Danielle Zampino's Return to Real Estate - The Real Estate Revolution

Welcome back to the real estate revolution. I'm Steve Valentine. Happy new year. It's 2024, man. I had to take a little bit of a break the last 90 days. I'll talk more about that journey, but it's been a while since I've been on, so we're going to do something new today. I thought you would find this extremely intriguing and interesting is I have a guest, Danielle Zampino. She is fresh to the business. Well, she's returning, but technically fresh in this market. And she has just joined Valentine Group and we are just getting started. So we figured we record kind of our first meeting and then monthly we're going to come back and do our 30 day checkups all recorded. So you guys can kind of see her progress, where she's at, what she's frustrated, maybe even what I'm doing wrong leadership wise. So we will kind of see and that's what we're going to do. So today we're just going to talk to Danielle a little bit about her background, how she ended up here, how she chose real, all the great things. So let's go.

All right. Welcome.

Hi, welcome, welcome.

Thanks for having me.

Here we are 10th January.

I know it's been a year already, right? Right.

It's been a year and 10 days, right?

Yes.

Good. Well, where do you want to start?

Let's talk about background first. Yeah, let's talk about. So originally I was a licensed real estate agent for about eight years starting back in 2011. And I was in the business a little bit before then as transaction coordinator, marketing assistant. Yeah, so really like had my start in real estate a really long time ago. I took a small break from the business, traveled a bit, found myself back in the business in escrow actually for about, I think it was four or five months. And then Covid hit, moved back to Phoenix. I was in LA for a little bit and then once I moved back, I called up Kelly Zitlow, my absolute favorite lender, and begged her for a job. Of course she made a position for me and it was great. So for the last three years I've been focusing on my mortgage lending experience and strategy, which I think is incredibly helpful and really something that not a lot of real estate agents end up having that depth of knowledge in lending, which I think is important, especially given today's affordability issues. And then the FHA released the ability to be able to be licensed as an mlo, a mortgage loan originator and a realtor. And so of course I jumped on that opportunity, because why wouldn't you? And so I was kind of doing both for a little bit, really. I was focusing on my own sphere of influence and helping my friends and family. I wasn't really going outside of that. And then really, as the year kind of came to a close, I just realized that my heart just belonged in real estate sales. And so really found my way back into it, obviously with guidance from you and a bunch of other realtors, honestly. And I'm really happy to have found my home right here on the Valentine team.

Yes. That had to be tough for you because there was a lot of relationships with agents that you had through the lending side of things. Right. So where. Where did you start that process? Because I think there's a lot of agents out there that'll find this intriguing. It's like, number one, you're already a little bit tethered to the business.

Yeah.

You've seen the background of some of the people that you work with on the agent side. You're like, I kind of know either they're really good at what they do or they're a total train wreck. So I know all the. Where all the bodies are buried, right?

Yeah.

And so you have some things that help you make choices. So I'm curious as to what the choices were brokerage wise and then team wise here, because obviously there was a lot of people and I wanted you to select where you best served. So what did some of that process look like for you?

So I think that everybody's. There's a reason why there's so many brokerages is because there's so many different things that people can be offered in those brokerages. And then another step further, of course, is teams. So I guess let's start from like, let's start brokerage, because that's kind of like the highest level. Right. I interviewed a lot of brokerages and agents, obviously, that I've worked with that work at different brokerages. I had an idea for what the brand and, like, how it aligned with what I wanted to do.

Right.

Before I selected a brokerage, I actually went and I hired a brand manager to really help me identify and get really clear with, like, what my intentions were with real estate, who my ideal client was, what, like, what was my path and where I wanted to go. I think once you really identify that, like that north for yourself, I think it makes a lot of the other decisions a lot easier. Helps guide you along the way. So once I kind of realized that I really wanted to be in the investment space, I already own three properties with my partner and myself and so I knew that I wanted to lean further into that. Most of our experience in the investment space has been owner occupied for a year and then moving on to the next. So slow and steady but still a lot of movement in the last three years. And I knew that I wanted more of that. So that helped in one of the choices with aligning with real, they obviously have several different revenues of income which I think it's really important to diversify your income, especially in the investment world. So that was a big part of it. And then also just like looking towards the leadership in those brokerages, you want to see who is being impactful and influential and who has the messaging that really resonates with you. You and Sharon was that for me? I'd seen him speak at Real Real Springs break. I'm sorry, Springs Real Real. What am I saying? What is that event?

Springs Real Break. Whatever.

Springs Real estate Spring break. Right, there we go. So he spoke at that and really just there was something there that there was just an it factor that I really connected with. I really love how forward thinking he is. I really love his energy which is huge for me. Having leadership that isn't stuck in the mud is like, was so important.

Yeah, he's got an incredible energy and very personable, you know, when you're with him one on one, having conversations with him, just really, really smart dude. And yeah, that was one of the things that you talked about, the investment side. And I think that as a real estate agent, when you're starting or wherever you're at in your career, you know, real brokerage was not a hard decision for me when I started looking at return on investment. And I don't think many of us look at the fact that the things that we call splits and commissions and transaction fees, they're an investment into what's housing us. And I want to see where that investment is going. And so when there was some sort of return on my investment for doing my day to day, you know, not even looking at the other streams of income, but just knowing that there was some stock awards, some goals, some different elite level type production levels that you could meet that would have a return on them for doing the things that we do. So that was my big thing. Plus they have, you know, some matching where if you invest a certain port of your part of your commission, they're also doing some matching on it. Right. So there's a bunch of different things that they're giving. They're like, oh I can take advantage of it like a normal W2 worker where they have something they can invest in and I'm getting something in return for what I'm paying into the company. And I think that in this day and age, so many brokerages are like our value proposition is all these tech tools and all these things that we have. But the reality is that 90% of the agents don't use the brokerage tech tools. They're getting their own because they don't want to be plugged in there. They want to own it. Right. So it's always this struggle and that's what kind of drew me to real. And plus, you know, being good friends with Kim Ryan and knowing the research that she did and Kim and go way back, it was just, it was an important piece for me and supporting Kim, but it was, it was a no brainer when there was the return on investment.

Yeah.

Because if I look at the same things and, and God knows, like all the brokerages I've been at, I've absolutely loved my last one. I love the camaraderie. I loved all the things, you know, was still good friends with them. I don't, I think I'm on like the top hit list somewhere for that. But it was a decision I had to make for my own family. Right. For my own future. And there was things there that were just like, okay, this is what this looks like and it's a smarter move for me to go in this direction. And you know, the other benefits of potentially bringing other agents in, some of the different, you know, stock awards, stock purchase, there was just too many things there that were important looking at for future. Because I look at this, I'm like, if I modeled this and went back 20 years and had the same thing, what would it look like today? Right. And I do feel that there was, you know, maybe at the beginning I was approached a lot, you know, by the other brokerage that maybe I missed out, you know, on that first round of what that would have looked like. It is what it is. So we're glad to have you at real.

Thank you.

I've been here two and a half years now and you've been here almost a year?

No, I think six months, maybe seven. I don't know, I stopped counting.

So would you recommend, when you look at it, I think that some people start by looking for a team versus do you start by looking at a brokerage and then look at what teams are there?

I think that, I think you have to have a marriage of both Really?

I agree.

I think, I don't know that there's one that goes before the other.

Okay, let me ask you the longer term question then.

Okay.

If you were gonna go, okay, this is my 10 year plan in this business. I'm new, I found this really cool team that I like. The guy that runs, it's kind of cool, but he's kind of freaking squirrel chaser. Right? All these things. I think I'm gonna be there for a while and then I want to build my own and leave that. Right. Knowing that intention is the brokerage a place that you can move from team to your own model and move forward. And so it's kind of interesting. Or are you building your business under a team in a brokerage model that can't sustain your potential growth or is it where you want to be?

Right, right.

So I think that's interesting if you're looking at the long term versus the short term. And I also go back to, well, you might go to a team that's at this brokerage for a couple of years and really learn because they're one of the best for you and then make that move. I do think that it's gotta be something that is intentionally thought through, right?

No, I think both components are. Yeah, both components are definitely important. I think that most brokerages you'll probably find a team that at least aligns with what you're looking for. Short term, long term is going to be the brokerage. Obviously the less that you change brokerages the better. Especially with something where you're bring, have the potential to bring on agents and capitalize from their closings as well. And real really fit all of those for me for sure. And then as far as team, I mean we kind of talked about it like I'm not brand new in the business, I'm just returning back. So my getting up to speed on just even the real estate contract, it's just shaking off for us. It's a little bit different than a brand new agent. But I think that there's also some really great teams at real that do take that brand new agent and like get them to a level of understanding so much faster versus just trying to do it on your own or just doing like part time coaching with somebody. Like there's definitely ways to really like amplify and speed up that process of like becoming really good really fast. But it has to, you have to find the right team to do that.

It's actually that is one of the things that I have done with two or three different agents is when they've connected with me about joining REAL and the team and this, that and the other. You know, there's some standards that I have. I can't take on new agents because it's not where my, my strength is as far as getting them to do the day to day things. The cool thing is, is I can bring them into my network in real. But then they've been referred to friends like Corinne Wynn. Some of the other teams are like, hey, go talk to this person. It's a great team. And those team leaders are happy to bring your real agent into their network. Right. And, and if you were more on the beginner side, I'd be like, well, you need to go to one of these teams to get your feet wet before the investment side of the business comes to light.

Exactly, exactly. So I think that for me, I'm definitely on this unique journey because yeah, I'm new to the business, but I'm not. But yeah, Corinne is awesome. She takes agents from zero to hero so fast. I mean, I've seen it, I've seen it at work. So. And that kind of brings me to another point of like why I thought REAL was like really a good fit, was there were so many agents that I wanted to be more like and that I wanted to learn from and it turned my head. It's like you see where all of these really successful people in real estate, specifically women, actually you've got, you know, Shannon, Gillette, Crinuin, like there's so many Spring Benson, like all of these amazing, strong, incredible women that like I, I'm, I'm gonna be like one of them one day. So aligning myself with where their, where their journey has taken them, it was a no brainer for me. So that's awesome. Yeah.

So what's the. You're in year one shaking the dust off. The market's a little bit on the shaky side. What is, what does your year one goal look like?

So my year one goal is to have six figure income, which, you know, that will be a first for me. I think it's definitely a stretch given the slowness that we've seen coming off of 2023. But the cool thing is that, you know, with the amount of time that I now have being full time, I really think that it will be possible. Specifically, I think the important thing that I want to focus on is referral and business from my own sphere. I think is a really great place start. And honestly, I never really let go of that network connection from when I Left real estate. I still kind of stayed up with it, at least on the friendship side of things. Obviously, I'm not asking for anything in real estate if I'm not selling, but now that I am, it's like really being more intentional with the relationships that I'm building because, you know, I want to have those authentic relationships with people that are going to help me to succeed and that want me to succeed and want to help me support them, that vision.

So what's. What do you think, like, where you're starting right now? You know, as we've discussed, I'm not a lead farm. Right. I don't have 9,000 lead sources generating the phone to ring times a day. Right. So what are you focusing on for lead sources? Like, what are your top three things that you're focusing on in this first quarter?

So I kind of already started a little bit of this last year, which is just creating intentional touch points with my people. The people that I know are gonna be on my bus, if you will.

So. The sphere.

The sphere. So, you know, last year I threw a couple of parties. And I say parties, but really it was just like girl hangs, right? Invited a couple of my girlfriends over and really just like enjoyed time together. It wasn't sales pitchy, it was just like, hey, come into my home, come spend time with me. I care about you, I love you, I want to be around you. And I think that that really kick started what I'm going to be doing for this year, which is just like intentionally reaching out, connecting with people, being more mindful. I think especially after Covid, like so many people got really disconnected from their group of friends because we were used to, you know, going out and especially in my age demographic, it's like we really lost a lot of those connections and touch points that we had had in the past. And so this year and even a little bit last year, like, I really wanted to have an intention to recreate those connections and strengthen those bonds with my people. Because really, at the end of the day, like, whether I'm successful or unsuccessful, I'd rather be surrounded by a bunch of people that believe in me, love me, and are along for that journey with me no matter what happens. And so I think that's kind of my priority right now.

It's building your tribe or your fan club and spending that time with. With those people. One of the things I think is interesting for people that haven't done real estate transactions, and I'd love for you to experiment with this, right? Because we're Going to keep recording these things. I think one thing that you should do that would be awesome, that's not adding value, but it's asking for information, is for all the people that have never done real estate with you that are in this database. I want you to call them and say, hey, I got into real estate. I'd really love to know the three things you hated about your last experience and the three things you love. Because I'm trying to improve.

Yeah.

Get some feedback from some consumers. And then, you know, you can also lead into. Can I send you some things? Right. Can I kind of go through that? But I think it's. I think it's a fun way to kind of start and go, huh? Six figure income. We broke that down.

Yeah.

Two categories. Because your investment into the company is different on both sides. Right. So there's the team one and then there's the. Your generated business. Right. So we kind of broke it down and because six figures is six figures you want to put in your pocket. So we've got to account for our splits and our investment in the team, those things. So we backed it out and we just did medium home price. I think it was 400 grand, two and a half percent commission splits out. And we calculated and just did an average of. And I think it was what, 12, 12 to 15. 12 to 15 and then a mixture. So as you're doing this and planning it out, make sure like don't just put out there. You know, I want to make $100,000 this year. Change the, Change the scenario. I will make $100,000 a year and then go break it down so you know where it has to come from. Right. Because if team leads only pay this much, but I can focus more on my sphere because it's double my income than I'm going to do here, but I'm also going to maintain over here. So just know where your lead source is and what your income derivative is from those sources.

So I think for me, my mindset works is like I want to try and accomplish that goal as much as I can on my own. Because it does make more money. Obviously I have a bigger split when it's my own lead. Anything that I get from the team I'm viewing as like bonus. That's gonna get me there a little bit faster. Cause it's something that I wouldn't have. It's not a lead that I would've had otherwise. And I think it's been interesting as I connect with some of the people that have been pushed My way, because some of them know you like you, trust you. Others of them are just sign calls that don't know up from down. And that difference is, is like you can tell immediately whether or not they know who you are.

Right.

Which I think is, you know, I think when you were out, I did two listing appointments, both of which had an idea of who you were. One of them, she was like ready to sign listing documents before I even showed up. Like she was ready to go. The other one wasn't so sure. And I think she was just, I think just really emotionally tied to her home more than what it was worth, unfortunately. But both were really great learning opportunities just to like get out in the field and go get experience. I think that's something that is probably the most invaluable that you can have as an agent that's either brand new or coming back to the business just at bats as many as you can even if you fail. Like, the more failures honestly the better because you learn so much faster that way.

Yep, 100%. Okay, so it's 2024, December, and we're sitting down in these same chairs and we're talking about 2024. So what, what is your vision? Like, what are you, what are you telling this audience and these people? Like, 2024 was, is, has been.

I mean, it's gonna be a wild ride. Okay. I think, you know, the last year was so painfully slow. I think on the mortgage lending side and on the real estate side. This year, I don't know, I just feel like this energy, this pent up energy from people that want to make moves that just really haven't been able to in the last year. And so I think ideally I would like to sit in this chair in December and say, not only did I help 12 to 15 families find their next home and purchase their next home, but I also want to be able to say, like, I influenced and shared my knowledge with, you know, 1,000 people or whatever it is, whatever that number is, to just help educate them on like what's happening in the market, like what is, like what's happening now. How does that affect you and your personal investments and in your life? Like that I think is also incredibly important to me.

So it's an rol. So it's a return on life investment and it's also an impact goal. Right? It's, this is the way I'm going to serve my community, my audience, you know, by you sitting down here and sharing your help. Serving my audience in turn will serve your audience. So we do live in a day and age where I think a lot of people are doing these things in order to help other people so they can see that one thing that might change a different direction or whatnot. And so it is important to have those shares no matter how fearful we are of other people's opinion. So speaking of that.

Yeah.

What is. So actually, let me go back. I don't think you really answered the 2024 question.

Okay.

Did you meet your goals?

Yeah. Hell yeah.

Did you exceed your goal?

Hell yeah.

What was the biggest thing, what was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome in 2024?

Who? Probably getting out of my own way. I mean, I'm, I, I'm sure other people can relate to this, but even honestly, in some of the opportunities that have presented themselves to me in the last six months, I can't tell you how many times my internal voice was like, nobody, like, what do you have to share with people? Why does anybody wanna listen to you? Those really horrible things that you would never say to anybody else but that you say to yourself. That is one of my biggest roadblocks. And I mean, obviously I'm pretty confident, but I think that even the most confident people can have so much self doubt and, and that can hinder their growth and really just those limiting beliefs that we can have.

Can't believe you talk about me like this.

I know.

Look, we all struggle with it. I don't care. The best of the best can tell you they don't. You still have to show up. You still have to bring your personality and all those things. And it can be a struggle and you can go in and out of phases of being super motivated to do it and discipline to do it. And there's other phases where you're just like, fuck it.

Yeah, I don't want to do it for sure. And I think social media really brings that into like, it's so much more clear when it happens too. Because it's like, man, I can't tell you how many times I'm like, okay, I know that I need to record video. It's literally my, my, what is the word I'm looking for. It's my obligation to be able to share the knowledge that I have on real estate and mortgage and all of that stuff with the people that I know and love. So if I'm not getting in front of the camera and sharing that with the people that are following me, then I'm doing them a disservice.

Somebody's not being impacted.

Exactly. And if I Could just help one person in one video.

Sure.

Then it's. Then I'm doing my job.

There's a ripple effect to it. You may never see the ripple.

Right.

You know, and we know that that happens. So. Okay, so let's finish up on this really important, because we've had a few of these conversations. How okay are you with this year with the challenges in these 30 day challenging you on things other than business?

What do you mean?

So your personal.

Yeah.

Your personal finances, because those are all part of, you know, had a very intriguing lunch with some guys and we were talking about coaching and how in the real estate space, it's just so much on lead gen and scripts and like, it's all this business stuff. Rarely is there this holistic approach to you being all around a good, complete person that's not pendulum swinging in one way or another.

Right.

Because I know you've made some health challenges for this year and some other things. Right. There have been shared commitments, which gives me permission to hold you accountable on those things and give you shit about it if you're not doing it. But this is one of those pieces that I think I have learned more so than anything in the last year is we have these teams and we do the sales meetings, we do the things, but there's very little focus on what's going on in people's personal world.

Yeah, I think that's so important to success, honestly. Like, you can be making tons of money, but if you're like incredibly overweight and not as active and not getting outdoors like that is gonna affect you mentally and then that's gonna trickle right into your sales eventually. Like, it really. I mean, balance is like fake. There's no such thing as balance. But I think that being really intentional about the different areas of your life to ensure that you're at least as well rounded as you can be and maybe focusing more on the things that you feel like you want to focus on for that month, quarter, you know, year, whatever that looks like. Like, for each person, I think that it's important to look at the other aspects.

I think I just, I bring that stuff up because I think it's very intriguing in the team or brokerage space. And there, trust me, there's some of them that are out there that are doing it well. But the majority approach, it's about succeeding in real estate. It's not about succeeding in life. And so there's a bunch of life lessons. Right. Like the amount of agents that I coach or that call me where they're not calling their own brokerages. There's nothing going on inside. As to, like, these different lessons, like, how do I set up an llc? I don't know. Google it. Right. Like, there's not a holistic approach to all those pieces, which is kind of what I'm trying to do, you know, inside my real network and inside my business here is to kind of go holistic on everything.

Right. And, you know, that's a really good point that you bring up, because when I was on a real estate team in the past, I didn't. I learned a lot. I learned I was. You know, I learned a lot about, you know, the negotiation, the contract. Like, I was dialed in on all that stuff. I think that what was lacking for me was financial discipline. I think that what was lacking for me was, like, the, you know, mindset. You know, there was a lot of things that, like, I didn't get out of that experience. Still helpful, and I think perfect for what. Where I was in my life at the time. But now, I mean, and we've talked about this, my word for this year is elevate. So it's like, I really already have this good foundation of, like, the basics now. I want to take that and build on it, and I want to make my experience better. I want to make my clients experience better. And the only way to help everybody have a better experience for me is to make sure that I'm in a good place first. Like, my cup has to be full before I can pour into other people 100%. So really focusing on those. Like, I know that I have challenges, you know, health, financial, whatever. Like, let's be honest. I came into this business full time, and I'm making $0 until I sell a house. So, like, there's. There's a financial, like, struggle there that. And this challenge that I'm gonna have to overcome as quickly as possible, because obviously, you need to put food on the table.

Sure, Sure. I know that That's. That's a fear. It's also a conversation that we had as well, which is, do you have some Runway?

Yeah.

Right. Because anybody that jumps into this business, like, with no Runway, it's a struggle, because you wake up every morning with that fear and that drive. And I understand it's supposed to be a motivation, but it doesn't stop the fear, and it doesn't stop the. I mean, look, I. As a new agent, when I worked with my parents, I mean, we weren't making squat for money, and both Wendy and I were licensed. You know, we Had a small salary and some gas money, weren't making commissions. And I mean, I knew what it was like to like get $200 from my dad to go to Food for Less to do grocery shopping. Yeah, that's been there.

Yeah, I've borrowed money from my mom to renew my license. Like, we've all been there. I think especially when you're younger and in the business and we're both second generation realtors, right? So like, we have that in common of like, you're working for your parents and you realize that, like, oh yeah, my credit cards are maxed out. I like have my renewals due. I have top ramen in the, you know, like top ramen and beans. Like, been there, done that. And so I think that really, you know, coming back into this as a second, second swing, really, I'd never want to be there again. And I think that's a huge motivator. In preparation to come here and be here full time, you know, I made sure all of my debt was paid off. Like, I have, you know, a safety net for like, okay, if I don't make money for the next six to 10 months, like, am I good? Yes, I have that. You know, having a partnership is really helpful in that planning for sure. Last time I did this, I was single. I was trying to do it on my own, you know, trying to be a strong, independent woman. Which only gets you so far, I think. You know, having the people and the support around you to be able to like really have your back while you make this transition to being full time self employed, no matter the business, I think is really an important factor that was missing the last time.

100%. That's awesome. Thank you for sharing. And I am looking Forward to the 30 day checkup to see where you're at in the first 30 days. And hopefully I have a contract. You will have a contract.

I'm going to have a contract.

You're fired. All right, till next time. You can follow Danielle. Where? On Instagram.

Danielle Zampino.

Danielle Zampino on Instagram and anywhere else, I think Facebook.

I don't know all of them, except I'm not on TikTok yet. I don't know if I want to go there.

Oh, we'll see, we'll see. All right, till next time. See you guys.

See ya.