Episode 2: Progress Over Perfection

 Success in real estate isn’t luck; it’s built. In this episode, we sit down with David Burton, a top coach at Keller Williams, to break down the mindset, systems, and strategies that separate struggling agents from top producers. From overcoming fear to mastering consistency, discover why coaching might be the ultimate shortcut to building a thriving real estate business. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello and welcome back to our new podcast. This is one-on-one with Austin One. I'm KT Temple, your host. And I've got an incredible guest with us today. He is the coach extraordinaire for the KW Austin Wine Offices. And it is David Burton. Thanks for joining me, man.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Hey, KT. I'm thrilled to be here. It's great that you're doing this.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Oh, I'm excited, man. And I'm excited that we got to have you on. We were talking about, you know, what is the big value of joining Keller Williams? And one of the obvious answers was the incredible coaching department that we have here and that you're uh leading for us. So we wanted to have you on and just talk about what benefits uh this coaching group does for our agents, especially getting our new agents launched. And so we just wanted to have you on to talk about it. But before we talk about that, we want to learn a little bit about you first. So talk to us a little about your career journey.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

It goes back a long way. Um I started in title, and actually before that, no, it was mortgage. So I was in mortgage, I was in mortgage banking and mortgage lending. And then I went into title, I went into education, uh doing online delivery method for real estate training. From there, I earned my real estate license, was rookie of the year for Austin Board of Realtors, was uh platinum top 50 in instructor of the year for the PT50 and Realtor of the Year for Austin Board of Realtors, on top of all that. But the accolades are great. Fundamentally, what it came down to was I got into teaching because to me, I needed to get realtors to work with me as a lender, so I learned all about the business. And in title, the same thing, I was providing a lot of services to get realtors into the business. And then somebody said you should be a realtor, and I was really anxious about it because I was like, I don't really want to go back and take more classes and go back to school and do all of that. And I was petrified of having to take a test. So fast forward, I've got my broker's license, I've run an office, I've owned an office, and I was not with Keller Williams originally. Uh been with them now seven years, and I think that the the big difference is everybody's looking to go do real estate, and Keller Williams teaches you how to do real estate, but as a business, and that's a big difference. Yeah, and uh all the things I struggled with as an agent and all the things that I saw agents struggle with, we have it because that's who the that's our core. I mean, that's Keller Williams' core, is helping them understand what it means to have a PL. You have to have a business plan and being committed to your goals. If you could if you want to do one deal or grow and become a mega team, either works, but if you're gonna do it half-heartedly or not seriously, um you won't you won't succeed.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

Yeah, a lot of people think they get into this business, and in one, sometimes they think they're getting a job and they quickly learn, oh no, I'm I'm actually running a business. This isn't just I show up to work, clock in, clock out. And then I think a lot of agents get into this and think they're gonna get all this freedom and time and money, and they again slowly realize, oh, I'm working more than ever now. Um you kind of find that that to be true.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Oh yeah, it was it was true for me uh as well. I was I was in hospitality and was like, I don't want to work weekends anymore. Let's get into real estate. Yeah, and so yeah. And so I think yes, the the the freedom's there. Um, the joy of that is because you've got an entrepreneurial calling, um, drive. I know Gina Ron, who's one of our top agents uh and runs a uh mega market uh mega agent office uh out of Steiner Ranch, he'll ask, he's like, Are you willing to work half days? And everybody's like, Oh my god, real estate, half day, I'm in. And he's like, No, a half day, sun up to sundown. And it it really is, if you can commit to the work and put it in on the front half, build your models and systems and get your business down, uh success leaves clues, and and KW has the clues to help you with that, then you can set your ticket, and then you can take the month off once a quarter because you've got your models and systems and your business in place.

SPEAKER_00 5:03

So before we get into like the interview, I I want to talk about coaching. Tell us about what your group is and how it functions.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

So uh when I joined Color Williams, I was asked to lead the productivity program at the Lake Travis office, and we had about 170 agents at the time, and then we grew that to just under um 300. And it was leaning into again the roadmap of what's needed to do the business, and uh when you're comfortable um and you become more competent at the skills and the tools and what's required of you, you're more confident and and people hire competence, and that's where that comes in. And so I think a lot of agents get into it and they're really nervous, but most of them are doing it as a second career and coming into the business, and they forget that they have all this business acumen and that it's there, and they just have to tap into it to bring that out, and that's one thing with the coaching program is I I've had so many people sit there and say, I can't do this. They're like, I I raised kids my whole life, and I was like, You negotiated with people, um your children and your spouse, you ran a budget, you planned schedules probably better than anybody. And I was like, you're just bringing that forward. And and if you have the passion to help people and serve them, that's that's all we do. We wake up unemployed every day as a realtor, and we also don't have a job uh unless we can solve somebody's problems. And that's what we do. We solve problems.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Yeah, I think a superpower that parents have that they take for granted is their ability to manage a calendar and how important that becomes in real estate. I mean, if you can become the master of your calendar, you can you can crush the business.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Absolutely. You you you it's amazing how quickly you realize how much time you have when you really do manage your time.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Or or how little you have sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Well, yeah, you're well, you can realize it, you know, there's a difference between being intentional and being busy.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And that's it that's a really important thing, is is I I think me and Jen talked about it last time. Was every time you're saying yes to something, you're saying no to something else, and seeing that on your calendar uh is really eye-opening and can be really helpful to people.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

It is, and and that's I love coaching agents and in helping them self-discover. I'm like, yeah, you were busy and you held, I don't know, how many appointments and gone on so many open houses, and yet you haven't set and and converted a client from a you know a customer or a person to a client. And a lot of it is their mindset. They they don't know what they don't know, they don't know what they're gonna do next. Oh my god, I've got a client now, what? And so helping them go through that process, helping them understand it, and also letting them know that they have the power of KW behind them and the experience and the expertise there through we have four amazing brokers that help us in the greater Austin area with with our offices. Um, we have a team of just talent that is here that supports them and holds them able really to be successful.

SPEAKER_00 8:50

So I'm glad you said mindset because that's kind of the topic that we wanted to talk about today. And so let's let's start off with this. So KW often says they're a coaching and training company that happens to sell real estate. Why is the distinction so important for someone starting on day one?

SPEAKER_01 9:09

You earned your license from the Texas Real Estate Commission. Great, now what? And like I said before, Keller Williams has models and systems to allow you to be successful rather than just getting out there and trying to figure it out. I know agents that from many years ago were handed a phone book and said, just start calling to sitting down and going, okay, look, let's really look at this. What does lead generating mean for you? Um what are your strengths and your personality? Keller Williams has a wonderful class that Gary wrote in Six Personal Perspectives. And mastering yourself, um, knowing what you're really well at and getting good at that so that as you learn these skills, you can do them better, faster, quicker. And that all happens because of the mindset and because you're mastering yourself. And and you get there faster because KW has those models and systems.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Yeah, we there's a there's a picture, you see it all over Taylor Williams' walls. If you go to the offices and it's it's just a triangle, and all it is, it shows you the foundation, and then you can be creative. And I think what your coaching group does a really good job of is helping people find that foundation. There's a hundred and fifty thousand other KW agents with the same goal as you to sell a whole bunch of houses. And so, how do we tap into that and build on that foundation for each individual's business?

SPEAKER_01 10:49

It's and the foundation's the key part. It's real easy to get into creativity and step away from it. And I think the agents that get it, the ones that are the most successful, are the ones that realize the monotony of doing the same thing every day because you get better faster, quicker. Yeah. But it's the same thing with making the donuts. You wake up to go make the donuts at the donut store. They don't get creative with their batter. They don't get they don't do anything special. They do the well, they do put sparkles on it or sprinkles, whatever. But it's it's the same recipe, the same time every day. And in real estate, the same thing. You have to build your database, you have to lead generate, you have to work on it and get the foundations down.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

Every time I do the printer, I don't get it, doesn't seem to work. So I don't I wish that was true about printers. At least it's true about real estate.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

What's the what is the number one limiting belief you see new agents bring into the office? And how does your coaching program help them shatter it in the first 30 days?

SPEAKER_01 11:57

I'd say that most agents they're scared because they're like, I'm brand new to real estate. And they're like, they're gonna know, uh like they're gonna ask me a question I don't know. And I'm like, well, take a deep breath because every real estate transaction is different, every human is different, and so Lord knows we've gone through the changes um the last in the last year and this year. Contracts are changing again. I'm like, that evens the playing field. So a brand new agent with a new with an experienced seasoned agent, they're still having to learn all new contracts and all new laws and all new forms, and realizing that, yeah, you're probably gonna get a question that you don't know. And the answer to that is that's a great question. Yeah, and being okay with it, we don't have to be right. We we try so hard to look good and be right rather than just being there to help them solve their problems, and so getting the mindset down and knowing that we're we're not perfect, we want progress over perfection and we want to show up and be there for them. You can read about real estate, that doesn't teach you the skill set to connect with them and to help them when they're going through a divorce, um, they're excited about getting married, um, they're needing to expand their house because they're having kids. Uh I've had, I know I wouldn't say the fortune of it, but I've I've helped three people sell um houses because they had suicides in them. There's all sorts of things. You can't learn that in a book. You learn that from from being human. And that leaning into that with our agents and helping them realize that it's more than just answering the questions right, it's it's good connectivity and building the relationship. Yeah, we can teach book skills.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

I think I get I heard Gary say at one point like the definition of a professional is they'll tell you what they know, and if they don't know, they'll go find someone who does for you. Yes. And that's the same thing right there. And you know, there's a lot of stuff in real estate that you're never prepared for. Uh exactly. Yeah, and you're just until you get that first deal, that we can only you can only listen to us guys talk on a Zoom for so long before you gotta go out there and just try.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

True.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

And there's and through our systems, we also teach you though, how to practice conversations around it's not even practice, it's it's helping you understand the market so that you can see the trends. Uh, what's happening with so you're informed with what's happening in Steiner Ranch as opposed to Lake Way in the hills or downtown Austin. Each little area is different, and if that's where you're gonna focus in on or you're gonna help clients on, then you've got to be able to master it. And and we've got the expertise to help you understand what that roadmap is for it, and it enables them again to build their competence, and rather than having to do it on their own, they're doing it in a group, they're doing it with seasoned professionals, and they're doing it in a way that makes sense for moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

I have one more for you. In a role of DIY YouTube tutorials, why is having a dedicated KW coach still the cheat code for hitting six figures early?

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Uh, and I do use you do use YouTube, um, but mainly for music. And so it in the DIY world with everything, um, the difference is coaching gives you accountability. It goes where you won't go. When you show up and say that you didn't do your lead generation, you didn't follow up, you didn't do the things. We figure we we sit down and talk about, and it's not a judgment, it's okay, what needs to be different so that you do, because if you don't and we have and nothing changes, then where are you? And for a lot of people, that means that they can't make their mortgage payment, or they they are gonna, you know, not be able to keep their kids in maybe a private school, or they're not gonna be able to have them in soccer or whatever that looks like. But it it's asking the stuff questions, letting them sit there so that they do have the results, they do move faster. Um the accountability is I they don't always like it or enjoy it. I'll say they don't they don't always enjoy it, and yet I think those agents that really produce at a high level um lean into it the most because it it means something that somebody else is caring about what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

It really does. And just to this this business can be very isolating. And to have someone like you to be an anchor point for them, just to even bounce ideas off of, and just to know, like, you know, I some sometimes it's business, you just need to know you're not crazy. And to have someone there to go to, I think is so important. I also think it's it's real important to say, only about 20% of agents in in so once they get their license two years later, only about 20% of agents renew their license. And so these first two years are so important because it determines if you are going to stay in this industry. And I think if you don't have a coach and you're floundering, you're wasting precious time to build a business inside of this industry.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

It's it's incredible in Texas, it's 180 hours to earn uh your real estate to sit for the exam and to do it, and yet you can turn around. And I've um I have an agent right now that I've I've been coaching since October. She's had her seventh closing uh this year. Uh I've got another one that just did his largest transaction, it was his third, and it was a million seven. And so, you know, you look at that, and he's on track if this other transaction, it's a she, not a he, but uh just did uh gets this ranchette under contract. I was like, she will exceed what she was making as a school teacher, um, and we're four months into the year. She will up, she will have already made back her salary plus plus that. She's on track if she's actually have it, we'll have it doubled probably by May, what she was earning before. And it's it's that that's inspiring and powerful. And I mean, I I hate that we don't pay our teachers more, but I love that she has that uh ability to be able to go out and earn what she wants to based on what she's willing to do.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Unfortunately, we can't help change teachers' salaries right next to me. But if you get a real estate license, we can help you, we can help you out a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

True.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Yeah, true. David, any final thoughts or anything I didn't ask you that you wanted to talk about today?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

I think that if you've ever thought about doing something and you've put it off, getting your real estate license, leaning into something, uh just go for it. You you I'd rather do it and bail at it and get up again than not do it at all. And I think that if you can just not worry about looking good all the time, um, and just doing that, doing what is take what is needed to or what needs to be taken, um, it takes to do it. That was kind of a messed up sentence. Uh then you you just do it.

SPEAKER_00 20:25

So David, I have exciting news. Attention spans have never been shorter in the history of humanity. So even if you do fail publicly, guys, no one's even gonna remember anymore. There's too much going on. You know, take a risk. Nobody cares. Nobody cares. Go out there and crush it, give it a shot. Anything else?

SPEAKER_01 20:46

I just if you're thinking about real estate, um, come and talk to us. We've got scholarship programs for new agents. We have great programs if you want to be an individual agent or you want to build a small team, you want to do one deal or you want to do a hundred, uh we can help you. That's fundamentally what it comes down to.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

David, if somebody's curious about joining your coaching group, how would they get in contact with you?

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Uh dBurton at kw.com.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Awesome, man. Thank you so much for your time, David. Guys, I want to make sure you get on your calendar. April 28th, Agent Empire. We are going to have a ton of great guests, and we even have Jay Papazan, the uh co-writer of The One Thing, uh coming to our event. So, again, that's April 28th, Agent Empire, and that is at the Austin Board of Realtors. Uh, we will see you guys next week. If you found this episode helpful or entertaining, you just you just like listening to me and David talk, please subscribe, leave us a review. Uh, it really will help us out a lot, get in front of more agents, help change more lives through uh through this podcast and through these conversations. We'll see you guys again next week. Thank you so much for listening.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

Thanks, Katie.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

Thank you, David.