Wake Up to Wealth - Your KPIs are telling you the truth with Mat Breidenstine

Episode Date: August 21, 2026

In episode 69 of Wake Up to Wealth, Brandon Brittingham interviews the operations powerhouse Matt Breidenstine,  as he shares how he transformed from a hands-on operator to a mentor and leader who consistently turns green recruits into top producers.  Tune in for an episode that is packed with motivational insights and practical strategies that will give you an edge—whether you’re leading a sales team, launching a business, or scaling your investment portfolio  SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS Brandon Brittingham Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mailboxmoneyb/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.brittingham.1/   Matt Breidenstine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matbreidenstine/   WEBSITES Brandon Brittingham: https://www.brandonsbrain.org/home ========================== SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS: Accruity: https://accruity.com/

This is Wake Up to Wealth, a podcast dedicated to helping you change the way you think about wealth. And now, here's your host, Brandon Brittingham. This next segment is brought to you by my good friends at Accruity. Now, if you run a business, most business owners neglect their back office, and they don't even know where to go or who to trust when it comes to their financials or CPA or taxes. That's where Accruity comes in. You can trust them. They can give you advice and they understand the back office. Listen, you're not running a business correctly if you don't have a hold of this and it's really hard to trust people that are out there. And most CPAs frankly work for the IRS and don't work for you. That's not the case with Accruity. Check my good friends out at Accruity for any needs that you have when it comes to helping with your back office, getting your book straight, getting your taxes correct. And they guide you and give you advice, which most firms don't. So check out my guys at a cruity.

Tell them I sent you. Hey, everybody, what's up? We are back with another episode of Wake Up to Wealth. And as we start every show, I just want to say thank you guys so much for consistently supporting our show, making us one of the top investment podcasts in the world. We're averaging top five consistently on the charts, 125 to 135,000 downloads per episode. with no major corporate sponsors, no major studio behind us. It's just us doing it in our studio, giving you content that we think you need to hear. So I can't say this enough. Thank you guys

so much for the support of the show. Thank you everyone out there for liking, commenting, sharing, supporting the show. Thank you guys so much. So today, I've got a special guest who I actually work with this gentleman. It's Matthew Breedenstein. They get there right? Brydenstein. Bridenstein. See? Always butcher people's last names.

But really cool. He works on the real estate and investment side with me. Thanks for coming on the show today. Pleasure to be here. So just want to unpack a couple things, right? He specifically works on the off market side with me, but he has a resume where he's done a lot of stuff in sales and management. And, you know, just really has things down in as an operator. really understands how to run a business.

I just want to ask you a couple of questions because, you know, I always want to give our listeners value. So over, you know, we'll first tell everybody kind of who you are, where you come from, what you've done. Yeah. So obviously, Matt Brydenstein, I come raised on the space coast. I lived in Florida most of my life, did a couple journeymen deals with some startups, a couple organizations.

I started early on managing my dad or my buddy's dad's lawn care business, learned all of procedures, processes. It was all on me because he lived out of state and then kind of worked my way up, worked in call centers, managed a 290c call center, got into real estate investing post-COVID, did a little stint with some GLP1 stuff, working with different organizations really helping their processes. Got it.

And so you've obviously had to manage a lot of people, you know, and the different things that you've done. What do you think is like maybe like two qualities over the time that you've managed people that you see in people that's kind of that you think is like, if they have this, they're going to be successful? The most is not afraid of a challenge and willingness to take action. I would think those are the two things. They're not scared of it and they're willing to go after it.

So in any organization that you've got, right, everyone has to always recruit talent. So you are part of recruiting talent here. You've been part of it at a lot of different organizations. How do you on the front end, how do you spot it? Well, I'd like to do my style is I like to do group interviews to get people in together and kind of see how they interact with people who shines. So there's people that shine because they just want to ask a bunch of questions there's people that shine because they ask the right questions.

You can. They're almost putting themselves in the position and they're asking the right questions. I love when that happens. It makes the conversation mutual. Yeah. So that's what I look for. If they're picking up when I'm putting down, that's what I go for. What about in an interview?

Like what kind of questions do you ask to kind of probe to see, is this person going to be a fit or not? In an interview, I like to look at kind of their resume, see, you know, do they work with organizations for a long time? Do they bounce around? They do bounce around. Why are they searching for something that we might have? But, I mean, for the most part, you know, you have your standard questions. What would you do in this situation? Have you ever been in this type of situation?

We also use team architects. So we'll have a good understanding of if they're a fit. And, you know, you have different types of interview guides with stuff like that. But really, I want someone that's not afraid to come in, have a conversation, understand they're talking with the boss. and they're asking the right questions. It really comes down to the questions. Because if they're seeing themselves in the position, if you've done a good job explaining the position,

it creates a mutually beneficial relationship because you're trying to enter into a relationship where they manage what you're expecting them to. Sure, sure. Is there anything, is there any specific question you ask that is like a key of like, I want to see their, like this is an automatic yes or automatic no?

If you're successful in this role, where do you see yourself in six months? That's a good one that I like to just throw out there to see what they're doing, see if they have a why. If someone has a why, you can usually find that and work with it. Yeah. You know, if they're wanting to purchase a home and settle down, that's always great. I always like people that have nice cars because they've got nice payments and stuff like that. So really, it's just trying to understand if the role is going to be a culture fit through some of the questions and how they answer.

but there's never been, you know, I've taken someone from green to all the experience in the world. I've had the most success with someone that's green. They don't have any bad habits. Yeah, that makes sense. As far as one of the other things that I think that you're a huge believer in, and I am too, and sometimes entrepreneurs just don't do this and don't do this well, is just measuring and putting KPI's behind everything. Yes. I'm a KPI and process guy.

Yeah, yeah. Talk a little bit about that. So I like to look at, you know, any sort of sales process, any even business process, you know, there's going to be KPI's that you're looking to gather out of them. And so I like to look at those KPI as almost like training as well. Understanding where, think of a KPI is like, you've got six or seven KPIs that you're tracking. And then a hose. The hose could be kinked in multiple places or just one. So if you're tracking those KPI's, you can find someone.

and that they're having a lot of conversations in our world, but they're not translating to appointments. I know to fix that versus someone that has a bunch of appointments, but no contracts. Well, that's where I got to work. And then from the procedural standpoint, it's tying your processes with your KPIs. Because the KPI is a key performance indicator,

but for me, it's also a key process indicator. Yeah. Your KPI's struggling. You can blame it on people, but is your process, right? So people that are listening to this that might run an off-market real estate business, you know, or just sales in general.

Like what are, what are some KPIs you think that you've got to be looking at? If you're in the sales world, it's obviously it's calls and conversations. And then it dictates based off of what your KPIs are off of that. For instance, us in the off market world, we're looking for LOIs sent, offers that follow that and then contracts. And we have benchmarks that we want to hit. If you want so many appointments, you want to deliver so many LOIs that will turn into so many offers. Yeah. So if you're only delivering a 50%.

just for sake of conversation, a 50% offer rate on everything you send at LOI, maybe you're just looking at wrong opportunities. We have to get to the people that need our help. Yeah, it makes sense. And then talk about kind of like how you present KPIs and, you know, how you think your salespeople should be seeing it and things like that. What's really interesting, and I focused in a lot on it with this role, is using the KPIs as like a tool, not only a tool of measurement to success,

but also a tool of training. The agents love that from the day one that they step in, we're going to be looking at every aspect. You know, they're not going to be left to their own demise. Sure. And then through that, we'll go ahead and we'll dictate, you know, where they need the help, where they need success. And you want to look at the success just as much as the failure.

I find you find more out of the nose than you do the yeses. Yeah, 100%. I don't know if I answered that correctly. Yeah, no, no. I mean, that's a good way. That's a good way to look at it. what else do you see, right? You said you've taken someone from green to successful, like as a salesperson.

Like walk me through that journey. What does what does that look like? What helps them, what do you do that helps them become successful? I think it's a little bit because, I mean, you've seen me. I'm hands on. Like I want to make sure you understand that. I want to make sure there's no questions. Basically remove all the fear and doubt.

And that serves with my management style. That serves well for what I would call. called green. They don't have any experience. Through all the industries I've worked in, you know, what you run the risk of with a really, really good salesman is bad habits, right? They come in and they're only shooting for the low-hanging fruit. They're not optimizing your process. Sure. They'll be good, but it'll be short-lived. What happens when that, you know, little list that they're working on doesn't work because they've never figured out how to work the larger list. With someone that's green, it's almost you're walking through those experiences.

celebrating with them and then also having teachable and trainable moments. They don't come any bad habits. Batteries included is good if they're a performer, but if they don't have it and they're willing to take a risk, obviously, you know, our role is 1099. If they're willing to bet on themselves, well, I feel like I have to go to task making sure they're successful. Yeah. What just made me think of a question. What do you think how you have seen right? right, you've had people, I've had people that have been W2 their entire life.

Yeah. And then transition to 1099, which is scary. But then they absolutely crush it. And they make more income than they've ever made in their life. What do you see, you know, is it something in that person? Is it like what do you think, right? Like what do you think is the underlying thing that helped? Because there's a lot of people who can't do it.

You have to have somewhat of a entrepreneur, right? You have to, you know, be able to see a target, chase a target. without knowing the ending outcome, but have a little bit of trust that you're on the right path. The biggest thing I see transitioning W2, because, you know, everyone will come in and they'll want a little something. It's really translating that you're betting on yourself.

If you take this position, you know, I'm going to hold you accountable because through the KPIs, and that's a big point with the KPIs, I know that X amount of calls equal X amount of action, that equal X amount. I know that if you come in and you do it, the law of averages shows. So, I mean, I think that's really the key is they might be scared of it. But I always sell it as this is a sales position.

If you want a W2, you're capping yourself. Because at some point, the company has to say, you know, if they don't perform in a month, we have to make sure we're not overspending and we have to collect on the back end. You'd rather the full pie than just be told how many pieces you can have. That's how I try to manage it. Sometimes there's no out of it. People are used to. They feel comfortable knowing that biweekly check is coming.

And they can't see the forest through the trees that if they just put in the work, they'll make triple what they were they were making prior. 100%. They don't know how to bet on themselves sometimes. Yeah. Well, I think that's it. I think the biggest thing is, is that when someone transitions from W2 to 1099, the biggest thing is they just got to be willing to burn the boats.

And the ones that are willing to burn the boats, that's the ones you see be successful. like I don't have any other fucking choice. This is the choice. I'm doing it. That's what goes back to in the interview process of why. I need to have a why. Yeah. Yeah.

You know, living with mom and dad, sitting on trust fund money. I've tried them. They'll work for a little bit, but they're kind of like a bottle rocket. There's no payoff. Right.

Another thing is, what do you think is like, you know, like we've seen this, we've seen this since you've been here. You've seen salespeople come in, be completely green, and not really know anything about real estate or anything,

but they have just kind of some innate qualities that make them good. Like what makes somebody a good salesperson, just kind of one or two things? Teachable and coachable. Yeah. The person that comes in, they got it all figured out. They don't have time to listen to you. They might have some success,

but they're going to depend on their own tools. This is built over years. This is experience, try, trude, and tested. You'll have some initial success. But if you're not following the process, process of the company, you're paddling out in the middle of an ocean. And eventually you're going to have to turn around and figure out how to get back versus paddling with the group.

Another question is, you know, there's a lot of people who run sales teams who are in sales that listen to the show, right? It all happens. I mean, this happens. What's your advice or how do you get somebody? Because it happens, right? Sales are up and down. Sales people are up and down. What, what happens when that rock star salesperson gets in a run? Uh, well, it's, it's a conversation and it's, uh, usually like, we got to get back to basics. Like, you know what got you here. So we just, we have to get back to basics. Um, you know, you, you run the risk of, and when you have a sales and especially if you're in a high ticket and they start seeing success, you almost as a manager got to be in their background saying,

are you investing? What are you doing? Don't plug all that money. Are you quarterly taxing your stuff like that. Don't increase the way you're living too much yet. Not yet. Don't be an NBA player. Don't blow it all. No doubt. What do you see, I mean, in the ones that are consistent and are kind of even keel,

you know, consistency is one of them. Well, what do you see in like the mindset and the moxie and just kind of their approach? Well, we have a few here. Yeah. And, you know, both, the two that I'm thinking, they're, they're different in their approach. One, it's more like, it'll get figured out. It always gets figured out. Yeah.

And that's just a great moxie to have. You do want to have a little bit of, oh, crap. Yeah. Because that'll keep the deals aligned and you don't want fear of fallout. So I would think that, that's a key on one. And the other, it's, and I think it ties down to the process. They're not going to, you know, they're even killed and it works because they know they're working with an organization that has their back and things of that nature.

So, I mean, I don't know. We're talking to the person, you don't want them to be what I can be, which is, oh, crap, the boat's burning. You know, we got to, we're flying, jumping out of the boat to go. get some water when you know you need to help what's going on here right i think that would be the key thing uh what i see in them is they're they're agnostic to what's happening they just trust the process yeah um and storm on our side is very much like that yeah and he knows he has a team around them you got to be a good teammate um they got to know that you'll grab the the

rope and lead from the front yeah um and that helps those types of individuals remain calm and just do what they need to do yeah that will you kind of segue into my next question What do you think makes a good leader of salespeople? A good leader of salespeople. You have to care about the business. You got to have a lot of integrity. And you have to be ready, willing, and able to kind of put yourself in that person's shoes is coming to you for a question. It's so easy as a manager to just be like, oh, it's there.

It's here. It's there. But in my case, when we got a bunch of new trainees, when they come to me, I've probably answered the question 100 times. This is the first time they're asking it. So, you know, I have to make it an experience for them and so that they feel like they're in part of it. Yeah. They're in tune. They're with the company.

Even though I've answered it 500 times. Sure. What about, um, thick skin? You have to have thick skin. Um, I mean, as emotional as I am, I, I do a good, uh, every morning and every night, I kind of download what happened for the day. Yeah. Check my list.

I keep a notes always open, putting stuff on there. And for me, knowing that at the end of the day, I'm going to be able to kind of take all this down, that's my reset. I've had to put that in place. Otherwise, I just feel like I'm spinning and spinning and there's no start and end. Yeah. You need to start and end to wake up the next day and go after it. Yeah, that's a good point. Another question I would have is how do you, as a manager, right, where you've got a bunch of deals going on, you got a bunch of people to manage, you got a bunch of shit.

going on, a bunch of shit going wrong. Yeah. Like how do you, how do you successfully, for people that are listening, how do you successfully run your day? I have trust in, again, it sounds so stupid. I have trust in the processes. You know, when you go through it for the first time, it's crazy. You go through it the second time.

It starts to make sense the third time. You just, I think we were talking about thick skin. You just kind of, you get used to it. You understand there's an outcome and there's a possibility on anything. Yeah. It might switch. The deal might change. we still have an outcome as long as our processes have led to this now new outcome.

Yeah, yeah. But trying to not get rattled, that's tough, especially when, I mean, right now with all the new people, we got a bunch of deals going out, sign contract three days in with a new agent. You know, all those things are great, but there's so much stress on the back end because did I do everything right with the first three days? Like, that's great, but like, is the seller of it. aware. I'm confident because we had a good onboarding process. But, you know, those are things that will keep you up at night as well. Yeah. 100%. We're to end it with two questions. Yeah. Anyone that salesperson that's listening, I want you to give them one of the best pieces of advice you ever got. And anyone that's in leadership, I want you to give them one of the best

piece of advice you ever got. For the sales side, fail forward. You had a post, a great post on it the other It's just fail forward. Don't be afraid to fail. If you've been invited to the position, put your elbows on the table, go after it and be teachable and be coachable. Don't be afraid of teachable moments. If someone comes and correct you, they're not coming at your pride. They're coming at your process. Yeah. And then for leadership, you know, try and get down to the level of understanding what this person is going through, try and make it important to them. and then on a grander scale, just make sure, you know,

the energy and the effort that you're putting out rewards the outcome that you want to see in the end. Love it. Last question. Ask everybody the same question at the end. We call this show Wake Up to Wealth for two reasons. I want people to wake up wealthy. And I wanted to win them to wake up education-wise

about what wealth is because we're not taught about it in this country. No answer is wrong. I just want your answer. What does waking up to wealth mean to you? It means something, that I've strive for, thought about

almost my entire life, but never really took actions. It was just kind of I want to be wealthy. I see the wealthy people. I think you mentioned it's when your passive outweighs your current. It seems like a tall order. So waking up to wealth is something that I'm a journeyman

on and I'm finally to a point in life at 39 years old. There are all the things that have happened in my life where I'm, I'm, I'm willing to take a risk and bet on myself. I think that's the biggest thing to wake up to wealth is you have to kind of put all noise aside and just be as hammer after a nail as you can for your wealth journey. Understand where you're going and not be non-negotiable.

I've been negotiable a lot of ways. Nice cars, nice house, nice area, stuff like that. If I wanted to be more hammer after a nail, that's how I can possibly wake up to wealth. And that's the journey. Awesome. Hey, man, I want to say thank you so much for, coming on the show today. Guys, thank you again so much for listening.

Matt was a little nervous for coming on the show. So go find them on social media and telling me, did a good job. Again, thank you guys so much for consistently supporting us. You know, give us a like when you see us pop up, share, download, review, and we can continue to give you really cool guests like Matt and be able to just continue to support you guys as listeners and help you on your journey. Thank you so much for coming today. a hell of a job, brother. Appreciate you.

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