TRANSCRIPT:
SLOPER: So I then had this whole epiphany. I just randomly took a phone call… I have always been big into studying and learning and reading and listening to the radio and things like that. I just happened to… I don’t know if I was on a mastermind call or whatnot, but it was an opportunity to basically start my own radio show. So in 2010, let me get this right…
FLETCHER: Let me pause you right there, real quick, because I want to make a couple of very important points. You talked about being labeled. One of the reasons that I talk about failure in real estate and why most agents fail is because they are labeled, they are stereotyped, but not in the way Sloper was in being real estate agent versus loan officer. It’s really in the fact that, you are a real estate agent which means, you are a telemarketer, you are a car salesman, you are a politician and you will do anything to buy the votes of the voter.
And so there is it’s very negative perception and reputation that you get labeled with. And so as a result, you are hated before you arrive and distrusted before you speak a word. That’s the biggest obstacle to success in real estate; it’s overcoming that gap.
Now the second thing is in real estate, if you can achieve authority, you made it, you are done, I mean, it’s magical. But the one thing more so than anything else that kills authority is public begging. Again, another thing that Sloper said. So the question you have to ask yourself, always, and this is like a litmus test, “Would Donald Trump do that?”
So Donald Trump is this person perceived as this massive authority in the business world. “Would Donald Trump do that?” And if the answer is “No,” then you shouldn’t be doing it because it kills your authority.
So this segues into my next point, which of course is, Sloper getting into radio, take it.
SLOPER: Okay yeah, so I figured that in order to elevate my status, in order to become an authority on any subject or business for that matter, you have to position yourself properly. And I figured this is a great opportunity. Everybody else was saying that they were creating radio shows out on the West Coast for mortgages and real estate. I was like, “You know what, I feel like I could really position myself as a real estate expert in northern Virginia, DC Metro area and I will start a radio show.”
Now keep in mind, I didn’t know a damn thing about radio. Not a clue! But I just said I’m going to do it and I’m going to figure it out on the fly. And I have always had that mentality where it’s kind of like, “Say yes and worry about shit later.” And that’s kind of what I did with this show. I had no idea how it was going to go down, but I did know that I was going to get to tell everybody that I was on CBS radio.
So one thing I knew, I didn’t really know anything else, other than I was going to be able to go around and tell everybody else that I was on CBS radio. That I got to go down to the station in Fairfax Virginia, that was right on Main Street, where everybody knew this station sat, where the sports junkies LaVar Arrington, Chad Dukes, all the big names where I got to meet them. I was always hyping up myself and saying, “Hey, if you ever want an introduction to so-and-so…” But that’s a much different play than saying, “Hey, I worked for US Realty partners, a family owned US real estate brokerage, you probably should come talk to me.” No!
The questions I then got were, “So what do you talk about on your real estate show?”
Well as a matter of fact, all you have to do is tune into the program that comes on between 10 and 11 on 1580 AM CBS right before the Dennis Miller show.
FLETCHER: Quick question okay because I love the authority aspect but, what was that first… Because I thought about this before, I have always been fascinated with radio. And it took me a long time to even get comfortable to do this show. I mean, you are super critical of yourself always whenever we go into a new venture. Whether it be the spoken word, whether it be on video, whether it be live to potentially thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people, you being in the DC/Virginia area.
So what does that… You walk into the studio, first episode, what’s it like? First show?
SLOPER: Oh, it was terrifying man! I honestly thought I was going to pee my pants. I felt like, you know how when you get nervous and your hands get all clammy and then you feel like you’ve got to run to the bathroom three or four times you know what I mean? So I am sitting and I had no idea what to expect.
Well, the first thing that made me extremely nervous is the board operator shows up basically five minutes before the show starts. I am there an hour early, like reading over my notes, like ready to go. So I am pretty much squirming. He doesn’t show up before five minutes and all of a sudden he is pointing at me like, “Go!”
So I start going and I am just like talking. I ended up having a guest on that day. So it was, I believe, one of the other real estate hosts on the West Coast. So they started this whole syndicated real estate show across the United States. So I had one of the other show’s hosts on, Craig Sewing, which if anybody follows Craig Sewing, he is still doing radio shows out on the West Coast, he is fantastic. I mean he, literally, has positioned himself in the mortgage industry as the “go to guy” and it’s no surprise why. Because he started with radio. I think he has a daily show now. He also does TV shows and everything else.
So I have Craig on and the show is going along, I am asking him questions. He’s actually helping push the show forward, because I don’t really know what questions to ask, and it’s like an hour radio show. It’s no joke! Like I could sit here and do and hour podcast, no problem now, but an hour radio show when I started, it felt like it was going to be 24 hours.
There came a point in the middle of the show where like, I just ran out of stuff to say and I just basically went silent for three minutes. I am live “on air” and the board op is looking at me like, “What the hell is he doing? You’ve got to talk.” He’s holding up notecards and saying, “Just say something! Say you’ve got to go to break, say something! You can’t stop talking!”
So of course I felt like a fool and I am thinking to myself, I probably told everybody and their mother that I was going to be on radio that day. So everybody is tuning in to hear what the heck I’m going to say. So completely scary man, I felt I fell completely on my face.
At the end of the day, though, I felt like I accomplished something. I was on the radio, I did it. How many other people would have the nerves and the balls enough to just step up to the plate and try? And that kind of… That launched me right there. I was actually pumped because it was like an adrenaline rush.
After that first show I was like, “You know what? It wasn’t so bad, I got through it. Now let’s just make it better.”
FLETCHER: Okay. And so you got into radio, you started to establish authority, you changed the conversation from, “By the way, do you know anybody who is thinking about buying or selling,” all the traditional real estate stuff, that again, kills authority. And now you’re talking about being on the radio, tune into… And of course you can make a call-to-action on your radio show and/or give out CDs or send MP3s, everything to establish authority.
What does your business look like now? Just a brief overview. Do you have a team? Do you have an agent? How many agents do you have? Do you focus mostly on buyers or sellers? What are the key components?
END: Listen to the full episode here. Or Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
LINKS AND RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:
THANKS FOR LISTENING/READING/INSPIRING ME!
Thanks again for all your support! If it has helped you in any way, please share it using the social media buttons you see on the page. And comment below…
Additionally, reviews for the podcast on iTunes are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show and I read each and every one of them. You could even win a FREE Agent Marketing Syndicate® T-Shirt. Just head over to iTunes, leave us a review. Then send me an email with your review, attached. Every 5th review is placed into a drawing to win. That’s a 20% chance of winning, about 7.9 millions times better than winning the lottery.
And lastly, if you have any questions (or would like your comment or feedback to be aired on the podcast), head on over to AskFletcher.com – to record and send your message to Ryan!
Don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates.
Thanks again for the conversation. I look forward to our next, on the next episode of the Agent Marketing Syndicate® Podcast!
Talk soon… speak up 🙂
