KGCI: Real Estate on Air - The Woman Behind The Brand Finally Steps Into The Frame

Episode Date: July 17, 2025

SummaryIn this compelling session, Carrie Soave, a leading AI consultant and coach for eXp Realty, steps into the frame to share how she built a multi-million dollar business using AI and how other agents can do the same. She reveals how AI is revolutionizing real estate, empowering agents to scale their businesses, and stressing the importance of adapting to new technologies to remain relevant in a rapidly evolving market. Bullet Point TakeawaysAI as Affordable Leverage: AI enables agents to scale their business without significant investment, evening the playing field for all. Future of Real Estate: Agents who master AI in the next two years will dominate the market, while others risk becoming irrelevant. Optimizing Content Creation: Utilize AI tools like https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&source=gmail&q=AnswerthePublic.com and https://www.google.com/url?sa=E&source=gmail&q=VidIQ.com to generate valuable, SEO-optimized content and video ideas. Automating Tasks & Saving Costs: AI can automate repetitive tasks, reducing the need for expensive marketing companies, video editors, and support staff. The Power of AI Agents: Advanced AI agents can act as virtual assistants, managing relationships and performing complex tasks to enhance client care and business operations. SEO Keywords/PhrasesAI in Real EstateCarrie Soave AILeveraging AI for RealtorsReal Estate TechnologyAI for Business GrowthCall-to-ActionListen to the full episode to discover how Carrie Soave leverages AI to transform real estate businesses and how you can apply these strategies too!

This is everything they never told you about real estate with the AI queen Carrie Sovey. Sharing the tech, tools, and lead gen strategies that top producers won't tell you about. Now, here's your host, Carrie. Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. So I have a very special guest this week. She is a colleague, but most importantly, she's my friend. and we've become so close over the last, I want to say like two years. Nur Marzouk, she is the vice president of global marketing and communications for

EXP Realty and such an important piece of this corporate puzzle. Noir, thank you so much for coming on today. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited. I'm actually so honored that you said yes to coming on to this podcast because usually you are in the background. You are the one who supports everybody. You are the one that builds everybody up. Let's just start by, I'm noticing you more active and content creation, putting yourself out there more. Like, tell me what kind of, what started this out? Like, what made you

start thinking differently about building your own brand. Yeah, that's a great question. And you're right. I'm usually in the background. That's been my entire career has always kind of been in the background, helping others shine and excel. But we've been talking about this a lot on our marketing team and RCMO, Wendy Forsyth, has been a great mentor to me and encourages me in ways that I guess she doesn't even know she does, but she always tells a story about everyone is a content creator. Everyone has a story to tell. And I've spent my entire career helping other people tell their stories. So I always thought, I don't really know if I have a story to tell, but that is my story to tell, is that journey that I've taken along with other people and really how that's helped shape my own career and my own

role. And so for me, I thought, well, that is my story. That's my niche. That's the story that I can tell. That's how I can kind of shine and talk about how it's not just about being in the spotlight, but it is about the people behind the scenes that also help those who are in the front. So that is kind of the reason why I, I started sharing those stories a little bit more because I do think that there are a lot of people in the industry who have roles like mine who might not think that they have a place or that they're always helping others and that they're not deemed as important because they're not in the spotlight. So I wanted to shine a spotlight on the quieter leader and the people in the in the background that are helping shape other people's stories, but also shaping your own as well. Yeah. And you know, I do have to say you have been. a very important part of my journey. So you and Wendy and even before Wendy, Carolyn, I feel like you guys are the ones who have elevated me, my brand and my business and just given me so much

support and exposure. And I really want to thank you for that because you're just such a huge part of why I'm where I am today. So I appreciate you. My pleasure. You are the reason why you are where you are today. I just helped give you a platform in our very first EXPCon Canada. I remember you got on stage. You were so nervous and it was such a different carry. But what you told me was you were nervous, but you didn't care. You wanted to like get past those nerves and make sure that you found your place to speak. And you did so well. And honestly, like you just skyrocketed from there. No, it's crazy, right? So tell me about your journey. Like, where did you grow up? Where have you been? Like, I know you've lived all of the world. Like, tell us about Nora. We want to know who Nor is.

Yeah. So I moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario. So back like in your hometown right now, when I was really young, I grew up in Niagara Falls. And you know this from being there. Like, I grew up in a very tourist-driven town. All of my jobs were at the fall. Like I worked at Table Rock. So if you're from Niagara Falls, if you visited Niagara Falls, you know Table Rock. And I literally had, I think, every single summer job that you could have at Table Rock. So I learned from a very young age around customer service, being able to like see different people from around the world. Like I never had the opportunity to travel when I was younger, but I felt like I saw the entire world in my summers because everyone from every corner of this globe comes to me.

Niagara Falls. They want to see the fall. So I had opportunities to like just engage with different people from all over. And I loved that. And that was really the catalyst of me wanting to see the world growing up in Niagara Falls. I felt like I was so close to something, but yet so far. So when I got older, I said to myself, you know, I really want to be able to travel. I want to be able to explore and see the world, like the way that people come to Niagara Falls and do that. stayed in Niagara Falls, finished university, moved to Toronto, started working for a PR firm, had really cool opportunities there. You know, in a PR firm, you have opportunities to work on multiple clients. So again, very client focused, always kind of worrying about your client's story,

making sure that they're in the spotlight in a positive way. And so did a lot of work across Canada and the U.S. I walked home one day in the middle of winter and my fingers froze and I thought, I'm done. I change. People ask me why I ended up moving to Dubai. My reasons were not like prolific or groundbreaking. I was like, I'm cold. I don't want to be somewhere warm. But being Middle Eastern, I also wanted to go and live in a Middle Eastern country.

So I had an amazing opportunity of moving to Dubai. I stayed there for two years. I worked between Dubai and Abu-Bubi, and it was amazing. Just being immersed in the culture. Also, it is such a huge, expat community. I think it's like less than 10% are locals and everybody else is an expat. So again, it kind of felt like being in Niagara Falls because everybody is from somewhere else. Yeah. And so had those opportunities, moved back to Canada, worked at a tech company before I

joined EXP Realty just over three years ago. I know. What a journey, right? Life is so funny. Now, you're living in Toronto right now. Yeah. So if you could move anywhere in the world and like, let's be honest i feel like you could live anywhere in the world you have like your job is very remote right and you're traveling a lot with the expe right now so where would you want to live right now if you could live in the caribbean because i no longer want to be landlocked i try to spend i'm kind of i felt i feel like i've been a snowbird for the past five years ever since covid i ended up during COVID, I ended up going to the Bahamas for what I thought would be five weeks. It turned into almost six months. And I missed the winter. And then every year since then, I've missed the winter.

And I've gone back because I just hate being cold. And I was just there for five weeks. And I just thought, and I spent the majority of my time by the ocean. And I just, in my mind, I'm like, I do not want to be landlocked. It's such a soothing, healing place to be. So if I could, I think I would be in the Caribbean right now. I'll be there with you. I'll be there with you. As Canadians, like I tell you, trying to escape the cold weather. But then I miss it. Like, to be honest, like my dogs love the snow, right?

And I'm like, oh, it's nice to walk. It's June. I'll tell you, it's June, and I have a space heater on. Even though I have my window, I know it's so bad. But I'm still, I can never feel completely warm. So I have my space heater on, keeping my time. is warm right now. And we're off to Barcelona soon. My goodness, I just, that just reminded me, do we need like a visa or something? I thought about that this morning. I think we're good.

So for my listeners out there, me and Nour are off to Barcelona soon for EXPConn International. It's in Barcelona, Spain this year. And I remember messaging Nour about three months ago, four months ago. And I'm like, I saw something on TikTok and I'm like, I'm like, I saw something on TikTok. And I'm like, I believe everything on TikTok. I'm just ridiculous like that. And I'm like, I read that we need a visa to travel to Europe. And she's like, I don't know. But I feel like that's a ways away. We can, we can address it at the time. Neither of us have addressed it, have we? No, but I think it's okay. I think we don't show up. Leadership, if we don't show up, you know why. I'll take the hit. But I think we're good. I think we're good. After this,

I'll go double check. So we're headed to Barcelona. Have you been there before? I have not. Me neither. And I'm super excited. I'm actually going to hit my orca on the way. Yes. I love me a good trip. I've been traveling a lot lately though. So I kind of miss it. You know me. I kind of miss my dogs when I'm gone for too long. I get a little bit of homesick. So out of all the places that you've traveled, not just this year, because you're like on the move a lot this year with EXP. What's your favorite place that you've been? My favorite place that I've been is Turkey. Really? And EXP is open in Turkey. right? Just recently, but Turkey, so when I was younger, when I talk about my desire to travel, when I was like 12 or 13, I was watching TV and I ended up watching, I think, a documentary about Turkey. And I thought to myself, when I grow up, I'm going to go to Turkey. And it was my absolute dream. And then so for my 30th birthday, I was like, well, at first I was like, oh, wait until I get married and that'll be my honeymoon. And I was like, I'm 30. I'm not married.

I'm not waiting. I'm going to Turkey. So I've been three times since it's an absolute. beautiful country. It is just filled with such rich history, culture. The food is amazing. The shopping is so, like, fantastic. Like, I always come back with too much stuff that I need to buy, like a second suitcase. But I could just go there over and over again. Yeah, I love that. Do you know that I've been talking with Dunya about doing some agent attraction events around AI in Dubai and we're going to connect with the leader of Egypt as well and Turkey. So maybe you should come on that little tour that I'm doing. We're talking about like November-ish.

We're still ironing it out, but I think it's perfect timing. I think so too. And they're actually all going to be in Barcelona with us. Yes. So perfect timing to have that conversation. So when I see you guys all kind of like congregating together, I'll just make. my way over. Exactly. Exactly. It'll be fantastic. Okay. So let's talk about you helped ring the NASDAQ bell this year as part of EXP's leadership. What was that like? Tell me all about this. It was a very surreal experience. So I actually had the

opportunity to go two years ago to do the closing bell. And then in January, I did the opening bell. And it is just such an incredible feeling. I didn't really know what to expect in terms of the energy and the excitement, but everyone who is in that room, the feedback that we got was like, you know, this is a dream of us to be here. You know, we're so excited. And to be part of a team that can really help fulfill, you know, some dreams for our agents. It's a very rewarding experience. You know, you're kind of in the moment when you're in the moment, right? You're not thinking about much except for getting through the day, making sure that everyone feels good, you know, hitting the marks, having everything on like a timeline. But when you kind of sit back and you think, wow, like we

accomplish that, that's amazing. And then just hearing all the positive feedback, it is a really rewarding experience. And what a great company, EXP is that they included so many agents as well in that experience. I was blown away. I was blown away. I feel like there's so much. much opportunity. I feel like not enough. If you're an ex-p agent listening and you haven't really plugged in to what ex-p offers and the community and leadership, like leadership is accessible to all of you. You are really doing yourself a disservice. And listen, Noor, like, I'm a little bit of an

introvert. So Nadia actually pulled me out of my shell. Nadia is our president. Is it, no, what's her title? My and director for Canada. And she's the one who was like, you're coming to speak in Vancouver on social media. And I just turned it into like an AI. But she was the one, I don't know. I had not plugged in to EXP.

And I had been with them already for a year. So I feel like for those of us that are introverted, to have leadership and somebody in that position recognize and pull us out of it. If that ever happens to you guys listening, make sure you embrace that. Because I get more than anybody I get, you know, being shy and not wanting to put yourself out there and being more comfortable in your own workspace and your own environment. I get that more than anybody. But there is people in an EXP that will try to pull you out. Don't fight it. Don't fight it. Because it will be the best thing that ever happens to you. Yeah, I agree. I think

the leadership is so strong. And everyone, on the corporate side is so heavily invested in our agents. We're always thinking about, you know, what is going to be the best for our agents? How do we tell the strongest stories? You know, how do we tap it? How do we connect? And a lot of that comes from being at our live events as well. And those are the places where you do get to connect, not just with, you know, the agents that

you work with day in or day out, but, you know, agents that you've always maybe wanted to meet, you know, stories that you've always wanted to hear. You know, we always hear about people wanting to be in the room and how do they get in the room. And it really does start with our events because there's so many opportunities to be in multiple rooms throughout multiple days. Yeah. Let's talk about the attendance to Barcelona. What the. I have talked to so many people that are going to Barcelona that have never even been to EXP on PCON Canada. You know what I mean? Like I just feel like everybody and their mother is coming to Barcelona this year. And it makes me so happy. I remember talking to feeling,

I had Felix on the podcast like earlier in the year and he's like, we're already like sold out and like we haven't even launched like anything really. He's like we're going to have to reassess. Which is like a big difference than from last year in Portugal because we were there. I was there in Portugal last year and it was so great. It was nice and it was like smaller but it was like such a good experience because of that. Yeah. I'm sure this would be amazing.

Yeah, you know, we're super excited. I think it's going to be a really interesting few days. The panels, the discussions, they're very like international, right? When we think about it, we've got Spanish speaking panels. You know, we've got an interpretify app so people can listen in multiple languages. And we have agents from Canada, the U.S., also, you know, joining some of our panels. So it is a truly international event. And it is quite different than the other EXP cons that we hold. So it'll be a truly special, special event for anyone. who is there. And I think that for anyone who doesn't have the opportunity to come this year, they'll be excited to attend the next one. Oh, 100%. And next year, has that been announced yet? I know where it is. Of course you do. But we can't say anything just yet. Okay. Okay. We're not saying nothing. But you're going to want to go. It's all in. It's all ready. Okay. Yeah. So I have been, so speaking about like EXP and everything like plugging in. I got to tell you. You guys just keep on launching like new stuff, like new resources for agents, new tools for agents,

new programs for agent. And it's hilarious because my manager of growth that manages my org and because I travel so much, I can't be there all the time. And since I've phased out of production, you know, unless you're practicing every day, you can't really answer questions on legal or anything like that. So I have somebody for that on my org. and I asked her like a couple weeks ago to compile because I'm I'm jumping into agent attraction. I've never really focused on it because I've been building my other company but now that I

the opportunity is there and the time is there. Yeah, especially with co-sponsorship, right? Like that's that changes everything. But I ask my growth manager can you like document a list of everything the EXP offers? She's just like like there's so much. It's hilarious because like I'm the AI person. So I'm like, I need this so I can feed it to my AI. Like I fed the co-sponsorship explanation.

And now because I use AI every day, every second of every day. So it's just like how I operate. But I need a document. And she's just like, okay, it's going to take me a while to put together. There's that much. So let's look at like just what's been announced this year. Now we have like Canva Pro for every agent at EXP. We have now a choice of one of three CRMs, all which are heavy in AI and really robot systems.

We have fast cap that is basically, it's like a boot camp supercharging agents and getting them into like massive production in six weeks. Now we have fast attract for those interested in attraction. We have an entire upgraded coaching platform elevate in EXP University. I don't even like fixer for capping agents. And EXP commercials now giving co-star, which is like a huge deal in Canada, which we need to figure out how to get it to Canadian commercial realtors. All of these things, they're such a huge deal. And there's so much of them.

When he's doing a freaking amazing job and Kendall too, like, oh my goodness. It's all, again, like when we talk about being agent, agent-centric, we are agent-centric, right? So a lot of the conversations that we have are around how do we make things easier for our agents. And so these text acts that we have are so, it's so exciting to sit in rooms where we announce these things are like that these are coming because you see like the excitement in people's eyes and you see kind of just like that everyone is just so thankful for them, right? Because we're thinking about their businesses in completely different ways.

Because all of our leadership team, they're all ex-realtors too, you know what I mean? Like they were all in production. So they know, you know, what helps grow their business. And so I think that that's kind of what really helps us stand out amongst the rest is because we have a leadership team that was, you know, they were high producing agents. They were in the trenches. They know what you need. And they're constantly thinking about ways to elevate your business for you and make it easier.

Even with AI, you know, we're so heavy on AI. And I think at first anyone, regardless of what industry you're in, you're terrified of AI. Right? Because you're like, oh, gosh, this thing is going to take over my job. But it really isn't. It's about elevating your job and helping you move quicker, think faster, you know, build out processes, you know, do the things that you want to do with an AI assistant. And it's not real, it's never about that. But, you know, even for me, it was a mental blocker, right? Because I was like, I don't, I don't know where to even start. But once you start, you're like, I can't go back. Because it helped much, right? And I'm, you know, obviously, you know, speaking to the converted over here,

but like it is so helpful. And we know at EXP, we talk about it a lot, but what's amazing, it's not just what we invest into our agents, but it's also with leadership team invests back into their staff as well. So we can't Canber Pro, you know,

Canber Pro as well. You know, we have access to all these AI tools, right, to help us make our jobs easier to help elevate and make it easier for our agents. Yeah, 100%.

Do you know of any new things that are going to be coming soon? You do, you little. I can't tell, Mary. There's stuff coming. There's more stuff coming, isn't there? Oh, stuff coming. I mean, again, like, I have, I've had the, you know, amazing opportunity to sit with the leadership team, but, you know, multiple times. And again, like, you know, it really is about how do we make things better?

What's next? How do we move things forward? So there's always going to be something coming. And I think that's the beauty of EXP is that we never just sit. We never just stop thinking. about what's next. And I think that that's so important to have that mindset. You know, you can't just wait for things to happen. You have to really uncover what is happening. And how do we take advantage of that? And that's really what I've seen, even in like the past six months,

is that everyone is being elevated into that mindset. And it's like super encouraging, right? So you're just thinking about things in a completely different way. Yeah. And I love the EXP is so tech forward. I remember sitting at the Toronto rally in November and Glenn was speaking there and Jennifer was doing like a fireside chat with Glenn and he talked about AI the whole time. He was like he he is so focused because he knows that this is the future and he wants to prepare all of his people for it. And I remember sitting there and I'm thinking I don't I've never felt more alone. with a brand in my life because like he's just mirroring my beliefs. And it feels so good to like, that's like a sense of like belonging, you know?

Is that so great. And obviously you're a huge fan of AI. Before I started working with the marketing team, had you used a lot of AI? Because I've worked with the marketing team. I think that was like a year ago now. Yeah, I think over a year ago. No, I hadn't at all. all. Like you really taught us the foundation of it as well. And I think what you just said about Glenn

and his talk is such a strong point where you said, you know, Glenn was like learning AI and talked about AI and about how he wants to make sure that everyone in the org is set up for success with AI. And I think that's the key message right there is that, you know, we're doing this not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but for what's next. Like, it's the 5.0 version of GPT that you were probably worrying about or the, you know, 6.0 version or whatever it is, right? It's not just about today. And I think that that's really key because you can, you see how invested the leadership team is in making sure that we're always moving forward. And I think once you have that mindset and really understand that that's what's happening, it makes it one more exciting. Two, you're less nervous about

AI, right? Because again, like, it's the fear of the unknown of what it is. And it does take time to learn, but everything takes time to learn. But once you learned it, it makes everything so much quicker. And so when you taught us, I had that feeling. I was like, I don't know what is happening. Like, what? I have to create a what. I have to, what input, what? So that was just a lot for me to take in. But once you sit and you just do it on your own terms and your own time, and it is a bunch of trial and error, right? Like, I can listen to you do it and I can watch you do it and I can pick up some of it. But unless I've got like the mouse in my hand and I'm talking to whatever AI tool I'm using and like having that trial and error, I won't understand it and I won't feel comfortable

with it. But you kind of coming in and sharing that, we all of us, I think, just had a very different understanding and just level of comfort with it. But it was forward thinking enough to bring you in to help us, right? To help us be comfortable with it. Yeah, absolutely. I'm so happy that you had a good experience and I can be the one to like, you know, help you at the beginning. I think that's so awesome because you've helped me so much. Like, it's nice. It's really nice. So, okay, I want to know top three tech tools you can't live without and one of them has to be AI. Yeah, well, chat GPT. Just love it. Actually, on my vacation, I spent time creating like a NORG-G-T. I'm really building that out. And so when you talk about my content,

I started building out what that could look like from a development standpoint. So that was really fun for me. I think I wanted to carve out like quiet time for myself to even build out something personal. So I really enjoyed that. So obviously chat GPT. Camba, of course. So, you know, we use Canva a lot on the marketing side and just that tool. And with all the different, you know, capabilities that they just launched as well. It's also helping us move forward with creating stories, you know, building things out. And another tool that I use specifically for my role is Capcut and then Capcut is now done a lot more with AI as well, like just building out scripts for you. You can type in an idea and it can help you build out your script, your storyline, the look and feel of it.

So for me and my role is just really using tools that can help me tell stories faster and more of them. Okay, so I want you to look into two things. Have you experimented with SORA yet? No. Okay, so I want you to pause SORA. So Sora is available to all chat GPT plus users. You just have to sign up for it. Like log into Sora.

It's owned by OpenAI. And then once you log in, you will find it in your toolbar and chat GPT for easy access once you've signed it. However, so that is a fully AI generated VIII. video and picture editor. Okay. Now, there's one better though. I've been using the V-O-3, I think it's called. It's the Gemini.

Okay, so Gemini's new video creator is wild. It is wild. I'm about to post, Nora, I'm going to, I'm going to do it today. I'm going to post this video that I made of basically my Belgium Malnoir, Rocky, wearing an AI solution t-shirt, which is my org name. And like basically he's half robot at this point and he is helping an agent manage some bots. It is it's this like you can only do really short clips right now. But I would love to see you and the marketing team start to experiment more with image editing, image creation and and video creation with AI. Because you can like imagine, I feel like you can

create some really sick graphics and video clips for marketing, like kind of like Sabri Subi-Subi style, like bombs dropping in places and elephants walking through the room. And I just like shocking stuff like that. Yeah. I think it's going to be a really important skill for the marketing team is to be able to use AI video generators. And I'm personally liking, let me just double check this. but I think it is the, yeah, this is V-O-3 and it's available.

So it's V-E-O-3 and it's available right in your Gemini account now. You used to have to go to another platform to use it. It's right in your Gemini now, your Gemini app. I'm going to look them up. I'm going to start testing. Have the team start testing too. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming on today, Nor.

Are there any like give our audience a little bit of wisdom, like what is something that they should be, you know, considering? What is something that they maybe aren't thinking about, right? I mean, honestly, I think in terms of something to consider is just pushing yourself out of your comfort zone a little bit every single day. It doesn't have to be, you know, from zero to a hundred. But I think for any type of growth that you want to have, it needs to be consistent. And I think that starting small will actually end up leading you to taking some of those bigger leaps. I've always found that when I start small, It gives me experience.

It gives me confidence. And then I kind of go from 10 to 100, right? Because then I feel good. But it's always just making sure that you're taking time for yourself, taking time for your own learning, and making sure that you're always testing and trying something new. You have to get uncomfortable. I think we always hear that. Get uncomfortable with the uncomfortable.

But when you do that, it really does help. Because if I didn't allow myself to do that, I wouldn't be so immersed in some of these new technologies and open to hearing about and jumping. into new ones too, even though I know that I'm like, oh my God, two more and like, I got to figure out how to use these. But it's exciting and you want to be able to have that mindset. Absolutely. Thank you, Nor so much for coming on. I feel like the timing for this was perfect because I know if I would have asked you a year ago, you would have said no. You'd been like, no, I'm good. I'm welcome to the spotlight, baby. You belong here. You're a freaking star.

I appreciate it. Thank you so much. I cannot wait to see you in Barcelona. Thanks for listening to everything they never told you about real estate. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. To connect with Carrie or for more information about her coaching program, check out cariesove.ca or at Carrie Sovey and Associates on Instagram and TikTok. Thanks again for tuning in and we'll see you next time.