Ep038: Meet Stephanie Dobler, ROOST Real Estate Co’s Newest Agent

Chris McAllister: Welcome listeners to the Connect Practice Track and Grow podcast. I’m your host, Chris McAllister, and I’m here today with my marketing partner, Laci LeBlanc. Good morning, Laci. 

Laci LeBlanc: Good morning. 

Chris McAllister: Today I’m excited to introduce our listeners to Stephanie Dobler. Stephanie Dobler is a new agent with us here at ROOST.

She actually started at the first of the year, so Stephanie, welcome today. 

Stephanie Dobler: Thank you. 

Chris McAllister: So we wanna talk to Stephanie today about. How she is laying the foundation for her long-term and successful real estate career here at ROOST. And we’re gonna do that as we always do when we have a, an agent guest of honor, is we’re gonna sort of talk through that in terms of connecting, practicing tracking and growing.

So, Stephanie, if you would, why don’t you just kind of give us some background personal story. What, what got you interested in real estate, all that good stuff. 

Stephanie Dobler: Okay. Um, so it’s kind of interesting. Um, we actually had a flash flood at our house, um, in 2022. And we actually lost our house completely. We lost everything we had.

Um, so we had to sell and buy unexpectedly. Um, and because everything was damaged, we had a lot of people coming on the property. Um. Without, like coming with a realtor. So, um, I ended up interacting with a lot of these people and the real estate agent that I had, um, told me, he said, I think that you would be really good as a real estate agent.

You, you’re good at connecting with people and the way you talk to people. He was like, you should look into it. So I was like, okay, I’ve been a stay at home mom for a little while and that would be something good to get me back into the workforce. So I started the schooling and here I am. 

Chris McAllister: Wow. So did you rebuild on the lot that you already had?

Stephanie Dobler: Um, we had thought about that, but I think it gave me too much anxiety ’cause I just didn’t want that to ever happen again. So we ended up just selling it for cents, basically. It was, it was not good. But we ended up moving, um, very close to our old house actually, but it’s away from the creek. 

Chris McAllister: Okay. Wow. Yeah, I didn’t even know that.

So, 

Stephanie Dobler: yeah. Thank you. 

Chris McAllister: So tell us, how did you, how did you, uh, find your way to, to, to ROOST? 

Stephanie Dobler: Um, so when I was taking my exam, um, one of my best friends was watching my daughters, and she was in the process of selling her house, and Priscilla was her agent. Um, and she spoke so highly of Priscilla. She’s actually helped them, I think three times now, buy and sell.

Um, and she just said she’s the best in the business. You would love her. And, um, I felt myself a little bit, um, nervous coming into real estate without any background. And so I just made a call to her one day and then I got connected with you, Chris. 

Chris McAllister: So, which is wonderful and we’re thrilled that you’re here, but you actually started someplace else, right?

You had somebody else sponsor your license? I did. 

Stephanie Dobler: Yeah. So actually that real estate agent that, um, had sold my house, I, I joined the company he was with, but then that company, um, sold out to another company and there was just so many other. People and everybody was confused with the move and I was one of the only new agents.

Um, so on top of being new, everybody was confused about the merge and it just felt too overwhelming for me. Um, I knew that I wanted more of a smaller brokerage and just people that could be. You’d be able to talk to 

Laci LeBlanc: regularly, you know what I mean? Yeah. The right fit. I’m hearing the right fit. Yeah. Is that’s what we were looking for.

Yes. Yeah. Sounds like a scorecard we once made up there, Chris. It does 

Chris McAllister: the right fit scorecard. Exactly. But we all know and love Priscilla Mc me and she’s been on the podcast several times and she helps host the uh, all things real estate podcast. So. We could do a whole, um, episode just about, uh, Priscilla, but that’s, that’s phenomenal.

Mm-hmm. Well, let’s talk about connecting. Um, so what was it like, you know, sort of stepping into this business with, with no prior real estate experience, although you did get a crash course and, and, uh, you know, having to sell and buy a house. But, uh, what, what, what, what were some of the things maybe that happened to you that you didn’t anticipate?

Or, or just what did that feel like to you? 

Stephanie Dobler: Um, at first I really felt like it was overwhelming. Um, ’cause you just don’t know where to start when you’re, you know, like you just pass your class and then you’re on your own, basically. So I was really excited to find ROOST. Um, and I’m surrounded by so many wonderful professionals, um, that mentor and give me advice.

And that’s been really helpful because any question that I have, I know I can reach out to Priscilla or Tina or anybody really. Um, and they help me a lot. So. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. What, um, so where you said there’s just so much, it’s overwhelming, you know, what were some of the things that were coming at you that you felt like you had to choose from?

You know, trying to figure out where to start? How did you sort through that process? 

Stephanie Dobler: Mm, well, I think the hardest part was. Figuring out where to get business. ’cause I assumed that it would be much easier. Um, and so trying to figure out how to get my name out there, what I should be doing to start as a new agent, um, and just what that looked like.

And then I found from the beginning, um. One of the first clients I had, they, they had me go in here, there, everywhere. Um, and we saw so many houses in such a short amount of time. Um, I think one of the most important things I learned was my time management. Um, because I was, you know, as a new agent, I’m like, yes, let’s do it.

Let’s do it. You know, and then I found myself very overwhelmed. Um, instead of having it more organized. 

Laci LeBlanc: I feel like that’s, that’s a really good point to put out there, especially for a new agent, but even for, you know, longtime agents is we talk a lot about kind of finding your strengths and then leaning on your broker or leaning on your team or, you know, leaning on technology or whatever to help you with kind of your weaknesses.

Because as a real estate agent, obviously you’re kind of a one person show. You are self-employed, even if you’re with a great broker. Um, but yeah, so being new and trying to figure out what you need to be doing all the way around, but then also trying to kind of hone in on what your strengths are and, and build up your weaknesses a little bit.

I feel like that is probably a really challenging, um, kind of entrance into a, in an, an industry or a career that maybe other, other folks don’t face. You know, as a marketer, I kind, you know. I went, I did, went to school, I did my thing, I learned the job. And, and here you are and you do have to figure out some of that.

But for, for a real estate agent who starts out being kind of self-employed and and relying a lot on yourself, that probably was really, really challenging. Um, are there any like tools that you’ve found or strategies that you’ve found, uh, maybe through ROOST or not through ROOST on your own in these first, you know, this first part of your career that’s helped you with that?

Um, 

Stephanie Dobler: I mean doing the a hundred Days to Greatness really helped me. Um, ’cause they talk a lot about how you should do time management and um, and they walk you through all that, which I really appreciated. Like, there’s the power hour that they suggest that you do, um, so that you just focus on what you need to do.

Maybe mute your emails and your. Phone and just focus. Um, and that really helped me because I just feel like I didn’t have a set schedule. And not that you have a set schedule ever, but you know, s some kind of flow, right. So, um, that’s been great for me to start my day like that and even like working out and, you know, just doing something for me before I start the day.

Um, that really helped. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. One of the things that has just, well, what happens with a lot of new agents and, and I would say nine outta 10 new agents, and honestly Stephanie, you were the exception, but so many new licensees, they get their license and they truly don’t know where to start and the place that.

I’ve seen most people get stymied is they’re scared to death to do anything or try anything or pick up the phone, make a connection, because God forbid they want to, if somebody wants to buy something and you’ve never filled out a contract before, right. So, right. You know. A lot of agents really get stuck in analysis paralysis, uh, about doing anything because they’re afraid they’re gonna look stupid, make a mistake, God forbid, you know, get themselves in trouble with the state of Ohio or, or state of Florida or wherever.

And my advice is always the same. And that’s why connect comes first and connect, practice, track, and Grow. The first thing you have to learn is, and this is why, you know, we always have everybody do Brian Binny’s a hundred Days to Greatness before they do anything else. Even, um, you know, somewhat experienced agents.

We want them to do that first because. How, what Brian Bei teaches is what, how ROOST was founded, right? All the things that Brian talks about with, with connecting it with other people. Relationship comes first. You know, we, uh, we, we stole that right to build a how we do ROOST. And I always tell people the first thing you have to do is figure out how to, how to, how to create.

Somebody to work with, right? How do you, first thing you have to do is find somebody to work with you. Find somebody to work with. At our company anyway, whether it’s it’s Priscilla or you know, Tina Deidre me, we’re not going to let you fail that person. You know, when it comes time to, um, you know, write that contract out, one of us is gonna be right there with you.

And yes, you would probably want, uh, Tina Deidre or Priscilla before you called me, but nevertheless, 

Stephanie Dobler: somebody’s gonna be there 

Chris McAllister: right with you to, to do that. And I know it’s different than that at other companies, but what impressed me about you, you know, Stephanie from the start is. I don’t wanna say there was no pushback because you’re, you’re very analytical.

You think things through as I do. So maybe that was part of the reason that, you know, we seem to get along, but you, you, you just did it. You focused, you know, your first three, four months, on a hundred days to greatness, and you, and you focused on. Connecting And until you can connect, you know, there, there, there’s just nobody to do business with, right?

It doesn’t matter how much you learn about filling out a contract until you have a, you, you’re forget, you’ll forget it long before you have a reason to fill one out. So that, that’s always been the, uh, most impressive thing to me about you. Um. So talk a little bit, you know, we, we talked long and hard about, you know, starting to build out your database and that’s a, a, a lot of what A hundred Days To Greatness is about.

Can you just kind of walk us through, you know, how you got started with your database and, and, uh, you know, how you’re maintaining that, uh, to this day? 

Stephanie Dobler: Mm-hmm. Um, so I started with like local family and friends. Um, and then I reached out to people that I talk to like every Sunday at church. Um. Or I have like cheerleading moms, like my kids are playing, you know, doing their cheerleading.

I talk to the other moms, um, and people that I just have genuine conversations with on a regular basis. Those were the ones that went in. Um, and then I just stay on top of that. And so maybe if someone moves away or, you know, whatever happens, um, I can take them out or shift things around, um, and just keep adding to it.

That’s the goal really. 

Chris McAllister: Well, the other thing too is, you know, you get referral maker for the first, you know, 90, a hundred days, whatever it is with Bini. But then we, as a brokerage, we, we make sure that every agent has their own referral maker account and, and we pay for it. So have you gotten more comfortable using Referral Maker as a tool to track your connections and add people to the database?

Yeah, I do. You feel pretty good about that? 

Stephanie Dobler: Yeah, I do like how you can, um, mark, if you’ve sent a note or you’ve done a Popeye or, um, anything like that, it, it’s really helpful to have that. Um, and there’s even room to write notes and stuff, so I like that a 

Chris McAllister: lot. No, it’s the most user friendly, uh, CRM for real estate professionals I’ve ever seen.

And I’ve, I’ve looked at everyone, believe me. But I think he, it does remind me a little 

Laci LeBlanc: bit of Michael Scott’s, um, Rolodex. I don’t know if you guys watch the Office, but, um, Michael Scott has his Rolodex and he is got it all like color coded, but like green means. Go ahead and don’t talk about this. Um, so it’s, you know, obviously it’s funny, but, uh, but that’s what, that’s kind of what referral maker reminds me of because it really does have a place to keep track of everything.

The notes that you can add, you can keep track of what their kids are up to and, you know, if they’ve had a life change or, um, and I think that that really helps, as, you know, as somebody who spends all of their time in a. Client relationship management software system as a marketer, you know, to just really.

Get to know and have these sincere relationships. I think referral maker is just a really good tool. We talk about shiny objects a lot and how you don’t really need something fancy to do the job, but sometimes having a little bit of, of that helps. And this is, I think, one of those instances because you can just add a glance, see and remember everything you’ve ever discussed with a person.

Um, and I think that does help. Um, you know, in a world where. We’re being communicated with all the time. Um, it really does help us kind of keep track of, of our relationship with folks. So I think referral maker is a very cool tool, uh, to have as an agent and, and to be able to utilize. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah, absolutely.

Stephanie, I remember you called me up. I think it was like a Sunday. And you were rightfully excited because I think you, you had made a call to somebody that was in your database and, and you basically qualified them the first time and that they said yes. Do you remember that? 

Stephanie Dobler: Yes. 

Chris McAllister: Tell, tell us that story.

That’s my favorite story. 

Stephanie Dobler: Um, so. That is the first client I sold a house to. Um, she was actually my neighbor before the flood. And our daughters used to play together, so they would come to my house where we’d go to their house and the girls would be on the trampoline or whatever, and actually even playing in that creek.

And me and the mom would just talk all the time. Um, and so when I posted that I was a new agent, she like immediately called me and she’s like, Hey. Guess what I wanna do and guess what you’re doing. So she’s like, can we, can we go bowling and like talk or what? How can I meet up with you? And I was like, well, if you wanna come over to the house.

And so they did and everything just kept moving right along and it was awesome. I was super excited that that was my first client. So, 

Chris McAllister: yeah. Was she already in your database before you had that conversation or did you have No, 

Stephanie Dobler: actually, yeah. ’cause I, she was one of those ones that I didn’t really, I. Not that I didn’t remember her, but because I don’t talk to her every day, that’s where I had started with building my database with people that I talk all the time to.

But since I moved, we didn’t talk as much as we used to. So, 

Chris McAllister: so where, where, so you mentioned church, and I know your kids are in four H, is, you know, those are two great places where you know, you, you meet people, you know people, they know you. Chances are they already know, like, and trust you. Is there is, have you been able to add to your database based on, you know, your relationship with those people in those groups or any other groups?

Oh 

Stephanie Dobler: yeah. Um, so. I’m actually a four H advisor, um, which is nice. So there’s, there’s a bunch of us that are advisors and we hang out regularly. We do meetings together regularly. Um, so they were all very excited when they heard I became an agent and they all were so supportive, like, what can we do? You know?

And I’m like, you can refer me. It’s like, that would be wonderful. Um, and they’re like, well, give us some of your business cards and we’ll help out when we can. And so then I had some pens made with my names on it. I gave them out and they loved those. So it’s just little things like that. Um, and they do, they think of me now, so I appreciate that.

Laci LeBlanc: That’s another 

Stephanie Dobler: really good point 

Laci LeBlanc: is that I, I always get a lot of pushback when we talk marketing because once you start to write down the list of names of people you know, who else ask you to do that? Like blm, um, if you’re selling some sort of Pyramid m lm, they’re like, now like list the, the hundred top people and that makes you feel icky.

When they ask you to do it that way. Mm-hmm. But I think it’s important to remember that your old neighbor and these folks in your four H group and the people who you’re writing down on this list of your top one 50 are. Just as happy as you are that they have someone that they trust and that they know and they like already that could help them with this major life change and huge transaction.

Um, so yeah, I get, we get a lot of pushback, uh, for people who are like, uh, you know, I don’t wanna reach out to the people closest to me because like it feels like I’m trying to like, sell to them or it’s markety, but they are so excited to have somebody that they already know and love, um, to help them with this just stressful.

Life decision that they’re making. Um, so that’s important to remember as you’re making this list, like you’re, they’re not doing you any favors necessarily. Um, you know, you could end up doing them a huge favor. Mm-hmm. Uh, it works both ways. 

Stephanie Dobler: Yeah. 

Chris McAllister: You know, every one of those, you know, parent gr parents in those, in that group, you know, if it was me, I would go ahead and add ’em to the database because the other thing that, and maybe you’re already doing this, but I would follow up with is.

You know, a personal note to each of those parents and say, you know, it was great having your, assuming it was great having their kid in the group this year. You know, it was great having a kid in the group. I appreciate your support. Support and there is nothing wrong with, you know, sending that note with your business card inside.

Um, you know, as a professional courtesy because, you know, once you get ’em in the database and they see you on Facebook or they, you know, they get root strandings in the mail and, and all of these things, one thing builds on an on another. And a lot of people feel icky about, you know, pointing out to their friends, especially.

Um, or they assume their family’s going to refer them. So they, they, but they feel icky about, you know, quote, being professional. And the fact is that’s the, that’s another huge thing that new agents usually have to kind of get past that, that, that mind block. But, you know, it’s a professional courtesy to, you know, include a business card and a, and a thank you note.

And let’s face it, when’s the last time anybody got a handwritten thank you note? Right? So, you know, those types of things. Yeah, I agree. Calls, notes, pop bys. You know, that’s critical and, and even, you know, if you’re starting with 20, 30 people in your database, the goal always has to be, you know, in my opinion, you want to add at least one person, qualified person to your database a week.

You know? And if you get through your first year and you’ve got 80 people in that database. Oh my God, that’s huge progress. And, um, you know, well, Dean Jackson always says, you know, your goal is to get a hundred people in that database that you would recognize and have a conversation with if you ran into ’em at the grocery.

And I think that’s the goal that everybody needs to have, especially in these times when, you know, the market is just goofy right now. You know, I, I truly believe Stephanie had you started, you know, three years ago. You know, even a year or two from now that you’re, you would’ve had a lot of closings by now, but it is just a, it’s a tough market.

So what do you do in a tough market? Well, you go back to basics. It’s, how do I build out that database? How do I, you know, find a way to provide value? How do I connect without making either one of us feel picky? That’s, that’s always the, mm-hmm. 

Stephanie Dobler: Yeah. The 

Chris McAllister: game. So have you had any success with, uh, anything on social media?

I know, uh, I think you said that that, uh, first person, um, that you sold a house to, she saw you on Facebook. Is that what happened? 

Stephanie Dobler: Yep. Yep. Um, I had a couple friends, like from high school that I haven’t talked to since high school. They saw one of my posts and reached out. Um, two of them did, and they’re not ready yet, but they, they said that they would like me to help them in the future, so I added them into my database.

Um, other than that, I, I don’t really know that I’ve gotten too much else off of Facebook yet, or social media in general, but I mean, I think that that’ll come with time. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah. Well, and I think you’ve done a great job, you know, starting this whole connecting process and I’m so proud of you for that. And, you know, our goal is to su to support you.

You know, if, if, if the first job as an agent is to connect, then it should be the first job of a broker to promote. So, you know, you know, we haven’t done a lot of client events, although we do have pumpkin coming up again. My God, it’s already been a year, you know, the pumpkin giveaway and, you know, we wanna make sure that you and every other agent invites every person in a database to come and get a free pumpkin, you know, come October.

Um, you know, again, it’s a tough, it’s an odd time, a tough time for many people in real estate. So some of the things. That normally would happen on Facebook. You know, maybe we’re not getting the same type of response, but you know, every time we have. A, uh, a learning piece, a Learn with ROOST piece for buyers and sellers.

Um, and Laci and Kylie are making sure that those go out to, you know, your, your ROOST Facebook page so that you could become a, a resource for everybody who knows you on, on social media. Um, so I think over time that’s helpful. And then, you know, every. Couple of months, you probably want to go in and invite all of your regular Facebook friends to like your page.

And that always generates, you know, a few extra likes. So that’s cool. And then the biggest thing is, you know, that we’ve always had success with, and I hope you are too, is ROOST ramblings. You know, the reason we do ROOST ramblings, the way we do it is. You know, when, when you add, you know, people you know from four H or church or family or whatever, and you wanna stay in touch without, you know, being, you know, high pressure salesperson or, you know, sending them listings that they have no intention of buying or, you know, whatever.

You know, the beauty of Bruce Ramblings is it’s just silly. It, it’s fun. And you know, we make sure that those go out to every one of your clients from, from you with your face on ’em, you know, every four to six weeks. So, you know, hopefully that helps in, you know, promoting your connecting activities. And, um, yeah, I mean I think those are a couple of things that I like to think that, you know, we ROOST is a little bit, um, ahead of the curve there.

It may be low tech, but it’s high touch as they used to say. 

Stephanie Dobler: Yeah, no, uh, I usually get comments like somebody will text me, Hey, I got your, your mail today. They love it, so that’s great. 

Laci LeBlanc: Yeah, we, we did have the team meeting, um, earlier this month at the ROOST office where I got to meet the whole team for the first time and that was the thing that, that’ll be my big win for next time.

Chris, um, was. I got to hear feedback from agents that I don’t, you know, talk to on a regular basis about how, you know, every time we send out a postcard, they’ll get a call from somebody new or they’ll get an email back, or, um, every time we send out Ru ramblings, they’ll get a call from a couple of people and, you know, maybe they get five calls.

Two of them aren’t quite ready, but they want, they want. This agent to know that they’re gonna, they’re thinking about it and that they have plans moving forward. Um, and they’ll get an email or they’ll get a call from somebody new who’s ready to, you know, to sell their house or buy a new one. And I think that’s the kind of, we don’t see that data, right?

It doesn’t come through the website, so we don’t track it necessarily, like right then. Um, but those are the things, those are the relationships, right? A call or an email to say, Hey, I’m not ready yet, but I’m, I’m gonna, I wanna sell my house in the next year. Is huge for an agent. And then you have, you know, they’ve confided that in you and you have their plans.

Um, and you can kind of help them prepare for that and just be there whenever they’re ready. Right. Whenever you’re ready. Is our big, is our big Ps that we put on everything. So I think that the, I. Even for me, as somebody who’s been doing this a long time and sending out these postcards a long time, it’s really, really positive to hear that they’re having the desired effect.

Even if we don’t, you know, necessarily sign up 10 people every time we send one, there are definitely five or 10 people who are being reminded that they have a, someone they know, like in trust, ready to help them whenever they’re ready, which I think, I mean, you can’t get better than that, 

Chris McAllister: right? 

Stephanie Dobler: I agree.

Chris McAllister: All right. So as a newer agent, connecting is the biggest part of your professional life, but let’s move on to practice, you know, mastering the craft of helping people buy and sell houses. I, we probably touched on this a little bit, but what do you think the biggest challenges or your biggest learning curves have been so far in actually serving people who, who want to work with you?

Stephanie Dobler: Um, I think. I don’t know. I think my biggest learning curve curves were the, is, it was definitely the time management. Um, like trying to balance multiple clients in different stages. So like meeting someone brand new, um, and then maybe you have somebody that’s ready to buy now, somebody that’s thinking about listing or even like when I had somebody in closing stage, like just all those different stages.

Um. And then like scheduling the showings, um, was a little difficult at first because you have to know, like if we’re gonna go see, say we’re gonna go see four different houses, I need to know how far apart we’re gonna be. Like, is it gonna be 12 minutes to the next house? How long are we gonna spend at each house?

Um, you know, all those little things. It’s gotten easier now, but um, I think at the beginning that was really hard. 

Chris McAllister: No, it is. I, I think that loop’s hard, you know? 

Stephanie Dobler: Well, and then I went to a, um, I think I went to an ethics class in Columbus and they were telling us like, you have to, at the minute, that’s when you can open the lockbox to go in.

Like you can’t go early or late, you know what I mean? So that always stressed me out, like making sure my timing was right. So we didn’t have like the clients hanging around, you know? So. I’ve been figuring that out. That’s 

Chris McAllister: great. But that, that is all about practice and 

Stephanie Dobler: mm-hmm. 

Chris McAllister: They seem like small things, but they’re not, especially when you’ve never done them before.

Stephanie Dobler: Right. 

Chris McAllister: Have you had, have you been able to share any of our Buy With ROOSTer, sell with Roos presentations with, with any of your folks that have. 

Stephanie Dobler: Not yet. Not yet. But I do have them all saved. And I, I had, um, a possible listing, but I ended up falling through because they got too nervous they were gonna move outta state.

Um, and they’re an older couple. They ended up deciding that they wanted to wait a little bit longer. But I had it all ready to go. ’cause I was supposed to meet them the next day. Yeah. But, um, hopefully, hopefully they’ll call back in a few weeks or something. 

Chris McAllister: I really like to think and I appreciate that. I really like to think that those buyer and seller presentations, you know.

I, I think sometimes we start to take them for granted, but it’s something that other companies may have, but they don’t have the same orientation. Our buyer and seller presentations are completely focused around what’s in it for that buyer, or what’s in it for that seller, and they set the stage for, you know, that first meeting.

You know, the, the list with the sell with roof brochure is really all the things that a, a professional listing agent is gonna cover. If, you know, when they, they actually get the chance to meet with the client at their kitchen table in the house. And the, and the buyer presentation is exactly what any buyer, first time buyer move up, buyer, you know, any buyer wants to hear from, from their professional when they sit down and have a buyer meeting.

So I like to think that those are, are ways that as we go forward, that will help you. With your practice. Um, the other thing too is, so you joined the Columbus Board of Realtors, correct? 

Laci LeBlanc: I did. 

Chris McAllister: So what, have you taken any of their continuing ed or, or training classes? 

Stephanie Dobler: I have, yeah. I’ve taken, um, close to 30 hours now.

So, 

Chris McAllister: wow. 

Stephanie Dobler: I, I really like, I really like the way they teach there and just all that they offer. It’s really great. 

Chris McAllister: They’re so professional and there’s nothing that, you know, we or any other broker could ever teach you that could possibly be better or do a better job of than the Columbus Board of Realtors does.

And again, one of the things that’s impressed me about you is, you know, there’s, there’s two sides to this coin. You know, there’s the figuring how to do things side. And the cool thing about the Columbus Board is they have classes on how to, you know, do the CMA. You know, in, in, uh, flex MLS or how to use RPR, they have classes literally on how to fill out contracts and so forth.

And I just applaud the fact that you’ve, em embraced that group and that resource, um, because that’s, that’s really the two sides of the success coin. I think it’s the. Technical stuff, you know, that you need to learn to order to practice, whether it’s, you know, showing time or dot loop or how to fill out a contract, all of those things.

And then the other thing is just being focused on the fact that you’ve gotta, you’ve got to create opportunities to talk to people and you know that sometimes it’s hard to balance those, but I think you’ve done a good job about that. 

Stephanie Dobler: Uh, that’s actually one of the classes I took was the RPR and I really loved that.

That’s been such a fantastic tool. 

Chris McAllister: Good. Good, good, good. All right, so practicing and then tracking. And I think we touched on a lot of tracking. You know, when you don’t have a lot of business, the first question that comes up, what is there? The track. But as you said, you know when you talked about how you use referral maker and it’s really cool that you’re able to.

You know, track when you have a call note or pop by or follow up with somebody you know that is tracking, you know, EE. Every time you add somebody to, to the database that’s tracking, every time you realize that, you know it’s their birthday and you go back and you put it in, you know, to the cm, so you get them a card out next year, you know, all of that is tracking and you know, you may not be tracking.

You know, a hundred different transactions at this point, but you’re set, you’re planting the seed, you’re setting the stage for future success by, by starting now. And it’s so hard, it feels so meaningless when, you know, you, you’re, you’re going in once a week and you’re adding this flag, or you, you know, write a note or whatever, but it just goes back to anytime you can find a reason to, you know, make a call, shoot a text, you know, do do a pop by.

Um, set the personal note. You know, that’s fabulous that that’s money in the bank in the future, but to note that and track that in referral maker is, uh, you know, trust me, it, it’s like putting money into a, uh, an IRA, you know, at some point in the future it’s going to pay off 

Laci LeBlanc: well, and if you start doing it now, right, Stephanie, you’re in a very unique position.

Um, you know, as a new. Agent. If you start doing it now and you make it part of your routine and you’re like, you’ve mentioned all these logistical challenges, that me as someone who’s outside of that industry, like I didn’t even think about that. I had no idea you had to wait to open the lockbox. I didn’t even think about driving from one showing to another or taking people to house.

To house and how long it’s gonna take. Like doesn’t even cross my mind ’cause that’s not my day to day. But if you start tracking like that and you start using your database like that now, then it’s gonna be second nature. When you do have a million transactions and you do have a lot of business, it’s not gonna feel like something you have to add to your plate.

It’s gonna be a natural thing that you just do. And I think that that’s a huge advantage for you. Um, especially, you know, having worked with realtors in all of all ages and stages. Um, so I think that that’s a really good point to make is that, that. This is the tracking. Chris. This is not like fluffy work.

This is not stuff that like this is tracking. It’s just gonna look a little different as you grow. Yeah. 

Chris McAllister: Anytime you hear somebody say, you know, not this year, but maybe next year, you know, that, that, that comment goes into, you know, into the, into referral maker. You know, it’s, it’s every little thing you hear, it’s every little thing somebody says.

It’s just trying to get in the habit of, you know, hearing those side conversations, documenting it, and being able to follow up it. It’s, it’s what separates the, as we say, the new professionals from everybody else. 

Laci LeBlanc: Yeah, because let somebody hear me, like mention at a barbecue that I’m thinking we’re thinking about selling our house next year, and then come back to me in about nine months and be like, Hey, I, I just remembered that you were, you know, talking about selling your house and here’s a, you know, a piece of information and maybe it’s an article or maybe it’s news or maybe it.

Just, you know, home prices in that neighborhood are going up or whatever the case may be. I just thought you might be interested in this and like, what a way, like who else would I call at that point? Like even my Nana is a real estate agent, Stephanie, we talk about Nana a lot. Um, so you’ll hear about her.

But like I would call you over Nana because n. Has a hard time, you know, remembering all the things she has to do in a normal day, much less everybody else’s plans, because she’s not in that mindset of a new real estate professional. She’s definitely one of the tried and true that does everything kind of the old way.

So, yeah, I would call you over Nana if you came back to me nine months later and were like, Hey, uh, I remembered you. You mentioned that you might sell your house to dot, dot, dot.

Chris McAllister: Well, I always say that if you have an agent who’s actually focused on connecting. With, with potential clients current, you know, past, current, uh, future clients. If you have an agent who’s doing that, that they’re always looking to enhance, you know, their practice, get better at how they serve, um, you know, uh, buyers and sellers, whether it’s through extra education or learning new things, or, you know, using different marketing pieces that your broker provides.

If you’re doing that. And you’re tracking your work, then you can’t help but grow. And, and as we kind of close out this episode, and we, as we talk about connect, practice, tracking and growing, let’s talk about growth a little bit. And I, I guess one question, and maybe you already talked about this a little bit, but is there, is there anything about what you’ve been through the last few, few months that’s just absolutely different than what you thought it was going to be like?

Stephanie Dobler: Well, yeah, I think that I assumed I would be. Selling more houses by now, you know? Yeah. Well, but, um, I, maybe everybody is, but um, yeah, I think that’s what I thought. Um, but I am proud that I haven’t given up on it. Like even just like we were just saying about the CRM, like they’re little seeds right now.

Like they almost feel silly, but I know if I keep the habit up long-term, it’ll be better. So I don’t know. That’s how I feel right now with being kind of slow. I think it’ll evolve. 

Chris McAllister: Yeah, well, that’s where I always say what my seventh grade algebra teacher always told me, have faith and follow the rules.

So.

And I don’t 

Laci LeBlanc: think that that’s a unique experience. I think that, you know, we see Chris and I talk a lot when we’re talking about marketing to agents, specifically about, um, agents with batteries included, or, you know, how we’re gonna, you know, half of marketing is targeting how, which agents we’d like to reach out to, and how do you identify those?

And I think that the, the folks that persist through that kind of initial process are like you. That’s half the battle. Um, because everybody. Feels that way. I think I, from what I’ve heard, that’s, that’s not a unique experience. So it’s, you know, regardless of the market, you’re starting a brand new business and that’s a difficult thing to do.

So having the tools you need to help you kind of work your way through it is really important. But I think, yeah, following the rules and, and keep at it and having the right mindset is also a huge portion of it. Because a lot of folks will get their real estate license with big plans and big dreams and then end up, um, kind of abandoning that because it’s hard.

And real estate is not easy. It’s not an easy industry to be in, no matter what the market looks like. Um, so I think that’s, yeah, that’s a, a really good point that you make there. 

Chris McAllister: What do you think your biggest wins are for your first year in real estate? Um, 

Stephanie Dobler: selling my first house, definitely. Um, but I think also too, like.

Like I just said, not giving up and not, like, I think that a lot of new agents that are not being successful and not making the money kind of get desperate and kind of treat their clients poorly. Um, like I even picked up another client because I was kind and you know, like, I understand like this is a big purchase for you.

Like we don’t need to rush into it. His last agent was snappy and mad that he wasn’t ready to buy. And you know, I just think that’s so off-putting. Um, so. Even though this year has been hard, I haven’t lost who I am and why I got into this business. Um, obviously to make money, but like I truly care about my clients and what they’re trying to get out of, you know, the process.

So, I don’t know. I think that’s one of my wins too. 

Chris McAllister: No, I, and I think that’s why you’re a professional now and, and you will continue to grow into, be one of the top pros, uh, around in real estate. I absolutely believe that. Mm-hmm. Well, thank you. All right. Any, anything else before we, uh, wrap up today? 

Laci LeBlanc: I don’t think so.

No. I’m just excited to have Stephanie on board. Uh, I think she personifies ROOST. She personifies the, the connect practice track and grow culture. Um, it’s just really exciting to have, you know, to, to be able to go to work for you, Stephanie, to have you choose us to work with. Um, I think that says a lot about you and it says a lot about ROOST and, and it makes me really proud.

Stephanie Dobler: Thank you. Thank you, 

Chris McAllister: Priscilla. 

Stephanie Dobler: Yes. Thank you, Priscilla. 

Chris McAllister: Alright, well thank you for listening to today’s episode of Connect Practice, track and Grow. Again, I’m so proud of Stephanie, her, her open mind, her, her, uh, you know, desire to learn, you know, her willingness to, to listen and, and, and adopt, you know, the, the training.

Um, and I think we can already see that the core concepts of connect, practice, track, and grow. You know, they’re, they’ve already shaped her first year and I’m confident that they’ll have a, a really great foundation for her. Success in the future, but yeah, persistence, professionalism, first class. Uh, we’re so happy to have you with us and, uh, um, if people want to.

Connect with you. They can do that on the ROOST website if, uh, there’s a agent page there where they can find all of your contact information and, uh, uh, a little bit of background on, on you. And they can reach you at stephanie@ROOSTrealestateco.com. And we’ll put your, uh, phone number and your, uh, email address in the show notes.

So anybody that listens to this, that wants to connect with you, they certainly can. 

Stephanie Dobler: Thank you. 

Chris McAllister: All right, and that’s it for today. So when you focus every day on connecting, practicing tracking, and, and your actions and, and, uh, doing those three things, connecting practice and tracking, you can’t help but grow.

So keep at it, be persistent, and we’ll talk to you next time.