Find YOUR Mentor with OnTrack

Our industry is filled with gurus, all teaching tried and true practices of how to become successful in the real estate industry.

So how do you know to whom you should listen?

Today I interview Shelley Zavitz, best-selling and award-winning author of Your First 365 Days in Real Estate about her revolutionary system, OnTrack, which gives you the ability to choose from a menu of trainers and find the right one for you.

We’ll also be highlighting her newest book, Marketing that Moves People–How Real Estate Agents can Build a Brand, Find Fans, Land Leads & Communicate Convincingly.

• These are a few of the questions we ask Shelley: What inspired you to want to help others succeed in real estate
• Tell us about the success of your first book, Your First 365 Days
• Tell us about your new book on real estate marketing
• Tell us about OnTrack

FULL AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION: 

Justin Stoddart
So the big question is this. How do we those of us in the real estate industry with crazy amounts of ambition? How do we Think Bigger than the building of our own empires? How do we simultaneously see success and significance, income and impact? My name is Justin Stoddart. And this is the think bigger real estate show. Welcome back to The Think Bigger Real Estate Show my friends. I am excited today to bring that only to you. a best selling award winning author, who is revamping the real estate training space, but someone who’s a very dear friend of mine, and she tells fantastic jokes. I may just have everybody here at some point. That is gonna make her laugh. But let’s start off shall he? tell us a joke that’s on your mind right now. Just to warm up the audience here a little bit what you got for us.

Shelley Zavitz
Let’s see here. A standard of mine is did you hear about the restaurant on the moon? No. Yeah, great food, no atmosphere. You’re welcome.

Justin Stoddart
William Shatner, told us that he’s back. He told us that some of my favorite dad jokes

Shelley Zavitz
come from you. Yeah, oh, you’re welcome and call anytime I’m happy to help.

Justin Stoddart
And lots of other things. Alright, so folks, that’s just the warm you all up. Let’s get started on the content of the purpose and really reason for today’s show. Right? I brought Shelly on not just because she’s a great jokester, not just because she is a dear friend. But because she’s really doing something that is going to that has, and will continue to really make an impact. Leave a fingerprint, a dent in this industry for the good. So before I do that, let me just remind you that inside of the think bigger real estate show group on Facebook, we go deeper, we have conversations about what was said here so that this learning isn’t just odd, auditory, but if you begin to engage in it so that it moves your business forward. That’s my whole goal. So Shelly, let’s get for those that don’t know Shelly, based out of Portland, Oregon, Top Producing agents, wrote the book, your first 365 days in real estate. Shelly, what did you intend to do with that book, and what has actually happened with that book,

Shelley Zavitz
I wrote, my intention was this was when I first got into real estate, I didn’t understand what the business was. And I am from 15 years abroad, get broadcasting business background, and then all of a sudden, here I am launching my own business, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And I’m like, I didn’t, I wasn’t prepared. And I didn’t feel like I had access to any information about being a new agent. So my background is in writing. So I wrote is kind of a joking book. Like, it’s not serious at all, because it can’t be but I’m not good at that. But the idea was to just have an empathetic story of telling people what my experience was like, and the kind of mindset hurdles I had to get through to become a business owner and entrepreneur, period. That was hard. And so when I wrote it, you know, I was make the joke, I thought my mom and I would read it, and that would be about it. And then you know, we launched it in June 2019 sold 1000 copies in two weeks. Now it’s just it’s selling and, and I for anybody who has bought it, thank you so much. The feedback from you guys is hilarious. Also, they don’t hold back about how they feel about things. And and my favorite thing to hear back is, I see myself in that story, because we all go through a lot of the same things, right? That’s what building a business is is, is we all meet the same hurdles, let’s help each other through it. So that was my goal. And then what happened was just something totally different. Nothing that I ever thought would happen, honestly, which was well, I started to get feedback. And I ended up launch finding 12 other trainers to teach new agents because the feedback was I don’t know where to get what I need. And I didn’t feel qualified I’d only been in the business for three years. So I went out and I found 12 trainers that are amazing at each thing that they teach. And it was really cool because you get a nice training you get a expert telling you just about that one thing and then after new agent kept going for a little bit then we will talk about this later, but on track became a thing because I was like, oh well there’s a need here and that that’s what always leads me to my next thing is like, Oh, I need this for myself. So I’m going to build it for the industry. It’s it’s a problem. Coming up problem.

Justin Stoddart
I think that’s the beautiful thing about about what this book did, right. And I read it was highly entertained by it, but also was inspired by this and she’s really hitting on a chord here. Because most people that get into real estate, believe that they’re entering into a well paid sales position. What they don’t realize is the fact that I’m actually starting a business and I need to think like a business owner. And so to speak, this becomes second nature to many of them. And it becomes a real challenge. And part of the reason or a real reason why there’s 80% of the agents are out of the business in two years, 80%, two out of 10 are left standing there. And I think the fact that that that has not been addressed and improved over decades is a problem. And I think what you’ve done is not only provided a real roadmap for people in their first 30 to 65 days, but as we’ve discussed, you started the conversation of like, these numbers don’t need to be this bad. Now we get it not everyone’s going to cut out to do it to put in the work, and have the grit to be able to actually make it. But there’s some things that we as an industry that are receiving these agents in here can do to better prepare them and better help them to succeed.

Shelley Zavitz
Right? Well, if we step out of real estate, and we just look at business models in general, name 10 of the top startups that ever did it in the first six months or first month, it just doesn’t happen. If you’re a startup business and you haven’t saved for launch, you haven’t prepared yourself and your business to, you know, attract business, things like that, if you haven’t even thought about it, you’re not gonna make it into the second year. And the average new business period outside of real estate is two to three years of launch before it ever is profitable. Which is probably true in real estate too. But we don’t prep our agents to say, Listen, this is going to be a gauntlet for the first three years you need to prepare. And if you’re not ready for that, there are more folks going broke in real estate than there are one succeeding. And I just worry about the people who come in here with these like pie in the sky ideas of how much money they’re going to make. And they end up like deep in IRS debt. Like I have a million stories, people that have come to me I can. I’ll send them all to they they can all be on your show. Because it’s amazing. Some of the things that have happened that are sad.

Justin Stoddart
Like we’ve turned it around, please only if we turn it around, okay.

Shelley Zavitz
Not all of them. Because we’re we don’t prepare this is this my point? We don’t prepare them.

Justin Stoddart
Yeah, so true. Okay, so So you’ve recently written a new book, and interesting story. So just this past week, I was out of the office for a few days and actually had a guest host. I didn’t invite this person to be a guest host. She just stepped in and actually became a host of the show while I was in Arizona and training. And I have a very special little video of what she did here. She chose her own content because I wasn’t involved in the content. Now I’m going to share a quick video clip of what she decided to highlight. So hold on here really quickly. All right, can we hear this opening? Let me go back here. For those that are listening to the podcast bear with us. I’m gonna do our best to try and share it here. But uh Retta Stoddard is her name. up and coming star. She’s She’s eight years old, and she stopped. She popped into my podcast studio when I was out of town. And she did a just a quick little, just couple minutes review actually of a book. So let’s, let’s hear what she has to say. I’m your host, Justin Stoddart. Today. Let’s see what’s going on here. I can hear Can you Okay, great. Marketing that moves people. Oh, my life. Did I tell you that I’m your host, she can start. She started singing for yours. goes away from the moment. You are nice. But they have to say we all know to whom.

Shelley Zavitz
It was such a you need to buy. Oh, she’s hired. She’s gonna be my hype guy from here on out.

Justin Stoddart
So for those that didn’t miss it. I read just out of her own freewill, stepped up to the plate and began to read actually the first chapter of marketing that moves people. Surely this is your second book here.

Shelley Zavitz
blushing a little bit? That was wonderful. Tell her Thank you.

Justin Stoddart
I told you I had a surprise for you all. I think it’s powerful. Again, for those that haven’t seen the front cover. Like it’s designed for real estate agents marketing that moves people right and I’ll read the subtitle here. I think it’s fantastic how real estate agents can build a brand, find fans land leads and communicate convincingly. Tell us a little bit about this book for those that don’t yet have their hands on it. They haven’t yet heard about it. Obviously they’ve they’ve probably read or at least heard about the fruit first unit 65 days. Now it’s like shall he’s got another one. Tell me about it. Okay, so tell me a little bit about what people can expect from this book.

Shelley Zavitz
Well, I tried to take my background in in radio. So I have Advertisers, I like the Jeep guy, you know, his advertising I wrote for him. Actual brands for radio stations I built from the ground up, how do I make sure if there’s five other pop radio stations in the market going to drop the newest Lady Gaga hit, that they’re going to come to our station, nowhere else, right? That was sort of like what I did for a living. And when I was thinking about marketing as a real estate agent, I didn’t think it was much different. We all have the same inventory. We all have the same people we’re trying to attract. How do you become the person that someone wants to know and, and trust to take care of them in their finances? Essentially, right? Because investing in property, whether you live in it or not, is part of your global idea of your finances. And I took the concepts of my best teachers, when I was learning how to write was was from musicians. They build businesses, Beyonce, she’s a boss and business first. She’s got a great voice, but she also her brand equity is crazy good. How did she do that? So what I did was I took the basics of marketing, and what we all need to know if we’re going to market our own business and our own brand as agents. And I and I stapled the point was stories about musicians. Nirvana, you know, the Beatles, Grateful Dead. I get into a little Lady Gaga, little bit. I know more about the Gangnam Style than most humans. It’s scary. Actually. I did like eight hours of research on that. Like, why? Why did his video go by he was the first to hit a billion views in YouTube. How? How did he do that? And it was all by design. It wasn’t an accident at all.

Justin Stoddart
Fascinating. Maybe you’re kind of leaving us hanging here a little bit? Yeah.

Shelley Zavitz
Well, we don’t have time for it. But it’s, it’s I mean, I love music. I have loved music since I was a kid. So I am a storyteller. Because I’m a writer first, you know, and I don’t want to bore you with this is how you do it. And if you don’t do it that way, I like engagements, fun. You know, it’s really nice. If you laugh, that’d be cool.

Justin Stoddart
So what I think I want to highlight what you just said there, which is I completely agree is that real estate businesses moving to those who have the most attention, right? That’s why large tech portals like red fin, like Zillow, have created platforms that attract attention on the topic of real estate. So people tend to go there first. When they think about real estate least that’s the intent of the platform. And I believe that the agents that remain well paid are agents that have the ability to continue to gain attention and get to the lead first, right? read your book. From what I’m understanding haven’t had a chance to read all of it yet. teaches people how to do that how to get there first how to have beyond see if you will, right and come only to their station have the clients come only to you first. Does that yeah,

Shelley Zavitz
that’s exactly it. Like I haven’t bought a lead this year. And I’ll close as a single agent, I’m on track for 18 million. Yeah, I have a TC and I don’t have to pay out so much money because you know, like the idea here is that we net some some good money, right? And we cannot do that if we’re constantly throwing it out trying to attract someone else. So the book is meant to help you if especially if you’re a single agent attract business, I understand who you are, your brand ship and how to attract people to you.

Justin Stoddart
I love it. I think that’s the future of well paid agents. It’s part of the puzzle that I think is so critical for people understand this, you can’t just be good at Real Estate anymore. You actually have to get people’s attention ahead of time so that they know that they should listen to your real estate. So excited to read the book. Again, if you haven’t got your copy yet. Marketing that moves you I 100% endorse.

Shelley Zavitz
We’re gonna do a book signing at all things real estate store. Anybody wants to come December 1 four to six. Okay, fantastic. Late fare and drinks, if you want to go.

Justin Stoddart
Alright, show, you know, let’s move to on track. So you approached me about a year ago with a brilliant idea. It’s now launched, it’s underway. What was the problem with on track agents a platform where people go to find their mentor, find their trainer, one that really resonates with them? What was your What is your goal, I guess, in establishing this, this this menu, right, this kind of buffet of trainers like what’s the what’s the purpose behind that?

Shelley Zavitz
Well, I got out my new agent experience after the second year and I got to the third year, and I was hit with all these questions, right? And I am again a solo agent. I had influence from my mentors around me, but really I was building a business that was meant for the people that I serve and To have this like cookie cutter idea of, of what I should be doing the activities I was doing, I tried it and it didn’t work. And I was like, it’s because it’s it’s missing the essence of who I am and my brand because I’m selling myself. And then when I started to promote the book, and I got to know a lot of different trainers, like nice trainers, they started to change my business big time, like I am only where I am because of the people I’ve gotten to meet and who have influenced my business. And I like, how can I make that on a bigger level so that any agent, any agent, like me could could find these people? Right? Because everyone’s sort of like siloed in their markets? How do I how do I make it more national that like, if Katie Lance is in California, and I need social media help, how do I find her or other people like her that really resonate with what I’m trying to do myself, and so on track. The other thing that I was thinking of was ways that we access training right now, I kind of I kind of need it when I need it. And that can’t be that long, right? So I was like, how can I get training? When I need it? Like in my car, probably on my way to the mic. Next thing, you know, how can I access training that is specific to I want what I want and and so I was thinking of the audible platform. And how if you wanted to buy a book like you right now you could buy my book on Audible, and it goes into your, your profile, and it’s yours because you bought it right? But and then I get paid. But I don’t have to be there to sell you the book. Right? But I’m still able to communicate with you via my book. So I was like, How can I do that with training? How can I make it so that the agent can have it whenever they want. And then also the trainer can really get deep on the things that they care about. Like I have met some really cool trainers over my time in the last year. I’ve been like taking meetings like crazy, some of the coolest ideas based on what agents are facing right now. And our problems with, with technology, our problems with evolving all of it. And some of the ideas are remarkably good. But nobody knows about them. How can I elevate these trainers so that they can have it? That’s what I want to do.

Justin Stoddart
It’s beautiful, right? from both the trainer standpoint, you’ve got this product that you can legitimately help people. But you just can’t find the people who resonate with that message, right? who are looking for that I can relate to that. And then you have people on the other end that could really benefit from that trainer. And it’s like match.com, right? You’ve kind of created this, this site where you go and you find your right match, who’s the person that really speaks to me? That is that can teach me how to build a business the way that I want to build it. Right, exactly. So I know

Shelley Zavitz
we all serve different people. And we all have to do different activities to serve those people. You know, I’m not going to, I’m not going to interact with an engineer the same way I’m going to enter interact with the doctor, because they want totally different things. Yeah. So how do I build my business around making sure that my niche is taken care of?

Justin Stoddart
Well said, How do people find that? Surely I’m a big fan of what you’re doing there. In fact, my stuff’s on there, right? I believe that, that I’ve got my you can

Shelley Zavitz
go get it in the marketplace right

Justin Stoddart
now. That’s right. Okay, so I’m so excited for you. How do I find that? How do we just find

Shelley Zavitz
you go on to on track agent calm. All the profiles are free for the trainer. If you want to go on if you do a nice training, you can make a free profile. If you are an agent and you want to find a trainer, you can make a free profile and go on there. We’re just trying to make it accessible at this point. How do we make it so that agents can afford to get great training?

Justin Stoddart
On on, on track agents comm right? Yes, sir. I’m going to put it in the in the comments here, I’ll be looking for that, as you’re watching this. For those that are listening to the podcast after the fact. That is where most of these listeners will come from. Again on track agent comm is where you can go and really look at again, a buffet of different trainers and find out who really resonates with you. So Shelley, this has been always such a pleasure to hear what you’re up to see what you’re working on. See how you’re adding value to the industry. I want to ask you one more question. I’ve asked you this before, I want to ask it again that you’re a big thinker, like it doesn’t stop with one book, which by the way, takes a lot of effort. I know. And you were an inch, an integral part of helping me get and launch the upstream model. Thank you for that.

Shelley Zavitz
You’re welcome. And it’s awesome. So good job. I’m proud of you. You know,

Justin Stoddart
thank you. So okay, so that was that was big thinking right there. The next big thing you launch another book now you’re launching an entire training platform, like help us understand when we want to think bigger when we realize that the future that we really want, right? Not that we’re upset about the presence, right? No, no, no. But you know, we want even a brighter future that has even more impact even more opportunity. What do you do to continue to expand your possibilities What do you do to continue to be a big thinker? What does it look like for you?

Shelley Zavitz
I think that it goes back to broadcasting again, my job was to make sure that the radio station landed in a gap in the market. I was always looking for the space to put a new idea into. And I think that it’s just kind of ended up in real estate as well. There are in everyone’s business, if you look at the landscape, and you see, okay, this is where everyone standing and you go back to the consumer, and you think of what they need in their lives for great service, you will find the answer of where your own gap is. And if you if you just dive right into that you will be so successful. I promise you, it’s happening to me. I promise.

Justin Stoddart
So good. So good. Yeah, always such a pleasure. Do you have one more job for us? Just Just to kind of wrap things up here?

Shelley Zavitz
Yes, I do. Um, did you hear about the stonemason son? No, yeah. chip off the old block.

Justin Stoddart
It’s endless, folks. It’s endless. It is full of amazing job. Thank you for being a fantastic human, an up and coming comedian. Influence her good in our industry. I appreciate you. And for everybody listening here today, my final requests, you know what it is these three simple words and they are go think bigger. Dang it. Alright, thanks. Appreciate you, my friend.

Shelley Zavitz
Thank you. Thank you.

Justin Stoddart
I want to thank you for tuning in to this episode of the thick bigger real estate show. If you found value here, I asked three things. Number one, give us a review. Number two, go to Facebook and in groups search, think bigger real estate and apply to join. Here you will find a community of big thinking professionals that will help you grow your income, your independence and your impact. And my third request is go think bigger.