On this episode of rokrbox TV, Josh offers the spotlight to Sean Smith, who joins the call from Ann Arbor, Michigan. As always, Josh dives in with a big smile, excited to hear about Sean’s experience with rokrbox since his team came onboard a few months prior.
[00:45] Of course, every good story has to start somewhere, and Sean jumps in by sharing his background in real estate.
“I have a background in online lead generation and follow-up,” Sean explains. “I was buying leads through Zillow, and doing all the follow-up myself, so the reason I’m your biggest fan is that I’ve been through that process…it’s my least favorite part of the job. You’re saving me time and a massive headache.”
[1:20] Sean mentions that he started generating business in real estate 5 years ago, and has experienced a lot of growth since then—enough growth to find himself in a position to hire an ISA service like rokrbox.
“The reason I brought you guys on is because I was using CINC myself, [and] I just reached a point in my career where I had too much business to focus on the online leads that were coming in. I knew I needed an ISA, and I did some research. Unfortunately, I [initially] partnered with one of your competitors. Thankfully, it didn’t work out.”
[2:00] Sean adds that his experience with rokrbox so far has been “just incredible…The way you guys just jump in there, and immediately respond to leads within 5 minutes, just like you say [you will], and the notes you put in—it’s just incredible to track the progress.”
Thanking Sean for his kind words, Josh touches on the invaluable importance of our time, and our ability to balance work with our personal lives. “You’re right,” he agrees with Sean. “It is a lot of work. Obviously you have your own life, your own interests. You want to work to make money, but you got to have some time for yourself.”
[2:45] In the same vein, Josh goes on to say that this balance is one of the amazing things about rokrbox. The company is open and available to service Sean’s team (and many other real estate teams across the country) for 80 hours a week, 7 days a week. But that impressive availability is made possible by rokrbox’s brief, 4-hour shifts.
“We come in, [and] we’re hitting the phones for [4] hours,” Josh explains. “Then people are clocking out and getting out of here before they get burnt out, because following up with these internet leads can create a lot of fatigue. You’re facing a lot of rejection, you’re making a lot of calls…it takes a lot of work.”
[3:15] When asked how he got involved with CINC—also known as Commissions Inc., one of the multiple CRMs rokrbox specializes in—Sean tells Josh that he was introduced to it at his last brokerage, and had a lot of success with that CRM. It wasn’t until Sean joined Keller Williams last October that he realized he “just couldn’t keep up with the leads.”
[3:50] Josh congratulates Sean on his move to Keller Williams, telling viewers that Sean has already distinguished himself as the #4 top producer in the office. He goes on to ask how partnering with rokrbox has impacted Sean’s career in recent months.
[4:15] “What’s unique about my experience is, I haven’t actually been taking on any of these leads until just this past week,” Sean answers. He adds that he recently brought a couple of agents onboard, who have been handling all leads.
“It was nice, [being on] the outside looking in,” Sean tells Josh. “Just checking out the [CINC] app, and seeing you guys do your thing. I refresh the app, we’ve got a new lead. I refresh it a minute later, you’ve already followed up. I refresh it a couple minutes later, and you’ve connected it with one of my agents. It’s been great to see that.”
[5:15] Sean also mentions that they partnered with rokrbox just 3 months ago. “So we’re 3 months in with you guys,” he concludes, “and I’m able to see progress. It’s very predictable, which is great, and I’d say we probably have 10-15 deals in the pipeline.”
He goes on to say that he is most excited about the “Watch” list, one of multiple categories that rokrbox uses within the CRM to ensure efficient, proactive, high-quality conversion. In this case, if an online lead is vetted by one of Josh’s callers, and their buying timeframe is determined to be outside of 90 days, the rokrbox ISA will identify that potential buyer as a “Watch” lead, and transfer them to the appropriate category.
From there, the already-vetted lead is added to an ongoing list that is expertly organized, nurtured, and followed up with on a monthly basis, ensuring consistent contact and professional assistance, until that lead is warm and ready down the road. Then, of course, the now-motivated buyer will be handed off to Sean, or one of the expert agents on his team.
[5:50] “To me, that’s the hardest part,” Sean says. “If you’re trying to follow up with leads by yourself, you have to be extremely organized, and very, very disciplined to keep up with the ones that are 6, 12, 24 months down the road. Those are usually missed opportunities…it’s too many leads to keep up with. When I look at that Watch list, I’m so excited for 2022.”
Commending Sean’s remarkable success, Josh expands on one of the topics Sean mentioned: transparency. “We’re working inside of the platform,” Josh says. “It’s not like some add-on, or some different API integration. It’s like we’re logging into Sean’s CINC account every single day. The lead comes in, we call it right away, and he can see all of our notes instantly.”
Like all of the procedures and practices rokrbox employs, this transparency within your team’s CRM of choice ties in to the underlying rokrbox foundation: when it comes to online leads, Josh’s ISAs prioritize immediacy, persistency, and consistency.
[7:00] Josh points out that online leads who aren’t looking to purchase within a 90-day window—those that the ISAs at rokrbox identify as “Watch” leads—are unfortunately the type of lead that are overlooked, or “just kicked to the wayside, and forgotten about forever.”
“Here at rokrbox, we keep all of those leads in our platform,” Josh says, “and our team of ISAs are staying in touch with them, every single month. Making phone calls, sending text messages, sending emails, staying in front of that list.”
[7:35] Another interesting factor, Josh adds, is an annual survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). When it comes to people’s motivation for purchasing a home, more than half of homebuyers answer that it was simply “the right time.”
[8:20] “It’s an emotional decision,” Josh emphasizes. “So that’s why it’s super important to stay in front of these leads on a consistent basis, because then you can be there, in front of them, when it becomes the right time.”
[8:50] Josh steers the conversation to the future, asking what goals Sean has in mind for 2022. “I’m looking to double my business, at least,” Sean answers. “I’m pretty confident that you guys [at rokrbox] can do that, so I’m hoping to get into the 15 to 20 million [range].”
Assuring Sean that he’s looking forward to growing with his team as their partnership continues into the new year, Josh also takes a second to ask about another valuable rokrbox resource: Brady, Sean’s rAMP-UP Coach and personal Client Care Manager.
[10:00] Sean says that Brady—whose integral role within the company includes his title as the rokrbox Vice President of Sales—has “been amazing. He’s on top of everything, he knows what he’s talking about…[he] has the numbers to back it up, so he’s been incredible.”
Thanking Sean for his valuable insights, Josh wraps up the call by inquiring about any potential advice that Sean might have for those considering an ISA service like rokrbox.
[11:20] “It’s worth every penny, for sure,” Sean declares, and says he wants to reiterate on a final point that is especially applicable to newer agents: the necessity of “experiencing this stuff for yourself” in order to understand and appreciate the work that rokrbox puts in.
“I want to put that in perspective,” Sean stresses. “I’m realizing that people who haven’t gone through that process—and trust me, it is not fun at all—have no appreciation for the value [of rokrbox]. I’m telling you, you guys connected us with 10% of the leads that come in every month, and then every 3 or 4 leads we’re connected with is a deal. That’s a phenomenal conversion rate.”
Thanking Sean for his time, Josh expresses his excitement for their continued partnership and another successful year in 2022.
