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Key Factors RealEstateAF
Educational Podcast for Consumers, Mortgage & Real Estate Industry Professionals. We'll Talk About It All! Key Factors podcast, powered by https://ReviewMyMortgage.com . Your Host Mark Jones invites Industry Pros to help uncover & educate on the key factors of various topics. There’s something for everyone so let us be your guides and get educated. Subscribe & Follow on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Facebook, Instagram, & all other podcasting platforms. Host : Mark A Jones Founder of ReviewMyMortgage.comProducing Branch MangerSr. Loan Officer. NMLS ID# 513437NMLS Consumer Access: http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/Powered by ReviewMyMortgage.com
Key Factors RealEstateAF
A Fabulous Gift of Real Estate Secrets Nobody Tells You - Ep. 122
Guest: MarkAnthony Ball: Real Estate, Social Media, and Authenticity
Subscribe to MarkAnthony: @markanthonyball
Learn how MarkAnthony Ball became a top real estate agent by combining authenticity, discipline, and creativity. Discover tips for 2025 success, social media strategies, and more.
In this festive holiday episode of the Key Factors Podcast, host Mark Jones welcomes the remarkable Mark Anthony Ball, a San Antonio real estate powerhouse, to discuss everything from innovative strategies in the real estate industry to maintaining authenticity and confidence in the face of challenges.
Mark Anthony shares his journey from a military career to becoming a celebrated social media influencer and top-performing real estate agent. Along the way, we dive into his unique alter ego, Vivian, who brings humor and transparency to the real estate world. They tackle topics like the importance of education, staying consistent, and adapting to industry changes like the NAR lawsuit.
Whether you're a seasoned pro or a newcomer to real estate, this episode is packed with insights and actionable advice to help you dominate in 2025. Plus, get inspired by Mark Anthony's fearless approach to building his brand and helping clients.
🎄 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Key Factors Podcast!
Thank you for watching this episode of the Key Factors Podcast! If you enjoyed the conversation with Mark Anthony and found value in his insights about real estate, content creation, and personal growth, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this video with someone who could benefit.
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Catch you in the next episode!
Real Estate, Mark Anthony Ball, Key Factors Podcast, Real Estate AF, Social Media Marketing, Vivian Alter Ego, San Antonio Realtor, Real Estate Tips, Building Confidence, Military Transition, NAR Lawsuit, 2025 Real Estate Strategy, Cold Calling, Real Estate Marketing, Personal Growth, Entrepreneurship, Podcast Interview
Key Factors Podcast is Powered by ReviewMyMortgage.com
Host: Mark Jones | Sr. Loan Officer | NMLS# 513437
If you would like to work with Mark on your next home purchase or as a partner visit iThink Mortgage.
What about a playback? Wow, is this how Beyonce feels when she hears herself. Who knows, maybe, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:When she actually performs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tell me about it. What I mean this Christmas is going to be a good one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's going to be some halftime show I'll be watching Some show. I'll be watching Some sport. I'll be watching. There's so many people who are like I am not watching it. Oh, I'm watching, Come on.
Speaker 1:That's the only thing I'm watching for, right. It's kind of like the Super Bowl I only watch for the halftime show.
Speaker 2:So I don't know shit about shit, but here played the Patriots in Houston and there was no halftime show better than that at the time.
Speaker 1:It was like Lady Gaga came from the top. Oh my God. We were like what the fuck is happening right now? Yeah, oh my God, it was so cool. Gaga's a monster for that. Yes, she is.
Speaker 2:Yes, she is, and welcome back to another episode of Key Factors Podcast, real Estate AF, where the AF stands for and finance, and I'm your host, mark Jones, and we are powered by ReviewMyMortgagecom. And today. First, I want to start off by telling everybody Merry Christmas. We decided to provide you guys with some content that you can actually learn from, take from this while you're sitting at home after you're done opening the presents and having all the stuff, like normal, we sit around and we scroll on social media, so hopefully you stumble upon this and you get something from it. But the past couple of discussions we've talked about business planning. We even had my CPA on the show, but this one I want to get a little fabulous, so to speak. So each time that I have a new guest on, I actually have ChatGPT provide me with a bio based on anything that you can find on the internet, and this is what ChatGPT says.
Speaker 2:Mark Anthony Ball is a distinguished real estate professional based in San Antonio, texas, and the founder and CEO of Ball International Real Estate Group. With over $20 million in sales, he was recognized as one of San Antonio's top realtors. A 12-year US Army veteran, Mark Anthony brings discipline and commitment to his real estate practice. He is an icon agent at eXp Realty's luxury division and has been featured in our Fortune Magazine's Under 40 list. His innovative approach integrates media, entertainment, education and technology to enhance his clients' experience. Beyond real estate, mark Anthony is a certified mentor, public speaker and actively a community advocate, supporting organizations such as Equality Texas and San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce. So, without further ado, mark Anthony Ball oh my gosh ChatGPT is nosy.
Speaker 1:Like on point Hi how you doing Good. I point Hi how you doing Good, I can't complain.
Speaker 2:How are you? You know what. I'm not here to listen to your complaints anyway.
Speaker 1:It doesn't make anything any better anyway.
Speaker 2:No, it does not, and I think that just you saying that is one of the reasons why I think this is going to be a great discussion. You are definitely somebody that is a doer, not someone that complains about the stuff that you have going on in your life that gets in the way of what it is that we're supposed to be doing, which is helping people solve problems. Matter of fact, if there were no problems, we wouldn't be here Exactly, you know. So if you could tell us a little bit about yourself, we've got plenty of time within this discussion.
Speaker 1:We've got plenty of time within this discussion I love these because we get to put our phone away was an instructor at Fort Sam and I feel like I was coming to the end of my contract. I said you know, I don't think I want to do 20. I think 12 is kind of where I want to be. So I had to figure out an exit plan. I was maybe about $60,000 in debt and so I said, well, let's figure this out, because I was supposed to go to med school Military. I was medical, on the medical side and so I was like let's just continue to go to med school.
Speaker 2:I'm half Filipino, so my mom is very be a nurse, be a doctor, go to med school, and so imagine her displeasure when I told her oh, by the way, I'm actually going to be a real estate agent. That's funny. I see all of these Asian comedians and they bring that up All the not something I could bring home to my family and then we're all proud of.
Speaker 1:Exactly. And that's me. They're like oh, he's just a realtor. I'm like oh, just a realtor. Like come on, mom.
Speaker 2:No, he's a top realtor, correct.
Speaker 1:Exactly. How dare you? Um, so I cleared $60,000 worth of debt in about six months, and then I realized, holy shit, I'm actually really good at this, yeah, and so, instead of going to med school, I just continued with real estate. I started out a very small mom and pop boutique, redbird Realty. Jeff Garza has taught me everything.
Speaker 2:Hey, they're no longer small, mom and pop.
Speaker 1:I know they are massive and I could not be any prouder Jeff is a legend and a force in this market, and he's taught me everything I know. So, jeff, if you're watching, I love you.
Speaker 2:He will be. Matter of fact, Jeff is one of our consistent guests on here and I respect the hell out of him. He's amazing.
Speaker 1:He's taught me everything I know that's awesome. And then so I was there. He was like Marianth, and you're going to be just something amazing one day. And sure enough, I was taking my GRI class, Tariq El Moussa hopped in my DMs and was like hey, what's up? And we chatted, got on some FaceTimes and eventually I swapped over to eXp and I just continued to grow. I had a team, disbanded a team. I've learned a lot. I've gone through websites, I've had six CRMs, Like I've done it all you know. And so now I feel like I'm really able, in this fifth year, to hone my craft and realize what I really want to do and really be purposeful.
Speaker 1:I love that you know what I mean. So yeah, Mark Anthony.
Speaker 2:So what got you into real estate? I mean, you were going through medical school or knocking on the doors of almost finishing medical school. What led you to go real estate? Was it like a means to an end? I need to start making some money quick at that time Because, if we rewind five years ago, that was about what? 2019? Mm-hmm, I mean shit. Business was going nuts. Yeah, it wasn't yet COVID nuts, but it was still doing very well. So what was the deciding factor that kind of pushed you towards that direction?
Speaker 1:I think it was just like we were mentioning I'm exiting from the military, but also I'm originally from San Diego, california, where you can't escape beautiful real estate. I've loved real estate for as long as I could. Million dollar listings have always been my show growing up as a kid and I'm just like I want to see homes like this all the time. And so as I realized I was getting out of the military, I said okay, you know what? Let's really find a way to grow that passion and make some money. And, like Tom Ferry says, it was the cocaine and champagne times.
Speaker 1:you know, and so it was. Just it was easy to close. You, you throw a rock and you hit a realtor, and you threw a rock and you hit a client, and so it was very easy to obtain paying off debt and then stacking a really nice savings account and saving for a new house and all of that stuff. So I did a lot in my first year of real estate. I bought a house and X, y and Z paid off all of my debt, all that good stuff.
Speaker 2:So you doing as much as you've done in a short period of time tells me a lot about you. Number one I've been in this game since 2012,. Top producer after the first year built a team, lost a team, rebuilt a team all of the ups and downs, trials and tribulations that you want to talk about. Trials and tribulations that you want to talk about. But the idea of learning your craft by, I don't know, doing the basics initially and doing them so well that you added your flair to it and we'll get into that. But I had a question for you the vision of Million Dollar Listings.
Speaker 2:We all watched that show and kind of loved it, because there's no way to not fall in love with all of this beauty Right. But then, when you get into the actual business, you get to see all the bullshit and you get to see all the dirt behind the, the, the, the corners and all the um. Imperfection, so to speak. Exactly Right. What pushed you to continue? Knowing that, okay, I want to do this because I love properties, I'm passionate about all of this stuff. But then I get in and it's not what I saw on TV, yeah, but yet I believe I can make it that, yeah, and that's what I think I see here.
Speaker 1:Right, yes, you're absolutely right. So one talent that many people tell me is that I make things look very easy, or it doesn't look as it seem, but the fact is it is really, really hard. Real estate is not an easy business for people who don't want to do a lot of work, and so for me, I've really just realized one I love helping people In the military. I've always had that servant heart, and even before then, and so being able to assist people in something that can be very stressful has always been something that I enjoy doing. Um, and then, on the flip side, I just I'm good at solving problems. I don't know if it's the Taurus mindset, it's the earth sign, I don't know what it is, but it's the Mark Anthony mindset and appreciate you not being humble enough to say that it's from others, and more than likely it has been.
Speaker 2:You've, I would imagine, have adopted different things, different traits, to make your own. I can tell that you're doing things different, and there's nothing wrong with that Matter of fact. That's how things should be done when you are trying to make a name for yourself. I can remember back when I got into the business and everybody was doing the same stuff. I was the guy that did it differently. No, I didn't wear high heels, but you're damn right, I had my face plastered over everything Vehicles, moving trailers, all kinds of things that worked For you. What would you attribute that consistency to and the reason why I bring that up first is you mentioned and I read that you were in the military. Is that kind of bringing some of that consistency forward into this craft? I do know that in the military you get up, you do this. You fold your underweight this way, you do that, you fold your underwear this way, you do that. Is that bleeding into this kind of the initial kickstart of this?
Speaker 1:I think the discipline, definitely for sure. At one point, you have to realize, like, even though you leave the military, you still have that disciplinary mindset of I got to wake up, I got to make these calls, I do have to do the follow-ups, I have to do the open house, I have to love on these things and the passion that you really want to roll with in order to ensure the success. Now, to be honest, though, when I was in the military, it kind of stripped me of all of my creativity. So, coming into real estate, I was asking people who did Canva really well, like, hey, can you make this graphic for me? Can you make this flyer for me? I don't know what I'm doing because I didn't.
Speaker 1:And then, eventually, you learn how to be your CMO and your CFO and all of that stuff, and you just learn to do it well. And now the people that I'm asking for, hey, can you help me with Canberra? Like, hey, mark Anthony, I need help with some marketing, because eventually, at some point just like I told my sister who recently got licensed there's a thousand and one real estate agents in your market. You have to be the difference, and people want to work with someone that they can connect, know, like and trust.
Speaker 1:Amen and so you have to find a way to be able to have that internet persona, give someone a hug through the phone and say I want to work with this person. Yeah, and I think I've achieved that.
Speaker 2:I think not only I don't think I know you've achieved that. It has a lot to do with your high level of EQ. Yeah, matter of fact, from the moment that you walked into here, I felt a connection vibe, what have you? And it wasn't because you were pretending you were your true self, and I am not one to judge anybody. I want to learn who the hell you are.
Speaker 2:Right, the idea behind this business being an easy business and I don't know if you've said it or not, but I have to say that that is not the case. I don't believe that this is an easy business. And what I want to kind of talk about first is something that I had heard you say that you got a lot of kudos for. Okay, I personally disagree a little bit, but I want to dive into it. Yeah, the idea behind folks bringing up the fail rate of realtors in this business some upwards 78, 80 percent. You're like I'm tired of hearing that, but it is the truth. And do you remember saying it so that you could say that part again? Ok, go for it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I was at EXP Con, so my brokerage's national convention in Miami. It was great to be able to be a speaker, and so we were talking about why we think agents fail and I said, look, we have an 80% fail rate, and I really hate that because sometimes agents can be mean and lenders can be mean and they're just like, well, this person's making mistakes, so they're a crappy realtor. And that's not the case at all. Sometimes people just need help, you know, and if we give them the tools that they need or the direction, or if you're a more experienced agent and you know you're going into a transaction with a weaker or newer agent, don't be an asshole, because it has nothing to do with the agents, everything to do with the customers and the clients, and so I think that when it comes to that, it's important that people remember that and understand that.
Speaker 1:But this business is hard. If you don't know you know the basics of a contract, if you don't know a third-party financing, anandam, or what early possession means and what we can do during early possession, or any of that, it could really destroy what your client is trying to build or, even worse, the incentives that they're supposed to be getting, and so I think that it's important that people at least know the basics. Everyone wants to get in and they want the glory before the work and they want the glitz and the glamour and the Lamborghinis and the Mercedes. But sometimes you have to be in your 1994 Honda Accord for a little bit until you're where you're supposed to be. Babe, this isn't it.
Speaker 2:You're not going to be there. Amen to that. Okay, so now that I agree with 100%.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:The idea that it is on anybody else but them first. Yep, that's where I feel there's a disconnect. In 80%, it's a large number. So when we're saying that 80% of the business or the folks in our business are not getting the help that they need, but yet there's classes on every corner every weekend, the brokers are providing any kind of training that you can think of, I have to put it back on the agent themselves and I don't think that you're giving yourself enough credit. And the agents that remain in this industry. Because, let's face it, you can remain in the industry being licensed without selling shit Absolutely Right and call yourself a realtor, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 2:But if you're not closing business, you're not helping people. If you're not helping people, you're not learning from your mistakes and growing your book of business and your reach, so to speak. I can't really get behind the idea that me personally, I'm not the victim guy. I just hey, I own my shit. If I mess up, I'm going to claim it, because that's the way I'm going to learn from it. Putting it out into the air means that I've learned from it. Now I've got to do something about it. If I consistently say man, I know what I did wrong there. But if I don't actually change what I'm doing, that's on me.
Speaker 1:Would you agree with that Absolutely?
Speaker 1:I think, that it's very easy in a world of most people are W-2s and the second you transition into 1099, people think it's the broker's fault, it's my brokerage, I didn't get enough training. No, we are business owners. From the second you become a licensed real estate agent, and even before that, the second you make that decision to say, hey, I'm going to transition from W2 into 1099. That's when you have to change your mindset. Everything is now your responsibility your taxes, your trainings, how you understand things. I mean hell. A new version of the contract just came out yesterday. That's right. I'm looking at it trying to figure out what the fuck has changed. What do I need to know? Because I literally had to write an offer and I'm like, well, this is a new contract. I don't know how to explain to my clients, because every client that I write an offer for I do a video of the paper that they're signing and explain that to them.
Speaker 1:If I can't explain the contract to them. I don't know what I'm having them sign. So, it takes a level of perfectionism, and not even that, but just a level of service, to say I a level of perfectionism and not even that, but just a level of service, to say I'm going to take the time to learn and what I can't learn. Hey, broker, I have a quick question. Can you help me with ABC? That's right, I love that response Situation.
Speaker 2:I just received a contract yesterday and I saw it and went what the hey? I thought you said that you were getting $12,000 in closing costs. Yeah, I am. Did you put it on the contract? Well, I don't know, I didn't know where it went and I'm looking at it, going dude, here's the spot, right here, yeah, and it looks like it says zero. And I don't think that you meant to do that. Yeah, oh no, I thought that was the commission piece. Yeah, Call them right now, before this is signed, let's get this corrected.
Speaker 2:Most lenders wouldn't do that. They'd go okay, moving forward, and then all of a sudden, it gets receded and now we've got to make an amendment. That looks kind of funky because the price has changed, et cetera, et cetera. Exactly, in my opinion, when this new contract came out, if your broker's not holding some type of study group, training, et cetera, it's not on them, it's your contract. This is how you make money, whether you're on the buyer side or the listing side. You got to know what your craft entails and that is they literally the most valuable piece of what we do. Exactly.
Speaker 1:Barrier to entry. It's so very low. Know your job and know it well, so that you can be able to explain it to somebody who has no idea what they're doing.
Speaker 1:And that's why, for me, like I mentioned, I do a video with everything, because in the military I just blind signed it, blind sign shit, just to blind sign shit. But now in real estate I'm like, oh no, we're not doing that. You will get a 10 minute video of every single paper that I have you sign, because I need you to understand what we're doing Because, at the end of the day, I'm covering my ass. Amen to that no babe, you had this, this video.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:You can't say Mark Anthony never told me. I will tell you everything in this contract and if you forgot it, that's you. I have the video proof that I made this for you. This is what we're going to do, boom.
Speaker 2:That's funny. We I, I coached my loan officers. I personally do it myself. We use loom to where we've got the little bubble and you can put any video, any contract any closing disclosure.
Speaker 2:What have you? Explain it to them, yeah, and people will ask well, why do you do that? Well, first off, it's going to save me time, because once I send this to them, they're almost too embarrassed to ask questions versus just hitting rewind, exactly Because I've explained it to a T, we've addressed every line item, et cetera. And then at the end of the video I say, if this doesn't make sense, press rewind. Yeah, Like jokingly, yeah, um, but that just in itself is one thing that you just bared witness to, that you do differently, that most and I'm talking 80%, most will not do.
Speaker 1:Right, there's no way I will ever put a contract in front of a client and not have a video. I don't care if we wrote four offers you're still going to get a video on this new offer. Yes, that's just what it's going to be.
Speaker 2:And you do that consistently, exactly.
Speaker 1:Every time.
Speaker 2:Strange, that's a fucking weird.
Speaker 1:Kind Kind of weird how that works. Yeah, consistently build roadmaps, which lays the foundation.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. So. You've been named recently as one of the top social media rising stars, or what was the award that I saw?
Speaker 1:Through Sabor. I am the social media influencer of the year for 2024.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that, yeah. So, that being the case, I'm not even going to say do you get business from social media? Because I built my business on social media in 2012, when no one was doing it. I was the guy that was doing the closing pictures before Matter of fact, I'm like buyer, you don't want to be in here? Okay, I'll do it. I'll just point to you over there.
Speaker 1:Literally.
Speaker 2:Yeah and um. You going into this past year and the year prior, after coming off this massive high, what was your thought process on? What kind of content am I going to continue to put out there to stay relevant, to continue to stay top of mind and to be different?
Speaker 1:Those are really really good questions and for anyone who's a real estate agent who's listening, I want you to do this. Go to Google, type in your city real estate, scroll down just a little bit and people's questions of what they ask about San Antonio real estate is right there. All you have to do is make the videos, the questions that people are asking, and answer them in a way that they can connect with that they give a fuck about and that they're going to implement. That's it. Yeah, that's it. That's all I do. If you want to go more askthepubliccom, go see what questions people are asking and do the same exact thing. It's very easy. You don't even have to make your own script. Chatgpt will do it.
Speaker 2:And Mark Anthony, why is it that 80% will keep using that number? Yeah, don't do it. They don't do it or they're holding themselves up for the right moment or the right video, or the right content. What do you think?
Speaker 1:It's exactly that they are getting. They're in their own way. A lot of people are in their own way. Oh, I'm scared of video. Well, you're never going to get better at video if you're not in front of the camera, babe.
Speaker 1:My first couple of videos. If you scroll all the way to the bottom, that was a different person. Then there was a lot of ums, a lot of ahs, a lot of Malcolm cut the video Like I really want Malcolm to do just an um reel of just five years of videos that we've done so people can understand, even to this day.
Speaker 2:Hey, if you send me the links to those, I'll do it for you. I'm that much of a nerd, it's just the barrier to entry.
Speaker 1:People just think that they have to be perfect. You're never going to be perfect if you don't start that. And people get discouraged when the first video they make doesn't go viral. Babe, the algorithm doesn't know you yet. Youtube doesn't know you. Instagram doesn't know you. Tiktok doesn't know you. Unless it's a bomb ass video, it's not going to launch.
Speaker 2:And typically it's probably not going to be a video about real estate. To be honest, you're not going viral about a real estate video. Matter of fact, and this is just my opinion, you shouldn't just be posting about real estate anyway, bingo. That being said, I want to switch gears to something that we can have a little fun with, because I did not know this up until I talked to Joey in our office. I said I've got Mark Anthony coming on tomorrow and he was like oh wow, cool. So which one are you getting? You getting Mark Anthony or are you getting Vivian?
Speaker 2:And I went what the fuck do you mean?
Speaker 1:I'm so sick of Vivian Her reputation precedes me. Literally, her reputation precedes me.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about it.
Speaker 1:She's been alive for all of six months.
Speaker 2:Because, as I did research last night, I fell in love with both, of course.
Speaker 1:She's supposed to be the villain in this story, guys, oh my God.
Speaker 2:That's funny. So tell us about vivian. When did it begin?
Speaker 1:why did that begin? So actually, vivian wasn't even supposed to have been born. What was supposed to have happened? Me and my videographer, malcolm, we're going to do a listing video on my newest listing at 504 south palmetto. It's still on the market, guys, please buy it. Um, and it was supposed to be a spoof of Architect Digest, so it was supposed to be just Marc Anthony in a super lavish coat and a bat. Oh my gosh, hi AD, welcome to my very humble abode. That's how it was supposed to be. We're walking through the house Very easy. I get into the living room. I'm like, hmm, I have some heels in my bag. We get into the kitchen, throw on some sunglasses. We get to the first primary bedroom downstairs, like let's just throw in a British accent and kind of see what it goes from there. And Vivian, literally through each room of the house, continued to grow. She was evolving and people, when we posted the video, they were like this is fucking magic.
Speaker 1:It is, and I was like wait, malcolm, we might be onto something here. And so between me and Malcolm we're chat gpting like who is vivian and who, and we're just building a narrative for a character that we had no idea about and so eventually it's hey, can we pay you so that vivian can come do um some videos in our stale listings and and just be as not necessarily vulgar, but as vivian as possible, like that and I'm like vivian as possible exactly.
Speaker 1:I'm like so, no, mark, and I'm like no, no, we don't like him leave him at the door, correct? I'm like, oh, okay, I guess I'll just buy some coats and and shit, and that's how vivian came and all in texas all in texas yeah, in the summer guys, I can't do this anymore. I beg. I'm watching that first video going.
Speaker 2:I bet bet he's hot right now.
Speaker 1:No pun intended. But I mean there's a lot of water breaks. There was a lot of air conditioning breaks. It was a lot, but it was so much fun and I can imagine. The joy and people really just connect with this character and I love it. And we have another character coming in 2025. Awesome, so it's going to be really fun. It's going to be Vivian's dad. He's going to be the complete opposite of Vivian, oh shit. So it's going to be very interesting to see how that evolves.
Speaker 1:We'll see, because I can't play a man well.
Speaker 2:But so let me ask you so, since the evolution of Vivian, how have you used that to parlay into what you're doing? We obviously know that people were like we want Vivian in this listing, et cetera, et cetera. But where has that taken you from that point?
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, it's been kind of a whirlwind. So, mark Anthony, when you see my videos, as myself, it's very polished, very proper, very hey, look at this board and bat and look at these coffered ceilings, I mean somewhat.
Speaker 2:To be honest, some of the content that I saw from yours was you literally damn near wife beater shirt, just like talking to the camera.
Speaker 1:And I was like that's that's that's it.
Speaker 2:That's what people want to see, yeah.
Speaker 1:And so with Vivian, though, it's very different, because it's like she'll go through a house and she'll be like, hmm, millennial gray again. Great, you know what I mean. Like mark anthony wouldn't say that, but vivian's like okay millennial gray. I guess you're just boring and you hate fun. Got it. Remember when you used to be fun and used to have enjoy colors and you weren't a minimalist and it wasn't just gray and white like that is very vivian or like we go through an investor home.
Speaker 1:She's like oh okay, so you just want the house to explode because the electrical isn't done, like she's the person who will call out shit for people doing bad shit. And it's caused people to really pay more attention to not only just real estate but the inspectors that they use, the transactions they're going through. In my DMs alone, I probably have like 10 people who are like hey, I'm not in your market, but I'm in the middle of a transaction. Something feels weird. I trust you to tell me what this is. Are you okay with answering a few questions? And respectfully, I'm like well, hey, that's something that you should ask your realtor, but I'll be happy to answer what I can answer, given the knowledge that I have. You know what I mean, because I don't want to step on any toes or cross any state lines.
Speaker 2:Well, what? I'm real shit that people should. Matter of fact, I'll go. You're saying, as Vivian, what people are thinking Exactly and are scared to say. Do you see some of that in 2025 trickling over into Marc Anthony?
Speaker 1:I hope so, me too, me too. 2025 trickling over into mark anthony? I hope so, me too, but I do like the stark difference though it is, it is kind of fun to kind of pivot and piggyback for sure on it. I think that, especially when we do a vivian and mark anthony video in the same video and we do a clone it.
Speaker 1:The difference is so nice it beautifully. I don't know if I want to taint the waters, I totally get it. So we'll see. We'll see what 2025 brings with all of that, but I hope it does.
Speaker 2:So, kate, let me ask you this, being that you now have an alter ego. Yeah, when you're with your clients, your customers, whether it be buyers or sellers, are you able to, at that point, be more of yourself? Because I know we as sales folks and you didn't. You probably didn't always have this skill, but definitely you have acquired it. There's no doubt about it. Yeah, there's a time and a place. So it's like know your audience, I can push the boundaries with this one. I can say this, and I know that they're going to laugh because of the way that they took this kind of response. And then there are some people that you just you can't tell. You say something and you're like, oh shit, they didn't laugh at that.
Speaker 1:Right yeah, code switching is such a thing in this business. What is it Code, code switching?
Speaker 2:You have to be able to code switch in real estate. Is that some new Gen Z thing? No, damn it. Jc, I think I just confirmed I'm old.
Speaker 1:We're going to urban dictionary. This after the fact. That's awesome, but code switching is something that you kind of have to do. There are some who literally like hey, can we have vivian show us houses? I'm like guys, the buyer's rep give me five minutes.
Speaker 2:I will be right back literally but also I'll oblige.
Speaker 1:Sure, if that makes you feel comfortable, let's do it. Yeah, but also there are some clients who are like no, let's just chill with what it is, and I, I'm cool with it. But I always tell my especially my listing clients you're going to get two videos. You're going to get a Vivian video and you're going to get a Mark Anthony video, both of which is going to paint your house in a great light. Vivian's going to poke fun of it. Mark Anthony is going to tie it all together. It's going to tie it up with a who I thought who wouldn't be okay with it. They see the value that I have in social media and they're like you're the professional. Whatever you think, go and do it. Which basically?
Speaker 2:speaks volumes to the term. Your vibe is your tribe? Oh, absolutely, because you attract the energy that you put out there. Exactly, and you're not putting out and excuse me for being frank with this, but that's just who I am. You're not putting out a gay vibe, you're not putting out a straight vibe. You're not putting out any of you're being you, yeah, and who is you? Fun AF, yeah, exactly, truly yeah. And I think a lot of folks Democrat, republican, blah blah does not matter we love comedy, we love being able to laugh. I think that over the past several months, with this election being so BS, I'm so glad it's over, thank God Truly, literally, it has divided people to the point that we forgot what actually makes us laugh, yes, what makes us similar, if that makes sense.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And what I see from your content, from you right now, is that you're a cool motherfucker.
Speaker 1:Truly Thank you.
Speaker 2:No, really the idea behind. When people are trying to put out content and they want to have the perfect piece of content to go out, kind of like you said, your first one, your third, your fifth, it's not going to go viral, it's all bad. You need to put stuff out there, but be your authentic self. Why? Because, number one. Do you know how difficult it is to keep up with a lie? Baby, I'm telling you.
Speaker 2:It's true, it's exhausting. Yeah, we've all been there. Yeah, and it was like damn it. I should not have said that. Correct, because now I've got to remember this.
Speaker 1:And I have a terrible memory, I can only remember the truth. So if they're like hey, so how was your vacation in Fiji? Bitch? What vacation, right, who are you again?
Speaker 2:Like, like I always say, your brain is not for remembering, so write it down Exactly, you know Exactly. But, yeah, what are your thoughts on if you were to give advice to realtors that are out there, because I would imagine that we're not only attracting brand new to the business agent realtors anymore. Yeah, we've got some heavy hitters watching this show, what? And, mind you, they still have stuff to learn too. Yeah, like myself, top producing mortgage lender, I own, I think, mortgage, but at the same time, every single guest, every single discussion, I'm learning something new. Yeah, what kind of advice would you give to someone that is scared to be their true, authentic self?
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, that's a really big one. I mean first, ultimately, god, what was I going to say? First, ultimately, you really just have to be confident in yourself.
Speaker 1:Okay, you aren't in this position by accident and I think that if you really just lean in on that, you really just have to hone into your power and people will realize okay, this isn't as bad as I think it is. The first step is just taking that step. But aside from that, I think that there's a really weird separation that we try and do with a personal Instagram page and a professional Instagram page or whatever Personal Facebook. Regular Facebook Guys make it one. People cannot connect with you on the just solds, the just listed the under contract under $14,000 for three days on market. That's why people hate us. They hate us because we make it seem like it's easy and that's why the NIR lawsuit settlement came up.
Speaker 1:Good point, because we show people we have no value. Because if I can put it on the market and get it sold in three days for $1,000, a billion dollars over asking a for sale by owner could have done that by themselves, then that's exactly right. What am I here for If you can get it sold in four days? So stop making it, stop watering down what you do. Make all of your social media one. I get it If they're sensitive things you don't want to post, like your kids or any of that. That's what close friends stories are for.
Speaker 2:And I will actually. That's a tough one because I do understand where people come from. On that. I'm here to tell you, not everybody's out to get you.
Speaker 1:Correct Not everybody's out to get you.
Speaker 2:They want to know who you are. They want to do business with, like you said, who they know, like and trust. Yep, how the hell are they going to trust you if you can't trust them Exactly?
Speaker 1:Right, that's the big thing. Yeah, people think that putting themselves out there will put a target on their back, when instead it's really just opening you up to opportunities. If, had I not been who I am, I wouldn't be in the shoot for EXP con or any of these engagements or any of the TV stuff that I've done or any of that, because people have no idea who you are. You can have an interview, but of course, ultimately they're going to go back and do backwards research If they feel like they can't connect with you, it's on to the next.
Speaker 1:I've won many a referral because they're like hey, morgan Anthony, I love your vibe, I love the story that you build, I love the image that you paint so that's how it works out.
Speaker 2:That's a great point, because we're in an age, or a day and age where, even if you meet someone outside of social media matter of fact, hopefully, you're meeting people outside of social media let's say you're out at dinner or whatever the case, and it comes across that you're a realtor, et cetera Bet your ass. They're going to, as soon as they leave you, jump online and look for you Bingo. They're going to find you on Facebook, instagram, tiktok, youtube, all of the platforms that are out there, yeah, and if you are not the same person on these, they're going to go okay, who is this person and why did I just waste my time Exactly?
Speaker 1:That's the thing People put different personalities on different things and it makes a lot of things disingenuine. That's great. Yeah, it's just be yourself, have fun and don't do anything illegal Like. It's very easy to do any of that stuff and people will naturally gravitate to you.
Speaker 2:That's it, I think it's easy for you, I think it's easy for top producers. I think it's easy because at a certain point, we made a commitment that we're in this for the long haul, through the good, bad and the ugly. Yeah, and the way that we are going to proceed is what I did to get me here. Yeah, does that make sense? Exactly, I'm not going to change who I am because now I'm starting to make some money. I'm just going to enhance who I am now that I'm making some money.
Speaker 1:Exactly, you hear that Netflix Stop raising your prices.
Speaker 2:Damn right, yes, I love it.
Speaker 1:You see what money will make someone do. They change their shit. That's right. If we're mad at Netflix for changing because they make a little bit of money, guys, don't change. Run the plays. That works. If open houses got you your last buyer, keep doing open houses. If cold calling is what got you your last seller, keep doing cold calling. People try that they want to be innovative and do something else, and that's fine, Right, but keep doing the things that got you the business in the first place. I think in real estate we all have shiny coin syndrome and we see what's happening online and this person's doing that and let me try and jump and completely forget what's happening over here. Amen. And they their, their pipeline runs completely dry and they're like I don't know what happened, Where's? Where's all my business? Well, babe, you stopped doing what worked.
Speaker 2:Boom, and I think that is the message for 2025. As, as we close out 2024, there's a lot of folks that like, for example, I've been teaching, coaching social media for years. About 2020 is when I stopped doing the classes on it, etc. Why? Because we were just too busy. We had a lot of business coming in. I didn't need to teach realtors how to do it any of that stuff, but I do remember, when I was teaching and coaching those classes for agents trainings for agents that it was rather daunting for a lot of people to jump into it.
Speaker 2:But I would always say don't stop doing what you're doing now. This is another piece of your business that could potentially help you and should help you if you do it the right way, but you can't abandon the boots on the ground. Concept Right, and me personally, growing the business, creating other businesses, et cetera. I'll admit I got away from doing what got me here, and now the message for 2025 is get back to the basics, the things that it took to get you here. Go do those things Exactly. That being the case, what do you think in 2025 are some things that realtors in particular are shying away from, thinking that they're not going to get the same juice out of that squeeze.
Speaker 1:Cold calling still works. I hate it too, Trust me, I hate it. I have to psych myself up every time. I'm like all right, two hours of just straight dialing. Sometimes you get cussed out. Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Speaker 2:So you're saying that famous, fabulous Mark Anthony is still cold?
Speaker 1:calling every single day and it still works. It's working every single day. Please continue Listings, are it? They're already raising their hand. They've already listed with someone. Be the person that changes their mind, like, just do the things that you're scared to do, because I can guarantee you it's going to, the fruit is going to bear, it's going to be there, you know. And so I think that, again, people want the instant gratification, without the longevity work.
Speaker 2:They're like.
Speaker 1:Hey, I posted one video. Why don't I have a billion views or a hundred followers or whatever it is? Hey, I called, called, called for three hours one day. Why don't I have a new listing appointment? It's not going to be like that. You have to perfect your craft, you have to be able to do objection handling, you have to be able to do all of these things. But people don't want to do the hard. I think they just want a hot, warm client to just fall from the sky and say, hey, mark Anthony, I want to list with you today. And you're like okay guy, and say, hey, mark Anthony, I want to list with you today. And you're like, okay, great, and the transaction's great and there's no repairs and all of that and life is great.
Speaker 2:But that's not this business If you want that. You got to go somewhere else. So do you see why I'm bringing up that 80% thing again?
Speaker 2:You're literally telling why you separate yourself into the 20% Matter of fact, 1% of agents out there and, I believe, as genuine as your response was in that video that I saw, I immediately went no, that's bullshit. You're not giving yourself enough credit for the things that you're doing. You're doing it. You're doing the cold calls Despite not getting the results instantly. You're still going back to do those cold calls after having success, after building a following, after finding another niche that provides you business. You didn't go. You know what? I got business coming over here now, exactly, I don't need to do that Yep, bullshit. I'm going to add this to my business and I'm still going to do that Yep.
Speaker 2:Eventually, the well will run dry at one point or another, and what I used to compare it to is spigots the idea of okay, as a top producer. How did I get there? Well, I created different faucets and at different times I had to go and check these faucets, because at a certain point one's just dripping, versus one that's flowing Yep, focus on the one that's flowing, for sure. But eventually that well is going to run dry. And if you leave all the others unattended, unmaintained, well, guess what? Now all of your wells are dry and now you're fucked and you got to start over Yep.
Speaker 1:Or find a W2.
Speaker 2:Hey, man did that.
Speaker 1:No, you're fucked and you got to start over Yep or find a W-2. Hey, man did that. No, who wants to do that? No, that's my biggest fear clocking in again. Whee, whee, whee, whee. I will never clock in again, my God.
Speaker 2:And you know what that right? There is the mindset that I don't believe that 80% of the industry, both on the real estate and side, have, which is I'm not going to punch anybody's clock anymore Correct. I've made a logical and coherent decision to go, no matter what it takes. I am going to keep this in stride through the ups and the downs, because immediately as soon as you start losing business, the 80 percent goes. Let me go and start Uber driving, or let me go and start this. Let me go why? Yeah, you realize once you decide, because we know you're going to, your license only costs X amount per year to keep it going. You're going to jump back in and all the people that decided to stay are way light years ahead of you, exactly Because their business is established. They never stopped doing those needle moving activities, despite what it was yielding to them, exactly.
Speaker 1:Would you agree? Yeah, absolutely. I think that a lot of people they're automatically assuming that they're just going to have that fallback and well, if it doesn't work, I can just go back to this or I can go back to that. Babe, there's no plan B for me. This is personal. This is very personal. I grew up poor. My mom is I'm first generation American, my mom's from the Philippines. My dad is from Jamaica. Like I, I'm. This is it. I have to do this. I have to make this work. I'm the eldest of five.
Speaker 2:Like like real Jamaican or like Kamala Jamaican.
Speaker 1:Like Jamaica Wow.
Speaker 2:Yes, get that. I love him even more now. So I had to. All that stuff was going on. All that stuff was going on. I was actually in Jamaica for a week for my wife's birthday. And you should have seen all the chatter about it. I'm like I want to get in this conversation. Anyway that was super side note. I wanted to see your reaction and it was awesome oh my God, the idea behind what we do.
Speaker 2:I believe a lot of folks think that it's a generational thing and we've talked about it in here. The older realtors have, like man, these young kids. They don't know how to get the basics down because they want the instant gratification. Yeah, how old are you? 33. Okay, so we? How old are you?
Speaker 1:33. Okay, so we're close, we're close.
Speaker 2:I'm 38. Don't tell anybody.
Speaker 1:You have how many thousands of people watching. Everyone ignore that.
Speaker 2:The idea behind those old school work ethic habits. Where does that come from? It can't just be the military.
Speaker 1:No, I mean, like I mentioned, eldest of five, my parents divorced early. My mom was a single mom and so she would literally go to work, come home for a couple hours, make us something to eat, go back to her second job. We didn't see her until she came back at midnight, so it was me taking care of my sister. It was just. There's so much to unpack. I had to be an adult as a kid.
Speaker 2:And all living in California where cost of living was higher. Everything was spread out.
Speaker 1:Yep, wow, yeah. So it was wild. At one point she bought us a house, but she we couldn't move yet, so she was paying both mortgage and rent simultaneously. Like seeing the hustle of that just really instilled in me, like no one's coming to save you. There is no ppp loan that you can get. Yeah, there is no. Hey, let me just move back in with blank. There's none of that, and so for me I have to realize either you push or you die, so you get to pick which one you want to do. So it's a whole lot easier to cry while you're in a house than to cry being homeless.
Speaker 2:So let's figure this out well. I mean, I think hats off to you, because a lot of folks and speaking generally, a lot of folks go through similar things like that that that life lesson doesn't stick and it doesn't carry forward to whatever it is that they're doing. They will use that as the crutch or the excuse as to why they're not. For you, it's kind of the backbone of how you are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I tell people a lot. It's not your fault for what's happened to you, but, god damn it, it's your responsibility to change it. Oh, I love that If you cannot take responsibility to change the circumstances that have been dealt to you, you're just allowing it to happen. You're not changing your choosing, and so, like you got to figure it out.
Speaker 2:That's strong right there. What you're not changing, you are choosing, and that I think that, in essence, when people watch this, I want that to be one of the key factors that people hone in on, because, truly, you said it, I believe in that firmly. Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing Absolutely, and that is a logical like you're actually doing that. Yeah, want you to know that. It is not something that happened to you. You can't. Things happen. They don't happen to us, they happen, and then it's all about how we react to that to move forward.
Speaker 1:Bingo, would you agree Exactly? So it's just like with anything like yeah, that sucks, that your car got told it or whatever, but you're going to get a new car, so you fix the problem. So why is past trauma any different? Think of it as that same thing. You're going to have to continue to move on, so you can either choose to allow that to hinder you or you can allow it to empower you to move forward and be that better person that you want to be. Just like in a real estate transaction, I've learned things that have cost me thousands of dollars and I said, well, damn it, that's never happening again. Let me make sure that I implement a process to change that. And so same exact thing with just any other life situation. If you don't change whatever that outcome is, you're just, you are allowing it to happen. You're making a conscious decision to allow it to keep happening, to make you unhappy or any of that man that's really profound in.
Speaker 2:not that it is something new. It is something that is not iterated or brought to the forefront as often as it should be in, let's say, a mentor meeting, a coaching meeting. Matter of fact, have you ever had a coach?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've been in Tom Ferry coaching for the last couple of years. How is that? It's wonderful. Yeah, it is so good. It has taught me so much. I mean hell, I just announced it the other day I'm hosting a webinar for Tom Ferry on January 23rd. Like it has opened up so many doors for me. I love the ecosystem. I love the coaching I've got. I've learned my systems, I've learned how to do better with YouTube, but now I'm going to be able to tell people how I've built my social media, brick by brick. Yeah, and just to really be that supporting factor for a lot of people who don't really know where to start.
Speaker 2:I love that, so I'm excited for that. Yeah, that's awesome. That's truly an inspiration to many out there, because it's not something that you read in a book or anything like that. You're like you said, brick by brick. Yeah, you read in a book or anything like that. You're like you said, brick by brick, and I think a lot of folks end up missing that concept because, like you're talking about looking for that instant gratification, that one video that's going to make them go viral. Yeah Well, newsflash guys, when you go viral, what are you going to do next If you don't have systems in place, if you don't know what the hell you're doing? When the business actually comes in, what are you going to do?
Speaker 1:Exactly. I tell people that all the time.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. Now what Now what?
Speaker 1:And, honestly, the worst thing that you really can do, believe it or not, is to go viral, because then, after your 15 minutes of fame dies, you're back to, you get exposed. Yeah, there's no umph behind the bark.
Speaker 2:You know what.
Speaker 1:I mean, and so they're like okay, so you got a million views, but after that you're not making content, you're not doing what you're supposed to like.
Speaker 2:So, matter of fact, I think, and you can correct me if I'm wrong. You were doing damn good business before you started getting the attention on social media, right yeah?
Speaker 1:absolutely. Social media was just like a little bit of an icing cherry on top type of thing. I mean, when that Vivian video went viral, I think that was the best but also the worst thing that's ever happened, because no other video has ever touched that NAR spoof video that I've done. So it's just, sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not, and and you just have to be consistent in it and just be happy that you get 2000 views or 6000 views, because that's 2000 doors that you didn't have to knock, or 2000 conversations you didn't have to have, or cold calls or any of that. So think of it like that Even if you only get a hundred views, that's a hundred people that didn't see you before. That's right. So just be happy with it. Man, I like that.
Speaker 2:You just mentioned a NAR lawsuit and I wrote that down back when we were talking a bit ago. I want to get your thoughts on that because it doesn't feel, based on our conversation, like that affected you much and I've spoken to plenty of brokers, jeff, a couple of times about this. What are your thoughts on it?
Speaker 1:I think the NAR lawsuit was needed to be very honest. There has been since being in and granted. I'm still compared to a lot of people. I think the NAR lawsuit was needed to be very honest. There has been since being in and granted. I'm still compared to a lot of people. I'm still very young in this, but coming into real estate, there's a lot of agents who was just pushing documents to people and just say, here, sign this, sign that, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker 1:We got to move fast X, y and Z, and the sense of urgency was allowing people to not understand what they were reading, especially when it came to representation, when it came to compensation, when buyer agents would say, oh, I work for you for free. No, babe, you don't, You're getting paid somewhere, so there's no free in anything. Someone's paying. But one thing about Jeff he's always taught us to use a buyer's representation agreement from jump. There's a lot of people like, oh, the buyer's representation isn't worth the paper that it's on. That's your opinion. That's right. I have charged, even before the NAR lawsuit, clients to pay the difference in my compensation because I show the value in what I do. I think that it is a requirement because agents do need to be more transparent.
Speaker 1:I think that agents still are not being transparent, Like the other day. I had a client who said, hey, I was working with an agent, I didn't sign anything. Sure enough, they signed everything the buyer's rep, a whole contract, et cetera. And I'm like in my head, I'm like what do you mean? You don't know what you signed, but also real estate agent, you should have told them what they were signing, absolutely. So we're still working on transparency. I think that just really brought unnecessary but still necessary light on our industry, because now people are looking at us and really paying attention to what they are doing. Buying a home is the most important and expensive thing that you'll probably do in your entire life and the consumer should know what they are signing and what they are doing and who they are actually working with. So I'm all for it.
Speaker 2:Man, what a response. I'm all for it, man. What a response. I'm not going to say that I didn't expect that, because you are not somebody that just talks. You walk the walk, whether it's in heels or not, and today we're not. Sorry, but the idea behind this uproar that we are still seeing on social media, whether it be in the open or in private groups that we're in we're both are in these types of groups that, um, I see the posts from individuals and most of them I don't know that I'm like get this person out of our business, please. Why? Because you're making excuses for something that you should have already been doing. Right, correct the idea behind having to explain what you're doing, when you're doing it or before you actually do it, and then holding yourself to a higher value with your customer that is in front of you, like it or not. They should know what they're getting Exactly.
Speaker 1:And who's paying Bingo? Right, exactly, and I explain it very, very easy. You come to a doctor, babe, you're going to get seen. The first thing you're going to do is in-process All of my clients they do it in processing form, whether it's buyers or sellers. After that we talk compensation. Hey, this is how it's going to happen. Either your insurance is going to pay it all ie the seller is going to pay it all, that's right. You, as the client, is going to pay it all ie the buyer is going to pay the compensation or it's going to be a mix of the two. The insurance and the person who's trying to get medical service is going to pay. So either the seller pays half and the buyer pays half, or whatever it is. That is how compensation works. Explain it to people. You're going to a doctor, you're trying to figure out how you're going to get paid, or they're going to get paid Very easy.
Speaker 2:That's an incredible way to and a great analogy both from the doctor to the insurance piece of that in connection with what we do real estate lending side of things. Simply because if you are doing your job correctly, you have a fiduciary responsibility as this expert in your buyer seller's mindset that you know what you are doing, you can articulate what it is that you're about to do, get them to agree to the cost of what your services are and then own up to doing that Bingo, right yeah, and that's crazy because when you really think about it, it's literally what you just said.
Speaker 1:The average agent cannot explain what they do.
Speaker 2:You are on the yes, sir, they can't Explain. Elaborate a little bit on that.
Speaker 1:And that's why there's the lack of transparency. So if someone were to say so, what do you do in this transaction? I start you on a home search and we tour houses and I write an offer. It's so much more than that. Even before touring houses you got to vet the client to make sure that you know they have the funds to do it. You get them with the lender, you throw that football to whatever that sports term is Damn it, I'm pivoting over to my loan officer and then we finally chat.
Speaker 1:We have that consultation of hey, if your payments are this, this is where we should be. We tailor it Even before we put in an offer. I'll call my lender and say, hey, this is the home they're looking at. Give them a loan estimate so they know what their mortgage may be, depending on taxes, hoa, if they're 100% disabled or not, et cetera. Most agents can't say what they do, which is why there was such a fear in transparency and et cetera. Most agents can't say what they do, which is why there was such a fear in transparency. And now that we're forced to be transparent, buyers, agents and listing agents are having to sit down and say what do I actually do? What value do I actually provide? I've seen so many think pieces on well, what do we actually do for the clients? How do we show them that we are the expert in the marketplace? If you have to ask that question, you're already behind the ball.
Speaker 2:How sad is that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't disagree with that at all. As a matter of fact, on the lending side, with our customers and I coach the loan officers the same thing every buyer should be getting either a face-to-face or a Zoom call minimum 30 minutes that you are literally asking questions, learning about their situation, learning them so that it'll help you articulate your options, your advice to them and show them, show them your screen, wait for the questions and then break that down so that they understand it, so that when they leave this call more times than not, they're not already under contract. Right, we've got their documents. We review those with them. We tell them why we asked for the documents. We've got their documents. We review those with them. We tell them why we asked for the documents.
Speaker 2:In example, you just sent me your documents, but in your application it shows that you make X. Well, this is what I can actually use and here is why so that they don't leave that call and go. Let me go talk to another lender because they didn't. No, it's up to me whether somebody shops me or not, whether I come across as the expert or not. Yep, Same thing on the real estate side You're scared that your buyer is going to be taken by another rep. Why is that? Are you not confident enough in the value that you provide in the articulation? Or maybe you need to work on it a little bit? Yeah, but I believe that you probably have no issues in articulating your value to this Just a little bit.
Speaker 1:I am a stickler for over communicating. I don't think that you can ever over communicate in anything.
Speaker 1:And I think that that is what brings the difference. I think that, truly, just like you mentioned, if your client's starting to talk to another loan officer whether it's in a different state whatever or if they go to Zillow or they talk to a friend who's a real estate agent in a different state, that means you did not explain the process properly. And if you can't explain the process properly, how are they supposed to trust you through the rest of the transaction? That initial consultation sets the groundwork on expectations, and some people can't explain. This is what the process is going to look like. This is why we need this. This is why I asked for your driver's license, because I need legal names for the contract. Like this is why I need these things, and people are too scared to ask for that. They just expect. Well, my position as a real estate agent or my position as a loan officer, by virtue, should just allow you to give me these things.
Speaker 1:And people get upset when their clients are asking very important clarifying questions hey, why do you need this? Why do you need that? Oh, because I just do. No, that's not why it's not good enough. Correct. People need to know what they are doing and why they are doing it. If you guide them. People love to be guided.
Speaker 2:People love to be led especially in this industry.
Speaker 1:So if you lead people, they will naturally follow if you do it correctly. And I think people are scared to lead. But real estate agents always wants to be the leaders. Everyone wants to be the know-it-alls, but they're too scared to really break it down to where people can fully comprehend.
Speaker 2:That's right. You know what. I'll even go as far as to say that both on the real estate and lending side we have a big issue with. I used to call it faking the funk. So back in the day you'd fake it till you make it. But I didn't say lie, I said fake it till you make it Right. The idea is play the part, play the role. But when the one question or many questions that come up that you don't know the answer to, don't you dare lie to them. Oh God, yeah, see what I'm saying. The idea behind it is you're expert enough to be able to have enough confidence that you can say you know what?
Speaker 1:I don't know the answer to that, but let me find out, yes, and you be the trusted resource that will find the trusted resource to get them the right answer Exactly, because if your client trusted you enough and if you just said hey, give me, give me 30 minutes, yep, let me get back to you so I can clarify, you can even just say hey, let me just go and clarify first. Perfect, let, yep, let me get back to you so.
Speaker 1:I can clarify you can even just say hey, let me just go and clarify first. Perfect, let me make sure I'm right. Even if you have no idea, let me make sure I'm right, because things in our business change Like the contract yesterday. Boom, weird. Because, two days ago.
Speaker 2:The contract was the one I knew Totally different. Yes, Yesterday.
Speaker 1:I'm like oh it, like hello, cram stuff, exactly. I saw it was like um realtor, help me out with this. Exactly. Lying is not something that should be in this business. Just say, hey, I don't know, let me figure this out or let me clarify. Wordplay is such a huge thing. I tell my sister play on words with everything, and not like in a negative way to where you feel like you're lying to someone, but in a way that still puts you in the space of the knowledgeable, trusted advisor, so that people understand hey, he's just going to get clarification, so that I know exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. So I'm well-informed.
Speaker 2:And guess what? People end up respecting that You're not giving them a bunch of bullshit, exactly.
Speaker 1:Weird, because there's nothing worse than having to double back and say, actually, you know what, that's not what that was. Or hey, you know that $12,000 that I said that we got. I actually have to, you know, do an amendment because that's not it at all, or or any of that.
Speaker 2:there's nothing worse than being loud and wrong. There's one thing being loud, wrong and having a customer that will Google it right in front of you and go. You're wrong, Right.
Speaker 1:And then you have to try and talk your way out.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and it's like how did I get here Twilight Zone.
Speaker 1:What do I do? You just lost, yeah, you know. And now they're like okay, let's terminate this buyer's rep and do something else. That's right, because sorry.
Speaker 2:Wow. So that being said, I mean we've talked about a ton JC. How are we doing on time? I feel like we've been here 10 minutes. It was like 10 minutes, but one hour and three minutes Wow.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay, just like that Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2:Just like Merry Christmas Right.
Speaker 1:By the way, I am on the naughty list indefinitely. Guys, those who watch the podcast, you should know that he's already on the naughty list, so is that a?
Speaker 2:surprise. That's right. That's right. Um, mark Anthony, this has been awesome.
Speaker 2:I think I've gone over everything thus far. We've talked about content. We talked about you. We talked about your alter ego. We've talked about innovation with technology, leveraging what you're doing different, how your military career has helped you a little bit, but it was more so the backbone of how you grew up, and having a wonderful mentor in your mother that a lot of people don't have, but there is someone that somebody can seek in their life. And if you can't find it, get in different rooms. In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with getting in different rooms and finding that you know. Um, what else can we talk about? We talked about the NAR stuff.
Speaker 2:Um, let's talk about 2025 real quick. As we lead into this new world, there's a lot of things that are I'm not going to say changing. There are a lot of things that are carrying forward from 2024. High interest rates, that's one of them. Guys, do not expect interest rates to all of a sudden start dropping down, unless you're going to new construction where you're going to pay for it in the price of the home Correct, just so you know. Thank you, so you?
Speaker 1:get that concept all the time. Okay, oh, they're giving us a 4.9%. Okay, but that house is maybe $70,000 more expensive than what it should be. So of course they can do it. But also the builder has unlimited funds. They can give you whatever they want.
Speaker 2:What we're seeing, mark Anthony and you correct me if I'm wrong we're seeing a lot of homes drop in their price in the new construction world and this idea of Texas real estate never really being underwater is actually coming to fruition, but only in the new construction world, and it's like we're all kicking ourselves in the butt now for putting our customers in those properties, thinking that it was never going to end.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, exactly it's wild New construction homes, even for resale value you have to be in it for a long, long, long, long time and most clients. San Antonio is a transitional space for a lot of people. Military city, USA. No one stays here forever. So, you have a military family who comes in. They know they're only going to be here for three years. They try and sell in three years and I'm like John or whatever, we can't sell.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and matter of fact, in your case, because I see you as the expert you would have probably said do you remember that conversation we had Correct.
Speaker 1:Exactly. I tell them that straight up hey, yeah, it's brand new and you're gonna get that 10 year warranty, but if you're only going to be here for three years, it's not really going to be worth it. Yeah, I've talked many clients this year out of selling there. I think maybe I've talked six, seven clients out of selling their house this year. I'm like you have to rent. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2:Yeah. But you're going to be underwater and that is another topic that comes up quite often is being able to do the right thing, regardless of whether you pocket money from it or not. Unfortunately, we've gotten ourselves into a situation these past couple of years where everybody's scrounging for everything they possibly can, but unfortunately, everything shouldn't always be gotten if that makes sense. Yeah, shouldn't always be gotten if that makes sense. We're looking for the next deal when we're instead should be looking for the next relationship, correct?
Speaker 1:People are so moved by their pay, their compensation. Well, this commission check will pay for this and I don't care if they're underwater. You should care, because, at the end of the day, people will refer you based on the service that you give them, even if you're transparent. There's been many times where clients are like, hey look, if I have to pay $10,000 at closing, I'm okay with that because I don't want to rent. Cool, let's proceed. But if they're like, hey, mark, I need it to at least break even, okay, well then, we shouldn't list because if we list, you're going to be in a hole and I can't guarantee the sales price.
Speaker 1:I don't know what days on market is going to be, I don't know how many price improvements we need to do and I don't even know what the buyer's going to offer and how much closing costs they're going to ask for. I don't have a magic ball who can tell you that. So it's best that we don't list and we either self-manage your rental or you get a property manager, because there's predict the market in the future. We just wait for the appreciation to be where it needs to be and if we can sell them, let's do it.
Speaker 2:And I love that. I love that that you incorporate that with your customers, because anybody that is out there trying to predict this market we've got economists all over the place that are wrong all the fricking time Exactly, but yet that's okay because they do their research based on what they have at the time. But for realtors, for lenders, anybody to predict that rates marry the house date, the rate. I adopted that for about a month and then I went wait a minute, Yep, I don't think these rates are going to come down y'all Anytime soon.
Speaker 1:So if you can't afford this payment right now, you should not do it Correct, because taxes are going to increase. That's what people don't remember, like they don't understand. You could buy. You may be able to barely afford this right now, but taxes will increase.
Speaker 2:Insurance is going to increase. It's happening.
Speaker 1:HOAs change all the time if you're in an HOA, so people don't understand that part. So if you're barely scathing by, you're like, okay, I can barely make this. Whatever payment, you have to remember three years, four years, whatever. Down the road your payment might change and if you are not making more money or any of that, you could be in a worse position than what you currently think you are in.
Speaker 2:Man, what are your thoughts on 2025?
Speaker 1:I think it's going to be a good year for those who are hunters. I think it's going to be a terrible year for those who kind of are just scathing by and hoping for business to come to be a terrible year. Terrible year for those who kind of are just scathing by and hoping for business to come. Um, I think that if you want to be in this business, you can eat what you kill with, not like in a negative way when it comes to clients but you have to hunt, you have to be able to cold call, you have to be able to attract buyers, you have to be able to do all of that. So, if you did everything that you were supposed to do in 2024, 2025, be time to get a W-2 and pick up Uber or move in with mom or any of that, because this business is not forgiving, because in this market there are 15,000 real estate agents, one of us will do the job that someone is not doing.
Speaker 2:Matter of fact, used to be 30,000. Yeah, exactly Like my.
Speaker 1:God, everyone has a real estate license right now and you're just like with that, how do you make yourself different from 30,000 or even 15,000? It's like that is so hard, yeah, and so you really just have to do the work, even if you're not getting the results you're looking for immediately. But if you weren't doing the work in 2024, please don't expect to just start doing the work in 2025 and your pipeline to be full. That's not how it works. It's going to take a couple of months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's incredible, incredible advice, true advice. We were talking this morning in our loan officer meeting and my brother shout out Preston had an awesome when he first got into this business three years ago. Four years ago had an awesome following that was building with TikTok.
Speaker 2:He was like one of the first to do the funny videos with TikTok and the mortgage side. And after a little while he stopped because he wasn't getting the results that he thought he was going to get. And he said it today. He said, man, looking back, if I had to do it over again, I never would have stopped doing it, and this podcast those of you listening is a testament to that Matter of fact. It took three years for you to start listening, to start realizing that we got some good stuff here, to be honest. But that was a commitment that I made to myself and to the audience that I would continue to provide you guys with experts, real opinions, real situations.
Speaker 2:And here we are, fast forwarding Christmas time and we're looking at 16, almost 17,000 subscribers Insane, pretty cool. Like I go to my kids and I'm like, hey, you were at 16. They're like dad, that's a lot. I'm like I don't know, but it's working, it's great, you know. Yeah, I don't know, but it's working, it's great, you know. Yeah, all in all, we've talked, like I said, about quite a bit. I've gotten to learn a lot about you. Yeah, I think you're a pretty cool cat, thank you. I can easily see why your following has grown, why your customers continue to send you referral business, why others want to learn from you, why everybody wants a piece of Mark Anthony. Yeah, there's only so much to go around. So what is your game plan? If you don't mind me asking for 2025?
Speaker 1:World domination. I love it.
Speaker 2:What are you doing today? The?
Speaker 1:same thing we do every day. Exactly, I want all of it. I am coming for everything that people say that I cannot do. 2024 has been very eye-opening for me. I've won awards that I never thought I would ever win. I'm recognized by individuals I never thought even knew my name. My broker of a brokerage, the CEO of my brokerage of 90,000 domestic international agents, knows who I am Like. Do people not understand how insane that is? Tom Ferry, the number one real estate coach, knows who I am. Five years in the business. I won the first year Social Media Influencer Award. I'm taking everything. 2025. Like people thought, I had confidence in 2024. Y'all are gonna be so sick of Mark Anthony and Vivian in 2025. I you can mark my words, it's going to be, not on on some rude type shit, but it's going to be. Oh, she's everywhere. Yes, I am.
Speaker 2:And if you don't like what he's spitting providing, it's probably not for you. That's at the end of the day, you know, because I mean I just met you, I'm proud of the shit that you've got. Thank, you. It was an inspiration to have this conversation with you and I think a lot of folks can learn from the true you, because that's what I got today. Thank, you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a lot of fun. This was a ton of fun. I love just teaching people and likewise I love to learn and grow. I mean, I've learned so many things this year that I never imagined I would need to know. But here we are adding it into my business database.
Speaker 2:So continue to kill it. Amen to that. Well, mark Anthony, thank you so much for joining me today. Is there anything else you want to end with? Tell our guests listeners anybody.
Speaker 1:Oh man, I think, ultimately, just be your authentic self. People will gravitate to you. Don't be scared. Especially in a very traditional industry, people think that you should be a specific way, and you don't need to be a specific way in order to be successful. As long as you're not disrespectful or doing anything illegal. I think that you can do anything that you want to achieve, whatever you want to do. So run the plays that work. Be your authentic self. Have one Instagram account for the love of God, and just have fun. Have fun in what you do, and I think once you start having fun, people are going to start to love you. That's awesome.
Speaker 2:Amen to that. I love that. Well, those of you listening. That's awesome. Amen to that. I love that. Well, those of you listening. As we finish this year, I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2:I want to thank everybody for continuing to tune in these conversations. It started off as free therapy for me, and now it's grown into something that, honestly, I can't live without. Being able to have these conversations with like-minded individuals and, expanding on what I think I know into now, something new that I'm either confirming or learning. It's truly inspirational, and I'm hoping that this is radiating through the waves, whether you're watching, listening on Spotify, apple Podcasts, youtube, any of those but if you are getting something out of this, please make sure to like, subscribe, share with a friend. You never know who could need some of this information.
Speaker 2:I think that, after having this conversation with Mark Anthony, it goes to show that a lot of the things that we talk about stand firm in them actually working. There is not anything a silver bullet that you're going to get or some pill that you're going to take that's going to magically make this business fall into your lap. As you, if you haven't already created your 2025 business plan, make sure you incorporate the things that it took to actually get you here. There's nothing wrong with incorporating new things and trying new things, but don't let all of what got you here go by the wayside. That being said, guys, again Merry Christmas to everybody. I wish you all a happy new year. Mark Anthony, again thanks for tuning in, thanks for joining, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Fun, Truly amazing Guys. Thanks again. We will catch you on the next one.
Speaker 1:Happy new year.
