THE SECRET TO MASTERING CONNECTION & CLOSING MORE SALES!

0:03 This is the Sales Playbook Podcast. I'm Dave Panazzo. We're going to talk about sales. Sales is something that is very near and dear to me. I got into sales in 1993. And since then I have learned so much over the years, and sales is something that is a unique, unique trade that a lot of people don't know about. Sales is all ages. As long as you can walk and talk, you can always do sales. Whether you're young, whether you're old, it doesn't matter. Even if you're just starting out, sales is something that makes the world go around. There is no ceiling on how much money you can make in sales, and I want to unlock that on this podcast.

0:47 Welcome to another Sales Playbook Podcast. I'm super excited today, especially because I have Dan White. Dan White is in the house, yay. I feel like I've got to get pumped up for your podcast, Dan. Well, you can do some push-ups if you want. I might do that later. Maybe we'll get the camera on you and see how many push-ups you can do. I'm a little tired. We were just talking. I had a good workout. Now I know when I asked you, hey, do you want to be on my podcast? You're like, yeah, I want to be on your podcast.

1:31 And then we were like, well, what are we going to talk about? I go, I don't know. We could talk about some old guy stuff, you know. So let's have some fun with this, because I feel, audience wise, there's all walks of life out there, all different age groups, young, old, in between. They don't know how old or how young they are. So let's have fun with it, let's share some stuff that we've been through, because I feel you know one thing that I've always learned in life I'll take other people's experiences and use them as my own. We don't have to go figure it out on our own like we did at the beginning, right? Yeah, you know, that's a really good point. You know what's the saying I'm going to butcher this, but I'm pretty sure it's a wise man learns from others' mistakes, a fool learns from his own, and so that's kind of why we're here today, right?

2:17 So we want to talk about things we've been through and things we see right now and what kind of the younger generation or people you know, even our age, who are doing this business because it's hard, you know, to do this business. It's not easy to be successful in real estate, whatever if you're in title, if you're in mortgage, if you're in real estate especially real estate right now, I think, is having its challenges, and I think, if you can just take from others experience, I turned 30 in the mortgage business next week, or in two weeks rather, and so you know, I think I've seen a few things right, and so have you. I know you build a very successful business as well, and so what have you learned?

2:58 What have I learned? I think it's a good topic, Good good, because again it all comes down to sales, right, sales, it is the lifeblood. What is it? One through five. I met Dave sales meeting the other day and and he's like, okay, I'm going to give you the five things you need to focus on to his group. Number one was sales. Number two was sales. Number three, four, five was sales, and and they kept you know, everyone kept wanting to give another answer. Yeah, and so the point is you always need to be prospecting and finding new prospects, right, and you need to know your operations and all those things too, but you need to be focused, right now especially it again like this.

3:41 You know, the last couple of years obviously have been challenging, right For those that got into the business, say in the last three to five years. They're like oh my. God, this is an impossible market. This is, you know, where are the good leads and when's the rates going to drop back down. And all this Because that's when they started. They started in a market that was 3%. You showed a bunch of houses, you lost a couple houses because you got outbid, and then you finally ended up getting a house, and so that's what they thought sales was Right. So, dave, let's keep this in perspective.

4:22 The first time rates got to 3% was when we had a massive housing crash 60,000 homes on the market, 10% unemployment in Arizona. Do we want that? No, that's the first time it got to 3%. The second time it got to 3% was a I don't know global pandemic and no one could go outside. You know I mean. So those low rates are not normal and we got this psychology after a while with realtors, customers, mortgage people that, oh my gosh, six and a half percent is so high. It's actually the historical average for 30 years if you take those two periods of time out of it.

5:03 So you know, it's about mindset and preparation and scripting and things that are really important to get that message out and communicate effectively. And again, you know, with us being more seasoned that's a nice way to put it. Okay, with us being more seasoned, we've seen some things over the years, so let's go back and set the scene. So we're Midwestern guys, yep. So Dayton, ohio. Give a little background on it, because you shared that when we went out to dinner I was like I didn't know that about Dad. Yeah, yeah, yeah, go ahead. So I grew up. I was the youngest of seven G. I grew up. I was the youngest of seven, grew up in Dayton, ohio. My dad was the assistant dean of the education school at the University of Dayton.

5:47 My mom was a music teacher at a private school. I was raised Catholic and my six brothers and sisters my parents have both passed away now and my six brothers and sister I am the youngest and we don't have a bad one in the group and we're a very, very close family and we all love each other and they're all great. The group and we're a very, very close family and we all love each other and they're all great. And so I ended up moving out to Phoenix. I want to say, well, I moved to Louisville and then to Phoenix and got started in the mortgage business in Cincinnati, ohio, and the morning my wife at the time told me she did not want to work if we were going to have kids. And guess what? The morning we started in the mortgage business, she tested positive for being pregnant.

6:33 She was pregnant, and so I was on straight commission and so it was a really interesting time. In my life I've never worked so hard or so passionately, and you know this. When the baby's born and they hand you that baby, if you're a guy, most of the time that motivation ramps up to here. It's funny because our kids now have there's babies coming and I watch the men now and they are like working twice as hard as they were twice, as hard as they were because you want to provide. So moved out here to Phoenix in 1998.

7:14 So, before you get into that, I want to know Cincinnati, skyline, chili or Gold Star? Well, I don't like either, but Skyline if you had to choose. White Castles are all right, but that's the thing is. Skyline Chili is kind of the deal. It's a take it or leave it taste. Yeah, it is All right. So 1998, you come out here. Come out here and came with the company that I was working for and within six months I just didn't get along with the boss and I met a title rep for Fidelity. Within six months, I just didn't get along with the boss and I met a title rep for Fidelity and he introduced me to a guy by the name of Jerry Craig and Jerry was building a company and Jerry hired me to run a new office he was opening up and we took that company from 30 loan officers to 133 loan officers, 22 processors, and I was in charge of four offices and I was in charge of the whole thing.

8:06 We were closing about 650 files a month, oh my God, and we were the second largest lender ahead of Countrywide Bank of America, and it was a massive, massive operation, wow. And we had some of the top producing loan officers and many of them own their own company now in town. And then, unfortunately, there were some things happening at the company and I had to leave. So I've been at various companies since and I realized the thing I love to do most is work with clients, and so I kind of got out of the management end of it and I work with clients and it's what I love to do Keeping it simple, right, yeah, keep it simple.

8:47 I love working with realtors. I appreciate the struggle realtors go through. I appreciate the fact that they're out working hard on the weekends, and that's why I work weekends, because I think if they're going to do it, I've got to do it. Yeah, there's nothing worse than when someone says I'll get back to you on Monday. Yeah, I'm busy, especially when it's after 5 o'clock on a Friday and you're like you're trying to get a hold of someone and they give you the old yeah, how's that like from the realtor end of it? Horrible yeah. Horrible. That's like being, you know, having an open-heart surgery and they're like well, we'll give you we'll pass you the gauze on Monday.

9:28 Yeah, you need it now, okay, so, yeah. So, so, like you've got a deal that you're trying to negotiate and it isn't quite the way, you drew it up on paper, right, and so there might be some adaptations financially, and that means mortgage that you need to do right. You got to fine tune some stuff. Yeah, when you're in the foxhole, when you're in the trenches in the foxhole and like the, the rounds are coming in the bombs are going off the germans are firing yeah you need. you need some help, you know, and and typically it happens either late at night or on the weekends yeah, and to us that that's, that's the lifeblood of being able to have a partnership with someone that you know can communicate at all times.

10:09 Not that we want to make it a best practices at 10 pm at night, for God's sake, because I'm sleeping and you're probably sleeping, but nonetheless we get up early. These things happen, right, these things happen. So, yeah, let's talk about yeah, what time do you get up? I get up one minute after you get up. My alarm is set and I'm gonna leave it that way because I think it's early enough. I get up at 4 30 am nice and uh. And yeah, my wife and I go to the gym, uh, we go to lifetime and fashion square in scottsdale and uh, so we go there work out out and yeah, it's fun. What have you found? Like now again, we learn as we, as we get older.

10:51 Yeah, okay, had you always been in a workout state of? mind. Or like what's, what's the fitness piece? I have to tell you. So my whole life I and this is really kind of important and I think it's hugely important because the fitness piece transforms your mind the endorphins and all of the health stuff that I'm not an expert at, but I know a thing or two and I've experienced a thing or two. So for me, what happened was about a year and a half ago. I was reintroduced to an old friend that I used to be in networking with and she was a keto coach. Her name's Carrie Camp and she friends had gone through her coaching program and it's keto-based, carnivore-based, and they just felt great and they looked great and I'm like, well, what do you do?

11:45 I'm like I'll call Carrie. I haven't talked to her in ages. So I did, and I got on keto, lost 30 pounds immediately and I was having a hard time losing weight. You lost 30 pounds. Yeah, yeah, I did, yeah, and, and I got to where, like I could not in my whole life, I could not work out without feeling debilitatingly sore. It just affected me. So I have to try to always overcome, and I did. I was always consistent with workouts but I never really made progress. And then I got on keto and it changed my life and I'm not oh, it changed my life kind of guy. It fricking changed my life. And, um, all of a sudden now I can work out six, seven days a week and I take a day off because I just get tired, but I get intense workouts and I have so much energy and I don't get sore and it's because all that inflammation went away.

12:35 And so I know you are like that too. Right, you did a presentation once where you showed your refrigerator with all your prepped meals in it, right? Yeah, that's how you have to roll nowadays. And again, for those that are out there that you're in your mid-40s or creeping up on 50 or even 60, listen, I'm telling you you want that boost in your business, you're going to have to do some self-reflection, okay, because, again, I'm 57, you're 57, right, 58, 58. So, listen, this shit ain't easy. When you get older, okay, and I'm going to tell you you want that lifeblood to be able to get to that next level.

13:16 It takes the sleep, the no boozing, the eating clean, watching what you put in your body, like these are all these things. Now that I'm, I'm realizing that this is giving me that extra edge yeah this is giving me the edge against the 30 some year olds or the 25 year olds well, you just don't have the energy to keep up. So you've got to do some things, like you got to cut the drinking down. You've got to, and we're in a culture that just promotes drinking all the time, but you've got to cut, and we're in a culture that just promotes drinking all the time, but you've got to cut that down, almost cut. You know I still have some cocktails on Friday nights and once in a while on Sunday, but that's about it. And so you know you've got to put it in its place, you've got to control it and, my gosh, you've got to get your diet right.

14:00 There is so much hidden sugar in everything. You've got to eat simple and clean and if you do that, like I love barbecue, I make keto barbecue right and it's it tastes great. Like my family doesn't even know that I'm serving keto. That's funny and that's barbecue sauce and everything. So, um, so you know, for me it's just the health part of it is super, super important. Yeah, and you know we work out so much now and I feel great. I don't feel sore and I don't feel like I have to limp into the office. But you know I was telling you I've got 11 pieces of metal in my body. I've got to replace knee or replace hip. I've got a rebuilt ankle and then the hip had three pins in it after I fell off a bike and broke my femur and then they had to replace it with a real hip replacement about 10 years later.

14:52 So I know a thing or two about surgeries, right, and they suck. Yeah, you don't want to do them, I hate them. So yeah, I mean more old guy stuff, take care of your body. That puts your mind in perspective and then you can go do business. And then guess what happens your attitude improves and you get your attitude in a place where you are just, you feel better and you're more positive towards and guess who can tell it? Your clients can tell it Well, and and again, and and I always say this whether you're male or female does not matter, but when someone looks at you and says Dan God, I haven't seen you in a while, you look great, what price can you put on that? Because it gives you you're like yeah, I have been working out really hard, yes, I have been taking care of myself and yes, it is work and energy and thought planning and so much more.

15:43 Yes, it's preparation. You know, you showed and it was just a really interesting presentation. You gave one at Fidelity Sales Academy and you showed where you were right and you showed a picture of yourself and I've got those pictures too. And then, where you are now and you're fit and you inspire people and you know that to me is is really worth something to your team, right? Because because they, you, you can communicate that and say hey, I was there and you can get here. You just have to commit and be prepared. And that's the thing you have to commit and be prepared well and again.

16:24 I mean, I always tell them I'm never going to ask you to do something I wouldn't do myself right. So if I was overweight, we had donuts at the meeting pizza parties every day in the office. But I'm asking them to step it up to a different level, that I'm not being a true leader, and so I'm like, well, all right, if I'm going to do this thing, I got to go all in and be true to myself, be true to the team and true to the people around me, because I want them, I want to give them hope, like, if I can do it right and you're 30 something years old, listen, you have more time on your hands. You, you're younger. You have more time on your hands, you're younger, you have more energy.

17:06 Unlock that piece and utilize it. It starts with you, right? You have a bunch of aspiring rock stars on your team and you've got some unbelievably great people there. And it starts with your mind and your mind and you get your body right. You get those things right, you commit to that, your business will follow. It will follow and you know your team is highly successful, by the way and I'm not saying this because I'm here, but they're just the funnest, best, thank you Greatest team to work with, and their attitude is always fantastic. But they're just the funnest, best, greatest team to work with and their attitude is always fantastic.

17:48 And it's because you spend so much time on it Really, you spend a lot of time on it, more than most teams because you know it's hard. Yeah, that's the hard stuff and you pull their head up and get the chin up and you pump them up a little bit. That's what you need. So I applaud you for it. That's what you need, yeah, so I applaud you for it. You and Kim as well. That was not paid. That was not paid advertising, okay, yeah, again, it's such a major piece in sales, yeah, feeling right, being fit, connection to God, all these things that people are like no, it can't be that.

18:31 No, that's too easy, but yet it's so hard to do. And be consistent. See the consistency thing that's, can I say. When you phrase it that way, you know what it makes me think. Then, when you're talking to a client, and maybe that client has challenges, what are you doing? You're looking for the good in the deal, and that's where those marginal scenarios become deals. And it's just such a and the best salespeople I know and I'm honored to work with a bunch of them at Fairway and that's where I watch these these men and women just find that crystal in there and they're able to accomplish that client's goal because they're seeing the positive in the deal and they're not looking for ways to turn it down or or give up on it.

19:22 Um, and it's not a hundred percent, but it's, you know that's. I think it's not 100%, but it's, you know that's. I think it's so important. And it just starts with your person, you know, with your habits and with your preparation. Well and again being being a true professional. What happens is is that you know when you first start out, you're like you're looking for the objection so that you can overcome it. Right, yeah, like okay, they said this. So now I know I need to overcome that by serving this word track up, or what I've learned, yeah. Your script, yeah From from the script or what my boss was telling me, or whatever the case may be, and see when you know you've gotten to that. Next level is when there are no objections, because you already can see where the conversation's going and you basically disarm them because you're able to talk it through.

20:12 You kind of know where that conversation's going to go, so you take the bullet out of the gun. They can't fire it and now all of a sudden they walk away going wow, that guy Dan is, wow, he, you know what, honey? He really made me feel good about what we're doing here. As far as this next level of buying a house or whatever the case may, be. You know, I I think it's about that conversation aspect that you just mentioned and it's having a conversation like it's your family member, whoever it is, and that's not always easy to do it. Really, for me it was a learned skill. It took me a long time because I always kind of had in mind, you know, I have sales goals and I have, I want to do these things, and so I kind of was always on in the back of my mind.

20:57 But as soon as you kind of let that go and you don't focus on your goals and you focus on what the client's goals are and you listen and you have that conversation and you draw it out of them and it becomes conversational. You have so much, so many better experiences with people. You're really finding what they want. And it's not easy, especially when you're new and you're just trying to make it. I mean, let's face it, some of these, these folks, are just trying so hard to make it and you just see it on their face and they're they're just trying so hard to make it and you just see it on their face and they're, they're just trying so hard. But sometimes the clients can tell you're trying so hard okay, so. So let's go back a step because, because, again, my my thing is when someone is is telling a story like, oh yeah, I went through this phase, but then I, you know I got it.

21:42 Let's go back to right before I got it phase, I know that that's. That's usually like that dark moment or that, or that time when, when you were kind of like on the fence, where did you find Cause? Again, listen, communication is the key to anything you do. I don't care what industry you're in, it doesn't matter. Communication and I think today, ai, texting, all the ways of communicating, it's, yes, super innovative. Okay, I'm not saying I'm a super dinosaur, like I can only talk to people, but how and when, I think, going back, when did you finally realize, oh, I can pretty much have a conversation and be able to help guide someone through the art of the sale, like, where did that light bulb, what was it?

22:37 I mean this is you know. I think I know the moment where things came on for me and I'll show that after you? Yeah, I want to hear that. But where? What was it? What was that breaking point? Or was it a seminar you went to or a book you read? Where, what was it? What was that breaking point? Or was it a seminar you went to or a book you? Read or did you just have a divine intervention and it you know. I got, I started looking around at my peers and I realized they passed me up and I kind of realized that they were doing better things than me and it kind of ticked me off. And you know, there's some God moments in our business there's no, without a doubt. And so I got a call from a woman who is promoting her, her coaching company, and she is a rock star in the business.

23:21 She's very well known. Her name's Cindy Ertman, and she called me and spent normally she would. She told me later she'd normally spend about 15 minutes with someone. We spent 45 minutes talking about it and I'm like no, no, I'm going to do this lead generation stuff and and. But the conversation just stuck with me Because what she was talking about was connection, connection to your clients, connection to conversion. Is her her whole program or was she's branched off and done many other things as well? But at the time I was like huh, that really resonates with me because I think that's the area I need to improve in. And so I ended up.

24:02 The lead gen didn't work. I ended up going and enrolling with her in her coaching program, which was not cheap at the time. I made the investment and my volume doubled because I was understanding that I was selling all the time instead of listening. And so once I kind of changed that I could be more myself, I could be more of my own person, my personality was able to come out, I was able to laugh with clients. And as soon as you get someone laughing and you know kind of, especially in a stressful thing like real estate, when you can get someone to lighten up, it's huge, you know. And so we look for those moments and then I'm like, okay, so I started gradually and that was in 2018.

24:47 And so then I mean, late in my career really, yeah, and I just I mean, I was always successful, always had good numbers, was always on the leaderboard, but I never could get to some of the higher levels and so and you kind of peak and valley in this business. You know it's hard to do it constantly for that period of time. And so I found that you know that really helped me and I know you know for you I want to hear that as well. But that was the moment. Well, as soon as I got into that room with 12 other high producing mortgage professionals and we were all kind of networking and telling our own stories. Then I was like okay, this is, this is a process that I can our own stories.

25:28 Then I was like okay, this is a process that I can thrive with. So that was it for me. Well, and again, a couple of key takeaways. And for those that are listening and watching surrounding yourself with other people that are at this higher level at first you're intimidated. I was. I was the lowest producer you're scared. Yeah, you're like I don't like this because I'm super uncomfortable, I you know. And then you second guess yourself and all this stuff. But see, you have to look at it in a way that those people were also in your shoes at some point in time. Too, right, okay, no one gets lucky Overnight. Success is usually 10 to 15, 20 plus years, okay, and so surrounding yourself and being in the rooms with people that are just high, producing or just you know, big, bad, uh, bad-ass, like entrepreneurs, okay, that stuff will rub off on you.

26:26 Sure, it will rub off on you. Get in that room, and I'm telling you that is the key to this. So, for those younger people out there, you have to get in those rooms with people that are doing bigger and better things than you. If you're the big man on campus in your little group of friends, it's time to kill that group and go find another one. And Dave, you know, the other thing that you can't do when you're in that room, when they're giving you their playbook, is try to invent your own playbook, Correct, and try to go off in your own direction. They're giving you. I've seen and in real estate it's such a misperception Realtors are some of the most giving people I've ever met Like they'll give their commission, They'll give their time, they give to charity, they support their local neighborhoods.

27:13 I bet I could. You could go on and on about all the things you've done over your career, and we could too but you know, when they give you their playbook or their recipe, oh my gosh, take the advice. Yeah, you know, do that. Don't adapt it and don't think that you have a better idea because they've built this huge career. I'm lucky enough to be in that room a fair amount and due to some of my connections and I just listen to these folks I love listening to, like your story and you know other other teams that we work with are just fantastic. So I want to know from you what was the moment you kind of had the aha moment. I think 2014. For me, this was pre-real estate 2014,.

27:56 I was at a point where I was you know another reinvention of Dave, you know 5.0 type thing and that's when I finally realized, oh my God, it's me, it's me. It wasn't that circumstance, it wasn't that person, it wasn't that business, it wasn't that sales job, it wasn't my wife, it wasn't my kid, it was me, yeah. And so I went through this whole thing where I got so psycho that I I went to Staples and bought a plain little journal, right, and it was October 1st 2014. I started journaling on how screwed up I was, okay, like I went psycho, okay, my wife was like what are you doing?

28:46 I go, don't worry about it, I'm going to get this figured out. And so, like my first couple months, like I can go back now it almost makes me cry. It's like I look at him like who was that? Earth shattering moments when you realize you're responsible for where you're at. And so that was my biggest like moment other than getting sober okay, that I've ever had and take in mind 2014,. I'd been sober for what? Eight years. So it's not like you know. I just got sober the other day and then started doing this stuff. Like you know, I had some sobriety under my belt and so I was starting to understand how to live life, and so on and so forth, but I still kept like pointing the finger and it was like shit.

29:31 I got to look in the mirror. It was me the whole time, but you had the desire to do it Correct. Correct, but don't you feel like that's the number one thing? Desire, and then blocking out the noise and letting that desire drive you. Yeah, but. But again, as I have found, it's very difficult for people to literally strip down to nothing and be vulnerable in the sense of like, okay, I'm screwed up, I'm having trouble, hey, can you help me with X? And see, that's the biggest thing that people I think they don't realize that it holds them back. They don't ask questions. Yeah, like I'm going to tell you right now, I wear people out, like I will question people to death.

30:19 Okay, because I don't understand and I will let them know. Listen, I'm a little slow and I'm a little old. Okay, I like to ask questions. So please don't don't take this the wrong way, because once I understand it, now I got it. Because, again, like anything in life, if you don't understand something and you go to the other person and go, oh yeah, okay, now I got it. Because, again, like anything in life, if you don't understand something and you go to the other person and go, oh yeah, okay, I'm good, and then you go over and you try something and it doesn't work, that is time wasted in my book. Why not ask someone? Hey, listen, I'm really hung up. I don't know how to talk to someone in this scenario. Tell me how you would approach this Okay, boom, boom, boom.

31:07 Oh, okay, so now let me go try that. So now you got to go try it. It's not going to work the first time. Okay, you're going to screw it up. You might kind of do it. And then all of a sudden you're like oh, I did get a different reaction this time. Yeah, okay, let me do it again. Hey, dave, so is there a better way to say it? Oh, we'll try this instead of that, and then you go back and you experiment and really that self-reflection. And then you discovered what about yourself, like what did you need to fix, or what was it that you, you wanted, you needed to improve on, I guess is maybe a better way to say it.

31:49 I think it was. For me, it was the ultimate accountability to all of it, Taking ownership in every single thing that I was doing. That's unbelievable Husband, father. Being accountable to myself is what I'm really doing. Am I being true to myself? Is what I'm doing really doing the right thing? And so that's when my fitness really kicked up. I've always worked out and this and that I've gone through all that. You know I was in the military. I was, you know, hard charging, all that stuff. But then you know the drinking, and then the getting sober, and then the reinventing, and then I was super overweight and it just got to a point where I was like enough is enough it was just like ah it's like I, you know, had to like run away from that old version and create the new version.

32:42 Yeah, do I want this? Do I want to be this way for the rest of my life or do I want to change? Did you try to change everything all at once or was it piece by piece? It's interesting because I listened to some people and they they say, don't try to tackle everything all at once. But you know, for me I like trying to tackle everything all at once. To me it's like, okay, I'm going to change everything and I almost become a little bit more laser focused on all areas of my life. Now I'll allow myself to have certain areas that I just kind of screw around with. But you know, there's when you say, okay, I'm going to get better as far as being mindful about things and being like focused on things and being focused on nutrition and fitness, and we're talking a lot about that.

33:31 But yeah, but you know also your job, your sales goals, your you know how do you achieve those, how do you get in the room and how do you create that networking opportunity and meet people. And you know we met through a mutual acquaintance, right? So I mean, that's how important those mutual acquaintances of yours are and you've got to go out and develop that. Yeah, yeah. And for me, obviously I have addictive personality. So guess what? Yeah, I, I probably went a little extreme, but that's me, you know, I, I would rather uh, jump out of the helicopter and like, let's kill them all. No prisoners and and go all in, knowing that I went all in Because I think that's important.

34:17 Yeah, you want to leave it? on the field. Well and again, life is life, right, right, and I'll butcher this up, but what do they say when you get to the pearly gates? You know, at that time you'll get to meet the real version of what you could have become. Okay, like I want to know that. I went all in. Yeah, like, all in, like you, you were true to you. Yeah, so when, when I went and did my coaching thing, I wasn't all in and that was my thing, I'm like I'm kind of underachieving, I know I could do better, and that's when I go through you peak in valley. When I get to the valleys I'm like you're not doing your best. But now those time periods are shorter, right, because like I hit a rough spot in 23.

35:02 And I just my mind wasn't right, you know, and so you go. And then one day I fixed it and it was literally like that. I just said it's you, it was the same thing, it's you, it was the same thing, it's you. You're the problem. It is not the market, it is not anything else. There's plenty of opportunity out there. Go get it. And so since then you know we're up, we're up, we're up 50% year over year and we'll be up hopefully another 25% to 30% in 25. So that's, you know, that's and I know what it was. But I do have that tendency to allow myself to kind of wane from time to time or let the attitude get bad.

35:43 And you have to, you have to correct yourself. It's a constant thing. Yeah, and and. Again it's kind of like the angel and the devil sitting on your shoulder. Okay, and what happens is you start to buy into the BS lies. You're telling yourself, yeah, and then all of a sudden you get the spiral and it's like it can happen out of nowhere. Yeah, okay, and so okay, so he said something pretty key. There he goes yeah, I had a shorter, the timeframe gets shorter. Right, okay, I'm able to pick myself out of that quicker, gets shorter. Right, okay, I'm able to pick myself out of that. Right and and. And here's the thing like when you're younger and newer at this type of approach, those gaps are going to be much longer.

36:26 Right Okay, and more difficult, oh my God, because. Because then what happens is you really stew about it, and then it's like you almost go underneath this rock. You start beating yourself up. There's no grace that you give yourself. You know, I mean you're gonna lose in in this game once in a while. It's, it's very similar to sports. I mean you're gonna, you're gonna lose some games and you, you know, when you lose you can't act like oh my gosh. You know the whole system sucks, it's just I lost and go play again and we have a saying on the team, like when something goes wrong. I'm like did anyone die? Yeah, no one died in mortgage today. That's what we used to say they're like what are you talking about? No one died because of this mistake, right, right?

37:08 Well, no, you got nothing to worry about. And they're like God, I'm going to kill Dave. Here's the thing. No one wants to hear that being in that grateful state of mind okay, will take you so far. And people don't realize that, like there are people this morning that did not wake up, that their families are sad, there's regret, there's all this stuff because someone didn't wake up. Today we have a choice. We woke up. Today we can go all in and change someone's life. So you have an interesting, and you know there's all sorts of podcasts. Mel Robbins does a great one on this too. But tell me your morning routine, because this is you've told me before, but share with us on that because I think it's.

37:54 And then I'll tell you mine, because it's similar actually. So the alarm goes off at 429 and the phone is in the bathroom. Because what I have found? If that cell phone is on the nightstand, there's a 99.9% chance that I'm going to hit the snooze button. So I eliminate the snooze button by putting the phone in the bathroom. Now, next to the phone is a big, tall, like a 30-ounce glass of water. So I hit the alarm off because Kim doesn't get up for another. Usually she gets up around 5.15 or so. So I drink the water and then my gym clothes are laid out right there.

38:38 So then I have to put the gym clothes on. Okay, so now it's been what? Three to five, six minutes, like I'm up, like there's no. Oh, I'm going to go sneak back into my warm bed and get a couple extra. And then what I do is I go in the kitchen, I pray, I do my affirmations, I have a five-minute journal. Sometimes I'll journal, I'll do some freelance journal type stuff, not every day, just depending upon usually at least once, twice a week, and then I'll maybe read like five to 10 pages Boom, now I can start my day, and then what I'll do what time is it after you? So if that's 430, so by 530, by 530, between 530 and 6,.

39:24 You know, I'm pretty much wrapped up and what's interesting is sometimes like I'll get like a boom, like, oh, I think I've solved it. You know, yeah, and I'll do like a little. I think I've solved it. You know, yeah, and I'll do like a little whiteboard sketch, because I listen if you don't have a whiteboard at your fingertips at all times you're missing out, okay, so I have this whiteboard that sometimes I'll bring it in the kitchen. So I'm sitting at the kitchen counter and I got the whiteboard. I'm doing my thing. Cam will come around the corner. I'll be like babe oh, my God, just I know you haven't had your coffee or anything and she'll look at me and she'll be like hold on Kim.

40:10 his wife is the same. Okay, it's like hold on a second, you're coming in really hot. I missed about every other word that you've said. Let me drink a little coffee. And then I'm like a little kid. I'm like you know that. Remember the cartoon? It was the big bulldog, and then there's a little dog that would jump around. Hey, hey, hey, you want to go? That's me. I'm like, oh my god, when is she gonna going to wake up? Are you done over there, are you? done over there and I'm like I've got to show you this. Oh, that's funny. And so that's my morning routine and then typically I'll take off, I'll go to the gym, say around. I'll leave the house between like 6 and 6.30.

40:55 Go to the office about 8,'m plugging in at my desk. I've already been responding to emails or text messages and stuff like that, and then it's just. That's really the kickoff to my day. But I'm already. The juices are flowing, I already have the momentum Right and I've already stacked all these wins before I even step on the playing field. And you've gone so far because this is all about preparation to me You've gone so far as to lay your clothes out. You've prepared lunch, you've got lunch ready to rock and roll, so you know you're going to eat healthy, you know? I mean, it goes that far. It goes like Sunday for you is probably a day where you do all that prep work and basically you set yourself up for your week, and so I'm similar.

41:41 I get up at 4.30. You always beat me by a minute. I'm going to start texting you. I told you that, but I'm going to start texting you. Do 4.29. 4.29. It's a game changer. I might go 4.28. One extra minute, I might go 4 28 and just all shit, fish you off. I might have to up you though. So anyway, I uh, I'm up, we, I go, and I'm kind of a financial nerd, I know, um. And so I go watch cmbc every morning because I love the show, and so we'll go get coffee and, uh, we leave at about 10 after five to go to the gym, and so we'll go on tuesday, wednesday, thursday, mondays I take it easy on myself, it's normally my rest day, but and then we'll go work out Tuesday through Sunday, and I try to get there on the weekdays at five by 530 and work out, come home, eat breakfast, shower, get to the office at around eight, but it's the same thing.

42:31 I've got about a half hour to sort of chill and get my mind right and start thinking about stuff, and yeah for sure. But I love the journaling, I love the whiteboard. You need time during your day to do that. Sometimes, when I come home from the gym, I'll do that for a half hour. And so because for me, I like, I like to kind of go to the gym in a semi coma and wake up during the workout because it's like, okay, yeah, now your blood's flowing for me, then it's easier to think but um, that's the deal. Yeah, so it's preparation for me, for you and for me. Yeah, I mean, you've got to have that laid out, and I think you need to have that laid out on sunday. It's, that's the rest of people, people don't you do what Right I go.

43:16 Let me tell you, okay, I would much rather take that hard Okay Than to choose another hard of winging it. Last minute choices, you know, eating the fast food stuff, burgers and fries, because it's easy. Always frantic, not knowing what's next, like I used to operate in that mode, so I know what that feels like. It's almost like the feeling of being 15 minutes late to a really important appointment. That's how your day is all day, and so for me, the preparation piece that's part of the lifestyle, dave.

43:57 That's how your day is all day, and so for me, the preparation piece that's part of the lifestyle, dave. That's really psycho. That's like you know what Guess what it's working for me. Yeah. You know, and I will tell you you know, you start comparing dollars and cents of high earners compared to low earners. They get up early. There's a big difference there. They're prepped. If you're checking in okay. If you're checking into a job okay and checking out of a job, you have a different mindset. You're just checking in, checking out, checking in, checking out, checking in, checking out, like I'm checked in.

44:37 Okay. So you talk about this once in a while and I love this topic you talk about okay, what kind of mindset do you have? Do you have the job mindset or do you have the entrepreneur mindset? And we're here with Tyler and Tyler oh my gosh, I got to talk to him for 15 minutes before you were here and this guy is an entrepreneur I think died in the wool. But talk about that because you made some great points about a week ago to where you were saying hey look, when we look to hire people we really want to delve into, do you have the entrepreneur mindset or job? mentality, yeah. So here's the thing you know until you can be the most unbelievable employee, you're never going to make it as an entrepreneur or a business owner or whatever it may be okay.

45:33 And so let me go back. So as simple as you go in the bathroom and there's a piece of paper towel on the floor, now job mentality typically it's like, eh, that's someone else's job, the janitor will get that, or I'm not picking that up, I didn't drop it. Ownership mentality is oh, there's a piece of paper on the floor, let me pick that up. And so when people change their mindset and they go all in ownership, they got to go all in because you have to have that ownership mentality. Now you can still have ownership mentality and have a job.

46:18 Is your car perfect on the inside or is there a bunch of wrappers and it's dirty and you haven't washed it in months? If I walk into your home, is your home nice and tidy and organized? There's no dirty dishes in the sink. Your bed is made. The carpet's been, you know, cleaned. There's no weird dishes in the sink. Your bed is made. The carpet's been, you know, cleaned. There's no weird stuff laying around Like it's a showroom right Now. This is where people get really hung up on this, though. Well, it's my home, I mean, you know, I get up in the morning. I have my own freedom. I can do what I want, I'm going to mess up my bed. Yeah, Okay, I'm going to mess up my bed.

46:58 Yeah, Okay, Well, if you can't be accountable to yourself and your surroundings, how are you then going to be accountable and run a successful business? Those two don't go hand in hand. Now again, there may be some haters out there. Oh well, Dave, I'm a multimillionaire and you know I make a ton of money and I don't do any of that stuff. Okay, Well, what if you did, could you make more money? Or or be more focused, or whatever the case may be? I, when I started, we were in Phoenix. I was in an office on the West side of town and I was running the branch and um and I had a processor and she had papers all over her desk and I was stuck with this processor and my loans closed late and there was always something missing and I always had clients complaining.

47:43 You know, there was a lot of paper in those days and so I always had clients complaining that they had to resend stuff. And it was organization. Isn't that amazing. I changed processors. I changed processors. Who was someone? You go to her desk and you could have eaten off her desk, you know, and, and absolutely everything changed in my career. And so it's organization and those types of things. While you do have the freedom to operate the way you want, it is just incredibly important if you're, if you're trying to be successful, it's the habits of it. Again, it's not trying to always do things your own way. Sometimes it's taking the recipe that other people can give to you and trying it on.

48:29 Try it. What do you have to lose, right? I mean, there's nothing that you can lose by establishing habits like that, and I think the more people do that, the more like. I own my own business within fairway and fairways, the fourth largest lender. I'm a w, two employees. I am an employee because that's the way we have to do it on our end of things, but I only get paid what, what we close, and so I look at deals as if I'm that borrower and the way I would perceive me. I try to always think of if I were in the borrower's shoes. How do I, how do I perceive me?

49:09 And I would want, if it's me, the person who is doing my loan to be very organized. If it's me the person who is doing my loan to be very organized, I want that person to give me very clear information and I'd want to be comfortable with the process and the numbers, right, right. So decide what you would want if you were your own client and then try that on and say, okay, you know, if things are disorganized, is that the way you want to present yourself? And if you know you're being disorganized or you don't have all the information for somebody, stop, get the information, make sure it's accurate, and then so it really is important.

49:50 Preparation. I mean preparation for life, preparation for your finances, preparation for your health. Spiritually, physically. Exactly, especially when it comes to your business, is incredibly important 100%. We've talked about a lot of good stuff today. We have. I think? I think we just burned through about an hour or so, did we? Yes, well, all done. That's what happens. All right, so real quick. I want to ask you what? What are your business predictions for real estate this next year? What you see is what you get. Tell me what you see is what you got. I think we're going to flutter up and down and all around that.

50:30 7%, maybe, maybe down in the sixes Rates are more important than they've ever been. I mean, I don't see any major changes. And so you know, you take the last six months, just forward that for the next six months and there's your game plan. I don't think, I think there's a lot of hope right now. I hope things get better. Hey, I hope the rates stop. You know an interesting thing that I see we're up year over year and actual units are down. You're up year over year we talked about that and overall, units being sold is down. Why is that? There's a lot of people leaving the business and the organized teams with structures and organized individual realtors with structures and ways to get business.

51:19 They're prepared. They basically are in a position to succeed and get more business, not less. You know this is not going to match our best years, but you do have potential to grow from where we've been over the last couple of years and I think it's just really important. What we were talking today, I think, is just crucial mindset, preparation, being organized, being you know, getting your life in order and getting up at 429. Yeah, 429. 429. 428. Now, all right, we're gonna have to have you come back again. Yeah, man. Maybe what we can do is, within the next six months, we'll come back and do a little recap on what we thought the prediction was Right on, for sure, for sure.

52:07 Yeah, listen, if you enjoyed what you saw, please hit the like button, subscribe and, as always, let's make it a great day. Subscribe and, as always, let's make it a great day. This is the Sales Playbook Podcast. I'm Dave Panazzo. We're going to talk about sales. Sales is something that is very near and dear to me. I got into sales in 1993. And since then I have learned so much over the years, and sales is something that is a unique, unique trade that a lot of people don't know about. Sales is all ages. As long as you can walk and talk, you can always do sales.

52:48 Whether you're young, whether you're old, it doesn't matter, even if you're just starting out, sales is something that makes the world go around. There is no ceiling on how much money you can make in sales, and I want to unlock that on this podcast. So stay tuned.