Being a good real estate agent requires putting in the work. In this Storii Time episode, Mike & Saad talk about how they got started in the housing industry and what tips they have for new agents looking to up their real estate game. 🏡🎲
Saad: Okay. Damn, you’re looking sly. Look at you.
Mike: Do I? Well, I shaved. had some
Saad: uh… I did not. Can you tell?
Mike: Yes, I can tell that you didn’t shave. There’s a big beard there.
Saad: Oh, what’s going on? I need to now. It’s too gray. Yeah. Doesn’t… It’s not what it once was. So now I have to look like a thumb.
Saad: Oh man, how’s the day been going? As if I haven’t talked to you like three times today.
Mike: I know, I know. Yeah, we’re plugging along here, getting some leases out, you know, on the hunt. Wednesdays like, it used to be, I think, Well, now it’s still Fridays for movies, but Fridays for like album drops and whatnot. Wednesdays, when the new listings start to come on. the nice little…
Mike: Are you frozen? I’m going to screenshot this. You look nuts. Ahhhh… Nanotechologyyyy saying, eeeewww. Fuck around with technology
Mike: Come on, son! All that tech in Cambridge…we can’t get you on some Wi-Fi.
Saad: I don’t know what happened.
Mike: All those tech companies in Cambridge, can’t get decent Wi-Fi.
Saad: For real. Wait, did you get booted too?
Mike: No, you froze. Oh, I don’t know what happened. You looked very sassy, so I screenshotted it.
Saad: I looked very sassy? Yeah. Oh, you mean in that uh frame? got you.
Mike: Yes, yes, yes.
Saad: You know, man, I’m feeling sassy too. Let it ride. We’ve got, we’re having all these conversations about, you know, about these deals that we’re working on. And I just think about it. I’m like, man, if someone, look, everyone’s got their journey, right? Everyone has their journey. But if someone is part time…in this business, right? To be clear and they’ve got a few of these things cooking, which we can talk about in a second. How do you keep up?
Mike: I do not know.
Saad: How do you keep up? It’s not possible. It’s not possible, my opinion. And then that goes to my other point. If you are part-time, you probably don’t have that much stuff. But still, if you were, I just feel like you just…Burnout’s a real thing. People talk about it a lot. I think people need to be cognizant of that and not have their hand in so many different things.
Saad: I think as the old adage goes, is it like? You really want to be good at something, at one thing and not like okay/mediocre on a bunch of different things. I think this is no different. But that being said, that being said, when it comes to this whole thought of part-time, look, we’ve been there. Yeah. All of us have. Yeah. This is not an easy business to do, period, let alone part-time. Right? But you’ve got to start somewhere. And I think we’re no different.
Mike: Yeah, man. It takes a leap to jump into this without having a certain paycheck, right, which is one group of people, they like the predictability of having a paycheck each week, benefits and all that, like I get that it’s a good route, and if you’re looking at this, it’s a vast change from that certainty.
Mike: So it does behoove you…if you are responsible for other people, if you’re in a business already where you can kind of get your feet wet in this, I think part-time at the beginning with a plan of action is probably actually the best route to go. And it’s just that once a part-time…if you kind of keep your license and say you’re a realtor, but then you’re also working a full-time job without that sort of plan, it becomes difficult to take care of more than one client and to actually study up on a variety of different markets or to truly understand one in particular. That’s where all the time is spent.
Saad: Yeah. I mean, think you hit it on the head. Just like with anything, anything that you’re passionate about, anything that you’re excited about, you’ve got to have some sort of plan. And I’ve had a couple of conversations today, well, a few, one between us, right? Like we’re doing some planning for our businesses and for Torii and what have you. We talked to Esa, our newest agent.
Mike: Shout out Issa.
Saad: He’s starting to learn the ropes and starting to understand what it’s going to take and it’s going to be…you know, ramp up period for him, no question about it. And I spoke with one of my previous clients, she and her husband have done three deals with us, right? And now she’s thinking about getting her license. I think in each of those situations, I think the core or the foundation, I should say, was planning. Planning around your goals. Everyone’s goals are different, right? And that’s really important to realize everyone’s situation is different. And as a result, the plan’s gonna look different, but the point is just to have a plan and understand that there’s gonna be some-
Mike: What’s up, Sheed?
Saad: What’s up? What’s going on? We’re talking about you. Yeah. Are your ears burning? But I think if you-If you work towards that, if you work with people that have been through it, can give you some good guidance and some mentorship and what have you, that’s half the game there.
Mike: Yeah. It’s an interesting route because a real estate license is easy to obtain. Like, let’s not mince words about that. It’s a 40-hour class. You take a test. You can have your license. Then you’re a real estate agent at that point. And a lot of the times, people who are proficient in the business will be…I mean, that undermines the true effort that it takes to actually be a good one and to be knowledgeable in that case. So yes, there’s like, the numbers are wild. And they’re like, oh, there are 2 million, 3 million real estate agents in the country and 3 million properties for sale. Well, not everyone…you could have gotten that license for like a one-time sale to try to sell your own…try to sell your cousins. You realize it wasn’t for you, but that license can just be active. So when somebody’s like, my cousin or XYZ is a real estate agent. You’d better make damn sure that they are a proficient ,good one. Give them questions to test their knowledge of things because it’s never just a one-to-one, and we’re undermined a lot of the times by, well, my license is no different than that person’s.
Saad: Right. Right. And look, like, it’s easy to get your license. It’s easy to keep your license, right? There’s also, there’s that stat that almost 80% of agents last year, that’s 2024, did zero deals, right? Nationally, which is insane. And then going beyond that, you have to assume that another 15 to 15% plus did maybe just a few deals. Yeah, correct. So there’s a lot of agents out there with very, very little experience and a lot of them are part-time. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Now again, there’s nothing wrong with that. It fits into your lifestyle. And a lot of those agents like Rasheed, right, are putting in the work to kind of like really like, you know, build up and turn into an agent that’s starting to do double-digit deals a year.
Saad: Right? We know a lot of them. We know a lot of those agents that have gotten there. And everyone’s got to start somewhere. Yeah. Right? But without a plan, you’re really setting yourself up for failure. And part of that plan is…Mike, let’s get into it. What do you think is important as part of…two key things that come to mind for me is, number one, mentorship. Right? You need to have at least one person you can rely on for questions, to bounce ideas off of, all that kind of stuff. And number two is marketing. You’ve heard me say this so many times, Sheed has too, you could be smartest person in the room, the most organized person in the room, the most connected person in the room, the most likable person in the room. But if you’re not marketing, none of it matters.
Mike: No, I agree with you on that front. The mentorship is huge. I mean, my own journey was like probably six, seven months of keeping a sales job that was part of a corporation and getting to know what to do here, right? The benefit that the new agent gets is attention, knowledge, mentorship, to know that you’re getting that out of, need to find trustworthy people who are not selling you a line of bullshit, right? And you need to feel like you are gaining knowledge week to week, month to month from that point. Benefit of the mentors is to have somebody that can do the tasks that are really just like kind of the, that the agent needs reps in, but a seasoned agent later on, you know, it’s more mundane.
Mike: They’ll like a quick showing if you already have a relationship with the client, a smoke inspection, you know, showing up for things where you can’t be two places at once. So it benefits you to have like a greener agent to go to that. There isn’t really anything that they can mess up with that. You just need oversight of that particular piece and then reporting back, to the senior broker or agent. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. You just have to make sure that you’re not being dismissed or you are getting the value of knowledge for your efforts and likely some more sizable cut of your sales at the beginning. Because you can’t be on your own yet. And that’s how that kind of ecosystem works.
Saad: I think that’s a key thing for anybody who’s thinking about getting into this business. The chances are good you’re going to be part-time to start. But your environment, your ecosystem, the people around you uh is paramount. That’s the most important thing. And that’s why where you choose to hang your license matters. I 100% believe and I know Mike you do too that the brand is the agent. The agent matters much more than the brokerage. But the brokerage can provide a lot of resources, a lot of that mentorship that we talked about, all those types of things. And that’s why it’s important to pick the right one because you, as an agent, that’s the beauty of this business could be anybody. Anybody will take you. And that’s awesome. But that’s for a reason. It’s for a reason, and it’s important to internalize why and to find where it feels right for you.
Mike: It’s going to be the person that you are directly reporting to or the team leader or the broker or something like that that you need to connect.
Saad: And everyone has their values, everyone has what’s important to them and kind of just stick to those and as you talk to a few brokers or even if you just have your eyes on one, just make sure that they align with those things. And then good things are probably going to happen. But you’ve got to put in the work naturally, just with anything. And it does take time and I think that’s important to realize too. Yeah, it’s easy to do one or two family and friend deals a year. It’s not easy to do 10, 20, 30 deals a year. It’s not. Anybody who tells you otherwise clearly has never done 10, 20, 30 deals a year. So know who you’re talking to. Look them up. Do your research. It’s easy to find that information. And frankly, just ask them. Ask the tough questions, because that’s how you’re going to figure all that stuff out. Mike, can you share, I guess, your story? I mean, obviously, you’re a successful agent. How did you start, and how did you of gravitate into being a full-time agent and doing this every day, seven days a week?
Mike: Sure. Yeah. Just to add on to the last point, think brokerage sets the culture. I think that’s the differentiator in the brokerages. All the other promises are kind of a moot point. At that point, you’re splitting hairs at a point. your split may be different or something like that, eventually it’s all negotiable anyway. But it’s the culture and then the people that you are directly involved with are the ones as a part-timer/new agent, you should be looking out for.
Mike: Yeah, my start was, I was working one sales job. I had a friend’s father who ah was at Keller Williams suggested that I get my license, think I thought I’d be good at it. He was like 25 years in the business at that time. And then he was looking, he was in more in central mass, but wanted to start a team within the Boston area. And so I did that, I got to go on ride-alongs with him, showings, even up to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, inspections. And then eventually you’re kind of like, you know, I think you can handle this on your own and you’re just given assignments to do that. And you start telling people, was like, okay, each one of these are a predictable, repeatable part of the deal that I have to go through. I just need to experience it firsthand. And there were a few years of that. I saw at some brokerages, they’ll kind of just take anybody at this point, right?
Mike: You got your license, you can just add on because like it is of no effect because the brokerage is so big already that if there’s turnover of 25% of the people year over year, it doesn’t greatly affect them because the groups at the top are more stable in setting the culture at that. At Torii, it’s very different to have that because we are a smaller group. So one person does influence the entire environment more greatly than a place like that.
Mike: I was on a team, you know, at a point realize a couple years in that I shouldn’t be like you’re already getting the brokerage and then your broker on top of that and the the split started to not make sense for what I was gaining in value in return had a happy conversation of I’m going to be my own agent here, pop off of the team, which I did. And that was like another year and a half. And then Zach and James were talking about starting Torii back in like, God. We had breakfast at Moll’s Diner, which doesn’t even exist anymore in South Beach. Everyone was severely hung over and they kind of gave me the pitch on what they were trying to do tech-wise. They wanted a broker. I didn’t have my broker’s license at the time. So it was like, you know what, this sounds fun and I think it’s like a lesson that I’ve had to learn several times over being with…
[technical difficulties]Saad: Well, it’s the nursery, man. You know, like we’re getting work done downstairs, a little noisy. I was trying to be respectful and then we have one.
Mike: I don’t know. I lost the whole thing at that point. So that wouldn’t be on me. That was you. It might have been because Storii Time just ended prematurely.
Saad: Oh, you got booted too.
Mike: Oh, yeah. So there we go. Anyway, like I was saying, there was a guy at Keller Williams that was notorious for, like, oh yeah, he does $30 million a year. I’m like, what does he do? He sits at the Bar at Capitol Grill like three or four times a week and he just talks to people. I was like, that’s wild.
Saad: That is wild. Dude, that’s what saying though. Everyone’s different, right? Figure it out. Do it as long as you can be consistent with it and you know, and then Godspeed. What else can you say? Because I mean, this is like running a business and just like any business, like you have to, it is running a business, not like running a business. You’re actually running a business because you have to keep a P&L, you have to keep track of your expenses, have to file taxes, like a business owner, right? Like all that kind of stuff. So, I think every business has its plan, every business has its kind of different ways of marketing. You’ve got to figure that out for yourself too. The good thing is you’re able to really do it. You’re not marketing as a corporation. You’re marketing as yourself. That’s what makes this so different. Once you get the hang of it, I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s not, but once you get the hang of it, it makes it easy to repeat. Easy to be consistent, right? Once you find that kind of sweet spot.
Mike: In the last few, why don’t you give a story of your early start from part-time?
Saad: Yeah. I started off at Torii as a consultant. Torii is the first and only brokerage I’ve ever worked for or at or with or in. I don’t even know how to say it.
Mike: all of the above.
Saad: It’s the only brokerage I’ve ever been with. I knew James, our CEO and current broker. He was one of the lead engineers at a previous company. He started Torii. He always knew from back when we worked together at that tech company. He always knew I had an interest in real estate, that I was interested in investing, not necessarily in becoming an agent, but specifically in investing in real estate and just kind of having a pulse on the market. He was like, hey, you should get your license. It’s going to help you on the investing side. And he was right. Definitely, that was a smart call. But he was like, and also, maybe you can help us a little bit–join as a consultant, meet some of the team, all that kind of stuff. I did that for a couple of months and then I started doing some deals with the team. Obviously, Mike being my mentor at the time and introducing me to a lot of the people that I rely on today. One thing led to another, and then once I saw…as part-time, the setup was such that I could not give it my all, obviously. Within six months, I was like, I had quit my job. I didn’t want a base salary. I want my full split, full 1099. It was a lot faster than I had thought it gonna be. But honestly, again, everyone has their own pace and their own journey and what have you. But it changed my life, you know? I was to get my license and two, just to take that leap. And credit goes to my wife. Because she and I had to have a very thoughtful and in-depth conversation about what it means for us because of the risk involved. I have a lot of partnerships. I work with you as my partner. I have a few business partners on the investing side, but my wife is the most important partner in my life, and she’s the boss. That conversation that she and I had, honestly I was very surprised when she was like, know what, you sound very excited by this. Obviously you love real estate, you should go for it. She’s super conservative, my wife is. So for her to say that, was kind of like a brainer.
Mike: Yeah. That’s true.
Saad: yeah. me, that was a sign.
Mike: Props to you for that, too, because you have had like a decade-plus career already in one thing. Yeah, exactly. I’ve been over 10 years in tech sales, after four or five years. Yeah, so 15 years of sales experience, nearly 15 years of sales experience in various roles before I decided to get my license. And I mean, again, everyone’s got their journey. Whether you’re 22 or 52, it doesn’t matter. If you’re excited by it, even if you’re excited a little bit later in life, just jump in. And maybe we can help you.
Mike: Yes. This has been an ad for Trump.
Saad: Oh my god, yep, yep, yep. That’s excellent.
Mike: Well, this was a nice, smooth, easy one this week. Talked about ourselves a little bit and whatnot. yeah. Parting words. Thanks.
Saad: I mean, look, we’re hiring. Yeah. So reach out to us. We’re your guys. Even if you don’t end up working with us, we love talking about what we do and how we do it. The pitfalls of the industry, he good, the bad, the ugly, will be open books. If you’re out there and listening, reach out to us. Do not hesitate.
Mike: Yep. Always available to talk. So all right. That’s it. What’s up, Toby? Real quick. Or TL Calhead? Yeah. And that’ll end it. So that’s Saad, I’m Mike.This is Storii Time.
Mike: Oh, we’re almost on a year, Saad.
Saad: Getting there. Very excited; very excited.
Mike: we gotta do our favorite AI picks. Want to do a Reel eventually.
Saad: We’ll get there if we can get it to work.
Mike: Alright alright brother. Take it easy.
Saad: Later, boy
This Instagram live is transcribed for your easy reading. If you want to catch Storii Time live, every week, follow @saadmun1r and @photolowski on Instagram.