Lessons From 2008 That Still Apply Today — Mark Brace, MI

11/08/22 • 27 min

On this episode of The Neighborhood Realtor, Matt Muscat sits down, face-to-face, with Mark Brace, a well-known and legendary real estate agent in Grand Rapids, MI.
Mark built his business from nothing—literally. He had no special connections, no support, and no referrals. He learned how to hustle, and he learned quickly, since 2006 marked the beginning of his career in real estate. Mark built an admirable business despite the market conditions of the recession. It was the mindset that got Mark through; half of all realtors left the business during the recession because of fear, but Mark saw it as an opportunity.
Today, Mark’s business closes $125m in deals each year with a team of seven agents.
Of all the skills that Mark has improved and mastered over the years, mindset is the number one skill he attributes to his success. Your mindset, not your skill or luck, can be contagious, and benefit (or attract!) clients. When interest rates are high, you become the Realtor who’s happy they’re not any higher. When home values are down 15%, you’re grateful they’re not down 25%. When everyone says it’s a bad time to buy, you see the opportunity and help your clients win—and win big. You’re not just offering a product or service, but instead, you’re giving your clients hope & a good mood.
Mark is a believer in the law of attraction—genuine salesmen attract genuine clients, and sour marketing will attract sour clients. Trust your gut and trust your intuition to make the best decisions to build the best business possible, and always rely on your coach (get one, if you don’t already) for leadership advice & long-term strategy.
Mark has moved his personal business further into the luxury market over the past several years and continues to expand his business, team, and abilities. He may be considered successful now, but there’s a long road ahead! Built all on a foundation inspired by a recession.
The Neighborhood Realtor is proudly sponsored by Treadstone Funding and Neighborhood Loans. For more tangible tips in real estate marketing, check out Matt's book, The Tangible Action Guide for Real Estate Marketing available on Amazon.

Previous Episode

Recession Proof Your Business With Theme Days & A Greatness Tracker — Athena Brownson, CO

In eight short years, Athena went from being an avid interior designer to a real estate agent closing $22 million in real estate sales—all while battling serious health issues. She’s created a career in real estate by being clever, creative, and learning to love the art of helping people. Her business is based in Denver, Colorado, and she’s proven herself as a wealth of information and a skillful coach.

Growing up, Athena grew up being around real estate. Her dad was a residential developer, and she wanted nothing to do with housing or real estate. Instead, she went to school for interior design—a profession that allowed her to work closely with people with a creative outlet. After several years in the interior design business, she realized she wanted to push herself more. To do more, and to create a larger impact. Athena catapulted herself into real estate, which was the perfect fit for her skills.

Athena is a people-person. She keeps in touch with her clients, no matter what! Even during times of serious health issues, she spent her hospital time writing letters and messages to her database, but also writing offers! She became unstoppable.

She asks questions—lots of them. Why? Because she cares. It shows you (the Realtor) is invested and are genuine in your guidance and answers. As an interior designer, Athena also works with her clients (for free!) on their interior design, giving guidance, bringing up things to think about, and sharing ideas.

The CORE’s Greatness Tracker is one of the important tools that Athena uses to track her business, and to stay motivated—the excel spreadsheet she keeps lets her visualize and correlate the long hours she spends writing notes and posting on social media, with the business and referrals she receives. When business gets chaotic or too large to mindfully manage, the simple task of organizing your progress and wins makes a world of difference.

Athena’s business is set up for the long-haul. Anyone can learn from her skills and processes!

The Neighborhood Realtor is proudly sponsored by Treadstone Funding and Neighborhood Loans. For more tangible tips in real estate marketing, check out Matt's book, The Tangible Action Guide for Real Estate Marketing available on Amazon.

Next Episode

Bite Size Strategies for a Shifting Market — Josh May, MI

On this episode of The Neighborhood Realtor, Matt Muscat talks with Josh May, an outstanding Realtor, speaker, and networker in Grand Rapids, MI.

Josh May has been a licensed real estate agent for 22 years. He started as a college student trying to get by as a football player at Grand Valley State University. He fell in love with business instantly and began selling commercial real estate. Although, Josh realized quickly a massive opportunity as a college-aged Realtor: all of his friends, classmates, and professional network would all be buying homes in the next 5-10 years. He dove straight into residential real estate and never turned back. That decision proved to be instrumental in his career.

When the housing market crashed in 2008, Josh had a few years under his belt learning the ropes of the industry. Being a newer agent in 2008 gave him a big advantage in the market to stay nimble, and shift quickly with buyers as conversations & sales changed— seemingly overnight. Josh makes many comparisons between the 2008 housing crash and today’s market—while they are still very different markets, some of the fundamental themes remain the same. Some of the same strategies that haven’t worked since 2008 are working once again.

In a changing market, leadership wins. Buyers gravitate toward the Realtors who are positive, excited, and bold. In 2022 & 2023, that couldn’t be more important.

Josh speaks intensely to the style of communication needed with clients, and the importance of leadership in marketing. Leaders talk, leaders are transparent, and leaders motivate! In the housing market, Realtors must be a strong leader to survive (and thrive) in a shifting market. Practical conversions and honest education will what wins buyers and sellers over. It’s a Realtor strategy that wins!

A theme that Josh refers to multiple times throughout this episode is the importance if discipline and sticking to your plans. Write your goals down on paper, and tell friends and family about them. Break down those goals into bite-sized chunks or do anything you need to do. Just don’t get behind them, don’t ignore them, and stay true to those goals. Do everything in your power to achieve those goals, since they are non-negotiable. Josh credits this discipline-first Realtor strategy to much of his career’s progress.

The Neighborhood Realtor - Lessons From 2008 That Still Apply Today — Mark Brace, MI

Transcript

Matt M. Hey, everybody. Thank you for tuning in. Just a reminder, we are now the Neighborhood Realtor podcast. We switched away from marketing other markets, same great content, new great title. Today's a little weird. Instead of being over in Zoom land, I am sitting face to face. Bad breath in everything. My not his with a friend and one of the best real estate agents I've had the privilege of working with, but also learning from.

Matt M. So today I'm here with Mark Brace, realtor, team