Crabs in a Barrel: The Mindset Keeping You From Earning More
Release Date: 07/01/2025
Crabs in a Barrel: The Mindset Keeping You From Earning More
Social Selling Made Simple
If you think success is about hoarding your secrets, side-eyeing your peers, and treating everyone like the enemy, you're already losing. I see it all the time in real estate: agents wrapped up in rivalries, clinging to titles, licenses, and tasks that no longer serve them, all because they’re afraid to let go or let someone else shine. That “crabs in a barrel” mindset will keep you small, stuck, and exhausted. Here’s the truth: in today’s market, collaboration is the competitive edge. Instead of competing with other agents, we need to be around people who lift us...
info_outline
One License, Five Hustles: How I Made Real Estate Pay in Every Way
Social Selling Made Simple
A real estate license isn’t just for selling homes. It’s a whole launchpad…if you know how to use it right. If you’re a great agent, you’re doing way more than unlocking doors and writing offers. You’ve got skills that can help you stand out and stack your income. In today’s market, the old playbook won’t cut it. Inventory is tight, interest rates are still high, and the NAR settlement changed the game. Agents who stick to business-as-usual are getting left behind. It’s not just about closing deals anymore. It’s about thinking bigger, leveraging your...
info_outline
How to Use Gift Funds and Grants to Prove Your Value to Buyers
Social Selling Made Simple
In today’s real estate landscape, agents aren’t just competing for clients. We’re being forced to justify why we deserve to be paid. With buyer broker agreements now front and center, it’s no longer enough to open doors and write offers. We have to demonstrate value. And what’s more valuable than walking into a buyer consultation armed with solutions that literally fund the deal? I’m talking about gift funds, employer-assisted housing, and stacked grant programs. Money that helps your clients buy and ensures you get paid. That’s how top agents are winning right...
info_outline
Reverse Down Payment Assistance: The Value Proposition No One Is Talking About
Social Selling Made Simple
Every agent is out here fighting for more listings, but what if the key to dominating your market isn’t just about pricing, marketing, or staging, but about money that’s already sitting on the table? What most agents overlook is that some listings come with built-in financial power: I’m talking about reverse down payment assistance. This is money that can be layered to cover buyer agent compensation without your seller having to give up a dime. In today’s market, where buyers are hesitant and sellers want to net top dollar, this strategy is an absolute game-changer. In this...
info_outline
The Hottest New AI Tools Real Estate Agents Should Be Using w/ Katie Lance
Social Selling Made Simple
On November 30th, 2022, everything changed. ChatGPT hit the streets and instantly began reshaping how we live, work, and run our real estate businesses. From digital marketing to image creation and even coding, AI has been a total game-changer. And the crazy part? We’re only getting started. AI is evolving daily. Tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Descript are moving at lightning speed—what seemed impossible 30 or 60 days ago is now totally within reach. So what can AI actually do for us right now? How can we use it to multiply our time, streamline our workflows, and make our businesses...
info_outline
LinkedIn + ChatGPT = Your Ultimate Real Estate Growth Hack w/ Deborrah Ashley
Social Selling Made Simple
Real estate pros, if you’re not using LinkedIn to post content, flex your industry expertise, and generate high-quality B2B leads, you’re leaving money on the table. It’s one of the best platforms to grow your brand, so why are so many agents still sleeping on it? Maybe it feels intimidating. Maybe you’re not sure what to say. But here’s the thing: thanks to AI, creating content and making the right connections has never been easier. And yet, so many real estate professionals are still dragging their feet when it comes to using AI, missing out on massive opportunities. Combining...
info_outline
Sell Homes and Originate Loans: How to Become a One-Stop-Shop Real Estate Pro w/ Teresa Grobecker
Social Selling Made Simple
It’s no secret that real estate commissions have been in the danger zone for a while now. And with moves like Rocket Mortgage snatching up Redfin, it’s clear that real estate professionals need to fight fire with fire. Well thanks to a new dual-licensing program, we might just have the ultimate weapon to turn up the volume on our production! Most real estate agents have to pass their clients off to a mortgage officer and watch them take a piece of the pie. What if you could handle the whole process yourself, and keep more of the money…all with one simple link? Here’s the...
info_outline
Want More LinkedIn Leads? Here's How AI Can Make It Happen w/ Celeste Yamile
Social Selling Made Simple
Posting every day…multiple times a day…carousels…sharing your deepest personal stories. If you're trying to boost engagement, impressions, and reel in those real estate leads via social media, you've probably tried it all. And when it doesn’t work, you’re probably left thinking the algorithm is out to get you. But hold up – it’s not. No strategy will ever work if it’s not backed by cold, hard data. If you’re not tracking what’s already working and turning up the volume on that, you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall. Social media without analytics is just a bunch of...
info_outline
The $20K Secret: How to Make Six-Figures With Anointed Listings
Social Selling Made Simple
In today’s market, every real estate agent is searching for a unique value proposition that will get them more listings and get them paid by buyers. What most agents don’t know is that they might already have the ultimate value proposition sitting under their noses…or rather sitting in their active listings! Many homes on the market qualify for down payment assistance, and by simply choosing to hire you as their agent, people could get $20k or more. In other words: some listings have an anointing on them, and you can leverage them to earn six figures. In this episode, I share...
info_outline
Want to Help Buyers? Here’s How to Get Them Up to $31,500 for a Down Payment w/ Johnita Herndon
Social Selling Made Simple
No matter what anyone says, owning real estate is still the most powerful way for families to build wealth and transfer it to the next generation. A lot of people would love to own a home, but can’t afford some of the costs that come with the purchase. Well, there is a solution…down payment assistance gifts from family, work or even your church. A lot of people are sitting on equity or cash reserves that could be the perfect down payment assistance gift for first time home buyers. This is a great way to put the wealth vehicle that is real estate in motion, and help more people...
info_outlineIf you think success is about hoarding your secrets, side-eyeing your peers, and treating everyone like the enemy, you're already losing.
I see it all the time in real estate: agents wrapped up in rivalries, clinging to titles, licenses, and tasks that no longer serve them, all because they’re afraid to let go or let someone else shine.
That “crabs in a barrel” mindset will keep you small, stuck, and exhausted.
Here’s the truth: in today’s market, collaboration is the competitive edge. Instead of competing with other agents, we need to be around people who lift us up.
You need allies, a clear niche, and a no-BS understanding of what drives your business forward.
In this very special 200th episode of Social Selling Made Simple, I’m getting real about what helped me level up.
I’m sharing the legacy of entrepreneurship I inherited from my grandfather, how I went from overworked instructor to highly paid keynote speaker, and why choosing collaboration over competition changed everything.
The more I let go, the more I get, and what I’m getting is better than anything I ever let go. -Marki Lemons Ryhal
Things You’ll Learn In This Episode
- The "crabs in a barrel" trap
Clinging to our ideas and treating peers as threats sabotages our growth. How do we break free from this scarcity mindset?
- Competition vs. contribution
How did I turn what other people saw as a real estate rivalry into a powerful collaboration opportunity?
- Why focus pays more than hustle
How did I increase my hourly rate, free up more time, and lean into the parts of the business I love most?
About Your Host
Marki Lemons Ryhal is a Licensed Managing Broker, REALTOR® and avid volunteer.
She is a dynamic keynote speaker and workshop facilitator, both on-site and virtual; she's the go-to expert for artificial Intelligence, entrepreneurship, and social media in real estate. Marki Lemons Ryhal is dedicated to all things real estate, and with 25+ years of marketing experience, Marki has taught over 250,000 REALTORS® how to earn up to a 2682% return on their marketing dollars. Marki’s expertise has been featured in Forbes, Washington Post, http://Homes.com , and REALTOR® Magazine.
Check out this episode on our website, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify, and don't forget to leave a review if you like what you heard. Your review feeds the algorithm so our show reaches more people. Thank you!