Tony Smith: Hello there. Welcome to another edition of Mike Ferry TV. My name is Tony Smith and I am excited to kind of turn the tables a bit today and I get the luxury of interviewing Mr. Mike Ferry himself, the founder of the Mike Ferry Organization. So, welcome, Mike …

Mike Ferry: Well, thank you. Thank you, Tony. This is different. Usually I’m sitting there asking the questions. Today, I’m going to be answering the questions. So why don’t you begin.

Tony Smith: Okay. So I wrote down a series of questions for you today, Mike, and it’s all kind of lining up to the Superstar Retreat, which we have coming here in a few days.

Mike Ferry: Of course.

Tony Smith: Question one, I wrote down … how is this retreat going to be different virtually than the 25 years we’ve been doing it live?

Mike Ferry: Well, first of all, I have to say to you … I’m going to start the Retreat by saying, “Everybody write down the number 45 … 35 … not 25 … and 32.” 45 years in business as a company, 35 years doing the retreats, which is a long time, and 32 years of coaching. I say that to you because I want to say what the audience, all of you that are participating, the fact that we have credibility in what we’re doing. We have lasted virtually every up and down, every good and bad, every person that has criticized what we teach and how we do it. That’s the first thing.

I wrote down a series of thoughts. I wrote number one … the retreat this year will be from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM Pacific Standard Time versus 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. That’s number one. If you’re sitting in front of a computer, it’s hard to sit there for hours on end. We understand that.

Number two, it’s 3 days versus 4 because you can compress material into a virtual event at a much higher level than you can live. Number three, I’m going to have 50 people socially distanced, wearing masks, in the room, in the production studio with me and it allows me to have a conversation with people, Tony, instead of talking just to a screen. Instead of 4,000 to 4,500 people, I’m going to have 50, but that’ll create a little interaction, which gives me the energy to deliver the material properly.

And then, of course, what’s really going to be fun about it is the fact that when you have a group like we’re going to have and we’re going to have the intensity, we’re going to take a 10 minute break every hour on the hour to allow all of the participants to stand up, use the restroom, get a cup of coffee, stretch, because, you know, sitting in front of a computer can be boring, even when you have a great speaker like myself. Just kidding. Go ahead.

Tony Smith: Well it sounds exciting.

Mike Ferry: Thank you.

Tony Smith: I wrote down these questions because I’m really curious … in today’s virtual world, there’s been a lot of challenges with the virtual events that go on … technology problems, all those things. So, how are you going to produce this to avoid all of that?

Mike Ferry: Well first of all, you can’t. When you have technology, you also … it should be called technology/opportunities, and opportunities are because of problems. We cannot say to anybody that this is going to be virtually perfect because technology. However, we’ve hired probably the most professional streaming company that’s been doing streaming events for years here in Las Vegas, Nevada. Now, Las Vegas, Nevada, as all of our attendees know, is one of the largest convention sites in the world, which it is today. Therefore, the virtual side of what they do and the streaming side is very big. So we’ve hired the best we could find that do streaming.

Second, we’ve hired a professional organization to build the studio with the streaming company’s design patterns, so it will look to the audience like a Superstar Retreat. I’ll give you an example … the stage at the Retreat is 5 feet high. The stage at this event will be 6 inches high. The two screens that we have on each side of me so everybody can get a good view are the size of a football field. These two screens will be the size of a TV set in your home, if you have a wide screened TV. So it’s going to look like a Superstar Retreat, it’s going to feel like a Superstar Retreat, it’s going to be as impactful, if not more impactful, it’s just going to be in a different venue.

Tony Smith: So, like bringing it alive, but into your home.

Mike Ferry: Yeah. Whether it be their home or their office, whatever they want to do.

Tony Smith: That’s great. You know, I haven’t gotten a sneak peak yet … what are you going to be covering?

Mike Ferry: Well, a couple things. First of all, I’m going to open the first, say, 10 to 12 minutes giving some of the thoughts that I’ve accumulated since COVID-19 started in March. I’m going to give you guys seven or eight thoughts about what I see the market doing or where I see it going. Good or bad, right or wrong, I have a lot of experience. I’ve spoken to several million agents … I’ve done 45 years of seminars … I’ve done 228 webinars between the first of April and today. Those webinars are 45 minutes. So I’ve learned a lot. I’m going to share some of that.

Then, second, I’ve written 120 very specific, Tony, sales points … sales ideas … sales skills and techniques that an agent needs to have in this market. If they want to take their business to the next level and/or if they’re new and they’re getting started, this is the foundation that all the top agents in the country use, whether they are still clients of ours or not … the majority of all the top agents in the country came through The Mike Ferry Organization, whether it be through one of the break offs … people that have left and started their own … or directly from us. If you’re building a business to start, the 120 points apply. If you’re a successful agent, these will be then what you use to sharpen the tools to make your business to go the next level.

Third, which is probably the most fun part, we’re going to have the big wheel on the stage again and we’re going to have about 50 different prizes people that are attending can win … and I’m going to spin the wheel probably once an hour and then I’m going to have a drum and name out of the big bin for one of the attendees, and then I’m going to call them on their cell phone from the stage, and I hope you answer because if you answer you’re going to win some great stuff, and if you don’t answer, I’m going to draw the name again. So we’re going to make it a lot of fun. It’ll be very interactive and, of course, having 50 great agents in the room … they’ll be asking a lot of questions to create the interaction to keep your interest at the highest level.

Tony Smith: Wow. That’s great. One thing I know about Mike … when it comes to delivering material, you are going to get more than you can possibly ever fathom. It’s just your style.

Mike Ferry: Well my concern is always the same … and if you were on one of the webinars I’ve done in the last 5 and a half … 6 months is that I state very openly, Tony, I have never completed a seminar yet that I’ve prepared for because I run out of time. I always have more ideas … and you’ve seen that at the Superstar Retreat, Production Retreat. We have some ways to solve that problem, which I’ll talk about in a moment.

Tony Smith: Okay. Good. I’m really curious about this difference between virtual and live. So I wrote down this question … how are you going to get the agents to actually learn virtually versus a live event?

Mike Ferry: It’s much tougher. I mean, you know … I was on the phone with a conversation today with one of our Brokers and he was talking about the fact that he does a lot of virtual training for his people, which is very common today. The lack of participation … because, see, if you’re in an audience with Tony or Ron or Larry or Ira or John or myself … and you’re not paying attention, we know it … and I will call you out if I see you not paying attention. And if you’re wandering around, we’ll say “sit down.” Well, you can walk away 54 times in 3 days and we don’t know what’s going on because it isn’t the camera on you, it’s the camera on us. So we have to change our approach.

So to help you make sure you would leave with the information, everybody that buys a ticket … and I want to say something here … “buys a ticket” … so if you’re in an office and the Broker has decided to do a watch party and not buy tickets … first, if we find out, we’re going to cut you off so you won’t be able to watch anything, but if you a buy a ticket, we’re going to give you a 7-Day Pass … and that 7-Day Pass means that once the Retreat ends, you can watch it for 7 more days in it’s entirety, no interruptions.

Second, on Friday, everybody that buys a ticket is going to get all of my notes sent to them … and it’s pretty extensive … all 120 points in detail … and that will allow you to go back and listen and read … because third, we’re going to give everybody a copy, for free, of the audio version of the entire Retreat.

Fourth, which is probably not going be as big a deal until they participate … all the ticket holders to the Retreat will get 30 days for free of either Adapt or the Vault. So we’re going to give you a lot of information, but it’s going to allow you to spread it out over 30 … 60 … 90 … 120 days listening and reading as often as you want to sharpen your skills. It’s probably going to be a better educational program than we’ve ever done before.

Tony Smith: Perfect timing for today. Did you hear about “buy a ticket”? You need to buy one to get it all.

Mike Ferry: Just a little detail.

Tony Smith: Just a little detail. I wrote down this question … you often have panels, and I’ve seen them for years and years and years, the incredible value of great panels showing up at our live events. What are you going to do this time?

Mike Ferry: Well, you know, we thought about that a lot and that’s the reason I decided to invite 50 people, and it’s going to be kind of fun because if you’re watching, we’ll have one camera on the audience and two cameras on me during the event itself, and the cameras on the audience, you’ll see 50 great salespeople. You won’t recognize them because they’ll all have a black mask on with the MFO logo on the front.

Tony Smith: That’s great.

Mike Ferry: And we actually bought little tables for them each to sit at individually with the MFO logo on the front so there’s no confusion. “Is that Tom Ferry or Mike Ferry?” I think it’s going to be Mike Ferry this time. So we’re going to have panels. It’s going to be different because I invited 12 agents and they’re not all mega stars like they’re used to seeing. Six of them are mega stars, six of them are just great agents, and I’ve asked a couple of them to be with me on the stage for 15 to 20 minutes, I’ll question them. Then I’ve asked some of them to take and prepare a 15-minute-high impact little presentation.

But then, in addition to that, on Tuesday, session two on Tuesday … I’ve asked Ron Cronin, who I think they all know has been with us for 15 … 20 years … and my son-in-law … so when I say the word “son-in-law,” this guy’s really good … and he’s also my son-in-law, which is even better. Ron is going to do 45 minutes on what we’ve titled “The Best of Ron Cronin” because he’s been doing the seminars, as you know, for years and years. He’s been a Coach for years and years. He’s got to work with a lot of the best agents for years, so it’s going to be a fun … I’m anxious.

I told him, “Don’t tell me what you’re going to talk about. I want to witness it live for the first time.”

Tony Smith: Great.

Mike Ferry: So I’m excited about that.

Tony Smith: That’s great. I love the duality between mega stars and then just great agents.

Mike Ferry: Just great people …

Tony Smith: On both sides of it.

Mike Ferry: And some of these agents are people that only do 30 … 40 … 50 deals a year, but in today’s society, 30 … 40 … 50 deals a year is a mega star, but some of these people are mega, mega stars … so it’s going to be a fun thing to watch.

Tony Smith: Wow. That’s great. Well, for years we’ve always had something called the “Bonus Day.

Mike Ferry: Yes.

Tony Smith: And it was that special … by nature, by name … the Bonus Day … so an extra day. What are you going to do?

Mike Ferry: Well obviously we would always have the Bonus Day designed, whether it would be in the old retreats in Palm Desert or here in Las Vegas … the people would come in Monday morning or the weekend before, and then Monday afternoon from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM, we would have five or six of our good clients do a presentation for 40 minutes and they would do that five or six times so all the attendees, and many times we would 1,500 to 2,000 attendees at the Bonus Days … got to watch all the speakers.

Now, obviously that isn’t going to happen. So we’re going to record this next 5 to 6 days … 5 people who are really great producers. We’re going to do a video recording and this will also be available for all the ticket holders to watch all Monday afternoon. That, many times to me, is worth the cost of the whole thing.

So I want to just say, again … the Retreat is September 22, 23, 24. The hotel wanted us to do it in the hotel … with 50 people … in a room that holds 4,000. I said I’ll pass. Here’s the good news, Tony … if you’re driving from Southern California or Northern California, no 4 to 6 hour drive. If you’re flying from some place in the country, from Toronto to New York to Miami, no 5 hour flights. No hotel expense. No meal expense … and everybody that attends the Retreat gets a free front row seat.

So I’m going to ask everybody to write down the following … MFO1. If you go to our website, www.mikeferry.com, press the button for the Retreat and it will come up on the page in front of you and there’s a place in the corner where you can enter a little code, and that code will qualify and give you a $100 discount on your ticket. The advantage of virtually … we can cut the price in more than half because our expense is much lower … and we pass that savings on back to you, which probably is not done by most companies. Fortunately we are able to do that for you.

So I’m looking forward, Tony, to having all of them there. This is a very different Mike Ferry TV because I committed about 14 … 15 … 16 years ago that we would never fill Mike Ferry TV full of promotions and advertising, and I’ve probably only ever done it once or twice in 15 years. This is the second time, but, guess what, folks? If you’re going to buy a ticket, you got to go ahead and do it because when I do a tour, which I’ve done for years on the East and West Coast, people would buy their tickets 3 or 4 months in advance to arrange the flights and the hotels. Now you can buy a ticket up to a day before. Don’t wait, buy a ticket now.

Say thanks to Tony. Thanks, Tony.

Tony Smith: Thank you guys.

Mike Ferry: And thanks for watching and we’ll see you next Monday. And, of course, we’ll see you at the Superstar Retreat.

Tony Smith: Thanks Mike.

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Mike Ferry is the global leader in real estate coaching and training. Watch Mike each week as he discusses a variety of topics to help real estate agents and brokers. Grow your real estate business by improving your mindset, developing your skills and creating a plan of action to increase your production!