Relational Real Estate: How Gratitude Gives You the Competitive Edge w/ John Israel | Episode 92
Release Date: 01/02/2025
Real Producers
Most people dream of breaking into luxury real estate, imagining a glamorous life of lavish parties, jaw-dropping listings, and red-carpet moments. They see the glossy Instagram photos, the million-dollar deals, and the VIP lifestyle. But what they don’t see is the grit, sacrifice, and relentless hustle behind the scenes. The truth is, success in luxury real estate isn’t just about "looking the part", it’s about building the skills, relationships, and experiences that get you in the right rooms. And yes, sometimes that means “faking it till you make it”, but in the right...
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In real estate, success often feels like it's just out of reach. We see others climbing to new heights, owning multiple properties, building vast networks, and achieving financial freedom, but rarely do we hear about the risks they took to get there. The truth is, we all want success without understanding the sacrifices and risks successful people face. It's easy to envy their achievements without recognizing the challenges that come with the journey. But here's the reality: without risks, you won't learn. Growth in real estate (and life, for that matter) is all about stepping outside of...
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On this podcast, we’ve seen many traits and habits that lead to real estate success. Of course, drive, discipline, and sales mastery are necessary if you want to build an awesome business and legacy. But the exceptional agents we feature on this show have another thing in common. Their ability to withstand temporary pain in the pursuit of long-term growth. That pain takes on many forms: being vulnerable about where your business is bleeding. Receiving and applying feedback. Not focusing on flashy accolades like GCI and rather prioritizing net profit. Using...
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Success in real estate—or any sales-driven business—isn’t just about chasing leads. It’s about cultivating real relationships and intentionally putting yourself in the right rooms. Because let’s face it: leads can get you in the door, but relationships are what keep you in the game. The environments we choose to step into can radically accelerate our growth. Being in the right rooms—whether that’s a mastermind, a networking event, or a simple lunch with other top producers—can unlock opportunities we may never have uncovered on our own. You get to learn from people who are a...
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In some jobs, being authentic and outspoken on social media can get you fired. But in real estate, that authenticity could be the thing that separates you from cookie cutter agents and gets you hired by buyers and sellers. That was Ryan Cecil’s experience. After getting fired for her social media content, she found that real estate agents who show their personality attract more clients. Her online marketing and community-building efforts have created a highly successful real estate trajectory, going from $5 million in sales to $16.8 million in just a few years. Ryan’s...
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In real estate, many agents who decide to build teams are focused on what the team will do for them. It’s often about using leverage for the team leader to achieve what they personally want. Maybe that’s why the industry has so many problems around perception and professionalism. What would happen if a leader built around the concept of how they impact others and focused on the “why” of their people? You get a solid culture, a ton of production, and an environment they’ll never want to leave. That’s what Erin Krueger built in Nashville. Her team is built so well...
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Most businesses and entrepreneurs are laser focused on building brands that appeal to the consumer. They spend a ton of money on getting Instagram followers and going viral, but to no avail. What they don’t realize is that there’s a better (and less expensive) way to get in front of the consumer - and that’s through real estate agents. One relationship with a top producing agent in your city could be worth millions. Instead of trying to win consumers one-for-one, the right agent could lead you to their database of thousands of clients and customers. Industries like...
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In real estate, agents wear many hats. We’re marketers, advisors, entrepreneurs, and salespeople, but one important role we tend to overlook is community builders. We’re in a unique position to influence and inspire people, using homeownership to close the wealth gap. It’s easy to focus on what real estate can do for us, but we can’t lose sight of what it does for our communities. Through real estate ownership, many people have been able to change the trajectory of their lives and step into financial freedom. That’s why a real estate transaction has so much emotion attached to it....
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Horses and human beings during a real estate transaction are a lot alike - they need to be handled with emotional intelligence. Purchasing or selling a home is a high stakes scenario with a lot of money and emotion on the line. Just like horses are sensitive to the emotions of their riders, consumers are sensitive to the emotions of their agent. Unfortunately, a lot of deals go south and people get hurt because agents lack the EQ required for things to go smoothly. In order to be great agents, we have to apply level-headedness to our transactions, and avoid showing strong emotions...
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“Invest in real estate, it’s the true path to wealth” they say. That’s not the whole story. True wealth doesn’t come from simply racking up assets, but by building business enterprises that produce passive income. So while buying up single-family, multi-family, short-term rentals and other investments is a big piece of the puzzle, that’s only step one. To fully experience the power of real estate, we have to take it a step further, and run those investments like a business. The challenge is: most people (even real estate agents) get so caught up in earning...
info_outlineIn real estate, you can get away with being a transactional salesperson - going from one deal to the next - for a limited amount of time. At some point, you’ll have to shift to being relational if you want long-term success.
Anybody can get one deal…but it takes a completely different skillset to keep a relationship and get business for the rest of someone’s life.
There are many ways we can nurture a long-term relationship with clients. Sending out valuable content, giving gifts and hosting client events, but a humble handwritten “thank you” card can actually be more effective than anything else.
Gratitude isn’t just a great behavior to train ourselves on, it can give us the competitive advantage in business. How can we use gratitude and handwritten notes to build stronger relationships? How do you consistently show up for the people in your sphere? How do we practice gratitude when we don’t feel like it?
In this episode, I’m joined by Mr. Thank You, John Israel. The keynote speaker, author and gratitude coach talks about his journey, sending 1800 cards in a year, and how to shift out of transactional selling.
Anybody can get a deal, but to keep a relationship and get their business for the rest of their life takes work. -John Israel
Things You’ll Learn In This Episode
- What you appreciate wants to duplicate
In order to get more out of our relationships, we have to take responsibility for them. How do we reinforce our connection with people?
- How to be grateful when you don’t feel like it
Gratitude doesn’t come naturally for human beings, so how do we make it a habit?
- Go beyond handwritten cards
Handwritten cards are a strategic tool to make more connections, but it’s not just about sending out a handwritten card and disappearing. How do we make sure we’re consistent in our care and communication?
Guest Bio
John Israel is a keynote speaker, author, and founder and Chief Gratitude officer of Mr. Thank You, a consulting firm focused on client and employee retention. John is one of the most sought after speakers and trainers who teaches companies both big and small how to Become Irreplaceable with their clients, team, and VIP's. In 2016, John started a personal social experiment around “human connection” that became a world-wide movement, a book, and TEDx talk titled: The Mr. Thank You Project. John’s Mr. Thank You story has been featured on ABC News, Fox News, Good Morning America, and his clients include global brands such as: Square, ReMax, Fairway Mortgage, Sales Force and many others. John’s goal is to help people build a sustainable sales and business career that supports their ideal life. To learn more, visit https://mrthankyou.com/.
About Your Host
Real Producers Podcast is hosted by Remington Ramsey, creator of the Real Producers brand that reaches more than 120 markets nationwide. He is a real estate investor as well as an avid reader and writer. Remington calls Indianapolis home and enjoys life on the lake surrounded by his wife and their three girls.
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