Speaker1: Well, welcome to Mike Ferry TV, we are fortunate today to have a very excited and a very smiling and a longtime friend client with Kathy Schweitzer with us today. She is from the state of Michigan, where she and her husband had a very successful company for many years. We’ll talk about that more later. But Kathy, welcome and thanks for taking the time to be on Mike Ferry TV today.

Speaker2: Thank you, Mike. I’m very excited to be here, as always. It’s a joy for me.

Speaker1: Thank you. So how long have we known each other now? I think it’s been a while.

Speaker2: Uh, eighteen years,

Speaker1: Eighteen years, and I think I met your husband, Paul, probably close to 40 years ago, if I remember correctly, is that right?

Speaker2: Absolutely. I think it might have been even a little longer in 40 years,

Speaker1: Which I don’t think if you’re here, I want to share that, but I think you’re correct. It’s probably been probably over 40 years now. So, you’ve enjoyed being in Real Estate then for how long?

Speaker2: I’ve been in the business for thirty-two years.

Speaker1: Have you really? Wow! Yeah. A couple of weeks ago, we talked to Cydney Fullen, and she is now almost 40 years in the business. And I’m so amazed that some of you, including myself, have lasted this long. What’s the key to lasting in Real Estate as you and so many others have?

Speaker2: Ok, that’s a great question. What’s interesting is someone I talked to, someone I can’t remember where recently, and he said, how long you been in the real estate business? And I said, thirty-two years, he goes, Oh, you’re a lifer, too. I said, Well, I never thought of it that way. So how do you do it? I think you have to really enjoy what you do, and I think you have to embrace every single moment in the career and understand that some are going to be great and some are not going to be so great. And that’s true with sales or leadership or coaching. But my passion is coaching, and I think you know that.

Speaker1: Yeah, and you’ve had that passion for a long time. You ran a company in Detroit. You ran a company up north of Boston. You were vitally important with John Gray, who is a great client, and I know a great friend of you and Paul’s. You have a lot of management experience, a lot of experience training salespeople, how to sell. What would you say is the greatest joy or triumph you’ve had in the business?

Speaker2: So I tend to look at when I look at the greatest joy or triumph, I tend to look at it individually and I think really it’s the day to day watching people grow and excelling and exceeding in their business. I can’t say or I suppose it could also be when I was recruiting a lot the ability to recruit great strong agents and watch them grow and get to the next level. I look at it more as an individual type of thing where I’m affecting the lives of someone and helping them to become better agents. I think

Speaker1: You and I have we’ve had so many discussions on a personal level. Paul, Sabrina, myself and you and of course, we’ve had so many business discussions. I know that you’re a bit of a sports fanatic, as well as Sabrina and Paul. Is there any correlation between selling Real Estate and the acceleration of some of these great athletes we see all the time?

Speaker2: A thousand percent. Absolutely, A thousand percent, so it’s funny, I have a picture of Tom Brady right over here in my office of him with the number 10 on at the University of Michigan when he played. Yeah. So I tend to think the way you think and we do talk a lot about it that there is very similar. So I always tease and say when one of our clients is maybe drifting a little bit from their skills. All we say, so is Tom Brady, who won seven or eight Super Bowls going to drift away from throwing the ball every day. So I see the skill of an athlete of their consistency in their practicing the same as an agent consistently practicing, for example, their scripts.

Speaker1: You know, it’s funny. You should say that because I have agents will question me when I have somebody up on the stage at one of our events. And of course, and you’ve heard this before, the agents say, how much did you pay that person to say those things? And I go, I never paid them anything to say those things. What do you pay their expenses to be at the event? I never, never done that either. They come because they’re willing to share what they do. And I think what bothers agents is these top producing agents. You and I know we’ll say, well, I practice my scripts thirty forty-five minutes to an hour every day and they go, why you’ve been at it for 10, 15, 20 years? But as you said, Tom Brady still practices probably harder than most of the players on the team will practice every day. So, I wrote down a couple of questions. I wrote down first. How many agents do you work with today and coach? How many do you have?

Speaker2: I coach 60.

Speaker1: Wow, that’s a full time, full time, full time job.

Speaker2: It is.

Speaker1: That’s great. Can you share two or three or more if you want qualities or characteristics that you’ve seen over the years? And all these and I’m not talking about Superstars, just talking about good quality agents, what do they have in common?

Speaker2: What they have in common, would I come up with when you ask things like that or that question is one thing that I think of is they understand that their consistent behavior in their daily activities equals consistent results of reaching their goals and building their skills? Does that make sense?

Speaker1: Absolutely. If you remember at a retreat for Assad made that great comment that you have to connect the dots between talking to people and achieving the goals you’ve set. Absolutely. That’s the consistent behavior that you’re referring to. And so few agents seem to. Why do you think so many people miss that point?

Speaker2: I think that the lack of consistency is a big challenge for a lot of people, and I think they missed the point because they don’t have good habits and they were never taught good habits. So I think growing up, if you’re not consistent with certain things or no one’s teaching you or the coaches and teaching you or training you, that it’s not innate for a lot of people. So it’s a learned trait.

Speaker1: So developing habits is a learned thing, it’s not some. I mean, yes, some people are probably born with better habits than others. It’s just how they were raised in their DNA. But most of us have to learn it. Wouldn’t you agree?

Speaker2: One hundred percent. Yup.

Speaker1: So the daily activities of an agent and of course, you and I keep saying to agents, 80 percent of your day should be built around doing business and 20 percent taking care of it. I got a kick out of that. An agent a couple of weeks ago say to me, I don’t have any listings or any sales in process. What do I take care of? I said, Well, you don’t take care of anything. Why are you spending all day thinking about what you should take care of? Go create business. So what’s your second thought on these common characteristics?

Speaker2: So another common characteristic for sure is a positive attitude, which again, you know, I’m sure you’ve heard that a lot. And you know, having a positive attitude can make a big difference. But specifically, when I say that I’m referring to in general, they have a positive attitude. But when they’re faced with an obstacle, for example, or a challenge, they look at that challenge is an opportunity for growth and to move forward versus the negative side of it.

Speaker1: Yes. And that it’s so easy in the world today to see the negative because that’s what we are living in today, which is a sad state of affairs. But at the same time, you and I know that if they keep looking at the good, they’re going to find it.

Speaker2: Yeah, absolutely. And it’s always a growing situation. So when they’re faced with a challenge. They look at it, How can I get better because of the challenge? I see that as a very strong characteristic of agents that are growing and continuing to do well with their business.

Speaker1: Earl Nightingale called the word attitude the magic word. That if you focus on being positive, magical things happen in your life. And the truth is, it’s just a better way to live. Good for you. I like that so consistently positive attitude. Do you have a third thought?

Speaker2: Yes, I do have a third thought. I have a lot of thoughts, but the other thing that maybe goes hand in hand with the positive attitude is the ones that excel the quickest. Obviously, the consistent schedule, positive attitude, really discipline with their skills, but they’re also calming. So when they’re faced with that challenge, they know how to keep, as you always say, keep your emotions between the lines. And so they’re calm.

Speaker1: So Joan Pate great Banker/Agent out of Salt Lake City for probably forty five fifty years now. In Seattle, at a program I was doing, she decided to attend, which was a blessing for the audience. I brought her up on the stage and I said, what is the key to your success? And she said, I want to be the calming force in every difficult situation. Specifically, what you’re referring to, aren’t you?

Speaker2: One hundred percent.

Speaker1: The clients are going to get emotional buying or selling. Things are not always going to go the way we all want them to go in the process of eliciting selling and a buyer-controlled sale closing. And buyers and sellers get a little out of control at times. And if we are the calming force, the transaction works.

Speaker2: Exactly, and they’re not as emotional as others. They’ve learned to keep those emotions between the lines and when you’re calm or the calming force, it’s much easier to do that.

Speaker1: Well, I’ll never forget I was talking to a group of people down in, I think we were in Nashville, Tennessee, and I made this example to keep your emotions between the lines. And one of the gals said the state of Tennessee, where we are today, the state lines are pretty close compared to most states. Is that what you’re referring to? Not exactly. You know, so, but I think that is a great so I wrote down, you know, very consistent in their daily activities, a very positive attitude and a calming force in the transaction, which they have to be. Do you think it’s the lack of a number of transactions that causes the emotional outbursts that many agents experience?

Speaker2: Yes, it is. They’re consistently doing the opposite. Instead of doing the consistent activities, they’re starting and stopping and starting and stopping, which causes the fear of not getting to what they want, which is why they get emotional and they’re not calm.

Speaker1: Or, you know, somebody said to me it might have been Paul, your husband. Agents don’t have cash flow. They have cash spurts. You know, they have no clue for 30 60 days, then they have two and their checks are getting pretty big and they’re all excited then to pay their bills. Then they’re depressed again and then goes through that emotional curve. So really, what good skills level that emotional outbursts and challenges out? Wouldn’t you agree?

Speaker2: They sure do. There’s, you know, leading, companies and offices for so long, you could see the gap between those that were moving forward and those living in the peaks and valleys, and they’re always more emotional and it’s harder on them, it’s just a harder, which is hard.

Speaker1: So, what is the biggest challenge you see for agents today? Because you know we’re, I don’t think people want to talk about it, but. Days on market is extending, we’re getting more price reductions than we’ve had in several, probably six to eight months. We’re seeing a lot of listings Expired that would never Expired before. We’re seeing instead of 10 or 15 offers one or two offers, and most agents don’t want to see this change. What are the challenges you’re seeing today for agents that want to remain strong and have a good finish to the year?

Speaker2: So, I love that question because I’ve thought about it quite a bit by observing and watching people, so I think some of the biggest challenges is they are the ones that have been doing so well have left some of the basics or the fundamentals of what got them to where they are today. And I see that as a challenge. So with some of my clients, I’ve asked them. So let me ask you this what fundamental have you kind of left or haven’t done such a good job with because the market’s been so strong and now it’s changing? So I think. Again, the consistency of keeping with the fundamentals, whether you’re a great agent or just on your way up. People start leaving that basic common thought, so I think that’s a challenge right now is getting back to what got you to where you are today.

Speaker1: I’ll never forget at the very second Superstar Retreat was 1986 in the month of August in Newport Beach, and an agent walks up on the very first day and said I was here last year. Do you have any new material to present? And I said, do you have any new problems? And she goes, no I have the same problems. I said Well, let’s apply last year and this year’s material to solve this problem. But it’s easy for agents to get swept up in the latest and greatest. And like you just said not focus on the basics. Yeah, for those that don’t and didn’t attend the Superstar Retreat, Kathy was kind enough on our bonus day to present. I think you guys probably presented four or five times in the course of an afternoon. And you know, all four of you got great responses and your response was very high. So thank you for that. What advice would you give an agent that is newer today to Real Estate to ensure that 2022 is a good year?

Speaker2: To ensure that 2022 is a good year, did I say that right? 2022, is a good year. Let’s start now with twenty twenty-one. So I tend to think and we were talking about this the other day with the coaches is about do a 90 day success plan now and get involved now and start. You did a while ago, do an 18-month plan, but start their 90-day success plan now. Get involved now and start for 2022 immediately. And a couple of thoughts on that. May I share? Please. A couple of thoughts with the 90-day success plan for some of the newer agents. I did write down and I said full immersion into Mike Ferry, the Mike Ferry system watching Mike Ferry TV every week, going to YouTube. So getting your head on straight and working the system. The other thing I wrote down is in the 90 days, get some accountability partners or some other agents with you. Watch the videos together. Mike Ferry TV and do what I think you said the four P’s or the three P’s, which is, you know, prospect, or work with your past clients and Center of Influence preview homes, right? And just make sure that you’re working diligently to move your your next 90 days forward. Because if the 90 days are great now when you woke up in January and it’s freezing cold in the Midwest and you have no business, it’s always worse, Mike.

Speaker1: No, there’s no question about it. Well, that is really good advice. Well, so I want to say to Kathy, thank you for your continuous inspiration that you offer agents every day. Thanks for being a great participant in The Mike Ferry Organization, a great coach. We hope that you have a long career, already had a long career. We just want to extend it. The work that you’re doing, and I know those that are watching today will say, Thank you, Kathy Schweitzer, for the effort and energy you put into our short interview on Mike Ferry TV. So for all of you that you hear me say this every week? Try watching this TV program every day because each time you listen, you’ll hear something new. So, Kathy, thanks again. We’ll see you very soon and say hi to Paul for me. Ok?

Speaker2: All right, Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

Bye bye.