How Stacie Peterson Built a Profitable, Enjoyable Real Estate Business

Hey, everyone. Lars Hedinborg here. I am joined by Stacy Peterson today, and we're just going to have a conversation about her business and what's been working for her. Stacy is in South Dakota. I can't imagine anyone living in that cold climate. But Stacey does it and she loves it. And Stacy is just an awesome client of ours. She's been through my entire program, and she actually helps me out coaching now as well. So, Stacy, why don't you kind of give a quick overview of your background in real estate. I know you were a solo agent and then you built a team and kind of give everyone an idea of where you were when we started together and the time we spent together in Charlotte and then kind of where things have gone from there.

Sure. Well, I started real estate actually 13 years ago as a single agent. And I was a single agent for about a year and a half and then was approached by a guy that wanted to start a team. We started a team, and that team functioned a little bit differently than how my current team works. We were really individual agents that kind of shared services and called ourselves a team. So it was a little bit different. Then four years ago, a guy that was on that team with me and I started a brand new team and left the company we were at and went to a brand new company. And it was me and he. And we took one buyer's agent with us and started a team. That first year we had 56 sales and then grew our team with an assistant and more buyer's agents and kind of just catapulted that team. And then we found Lars. Actually, this past year, August of 2013, I had known Lars just passively through other coaching companies, and I actually saw him on a viral video showing his goals. So I was really impressed by that and kind of remembered that. And so I contacted him and asked him if he would be interested in coaching us. And at that point, he was just starting his coaching company. So we kind of got lucky and he decided to take us on as clients and where we were when we met him. We had a team of four buyer's agents, a full time assistant, and then Tyler is my business partner, and I, we were doing well as far as sales went, but we just weren't that profitable. And honestly, we were just ready to pull our hair out. We had kind of said if we don't get this thing turned around in about a year, then it wasn't fun anymore. We were stressed to the max, working all the time. Our families never saw us. We made tons of promises that we never kept. Like, oh, I'll just send this quick contract. It'll be like 10 minutes. I'll be there in a second. And just never fulfilling those promises of spending time with them. When we hired Lars, we sort of ended up. Ended up the first call with a big therapy session because we were just so frustrated. He did a good job and put us through a business assessment to really understand what was happening. Then fast forward about a month from there. We were lucky enough to go to Charlotte. We kind of begged him, please let us come. We just need one day with you. That's it. He let us come for two days and we got to sit in front of him. And he just got down to the brass tacks and said, this is what your business looks like. These are the pillars that you need, and this is where your dysfunction is. And how do we fix it? We really left with a game plan that totally changed our lives, honestly. So it was an awesome experience. And I can go into more about that as well, if you want to.

How many deals? What was your GCI last year and how many deals did you do? Last year?

We did just about 31 million and we did 171 transactions. And in our market, that would put us as probably one of the top five, maybe top eight teams. Our MLS calculates sales a little bit different, so we can't track buyer sides, but that's changing this year. So I'm excited to see exactly where we end up. But we know just from, you know, basic market knowledge that we're probably one of. We're probably top five.

And Lars, what did you learn in the assessment when you first talked to Stacey about, you know, obviously she's a very great agent. What did you find she was doing wrong in the kind of the fact finding stage?

Well, I think the thing that struck me, you know, Tyler and Stacy, they. They literally stuck it on me and said, listen, if we don't figure this out in the next six to 12 months, Stacy was going to leave real estate, like, totally leave real estate. And Tyler was just going to go back to being a solo agent. But the thing was, they were both doing everything and in the midst of that, doing nothing. So there were no real systems. They had like a dysfunctional admin that, like, nobody really liked and just some weird stuff going on and kind of like, you know, building something without a good foundation, it's not a good place to be. And that's exactly where they were. They had. Not many teams will sell over 150 transactions, and they were there without me being involved with them. But there was no systems, no normalcy to the process. They were both working evenings and weekends, both in production, both working with buyers and sellers. We decided to take Stacy out of production altogether. She doesn't work with any clients as her own clients right now. She'll work with them on an operations from an operations and client servicing role, but not direct go out and list homes or show homes. And Tyler only works with sellers. So all of the buyer sides now in a truly functional team. All of your buyer business has to go to your buyer agents. So that's now working and functional. And there's still challenges and development issues and recruiting stuff that we're working through. But so Stacy is in charge of operations. She's building true business assets on the operations side, systems that they can follow on the buyer side and the seller side. When a lead comes in to appointment to client, to a happy client, that's going to give you referrals. It's not necessarily an easy process, but it is something that is repeatable and we've built it out for those guys. They're just awesome. It was a really emotional time we had in Charlotte, where I could cry thinking about it. But it really comes down to what do you want out of your business. Most coaches just coach you how to do more transactions. That's where Stacy and Tyler came from. Just do more transactions. Do more transactions. Nobody talks about profitability. Nobody talks about if their spouse is happy. Nobody talks about if their children hate their cell phone or. Tyler and Stacy both have young children and. And so just like a total honor to serve them. I think I probably answered like 10 questions in there, but yeah.

Well, Stacy, let me ask you this. What were some of the things that immediately you made changes to in your business when you came back from Charlotte that changed the game? What were the big decisions you had to make? Like, all right, here's what we're doing. What were some of those?

I think there was just so many, honestly, after we came back, we had this long list of things that needed to be done, and they needed to be done immediately because we were just like Laura said, we were just to our wit's end on almost everything. We came back with a total game plan, step by step, what needed to be done, and we just did it. One of the things when we came back was to take me completely out of the business, which I was so excited. I just couldn't believe it. I just thought that was the best thing ever, because I really was just not loving it anymore. I wasn't serving my clients well. I was nice about it, but I just wasn't doing them that much justice. So one of the big things was actually splitting up Tyler and I's duties to make sure that we were doing separate things, but moving the team forward. Second thing was actually changing all of the buyer's agent splits because we weren't profitable at all. And there just wasn't a way to exit the business with what we had already going. So we had to have those hard conversations and realize that, hey, maybe the team that we started with would not be the team in the end, but they're all here and everybody's doing a great job. So we made it through that hurdle. Another thing was getting all those systems in place because we were not handling one transaction the same. Everything was different. It was willy nilly. There was all this frustration, all this anxiety. So we got all the systems in place, and then Lars talked about how the assistant role that we had wasn't functioning correctly. So we made those changes and now our team is rolling along and we're doing really well this year. But it's all thanks to Lars, honestly. Just because we had those hard conversations with each other, with our team, with our admin, and we needed those systems in place as well as just understanding what it is to be profitable because we knew how to sell homes. That wasn't the question. But we had no idea how to run a business and truly be a leader. And that's where he really came in and helped us. And if he says, hey, I'd like you to change this in your business, he gives you the reasons why so that you understand it. So you're not just making decisions because your coach told you to.

Stacey, you've been through a lot of different coaching programs and you've been selling real estate for how many years?

Yep, 13.

13 years. So you've probably seen a lot of sales training, a lot of different programs out there, but this is one that's really been helping to help you make a big change. Can you maybe tell me what specifically is different about Lars approach or what he does that's different than the other things that you've experienced?

Yeah, definitely. I think one big thing, like I was kind of alluding to earlier, is he really takes a look at your business and the business that he has really can be duplicated in any market because it's not complicated things, but they're well thought out, they're systematic. And he doesn't just say, hey, go Create this raving fan club or go create this past client touch system. He tells you what he does and why, and then you talk about if it will work in your market and then you can employ it without having to reinvent the wheel as well as I think with Lars, what I really appreciate most is that when he tells us to look into something, he's researched it, tested it, and found out what the results were before using us as the test market. And I think that's. I mean, that's just been huge for us because we can spend money like nobody's business. That's not a question. We can sign up for everything and have and will probably moving forward. But Lars will take a look at it and say, hey, what are you using that for? Tell me about it. And then you'll look at it together. If it's something that he's not currently using, or if he is using it and it's working in his business, he will let you know about it without being attached to the outcome. He'll just tell you why to use it and take these things into consideration and encourage you to do it. But there's not a sort of ultimatum or a money making scheme at the end. I guess it's just, hey, this is the real deal. If you want to take a look at it, this is why it works, and I want you to consider it. And here's the numbers, here's the tracking, here's why it works.

So what are some of your goals? What are your goals, let's say in like, you know, a year from now? What's your goal a year from now? What are a couple things you're working with Lars right now to hit that goal. So what's your goal first? And let's talk about what are you working on right now to get there?

Sure. One of our biggest goals is to recruit more buyer's agents because we want to totally exit the business. So even though I'm not working with clients, I'm doing the operations manager role right now. And so my goal next school year, so in September, both my kids will be starting school. And so I would like to be less hours in the office. And so that's really my goal to ramp up our recruiting efforts as well as our listing inventory. That's our biggest one, to get that listing inventory up there so that we have more sales coming in without me being attached to the operations role, 40 plus hours a week. And then the next goal after that would be Tyler getting a listing partner. So he's not going on all the listing appointments and dropping his schedule back as well.

So, Lars, what are you working with them right now to get those things accomplished? What do you have in plan, in place? What makes that unique for your system there?

Yeah, I mean, it seems like the teams I work with, they really want to believe that the team they have in place, change is typically a tough thing for everybody. But also the process of letting someone go or having difficult conversations with people or demanding that people step up and perform at a high level or are comfortable with accountability, I think that's been the biggest sort of growing pain with Tyler and Stacy. It's to let them know that their team, like most people, need to be led. Right. I mean, if you're. If you're going to conferences and you're around other real estate agents that are looking to lead, you know, you don't realize that 99% of the population, they need to be inspired. They need to see a vision and they need to be told what to do. And they need accountability tools to get there. So I think that was the biggest part of the process with Stacy and Tyler was kind of getting them comfortable with the fact that they had to have those difficult conversations. And if somebody didn't see the world the same way that they did, there was no big deal. I mean, not everyone has to be on this thing that is ultimately going to be the super bowl team. And there's lots of teams that start out not the super bowl team, and they do all the right things, and ultimately they are the super bowl team one day, and that's where they're headed. And not everyone gets to play on the super bowl team. So it's a transition process. A lot of it's psychology. But how do you train a buyer agent? What kind of tools do you have in place in terms of knowing what they're doing, their activities, their productivity rates, those sorts of things. So it's a lot of basic type stuff that people don't really want to focus on. Everyone's looking for the latest and greatest and sexiest, most shiny tool to do something where it's just not that complicated. Real estate.

So, Stacy, what would you say to someone who's on the fence about getting involved with the business coaching that Lars provides? What tips could you give them to be successful with Lars?

Well, I think one thing would be you have to be straight with him and you have to tell him exactly what the situation is. I mean, you just can't leave anything out, otherwise he can't assess it correctly. And if you're thinking about, if you want to be in real estate forever and that's your goal, then that's great. And you can probably find tons of coaches that will keep you in real estate for the rest of your life. If you like working up in houses or if you like pounding the phones, then there's definitely a place for you. But if you're looking, looking for a business that can work without you being there and can truly function without your phone ringing all the time, then Lars is the perfect example. His business is the perfect example of that, because in the short time when he was in real estate, he built a team, he prospected himself, he built these systems, and then he has exited his business. And so he's a true example of, of what you're looking for, if that's what you're looking for, instead of maybe someone who never did get to that level. That's why we placed all our trust in him. And if he said, hey, this is what I suggest, we just didn't reinvent the wheel. We did it because we thought, well, we've tried doing that before and it's easy to trust someone when they live it out day to day versus someone that doesn't. If you're looking for a real, true business, then Lars is your guy, because he'll get you there.

So, Lars, how does someone go ahead and maybe get involved with you or where should they start?

I was going to say the one thing when you asked that question of Stacey that came into my mind, and it's a perfect example of how we work together. It really does come down to trust. Most people put on this facade of just in general, like 100% of the population. You only get, like the Facebook version of their life. You don't see that things aren't going well at home, or you don't see the challenges that go on in their life. One's ability to sort of break down and be real with me and for me to do the same and for me to expose my weaknesses to them and say, this is something I really screwed up on in my business and I don't want the same for you. Most coaches, most coaches haven't achieved at a level that people want to get to, even though they're coaching, which is sort of a weird thing. There are coaches out there that haven't sold real estate for 20 years and they're highly paid real estate coaches. And I get it. I've coached with some of them and some of them are awesome. So I won't take anything away. From anyone else. But for me, it's the ability to connect with my clients and, and really have them tell me what's their problem. Like, I had a call the other day with a guy that his wife is just. Is so disconnected from him and he doesn't know what to do. Like he feels like he's totally failed. He's working harder to make this, build this amazing life for his wife that only wants him home. And it's this weird thing that guys go through. And Stacy, I mean, she's like managing three different things. She wants to, you know, be a great mom, a great wife. She wants to own a business. She wants to have multiple streams of income. She's helping me with coaching. She's doing some marketing stuff in addition to that. So it's all these roles that she has to satisfy that it's overwhelming. And so without her, her ability to just be real with me and for me to address her in a way that nobody really comes into someone's life. And I'm not saying that to kind of toot my own horn, but just to say that it's way more than just like, yeah, you get a buyer lead and obviously got to call it and you say this on the phone and then you get together and you sell them a home. Like, real estate is pretty easy, but there's a reason why most people don't achieve at the highest levels. So you can get in touch with me on the web@larshedenborg.com and I've got different levels. Consulting is the highest level. What we do. There's inner circle as well. And I'm launching a real estate B school, which is an eight, eight week or eight module thing that you can get access to as well. So. Larsheadenborg.com Great.

Well, Stacy, thanks a lot for your feedback today. And Lars, it was always good to talk to you again, my friend.

Yeah, you're awesome. Both of you guys are awesome. Thanks so much.