How Dante Coz built a daily prospecting schedule around 30 contacts a day

Dante Coz00:00

I call for about three hours at the bare minimum every day. And if I don’t have any appointments in the afternoon, then I’m back at the phones. ‘Cause that’s really our only job as realtors. It’s either we’re at an appointment or we’re looking for one, or we’re setting one, right? That’s really it.

00:16I’m looking for the person that is looking for me. ‘Cause there’s another saying in real estate, if you generate, you don’t have to tolerate.

Aaron Wittenstein00:41

What’s going on, everybody? It’s me, it’s Aaron Wittenstein, and I’d like to welcome you to Vulcan7 Roadmap. This is where we teach you how to take an additional one, two, three, four, 5,363 listings a week. We’ve got a really, really cool guest today. We’ve been kind of shooting the breeze a little bit ahead of time here.

00:58My guy from Temecula, California. Like I said, you say your name so much better than I do. Would you mind saying it, please?

Dante Coz01:06

Thanks, Aaron. My name is Dante Coz. And I am in Temecula, California, where there’s vines, vineyards, I mean, wineries. It’s a great place to live and to settle down, set some roots, buy a house.

Aaron Wittenstein01:18

I’m gonna come visit. I could use a winery in my life right now. Just out of morbid curiosity, what’s the going price for your average run-of-the-mill winery? How much does that go for?

Dante Coz01:30

Probably, like, anywhere from seven to 14 million.

Aaron Wittenstein01:33

That’s it? All right. You wanna go halfsies with me?

Dante Coz01:36

Yeah, let’s do it.

01:37Let’s do it. If you get somebody to run it, ’cause I know running a restaurant and a tasting room and everything, it’s a whole ordeal. It’s a lot harder than selling real estate, I’ll tell you that much.

Aaron Wittenstein01:49

No, like I said, I just wanna go there, have it all ready to go, and just drink the wine, and have an Aaron Wittenstein wine factory.

01:58Something like that. I don’t know what I’m talking about. All right. Enough about wineries. Let’s get back to real estate. So I know we were talking a little bit before here. How long have you had Vulcan7 for so far?

Dante Coz02:10

I think it’s been two years now. Almost two years. Something like that.

02:14I know I’ve renewed my contract maybe six months ago, or maybe a little more.

Aaron Wittenstein02:19

And tell me, just walk me through your path with Vulcan7. Where you started, where you’re at now, that type of stuff. Just to get a good idea of what your prospecting path has looked like.

Dante Coz02:34

Man, I didn’t really have a schedule, so to speak, right? Like the daily schedule. But just within Vulcan7, I wanna say it was within the first couple of months I got my first listing. It was interesting, it was a listing appointment over Zoom, and the person was in LA and I’m down here, but he had a rental property here in Temecula, and the person didn’t even turn on his camera during the whole thing, right?

03:07But here I am just thinking, “Look, I’m gonna give the best presentation that I can.” And there’s no place for me to say, “Hey, sign here,” right? I can’t hand him a pen over my phone. But obviously he saw something in me, ’cause a week and a half later, he called me back and said, “Hey, remember me?”

03:28“Yeah, of course. We talked.” “Yeah. I’d like to list it now.” So that home sold for like $35,000 over average

Aaron Wittenstein03:35

Wow.

Dante Coz03:36

asking price in that neighborhood. And so he was thrilled, became friends. That’s all from Vulcan7.

Aaron Wittenstein03:41

There you go. So you started prospecting about two years ago.

03:49Is that right? And what did that look like? Were you consistently doing it? Were you just kinda doing it sporadically and haphazard, or how did that work?

Dante Coz03:59

Yeah. I mean, to be honest, it wasn’t consistent. There were some sprints, right? And we all know that life is more of a marathon.

04:10And so I know that I was consistently inconsistent for the first year.

04:16Year and a little bit, you know? It wasn’t till I got a coach. I’ve had other coaches in real estate, but this was more real estate specific, and we put together a daily schedule.

04:30Although I had a schedule, it was too loose, right? Now everything has an alarm. I’m here by 7:00. This is my office where I’m at. So I’m here by 7:00. And I begin calling at the same time every single day. And it’s great, ’cause I think you have consistent results when you do it every day, five, six days a week.

Aaron Wittenstein04:57

100%. I don’t wanna get to the results yet, because I know they’re pretty awesome. What I wanna know is what you just said, is that you have a consistent schedule that you run, where it just runs like clockwork, okay? And at least I know the most successful people that I work with…

05:17Let me… Oh, okay.

Dante Coz05:18

That’s just an outline. So that’s an outline of the schedule, and I have them everywhere. I’ve actually given them to my family as well, like, “Hey, this is what I’m doing,” right? “At 7:00 AM, at 8:00 AM,” and so on. “So if you call me…” I even tell my clients, “When you call me at this time, you’re probably not gonna get me.

05:35If it’s my prospecting time, you’re probably not gonna get me on the phone right away, but you’re gonna get a quick text from me saying, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ ‘Cause I have you on my computer,” right? And/or another team member will reach out to them and see if it’s urgent or something, right? But I treat the prospecting time like if I was a doctor doing surgery, right?

05:54It’s like no distractions, no email. I mean, I’m not perfect, right? I put my phone on do not disturb, but at times you might get a buzz or something, or somebody drops by the office and tries to get my attention. But it’s just like, hey, even if I’m not on the phone with anyone, and the dialer is dialing, it could be at any point where somebody answers.

06:25And if you stumble with somebody that doesn’t know you, doesn’t trust you, doesn’t like you yet, you’re done, you know? So you wanna keep those times sacred.

Aaron Wittenstein06:37

So the word that comes to mind for me is you’re methodical about what you’re doing. Is that right?

Dante Coz06:44

Oh, well, yeah. I’m highly analytical, so yeah.

Aaron Wittenstein06:47

Yeah. So can you just run me through what your typical morning goes through? I would be really curious to hear what your average day looks like. Would you be open to sharing that?

Dante Coz06:57

Yeah. So it’s interesting. My morning begins around 4:00 AM.

07:00The moment I wake up, I put on my headphones, right? And I start listening to some affirmations that are already prerecorded, so they’re just running in my head as I’m putting on my sweats or my workout clothes, then get to the gym. They open at 5:00. I’m there by that time.

07:21And then I switch that, once I get there, to something I listen to. I listen to the same things every single day, ’cause I know that I am changing as a person every single day. So the things that I listen to, it goes through one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s speeches, like 10 minutes or something.

07:42So obviously I’ve seen that movie. A lot of you have probably seen that movie, “Pumping Iron.” So I’m thinking, as I’m lifting weights… And I’m thinking, through everything I do in my life, throughout my day or my morning, I think about

07:59the reasons why I’m doing things, right? My family and all that stuff. So as I’m pushing through that extra rep, I’m doing the extra rep for my mom, for my dad, for my brother-in-law, for my sister, for my nephews, you know? But fast-forwarding that, I end the workout somewhere around 5:45, 6:00 or so.

08:25Then I shower, dress up always. Even if I’m not seeing anyone, it’s about being ready for the opportunity when it comes. That’s the way that I see it. Why would the world give you an opportunity if you’re not ready for it, right? They’ll just give it to the other person. Whatever you believe in, God, universe, it’s just one of those things.

08:44And then it takes anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes to get to my office from the gym, ’cause I stop by and get myself a little treat for doing all those things. So I put on my scripts that I listen to every day. It’s about 22 minutes, and I listen to that entire thing as I’m going from the gym to the office.

09:13By the time I get to the office, it’s 7:00 AM, and then I script practice with someone. Short, simple, sweet. Just they go, I go, you know? And then I meditate for 12 minutes. So that’s the bulk of the morning prior. I think that sets me… My iron has been sharpened, so to speak, so that I can actually get to my potential for those people in need that weren’t able to sell their homes, ’cause I speak to expireds first things first.

09:45And it just kinda puts me in that place where I can actually speak to them, listen to them. And then I call for about three hours at the bare minimum every day now. And if I don’t have any appointments in the afternoon, I take a quick break around like 9:30, something like that, after I’ve been going for about an hour and a half, 10 minutes, walk outside, get some fresh air, enjoy the sun.

10:16We’re in California, so most of the time. Listen to a song or two and then just get back at it again until 11:00, until I get to chat with Jim Chamberlain, right, with you guys on the Tuesday and Thursday calls. So I usually end about 11:00, right around that time. And if there is no call, then I go a little bit longer, maybe 11:30.

10:42And if I don’t have any appointments in the afternoon, then I’m back at the phones. ‘Cause that’s really our only job, right? As realtors, it’s either we’re at an appointment or we’re looking for one, or we’re setting one, right? That’s really it.

Aaron Wittenstein10:56

Exactly. And like I always say, how many jobs do you get to sit down and talk to people on the phone and make more money than attorneys or doctors?

11:05You know what I mean? That’s the way that I look at that. And you are just, like, I don’t say this very often meaningfully, but you’re a machine. I mean, it’s impressive to hear that. And because of that, what are the expectations that you expect on a daily basis to see, how many contacts, how many leads, how many appointments?

11:24What for you is considered to be a good day?

Dante Coz11:27

So if I could hit 193 contacts every day, I would do it. Realistically, I think I’m at a goal of 30 contacts every single day, but with the intention obviously to set an appointment. So I’ve been taught by the best, and Jim, I can’t mention his name enough, ’cause he’s been such a pivotal person in my life.

11:52So thank you, Jim. I know you know. But it’s, you know, either they give me an appointment or they hang up the phone, somewhat like that, right? I’m going for the appointment on every single pickup. Some people are short, some people don’t wanna give you the time of day. But there are some… One thing that I’m always thinking about while prospecting, and I repeat it out loud, is I’m only looking for the person that is looking for me.

12:20I’m only looking for the person that is looking for me.

Aaron Wittenstein12:22

Can you… I wanted you to repeat it. Thank you. That’s really good.

Dante Coz12:24

Yeah. And, you know, ’cause there’s another saying in real estate: If you generate, you don’t have to tolerate, right? So if you get somebody that’s just extremely obnoxious, you don’t have to stay on that call.

Aaron Wittenstein12:36

Right.

Dante Coz12:37

We have the power to say, “Hey, have a nice day,” and hang up, you know? But I also understand and truly believe that this is not even about me, right? This real estate thing, this helping, like I’m here to help other people. And so if they’re mad, they’re not mad at me.

13:03If they’re frustrated, they’re not frustrated at me. They’re frustrated really at the choices they made prior, to hiring the wrong person, right? Or someone led them to believe that they could do a good job and they didn’t do it, right? And so for me, it’s like this is not even about me, right?

13:21Like me sharpening my skill for two and a half hours or two hours, or just my morning routine, I believe it’s about using the talents and skills. The talents that I’ve borrowed or I’ve been given, and the skills that I’ve continued to refine every day and develop, they’re just here for me to do something greater in this world, right?

13:49Which is hopefully help someone. ‘Cause I really put myself in the seller’s shoes, right? They had a plan. Some people are planning their move for five years, for 10 years, you know? Or some people are just like, “Hey, I wanna move.” But you don’t move from one place to another, even if it’s from one neighborhood to another, without a plan.

14:14Right? And you were thinking about that for how long? You were putting your finances in place, you were picking out the other house, you were driving by neighborhoods, to then all fall apart in 90 days? In 160 days? All because you chose the wrong person, right?

14:35Or the other realtor led you to believe that they could do something that they didn’t. And so for me, it’s bigger than just calling someone, getting their home listed, getting it sold. That’s the objective. But I’m thinking, “Well, okay, even if they’re frustrated, it’s bigger than that.

14:53Even if they’re mad at me, it’s bigger than that,” right? “So what can I do in that call to help them get their plan back on track?” So, I mean, obviously, that’s by knowing your scripts and all that stuff, right?

Aaron Wittenstein15:06

It’s called perspective. You know what I mean? And I think a lot of people, I speak with a lot of agents, they’re like, “They’re just being jerks.

15:15They’re just being mean.” They’re not. If you really look at it, they got a bad hand in some way, shape, or form dealt to them, and it’s our job to show them that we’re the right person, and it’s our job to save them from the other ones out there that are not the right people.

15:30Right, right, Dante?

Dante Coz15:32

Yeah, absolutely. I say this a lot in calls when they’re just going down the wrong direction, let’s say, for whatever reason. But even in listing appointments, I just say, “Look, it’s my duty and obligation to give you this information. What you do with it is up to you, but I need to show you this.”

15:51I really treat it like my information, ’cause I know what I can do. I know the way that I am, like you said, methodical or obsessive, whatever, on marketing, right? That’s my previous background. And I know I’m just gonna be like, “Hey, I need to sell this person’s home,” and I’m thinking about their situation and what they wanted.

16:11And so I know that I’m gonna do a great job to sell the home. But they have to see the information, right? They have to see me in person. I have to figure out a way that I provide enough value on the phone that they give me their 15 minutes, and out of the 15 minutes, they might decide to hire me, and they might decide not to.

16:34That’s fine. But at least they saw the information. That was my duty.

Aaron Wittenstein16:38

Would you be open to a role play? I would like to hear you call me. Is that cool? Would you be good with that?

Dante Coz16:45

Let’s go.

Aaron Wittenstein16:46

All right. All right, give me a shot. And just for sake of time, I’ll be moderate. I won’t be too difficult, but give me a call.

Dante Coz16:56

Ring, ring.

Aaron Wittenstein16:56

Hello.

Dante Coz16:57

Hello. Aaron, this is Dante with Coldwell Banker Realty. Hey, I was calling you ’cause obviously you figured out the listing on your home has expired, and I was just calling to see when do you plan on interviewing the right agent for the job of selling your home?

Aaron Wittenstein17:10

Well, okay. Did you, um…

17:12You’re like the fifth agent to call me in the last five minutes.

Dante Coz17:16

Fifth agent? Wow. Right. So if you sold this home, Aaron, where were you moving to?

Aaron Wittenstein17:22

You know, I don’t even know. I’m not sure who you are exactly. Did you show my house when it was up for sale?

Dante Coz17:34

You know, Aaron, I don’t believe I showed your home particularly. I sell homes in your neighborhood. However, if you had sold this home, where were you planning on moving to?

Aaron Wittenstein17:47

We’re planning on going to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Dante Coz17:52

Santa Fe, New Mexico. How exciting. And how soon did you wanna be there?

Aaron Wittenstein17:57

You know, we’re flexible.

17:57I mean, I think right now we’re probably gonna hold off till after the holidays.

Dante Coz18:02

Okay. So you’re flexible, but you’re gonna hold off for a little bit for the holidays. That’s understandable. And Aaron, what do you think stopped your home from selling?

Aaron Wittenstein18:12

I have absolutely no idea. I mean, you’re looking at me.

18:14What do you think happened?

Dante Coz18:16

That’s a great question. I asked that question to you. So you have no idea. I get that. A lot of folks like yourself don’t recall or know what happened, and the house didn’t sell. And so how did you happen to pick the last agent you listed with?

Aaron Wittenstein18:34

It was my cousin’s uncle’s neighbor.

Dante Coz18:37

Okay. It was a referral for you. That’s great. And what did that agent do that you liked best?

Aaron Wittenstein18:43

I don’t know. They were just bad. They didn’t talk to me. They did nothing. Yeah, it was just a bad situation.

Dante Coz18:51

Oh, wow. So they did nothing to get your home sold.

18:54Man. And so what do you feel they shoulda done?

Aaron Wittenstein18:58

They shoulda sold my house.

Dante Coz19:00

They shoulda sold your home, exactly. Yeah. We can certainly help you with that. And what will you expect from the next agent that you choose?

Aaron Wittenstein19:09

To sell my house.

Dante Coz19:10

To sell your home. Yeah. Wonderful. And have you already chosen an agent to work with?

Aaron Wittenstein19:15

Yeah, I mean, we’re gonna be interviewing the one on the billboard. You know Stan, the billboard guy?

Dante Coz19:22

Great. So you haven’t chosen someone. You’re gonna be interviewing Stan. That’s wonderful. Look, I would like to apply for the job of selling your home. Are you familiar with the techniques that I use to sell homes?

Aaron Wittenstein19:33

No, I have no idea.

Dante Coz19:35

You haven’t. That’s great. Well, how is today at 5:00 or tomorrow at 6:00? Which one works best for you?

Aaron Wittenstein19:43

Today at 6:00 is fine.

Dante Coz19:47

Today at 6:00. Great. So Aaron, before I come out, there’s a couple of questions I need to ask you. Is that okay?

Aaron Wittenstein19:53

Yeah. All right. I know where you’re going with this, so that’s great.

19:57May I… How can I put this? Critique?

Dante Coz20:01

Of course.

Aaron Wittenstein20:01

Yeah, no, but here’s the thing, though, is that you had a path you were walking. I knew the path you were walking, so I was a little bit of a cheater. But the thing was, is that you always went back to the script. So what would happen is you’re here, here, here.

20:17I bring you here, you come back to baseline. I bring you here, you come back to baseline. And you weren’t fazed at all, okay? There was no fazing you, if you will. And your rate of speech was phenomenal.

Dante Coz20:32

Thank you.

Aaron Wittenstein20:32

You’re welcome. Because what happens is you’re very calm, cool, and collected, which you probably know, and I’m assuming not much fazes you in general. And it was just nice to hear.

Dante Coz20:46

I like to believe that in chaos, I’m the one that is able to respond, not react.

20:54But I mean, in the beginning, like anyone, I was fazed by anything people said.

21:00“I’m not interested.” You know? But when you listen to the recording every single day, when you role play every single day, and I purposely put myself in situations where I’m going to be somewhat stumped or something, right?

21:22I truly believe this business and prospecting works when you just dive deep, or become entrenched in it, right?

21:36And so, like anything else, you’re not gonna have fun in the pool until you jump in, right? ‘Cause your friends are already playing in there, right?

21:44Water polo, whatever they’re playing. And so I put myself in situations where someone in one of my groups or in Take 52, they’ll say, “Hey, I’m looking for a role play partner. I’m in Eastern Standard Time.” I’m Pacific Standard Time, right? And they’re looking for a 7:00 AM role play.

22:03Well, I’ll say, “Hey, I’m up for it,” even though it’s 4:00 AM my time.

22:08Right? And I know if I’m waking up at 4:00, or I’ll put my alarm that day to wake up at 3:50, it only gives me a couple of seconds to maybe grab a sip of water and, all right, be somewhat ready for the call.

22:20But I’m still not ready for the day, so to speak. Just getting there, right? My system is just booting up. And so, but hey, all of a sudden now it’s like, well, you gotta do something, you know? You gotta act, right? You gotta respond. And so I think doing that, sometimes I’ll take a phone call that I know, after prospecting for three hours, I’m more than likely going to get at noon when I’m going to get some lunch, and I’ll take the call even

22:49in the car, right? But I know the script. I wasn’t looking at a script. I don’t have a script in front of me, or in a book.

Aaron Wittenstein22:59

All up here.

Dante Coz23:00

Yeah. And so you could do that, you know?

Aaron Wittenstein23:03

So I know you mentioned to me before that you’ve been pretty consistent at this for the last six, nine, 12 months, give or take.

23:09When it comes to that consistent period of time, when it comes to your production, what are you most proud of?

Dante Coz23:16

Proud of… I think it’s all the listing appointments I’ve been on, because it’s allowed me to see different stories. I’ve been really fortunate. I don’t know who’s looking up at me or who’s looking down at me, but I’m going to be listing a home in Glen Oaks here in Temecula.

23:41It has some vines, right? A vineyard. And I was just put at the right place at the right time. People would call it that, but I was prepared for the opportunity. I literally went to lunch and I was like, “Hey, where’s the quickest way I can grab some lunch?” It was at the bar.

24:04Somebody was sitting next to me. He made a comment about my appearance, and then, brief chat. Found out that he tried selling his home. When he found out I was in real estate, he said, “I wouldn’t mind… I tried selling my home a couple months ago.”

24:23I took him through that script that we just talked through.

24:27I just had that conversation and asked the questions on the script, and then the next day I was at his house listing his home, right? And I think I’m most proud of the fact that I was able to be there for someone that was in need, right?

24:44I think that’s the biggest thing about this business. You can get a $30,000 check, but once you get it, okay, cool, you know? You put it in the bank or you spend some of it, put the other in the bank. But that’s it.

25:00I’m most proud of the man you become, right? In the process. That’s the biggest thing. I’m always looking for the future, for the future me. So it’s that.

Aaron Wittenstein25:16

Perfect. And by the way, that’s called prospecting karma, is what I call it. Because what happens is, when you put enough hours in, you may not get it from prospecting, it comes from somewhere.

25:24So that’s called prospecting karma, my friend. All right. So let me ask you this. I ask this question of every-

Dante Coz25:29

I’m looking forward to some more.

Aaron Wittenstein25:31

Well, just keep putting in the effort, baby, and you’ll get the result. You know that as well as I do. You know that more than most.

25:39So a new agent comes knocking on your door, all right? I ask this to everybody, and they’re like, “Dante, give me one piece of advice. You’re crushing it. What do I do?” What’s that one piece of advice you will give new agent Sally?

Dante Coz25:51

Well, I’ll give them a stool, which comes with three things, three legs at least.

26:00Put your schedule in place and follow it, right? So follow a schedule, a daily schedule. Get your mind right every morning. Learn a script and say it. Those would be the three legs to a stool. I mean, there’s so many more things you can do after that, right? Of course, tap into Jim, right?

26:29I mean, if there was… Okay, if there was one thing

26:32I must say, it’s tap into the calls at 11, Pacific Standard Time, my time, and I think it’s 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, with Jim Chamberlain on Take 52. ‘Cause in there you’re gonna get everything. So tap into those calls.

26:47But aside from that, obviously have a schedule and follow it. Get your mind right in the morning of that schedule, and grab a script and read it and say it to other people, right?

Aaron Wittenstein27:00

Perfect.

Dante Coz27:00

You ask enough people for an opportunity, they’re gonna give you one. Just the way it is.

Aaron Wittenstein27:05

Prospecting karma.

27:06That’s the way it goes, right? All right. So final words, my friend. What do you got?

Dante Coz27:11

Final words. Take me away. So like they’re the last words I’ll say as I’m taking my last breath?

Aaron Wittenstein27:16

No, as you’re departing us. You will stay on this world, yet you will be departing us. So the question is, what’s the final words

27:24you have for the Vulcan7 Roadmappers?

Dante Coz27:26

Thank you so much for having me, of course. I really appreciate you and everyone at Vulcan7. Without your work, I would be spending a lot of time in my day trying to gather up all these phone numbers and all this data, and the moment I found out that there was something like this, that there was Vulcan7, I was like, “Phew, thank you, God.”

27:53But the last final words I would say is, go out there, set a goal, prospect, and even if you fail, you’re closer to your goal with every failure.

Aaron Wittenstein28:08

Perfect. And then, oh, I do have one last question. So let’s say someone has a referral and their client wants to sell a big winery in Temecula. How do they get in touch with you?

Dante Coz28:18

Oh, simple. You can just Google my name, Dante Coz The Realtor, and/or just go to @dantecoztherealtor on Instagram, Facebook, and obviously you can give me a call at 951-764-2297. But anyone can find me, I’m sure.

Aaron Wittenstein28:37

Yeah, they’ll find you if they want you. All right, my friend, thank you very much.

28:39This was great. I loved everything about this. And yeah, that’s it, man. Take care, okay?

Dante Coz28:45

Thank you. Have a good day.

Aaron Wittenstein28:46

You’re welcome. Bye-bye.