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Best Year Yet in Brooklyn

Ninja Selling Podcast

Release Date: 01/29/2026

Turn 15 Conversations into 80 Closings show art Turn 15 Conversations into 80 Closings

Ninja Selling Podcast

Eric Thompson interviews Gavin Vargas of Windermere Group One in Richland, Washington, who shares the mindset and habits behind building an 80-plus transaction business in a market of just 65,000 people. After attending his first Ninja Installation at age 21, Gavin steadily built his business by committing to the Ninja system, and in 2026 is on pace for his first $100,000 month. Gavin credits his success to three things: mastering his mindset, maintaining consistent live flow, and treating everyone in his business as a relationship rather than a transaction. His goal is 15 live interviews per...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

Eric Thompson interviews D.J. Farris of Nashville, Tennessee, who shares the mindset shift that led to his first $100,000 month after nearly 20 years in real estate. While D.J. had experienced success throughout his career, he realized he had never fully committed to becoming the best Realtor he could be. Instead, he viewed real estate as something temporary while waiting for “something bigger.” Everything changed at the beginning of 2026. Through Ninja 90 and coaching with Steve Mandelson, D.J. embraced a new identity, committed fully to his business, and eliminated distractions that...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

Eric Thompson interviews Alexis Pinter of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who shares the relationship-building strategies that helped her achieve her entire 2026 income goal by mid-June. After 12 years in real estate and two and a half years of coaching with Tracy Peterson-Nienaber, Alexis has built a business centered on authentic live flow, creative client events, and meaningful personal touches. Her signature strategy is a quarterly book swap, where clients, friends, family, and community members gather around a shared love of reading. The event naturally attracts like-minded people, creates new...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

In this episode, Eric Thompson interviews Sumina Bhatti of Austin, Texas, about how to take a truly restorative vacation without sacrificing your real estate business. Sumina shares a practical framework she has developed over years of travel, including trips lasting several weeks to several months, while maintaining strong client service and business momentum. The key is preparation. Sumina explains that successful time away begins with deciding what kind of trip you want to take: fully disconnected, partially working, or fully working from another location. Once that decision is made,...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

Rob Nelson interviews Greg Roeder of Fort Collins, Colorado, who shares how he built a thriving real estate business by creating community around his passions rather than relying on traditional prospecting. A pivotal moment came when he invited a struggling homeowner to join a pickleball game, helping him realize he could offer more than real estate services—he could create meaningful connections. Greg began organizing what he calls strategic gatherings and signature events, including pickleball leagues, wellness events, coffee tastings, and other experiences that bring people together...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

Eric Thompson interviews Cyndi Olmstead, owner of Consi Realtors in Oldsmar, Florida, about two powerful business strategies: networking like a Ninja and offering premium service for a premium fee. Cyndi shares how she built a thriving real estate business from scratch after relocating to Florida without an existing sphere. By intentionally immersing herself in networking groups and later refining her focus to the most productive relationships, she created a strong referral-based business and achieved her best year yet. A major component of Cyndi’s success is her innovative use of real...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

In this bonus episode, Rob Nelson and Larry Kendall reflect on the evolution of Ninja Selling and announce a major change to Ninja training. Larry explains that The Group Real Estate served as the original testing ground for the systems that eventually became the buyer process, seller process, and Ninja Nine. A key theme is that most agents do not struggle because they lack knowledge. They struggle because they fail to consistently apply what they already know. While the Ninja Installation has long been praised as transformational, Ninja found that many agents needed additional accountability...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

Rob Nelson and Peter Parnegg explore a question many people are asking: why does it feel like time is moving faster than ever? Rather than concluding that time itself has changed, they suggest that our perception of time has shifted because of how we spend our attention and energy. The conversation examines how distractions, obligations, and a lack of intentionality can create the feeling that life is speeding by. Peter reflects on how many professionals have become disconnected from where their time actually goes. He argues that the solution is not finding more time, but becoming more...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

Eric Thompson interviews longtime Realtor and Ninja, Brenda Fortna of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Brenda shares how a single sentence completely transformed her mindset, her business, and her life: “What if it all went right?” After stepping away from coaching and slipping into a mindset that quietly suggested her best years might be behind her, Brenda heard that phrase on a Ninja podcast and immediately adopted it as her new lens for life. What followed was a dramatic shift in both mindset and action. Brenda began preparing more intentionally for appointments, saying yes to opportunities she...

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Ninja Selling Podcast

In this episode, Eric Thompson interviews Arwa Armstrong of Heritage First Realty in Wichita, Kansas, along with her coach, Tracy Peterson-Nienaber, to explore how leaders can keep agents engaged, productive, and bought into a company culture. The centerpiece of the conversation is Heritage First’s annual anniversary review process, a highly intentional one-on-one meeting system designed to strengthen relationships, support agent growth, and improve retention. Arwa explains that each anniversary review is a face-to-face meeting held around the agent’s joining anniversary. Using a...

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In this Best Year Yet episode, Eric Thompson interviews Belle Caplis, a Brooklyn based Compass agent on the Bateman Fields team. Belle shares how she grew from 9 million in sales volume to 23.6 million in 2025, increasing from 11 to 25 sales transactions, while also expanding rentals and referral business. Belle’s story is especially compelling because her real estate career began in March of 2020, just days before New York City shut down. With the city locked down and her new career uncertain, she found structure and community through a Compass recovery meeting that led her to Ninja Selling and a powerful accountability practice called the 10 at 10. Three times a week, Belle joined a Zoom session, started with gratitude, then turned cameras off and called 10 people using FORD questions before regrouping to report back. That early rhythm gave her confidence, listening skills, and the ability to build trust fast, which later made her highly effective even with Zillow leads, where she routinely stayed on calls 30 to 40 minutes to deepen connection.

Belle explains that her 2025 growth came from two main shifts. First, she became much better at follow up after open houses, using specific, personalized follow up tied to what the person said and continuing to deliver value through listings, pricing strategy, and education rather than generic check ins. Second, she leaned fully into education and service across her sphere by giving real estate advice freely, offering to find answers when she did not know them, and becoming the person people consult for clarity. Belle’s approach is rooted in what she calls rigorous honesty, transparency, and risk analysis. She promises clients she cannot control outcomes, but she can control how honest and clear she is, and she builds deep trust by pointing out both pros and potential risks so clients can make confident decisions. She closes by encouraging listeners to be imperfect, take small steps, be honest about what they are not doing, and start again tomorrow.

Key Takeaways

Accountability creates momentum and Belle’s early 10 at 10 practice built confidence, consistency, and relationship skills fast

FORD questions are a business builder because they shift the focus to people, create trust, and help you listen for what matters

Attraction over promotion works because you do not need to announce you are an agent, you just lead with curiosity and care

Trust building beats pretending and the phrase “I’m not one hundred percent on that, so I’ll get back to you very soon” protects credibility and creates natural follow up

Longer first conversations create faster trust and Belle’s ability to stay connected for 30 to 40 minutes helped her convert leads at a higher level

Open house follow up is a growth lever when it is specific, personal, and value based rather than generic check ins

Education is a referral engine when you freely explain pricing strategy, negotiation, and why listings sell or do not sell

Service creates opportunity because you never know where the next referral will come from, so treat everyone like they matter

Define your A list as the people you are rooting for and call them to reset your mindset and get out of your own head

Humor and personality can be part of flow and Belle uses memes, “real estate gossip,” and stories to stay top of mind while reinforcing expertise

Rigorous honesty builds lifetime clients and Belle’s promise is transparency, not outcomes she cannot control

Risk analysis is a differentiator because clients feel protected, informed, and confident in their decisions

Progress matters more than perfection and small daily improvements compound into big years

Memorable Quotes

“I onboarded at Compass on a Wednesday in March of 2020 and on Friday the entire city shut down.”

“I don’t know how to do real estate, but I know how to go to a meeting.”

“This is attraction, not promotion.”

“I’m not one hundred percent on that and I don’t want to answer until I am, so I’m going to get back to you very soon.”

“My goal was to gain trust before I got off that phone call.”

“I’m not a gatekeeper.”

“My A’s are the people that I am rooting for.”

“The fastest way for me to reset to factory settings is to focus on other people.”

“I’m going to tell you no way more than I’m going to tell you yes.”

“I give you permission to not do it well today. Just do it.”

“Make one or two baby steps of progress today, then start over tomorrow.”

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