974: How ANY New Agent Can Outsell Industry Veterans – Taylor Tolbert

Aaron Amuchastegui  00:32

Taylor is from the gray Realty Group out in Fairfax, Virginia. One of the cool things about Taylor is Taylor is a longtime listener of the podcast. You know, that’s one of the things that you guys know, I love to interview people that started their career listening to the podcast I’ve learned from the podcast, and now they get to come on, and share the wealth and share some of the stuff that they’re doing to be successful to help other people. And it’s really cool to have you here, Taylor, how’s it going, man?

Taylor Tolbert  01:02

It’s going great. Aaron, it’s really good to be here. Like I said earlier, it’s just completely surreal to hear your voice on the other side. It’s hilarious. And yeah, longtime listener, I love the podcast. It’s funny, I listened to that episode with your brother Matt. And I loved it and actually reached out to him, like I reached out to a lot of people on the podcast. And him and I have been really closely connected for months. And then when I realized that, oh, he’s your brother, you know, this opportunity came up. And it’s just been, it’s been cool. And it’s very surreal to be here. So I’m very excited to talk to you today.

Aaron Amuchastegui  01:28

Yeah. And like I told you at the beginning, there’s going to be people that reach out to you. After the show, I want to encourage listeners, when we’re saying that, like everybody that’s on the podcast, they mean it. Right. So everybody that comes on here is on here to give there’s no there’s nothing that they can really get from the podcast of coming on here. They’re coming on to teach you to give back some of the stuff they went. We all believe that there is a abundance mindset that there is enough to go around that there is that we can share our biggest secrets with everybody on here, and they can still be successful. And yeah, it was my brother had one of the things I was talking to him. He had talked about you. And he said, Hey, one of the guys that reached out to me after the podcast, we actually talked a lot, we’ve actually, you know, followed up a lot of different times about different things. And he said you should think about getting him on the podcast. So it was a fun time, we got to reach back out super excited to hear about what you were going to be able to teach people today. So when did you get your license?

Taylor Tolbert  02:18

So I got licensed at the end of February in 2020. Right as the pandemic was being declared a pandemic and things were hitting the fan, that’s when I got licensed. So it’s been almost 15 months now being in the business.

Aaron Amuchastegui  02:30

Alright, so 15 months. So right before the pandemic, he said, The and what was that like? So you got your license, you’re super excited. And then all of a sudden, March and April hit like, were you already with the brokerage? Like what were your What was your first few months of real estate like?

Taylor Tolbert  02:44

Yeah, so backing up a little bit. I was selling software for a big public company for a while and I wasn’t really loving it. So my wife had kind of put this burden on my ear even years prior and was like, hey, real estate could be pretty cool. Funnily enough, she was a babysitter in the neighborhood where David gray, the guy who runs my team, he lives they had met, we’d kind of stayed in touch. And when I decided to quit that job and get into real estate in December of 19, those are the folks that I just reached out to right away. So I was fortunate in having that already lined up before I took my exam. And yeah, took the exam in January took forever to get my license issued because things were getting really slow at that point. But yeah, I had it all lined up. And I’ve been really happy with the team, great realtor groups amazing and my brokerage as well. So it’s been a it’s been a great start and getting my license at the beginning of the pandemic, like I always speak to more seasoned agents, because obviously, I’m a little bit newer, about what things were like before the pandemic and before the craziness. And this is all I know. So it’s been a heck of a ride, that’s for sure.

Aaron Amuchastegui  03:38

Yeah, all you know is that there’s this market where the you have to work really hard that it’s it’s really competitive, whether whether you’re a buyer’s agent or a seller’s agent, like if you’re trying to get listings, it’s tough to get listings, because there aren’t very many of them. And if you’re a buyer’s agent, you’re bidding against other people all the time. So it’s a you came into this at a time where everybody has to work really hard. So if things ever get back to normal is the wrong word. I don’t think it’s gonna go back to the way it was for quite a while. But if it ever goes back to resemble the world, we used to have you’ll you’ll have you’ll have a head you’ll have an advantage over people because of how hard you’ve had to work this time. So 15 months in when did you do your first deal that you that you’ve received a commission on.

Taylor Tolbert  04:16

So it took a few months, I got something under contract, it was two months into it, and then we closed in May. So it was about three months and then from Okay, very first day on the job to deal close. And then it really started to pick up pretty quickly because I had spoken people are like listen your first three to six months, you really need to start planting those seeds. And then the next six months are really going to start to bloom. So first deal two months to get under contract and be closed and then it’s been pretty consistent ever since.

Aaron Amuchastegui  04:42

How did you get that first deal?

Taylor Tolbert  04:44

So we do a lot of Zillow leads on our team and there was just a Zillow lead that had come in, funnily enough, he was a younger guy like me, so there was really no pressure or anything and he was a nice kid. We were looking around for some homes he was actually I found this out after the fact that he had spoke with a couple other realtors and you know they him and I jives pretty well the most. And we went saw homes and put in an offer. We were one for one, which was not as rare about a year ago, but it is now. And we just ended up getting house, it was a very, very smooth deal, especially for my first one. And that’s what people were telling me. I think I kind of Jinx myself, because my next couple deals were definitely intense as a buyer’s agent. But I was a pretty smooth one overall,

Aaron Amuchastegui  05:21

my I have so many talks with my friends and other agents so that there is this Beginner’s luck that happens. In real estate, it happens in investing, like the very first foreclosure I ever bought was such a homerun and then didn’t buy another one for a few months. Like there’s all these, but it’s so good if that first one does turn out lucky because that’s why because then people stay in IT people stick because then you stay in the business through all the tough stuff, you know, as the other ones aren’t there. And I think the reason a lot of people don’t stick with it is they don’t have the beginner’s luck. On the first it’s really hard to get that first deal. And the and when the first deal goes, well, so after a few months, you got your first deal from a zillo lead. And then now how many deals Have you done since you’ve had your license?

Taylor Tolbert  06:01

So since I’ve had my license, I’ve got 26 closings for about 10 point 5 million in volume, I’ve got three more pending and then a couple listings coming up. So it’s been like I said, it’s been relatively consistent. I think that’s the hardest thing, because in the beginning, you know, you’re just hungry, and you’re hunting for that first deal. And then you finally get it. And I told my wife, I’m like, Okay, if I can do this one time, I can definitely do this again, and then again, and then again. And then you start to get that reputation built, you get some deals under your belt competence really starts to grow. And then you realize and start thinking, Okay, how can I scale this and really take it to a different level where you’re no longer that newer agent scrambling, but trying to become a seasoned veteran. And obviously, that takes a lot of time. But I think having that mindset coming out of the gate, and just continuously learning throughout the whole process. I think that really goes a long way with setting you up for the future.

Aaron Amuchastegui  06:50

Yeah, yeah. What a cool example. And you said at the beginning that you start planting the seeds right away, that in six months, it’s going to, then it really starts to build up. What was the action to plant a seed.

Taylor Tolbert  07:05

So for me, I’m not from Northern Virginia. So I’m from Central Pennsylvania, originally, all my friends and family were up there, we’d been down here in Northern Virginia for about three years before getting into real estate. So I knew a few people, but it wasn’t like I had this gigantic sphere. So in terms of planting seeds, when I joined the team, I just literally come through, you know, two, three year old leads that were in the database that nobody was calling on anymore, I call it literally everybody on that list, it was probably, you know, 12 1500 people. So I started making contacts there drumming up stuff. And then every Saturday and Sunday, I would try to go host an open house. Obviously, in the very beginning, I couldn’t because everything was shut down when a pandemic hit, but a few months into it started doing open houses, and staying in touch with a lot of people through that finally closed a few of those deals somewhat recently, and my efficiencies increasing too. So when I meet somebody, I’m much more likely to convert that now than before, but tons of phone calls, just stay in contact with people creating relationships, and trying to really create that sphere that I didn’t have getting into this. So that long term, I can see some results come from that without having to, you know, prospect too much or go for new stuff. But in the beginning for me, it’s just been all about prospecting and trying to build relationships and establish myself.

Aaron Amuchastegui  08:16

Is there any any similarities between software and software sales and real estate sales?

Taylor Tolbert  08:23

Honestly, I would say not really, when I was working with them, we were calling on mid market companies. So anywhere from as low as 100 employees up to 5000 employees, and we were selling into the executive suite. So CEO, CFOs, directors all that fun stuff. And it was a pretty hard sale, right? Like the the company that I worked for was very, they’re really emphasizing, you know, professional sales skills and business to business type things and, you know, having to push for the close and influence a lot. Whereas in real estate, I really don’t feel that it’s the same way at all. I mean, yeah, I take a prospecting first approach, which is what I learned over there. But in real estate, for me, at least, I feel that the sale is in the very beginning, when you’re trying to get that listing, you’re trying to show a buyer that you could be their realtor. But I think once you get that past that first step, it’s a lot more consultative, because people want to buy homes, people love homes. It’s such an emotional journey. And it’s really fun. I like to make it fun with people I enjoy being in houses and showing people houses. So this is a lot more enjoyable for both sides. And there’s a lot less quote unquote salesy stuff going on. It’s really just as cliche as it is truly helping people get what they want.

Aaron Amuchastegui  09:29

Yeah. And you had said that you’d like to the low pressure approach, and then emphasizing like client needs. Was there any examples of where pushing for client needs over the last year helped to get a deal or help to keep a client?

Taylor Tolbert  09:42

Yeah, I mean, I’ve had plenty of deals where, you know, like, we’re looking at a home they’re kind of on the fence about it, and maybe we put in a couple offers before and didn’t get them and it’s you know, we’re at a house at that moment. And they’re like, yeah, we can maybe make this work. There’s no offers on I’m like, guys, like, I understand that maybe we could get this one. But you told me that you know, you haven’t Dog or you’re going to get a dog or you know, you’re going to expand your family, this house doesn’t do it. So instead of saying, Oh, you know what they want this house, let’s push for it. It’s like, Guys, let’s take a step back. Remember what we’re here to do remember what you need. And let’s keep looking if we need to right now, of course, there are times when somebody if they find something that they absolutely want, and they need. Sure you need to push them a little bit and be like, Guys, this is the opportunity you have, here’s what you need to do to win the home, take it or leave it. But I think for the most part, it’s just about really stepping back keeping their needs in mind and looking at looking at that client, not as a paycheck today, but a client for life. So if you take care of somebody the right way, the first time, they’re going to give you a great review, and they’re going to refer you and they’re going to do business with you again. And that’s the approach I’ve been trying to take time and time again.

Aaron Amuchastegui  10:43

You would a perfect example right there. You said at the very beginning, they tell you this is what I want. And then my emotion comes in, it’s a buyers friendly, it’s tough to get a house and they start to be like, no, I need a house no matter what now. So like Taylor will buy this one, you’re like, wait, this is not what you said you wanted. Let me help you let me do my job. Let me help you get what you want. And, and so the and it is playing that long. Because if you just give them something they don’t want, then a year from now, two years from now, 10 years from now, they’re not calling Taylor, or they’re not telling their friend to call Taylor, because they’re like we actually regret buying a house. But you helped them buy the right one. So then they’re like, tailor helped us get the right one. And then you know as it as it grows into into different things, or being able to tell them, Hey, this is exactly what you wanted. You told me ahead of time you wanted this, this is it. You love it. If it’s if it’s price, or whatever else, you say if this is the one that you want, here’s what we have to do. Here’s what our offer has to be, here’s what it has to look like, continues whatever else. Real Estate Rockstars. This is a commercial break from our biggest podcast sponsor we have right now rent ready, it can be fun getting a new real estate deal. It can be tough managing your properties after the fact, especially if you’re long distance investing or trying to manage multiple properties by yourself. That’s why we’re here to tell you about rent ready, raise a property management software that not only makes it easier to manage all your real estate deals from one platform, but they also have the best customer service support in the biz. They’re an all in one app that lets you easily manage properties, collect rent, lists, units, screen tenants, sign leases, all from your phone or computer. Imagine all of your real estate doors right in your pocket. How awesome is that? The best part, it’s so affordable one flat price for everything, unlimited properties, tenants and support with a real live human. And I have to add in there, that’s a new business model that not a lot of people are doing. There’s like this freemium model where people say, hey, you can try this. But as soon as you grow, it’s gonna cost you a lot of money, or they kind of punish you. When you get too many emails on your list or too many companies, they aren’t going to punish you and you grow, they’re not gonna charge you more. When you get 10 2030 rentals, they’re gonna charge you the same when you have two or three as they will when you have 50 or 60. Do you have a nice fixed costs? All software all in one place? Check it out rent ready? r e n t r e di.com. And if that’s not enough, rent rate is giving our listeners a special code you can use to get a whole year rent ready for just $54 use code. RO ck sta r 50. That Rockstar 50 instead of for rent raise annual plan at rent ready.com. Again, r e n t r e di.com with code Rockstar 50 to get rent ready for only $54?

Aaron Amuchastegui  13:32

What’s like your number one way to get an offer accepted this year? Drink Coffee? I’m assuming you’re mostly a buyer’s agent. Are you have you only done? Have you done any listings? Or have you done all buyer’s agent stuff?

Taylor Tolbert  13:42

I’ve done mostly buyers, I think out of the 26 closed four have been listing. So that’s 22 buyers. So pretty heavily buyer side right now. And I think in this area, that’s pretty normal, because you got to get your feet wet, get that get that reputation established, but that’s mostly buyers. What I like to do differently, I would say if it was the number one thing that I do that it’s so simple, but I just find that other people don’t do it. I really, really liked to reach out to those listing agents on those properties and communicate professionally and build a lot of rapport. There’s obviously a lot more to it than that. But I think when I call them I established that my clients are, you know, very serious financially sound and I’m trying to pull as much information as I can without being pushy, right? It’s like, Okay, how many offers do we have? What price are we at right now? What can you tell me? What can’t you tell me? You know, what do you think it’ll appraise for is a great question because that kind of sets the stage. It’s like, Hey, I know you did a full CMA when you got this listing. How do you feel about appraisal? Did you price it lower? Did you price it high? And again, I’m always gonna do my due diligence as well and run the comps myself. But I think seeing what they’re thinking about that is going to help me make an offer that’s going to be in line with what they think if they’re going to get and that was kind of a roundabout answer, but I really think communicating with listing agents and doing your homework is the best way to do it. And obviously you need you know, you need to be professional about you need to run your comps and To know the numbers you need to know everything. But I do think reaching out to listing agents is an X factor that a lot of people don’t do when I had some listings people just sent me an offer didn’t call me nothing and, you know, those people don’t typically want on the listing. So that’s definitely something that I would tell a lot of new agents that hey, always be communicative with the listing agent.

Aaron Amuchastegui  15:17

I love the question two, what do you think it will appraise for we do that on the investor side when people reach out to us and say, hey, I want you to buy my house. Right? So we have we tried to do a lot of leads to buy directly, you know, from people knowing that we’re gonna fix it, we’re gonna hire an agent, we’re gonna sell the house. And the and so the way that you ask them, what what they think it’s worth without, you know, what, how much they want compared to that as a Hey, what do you think it’ll appraise for what do you think everyone else is going to say? It’s worth like, because what if you say, what do you want for it? That’s a much different question, then, then what do you think it will appraise for but it’s a way to get closer to at least where they think the value is? So yeah, so looking into 2021? Like we’re I guess we’re halfway done with with the year now what he’s crazy. Yeah, crazy. What do you think the number one way to succeed for the rest of the year is going to be like, if you’re going to give someone advice? I guess the world’s changing every week right now. But yeah, what’s it like in Virginia? I guess before asking you how you’re going to succeed? What’s the market? Like? what’s the what’s the lifelike out there? Is that is the world open or restaurants open? Is it halfway?

Taylor Tolbert  16:18

Northern Virginia, it’s a great place to be I love it in terms of the pandemic, Northern Virginia was one of the state one of the areas in Virginia as a whole, where people took the pandemic really seriously. So things were very slow for the first couple of months. But everybody around here seem to be wearing their masks. And I don’t know if that was the direct reason, or whatever it was, but everybody had adhere to the protocols and businesses where everything was slow, right? restaurants were about 50%. But now we’re seeing a lot of people start to open 100%. A lot of big corporations, and especially here locally, in Virginia, they’re not requiring masks. So things are definitely picking up. But I think we’re very fortunate in the fact that when the pandemic did hit, Virginia was one of the states that didn’t shut down real estate, we redeemed a central from the very beginning. Like I said, I’m from Pennsylvania, and they couldn’t even do real estate at all for almost a month and a half, maybe two months. So from a real estate standpoint, it was a good place to be in terms of the real estate landscape. It’s, you know, just like every single other person that comes on this podcast, it’s crazy, or the markets crazy. If it’s a bell price, well presented home, it’s getting multiple offers no doubt. On the first day, maybe the first couple of days, it will be gone. And it’d be gone on the first weekend always. And

Aaron Amuchastegui  17:24

so very did you have to I guess you said you started business, you started your real estate business in the middle of this. But did you have to do any pivots or hear about any pivots that at the beginning, when even a real estate was deemed essential? Was there any big shift you had to make or in a personal mindset, like last year,

Taylor Tolbert  17:41

I think for me, the biggest mindset coming into this world, because I’d come from corporate sales in the past, my mindset was okay, I’m just gonna go into this expecting to never sell a home and never make any money, and just serve people the absolute best that I can. And it works. I mean, everybody that I’ve worked with, and I’ve kept that mindset, everybody really appreciates the extra level of attention that I give to them, the service, I give the knowledge going the extra mile, and the money takes care of itself, I always tell other new agents, because I’ve had new agents reach out to me for a little bit of mentorship. And it’s like, Guys, this is not a job, this is a career and you’re literally handling the most expensive thing someone’s ever gonna buy the biggest investment of their life. And it’s where they’re going to build a family and build a life. So you have to take it seriously. If you start looking at people like numbers on a spreadsheet, you’re going to lose, you really need to care about what you’re doing and take care of your clients. So I think that’s the way that the way you win in real estate from now on. Because there’s all the informations at our fingertips, let’s be real here, if somebody wants to find a house, they can find it on their own. They don’t need a realtor to find them a home, they can do that. They need a realtor who’s going to take care of them put their needs first and be nice and professional about it make it an enjoyable process. And I think just really going into it is not not thinking about commissions at all. It’s all about service and helping your clients. I think that’s the way to win.

Aaron Amuchastegui  18:56

Yeah, I like that. I mean, one of the if we said if you’re ever on stage, what would your what would your TED Talk be and set yourself apart? Was was what you had said? And so is there any more? It sounds like that was your explanation, right? there anything more to that?

Taylor Tolbert  19:09

I think in terms of I mean, setting yourself apart, that’s what I want to do, right? Like I just had a listing appointment recently where you know, you know, they’re interviewing a few of their agents, but it’s like, Okay, what can I do to stand apart from the rest so from a more strategic standpoint, you obviously come in really well prepared for that listing appointment, follow up with them after multiple times, you know, thank them for thank them for having you sending them additional information, staying in touch until they make a decision. I think that, you know, I always send them my reviews that I have, which are always really good. I have a YouTube channel. So I show them that I take things seriously. There’s just a lot of things you can do to kind of stand out and I think, you know, having a personal brand is a really big part of that as well. I’m really active on social media. I like to I really try to show people those reviews a lot because it shows that hey, I’m a person that takes care of other people. So you know, just really taking a well rounded approach and doing everything you can to establish yourself As somebody who’s enthusiastic and expert, and good at what they do, and I think if you present all the things, all those things properly and stay consistent, then you’ll do well.

Aaron Amuchastegui  20:09

What’s your average sales price of a house there?

Taylor Tolbert  20:11

For me, it’s $405,000.

Aaron Amuchastegui  20:14

Alright, and then what what are you gonna make in commission this year?

Taylor Tolbert  20:17

This year, my goal is to get to 200,000 GCI when I think I’m on a good pace for that. Right now I’m at about 135. halfway through the year, however, there’s a $2.8 million house that I’m selling, that will be a nice little chunk. So if you take that out law of averages, I’m trying to get to 200 this year, that’s the goal.

Aaron Amuchastegui  20:33

You’re not even gonna count it. You’re like, hey, I’ve got this bonus house. If this works out, that’s definitely the bonus. But I’m still, you know, want to throw off your goals or so yeah, you talked about social media, what social media channels do you use out there?

Taylor Tolbert  20:45

I love them. All. My biggest ones are Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And we’re really trying to build up a YouTube channel right now. But I love being on Instagram, I think most of the younger generation is very heavy on Instagram. So people my age, I’m only 26. So all of my friends and peers basically are on that channel. So I really do a lot of stories on Instagram post about on my closings, just a lot of content showing that what I do, right, there’s so many people out there that maybe they just post houses or, you know, things that are the real deal, right things that aren’t your life. So I like to post things that are going on. I love Facebook as well. I run ads on there for listings and whatnot. And same content has Instagram stories, just things going on in my life YouTube channel, we just started trying to do some real estate vlogs, real estate, informational sessions, things like that. And LinkedIn is basically all those mixed together, but a little bit more quote unquote, professional approach and a little bit cleaner. So I like to use those big four.

Aaron Amuchastegui  21:39

Yeah, I mean, part of having the social medias like that personal brand, like what you said, when you’re an authority and people Google your name, and they see you all over the place and they see your stuff like okay, this guy knows what he’s talking about. I can trust him. And you’ve only been in the business for a little over a year. But have you had anybody reach out because and say, Hey, I saw you on I found you on Instagram or I found you on Facebook or I found you on YouTube but as a any any customers yet that’s found you exclusively through social media yet.

Taylor Tolbert  22:06

Nobody who’s like a super hot buyer right now. But I have gotten referrals from social media from people that I played High School lacrosse with up in Pennsylvania, he referred me somebody he ended up buying in Maryland, which is a state that I’m not licensed in, but I referred him out. And he closes in a couple of weeks, I did have somebody actually who was a rental client, he got referred to me if there’s somebody I’d never even met before for my hometown as well, which is a small town of you know, 20,000 people. So I think that you know, and I’m just in the beginning phases of it. So I think long term continuing to build that following build that brand and stay consistent, that it should start to blow up, I have a friend in a couple of cities away from me that I don’t really do too much business in, but he runs an Instagram page solely focused on that city. And he sells, you know, 100 homes a year. So I do think that given the right amount of focus and effort and work, it’s something that can really, really make a difference, especially with the upcoming generation. I know, all my friends and peers, everybody, you know, we’re just always on social media, right? Like, that’s just what we do. And I think establishing that presence on there. And just being a fun person that people want to do business with and know like and trust. I think social media is a great tool that you can leverage to really have a big impact.

Aaron Amuchastegui  23:11

Yeah, I think the it is it everyone is on there, especially with the pandemic more and more people are on there, one of your secret weapons that you talked about before the show was kind of your follow up and follow through. And the you know, those examples, if you were going to give someone some advice about how you do that, or what’s you know, any techniques on follow up and follow through, what would you say, I would

Taylor Tolbert  23:31

tell people that you had the money and the deals and all the relationships and everything in this business that you want is in the follow up it you know, you can call one person once or twice or three times, and you’re not going to get through to them. But on that fifth sixth seventh call, or email or postcard, or whatever it is, that’s when you start to set yourself apart from the rest and say, Oh, this person is for real. Let me see what he has to say. Because we all get phone calls, right? where somebody leaves a voicemail and you delete it, you need to be that fifth, sixth, seventh eighth call, and keep following up. But I think the biggest thing, and I learned this from Ryan serhan, in his book selling like serhan, then on the show and everything I love that he says about follow through, you always, always, always have to do what you say you’re going to do. 100% of the time, there is no leeway for that. I think if you say you’re going to do something like Hey, I’ll get back to you on that comp and you don’t, at least with me, when I buy things, if you’re a salesperson, you lose credibility with me. I think that when you say oh yeah, I’ll get back to you with some comps, or Hey, I’ll check on that. And you always always always do that, especially in the beginning of that real estate relationship. They’re like, Oh, wow, he does everything he says he’s gonna do he’s very serious. He’s a professional, let’s stay with him and you give them no reason to go look at other realtors. And I think that that’s a good trait to have not just in business, but in life, doing what you’re seeing going to do, you know, for your friend and for your friends, for your family, but for yourself, especially I think for me, I’m careful with what I tell people I’m going to do because I always do it. And I just know that making that impact right up front with people. It’s huge. So I would always say follow up and follow up.

Aaron Amuchastegui  25:00

Follow up, follow through, do what you say you’re going to do. We’ve talked a lot about over the last year, how many touches it takes to get, you know, to get a deal, whether it’s now a lot of times I’m talking about that it’s the people that are sending out letters to, hey, I want to buy your house, or they’ll do letters and phone calls. And we have this, we have this thing in our brain where we say a lot of studies that we’ve read, it said that people need to see you seven times before they, they trust you. I don’t know if that’s the right number or not. But we tell people if that’s a billboard or a postcard and a phone number and a voicemail and a Facebook ad, like there’s nothing better than if they saw the billboard, they got the letter, they see something and then they see the Facebook ad with your face, like, Okay, this guy’s legit. I’ve seen him all over the place, the G you have in your brain. So you’re doing the vault and follow through? How many times does it take you have an average of like, Hey, I’m gonna try 10 times if I don’t get it by 10 it’s done. Or, or usually the fifth or sixth is when you get it? What’s that, Matt, you have a magic number.

Taylor Tolbert  25:58

I would say the number where I start to consider moving on is probably 10 phone calls, emails and texts total. But usually around 10 phone calls, because phone calls my number one way to reach out to people but like, if somebody’s not gonna get back to you after the 10th time for me, at least I think they’re not going to get back to me. Now. That doesn’t mean I don’t stop following up though. I really love Ricky Carruth Ricky, Ricky curates a weekly email strategy, where every single Sunday at noon, I just send out an email to my entire database. So even if I can’t get ahold of them on those first 10 tries, every Sunday, their emails getting hit with my weekly email, you know, they might not even be opening it either. But they’ll see my name come in their inbox every single week. And they’ll say there’s tailor, Dan, he’s still doing business. Let me open this one. Oh, he’s doing great over and over again. So I think anytime somebody comes into my network, whether that’s a lead or referral, whatever a past client, they always go on my weekly email once we’re done, and I just keep them churning. So I’m always I’m never going away, really. But that immediate, urgent follow up, I’ll say, probably around 10 outreaches directly for me is when I start to move on. But you know, I would say most of the success comes around that four or five, six, Mark, you know, yeah, guys, like, just how it goes, I think you call them a few times, and you don’t make any contact, leave a couple voicemails, whatever. But when you really start to break apart from the rest of the people who stop calling, and you’re still the only one hanging around, that’s when you finally make contact.

Aaron Amuchastegui  27:14

Yes, you make texts, you make it you’re going to you’re going to go for the 10 calls of at least the aggressive outreach, and then you drop them into a drip campaign. What software do you use to track to do email, use anything special for follow ups, or software or for the emails?

Taylor Tolbert  27:29

Yeah, I just use Constant Contact. It’s only I think, $70 a month for the weekly email that I have. And it takes me you know, 30 to 45 minutes, I wake up pretty early every Sunday, just knock it out right away, plan it throughout the week, and just get it out. And I enjoy it throughout the whole week, I watch how many people have been and I try to break the records. But uh, you know, it’s just an easy, easy way to speak with or to reach out to so many people every single week. And I’m really starting to see some some of that circle back around for people who have seen me for a while, get some listings and get some action from it. So I love it.

Aaron Amuchastegui  27:59

Yeah, I really like Constant Contact. I haven’t used Constant Contact in a lot of years. But the mean, oh, 506, I started doing some different email campaigns after the crash, we started sending out data to people. And it was such an easy now there’s a lot of different email sites, but they’ve been around for a long time. But it’s really cool how easy it is. So you upload your here’s my list of emails. And yeah, and they they get it out there. They have different ways to subscribe, unsubscribe, a lot of agents at different times talk about all these different tools. There’s these robust CRM tools, there’s ways that people this one can send a text message and an email and everything. But what I love about what Taylor is saying that listeners you should think about right now is it like there’s some there’s tons of simple options that anyone can do. And you can do right now I hear too often that people are waiting until later to be able to implement something like that. And what you’re simply saying is no, you sign up for the site, you add the emails in the add the email addresses in and once a week you send an email to keep Top of Mind I think that’s brilliant. We all have those emails, where the 10th I’ll do it the 10th time I see like, hey, schedule your trip to Cabo. You know, on this, I start to go like maybe we should do that, like sales works and repetition works. And I love that way of just a simple, you know, tell them, you know, what’s going on, on the So tell us about storytelling. So one of the things that that another one of your skills that you use out there is your storytelling. And when you say storytelling, is that is that when you’re working with buyers, is that to help make them feel better about the process. What do you mean by that?

Taylor Tolbert  29:29

So I think that, you know, talking principally about real estate deals and houses and all that that stuff’s all great, but I think people really, really relate to stories that you tell in this business. So for example, I will always reference past clients that are in a similar situation. So you know, right now it’s very competitive for buyers. So we’re talking about, you know, appraisal gaps and waiving appraisals completely and whatever. But I say hey, listen, appraisers are actually finally with the times I just had a home a couple of weeks ago that the list price was 800. We offered a 25. And we were going to Cover up to $15,000 difference on that the appraisal came in at a 25 with no issues, and I’ve had maybe three or four of those in a row, that’s just showing you the Hey, the appraisers are with the times right now. So, you know, I feel that this home is probably worth x, let’s offer this, and we might be able to get lucky. But I also tell people, hey, you know, you should be prepared to pay that money just in case it doesn’t work out. But I just think she’s just giving people real world examples of how things work. And past deals really makes people feel more comfortable. And it also establishes you as an expert, you know, the more more and more case studies and deals that I can cite to people, especially on listing appointments, it really helps them understand that what I’m saying is the truth, I think it’s really impactful on listings, too, because obviously, you know, not a huge listing agent yet, but I’m climbing that ladder. I think I just recently I’ve met with a couple of folks that want to list their home for a higher price than what I think it should be, and probably what it’s worth, but it’s like, Listen, I just had a listing that, you know, we listed for 360, we knew we were going to get much more than that, we ended up getting 390. And we ended up closing at 385 because the appraisal was a little bit lower. But I think it’s all about showing people hey, here’s why we should do what we’re doing. And here’s what’s going to happen. If you trust me and follow up, follow my instructions here. I think storytelling when you’re influencing sellers on price is huge. Just giving them examples of Hey, you listed right, you sell for more, you listed way too high, you’re going to sell for less. And here’s two exact examples of what I just saw last week that support that. So I think just just continuously, you know, telling people about deals that you’ve done and why things happen the way they do, that’ll really be a long way, it will really go a long way in terms of influencing people to get them to do what they should be doing.

Aaron Amuchastegui  31:38

The so you also provide a document, we’re going to put up in the in the toolset the What did you earn in our in our toolbox on high on heibon Digital Comm. What did you provide? Would you send it?

Taylor Tolbert  31:50

So I sent in my a few examples of my weekly email that I send out every Sunday, I think people appreciate that. I also sent in some examples of social media posts that I do. There’s one in there with a parrot on my shoulder because I did a listing of my residence lady had this crazy African gray parrot. It’s just things that show that hey, you know, I’m out here. I’m a funny person. I’m relatable, but I am still doing business. Right? I said that the crazy things you see the listing appointment? So just some examples of social media posts in my weekly email templates.

Aaron Amuchastegui  32:15

Yeah, that is, you know, I’m looking at all of your social media and for listeners out there to the when Taylor for said, Yeah, he’s using Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, they you should go find him on the different ones, because every one of them has a different style. Right. So you’ve got, you’ve got your Instagram and the Instagram pictures. It’s the just sold sign. It’s the being out there, you know, showing you having fun, you’ve got some funny stuff in here, you’ve got some personal stuff in here, exactly what I would expect to see on Instagram, and Facebook, you’ve got some more interactive stuff. You know, you’re showing people more about actually properties and client reviews and some of your fun experiences out there. Yeah, LinkedIn, it’s about Yeah, it looks like on there, you’re trying to show who you are, create that authority. And then I love seeing the style of the you’re just now starting the YouTube page. But it has a distinctly different style to have the videos that you’re doing as you’re building them out. So it’s like, you’re not only using every social media platform, but you’re not putting the same thing on all four. You’re personalizing your stuff to be this is what performs well on YouTube. So I’m putting this on YouTube. So I’m performing well on Instagram. So this is my style here. Do you have any companies that help you with that is that just because you’re a power user of all social media, you know what, what what stuff looks like?

Taylor Tolbert  33:29

I currently don’t I just edit all the while I’m when I say all the YouTube videos, we have three videos right now, but I’m working on those. But now I just do everything myself, I’ve always had a pretty decent knack for social media I felt growing up. And in college, I’d always make these like ridiculous funny posts, before lacrosse games and on Facebook as well. And the captions were out of control. But I think it’s really translated well to real estate because, you know, you post a funny picture or a cool picture about what’s going on. And you tell the story in the description. And people really connect with that material. And they’re really interested in seeing what you’re going to post next and following your journey. Because, you know, we’re all in this together. And when people get into real estate, it’s just such an industry that has, I guess a little bit of a flair behind. It’s like, Oh, he’s a real estate agent. Like that’s pretty cool that people actually do that. So I think telling that story in showing success and also being a little bit goofy sometimes it’s it truly impactful for people and people follow along. Enjoy it.

Aaron Amuchastegui  34:19

Yeah, you know, we’re wrapping up here. There’s so much awesome stuff that you’ve said in here. And I think you were I think your story of how successful you’re able to be so quick by following these methods. And also it sounds like you study a whole lot like what’s what’s your favorite real estate book that you’ve that you’ve learned from?

Taylor Tolbert  34:35

I love sell it like serhant that book was amazing. I also love Tracy McLaughlin’s book, she was on the podcast, she’s a beast. I follow her on Instagram and I mean her and Ryan are obviously some of the absolute best of the best in the entire country. So I love those two bucks. I’m a big podcast listener that I listen to this podcast very religiously and listen to Ed my let Andy for Sela, things like that. So I really enjoy just being a student of business and real estate in general.

Aaron Amuchastegui  34:59

Yeah. That helps you succeed. Any any favorite podcasts that you’ve heard on here, like recent shows that we’ve done or old shows that we’ve done, he got a lot out of.

Taylor Tolbert  35:07

I was listening to that one about foreclosures yesterday. I don’t remember what that was. But I’m the one where I listened to Tracy and Matt Amuchastegui, your brother, those were probably my two favorite. But I mean, I just listened to so many of them. And they’re all they all feel really good. And they’re all very impactful for me. So it’s hard to list them all, man, but I love the show is awesome. Well, Taylor, I’d

Aaron Amuchastegui  35:25

love to have you on here, the being the chat. And again, like I said at the beginning that some of my favorite things to be able to interview people that started their career listening to this show. I mean, I’ve had plenty of people on so that we started listening to pat five years ago, 10 years ago. And then there’s guys like you that have only heard me as I’ve been on I’ve been the host last couple years and excited that you guys are out there and doing well. What’s up any final thoughts you want to tell everybody if you’re gonna give them advice or anything about what you’re doing any stories you want to share?

Taylor Tolbert  35:53

I just want to repeat to people always do what you say you’re going to do follow up. Just be really honest with people just be there to support your clients and serve them. I think if you do those things and you stick to those principles always and never take any shortcuts, you can make it happen when I spoke with a lot of really successful real estate agents at my brokerage when I first started because I wanted to see what were they doing that work. It’s like just take care of people work your sphere and think of this as a long term business so I think if you stick to those guns, you’ll be just fine. Definitely just want to say thank you to my wife for all the support she’s been amazing come into great Realty Group in my brokerage as well Pearson Smith Realty. But it’s just been a great journey. I’m very blessed to be where I’m at in life. And I’m really excited for the future.

Aaron Amuchastegui  36:31

Yeah, I mean, before the call, you said how much you’re how much your team has helped you succeed, how you wouldn’t be able to succeed without them how much you appreciate your brokerage and pretty cool that when all that started, you were just living down the street from from one of the guys over there and it helped. So the what’s the people are gonna reach out to you ask you some tips, they’re gonna ask you some of the follow through stuff, maybe have questions about some of your emails, what’s the best way for them to reach out to you?

Taylor Tolbert  36:55

Yeah, so I’m really active on social, obviously, my Instagram handle is at t tober. underscore, and then I’m just Taylor tober on Facebook and LinkedIn, the YouTube channel is the Tolbert life, it’s not very ranked very high. I think we’ve got about 25 subscribers, but it’s all in there. So if you guys have any questions, just please reach out to me, I’d be happy to help. And I’m always looking to network with people too. I mean, I’m, you know, still pretty new in this business. And I’m always looking to grow and learn from other people. So I would love to connect with everybody that that would like to

Aaron Amuchastegui  37:20

awesome. Totally. Thanks for coming on the show. Thank you for reaching out. Congrats on having such a good strong year. I can’t wait to see how you do over the next year. Real Estate Rockstars Thanks for listening.