KGCI: Real Estate on Air - You Can Have Both with Stacey Crechiola

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Hi, everyone and welcome back to my podcast and behind closed deals. Today, I have the pleasure of sitting down with Stacey Crecceola. And I am honored, Stacey, that you are taking the time to be on our podcast today. How are you doing? Thank you, Nadia. I'm honored to be here. I'm doing great. It's a sunny day.

No complaints. I know. It took us a while to get here. But you know what? Yesterday was the eclipse. And today, here we are just doing better than yesterday, which is. great. Stacey, you're one of our agents at EXP, and I truly follow, you know, what you do on social media and, you know, where you've come from the start of your career till now. So

start by telling us a little bit about when you started your career and what you did before and why you chose real estate. That's a good question, Nadia. I am relatively new with EXP. I think I'm coming up to my one-year anniversary. Prior to being a realtor, I worked in a lot of sales jobs. I've worked in Miami and Toronto and all the big cities. And it takes a lot out of your day. And it wasn't really a passion of mine because then I met my husband, who's beautiful, and I have two daughters.

And we kind of really wanted to be at home with them, raising them, and not having somebody else raised them. So I in turn became a stay-at-home mother. I was lucky enough that my husband makes enough money that I could do that. And then COVID hit us, and I thought, I'm super bored, number one. And number two, this is a great opportunity

to dive deep into who I am because now my kids are a little bit older. So I need to figure out who is Stacey because I was an awesome person before I had my kids and my husband. I was a lot of fun. I had the best times in my life. And now I love being a mother and a wife, but now they don't really need me as much anymore.

They're off to playing with their friends and they don't want to spend so much time with me. So who is Stacey? What does Stacey want to do? Stacey is obsessed with homes. I'm on realtor.ca looking at homes every single day of my life probably for the last six years. And my husband's like, you need to be a realtor. And I said, well, I don't know. Why don't I just jump on Humber and see?

So I took the course over COVID and it was everything that I ever wished it would be. And the joke at our house is now he's like, oh, I'm so happy that you finally get paid to look at realtor. It's like you spend all your time looking at these houses and whatnot. So now we get to do the actual job and make it become a reality for us here. So it's lots of money. Yeah, absolutely. So you went through doing the courses and then you had the selection process of what brokerage to go to.

Yeah. What did you do? Like, how did you interview a lot of brokerages? Are we allowed and make saying names of other brokerages? on here? You know what? Every brokerage out there is a fantastic brokerage. They all are, yeah. Walls that choose them. It's where you find home. And, you know, it's really going out as what I really want to focus on with the talk with you today on the podcast is, you know, why is it that you chose EXP and why did it differ from any other brokerage that you interviewed? So talk to me about what you

were looking for in brokerages and what you did with how many interviews you went on, what information you collected. So also another really good question. And that really speaks true to my heart because I did spend a lot of time. Who you work with on a daily basis is very, very important. I was aiming towards Century 21. They're a great company. I know a lot of wonderful realtors who work with that company. Also, Remax has a very good name for themselves. My grandfather, when he was alive, used to say that I should be a realtor and I should work for remex because that name sells it alone, right? So I was aiming towards these brokerages, and I was a soccer coach so I was out at soccer and a guy came out to me and he's like my god you remind me of this guy I

know I was like I remind you of a guy that's great he's like he's like no like the way you speak about business and the way you are with your personality is like you got to meet Matt Ashby and I was like I don't know him and he's like well look him up on on Facebook or whatever so here I am looking at Matt Ashby on Facebook so I saw that he was a realtor so I side message him and I said, hey, funny story. A gentleman told me that I reminded him of you. So do you mind if maybe we can show coffee and I can pick your brain about real estate? And I see you work for a company called EXP.

And he's like, absolutely, no problem. So we went and sat down. Our 20-minute coffee turned into a four-hour afternoon of mind-blowing information. So he sent me these videos on EXP and what the platform looked like. And I was busy that day, so I didn't have time until 10.30 at night. So super tired. Watch these videos. Nadia, my life hasn't been the same since I watched these videos.

I was so mad at him because I was so tired and I wanted to go to bed. But as soon as I saw the videos and what this company had to offer and the growth with this company, I couldn't sleep. I don't think I've slept since. It's so exciting. So I'll circle back. So one of the best things I love about EXP is if I work for another company, whatever company that is, it's kind of each man for themselves. Like if I'm feeling really good or if you're doing really good, Nadia, what are you doing? What's your secret to your success?

You're like, I'm not going to share with you because I don't want you to step in the goes. Meanwhile, with EXP, it's everybody's helping everybody because if I do good, then you do good kind of thing. So we all work together as a team and we're one big happy family and it's the best feeling to have so much support, you know? Yeah, absolutely. Even though it's an online company, you still have the support of the people in your community and on your teams and at the dialogue, your phone or whatever. Well, even like being an online company, I've never felt more connected to other real estate agents or my agents than at EXP. I mean, you just find a way. Like there's so many events that are happening.

There's so much training. There's so many Zoom meetings that are happening that you're always constantly in touch with them. And there isn't a lot of waste of time. Like I know when you go into a physical office, like you're going in to drop off people or if you're going in to drop off or to see people, but it's a lot of waste of time compared to being able to conduct your business online and being on the road with your clients, which is what matters.

Exactly. Exactly. Time is money. Yeah. Exactly. So how was the selection process for you? So you watched the videos. Was that it? Did anything else stand out to you that differentiates EXP from the competitors? Well, I don't know if I'm the best person to ask for that because I haven't worked for any of the competitors. I started fresh as a realtor with EXP and it's been smooth sailing. And like you said, I'm sure they're all great. every real estate company or brokerage is wonderful to work with. The thing with EXP is I have some colleagues who I've brought in to EXP who will call me with a question.

And I always say that's a great question because no question is a stupid question and especially with our work. And then I show her how to log on and any question she has, usually there's a training on that. So why don't you log into the classroom and listen to what they're instructing about that that day. I could answer your question, but you could get a whole lot more information in 20 minutes online here. So that's pretty quickly. Yeah. Really quick decision for me. I didn't have a single ounce of me wanting to go elsewhere just because of how up with the times we are. Like, we are evolving rapidly. And Glenn is involved in so many wonderful projects. I just love being a part of it.

Absolutely. So as a new realtor getting into real estate, how did you navigate your way to start building your foundation? Hmm. Well, I'm a very social person. I talk to a lot of people. We have like KV Corps, our CRM, where I can keep track of all of my clients and my relationships that I have with them. And it allows me to set up, I'm predetermined sending emails or newsletters or. alerts kind of thing. So AI in behind the scenes is very helpful. Definitely takes a lot of my work off my plate. I just spoke to people. I literally just talked to everybody I know, hey, I'm new with the expe. I'm a realtor. If you have any real estate needs, please contact me or if you know anyone that does. It's as simple and it's free to do. Yeah, yeah, to pick up the phone and call people. Yeah. And I just literally enter everything into the system here and it just sends me reminders and emails and I don't need an office of people to work for me because the system that we

have given to us by EXP allows all of that to be done for me. It's wonderful. Do you remember your first sale that you did? Of course I do. I had these clients bugging me to take them at looking at houses before I even had my license. I actually remember that because you were messaging me about that when you first got your license. Yeah. They were friends of ours and they wanted to sell their home, but then they also had a house that they were looking at. So it all happened really quickly, fresh out of the gates,

running. I don't know. I didn't have time to think or learn. I just did. And it was all a smooth process. So that's good that it's that easy to do, right? Do you find time to, like how do you manage your time between being able to, to keep in touch because I mean that client was waiting for you to get licensed to go out and buy

real estate however the second client and the third and the fourth how did they come along how did you find time to prospect and not allow your business to yo-yo um well because I was a soccer coach I got to know a lot of people in the community so my second client was um my call my a coach, so he called me. But I'm using social media a lot. I advertise on all the platforms. I could use more. I think I only use about three or four,

and I heard there's 10 that we can plug into. So that would help me grow as well. It's usually word of mouth. And I've had, I have these cute little ladies that are my hair clients, and they're like, please don't be one of those really rude, real careers, just be in it for the money. And I think that's the difference.

relationship that I have with people, they see that I'm authentic and they see that I care and I see how I am with their children and I listen to them and I ask them about their needs versus how it's going to benefit me. So I think that goes a long way and they speak of that and they talk about that and I don't know. It just seemed to just one has rolled into the next and it was a little quiet over Christmas and the holidays but it's it's well it's quiet. there, then we can work on getting a word out there for the next few months. Right. What would your advice be for agents that are thinking about getting into real estate? You know, if someone just says, you know, I don't know what else to do, so I'm just going to get into real estate.

And they're expecting success right off the, right off the gate. What is your advice to show them, like to really give them a reality picture perspective of the career? Good question. I definitely don't think that real estate is for everybody. I can tell you that much for sure. I had someone say to me one time, anyone can put a sign on a front lawn and sell a house. It's that easy.

Realtors will serve the commission. And I thought, this person is clueless as to all the work that gets put into what we do. I have two kids and a husband and a home and a family, and I have a schedule outside of real estate, and it takes a lot of organization. You have to plan your calendar daily because you are getting calls 24-7. It doesn't matter if you're at a birthday party.

It doesn't matter if you're at a wedding. Those people don't care what you're doing. They want to see the house and they want to see that house now. So you have to be very flexible. You have to be willing to drop what you're doing at the drop of a hat. I do suggest that you go through. your yearly calendar and say, these are my must have, like my children's birthday or my sister's wedding or you put those in the calendars, those are non-negotiables, and you work around that.

And you get a colleague to help you on those days. But it's a struggle. And every day is a struggle. And it's a three, four month process to make one deal happen. It's not just, we're not just out there glamour. Like, you make it look good. Our job is to make it look effortless on our end so that you as our client can feel good knowing that we're taking care of you and we're protecting you.

But there's a lot of work that goes on in the background. So someone else coming into this as a career, they have to really know that there's a lot of work that gets put into it. It's a 24-7 job. It's really what you're doing every single day is lead-gen. That's all you're doing. They're prospecting every single day. And sometimes I think about what I hear from agents coming into this business is, well, I'm not comfortable on the phones or I'm not comfortable posting on social media or I'm not comfortable knocking on doors.

So then how do you expect to sell real estate? So really, you know, I feel that before individuals decide to take the classes at Humber, that maybe they should do a personality test and see if they match the career. because they get in and it's like we're sitting there waiting for the phone to ring. Meanwhile, you have to put in so much work in real estate to get the results six months later. That's right. It's not like you're getting it right away. You're not getting paid nine to five. The other thing that I find real estate agents really struggle with is a financial alignment and the financial management when they do get paid.

Because you get paid, you're working again. You may not get paid for another three, six, nine months. What are you doing with that money from now till then? Did you spend it the day you got it? Or are you making it last till then? Oh, Lord, that is a, that's a struggle for a lot of people. A lot of people think that they can get in and just sell and they're making all this money. But there's fees that we're paying and there's that like we don't get 5%.

We don't get 2.5%. We get like maybe 0.47% or some of that money. Really? My is everything. Yeah. One of the best exercises I used to have my new agents do is. is, especially for their first transaction, calculate every single hour that you put into that client,

no matter what it is that you're doing, divide that by the number of, you know, the amount of commission that you're going to get, and you're probably for a minimum wage, because at the beginning you're dumping so much in and you're forgetting to prospect, and then that's it you get paid, and then now you're having to do it all over again.

We all made that mistake. Our main focus is that one client, right? Right. Cece, where do you see your career going? Oh, it's going to skyrocket. Skyrocket. I love hearing that. Only because, oh, go ahead.

What's your plan? Is your plan to continue selling? Is it to build a team? Is it to grow your organization? What's Stacy's plan? Yes. All of it. I'm all of it.

I didn't know getting into it what I was going to do or what I wanted, but I started last May and I haven't stopped. So I haven't had two seconds to think or plan or do what tomorrow looks like. But I will tell you that we're selling our house. Oh, you can't see behind me. But I have like, we're under construction right now. We're selling our house because I am so diving deep into the whole real estate world.

And everyone that I talk to about it sees the vision that I have. and I show them what EXP has to offer. And now so many people want to get their licenses and work with me. And so I'm like, well, whatever you want to do with your future, that's great. I have a platform that you can plug right into. Yeah, I don't know. I just want to be very successful. I know that I need to get more social media out there.

I need to get my face out there, more videos. I'm aware of that just to get my name known. But like, for example, today I'm going to meet with a ton of real things. to meet with a ton of realtors in London. We're going to have some lunches. We're going to have some meetings. We're going to show some houses. Like, you just never stop. You never do. How do you, how do you balance that with being a mom and a wife? I share everything with my girls. They're nine and 11 going on 45 and 47. And I show them everything that I'm doing. And I teach them and coach them every day because our parents didn't do that with us.

So I want them to know what type of lifestyle and career and opportunity you can have in this role. My one daughter is already a realtor. She's awesome. And I think the daughter might be an architect or a designer. She's more of the hands-on kind of thing. So with them, I don't make it where mom's working and you guys are over here. I involve them and everything I do. They help me with staging.

They helped me picking out the plants and the furniture. They help me, you know, clean the place if that's what needs to be done before photos are taken. Like, I involve them with it, so it's fun for them to see mummy working. So I found it very helpful bringing up kids being in real estate. It really exposed them to the, you know, the adult side of things rather than just being around kids all day and it expose them to the responsibilities that we have, you know, as adults, and this is what they can expect in the work field and how to be responsible, you know, when they're out there.

So I was very fortunate to be able to raise my kids and have a career that allowed me to spend so much time with my kids and not have to put them in daycare. And you know what? Like, it's very joyous. And I find that clients loved it when I brought my kids because they also had kids. So it kind of felt like, you know, we were all on the same level, so to speak. So that's amazing. I can't wait to see how you evolve within EXP and where you take your business and, you know,

how many agents or how many people you impact along the way. Definitely thank you for taking the time to be on the podcast today and look forward to the future with you. Thank you, love. It's always a pleasure chatting with you. You having yourself a great day. You too. Take care. Bye.

Bye.