How to Grow Your Real Estate Business Fast (And Maximize Profits!) 🏠💸 | Founders Club ft. Roland Frasier

Explicit content warning

03/26/19 • 78 min

So, you want to grow your real estate business, but you’re on a limited budget, and you don’t know where to start. Are there creative ways to extend your reach that don’t cost an arm and a leg? Are there hidden profit centers in your business? What steps can you take to build your brand and increase your revenue now—and make your business more attractive to buyers when you’re ready to sell?

Connect with Founders Club Host Oliver Graf on Instagram

Roland Frasier is the Principal of DigitalMarketer, a firm that provides tools and training programs for individuals, teams and marketing agencies. The company also sponsors the annual Traffic & Conversion Summit, the largest digital marketing conference in North America. Roland also serves as the CEO of War Room Mastermind, a community designed to help founders grow their wealth. A serial entrepreneur known for facilitating exponential growth, Roland has bought, scaled and sold 24 businesses over the years.

Today on the podcast, Roland joins Oliver to offer advice on growing your real estate business. We discuss how to turn cost centers into profit centers and explore how buying a top podcast or Instagram account in your niche can yield a 10X return on investment. Roland also walks us through the process of doing deals with little or none of your own money and describes how to make your business more attractive to a buyer via recurring revenue. Listen in to understand how Roland grew a Facebook following of 1M in just eight months and learn why he is investing in brand-building, relationships—and 3K bottles of wine!

Key Takeaways

[0:27] How Roland got into the business of buying and selling companies

Exposed to entrepreneurs through dad’s law practice
Connected with investment banking world in NYC

[2:35] How Roland maintains a relaxed demeanor

Respond in intentional way (vs. react)
Listen with beginner’s mind

[4:22] How Roland prepares for a negotiation

Write down must-haves and what can let go
List potential objections given their likely must-haves

[7:22] Roland’s first real estate deal

Follow idea of building in path of progress
Developed four lots of unentitled land

[11:29] Roland’s insight on choosing action with multiple benefits

Relationship with developer = numerous deals

[12:52] The hidden profit centers in a real estate business

Title, escrow and mortgage (ancillary businesses)
Photography service + staging company
Marketing or document prep
Appointment setters + cold callers

[18:32] Roland’s approach to growing a business

Leverage AGILE Growth Framework
Buy media sources within niche

[21:57] How to do deals with little or none of your own money

Overcome point of disbelief by buying real estate w/ deed transfer
Structure buying companies same way (i.e.: first $1500 of profit)

[30:35] How to leverage media platforms to scale your growth

Buy several + promote to each other
Increase velocity of touches

[33:04] Roland’s advice on making your company more sellable

Reduce risk by way of MRR/ARR (e.g.: subscription revenue)
Turn cost centers into profit centers
Develop bolt-on businesses

[38:39] How Roland grew his Facebook page to 1M followers in eight months

Shot short videos at meetings to generate content (1K total)
Post on business page, pay to boost post and promote page
Target English speakers to build brand globally

[47:45] How to vet a digital marketing service

Research their social media accounts (content, followers + engagement)
Look at certifications and reach out to case studies on website

[51:20] Roland’s take on how the blockchain may impact real estate

May lose sophisticated customers at top of market
Successful agents will be tech aware quarterback of transactions

[56:34] Why Roland is unwilling to ‘bet the farm’

Watched father lose everything
Defer or partner to avoid risk

[58:55] Roland’s secret to staying calm and avoiding stress

Realize very high highs and low lows don’t last
Take charge of emotions, show up for people care about

[1:04:02] What Roland is investing in at present

Real estate and companies
Personal brand-building an...

Connect with Founders Club Host Oliver Graf on Instagram

Key Takeaways

[0:27] How Roland got into the business of buying and selling companies

Exposed to entrepreneurs through dad’s law practice
Connected with investment banking world in NYC

[2:35] How Roland maintains a relaxed demeanor

Respond in intentional way (vs. react)
Listen with beginner’s mind

[4:22] How Roland prepares for a negotiation

Write down must-haves and what can let go
List potential objections given their likely must-haves

[7:22] Roland’s first real estate deal

Follow idea of building in path of progress
Developed four lots of unentitled land

[11:29] Roland’s insight on choosing action with multiple benefits

Relationship with developer = numerous deals

[12:52] The hidden profit centers in a real estate business

Title, escrow and mortgage (ancillary businesses)
Photography service + staging company
Marketing or document prep
Appointment setters + cold callers

[18:32] Roland’s approach to growing a business

Leverage AGILE Growth Framework
Buy media sources within niche

[21:57] How to do deals with little or none of your own money

Overcome point of disbelief by buying real estate w/ deed transfer
Structure buying companies same way (i.e.: first $1500 of profit)

[30:35] How to leverage media platforms to scale your growth

Buy several + promote to each other
Increase velocity of touches

[33:04] Roland’s advice on making your company more sellable

Reduce risk by way of MRR/ARR (e.g.: subscription revenue)
Turn cost centers into profit centers
Develop bolt-on businesses

[38:39] How Roland grew his Facebook page to 1M followers in eight months

Shot short videos at meetings to generate content (1K total)
Post on business page, pay to boost post and promote page
Target English speakers to build brand globally

[47:45] How to vet a digital marketing service

Research their social media accounts (content, followers + engagement)
Look at certifications and reach out to case studies on website

[51:20] Roland’s take on how the blockchain may impact real estate

May lose sophisticated customers at top of market
Successful agents will be tech aware quarterback of transactions

[56:34] Why Roland is unwilling to ‘bet the farm’

Watched father lose everything
Defer or partner to avoid risk

[58:55] Roland’s secret to staying calm and avoiding stress

Realize very high highs and low lows don’t last
Take charge of emotions, show up for people care about

[1:04:02] What Roland is investing in at present

Real estate and companies
Personal brand-building an...

Previous Episode

Close More Real Estate Deals By Doing This... 🏠🔥 | Founders Club ft. Kevin Markarian

Real estate agents need leads to do business. And if you don’t have a robust sphere of influence, your business will flounder without a reliable pipeline of prospects. So, what are the best (and most cost-effective) online lead sources? Are there any no-cost strategies for attracting clients? And once you have built a database of online leads, what are the best tools to use for follow-up and conversion?

Kevin Markarian is Broker-Associate at Marker Real Estate, a San Francisco-based team of 55 agents that close an average of $3M each in business every year. An expert in online lead gen, Kevin is known for building the systems necessary to grow a database and automate follow-up, leveraging technology to compound results.

Today on the podcast, Kevin joins Oliver to explain how moving to a new city inspired his interest in online lead generation. He shares his favorite lead sources, offering insight into how he structures $2 Facebook lead ads and nurtures those leads long-term. Kevin also discusses the automation tools he uses to follow up on leads, hold agents accountable, and nurture his database. Listen in for Kevin’s FREE Craigslist and Yelp lead gen strategies and learn how to convert online leads at a high level!

Key Takeaways

[2:13] What motivated Kevin to master lead gen

Knew no one after move to San Francisco
Interest in generating leads online

[3:32] Kevin’s favorite online lead sources

Facebook ($2 per lead)
Portals more expensive but lower in funnel

[4:20] The differences among Facebook, Google and portals

Portals, Google = active leads seeking info
Facebook leads targeted by you (longer timeline)

[6:23] Kevin’s advice around consistent follow-up

Call back second time to create urgency
Leverage ‘automation with authenticity’

[8:52] The fundamentals of Facebook lead ads

Extracts info without registration
Create lists (i.e.: 10 Best Views in SF Under $1M)

[13:15] The tools Kevin uses to automate follow up

Agentology facilitates speed to lead
Agent Legend to stay in front of lead long-term

[18:33] Other real estate tech platforms Kevin recommends

Follow Up Boss to assign leads and track progress
Line2 app to separate personal vs. business calls
RealScout to nurture database, set appointments

[24:26] How Kevin holds agents accountable for follow up

Note-taking in Follow Up Boss
Reach out to client for progress report

[26:55] Kevin’s FREE Craigslist strategy

Post photo + description of listings
‘Text INFO to’ CallAction #

[30:01] Jason Walters’ Yelp keyword strategy

Ask clients to write reviews with specific keywords
Rank in Google search for ‘best realtor’ in your city

Connect with Kevin

Connect with Oliver

Resources

Google Keyword Planner

Next Episode

Ultra Endurance Athlete On: How to Develop Mental Toughness 🧠💪| Founders Club ft. Brad Weimert

In endurance races, you are called on to push past the pain, to push past what you think your body is capable of and achieve on a new level. Being an entrepreneur is no different. It requires mental toughness to face the challenges as they come, setting the bar higher and higher as you build a business that surpasses other’s expectations—and maybe even goes beyond what YOU thought possible for yourself.

Brad Weimert is an entrepreneur and adventurer based in Austin, Texas. He founded Easy Pay Direct in 2009 to help small business owners process online payments, and the digital financial services firm has since become known as the best tool on the market for high-level eCommerce. Brad is also an endurance athlete: He crossed the country by bicycle in 2007, giving speeches to at-risk youth along the way, and in October of 2017, he completed the 29029|Everesting challenge TWICE in the allotted 36 hours.

Today on the podcast, Brad joins Oliver to share the experience of climbing the vertical distance of Mt. Everest two times in three days. He discusses the commitment he made to himself before the climb and describes how he prepared physically for Everesting with just seven weeks to train. Brad walks us through the most challenging stretch of the race, the moment he wanted to quit, and the remarkable final stretch when he nearly doubled his pace! Listen in for Brad’s insight on the most important lessons he learned from the climb and learn how this special breed of mental toughness translates to his business life.

Key Takeaways

[2:31] What inspired Brad to climb the vertical distance of Everest twice in 36 hours