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the show. Hello

2:53

and welcome to another episode

2:56

of Keeping It Real, the largest

2:58

podcast made by real estate

3:00

agents and for real estate agents.

3:02

My name is DJ Parris.

3:04

I am your guide and host

3:06

through the show. And in

3:08

just a moment, we're going to

3:10

be speaking with a long

3:12

time, keeping it real, a friend,

3:14

contributor, and also a personal

3:16

friend of mine, Carrie McCormick. So

3:18

she is not only one

3:20

of the very top realtors here

3:22

in Chicago. There's 45 ,000 of

3:24

them here. She's like number two

3:27

on the production side. So she's

3:29

a really big deal. She's also

3:31

a really nice person. So she

3:33

comes, has been coming on our

3:35

show for basically ever since I

3:38

started. She comes on monthly. She

3:40

talks about the Chicago market and

3:42

we are now going to talk

3:44

about what she's currently doing to

3:46

keep her business running. So

3:48

we actually recorded this

3:50

live at our webinar event

3:52

last month. So we're providing

3:54

it for you here today. In

3:57

case you missed it, it's fantastic. By

3:59

the way, we are doing these monthly

4:01

live webinars. Really encourage you to sign

4:03

up for one. We are so fortunate

4:05

to be able to offer them for

4:07

free due to our sponsorships. So thank

4:09

you to our sponsors. So the

4:11

way that you get access

4:13

to these is keeping it real

4:15

webinar .com. We update that link

4:18

every single month with a

4:20

new webinar. So please feel free

4:22

to go to keepingitrealwebinar .com

4:24

today and

4:26

register for our next webinar, which is

4:28

coming up here at the end

4:30

of April. All right, let's get to

4:32

it. My conversation with the great

4:35

Kerry McCormick. Just

4:50

before we get started today, I

4:52

wanted to give you a special announcement.

4:54

We are once again doing a

4:56

webinar at the end of April, April

4:58

29th from 12 p .m. to 3

5:00

p .m. Central Standard Time completely free

5:02

for our Keeping It Real audience.

5:05

And this is an opportunity for us

5:07

to connect together, chat along the

5:09

way, and also get to learn from

5:11

some unbelievable speakers. We have Amy

5:13

Duan Kim, one of the top agents

5:15

here in Chicago, going to talk

5:17

about finding listings in a low inventory

5:19

environment, which we're all dealing with.

5:22

We also have Mary. Dingman from

5:24

the locker room is going to

5:26

talk to you about secrets of

5:28

how to crush open houses so

5:30

that you actually generate leads. And

5:32

we have Kim Ritberg, our resident

5:34

video expert, talking specifically about chat

5:36

GPT and other ways that you

5:38

can use video right now to

5:40

get leads. Guys, head over to

5:42

keepingitrealwebinar .com. Again, keepingitrealwebinar .com. Use the

5:44

promo code podcast. It'll reduce the

5:46

price to zero. Thanks to our

5:48

sponsors. So again, keeping it real webinar.

5:51

promo code sponsor promo code podcast

5:53

and it's going to be

5:55

the 29th, which is a Tuesday

5:57

from 12 to 3pm central

5:59

standard time. Please be there. We have limited

6:01

seats and we just love doing this with you

6:03

and it's fun to connect. All right. Enjoy the

6:05

episode. rolling.

6:20

So I'm going to start

6:22

with our very first presenter and

6:25

speaker, and also somebody that

6:27

is very influential here in the

6:29

Chicago market, maybe the most

6:31

influential agent, honestly, as far as

6:33

single individual agent. I would

6:35

I say that not just because

6:37

she's here, but I actually

6:39

believe it. And And Kiki

6:41

actually, when we got on, I don't know if

6:43

everyone heard this, but she's one of our speakers

6:45

today too. She's actually going to be getting coached.

6:48

But she said, oh my gosh, Carrie McCormick, I

6:50

haven't met you, but I'm a huge follower of

6:52

her. So everyone is a big follower

6:54

of this person of Carrie. So I am

6:56

so honored to have her. She has been

6:58

not only an amazing influential person here in

7:00

Chicago, she's a top, top, top producer, but

7:02

she has been a huge friend to our

7:04

show. When I first started the show and

7:06

didn't have any listeners. Carrie said, I want

7:08

to be a part of this. And she

7:10

has been a part of this for as

7:12

many years as I've had it. So seven

7:14

years, maybe six, seven years. And she comes

7:17

on every month. We're so grateful. And

7:19

she is going to be doing more regular

7:21

episodes. So she'll be on every month talking

7:23

about how she grew her business and advice

7:25

she has for agents. And boy,

7:27

you know, this is a person that just

7:29

doesn't have time to do this. And she makes

7:31

time for us. So we're super honored to

7:33

have her. This is a very important thing, very

7:36

important person for us here on our show.

7:38

And we are huge fans of Carrie's. But let

7:40

me tell you about Carrie McCormick. If you

7:42

aren't yet familiar, she is, by the way, with

7:44

at properties. Christie's

7:46

International here in Chicago. She

7:49

is for over two decades,

7:51

Kerry McCormick has defined defined

7:53

excellence in Chicago's real estate

7:56

market, setting the gold standard

7:58

across all neighborhoods and price

8:00

points with an extraordinary career

8:02

surpassing 2 .2 billion in

8:04

sales, including an impressive 200

8:06

million in production alone in

8:08

2024. Last year doing 200

8:11

million. That is incredible. That

8:13

was maybe the hardest year. It was

8:15

the lowest year in 30 years for home

8:18

sales and Kerry still crushed 200 million. That's

8:20

pretty awesome. She's more than a top

8:22

producer though. She is a first of

8:24

all a friend to our show. She's

8:27

a total visionary and leader and just

8:29

a force to be reckoned with. And

8:31

also One of the nicest people you

8:33

could ever meet, honestly. So this is

8:35

somebody who should have a gigantic ego

8:37

and she just doesn't. And I think

8:39

that is something that is really a

8:41

hallmark of my favorite people in this

8:43

industry. Top superstars who are approachable and

8:45

sweet and kind and Carrie is absolutely

8:47

all of those things. So I want

8:49

everybody to follow her specifically on Instagram.

8:52

Now she is all over social media.

8:54

We'll have links to all posts. As

8:56

soon as we start talking, Rosanna can

8:58

post her links in the chat. But

9:01

her Instagram is legendary. She does it all

9:03

herself too. When you see this, you're not going

9:05

to believe that she does it all herself.

9:07

Now, you know, sometimes she has crews filming and

9:09

stuff for her, but she posts it. She

9:11

edits it. She does all the heavy lifting. It

9:13

is so cool. You won't believe that a

9:15

single person could do this. It's Carrie McCormick real

9:17

estate. So we'll have XANA. XANA can post

9:19

a link there. If not, I'll do it here

9:21

in a little bit. We'll have a link

9:23

to that and we'll send that out to you

9:25

as well. So, and you

9:28

can always visit her on her

9:30

website, Carrie McCormick. realestate .com as

9:32

well, which is really a cool

9:34

looking website. It really showcases how

9:36

her, her rise in Chicago and

9:38

market into luxury has just been

9:40

phenomenal. And everybody here in Chicago

9:42

knows her as not, and she

9:44

doesn't only do luxury, obviously she

9:46

helps really anyone that she can,

9:49

but she is really the person

9:51

that luxury clients go to. She

9:53

just is, she attracts them, she gets them,

9:55

and she's going to talk about that today.

9:57

All right. Carrie, I'm going to unmute you.

9:59

I'm sorry. No, you're on mute. Great. Welcome

10:01

to the show once again. Thank

10:03

you. That's such a nice introduction. And

10:06

I truly appreciate it. And I think

10:08

one thing that you said is, and

10:10

I appreciate that you said that

10:12

I'm a nice person. And I

10:14

think people overlook kindness just in

10:16

general in the world and in

10:18

our industry. And part of my

10:20

success is putting ego aside and

10:22

putting the client first and just

10:24

being kind. takes

10:27

you a long way. And not everybody

10:29

is kind. And I've I've asked Carrie

10:31

this over the years because she's so

10:33

important here in Chicago. I just assume

10:35

everybody is super kind and nice to

10:37

her because she's so kind and nice.

10:39

And she's like, oh, no, she's like,

10:41

you would be shocked at how people

10:43

talk to me, other agents talk to

10:45

me in this business. And I'm just

10:47

it blows my mind. So, you know,

10:50

obviously, being kind and nice is really

10:52

going to be helpful for you, even

10:54

if it's just to make better relationships.

10:56

But Agents like closing deals with people

10:58

they like. That's another thing too. But

11:00

anyway, Carrie is kind and nice and

11:02

also evident doing this today for us.

11:04

Again, another big thank you to her.

11:07

All right, Carrie, let's start. I want to start all the

11:09

way at the beginning. I know this story, but the

11:11

audience might not. So tell us, you

11:13

know, you were in a totally different

11:15

industry. You were in, in like the

11:17

marketing sort of ad world and you

11:19

were looking for a change. First of

11:21

all, let's figure out why. And then

11:23

how, how did you do that? Yeah,

11:25

so I was in marketing. I worked

11:27

for a company called eTrade. And this

11:29

is going back to the dot com

11:31

boom, where it was one of the

11:33

best industries to be in, a great

11:35

company to be in. But

11:38

I realized I was a

11:40

little more rebel spirited than

11:42

I thought. I don't

11:44

to say I'm not a rule follower because

11:46

it doesn't sound right. you

11:49

know carving my own pathways

11:51

and you know making my own

11:53

rules kind of you know

11:55

as an entrepreneur right and when

11:57

you work for a company

11:59

in corporation there's rules that you

12:01

have to follow so again

12:04

we're going back to late 1990s

12:06

the late 1990s and I

12:08

again I was working at a

12:10

great company had a cushy

12:12

job corner office great views And

12:15

I just wasn't fulfilled. You know, was obviously

12:17

very young at the time, but I knew

12:19

that there was something bigger and better out

12:21

there for me. And again, having

12:23

that rebel spirited demeanor in

12:25

me and wanting to be

12:28

more of an entrepreneur, I

12:30

had decided to go out for a walk

12:32

one day. And it was

12:34

a walk because something was going wrong at

12:36

my job. I don't remember what it

12:39

was, but I was just feeling anxious. I

12:41

got up and I left the office

12:43

for a walk. that my

12:45

office was in the A .N. building, excuse

12:48

me, and I ended up

12:50

walking all the way to the West Loop. Upon

12:53

my arrival in the West Loop,

12:55

they were doing construction. And I walked

12:57

up to the construction site asking

12:59

what was happening on, you know, we're

13:01

in the middle of nowhere. And,

13:03

you know, there's diggers, there's, you know,

13:05

activity going on there, building a building.

13:07

And of course, my curiosity, you know,

13:09

just led me right to the gentleman.

13:11

His name was Tom. And I asked

13:14

him, you know, what were they doing?

13:17

And excuse me, everyone, I was getting over

13:19

a cold. And Tom proceeded

13:21

to let me know that they were

13:23

building a residential building. And

13:25

of course, being rebel -spirited, I disagreed

13:27

with Tom. I said, no one's going

13:29

to live in the West Loop. I

13:31

don't know why you're even building here. And

13:34

we had this nice banter back

13:36

and forth. And Tom had asked me,

13:39

are you in real estate? And of course, I said,

13:41

well, yes, I am. I'm in real estate. And

13:43

I know what I'm talking about. You

13:47

were not in real estate. But I wasn't

13:49

real estate. So Tom

13:51

said, you know, I'd love to meet

13:53

with you at my office next week. And

13:55

we set up a day in time

13:57

for me to meet with him. Well, of

13:59

course, I scurry back to my office

14:01

realizing that I just fibbed to this gentleman

14:03

that, you know, I had my real

14:05

estate or I was in real estate. So

14:08

I quickly got online and I looked

14:10

up how to get my real estate license.

14:12

I signed up immediately for the class. When

14:15

I went to go meet with Tom the

14:17

following week, I did obviously tell

14:19

him that I said, Tom, I just want

14:21

to, you know, tell you the truth.

14:23

I do not have my license, but I

14:25

am signed up for the class, you

14:27

know, so he kind of took that as.

14:29

you know, appreciated, you know, that I

14:31

kind of cleared the air on that. But

14:34

I'll say he was completely fine with me.

14:36

He's like, that's fine. Just finish the class,

14:38

but I want to talk with you. So

14:40

we sat down. I was at his office

14:42

for hours and we went through floor plans

14:44

and we went through different things. And at

14:46

the end of the meeting, he said, I

14:48

want to hire you. I want you to

14:50

run the sales of this new building. And

14:53

keep in mind, I came from

14:55

a corporate job where I had a

14:57

salary, benefits, everything that a

14:59

big corporation would offer somebody. But

15:01

I knew that this was my

15:03

opportunity. I knew this was my

15:05

calling. And I took a

15:07

leap of faith. And here we are. Yeah,

15:10

I love that. This idea

15:12

that you can go somewhere and talk

15:15

to someone and then figure out how

15:17

to solve the problem of, oh gosh,

15:19

now I have this appointment. And you

15:21

know, it's, it's a great thing to

15:23

take a chance. And you did that.

15:25

And here you are now all these

15:27

years later. So let's talk about how

15:29

you got started. So everyone gets started

15:31

with zero clients, zero idea of how

15:33

they're going to. survive and also probably

15:35

a lot of fear, right? And I

15:37

know certainly I talk to new agents

15:39

almost every day and people who just

15:41

get their license. And I always ask

15:43

them, what are you most scared of?

15:45

Because I always think that's kind of

15:47

the most interesting thing. And it's usually

15:50

the one question. It's leads. It's

15:52

how do I get leads? How do I

15:54

grow my business? Obviously, that is everybody's concern

15:56

because leads, I always love this expression. I

15:59

heard Brian Tracy say it. He goes, leads

16:01

solve all problems. And I think

16:03

that's pretty true. I don't, maybe it's not

16:06

all problems, but it certainly solves the problem of

16:08

how to stay in the business. So let's

16:10

talk about leads. Like, how did you, when

16:12

you started, how did you sort of find business?

16:15

Yeah, so, you know, my career is

16:17

25 years and it was split

16:19

up into two different segments, I call

16:21

it. So the first decade of

16:23

my career, I was in development. So

16:25

just like that story, I worked

16:27

for the developer and we did that

16:29

building in the West Loop and

16:31

we continued on to several other buildings.

16:34

And then from there, I was recruited

16:36

with to some of the other

16:38

major developers here in Chicago. So for

16:40

the first 10 to 12

16:42

years of my career, I was

16:44

on the development side. And

16:47

I learned a tremendous

16:49

amount of knowledge and

16:51

information through that experience.

16:54

And also keep in mind all of these

16:56

people that I interacted with for 10

16:58

years, right? You know, I'm selling a tower

17:00

and people were coming into the sales

17:02

center. I built an incredible database. My

17:07

career changed in really

17:09

the pivoting of the 2008

17:11

crash, right? So the

17:13

market crashes in 2008 and

17:15

that lasts a couple

17:17

of years. During

17:19

08 through, I think it

17:21

was like 2011 -ish, I

17:24

still worked with the developers

17:26

because we had to redefine

17:28

the business and you

17:30

know, get out of a certain certain

17:32

things. But then I went

17:34

into brokerage around 2011 2012 ish.

17:36

It's hard to even think back

17:38

that far. And that's where really

17:40

my development. expertise

17:43

came into place because I had

17:45

all those leads, right? I had

17:47

already built 10 plus years of

17:49

clientele. So I feel like I

17:51

was lucky that I had a

17:53

little bit of a head start,

17:55

but it was still starting from

17:57

scratch, right? And, you

18:00

know, networking and having a good

18:02

CRM and following up with

18:04

people, just those fundamental attributes of

18:06

what we do was so

18:08

important during that time. Yeah,

18:11

thanks for that. I want

18:13

to talk about developers because this

18:15

is something that you, even

18:17

though you work with, you know,

18:19

individual home buyers and sellers

18:21

and not always for the developer,

18:23

you are chosen to work

18:25

for developers even today in luxury

18:27

buildings and all sorts of

18:29

projects. I live in one of

18:31

your developments. That's Chicago is

18:33

not a small place and it's funny. The reason

18:35

I live there. I like Gary so

18:37

much that I was like, I want to

18:39

support her because she said, I have this

18:41

new development. This is four years ago, maybe

18:43

five years ago. She says, why don't you

18:45

come check it out? And I was like,

18:47

okay, I really didn't have any intention of

18:50

buying anything. And I walked into the showroom

18:52

and I was like, Oh, I want this.

18:54

And so I happen to live in one

18:56

of Kerry's development. So how funny is that?

18:58

And I was one of the best purchases

19:00

I ever made. What a cool development that

19:02

I get to live in. But Kerry gets

19:04

chosen for these. And yes, she started her

19:06

career doing that. But there's a lot of

19:08

agents that would like to break into that

19:10

market. It is not an easy market to

19:12

break into. You are up against some real

19:14

heavy hitters because of course, developers, they just

19:16

want their stuff sold for the highest price

19:18

possible. And they want somebody that really knows

19:20

what they're doing. But I would love Kerry.

19:22

If you had any advice for somebody who's

19:25

like, I want to get into development. I

19:27

want to get to work with developers

19:29

and get chosen. What are some of the

19:31

ways that if you were starting over,

19:33

you might approach that? Yeah,

19:35

it's funny when you say starting

19:37

over, it's such a daunting

19:39

word to think back. My brain

19:42

automatically goes back to all

19:44

of the hard work and the

19:46

road through where I've gotten

19:48

today. But what developers

19:50

want is someone that does

19:52

have a wide network. So to

19:54

work for these developers, they

19:56

want you to be able to

19:58

pick up the phone and

20:00

call. anyone and everybody that

20:02

you know. So they also want you

20:04

to be an advocate for that

20:06

development, right? And for you to believe

20:08

in that and be able to

20:10

be more boots on the ground and,

20:12

you know, get out there and,

20:14

you know, kind of really be an

20:17

influencer or a spokesperson for that

20:19

development. You're the brand in the face

20:21

of that development. So You

20:23

know, again, having deep rooted network,

20:25

having the social ability to be

20:27

able to get out and be

20:29

able to articulate the development and

20:31

why it's so great. And again,

20:33

remain focused on that development is

20:35

super important to them. And

20:38

you probably, when you worked

20:40

for developer initially, you saw

20:42

probably a lot of realtors come

20:44

through. You probably got to see

20:46

what good agents who bring in

20:48

their buyers you know, good

20:51

agents, how they show these properties when

20:53

they're not representing the development. I'm sure you

20:55

saw a lot of good and bad.

20:57

And it probably was a great also learning

20:59

center for you just to see. What

21:01

are the better agents doing? I imagine I

21:03

still do that today. You know, even

21:05

when I go on my showings, when I'm

21:07

with a buyer or obviously, you know,

21:10

working on the seller side, when agents come

21:12

in, I'm always learning, right? You always

21:14

look at other brokers and how they're presenting,

21:16

how they talk to their clients, how

21:18

they negotiate. You know, it's a

21:20

strategy, you know, and you think about. I

21:22

use it sports as an analogy

21:25

quite a bit, right? Because like football,

21:27

like you study the other team's

21:29

moves, you study their plays, you know,

21:31

and as a broker, you know,

21:33

we're all friendly with each other, but

21:35

you know, we are competing with

21:37

each other too. So understanding, you know,

21:39

how another our competitors work. and

21:42

how they perform really can

21:44

set you apart too in negotiations.

21:46

And again, just understanding how

21:48

they work. So it's an everyday

21:50

learning curve for me. I'm

21:53

always paying attention, listening, watching and

21:55

learning. I also wonder

21:57

too, going back

21:59

to how to have developers choose you,

22:01

again, understanding, being an expert in

22:03

their development, also making sure that they know

22:05

you have this wide network and also

22:07

just being able to show the properties in

22:10

a way that they want you to

22:12

show them and be their advocate. There's

22:14

also this like, well, how do I

22:16

get in front of developers? Well, Kerry went

22:18

on a long walk and found one

22:20

and did that. I've heard of lots of

22:22

stories like that from other agents. It's

22:24

not that uncommon, but let's just assume that

22:26

every developer currently is already working with

22:28

a top agent. Well, at some point they

22:30

might not be happy with that agent,

22:32

right? Developers are fickle. They're funny. They might

22:35

blame the agent who they have representing

22:37

them for things that are unsold just because

22:39

the price is too high and agent

22:41

can't maybe control that. So there's times when

22:43

agents get replaced, they get moved on

22:45

or developers like, well, let's see who else

22:47

is out there. So If

22:49

I were, you know, again, going out to developers

22:51

is probably this long process. It's not like you're

22:53

going to go there, you're going to make your

22:55

pitch, they're going to go, cool, here's 20 properties

22:57

to sell. Like that's a dream. That's a fantasy

22:59

that might happen, but probably not. So

23:02

Carrie, you know, would you even suggest

23:04

going to some of these developers and offering

23:06

to do things? kind of almost

23:08

like on pro bono at the moment, or

23:10

at least saying, let me be your, your backup

23:12

in case something goes wrong. Or, you know,

23:14

how would you approach that if someone already has

23:16

an agent? Obviously you don't want to take

23:18

their business away from the agent. We know, we

23:20

know, we know that that's a no, no,

23:22

no. But what could you do to start a

23:24

relationship with a developer that's already got somebody? Yeah,

23:27

well, I would say bring the developer some

23:29

business, you know, because that's what they want. Right.

23:31

There you go. So

23:34

you have to always think about what does

23:36

the developer want? They want the unit sold, right?

23:38

And you're right. We never want to step

23:40

on anyone's relationship because I wouldn't want someone to

23:42

do that to me. So

23:44

obviously be respectful of that. But

23:47

you know, there's always, you're right, things

23:49

always sometimes, I shouldn't say always, but you

23:51

know, things sometimes take a turn and

23:53

the developer needs to hire a backup person

23:55

and you do want to be that

23:57

backup person. So communication, staying in

23:59

touch, providing value when you can and then

24:02

obviously bring them a buyer or two

24:04

or three. You know, they're going to start

24:06

to see your name again and again

24:08

and see that you're active in the market,

24:10

right? And this way you're giving

24:12

and not asking asking for anything. You're

24:14

giving the developer business, but you're not, you

24:16

know, right there asking. So it's kind

24:18

of like, give, give, give, ask. You know,

24:21

so that's kind of my philosophy is

24:23

don't always ask for things, but give a

24:25

few times and then you can ask. And

24:28

this is why it's important when you are

24:30

bringing buyers to make sure that they can close,

24:32

right? And this has a lot to do

24:34

with the lender. If it's, if it's a non

24:36

-cash offer, this isn't really important thing is, is

24:38

you, if you're going to bring a developer,

24:40

a deal, it really obviously ideally will close. You

24:42

want that to close. They want it to

24:44

close, but you also just want them to go,

24:46

wow, this person knows what they're doing. They

24:48

get stuff done. Now, obviously things can happen and

24:50

things might not close, but this is where

24:52

having a good lender is really, really super important

24:55

and good lenders can get deals closed. And

24:57

so obviously that's, something that you want to consider.

24:59

I want to switch gears a little

25:01

bit and talk about working with

25:03

traditional buyers and sellers because I know

25:06

one thing is you win a

25:08

lot of listings. You do probably more

25:10

listings. I haven't looked at your

25:12

data lately, but I'm sure it's more

25:14

listings than buy side, although who

25:16

knows these days. But you do get

25:18

chosen a lot for listings and

25:21

from people who just hear about you

25:23

who aren't repeat clients. but

25:25

you're sometimes up against other top agents.

25:27

Somebody selling a several million dollar property, it'd

25:30

probably be in their best interest to

25:32

get a couple of appointments. So that's just

25:34

going to happen a lot of the

25:36

time, even though you might be a referral.

25:38

So when you're up against another agent,

25:40

or even if you're not, what are you

25:42

doing in a listing presentation that you

25:44

think really helps you win the business? Well,

25:48

isn't that top secret there, DJ? Do

25:50

I really want to tell you all that?

25:53

No, I'm just joking. You

25:55

know, I don't know

25:57

what I do different than

25:59

other brokers, honestly, like

26:01

I wish I could sit

26:04

in on other brokers

26:06

listening presentations, right? But

26:08

I do know that I try

26:10

to stay focused on the client

26:12

through the presentation and what their

26:14

needs are, right? Because listening to

26:16

what they want and and catering

26:18

to their needs is obviously the

26:20

most important. The one thing that

26:22

I will never do is obviously

26:24

badmouth another agent, right? And

26:27

they know that that's happened to

26:29

me in the sense of like,

26:31

I'll be in an interview and

26:33

those clients will say, well, we

26:35

met with a few other brokers

26:37

and broker X said this about

26:39

you. And this broker said that

26:41

you don't do this or whatever,

26:43

you know, and so I'm consistently

26:46

having to combat those

26:48

comments. So I just

26:50

think that that's not an appropriate

26:52

thing to do. And I

26:54

always say, well, I'm so sorry

26:56

that he or she feels that

26:59

way, but let me have the

27:01

opportunity to talk to you about

27:03

that and why that's maybe a

27:05

concern of yours. So

27:07

again, I try to stay focused on the

27:09

clients. And it's all

27:11

results driven, right? At the end of the

27:13

day, a seller just wants their home

27:15

closed for the most amount of money, right?

27:17

And they want service. So my

27:19

job is to show them and

27:21

tell them how I can provide a

27:23

high level of service to them,

27:25

what I do kind of a play

27:27

by play. And I also talk

27:29

to them about my support staff. So

27:31

one thing that a lot of

27:33

people don't know about me is that

27:36

I am an individual agent. I

27:38

don't have a big team of of

27:40

agents that are out showing I

27:42

have the most what I think the

27:44

most amazing team support team behind

27:46

me that helps me remain in the

27:48

field and remain focused and I

27:50

have built my business that way because

27:52

I feel like that that's you

27:54

know again giving my clients the best

27:56

service and they feel that too

27:58

because they feel that when I say

28:00

it's 100 carry that that's what

28:02

they get. And one thing

28:04

I also know about you is you answer

28:06

your phone. And it's funny

28:08

because we think, well, everybody does,

28:10

but they don't. Not everybody does.

28:12

I've talked to other top agents

28:14

who have said, the main distinction

28:16

between me and other agencies I

28:19

call my clients once a week and tell

28:21

them how things are going. Even if there's

28:23

no news to report and I answer the

28:25

phone and they call me and I anticipate

28:27

their questions ahead of time. I know you

28:29

do this because obviously you are just so

28:31

well respected in this industry and it is

28:33

results driven. You know, you don't get those

28:35

big listings or big buyers without having a

28:37

big track record behind you. I want to

28:39

share and I'm going to keep this very

28:41

intentionally vague as to protect the privacy because,

28:43

but I wanted to share one way that

28:45

I've known you've gone above and beyond it.

28:47

I think this is so cool. I'll give

28:49

this very, very vague, but Kerry had a

28:51

deal on point that was going to close.

28:54

It was a very big deal and it

28:56

didn't close at the last minute for whatever

28:58

reason. And you were representing the, the seller

29:00

and it didn't close and it was, this

29:02

is like a devastating loss. Like it's like,

29:04

Oh my gosh, I can't believe this isn't

29:06

going to close. It was all the way

29:08

to you done. months and months of work.

29:10

And it just, for whatever reason, it just

29:12

didn't, wasn't going to close and not her

29:14

fault. And so she's like, Oh my God,

29:16

I'm going to lose this deal because this

29:18

client's kind of wacky or whatever. So

29:21

anyway, she goes, I'm going to, I know

29:23

I've, I'm going to find a creative solution.

29:25

And she looks for other properties in the

29:27

area that basically match what this property offered.

29:29

And she starts reaching out to the homeowners

29:31

and saying, hi. I have this opportunity for

29:33

you. I don't know if the buyer is

29:35

going to be interested. She wasn't representing the

29:38

buyer, by the way. She said, I don't

29:40

know, but I have this person and this

29:42

deal isn't going to close. Do you have

29:44

another? Can we come and take a look?

29:46

Now, these are homes not on the market.

29:48

She literally looked for properties and like, this

29:50

is how top agents do it. They don't,

29:52

you know, they lose deals. Everybody does. And

29:54

then they say, how can I still solve

29:57

this problem? And she found somebody right away.

29:59

The person said, sure, I'll be willing to

30:01

tap entertain somebody. was not looking

30:03

to sell their home, and then she was

30:05

able to close that deal. Incredible, right? Now,

30:07

it sounds so simple, but most agents are

30:09

gonna do those kind of things. So I

30:11

love that you have this creative way of

30:13

solving problems. And I imagine when you get

30:15

listings, you often do have to find the

30:17

buyers, especially in the luxury side, right? Because,

30:19

you know, we think, well, if we just

30:21

got a $5 million property, like that's... Wonderful

30:23

as a listing agent, but there aren't that

30:25

many people just waiting for $5 million homes

30:27

to jump on the market. So you have

30:29

to actually source the buyer a lot of

30:31

times too. Isn't that correct? Oh,

30:34

you're up. You're muted by the way. Sorry. That

30:38

is correct. And I'm glad that you

30:40

remember that story because that is part

30:42

of our job as brokers is to

30:44

always come up with solutions, right?

30:46

You know, and. And I am one if,

30:48

you know, there's never any problems. There's

30:51

always, you know, I, if anyone

30:53

comes to me with a problem, I've always had

30:55

a solution for them. Everything can be worked out.

30:58

I love that. What I

31:00

want to curious too, like when you

31:02

get luxury listings, it's not always as

31:04

simple as. throw it on the MLS

31:06

and making sure there's a cool website

31:08

for the property. And it's more than

31:11

that. You're calling agents who have clients

31:13

who are in that space and you're

31:15

saying, hey, I got something you got

31:17

to come look at. That's

31:19

something that a lot of listing agents never think

31:21

to do. Right. No, I mean,

31:23

it's, it's a different market when

31:25

you deal with the luxury, you know,

31:27

just from everything, how you handle

31:29

the listing to marketing, the listing to

31:31

your, your narrative about the home,

31:34

everything is just very different. I

31:36

have a question about work life balance

31:38

because you are so incredibly busy. You don't

31:40

have this team. Even though people probably

31:42

assume you do because of your production size,

31:45

like here in Chicago, the agents that

31:47

do the kind of deals that Kerry does,

31:49

most of them have these giant production

31:51

teams. Kerry doesn't have that. She has support

31:53

teams. She has amazing people on her

31:55

team, but she's the rainmaker. She's doing the

31:57

work and she answers the phone and

31:59

she is busy and she's a mom and

32:01

she has family and husband and, you

32:03

know, her own life as well. How

32:06

do you deal with work life balance? I

32:08

know that's probably a challenge. But what is

32:10

it that you do? How do you think

32:12

about that? Because a lot of agents are

32:14

going, oh gosh, I hate those 10 PM

32:16

text messages from clients. No, it's

32:18

tough. I mean, there's no easy, there's

32:21

no magic solution to

32:23

it. It's not easy.

32:26

So I don't want to say there's, I

32:28

don't even think that there's really a good

32:30

answer for work -life balance, honestly. And

32:32

yes, I have two older children

32:34

now, two young adults will call

32:36

them. you know

32:38

in a husband and you know

32:40

extended family and friends and you know

32:42

I do try to segment my

32:44

time and my day and prioritize but

32:46

I feel like I've got such

32:48

a well -oiled machine and you know

32:50

when I'm with my family I'm extremely

32:53

present with my family and you

32:55

know when I work when I work

32:57

I'm the most efficient person at

32:59

work too you know I feel like

33:01

I can get 10 things

33:03

done in two minutes, you know, it's just

33:05

it's just the way that my brain

33:07

works. So, you

33:09

know, it works for me, but everyone's got

33:11

to find their own thing. Yeah,

33:13

and you are willing to put in a

33:15

ton of hours and that is something that

33:17

is just if you want to get to

33:19

the top of the mountain, I don't see

33:21

another way to that. It's kind of like

33:24

getting strong in the gym. You're just going

33:26

to have to put yourself in the pathway

33:28

of extreme physical pain if you want. So,

33:30

you know, big muscles or if you want

33:32

muscles and you want longevity and you want,

33:34

you know, good health, it's like, you got

33:36

to be willing to do the things that

33:38

most agents aren't willing to do, which is

33:40

work. And, and I'm not saying most

33:42

agents don't work, but, but work maybe. more

33:45

effectively, more efficiently plan your day, those

33:47

kinds of things. I want to switch gears

33:49

and ask about client relationships. So you

33:51

work with somebody, you find them a home

33:53

or sell their home and then, you

33:55

know, they're probably not moving for a while.

33:57

So what are you doing to stay

33:59

top of mind or back of mind so

34:02

that they remember, you know, in seven

34:04

years, 10 years, whenever they need you again,

34:06

that you're the still the person that

34:08

they want to reach out to. Yeah,

34:10

I think you know client retention and

34:12

client outreach is is super important and

34:14

I think all of us do have

34:16

a challenge with that because you know

34:18

our job is multi Functional meaning, you

34:20

know, we're trying to get business. We're

34:22

trying to retain our business. We're trying

34:25

to follow up with clients. There's a

34:27

lot to it Obviously maintaining a good

34:29

CRM is important. You know, I send

34:31

out I've got a list and I

34:33

try to you know When

34:35

I say try, I really try

34:37

to reach out to clients every,

34:39

gosh, six months. If I see

34:41

anything on social, it's great if

34:43

you see if someone's having a

34:45

baby or a wedding or anything

34:47

change in life of reaching out

34:49

and acknowledging that. I think that's

34:51

important. Just even mailings,

34:53

keeping someone in your email or

34:55

your... Your newsletters is important. I

34:57

try to do many events every,

35:00

you know, once or twice a

35:02

year and invite people to the

35:04

events as well. So we can

35:06

see each other face to face. What

35:08

I'd really like to do is to do

35:10

one -on -one coffee and dinner, but I don't think

35:12

there's enough time in the world to do

35:14

all that. But that's one of my goals for

35:16

this year. Also,

35:18

I want to talk about having

35:21

a network of Ansela, say

35:23

a Larry, I think I'm gonna

35:25

say that word right. Ancillary people that

35:27

you can refer when your clients need

35:29

a service. It could be everything from

35:31

a state planning, could

35:33

be attorneys, it could be accountants,

35:35

it could be people to fix a

35:37

roof, or people who

35:40

can redevelop a property

35:42

or do renovations. So

35:44

how important is it for you to have

35:46

that network and how often are your

35:48

clients reaching out to you going, I need

35:50

your help? And I assume That's a

35:52

huge deal for you because if you become

35:54

that knowledge source, then hopefully they continue

35:56

to use you. But how important is having

35:58

that team? No, that's

36:00

extremely important. And it's grown over

36:02

the last 20 years of

36:04

my career. And it's changed because...

36:08

You know service providers change as well right

36:10

there their level of service or if they

36:12

don't service my clients I'll move on and

36:14

find somebody else so I I think I've

36:16

got a great team of people and but

36:18

it happens all the time and just quick

36:20

funny story is a client of mine called

36:22

me at like 9 30 or 10 o 'clock

36:25

at night and of course I answer the

36:27

phone because I was a little worried but

36:29

they said oh my gosh we have a

36:31

leak you know the showers leaking it's leaking

36:33

in our Sealing I'm thinking like why would

36:35

you call me like? You know,

36:37

like I haven't talked to you in a few months,

36:39

but you know, like, why would you call me? You

36:41

know, call a plumber. You know, but it

36:43

was, you know, I took it as, um, of

36:46

course I helped them. I got them a

36:48

plumber and we got, we got it taken care

36:50

of, but it's just, it's funny how that

36:52

I'm the first person that they call, especially in

36:55

an emergency. You know, it's like, you need

36:57

to call the plumber. You need to call, you

36:59

know, your HVAC person. But,

37:01

um, you know, I'm happy to be

37:03

a resource and, you know, it's. I know

37:05

people sometimes freak out when things happen.

37:07

So they are looking for someone to calm

37:09

them down and find a solution for

37:11

them. So I'm happy to do that. But

37:13

I'm kind of daily the first call

37:15

if something goes wrong. So

37:18

I'm going to ask a question about

37:20

being a listing agent and receiving offers

37:22

from buyer agents only because I want

37:24

to know what you know, you do

37:26

a lot of listings. What is annoying

37:28

about receiving offers? In other words, when

37:30

are there agents that aren't really putting,

37:32

making it easy for you to interpret

37:35

the offer, to present the offer? And

37:37

what are agents doing that you're like,

37:39

think, you know, I love it when

37:41

I get an offer from this person,

37:43

because they just make it so easy.

37:46

So I'm curious, like, are there little dos and

37:48

don'ts when, you know, when you're dealing with, because

37:50

you want as a, you know, as a buyer's

37:52

agent, you want the list agent to like you,

37:54

you know, it helps. Well, maybe you don't want

37:56

them to like you, but I would assume you'd

37:58

want them to like you. But at

38:00

least when you're submitting offers, I hear all the

38:02

time right now, people are saying, gosh, my offers

38:04

are just getting out bid. I'm not hearing back. So

38:07

what are some of the things you

38:09

like to see from the buyer agents

38:11

when you do get those offers? I

38:13

think it starts with the showing, honestly.

38:15

Before you're going to make the offer,

38:17

I think it's kind of like the

38:19

pre -interview at the showing. So if

38:21

a broker's coming in and he or

38:23

she wants to be very combative during

38:25

the showing and start questioning things, and

38:28

if the buyers are nervous nellies and

38:30

they're questioning the integrity of the home

38:32

or something, it's kind of like you

38:34

kind of have a little bit of

38:36

an idea of the personality that you're

38:38

going to get with this deal. So

38:40

I always think Again, if

38:42

it's something that you and your client

38:44

want, try to be on your best

38:46

behavior, especially with all of the ring

38:49

doorbells and cameras in people's homes. Sellers

38:51

are watching. If you're

38:53

going to say something derogatory or

38:55

negative about the client's home, just

38:57

don't say it. Wait

38:59

until you're in your car. Wait until you're

39:01

in your car, because there's been plenty

39:03

of times my sellers will say, oh, I

39:06

overheard them walking out saying that they

39:08

hate my You know

39:10

what my furniture or something, you know,

39:12

it's just it's like and then we

39:14

get an offer from them and it's

39:16

like super awkward You know, so I

39:18

think just be on your best behavior

39:20

during the showings number one But just

39:23

to answer your question, I think when

39:25

you send an offer over I think

39:27

it's really professional practice to call the

39:29

broker Pick up

39:31

the phone and call and say, you

39:33

know, good news. I've got an offer

39:35

coming in. Let me tell you a

39:37

little bit about our offer. Have a

39:39

dialogue, have a conversation. And when you

39:41

send the offer over, it's great when

39:43

it's completed. I cannot tell

39:45

you how many times I

39:47

get offers that have our, they

39:49

misspell the seller's name. They

39:51

miss signatures. They ask for, you

39:53

know, things to be included. in

39:56

the home, but they bury it

39:58

in the contract. So like you're

40:00

kind of like they're trying to

40:02

sneak it in and in their

40:04

summary, they don't list it, you

40:07

know, and it's just, I think

40:09

just being thorough. I

40:11

mean, I feel like that's, is that too much

40:13

to ask? I mean, we're filling out a

40:15

contract. So just make sure that it's accurate and

40:17

things are spelled correctly. You

40:19

know, it's funny about the phone call is

40:21

I know lots of top agents and I

40:23

always ask them, when you get offers with

40:26

your listings, the agent calls you, right? And

40:28

they're like, most of the time, no, most

40:30

agents don't pick up the phone and

40:32

call, which is shocking because the main

40:34

reason that I've heard or one of

40:37

the main reasons that might not occur

40:39

to people is the other agent is

40:41

maybe now thinking, if you don't call,

40:43

how serious are you about this deal?

40:45

How committed are you to this industry?

40:47

Right? Like, if you're not doing this

40:49

for your client, what's going to happen

40:51

10 days before closing? Like,

40:53

Are you in? Are you in? Are you not

40:55

in? So I think that is also just a

40:57

good reason is the agent is going to be

40:59

impressed. Even though you think, I don't want to

41:01

bother the agent. They're getting a million calls. They

41:03

might, they might not have time to call you

41:05

back, but they certainly want that call. They certainly

41:07

want that voicemail. They want somebody that's like, my

41:09

client wants this property. I want to figure out

41:11

what can we do to make this happen? Please,

41:13

like, you know, I know you're getting a lot

41:15

of offers. Don't, you know, don't let

41:18

me, you know, fall away. I'm going to, and

41:20

then you just keep calling, you know, in a polite

41:22

way, in a way that's respectful. and not over

41:24

the top. But, you know, just little

41:26

things like that, like what you're saying is, you

41:28

know, make a summary. Like that's another thing that.

41:30

A lot of people don't do is they just

41:32

send over the offer and it's like, now I

41:34

have to read through every page and every single

41:36

thing and look to see if you're trying to

41:38

sneak something in. Right. So that makes a lot

41:40

of sense too. So simple things. Um, but I

41:42

know Carrie is going to go here in just

41:45

a moment. So I just, we have just one

41:47

question that I wanted. When our, uh, team wanted

41:49

to ask our, our listeners. Um, one is what

41:51

should I look for in when I work with

41:53

a developer? Like, are there red flags to look

41:55

out for? I'm sure you don't say yes to

41:57

every developer that you get pitched. Um, so what.

41:59

some things to look out for to make me

42:01

think, oh, maybe this isn't the right match. I

42:04

think that just, you know, as

42:06

a salesperson and representing a development, you

42:08

want to make sure that you believe

42:10

in it, right? And you, know,

42:14

you like the developer number one, you like

42:16

the location and you like the products. I

42:18

think that's much easier to sell when

42:20

you truly believe in the product. If you

42:22

walk into a developer's product and you're like,

42:24

Oh my God, this is so cheap. He

42:27

or she is not going to finish a

42:29

punch list. Like they're just like, you

42:31

know, screw the buyers kind of attitude. You

42:33

do not want to be associated with somebody

42:35

like that because that is your reputation as

42:37

well. Right. You know, you're spending time to

42:39

promote this development. So just make sure it's

42:41

a product that you believe in and

42:43

you have a good relationship. Sorry.

42:46

With the developer that he or she

42:48

is going to follow through on the product.

42:52

That's great. Well, Carrie has a cold and

42:54

she has been so sweet to, to fight

42:56

through this. This is her still in the

42:58

first week. You know, those nasty colds going

43:00

around that we all have seemed to got.

43:02

She's in the middle of that. So not

43:05

again, another, another yay for, for Carrie, another

43:07

cheers for Carrie, but. Again, this isn't the

43:09

end for her. She's going to be on

43:11

our show next month. We're going to be

43:13

doing our monthly episode with Carrie McCormick. She

43:15

is amazing. It's crowd favorite and a fan

43:17

favorite. So do her favor, follow her on

43:19

Instagram. And by the way, if you're not

43:21

in the Chicago land area, she has deals

43:24

that leave Chicago. She has people that move.

43:26

She has people that get second homes, other

43:28

places. And of course she would love to

43:30

talk to you about the people you have

43:32

that are entering the Chicago land market. So

43:34

she is somebody that is. is very sought

43:36

after and she does her due diligence. So

43:38

if you're reaching out to her, make sure

43:40

that you have a lot of value to

43:43

offer because she has a lot of value

43:45

to offer you, but she would love to

43:47

connect with you. So you can find her

43:49

on Instagram, right? Which is at Carrie McCormick. Sorry,

43:52

Carrie, I just lost your thing here.

43:56

Carrie McCormick real estate, sorry, at Carrie McCormick real estate.

43:58

It's in the chat. So you can reach out. We

44:00

have a link to it at the top of the

44:02

chat there. And it also

44:04

let's, Carrie, give, let's give

44:06

your email because you, you answer

44:08

emails too. I do. So

44:10

it's a very simple one. It's

44:13

Carrie. C -A -R -R -I -E at

44:15

ATproperties .com. Awesome.

44:17

Awesome. Well, Carrie, we will let you go

44:19

heal and get better. And also you don't really

44:21

get to rest because you have so many

44:23

deals that you do. So you are trudging through

44:25

as always. And we just love that you

44:27

make time for us every month and have been

44:29

for... almost every year I've been here. So

44:31

thank you on behalf of the audience and on

44:34

behalf of Carrie, we thank you. We're going

44:36

to let everyone take a quick break. Carrie, thank

44:38

you. And by the way, I'm going to

44:40

be putting up that link again. I have this

44:42

new segment I want to do on the

44:44

show where I help you solve your real estate

44:46

challenges. So I'm going to have a QR

44:48

code link. Feel free to sign up for a

44:50

quick 15 minute meeting with me so I

44:52

can help you and give you some ideas. I

44:54

did one of these earlier this morning and

44:56

the person had a really interesting question. She was

44:58

like, I have a bunch of clients. She

45:00

works with Hispanic clients. She said they're really nervous

45:02

about. deportation right now

45:05

with the political climate. I was like, oh, that's

45:07

interesting. I guess that makes sense. So I had,

45:09

I had, I had an idea for, and then

45:11

she also had a question about, I can't, I

45:13

can't seem to get myself to do videos, social

45:15

media videos. So we had an idea, a conversation

45:17

about how to do that. Kim Rittberg, by the

45:19

way, is coming on in a few hours. She's

45:21

going to tell you about all about that. But

45:23

for now, feel free to do that. I'll put

45:25

the link here or the QR code and we

45:27

will see everybody at 12, one o 'clock. Thanks so

45:29

much. Thanks, Carrie. Thank you.