How Pauly Campanaro took 175 listings in a year through prospecting and role play

Pauly Campanaro00:00

Go out and get a role-play partner. ChatGPT can role-play with you. There’s no more excuses. The worst thing that you can do is go practice on people, ’cause it costs you money. If I engage in that activity at a high enough level with massive action, then the results are just inevitable.

Loida Velasquez00:20

What’s going on everyone? Welcome back to a brand-new episode of Vulcan7 Coaches and Mentors, where we bring you some of the best in the industry to share with you their tips and strategies so that you can implement them in your business immediately. On today’s episode, we have an amazing guest that is an expert when it comes to prospecting.

00:40So if you’ve been struggling, if you feel like you have been lacking motivation, or you just wanna get better at having conversations and converting leads into appointments, then this episode is for you. So make sure you have a pen and paper ready, because with that being said, I’m gonna go ahead and bring on today’s guest, Pauly Campanaro.

00:57Welcome, Pauly.

Pauly Campanaro00:58

All right. Thank you, Loida.

Loida Velasquez01:01

Yes. So for everyone that’s tuning in, that’s watching you, but maybe is not too familiar with you, just go ahead and give us a little bit about your background.

Pauly Campanaro01:09

Sure. Originally, I’m from upstate New York, way upstate, and I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late ’90s, where I started real estate in 2005 part-time, and then went full-time…

01:24The best time to get involved in real estate, January 2008 is when I went full-time. So I was reared in the fire, full-time. People thought I was crazy. My friends are like, “What are you doing? Don’t do that.” And so I started in 2008. I hired a coach and then my business doubled and then doubled and then doubled, and I did 100 transactions my first three years in the business, and then took 175 listings the next year.

01:53And so, all through prospecting. ‘Cause all my database was back in Vegas, so I had to learn to speak real estate, but not only that, the market was crashing so I had to learn to speak short sale and foreclosure. So if I could do it then, then anybody can do it in any market. You just gotta get out there and talk to people, which is what it boils down to.

02:11So I did that for a while and then started Real Sales Talk, which is my sales training community, Real Sales Talk. And I got an affinity and a passion for helping people understand that this doesn’t have to be about sales and about closing five times.

02:28Really it’s about connecting with people. And when you put rule number one… It’s up in my office, I have rule number one, “Get to know the people.” And when you just focus on getting to know the people, then everything else will work itself out. But I still have to figure out, well, what does that look like?

02:43What does that sound like? And so I got recruited to Austin, Texas, where I am now, to run a large office here, and did that for three years. When I got here, we were at 700 million in sales, and me and a partner led the team to over $2 billion in sales in three years, working sales trainings and events and really just focusing on sales skills.

03:10And so I stepped down and went back into productivity and working Real Sales Talk full time a couple years back, and then right immediately within the first six months, I did 10 million in six months starting from scratch. ‘Cause when I got here, my job was to recruit, right? So all I knew was agents.

03:29So I’m in a new market again and starting from scratch, only knowing agents and lenders, I was able to do 10 million in the first six months, and that was, again, through just prioritizing at a high level, “How do I connect with people?” And then just taking massive action to be able to get the results that people were looking for.

03:50So that’s where I’m at right now.

Loida Velasquez03:52

That’s so awesome. And you said a lot of things. You have had a lot of experience. Something that I love to ask all my guests is, what did you do before you got into real estate? Did you have sales experience? What was that Pauly like?

Pauly Campanaro04:06

Yeah, that Pauly was pretty gritty.

04:08I worked in wholesale wine and liquor distribution, a truck driver, basically, in upstate New York. So there were no sales skills there, just good old-fashioned hard work. And luckily I got that hard work ethic from my family. And then when I went to Vegas, because I knew a lot about wine and liquor being in that business, I leveraged that information to get jobs in restaurants in Vegas, and then I just kept getting better and better and better jobs.

04:34I worked at the Bellagio, in the Eiffel Tower Restaurant when it first opened. I opened the Wynn Hotel when that first opened, and so I had a lot of experience in VIP services, waiting on super rich and famous people. And if anyone’s ever been a waiter or waitress, that’s a really good training ground for creating conversations quickly, and then reading people, and then also not judging people, because people come in and you don’t know, just ’cause they look…

05:04They’re wearing dirty jeans and a T-shirt, that could be a billionaire. So those were really, really big tools that helped me going into the real estate industry.

Loida Velasquez05:17

That’s awesome. And something that you mentioned earlier was, it’s all about connecting with people, not going after someone five times trying to close them for an appointment or anything like that.

05:27So what are some of the mistakes that you see agents are making that you help them correct so that they can get better?

Pauly Campanaro05:34

Yeah. I think the big elephant in the room always when people start off is not wanting to sound or be salesy. And the good news is that you don’t have to be, right?

05:47But there is a common denominator on what does have to happen, though. You do have to have a lot of conversations. You have to talk to people. And some people are really good at talking to people, and usually those people are not so good with systems and models, which, okay, we gotta figure out, what does a real schedule look like?

06:04What does me being more organized look like, and more systematic look like? And then there’s people who are not as good at talking to people, and those people are trying to figure out, “How do I connect with people without begging or bugging?” And so that’s what I work on with Real Sales Talk: what are the dynamics, what do those specific strategies look like to be able to engage a conversation at an open house or with internet leads without being salesy?

06:32What does that sound like? What does that look like? And we do a lot of role play and a lot of group training around being able to engage conversations at a higher level to do just that, be more human, which is becoming more and more relevant in this technological universe that we now live in, where AI is making things even more

06:53less human and more efficient, right? Good, awesome, cool. But I think there’s these human skills of being able to connect with people and being able to have conversations and care. And to connect in ways that can be mutually beneficial and exploratory.

07:16Like, “Who are you? What’s going on?” And, “Here’s who I am and here’s what’s going on,” without being so salesy, trying to close five times. And if I engage in that activity at a high enough level with a lot of action, right, with massive action, then the results are just inevitable.

07:33You’re going to get business. But I think people really have this stigma in their mind as far as not wanting to sound or be salesy. And then not having a plan in place for structure and models and systems that allow them to run their business like a business.

Loida Velasquez07:49

Absolutely, yeah. I know for me, especially when I got into the business, I’m like, try to stay focused with the script, but I also wanna sound normal. I don’t wanna sound like a robot. And I remember calling for sale by owners, and some of them will be like, “Why are you asking me so many questions?

08:05It sounds like you’re reading off of something.”

08:08So for agents, you mentioned that you role play. That’s something big that I feel a lot of agents are just not implementing in their business.

08:16But for an agent that’s watching you, that’s maybe interested in coaching or being a part of your community, what are some of the things that they can start focusing on to start improving

08:27their communication if they’re not… Maybe they’ve focused on being a buyer’s agent, now they wanna prospect, they wanna get on the phone, they wanna talk to people. How can they make that transition smooth?

Pauly Campanaro08:37

Yeah. Well, for sure. Look, as real estate agents, as salespeople, right, for real estate agents, we make money by what we say, right?

08:49Who we say it to, how often we say it. So we make money with what we say, right? And you’re right. People are just not giving enough attention to the skill of the conversation, and that first roots in, okay, how do I connect with people? So number one is role play. If we get paid by what we say and how we say it, right?

09:10Because our job is to ask great questions. Ask them well, right? Not sound like a robot. Sound like you care, and then listen carefully so I can continue repeating the first two steps. Ask great questions, ask them well. And the only way you’re gonna get better at doing that is to role play. ‘Cause if you try to practice that on people, that doesn’t go well.

09:29And oh, by the way, you don’t know what you’re doing, so getting good feedback is not going to happen. And the worst thing that you can do is go practice on people, ’cause it costs you money. And there’s nothing more discouraging than going out there and having conversations and nothing happening, ’cause oh, by the way, that’s gonna happen anyways.

09:49That’s just called the sales business. I have to talk to a lot of people. I don’t have to sell a lot of people, but I have to talk to a lot of people, and if I spend a little bit of time practicing, okay, what am I saying, and what are the different things that people could say, and then how can I engage that more constructively, right?

10:08More positively, more progressively, then I’m just naturally going to have more conversations, and then I can have less of those conversations for me to be more efficient and effective. Because look, we don’t get paid by the hour. We get paid by the closed transaction, and so it should be critical.

10:27People should be really yearning for that. And so the playbook I wrote, people can go to the Real Sales Talk community. I give that away. The playbook’s for free. I’m putting a library together to accompany the playbook, which is mindset, strategies and skills around creating better conversations. But what does that really look like, and how do I do it, and where can I engage other like-minded people who appreciate that and are learning that, so that I can be a better communicator, which at the end of the day is what it all boils down to.

Loida Velasquez10:57

Absolutely.

10:58Now that you mention role playing, I wanna get a very quick role play in, because I think it’s great for agents to see you in action. And obviously we deal with a lot of different personalities. We don’t know what people are gonna say, and obviously having a good conversation and just engaging immediately is gonna help someone stand out.

11:17So with that being said, I want to demonstrate just how you handle someone that, off the top, as soon as they answer, they’re already annoyed, not really giving you the time of day, but you still push through it and have a conversation with them.

Pauly Campanaro11:32

Yeah, I love this. She’s taking me

11:33totally off guard. We didn’t plan for this at all. She’s like, “All right, let’s role play. Let’s do it.” “Let’s do it. Let’s go. Let’s go.”

Loida Velasquez11:39

Yes. So I’ll be an expired.

11:42And then you’re calling me. I won’t be too tough. We’ll see how the conversation goes.

11:46But I really just, it’s the intro that I want agents to kind of get a feel for, how you

11:50how you do it.

Pauly Campanaro11:52

Okay. Ring, ring.

Loida Velasquez11:53

Hello?

Pauly Campanaro11:54

Hello, this is Pauly. I’m with the Vision Realty Group. Hey, I saw your property on 123 Street come off the market. I was wondering if you’d still consider an offer.

Loida Velasquez12:04

You know what? I’ve been getting so many calls since 8:00. I mean, are you calling ’cause you have a buyer?

Pauly Campanaro12:10

Yeah. Well, actually yeah, I am a buyer. I work with off-market buyers, and honestly, we do creative financing, and I’m also a broker, so it just depends on the property condition and your situation.

12:21Tell me, did you get any offers at 700,000 when you were listed?

Loida Velasquez12:25

You know what? No, the agent just kind of fell off the face of the earth, and now I’m just getting a bunch of calls since like 6:30 in the morning.

12:32Yeah. Guys are all sounding the same.

Pauly Campanaro12:34

Man, I’m so sorry you have to deal with those agents who are bugging you, and they’re saying that they just wanna relist your property, and they don’t really care what’s going on.

12:44So at this point, though, I mean, you would consider an offer if you got one and it was within reason. Is that a yes?

Loida Velasquez12:52

I mean, possibly, but I just don’t wanna go through the hassle of going back on the market, you know? Everyone’s saying that the home could sell very quickly.

13:00Obviously it came off the market, so at this point, I don’t even know what we’re gonna do.

Pauly Campanaro13:05

And I’ll tell you, Loida, and I’m sorry, my name’s Pauly. I see here Loida. Your name’s Loida. Is that right?

Loida Velasquez13:09

Yes. Mm-hmm.

Pauly Campanaro13:10

Yeah, I’ll tell you, Loida, it might not even be a good idea to go back on the market.

13:13Honestly, there’s a lot of people right now that are just trying to figure it out. They’d like an offer, but they’re not really sure which direction to go, and at the same time, they don’t wanna go through what they just went through. Is that kind of how you feel?

Loida Velasquez13:24

Yeah, and I wanted to have moved over to Vegas two months ago, but here I am.

13:31And now all of my plans got changed, and I’m just really annoyed with my husband.

Pauly Campanaro13:35

Yeah. Yeah. I don’t blame you. What do you think stopped the home from selling?

Loida Velasquez13:40

I think that there’s just way too many homes available right now-

13:44There are, kind of in my neighborhood.

Pauly Campanaro13:45

Yeah, there’s a lot of homes out there, for sure. What do you think could’ve been done differently, though? I mean, a few homes did go under contract while you were listed. What do you think could’ve been done differently?

Loida Velasquez13:56

Maybe the agent. We feel that they just weren’t as aggressive as we thought they were gonna be, or as-

14:01or at least they told us they were going to be. And then there’s a specific price that we wanna get, ’cause obviously we wanna walk away with the most. But at this point, I don’t even know what we’re gonna do.

Pauly Campanaro14:13

Yeah, for sure. I mean, obviously you were trying to get the most, but obviously there were things happening that didn’t cause the home to sell.

14:19This is such a great area anyways, though, Loida. I mean, where were you gonna go to when the property sold?

Loida Velasquez14:25

Well, we’re gonna move to Las Vegas.

Pauly Campanaro14:27

Las Vegas? Okay, that’s a lot different than Austin. What’s bringing you to Las Vegas?

Loida Velasquez14:31

Yeah, my husband works in hospitality and he has a job out there.

14:36So he’s been traveling a lot, so we figured, you know what? Instead of just going back and forth, we’ll just move out there.

Pauly Campanaro14:41

Wait a minute. You’re behind here while he’s over there, or he’s going back and forth?

Loida Velasquez14:44

Back and forth, yeah. Oh, geez. It’s really annoying, kind of.

Pauly Campanaro14:47

Oh my gosh. Well, I could see how you feel, like the property didn’t sell and he’s going back and forth.

14:53I mean, you have a lot on your hands. But at the same time, I mean, obviously you’re not gonna do anything unless it makes sense for you guys. False or true?

Loida Velasquez15:01

Absolutely, yeah.

Pauly Campanaro15:02

Okay, so let’s do this. Let’s get together. I’ll share with you some inside market information in regards to timing, because obviously you’re not gonna go back on the market unless it makes sense for you timing-wise.

15:13And then clarity on how to get the most money possible, ’cause obviously there were properties that sold, you just didn’t sell. So if I give you that information, Loida, and then you guys have clarity and certainty in regards to what the next best steps are, even if it’s not with me, I mean, would that be unreasonable, if you and I are sitting down and I just give you that information?

Loida Velasquez15:34

No, I guess we’re open to that. At this point, just to be clear, we’re not looking to sign anything. Like I said, we’re not sure exactly what we’re gonna do.

Pauly Campanaro15:44

No, and that’s exactly what I’ll do, Loida. The information that I’ll bring you will give you clarity, and then I’ll leave that with you, and then you guys are gonna decide what you’re gonna do from there.

15:54So I can meet you Tuesday at 4:00. Does Wednesday at 6:00 work better for you?

Loida Velasquez15:58

You know what? I would like to talk to my husband first before I set up anything.

Pauly Campanaro16:02

Yeah, yeah. No, well, I’ve been married almost 25 years in November, Loida, so I hear you. I don’t do anything without passing it, making sure my wife knows about it, that’s for sure.

16:14So I totally respect that. You guys are usually home around what time? After 4:00 or 5:00 or…?

Loida Velasquez16:20

Yeah, usually after 5:00 we’re free.

Pauly Campanaro16:23

Okay. So let’s do this. Let me just put you in the book for tomorrow at maybe 5:30 or 6:00. I’ll call you in the morning to make sure that that still works.

16:34‘Cause he still wants… I mean, if the property could be sold, he still wants it sold. Is that right?

Loida Velasquez16:39

Yeah. I mean, ideally if we could actually get it sold, then it was, like, 100% it’s happening this time. And obviously, yeah, I’d rather be out there with him versus him having to fly back and forth all the time.

Pauly Campanaro16:51

Exactly. Exactly. So you let him know, “Hey, honey, I had a guy call me. He’s gonna bring some new information that could give us some clarity and options.” ‘Cause obviously you want options. Okay, well, what’s gonna happen here? I’ll send you that information first just to take a look at some of it.

17:08What’s your best email?

Loida Velasquez17:10

Loida@yahoo.com.

Pauly Campanaro17:11

Okay, perfect, and I’ll send it there. And then let’s just book 6:00 tomorrow, and I’ll call you in the morning just to confirm. Does that sound fair?

Loida Velasquez17:18

Okay. Yeah, that works.

Pauly Campanaro17:19

Okay, perfect. Awesome. Good. I’m really excited to meet you, Loida.

Loida Velasquez17:22

Yes. Thank you. Awesome. I know I caught you off guard, but I wanted

17:28the audience to see.

Pauly Campanaro17:31

Yeah, luckily you know what I’m talking about. I practice what I preach.

Loida Velasquez17:33

Yeah. No, that was awesome. I love it. ‘Cause we get that all the time. Go ahead.

Pauly Campanaro17:39

Yeah, I don’t know if you know this. A while back, couple years back, I used to do a lot of reaction videos where I would break down role plays.

17:47So I broke down Brian once, and him and I did a call back in the day. And then I broke you down once.

17:56On a FSBO call. It was all good, don’t worry. I didn’t tear it up, right? You did it well, right? And I’m like, “Okay, I’m gonna do it,” and it got quite a bit of views, because that’s my passion.

18:05My passion is, all right, how can I help people engage conversation? ‘Cause we’re overthinking this a lot of the time.

18:12When we’re trying to make something happen, when if I just… And there was a lot of repeating and approving going on there, where I’m helping people understand, where I’m making people feel more comfortable, “Hey, I hear what you’re saying.

18:24Hey, I’m on the same page with you. I understand what you’re feeling or thinking,” and then I continue to ask good questions. That’s a little strategy I use, as part of the bigger package with Real Sales Talk, to go, “Okay.”

18:37How do I engage these people who may be a little bit more apprehensive or anxious or resistant, or throwing objections my way, to just figure out what’s going on here?

18:47‘Cause you were motivated, right? But the flip side to that is, I ask a lot of questions, and they’re not motivated, or they’re not cooperative. Okay, well, bye-bye. That’s okay. No problem. But at least I know, versus trying to make things happen when they shouldn’t happen, or really continuing to try to make things happen when they should happen.

Loida Velasquez19:07

Exactly. Does that make sense? Yes. Yes. No, that was great. Great. I appreciate you being a good sport and role playing, not knowing what was gonna happen. Yes.

Pauly Campanaro19:16

Nice.

Loida Velasquez19:17

But kind of to wrap this up, when it comes to prospecting, you probably hear it all the time as well, “Pauly, I’m making all these calls.

19:25I’m talking to these people. I feel like nothing is happening. I’m having trouble setting appointments.” What would you tell someone that feels like they’re kind of stuck?

Pauly Campanaro19:35

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Record yourself, number one. That’s the easiest way to really look, because I’ve done that prospecting.

19:42I’ve done that presenting, and it’s, you know, you’re taking all your clothes off and looking in the mirror. Like, what’s going on here? Because there’s some things that you’re probably doing that you’re not hearing or you’re not aware of, and good role play partners can help each other with constructive criticism to go, “Hey, you’re doing this,” or, “You keep doing that,” or, “You’re getting aggressive,” or, “You’re trying too hard,” or whatever it is, right?

20:07To figure out if you’re not getting the results that you’re looking for, but you’re in action. That’s the big thing: are you really taking that much action? Because if you’re really taking the action… I had this guy once, he wrote me, he goes, “I’ve made 900 calls and I haven’t set one appointment.”

20:25He goes, “What do you think the problem is?” And I go, “You’re the problem.” He goes, “What are you talking about?” I’m like, “You’ve talked to 900 people and nobody is interested in buying or selling real estate?” I go, “They’re lying to you, or you’re a bully on the phone. There’s something going on here on why you’re not getting the results.”

20:43So figuring out how to assess what you’re doing, recording’s an easy way, and going back and listening to it. But I’d say even for some people who may not know what good or bad may even sound like, finding someone to talk to, to figure out what’s going on here.

Loida Velasquez20:59

Absolutely. And tell us about your community, how people can get ahold of you in case they’re like, “You know what?

21:04I need to have Pauly listen to my calls and give me feedback so I can actually start converting.”

Pauly Campanaro21:09

Yeah, well, every Wednesday we’re doing a real role play session, and it’s a free session where people can jump in and listen to role plays. They can role play themselves. We have a quick tutorial section, like 10 or 15 minutes, where we talk about a topic, and I provide some value in regards to skills or strategies or mindset, and then we jump right into role play.

21:28I haven’t seen anything happening like that online. I’m sure something somewhere, but this is free. It’s every Wednesday. Just search Real Sales Talk Instagram or YouTube. There’s a Facebook Group, and anywhere there you’re gonna be able to connect. So just search Real Sales Talk and you’ll be able to see that.

21:49And the playbook I’m giving away for free, so you can email me, therealsalestalk@gmail.com, and I’ll send you a free copy of the playbook. But just get ahold of them now, ’cause we’re really launching and creating the community, ’cause I’m gonna create additional layers of value in the community for people to plug into.

22:08But I don’t think there’s too much out there, or anything like it, in regards to what we’re doing with role play, and then upcoming is gonna be group training and group coaching, but I’m excited to do that because I’m passionate about connecting with people. I have a ton of experience with prospecting all different genres.

22:27Internet leads, open houses, your sphere. It doesn’t matter how you prospect. What matters is if you prospect. And then ultimately, are you good at having conversations? Are you attracting people or are you repelling them? And that’s what Real Sales Talk is about, tuning up, and even if you’ve been in the business a while, we have high-level role plays to be able to raise the bar on your level of communication.

Loida Velasquez22:53

That’s awesome. And we’ll make sure to include all of the links in the description box below. But with that being said, Pauly, really appreciate you hopping on here, doing the role play, dropping some knowledge for the agents. And last question, what would be two things that agents need to do right now to make sure that they crush the rest of this year?

Pauly Campanaro23:11

Yeah. I’m gonna give two things that probably not many people have given, or maybe people don’t wanna hear. Which is, number one, go out and get a role play partner. Now, this used to be hard back in the day for me, but ChatGPT can role play with you. I mean, come on, there’s no more excuses. Go role play, and create a role play schedule.

23:33I used to role play when I first got in the business. 2008, the market was a mess. I role played before my prospecting session, I role played after my prospecting session, and then I role played my presentation once a week with somebody in person. Okay? And I was doing that every single day and week. Okay, so go get a role play partner, even if it’s ChatGPT, start a role play schedule.

23:54Okay, number two, get an accountability partner. That’s a hard thing to do, ’cause people don’t do it. So find somebody, though, that you could sit down with once a week for 15 minutes or 30 minutes and go, “Hey Loida, what’d you do? Okay, what’d you say you were gonna do last week? What did you do?

24:11What happened? Okay, here’s what I said I was gonna do last week. Here’s what I did.” Now, it’s not a complaint session where you sit there and complain about all the excuses of why you didn’t do it, because if you just show up, in as little as 10 or 15 minutes, two people can sit there and go, “Okay, here’s what I did, here’s what I said I was gonna do, here’s what actually happened.”

24:29And just that practice in itself, without any consequences, or anything that would be a monetary risk. “Hey, I said I was gonna do this, and I’ll give you 100 bucks if I don’t.” You don’t even need that. That’s cool, ’cause people will run away from fear very strongly.

24:47But if you just show up with somebody and go, “Okay, how’d it go? What did I say I was gonna do? How’d it go? What happened? And what am I gonna do next week?” And you do that very quickly, man, your life will change, because you don’t wanna show up to that meeting with that other person continuously saying you didn’t do what you said you were gonna do.

25:03Go get an accountability partner.

Loida Velasquez25:05

There you go. Awesome, Pauly. Well, thank you again for being here for this episode. Everyone that’s watching, make sure to follow Pauly. All of the links will be in the description box below, and we’ll see you on the next one.

Pauly Campanaro25:16

Bye.