Lab Coat Agents Podcast

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer talks to Mike Berland, founder and CEO of Research Data and Analytics from Decode_M. He is an expert on how consumers and decision-makers think and behave; He is also the  author of the  book called, Maximum Momentum: How to get it, How to keep it. Episode Highlights:  Data: How do you dissect it? How do you use it to your advantage?  Jeff and Mike discuss the pandemic and how everyone is going to come out from this. Mike talks about his life journey and how he learned valuable lessons from working in political campaign trails and applied it to business. When data became more and more available, he took his polling expertise and went into analytics.  Decoding data into momentum is what helps people to feel that they are moving forward.   The five key drivers of momentum are disruption, innovation, polarization, stickiness, and social impact. Residential real estate has been the hardest topic for the past year as everybody was quarantining and started talking about their home. People are now much more interested in improving their homes to make them more comfortable than they ever were before. Decode_M analyzes how they can meet their consumer’s needs through the momentum mindset. Pre pandemic, clients were hyper-focused on amenities and aesthetics. Post pandemic, statistics show trends of people moving from urban to suburban situations. Space is at a premium and priority factors have shifted. In Mike’s research, he has found that people are willing to pay more for things that they believe have momentum.  Social media plays a huge role in real estate and you cannot over promote yourself on the platforms. The real estate industry is a confidence industry that values knowledge, expertise, and relationships, which are all keys to this business. In residential real estate, it is usually even more emotional than it is transactional. Understand your target, the objective, and be flexible to embrace what will help you succeed in your business and what forces can knock you out of business Jeff says we have to shift the way we think about how we are marketing properties; Think about focusing on safety, outdoor space, and things that today have become the most important to consumers. Moon shot is a vision that’s out in the future that inspires people and motivates them to achieve it.  What should be done in business to maximize success with a potential moon shot?  Communicating to people about both safety and making long-term decisions is critical. 3 Key Points: Mike talks about using artificial intelligence and different data types to collect and analyze how customers behave and work with their potential. Momentum in business applies to brands, products, and people. The five key drivers of momentum are: disruption, innovation, polarization, stickiness, and social impact. Jeff asks Mike, “How do you believe that last year will change many things for many industries and how 2020 is reshaping our future? Resources Mentioned:  Lab Coat Agents  | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram  Jeff Pfitzer   | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Mike Berland |Website | Team |  LinkedIn | Book StreetText (sponsor) Follow Up Boss

Apple has new data tracking procedures. Facebook is making big changes in regards to user experience. Snapchat is seeing a global uptick. New learning opportunities to grow your skills are popping up left and right! Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer are bringing you the newest information on social media and how it applies to you and your business. Make sure to hit the subscribe button so that you don’t miss anything! Episode Highlights: Is there value to data tracking? Apple has updated opt-in prompts for users data tracking.  Tristan makes the listeners aware of the list of things that will be tracked on their devices.  Linkedin announced the start of Learning Hub, to create opportunities for more comprehensive skills on how to use social media and Linkedin. Udemy is a place where you can learn almost anything, especially in marketing and social media at a very affordable price. Jeff talks about the value of news articles on Linkedin. Linkedin looks different on mobile versus desktop. Jeff and Tristan give instructions for navigating the features on both as well as how to find the learning hub. Facebook adds changes to news feed rankings based on certain factors from their collected research to create a more balanced experience for users. Authenticity is key. Jeff explains how to share your life and win the algorithm game at the same time. Snapchat is at 280 million users! Facebook and Instagram keep copying what they are doing. Tristan explains why and how. If you want to be relevant in ten years, you have to start thinking about marketing to Gen- Z.   Snapchat has a cool thing called Spotlight that they are testing out in 14 countries. They are giving away a million dollars a day to the video that they spotlight for that day. Jeff previews a topic that will be discussed in the future on The Symposium, sharing that they have friends who are getting million dollar deals as a result of TikTok.  Clubhouse uploaded their logo for a third time in their short existence. Why are they choosing this unique strategy? Staying present and having a strategy for cross posting on multiple platforms are two important points of focus to touch more people.  Resources Mentioned:   Lab Coat Agents | Website | Facebook |Facebook Group| Twitter | Instagram    Drunk on Social | Drunk On Social  Jeff Pfitzer | Instagram | TikTok Tristan Ahumada  | Facebook | YouTube Udemy  Snapchat Spotlight https://www.tiktok.com/business/en/ Drue Katoaka

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer talks to Wayne Mullins, who is the Founder and CEO of Ugly Mug Marketing. He has helped thousands of entrepreneurs and businesses across diverse industries. Tune in to hear his valuable insights! Episode Highlights:  Initially, Wayne was terrible at sales, but he was determined to succeed. Much to the dismay of family members, Wayne decided to leave his corporate job and start his own company, Lawn and Landscape, which he took from startup to selling it off in three years at age 26.  Wayne and Jeff discuss the time frame between his corporate job and the Ugly Mug Marketing start-up. Jeff inquired, “What was the reason to sell off Lawn and Landscape so early?” The key to all great marketing is standing out from the crowded marketplace and being different, not just playing follow the leader. People think about marketing and advertising as the same but advertising is a component of marketing. What percentage of your marketing budget is allocated to attracting and what percentage is allocated to retention of clients? Wayne talks about relationship building and shares his knowledge about digital and social media.  The real difference between a friend and a client is trust. A natural progression occurs for buyers when they go through their decision process.   Be intentional to target clients and share posts or comments to make targeted clients feel good. Meaningful content can turn strangers to friends and therefore creates opportunities to build trust. Jeff mentions that many companies and people focus on products or resources rather than creating audiences.  Lean into your strengths and refrain from copying. The real deal is, “What is the asset that you need to build to grow your audience?” When you think strategically about digital marketing, you should be clear about who you are going to be later and what audience you can serve best. We tend to believe that our business is different from others. Wayne talks about what approaches apply to target all types of audiences. People love experiences and connections. The old fundamentals are valuable in building relationships with clients. There is often too much responsibility placed on one campaign. You have to think sequentially.  It is good to look around to see what people are doing, but it’s also essential to figure out what they are making in the process or what is behind the actions. What are you doing to exceed those expectations? 3 Key Points: Wayne talks about his career journey and the processes he has gone through to get to where he is today as the Founder and CEO of Ugly Mug Marketing. Standing out from the crowd is the key or marketing. Exceed expectations and create evangelists for your business by taking good care of your clients. Jeff asks, “As a realtor or agent, why would I hire an agency?” Resources Mentioned:  Lab Coat Agents  | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram  Jeff Pfitzer  Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Wayne Mullins  | Website | Facebook | WHY US  Chime (sponsor) Follow Up Boss

New opportunities are on the horizon! Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer have important updates to share on what’s new with your favorite social media company and what you could be doing to improve your content creation. Tune in to hear their thoughts on how to maximize google, repurpose content, and how to start trending on the social media platform that you are focusing on.    Episode Highlights: Clubhouse is only a year old and is valued at 4 billion dollars. Tristan mentions the trend of people being drawn towards audio.  Clubhouse released a statement about where they will focus their funding going forward. Pay attention to your favorite social media company to see how much they invest in creator programs. Jeff explains how he is creating a brand on TikTok and the opportunity it is generating with a specific targeted audience.  Tristan shares that his wife, Janice, encouraged him to invest time in Clubhouse and he reveals the opportunities he has already experienced.  Reddit just announced that they are coming out with a Clubhouse clone called Reddit talk. Facebook is adding tools to their audio rooms to allow you to clip segments of content for posting, setting them apart from Clubhouse. Snapchat has often been the innovator and Facebook and Instagram frequently copy what they are doing.  You might say it is Facebook's modus operandi to copy features because they are doing the same thing with TikTok and now Clubhouse. The future has yet to be tapped on Clubhouse and there are going to be  major opportunities for business to consumer hence agent to consumer. Why is it important to start your own room in Clubhouse?” Child health experts are strongly advising against the creation of Facebook for kids. Tristan and Jeff weigh in with their opinions. Apple has decided to allow Parlor to come back to the app store. Highlights from YouTube’s recently released video that goes over how their video recommendation system works to help people understand what they need to be doing. Jeff asks, “when you find the latest trending stories, where do you get that from?” Resources Mentioned:   Lab Coat Agents | Website | Facebook |Facebook Group| Twitter | Instagram    Drunk on Social | Drunk On Social  Jeff Pfitzer | Instagram | TikTok Tristan Ahumada  | Facebook | YouTube Chase Tucker: Peloton Reddit Talk

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer, talks to Venus Morris Griffin, who is a successful realtor in Augusta, Georgia. She shares a mind-blowing story about her journey through personal challenges and the ability to beat incredible odds. Episode Highlights:  Venus Griffin has been a real estate agent for almost 10 years. She got her real estate license to help her husband pay off extra bills. Venus grew up in a very dysfunctional family. Her mother was in and out of mental hospitals.  Everyone deals with adversity differently, but Venus’s brother and sister  just could not deal with it. Venus did not know how to break out of her situation, but one thing was certain that she did not want to be like the others who were around her.  She started by finding good role models and looked up to them and tried to emulate what they were doing in their lives. At the age of 14, she was on the verge of homelessness, living with friends, trying to figure out what to do. She decided not to get into any bad habits and focused on getting through high school. She went to college supporting herself with several different jobs. Venus married her husband, and their marriage lasted for 20 years. This is when she thought she got life all figured out. They functioned as a very normal, blue-collar family. Her entire life changed with the birth of her first child. In total they together have 6 children. Venus’s life changed from one phone call that she received from a prostitute. Her husband was seeing a prostitute for several years, and she had evidence to prove it.  She truly believed in saving her marriage and fighting for it.  Venus found out that her husband had been lying about his whole life.  Venus was a stay-at-home mom for 17 years, at that point with 6 children she just did not know what to do but she committed to do whatever she had to take care of them. In 2009 the market crashed and her attorney warned her that it was not a good time for her to start and she needed to have a plan. Initially, she tried everything possible, be it calling people or walking the neighborhood and trying to convince people to hire her to list their house. Slowly and steadily, she started doing 2-3 open houses every Sunday, Venus put forth the extra effort at the open houses and she sold houses, contrary to what research shows, and she would get buyers from it. In the part of her first year, she earned $20,000 and in the second year she made $100,000. For Venus, there has been no turning back since then.  No matter how much work she had to do, she committed to sitting down to dinner with her family every single night. Venus encourages the audience to have a “why” driving the motivation for what you do. Jeff asks Venus, “What advice do you have for agents in today’s world?” Venus talks about how it is important to look at the big picture and build your brand. In the first year, pay someone to do all the busy work.  Venus talks about her book which is about to get launched “Validated – Learning To Matter Through Breaking The Cycle of Abuse.” 3 Key Points: Venus Griffin talks about her journey and the struggles that revolved around it. But she never felt despair; rather she was happy about where she was headed. As she narrates her story, she shares that success is built over time, continually doing the right things, as well as respecting others and lifting others up. Venus shares tips from her own experience for young real-estate agents about how to thrive. Resources Mentioned: Lab Coat Agents  | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram | Jeff Pfitzer   | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Venus Griffin | Website | Instagram | Facebook  Chime (sponsor) LinkU (sponsor)

What's new on Clubhouse and FB's Hotline? Clubhouse has adjusted its platform to give influencers the ability to make money. Hotline is Facebook’s attempt to copy Clubhouse. Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer touch base on the recent changes that are being made on multiple platforms and  share what you need to know about what’s coming next.  Episode Highlights: The reason that YouTube has the best content is because out of all the social media platforms, the content creators get paid the best. Other platforms that want to grow and remain relevant, need to take note of what YouTube is doing and pay content creators well. Tristan reviews how Clubhouse’s “first monetization feature” gives creators the opportunity to make money. Jeff wants to build a weekly or bi-weekly Drunk on Social Clubhouse room as an open forum to ask questions. Google is about to change how their algorithm works. There are five things to watch out for that will affect your SEO ranking. Check the ranking of your website page speed at developers.google.com. Yahoo is still among the top most visited websites. TikTok was the number #1 most downloaded app in the first quarter of 2021.  Tristan says TikTok’s video editor is so good that he goes there specifically to edit videos and just saves them as drafts. The new editing feature on TikTok will allow you to toggle an image or text over an area and you can see what it would look like. Facebook announced that they had 5 million emails hacked in 2019 which is why it is important to change your password frequently.. Facebook recently announced the addition of an up and down arrow to sort comments so that you can prioritize the best comments on a specific post.  Facebook also launched their new Clubhouse-like app, Hotline. They are going to have users join in with their twitter accounts to beta-test it at hotline.co.  Social media companies that pick up steam, like Clubhouse and continue to grow, are going to take off if they open up a creator fund that is really strong. Pinterest also announced their creator fund to support creative talent. Howard Tager, one of the founders of Ylopo, has told Jeff to keep his eye on Pinterest, it will remain relevant.  Drunk on Social, The Symposium, is seeking feedback, join our FB group!  Resources Mentioned:   Lab Coat Agents | Website | Facebook |Facebook Group| Twitter | Instagram  Drunk on Social | Drunk On Social    Jeff Pfitzer | Instagram | TikTok Tristan Ahumada  | Facebook | YouTube LastPass Password Manager Hotline

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer speaks with Barry Habib, the best prognosticator of the existing Real Estate and Mortgage industry. He is the CEO of the MBS Highway and three times Crystal Ball Award Winner by Zillow and Pulsenomics for giving the most accurate Real Estate forecasts out of 150 of the top economists in the United States.  Episode Highlights: Jeff asks Barry to tell the listeners about his entrepreneurial journey, industry experience, and the challenges he has faced. Barry wrote a book called, Money in the Streets, which was the number one Amazon bestseller. It is a wonderful book with regards to finding real estate opportunities. There are so many opportunities to help clients identify. In the market now, “You have to win the home, you don’t just buy it.” Barry produced Criss Angel in Las Vegas and Rock of Ages on Broadway, as lead producer and managing partner, which became worldwide. He was in the mortgage sector for many years and had his own company which he built and sold. He was ranked as the top producer in the United States several times and he was named “Mortgage Professional of the Year” in 2019.  Barry talks about the importance of identifying and addressing points of friction in business. Barry states that you win trust in two ways: 1) Not being afraid to tell everything that is bad and 2) Having true knowledge. If we learn to establish trust quickly, we will have more transactions, we'll be happier in our relationships, and we will be more successful in general. Barry says a real estate agent should be like an advisor, willing to present the good and the bad. He says to put yourself in the position of the buyer when you think about what they would want and need to know. The demand side of the industry is new households being formed and the supply side is households being completed by builders.  The first time home buyer is a critical element in supply and demand. They don’t replace inventory.  According to Zillow, the median age of the first-time home buyer is 33 years old. Looking at birth rates, over the next five years, there is going to be an even greater influx of first-time home buyers who will be depleting the inventory. In regards to affordability, he says it's important to understand the actual math behind it because the media does not get it right. We are in the seventh most affordable housing market on record. The most recent existing home sales report showed the median home price rose 16%; It also showed that hourly earnings rose by 5%. The median home price is not appreciation, that is the mix of homes. Since there is not as much inventory on the lower end, less people are buying on the lower end. For homes above 1 million dollars, sales increased by 80%. The increase above that level moved the median home price up. With incomes going up over 6% and interest rates staying relatively the same, sale prices could go up 10, 15, 20, 25%. Barry emphasizes fulfillment in the journey of seeking one’s goals. The monetary benefit will come but the factor of truly being able to help others is the source of actual fulfillment. “The feeling that we get from helping is better than the check.” 3 Key Points: Barry states that establishing trust is the foundation for being  successful in anything. Focusing on letting go of our fears, let go of our insecurities, getting out of our own heads, and truly seeking the customers’ best interest in advising them is the key to success in real estate.  To understand the affordability and sustainability of the current housing market, we have to look beyond the repeated misconceptions of the media and into the real data and math.   Resources Mentioned: Lab Coat Agents  | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram | Jeff Pfitzer   | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter Barry Habib | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | Website RedX (sponsor) LinkU (sponsor)

What's Next On Your Favorite Social Media Platform? Instagram, TikToc, Facebook and Twitter are creating new opportunities for users to reach more people and explore futuristic ideas for communication using AR and VR. Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer share what’s new and keep you updated on how these changes could impact your business. Episode Highlights:  Instagram Stories will have drafts coming soon. Automating captions for videos is currently being tested by Instagram. Instagram is focusing on Stories and Reels.  It is really important for Instagram users to make shorter videos and add captions. Facebook just released an infographic of 5 years of VR advances from Oculus.  Virtual Reality (VR) is when you feel like you are in a virtual world.  Augmented Reality (AR) is when you superimpose a virtual piece that can hover on something real.  Facebook introduces a video trailer for Horizons.  Watch the movie Ready Player One to get a glimpse of what companies, like Facebook, are creating. Facebook is also working on creating a virtual workplace where you can wear oculus glasses and meet in a virtual world. Tik Tok launched Playlist so content creators can categorize their content. You can post to YouTube, grab the link, and post it to Twitter.  Twitter is a great place for you to share random thoughts..  Snap a picture of the random thought you posted on Twitter and share it in your Instagram Stories.  Resources Mentioned:  Lab Coat Agents | Website | Facebook |Facebook Group| Twitter | Instagram Drunk on Social | Drunk On Social  Jeff Pfitzer | Instagram | TikTok Tristan Ahumada  | Facebook | YouTube https://tech.fb.com/ar-vr/ Facebook Outlines Five Years of VR Advances from Oculus [Infographic] https://www.oculus.com/facebook-horizon/ Ready Player One Movie (2018)

During this episode of the Lab Coat Agents Podcast, host Jeff Pfitzer speaks with Isaiah Colton, co-founder of the Real-Estate Nexus and the head of growth for the Realty Home Advisors brokerage. Isaiah is a lead-generation guru and he shares his expertise that he gained from continuing to solve problems along the way.  Episode Highlights:  Isaiah Colton talks about his journey, experiences, and the challenges that he has overcome in his career. In 2014, he was the VP of sales and marketing for a start-up online marketing company, when he decided he wanted to go out on his own to start a brokerage. Isaiah and his business partner, Mark, developed a small team of 3-4 people in a short amount of time. He got hyper-focused on lead follow-up and lead conversion and ensured client experience was at the forefront of the process. They used the ISA model, which was already around in 2014, but wasn’t quite as popular as it is today. Their first year, their brokerage did 170 transactions and from there the growth continued.  Isaiah had the idea to train more people to do his role and they scaled the ISA model out to 70 ISA agents, doing referrals  and prospecting all over the country. The popularity grew, with agents continuing to join their referral program, and they couldn’t stop the momentum. Within a three-year period, with the broker to broker referral model, they grew to 15 million dollars of revenue. Isaiah woke up one day realizing that he was exhausted and not happy, managing 120 employees. He wanted his company to be a technology-first type company and they sold off the broker to broker referral arm. Isaiah’s passion today is helping real-estate agents have a whole scope of not just generating leads, but converting leads and making sure that the client is happy along the way. Jeff asks on behalf of the listeners, “How can I equate this into my business?” Jeff talks about the in-house ISA company built by Isaiah. At the end of the day, whether you are an agent, broker, or an individual, all you want is to make it rain. You are going to learn today “how to make it rain.” Isaiah talks about the friction points in the real-estate industry that slows it down. Largely there are three buckets – Marketing, Sales, and Service. Take a hard look and ask yourself, “How solid is your marketing plan?” Jeff inquires if marketing means listing. He also points out that agents often don’t have a pitch. Isaiah clarifies that marketing means converting people into your database, generating leads, converting them, and finally building a brand through social media, video marketing, etc. Jeff inquires, “When it comes to actual lead generation with AI, how does that work?” Isaiah shares that if your follow-up is not good, you will pay for something that is not good anyway. Isaiah points out that with the new technology and tools, we have kind of lost the fundamentals. Jeff and Isaiah discuss the importance of being honest and honing your skills. At times, Isaiah has seen people who are good at the front-end but lack customer management and vice versa. If you hyper-focus on marketing, sales, and service with your client at the center and get better at serving clients, you will have abundance. With hard work and focus, wealth will come to you. 3 Key Points: Isaiah talks about the ups and downs that he faced while launching and growing his business. At first, he was excited to grow a business, but later, he learned that “You have to be careful that you do it the right way.”  Isaiah shares about tools and technologies, especially how he has used the AI system backed by a 24/7 sales agent. Isaiah talks about the importance of building value, creating urgency, overcoming objections, follow-up, tracking metrics, and much more.  Resources Mentioned: Lab Coat Agents  | Website | Facebook | Facebook Group | Twitter | Instagram | Isaiah Colton | Website | Facebook | Real Estate Nexus RedX (sponsor) Street Text (sponsor)

Social Media Companies Competing For Ears? Tristan Ahumada and Jeff Pfitzer discuss the rise of audio platforms and give insight into how social media companies are creating new experiences to compete in this space.  Today’s conversation focuses on Clubhouse, FB, Twitter and Youtube. Episode Highlights:  Clubhouse launched in April 2020 and only has 9 employees. Financial companies originally evaluated the value of Clubhouse at 100 million but in a short period of time that evaluation has grown to over 1 Billion dollars. There are 6 million registered users on Clubhouse and it is only available on iPhones.  2 million registered users actively use Clubhouse weekly. Facebook is creating something similar to Clubhouse.  Facebook currently has Rooms and is going to initially let you start a room that will essentially operate like Clubhouse.  Messenger Rooms was originally created by Facebook to compete with Zoom and Google hangouts.  Spaces on Twitter is a new way to have audio conversations on Twitter.  AR is Augmented Reality and you need to check out Facebook's Human Computer interaction at the wrist video.  Facebook is working on a kids version of Instagram.  Youtube is the future of TV. Instagram is much more diversified than any other platform with stories, reels, feed and IGTV.  Youtube is rolling out shorts with simple edits.  Users of Youtube expect longer videos.  Twitter is launching a new test for iphone to enable Youtube clips to be played in the stream. Resources Mentioned:  Lab Coat Agents | Website | Facebook |Facebook Group| Twitter | Instagram Drunk on Social | Drunk On Social Tech@Facebook - Human-Computer Interaction at the Wrist DOS FB page link to social media platforms monthly active users