How Michael Marcus landed a $10 million deal by talking to more people

Michael Marcus00:00

The major thing is the day is gonna go by regardless, whether you do something or not. So why not do something every single day? If you had a regular job, you’re gonna clock in every day for eight hours, right? So why not clock in every day and just make the calls? No matter what happens, the results you could get from calling is a lot larger than working an hourly job.

00:18It can be that, and it can literally change your life and your perspective, and it can make you feel better about yourself. And then it’s just momentum after that.

Aaron Wittenstein00:33

Hey, what’s going on everybody? It’s me, it’s Aaron Wittenstein, and I would like to welcome you all to Vulcan 7 Roadmap. This is where we interview agents across the country on how they take just a lot of listings a week, all right? And this guy here, Michael Marcus, ironically, the irony of life sometimes, he lives in White Plains, New York, which is where you guys know I spent 11 years of business in White Plains.

00:59What a small world, my friend, isn’t it?

Michael Marcus01:02

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Aaron Wittenstein01:05

It’s just crazy how that all works out. It’s like everything comes full circle. Everything comes full circle there. So we were chatting a little bit here, all right? And I’m… Can I just get right at it? Is that cool?

01:14Is it all right if I just get right into the meat and potatoes of this stuff? Because we got a really cool story here.

Michael Marcus01:20

No, absolutely. Absolutely. I’m all for it.

Aaron Wittenstein01:22

Oh, okay. So you prospect on a regular basis, correct? Tell me a little bit about that process.

Michael Marcus01:30

Yeah, so normally, I prospect all the time, literally seven days a week.

01:36And normally five days out the week, Monday through Friday, I’d usually make calls in the morning. So I usually start about 8:00. I usually make calls from 8:00 to 11:00. So basically, I call expireds, FSBOs, for sale by owners, and, what is it?

01:56Absentee owners, and then I work my way to doing cold calling and things like that. And if I don’t get any leads that morning, what I end up doing is I’ll continue to call in the afternoon, sometime between 4:00 to 6:00. And pretty much, yeah, from doing that every day, usually I end up picking up a lead, whether it’s maybe not a sell lead, maybe it’s a buyer lead.

02:18Or just sometimes it’s a future lead, especially if I’m cold calling and it’s not expired. Usually I can just put them in a database and I can follow up with them over the time frame, and I’ll probably end up getting the listing in maybe the next three to six months.

02:35So it’s just a compound effect for me. And why I said I even prospect all the time is because I could be out in a restaurant, to be honest, and I literally ask the waitress if they know anybody looking to sell or buy any real estate. That’s just me, though. You know?

Aaron Wittenstein02:48

You have no shame.

02:49You have no shame whatsoever. And that’s absolutely amazing. But here’s what I wanna bring up here, okay? He’s modest. This is a modest guy right here, okay? So can you tell me what you did, the big one, if you will? Talk to me about that.

Michael Marcus03:09

Yeah. So pretty much, one of my team members, he was asking me, like, “How do you get more business?” And I just basically was like, “Hey, look, you just need to talk to more people.” So he’s like, “But, like, people like, like who?” I’m like, “Listen, I mean, anybody. I mean, where you work. If you go to church, talk to people at church.

03:28Just talk to anybody about it, about the business.” And he just randomly… He goes to church, so he decided to speak to his pastor, and they happened to be looking for a property. And he never did a deal before or anything, so he pretty much just referred them to me.

03:44And from there, I started to show them… Two or three properties I showed them. We put out an offer for asking, and it was for $10 million.

Aaron Wittenstein03:53

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

03:57You say that so nonchalantly, okay? But it’s like you’re teaching people, which the crux of what we do

04:05is getting in contact with as many people as possible.

04:09And by teaching someone else, we get better in general. Right. Yet you taught somebody the key to the base of prospecting itself, and you did what?

04:19Can you say it with a little more, like, oomph?

Michael Marcus04:22

Oh, yeah, yeah. We put out an offer for 10 million and got it accepted. $10 million. That’s the biggest deal I did thus far. And I’ve been in the business 11 years, but that’s the biggest thing I ever done thus far.

04:37But it all came from talking to more people, you know? And it was just amazing. That’s a commission of 200,000. And like I said, it’s so simple, but I guess it’s not easy, because people get in their own way of their own success, stopping themselves, worried about being judged or I guess being too salesy.

05:03I don’t know, you know. But the whole idea is just to talk to as many people as possible, including family, friends, strangers. I mean, think about this, right? I tell anybody this. If you’re a realtor, you literally talk for free all the time. You’re talking to people all the time. I know people call you all of the time.

05:22Just think about that. And you don’t ask everybody, “Hey, do you know anybody looking to sell or buy any real estate anytime soon?” If you did that with every conversation, just found the time to just ask that, I promise you, you’ll get more business. Overnight, I promise you. People forget that you’re in the business ’cause you’re not mentioning it to them.

05:40You understand what I’m saying? But if you mention it to them, I’ma just say all the time, as much as you can, they can never forget, you know?

Aaron Wittenstein05:48

I love how you said we talk for free. That’s the line of my day right now, okay? We talk for free. Okay. So usually, like you said, usually I talk to expireds, absentee owners, but I think for you, one of your greatest gifts I can just tell is that you have a very pleasant way about you where you don’t come off salesy.

06:12You come off very… You’re intentionally based on what you’re doing with the goal of being able to help people. So I know we talked about maybe doing a little role play, but let’s pretend. Give me a scenario that you would ask for business.

Michael Marcus06:29

Okay. So let’s just say we was out. I mean, I could see you walking in the street. So when I first originally started the business, I was doing straight door knocking. I never was using Vulcan 7, no dial sessions ever. Vulcan 7 is actually the first dialer I ever used, ever. And I literally had it now a year.

06:51But it’s the first time I ever decided to use the phones. So it’s easy for me to just… I walk on the street, “Hey, quick question, Aaron.” Well, let’s say I didn’t know you. I’m just like, “Hey, how you doing? Quick thing, right? My name is Mike, I’m a local realtor in the area. Do you happen to know anybody that may be possibly interested in selling or buying any real estate sometime in the near future?”

07:10Okay.

Aaron Wittenstein07:10

So you will stop people on the street.

Michael Marcus07:15

100%.

Aaron Wittenstein07:16

And just say, “Are you looking to buy?” Walk right past you. Okay.

Michael Marcus07:19

Yeah. Walking right past you, you walking your dog. “Hey, quick question, sir. Can I ask you a quick question?” You gonna say, “Yeah, sure. What’s going on?”

Aaron Wittenstein07:26

Now keep in mind, keep in mind this is New York right here, okay?

07:30We’re not talking about Florida here, all right? We’re talking about New York. What is the typical response that you get when you do that?

Michael Marcus07:38

I think on my personal standpoint, because I’m smiling, and the way I’m asking a question, they don’t know what I’m about to ask. So it’s like, “Hey, wait, quick question.”

07:47If I say, “Hey, quick question. Do you happen to know anybody right now that’s looking to sell or buy any real estate? I’m actually a local realtor in the area, just looking to see if I can help anybody.” Most of the time it’s just like, “Oh man, I’m not really too sure.” Majority of the time it may be that, but sometimes… I done had a guy, my first listing ever was just like this, in the rain.

08:11I’m telling you, it was drizzling. I had the umbrella on. The guy was walking with a beer in his hand, and I stopped him just like that. I said, “Hey, excuse me, sir. I know it’s raining. I don’t wanna hold you up. I’m a local realtor in the area. Just was asking, do you happen to know anyone looking to sell or buy any real estate sometime this year?”

08:27And he was like, “Yeah, me.” I said, “Wait, yeah?” I said, “Where do you live?” He said, “Right here.” He was literally about to walk in his house. It was right there. It was so crazy. And I got the listing, literally. That was my first listing ever.

Aaron Wittenstein08:42

I’m left speechless at this point. That doesn’t happen very often.

08:45Okay. So let me ask you this. So then with you just realistically speaking to people for free, when you’re on the dialer calling expireds or for sale by owners, yada, yada, yada, this must be just easy for you.

Michael Marcus09:02

Yeah, 100%. It takes nothing, ’cause I naturally just think a bunch of nos lead to a yes.

09:11All I have to do is literally make the calls. It’s nothing. I don’t think of nothing else. I’m not thinking about the negative result or nothing. I’m literally just looking for a yes. That’s all. You’re gonna run into the people that obviously is rude and all that stuff, but that’s okay.

09:26They don’t know you from a hole in the wall. You don’t know what’s going on with their day. It’s a random call, so that’s okay. But ideally it’s always that I’m looking for that one person like me with good energy, where they really want the help and they take you on. It’s a pleasure to have you.

09:40You got the information, you’re an expert. And from there, those are the people you wanna work with. You wanna work with the people that wanna work with you. That’s how I feel about the business.

Aaron Wittenstein09:49

Okay. So I never question anyone’s happiness. I’ve learned that. Never ask anybody why they’re in a good mood, okay?

09:55I never do that. I think it’s bad and not very tasteful. But you genuinely come off as a very, just a good, happy person, okay? You’re very welcome. Where does that come from? And now, is it consistent all the time, or do you have to, like, energize it and build it up?

10:18Or where does that come from? Because so many people are not that way, and you just radiate, like, happiness is the best way to put it.

Michael Marcus10:28

No, I appreciate it. Yeah, it’s from within, to be honest. I think that’s why I pretty much ended up getting into the business, ’cause a mentor of mine, Jeff Williams, he’s in a wheelchair and he’s the one that actually introduced me to real estate.

10:41And he simply just told me, “Man, look, if I could do this, you could do this. You’re young and people’s gonna like you, you’re a good person.” And people could feel that. People wanna be around good people and talk to people and work with people that are good people. It comes from the heart. So for me, it’s just within me.

10:56I really genuinely wanna help people, you know? Ultimately, I even do motivational speaking as well. So genuinely my whole purpose, I believe, is to help serve others, help them get to their goals.

Aaron Wittenstein11:10

So let me ask you this, okay, so let’s say an agent just got through a dial session, three hours, and it did not go according to plan.

11:16We all know how that happens, right? Like, you get told six ways from Sunday of this, that, and the other, and people are not nice and nasty. You know how those days are, okay? What would you say to somebody that just gets beaten and beaten and beaten to be able to stay up?

11:40How would you advise them?

Michael Marcus11:44

I mean, the major thing is the day is gonna go by regardless, whether you do something or not. So why not do something every single day? If you had a regular job, you’re gonna clock in every day for eight hours, right? So why not clock in every day and just make the calls?

12:03No matter what happens. That’s the best advice I could give. I mean, the only difference I’m gonna just tell you, or I’ll tell any agent, the results you could get from calling is a lot larger than working an hourly job. And it’s not downplaying a job, but we know the potential, right? Obviously, doing a $10 million deal, I mean, that don’t happen every day, but you understand what I’m saying.

12:28Like, it can be that, and it could literally change your life and your perspective, and it could make you feel better about yourself. And then it’s just momentum after that.

Aaron Wittenstein12:36

It’s just like, you’re gonna clock in and clock out regardless is the question that we make. And then you know what I also love too, is that you say, “I did a $10 million deal,” like I said, so nonchalantly.

12:45It’s like, “Yeah, I did a $10 million deal.” Because… But the thing is, a lot of people, their heads would get big, right?

12:52And with you, I would think during the process of doing that… ‘Cause how long does it take to close a deal that substantial?

Michael Marcus13:03

It actually took eight months.

13:05It took eight months to close.

Aaron Wittenstein13:06

Eight months to close. And I would think that you still did your job in the meantime. It wasn’t like you didn’t get fat and happy, right?

Michael Marcus13:16

No, absolutely not. That’s what I’m saying. Honestly, it made me wanna work harder, because when you got that in the pipeline, you’re like, “Hold on, there gotta be more.”

13:25You know, that’s how I feel. There has to be more in there, you know what I mean? I start shaking it upside down after that. That’s just me.

Aaron Wittenstein13:32

Shake those trees. Shake the trees.

13:34Shake the trees.

Michael Marcus13:35

Yeah. Shake the trees. Yeah, exactly. So that’s how I get… You get motivated, you know?

13:41Never complacent. You get motivated. You wanna learn more. You also wanna share more, because other people have other things to share, too. It’s iron sharpens iron, and you just stay poised, man. Everybody got their own goals. Just stick to it. No matter the success, stick to the goals, you know?

13:56Even when you surpass it.

Aaron Wittenstein13:59

Well, I really like that. I really like what you just said. Really do. It’s like, seriously, I really like… See, this is what happens when you talk to people from White Plains, New York. You know what I mean? You just mesh with them, okay?

14:10All right. So let’s do this. I wanna hear you on a call, because I got a feeling it’s gonna be a bit different than what I’m used to hearing. Maybe it’s not, maybe I’m wrong, okay? What’s your favorite? Expireds, for sale by owner? What do you enjoy calling the most?

Michael Marcus14:25

Enjoy calling?

14:27Well, I do a lot of expireds. The cold calling I do as well, but expireds is cool. I like to do the expireds.

Aaron Wittenstein14:34

Okay. Would you be open to giving me a ring ring?

Michael Marcus14:37

Yeah, yeah. Sure. I’d do that.

Aaron Wittenstein14:39

All right, give me a shout.

Michael Marcus14:40

All right, cool. Ring ring.

Aaron Wittenstein14:41

Hello.

Michael Marcus14:43

Hello, this is Mike. I’m a local realtor, and I was just calling about the home that came off the market on Main Street.

14:49Just wanted to know, did that come off the market, and did you accept an offer, or is the home still available by any chance?

Aaron Wittenstein14:54

It’s not available anymore. You know, we’re gonna take it off for at least a couple of months.

Michael Marcus14:59

Okay. You guys are gonna take it off for a couple months. That sounds great.

15:02I was just curious, are you still considering offers on the property if the offer made sense?

Aaron Wittenstein15:07

I mean, I guess. Do you have a buyer?

Michael Marcus15:10

Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I work with tons of buyers, and I was just a little surprised that the home didn’t sell. What kind of feedback did your last agent give you?

Aaron Wittenstein15:18

You know, we really didn’t hear a lot from them. But if you would like, you’re more than welcome to give us a call back in a couple of months. That’s perfectly fine.

Michael Marcus15:25

Yeah. Excellent. I would love to give you a call back for sure. I just want to know, right, what do you think stopped the home from selling, if you had to say?

Aaron Wittenstein15:33

Our agent sucked. I mean, the agent was just absolutely brutal. You know, we had this guy named Aaron. He was a bald guy, kinda weird, but… No, it just didn’t go according to plan. I mean… Have you ever sold a home in my area?

Michael Marcus15:51

No, absolutely. Well, me and my team, we sell properties all over the area, actually. And I was just basically calling because I specialize in selling homes that other agents failed to sell, and I was just curious if you would be open to meeting with me so that I can share with you maybe why the home didn’t sell, and then potentially share a plan with you that’ll actually cause the home to sell.

16:12And from there, you could decide if maybe working with me later on in the future may make sense. Does that sound reasonable?

Aaron Wittenstein16:19

What makes you different than my previous agent?

Michael Marcus16:22

Man, that’s an excellent question, and I would love to go over that. That’d actually be the first thing we’ll go over when we meet.

16:28What time works best for you, today at 5:00 or tomorrow at 6:00?

Aaron Wittenstein16:32

Tomorrow at 3:00.

Michael Marcus16:33

Tomorrow at 3:00. Excellent. So look, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna send you over my business card just so you can put a face to a voice, and then I can see you tomorrow at 3:00, if that works for you. All right.

Aaron Wittenstein16:44

Sounds good.

Michael Marcus16:45

Excellent.

Aaron Wittenstein16:46

I can see you, you know what I mean? So it’s a little bit of cheating here, yet I can tell you’re smiling through the phone, and your pacing is really, really good. You were very even-keeled throughout the entire conversation, which is hard, because the moment someone gets something good, they kind of speed up a little bit and start talking a little quicker.

17:03So your pacing was phenomenal, and there was no… You didn’t have any major ups or downs within your vocal patterns whatsoever. So that was a very nice phone call. Thank you.

Michael Marcus17:14

Thanks, man. I appreciate you. I appreciate you for sure.

Aaron Wittenstein17:17

Are you practicing regularly?

Michael Marcus17:20

Yeah, often. I role play a lot. I’m always on the calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well. And you know how they do the role plays after… I’m on Tuesdays with the mastermind, that’s what I call it. But yeah, after that we do the role playing. But I have role play partners as well, so that really helped me a lot.

17:38And Vulcan actually, you guys was actually the ones that really got me into it, to be honest. That’s why I think it’s… I learned so much during this timeframe, and it’s really the consistency and the support, I would say, from other agents as well. I never really realized in this business how much we actually need each other, and I think we overlook that, you know?

18:01I really think we do. It helped me a lot. I really think that’s why my success been so extraordinary over this past year is… I really believe it’s just being around that right energy, you know? And I believe in that, being around the right people that want more, and they’re on the same playing field as people that’s above you, as people below you.

18:18You need everybody, you know? But everybody’s on the same page. Everybody wants more. And when you with that energy, man, it’s hard not to succeed, you know?

Aaron Wittenstein18:25

It’s a support system all around you. It’s the people that you choose to associate yourself with, right? It’s what it comes down to.

18:32All right. So let me ask you this, my friend. Brand new agent knocks on your door, walks past your office and says, “Michael, I’m struggling.” What is one piece of advice that you would give this brand new real estate agent?

Michael Marcus18:46

Brand new. I would just basically tell him… Well, first I would ask what is he doing.

18:53“I know you’re struggling, but what are you doing?” I would ask him a question, because that’s the number one thing. That’s the number one rule I’ma tell him. You gotta ask questions. In sales, it’s not about talking too much, it’s about asking the right questions. So I would just ask him a question. You understand what I’m saying?

19:07He probably should be asking me a question… I mean, how would I say it? He’s asking me a question, but he should be like, “Hey man, what is it that you’re doing? Because I see you’re doing what you’re doing, right? For me to even go to you and ask you for advice, you have to be doing something right, right?

19:24So what is it that you’re doing?” So that would be the number one advice I’d say, just ask the right questions.

Aaron Wittenstein19:30

I’ve been doing many of these, and that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that, and I like it.

Michael Marcus19:37

Yeah. I like it, I like it. I absolutely love it. ‘Cause look, when you ask the right questions, it’ll get you on the road, the roadmap that you need, right? It’ll let you know exactly what you need. All you gotta do is execute on it. That’s it.

Aaron Wittenstein19:47

Cool, man. All right. So let me ask you this, so I wanna wrap this up in a nice little bow.

19:51All right? From all of your expertise and everything that you know, what is one last piece of final advice that you have for Vulcan7 Nation?

Michael Marcus20:01

Vulcan7 Nation. Man, whoever’s out there, you just got started with Vulcan or just became a new agent, just pick up the phones. This is a numbers game. And trust me, I wasn’t somebody that always had this type of success.

20:13I went through the same learning curves and the fear factors that you have within yourself. But remember, everything is all in your head. It’s all in your head. And the moment you get out your own way, I promise you, you get all the results plus more, the moment you get out your own way.

Aaron Wittenstein20:31

There we go, there we go. All right. Well, let’s say someone is moving to… Where do you… Do you serve White Plains? Where do you serve? White Plains, the Bronx, Manhattan, what areas do you serve?

Michael Marcus20:40

Yeah. So White Plains. I’m from the Bronx, so I definitely still serve… My team, we’re out in the Bronx, Queens, Long Island area, and White Plains, Westchester, New York.

Aaron Wittenstein20:50

So he pretty much covers a lot of areas, by the way, just so everybody knows that. So if you need anybody out that way, get in touch with Michael. Michael, if someone does have a referral for you, what is the best way to get in touch with you?

Michael Marcus21:03

Oh, yeah. You guys can email me at mmikerealtor@gmail.com.

21:09It’s the best way. Or you can follow me on my social media. My Instagram is growthwithmike, and on Facebook it’s my full name, Michael Marcus Jr.

Aaron Wittenstein21:19

Perfect. All right, man. Well, I wanna say thank you so much for being here. We appreciate you very, very much. This was an amazing conversation.

21:26Okay. And do me a favor. Can you do me a huge favor? Go make some money, and just remember to trust the process. Y’all take care of yourselves. Be well until we see you next week.