Business Innovators Radio - From Law Enforcement to Real Estate and Plumbing: Stories of Career Transitions and Success

Episode Date: October 31, 2023

In this episode of Agents Lounge Podcast, hosts Francisco Bermudez Jr and Nathan Gaylor interview Brad Graves, a successful real estate agent, and Mark Vargas, owner of Silverback Plumbing. The conversation takes an intriguing turn as both guests share their stories of making career transitions from fields as diverse as law enforcement and personal protection to the real estate and plumbing industries.Brad Graves, who worked as a probation officer for over eight years before entering the real estate industry, highlights the challenges and rewards of his previous career. He candidly shares his experiences dealing with difficult parents, the humbling nature of working with troubled youth, and the transition into the world of real estate. Brad reveals the staggering statistics of the real estate business, where only 10% of individuals make it past the two-year mark, emphasizing the need for discipline and accountability to thrive in this competitive field.Mark Vargas, a former deputy for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, recounts his journey from law enforcement to plumbing. He reflects on the adrenaline rush of his previous profession and the sense of purpose he found in protecting others. Mark attributes his success as a plumber to his attention to detail, his commitment to finding permanent solutions, and his ability to treat each client’s home as if it were his own.Throughout the episode, Brad and Mark provide valuable insights into their respective industries, sharing tips on building a strong client base, adapting to changing market conditions, and fostering long-term relationships. Listeners are treated to a lively discussion that explores the similarities and differences between law enforcement and the trades.Join Francisco Bermudez Jr and Nathan Gaylor as they dive into the intriguing stories of Brad Graves and Mark Vargas, discovering how these professionals have transitioned from one career to another, overcoming challenges and achieving success in their respective fields. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in exploring unconventional career paths and gaining insights into the real estate and plumbing industries.About Brad Graves:Brad Graves is an experienced real estate professional with an impressive career spanning several years. Throughout his journey in the industry, Brad has consistently displayed a strong commitment to serving his clients with integrity and dedication.Brad firmly believes in the power of referrals and values the relationships he has built with his past clients. Recognizing that referrals are the lifeblood of his business, he prioritizes providing exceptional service to ensure his clients have a positive experience worth sharing with others. Brad understands that customer satisfaction is of utmost importance and strives to exceed expectations in every transaction.He remains committed to growth and development, recognizing that there is always room for improvement. His deep understanding of the real estate industry, coupled with his genuine care for his clients, has positioned him as a trusted agent in his community.https://www.cbharper.com/agent/1262/bradley-gravesAbout The Show Sponsor:The Agents Lounge Podcast is proudly sponsored by Airtegrity Comfort Solutions, your trusted HVAC experts in San Antonio, TX. With a commitment to exceptional service and top-notch comfort, Airtegrity is dedicated to keeping your home or business cool in the scorching Texas heat.Visit their website at https://airtegritycs.com to discover the range of services they offer. From professional air conditioning installations to reliable repairs and maintenance, Airtegrity has you covered. Their team of skilled technicians is equipped with the knowledge and expertise to handle all your HVAC needs efficiently and effectively.Whether you’re looking for a new system installation, need repairs, or want to schedule routine maintenance to ensure your HVAC system is running smoothly, Airtegrity Comfort Solutions is just a phone call away. Reach out to them at 210-446-0105, and their friendly staff will be ready to assist you.Experience the comfort and peace of mind that comes with Airtegrity’s exceptional HVAC solutions. Trust their reliable service and enjoy the benefits of a well-functioning heating and cooling system. Visit their website or call them today to schedule your next HVAC service. Airtegrity Comfort Solutions, your go-to HVAC experts in San Antonio, TX.Agents Lounge Podcasthttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/turbopassusa-podcast/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/from-law-enforcement-to-real-estate-and-plumbing-stories-of-career-transitions-and-success

So it doesn't matter. Okay. I'll answer any question as long as you'll accept the answer. Yeah, so it's not live, so we can always go back. Maybe beep some things out, cut. All right, I'm going to go ahead and do the clap, and we'll get going. That was a bad one. All right, there we go.

Welcome back to another episode of Agents Lounge podcast. I'm your host, Nathan, with co-host Francisco Bermudas Jr. Hello. How's it going? It's going fine. And we have another guest with us today from Silverback Plumbing, Mark. Yes. How's it going?

It's going great. How are you guys? Doing fantastic. Thank you for coming. And our guest speaker for today, I guess you could call it a guest speaker, right? Yeah. If you want to introduce yourself, Brad? Sure.

My name's Brad Graves. I'm a real estate agent with Cobble Banker. Fantastic. And so we kind of got your referral from Nate. Do you work with him a lot? Yeah, so I refer in a lot of business. So he's kind of geared towards real estate and real estate transactions. So I met him, had lunch with him, really liked him, and sending him business.

Yeah, he's a good guy. He's good at networking, too, I've noticed, since I've gotten to know him a little bit more. Yeah. All right, so I like to do an icebreaker question really before we get going. What's a good one? I will do that. Do you have, if you could have a superpower for one full day, or 24 hours, what would it be and why? I mean, for me, it's flight. You can go anywhere you want.

That's pretty generic, honestly. We had one guy say, for people to answer his phone calls. Like, they'd have no choice. I thought that was interesting. Gotcha. Do you have one, Mark? I mean, Jesus, that's a good question. I mean, my daughter has asked me that question. million times and I never answered it and I guess she was prepping me for this day but uh and I just never saw the sign but if I had to if I could have a superpower I guess it would be

mind reading mind reading yeah I want to know what people were thinking and stuff when I'm talking to them or you know or just passing by it's like okay what's this guy thinking and see somebody fishy is like what's he thinking yeah so I think mine reading would put me ahead of a bunch of people and you know for at least 24 hours yeah for at least 24 hours. Yeah. You might learn a lot of stuff you don't want to know, too, with that one. That too.

Mine would probably be like a lottery numbers. Yeah, just be able to like see in the future just a little bit. Yeah. Place a few bets. Yeah, right? Hey, what did this talk? Honestly, yeah, yeah. We got football coming up.

I'll put some money in there too. That's funny. Okay. All right. Yeah. So what did you do before you got started into real estate, Brad? Sure. So I lived in Michigan, and I was a probation officer for eight years. Oh, really?

Yep. Five years, juvenile probation, three years adult. Oh, man. Yeah. So my father actually was for Virginia, but juvenile probation officer. Yeah, one of the best jobs I've ever had. Yeah. The kids were great. The parents were terrible. And I think that's... Yeah, and I think that's really it was. When I got to the adult probation, it was much different.

These people a little more scary. I was there three years, and my partner was on maternity leave, two out of the three years. And I didn't know what I was doing. And it was just kind of a bad situation. But the five years as juvenile probation officer were just great. I really learned a lot. And I was really too young to do it. I mean, I was in my early 20s.

I didn't know anything about stuff. Yeah. But I had to drive to help kids. I didn't mean to cut you off. I'm sorry. But I can imagine that's challenging because you have to do all. parents, helping the kids, I feel like it was like a natural pool, but then you're young like that in your early 20s and you have to like deal with these parents who don't really

care what you have to say. I would imagine most, I would, if I had a dime for every time I was asked, do I have my own kids? I'd, you know, I wouldn't even. Exactly. Exactly. Right. So that was the struggle. They, you know, but it very, very, um, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? It was It's just a satisfying job. I mean, it really was. The adult's not so much. Yeah. What about you, Mark?

Have you been in the trades most of your life, or what? I've been doing plumbing for about 17 years now. And before this, I actually wore a different hat, and it falls in line with him. I was a deputy for five and a half years. Oh, really? Yeah, for Bear County Sheriff's Office. So I did that and all that and stuff. I worked in the jail, did a little bit of patrol.

Yeah. You know, it was fun also. It was fun. I got, you know, all kinds of, I put myself through training and schooling and all that stuff so that I can become, you know, a good officer and be the best at my job. Yeah. So I did a lot of school, a lot of certificates, a lot of training that was involved and stuff. I was rarely home because I was constantly taking classes and courses and stuff like that. So I did that. And then after that, I left. And I was personal protection for headliners at sunset. Oh, yeah? I was bodyguard. Nice.

So I did. You said you have the martial arts background, too. Yeah, a little bit of martial arts and, you know, some different fighting styles. But, yeah, and then, of course, firearms training and all that. So, but yeah, I did that. And then my family member, mine, you know, who's passed on. But he's the one that actually introduced me into plumbing, and I've been doing this since. Oh, yeah?

Yeah. Nice. Cool. This has got to be the best job I've ever had. You're like the most dangerous plumber on the plane. Silverback security services, you can branch off. You never know.

You never know. Do you ever want to stop people when you're driving towards a call? No. I have to bite my tongue. And, of course, I have to sit on my hands sometimes. But, no, I get asked that question also. is like, do you ever miss it? You know, it's like, man, yeah, I mean, I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie.

So, yeah, I can, it's like, man, one rate. That's all I got to do. And then I'll be good for the next 17 years ago. Yeah, right. So you got to find your fix somehow now? Yeah. So, but it is what it is. I mean, I'm a plumber now.

And, you know, I love this job. I really do. And, you know, I think about it sometimes. It's like, yeah, those are fun times. I'm not that age anymore, though. I think the bigger question. is you ever do go on a call and you walk in and you arrested that guy like 10 years prior. That would be interesting, right?

It has happened. No way. Yes. It has happened. And, of course, it's working for another company. We did actually, he didn't recognize me, so I recognized then. I was like, oh, man, I remember this guy from the Joe. You know, so I was like, but hey, I'm not doing that bid no more.

This is what I'm here for, you know. So I just kept it under wraps. It was like, oh man, can you imagine if he did recognize you? He'd be like, you're undercover probably as like. Yeah. I mean, it could go sideways, like really quick. I mean, but I played it cool and I was just paying attention to him and like, you know, watching, like, see if there's any signs like of him being uneasy.

Like, because then I would have been like, yeah, I got to go. I got to go. Yeah, for real. So I'm not going to put myself in that position. Word. Sorry, Brad, were you born and raised in Michigan or here? I was born and raised in Michigan. I moved here in 2006.

2006. Okay. So you've been here, I can't do a quick math today. 17 years. 17 years. You hear the flute? No, no. Tequitos West.

It's a little bit boring than that. So I met my wife in Michigan. We got married, and she's from San Antonio. So I did not want to do probation anymore. And so I got my real estate license. And I was like, hey, this is what I was born to do, right? So I could have started in Michigan. but it was just tanking.

I mean, it turned up to be one of the worst real estate markets there. But it was doing well in San Antonio. So my wife got a job, and we literally drove and moved in, lived with my in-laws for six months while we built a house. Nice. Yeah. So I blame my wife. So you moved all the way from Michigan, not knowing anybody but your in-laws and your wife here. Just knew my in-laws.

How do you start a business like that? Well, I was a little lucky in some regard. So my father-in-law was a small business accountant. So every week, he had to do payroll. So I really started by, you know, I would deliver payroll. I just told him, I said, listen, I mean, I have to get my license here. I had to redo it. So I'm okay just doing, helping you and whatever.

So I would deliver payroll. So I would get to know some people. And, you know, he would refer me. he would tell, you know, he had a really good relationship with his clients. And so he would tell him, yeah, my father or my son-in-law and my wife or my daughter moved here. And he's a realtor now. And so I think one of my first two or three sales, it was a referral from him. Yeah. But the rest was just grinding it out.

I mean, I would be on phone duty. I read back in the day, I could get a list of everybody lived in an apartment complex. So I would really get the list. There might be 400 people. Yeah. And I would just go down the line and call. And hopefully I would run into somebody their lease was up and they had better than a 400 credit score. Right.

And trying to find gold that way. That's interesting. Gold clothing. Wow. Yeah, yeah. And that's where that superpower comes in. And, you know, you get one day of them answering their phone like they have to. Right.

I want to go back on that. I think I want to go back in the past as my superpower because then you can really find out what happened during these like huge. huge events in history. Right. Yeah. I think for us in the trade, we're very fortunate that here in Texas, well, the AC, right? It always breaks and you always need plumbing. So, like, I feel that we don't really have to look out for people a lot of times.

Most of the times, like, people's water breaks, right? Drainbank breaks. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that's a great thing about, you know, like you said, the traits in HVAC, plumbing, and, you know, iron workers or whatever, whether it's new construction or service, is that we, you know, we don't have to really go out and cold calls or anything like that or, you know, beat on doors and stuff, go to door cells and stuff. Now, A-coms to us because those are things that are needed.

I mean, a house without plumbing is going to be pretty bad. I have a question. How many AC companies and how many plumbing companies are out there? In San Antonio, there's 263 or something like that, registered, I guess. Right? Was it 200 something? I thought it was a lot of 1,000. Over 1,000?

Yeah, and in San Antonio, as far as plumbing companies, there's about 3,000. Oh, wow. Yeah, I got my numbers from then. And that's everything from the little one-man show all the way to the corporate type. Right. Types of companies. So, yeah, there's a lot of competition out there. Oh, man.

The guys at Home Depot, yeah, that we got to fight with. Actually, just took a call from a customer. They picked up an AC service from Home Depot, and they were just, like, had the worst experience. Yeah. So the reason I asked the question is when I got my license in 06, there were 4,000 realtors. Now I think there's somewhere between 14 and 15,000 realtors. You could go out and throw your phone and probably hit three of a month before it landed. I like to say that.

You could throw a frisbee and hit a hit. That's funny. Yeah, so that I guess includes like part-time too, like independent people. Yeah, absolutely. So all that's included. So you might get your license and do one deal a year, but you're still counted as one of the 15,000 realtors. Wow. So that sounds pretty exhausting.

How long have you been with Caldwell? So I've been with the same company for 17 years. So I started there. They had low fees. You know, there's always a commission structure. But I liked it because I didn't know anybody and I needed to start somewhere. And I had to pay very low office fees. And it was literally five minutes from my house.

So I started there, and I just have never left. Yeah. I mean, in this business, the grass is always greener somewhere else. The commission structure is always better. Right, right. The manager is always better. They treat me better. They give me more leads.

They do all this stuff for you, and it's just absolutely not true. I think that somebody once told me, your best fit with the company that you best fit with. And what that really means is, you know, this broker's may not work for me, where this one I fit in really well. And I think it's just a personality thing. When people go in and they have expectations about the broker and about what they're going to do for them and this and that, 95% of it is how they're going to treat their business, not what the broker is going to offer.

Yeah, their approach to it, right? Yeah, absolutely. Excuse me. So culturally, you feel like you belong in a sense, I mean, 17 years, I can imagine. You probably have a say in what the culture is in a sense, I would imagine. No, I don't think. So, I mean, it is fun to walk in there after 17 years, and everybody kind of knows you, and you walk around. But, I mean, I rarely, I don't like causing, I don't like being drama, right?

So I don't go in, I don't tell them what to do. I've had one complaint in, like, 17 years. So I just go in and do my thing. I'm easy to get along with, so I don't really ruffle any feathers. Okay. You mentioned that when you started, it was about 4,000 real estate agents, now they're 14. Is there a high turnover rate or people enter the industry in the evening? Yeah, sure.

I'll give you the stats. I'm pretty sure I'm accurate on this. So if you take 10 people pass the real estate exam and they get their license, three out of the 10 are going to make it the first year. So you have a 30% chance of ever making it the first year in real estate. Out of that three after the second year, only one of those three are going to make it after the second year. So if you look at it, you have a 10% chance of making it two years in the business. I've never been presented those stats. That's interesting. And that is also across the board, too. So if you're with a big brokerage or not, it's about one out of ten.

Doesn't matter. Yeah. No, those are just, you know, it's not perfect. It might be 25% or 31% here. But for the most roughly, you got a 10% chance ever making it two years. It's a very alluring business, right? It looks glamorous. It's, you can videotage. yourself. You can do all these things. But the problem is there's no accountability when you wake up in the morning. So if you decide to go to the gym and you go to the gym, maybe you're tired after you get home at 930, well, I'm going to take a shower. And by the time you get to the office, it's 11, 12. Well, I'm going to do all this, but I've got to work in my listing presentation. So by 2 o'clock, you haven't made a single phone call or talk to anybody. And you're like, well, it's kind of too late. And then you just repeat the cycle. And then you find out after a year,

hey, this is this is not for me. Yeah. That's an interesting perspective that I don't think we've heard yet, right? But then there's people that will get there and they will grind it out and they'll work hard and they'll sacrifice. And those will be the top producers. I mean, there's only really, you know, they might say 90% do 10% do 90% of the business. It's probably more like 95% of business is done by 5% of real estate agents. Isn't that interesting? Yeah, I mean, I feel like that's fair to say across most sectors of occupation. So I guess what I'm kind of just boiling it down to is you have to have discipline to be successful in the real estate business.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean discipline, I guess, because like if you're not being held accountable, like for a nine to five, you know, you don't have to clock in, right? There's no, there can be nobody there telling you you got to get out of bed. Yeah, and that, a lot of people struggle with that, to be honest. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, there's, you know, especially if you have to have an income to survive, right? So those people are going to be a little more motivated. And, but, you know, again, majority fail miserably at it.

Interesting. I mean, just listening to you mentioned that you would call 400 people that were renting, like a lot of realtors will party post like Instagram photos rather than make those calls to make those connections. That was back in 2006. There was no Instagram. That brings up another question. So 17 years, how have you had to change your approach to getting clients?

I mean, maybe it's been easier because you have more of a base now. You're more solid. But have you had to change your approach from like, getting a list of clients that are renting or potential clients that are renting to what you're doing today. Is it more just organic now or was it back then? No. Yeah. Thank God about the producer can get that noise off.

Yeah, he'll get off the noise. No, I'll completely do it differently today. And, you know, out of that 17 years, I've made way too many mistakes, tons of mistakes. And, you know, and I'll be, you know, very frank, there's, I would say the first 10 years, I didn't, I wasn't really all that serious about it. I did it. My wife worked, but I never really took it seriously. And the big change in my life is that I met somebody in the business. And she noticed me and said, hey, I think you got a lot of potential. And she took me to a coaching program in Palm Desert, or Palm Desert. Springs, I guess. Florida? No, I'm sorry. It must have been Palm Desert in California.

Is Palm Springs, Florida or California? Yeah, I don't know. I should know, honestly. I'm all Texas, but I'm on Texas. I flew to California and attended a coaching program. And, you know, at the time, you had to do a certain amount of business to get in, to even go. So I was at the low end of that. And I'll never forget.

I really had a big ego. And I, you know, I was ranked in the same. city and I'm on like eighth in the company. So I literally go there and there's about 500 realtors and lenders. And I was by far the lowest on that totem pole. These people were grinders. These people, you know, they make a million dollars a year in commission. And it was extremely humbling.

And it wasn't until that day that I really kind of start taking a deep dive and changing my business and doing lots of different things for the business. You know, there's people that will give you referrals and you pay a referral fee. But really today, if you really look at my business, I focused a good amount of time on people that send me business on a regular basis. So pretend a plumber. He walks in, the guy's like, yeah, man, I'm getting my house ready to sell. I need to get this drippy, this faucet that's leaking done.

And the plumber would be like, well, who are you going to use? I don't know. I mean, I got a great realtor for you, right? So if you think about it, if you can get 40 or 50 of those people, send you one business a year, that's 50 deals, right? The other is past clients. So over the years of amassed, a fair amount of past clients, and if you call on them and you did a good job for them, they will refer you.

So those two pieces of business are really big. Lots of different ways to do it, though. I mean, there's people that just do podcasts and they do Facebook posts and they do those types of things. There's people that be successful at doing open houses. There's people that will knock on doors. I mean, there's so many ways to do it. But I was taught that way from a pretty high-end coaching program. And I've just kind of adopted that.

And I tripled my business within two years of starting that program and really got serious about it. Wow. What was the biggest thing that, I mean, I guess outside of seeing how other people do it, what is like the biggest driving factor, or not driving factor, but the greatest attribute that you pulled from that, that really just accelerated you and like just flipping the switch, I guess, right? Accountability. Accountability. 99% accountability.

So I got a, I'm a student now, right? So not only do I have to talk to my coach twice a month, but I also have guys on my other students. So you want to beat them. You don't want to embarrass yourself. You want to do the program. You spend money to do that. And so they're there to really hold you accountable.

Yeah. Otherwise, I'll fall right back into that old Brad and. I'm going to watch the football. You know, the U.S. opens on right now, and I'll just spend 20 minutes watching, and then 20 minutes will turn into an hour and a half, you know. That's the old way, and I just can't do that. So you try to set your schedule up. It's a commitment. Yeah.

Just being a business owner, yeah, and bringing your own business is a huge commitment. I mean, I learned that the hard way, you know, of course, but, you know, hearing you speak about your past and how you were, it reminds me a lot of myself. because at one point I was the same way. I had a huge ego and all that stuff. And, you know, I was about 40 pounds lighter then. And I thought I was bulletproof, you know, and all that stuff. And, you know, but when I got into plumbing and stuff, the hard labor that was involved in it, you know, is what humbled me.

It's like, oh, man, I got a whole new respect for these guys and stuff. and I'm seeing this for myself first hand and doing it. And at some point, yeah, I was just dedicated to being a technician for whoever I was working for. And my goals were just to make myself better as a plumber. You know, that was it. Yeah. And as a result of that, you know, came the benefits, you know, the money, the friendships and stuff like that, you know. And but I just kept listening to the owners, you know, I was.

paying attention to them and seeing how they were doing it. And that's one of the great things about what my dad taught me is like, you don't necessarily have to read a book or anything like that to learn how to do something. If you just pay attention and listen, you'll be able to see what works and what doesn't work. And my entire career, that's what I've done. Pay attention to owners, paid attention to managers, how they were treating technicians and how they were running a business and all that stuff. and I put all that in the back of my head and I just kept it there.

And when it was time for me, when I pulled the trigger on my business, I remembered all that stuff. Yeah. And, you know, it's worked out great so far. And it's like, okay, I remember this type of incident. That didn't work for this guy. So I'm going to do it this way. You know, a complete opposite. So, and, you know, but yeah, we had a, I had a humbling moment and stuff too also in my life.

And, you know, I think that's where I really did a complete 180. I was like, man, I got to, I got to chill out. You got to be a business owner now and you have to be a technician or you have to have, know, the trade. It's easy to be the plumber, right? It's easy to go if something doesn't work, you know, the boss handles it. Now you have to, you have P&L, you have to take those tough calls. You have to do those things.

So you've got to kind of mature into that, I think. And, you know, it's no different for me and you. It's, all right, do I want to be the chief or do I just want to be the guy that, you know, does a little bit? So it's more satisfying this way, but there's certain days it's not always that fun, that's for sure. Yeah, that's exactly right. You know, and for me, because we're such a small company and stuff, you know, I treat my employees with respect. You know, you've got to keep them happy. stuff so that the one thing that I've told all my employees is that I don't have a revolving door

on the front of the company. Yeah. Don't think that you can just leave and then walk right back in. It's not going to happen. And unfortunately, that's the way the plumbing industry is here in San Antonio. Plumbers just, I mean, they just hop from company to company. And, you know, chasing the money is that's all they care about. No, our goal and our mission is that, you know, I'm not looking to get rich overnight.

I've always said that. What I'm looking to do is help people that have plumbing issues, truly have plumbing issues. We don't want to put a Band-Aid on the problem. We want to permanently fix it. And that's what our mission is. So I'm training the guys that I have is like, no, you're going to go in there and you're going to figure this out, and you're going to figure this out correctly and then make the permanent repair. So, yeah, and there's a whole lot more that goes into it, like he was saying.

And, you know, it can be difficult. but in my position, I have to be the boss and the friend at the same time. And man, that is difficult. Right. That is extremely difficult because I'm trying to train somebody as a friend and also tell them what to do at the same time. So it's kind of hard. It's a balancing act, right?

Yeah. Especially in a smaller company for sure, I would say. We could probably parallel to that thought. But it helps because, I mean, just from a personal. account. Like we've been the third or fourth AC company to run a call, be the third or fourth one to go out there. But though something that sells our company is just being like genuine listening to the customer, what you said. And really just being transparent, educational and caring, you know, you want to treat them like whatever's going on with their situation like it's yours. And I think

the guys we have do a really good job at doing that for sure yeah and that and that's what that's part of the training that my guys get is like you go into every house as if it were your own yeah just because it's another another client or somebody else's house you don't just go in there oh yeah we're going to cut the wall here cut the wall there no it's your house yeah if this was your problem how would you approach it you're going to try and make the least amount of damage as possible so that it can get fixed and all that stuff Yeah. So these guys, that's exactly what they do.

And they know already. It's like, no, I got to make small cuts enough for me to be able to work in and all that stuff and get the problem fixed. Yeah. So, yeah, that's our mentality going into every client's house. This is my house. So I kind of getting low one time, but I have, I guess, so many more questions I want to ask you, Brad. Do you have any, I'll give you like a two. two-parter you can pick one or the other, and maybe we can hit both. Do you have any more like

appalling real estate statistics that most people don't know that's kind of like jaw-dropping and or what is the toughest client you've ever had to deal with? A transaction, right? Or the transaction, yeah. Yeah, so out of 17 years, I can probably think of three or four people that, that, I mean, I would never work with again. And, you know, I got lots of fun little stories and stakes and things like that that I've done. And if you have time, I'll tell you a funny one. But there's a couple.

You know, there's just, there's certain people out there no matter what you do, they're never going to be happy. And no matter how in form they're going to be, they're not going to be happy. And it's the ones where I've bent the most that I think have been the way. have been the worst. Like, you know, I've done crazy things like something didn't go right. So I set them up on an Airbnb for a week until they can close. But, you know, the day they get an Airbnb, well, it's not big enough. Well, I think I saw a bed bug or, you know, it's just, can you get me a better one?

You know, it's that kind of mentality. And those are the ones I really regret the most. I wish I could have stand up a little bit stronger. be like, you know. So was that like earlier, I guess, in your career? Oh, that was probably about four years ago. Oh, really? It's interesting.

So I guess that's, I mean, a learning experience that kind of helps you know where to like draw a line with your clients, right? Yeah, you know, you got to be strong. You got to lead. And sometimes they make the right decision. Sometimes they don't. Man, that can burn you all more than anything. Like you, because I kind of went through the same thing.

When I first started, I made my first AC cell. This lady, I mean, I was doing everything for her. I answered her phone call three, four times a day, talking 20 minutes each time for like two weeks straight. And it was just like something wrong every time. And we hadn't even gotten started with her. It was just about specs and everything. It was brutal. And it was such a good learn.

I was having a good time because we, well, our lead text, like, don't even go in it. Yeah. The guy that's usually making those calls, taking those calls and sales, yeah. But I'm like, okay, we'll give him a shot because he's new to a company, but we really wouldn't have done that deal. Oh, man. It was, it was a good time. So there's just some people you're never going to make happy. It no matter how well you do.

And so those are the ones, you know, usually can get through it, expectations. but there's just some people like no matter what yeah and then you have the opposite end of that so like the people where you do you feel like you're just doing your job being what however you usually operate and they're just like overly just appreciative and thankful and you're like oh man that makes me want to do more of that like i'm doing something right yeah yeah absolutely um so yeah you know there's some people that will go to bat for you even if you make mistakes like uh really a good friend of I made a huge mistake really early on in my career. He bought like a $60,000 house.

And he still hasn't rented today after 17 years. But he's an investor now. So he's probably bought six houses. But he believed in me and I screwed up pretty badly. And he stuck with you. Stuck with me, forgave me. But I told him up front. I think that was probably it rather than him learning on the back end.

So when you actually, I'm curious, if you decide not to work with a client again, and they're like trying to, well, maybe if you just had a bad experience and you're like, no, I'm not doing that for them again. Do you tell them up front? No. No.

No, and they don't really want to talk to you, you know. So it kind of just go your separate ways? The one I'm thinking of in particular, it was where I put them up in an Airbnb, and they ended up closing on the house, and it's like I don't want to talk to them anymore, and they probably really don't want to talk to me. and, you know, it was mutually time to go, right?

Yeah. But I have had one where, I mean, I would almost say he was abusive, like, to everybody, his wife and me. And he's like, hey, man, I want you to come over, right? So I go over and I'm sitting there. And then he just goes, like, full on, like, abuse mode. Like, you know, you're this and that. Really? Just giving it to you.

Oh, yeah. And today He invited you over. He's like, I'll make dinner for you. So we all kind of sat around. I had no idea it was coming. Wow.

And I can't remember the situation. It wasn't that bad, right? Yeah. And he just full on, my dad's a lawyer, and I'm going to do this. Let me call him. I want to,

and today I would have handled it much differently. But back then, I was petrified. Really? Oh, wow. I think, I mean, 17 years in the industry, you've seen it all.

Yeah. She's a lot. Deal of difficult situations. Make it easy. No doubt. I mean, like the first one comes in my mind, I'm not going to say names, obviously, but like he keeps coming back to this.

And like, I just don't get it. Like, we aren't really on, like, good terms, but he just keeps scheduling with her office. And I don't know, like, how to kind of just, like, close the door on that. I don't know. So I was curious. I mean, I don't know.

It's a strange situation. I remember the situation now, but I don't know if it's too long to go into it. No, it's fine. So we kind of delayed when I started recording. You probably have a couple more minutes. So he wanted a, I'd never do it today, but he wanted a sliding scale commission. So if he sold at a certain price, the commission period. And I agreed to it.

I never, not ever would I do that today. Yeah. But during the inspection phase, the clients wanted up up the price and then get closing cost help, which put him in a different commission tier with me. And he thought, for sure, I was in cahoots on that and I was a part of that. So he sat me down to give me a good run-through and how unprofessional and I was a cheat and all this and that and had nothing to do with me.

I remember my parents were in town. I remember walking out of there and going to dinner with my parents. and I was just a shell of myself. Like, I just couldn't comprehend what it just happened. Yeah. Pretty awful. Wow. And then after that, did you work with that guy anymore?

No. Yeah. Yeah. It's usually the best thing they did. Yeah. I mean, I've had to do that with a couple of clients also. You know, it happens in customer service anything, right? Yeah.

And, I mean, he's hitting the nail right on the head every time he says that you're not going to make everybody happy. That's absolutely true. And as long as we can remember that, we'll be able to spearhead these situations a whole lot better and stuff. And that's one of the things that I've learned about my career is like, okay, I see where this is going and I know what's going on. I see what you're trying to do. There are some people out there that think that if they just raise their voice and make a big scene, all of a sudden I'm just going to cave and, you know what? Here's your money. Don't worry about it.

You're right. You're good. That's not the case with me. You know, if you have a legitimate complaint, I'm going to tend to it. See it. And if there's something that we did screw up or whatever, then we're going to fix it. And I got professionals all around me to help me get that done correctly. Yeah.

So, but there are some people, like I said, they're just trying to make a scene so that they can get their money back and they have no intentions of fixing whatever complaint they got and stuff like that. And it's just like, no, you're going to stop right there. This is how it's going to happen. You're either going to let me fix this my way or we can just part our ways. It's that simple. You're not taking control of this. I am. I'm the professional here.

That's why you called me, you know, first half. And so this is what I'm here to take care of. But, yeah, there's people that, you know, oh, man, the deal is sweet at the beginning. They're super nice and everything. They're like, Mark, we love you. You know, and this and now, you're our hero. But as soon as it comes time to pay, or something, boom, all the complaints start coming out.

It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You know, talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Yeah, talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right? Yeah, yeah. And I have to approach that a certain manner. And it's like, okay, where is all this coming from? Why all of a sudden, why didn't you tell me this during this process? That's why I tell all my clients each and every single step that we're going to take

so that they're aware of it before we even start doing work. Yeah. And if there's something that comes up during the job, Mrs. Jones, I need to speak to you. I need to show you this. And this is what's going on. And they're like, oh, okay. Well, Mark, you got to do what you got to do.

That way there's none of that. Well, you didn't tell me. No, no, no. Got to have. C-Y-A. You have to have the good communications. Yeah, so. Because it leads to turmoil if you're just like,

oh, go ahead and do this. And it builds up. Usually you get burned with that once. You don't have to get hit in the head with the hammer too many times to figure out how to effectively do that most of the time. Yeah. Okay. One last thing, Brad, if you had to give one single piece of advice to somebody that wants to get into the real estate industry, regardless of being an investor, maybe just getting their license. What would it be?

Just have a plan and follow it. Work hard. and don't get sucked into the minutia of the laziness. So if you have a plan and you schedule your time and you calendar it and you follow through with it, you'll be successful. You know, it's not rocket scientist. It's not rocket science tree on any level. But you have to be committed. I think that's...

Yeah. And if you aren't a super accountable person, have somebody in your life, find somebody in your life. that's going to call you out. Yep, absolutely. Accountability's huge. Right. Yeah. Cool.

And definitely. Yeah, we could go. It's probably another 30, 40 minutes. But Brad, Mark, thank you all for coming to today's episode. We really appreciate having you all. Yeah, appreciate it. We'll see you next time on the Agents Launch Podcast. Thank you.

All right. Thank you.