

Danny Burgess23:11

DM me on Instagram if you have any struggles. I’m very accessible, and I find joy in helping people find a path that is suitable for them.

Aaron Wittenstein23:24

So Instagram, just FYI, is the best way to get in touch with you?

23:26Is that correct?

Danny Burgess23:27

Yep. 100%.

Aaron Wittenstein23:28

Beautiful.

Danny Burgess23:29

The Giving Agent.

Aaron Wittenstein23:29

Beautiful. All right, beautiful. Yeah, you got that right there, @thegivingagent is where you can reach Mr. Burgess. Otherwise, my friend, I want to say thank you so much for coming on here. Like I said, I know you had a busy day. Thank you for accommodating us, and thank you.

Danny Burgess23:44

Thank you, Aaron. I really appreciate you. You’re one of a kind, and I follow your lead in this world as well. So I appreciate you.

Aaron Wittenstein23:51

All right. Thank you very much, sir. All right, everybody. Have an amazing day. Take care of yourselves. Be well.