How Stacie Peterson Stopped Working with Clients and Increased Her Business 28%

I've been in real estate since I got my license in 2001 and really kind of started in 2002. So 12 years and four years ago, my business partner Tyler and I started a new real estate team. And how I sort of met Lars was he was with another organization that we were as well. And I saw him, like, winning all these awards and just being like a real person about it when he won the awards and kind of always willing to share. And so I sort of always had him on this pedestal and never really got to meet him personally. And then one time I saw him on a video with Frank. Actually they had met at some kind of summit or something, and he was showing this big sheet of bowls that he had. It was like 8 1/2 by 11 printed out, and he just pulled it out of his little briefcase. And I thought that was so cool. So I Facebooked him and said, hey, can you send me a copy of your goals or, like, how you did that? And no kidding, like an hour later I had it. And I thought, wow, what a neat guy to just send that to me. He didn't even know me. And so I just kind of always thought he was a pretty cool guy. And then about. Well, right. A year and a few months ago, I actually Facebooked him and just said, hey, would you be willing to meet with us? He didn't actually have his coaching company at that time. He was starting it on Monday and this was on Friday. And he said, oh, my gosh, that's weird. You contacted me, I'm starting a company on Monday. And I thought, yeah, yeah, right. You'll never have it done by Monday. And I need you to help me now. Sure enough, he called us on Monday and he did have everything set out just in true Lars fashion of it's thought through, it's ready to go. He doesn't promise something until it's done. And it was ready on Monday. We talked to him and signed up and really hit the ground running. We had some things coming up, and so we really met with him kind of for the first time in September and just hit the ground running.

So you were his first clients then?

Yeah, we were pretty cool.

Okay, so what was your business like at the time? How were you guys doing?

Yeah, we had. I mean, we had a fully functioning team in place. It was Tyler and I as the business partners. And then we had four buyer's agents or three at the time. And then we had an assistant, and we were doing about last year, we closed 171 deals so, I mean, we were already a team and doing well, but we just felt like we had kind of hit a wall. Tyler and I were just spinning our wheels and I mean, I thought, okay, this is my third year as a team and this sounds unrealistic, but I just expected to be farther than I was, and I wasn't. But this was our second team. Him and I were on a team before, so I already knew how things worked and we had a lot of things in place. And so I just expected it to be faster and be at a happier place than what I was. Once we started working with him, then one of the first things he did that made a lot of sense was he split Tyler and I's duties. We were just doing the same things and it just didn't make sense. When you have two people that are basically the team lead, he split those up and that honestly made a world of difference. And then putting his systems into place, it just, it really, from the moment of splitting the duties and figuring out I was going toward operations, Tyler was going toward team management, just. It honestly made all the difference. So just that clarity from, like, the first few calls were amazing. And the detail in each coaching call with like, action steps and just his delivery and how present he is on the call was just exactly what we needed in order to move forward instead of continue to hit a wall.

Yeah. What were the first things? Was there anything else that you really started implementing right away, like big focus points for you?

Yeah, definitely was. First of all, the whole buyer system, we didn't really have a system. When you list a home, you tend to have a listing system and it may include a presentation and it may not. But we had nothing for the buyer's agents. I mean, we were just like, oh, just meet with them and here's the scripts. We had plenty of that, but we just really had never implemented a presentation that they felt like they could deliver or we maybe delivered well ourselves. We had no tracking in place to know if anything was working. We had no accountability in place. And honestly, we probably didn't have the numbers working for everybody. So as far as splits were concerned, they necessarily weren't working that well for the agents. And it wasn't working well from a business standpoint. And we just didn't understand that, oh, industry wide you should just be 50, 50 or they should get 80% on their own business or whatever it may be from a business standpoint, that just doesn't make you profitable for a sustainable business. That was the very first thing was getting that into place, including systems that he helped us with to make sure those things were in place. Then secondly was the listing side. We did a good job listing properties already and we had a listing presentation and we had scripts, but we still didn't have again, tracking systems in place. Also, I would say our clients were happy, most of them, but they definitely were not raving. And so we put some things into place that he helped us put into place that ensured much better client satisfaction. So those were quite one and two major things.

What kind of results have you been seeing since making those changes?

Well, one thing that I totally love is that I'm not working with clients anymore. So that's my favorite piece. I just run the operations for the team. I was a big integral part of the business though. I was doing 10 million on my own. Tyler was doing about 10 million on his own. So to remove me completely from the business was scary. And we just weren't sure if we were at least even going to hit what we did last year. But we did. We're actually going to close about 220deals this year with me completely out. And that's with also giving the business to buyer agents. And then Tyler's our listing agent. So we make less when we hand it off, but we're doing well and our profitability is up. And that was one of the things right away too. He looked at immediately, what are we paying for and do we need to and are we using it? And of course, because we didn't track, we had no idea. We're like, oh, I think it's a good system. Yeah, I think I remember that one sale or two. And he was like, no, that's not how businesses make decisions. Businesses make decisions on real numbers. And so that's kind of the unique thing about him as well. He had an engineering background and most realtors don't. Otherwise they're usually not very good realtors. He really dove into our business and our profitability and took a look at it and helped us see what we were doing right and what we were doing wrong. Or maybe seeing a shiny object and immediately purchasing it because it was like the new thing to get. Tyler and I had worked with a different coach and then before that, previous to that I had worked personally with a coach. I just kind of always believed that you need someone to help you make clear cut decisions as well as maybe help you with fundamentals that you're okay at or maybe good at and then they should help take you to the great. I believe in coaches. I kind of look at it like, you can go to the gym, you know how to get on a treadmill, you know how to lift weights, you can YouTube anything. But if you have a coach that's there holding you accountable, holding you accountable, perfecting everything you do, it makes a big difference. And that's exactly what we wanted in our real estate business. We could have probably done it ourselves this quickly or this. Well, definitely not. It just doesn't happen.

So is the accountability what you would say is the main difference between Lars and the previous coaches, or what other differences have you seen?

It's a little bit accountability, but on Lars program, you schedule calls when you're ready instead of maybe just having calls to have a call, which is great for some people because they're very good at getting their stuff done. In between, I think the difference in his sort of accountability is that he lays and then it's all there. And then he has modules and videos to help you through it and things in place that'll help you implement instead of, okay, here's a program, just do it. And you have to like say, okay, do I have to recreate all these documents? Do I have to buy this and that? It's just very clear cut and organized on how to do it. Plus he has a functioning real estate team that's doing really well. So everything that he suggests is already tested and tracked and he tells you what the return is. I mean, he'll open up everything. So you can see, you can see his numbers, you can see his tracking, you can see his systems. So it's just very real. And I like that it's easier to make decisions for yourself.

Okay, so do you have any stories about how this has improved or changed your life outside of business?

Oh, definitely. That's one thing too, I guess I just haven't even mentioned yet, is that Lars really takes a look at your health, your family life, your faith, if that's something that you believe in. But he does. I do. Most of the clients I believe do. But you just can't be a good realtor without having a well rounded life. And you don't want to bust your butt and work really hard on this business and, and then at the end of it, you have no family or no spouse or no significant other. I mean, it's just, it's not worth it. And you don't want to miss the birthdays and you don't want to miss the soccer games. And so it's something that he takes a look at, helps you manage your schedule and he'll ask you straight up about your health. I remember when he first did our, like, I don't know what he would call it, but like a client counseling interview. He asked us about our money, but not to be personal and just know what we had. It was just more, how's your financial situation? What's that house of cards? One of the things I said was, oh, I feel like I'm always on a diet. I'm just always doing something. I just never stick to it. I thought it was giving him insight that my personality is a high. I'll go on to the next thing really quickly. But what I came to realize is that he wanted to know that so he could help me through that and help just me be a better person all around. Because when I came to him, I was super unhappy with my real estate life. Not my family life, but my family was unhappy because I was always on the phone. And so he's really helped. He just offers up so much like, you guys need to take care of your health, otherwise, what do you have? And make sure you're home for supper at night. Your kids need you. He has a big heart for people with children and because he has small children and just like I do. So he has a big heart to make sure that they have a mommy and daddy or whatever coming home to them and not just in a phone looking at real estate deals all day. So that's just really neat about him. And he'll offer to let you know about other conferences or books or things that have to do with improving your self worth, your health, your life, your marriage, your faith. And I mean, that's just something extra I hadn't seen. Because he's coached with so many different people, he brings that into one program. So that's really fantastic. I really like it.

Cool. So having been through his program, what advice would you give to somebody who's either just starting up or is kind of in the middle of it right now?

You bet. One thing that I did that I admittedly hadn't done in my previous coaching was with his stuff I did. I did not reinvent the wheel. If his logo was on the left hand side and it was one inch by one inch, my logo is one inch by one inch. And I mean, that's just basic. But I did not reinvent his questions, I didn't reinvent his presentations, would I have liked them like quote unquote, prettier? Maybe. But no, I just, I took what he said and I implemented it without worrying. Oh, I wish this was blue or I wish that we had these kind of things in place. I just implemented a system. And then if things didn't work for our particular team for whatever reason, then I asked him about them and said, hey, what's the frame of reference about this? That's one thing too, is if he gives you something to do or if he shows you a system, he'll give you the background why it works, how it works, and then how to do it yourself instead of just do this, get it done. There's a plan in place and a reason why. And I think the biggest difference for us was the reason why sometimes we just did things and we didn't know why, and we go to our agents and say, oh, hey, here's a new sheet. Just get it done. Like agents around the country are doing it and it just works. And they just scratch their head like, ugh. I just hate when they go somewhere. They just come back with all this stuff. And Lars message is consistent. And if something new comes up, he will test it and try it and then tell us about it. And he's never mad if you ask him questions about new systems, but he'll give you some background and he's probably tried it himself, so, you know, that's been a really great benefit with his coaching program for us.

Okay, and how about what would you say to someone who's maybe on the fence about working with Lars?

Yeah, I would say ask him for some references, ask him to give you some names of clients, whether they're happy or not. And I would challenge you to find someone that isn't happy if they're doing the work they need to do. I mean, that's part of it. You have to do the work and he'll do his work and he'll over serve you. I mean, he'll do everything he can to serve you. But I would say if you're on the fence, take a look at where you're at. And if where he's at is what you want, then I wouldn't hesitate because I challenge you to find another coach that has a functioning real estate team like he does. Meaning they're happy, they are producing a lot of deals, he's profitable. And find someone that also brings in other aspects into your coaching, like your family life, your finances, and just real estate. I mean, I just. I'm not sure if there's another. If there is one. I guess I don't know of them yet, but.

Okay, so that's about all I've got. Is there anything else you want to add to kind of sum up your experience working with Lars so far?

Let's see. I would just say the experience thus far has just been great. We've graduated from his program, we went through the whole thing. He's laid out everything just like he said he would. He's over delivered and. And looking back, I just wish he would have had it sooner than when we called him. I'm honored that we were the first client because it turned out great for us. I think that if I had it before, how great would that have been? But I'm just thankful that we found him when we did. I would never hesitate to hire him again if I was an agent out there looking. I've told a lot of people as well ask or to take a look at him. Just people that I know from the industry because it is life changing and that sounds a little statement that's overused, but it truly was for us and I feel like other people could use the same transformation. He wanted to know that so he could help me through that and help just me be a better person all around. Because when I came to him, I was super unhappy with.