KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Power Half Hour with Ethan Jeng

Episode Date: July 24, 2024

Welcome to the power half hour. It's going to be a great show today. Let me tell you about this. You know, our special guest today is one of our own and our group in Southern California. And this man generating massive amounts of business through YouTube. And he will share with us the journey of, you know, cold calling, door knocking, calling our past client center of influence and then finding his niche. So welcome, welcome, welcome. It's going to be a great episode.

Ethan Jang, thank you for being here. Hi, John. Hi, everyone. It's a great honor to be on your show. You are my inspiration. Your story inspired me during the top time of my career. No way. Thank you.

Gosh, I didn't know that. Oh, did you know that? I did not know that, but thank you. And, you know, just a little story about how we met. We were actually at Business Mastery in 2017. And I was Raymond's eye yourself. And I think, was it Yvonne as well? I think so.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And back then, you know, he was just getting started and I was already 10 years in. And, you know, we were all in that same mindset of trying to get better, trying to grow, right? And, you know, now looking at you today, couldn't even see the struggles from before. Like, you would never guess that you were struggling, but you are thriving today. So, but tell us a little bit about your journey from the start.

You came to Taiwan 1997 and maybe go from there. How was that like? Yeah, I came from Taiwan 1997 and graduated in 2004. But back then, I have no idea what to do. My friend Jack, at the time, he was trying to get his real estate license. I was like, okay, why not? Just get a license, just in case. But after I get my license, I didn't practice.

I just went back to Taiwan seek for opportunities. Because back then, I would feel like, okay, I have education in the States. If I go back to Taiwan, I will be wanted by many, many big company in Taiwan. I might have a great future in Taiwan. I feel like I cannot see my future living in Taiwan and Jack, Jack Tai, a very good friend of mine, who is also in our EXB family. He mentioned that if you come back to the state, I can teach you everything that he know about real estate. So he kind of tricked me back to the state and be a realtor. Wow. So looking for a job, trying to get opportunity, but really wasn't working out.

Then he tricked you to come back to the States. Because he was doing pretty good. He was doing like six-digit US dollar. So to me, there was a good, very, very good money. So what was that prospecting journey like? You didn't really like what you did. Tell me a bit about that. Okay. All right. So for those who don't know me, I am pretty shy and I see myself not having good social skills. I don't like to take proactive action to talk to strangers.

But back then, like prospecting, door knocking or doing open house is the only thing that I know how to generate leads. And I went to McFerry and that's what they teach there. So I do get business from prospecting, like call calling, like expire just so I do get business from that. But it just not a pleasant journey for me. It just not like it. You were succeeding. You know, you got your own office. You were actually doing really, really well.

But it didn't look like you were enjoying the journey. So like what was it about that that was just not enjoyable? for you? It's like every day I just have to start all over again to look for the new clients. And somehow I feel like the time that I put it in, I don't see the equal amount of the result. Yeah. And I'm suck at follow up.

Okay. Yeah, like one follow up, next follow up. And the next follow, I was like, okay, what am I going to say? So it's not like I can't naturally carry a conversation. So it's just like very short, like for me. That's interesting. So the reason why I ask, Ethan, is because a lot of us are just like you. I would say 90% of real estate agents don't.

like calling people it's not a natural thing to do and I want everybody to understand that it's not easy right and some people actually don't enjoy calling people and that's totally normal I just want the audience to know it's totally not normal to like calling people bothering them during the day okay yeah you know fast forward but you still did really well because you follow the system of sales yeah prospecting lead follow-up going on appointments, taking listings, making sales. And then it was not until the pandemic hit that you stumbled upon YouTube. So tell us a little bit about how you got into that.

So when pandemic start, everything stopped. No buyers want to buy because they see a potential that the market will take a die. And no seller wants to sell. They don't want strangers coming to their house to see that house. So I really have nothing to do, and I still have credit card debts, and I still have the tax that I need to pay the government. So that's where I'm very relatable to your journey from the very beginning. Because when I first know you, I actually know you from Mike Ferry events. you are on the stage

you are the so yeah yeah okay you're back Crystal is it just me how's the connection yeah better now better now

okay cool yeah so I was there was one morning I was very depressed I was like how can I get myself into this kind of situation and

Then I make a decision I need to build something I need to that that more people know about Ethan Jen is a realtor That's right. And what's the what's a better way to do it for me back then is Video through a video through a YouTube channel So I start like four for like I everything every day that I do is to make video to produce content content and I set up goals. It's just like prospecting. I set up goals. I have to at least make two video, two YouTube video per week. Wow.

At least I have to write up script for my next videos. So that's all I do. Yeah. So it's very similar to all the sales process. I have to set those and I have to know my numbers. And that's how I know if I can, I'm making progress. I love that. And it's not like you were going in blind. Guys, it's just like the sales system is that you need to make a certain amount of videos and track your numbers. And when the results come, then you know how to duplicate it. It's the same grind, but it's different actions.

But it's the same energy, right? But to you, that was more enjoyable. Yeah. Right? To me, that's more enjoyable. I can, like, whenever I learn new stuff, new trick on the video, I'm excited. Whenever I see my view grows, I'm excited. I can't wait to try next new things to put in my video to get more views.

That is amazing. Wow. So the reason why I wanted to interview you today was because, you know, a lot of us in the same boat. This is just one method, guys. A lot of people do well cold calling, do while door knocking. But if YouTube is something that you want to look into, you know, listen up. So let me ask you this.

When you first started making your first video, how long did it take until your first transaction? Eight months. Eight months. Okay. There is a delayed gratification here. It's not instant. It's not instant. So during the eight months,

that you were making videos, what was your thought process? Like, how come it's not happening yet? You know, like how come nobody's calling me? Like, what was that like?

So for me, well, again, your story inspired me because you were working so hard for six months and nothing happened. Right. Yeah.

And I remind myself your story. Wow. And also, I have no other options. I feel like I have no other options. And this is the only way to go. Sometimes no option is the best options. That's the lesson I learned. And that's all from YouTube or was it some from other sources?

I remember you saying 80% of your business come from YouTube, correct? Yeah, 80%. Of course, I still have referral past clients. but many are people who reach out to me and say, okay, can you help me? That is amazing. Do you think anybody can do YouTube and succeed in real estate? I think so. I think so.

The key point is you have to be consistent. And you cannot be like, okay, I just do one this week or do two next month. that won't work. You have to build your profile on social media. People need to see enough of your face to remember you, but you have to provide value to your audience. Yeah. So in the beginning, I was like, like part of doing the video is to provide value to my clients because a lot of people like buyers or sell, they will come to me with the same question over and over again. I see Okay

So your content is based on the questions that you get And then you make a YouTube video out of that And so when people call you They don't even have to ask you that question anymore Like Or if they ask Or if they ask me Because sometimes you've been in the business for so long

Some things you feel like It's people should know But actually they are completely new to this field They don't know Sometimes when you explain to them in person, you might miss some important stuff. So a video would be more systematic, more complete. So after I explain, I will say, or you can also refer to this video, I explain in more detail. That is amazing.

So did you have to take an official course about how to make YouTube videos, or is it just like self-taught and you just did it by trial and error? Um, by my greatest teacher YouTube search. No kidding. So you looked at other people's YouTube. Oh, yeah. And that's it. You look at other people's YouTube and you feel like, oh, how do I do this? How do I to capture? How do I find a music that doesn't violate rights? Like, you can find everything. There are a lot of course or people just taught you how to use certain stuff, how to use camera, how to use teleprompter.

So piece by piece, like one by one, it's just built on your skill. I love that. Your videos now are so mature. Quality is great. I noticed that, so I want to talk about this because you speak mainly Mandarin in those videos. Yeah. So was that in?

No, you just don't want, like, Other sources of business where it's coming from maybe locals, are you attracting, let's say Taiwanese people, Chinese people in L.A. Or from out of L.A. coming into L.A.? All over. All over. Yeah. That's the beauty of the social media.

People from out of area, out of state, out of sea, they oversee, they can get to know you. They know you are a realtor in Southern California. And local people, they will tune into you when they are searching for homes. Interesting. And yeah, and the reason why I only do Chinese is because I'm better in Chinese. I can better explain myself stuff to my audience. And I figure, I mean, that's plenty of business already. I love that.

I just see, I wanted you to say that is because like we think, okay, if I don't do videos in English, I'm going to miss out a big portion of the market. But there's already plenty of business, guys. And if you speak a different language, right? That's more comfortable for you. Make that content in your own language. Right? And Ethan has done it so well.

And doing 33 transactions in 2021 straight from YouTube, guys, and all in Mandarin. So there's no lack out there. There's only abundance if you see it as that way. So let's take a little bit of a deep dive on the content. I hear, you know, neighborhood videos, listing videos, and evergreen videos, meaning it's timeless. Predominantly, which type of videos get the most traction to get people to call? That's a good question. Okay.

So for me, house tour video would a beautiful house that would attract more people to call you. But those videos talking about knowledge, your knowledge about a transaction, about the market, the real estate market. That's where you build your credibility. People know that you are professional. You know the market. You know what's going on. But what attract more people to call you will be a house tour. That's for sure.

I got it. So the house tour videos brings the people in. There's a lot of virality in that, right? Because a lot of people want to see nice houses. But when you get them in, they subscribe, then you get them the value of your knowledge. Yeah. And then once they get to know you because you have so much content, then they call. Right.

What is your call to action in those videos, by the way? Just wanted to ask. Well, on every video, I will post my QR code. Okay. Either my WeChat or my phone number, my line. So to make sure people can, will be reached out, we'll be able to reach out to me. And also, I will mention if you are looking to buy or sale in Southern California, just reach out to me. Every video, you need to do a call to action on every video.

Because people looking at social media, they are quite passive. You need to give them orders or directions. Right. So they remember. That makes sense. That makes sense. So a good call to action. Listing videos bring the people in.

But the knowledge videos that you're spitting out builds the relationship, lets them know that you are the expert. So, guys, this is just a little bit of recipe here. My last question for this nitty-gritty stuff is, do you go hyper local focused or do you go all of southern california for your videos that depends on what kind of client i'm trying to attract because from time to time yeah from in the beginning i was like i want to attract first time from buyer then i will oh that's and that's very important thing i forgot to mention that you when you are um running a channel you have to

know who your audience who your audience who you're a who you're target audience are that that's very important that you need to know what they like what their lifestyle looks like what their education level what their family formation looks like and you need to do content that geared toward those group of people so they be able to resonate with you wow okay really knowing your audience per se so if you're trying to do let's say San Gabriel then you make a ton of videos about San Gabriel. And then if you're only speaking Mandarin, then that's your audience, basically.

Yeah. Go ahead. And also, when you are running a channel, it's like always try an error. You don't know who you will be attracting. I thought I will be attracting people of my age. But it turns out I'm attracting people who are

older than retired Oh really? They're retired Yes, I don't know why You know why Maybe because you act like it You act really mature

Maybe Maybe they feel more comfortable Doing business But I don't know that Well, how I find out It's because I do a video About a 55 plus community before I was doing that

oh that video blew up but before I was doing that video I have no idea it's just one of the homework that one of the assignment I need to complete that week yeah

but it turns out I attract a lot of people over 60 that's that that's my group And that's totally okay. Most of them are retired, but they have money to buy. It is what it is.

It's amount of dedication, amount of determination, and also patient that you have. You'll be succeed in making content. Because the beauty of social media is you will always. attract people they like you who like you. There were always people who don't like you, no matter what you say or what you do. They don't like you just for who you are, what you look. But you will always attract certain people who like you. But you have to always provide content.

You have always provide value for those group of people. Really, if you are consistent and you never give up, I think same goes for everything that you can succeed no matter how many people are on YouTube, right? So you know at the end of the day, it's if you're willing to commit and become consistent. So when you first started making those videos, how many were you doing per week? And now how many are you doing per week now? In the beginning, it was just like very slow learning process. So like once once a week.

Okay. And then it turned into three a week. Oh, wow. And I find my best balance is two a week, which is the schedule that I'm on right now. For longer, yeah, for longer form content. If it's shorter, you have to post more frequent. That's right. That's right.

And that's why long form content is good. I mean, short form for IG, TikTok, you know, Facebook. But for YouTube, you need to have long form. And it sounds like to you, what works best is two a week. Yeah, for me, yes. And with a short term, you can chop up your long-term content into many short-form stuff. Many short-form content to post it on TikTok and Instagram. So that's brilliant.

Man, this is super helpful. I didn't know what you went through. I didn't know what was inspiring you in the background, which is my story. story. That's very inspiring to me, actually. And Ethan, here's your opportunity to inspire others with a platform. Like what we're doing right now, you know, but reach out to Ethan if you want to go big on YouTube and, you know, really pick his brain, right? And to see, you know, if you don't like prospecting, you might want to build a YouTube channel so you can get some inbound cum-laced me calls, right? As we close in 2023, the last quarter here, what do you think?

agents need to do to succeed for the last quarter? I think because we have less inventory now so the pie is less meaning you have you have to put in more actions to get the same result or if the business is slow like for me 2020 you're putting the time to learn a new skill or to really work on certain resource that you wanted to to work because it will take time so in a downtime when you have a lot of time invest that time to better yourself so you will see the result like month later I love that so right now if it's slow for you take more actions right make more calls do more videos and at the same time

when it's quiet that's when you work on your business learn a new skill go big on YouTube you know follow Ethan and really really go big next year right that this is your time this is your market so if you never quit you will never fail Ethan I am just grateful for your partnership and I'm super proud of what you have achieved and I just love seeing you being happy now with your YouTube success Can people follow you? And what's your YouTube channel called?

Okay, people who speak English will be tough to find me. But in Chinese, it's Ethan, that my farm's the Xiaozen. Ethan, Nogne Fongze de Schaun, okay. Yeah, or you type in. Ethan, Jain, you will find me, I think. Oh, perfect, perfect. All right, Ethan. Well, I really, really appreciate you taking the time today.

Again, you inspired me as much. much as I inspire you. So thank you for your partnership and let's go get it. Thanks again. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, John. Adios, guys.