How Calla Ricciardi closes 150 transactions while working four days a week

Ren Jones 00:00

Welcome to Roadmap, how to take three listings a week until you’re ready for more. Each week we interview a great agent who is consistently taking two, three, four listings a week, and we have an exciting guest today. We encourage you to take notes and apply as much of their knowledge as quickly as you can, and then use the copycat principle.

00:23If you’re watching on Vulcan7 or Facebook, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions during the broadcast. Folks, type in some questions. Get those in early, because by the time we ask for that, then we don’t have any, and then we have too many. So get your questions in early.

00:37First, let’s talk about the Vulcan7 Challenge. The Vulcan7 Challenge is once a month, shadow a great agent in another market that is taking two, three, four listings a week on average. Drive three or four hours to their market, or fly there. That’s even better. Get there that afternoon, have dinner with them if they’re available, go to their office early in the morning, take a lot of notes, type a lot of notes, record a lot of things, and then have lunch with them and head back home.

01:10If you do that once a month, at the end of a year you’ve got 12 amazing friends who are doing amazing things, and you become one of them.

01:23Before I introduce our guest today, I want to remind everybody that we’re also simulcasting the show on the private Lead Gen group on Facebook. They have 47,000, maybe it’s 48,000, so we have a very large audience there as well today. We’ll be pausing for a commercial message during the show as a thank you to the Lead Gen folks.

01:49Let me introduce my co-host from San Diego first, Carley Hathaway. Hey, Carley, how are you doing?

Carley Hathaway 01:56

Real estate’s good. I’m doing great. It’s a seller’s market, so it’s a great time to take listings.

Ren Jones 02:09

Good, good, good. Let’s introduce our guest. This is exciting, and I’ve been looking forward to this since I talked to her about joining us on the show. From Kenosha, Wisconsin, we have Calla Ricciardi. Welcome, Calla.

Calla Ricciardi 02:35

Thanks, Ren.

Carley Hathaway 02:37

Hi, Calla. Thanks so much for joining us today. We’re so excited to interview you.

Calla Ricciardi 02:41

Thank you, Carley.

Ren Jones 02:46

First and most important, because people send business to other people from this show and we’ve heard some good stories, anybody that’s thinking about moving to Kenosha, or you know somebody that wants to move to Kenosha, or you need to refer somebody that wants to move to Kenosha, what’s the best way for them to reach you?

Calla Ricciardi 03:03

The best way to reach me is my email.

Ren Jones 03:13

Great. Is there a website also that they could go take a look at and see how you’re set up?

Calla Ricciardi 03:17

Yeah, absolutely.

Ren Jones 03:28

Super. That way they can connect with you on a lot of levels as well.

Ren Jones 03:36

Tell us a little bit about your business and how you’re set up. I’ve known you for quite a while, and you pretty much dominate the town there.

Calla Ricciardi 03:47

It’s been really great. I started coaching with Mike Ferry about 20 years ago, and I’ve been in business for 34 years. The last three years I’ve closed over 150 transactions every year. I focus on taking listings, and I prospect every day.

Ren Jones 04:05

Right. And you buy a lot of advertising and just wait for the calls to come in. Am I right?

Calla Ricciardi 04:10

Actually, I don’t buy any advertising.

Ren Jones 04:12

No advertising?

Calla Ricciardi 04:15

I use this awesome system called Vulcan7, and I get those expireds. Every morning, it’s the first thing I do. I open up my computer and call all the expireds and for sale by owners. Then I move on and call my past clients and sphere. If I run out of people to call, I’ll call around a property I’ve just sold.

Ren Jones 04:37

What about those FSBOs? You don’t talk to them, do you?

Calla Ricciardi 04:38

I do. We don’t have a lot of FSBOs in our marketplace, but the expireds are the quickest listings. All they’re doing is advertising, trying to find a real estate agent.

Carley Hathaway 05:07

It sounds like you’ve really built your business basically on calling. Can you walk us through a typical day? What time do you get on the phones? Do you roleplay in the morning? Walk us through a typical day.

Calla Ricciardi 05:10

Typically, I work just Monday through Thursday. I get to the office for 7:30 roleplay. I roleplay from 7:30 until 8:00, and then I’m usually on the phones by about 8:15.

05:21One of the things I really try hard to do is shut off my email and shut off my cell phone. As a matter of fact, my assistant takes my cell phone so I’m not interrupted. Then I prospect until 11:30. I have no buyer agent, so I do 150 deals basically myself.

05:42I meet with the admins at 11:30, and then usually 12:00 to 12:30 I do admin things, maybe look at some CMAs and what have you. Then I go out on appointments from 1:00 until I try to be home by 6:00, Monday through Thursday.

05:55On the weekends, I periodically have to do a counteroffer or present an offer or something like that, but I try hard to avoid actually meeting with people on the weekends and Fridays. It’s pretty much a weekday business.

Ren Jones 06:10

Monday through Thursday is the plan to try to do 150 deals?

Calla Ricciardi 06:19

In four days, yeah. Exactly. Once I can get that mastered, then I’ll move it down to three days.

Carley Hathaway 06:30

And you don’t have a buyer’s agent. Do you work with buyers?

Calla Ricciardi 06:32

Yeah, I do. I usually work with about 35 a year. I do have people that help me out if I’m not available, because with what the market is right now, you better get your buyers in there right away. I have people in my office that will help me out on an individual basis.

Ren Jones 06:50

And your buyers, when you look at it, you’ve sold their home. They have nowhere to live. That’s your ideal buyer. That doesn’t take a lot of time. They’re very motivated.

Calla Ricciardi 06:56

Exactly. I work with those buyers, and that’s it. If they want to look at 25 houses, I will find other agents to take them through those other houses because I just don’t have the time.

Carley Hathaway 07:40

You mentioned that you do roleplay from 7:30 to 8:00 every morning, but you’ve been doing this and using the Mike Ferry scripts for over 20 years. How important do you think the roleplaying is? You must have the scripts down by now.

Calla Ricciardi 07:53

It is so critical to sharpen the axe. The more you practice, the better you’re going to be on the phone. I don’t know anybody that’s professional — professional baseball players, basketball players, football players, anybody that’s professional — they have a coach. They don’t quit coaching after they’ve won the Super Bowl or whatever they do. They still maintain their coach.

08:14That’s how I feel. The coaching I’ve gotten from Mike Ferry and the roleplaying, it’s critical. The better I can be, the better chance I’m going to have of getting listings. Right now, I’m averaging about 84% of the appointments I go on. Just think of where I could be if I could make it to 90%.

Ren Jones 08:38

How do you go from 84 to 90? What are those steps?

Calla Ricciardi 08:51

I think the biggest thing is you have to really listen when you’re prequalifying. I have a full list of questions I ask people, but you need to really probe them and find out why they’re moving. They’re moving to Chicago or they’re moving to who knows where, but why? Is this a positive move or a negative move?

09:10Really get more information from them, because I think the more qualified they are and the more information you have, the better able you are to help them. You can also determine their motivation, and the motivation is key to whether they’re going to move or they’re going to list a property.

Ren Jones 09:25

If you really probe, like you’re saying, first they give you the surface answer and then you get the real answer as you probe. Then that changes the whole dynamic of what you’re trying to accomplish.

Calla Ricciardi 09:37

Exactly. Ask all the questions on that prequal and make sure you don’t assume that because it’s a past client you’ve got the listing in the bag. Find out if they’re interviewing other agents.

Ren Jones 09:48

You prequalify every one of your past clients?

Calla Ricciardi 09:53

I do. I try to make sure I ask them every single question. Absolutely, because what if they are interviewing other agents and you get there thinking it’s a slam dunk?

Carley Hathaway 10:10

When you’re prequalifying, you obviously have things that are going to set you off and make you not want to take the listing appointment. What’s the best way you find to overcome unrealistic prices they have in mind?

Calla Ricciardi 10:24

I think the biggest thing is you need to know the motivation, because the motivation will cure the unrealistic sale price. If they are not motivated, then that’s where you want to draw the line and not go on the appointment. Sometimes you also need to go out to the house to determine that complete motivation.

10:47If they absolutely have to move right away but they want to overprice it, in that particular case you show them the comps and you take the listing. The market is going to dictate the price, not me.

Ren Jones 11:07

They have to move right away, so overpriced doesn’t mean anything because reality will kick in pretty fast.

11:13The motivation drives it. You’re powerful on your pre-list because so many agents go to the house and start asking questions there. A lot of agents just go, “Great, listing appointment, boom, I’m there,” and then they get there and find out it’s the kids, the parents’ house, or a lot of different things can happen.

11:42How long typically is your listing appointment?

Calla Ricciardi 11:46

Unfortunately, I would say it’s probably 60 to 90 minutes. It is a little bit longer than I would like it. I should work on that to shorten it up a little bit. Mike Ferry would be really disappointed in me.

Ren Jones 11:57

Are they getting something from you ahead of time? What takes it out to 60 to 90 minutes?

Calla Ricciardi 12:06

I actually send out a pre-list in most cases, and I just talk too much. That’s my problem.

Ren Jones 12:15

What do you include in your pre-list package?

Calla Ricciardi 12:19

I usually send out a little bit of information, a resume, a list of the 150 sales I did in 2017 and 2016. I also have some home mortgage information. I want to collect a property condition report, just some of the documents they can fill out ahead of time, and then a note like, look for the title policy, give me a couple keys, so they’re ready for everything when I get there. It does go much quicker when they have everything completed.

Ren Jones 13:13

You touched on it a bit. In interviewing a lot of folks, a lot of people are in some sort of coaching. What is the importance of coaching? What has that done for you? Why are you in it for years and spending $12,000 a year doing something like that?

Calla Ricciardi 13:37

I’ve been in the real estate business for over 34 years, and I started coaching about 20 years ago. I started coaching when I was closing right around 45 to 50 deals and I was trying to improve. My business has gone from 45 to 50 deals to 150, and I wish it would have been a magic pill that happened overnight.

14:00When you’re in coaching, you constantly have somebody asking you, “How many appointments are you going to go on? How many listings are you going to take? How many hours did you prospect?” You’re also accountable to your coach. If you have someone constantly helping you to improve, that’s how I’ve gone from 50 to 150 deals.

14:20Really, if you think about the $12,000 I pay a year for coaching, it’s a drop in the bucket because I am making eight times as much money as I was when I started coaching 20 years ago.

Ren Jones 14:38

When you first signed up for coaching, you were doing 50 transactions. What’s going through your mind there? A thousand dollars a month, and at the end of 12 months you’ve spent $12,000. There’s a return on investment. In the first year, how many times do you think you paid that $12,000 back with additional business?

Calla Ricciardi 15:03

Right off the bat, one of the biggest things with me is I am coachable and I actually did listen to what my coach had to say. That’s a big factor, letting go of your ego and “I know the best way to do things,” and actually listening to what somebody else has to offer you.

15:23I would say coaching has never really cost me any money, because ever since the first month I started with coaching, I’ve been doing more business and doing more deals.

Carley Hathaway 15:47

For people that are just starting out with the scripts and just starting to call expireds and FSBOs, what is something that keeps you motivated on the phones when you’re not getting the feedback you want and you’re getting shut down a lot? What’s your reason to stay on the phones and keep pounding those calls?

Calla Ricciardi 16:08

Probably one of the most important things is to realize how the numbers work. You know that if you make the contacts, you’re eventually going to get the listing appointment, you’re eventually going to get the listings, and you’re eventually going to get the money. That’s going to get you to the goals you’re setting.

16:23If you sit down and write out your goals every day and you know what you’re working toward, even if it’s 15 or 20 contacts or 25 contacts, you can’t start out the first day of prospecting and think you’re going to make 47 contacts a day like I do. It’s just not realistic. But if you start out and make yourself a commitment for an hour a day and making 15 calls a day, you’re going to see an improvement in your business.

Ren Jones 16:51

So you do 47 a day now?

Calla Ricciardi 16:56

That’s my goal. What really forces me to do those 47 contacts a day is accountability. We text every day when we get done with our prospecting, and if I don’t make my 47 contacts, I have to pay them $100. That is huge to me. I don’t want to pay $100 for not making my 47 contacts.

Ren Jones 17:21

Have you had to pay?

Calla Ricciardi 17:23

I have once, and it’s been over two years I’ve been doing it. I don’t like doing it at all.

Ren Jones 17:32

How about a roleplay? Expired, FSBO, past client. What do you want?

Calla Ricciardi 17:41

Why don’t we do an expired?

Carley Hathaway 17:47

Okay, I’ll be the seller. I’m ready. Ring, ring. Hello?

Calla Ricciardi 17:57

Hi, Carley. This is Calla from Century 21. I’m sure you figured out that your home came off the market as an expired listing today. I was calling to see, when did you plan to interview a new agent for the job of selling your home?

Carley Hathaway 18:12

Literally, you’re like the tenth person that has called. I’m over you real estate agents calling me. I’m just over it.

Calla Ricciardi 18:20

Carley, I can totally appreciate that. If I had a buyer out there that was looking for a home like yours, are you still interested in selling?

Carley Hathaway 18:28

Do you have a buyer?

Calla Ricciardi 18:31

I work with a lot of buyers, and I really don’t know if I have a buyer for your home until I actually see it. When would be a good time for me to stop by and take a look at the home so I can see if one of my buyers would work for your home?

Carley Hathaway 18:42

Are you going to bring a buyer?

Calla Ricciardi 18:44

I am not going to be bringing a buyer with me. I need to see the home before I can make a determination as to whether it would work for one of my buyers or not. Is this afternoon or tomorrow better for you?

Carley Hathaway 18:53

I just don’t know why I would work with you rather than the agent I was just working with.

Calla Ricciardi 19:00

Carley, that’s exactly why we need to meet. I can show you how I’ve actually closed over 150 deals in the last year. I do things differently than the typical agent.

Carley Hathaway 19:13

Can you explain over the phone to me what you would do differently?

Calla Ricciardi 19:14

No, I really need to show you. When would be a good time? I could stop by this afternoon, or is tomorrow better for you?

Carley Hathaway 19:19

I could do tomorrow.

Calla Ricciardi 19:25

Which is better, 2:00 or 4:00?

Carley Hathaway 19:27

Four.

Calla Ricciardi 19:28

All right, sounds good. I’ll see you then, Carley.

Ren Jones 19:32

I wrote down a couple things that are fun in there. One is what I used to call the Objection-Matic. Whatever they say, you said, “Well, that’s exactly why we need to meet.” I can’t remember what she said, but you responded with, “That’s exactly why we need to meet.” You used that, and it worked well.

19:56The second thing you pointed out right after that was, “I do things differently than the average agent,” separating yourself out. A lot of people don’t know that. They think we all do the same thing.

20:12Then you gave her a choice. “Which is better for you, 2:00 or 4:00?” You didn’t say, “What time should we meet?” You didn’t say, “How about 4:00?” She had to think 2:00 or 4:00 versus 4:00 or no. That shows a lot of practice, and obviously I see why you sell 150 homes a year.

Carley Hathaway 20:36

Obviously, I was a little disgruntled and trying to be rude to you. If I did finally agree, would you then prequalify me right then, or would you call me back?

Calla Ricciardi 20:50

I would try to prequalify you right on the phone. It just depends on how nasty you really are, though, because if you’re really that hard to deal with, I might rather just get to your house. A lot of times, in person, people have a much harder time really objecting to you.

Carley Hathaway 21:06

I definitely agree.

Ren Jones 21:09

That was great. Let’s do some Q&A. Let’s take a peek and see who we’ve got on the list here.

21:39What’s your follow-up schedule?

Calla Ricciardi 21:46

Basically, I have a little bin next to the desk I prospect at. I have 1 through 31, and I have January through December. I just put the people in the slot that I think is appropriate for the call.

Ren Jones 22:02

Somebody’s asking about your roleplay. Do you have one roleplay partner or different roleplay partners? How does that work?

Calla Ricciardi 22:09

I have a different roleplay partner every single day. The ones I’ve had, I’ve actually had for probably over a year, but they’re really good people and they’re dependable and we have good conversations, so I’ve kept them. They’re all different people from different parts of the country. I try to get as many people in the same time zone, but it just depends on the people.

Ren Jones 22:36

If you don’t have enough expireds to call, who do you call? Xavier Beltran says it’s hard to reach 25 contacts. He’s got a good point when you’re newer in this. To do your 47 today, who are you calling? You have more past clients and things like that. Who’s in the mix of that 47?

Calla Ricciardi 22:58

That’s a great question. I always look at it like I’m so lucky that I get to talk to 26 past clients and sphere of influence a day. That’s what I do, and over half my business is from my past clients and my sphere, so I do have a big advantage.

23:13You can get out and knock doors, and you can also call around either sold listings that you personally have sold or sold listings that have sold in the Multiple Listing Service, a listing from somebody else in your company. You can call around listings anytime.

Ren Jones 23:30

When you’re calling and you’ve called a few times, do you ever leave voicemails?

Calla Ricciardi 23:34

I only leave voicemail messages for my past clients and my sphere. I don’t leave messages for expireds. Once in a while, I might leave a message for a for sale by owner saying, “Hey, I have some interest in your house. This is Calla.” A lot of times they’ll call you back.

Ren Jones 23:51

How many closes before you move on? Don Sheets here locally was saying he noticed there were four or five closes there and thought it was a great job. At what point do you move on?

Calla Ricciardi 24:05

It’s really just a gut feeling. I try to close people two or three times. It’s funny, though. Sometimes the nastiest people that hang up on you, if you call them back two or three days later, they’ll forget that they’ve talked to you and they’ll be receptive. You just have to have guts and not worry about it.

Ren Jones 24:32

From Facebook: “I love digging into motivation. How important is that for you?”

Calla Ricciardi 24:38

It’s very important. A lot of times people give you that surface answer, and if you dig a little bit, you get a little bit more truth. Not everybody volunteers some of their dirty laundry to you. You have to build that rapport to get that dirty laundry.

Ren Jones 25:03

Do you send mailers to all of your expireds?

Calla Ricciardi 25:09

I don’t send a lot of mailers. Typically, I don’t send anything out to expireds. The only mailings I really do, I try to do a quarterly mailing to my past clients and sphere. It’s just a simple oversized postcard.

Ren Jones 25:28

Do you door knock?

Calla Ricciardi 25:29

No, I haven’t. I think door knocking is a great idea. There is a limited window of decent weather, and I just don’t normally do it.

Ren Jones 25:47

Lori Rhodes has a good question. When you call your sphere of influence, what do you call them about? Since you’re calling so frequently, is it all business? What’s a call to a past client or sphere of influence?

Calla Ricciardi 25:55

Typically, you want to give your past clients or sphere something of value. Talk about what’s happening in the market, maybe a new listing. Right now, it’s like, “Hey, 2018 is expected to be an awesome year for real estate. Do you have any questions about what’s going on out there in the real estate market, or do you know anybody that wants to buy or sell before the interest rates continue to increase?”

26:17Offer them something of value and try to make it pretty short, because otherwise people aren’t going to want to really talk to you when you call.

Ren Jones 26:24

On and off quickly and a piece of value there. Perfect. Then they’re glad you called.

26:32For sale by owner: which is the best time to call as part of your daily routine?

Calla Ricciardi 26:45

It’s great to call in the morning. But I’ll tell you, sometimes calling for sale by owners — I haven’t done it for many years — when I was new, I called for sale by owners on Sunday afternoons around 4:00 or 5:00 because they were disheartened about their open houses. It’s a good time to get ahold of them. Sunday afternoons for for sale by owners, and expireds are good in the morning.

Ren Jones 27:05

Did you ever go to the open houses for for sale by owners and just try to meet them and talk to them then?

Calla Ricciardi 27:11

I don’t work on Sundays anymore, so I don’t really prospect on Sundays, but I think it’s a good idea. It doesn’t hurt to go out and be there in person at the open houses. I’ve just never done it.

Ren Jones 27:24

I’m getting this a lot because people call expireds, they call for sale by owners, they’ve got an idea what you’re saying to past clients and sphere. But maybe they’ve been there a year and their past clients and sphere is 37 people. Now it’s Tuesday. When you’re calling around a listing or a sale, what does that look like? What does that conversation sound like?

Calla Ricciardi 27:59

Sure. Ring, ring.

28:02Hey, Ren, this is Calla from Century 21. I just listed a property over on 123 Main Street. It’s a beautiful three-bedroom, two-bath for $250,000. Who do you know that would like to buy a home in your neighborhood?

Ren Jones 28:15

I can’t think of anybody.

Calla Ricciardi 28:18

Can’t think of anybody? Great. Thanks so much for thinking about it. Tell me, Ren, when do you plan on making a move?

Ren Jones 28:27

We just moved in here 10 years ago, so not for a while.

Calla Ricciardi 28:29

Ten years ago? Awesome. Where did you move from?

Ren Jones 28:34

Chicago.

Calla Ricciardi 28:37

Chicago. How did you happen to pick this area?

Ren Jones 28:40

We love Wisconsin. I was eating more and more cheese and I thought, let’s go north.

Calla Ricciardi 28:49

Awesome. So, Ren, if you were to move, where would you go next?

Ren Jones 28:53

Probably back to Chicago because I miss the pizza.

Calla Ricciardi 29:00

Back to Chicago. Let me ask you, would you like to be moved in one to three months, or would you like to start moving at that time?

Ren Jones 29:09

I’m not sure. To be candid, we are giving it some thought. I’d probably want to look at that in the spring.

Calla Ricciardi 29:32

Well, it’s a great market here right now, and if you have any questions I can help you with, please feel free to give me a call.

29:40I would determine at that point whether I want to keep the lead or whether I don’t.

Ren Jones 29:44

It’s a numbers game. Those are quick calls. What’s that good for, an extra couple listings a month? Just listed, just sold?

Calla Ricciardi 29:51

Usually one or two.

Ren Jones 29:54

One or two. That’s a significant amount of money. You could make $100,000 income just working on that.

Calla Ricciardi 30:00

Absolutely. The better you know the scripts and the better you are on the phone, the more money you’re going to make.

Ren Jones 30:07

Perfect. That really helps. This has been fantastic, and I want to thank everybody for all these questions. It looks like we had a lot of questions this round. Sorry we couldn’t ask every single one of them.

30:29I want to thank everybody. I want to thank Calla for sharing, and hopefully there are a lot of people watching who got a handful of ideas they can apply right away and maybe do an extra sale this month. If, as a result of some of the ideas, you took an extra listing or got an extra sale, let us know. Send us an email or text us. We’d love to hear about it.

30:54I’ve got to say my important piece or I’ll get in trouble. The Lead Gen group has been very helpful with the additional people who watch this. If you’re interested in getting involved with them, you can find the Lead Gen group on Facebook.

31:25Finally, if you’re watching on Facebook and you’re not yet involved with Vulcan7, sign up. And if you’re like Calla, if you’ve done your 47 contacts, you deserve to celebrate. Go to the freezer, get some delicious Graeter’s mint chocolate chip ice cream. You deserve it. Reward yourself. Work four days a week like Calla.

31:58See you guys next week. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. See you in seven days.