[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Real Estate profits. I'm Griselda and today we're taking your business from busy to brilliant. You're watching now Media Television.
Welcome to Real estate profits where I uncover the business behind the bricks, the systems, the processes and operational decisions that separate busy from truly profitable. I'm Griselda Busliman and today I'm going straight straight into the part of real estate that silently determines your revenue and that is your sales operations. Joining me is Tiffany Dearman, founder and CEO of X Factor Coaching and X Factor agents. With more than 25 years in real estate sales and a reputation for building sales training that targets double digit conversion performance.
Tiffany Dearman, welcome. Let's build a sales system that performs even when the market mood shifts.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: Absolutely. Thank you.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: Wonderful and great having you on the show.
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Thank you so much. It's great to be here. I really appreciate this great opportunity to share a little bit of experience.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: The topic for the discussion, it's about lead follow up being inconsistent.
When the buyer's journey is unclear and the team is winging it, profitability becomes luck. But in this segment we're going to translate Tiffany German's coaching lens into an operational blueprint, measuring conversion points, clean handoffs, and a process that does not depend on heroic effort. So I look forward to learning so much from you, Tiffany.
So, so with that, let's get started.
So what's the real story behind your path in real estate? Almost at the right level.
[00:01:57] Speaker B: I'm sorry.
Okay.
It's kind of a funny story. So I got into real estate because we were looking for a home.
And so our real estate agent, actually this is like 28 years ago, took us to a new home community.
And at that point I'd always been in business to business, you know, sales, yet to go out and get the business, you know, cold calls, knocking on doors.
And so I walk into the new home community, I meet the salesperson, we're talking through all the different decisions that you need to make to purchase a home. And he makes the comment, you're probably going to want a rough in in your garage. And I said, oh yeah, I'm sure I probably will, Mitch. We'll probably want to put that on the list. And then I started laughing and I was like, I have no idea what a rough in is, Mitch.
And he started laughing. He's like, you should work here is you should apply for a job. And I was like, but you guys stand in a model all day, like you don't even have to go out and get the business. How much can you make? And that's when he said, if you're not making six figures, you won't want to work here. And I was like, okay, where do I sign up?
So that was kind of my introduction into what new home sales would be. The rest was history. I interviewed, got the job, and started working for a new home builder. So that's where it started. But one of the things that I thought was funny is, you know, and I still experience it today, is the builder speak. The things that will say to our clients and they don't know what we're talking about.
And I always kind of caution, you know, sales agents and realtors to be careful that you're actually using, you know, language that your client can. Can grab onto, because that creates momentum. So that's how I got started. I started in sales and then moved into management and then became the sales trainer because I was extremely passionate about competency, and I just absolutely love engaging clients and I love a challenge.
So I was with them a good 15 years. Yeah, yeah.
[00:03:56] Speaker A: So let's dig into that. So you're known for training sales professionals.
What problems were you seeing in the industry that made you say, I need to build X factor coaching?
[00:04:08] Speaker B: Yes, I really appreciate that, because coaching new home sales professionals, coaching real estate agents. No matter how long an agent's been in the business, when they come to me, I tend to see the same thing over and over and over. They're actually, you know, engaged. They love working with people. They know their market, they know their product, and they love clients. But when the conversation gets difficult, when objections come or when it's time to ask for the business, they sort of hesitate or back up a little bit and say, okay, I'll follow up with you. And then you spend the next few days trying to craft a email that nobody reads. And that is not a knowledge problem, and that's not a competency problem. That is a process problem. And that is when I knew that being able to provide a predictable, consistent, and structured conversation to real estate agents as well as new home sales teams so that they could save themselves from themselves.
That one lot was the inspiration for X Factor, and especially with real estate. 87% of licensed agents get out of the business within the first two to three years. 87%.
And that's not because.
Yeah, it's just an industry standard. And a lot of times it's just simply because they don't have a structure for when things get difficult and you don't learn any of that. When you get your license yeah.
[00:05:45] Speaker A: Oh, wow. That is incredible. I had no idea that it was that high. So now let's talk. So when you audit a sales operation, what are the first three metrics that you want people tracking weekly and what does good look like?
[00:06:02] Speaker B: Okay, so absolutely critical. No, you can't compromise tracking conversion. And you've got to track conversion individually and as a team. And you have to track conversion by source type, whatever type of lead, whether it's a realtor referral, someone who's walking in the door. You've got to track your lead to appointment conversion and your appointment to contract conversion, because those are two different areas of competency and a little bit different skills. And you need to know where you need to focus. So that's a game changer and that's a revenue driver for businesses and it is one that plagues most builders. I don't care how great they are, how, how large they are, how small they are. Tracking conversions seems to be the nemesis for a lot of builders and for a lot of reasons. I understand that.
But that's absolutely critical to determining where you need to spend your marketing dollars and where you need to spend energy in coaching and developing your team. So that's a huge one. And there's several little things that I. Not little, I won't say little, but there's several details that I always encourage managers to track with their team because it's going to give them a better indication of their actual skill level and their competency level rather than just looking at the numbers. Because we know when the water's high, it covers the rocks like the COVID area. Everybody was selling everything and anything and then the market gets tougher and then you realize you have a very new and inexperienced and sometimes not confident team. And that's why you've always gotta be looking at competency regardless of how well you're doing.
[00:07:55] Speaker A: So now let's talk about that because that 87% is surprising. So where do you most often see conversions die first contact appointment or the show decision phase? And what's the fastest fix that actually moves results?
[00:08:12] Speaker B: Okay, so the first point, first place I see the transaction die for builders is the first appointment when someone walks in the door and typically within the first few minutes.
And I will say that that is because your client's a little less forgiving when they're expecting you to be the expert on everything. Like you're there 24 7. That's, that's the only product priced range, you know, community lots. All of that information that you deal with on a regular basis. So it's a high calling when someone walks in that door to have your ducks in a row, your information. And you've got to be able to build trust immediately.
And we talk about that. And you have to engage that client. So that first meet and greet for the new home builder, I think that is where oftentimes the deal gets lost because people size us up within the first few minutes. With Realtors, I think we get a little bit more grace, but that's because the buyer wants to see a house. Most of the time when a realtor engages with someone for the first time, it's over a property that they want to see and so they want to get in that property. And so for Realtors, it's the continuity, it's the consistency, it's the managing, the relationship over that second and third appointment, your follow up, your intentionality, your urgency level, and the information that you're able to provide to them. I think a lot of times real estate deals will fall apart after that second or third or maybe even that first appointment. Seeing that house, you just get ghosted. You never hear from them again. Right. Or after the offer is written and you lack skill in how to keep that deal together all the way to closing.
Yeah.
[00:09:56] Speaker A: So it's about service and trust and making sure that you're really encouraging and, you know, carrying the conversation forward and building that trust as you go.
[00:10:04] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh, it's huge. Language drives revenue and the fix is a process.
Seriously.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: Right.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: Language drives revenue. We so underestimate that. We don't realize that momentum, all those things that are. You can't see like urgency and momentum and trust and equity, you can't see those things. But those are being driven by the words you're saying when you're saying them, the questions you're asking, how you're asking them, how you're responding. And that is what makes people just feel good about their interaction with you. And so the process is what does that for you
[00:10:46] Speaker A: and relationships.
[00:10:47] Speaker B: Absolutely. That's the.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: That's what I walk away from this first segment to be. So coming up next, I'm going to pressure test how this system scales training, consistency and process control so results don't just collapse when volume rises. So stay with us. We'll be back with Tiffany Dearman, back with more ways to optimize scale and succeed. This is real Estate profits on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Griselda. And this is real estate profits on NOW Media Television. Let's keep Building smarter together.
Welcome back to Real Estate Profits. If you want more of what you're watching, stay connected to this show and every NOW Media TV favorite, live or on demand, anytime you like. Just Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English and Spanish. Now if you're on the move, catch the podcast version at www.nowmedia tv. From business and news to lifestyle, culture and beyond, Now Media TV is streaming around the clock. Ready whenever you are Now. Welcome back to Real Estate Profits. And I'm here with Tiffany Dearman. And now I want to turn to great selling into operational excellence. Because if you can train, measure it and repeat it, you can scale it.
So the topic for discussion is scaling fails when the best practices live inside one top producer's head. In this segment, we're going to pull a real operating model from Tiffany. Standard work for lead handling and coaching cadence that sticks in a conversion flywheel that improves month after month. Well, hello Tiffany. We're ready to learn from you again.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Okay,
[00:12:51] Speaker A: so let's talk about scaling. When teams try to scale, what's the number one operational breakdown that you see?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: You know, probably the inconsistent coaching. Too many teams invest in a once a year rah rah session for their salespeople and think that's going to sustain them through multiple seasons and even shifts in markets. And it just doesn't.
It's like three hours of coaching a month can increase production by 10 to 15% because there's just a hyper focus on what you're doing on your process. And you can never get too good at processes. I feel like we can learn from professional athletes. It's the best.
Professional athletes that get coached the hardest, right? They never grow out of the need for that cadence. I mean, every single day and the focus on the fundamentals, that is another thing that I think sometimes salespeople get really good and even managers and they have a lot of confidence in their team and, and they don't force them back to the fundamentals of selling and engaging people and earning the right to ask for the clothes. So I see those things break down and then sometimes there's just not great communication between sales and development marketing. I mean, everyone has to work together to make the buyer experience strong so that then you can scale, but you gotta cross the T's, dot the I's and you've gotta make sure that all of the different areas that touch that buyer, they're working together and not in their silos. And I find that a lot with new home sales and even with real estate, because you have to work with title companies and, you know, inspectors and appraisers and everyone has to communicate well and work together to make it scalable. A truly scalable communication.
Absolutely.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: And it's all needed. Right. So it's a communication, the constant communication with the entire team to. To make sure that all flywheels are coming in order. So now if I'm building a standard work playbook. Yeah. What are the non negotiables in my playbook? So is it talk tracks, follow up SLA's appointment prep?
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:15:02] Speaker A: What is all that? That's part of my playbook.
[00:15:05] Speaker B: All of that. All of those are non negotiables.
The first non negotiable in your playbook is you need to document what success looks like for your team very specifically in every category of their job that you're going to hold them accountable to. They need to know when they're winning. And I find that to sometimes be a gap for salespeople. So if I'm talking about just your sales interaction and your sales process, a non negotiable for a salesperson, if I'm a new home sales is you need to have your feet on the tile before the buyer walks in the door. That's a huge one because urgency starts before the client walks in the door. So they need to be greeted. Now, not cheesy, not like in your face, but you need to effectively communicate. I am so glad that you took the time out of your day to stop into my place of service. And I want you to feel important.
And that can only be demonstrated in the very beginning by our actions because you haven't even said anything yet. So that's a non negotiable for realtors. You really need to answer that phone first or second call with an excited, enthusiastic, engaging tone of voice.
I mean, that's where you start. So those are non negotiables. There's a lot more.
[00:16:16] Speaker A: There's a lot more. But that's just to start now. So you talk about the coaching cadence.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: Right.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: So there's a fine line. So what's your recommended coaching cadence for performance without making it seem like you're micromanaging?
[00:16:30] Speaker B: Yes. I love that.
Again, like I said, it's some of the best and highest paid performers in our culture today that get coached literally every day and they don't feel like they're being micromanaged. They feel like they're being made better. So I think it's all in your approach. It's all in setting them up for success.
I absolutely loved it when my manager came out and worked with me because I knew they were trying to make me better and they weren't using it as a reason to kind of make me feel like there was this big burden or some expectation that I could never meet. So the expectations need to be realistic, but you need coaches to push you. So I think a cadence is it has to be some type of weekly, whether it's mentors on your team or your trainer that is out always in the field every month. You need to be touching everyone to see how they're doing, what they're doing, what their needs are.
And then there's team coaching so that everybody's hearing the same thing at the same time.
That is priceless.
I think that's huge. And it's great to have the little 15 minute huddle calls that are motivational, but those are not the calls that are going to drive competency.
So you've got to have role plays, you've got to have demonstrations, you got to get out there, you know, roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty with your team, take the pushback, deal with objections because that's where people lose confidence.
And I don't think that that's, it's, it's by any means too much to do it regularly when you're doing it as a team. I think a lot of it is the approach that managers take and making sure that teams are clear on the expectation so that when you come out and you point out things that they need to grow in, they already expect that. In fact, when you do it that way, most of the time salespeople are telling you what they need to do and that is a win because they're coaching themselves and they're looking at their own, you know, performance and that's a win.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: Absolutely. Wonderful. Thank you. Now let's talk about in a rate sensitive buyer environment, what should my team stop saying immediately and what should we start saying that actually helps buyers make that final decision?
[00:18:47] Speaker B: I love that question. Stop saying, I'll connect you with my lender and they can answer all those questions and start talking about financing. You have to be fearless with financing. People buy a payment before they buy a home.
I am going to explain to people what an interest rate is. I have a trusty little card, it's called my X factor rate factor card and it outlines the interest rates for 10, 15, 20 and 30 years and the factors which is the cost of money. Money costs money. I break it down and I explain to my clients in terms of their income, their debt and qualification, what it looks like. I can tell you with a $350,000 home at 6%, your mortgage payment is going to be 20 $100 a month of principal and interest. I can do that in one step on my calculator. I don't need a computer, I don't need a mortgage calculator. I can do that at the gas station. I can do that in the master bedroom. When they're falling in love with it and they really want to know what their payment is going to be. You need to be very agile talking about financing. Even if people are paying cash, they still want to talk about their money investments. It's just such a phenomenal way to gain trust and loyalty.
That, and that is an area that I think, especially real estate agents, we struggle with because we want to hand it off to the lender. Which you will eventually. But you can eliminate the intimidated feeling that people get before they meet with a lender. Nobody wants to be feel like they're being assessed and sized up and then told no. So you can eliminate that which will increase, increase your urgency. They will be more likely not to put it off when they know what they're going to be told.
So I train agents on how to do that with my 7x sales system and the service process. And it's, it's, you're, it's. There's no better way, no better way to gain loyalty and trust and to sell homes than talk.
Yes.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: When you train them and practice that they know their numbers. So one comes across that you're an expert and you know your numbers. But obviously they want to know too, what am I getting into? Can I even afford it? And you don't want to wait until a later meeting. You want to make a decision on the spot. So great, great way to go about it.
[00:21:04] Speaker B: Yeah, that's momentum. You create momentum that way.
[00:21:11] Speaker A: Now let's say we want a 90 day improvement sprint. What are the first two Lean experiments you'd run to lift conversion without increasing your lead spend? What would you recommend?
[00:21:22] Speaker B: Okay, so I do have a 90 day sprint program with X factor that I implement. The first thing you got to do is get buy in. So I will do a two day bootcamp and I will demonstrate the entire platform, the service process, which is the 7x sales system.
But the platform for that is called service and that stands for basically lines up with the seven decisions that a buyer needs to make to be comfortable purchasing a home. So it is not something that's just made up. It's backed by research. It's how buyers say they want to buy. And I take that and I break it down and I walk through the entire thing and let them ask me questions. That alone changes a mindset. And when they go back out into the field, they tend to approach their clients a little differently because they understand the why behind the what, which they may have been doing the what for a while in terms of, you know, dealing with the lot in the floor plan and the financing, but they may not understand why.
So I do that first. And then we really work on the fundamentals of selling before they even really master that process.
We are talking about are you asking questions? Are you leading into each decision point with questions? Are you then affirming or tying down that stage to gain agreement? Are you testing your tie down by playing the devil's advocate? Because that's when you really get real answers. And are you transitioning cleanly from one thought to the next? So since you're familiar with this area, how much do you know about us as a builder? And you allow people to follow you because that builds trust. So those are two things that I always start with. Are you doing the fundamentals with the conversations you're having right now? And let me just challenge your mindset on what you could accomplish. And then we go into that eight week process of really helping them master the art of that 7 Excel system.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: So for everyone who wants to sharpen their sales operating system, where should I send them to learn more about X factor coaching and your training programs?
[00:23:30] Speaker B: They should, they can go to my website, which is the xfcoach.com they can follow me on Instagram and at Tiffany at thexfcoach. So coach Tiffany, basically. And then on Facebook and LinkedIn it's X Factor coaching. So I'm all over all the social media sites or they can go to my website or they can email me tiffanyxfcoach.com that's how they can find me.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: Excellent. Well, thank you so much, Tiffany for bringing real field tested approach to sales operations. We'll be back with more with Tiffany Dearman back with more ways to optimize scale and succeed. This is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. I'm Griselda and this is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television. Let's keep building smarter together.
Welcome back to Real Estate Profits. I'm here with Tiffany Dearman. And now I want to move from sales performance into something every investor, builder and Operator feels immediately margin pressure. So when the demand softens, financing stays expensive or buyers tend to hesitate a little longer. So profitability usually doesn't disappear all at once. It leaks out through weak follow up, poor qualification, inconsistent buyer communication like Tiffany mentioned and missed conversion moments. So that's where I want to go next. So if I'm serious about building a real estate business that lasts, I can't just chase more volume. I have to protect margin. Tiffany Dearman has built her reputation on improving conversion performance, strengthening customer service and helping teams stop leaving revenue on the table through preventable operational mistakes. Her work focuses on the sales process, buyer engagement, and the bridge between Realtors and new home builders, all of which directly affect profitability when markets tighten up.
So Tiffany, when I look at a real estate business that says the market is tough, what are the first hidden operational leaks you want me to inspect before I blame the market?
[00:25:52] Speaker B: I love that. So first you gotta look at everything that you have control over.
You have control over the way you engage your clients, level of urgency you do that with and your skill that you have control over. There's many things about the market that we cannot control. The other thing you can control is how persuasive are you and how well are you leveraging the different resources that your leads are coming from. You mentioned Realtors.
In my market, 65% of clients in, you know, the first time home buyer price range. Now, because it's gone up so much, they have a real estate agent. So if I'm a builder and I'm not pursuing that relationship, I'm definitely leaving money on the table because you want those realtor realtors showing your homes. And on the flip side, as a real estate agent, six out of ten people prefer new. And about two and a half out of ten Realtors actually show new.
So there is a huge opportunity. 30% of the homes sold in our market, and I believe that's a national number, was new construction in 2025. 30%.
So if that's not representing 30% of your business right now, then you're leaving some money on the table because those people are purchasing new and why shouldn't you be representing them? So those are some just really simple operational things you can do. But I find that typically getting back to the fundamentals of engaging clients, earning the right to ask for the sale. And like I said, language drives revenue. Getting very skilled at the conversations you're having with clients and with marketing, understanding what you're investing in marketing and where your sales are actually coming from.
Because if you're the salesperson that can convert 70% of the clients that come in with Realtors and you need to sell five more houses, then you just need to talk to some more realtors because your conversion rate is phenomenal with them. That's why it's so important to know what you're converting by this leads source type with your traffic.
I see.
[00:27:59] Speaker A: So now, in your experience, where do teams most likely lose profit sometimes without even realizing it?
[00:28:08] Speaker B: I think it's in the follow up. You know, actually I tend to tell salespeople your clients and your deals are not missing. They're sitting in your CRM waiting for you to follow up. And that is why follow up is so important. And what happens is salespeople get caught up in wanting all of their potential clients to be A buyers. Okay, so statusing your follow up is critical to your motivation because if everybody is an A buyer and they're not buying, you're going to get down pretty quickly. But honestly, you probably have about 10 to 15A buyers at a time. True. A buyers. And a buyer is ready, willing and able to buy. Right? A B buyer is able, but they may not be ready and they may not be willing. And a C buyer is not able.
You have to do a good job of staticing your buyers so you know where to spend your time, your energy, and your marketing.
[00:29:11] Speaker A: So you're assessing during that conversation, are you a B or a C as you go through?
[00:29:17] Speaker B: Yes. By the questions you ask, information you share, and the answers that you get, you are able to determine that. Now that's not easy for a lot of salespeople. I just had a conversation yesterday with a salesperson and they said they didn't have any B buyers. Yes, you do.
[00:29:34] Speaker A: You're just trying to find them in your CRM.
[00:29:37] Speaker B: Yes, yes, yes.
[00:29:41] Speaker A: So now you also teach that strong sales process reduces customer issues, not just lost deals. So how do cleaner processes protect both conversion and margin at the same time?
[00:29:53] Speaker B: I love that. I find that if a builder has a strong sales process, their customer service is usually in the high 90%. And the reason that is is because a strong sales process is all about expectation setting. It's all about making sure your client gets the information they need, even if they don't know they need it. So you have to be savvy. But they've got to get the information they need. That's going to cause issues down the road. And honestly, 90% of that we should know because we are in the business, we work with the builder and we deal with people every single day. So there really shouldn't be too many objections or issues that could come up down the road that we haven't already had some dealings with or we don't have. Some idea can happen. It's just being proact and intentional about making sure you're communicating those things and setting. We create good buyers. I say it's our job to create good clients. And we do that by setting great expectations, giving them all the information they need and making sure the information we're sharing is really what's important for them. That's why you always lead with questions instead of just presenting. Which oftentimes is what can happen when, when salespeople get on a roll or even as real estate agents, we can say too much. People remember information in bite size bits.
They can't remember paragraphs and paragraphs. So you have to shrink it, streamline it. You got to streamline your conversation and that helps people to remember because they're walking billboards, right? You need them to walk away from you and be able to communicate what you told them because of all the other people who are going to have an influence in their decision and you want them to be able to confidently communicate why they want to do what they want to do, which is hopefully purchase with you.
[00:31:42] Speaker A: So now if I'm working with rate sensitive or payment sensitive buyers, how do I keep the conversation grounded in value and decision? Clarity versus emotion.
[00:31:54] Speaker B: I love that. You have to have, you have to figure out what their budget is. Okay.
And what they would qualify for. That's ideal. If you have those two things, then you can direct them towards true solutions to their problem. You cannot do that without talking about income, debt and credit. And there's so much we take for granted that people just, we think they know and they don't know and they want to know, but they don't want to tell you they don't know. So you have to have a system for once again going a little deeper in those stages than most real estate agents are comfortable doing. And a lot of new home salespeople who will only do it on the computer, but once they walk away from the computer, they're kind of handicapped. So I like to tell them how to do it the old fashioned way so you can talk people through the information.
Most people don't know $1,000 at 7% is costing them $6.66 a month on their mortgage payment. They don't understand interest rates. They really don't. And so when you can share that kind of Information, they feel educated, and then they tell you more, and they tell you more, and then that's when you can really do a great job of serving them well.
That. That's a fantastic service. So, yes, you got to go deeper in those areas. Just a little bit deeper. You're not a lender. You're talking, you know, you don't give absolute specific numbers. You always give ranges, rate, and estimates, and you let them know that. But it's very helpful for a buyer when you can go there, especially in this market where rates are. It's a popular thing, you know, talking about interest rates.
[00:33:37] Speaker A: They're absorbing so much information. They need to know. Yeah, they need to know the numbers. They're absorbing so much.
[00:33:43] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:33:43] Speaker A: So now let's talk about the team. So if my team is busy but not truly profitable, what's the one thing that you would change for making that big operational improvement?
[00:33:54] Speaker B: I'm going to change their way that they're engaging their clients. If they're busy and they're not profitable, we're going to get out their pipeline, all the people they've talked to, their A, B and C buyers, and we're going to start making calls because there is money in there somewhere, I can assure you, especially if you took really good notes when you're walking through the sales process with them. And so when you call them back, you're able to pick up where you left off momentum. That is huge.
And so we're going to start there because those are leads you've already gotten. You need to maximize the leads you've already gotten before you start getting more. Right.
So we're going to start there, and then we're going to look at your process. Are you executing your process consistently? Are you leaving things out? Are you getting nervous in certain areas that causes you to kind of want to skip over it? Are you okay delivering the tough message? Have you built enough equity in the relationship that you can deliver a tough message and have your client thank you for it? I'm going to start with the fundamentals. When we're just busy and we're not producing, that's where I'm going to start.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: There you go. Wonderful.
So thank you so much for all of those fantastic insights. Now, coming up next, I want to talk about scale, because a process that works for one strong producer is not the same for all. So I want to make sure that we distinguish between how do we scale profitably and make sure that it works for everybody. So stay tuned. We'll be back with more with Tiffany Dearman back with more ways to optimize scale and succeed. This is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television.
And we're back. Hi, I'm Griselda and this is Real Estate Profits on NOW Media Television. Let's keep building smarter together.
Stay connected to this show and every NOW Media TV favorite, whether live or on demand. Anytime you like, just Download the free Now Media TV app on Roku or iOS and unlock non stop bilingual programming in English or in Spanish. And if you're on the move, just catch the podcast
[email protected] welcome back to Real Estate Profits. I'm here with Tiffany Dearman and in this final segment, I want to tackle one of the biggest challenges in real estate operations that's scaling without creating confusion, inconsistency or customer friction. A lot of businesses know how to sell when a few strong people are carrying the weight. But real profitability shows up when the process still works across the team communities and really through changing market conditions.
So Tiffany Dearman built X factor coaching to elevate high producing agents and builder sale teams. Her platform is cemented on repeatable training, strong service and double digit conversion performance. She's also positioned herself as someone who helps bridge the gap between Realtors and new home builders, a critical operational pressure point when teams are growing and buyer expectations are rising. So this segment is about turning talent into systems, standardizing the buyer journey and maintaining service quality.
So with that, Tiffany, let's start with first question about scaling. When I want to scale a real estate business, how do I know whether I truly have a system or whether I'm still depending on a few talented people to really make it happen?
[00:37:32] Speaker B: That is an excellent question because when you have a repeatable system, then everyone is able to repeat the system. Now there's going to be different levels. Obviously a newer person isn't going to be as smooth as, you know, an experienced agent. But when you mystery shop, which I highly encourage teams to do, when you mystery shop your team, you see the pattern, you see the approach, and you see the structure that is consistent. What will be different might be a personality that you know is a little more bubbly or gregarious or a little bit more serious. Ideally, in sales, though, your goal is to relax your client and oftentimes line up a little bit with their demeanor. What I mean by that, if someone's coming in off their lunch break and they've got a suit on and they're in a hurry, you don't want to be like completely taking, you know, a slow pace with Talking to them, you want to be able to observe that. It would be more effective if you're able to, you know, validate the way that they're walking in the same thing, but the exact opposite.
So those are important things. And what I love about a process, The X Factor 7XL system, is it not only allows for all the different personality types that exist, you know, in our world in terms of salespeople, it embraces it. In fact, you can't execute a process effectively if you don't embrace it and add your personality to it. It's just that you don't sacrifice exactly where the X's and O's need to go. If you're running a play so you can get to the end zone, that part you can't sacrifice. You can't sacrifice the play, but you can get better and better at running it and you can add your style to it. And that's when you know you have a repeatable, measurable process you can measure. And we literally have scorecards that we use to say, did you do this? Did you do that? Were you able to accomplish this? And that helps salespeople because they know how they're doing.
[00:39:44] Speaker A: Absolutely. And now, so you also have to be mindful, right? You work with both agents and builder sales teams. Now, as you're growing the business, what most often do you see that breaks down or is not going as you want it to?
[00:39:58] Speaker B: Well, I will say I do have two online courses, one for real estate agents and one for new home builders sales teams. And the reason I have it that way is because, like I said, language drives revenue. And the language for the new home builder sales team is different than the language for a real estate agent who's showing homes I've never seen before. Right. It's a little bit different environment.
So I do have two different courses. They're hybrid. They both include in the price weekly coaching with me. So you will be with me once a week and we will really drive execution. And where I see the breakdown, a lot of times with real estate agents, you, it's just no real coaching on how to engage clients and have conversation with them. Right. When you get out, you know, real estate school, when you get your license. And so it's almost like you have to be successful to be successful because you're just learning as you go one client at a time. A lot of times that's what I see with real estate. I want to push the knowledge and the competency to you so that after nine weeks in the business, you can Literally have confidence closing clients with new home builders, I will. See, it's just more of a lack of urgency or underestimating your ability to influence because you're not consistently executing on that process every day, with every client, every time they come in the door. It's exhausting is what it is. Real estate is exhausting.
[00:41:25] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely. So, so now you've said that there's often a gap between Realtors and new home builders. What does that gap cost operationally and how can I fix it before it starts hurting revenue?
[00:41:37] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. That can cost millions and millions for Realtors and new home builders. I know plenty of Realtors who are in the top 10%, which means they're doing 10 million a year. And I know plenty of builders that are doing, you know, hundreds and hundreds of millions a year. And so if they are not pursuing the real estate community, like I said, I think in the earlier segment, in a lot of markets, at least 50 to 60% of clients, some as high as 80% of clients above, like the 200 or $300,000 price range, they have a real estate agent. So if Realtors are not pursuing relationships and builders with builders and builders with Realtors, then they're not able to serve those clients who really want to purchase new and they really want to be represented by an agent. And the same thing with real estate agents. They can be intimidated by the new construction process. So I do have a course, it's like construction 101.
And I layer the language over that that's important for Realtors to have dealing with their clients. But you want to be a step ahead of your client. And if you don't know the area, then you're intimidated because you're afraid you're going to get asked questions that you don't have the answers to. And so the way to fix that. One of my favorite roles that I just played with a builder that I just finished a three year contract with was developing the real estate.
And it was so fun and, you know, having events with real estate agents, writing the, you know, script, I guess, for lack of a better word, the strategic conversation. I'd rather say it that way for the salespeople so that when they met with Realtors, they could go deep with them and get them to come and buy with them. And that's the true measure. If you're spending this time getting to know real estate agents, then they eventually will bring you business.
And like I said, it can cost millions if that gap is there and Realtors can get Upset because they feel like they get cut out of a deal. Builders can get upset because they feel like a realtor wants on the end of a deal that they had no part in bringing together. And that's where there has to be lots of conversation and collaboration.
[00:43:44] Speaker A: Great, great. Now let's talk about the customer experience. How do I build a customer experience that truly feels personal and high touch while you're still standardizing your processes and bringing in obviously the profits?
[00:43:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I think you have to standardize your processes if you want the customer experience to feel personal and high touch.
And so what I mean by that is if you don't have clearly laid out in writing for your team in terms of construction, land development, sales, marketing, clients, closing, if it's not clear to everybody what everybody's role is, that's when the customer service experience starts to really wobble. That's where the wobblies come in. When you have a standardized process and even in your sales process, like I said, it's like, you know, building a high producing, high performing team requires some systematic and streamline communication and ability to execute if you're going to do that over and over and over. So I believe you have to have structure and strategy and systems and processes to make your client feel really important and so that your team can reproduce over and over and over. The way you master something and get really good at it is that it's repeatable and you can practice it. Right. Repetition is the mother of all memory.
That's how these athletes are so good. They've been doing what they've been doing for decades.
[00:45:15] Speaker A: Right.
[00:45:15] Speaker B: And they just keep getting better and better and better at it. So I think you absolutely have to have those to make your client feel personal and then you add your personality to it and you're, you know, friendly and you know, give favor and you drive commonality and yeah, you make them feel important within the process.
[00:45:35] Speaker A: Okay, within the process. Now, as I look ahead to the next 12 months, what are those capabilities that I should be building now if I want to real estate company that is not just producing, but it's durable and scalable.
[00:45:48] Speaker B: Yes. You've got to build the fundamental sales process because honestly, if we're not selling, then everything else is not going to be necessary. So you have to start there. And that's one of the things sometimes that I feel like is a bit of a conversation having with builders. I had the fortune of being with a builder who considered themselves a Fortune 500 company that just happened to build homes. So they built all their operational systems, like a Fortune 500 company. We would have a Monday meeting where every people from every department, execs from every department was in that meeting every Monday and we were communicating and talking, and you could see that. So I say build a foundation of excellence where there is leadership in every department that's communicating regularly. Because you have different goals, but you have one main goal, and you've got to build your sales process. I think a successful organization is fundamentally built on sales. And so you have got to do that from the ground up. You cannot compromise that and you can't in any way, shape or form shortcut that. Because in the long run, you will see it, it will come back, and when you do that, you have something that lasts forever. Your sales team will Never outgrow the 7x sales system. The better they get, the more they'll use it. And I have probably about 30 or 40 agents, either executives at builders in our market or top 10% agents that can attest to that, that I've coached. They still use it to this day. I still use it when I'm talking to people.
So that's what you have to do if you want to scale long term. You got to build a strong foundation in any industry.
[00:47:38] Speaker A: Fantastic. Well, Tiffany, thank you so much for joining me and bringing such a practical lens to the sales side of real estate operations. Today, I've taken away something important.
Profitability is not just about getting more leads or working harder. It comes from disciplined process, better buying, engagement, stronger service, and a sales system like yours that can perform consistently under pressure.
[00:48:05] Speaker B: And to everyone watching, if you want
[00:48:07] Speaker A: lasting real estate profits, don't just look at the property, look at the operation behind it. Because when the process is stronger, the business becomes stronger.
So thank you so much for all of your great insights, Tiffany. It's been a great conversation.
[00:48:23] Speaker B: Yes, I appreciate it.
[00:48:25] Speaker A: I'm.
Thank you for being with us. I'm Griselda Bussamen and I'll see you next time on real estate profits.
