There has never been a better time in history to be a real estate professional. If you are currently in the real estate business, you are living through the golden era of a fully matured industry in peak form. Without question, the opportunities for earning and achieving incredible levels of wealth and freedom have never been so favorable for the professional willing to embrace the role and responsibilities of the 21st- century realtor.

Diligent levels of professionalism, communication, savviness, and compassion is the buy-in. Luxury car leases, faux creden- tials claiming to be “top 1%,” and handmade Italian shoes will no longer work to impress your future client. Balloons on your listings and Little League sponsorships probably won’t turn heads like they once did. Sending “just listed/just sold” post- cards with your smiling face will no longer suffice as a marketing plan. And yes, being nothing more than the “neigh- borhood expert” in this connected global economy is possibly costing you your career. For those who resist or ignore the new normal, there will be dire consequences. Like someone suffering from a terrible disease, by the time you notice the impact of the problem, it could be too late.

Nowadays, all aspects of the real estate transaction can be performed from anywhere in the world with only an internet connection. Today’s realtor can answer a prospect’s inquiry, take a listing appointment over Zoom, use their laptop to access the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and video assets to perform a comprehensive analysis, get the agreements elec- tronically signed, order a smart lock to be installed, build the marketing collateral with a few clicks, list the property online, create multiple digital ads to expose the home, manage the entire showing process using an app, handle all inquiries from their phone and email, electronically ratify the sales contract, and to top it off, organize a remote notary to handle the closing process over video.

There has never been a time in history when the entire real estate transaction—from introduction to closing day—could be done without stepping foot on the premises, getting an actual signature, or physically meeting with the client. Anyone who has operated in the real estate space for the past few decades will tell you how unthinkable that once was. What has historically been a clunky, fragmented, and mostly boots-on- the-ground business dominated by “mom and pop” shops is now capable of producing incredible levels of freedom, effi- ciency, and movement for those able to embrace the new busi- ness world.

While convenience and freedom levels have never been higher, full-service brokerage commission models have remained largely intact. Home prices around the world have ascended to unprecedented record levels, yet the 6% listing fee continues to be commonplace for those who run their business with the best tools and tactics. Without question, the capable listing and buyer agent is far better compensated today than their predecessors were; in fact, it’s not even close. As most people have struggled with the increased cost of living, the successful real estate professional has enjoyed regular pay raises. In what other industry can the increase in cost of living immediately equate to an economic net positive?

As small and large businesses alike deal with globalization, government shutdowns, wars, and supply-chain issues, local real estate markets continue to remain essential, open, depen- dent on local expertise, and operational without the need for overseas or domestic supply. In fact, your “inventory” is right outside your front door, and you don’t have to own any of it before you can sell it. All you need to do is understand your market and play matchmaker at the highest levels within the community with laser focus, compassion, and command.

While automation and algorithms have rendered entire indus- tries and tens of thousands of jobs obsolete, the equal parts savvy to compassionate real estate professional has never been more valuable in a world starved of human touch. Rather than replacing the agent in the center of the transaction, tech- nology has enhanced the sophisticated real estate profession- al’s speed and efficiency and further empowered them to run their business with unprecedented levels of precision. While tech has automated so many jobs, it has elevated the hard- working real estate professional to new levels of importance and prominence.

How can that be?

Every person who buys or sells a home is dealing with a similar set of facts. They are, in some way or another, traveling through a state of transition. Transition requires all of us to become the hero in our own story—the person willing and capable of letting go of one familiar place for another. Whether you’re dealing with a hardened investor or a home- owner selling their family home of 60+years, both are going through very similar constructs. No one can take the personal journey for them, and no one can guarantee “the hero” is going to be okay as they journey towards the undiscovered.

Humans from all walks of life seek leadership when the going gets tough. If there’s one guarantee when buying or selling a home, it is that the going will invariably get tough, and the person capable of confidently guiding the hero through the fog will become an irreplaceable part of the story. And that is precisely what I’ve personally experienced over the past 15 years.

Early in my career I walked into a prospective client’s house wide-eyed and eager to take a hot new listing. While getting the tour, I poked my head into a room and saw a fully constructed nursery filled with teddy bears and toys, with baby-blue walls and baseballs with a boy’s name etched above the crib. A few moments later, I learned that the baby had passed away unexpectedly over one year prior, and the parents —my potential clients—had been unable to bring themselves to touch the room since. Now faced with selling, they needed to “get the house ready” for showings, which meant doing what hadn’t been possible before. It became soberingly clear that transition to them would mean moving to a new place without their baby, and taking down his room meant finally saying goodbye to the life they once knew. My role in their process could hardly be classified as transactional. Selling the property for top dollar was important, but understanding my role and making it possible for them to have success in the face of the impossible was paramount. I was there to be the compassion- ate, loving guide, and they were the brave heroes willing to take the journey through the fog.

Then there was the bachelor—my close friend—who met his love and was unbelievably excited to close on a starter city home. I still recall him picking up his beautiful fiancé and walking her from the car to the front door as she squealed with excitement because life was about to take on new begin- nings. Buying a house was an asset that required analysis and negotiations, but more importantly, it was the beginning of the most meaningful journey my friend had ever been on. I was there to be his guide, and my friend—with his fiancé in his arms—was the hero willing to move towards his destiny.

Recently I helped a client who had owned the same house for 40 years yet was incredibly excited to join her sons in Los Angeles and fill the role of full-time grandma. Throughout the process, Mrs. K seemed very easygoing about it all. We got an incredible offer, she gladly signed without hesitation, and a few weeks later, I arrived at the final walkthrough with a bottle of bubbly and a nice card congratulating her on the record price. I entered the towering doorway at our scheduled 10 a.m. walkthrough—suit on, gifts in hand—and found my client sitting on the cold, tiled entry floor—an emotional wreck.

Against the backdrop of a 5,000 sq. ft. home sat two lonely suitcases containing what remained of Mrs. K’s personal belongings. (She had donated over $100,000 of property to a local charity for Afghani refugees, which speaks volumes to her character).

Through the tears, I was told that she would still hear her departed husband’s voice when walking by the kitchen where he used to read the paper every morning, and still “see” her young kids playing in the yard even though they were now all in their 30s. All she kept saying was “This is my whole life…40 years. This is my whole life,” in between deep breaths and the red handkerchief wiping her glassy eyes. As I helped her lock the front door for the last time, I was reminded just how hard transition can be, even when everything goes perfectly. That day I was the compassionate guide, and Mrs. K was the hero willing to close the door on life as she knew it in exchange for the unknown.

Many outside the real estate space view the role of the realtor as transactional, expendable, and mostly inefficient. Yet real estate professionals who engage with the day-to-day demands of the marketplace deeply understand what outsiders will never fully grasp. Change is hard, and transitioning from one phase of life to the next is—at the core—the least forgiving part of the human experience. The irreplaceable agent of the 21st century is equal parts guide, leader, and voice of reason during a very uncertain and difficult process. They are individ- uals capable of bringing clarity, comfort, and assurance to a high-stakes, high-emotion game.

The opportunity for prosperity in real estate has never been greater, but neither has the responsibility. For those willing to take the ride seriously and master their craft, unprecedented possibilities lie ahead. There has never been a more favorable time to be a real estate professional. Ever.

If you are reading this book, I know you are likely to fall into one of two camps: 1) Either you are in the real estate business and know there’s more out there for you, or 2) You are plan- ning to take the plunge to bet on yourself and become a real estate professional. Both of you are ultimately interested in creating the life you dream to live with new levels of income and fulfillment. In either case, my wholehearted goal—as someone who has been in your shoes and achieved high levels of success in real estate—is to be a patient and sincere guide in your story.

Success leaves clues. The difficulty is finding the roadmap, and when you do, understanding the best roads to take to reach your desired destination. I promise to leave you with my unfil- tered roadmap and clues in this book.

To that end, this is not polished real estate coach talk or someone with a book to sell full of theoretical marketing strategies. Not at all. I am a real estate professional with 15+ years of experience who, coming off the best year of my sales career, decided to take a step back and write “the book on real estate” based on my actual experiences with the hope that it will help large amounts of people eager to elevate the profes- sion and live the life they want. But as with anything in life, 100% consensus is impossible, so if something doesn’t make sense or is contrary to your experience, that’s perfectly okay. I by no means believe I have all the answers, and I purposely chose to limit this book to my own experiences rather than go on about hypothetical concepts or regurgitated seminar talk. If something I write also works for you, I take no personal credit because most—if not all—of what I know today came from other unbelievable people who shared their wisdom with me through many books, lectures, coaching sessions, or cups of coffee.

After all, should you achieve your greater goals with the help of these pages, it’s only because you took the risk and put in the work. If there are any mistakes or oversights in this book, assume those are the result of my own inadequacies.

HERE’S MY WHY.

This book is for the person out there with fire in their belly, who knows they can accomplish so much more but just needs to know what to do and which direction to go in. It’s for the person with no money and few contacts, who is willing to bet on themselves for a better tomorrow but wishes to skip the trial-by-error phase and get there much more quickly. This is for the person surrounded by doubters, who is faced with a million reasons to not try but knows deep down that there is no limit to their potential and is willing to find out. Most of all, I am writing this book to my former self—the person with passion and grit, yet unaware what is required to build the professional life he so badly wanted. If I can reach that person through these chapters, I will feel that the time and effort I took to write this book were worthwhile.

This is my sincere attempt to write “the” book on real estate sales for the eager and open-minded 21st-century real estate professional. The industry is going through rapid changes, and this book is designed for the person invested in raising the bar and being in the elite group of top-achieving 21st-century real estate professionals—unsusceptible to the shifting sands. In these pages I won’t make lavish promises of millions of dollars or guarantees that are only reserved for the select few. I will, however, provide a clear and concise roadmap on how I took my real estate business from zero to $100,000, and then again from $100,000 – $500,000+ consistently.

I will show you how to create the same thing for yourself by taking the mindset, tactics, and principals and how to apply them to your local market and unique style. To be very clear, the levels of success described in these pages are available to anyone willing to bite down and charge forward. To obtain this level of knowledge took me no less than $100,000 in coaching, seminars, lectures, and a shitload of trial by fire. My goal is to provide you with the same level of value (sans the countless wasted hours and dollars in ineffective strategies) for the cost of a book. Please try and take part in the exercises, and do them with a truly open mind.

Chapters 1 to 7 are a must read, whether you are already in real estate and looking to elevate your business, or currently at zero and ready to get started. They specifically unpack the mindset behind succeeding in small business while providing exercises on how to optimize your ways of approaching the mental chal- lenges latent in self-employment.

Chapter 8 is written to specifically help those at or near zero looking to jumpstart their career in real estate sales. If someone is already a year into their career, this chapter is something they can skip or skim over.

Finally, Chapters 9 to 22 will dive deep into the tactics, princi- pals, strategies, and best practices to become the 21st century real estate professional capable of earning $500,000 consis- tently in any market. Wherever you are today, I hope that I can be a resource to help you become a real estate professional and person you are proud of. If you are reading this book and find something helpful, I would love to hear from you on my many socials or email. Now without further ado, let’s get down to business!