Real estate wisdom and relationship capital: A chat with Matt Good

Today we're fortunate on a couple of fronts Great , great , great friend of mine , Matt . Good , I'll get to number two in a minute . Matt , I always say good morning , regardless of when they're listening . Good morning .

Really never intended to be an infomercial for the Allentate Company , but today we certainly are going to get to meet Matt Good . We're going to learn a little bit about where he has come from . We're going to listen to the things he thinks about our industry that have in our rearview mirror first half of 2023 .

I can't wait to see his predictions for the balance of this year and beyond and those things that you , our listener real estate professional are going to need to grab a hold of , embrace and welcome as we think about the second half of 2023 . Matt Good I'm going to start . Tell our listeners a little bit about Matt Good .

I've had the good fortune of starting in sales , spending some time in the corporate world , owning my own brokerage in the great recession , which was obviously a tough road , but we made it . We got through it , not without some damage , but there's something humbling about being at the very , very bottom and having to pull your bootstraps up and restart .

My wife and I were able to do that and I hope we're better for it . I just mentioned my wife , paige . We have two sons , mack and Hanson . Our oldest lives in Minnesota and Hanson moved here to Wake Forest with us just a couple of weeks ago . Real estate is what I know , gary . Just like you , it's all I've ever done .

I enjoy it And I look forward to spending the foreseeable future here in the triangle and watching it grow .

Well , i know we're super happy to have you and we're going to get a little more personal on this podcast than we normally do because we go back , so there might be a jabber to our listeners , but I think it all will resonate because Matt a reminder our goal in Reality Podcast is to give every one of our listeners three things minimum that they can do tomorrow

to positively impact their business or their life period . end of report . Set expectations , deliver every time and I think we get listeners back time and time again . So Matt walked through some of his career . I'm going to take you down a little bit of memory lane . I think in the fall of 2009 , you joined the Allen Take Company .

We had the opportunity to get to know one another . excited about you joining our team , matt talked about he owned his own company in the heat of the financial crisis . I'm going to suggest that the fall of 2009 was in the elongated financial crisis that lasted longer than a six-month period . Matt joined our company And what do you tell our listeners ?

a little bit about that journey back in 2009 and the first part of 210? .

I had no idea who it was , and it was you , and you had been having a conversation with Chris Cope about building your bench and talent and who do I talk to ? And somehow my name came up And you reached out and started listening conversations .

And then it was a trip to Charlotte where Paige and I came and you and May and John and Sandy Kimbomb went to the Panthers game , went up for a nice dinner and then we went and spent a night down in Greenville .

I got to see Gary Jr play football at Furman And the real funny thing about it was that Paige had really had a great resale business in Lexington , kentucky , and we just didn't think that there could be anything compelling enough to leave Lexington .

And the morning we were leaving , you and I had breakfast and we got in the car and we were like , oh boy , there's something very compelling here . First of all , we liked the people . Second of all , we loved the culture , the company , and we fell in love with the upstate of South Carolina .

So fast forward January I think it was 4th , maybe January 7th I moved to Charlotte and spent about five or six months shadowing the famous John Kimbomb at the University Office in San Francisco and then moved to the upstate to become the GM there . The upstate , of course , was much smaller than what we have now there .

That Adam runs in And it was mid-summer that year and Paige got sick And we made the determination that we needed to go back to Lexington . That's where her doctor was going to be . Phyllis and Pat were so gracious , they understood it was certainly not what any of us had signed up for , and so that was the end of my relationship with Tate at the time .

But obviously you and I stayed in touch with Tony and Phyllis Phyllis and Paige and I have a lot of mutual friends from the horse business . But there was always that feeling that there was some business left undone And at some point you and I needed to reconnect And unfortunately that's happened .

You know , i always say it's now its relationship on steroids right , because of what we've come through during COVID , as we've discussed many , many times on this podcast and we've read it . You know it was transactional and we got away from , but I want to you know this concept of build bridges , don't burn them , and I want you to .

I want our listeners to just reflect on some comments you made . Number one is we stayed in touch for 13 years . Yes , we only worked together for three weeks . You are correct now that I got the math January 7th to January 31st .

We stayed in touch because it was the relationship that was more important than the jersey that we wore , and I think that is powerful and compelling , and I think about that often , matt , because , fast forward , i leave on that day and I come back 12 years later , staying connected , relationships being really important , do the right thing , the right way , always

treat people fairly All these things that have to do with how we treat our customer right . All of these things communication , consistency , empathy , creativity , and so all of these things are hugely important And I can just tell you that we are you know , we're thrilled to have you back . I know that our recording of this and the posting of this are delayed .

I will tell you right now that we're going to talk a lot about half time of 2023 . Matt was introduced officially three days ago today And so , as you listen today , you'll find out that that was a week or two or three ago , but all of what we'll talk about will be relevant and I think , informative and confident that your three takeaways will be many more .

So , matt , i apologize , you have you wanted to talk ?

Maryland beaches And we were having some conversation about you moving me to Maryland And , you know , and ultimately it wasn't the right time in the right place for either one of us And , in looking back , i'm thankful that I didn't right , because my journey took me a different way that ultimately landed me here And , had that gone sideways or gone , who knows , we

may not be having this conversation . So it's in and in through all that we've just maintained this friendship . But that was just a three day little jump you and I did and I'm thankful for it and thankful that it didn't happen .

There are transactions that you as listener , we as an enterprise , we should stay away from right , because there's got to be an alignment , There's got to be a cultural and philosophical line , because when we work with buyers and sellers , we are business partners right , we are partners , partners , carries with it .

We each bring value to the table , we bring knowledge to the table , we bring motivation to the table .

It is a collaborative partnership And and I think that that's something sometimes , matt , we miss that because we're chasing a commission , we're chasing a transaction , we're chasing a statistic in a geographic farm , we're chasing something that's not nearly as important as the strength and value of the partnership .

So we're going to shift gears as we get into our next segment . Let's talk a little bit . Let's just talk about success as a real estate agent or , as we like to talk about a trusted advisor , as you look into the future and you look at what you believe will transpire second half of 2023 .

What are the couple of things that you want every one of these listeners to take to the bank ? These are , like , must watch TV . You have to do these things in order for you to continue to be successful .

We like to talk about all the good stuff , but sometimes it's not so good .

But that's the pain and the pleasure , it's life , right , And so the good news is that , no matter what interest rates do , no matter what's happening out there , life is going to continue to show up at the door right And that is going to be , and continue to be , our number one driver . So , are we in front of our people ? Are we in flow with our sphere ?

You know , are we ? are we ? are we right in our hand written notes that I do every single day . As you said , it is a relationship business , right , and we earn our stripes , in my opinion , from contract to close . Right , it's our buyers or sellers walk away from the closing table and and they go . Man , that was a seamless transaction , there was no problem .

But , as a real estate agent , we look at the loan officer and we look at the closer and we go . If they only knew what was going on behind the scenes . Well , that's a job well done . Our advisors got them across the finish line and they didn't think anything was wrong .

So the last half of the year is going to be about who is out there hunting , right ? I mean , for the last couple of years we've been sipping from a fire hose . Everybody's been able to , you know , to write some business , and and now right , there's less with the same amount of people .

So the winner is going to be those that stay in flow with their people , and and that's as much about just checking in on them and meeting them where they are right . It's , it's making sure that they're OK . I like to say so .

I've always said , when we walk out of the house every day , our number one priority is to have a positive impact on somebody's life . If that is our goal and that's our number one priority , we will sell all the houses we ever want to sell .

I just tell you , i can guarantee , if we stay focused on the transactional and it's all about the money , we're going to be broke , maybe not financially , but spiritually , emotionally , that buckets going to be empty . And it's been true since the beginning of time . It's going to continue to be true , and so I'm , i'm , i'm cautiously bullish .

Part of that happens to be where I sit right Great market , great people . Something special is happening here . There's no doubt about it . So for us here in the triangle , and with tape in general , i I see a lot of exciting stuff . Last half .

I got an economist that know the numbers inside and out , but also had a personality that was engaging and vibrant and leadership . So I'm going to I'm going to share a couple of the takeaways because it speaks to what you said . One of his quotes was he was talking about being optimistic . Right , and he said so .

let me give you this quote The pessimist may be right , the optimist will be wealthy . How about that ? That's what you just said . Right , because the world is the world . Right . Control what we can control . Before I get to the next question , i stepped away . You know , to our listeners , fyi , you only hear us . Matt and I can see each other .

So he was in the middle of talking about showing up and hunting and all of a sudden I disappeared . He probably wondered if I had had enough of our podcast . The answer is absolutely not . So you talked about handwritten note . You made a comment about a handwritten note .

I've shared you , so you know this story because you were here And so I want to share , and I had no intention of sharing this . It happens to be sitting right next to me , so for our listeners , i want to just share this story because it is relevant to what Matt just said .

Show up every day with positive attitude and gratitude for what we have , not what we don't have Pretty basic premise to live by , sometimes right , not all the time . It's a discipline , so I shared . The other day I went to the dentist .

This is the first time we've talked about dentistry on the podcast Four days after my visit and I always say I think the DMV and going to the dentist are two of the worst experiences that you can imagine . Dear Gary , it was wonderful getting to meet you yesterday . We are so excited to have you as a patient at our practice . I want you to listen carefully .

Team , this is the person who owns the practice , not my practice . Our practice That is a magical word . We have agents and we have leaders on here . I want you to listen carefully . We are at our our practice . It was not hers , though . She owns it . We hope you continue to settle in full time , living in Charlotte and your work at Allentate .

Do you think they paid attention ? while I had all the gear in my mouth I don't know how they understood Allentate . Please let us know if you need anything . My best . So long story short . Matt knows this that Dennis came as a referral for my son . So I call my son . I say you will never believe I got a note from the dentist .

He said so did I , thanking me for the referral and a Starbucks gift card . So if you take nothing else from our session today , order your note cards , order your Starbucks gift cards . Care deeply about every single person you meet and appreciate them and listen to what they say and make that note personal , not check a box , matt , i thought on that .

That is true , but the art of the note card is it's not about you . You are meeting them where they are . You are writing that note card based on an experience you had with them , something you saw about them on Facebook or on Instagram , or you saw them at church , whatever . It's not about . That card is not about asking for the business .

I would argue that it's even more effective because you're not talking about you .

We say that when you have a bad experience , you share it with a million people . When you have a good experience , you don't . Now , because you and I understand that is such a powerful message for our listener . It's about taking the time to be intentional .

So I wanna speak to something that Matt texted me last week which really has resonated with me , and I want him to expand on a text he sent me that is meaningful to every single one of you , and he sent me a note after we had kind of gotten everything together and he had joined and spent a little time in our company and just excited to get started .

And he sent me a text and it said be authentic , be intentional and be relentless .

And Matt alluded to Ninja , and so I wanna take a couple of minutes in this segment , matt , and I want our listener to hear from you what you mean by those three things , because what we know is our greatest challenge in the balance of 2023 is really an attitude and a mindset , almost more than a strategy and a tactic albeit we've got to be very specific and

obviously intentional with those strategies and tactics But it has to start in our mind and our attitude and our outlook and our control . The controls Be authentic . Tell us about , be authentic .

If you are who you are , you do what you say you're gonna do , And it can be something as simple as returning phone calls , returning emails , returning texts . It blows my mind when I hear people talk about agents not returning phone calls , not returning emails . That's not authentic .

That's , I believe , the transactional to some degree , is not authentic , right , And so it's really that . It's a big word . It's thrown around all over . There's probably a million definitions . For me , it's you do what you say you're gonna do . It's easy .

I grew up with all kinds of Axioms from my father and do what you say you're gonna do , when you say you're gonna do it , and do it right To your point . And you always said to me , matt , i said , tell me about how I can be successful in the real estate business . I said , what else ? What's number two ?

And he said do what you say you're going to do . When you say you're going to do it and do it right , well , what's number two and three ? Then he got mad at me son , there's one right , now there's more obviously . So be authentic , be the best version of yourself . Don't worry about the noise outside .

All you and I , as real estate professionals , can control is what we have , control of which is not a lot right Attitude , behaviors and decisions , kind of . That's the deal . Be intentional . I love that word intentional intentionality . Talk about that as it relates to our listener who's navigating half time of 2023 .

It's being present , right , and we have phones and computers and we're just intentional is put the phone down and look at the person in the eyes and just be present . I watched you in front of a recruit at Starbucks on Tuesday and you were intentional No checking phones , no , looking around .

You look this person in the eyes for an olive and you let him talk And you'll remember her son's name the next time you see her . That's intentional , you know . It's like the dentist that wrote you the card Yeah , they're cleaning your teeth , but it was more than that . They were intentionally listening to you . It's intentional slash present .

Well , i'm very aware , you know , awareness is a good sign of well , it's a sign of being in the business 37 years , right , but it's because . But what's interesting , matt just made a statement in my next comment I'm going to share is not about me , it's not about me , so I just I'm going to give you that disclaimer .

When I reached out to that agent I didn't mention anything about maybe you join us , i said I could not be more excited about your son's first year at NC State . So it's ironic , unscripted me in you , right , you ? you noticed that all I mean really my own . My only questions were about her .

We had another , we had another party was talking about their marketing and their CRM and all that which was great . Tell me about your son , tell you know , tell me and and it was you know .

And again , she clearly knows that we , we , our company , cares about her , her , and we're going to have an opportunity , whether she stays , comes or goes , but we will have a good , long-term , sustainable standing relationship with this agent in a marketplace that's important to us And therefore that hour was incredibly valuable , regardless of the outcome .

Lesson to everyone listening not every interaction with a possible customer will become a customer , and the one you just closed , matt , isn't going to use you for nine to 11 years . Wrap your head around that one Right , so be intentional .

I mean , that's our job , but you can make an argument of 52 minutes of that hour was all about her not about . Tate .

The 15 minutes of things we discussed were the things she shared with us that she wanted to know . Like we didn't go down a rabbit hole on something that we love that she didn't ask about , right , hers was , anecdotally , database , like . She said it three times .

So our response to her we didn't then go down and talk about our social media strategy because she didn't mention it . Right , listen , it goes back to these three pillars that we talk about . You care deeply , you've already mentioned Listen intently , like understand the motivation of that person .

On the other side , it's not about you , the agent , it's about that buyer , it's about that seller . And the minute we cross that threshold of understanding that everything we do is about that person , as you said earlier , we win all day . Okay , i love authenticity , i'm a big fan of intentionality . There is nothing like being relentless , baby .

Nothing like being relentless . Talk about what that means to Matt .

And the person that's saying that isn't relentless and they're not out there busting it , they're not holding open houses and they're not calling expires and all that stuff . And so , in order to be , I think that a parallel to hard work , then , is consistency . Right , You got to do it over and over and over and over .

And I think about , if you look back in your career and I look back at mine some of the moves that I've made the person that recruited me and her name is Judy Green years ago was because she regularly called me , And she just happened to call me one day when she moved me to Florida in 2019 .

She caught me on a day in Northern Minnesota And she said will you please have a conversation with me ? And I looked at my dashboard and it was 35 below zero And I said I'll see you in three days . Point being is that she was calling to just check on me . I've known her forever .

Our families are friends , but she's relentless , And I've moved my family across the country multiple times for her because she's relentless

. So that is its consistency , right , And it's just doing it over its muscle memory in athletics , its habits good habits , relentless . And for you and I , we wound up because we just pounded And I love relentless , like you do for a million different things .

I apologize , i'm a freshman at Bucknell and the running back coach there is a guy named Rocky Reese And I tell this story . I was a walk on Matt . And so I get there and I look at the depth chart . My name is not even on the depth chart . Like I'm not even on the depth chart , like the walk on doesn't even make the depth chart . Now you come .

You know everybody that goes to college to play football was their star in high school , every single one D1 , d2 , d3 , alabama , washington and Lee , wherever we were stars right In high school . So I get there and I'm not even on the depth chart . Long story short . Two weeks later , everybody in front of me though I didn't know where I was got hurt .

So we're going to the game . It's not the spring game , but it's the last scrimmage before the regular season . I'm a freshman , i'm the only running back left .

So now I'm starting on the blue team and the orange team And two weeks prior I wasn't even on the depth chart because everybody and I'm walking up to have breakfast with Rocky Reese And I said , i said , i said , i said I'm kind of the luckiest guy on earth And I'll never forget it .

He said , scotty , luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity , the rock . So anyway , i love that story .

Let's talk about now some strategies . You may you use the word in your last segment about expires . You know what I said six months ago , guys ? we got to take the glossary and we got to dust it off . Price change , expires , withdraws , not open houses , but doing them right . What does that mean ? So let's peel the onion back on .

Okay , we've got our audience . After 30 minutes They're fired up , they're committed to this relentless approach to our business . In the second half , let's share with them . What are those things to be relentless about specifically ?

And when I got in this business , my first sales manager on Tuesday nights ever called night and you would open a white pages and you would just start dialing for dollars . Cold calling . This is pre , do not call this on this other stuff , And I hated it . That's actually worse than the dentist and the DMV , And so I would never ask anybody to cold call .

However , if you're not going to do that , then you better find out another way to get in front of people , right , And so whether it's calling expires . I'm a huge open house guy . My dad is a gigantic open house guy , And here's the common mistake that people make with open houses is that they don't understand the reason why they're having an open house .

Most agents are having an open house because in their listing presentation , they said to the seller oh and I'm going to hold your house open . Well , you know that seller heard . The seller heard you're going to hold my house open every single Sunday until it sells , All right . That's not the reason why you have an open house .

You have an open house to generate business for yourself . That's the only reason . And so for me , a young man in the office here today brand new , he's having an open house today . Friday is Friday 4th of July . He's having an open house tomorrow And then he's going on vacation for the 4th of July holiday with his girlfriend .

Okay , I'm an open house guy , That's what I would be doing . And the other part make sure you're having the right house open . You know , too many people take a suggestion from a listing agent because a listing agent wants to satisfy a seller , And so they go sit in an open house . That's six turns off , a main drag .

You can't put signs up , You can't put balloons up and nobody's going to show up . Be intentional with your activities too . Pick an open house where you're going to get a million people through there , because every single person coming in contact with you , that much closer to the person , say you know what , I need you .

And so what's neat about this guy is you have an open house on Friday and somebody might say well , why on Friday ? I mean , nobody's going to come up and say hold on , You think people that need to be here by the first day of school are going . I can only buy a house on Sunday . No , They see an open house .

Sign up on a Friday , They're coming in And if you're that person , bang out , You know . So I think that's . Open houses for me is huge . As I mentioned earlier , I'm a huge handwritten note guy .

Go on social media in the morning and find five different people in your feed that something happened in their life And take a second and get out of your own way and write them and don't let them know you're thinking about it . I mean , what an awesome .

If you do nothing but write notes , you're going to sell a bunch of houses , you know , because nobody gets those anymore , except for if they go to the dentist in South Park , Exactly .

she gets a listing in a week . She's going to have the open house the first weekend , right , not ? Matt says pick the right one and pick it at the right time in the term of the listing . right Strat it be intentional , don't just grab one . I'm going to go on the record for you .

new people , be wary of the agent that walks around saying do you want to do my open house ? ask good questions . Jenny Barber , on Friday night , invite only special preview to the neighborhood . Brings a food truck . Matt Good , are you kidding me ? Brings a food truck . Guess what happens if nobody shows up ? It doesn't matter .

Jenny Barber and her team invited the neighborhood . Gary Scott lives in the neighborhood . Matt Good lives in the neighborhood . And now I have registered this strategy because someday , guess what I'm going to be ? I'm going to be a seller .

And I remember like it was yesterday , matt Good , managing a branch Monday morning couldn't wait to hear about the open house is just like you And Gary . only neighbors showed up . I said you mean only the neighbors that are going to sell someday . So let's75 get started .

I will take your right note writing one step further If you just write notes and you just have open houses with neighbors showing up and then you write notes to those neighbors that show right , fantastic , fantastic .

But if you have an open house and you use that time to write your cards or make your phone calls or get involved in your deals that you've got in process , that's not a waste of time at all , because now you get to take that three hours that you were prospecting and you get to go have a date with your spouse in the middle of the week or go play golf

or tennis or go to the beach . So it's never a waste of time because you're suiting up and showing up . It just happens to be in a house on a Sunday .

Number two pick it at the right time in its journey on the evolution of the listing . You wanna do it early . You don't wanna be the fifth time you do the Open House , you wanna be the first time when it hits the market . You wanna show up like 30 minutes to an hour before it starts , like I'm having one 11 to one .

Don't show up at 11.01 and leave at 12.59 . There was one here in the neighborhood where I am right now , matt , it was 11 to one . A couple Saturdays ago I drove by at 10.15 and there was the agent I'm proud to say it was Alan Tate listing who was outside And I told the story .

You could have been driven down I 77 and seen a sign for this Open House . This guy was getting it to his Open House Right , and I say that in jest but literally . So he's there 30 minutes before I show up at 11.20 and there are seven couples there At 11.20 , it's to one . I come back at 145 and he's still there with people .

I want everyone to listen . If you're going to do the Open House , do it right . As Matt said , put the gear on , like , get your uniform on and make it work . If one person shows up , that's a prospect you didn't have . If five neighbors show up , show them that you are different from everyone else .

So , open House strategies we talked about a lot of things , man . Let me tell you everybody today way more than three takeaways . So I'm going to share with you a quote that I picked up yesterday that I love .

I love it so much that people are going to hear it over and over for the next six months , because we all fundamentally know what we need to do it in the second half , and that's about relationships . Matt kicked it off with that , so I'm going to read this quote and then we're going to finish with my favorite thing Matt Good called rapid fire .

We're going to get to know a little bit about inside the life and interests of Matt Good . I want you guys to listen to this quote Relationship capital will be the most valuable asset in real estate lead generation for at least the next two years . Put your resources into that and watch your business thrive . Don't , and your business will die .

I love the term relationship , capital . Relationship is the currency . It is the most significant currency that we can have , because the media is not our friend . And this speaker I alluded to earlier today , matt , one of the things he said last night is he said a year ago I gave here are my two bits of advice Walk more , watch the news less .

And you said what did you say ? Show up , be present . We sometimes would make it way more difficult . So he said this is a chief economist for a company that I can't promote today . But he says here was my advice walk more , watch the news less .

And his point was the media will only ever report half of what they might know , if they even know half of what they say they might know .

And we , as us , take what we hear oftentimes as gospel , and our real estate professionals , everyone on this call has to take personal responsibility for this relationship , capital and currency , to go sit with people face to face and really unwrap the fake news , the modified news , the perspective news , whether it's interest rates , whether it's inventory , whether it's

consumer confidence , whether it's recession , whether it's , whether it's whatever , relationship capital . I'm gonna give you a final serious thought and then we're gonna rapid fire . And any thoughts on that , my friend ?

There's a lot of people that are smarter than me and better looking than me and a bit more athletic than me , But I just stay focused on the relationships and I don't make any apologies for that And that guy with that quote supports exactly what I've always believed , and I'm thankful for that .

I hope our listeners , matt , have had as much fun as we have . I hope that they can feel the passion and the energy about our business and about the Carolinas and about the future and the opportunity , and that we control our destiny . And don't let anybody else take it from you . Don't let anybody else take it from you .

Let's get to know Matt Good a little bit better . Number one , my friend , your favorite food .

last and not least , this is our final thought for the day One thing , one thing you want everyone on this podcast to do in the next 30 days to either impact their business or their quality of life or a relationship . give us one thing .

I'll leave you with that .

I know you got 12 takeaways today . I think the reality podcast with Matt Good is a multiple listen to environment . I would encourage you to be sitting at a desk and a table , take some notes , have a great week ahead . Not sure what week it'll be , but it will be in the month of July And I just wanna wish everyone an incredible second half of 2023 .

Thanks for joining us , Matt . Thanks , dude . Talk to you , my friend , You got it .