Jeff Turner and I finally connected.
I have been looking forward to talking to Jeff Turner (of RealEstateShows fame) for a few weeks now. We spoke briefly on Twitter and via email, but I knew (for some reason) that this was a conversation I needed to have. I respect Jeff, think he’s funny, and know that his name carries some weight in RE.net circles. He’s just one of those people who’s reputation proceeds them. So I was looking forward to chatting a bit about RealEstateShows and maybe chat a bit about nothing at all. And that’s exactly what I did.
Jeff is in sales.
Jeff is a businessman, just like the rest of us. He has a service to sell us all. He needs business to keep his company going. If all agents said “no,” his company wouldn’t be successful. I’m sure he would still be, but his company wouldn’t. So he needs to sell to guys like me. He needs to convince me that his product is better than the rest and worth every penny. I’ve stated before that I’m cautious with the cash, so you can imagine how I wouldn’t want to spend money on his product. In calling him, I fully expected to get a sales pitch of some sort, maybe not the typical high pressure sales pitch, but one none the less. At least a few words about his product and what it could do for me.
Jeff blew my mind instead.
I think we did mention RES once in our hour long conversation and I think I brought it up. Instead we talking about everything else. Real estate. Sales. Social Media. People. I wish I had recorded it all and I even suggested that he tape calls like this one, so that he could sell them as “coaching.” I was inspired to say the least, so I asked him permission to blog about it.
The nuggets of wisdom I got from Jeff.
I don’t have a photographic memory, so these aren’t quotes, but rather ideas I walked away with. We spoke a lot about the tech vs. human side of sales. Tech is a means to generate the human side, but can not replace the human side. Its a tool we can use to bring people close to us, but with out speaking/seeing/touching them on the human side, we will never get to know them, trust them, and work with them. We talked a lot about Twitter and how some people don’t get it. I recently removed an agent who’s online tweets involved what he was willing to pay for referrals. On the Twitter side, the most important thing Jeff said was that sometimes you need to listen on Twitter, more than you need to talk. Listening will lead you to knowing when to join the conversation. Listening will allow you to join and have something of value to say. We spoke at length about the “hard sell.” We came to the conclusion that it does work. Its not for him and its not for me, but it does work. Otherwise, it would have fallen by the wayside years ago. On a side note, Jeff and I came up with a way to generate $50,000 in a few days, but neither of us cares to implement it. We will not share our secret to success, because we don’t believe in the method. He spoke a lot of passion and because of that, we spoke of my musical background. Its one of the reasons I left. I had lost much of the passion for it. I have a new passion – real estate.
The results?
After an hour, I was sold. Not on RealEstateShows, to be honest, I was already sold on the concept. What I was sold on was that Jeff Turner was a man I could trust. I know now, through that one simple phone call, that I can call on Jeff for advice or opinions. That if I needed to bounce an idea off of someone, Jeff would be there. Jeff impressed me and I will always remember his name. Our tweets on Twitter will have a new meaning, not just “oh hey, there’s that guy @ResPres.” I know I have a friend that I can rely on.
Now go back and read this entire post, but replace Jeff’s name with your own and replace RealEstateShows with “real estate.” Imagine this is your client’s post about you. Do you see how conversation is more important than the “sale?” I’m sure most of you do, but it really hit home to me in our conversation.
And guess what I did?
Yep. I signed up for RealEstateShows about five seconds after I hung up the phone. I’ve already whipped up two shows and I don’t plan on stopping there.
Matt…. I could have written that post myself earlier this year. I had to bring up RES to Jeff when we talked… and I had to even ask for the information on how to sign up! Jeff’s presence is unique. He is highly respected. He listens intently to people. I’ve come away feeling great each and every conversation/connection I have – in person and online with @ResPres.
If you can take away a tiny bit of what you conversed about – and apply it – you’ll come away with Success.
this is why every time a tweet from agentG. I come running It always has good well written blogs and something i can take away. Matt I like the way to talk.
may be, I should start proof reading my own comments before posting.
I love Jeff.
We all have a lot to learn from Jeff and it has to do with the human side of business. It blows me away that everyone that meets him absolutely loves him (me included) – maybe it’s something in the water in Santa Clarita….maybe we can bottle it!
I work for Jeff and he’s that fabulous all the time. It probably has to do with living with @headmutha.
Matt; Not surprised that you found Jess as engaging as I do (and everyone else).
And I appreciate you guys not raising that $50,000 in “just a few days” by selling my autographed photos for 10 cents each . My wrist would ache from all that signing.
;-D
BTW Jeff is easily as engaging as Jess (the character from Full House played by John Stamos)
@Jim Whaley “I feel your pain”
Who is Jeff Turner? LOL
Matt, I saw your Mission Trails show and immediately I began to envision show’s I could create.
I had this same experience when I met Jeff in October. His passion draws you in and makes you as excited as he is about his topic – no matter what it is. To have that type of impact on people – well, it would be incredibly satisfying.
I just got done bragging about Jeff and Sarah and RES to some office members yesterday at a brainstorming / training session. I told everyone there to please, take the time to read the RES blog, and fully explore everything that you can do with Real Estate Shows. My broker ended up signing up for an office account last year with Real Estate Shows – everyone in the office loves it – and I’m proud to tell others about this terrific product of Jeff’s. Jeff is a genius.
Wow, that’s a lot of positive stories about Jeff. I’m sure he’s a bit red after reading through it all (he’s not much of an ego-maniac I gathered). I really should have ended the post with this:
So take an hour of your day once a week. Connect with someone you speak with on Twitter or in other social media circles. You never know what you might learn. Take what you learned and apply it and you just might come out on top. I’m always open to talking with other people, I’ve been surprised at how much I’ve gotten out of my relationships with people all over the country (and outside of it) so far and I can only imagine how much further it will go.
Bill – Your autograph is worth at least 76 cents a piece (had to throw in some Philly-love with the price). Also, John Stamos is fascinating, but he’s no Jeff Turner. Weird connection to John Stamos and your/my former city – I saw him 4th of July one year play with the Beach Boys on the Parkway. That was when he went through that huge Beach Boys phase. I was just there for the Yuengling.
I might have to meet this Jeff Turner person.
Jeff Turner is a Freak of Nature
I had a feeling he was something of brilliance when on his bday everyone changed their twitter avators to his face. THAT made me start looking into who the heck he was. I’m impressed! With Jeff AND your post, very well written! Kristin
Jeff is an icon! I can’t wait to meet him.
Matt, Jeff has a cult following for the very reasons you mentioned. He practices what he preaches.
[...] My Date With Jeff Turner (agentgenius.com) [...]
I just fell in “Business” love with Jeff myself yesterday, am VERY HAPPY to finally be a realestateshows user and I have the widget on both my website and blog. Jeff’s a real true nice guy and I for one appreciate it!