KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Secrets to Dominate Smaller Real Estate Markets, with Rachel Tiskevics

Episode Date: September 27, 2025

Friday Focus is your weekly mini-series from KGCI Real Estate On Air—a deep dive into one theme, broken into tactical, easy-to-implement episodes. Every Friday and Saturday, we unpack the strategies, scripts, and systems agents use to win more business—without the fluff.Catch every episode in the series to get the full picture, and put these moves into play by Monday.SummaryIn this insightful episode, real estate expert Rachel Tiskevics reveals her strategies for thriving in smaller, competitive markets. She shares how her focus on building authentic relationships, providing exceptional value, and becoming a local expert has allowed her to dominate her market. Learn how to leverage the unique dynamics of a small town to build a sustainable, referral-based business that stands out from the competition.Key TakeawaysRelationships over Transactions: Rachel emphasizes that in a small market, your reputation is everything. Focus on building genuine relationships, as your clients will become your most valuable source of referrals.Become the Local Expert: By deeply understanding your local market—the neighborhoods, the community, and the people—you position yourself as an irreplaceable authority.Leverage Your Sphere: In a smaller community, your existing network is your biggest asset. Nurture these relationships to generate consistent leads and build a business based on trust.Prioritize Your Brand: Your brand, built on values like trust and integrity, is your most powerful tool for differentiating yourself in a crowded market.Keywords/PhrasesSmall Real Estate Markets, Rachel Tiskevics, Local Expert, Real Estate Strategy, Networking, Referral BusinessCall-to-ActionReady to unlock the secrets to success in any market? Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and learn how to dominate your local real estate market with Rachel Tiskevics! Ready for more? Subscribe to KGCI Real Estate On Air and grab the Always Free Real Estate On Air Mobile App for iPhone and Android. Inside, you’ll find our complete archive, 24/7 stream, and every Friday Focus mini-series—ready when you are.

Real estate strategy without the spin. Here's what you missed from this week's Friday Focus on KGCI, Real Estate on Air. Welcome back to the Realty Funnels Podcast. I'm Kevin Cahill, and I'm delighted to welcome Rachel Tiskovics from Pella, Iowa. Rachel, welcome. Thank you, Kevin. Thanks for having me today. Oh, it's my pleasure.

I'm delighted to have an opportunity to chat with you and learn more about what you're doing there in the heartland. tell everyone a little bit about yourself, your business, where you work and live, and how long you've been at it. Sure. So I'm from Pella, Iowa, which is where I'm currently serving in real estate. I've been an agent for eight years, and I really concentrate probably within a 30-mile radius of Pella. So that just keeps me able to service my clients really well and get to them, you know, as quickly

as possible if needed. When I first started out in the business, I was really doing about a 60 mile radius, but my five-year goal was to shrink that down. So I was staying closer to home. So I've been able to achieve that. So it's been a blessing just to kind of keep a smaller niche market now. And how long have you been at it? Since the end of 2016, so just about eight years. And that's been an interesting run in the market. We saw still a run up. And then an ever so slight softening, COVID, and then all of a sudden it just went crazy again. What was the market like for you? You know, it was been consistent, I have to say.

I didn't have a quiet winter. Always had really great December's, even January. So I feel like I didn't have the norm from what I hear as far as like the highs and the lows of the time frame. And I think that's just because I was trained really early. early on. I'm very thankful for my training at Colville Banker, by the way, which is where I got my start, just about the funnels and just about showing up every day and your spokes and making sure that you're not keeping everything, you know, just in one basket. So I did basically what they told me to do. So I feel like I can't take credit for it other than just I did what they told me to

do and it worked. So I've been very thankful to have a pretty consistent business no matter what market we were seen. And it's interesting. You mentioned that you just did what you were told to do. Yeah. And it's amazing to me that there are some fundamentals that apply. And if you just align your energy with the natural energy of the market and how people transact real estate, you're going to slide right in and very quickly have your success. What was the beginning of your career like? How did that first year or two go? It was crazy. So in Pella, in this town of 10,000 people, there are about 50 real estate agents.

So at first, I didn't really want to try because I felt like, well, I can't compete with that. Because, number one, most of the agents that were advertising in our local newspaper that's free, by the way, had been doing this for decades. So why on earth would somebody call a newbie, like my. you know, that hadn't had any real estate experience. I did work for a builder back in 2007 when we lived in Nashville, Tennessee for a time. Oh, interesting. I got my taste for real estate. But I felt like I just wasn't going to be able to compete. And the person that recruited me from Coldwell Banker said, I think you'd be surprised, you know, what you could actually do. So when I had my initial licensing, everybody was off at Christmas break, so I really kind of didn't get fully trained until 2017.

But they basically provided enough information and training and tools for me to feel like I could just go out then and like seek out. So instead of like relying on my SOI or relying on the small town business, that's why I was about a 60 mile radius. because I would go anywhere to get work. I mean, I kind of felt a little, you know, ridiculous sometimes because it was almost like, okay, tell me who, tell me where, tell me what to do it. You know, it was just like I didn't really have a plan. I just knew that I needed to go out and get some business, right? So I would knock on for sell by owner doors.

I went to the office meetings at night where they would order in pizza and we literally cold call people. I took any referral from like a referral company. I didn't care if I had to pay a referral fee. Then other agents saw how hard working I was. So they'd be like, oh, wow, Rachel, can you cover for me? Or I'll give this client to it at 25%. So I just kind of kept doing that until sure enough.

Then the calls started coming in. Oh, Rachel, can you list my house for me? Can you, you know, help me with this? And then pretty soon, no one had actually told me about how to advertise. on Zillow or some of the platforms. But I started to pay attention because I was always looking to see like, how are people doing this?

And I saw that one of the agents that had been part of my recruiting process was showing up on these listings. So I just kind of paid a, you know, small amount, you know, because I wasn't making a lot of money in real estate, but I paid a small amount to have a market share. But I didn't do it in Pella

because that was too expensive. I did on the smaller towns around Pella. So I just kept doing that, Kevin, until I got enough, then repeat business. Then finally I was able to call Zill and say, okay, I'm done. You know, and now it's just honestly my book of business that keeps me going every day. I love it. So you actually approached it like a full-time job. Like this is a J-O-B job.

Yeah. And you're going to make it happen. You're going to hold yourself responsible for showing up and doing the action steps that it will take. Right. I think it's so interesting that. As you're saying that, yeah, go ahead. Sorry, I was just going to share, as you were saying that, I remembered Kevin actually wearing my name tag from 8 o'clock in the morning until I was done at night. And it was a psychological thing for me, whether I was at home, whether I was at meetings, whether I was in my car. That meant I was on the job. And so I did some of that. you're just like, you know, psychology to make sure that I was actually working the entire time

that I should be going out to prospect. And what were you working before you got into real estate? You said that you were like 11 years or 10 years earlier. You were in Nashville helping a builder. But tell me about what you were doing in that whole period of time before you went full time in real estate. Sure. So I was actually, I homeschooled.

I have three sons. and I had two left in high school. And my husband has actually in sales for many years, and he traveled. And he really wanted us to be able to go with him when possible. So we decided to homeschool so we weren't dependent on the school schedule, but then they were always dual enrolled for sports or music, whatever they wanted to do. And then I was a teaching director for community Bible study, which is an international Bible study group here in our town.

but then I drove the school bus as well. So I did have a small gig going on in the morning before school and then in the afternoon, go back and do the route. So that combination of things, when I transition in a real estate, I still drove the school bus, but I stopped being a teaching director because that was more like a full-time job. It was just a nonprofit organization, so it wasn't, you know, a salary position or anything. And so I drove school bus while I was doing my initial training.

And my boys then were starting to, they were graduated at that point, you know, so they had just finished high school. So that I could really focus in on real estate. And when it got to be where it was distracting driving a school bus because I was thinking about my appointments or thinking about the real estate that I was seeing while I was driving, that's when I knew I had to let them know I couldn't drive anymore because safety is utmost. And that's number one when you're driving that school bus. And I actually missed it because it was a lot of fun. It was a really fun season. I did that for about seven years. But yeah, once I got started then full time, when I had enough closings coming up and had enough appointments booked,

it just was really very much, my career was very much laid out then at that point. Well, you come from this background of service, you know, driving the school bus, but also teaching in the Bible study, program. I mean, that's a servant leader's heart. And I find that to be one of the, not necessarily prerequisite, but a common thread among top performing real estate agents. So you felt this notion that you're going to put the client ahead of your own interests and serve as many people as you can, even if you have to drive 60 miles. And I can just imagine those beautiful rolling planes in Iowa and just driving along those country roads to go to a listing or to show a property. Yeah, yeah. There were some levels of road moments.

And so in those first years, you mentioned that you have some mentors, you have some people who are showing you the ropes, helping you to understand. How has that remained a part of who you are? a part of what it is you do every day. Well, I think of the two brokers at Coldwell that were just always available for me. And that just showed me you need to be available for people. Yes. So like the new agent that I've brought on board, like when she calls with a question, I need to be available.

You know, in real estate, you have to respond. And you have to respond as quickly as possible. Is it always possible to do it right? that minute, no, but at least, you know, texting or saying, hey, I'll get back to you in 10 minutes or I'll call you as soon as I can. So they modeled for me because they were both still selling at the time. Okay. So they were really leading by example. They were really leading by example that they were there. And I would never forget my first offer. They took turns on the phone with me to help me get through the initial documents and made sure that I had everything done for compliance.

And now I didn't know where I was going for my first closing. That was an awkward moment. I do remember driving around and thinking, wait, I'm supposed to, what am I supposed to, am I supposed to pick up checks? I didn't know. Like some of that kind of got missed somehow through the cracks. But they were awesome. So I just want to show up and be awesome for the people in my life that I need to be there for, too.

So you're growing your team. You have the whole Rachel Tiskevick's real estate. experience and you're growing this whole concept. Let's talk about that. What is this looking like for you as you grow a concept of a team? How are you envisioning that? Right. So I'm envisioning a team of agents that are servant-hearted, not fiercely competitive, want a high quality of life with for themselves and their families, a very high standard for how they treat and respect their clients and what kind of service they can provide. And I have a space now that allows us all to gather together. So I think you and I talked about the brick and mortar piece, but that's important

in Pella. I think it's fantastic. Talk about that. So you're in the process of opening up your own brick and mortar office space in historic Pella. Right, right. And I'm actually in the original first bank of Pella from the founder Domini Sculte. And so there are two vaults in this building. So the closing room is literally in a safe and it looks like you've just entered this, this giant like capsule. I mean, it's super cool. And it's, it is.

It's historic. It's memorable. And so the RTRE experience is all about a team of professionals that are going to provide an excellent experience. and everybody's on the same page with what that looks like. So there's continuity. So if one of us is traveling and someone's filling in for the other, that the client is not going to lose out on the experience,

even though each agent, of course, is going to have their own personalities. They're going to have their own style. I don't want to take that away from anyone, but just providing the same expected service along the way so that they aren't going to feel like they're remembering. missing out if Rachel's on vacation or Megan's on vacation, whoever takes care of them from the artery experience is going to take care of them the very best we can.

You know, I think about that in terms of how real estate agents can grow and grow smart and grow effective and keep that consistent high level of experience for the consumer. I think back to some of my friends who are dentists and how they're able to craft a similar experience where they don't necessarily have to meet with Rachel. Right. Rachel has trained this person so that I'm going to have a great experience. Much like if I go to my dentist, the dentist isn't having me fill out paperwork, and the dentist is not necessarily doing my teeth cleaning, and the dentist is not necessarily

going to call and remind me of the upcoming appointment or book a different time. but the dentist is overseeing everything so that I have a great experience and a great interaction with that dental office. Exactly. Oh, I think it's exciting. So in a town of 10,000 people, and obviously there are other outlying areas as well, you were initially jumping into a market that had 50 or so real estate agents. How does that real estate marketplace look to you now, you know, years into the business?

I think it's the same. But what I didn't know when I started in real estate was that probably 90% of the business is being done by 10% of the agents. Wow. So true. Yeah. So I wanted to be in that 10%. It's so true. I mean, that's the Pareto principle, the 80-20 principle. And I honestly think that as you study it more and more closely, yes, it's like 90-10, but then you realize there are four people who are doing a ton of the business at that top 10%. And you're just always in a learning mode to figure out what are other people doing.

How can I improve? Exactly. Yeah. So what do you do to look for inspiration or motivation or motivation or, you know, insights as to growing your business. What do you look for? Well, I look for different. I look for unique. It's that purple cow mentality. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I have to listen to influencers and personal development coaches that are not from my area, even though I love Iowa, born and raised here, it's my heart. I don't do business like Pella, if that makes sense. I do in the brick and mortar situation, but I have to level up on a regular basis. And the only way I'm going to level up on a

regular basis is if I'm learning from people outside of my market that are crushing it and that are bringing innovation and new ideas and better ways to do things because there's always a better way to do something that I'm doing. So that's what I'm looking. for. I love it. You mentioned the purple cow, which in Iowa, there may be a purple cow. I don't know, but there are more cows in Iowa. And that Seth Godin, of course, wrote the book, The Purple Cowell. And the whole notion is that real estate agents, yes, they can all look interchangeable. They can all look the same. So the notion of a differentiation is really, to me, mission critical to not only standing out, but to really hitting the fullest expression of who you are and who you're

intended to be by our creator. And so what is it that you do with your RT, RE experience so that you're obviously different? You're obviously providing something better. Right. So I start from the get-go with a consultation with each client that if it can either do it with them in person or virtually and there's a lot of questions on that consultation, even down to what do you like to drink? What do you like to eat? What is your favorite kind of music? Do you have a favorite book or movie so that maybe when they're in the office, I have that drink or when we're out and I know I have to schedule a stop for food in the middle of our property tour. We can go to a place that has the type of food they like, playing the type of music in my car when they're riding with me.

and I do take them in my car still. So I try to make every single piece of the experience, literally treating them like I would my family because they're going to become a part of the RTRE family. If they close, you know, on a home with me, hopefully they're going to come to client events and they're going to still, you know, keep in touch with us. And we're going to, you know, send them a birthday card

or, you know, call them and I'm a songwriter. So sometimes I'll sing or send them a, you know, a greeting or something on a text. So personalizing the experience for them. That's fantastic. I think it's so interesting that you would actually go so deep as to understand them. You know, it's not just how many bedrooms do you need and how many bathrooms do you, you know, is three enough or do you have to have four? But like, if somebody asked me what type of food I liked, I would think this person is really trying to figure.

figure me out and that's important to me. Because we're dealing with their largest single financial transaction typically. We're not dealing with a lot of billionaires out there who the house is sort of a small little piece. For most people, it's a major piece. And then to think through where would this person be comfortable purchasing or if they're selling, what are the most important factors to them. How do I help them make this transition smoother and less stressful and less onerous? Right. Exactly. And did somebody teach you that questionnaire? Did you find that in some completely other place? No, I think I don't want to sound like I created it, but I think I did just pay attention as I was going through. I'm sure somebody had something that had at least

one of those things somewhere, right? Or like buying them a coffee, right? Like what's your favorite coffee? And I just kind of took that and went a little deeper, like you said, because I was seeing that while I was out and about with people, depending on who I was dealing with, because I'm in an area where you can have an acreage just, you know, five miles down the road. But then you have people that are transplants that are used to Chicago or they're used to being in a larger city. So their expectations for a coffee are very different than the farmer that is perfectly fine with a cup of black coffee. So I really wanted to figure out how I could stand out in 50 agents to choose from. Why would they come back to me if I'm just going to do the same process as everybody else?

Yeah. There's a wonderful book by Al Trout, who's a legendary marketer. It's called differentiate or die. And it's an amazing industry that we're in where we can be as personal and unique as we want to be without a glass ceiling, without anybody passing judgment. The market gets to pass judgment. And if we're speaking to enough of the right people, we're going to have plenty of people that we can serve, plenty of opportunities. And then from there, you're going to have all that referral opportunity, the past clients, they become your spokesperson, your silent salesman out there talking on your behalf. And I love it. Just the whole difference between somebody who is a farmer and having a real estate need is a different personality.

and their experience expectations are going to be different than a Chicagoan who is suddenly out there because they're working for Pella windows. Right. And so tell me a little bit more about your experience and the RTRA experience. What are you looking to do in the next five years? How does Rachel grow? Right. So I still want to get my broker license, Kevin, because I have not finished that. So life tends to happen while you're planning on something else.

So I've started the process. Right? So I just need to somehow have that blocks of time that I either make myself just do 10 minutes a day to study or whatever it is. But I just know that that's going to definitely be a goal. Maybe someday just have my own brokerage at this point. I'm very thankful to have EXP and to have, you know, a blanket, you know, over me. I appreciate that, you know, very much. But there are certain things that you're limited to, too.

Like I can't manage other people's properties, you know. So the experience, our TRI experience, to be able to not only sell, help people buy and sell, but maybe I've been asked by several people, can you manage this rental for me? Can you help me with this? Being able to have someone in-house that's an investment portfolio person. So basically the whole experience, not just limited to residential buying and selling. What else can we do? What else can we offer that's a service that is going to be beneficial to the client?

I think it's fantastic that you're thinking ahead like that. And becoming a broker is such a commitment to your own professionalism. And so I commend you for pursuing that as well. That's going to just pay you big dividends. and it's great that you're able to then encapsulate the entire ownership and sales process because really there's a lot of wealth that is built in the buy and hold. And yet for a lot of real estate agents, if it's not a buy or a sale, they're not involved with it. And yet they could be property management.

They could be doing all sorts of help with planning ahead, property development, Right. You know, ground up construction work. We're talking recently with someone on the podcast who is in Chicago. And Chicago is pretty built out. And yet there are still some areas where you can find a tear down and you can put up five townhomes. Right. And what an awesome opportunity is for a real estate agent to recognize, hey, if I can find the right person for this, I could oversee all this for them.

Yeah. And that would be serving at a very high level as well with, in my opinion, the number one growth vehicle for people's personal net worth, real estate. It is. This is very exciting. So you've got one person on your team right now. And tell me a little bit about how you're taking that person under your wings. Basically allowing her to shadow whenever possible.

So having her in the office when I'm putting an offer, you know, I'll just text her and say, hey, are you available? You want to come up and see how I do this? Or, you know, I'm going to fill out some listing documents. You want to come do this? Or jumping on some educational calls together. Going to some community events. So I pay to be a member of the PACE Alliance, which used to be our Pella Chamber.

Now it's grown to be actually an alliance for an economic. development type situation and then they work also with the county so bringing her to the those breakfasts and you know any activities i can to help integrate her because she's actually not from pellas she married someone from pella she's actually from demoyne so i do have her then to be able to not only show some pella aspects and to get her involved but also launch her out and kind of pushing her out of the nest a little bit to then go back to demoyne where she is from and what she knows best so that I can give her some referrals and have her take people through the process in a place where she's a little more comfortable with that as well.

Oh, that's fantastic. And so as you continue to grow and you're looking at all these different ways that you can serve people, let me ask you this. What is the one thing that you now know that you wish you knew when you just got started? You were brand new to the business. I have to say that not everyone wants you to succeed, and that's okay. You know, sometimes it can be a little petty in real estate. You know, with success sometimes there can be a target on your back.

Sure. And so, but I don't let that dissuade me. And I'm not doing this to like prove anybody wrong or, you know, push anybody out of the market. I do what I do because I love doing what I do. so I think I just regularly just be kind to everyone. Try to be the best co-op agent on the opposite side of every transaction, help people that need help. And at the end of the day,

just know that not everybody's going to think you're wonderful and that's okay. Just be yourself and use the gifts and talents that God gave you and make yourself just shine honestly for the benefit of, others and just do the best that you can every day. You know, it's so true and it's sad, but it's a truth that we might have a plan, we might have an intention, and as we're pursuing that, there may be those people who are going to pass judgment on it or cast a negative light on what it is we're doing. And they don't necessarily know our heart. They don't necessarily know who it is that we really are or what we're trying to accomplish. And yet they're going to

paint us with a certain type of shellac that suits their worldview. And it's all just a bit of noise out there. You cannot let them get you down. You have to just go out there and know that you're serving people at a high level. You care more than anyone else who will care for your clients and you're just going to take care of them. And then the truth will win out. Right. Exactly. Exactly. And you just know that you're on a good path. Well, I'm super excited that we had this opportunity to talk. I know that people want to reach out and connect with you. What would you, let's let's start with your website. Where would you want people to go to learn more about working with you? Sure. So the R-T-R-E experience.com. And,

I believe there's a button there to learn more or join the team. So we'd love to hear from you. We'd love to have conversations. I always like meeting other agents from all over the world. Well, you know, that's a great source of business is just referrals. And if people don't necessarily know who to reach out to in Central Iowa, now they do. What's a good phone number for you as well? Sure. 641-230-0537. And if people want to shoot you an email, I'm sure they can text you at that number two, but if they wanted to send you an email, what would be the best way to reach you? Yeah, R-A-C-H-E-L at R-T-R-E-E-E-E-Experience.com. Okay, Rachel at R-T-R-E-E-Experience.com.

Rachel, thank you so much for being with me today. I enjoyed getting to know you a little bit better and having this opportunity to talk with you. It's been a real pleasure. Thank you, Kevin, for me as well. I appreciate it.