We’re excited to share this very special rokrbox TV with you! Josh sits down with Scott Botelho to hear rokrbox TV’s 1st client success story of 2022—and it’s one you guys won’t want to miss!
Josh dives in, inviting Scott to share his real estate journey, insights, and the path that led him to start his own team in New Bedford, MA. After securing the title of #1 Agent at RE/MAX in 2016, Scott ended up starting Home and Key Real Estate in 2019. With only 3 agents onboard, Scott’s team quickly skyrocketed to rank #3 in the entire state.
[00:50] As one of the top-producing agents of the eastern U.S., Scott is still “crushing it with internet leads” after two decades in the real estate business. “We’ve been kicking and screaming in the real estate business for 20 years now,” he says. “And this is the point when you say, ‘Man, you don’t look old enough to be doing that for 20 years!’”
As Josh cracks up, Scott adds that his former job was working as ‘a prison guy.’ “They call it a correctional officer,” he jokes, “but I say, I never corrected a thing. I was looking for a way to get out of prison, and that’s the God-honest truth.”
At the time, it was Scott’s father-in-law—who worked as a real estate broker—who first sparked Scott’s interest in real estate. “[He] probably had 30-some-odd years of experience at that time,” Scott recalls, “and I’m like, ‘I think I can do that.’ So I got started 20 years ago, and I’m still plugging away. Still love everything I do.”
[01:50] A big thing for Scott, he mentions, is personal development—a concept that he was introduced to prior to his start in real estate. “That’s been a really big piece of any success I’ve had, whether it be success with life, relationships, or business,” Scott says. “That’s the foundation for me.”
[3:45] Scott remembers how different the world was 20 years ago, particularly when it comes to technology. “This was before the internet,” he exclaims. “When I first [started out], it was just coming on the scene. In fact, I remember when we first got the MLS, we had AOL as our internet provider…It would take all night for the stuff to download.”
[4:17] At that time, Scott explains, internet leads weren’t a thing yet. “I was the ISA,” he explains. “It was just me. I took all the calls, I had a script I used.” He adds that he learned the importance of follow-up, referring to it as “the heavy lifting”—and he became very good at it.
“I [got] a lead,” Scott says. “I followed closely. I was on this treadmill of doing that. The internet still wasn’t even big at that point…I really got into the referral business.” This led Scott down a ‘sphere of influence’ path, where he “stopped working leads, and built a great business.”
[06:11] When Scott earned the title of #1 RE/MAX agent in 2016, he adds, he was by himself. “All word-of-mouth, repeat referral business,” he tells Josh. “I really worked the referrals.”
It wasn’t until Scott started Home and Key Real Estate that he recognized the need for lead generation, a necessary component “to give [his agents] bats, because my experience is, we just don’t have enough people in our sphere to make a living doing real estate. You need the cold leads, and you can work those. You’ll transact with them, and then build referrals through them.”
This led Scott to pursue online lead generation, which quickly led him to another key realization. “I can always make more money,” Scott emphasizes, “but I can never get more time. Time is a more valuable commodity.”
[07:20] Even before deciding to partner with rokrbox, Scott understood the essentiality of lead follow-up, and how critical it is to succeed in real estate. “That’s the heavy lifting,” he stresses. “And if I can remove that from [my agents’] plates, that’s probably a good way to go. Let somebody else do the heavy lifting for us, and let’s just work with highly qualified leads…So, that’s why we partnered up with you guys.”
Scott takes a moment to praise the effectiveness of the rokrbox rAMP-UP Coaching Program, and how useful it is when Kelsey—his team’s personal Client Care Manager and rAMP-UP Coach—sits down with Scott’s team for regular meetings, and highlights specific activity within their CRM to identify potential opportunities for improvement.
[08:52] “Then we can look at the CRM and say, ‘Okay, time out. We’re off here, we’re off there’,” Scott tells Josh. “You know, as a leader, it was a business decision. If it takes 6-12 touches on a lead, that’s 120 touches for 10 leads to get 2 [hot opportunities]…I’d rather have you guys [at rokrbox] do it.”
Scott tells Josh what he often tells his agents: time is money. “I’d rather have my agents in front of people,” he says. “People we believe to be qualified, out in the field, and that’s the direction we decided to go in…It’s been working well.”
Josh nods in agreement, adding that real estate is a numbers game. “One of the worst things that a salesperson can do,” he says, “is spend too much time with an unmotivated lead…You can’t force someone to buy a home. You can’t force someone to be qualified. You can’t force their offer to be accepted.”
Of course, Scott’s desire to see his agents out in the field—working directly with real people instead of internet leads on a screen—is exactly where rokrbox comes into play, and a primary reason Josh’s rokrbox team performs such high-quality work for 80 hours a week, 7 days a week.
[10:10] “Like you said, the work just compounds on itself. Dials, after dials, after dials,” Josh says, alluding to Scott’s earlier comment that working leads is like being on a treadmill. “But if you can really give your agents the actual opportunity to work real, legitimate, vetted leads, then your impact as a coach to your own agents is much [greater]…You get deeper value in those conversations.”
[11:00] Josh pivots, asking Scott about his team’s experience since rokrbox came into the picture. Since partnering with rokrbox in March 2021, Scott replies, his team has not only done over $5 million in sales and $327,000 in commissions—they’ve also tripled their ROI.
[12:07] Elaborating on the time-tested rokrbox strategy of calling new leads 7 times in the first 10 days, Scott paints a realistic picture of his team’s ability to utilize that practice. “That’s fine when you’re working with one lead,” he tells Josh. “But when you get to 5, 10, 20, 100, 200, 300? Try that on for size. You don’t get much. I’d rather have [my agents] working with people that are ready to transact in the next 30, 60 days, and let you guys take care of the [rest].” And when it comes to cost, Scott shares the same words that other clients have shared since investing in rokrbox: “To me, it’s a no-brainer.”
“It’s an investment,” Scott states. “What does it cost? Well, I’ll tell you this—what will it cost if I don’t do it? You know, what are we missing? So far, and it’s only been 6 months, my agents seem to love it. They’re closing business, clearly. We’re right on track.”
[13:20] Reiterating the importance of freeing up his team’s time—one of the most important values that rokrbox strives to do for agents nationwide—Scott adds, “I just like the fact that these guys are freed up to work with the clients that they have—to work with past clients, to generate the referrals, and let [rokrbox] do the long-term internet game. Because it’s a whole different animal. So far, we’re really happy. I’m really happy with it.”
[13:50] Josh responds first by commending Scott’s ability to build success on a foundation of referrals and repeat business.
“That shows you’re delivering a good solution to your clients, because they come back to you,” Josh points out. “They refer their friends and family. It’s the best compliment you can ever receive in the business world.” At the same time, Josh continues, entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to grow their business—and that involves seeking out new people.
“The internet’s a really great way to do that,” Josh says, adding that it allows them to “cast a wider net.” The downside of that wider net, of course, is a never-ending stream of new contacts—but not every contact is a true opportunity, making it more difficult than ever to weed out motivated buyers and sellers from the masses.
“And that’s why there’s so much work that goes into it,” Josh concludes. “You’ve got to be calling immediately, persistently, and consistently over time. So glad we’re able to free up your agent’s time, so they have the freedom to work on those high income-producing activities.”
As always, Josh wraps things up by asking Scott for his honest feedback to those considering a partnership with rokrbox, or looking into potential ISA solutions.
[17:20] “My experience has been outstanding,” Scott exclaims. “I think the big thing is, you can’t try this. You got to do it, and then you got to let it play out. There’s going to be some bumps, like there always is with new things. It’s not going to be perfect, but it works.”
Referring back to his earlier comment, Scott reminds Josh, “I can always make more money, but I can’t get more time. I’d rather delegate that [time], and have my agents working on quality leads. So to me, you just do it. You commit to it. The results have been outstanding, and I think it’ll only get better…and I know it’ll scale up from there. So, just pull the trigger.”
Thanking Scott for his time, Josh encourages any viewers seeking a top-producing agent to give Scott Botelho of Home and Key Real Estate a call at 558-789-8529.
“I really appreciate it,” Josh tells Scott with a smile. “Excited about our future success together. For those of you watching, I appreciate your time, as always.”
Be on the lookout for more rokrbox TV episodes with renowned rokrbox CEO & founder Josh Cunningham! We plan to hit the ground running in this brand new year by bringing you more inspiring success stories, the latest tips and tricks, and valuable insights on increasing your ROI from real estate agents nationwide.
Say goodbye to the old, and hello to the new…2022 is a year you won’t want to miss!
