Hustle Humbly Podcast

What does Trader Joe's know that most Realtors don't? We went down a rabbit hole this week pulling data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index and the results surprised us. We also sourced stories from Trader Joe's, Chick-fil-A, and Disney. So we started asking, what do these brands actually do that makes people love them so much, and how does that apply to our real estate businesses? Turns out it's not fancy. It's not expensive. It's mastering the basics and doing them the same way every single time. As AI takes over more of the automated, robotic parts of this business, being the most human Realtor in the room is about to become your biggest competitive advantage. We're talking about the difference between delivering what you promised and giving someone an actual experience, and why so many agents skip straight to the closing gift instead of doing the boring, consistent work in the middle of the transaction. We share real stories, including a seller who wanted to pull her overpriced listing after two weeks with no showings, a buyer family with two kids under five who needed way more than an MLS printout, and a Hustle Humbly Community member whose vendor list mailer turned a football magnet into something people actually looked forward to getting. Here's what we cover in this episode: What the American Customer Satisfaction Index says about our favorite businesses Why the two questions Trader Joe's cashiers always ask are designed to get you talking Why being the most human Realtor is about to matter more than ever as AI use increases Why simpler, less produced content (a phone video walking through a house) beats a glossy production every time A real story about sending a video instead of a text when a seller wanted to pull her listing Why handwritten notes with a sheet of stickers slipped inside get remembered The "nervous gift" basket built for a buyer family touring ten houses with two little kids Why listening for small clues, like an offhand comment about a favorite baseball team, matters more than a big gesture What goes in a pre-listing gift basket to help sellers actually prep for showings Why looking at 27 houses is a customer service failure, not a badge of honor The attract, convert, deliver framework and why most agents skip straight to marketing without delivering A Hustle Humbly Community member's genius vendor list mailer campaign Which industries scored the worst on the customer satisfaction index (hint: you already know) Key Quotes & Takeaways: "The best thing we can do for customer service is our job." Katy "It's free to be transparent, responsive, to listen, to have urgency." Katy "The customer experience isn't about you. It's about that person." Alissa "You can't do the fancy, fun, frilly stuff if your clients haven't heard from you in three days." Alissa "Your face and your voice being part of that transaction is the thing that's you, that no one can take away from you. That's what sets you apart." Katy Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned: American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Episode 370: Whatever Your Business Is, The Fundamentals Are The Same (hustlehumblypodcast.com/370) Hustle Humbly Community (hustlehumblypodcast.com/membership)   Want to toast someone on the show? Send us a voice or video message with your name, who you're toasting, and why! Email it to [email protected]. Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com Submit your topic ideas and toasts to [email protected] Music: Straight A's by Connor Price The Good Life by Summer Kennedy Be The One by Matrika  

It's Realtor Safety Month, and this year we're taking a different angle: property safety. We've covered personal safety plenty of times before (episodes 317, 216, 161, 112, and 6 & 7 with Carl Carter), but this time Alissa is sharing a story straight from the trenches: the time one of her vacant listings got robbed, mid-listing, appliances and all. Repeat clients moved out of state and handed off a vacant house with an alarm code buried in a five-month-old text message. The camera system looked impressive, eight angles of surveillance, but it hadn't actually recorded anything in two and a half years. Somewhere between painters, cleaners, and showings, the alarm never got set again, and it was never on Alissa's radar to ask. Then came the Saturday phone call every agent dreads: a showing agent reporting a kicked-in back door, a stolen oven, a missing washer and dryer, and a fridge the thieves gave up on halfway out the front door. Police, fingerprints, dead-end cameras, and a seller relationship that went from grateful to accusatory in the span of a few days. This one is a real, honest look at what happens when property safety falls through the cracks, what Alissa changed in her process because of it, and why y'all need a plan for your vacant listings before something goes wrong, not after. Here's what we cover in this episode: Why Realtor Safety Month usually focuses on personal safety, and why property safety deserves its own spotlight What actually got stolen (and what the thieves gave up on) How Alissa handled calling police, meeting them at the property, and coordinating repairs for out-of-state sellers How her broker helped negotiate a fair resolution tied to closing Why you are not your seller's property manager, and how to set that expectation early The new questions Alissa now asks every seller about alarms, cameras, and monitoring Why virtually staging vacant listings can be a safety move, not just a marketing one A past story about a garage door left open, and why "who showed it last" matters more than you think Key Quotes & Takeaways: "You're not a property manager. When they hired you to sell the home, they didn't hire you to be the lawn company or the security company." Katy "I trust no one and nothing." Katy "It's just proof that even when you have good systems, things can go wrong. It's really about handling it professionally and learning from it." Alissa "I virtually stage all my vacant properties for safety. I don't want them to appear vacant." Alissa "It's Realtor Safety Month. Be careful. Take your safety and the property safety seriously." Alissa   Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned: Episode 317: Realtor Safety Month: Scams, Showings, and Survival (hustlehumblypodcast.com/317) Episode 216: Important Safety Stories & Tips for Realtors (hustlehumblypodcast.com/216) Episode 161: Realtor Safety Tips from a LEO (hustlehumblypodcast.com/161) Episode 112: Safety First (hustlehumblypodcast.com/112) Episodes 6 & 7: Realtor Safety with Carl Carter (Beverly Carter Foundation) Hustle Humbly Email Templates (new security checklist) Want to toast someone on the show? Send us a voice or video message with your name, who you're toasting, and why! Email it to [email protected] Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com Submit your topic ideas and toasts to [email protected] Music: Straight A's by Connor Price The Good Life by Summer Kennedy Be The One by Matrika  

Happy Labor Day! In honor of all the laboring people out there, we're doing something a little different this week.   We are always surprised to hear of listeners not in real estate at all, and we love hearing how this podcast has still helped your business. So today we're speaking straight to the masses. We made ourselves a rule: no saying "real estate," "realtor," "buyer," or "seller" for the whole episode (we mostly stuck to it). Because the truth is, whatever your business is, the fundamentals are the same: attract people, convert them, take really good care of them, stay in touch, know your numbers, and build systems so you don't have to start over every single Monday.   We're walking through nine categories that apply to literally any business, from a hairdresser to a landscaper to a lawyer to an Etsy shop owner. We share real stories (including a dentist who ghosted Katy without so much as a goodbye, and a yard service that over-communicated its way into her heart during a rain delay), and we break down exactly what separates a business that thrives from one that closes after two months.   If this one resonates, send it to a friend who isn't in real estate. We promise it still applies.   Here's what we cover in this episode:   Know how your business actually works: the attract, convert, deliver framework and why most people get stuck avoiding the "convert" (aka sell) part Set expectations before they become problems: business hours, response times, cancellation policies, and why an auto-email-responder can save your sanity Make decisions once and repeat them: email templates, pricing, and writing your own standard operating procedures Communicate clearly: admitting mistakes, having hard conversations, and why "the customer is always right" isn't actually true Know your numbers: cost to acquire a customer, profit after expenses, and why being busy isn't the same as being profitable Treat past customers as an asset: staying top of mind, asking for reviews and referrals, and why repeat business beats chasing new leads every time Make your marketing easy to understand: sounding like a human instead of an industry brochure Protect your time: shutdown routines, office hours, and why your business shouldn't require 24/7 access to you Professionalism is a competitive advantage: showing up, following through, and answering your messages   Key Quotes & Takeaways:   "You cannot ask for more business if you are not handling the business that you have right now." Alissa "Being good at your craft and being good at running your business are two different skills." Katy "It's tricky being an entrepreneur because all sides of the brain are needed." Alissa "It is so easy to confuse being busy with being profitable." Katy "You don't have to be the best at what you do. You just have to do what you say you're going to do." Alissa   Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned:   Emily Ley / The Simplified Planners (referenced for her "make the decision once" philosophy) Episode 17: What to Do When You Are New OR Slow   Want to toast someone on the show? Send us a voice or video message with your name, who you're toasting, and why! Email it to [email protected].   Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly   Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com Submit your topic ideas and toasts to [email protected]   Music: Straight A's by Connor Price → https://connorprice.shop/ The Good Life by Summer Kennedy → https://soundcloud.com/summerkennedy/the-good-life Be The One by Matrika → https://uppbeat.io/t/matrika/be-the-one  

Have you ever sent an email, assumed it was read, and then found out three days later it wasn't? This week we're digging into where communication breaks down in a real estate transaction, and it's happening more than ever right now. Everyone has a hundred tabs open in their brain, clients are getting information from a dozen different places, and somehow we're still expected to be the ones who keep it all straight. We start with the basics: verifying who your actual client is (still learning that lesson years in), and why "I sent the email" is not the same as "they read the email." Alissa shares her blind copy and snooze trick for following up on important messages, plus how she handles group texts and email chains when there's a spouse, a divorce, or a court-ordered communication app involved. Then we get into a story from Alissa's very first listing appointment as a brand new agent, and the lesson in taking the high road instead of over-explaining or defending yourself when a client questions you. We also talk about voice notes, why tone gets lost the second you're not talking to someone in person, and the very real, very current problem of clients running everything through ChatGPT before they even talk to us. Katy tells the story of a seller's AI-drafted repair response that read as cold and rude, the two hours she spent recategorizing repair costs on a Saturday morning to try to save the deal, and how the whole thing resolved itself while she was feverishly working. It's a good reminder that in this market, we have to be more prepared than ever, because our clients are showing up to conversations having already asked the machine first. Here's what we cover in this episode: Why "I sent it" doesn't mean "they read it," and the blind copy and snooze trick for following up Verifying who your actual client is before you assume everyone already knows Keeping everyone in the loop with group texts and email chains A story from Alissa's very first listing appointment  Why voice notes are becoming a go-to for tone when a text or email just won't cut it How a couple's phone consultation revealed they weren't even on the same page about buying A seller's AI-drafted repair response that read as cold and rude, and what it took to smooth it over Why you have to assume every text, email, and voice note gets forwarded to someone else Why clients are checking with ChatGPT before they check with you, and what that means for how prepared you need to be The importance of being the calm, confident, professional voice in every transaction, especially now Key Quotes & Takeaways: "You have to assume everything you text and email and say is forwarded." Alissa "The tone from the machine was not going to work in a real life scenario." Katy "We now more than ever need to be the boss." Alissa "Your client needs to know what you know to make the best decision." Katy "It's a fine line between too much and too little." Katy Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned: Episode 358: Who Actually Has to Sign? How to Protect Your Business (hustlehumblypodcast.com/358) Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss Trello (for tracking your pipeline) Want to toast someone on the show? Send us a voice or video message with your name, who you're toasting, and why! Email it to [email protected]. Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com Submit your topic ideas and toasts to [email protected]  

Have you ever gotten a message from a total stranger asking you to show them a house tomorrow? Or, worse, NOW? This episode covers a little bit of everything: client intake, boundaries, and buyer and seller consultations, because honestly this topic touches almost every system we've built our businesses on. Lately we've both had new clients come to us in a completely different state than we're used to. Ready to go, no pre-approval, no idea what the process actually looks like, and a whole lot of whiplash for us. We walk through exactly how we intake a brand new buyer starting with that very first phone call, why pre-approval has to happen before we ever get in the car, and how the buyer representation agreement fits into that conversation. We share the story of a buyer we've worked with off and on since 2018 (yes, eight years), a listing referral that nearly fell apart over price, and a listing appointment where being honest about a renovation almost cost the job... until it didn't. If you've been letting your own rules slide because you're busy, or slow, or scared of losing a referral, this one is your permission slip to take control back from the very first conversation. Here's what we cover in this episode: Why client intake, boundaries, and buyer and seller consultations all overlap What to do when a brand new buyer wants to see a house before you've even met How to explain the buyer representation agreement without scaring people off Why pre-approval needs to happen before the buyer consultation, not after The "may I have a preferred lender call you" question that actually gets buyers moving A story about learning the hard way to meet at a seller's house before showing them other homes Why a referral doesn't automatically mean you have a real client A listing interview where honesty about an overpriced renovation almost cost the appointment Why fair housing means running your process the exact same way every single time What to do when a seller's neighbors are talking, and it starts affecting your reputation Key Quotes & Takeaways: "I don't like to list houses. I like to sell them." -Alissa "I want you to find somebody that you like, that you trust." -Alissa "Just because they sent you a human doesn't mean they sent you a client." -Katy "It's really up to you what you can endure." -Katy "You have to do it the same every time, whether you're busy or you're slow." -Alissa   Products, People & Previous Episodes Mentioned: Episode 113: Be the Boss (hustlehumblypodcast.com/113) Episode 210: Buyer Consultation (hustlehumblypodcast.com/210) Episode 143: Working with Sellers: Pre-Listing Prep (hustlehumblypodcast.com/143) Episode 79: Buyers, Buyers, Buyers (hustlehumblypodcast.com/79) Episode 365: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your Business (hustlehumblypodcast.com/365) Build Your Own Business (BYOB), live starting September 8th (hustlehumblypodcast.com/byob-waitlist) Hustle Humbly Community (hustlehumblypodcast.com/membership)   This episode's toast is from Allison, honoring her mom, April Jeera, a Realtor in the Austin and San Antonio areas and president-elect of the Women's Council of Realtors Austin. Want to toast someone on the show? Send us a voice or video message with your name, who you're toasting, and why! Email it to [email protected]. Leave us a review at http://ratethispodcast.com/hustlehumbly Get your FREE Database Template: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com/starthere Email Templates 101: http://emailtemplates101.com Agent Systems 101: http://agentsystems101.com All Resources: http://hustlehumblypodcast.com Submit your topic ideas and toasts to [email protected]