S2 E6: Explore What is Possible
Meet Mega Agent Zach Behr from Philadelphia, PA. Zach works a highly efficient 7am to 5pm five days a week. By being very focused and efficient, Zach improves his sales output year after year. Zach gives us a great roleplay as well as a number of tips to take the business to the next level.
Ren Jones (00:01):
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 2, 3, 4 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 apply the copycat principle. How can you lose at that? If you’re watching on Vulcan7 or you’re watching on the Lead Gen Facebook group, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions during the broadcast.
(00:33):
First, let me introduce my co-host from San Diego. That’s Carley Hathaway, carleyhathaway.com. Hi, Carley. How’s real estate?
Carley Hathaway (00:42):
Hi, Ren. Real estate is great. San Diego is a really hot market right now. Lots of new construction going up, so it’s definitely a good time to be a listing agent.
Ren Jones (00:53):
Awesome. It is. I know. Well, good. Well, I hope you’re selling a lot of houses.
Carley Hathaway (00:57):
Yes.
Ren Jones (00:57):
Good. And again, I want to remind everybody we are broadcasting also on the Lead Gen Facebook group. They have 48,000 members, so we have a large audience there today as well. And we’ll be pausing for a commercial message during the show as a thank you to the Lead Gen folks.
(01:15):
Let me welcome our guest today from Philadelphia, Zach Behr.
Zach Behr (01:24):
Hey, Ren. Hey, guys. Hey, everybody. Hey.
Carley Hathaway (01:25):
Hi, Zach. How are you?
Zach Behr (01:27):
Wonderful. Great day to be in real estate.
Carley Hathaway (01:30):
Yeah, Philadelphia’s a good spot, huh?
Zach Behr (01:33):
The market is moving, low inventory, just like you were saying about San Diego. It’s really no different. So listing property here, it’s a phenomenal time to do so.
Carley Hathaway (01:42):
Great.
Ren Jones (01:43):
It’s a little different than San Diego. They’ve got great football in Philadelphia.
Zach Behr (01:47):
Yeah, there you go. Exactly.
Carley Hathaway (01:48):
And we have no football in San Diego, so there you go.
Zach Behr (01:53):
Yeah, it’s coming off a big win.
Carley Hathaway (01:54):
Yeah.
Ren Jones (01:56):
Zach, what’s the best way? Because a lot of people want to move to Philadelphia. Besides just moving there just for great football, they may want to move there, or they may want to refer people to move there. So how’s the best way for them to reach you to find a great home, or if they’re already there to sell a great home?
Zach Behr (02:12):
Sure. I think the cell phone’s probably the best way to reach me.
Ren Jones (02:15):
Okay.
Zach Behr (02:15):
Cell phone number is 215-350-4125. Or you can reach me via email if that’s more convenient.
Ren Jones (02:24):
Sure.
Zach Behr (02:25):
And that’s zach@zachbehr.com.
Ren Jones (02:27):
Perfect. Or they could go to zachbehr.com and learn a lot about how you’re set up too. Correct?
Zach Behr (02:32):
That works too. Correct.
Ren Jones (02:33):
Okay, good. So three different ways. So call Zach. Move to Philadelphia in the summer.
Zach Behr (02:40):
Absolutely. We love referrals, and we love bringing new people into the Philadelphia area.
Ren Jones (02:43):
Good. Well, let’s see how much of that we can do over the next year. Good deal.
Zach Behr (02:47):
Sounds good.
Ren Jones (02:47):
So what’s the transaction goal for this year, 2018? What’s your goal?
Zach Behr (02:53):
It’ll be 150 transactions.
Ren Jones (02:54):
150 transactions. That’s a good number. That’s a great number.
Zach Behr (02:57):
Yeah.
Ren Jones (02:57):
Good. Good, good, good. Good.
Carley Hathaway (03:01):
So Zach, how long have you been in the business?
Zach Behr (03:04):
So I’ve been licensed now since 2005.
Carley Hathaway (03:07):
Okay.
Zach Behr (03:08):
When I was 18, I was a college student. I decided. I saw a lot of money in 2004, 2005 being paid to real estate agents. I thought, well, I like money, so let’s get licensed. And I did my freshman year of college, sold a few houses when I was in school, which helped. I hope this is okay to say. Paid for the parties and the booze and everything.
Ren Jones (03:31):
There we go.
Carley Hathaway (03:31):
That’s okay to say.
Zach Behr (03:33):
Once I graduated college, I got really serious about it and went full-time in ’08.
Carley Hathaway (03:37):
Nice. Okay. Okay, so what is kind of your strategy? So you’re shooting for 150 transactions in 2018?
Zach Behr (03:44):
Correct.
Carley Hathaway (03:46):
What is your strategy? How do you get new business? What do you do? Tell us. We need to know.
Zach Behr (03:50):
Yeah. So it’s pretty simple. I follow the Mike Ferry approach, which is not sitting back and hoping someone shows up to give me a listing or wants to buy, but more of a prospecting approach, which is why I’ve been connected with you guys through Vulcan7, calling expireds, for sale by owners, past clients, just listed/just sold calls, all the like. We try to have as many sources as we possibly can. The team goal of 150, I’m the primary listing agent, and we have two buyer agents that work for us as well.
Ren Jones (04:30):
Perfect. That’s a good combination. A perfect combination for 150. That’s excellent.
Zach Behr (04:35):
Yeah. It works. Thank you, Ren.
Carley Hathaway (04:36):
So where would you say majority of your business comes from?
Zach Behr (04:39):
You know, even though it’s my least worked source over the last 10, 15 years, believe it or not, it’s my past clients at center of influence.
Carley Hathaway (04:48):
Okay. All right.
Zach Behr (04:50):
It’s one of those things that we kind of looked at over the last couple of years. We’re getting so much business from these people, it’s time to start working them. But primarily before the last couple of years, it was mostly expireds and for sale by owners.
Carley Hathaway (05:02):
Okay. So now that you kind of have switched over and are doing more past clients and referrals, what’s your strategy on contacting them? How often do you do it? Do you have priority people you call first? How often do you do it? Kind of explain.
Zach Behr (05:16):
Sure. Yeah. I always think I’ve got to find the motivated. First thing in the morning, I start calling at 8:00. I hit all the new expireds that day and all the canceled and withdrawn listings at that point. So it’s expired, canceled, withdrawn for that day. We follow that by the last 48, 72 hours after that. So the last three days is pretty much what I want because we know that the people that are the most motivated are going to re-list their property within a 24 to 72-hour window. So my objective is, I want to call the motivated. I don’t want to waste time calling the same people over and over and over who don’t answer.
(06:03):
From there, I do my database calls, starting typically about 9:00, then move over to for sale by owners. I’ll call the new expireds and canceled about three times every morning.
Carley Hathaway (06:18):
Okay.
Ren Jones (06:19):
Perfect. Good deal. Good. Fantastic. What are the different ways you stay in touch with past clients? Is it just phone calls, or do you touch them any other way?
Zach Behr (06:33):
So for a while, it was just the phone call. I think we had kind of dropped the ball there for a little while, but in an effort to really make the people that know us, not so much as realtors, but as cousins and friends and neighbors, to really make sure that they know who we are, we’ve kind of increased the level of mailing that we’re doing as well. So everybody gets a mailing once a month now, and we’re doing two emails a month to the database, four calls to everybody in the database, except for my VIP clients, the people that are going to refer multiple deals every year to me, they’ll get called once a month.
Ren Jones (07:07):
Okay. How many people are in the VIP?
Zach Behr (07:11):
Not as many as should be. I’m always looking to grow that number. I think it’s probably about 10 people in the VIP right now.
Ren Jones (07:19):
Ten people in the VIP and growing. Okay.
Zach Behr (07:21):
Exactly.
Ren Jones (07:21):
We’ll check back with you in six months to see if it’s up to 22.
Zach Behr (07:25):
Exactly. There we go.
Ren Jones (07:27):
Good. Well, if they’re sending you that much business, that’s a powerful group.
Zach Behr (07:31):
They get on that list because we know that they’re what I would call a whale, someone that produces multiple deals for me in a year. So I want to make sure that I’m providing them the value to justify that. Right?
Ren Jones (07:45):
Yeah.
Zach Behr (07:45):
They have access to me. I’m keeping in touch with them, keeping them up to date with what’s going on in the market, if there’s good deals out there. That way, they feel like it’s worth continuing to send clients my way.
Ren Jones (07:57):
Fantastic.
Carley Hathaway (07:58):
Great. Okay, so you said you get on the phones by 8:00, calling new expired. Do you role-play in the morning or anything like that?
Zach Behr (08:06):
Yeah, I role-play once a day. Every day is a little bit different depending on the schedule, but typically it’s either as soon as I leave the gym at 7:00 or after I’m dressed and ready to go at 7:30.
Carley Hathaway (08:23):
Okay, what time do you get to the gym? Because now I’m scared.
Ren Jones (08:29):
He gets up at 2:00 AM.
Carley Hathaway (08:30):
That’s what I’m thinking.
Zach Behr (08:32):
No, I wish I was that. I’m not the best at the morning thing in terms of waking up, but once I’m out of bed, I’m fine. So the gym starts at 6:00. I CrossFit, so it’s a one-hour schedule. From 7:00, I go right home, shower, change, and get to the office.
Ren Jones (08:48):
CrossFit. All right, there we go.
Carley Hathaway (08:49):
Yikes.
Zach Behr (08:49):
Yeah.
Ren Jones (08:49):
That’s the hot thing.
Carley Hathaway (08:52):
So do you think having a really regular schedule, including your workouts in the morning, really helps you stay on track and keeps you on the phones, and keeps you motivated?
Zach Behr (09:00):
Yeah, I think having a structured morning has helped me significantly because I don’t have to think about what to do. I may not be the brightest bulb out there. So for me, the less I have to think and the simpler I make this thing, the easier it is for me to produce.
Ren Jones (09:18):
So the routine pulls you?
Zach Behr (09:20):
Yeah. It’s just this is what I do.
Ren Jones (09:21):
It’s like routines do. They pull you.
Zach Behr (09:23):
Right. You think about it. You get into the car, and you drive to your parents’ house or your kids’ house. A lot of times you get there and you’re like, “Well, how did I get here?”
Ren Jones (09:31):
Yeah.
Carley Hathaway (09:31):
Yeah.
Zach Behr (09:32):
You’re using almost no brain power.
Ren Jones (09:33):
Unconscious mind. Well, if you do it long enough, it pulls you.
Zach Behr (09:35):
Yeah. So it’s the same thing. Absolutely. I love the morning schedule. Now the afternoon is something I’m striving to have as quality as the morning.
Ren Jones (09:44):
Well, if you ever get there, let me know. Nobody else has.
Zach Behr (09:47):
We’re working on it. It’s a work in progress.
Carley Hathaway (09:49):
Yeah. So your afternoons are usually set aside for listing appointments, I’m guessing?
Zach Behr (09:53):
Yeah. Typically, I’ll spend about an hour every afternoon working in the business or on the… I always get that mixed up. Not just prospecting and lead following up, but developing the systems so that everything’s continued to be duplicatable and it runs on a system versus winging it. So I usually spend about an hour a day working on the business versus just lead follow-up and prospecting. So the afternoon’s dedicated to that, along with returning phone calls, any client calls that have to be made, any lead follow-up. Appointments are usually 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon.
Carley Hathaway (10:28):
Okay, nice.
Ren Jones (10:30):
2:00 and 4:00, okay.
Zach Behr (10:30):
2:00 and 4:00.
Carley Hathaway (10:30):
2:00 and 4:00, okay.
Ren Jones (10:31):
Great, so that gets you home a little early.
Zach Behr (10:34):
Yeah. I like to have a nice nightlife, whether it be going out, meeting up with some friends, or just decompressing from the day. It’s a good mental thing for me.
Ren Jones (10:43):
But you’re not following the normal schedule. Don’t you know that? Most agents arrive at the office between 9:30 and 10:00, and they put together some different feature sheets and things like that and wait for their phone to ring, brand themselves, and then take a buyer around and work till about 10:30 at night on a deal with a midnight deadline. What happened to the midnight deadlines?
Zach Behr (11:05):
Well, Ren, I used to work what I’d call half days. I used to do 7:00 to 7:00 every day.
Carley Hathaway (11:11):
Oh, my god.
Ren Jones (11:11):
Half days, I love it.
Zach Behr (11:15):
Really mailing it in and keeping it easy. But what I find is, I know it’s counterintuitive for most people on the call or listenings, but the more I work, I found, the less I do. So I’m actually more productive the less I work. There’s always that fine line. If I don’t show up, I don’t get paid. I know that.
Ren Jones (11:36):
It’s focus and energy.
Zach Behr (11:36):
Right.
Ren Jones (11:37):
And you’ve got some focused energy. A lot of the people watching right now, we got to see something they haven’t seen yet. And I’m hoping we’re going to pull it in here in the next few minutes. We watched, and Carley, I think you saw. We watched a role-play that you were doing. Zach’s very aware of his time, and he was doing this role play, and it was so good. I was convinced I was going to set an appointment with him too. My god.
Zach Behr (12:00):
Ren, when do you plan on moving?
Ren Jones (12:02):
I know, there we go. Well, soon.
Carley Hathaway (12:05):
Zach, how long does your listing appointment typically take?
Zach Behr (12:09):
It depends on the source and how I obtained the appointment. But typically, I don’t know, 25, half-hour.
Carley Hathaway (12:20):
Okay, good. So you have it locked in pretty tight.
Zach Behr (12:23):
I took a listing last night, and it was Mike Ferry’s One-Minute Presentation.
Carley Hathaway (12:28):
Nice. Good for you.
Zach Behr (12:29):
It just depends on the situation.
Carley Hathaway (12:31):
Good. Okay. And do you send a pre-listing packet?
Zach Behr (12:34):
We do, yeah. So we follow a five-step process, including the pre-listing packet.
Carley Hathaway (12:39):
Okay. What do you usually include in your packet?
Zach Behr (12:42):
So it’ll be a list of references, people that have gone through the home sale process, not only listing but going into closing, plan of action, all the listing paperwork along with comparable properties, and a recommended… I did nose surgery. Now I can’t talk. With a recommended price as well.
Carley Hathaway (13:05):
Okay, good. Cool. I like that you got the One-Minute Listing down last night.
Zach Behr (13:10):
Yeah.
Ren Jones (13:12):
I would think that with you, it probably happens often because you ask them a lot of pre-qualifying questions. They get a packet, whatnot. They probably know they want to list with you before you even get there because they know what you’re going to do.
Zach Behr (13:26):
Sure. Yeah. As long as they have all the information and I’ve asked all the qualifying questions, a lot of times, things are settled before we get there.
Ren Jones (13:33):
So you just get in there and fill in paperwork and leave.
Zach Behr (13:35):
Essentially. It’s even better when they call and just say, send over the paperwork DocuSign. It’s a no-minute presentation.
Carley Hathaway (13:42):
Score.
Ren Jones (13:43):
We’ll see that. We’ll get over and look at your house sometime.
Zach Behr (13:46):
Yeah, right. Exactly. We’ll stop over later and sign the contract.
Ren Jones (13:49):
There you go. Love it.
Carley Hathaway (13:51):
So Zach, let me ask you this. It seems like you keep really tight on your schedule. What is your motivation to stick with it and to get on the phones every day and get on the phone by 8:00 AM and role-play? What’s really keeping you going? What’s your motivation?
Zach Behr (14:08):
That’s a great question. I’m a very naturally competitive guy, and I’ve always been about being the best I could possibly be but also continuing to grow. So for me, there’s a certain level of internal ego-satisfying thing where I can prove to myself that I’m better than anybody. Now, there’s always going to be somebody better than me, and I’m always chasing that, but that is a motivation for me to be the best I can possibly be. I love to travel, things like that, that really motivates me. I’m an experience guy. I just got back from the Super Bowl last week.
Carley Hathaway (14:47):
Nice.
Zach Behr (14:49):
So things like that, that really gets me going. And now, you experience something like that, and it has me thinking, “Well, what’s the next thing?” So that really gets me going.
Carley Hathaway (14:59):
Nice. That’s good. That’s great.
Ren Jones (15:01):
So yeah, where are you going to be five years from now in transactions?
Zach Behr (15:06):
That’s a great question. And I know Tony Robbins always says the thing, “People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in five.” I would think, within five years, we can get to 500 transactions.
Ren Jones (15:17):
Okay, good.
Carley Hathaway (15:18):
I think you can do it.
Zach Behr (15:20):
Yeah, thank you.
Ren Jones (15:21):
And do a lot of traveling. Do you take a lot of time off?
Zach Behr (15:24):
Yeah. I went through some life changes over the last year to two years. I worked 50 less days in 2017 than I did the year before, and I produced more transactions that made more money.
Carley Hathaway (15:41):
Good.
Ren Jones (15:41):
Love it.
Carley Hathaway (15:41):
Good for you. That’s the way to do it.
Ren Jones (15:43):
Very, very, very efficient. I’d love it if you could do a role-play for us. And while you’re doing it, if people could start typing in some questions. What happens is they don’t type any, and by the time they type them in, it’s too late to ask them, so if we could do a role-play because that was really good. You were closing for an appointment, and you used an analogy. Maybe what we should do is start at the end of the script. And you’re talking to Carley, and she wants to move, and you’re trying to close for an appointment at this point, and she’s going, “Well, just send me your card,” and things like. Do you want to do something like that?
Zach Behr (16:21):
Yeah, absolutely.
Ren Jones (16:23):
Okay. All right. So you’re near the end of the script, Carley. You have to move. You’re moving to Chicago. You want to price it at 500, and you’re telling him just send your card, and you want to think about it for a few days.
Carley Hathaway (16:33):
Okay. He’s calling me, right?
Ren Jones (16:38):
No, he already called you, and you’re near the end of the script, more in the objection handler modes.
Carley Hathaway (16:43):
Okay.
(16:43):
Okay, Zach. You know what? I appreciate your time. Thanks for calling, but just send me your info, and if I decide I want to list with you, I’ll just give you a call.
Zach Behr (16:52):
Yeah, absolutely. I can definitely send my information over to you. And Carley, can I ask you, in the sale of your property, how important is it going to be that you maximize what you get for the property?
Carley Hathaway (17:02):
That’s my number one most important thing.
Zach Behr (17:03):
That’s the A-1 top priority.
Carley Hathaway (17:06):
Yeah, and I know I have the most beautiful house on the street. No one’s compares to mine, so I know I should get top dollar.
Zach Behr (17:12):
Absolutely. And that’s exactly why people like you will hire me because I specialize in getting homes like yours not only shown but sold quickly for the most a buyer’s willing to pay. And I’d be happy to show you that today at around 4:00, or do you think 2:00 would be more convenient?
Carley Hathaway (17:27):
I just don’t really have the time today.
Zach Behr (17:29):
Sure. Okay. Tomorrow’s out. How about tomorrow? Are you preferring the afternoon or the evening?
Carley Hathaway (17:35):
Again? I just don’t really know if I’m ready to list with you. I don’t know. I’m indifferent.
Zach Behr (17:41):
Yeah. Hey, and it may work out that you and I don’t work together. First off, we haven’t met, and you don’t owe me anything at all. Carley, can I ask you, have you ever bought a new car before?
Carley Hathaway (17:52):
I have.
Zach Behr (17:53):
Did you ever buy it over the phone, or did you go out and test-drive it?
Carley Hathaway (17:56):
I definitely went and checked it out, and test-drove it.
Zach Behr (17:59):
Yeah, you get the full experience. You get in the car, and you drove it, which is exactly why you and I need to meet immediately so I can show you exactly what we do to get properties like yours shown and sold quickly. So would you prefer to do that at 4:00 or 2:00 tomorrow?
Carley Hathaway (18:13):
What about 7:00 PM tonight?
Zach Behr (18:15):
7:00 PM. Okay. And I’ve only spoken with you, and I see there’s another person on the title. Will you both be able to make it tomorrow at 7:00?
Carley Hathaway (18:24):
No, that’s my husband. He will be at work, and then he goes straight to the gym after that.
Zach Behr (18:31):
I see. Is it a possibility that he could rearrange his schedule to be there at 7:00, or do we need to find a better time where he could be available?
Carley Hathaway (18:39):
I guess we’d have to find a better time.
Zach Behr (18:41):
Okay. So if he’s going after work, shall we say earlier in the day? Could you guys take lunch off and do around 12, or should we say 2:00?
Carley Hathaway (18:50):
Will you bring lunch over to me?
Zach Behr (18:52):
I’ll bring it with me. And can you do me a favor before I get there?
Carley Hathaway (18:56):
Yeah.
Zach Behr (18:56):
Make sure you guys have a copy of the key for me.
Carley Hathaway (18:59):
If you bring me lunch, I will have a copy of the key.
Zach Behr (19:01):
I’ll bring the pizza. I’ll bring the food. We’ll have some fun and get you listed. Is that fair enough?
Carley Hathaway (19:06):
Sounds good.
Zach Behr (19:07):
All right, great. I’ll see you then.
Carley Hathaway (19:08):
Thank you.
Ren Jones (19:08):
Good deal. Now I know why I think you do a one-minute presentation.
Zach Behr (19:14):
Smooth sale, right?
Carley Hathaway (19:16):
Was I too easy on you, or was it okay?
Zach Behr (19:19):
It’s normal. I think you’re going to get a lot of pushback a lot of times where people naturally want to resist and put things off. And a lot of times, it’s just hitting people from different angles. I’m asking the same question but just in a different format.
Carley Hathaway (19:34):
Yeah.
Ren Jones (19:34):
Perfect.
Carley Hathaway (19:35):
No, I liked it. And you kept it really positive the whole time, and I think that’s really important, too, because I think sellers can get real negative and nasty, especially towards us agents. So the fact that you kept it positive, I think, was very helpful.
Zach Behr (19:49):
Well, one of the things I learned a long time ago in communication is that there’s three parts to it. You’ve got the words that you say, which only make up about 7% of communication. The other 93% come from your tonality and your body language.
Carley Hathaway (20:04):
Interesting.
Zach Behr (20:04):
So, oftentimes, when I see guys prospecting, I’ve been to the prospecting schools, they’ll get a rejection, and their body will go from this up really good posture to kind of slouch in the shoulders. And what a lot of people don’t realize is that little change, that small minute change in your body language, changes the tonality. So there’s a lot of me that kind of goes into it.
Ren Jones (20:28):
Just like you can tell somebody’s smiling when they talk to you, even though you can’t see them. You can tell when they’re smiling.
Zach Behr (20:32):
Exactly. Definitely.
Carley Hathaway (20:34):
Great advice.
Ren Jones (20:35):
Good. Julie Hummel wants to know, “What do you include in your pre-listing package again?”
Zach Behr (20:41):
Okay, well, real quick, I know we covered this, but it was the list of references. I think I have five or six that are on there with the name and phone number. I provide the plan of action, the things that we’re going to do to get your home sold. All of the contracts, including all the disclosures, and then the CMA with a recommendation on price with the net sheet.
Ren Jones (21:04):
Super, super, super. Leslie Vargas says, “I get more objections than nos. What do you do to get an appointment when they say no and don’t offer up any information?” If they just say no. What do you do with someone? We used to call them clams. They would speak very little.
Zach Behr (21:20):
Well, a good percentage of the population are going to be that way, so it’s an important question. I think a lot of it goes back to is mirror and matching how they’re being but also sticking to the script. What I find, oftentimes, happens, it’s so easy to go into a close, they say no, and then you close again versus going back to the script where you have a roadmap of good questions to get the customer and client speaking and giving you more information.
Ren Jones (21:49):
It’s a well-defined script.
Zach Behr (21:51):
Yeah. Most of the scripts you see out there if they’re open-ended, will get the client talking, and then you can use that information moving forward to either ask additional questions or close them on their motivation.
Ren Jones (22:03):
And maybe she’s using a lot of yes or no questions. And so, of course, she gets a lot of nos.
Zach Behr (22:09):
Yeah. That’s going to close down the conversation if you’re asking yes or no questions. You going to be careful of that.
Carley Hathaway (22:14):
I think that’s a great idea to just kind of go back up halfway through the script and just go again. Wait, so you’re moving to Chicago? Are you excited about it? Things like that.
Zach Behr (22:21):
Yeah. Like, “What’s important about that? What would that do for you? Isn’t that a great feeling?” There’s so many different ways you can reconnect them to the purpose of them moving.
Carley Hathaway (22:31):
So Zach, let me ask you this. What’s one really top piece of advice you could give for new agents that are just starting out on the scripts and just starting out with the calling and things like that?
Zach Behr (22:41):
So you start getting into script practice. What I found, the big problem for me, and I imagine a lot of people run into this, is I thought I had to be so scripted and so almost robotic with it. And there comes to a certain point where you have to realize that people don’t want an agent that’s rigid. They want somebody that’s going to be alive and excited and be there. Selling is a transfer of enthusiasm. So what I’d say is really internalized the scripts. I don’t want to say add personality where you’re adding your own script to it. So stay with the script but smile, use body language. Really be yourself to a certain extent.
Carley Hathaway (23:27):
Yeah, so insert your personality.
Zach Behr (23:29):
Yeah. Yeah, insert personality. I think they develop those on personality.com. I think I’ve heard one time.
Carley Hathaway (23:35):
Oh, yeah?
Zach Behr (23:36):
I don’t have one. Yeah.
Carley Hathaway (23:37):
Okay.
Zach Behr (23:37):
It’s tough.
Ren Jones (23:40):
So do you have any accountability partners or any other methods of accountability that keep you focused on the days you don’t feel like it?
Zach Behr (23:48):
Yeah, so I’ve got a few of them. So a good buddy of mine, Mark, down in Hollywood, Florida, him and I have a lead follow-up and past clients that have influenced accountability. I take the number of clients I’ve got to call in a quarter, divide that by the number of days I have to work, so I know how many people I’ve got to call every day, which is usually about eight or nine people I’ve got to call a day. So as soon as I’ve done that, I pick up my phone and text Mark, “Not only have I done my past client center of influence, I’ve done my lead follow-up.
Carley Hathaway (24:18):
Nice.
Ren Jones (24:19):
There a penalty if you don’t?
Zach Behr (24:21):
$100 a day.
Ren Jones (24:22):
$100 a day, okay.
Zach Behr (24:23):
$100 a day, yeah.
Carley Hathaway (24:26):
Good.
Ren Jones (24:26):
Have you had to pay out?
Zach Behr (24:31):
So there’s only one time where I didn’t do it. It was a couple of weeks ago. And then him and I put a bet on the Eagles game, and I won, so it was double or nothing.
Ren Jones (24:40):
Oh, there you go.
Carley Hathaway (24:40):
Nice.
Zach Behr (24:40):
Yeah, it worked out for me.
Carley Hathaway (24:44):
Good. Good.
Ren Jones (24:45):
Fantastic. So what do you do for mindset? It looks like you just have it automatically, but we all have to work at that. There’s so much negative stuff in the world. We have to work at that. And I know you have a few things you do.
Zach Behr (24:58):
Yeah, I wish I could say it was a natural thing for me, but it’s anything but. I think being competitive. I’m always looking for ways to increase my mindset. I think I’m actually an optimistic guy, but sometimes when you hit roadblocks and you see things that are discouraging, it can be a negative effect. But the way I operate is it’s not about probabilities. It’s about possibilities. Right?
Carley Hathaway (25:28):
I like that.
Zach Behr (25:30):
That’s a fundamental core belief that I have. You think about the Super Bowl two years ago. New England Patriots are down 28 to 3, with what, like, a couple of minutes left in the third quarter?
Ren Jones (25:42):
Yeah.
Zach Behr (25:42):
Now, I don’t like the Patriots for any bit. Like I can’t stand them. But what I have to respect is that they’re down 28 to 3. Now, for all intents and purposes, the probability of them winning, I bet you if you look that it’s like 99% that they’re going to lose. Now, if the Patriots believed that and based everything they did on probability, do they win the Super Bowl?
Ren Jones (26:04):
No.
Zach Behr (26:06):
No. That team had a focus of what’s possible. And so, for me, it’s just to keep going back to what is possible, not what’s probable. And that’s kind of a mindset thing that I keep training myself to do. So it’s reading, being around people that do more business than I do. Watching videos like this. I’m always trying to fill my mind with as much as possible. I probably read 30, 35 books a year.
Carley Hathaway (26:30):
Nice.
Zach Behr (26:31):
And I’m always playing some kind of audio when I’m in the car all the time.
Carley Hathaway (26:36):
That’s great. That’s a really great attitude and a really nice philosophy. I think anyone could take away from that.
Ren Jones (26:41):
What are you reading that you like? If you’re reading so many books, there’s bound to be a favorite in there.
Zach Behr (26:46):
I’ll tell you one of the ones I’ve read I’d recommend almost to anybody. It’s called Overachievement.
Carley Hathaway (26:50):
Overachievement.
Zach Behr (26:51):
However, I couldn’t tell you for the life of me who wrote it, and I just finished reading it. It’s a really good book. I got it on the iPad. It’s not a long read. It’s different than the normal think-positive books. It’s just a really good book.
Ren Jones (27:10):
Nice. I’ll look for that. I’m going to read that next.
Carley Hathaway (27:13):
Me too.
Ren Jones (27:14):
Jay Bollinger asks, and this is good because it’s about tracking numbers, “What is your contacts to appointments?”
Zach Behr (27:24):
Wow, that’s such a good number. It’s funny. I track all my numbers. They’re all in my analyzer, but I try not to overthink my numbers.
Ren Jones (27:32):
Okay.
Zach Behr (27:32):
I want to say I take a listing, so far this year, every 45 contacts, maybe less.
Ren Jones (27:38):
Okay.
Zach Behr (27:40):
What it was last year, I have no idea. I think, a lot of times, we can get into the pattern of overthinking our numbers, where it could be a negative effect too.
Carley Hathaway (27:48):
Yeah.
Ren Jones (27:48):
Okay.
Carley Hathaway (27:48):
Wait, and how many transactions did you do last year?
Zach Behr (27:52):
We did 96.
Carley Hathaway (27:53):
Nice. That’s great.
Ren Jones (27:55):
That’s a huge number.
Carley Hathaway (27:56):
Yeah.
Zach Behr (27:57):
Thank you.
Ren Jones (27:57):
That’s a lot of money.
Zach Behr (27:58):
Yeah, I figured now that I’m back to work this year, I can do 150.
Carley Hathaway (28:01):
Totally.
Ren Jones (28:02):
All right. So let’s look at that. So you’re at 96, and you’re going to 150. What did you have to change? What are you changing? What causes 150? Is it just hope, or did you specifically have four or five, or six things you had to change to get there?
Zach Behr (28:20):
Yeah, so I think it boils down to a few things. We did my gosh, 50, 55 transactions from past client center of influence last year. I spent maybe 5% of my time calling them. They maybe got one to two calls all of last year each. So I’m switching it up to the point where I know that that’s the most profitable source I can work. So we’re going to be calling them every quarter. My VIPs are every month. They’re all getting a mailing every single month. So that is a business change that we’re making because I believe if I’m asking people the right questions. Well, Ren, let me ask you this. Did you ever get anything the first time you were told something?
Ren Jones (29:03):
No.
Zach Behr (29:04):
Like, “Oh, you have to prospect.” “Okay, I’ve got it automatically.”
Ren Jones (29:07):
Oh, that’s easy. Next.
Carley Hathaway (29:08):
I wish. I wish it was that.
Ren Jones (29:11):
Yes.
Zach Behr (29:13):
So we have to get to a point where we’re training our database, the people that don’t know that we’re Zach, the realtor, this is what we do, and this is how you give me a referral. How many times have you been in a situation where your clients have said, “Oh, I passed your name over to somebody.” We never got a call from them. So it’s changing not only calling them, because calling is one thing but educating them on how to send me a referral.
Ren Jones (29:38):
Yeah.
Carley Hathaway (29:39):
That’s so true.
Zach Behr (29:40):
Right? Because most people think, “Oh, somebody’s going to call,” but people have busy lives. So I kind of go with the assumption if somebody tells me, “Okay, well, Bob at work is thinking about selling his house.” “Great, what’s Bob’s number?” Versus, “Oh, do you think I could call Bob?”
Carley Hathaway (30:00):
Yeah.
Zach Behr (30:01):
I’m assuming the sale. I’m saying, “Okay, what’s Bob’s number? I’m going to give him a call.” I think that’s a primary thing for us. But I think I’m going to work a little bit more this year than last year, so that will help with expireds and for sale by owners and everybody else. Really, it’s about being more efficient, I think, this year.
Ren Jones (30:19):
Well, it sounds like you went through and made a list of where does all my business come from in different categories and then how much time am I spending in each of those categories and made some fundamental changes.
Zach Behr (30:28):
Absolutely.
Ren Jones (30:29):
That’s a huge exercise. That really works.
Zach Behr (30:31):
The light bulbs were exploding with like-
Ren Jones (30:34):
What the hell are we doing?
Zach Behr (30:36):
Yeah. You’re doing all this business, and it’s funny. Somebody asked me, “If you could do anything differently from when you started, what would it be?” Well, it’s growing my database and working the database the right way. It’s the reason why we call expired. It’s the reason why we call for sale by owners and just listed/just solds. It’s to grow the database, so not do one transaction, but do a lineup of them from the referrals and repeat business.
Ren Jones (31:00):
Perfect. Yeah. Yeah.
Zach Behr (31:02):
If anybody can take that, that’s a money maker for everybody.
Carley Hathaway (31:05):
Definitely.
Ren Jones (31:06):
Perfect. This is great. Fantastic. Laura, Kristin said… She’s asking if you send a package to FSBOs. He only does it if he has an appointment, I would think. You don’t just send a packet to FSBOs for the hell of it, do you?
Zach Behr (31:17):
Every single one of them. No, I’m just kidding. No, it’s only if they have an appointment, and they’ve been qualified. It they’re not pre-qualified they’re not getting a pre-listing packet.
Ren Jones (31:28):
Good.
Zach Behr (31:29):
I do it in order. Yeah.
Ren Jones (31:30):
Good. Well, this is exciting, and I know you’re building a huge business there. And the nice part about it, when you look at 150 transactions, and they’re only you and two buyer agents, there’s a great income there. That’s huge. And Philadelphia’s a good market.
Zach Behr (31:44):
I’m happy. I’ll be happy with it.
Ren Jones (31:46):
Good.
Carley Hathaway (31:47):
Good. Good.
Ren Jones (31:47):
So I want to thank you for joining us. This has been a great show, and hopefully, a lot of people have learned a lot of things. And I’m sure we’ll get bombarded with a lot of texts and emails after the show’s over. It’d be fun to have you back again, see how the year’s progressing. Maybe in the fall, something like that?
Zach Behr (32:09):
Yeah, anytime. Let me know. I’m happy to help and be back on the show.
Ren Jones (32:14):
Good.
Carley Hathaway (32:14):
Yeah. Thank you so much for joining us, Zach. You have great energy, and I think people really learned a lot. I know I did. So thank you.
Ren Jones (32:20):
Yeah, what a fantastic role-play.
Zach Behr (32:24):
Oh, you’re welcome. And if you want to reach out to me too, I think I’m a genuinely nice guy, so if you want to reach out to me with questions or emails, I’m happy to talk to anybody.
Ren Jones (32:30):
Fantastic.
Carley Hathaway (32:30):
Great.
Ren Jones (32:31):
I appreciate that.
(32:33):
And so the last thing, I have to do my little commercial spot to thank the folks at the Lead Gen group on Facebook. If you want to get involved with them, they have 48,000 members. They are facebook.com/groups/objections. And I want to thank Aaron Wittenstein, who runs expiredmasteryelite.com.
(32:54):
And finally, if you’re watching on Facebook and you’re not involved with us, Vulcan7, make sure to sign up at vulcan7.com/leadgen for a special deal. And if you are like Zach, you’re going for 150 transactions. You’ve done your job. You’ve spent all morning making your contacts, and it’s that time. Yes, not lunchtime. It’s time to go to the freezer and get some delicious Graeter’s Mint Chocolate Chip. Mmm, get a big spoon. Good stuff.
(33:25):
We’ll see you guys again next week. We appreciate it. And tell your friends to watch the show. We’d Love to have everybody learn a lot and all make a lot of money. See you guys later. Thanks, again.
Carley Hathaway (33:38):
Bye. Thanks guys.