The Dual Agents: Recent Episodes
Patrick Sprouse & Nik Mercado
Two top brokers discuss real estate industry trends, controversies, and tackle tough issues. This podcast is for agents and brokers looking for expert insight and opinion. By bringing their experience and expert insight on the chaos, changes, and challenges facing agents and their clients in today and tomorrow’s real estate markets. Nik and Patrick dispel myths and cut through the fluff to make your life and business a bit easier. This podcast focused on the important aspects that will make you more money, save you time, headache and heartache. And ultimately keep you and your clients balanced and well informed.
2021 started off like any other real estate year, and then around February the market took off like a rocket ship to parts unknown. What a ride. While Patrick and Nik had originally recorded Season 2’s first episode in February, the market shifts and rapid changes to the brokerage landscape quickly (as in within days of recording) made the episode out of date.
So, here we are, catching everyone up to speed with the new new…new normal of 2021. We cover the market, the agent needs, brokerage shifts and consolidations as well as where we need to go as an industry for our companies, agents and clients. Listen today!
Patrick and Nik conclude Season 1 with a wrap up and Blinkist style review of previous episodes. Also they give a few teasers about what is upcoming and exciting about Season 2. And lastly they cover a few industry hot topics; Recent IPO announcements and also NAR’s public statements on discrimination. As Season 1 concludes, they’re already hard at work on Season 2, so make sure to check in soon.
Kevin Kistler joins Nik and Patrick as they discuss 2020 and the impact the pandemic has had on real estate settlement services. Kevin sheds light on industry changes in technology, and helps brokers and agents bulletproof some classic pitfalls around real estate contracts. The discussion ranges from block chain, to remote settlements, to title insurance, to earnest money. Listen today to get smarter and sharper.
New Agent Training classes come in all sizes and forms, and getting the most value out of your early training is important. Time is money, and it is never more clear than when you’ve started a real estate brokerage career. Patrick and Nik analyze the new agent training offerings in the brokerage industry and take away all the emotion, recruiting pitches and sales spin to make the choices clear for new agents. Listen today to make sure you get the most out of your training in brokerage.
Towards the end of every year the annual listicle and crystal ball prognostications proliferate in media. In honor of this tradition, Nik and Patrick memorialize their 2021 (and beyond) predictions for changes to the real estate industry in podcast form. Listen along as the look at what exciting things have changed and will continue to change in the near and distant future, between AI and robot tour guides to zoning regulation changes, the Dual Agents squeeze in as much as that can into this episode. Listen today!
The last quarter of every calendar year has an annual theme of closing out the current year and planning for the next year. Trainings, sales meetings, lunch-and-learns, articles, and even podcasts all focus on business planning. The same theme, the same solution, and often the same results are trotted out each year to make us feel like we are accomplishing something. What if we are not? What if the actual evidence is not as solid as we have been led to believe? In this episode Nik and Patrick turn business planning on its head, and create a solution, "strategy making," that they believe is the real key to success. Tune in!
Real estate brokerage, an industry famous for the freedom and control agents have over their business, schedule and lives is no exception to workplace bullying. Just as in any other workplace, bullying and toxic behavior should have no place in brokerage. Yet, it still happens. Patrick and Nik cover bullying in real estate in this episode; how to recognize it, when to get others involved and 8 different strategies you can deploy to keep your business on track in the face of bullying.
Agents struggle with balancing professional demands, personal and home demands as well as also finding time to relax and recuperate. The nature of business and brokerage today, along with client expectations in the modern hyper-connected business environment makes finding balance between all these demands difficult. This episode takes a hard look at the reality of self-employed life satisfaction and provides listeners with tools and advice for balancing work, life and most importantly taking care of oneself. A must listen episode for modern real estate agents.
Over the past decade-plus, the real estate brokerage industry has seen all sorts of auxiliary services and vendors flock to the industry hawking new, improved miracle cures for all that ails the real estate agent. One agent service that has taken a foothold and is fast replacing the typical training seminars, certifications and courses is the real estate coach! Touting fantastic results, life changing experiences and secret systems that bring order to chaos, real estate coaching seems too good to be true. Nik and Patrick pull back the shades and bring their experience and insight to answer this questions many agents are asking: Is real estate coaching a good investment for me and my business?
Real Estate brokerage is not for the faint of heart. And to succeed at a high level, year after year, the very best agents develop mental toughness. Nik and Patrick drill down into what mental toughness means for real estate agents, provide some tips on how to develop mental toughness, as well as discuss why it is so important for agents and brokers to be mindful of practicing and continuously working on this important life skill. Tune in today to get tougher.
Customer experience is one of the most important decision factors for consumers today, and too few agents and brokers are focusing on delivering stellar customer experiences, let alone satisfactory experiences. Nik and Patrick dissect the customer experience, finding out what keys are important, and provide a few solutions for changing your customer experience today. If only 43% of clients and customers are satisfied, we have our work cut out for us. Tune in.
Low supply of homes for sale has been a constant issue for the real estate market over the past few years. However, a confluence of events has led to a crunch like we have never seen before; demographic shifts, low interest rates, a pandemic and outdated local housing policies. All these factors have led to many markets facing multiple offer scenarios and bidding wars causing frustration, emotional roller coasters and loads of unexpected work for agents and their clients. Nik and Patrick confront the multiple offer chaos head on and give agents winning tips and techniques to deal with the multiple offer chaos.
Have you thought about becoming a real estate agent?
Nik and Patrick dive into the pitfalls and rewards of starting a career in real estate. They discuss their views on entering the real estate industry after many years of experience in commercial and residential brokerage, leading teams, and businesses.
Entering the industry is brings a similar risk to starting up any other business, but real estate has some unique rewards, financial and personal. Listen for their expert opinion on what it means to start a career in real estate today.