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[Podcast Transcript Using Artificial Intelligence]
Umar Hameed 0:01
Are you ready to become awesomer? Hello everyone! My name is Umar Hameed, I'm your host on the No Limits Selling Podcast where industry leaders share their tips, strategies and advice on how you can become better, stronger, faster. Just before we get started, I've got a question for you, do you have a negative voice inside your head? We all do, right? I'm gonna help you remove that voice and under 30 days guaranteed, not only remove it, but transform it. So instead of the voice that sabotages you, there's one that propels you to much higher levels of performance and success. There's a link in the show notes, click on it to find out more. All right! Let's get started.
Umar Hameed 0:41
Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of the No Limits Selling Podcast, where we talk to leaders not only about selling, but more importantly, that human element, how do we get our people to let go of their fears, so they become awesomer. And today I have Raymond Chin joining me, Raymond, welcome to the program.
Raymond Chin 0:57
Thank you for having me, Umar. Thank you very much.
Umar Hameed 1:00
So you're in the nation's capitol, not Washington, DC, but Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. How long have you been in real estate?
Raymond Chin 1:07
I've been licensed since 2008. And I've been a full time agent ever since.
Umar Hameed 1:12
So from 2008, what were you doing before 2008.
Raymond Chin 1:17
I was actually working as a sushi chef once I graduated university and trying to get my life together to go on to my next career, which was essentially supposed to be law school, but financially couldn't go any further. So I decided to get my real estate license at that time, it didn't really take too much time to do.
Umar Hameed 1:38
Right.
Raymond Chin 1:39
And it's a field where you know, "sky's the limit" and you're your own boss, you design your own times. So serve in the past life. I was a student/restaurant chef worker and now here I am.
Umar Hameed 1:53
Excellent. Let's go back to sushi just for a moment, because that is like exquisite detail. So in a normal bar, the bartender is like part psychologist, part provider of drinks. So the sushi relationship with somebody sitting at the bar, is it similar? Or is it different? Like do you become? Do they tell you that?
Raymond Chin 2:15
That's a great question. Somewhat similar, we don't actively sell alcohol on the bar then. So in terms of them having a few drinks, and then opening up, it's quite different. And and nowadays with COVID? Obviously, I can't imagine how that would work with someone sit in front of you, if that's even permissible. But during that time, people would be very intrigued on how do you make sushi and normally, they'll have two-three friends there. And they're generally caught up on their conversation rather than speaking with us, they just want their food.
Umar Hameed 2:44
So with sushi, this is only a guest because I like the girly-sushi dishes like Sashimi is the most exotic that I get. But there needs to be precision when you're making sushi, number one, you're dealing with knives, and number two, the dish, if I can call it that has to be precisely what it is. It doesn't sound like there's lots of room for messing up, is that a true statement on my part?
Raymond Chin 3:10
That's correct. It's a very discipline, type of work. And you're you're dealing with a lot of raw materials as well. So in terms of cleanliness, having discipline on how to work with the foods you have, that enabled me to bring on those disciplines into life in general, and also believe in a nine to real estate up until today, in terms of how to discipline yourself how to do things a certain way and maintain that consistency.
Umar Hameed 3:42
Absolutely. And that's where I was heading out to I was talking to a coaching client a couple of days ago, and he is incredibly successful. But he was going back to, "Hey, I need to do open houses," for two reasons, number one, you can make money at it. And number two, that you model the behavior you want the younger agents to do, doesn't matter how fancy you get, you need to do the basics every day. And certainly prospecting for him is between 10 and 11 o'clock every morning is a religious thing that he does. So sushi allows you to have the discipline you needed. What was the most surprising thing when you came into the real estate industry of what you thought it would be versus what it actually was?
Raymond Chin 4:21
Just that sense of rejection growing a thick skin that you need, especially being a newbie people see right through you, because they'll ask you certain questions. And the most typical one is, how's the market? That's generally a test of, you know, what kind of agent are you and of course, they are generally intrigued on what's happening on the market. And I would stumble along the way and, and give answers that were not of as value. So that was sort of the fear in the beginning, not knowing how to connect people in that sense when they know you're a real estate agent, but unable to give that sense of value.
Umar Hameed 4:56
Excellent. So what one of the first lessons you learned in real estate, let's say the first couple of years that you still hold on to today.
Raymond Chin 5:05
That's a great another great question, I would say, do what you say, and especially in a timeframe that you promised it. So if you tell a client, you know, Tuesday 2pm, I'll have that CMA ready for you, make sure it's ready, and that you're properly prepared. This is the biggest asset that you're dealing with anyone, doesn't matter if it's 100,000 or 100 million, this is their, one of their biggest assets. They want to make sure that they're dealing with someone that's confident, and most importantly, that keeps their work.
Umar Hameed 5:34
So Raymond, everyone that's listening to this as like Doraemon, of course, you're gonna do that, but the reality is, agents don't, we don't outside. So people have the best of intentions, and you work with other realtors and you employ realtors as well. Why do you think we do that, that we rationalize being late? Because we know we shouldn't do that, but a lot of people end up doing it. So what do you think the psychological issue is that allows people not to keep their word?
Raymond Chin 6:00
It just goes back to the discipline where every day we're distracted, even, especially in this day and age, we're in with the phone, the phone is the major distraction here, where we're bombarded with so much information where we put priority other priorities in priority. And then it the first that priority were supposed to get to on a later date, because you were distracted in the middle of it. So when I'm mentoring agents, always let them know that whatever you're doing at that moment, finish that task, unless it's something life changing, or it's gonna affect someone whether it's gonna die, of course, you want to attend to it. But if it's something that can wait another five minutes, or even an hour, or later on, do it that way, or else you'll lose all structure.
Umar Hameed 6:44
Absolutely. And so you're minding your own business, and you're doing real estate, and you did it for probably around about 11 years before you brought other agents in. So tell me about your career, how you progressed, and what were the learning lessons along the way. So your first year, how many transactions did you do?
Raymond Chin 7:04
I grossed a little over 100,000 my first year and I think I did about 20 transactions in a city where I knew no one, this is capital city of Ottawa, I was born and raised in Montreal, came to came to Ottawa didn't know anyone so I started building my sphere here. And one of my sphere...
Umar Hameed 7:22
Hold it for a second, first off, 20 transactions, your first year is huge. So tell me how you progress from there on?
Raymond Chin 7:30
Just learning the processes of what it takes in this business. It's not rocket science, real estate, selling real estate is not rocket science. It's all about consistency, and doing the right things over and over again, and of course, evolve over time as new tools come in. And, and old tools that don't work, well, should you keep them should you, is there a better form of that tool, you're always constantly changing. So I'm a strong believer of evolving your business and never staying complacent. Unless there's no new tools out there that you should be using, I'm always open to trying anything.
Umar Hameed 8:05
Brilliant. And one of the problems that you hear is people want to, I'm gonna take a timeout there just for a second, I'm not sure if this is true, but this is the way I heard it. The franchise subways, when they do sandwiches, somebody had wants to ask, you know, who's more successful, MBAs are farmers being a franchisee, and they said the farmers kick the MBAs butt because all the farmers do is follow the process to the letter doggedly. And the MBAs are like, "Hey, I got a better way. I'm smarter," and I think what you said was very much do the basics, do them consistently do them well, learn from your mistakes and that's the pathway to success. Not going, I don't need to cold call, I don't need to do this, and trying to be clever than the industry giants.
Raymond Chin 8:51
I agree with that. There's no shortcuts in life. You look at all the successful people in our Earth, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, if you look at their backgrounds, it's all hard work. And a lot of them have came out of strong adversity to get their, get to where they are today. And I had a calling in, in my career, where I was at a very low point. And from that point, I told myself, never again, I will get myself out of this. And any time I feel lazy, or I try to defer it on a different day, I'll remember that time. So I find everyone needs that sort of aha moment and never to forget about that if they start getting lazy or complacent if you want to do better.
Umar Hameed 9:33
Absolutely. In this moment, did it come in your real estate career this dark moment?
Raymond Chin 9:37
Can you repeat that question?
Umar Hameed 9:38
That dark moment you spoke about, did that come in your real estate career or previously?
Raymond Chin 9:43
Correct. It came in my real estate career. So what happened was after my first year, I knew nothing about personal taxes, and I didn't follow taxes. And when tax season came, just put it this way, I owed a lot of debt and CRA the Canada Revenue Agency, they shut down all my accounts, I had no access to money at all. Even though I made a six figure, commission income that year, I pocketed nothing. And I wonder what was going to do? So I called up a friend I actually met in Ottawa, we don't know, we haven't met very long but no, but we've connected very well. I gave him a call. I said, "I need a favor, I'm in a bad situation. CRA closed all my accounts. Can you lend me a few $1,000?" He goes, "When do you need," I go, "As soon as possible." So within hours, he lent me $5,000. And I can swear to you from that 5000 got to where I am today, I'm still very, very good friends with them, I still remind them from time to time, I will never forget what you did for me. And after that moment, here, we are.
Umar Hameed 10:49
Brilliant. And what's kind of interesting is everyone, everyone, everyone, everyone is going to face one of those dark moments. And you can do one of three things and is biologically hardwired. First thing we all do from rabbits to humans is freeze. And from that freeze moment, we need to figure out whether we're going to fight like hell or run like hell. And I think for people that come to it, it's either you cower down and basically go into defensive mode, or you learn from the lesson, then you move forward. And I think that's what leaders do. That's what winners do is move forward. And one of the ways to move forward is this is number one, realize you're falling down. Number two, take a deep breath. And that's all it takes is take a deep breath go, Raymond, do with me just take a deep breath in [breathe]. Because the only thing you control in the entire world absolutely is your breath, and just taking that deep breath and going, "Okay, what do I need to learn from this experience." And what I teach my clients is what's the smallest, tiniest thing I can do to go in the right direction. And whatever that tiny little thing is, take that step. And just by taking that step, it gets you unstuck and you start moving in the right direction. So I'm glad you had a friend that stepped up. And dear listeners, dear viewers, that there is more kindness in the world than you realize that people are dying to help you, all you need to do is to ask, and when you're asked upon, is to help people that need it as well.
Raymond Chin 12:14
Agreed. And that fight and flight moment that I had, I could have just gone back home, go live with my parents wherever the case is. And I said, "No, I'm gonna fight, I'm gonna fight," I can go any more lower that I can think of, and ask a friend who I don't know that well, but we connected very well, and see if he's willing, to willing to help me out. And he didn't even question it. I actually didn't tell him what it was for, until after all he knew is that I needed that money. And he just says, "When do you need it now," and within hours gave it to me. And I put that to heart and still puts me to tears every time I think about it.
Umar Hameed 12:54
Oh, nice. So we're gonna give him a round of applause for stepping up. So you're minding your own business, you're running your career, and you're probably looking around at other agents that have teams. And so when did you realize that you want to build a team? And what was the first tow in the water, we tried to figure out how to get a team started.
Raymond Chin 13:14
There's so many dynamics of how a team is structured. And I think what I've learned for myself at this point in time is what are you looking for? Are you looking for more freedom? Are you looking to manage, there's just so much of a dynamic. So myself, it came to a cross full cross crossroad, where my business is purely referrals, but I get so many leads that I don't really nurture or take care of, and that I would want someone to nurture and take care of those leads. And as well, if I want to take some time off, I can leverage time with that agent that's part of my team, instead of an agent that's in the office, can I trade your time for time? Can you take care my agent, my clients while I'm gone? Having that one agent, one partner, I will call it a partner is that we can exchange time in that way, where if they need help, and it still keeps it within that pot. And I'm also helping that agent also grow their database. And essentially, she has her database, we have the RC and Linda database and then we have the Raymond Chin database. So that's worked out very well in correlation to the two assistants that I have. But without veering off topic is it got to a point where I had an overflow of business for quite some time, which I sort of neglected. And I said no, we shouldn't neglect this business. And what's a good way to capture that business and grow from there.
Umar Hameed 14:39
Nice. So you can go to any networking event when we used to have live events, throw a rock and hit for real estate agents. So how do you articulate your difference from the rest of your brethren?
Raymond Chin 14:52
I would say stay humble. Stay Hungry. This business brings a lot of especially with live stream TV, how real estate agents operate, a lot of people get caught up with, because we do deal with a lot of money, get caught up with that aspect of real estate and which is why I've never had aspirations to grow a big team, I grow as it becomes necessary and as long as we can handle it. So I think what distinguishes us is we're very, very personal, with with our clients, we have an understanding of what their needs are, and where it's really not transactional. So those leads that we've, that come in that I didn't handle before, I'll transfer it to, to my partner, and then my partner can see if a connection can be made there. Because of the business I've built is by referral only. So there means there's a connection there. And the way I handle is much different to what my partner how she likes to cater her business. So it's a very good dynamic where we have good opposites, which creates a good synergy there. So I think that's what makes us different as a team where we're able to handle at least those two different spheres, with of business and with clients.
Umar Hameed 16:09
So two things come up by number one, one of the most successful airlines in the world is Southwest Airlines in the US and I think they sort of go international. And one of the things they used was, we have one flight from Baltimore to Idaho. And when that starts consistently filling at 80%, we're going to add another flight. And so they kind of grew organically and sounds like that's what you did is how you're going to grow as the need arises and not try and force it, which is a really good strategy to use. But here's the second thing that comes up is when somebody does business with your company, there is a look and feel to the transaction with you, how do you balance it when you have another agent that has a different vibe? Like you need to keep consistency, but you also want people to be unique? So how do you manage that dilemma of keeping a brand and also letting people be individuals?
Raymond Chin 17:03
The partner that I have, she made it very clear that she doesn't want any branding, she doesn't want any recognition. She just wants to sell real estate she goes, "Raymond, you I'm I like to be partner with you because you have the branding, you bring in the business, I don't want to chase after leads, I don't want to build the leads, I want the leads after you filter through you to come to me," to it's just a very unique synergy we have...
Umar Hameed 17:29
Nice.
Raymond Chin 17:29
...and we actually have a third agent as well, with a different synergy, which I was not actively looking for but it just makes sense for us to do so. So it's all about having the right personalities that form the mold of the what I would like to call the RC brand.
Umar Hameed 17:48
Brilliant. So Raymond, before we part company, I've got two questions for you. Number one is, what is a mind hack, a technique that you use to be more productive or more successful that you'd like to share with our listeners and viewers?
Raymond Chin 18:03
Have a good morning routine. So I'm up around 5:30 every morning, the first thing I do is I live in a student's two story house home, go downstairs and I drink, I would say these cups of water about five, and it's cold, that image immediately structure system and it wakes you up, then I have a cup of coffee or tea and then I start to work. So once I'm up from water to coffee to my office, it takes about five minutes, my brain is activated already. Then from 5:35 to about 7am I'm assigning tasks, I'm sending out messages, because no one's really contacting me at the time. So when clients wake up, when when my team wakes up, they'll see that there's already things ahead of time and I'm ahead of the curve.
Umar Hameed 18:49
Nice.
Raymond Chin 18:49
And then, and then at 7:30 I go for my run and from 7:30 to 8am I always listen to a podcast or listen to news. And no one disturbs me during that time, but it's a way to just stay calm. So are my meditation area time from 7:30 to eight. And then I normally [garbled] in about four to four and a half kilometers. 8am, I'm back home I always jog outside, doesn't matter the weather, snow, rain, there's no excuse I have the gear...
Umar Hameed 19:16
Sunshine? gonna go and sunshine to nothing's
Raymond Chin 19:18
Yeah, of course. And then from 8am to 8:30 I finish off my routine by lifts, pull ups, push ups in between that time that's when messages start coming in. So I start replying messages in between sets 8:30 I stop. 8:30 to 9am is when I spend time with my family, getting the kids ready. And then from nine to 9:30, I get myself ready shower and then get my suit on and then I generally take appointment starting at 10am, 9:30 I generally have to transit, right? So always stick to that routine and it prime's my day. And I never yeah, I never get tired throughout the day and my energy last until I fall asleep.
Umar Hameed 19:55
Brilliant. And last question, what's a book you'd recommend that people read?
Raymond Chin 20:00
Don't read many books tell the truth. I do follow people on online. And one of those people I follow is Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary Vee. He speaks to a lot of truth about what's happening today, not specifically about real estate, but the mindset on how to carry your business and how to speak with people in order to build our business. Although it's not real estate directed, there's a lot of qualities from it that will help you compel into this industry, at least for me.
Umar Hameed 20:30
Brilliant Ray, thanks so much for being on the show. It was a great conversation. The one thing I wrote down was, Stay humble. Stay Hungry, is Words To Live By.
Raymond Chin 20:40
Thank you very much, Umar.
Umar Hameed 20:41
Cheers.
Umar Hameed 20:47
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to iTunes and leave a five-star rating. And if you're looking for more tools, go to my website at nolimitsselling.com. I've got a free mind training course there, that's going to teach you some insights from the world of neuro-linguistic programming and that is the fastest way to get better results.