Elizabeth Elliott: Conductor To Real Estate

REE#147 AUDIO
Elizabeth Elliott: [00:00:00] Hey, this is Elizabeth Elliot with Round Table Realty. If you're
looking to improve your real estate business, you need to be listening to the Real Estate
Excellence Podcast with my good friend Tracy Hayes.

Tracy Hayes: Hey, welcome back to the Real Estate Excellence Podcast. Today I have an
amazing agent who has stormed onto the Northeast Florida scene. I have admired her social
media, specifically her Instagram, so we could dig in there and, and what she's doing there.
Consistent and strategic posting. She's a [00:01:00] veteran of the US Army.
I'm gonna call her LT here through the show. So let's welcome Lieutenant Elizabeth Elliot.
Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for coming on on, on such, such short notice, but I, I
definitely wanted to, to get you on. And then when I saw you move brokerages recently, I'm
like, Hey, she's in the building half the week here, it's with me.
So let's, let's get her up cuz I, I really, you know, a lot of things I was, uh, I had Kris Shore
on, I don't know if you you saw that episode, but Krista Asure is a huge real estate agent and
she has dug into being a digital marketing expert. And one of the things, and I'm sure you
know, as we go over to, we were talking about landmark this morning and the different
trainings a lot of people are training on, on social media, but only a small percentage that are
getting it and doing it right and putting themselves out there, which I think you, you've done,

quite extensively and obviously I don't know what we will dig into what you're, cuz you do
do some creative, Instagram post and, what's that?
What's that take to learn all that? But I wanna kick off the show as I always [00:02:00] do.
Where are you from?
Elizabeth Elliott: I am. From all over, I guess, army brat. my dad got out right as I was
born, but I was born
Tracy Hayes: in Alabama. This, that answers the question of why you win the Army.
Elizabeth Elliott: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, all kinds of reasons, but, no, I was
born in Huntsville, Alabama, but my parents are from Florida.
My dad's from Ocala, my mom's from St. Augustine. And, my grandparents were from St.
Augustine since 1913. Like our, our family's been here. My grandfather's, sold real estate
insurance across from Castillo de San Marco, in the sixties, you know, so my family's like
entrenched in the history and my uncles an architect who worked on the Casa Monica.
I mean it's entrenched in St. Augustine. So, when I got out of the Army, I was like, where am
I gonna come back to? And this is home to me cuz I spent all my summers here, all my
weekends here. And then, we moved back to Florida when I was like 10 to Orlando, where
my dad's company opened a new office.
And so, You know, we came from Orlando to Stine all the time. And as a kid it was really
annoying cuz I wanted to hang out in
Tracy Hayes: Orlando. I I just got a, like a, [00:03:00] a, a epiphany. Is your grandfather still
with us?
Elizabeth Elliott: He passed away. Oh. Before I was even born. So sad. But he was a navy
veteran, you know, machinist mate, right?
He's,
Tracy Hayes: he was a badass. Was I, I was just thinking, asking what would be so cool
would be to go down there and him talk about you do a video with him, talking about the
things that he did. God, I wish, how that would be a great, thing to have on, like, on your
YouTube page or something. My mom would love that.
Yeah. Yeah. alright, so you're, in Huntsville. How long are you there? Did you, I mean, you
said you're in the army, imagine? Mm-hmm. Your dad got moved around a little
Elizabeth Elliott: bit. I mean, he got out, my mom basically was like, if you want another
kid, you gotta get outta the army. So he got outta the army, they had me.

Okay. And they became, they were defense contractors and, So I was there till like, you
know, age 10. And then my sister graduated high school. She left, she, was an Air Force, O R
O T C. And so when she went off to college, it was a good time for us to move, move to
Orlando. Mm-hmm. So basically been a Florida native since then.
High school, middle school, Orlando. And then I went to UF right after high school, and then
I went to [00:04:00] University of Miami after that. Mm-hmm. and then I've been all around
Florida,
Tracy Hayes: so I was an Army R OTC scholarship. Is that way you, the route you took?
What's, what's the route that took you and then, yeah, just express this because I think a lot of
people don't understand.
I grew up in a, you know, a household with my, my dad was an enlisted marine. and you
know, there's only a small percentage really, although there's a lot of veterans out there, but
there's really a small percentage. Cause a lot of 'em are multiple generations. Like your
family. Yeah. And what's it like, what you felt like you and your sister both.
Us females both served. Mm-hmm. And that's probably very rare. but you grew up in a, in a,
a family with a, you know, history of serving right now. What was that like? And then, you
know, what was, I guess the, enticing part of you going in and taking, you know, and, you
know, obviously music, we're gonna talk about that, but taking that into the army, cuz I, I
assume you didn't have to do that.
Mm-hmm. No. So what kind of like led you to make you feel that that [00:05:00] was the
route you wanted
Elizabeth Elliott: to take? You're asking such a good question. yeah. It's, it's your, this is
like my entire childhood culminating into this decision. But I mean, my mom talked about
her dad a lot growing up and he was in World War ii and then my mom and dad met at
University of Florida in our otc and that was the seventies where it was the first.
Time they were allowing women in R O T C and my mom was in it. Oh, wow. And that's
how they met on a run, I think. and so, you know, they got married and my dad
commissioned and they moved to Germany and my mom did not take her commission. She
actually, you know, went the wife route. Mm-hmm. army wife route, and you know, when
they were in Germany they had my sister.
And so, there's, that's the backstory before I ever came around. Yeah. And then of course
growing up, very, you know, very veteran, military friendly family. And my sister knew she
wanted to be a pilot like her whole life. And, that was just always her dream, her dream. And
I thought that I would be like, an, an engineer or something.
I'm a very mathematical, Virgo, perfectionist type [00:06:00] person. And, but I also was a
musician and I harnessed that. And so as I got older, I was really, really good at math and

really, really good at music. And I had to kind of figure that out. So when I went to
University of Florida, I actually started out as an engineering major with a minor in music.
And, cuz I thought, did you play instruments
Tracy Hayes: through two younger
Elizabeth Elliott: years? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I wanted to be a music major, but I
think in the back of my mind I was like, oh, that won't make my dad happy. You know? And
still, I mean, it basically became down to doing computer engineering. I was in front of a
computer for 12 hours a day.
I like people too much. It was just not gonna be for me. I, I need to interact with other people
and make people happy. Yeah. And music was that for me. And so anyway, I, auditioned to
be a full-time music major and I wanted to be a teacher because, you know, as a, any
musician gets where they are from learning from someone else.
So I wanted to pass that on. So I, I went music ed and I was terrified to tell my dad that
because my Florida Bright Future Scholarship was gonna probably not carry me through all
five years it [00:07:00] took to complete the University of Florida. But, no, I was never
gonna be in the Army. Like, I kind of felt like the black sheep.
Of the family, cuz everyone was engineering and in military. Mm-hmm. And I was like, Lala
Music, you know? And, and I was in the band, I was in the, the pride of the Sunshine
marching band with the Tebow years. It was the best time ever. and still I wasn't gonna be in
the Army. Like I, I wanted to be a college band director.
I wanted to take over for director of bands at the University of Florida one day. Right. that's
what I wanted to do. And to get there, I knew as a woman I needed to probably go get my
master's degree right away, just because you can feel pigeonholed into being a middle school
director or an elementary school music teacher.
And I just wanted to show that I was very serious about high level music. So I went straight
into my master's. And then after my master's in conducting from Miami, I went into high
school band directing. That's kind of the next step. So you're at,
Tracy Hayes: about 24, 25 at this
Elizabeth Elliott: time? Yeah, I think I, I think I graduated UF around 20.
22 years old, and then I graduated Miami [00:08:00] around 24. Mm-hmm. So, as a first year
teacher, I was 24 and my students were like 18, you know, thinking I was like, cool or
whatever. Mm-hmm. yeah. So I went and taught, I taught for three years and I loved it, but
man, the pay sucked. and I loved my, my students so much, but I really wanted to make
music at a high level.

And I knew that if I was doing high school band directing for the next 20 years, it was gonna
be a lot of the same stuff for 20 years. And if there's anything
Tracy Hayes: they're gonna cut. That's one of those things they're gonna in your art and
music,
Elizabeth Elliott: right? Yeah. And that's not just in teaching, but that's in the army too.
Mm-hmm. The musicians are gonna constantly be fighting for their jobs everywhere. And I
learned that when I was in the Army too. They're, you're always trying to defend your
program, and that can just burn you out. But anyway, I could, I traveled the country and did a
lot of conducting symposiums and workshops and made a name for myself and then, and I
got better and better, you know?
Made a lot of mistakes and got better and then kind of got recruited. Oh, so you, yeah.
Tracy Hayes: So you jumped in, so you finish your master's degree. Yeah. You, you, you
teach for three years and, and you're [00:09:00] kind of like, you know, how am I gonna
grow? Mm-hmm. So the army comes across in front of you at
Elizabeth Elliott: this point. So there's, in the summertime as teachers, you go to a lot of
clinics, right.
You wanna become better. And so I traveled a lot and I conducted all over the place. I
actually conducted U N F, that was my very first conducting symposium was at University of
North Florida in, God, 2011. Mm-hmm. 2011 in Jacksonville. I drove up here and conducted
there. and basically you, you're gonna conduct a group and then they're gonna tear you apart
and that's what a conducting symposium.
And, and you have to be really vulnerable and just allow them to, because it's the only way
you're gonna grow. And so you stand in front of a hundred people and then there's gonna be
someone who ripped you to shreds, and then you go cry in the bathroom, and then you, then
you go do it again, and you do do it again, again and again.
And so that's what I did for like, Four years or something. I just would go to all the
symposium, went to Chicago. I went to Washington DC mm-hmm. And the army had, they
started doing one, they started doing the army conductors workshop. And so they would
bring in these big wig, like big wig, you know, gr big papa teachers that are like big names in
our industry.
And you would conduct [00:10:00] a bunch of people who all went to Julliard and Eastman
and they would try to rip you to shreds. And like, basically the further along you get the less
ripped to shreds you get and you start getting compliments. They go, oh, that was really nice.
And you go, okay, I don't stop.
So now they've

Tracy Hayes: seen you a couple times now would imagine, cuz some of these people are at
the same Yes. Different symposiums. They're seeing you pop
Elizabeth Elliott: up. Yeah. Yeah. So I, I conducted the Army band in 20, God, that had to
been like I think it was my first time conducting them in that workshop. And I think I, I did a
decent job, so they remembered me and then I just kept, you know, pounding the pavement
basically.
And then eventually I got a call saying that they were gonna hold an audition. They only take
like one a year. conductors, like, it's a really hard job to get. Mm-hmm. And a lot of people
apply and don't get it. And so I was like, you want, I'm just a teacher. Like, what are you
talking about? I, I don't have a doctorate yet.
That's kind of the next step is to go get your doctorate. And a lot of the people I competed
against for that job already had a dma. And I said, okay, well sure, I'll apply. And I had to put
together like a, a reel, like an actual, not a [00:11:00] Instagram reel, but like, a YouTube
page of all my pieces and concerts and stuff.
And then they narrow it down to like, I think top five out of, I don't know, dozens. And then
the top five, they fly you to DC and there's like a two d two day long audition process. You
have to play your instrument, you conduct the band, you conduct the chorus. There's a lot of
music, like, theory tests and stuff, and you gotta pass all of that.
And then they offer you the job. And if you win the job out of all those people, you feel like
a rock star. But now you have to join the army, but now you gotta go to basic training, so
you're on top of the world. It's like a really hard decision. When I got the offer, I said I, they
wanted me to accept right then, and I was like, I gotta go talk to my husband because this is a
big deal.
Mm-hmm. And I didn't know if I was gonna get it. I was shocked. I was the only one to get,
offer the job. So, yeah, I went home, I took a week and really thought about it and had a lot
of heart to hearts and, crazy decision. But then it was also basic training. So the, the average
Tracy Hayes: civilian doesn't realize the kind of stuff goes on.
I've seen this with doctors as well. Mm-hmm. when the army needs something or any of the
services need, a, [00:12:00] skilled mm-hmm. bringing a skill from the outside in this case.
So that employment contract, you're off the basic training. Yeah. Is there initial
Elizabeth Elliott: commitment? It, so I was an officer, right?
Mm-hmm. So an officer has an initial contract. You have to go. That's if you pass basic
training, you go to officer candidate school, then you have to pass everything without getting
injured. And then once you complete Officer Kennedy School, you go to your boic, which is
Officer Leadership course.

Mm-hmm. And then once you get through that, then you go to your unit and you complete
your contract. So I think the initial contract is three years, but then after that, as an officer,
you're a free agent. you can walk anytime and what they do is they throw more money at you
the longer you're in, you know, to keep you Right.
But you're, you don't have to reenlist like an enlisted
Tracy Hayes: soldier would. Right. Right. You're not re recommitting to another period of,
of time. Right. So yeah. These, these opportunities are, are out there. Mm-hmm. And I mean,
so in this whole, when you really think about it from the time, you know, the, the time you
said Yes, [00:13:00] I'll take the job. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'll join the army. It took a year.
Yeah. Before you were actually doing what you actually are technically, yeah.
Elizabeth Elliott: A year and a half. I mean, I accepted the job in May of 2016. Finished up
that year of teaching. I had a delayed entry cuz I needed to help my husband move across the
country and start dental school.
Oh. And so I didn't go until October. No kids yet. No kids yet. Mm-hmm. And so October I
shipped out. so all I did all summer was like, work out and try to get my body ready. And
then, was that
Tracy Hayes: part of the, I would imagine part of the interview process was, did they
actually,
Elizabeth Elliott: yeah. I had to take a pt. I had to take a PT test before the audition.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, they, they had to make sure that I was physically fit. I mean,
people will go to that audition and, you know, they'll look at them and go, this person is not
gonna make it through basic. Mm-hmm. And that's a problem with, not just musicians, but in
the Army in general. Like, there's not enough young people in shape.
Tracy Hayes: I think it's 70% they say of, of, 18 to 35 or something, or whatever. Yeah.
They're ineligible to 30 that are physically not [00:14:00] right. fit. I had, a little side note for
everyone here. he's not, no, he's no longer at the Citadel, but the Citadel was studying, This
issue, and it's an issue with all the services.
but also, they've also brought in veterans into this study. But the reality was that yeah, these
kids are, are walking around in Crocs. Mm-hmm. And now they're required to wear boots or
shoes. Mm-hmm. And they're getting shin splints just walking around the campus at the
Citadel, let alone obviously.
Mm-hmm. The problems that in, bootcamp, the percentage that are getting injuries or having
to be discharged because they do get an injury that Yeah. You know, it's not recoverable.
Right. they could do, yeah. It is issue. It happened,

Elizabeth Elliott: it happened when I was in basic training. I wanna say, especially women,
I mean, out of the four platoons in my company, there was one female platoon and it was half
the size of the male platoons.
Mm-hmm. So out of a company of a hundred, you maybe had 20 females, and then out of
those 20 females at the beginning, we maybe had half of that graduate. Yeah. Basic. Yeah. So
because people get. You know, [00:15:00] hip fractures or shin splints, all of that stuff
happens. Mm-hmm. People get injured and then the army's like, sorry, I
Tracy Hayes: cringe every time I go down the street, I see a kid on one of those motorized
scooters, or I saw the motorized bike, which I know some of those cost 1500 Duke Grand the
other day, and I'm watching this, this, you know, probably eight, nine year old riding this
motorized bike.
And I'm like, these kids need to be biking. They need to be walking and running and, and
playing and doing what we, what we did when we grew up. You know, forget about golf
carts in our communities, you know, but that it's causing a problem later in life. Right. They
just, they can't handle, just some, some basic, it's not like the army's, you know, it's tough,
obviously.
But it's, it's not like They're putting you out there in a point to try to injure you either, you
Elizabeth Elliott: know, wow.
Tracy Hayes: They're pushing your limits. I think everyone has to push. That's one. That's
what is one Cause one question I have here. What is one thing though? I mean, that you
learned about yourself?
Oh man. you know, even through this entire, and through that entire [00:16:00] process,
because I, the what you were saying to me, how those, even just going to the symposiums,
how they were kind of tearing you down. Yeah. that's like, that's what
Elizabeth Elliott: basic training the Army does. Yeah. They tear you down. They will you
show up.
I'm 28 years old at basic training. Mm-hmm. 10 years older than everyone else. My drill
sergeant was like 26. He sees the paperwork, he's like, this dummy is 28. Why is she here?
He has no idea what I'm doing there. Like, that I'm gonna go be a musician and go, oh, they
don't even know that. All they see on the paperwork probably is officer candidate oh nine
Sierra.
That was my mm, that was my m o s. In basic, you're an oh nine Sierra, and they just see
everyone who's about to go to ocs. There's maybe 10 of us in the company that we're gonna
go officer, and they're just like, we're gonna make these guys lives living hell right now,
because they only have 'em for, they only have us for 12 weeks.

Right. And then we're gonna go to OCS and become officers. So in like a few months, we're
gonna outran our drill sergeants. Right? So they're gonna like, You know, run us into the
ground essentially. Right. And so oh nine Sierras, we had extra work. we had to leave early
on the ruck marches and basically run them [00:17:00] and things like that instead of, you
know, March the Rucks
Tracy Hayes: we were running 'em.
But was do you think that, it was not only because obviously the obvious Yes. You have
these bureau sergeants and how you've got these, female want tobe officers. Right? That's,
that's probably how they look at it. Yeah. But they are actually also making you do the extra
because you were the officer, right?
Because they want you
Elizabeth Elliott: to be tougher than everyone else. Mm-hmm. Yes.
Tracy Hayes: Or, or perceived to be, yeah. in, in front of her. But what did you learn about
what, what did you learn about yourself through this whole process
Elizabeth Elliott: that we just done? I learned that I'm very resilient and as you get older,
you're like, man, I don't wanna be resilient anymore.
Everyone tells me resilient. Why can't things just be easier? So I don't have to learn to be
resilient? But, I learned that I was a lot tougher than I thought. And I think a lot of people
learned that about me too. They probably thought I was insane to go off and join the army.
And then I think it was really ocs.
OCS is a infantry officer, basic course. So Oh, they, that basically they're teaching all of the
officers to be infantry officers. So you're going out into the woods [00:18:00] and you're
learning, like Vietnam, Vietnam war tactics. you're leading a fire team or a squad mm-hmm.
In to, to take on the enemy and take 'em out.
And so when you're a squad leader, there's like, captains out there that were running the
course and trying to screw you up, man, they want you to fail. They do want you to fail
because they only want the best of the best. Right? And so, While I was out there, I mean I
definitely went to the hospital one time cuz I got really dehydrated and got rhabdomyolysis,
which is when your body starts to break down and eat itself.
Like protein goes into your bloodstream. Mm-hmm. Because you have no more fat, it's only
muscle. Wow. And starts to break down your muscle. I mean, it was real bad. And then,
finally recovered from that, went back out to the field, completed the course. But you know,
there was a time, I remember August of, gosh, 20 it took was now the next year, August of
2017 is my final month of ocs.

We were in a field training exercise is. Georgia in August, it was like a hundred degrees,
we're in wool socks and boots in full uniform. Mm-hmm. I had a rucksack on, filled with
ammo. I [00:19:00] was, on the weapon squad, fourth squad carrying
Tracy Hayes: a, your bag's no lighter than the men's I would imagine. Oh hell no. It was still
the 40 pounds.
Elizabeth Elliott: Oh, there is no difference. Yeah. Yeah. If anything, it was more because I
was on weapon squad. Mm-hmm. There's four squads in a platoon and the, the back squad in
the back of the line is the weapon squad carrying all the heavy shit. Okay. And sorry, beep.
and so, I was in charge of carrying the two 40 Bravo, which is the heaviest weapon that we
carry.
That is a, actually like a cruise served weapon. Mm-hmm. And to, to carry that, you have to
have 2:00 AM we call 'em ammo bees. Mm-hmm. who carry your ammo for you. And they
carry the trip. The tripod itself for a two 40 bra was like 25 pounds. Mm-hmm. And the two
40 Bravo was a 40 pound weapon. I mean, it's a huge like, It's gotta be like four feet across
and it's heavy.
And then you're, you've got like a, you're strapped with Mo and then you're basically
climbing a hill that's like meat of mud. It was, I was for four or five hours carrying that thing
with a rux Ack on my back. So I think they were trying to kill me, and they would be like,
incoming and everyone had a [00:20:00] dropdown on their back.
You gotta get up. And then, and so you, you, you like, You, you drop down on your weapon,
then you gotta jump up and run a hundred yards and then another incoming and jump. So
they're, they're literally trying to put your body through the test to see, well,
Tracy Hayes: I think your can do your, slight delay, of we're call injury was probably a, uh,
badge of, courage for them because I'd rather you sprained your ankle and went in versus
you totally dehydrated and your body was, you, you pushed your body to the, to the nth
degree.
I
Elizabeth Elliott: really did. I literally, the, that, the day that happened, we had done a five
mile run. I was the platoon leader at the time. And, you in these leadership positions to, for
you to practice leadership. Right. And I was the pl as we call it, and I was, I had bronchitis or
something. I remember we formed up at 5:00 AM and I'm like in front of the formation,
coughing my lungs out and they're like, Hey Elliot, you wanna go to sit call?
And I'm like, I'm not a sit call ranger. And so we went and reran, we ran that five miles and
then we got back to form up, on the field. And I just hit the deck, [00:21:00] man. I just
went, saw black. Yep. I, they ice sheeted me, which is when you're really like hot. And they,
they have ice like sheets that were in a bucket of ice.

Yeah. And they ice sheeted me. They strip you down. They called an ambulance. I'm getting
put in an ambulance in front of like 500 soldiers. They thought I died. I mean, I showed up
the next day. I went to the hospital that day. The next day I showed up to the history class in
the morning and I got a round of applause as I walked in cuz people didn't know if I was
dead or alive.
Yeah. They're like, oh, she's alive. Yay. But then of course I got recycled into the next
company. Where, where,
Tracy Hayes: where does that come from? Is that some, is that something that was instilled
from, from your parents? Your dad? I mean, cuz the average person would have. Gone to
Sick call. They've gone to sick call.
They, they would have, and oh man, you know, I, I, I've, yeah, we've all seen it, but
stubbornness is what it comes to. But there's a different person that pushes themself to the
extreme. Now we see some of these extreme sports, or, you know, I think at John Richardson
all the time, he, he ran a four minute mile on, if John at re rema, REM Max at unlimited, he
ran a four minute mile.
There's, there's only, [00:22:00] there's like less than a couple thousand people that have ever
done that. Wow. And you know, now they're doing triathlons, which is pushing yourself to
Yeah. Unbelievable levels. What, what was in you not to, or you know, was, was your, were
you kind of coached? Your dad said, don't be the, you know, don't go, don't call, call sick.
Yeah, yeah. You know, cuz you gotta cough. You know what's right. Well, it's a dry, what'd
you call, what'd you call it? What'd you, what'd you call it? What'd you call it?
Elizabeth Elliott: Ranger. We called it Sit call ranger. Sit call ranger. Sit call ranger. My
ankle hurts. Something to go to sit calls. Like you knew, you knew the people who kept
going.
They were just trying to get out of that run. Cuz they would only go to sit call on like a long
run day. And I'm like, that's not me. I never wanna ever, especially being a female, officer,
you, you just, you want to be better than everyone else. Mm-hmm. I feel like you, same as a,
being a conductor, I felt like I needed to just be better than the guys to prove that I deserve to
be in the same room.
And
Tracy Hayes: so do you feel having that mindset that, that just, yeah, I think it's minds
really. It's a mindset. Going through those years going the symposiums. Mm-hmm.
[00:23:00] Getting pretty much slapped in the face every time you go. Like say, crying in the
bathroom and then coming out here, you know? Yeah. That now you're, you're in the army,
you're like, this is easy.

I'm, I'm really about to take a, you know, position that's, you know, everything you pretty
much dreamed about. I mean, unless you're with some big, you know, the Boston Pops or
something like that. Right, exactly. This is, you know, you're on, you're in the echelon.
Elizabeth Elliott: Yeah. Yeah. So that was the thing that kept me going.
When things got tough, it was like, I can't fail at this. Like if I fail at ocs, I become what's
called needs of the Army. Mm-hmm. Meaning I didn't get commissioned. Now I'm going to
have to go enlisted. You better pray they have a flute player spot somewhere to, for me to go
fill, otherwise I'm gonna go be a tank mechanic.
And I'm like, I'm not doing that. I have a master's in music from a conservatory. I am not
about to go be a tank mechanic. So you, you, that can happen. That's interesting
Tracy Hayes: right there. Yeah. So they hire you, but you have to make it. And if you, and if
you, you don't make it as through the officer candidate school.
Mm-hmm. I mean, you made it through [00:24:00] ba basic training officer and, and then,
you know, obviously you were, you were kind of knew you were ready for officer candidates
school. Mm-hmm. You know, basic training is the, is the, you'll throw you in the cold water
type thing. Now you're like, you're, you, you're in shape already.
You've been running and all that type of thing. Doing it, doing the know how the army works
and all that type of stuff. So OCS I imagine was just, you know, graduating, but you said if
you don't make it, even though the Army didn't pay for your college mm-hmm. Alright.
you're, you haven't, you still have your commitment cuz you, yeah.
You saw, you joined the Army,
Elizabeth Elliott: right? Yeah. So then you have to be an enlisted soldier and if, and there's
only a certain number of slots per mos, so let's say there just isn't a slot for the instrument I
play, I would have to just get thrown into the pool. And luckily I did really well on that
Asfab test.
They were like, they were like, you wanna go medical? Are you sure you don't wanna be a
medical person? I'm like, nah, nah, I'm music. They're like, okay. But I mean, it was, it was a
trip, man. It was a trip, but I got to meet some amazing people while I was there. So
Tracy Hayes: [00:25:00] that's, I, you know, and I think, you know, everyone, a lot of people
always ask me, why'd I go to the Citadel?
You know, I, I wanted to take a a, a road less traveled. I feel, you know, you, you learned
about yourself. I think you've take, you've certainly have taken a road less traveled. The
average person doing or wanting to do what you wanted to do with a master's degree would
not go, go join the army. They probably would never applied to that job.

Yeah. They would probably said, even if they said you were going to be the best one and
we're gonna, you're gonna make, they were like, no, but I'm not gonna do it with the Army.
Mm-hmm. Right. Mm-hmm. And, and the fact you, you took the road less traveled and, it's
made all, so you stayed with the Army till 21, you said?
Yeah. 2021. 21. Mm-hmm. so what are you, you know, you, you're starting to wind down
your time and when you, you know, I imagine you were planning when you were, you know,
step out. What are you thinking about doing at that time? Oh
Elizabeth Elliott: man. well, when I got out, I got out of the army kind of at my peak cuz I
got to do some amazing stuff with, with the group in DC mm-hmm.
With some amazing musicians. And I think that, I [00:26:00] thought that it was gonna take
me 20 years to get to that point that fulfilled. You know, I wanted to be a Oh wow. A full bird
colonel and, and be in charge of that group. And, I thought that that would be what I needed
to feel fulfilled. And I, I got to do some amazing concerts and that, I just was like, I'm never
gonna be able to top that.
I mean, I felt so filled up from some things that I got to do. Mm-hmm. And, and right around
the same time that those big concerts were happening, I also was pregnant with, well, I, we
lost our first and that was a, a big deal. And, And then we had our second and, covid ha
happened a month before we had him.
Mm-hmm. So then of course, daycares are shutting down and all of that stuff. Right. Starts to
play into it. And then, I got a PCs two Fort Bragg, and I was in charge of the All-American
Chorus, out of Fort Bragg, 82nd Airborne Division. Mm-hmm. And while I was there, I was
also trying to be a new mom, and Covid was going on, so it was like, man, every time the
daycare shuts down, I gotta drop everything and go get 'em.
And the [00:27:00] Army is, was just not conducive for me to be the kind of mom I wanted
to be. And I'm the, like I've told you, I'm a perfectionist. Mm. I will stay in the thing until I
feel like I've. Figured it out and done the best job I could. And and that was with music and
that's gonna be with real estate, but it's also with motherhood.
And it got to a certain point where my kid was six months old and I'm like, I refuse to suck at
motherhood. Like if I'm gonna suck at something, it's not gonna be being a mom. And I can't
do both of these things to the level that I want to. And I just said, I'm gonna have to get out. I
don't know what I'm gonna do.
Mm-hmm. But luckily, my husband was a dentist. I we're like, let's take some time, figure
this out. Maybe I go get my doctorate. Maybe I just stay home till the kids are in
kindergarten. I don't know. Right. and so that's what we decided to do and I think that was
the goal was let's just be a mom till the kids are in kindergarten.
I did it for about a year and a half, and I was like, man, all I do is talk to a baby all day. Like,
I really loved that time. I will cherish that time, but I, right. I realized [00:28:00] also in that

year, that wonderful year with Oliver, while I was also pregnant with another one. So
imagine being giant and then running after a two year old.
I saw your
Tracy Hayes: pictures on Instagram, man, pre and post. Uh uh.
Elizabeth Elliott: It's exhausting to be pregnant and have a toddler at the same time. Yeah.
It's just really hard. So, and I'm a people person and I like to talk to people and I like talking
to adults. and you just get lonely at home. Yeah. With, with a baby. And so I, I started going,
okay.
I have my, my second son, Theo, and while I was at home nursing him, I was like talking to
my best friends. What should I do? What should I do? I was gonna either go be a personal
trainer or go into real estate. That was gonna be it, because we haven't talked about this yet,
but my parents flipped a lot of homes when I was growing up.
Oh, okay. And I watched that they've owned 17 houses or something like that. Mm-hmm. A
lot of them in St. Augustine, they buy 'em, they flip 'em, they sell 'em. Like, I got to watch
that and learn a lot. And, people just kept telling me I would be great at real estate. I said,
okay, well let's give this a shot and see how it goes.
If I [00:29:00] fail, then I failed. And we go on to the next thing. Right. So, so I got my
license two weeks later I was like hired at a brokerage, and then it was like, I guess I need
daycare now. And then it just took off from
Tracy Hayes: there. Did you feel, I mean, because you, you just had gone through, I mean, I
music is, or, you know, competing to be at the different levels of music does take, you know,
you are putting a lot of time practice, like you said, going topos.
Now you join the Army and there's, you're dealing people. They, they are working towards
perfection. Mm-hmm. Right? They're trying to be, and I imagine you met some great
musicians that, that, you know, that go through the services. like one I, graduated, I
remember graduating high school with, and he went on and, uh, he was a, trumpet player.
But anyway, they're really looking for all these high, just eight, you know, I mean, eight
personality. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Trying to be the best man. Very type based. Then all of a
sudden you're at home. Yeah. Raising an infant. So you're, you're going at a thousand miles
an hour and then you come [00:30:00] Yeah. Did you feel like, oh, lost.
Elizabeth Elliott: Totally lost. Every veteran when they're getting out or they're out, you
could be out for 20 years and still feel lost. But I felt lost in that year because my, I, I rolled
up my identity into being a musician, and I read that book, atomic Habits recently.
Mm-hmm. And he talks about how he had rolled up his entire identity into being a baseball
player.

And then you get injured and you're like, what am I now? If I'm not this thing, can you get a
head, head injury or something? Yeah. He got hit in the face of the baseball bat. Yeah, yeah.
You know, and and then he had to basically start from scratch. And I felt like that, I'm like,
I've lost this huge part of me, and now I realize I didn't lose that part of me.
It, I am separate. I, Elizabeth, the person am separate from that. Like, I keep getting like
labeled like I'm a veteran or I'm an army or conductor, da da da, mom. I am me, like I am
Elizabeth Elliott and my qualities of hard work, dedication, being kind to others, like all of
those things are who I am. Right? And I'll just carry those facets of my personality into
[00:31:00] whatever the field is that I decide to, to do.
And I know I'll succeed because I just have to stay who I am and take those things with me.
So I, because
Tracy Hayes: you've picked your face up out of the dirt enough
Elizabeth Elliott: times. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm, I guess I'm not afraid to fail. Like someone
asked me the other day, what does failure look like for you in real estate? And I'm like, I
guess if I just don't meet my goals, if I don't sell any houses, like, well, I've already done
that.
You know, I've already gone through the beginning stages of not succeeding. Right. And I
already see what happens. Right. So, yeah. I'm not afraid.
Tracy Hayes: get back on. Well, somewhat on track. We're, we're always on track. All right.
So we, we talked a little bit about pre-show because this is something I like to always get out
of, You know, agents and when they got, and how they got started.
And, you've changed brokerages a couple of times. Now you're here at Round Table Realty
and you can spin off of why you went to Round Table Realty. But if you were advising
someone new today, one of your girlfriends came up and said, Hey, I wanna get into real
estate. Yeah. And you told them all the, you know, the good, bad and indifference of it and
they're like, I'm good.
Mm-hmm. Let's [00:32:00] go. What are some of the things that they, that you, you would
tell them to do? There's two or three things that they need to do before they even walk into
that first, or signed on with a
Elizabeth Elliott: brokerage. Right. if I could go back and talk to myself, cuz that was me in
the fall. Mm-hmm. I think I was just so excited and pumped once I had my license to just go
jumping into it that I didn't research.
And when you don't do the research, then you really don't know what, like, what you're
looking for and, there's no way to know what you're looking for if you don't talk to multiple
brokerages, you just need to do that. Mm-hmm. and so before I came to Round Table, I, I

talked to six or seven, different brokers and different places, you know, large firms, small
boutique, firms, and really got an idea of what everybody can offer.
So I would say definitely talk to different brokerages cuz you don't even know what
questions to ask if you only go talk to one and it sounds great. Wow. Okay. Thanks for the
offer. Like, if you're not in real estate and you're like, I was in a highly competitive job
before this. Mm-hmm. And you're like, I got offered the job.
Like wow. I. [00:33:00] I'm not used to that In music, they don't offer the job to everyone.
Like when, when you go interview brokerages, every single one of them pretty much is, can
offer you a spot. Yeah. They've,
Tracy Hayes: they've entertained you to come in. Yeah. You're, you're 90% in
Elizabeth Elliott: the Yeah. That's not normal in other fields, especially in music.
So I thought, okay, they offer me a spot. Okay, let's go. That's, it's really the reverse. You're
interviewing them. Mm-hmm. You've gotta find out if they're gonna be the right fit for you.
It's not just them interviewing you. so that would be the first thing. And then the second
thing I would say is like, if you have a staple job, try and keep it.
I've, I've seen other people, At least stay on at least part-time because I've seen people quit
everything and maybe they have some money saved, but they don't have enough. And then
here we are two months later and they're going back to their job and quit or have Quiting a
spouse
Tracy Hayes: who can support the
Elizabeth Elliott: whole deal.
Yeah, I think the worst advice I've ever seen happen is someone told, I saw someone tell a
brand new agent, quit. You know, go full in, you know, jump right in. Quit that job.
Mm-hmm. And they, she did. And then two months later she had made a sale. Was like, well
no, [00:34:00] you are not gonna make a sailing first two months.
Right? Like, that's really rare. Right. And then now they've gotta go back to like, serving
tables or something. It sucks
Tracy Hayes: knowing what you, because I imagine that year and a half, you know, there
was a lot of time when you, when you could have some peace, whatever, a few minutes a day
that is, for a mom raising, two young ones, really analyzing yourself.
Right, because you're, you're a little different than the average person. Obviously you've,
you've, like you said, you've had your face in the mud enough times and have risen to high
places doing what you, you know, you loved doing. Mm-hmm. A lot of people have not ever
experienced the very lows that you've had and the very highs that you've had.

Mm-hmm. They've kind of just had this mm-hmm. Which I think a good part of our
population, we talked about not being, you know, fit enough to serve. It's because they're,
they're on this steady cruise control course. Mm-hmm. And when now you're looking back
and my question is, [00:35:00] knowing yourself to know what broker, cuz all these
brokerages, and you've seen a few They do things differently. Yeah. And you have to find
someone who, either you go out there all by yourself and you just are just a solo. you know,
the brokers just. Someone who, you know, has the, insurance and all the other jazz or
whatever in the real estate world, and you have to sign up under somebody and do it, and
you, because you already have the real estate knowledge and know how, and you go
mm-hmm.
Or you're, that you're that person who doesn't really have a lot of real estate, knowledge, but
you have, a huge amount of self-confidence because of the things that you've gone through
in life mm-hmm. That you can, you can conquer. Mm-hmm. You, you know, Hey, so what if
I fail? I'm gonna get up and I'm gonna go and attack, and I've always won at the end of the
day.
Mm-hmm. So, so you're, you're a little bit different when that girlfriend's talking to you
about, Hey, okay, hey, I should go talk to all these brokers. What do they need to know about
Elizabeth Elliott: themselves? First, I think you need to know what makes you tick. Like
what's gonna be the thing that, makes you succeed.
And for me, it's a routine. I [00:36:00] knew that for me, I needed to be in a place where I
could come in every day. I need that separation from home. because if I'm at home, I'm
gonna wanna do laundry or I'm gonna. Do something right. Get distracted. Yeah. And I, so I
will stay here. Like I, last night, Howard was like, are you gonna shut the place down?
I mean, I, I work really hard and, I needed a place that I could do that where I've, well first of
all, like the space itself, the energy in the place needs to be one that's productive and ha
happy. And so when I came here, I immediately felt like welcomed by a family. Mm-hmm. I
needed that feeling. And that might be the army in me too.
the teamwork, and the camaraderie. I really thrive on feeling supported. I, I am of words of
affirmations person. Like that's my love language. So I need like, like I need Howard, like,
and Keith to be like, you're doing great. You know, I just, that's all I need. Don't give me
gifts. I just need an add girl every now and then.
And so I knew I was gonna get that support, but I also wanna be in the room. I want, I wanna
be the [00:37:00] dumbest one in the room. I. You've gotta be a place where you're
surrounded by people with so much more knowledge than you, so that you can, you're gonna
be the what, you're gonna be the five people you spend the most time with.
Right? And so I needed to put myself in a room with people that I, I respected, and that have
a depth of knowledge. And so I was like, 20, 30 year vets of real estate. Those are the people
I need to know and I need to talk to, and I need to take them to coffee and figure out what

has made them successful over the years, because they're gonna have seen so many things,
ups and downs.
And so over here at Roundtable, I just felt like family, good energy, happy place to work,
depth of knowledge is extreme. And, yeah, I didn't need necessarily le I don't need the leads
from a team. I need the experience, to pull from, to ask questions. That's what I needed. Do
you,
Tracy Hayes: There's a credibility part in you.
And I think I, I have the same thing. You know, I didn't spend the time in the Army, but I
went to the military college for four years and when you, when you see that [00:38:00]
colonel walk around, there's something about him or her, there's, you know, whether I
remember, you know, doing PT test in the Marine Corps major, doing satellites around the
entire group, right?
You're like, looking at this guy going, now I'm his age, you know, and I, when I was 20, I'm
now his, the age, and he, he's running circles around and you just, you just have this, They
just have this thing about them. Mm-hmm. And I think the, the military kind of, builds that
credibility of, of these,men and women that when they are you, you, when they walk in the
room, there's a presence about them.
Mm-hmm. and, and that's what I'm hear, that's what I hear when you're telling me what
you're talking, that, you know, to walk in the room and know that, you know, you have Erica
Joli down there mm-hmm. You know, some of the others, down there Yeah. That have, that
have done it. And, and you can look at their numbers and they're, they're doing it.
Mm-hmm. And they, you know, just how they present themselves, how they decision.
Elizabeth Elliott: And they're humble about it. Yes. Yeah. I, I also wanna, like, at At the end
of the day [00:39:00] when I made my decision to come here, it, it was, I want to be in a
room full of. A rockstars that are experienced, but humble rockstars Yes. Where there's very
little ego involved at all.
Yeah. And that's who I thrive to be around, because I've been around some of the best
musicians that have ever lived. And I will tell you, the best musicians I've ever met in my
life are incredibly humble. Yes. And kind and welcoming. And they will make you feel like a
million bucks. And then the, the ones that are kind of good, they're kind of, but they're kind
of asshole, you know?
And I just don't, and being from the music world, I don't want to be in a room like that. I
need to be in a room where it's just the humble people, who have done it for 20 years. They
wanna p drag you along with them. Like, come to this listing appointment with me. Yeah.
And I don't have to beg to be dragged along, but they're letting me, you know, you make
Tracy Hayes: me think of that.

There was a video or. Or short or whatever was, was one of the, the greatest, I don't know,
he's a violinist or something. I forget what he was, but he went into the subway New Yo-yo
ma, New York. Yeah. Yeah. And he, and he's playing, and of course no one knew who he
[00:40:00] was. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And they didn't realize what they were listening to.
Yeah. And the fact that his instrument was thousands of, thousands of dollars Yeah. that he
was playing on. No one took it because he, he's very, he's just a humble person. Yeah. He
doesn't have to get out there on social media. He does mm-hmm. What he does, and he's
focused on it. Mm-hmm. and doesn't have to brag, but Yeah.
I, I, I understand that, that part of it, you wanna walk into that room mm-hmm. And be
around those people. there's something, there's an air Aurora around him, I always call it.
Mm-hmm. That, that just of, of credibility. Yeah. And the fact that they're, they're humble
about it. Mm-hmm. And, you know, and are willing to sh willing to pour into you.
Yes. If you ask
Elizabeth Elliott: them, Howard is one of those people that he wants to teach. Like he, he
talks about single agency, like he is the most passionate person about single agent. Yes. Like
as soon as I came in, I, he was teaching me from the mo mo when I walked in the door and,
and every time I'm around him he's sharing some kind of little nugget and you'll be in some
brokerages where that's just not it.
Like they just don't do that. and [00:41:00] you can just tell there's a passion not about
numbers here, like the people over property thing is a. Is so true. Mm. Because he wants to
make me a better realtor. And I think one day I, I envision being a broker and having my
own brokerage, all these things, because I'm setting myself up with people who know what
they're doing and they can do it in a kind way.
Yeah. And that's what I wanna do one day. So

[00:42:00]
Tracy Hayes: yeah. What I mean, longevity. I mean, if you want longevity in this, in this, in,
in this business, it's, it's doing the right things. And it may be not making money on a deal
because it just went south and you just gotta please that customer, cuz hopefully maybe
they'll refer you two or three over their mm-hmm.
Lifetime to you. Yeah. You've gotta look at, it's gotta be a long haul, I think a lot of real
estate agents and agree or disagree with me. I think a lot of real estate agents are really only
looking, you know, forward that next 30, 60 days. Mm-hmm. They don't actually start
building their business to, these are consistent things you're gonna do for the rest of your
career.

Elizabeth Elliott: Right. Yeah. They talk about like the successful real estate agents, they,
they have ups and downs, but they're more like this. Mm-hmm. And then there's ones that are
like really low and really high and you just gotta stay, kind of stay stable with it. Yeah. I
think you just have to have a routine. The atomic habits thing, it's like, Wake up, you ha you
go to the gym, you go to work, you put in the time, you might not get a deal that month,
[00:43:00] you know, or that week, but then you just keep going.
Yeah. You just keep on going and, and eventually it'll all work out too. Too many
Tracy Hayes: people do. Quit early, you know, it's that thing. You swing the ax one more
time. You know, there's always that analogy. The guy's digging, digging in, looking for the
gold, and then he quits and he walks away and the next guy goes and swings the ax in the
same hole.
And there's, there's the gold.
Elizabeth Elliott: Yeah. It's called the plateau of latent potential. Mm-hmm. Right. It's the,
it's the water that has to be, it's 31 degrees Celsius and then it hits 32 and it boils, you know?
Mm-hmm. It's like people are, they want them instant gratification, but they don't wanna do
all of the work to get there.
You know? I can't remember which team it is that has this story on the wall, but it's like, the
man with the, who's chiseling at the rock. Mm-hmm. And one day it finally breaks all apart,
but they don't see the hundred slams before that. They only see the people. People celebrate
the success, but they don't celebrate the work that it takes to
get
Tracy Hayes: there.
And, and this is something I cut out, a reel. I was going back and look [00:44:00] at one of
my old shows, and I cut this reel out was. The difficulty or the challenge, mentally, I think
for, even for loan officers, real estate agents, is it's different for everybody. Mm-hmm. There
might be, there might be somebody that comes in and for whatever their reason, whatever
they say is just a, they have a golden tongue and it just, All of a sudden they have people
wanting to do business with them or whatever, but you don't know what their previous,
whatever years have been that because when they did say it, it was gold.
Mm-hmm. You know, that all of a sudden all their friends and family wanted and they're
referring people. It's cuz whatever they had put in, and it's so unmeasurable to compare
yourself. To someone else and when that tipping point's gonna
happen,
Elizabeth Elliott: right? I'm, I talk to new agents and they go, I just wanna be as busy as
Elizabeth, blah, blah, blah.

What do I do? And I go, well, you weren't there in August and September, and the phone is
not ringing when you first start, and you just have to ignore everyone else and find what
makes you unique. and be like, I got, I had some really awesome Shonda, [00:45:00] er, she's
gonna hear this, but I talked to her at the Christmas party, you know, in December, and I was
like, you know, tell me what I need to do to succeed.
Like, what's the, what's the biggest lesson? You just gotta ask those people those questions.
Yes. Yep. And one of the things she said in her asking, like, I just stopped caring what other
people think. You know, just walk into a room and just, you just got to not care. And I just,
as soon as I. Took that to heart.
Because as a musician you got to do it too. You're going to stand in front of a million people
and do the thing. And I just was like, okay. Like everyone keeps saying, put your face on
social media and, and just throw your phone. Like do the reel and then throw your phone.
Don't care about the likes. Don't care about just, you're not going to like how you look.
You're not gonna like how you sound. But it's important because people are interviewing you
on your content, before they, they're deciding if they want to work with you before they even
meet you. Right. And so you've just got to stop caring what other people think. Be yourself.
And if people don't like you, fine.
Like, I would rather attract the people that wanna work with me, then than be told [00:46:00]
who I have to work with.
Tracy Hayes: Because the reality is some of those people are so afraid of what someone
may think about what they say, I mean mm-hmm. Visually, you are who you are. I mean,
they're gonna see you, okay. Mm-hmm. But I think would you agree that cuz some people
are so afraid that they might say something that may offend someone.
Mm-hmm. That they don't actually say the things. That May attracts
Elizabeth Elliott: Right, right. Other people. Right? Yeah. I, I think you have to put yourself
in the shoes. Like think about who your target audience is, what's the niche, right? And who
are those people and what are their pain points? Like, what are they worried about?
Why are they not buying the house? Like, what's the thing holding them back? Put, put
yourself in those people's shoes and then answer the questions. You know, that's what I try
and do on my social media every day. Like, let's talk about what's in the news. Let's answer
these questions and let's start a dialogue.
So I use my stories all the time, right? Because those are the ones where people can reply
directly back to you. And I get, I get leads all the time through social media, because you just
have to be top of mind. You gotta [00:47:00] be the person that's talking about it. And then
when they have the fa, they might watch you for six months and not say, a day six, six years.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. It happens all the time. I, oh, I've seen this person follow me. And then
finally they reach out and have a question and I'm like, all right, cool. And now we're under
contract, you know? Yeah. Mm-hmm. It, that's how it works. But you just have to s stay
consistent. I
Tracy Hayes: think that, you know, they say there's two things in life that are says of death
and taxes, right?
I think the third, there should be a third thing in there is, is you who, who are, you are who
you are. Mm-hmm. now can you change who you are a little bit? Yeah. You can also change
your tax code too, you know what I'm saying? or hopefully live a healthier life and, and, live
longer than if you,stayed doing, poor habits.
Right. you can change those things, but the fact that there are going to be people who don't
like you mm-hmm. There's going to be neg negative people. But I, I think people,there was a
meme this morning, I can't remember exactly, but to summarize it, basically, you know,
there's, there's good and evil.
There's people who are gonna like you, and there's people that they're not gonna like you.
They're gonna, people who are gonna [00:48:00] hate you because you do great Instagram
videos and they can't seem to figure it out. Mm-hmm. But are they willing to go and ask you,
Hey, could you mm-hmm. Show me how to dress up some of mine, or what are some of the
things that I can do?
No, they sit there and just are. Negative, right? Mm-hmm. In their, in their own world.
There's people, this is just, those are people, yeah. That's just human nature. You're not gonna
change it. They have to change themselves. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. and I think,a lot of people,
I, I know some people personally that, that they're so afraid of what someone might think,
and it's like, oh, okay.
I, well, I'm not personally insulting them. Right. You know, it's not, you know, be because
I'm, because I believe this policy is better than that policy. That doesn't make me a bad
person. Mm-hmm. That's just my background. I feel this is the way to go. The fact that
someone's willing to actually make a decision and say, this is my feelings.
Mm-hmm. I, I think this is the right thing to do, or, you know, or, and say something about it
mm-hmm. Versus someone who doesn't say nothing at all. Yeah. Because they're afraid.
Well, I don't wanna tell 'em that because they might believe that, and then, then they might
be upset at me. Mm-hmm. Oh, what? Right. You know, next, you know.
Right.[00:49:00] and then, and a, like you said, attracting, well, I think we attract, like, kind,
right. We, you know, are, are people have similar, ads, but let's talk about your Instagram.
Yeah. Because since we were leading into that, And I went off on that little, little tangent.
when do you start, were you playing with Instagram before you even got into real estate or
did you dive into it as part of Oh

Elizabeth Elliott: gosh.
all I had on my Instagram before real estate was like personal, like I had a personal one that
had, just my family photos and my army career and da da da da. Like it was not something I
used for business cuz I didn't have a business. I didn't need to promote anything. You just
Tracy Hayes: posting up pictures, maybe some short
Elizabeth Elliott: videos.
Yeah. Just like, here's my kids. Mm-hmm. You know, like, everybody who's not using it for
business does. Right. And then I realized as I, you know, created one for real estate, like it's
an amazing tool. It's free. This is a, I mean, so I did the thing that they tell you to do. I door
knocked, I made cookies for everyone in my neighborhood.
I went and delivered like, here's your fall maintenance checklist with some cookies, like door
knocking, like sweating my butt off in September. Mm-hmm. [00:50:00] And, I, I. I paid for
calendars and I, I like did all the things that you're supposed to do, the handwritten notes and
it just wasn't working for me. Like all of the mailers and stuff, the farming it, obviously you
have to stick with it for like, what 27 touches or something before they, you'll get calls.
Yeah.
Tracy Hayes: The, the farming you have to commit to. Right. I mean, but I was, a lot of
people have had success. I mean, that's what Kristen Ashore, that's what she kind of, she
teaches that Yeah. At a high level with digital marketing. But when
Elizabeth Elliott: you're a new agent, that's a lot of money. Yes. And you're like, oh, I can't
keep, like my poor husband's like, what, how much is that gonna cost?
I'm like, it starts to add up. And when you're like, I don't have a paycheck to pay back all
these expenses, social media is free. And so if you're a new agent, what I did, I finally with
Shauna's advice mm-hmm. She's gonna hear this and be like, I had, I don't know what she's
talking about. I don't remember saying that.
But you just stop caring what people think. She will say that. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And, You
just stop hearing what people think, post the thing, and then watch the, the messages come in
because that's what's gonna happen. It might take a few months and you have to stay
[00:51:00] consistent with it. But I would just say if you feel unconfident or you feel, like
self-conscious about it, just keep going and watch the messages come in because people are
smart and they can read through when you're being inauthentic to who you are.
But if you are staying authentic, they're gonna keep watching. They're, they're gonna watch
you for months before they message you. So the only reason I started getting busy in
January, February, March, April and had that like really big month was because I started in
August, you know, and I just stayed consistent.

Consistent. And I doubled down on my social media in January. I just said, forget the
farming, I'm just gonna do the free thing. And people want that because they don't wanna go
to their door and answer the ring doorbell. They're like, like the cookies. Half the people I
made cookies, they watched me deliver them to their doorstep through the ring doorbell.
And then I watch, I would go to the next house and then they'd peek out and grab the cookies
and go back in. Mm-hmm. Like people don't want random strangers on their doorstep. Right.
But they will follow you on Instagram. Yes. And then they'll interview you for a few months
before, you know, I would say do that and then also like [00:52:00] go find the local pages
and support small businesses.
Like I buy the cookies from the local baker and I. I champion those people, like find the
locals that are wonderful and champion small businesses and then watch that do dividends
for you in the future. Like my hair stylist is gonna be getting a house with me and then her
interior designer, you know, it becomes a word of mouth thing.
Mm-hmm. But you have to, you have to. It's a give and take, you know? and would you
Tracy Hayes: agree you some of the content also you're putting out there, cuz you're putting
out some, you're, you're giving them some education whether they're ready for it at that
moment or not. Mm-hmm. Cause like I said, they may not be ready for buying a home and
all of a sudden, six months later, something in their life happens and they go, oh, we gotta
move or whatever.
But. The fact that you, you're adding value to them. You're, you're not, you're making 'em
laugh, you're making 'em smile. Mm-hmm. But you're also, you know, throwing these little
tidbits of education onto them, you start to build a credibility mm-hmm. Part of it. Mm-hmm.
Exactly. You're not just, oh, you know, here's Liz again.
She's at the [00:53:00] beach, or she's at the cookie shop. You are actually giving them some
little nuggets of knowledge. As you were mentioning, Howard tries to drop on you. Yeah.
When you walk in, he, you know, tells you now the trivial thing, or we were talking about
VA loans this morning when you came in. Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. And some of the trivial stuff that you may never. Ever come across, but it actually
starts to add
Elizabeth Elliott: credibility to you, right? You wanna make yourself accessible. And the
way you do that is by just being yourself. And then when they do have that question, they
know who they're gonna come ask. They're gonna ta come talk to their friend.
And, and that's what happens. People slide in those DM dms and they message me a
question, and half the time I have the answer, and half the time I don't. But they know. I'll say
that on my, on my page. Like, Hey, I don't, I'm not a mortgage lender. Like, I'm not an
expert, but let me find out for you, right?

And or connect you with the right people. And just staying humble and saying like, Hey, like
I, I know what I know, but I also know what I don't know. Mm-hmm. And I'm never gonna
fake it for you. And I think that, that, that also speaks highly because people wanna work
with someone who's real and they [00:54:00] wanna be with somebody who is in a room
with experts.
All right.
Tracy Hayes: Some of your stuff obviously, looks like you, you know, you. Planned it out.
And then there's sometimes you're in the car and you just, I know we're
Elizabeth Elliott: always in the car. Yeah. Always. Always in
Tracy Hayes: do you what, when you're structuring your Instagram for those who are
watching and you know, a lot of, sometimes you gotta hear this stuff four and five times.
Yeah. you know, as you go to different classes, you're like, yeah, I've heard the last three
instructors have told me that same thing. Maybe I ought do it. You know? Mm-hmm. So tell
us a little bit about what, how do you plan some of your content? Mm-hmm. And sometimes
do you, I imagine there's sometimes just a thought comes to your head and says,
Elizabeth Elliott: let's turn on the phone.
Yeah. It's a mixture of all the things. Sometimes it's, it's a market, it's dependent on the
market. Mm-hmm. Sometimes it's like, I gotta get on here and talk about the market today.
and then, yeah, sometimes I batch content. you know, everyone's got coffee contracts. I've
used that. you know, the captions app, I've used that.
keeping current matters. There's like all of these tools that our disposal list reports.
Mm-hmm. And so I just kind of, [00:55:00] I started using all these different things and what
I did was I took little nuggets from each one and I took it and made it into my own. So
instead of just sharing a blog post from Keeping Current Matters, it's got like my logo on it.
I would rather go in there and like, let's read about what these points are that they're talking
about and then let me deliver it. people don't wanna sit and read a blog post, you know, from
some website that they don't know. Give us, give us your
Tracy Hayes: insight on that. Why do you think that is more powerful?
I mean, besides they don't wanna read the blog post,
Elizabeth Elliott: because I have my call because it's coming from someone they know.
Yeah. You know, and, people are, it's like, I don't know who's, we were at the Jack Drill
producers thing. It was like time with your face. Like that's FaceTime that you're getting with
them.

And so it's duplicated. every time someone can sit there and watch it, that's, that's you having
a coffee with somebody and you can't duplicate yourself a hundred times. Right. But social
media, you can put it up there and now you want basically coffee contracts. They want you
to, they they want people to come in and binge your content.
Right. They want your, your page to be a channel that they go to and they scroll and they
watch a video [00:56:00] and they go to the next one. They watch a video. so that's FaceTime
that you can't give because you, there's just not enough hours
Tracy Hayes: in the day. Right. And, and I've said numerous times on the show, probably a
hundred times and 147 episodes, your brain does not differentiate from the video.
Those who might watching this video are watching this live on Facebook or YouTube right
now. They don't differentiate whether you're sitting across from them or not when they're
looking at a screen. Mm-hmm. And the fact that they're, if they are scrolling through you and
you're just simply giving them nuggets and nuggets and nuggets, you are getting all those
That's a touch.
Yeah. Yeah.
Elizabeth Elliott: Yeah. And then you throw in a picture of, you know, you're grilling on a
Saturday or whatever. Yeah. Like, you're a human being too. Yeah. And so I think if a lot of
people just post under contracts sold, you know, that's all you're giving them, then who are
you? Like, nobody wants to work with a robot.
I'm a real estate machine, you know? Mm-hmm. That I wanna work with somebody I like.
No interest. Right. And I've learned that it, like is number one, they have to like you. And
then I, I've even done polls on my Instagram. Like, what, what do you want to see in a
[00:57:00] real estate agent? Really? Like the, the last thing people choose is someone
knowledgeable in the market like that become, that's the thing people don't click yes to.
Like, that's the most important thing. Would you
Tracy Hayes: agree to sometimes And I see it, I see it a lot times. I hate, I do not like when
real estate agents talk about interest rates. It's just something about it. Yeah. You know? but
let the lenders do that. Yeah. Let the, but then it can again, for the, for the most part, it's over.
People, that's not why they're buying and selling home. They to post what the interest rates
are. Most people don't understand how that calculates into the payment. Now if they call the
lender and say, what's my payment going to be? Right? Yeah. They may not like it cuz 3% is
better than 7%, but they don't know what, what on a $400,000 loan, what's the difference in
the payment?
Right? Right. They don't, they don't know that on top of their head and, and generally don't
carry the calculator

Elizabeth Elliott: in their pocket. Right. Instead of posting, Hey, here's the rates today.
Maybe say, make a reel about here's what a 7% rate. Breakdown would do to your mortgage
payment or I, I
Tracy Hayes: think the better it is to call to action, call me and let's go over [00:58:00] your
situation.
Right. Because lot, I think a lot of people have situations that after you start talking through
it, then they're like, oh, it's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Or Oh, I guess I, yeah,
I'm not confused cuz I thought there was a hundred options. There's really only one or two
for me. Mm-hmm. And here they are.
Mm-hmm. Right. You know, and now you've just cut it down. But I think we can give too
much information on there from a mm-hmm. And this is talking sales really, from that
standpoint. But while you were talking there, you mentioned Shonda, uh mm-hmm.
Obviously you mentioned Howard and, and, and, and Keith and so forth.
you've, you've meant, you've said some things that I didn't even have to ask you about and
it's obviously your understanding as a, again, I think it's cuz your past experience trying to,
you know, perform at a high level, that you were doing, being surrounded by people that are
better than you. in, in raising your game, what are some things that you've picked up?
or let's say, I don't wanna say, what are some of the commonalities that you've heard from
some of these different top people that you, and I know that you've kind of chatted with and
you're like, oh yes, so and so said [00:59:00] that, Shonda said that. Mm-hmm. So what are
some of the things that you, that you've kind of, and
Elizabeth Elliott: you just, and you said it too, like you have to be you.
There is no other you out there but you. And so if you, and this was in music too. I, when I
was a band director, I wanted to be my high school band director. And well, guess what? I
started out teaching and I like started to emulate him and that did not work well. Like I am
not a tyrant when I teach, and neither was he either, I should not say that.
But you can't go in the, the room and try to put on airs like you are this other person. Like,
I'm never gonna go in and try to act like Shonda, act like Howard, like. I'm who I am, and I,
this is me. Right. You know, I'm not gonna sit here and fake, fake that I've been in real estate
for 20 years. I have not.
Mm-hmm. But I, I do have all this life experience and I care about people. And so you just
have to be you and not try to be anybody else. And I would say that if you can double down
on, find out, first of all, if you don't know who you are, you gotta figure that out. Mm-hmm.
and lean into the things that make [01:00:00] you unique.
But yeah, I would just say number one would be be yourself. And then number two is be
humble, because I've worked with some really great musicians that aren't humble. And then

as soon as you realize that you don't wanna work with them anymore. Right. You know, no
one wants to be, no one wants to feel like crap.
Have
Tracy Hayes: you run across a few real estate agents like that? Oh,
Elizabeth Elliott: we have, yeah. Okay. Like, most of the time I'm calling about a listing.
like I had, I won't even give names, but I had a buyer, I had a buyer looking to buy some
land. They, I'll tell you a story, like, you know, buyer looking to buy some land. And I'm like,
okay, cool.
I can help you with that. And so some of these were in Palm Coast on like, stellar. And so
I'm, I'm gonna call the agent. And you know, they just, oh, well honey, if you aren't from
around here, you should just refer 'em to me. And I'm like, so you want the buy and the list
side? Like, no, this is my person.
Can you just tell me what the acreage is please? Or the, the dimensions of the lot, you know,
and just be kind. You never know who's on the other line, who you're talking to. [01:01:00]
And I'm learning like not just the music world is small, the, or the real estate world is small.
The world in general is small and you're gonna come, you're gonna see these people again at
some point.
Yeah. Oh. And so just don't burn bridges, be kind to everyone you meet and be yourself, I
guess. And that was, that's not just real estate, that's in any job that you could ever be in.
Yeah. Like just all of those things will take you very far in life in general. Well, you know,
they
Tracy Hayes: oftentimes they say, oh, there's 12,000 agents in northeast Florida.
But Yeah. But really only a handful. you know, you know that 1%, maybe if you wanna
stretch it to two or 3% that are actually doing the business and mm-hmm. You've, and this
will leading into also going, going to the different events. But yeah, you don't know who's on
the other end. You don't know who's, who's gonna be, listing the house that your buyer
wants, you know, next month.
Mm-hmm. And you've got to, you know, approach it. I think some of the greatest advice, that
some of, several of the agents that have been on is working together and collaborating that
[01:02:00] we have a seller who wants to sell a house. We have a buyer who wants to buy it,
and our goal is to get the closing.
How are we gonna get there? And, you know mm-hmm. There's different bumps in the road.
And in your young career, you already already realize, I'm sure there's been repair mm-hmm.
Things and that forth and you've renegotiate and so forth. Yeah. But understand everyone has
the same goal, I think. Right. With some of the horror stories I have.

Cause my wife's an agent as well, and she, she always tell me is some of these agents get
combative almost on the, on the phone, with you. And it's like, Hey, we're trying to sell a
house here. What do we need to do to get this done? You know?
Elizabeth Elliott: You say the thing like, we need this repaired or whatever. You submit the
request and then you say like, you do it with kindness.
Like, they say you win more flies with honey than with vinegar. It's like, it's, it's a southern
saying. and it's true. I mean, you're not gonna get very far in and negotiating. You have to be
an empathetic chameleon and I can't remember who said that recently, but you have to read
the room. You know, you've got some buyers too.
Like I know with some buyers I need to be the, the alpha female like work wife type person
and drag them through [01:03:00] the mud to get them to the closing table. And then I have
some buyers that I'm like, I need to just sit back and let, and like help, like they wanna
negotiate this deal and I'm gonna be like, you are the best negotiator I've ever seen.
Like, you, you've gotta, you've gotta learn to read the room and, and, and change depending
on who you're talking to. And I think a lot of people, a I've seen brokers and leads and all
those, like, they stick to a script, like say the same thing to the sa you know, no matter
everybody's on the phone. Yeah. No matter who.
It's, and that just doesn't work. I've seen it fail multiple times. I'm like that you can't do that.
Right. You gotta know who you're talking to and know who your audience is. It's the thing
when I ban plan a band concert, like, I'm not gonna go plan a concert for a bunch of
elementary schoolers and play Mozart.
Right. You know, we're gonna play Moana or Frozen, like, know who your audience is and
know how to deliver it in a kind way. Right. It'll take you far.
Tracy Hayes: That's, that's great advice. You've had, you said you did your little, is, is, is she
called Mar? Is it Marketing Hug?
Elizabeth Elliott: I can't remember what she Yeah, it's a marketing hug.
She called Marketing Hug. She, I was like, she has a [01:04:00] marketing name for her
marketing, meeting. It's a marketing hug.
Tracy Hayes: Yes. So let I, so, Erin wasn't on very long ago. Regular listeners know Erin
Salem with, marketing director at Round Table Realty. Liz just came on with them, here in
the last week or so.
And, so she's had her marketing hug that Erin was talking about. Tell us how that went. How
did you f did you know, I mean, you knew of the appointment mm-hmm. But did you have
any pre expectations of

Elizabeth Elliott: what was going to No. I mean, I know that when I interviewed at multiple
brokerages, they all go, oh, here's our marketing person.
Or you can pay for this a la carte for sheets or whatever. You know, every single brokerage
has their own thing. And so to come in here and I'm like, wait, we have that here. Like,
there's a person who will make me a logo and I don't need to like pay a separate fee and. And
not only that, she's good at it and she's thoughtful about it.
And, and it was fast. You know, the next day I, I joined the brokerage and like two days later
we had our meeting and she had 20 logos already designed. And not only that, she had
reasons [01:05:00] behind each logo as to why she made the choices she made. And I was so
impressed. Wow. It was so thoughtful. And she's just, she's very good at her job.
Yeah. So, and you know, she works hard. You walk into that office, she's working, she's
editing a video for somebody, or you know, she's, she will tell you like, if you want
something done, email me and get on my calendar. Cuz Yeah. It, you can't just walk into my
office and ask for something. Well, I mean, is
Tracy Hayes: this something I got from her?
Just wowed me. never realized, cuz you get, again, you don't know what you don't know, but
sitting down with her, I knew she what she did, but actually sitting down on the podcast and
digging into her mm-hmm. And hearing her story and her background and her mindset of
how she, you know, attacks, you know, what she does.
Mm-hmm. And that's raising the agents, supporting the agents. Yeah. And making, you
know, giving you guys that marketing side, from that and how, just how the creative way. So
what are some, just as she took you through, what are some of the things she's asking? What
are some of the things she's digging?
Yeah. From you in this marketing hub? Tell us how it went. I th
Elizabeth Elliott: like for example, when we were going through all the different logos,
[01:06:00] you know, she. What you want is, it's, it's a very subconscious thing. When
people look at your content or your list, you know, your listing packet or backpack, they're
not gonna go, oh wow, that logo makes me feel strong when I see it.
You know? But you want it to, you want it to. Be your vibe in a, you know, millennial
saying, but without, with, without it being so, to the fore, as we would say in music, you
want it to be like a, it's a subconscious feeling they get. Yes. And so I really liked how she
broke that down for me. And so as we were going through all these logos, other ones were
really pretty and very colorful, and I feel like I'm a colorful person and I'm bubbly and all
that.
Tell by your nails today. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty blue. And I've got, you know, colorful tattoos on
me. But people will get, she said this to me, she's like, people will get that from you when

they meet you. Mm-hmm. But when they're looking at your, when it comes down to the
biggest transaction of their life, they want somebody strong and who has great style and a
aesthetic.
Like they [01:07:00] know what they're doing, they know what, what's high quality basically.
Correct. Credibility, confidence. Yes. And so when we're looking at different logos like. We,
the one we chose, which is like my full name, Elizabeth Elliot, not Liz Sells Jacks, but like
my full name. And then it's sitting on a foundation of people before Property in Black.
And I was like, that's what, that's me. You know, I, I love the aesthetic of it. It's the kind of
house I told her, I was like, this logo looks like the kind of house I would buy. You know?
Whereas other ones with the curly cue, Elizabeth, like that were all in script and cursive.
Mm-hmm. That's how I would sign my name.
And I love blue and green and I would've totally chosen that logo if it was, if I was gonna go
be an art teacher or something. But I'm a real estate agent. I, I wanted to be strong and I
wanted to match the aesthetic of the homes I love. And so we ended up choosing the logo
that we chose because of that.
And, and I feel like I can put it on anything. It'll look great. So she's just very smart that,
that's
Tracy Hayes: seriously high level. I, I think the 99.9% of the agents out there did not. Put
that [01:08:00] thought, put that time into that because a, they didn't, they don't know.
Mm-hmm. they're not hiring, you know, some New York, advertising firm to mm-hmm.
Spend their time and charge you a lot of money for that. that's where Aaron just shines in
that area. And the fact that the ad that value to, did you really, I mean, before you, I mean,
you mentioned Howard and Keith. Mm-hmm. even last week when I congratulated you on
your movie, so Yeah, I think Howard and Keith, I match with them.
Mm-hmm. Did you even play Erin into your decision? That really? Well,
Elizabeth Elliott: it was so funny. I already knew her before. I mean, I didn't realize I knew
her, but she and I go to the same gym, and so, and I had talked to a couple people about
coming over here. They're like, oh yeah, Erin's over there, Erin from, Phoenix Fitness.
I'm like, oh. And so I walked in on the first day and she, she recognized me, but like, it was
just kind of like, oh, we already, like, we run in the same circle. So that was a really cool
thing. And then of course, in my interview with Howard and Keith, like. Find out, like my
preferred lender is a preferred lender here.
Like I, we already know the same people. We like to work with the same people. We have
the [01:09:00] same philosophies Right. On life. So, Erin, Erin did play into it because she's
so bubbly and kind. She was only there for the first two minutes cuz she had to leave. But it

was just, it's that feeling of, she waited for me to get here for my interview with, cuz I had a
sick kid.
Mm-hmm. I had to bring him along. She waited for me to get here with him so she could say
hi and then she had to, to dip out. But it was just like that warm welcome of everybody's
here, we're all here to meet you. We're so excited you're here. You know, that was, that was
wonderful. But, well, I,
Tracy Hayes: I hope to see, I know they got their green room down there and see you, know,
dig into that video.
Yeah. Which leads me to, can't wait. You have a strong Instagram. what is your attitude? well
let's start with Facebook. Mm-hmm. What is your attitude about Facebook? Oh
Elizabeth Elliott: lord, I have mercy. It's changing. Ever changing. I feel like technology's
always changing. It's like, what's the next thing? TikTok, I gotta get a Tik TikTok.
But Facebook,
Tracy Hayes: to me Facebook is the, is is the foundation. The rest of 'em of all. Cause that's
why I see it. I see Facebook is like, everybody sort of does, but only some people do
[01:10:00] Instagram. Well, it depends
Elizabeth Elliott: on the generation you're talking to. Yeah. Because I will say, if you're
talking to my dad, then he agrees with you.
Like he's all up on his Facebook. Well, not, yeah, I can say I'm not your dad. No. Well, I
don't know, but I will say it's generational. Like, I would say my parents are all up on, on
Facebook, they don't have Instagram. and then the younger kids are like getting off
Instagram and getting on TikTok and real, be real, you know, are some new ones and I just.
For me and my niche, my niche is in on Instagram. Like those are where my buyers are.
Mm-hmm. That's the demographic that I'm trying to reach are people in their thirties and
forties, in twenties that are ready to buy a house. You have families
Tracy Hayes: and they're growing families that are buying their first song.
Yeah. Because, you
Elizabeth Elliott: know, I feel like that's just where people are more. And I, I share the
content over to Facebook, but the engagement I get is mostly through Instagram. I do get
some messages back, from the stories that get shared to Facebook and I have a ton of, like, I
have a lot more like personal friends on my Facebook page, so it's weird because I've got like
5,000 musicians [01:11:00] on my Facebook page.

Mm-hmm. But they're from all over the country. Right. So I'll get messages. I've got like
three refer outgoing referrals right now that are gonna close, in like Virginia and North
Carolina, cuz of the Army. So when I have an Army friend who's PCSing, but they're in
Virginia, like hook 'em up with another agent up there and that's, they're gonna buy and sell.
You know, I have another friend who's gonna buy and sell in North Carolina, set him up with
an agent, like if. If you are putting it out there that you can help people no matter where they
are in the country. Like, you just have to keep reiterating that. And then over time when they
have a question, Hey, I have a question about my VA loan.
Sure. Let me answer that for you and then let me set you up with an agent. And like, it all
works out, but you just gotta just keep going. But I have gotten some through Facebook. I
would say maybe like 30% and then the rest are through
Tracy Hayes: Instagram. So I feel YouTube is not, is not, YouTube's not social media.
It's cuz it's not a, although YouTube has you, you know, the shorts mm-hmm. They're a
version of their reels. Mm-hmm. It's not a platform. You, [01:12:00] you know, though you
can comment, it's not, a setup to necessarily be like a conversation. The conversation that
you may have, you know, there's no direct messaging with.
Mm-hmm. You know, you can't message someone through, YouTube. You can comment on
their video and so forth. Mm-hmm. Are you taking your. You know, those Instagram reels?
Are you putting I didn't even go, I didn't have a chance to really even look to, yeah. Are you
putting 'em on the YouTube and filing in there?
Elizabeth Elliott: Stay tuned, because my YouTube channel will be launching Barry soon.
Cool. I've been working with, lane Pittman, who's the Florida guy, 9 0 4 on, on Instagram.
But he and I have been working together for like a month on my first YouTube video. And,
it's just gonna be a, Hey, here I am. This is me, this is my kids on the beach.
This is my parents, this is my husband. Like, it, it's more of a like, let's get to know you kind
of thing. And then that'll be my first video. And I've already, well, you're gonna have this
video. This is going to be, yeah. Put this on there. I've already shot with Erin. We've done a
marketing hug video as well.
Mm-hmm. short little. She's so efficient. It was [01:13:00] like done in 10 minutes. and so
yeah, I'm, once I have, I just want it to be really high quality, like YouTube lives forever and
I just want it to be. Super
Tracy Hayes: high quality before I started. Yeah, a hundred percent. I mean, and that's one
of the things I tell the, a lot of agents who, you know, a common question I get from
someone who's not, really interested about the show is what is going to be the topic?
And I said, well, the topic is, you we're gonna talk about you because I really would, you
know, my logos on there and, and everything. But when someone searches on Google you

will see the YouTube video up, you're gonna see the, you know, apple podcast is gonna pop
up there as well. Mm-hmm. in there, and it's someone, you know, who's googling you's
gonna say, oh, there's a podcast.
Mm-hmm. Oh, there's this full length video where she's talking and interacting mm-hmm.
And telling her about your story. That's, that's one of the, you know, the mm-hmm. The goals
of me is for agents to call me and say, Hey, thank you for Emmy on the podcast. I had a
client Googled me, said they saw my, my, or listened to my podcast or saw the video,
whatever it may be.
Mm-hmm. because Google. Obviously YouTube together, they're a [01:14:00] search engine.
Yeah. It's huge search engine. Yeah. And people would rather watch the video. That's your
credibility. Yeah. They'd rather watch the video of you talking versus reading something
typically. Absolutely. Yeah. Yep, a hundred percent. you've, you've worked, you know, we
mentioned you've worked for a couple different brokerages, so you obviously were open to
suggestion to move or maybe during this whole time you were searching.
Mm-hmm. you know, only, you know the answer to that question, but, what is it, that well,
how I feel. That a lot of, agents, they're, they move brokerages oftentimes because they no
longer see, they're not getting the value, or maybe they go there thinking there's a value
there, but it's not the value that they en envision when they actually get in there and start.
Mm-hmm. You know, working with the people. What are some of the, you know, because I
think if you went somewhere and they were pouring in the value that you needed, you
obviously would've stayed, right? Right. Yeah. So what is it that, that, that you think some of
them were missing? Or if you were doing an X interview mm-hmm.
With that broker you were leaving with, what are some of the things that maybe you would
advise them that's, you know, [01:15:00] say, yeah, you know, I, I, you gave me the vision of
this and it wasn't, or, you know, what would you tell them? Mm-hmm.
Elizabeth Elliott: Mm-hmm. Well, I will say like you go, you go where you feel like you
need to go at that moment.
Like everybody's making the best decision that they can with the information that they have
in that moment, you know? So when I started out, I went to the brokerage I thought I needed
to go to, then when I start realizing more of like where I start to feel like a square peg in a
round hole, you start to go, okay, what?
What am I missing here? And then you start to interview. And I interviewed a couple at that
time, going for my first to my second, I only interviewed a couple. And that's when you start
to learn about splits. It's like when you leave your first brokerage and you go to your second.
That's when you start to learn about splits.
And then at that moment, I was like, oh, I really love how transparent they're being. You
know, I wanted transparency when I was leaving my first brokerage. I wanted transparency

about numbers because that's something I felt I was lacking in the first one. And then as I
was leaving my second one, it was not about numbers for me.
It's like, okay, I understand splits [01:16:00] I need, I don't, and I understand leads and I
understand Zillow, all that stuff. I needed to be in a place where, I, where the value was
there. You know, like if I'm gonna be paying a huge split, which at round table I'm not, but
like, if, if you're on a team there, well, it's gotta be competitive.
I mean, it is so competitive right now. Yes, absolutely. And, and you know, I learned a ton
about splits when I was interviewing brokerages, which is mm-hmm. Awesome. Mm-hmm.
But if you're gonna be paying into a brokerage, you want there to be some value in return.
And I think when I came to round, round table, I was like, man, I'm gonna be getting a lot
more value for than for the money that they'll be getting.
Don't be
Tracy Hayes: willing to pay a little bit more. Yes. Because of the value.
Elizabeth Elliott: Yes. Rather than, I'm paying a lot into this and I feel like I'm not getting
much back. You know, and then especially if you're, I will recommend that if you're on a
team, but you generate all your own leads from your sphere, then you should get off the
team.
and I think it took me a lot, too long to realize that I was like, I feel like I'm losing money
here. Mm-hmm. And so I, I needed to make a decision. You some other value. I, I would say
I, your growth being a new real estate agent. what I [01:17:00] got out of the team was the
camaraderie and like, that's what I wanted to take with me.
When I came to Round Table, like I ne didn't necessarily need it to be the team as like
organized like a team as far as like financially goes and the way it's set up. But I did wanna
take with me like that feeling of being part of something, part of the round
Tracy Hayes: table team as a whole. Yes, yes. Whether you, you know, cause I know he's
got teams down there and a lot of solo agents,
Elizabeth Elliott: there's a lot of different things going on.
Right. I didn't, I didn't, I wanna be my, I want, I wanna be my own brand. I don't wanna be
building up someone else's brand. Mm-hmm. Like everything I was doing under a team was
to support that system and to prop it up. And for me, I'm like, I want, that was, that was too
army for me. Like that was like, working for a CO and everything has to fall in line with that.
For me, I want, and Howard was big on this in my interview with him, like this is round
tables. Like we wanna build your brand, we wanna build, we want you to dive into you and.
Build your business on that and build your business in your name. And that's what's gonna
make me [01:18:00] successful at the end of the day.

Buyers don't care who your brokerage is. No. They really have, also don't even know who's,
yeah, I had a, I had a guy under contract when I went from my first to my second. I don't
even think he knew I changed brokerages until my email signature changed. And your email
bounces back and you're like, here's my new email address.
You know? they don't care because they're gonna continue to work with you no matter where
you go, because they trust you. And same thing, I've, you know, as I went from the team I
was on to the new brokerages, like I have buyers still working with me. Like, Hey, just so
you know, I switched brokerages. I have a depth of knowledge at my fingertips now.
My brokers are amazing. Mm-hmm. Awesome. Great. Like they're really, as they're my
friends, they're like, we're so happy for you. This is great. Yeah. They want to see you
succeed. People working with you, they want to see you succeed. Right. So, that's what I
would say as you interview brokerages, like . I wanna go, I wanna go
Tracy Hayes: back to the question we had, or you're talking to your girlfriend.
Mm-hmm. She's thinking about getting in real estate and you said to go interview with the
brokers. Mm-hmm. Right. You know, to fill out the brokers. And, and we talked a little bit
about, you know, knowing yourself, knowing, you know, [01:19:00] you know, different
people have different needs. Some people need that team.
Yeah. Yeah. They need that. Absolutely. They need, need,situation. So you need to discover
that, but truly would you agree the only way they can really start to learn some of that is
really actually talking with the soldiers on the ground Yeah. With real estate agents that are
out there doing it. Yeah.
And, I mean, how much would you, you know, agree differently? Would you have spent
more time actually trying to interview actually agents? Yeah. Actually sitting down with a
Shonda before you Right. That would've been great. Yeah. To, to talking to some of these
people Yeah. And looking them up, in, in having coffee or having lunch with them.
Mm-hmm. To dig in, Just to give you that little, you talk to brokers, but now you actually
talk to the real estate agents. Yeah, you should because, because brokers is that interview
where li there's a, a friend mine talk, two people lying to each other. Right, right. And now
you get talking to the agent, they're like, yeah, this is how it is.
Right? Yeah. This is, this is what it is. Yeah. So if you like it, if you like it, if you don't, you
don't. Yeah.
Elizabeth Elliott: Yeah. When you're interviewing brokerages, they're gonna be like, well,
this person was with us and they left, but here's their numbers. And it's like, man. Okay. I
wonder if what the reason for them leaving is actually why they left.
Mm-hmm. And [01:20:00] then after you join, then you find out the real reason. You're like,
oh, well that's, they weren't being fully transparent. Conflict or, yeah. Yeah. So I would, you

know, try and find that stuff out beforehand. For me, I didn't, I. Found it out after, like why
that person left. Oh, okay. so yeah, I, what I loved when I was in my interview with Howard
and Keith was Hey, here's some business cards of some agents that we have.
This person just came to us from this team. This person just came to us and go call them.
You know? Yeah. That's the transparency I need, you know? Yeah. I want, I want you to give
me people, it's like when you interview a nanny or a babysitter, gimme your references,
please. Well, it's
Tracy Hayes: interesting you say that cuz a lot of the agents have said that.
I, I think of kidnap over there cause she, has re referred some great people away. They went,
then they end up at another brokerage. She's like, oh, go talk to other brokerage. Really?
They need to talk to the agents. Mm-hmm. I mean, you talk to the broker cuz that's gonna be
the person running the show.
You wanna know who hopefully is giving you the education and how they want to Yeah. You
know, the attitude cause you like the office scene. you know, but really talk to the agents of
what really actually happens. Right. And [01:21:00] why they could be off on their own. And
one of these, You know, there's, I think, yeah, I think of Erica down there.
She could go, you know, work at an exp or a Florida home who may take a lot lesser cut, but
it's totally virtual. Why does she keep coming to the office? Mm-hmm. There's some, there's
a reason for that. Right. Right. Mm-hmm. And, and
Elizabeth Elliott: because she's getting a nugget every single day mm-hmm. And she's
pouring into people, like, I can just grab her and be like, Hey Erica, can you come look at
this listing I have coming up?
Yeah. And she'll sit there and be like, Hey, make sure you do this and this, you know, and
then she goes about her day. Like I'm sure she gets, you know, some kind of warm fuzzy
from pouring into new agents
Tracy Hayes: too. Oh, there's, yeah. There's no doubt people, that, that's just, you know,
yeah. I mean, I'm sure through your music group, people coming up and asking you for
advice.
Yeah. Hey, you know, it, it, it adds, it's a, it's an ego shot. Yeah. Call it that. anything else you
want to add down here to our conversation? Well, I was, what have we not talked
Elizabeth Elliott: about? gosh, I was gonna like talk about when you're. When you're on a
team and when you're, you know, thinking about switching brokerages.
The other thing I would say is interview. Talk to the lenders and talk to the title people and
the [01:22:00] inspectors, you know, cuz those are the people who work with who, who they
would recommend. I mean, that was to talk to. Cause when you're, it's kind of a tricky

situation when you're going through that where you realize like, I'm gonna need to do
something to get more value out of where I'm at.
Mm-hmm. it's hard to talk to your teammates about that. And it's also hard to talk to other
realtors about that too. And so for me it was like, I'm gonna talk to my title friends, my
lender friends, my inspector friends, because they work with all the agencies and they're, I
just would be like, who are your favorite agencies to work with?
Who are the most organized? Who, who are the most humble? Who, who have the great
reputations? You know? Mm-hmm. And then where do you like out of all those agents, you
know, Where do you see me fitting in? Like where, where do you think I would vibe best?
And so I would listen to these people that I respected, you know, tops.
Tracy Hayes: I think a lot of people kind of keep that undercover, cuz when you start those
conversations Yeah, then it's like
Elizabeth Elliott: something's gonna spread. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well I'm sure that
happened too. But once you're kind of like, Hey, this is for once you've made that decision,
like I'm for sure gonna switch, then you just stop caring and you're like, okay, I need to go
where I need to go and please help me make that [01:23:00] decision.
And I think that's the best thing I did was I listened to people that I respected and I said, give
me a list. Of the top five people I should go talk to. And then I compile this list and I go,
okay, I'm gonna go do that. And then see for myself, yeah. What they're talking about.
Tracy Hayes: I, I always think, I think,real estate agents should actually talk to some of the
lenders when they're, trying to choose who to do title with.
Mm-hmm. Now, I will say this, I've said, I've been saying this for years. you know, that I
have just a handful of title companies that I, if someone, you know, if I'm doing a refinance,
I'll like try to guide them to that title company cuz I have somewhat control over it at that
point. Mm-hmm. that, I mean, hands down don't have to worry about anything.
They're people are all over it. Where there's this other companies that, most of 'em, cuz they
don't, title is not actually their. Main thing. Main thing. Mm-hmm. And, you know, you have
a, or insurance is another thing, but you just, the interaction. Yeah. The, the cause of delay,
the reaction time mm-hmm. And so forth.
Some, some of these title companies are amazing, and it's like, why do you even bother with
some of the [01:24:00] others? insurance, same thing. Mm-hmm. there's insurance agents
where all of a sudden a closing gets moved. I was with working new construction for, for,
you know, three of the last four and a half years.
And, you know, that got moved a lot and you call insurance, they're like, oh, well you, cuz
you need to date to be changed or whatever. And it's like, you would think, you were trying

to. Do something, get an act of God or something. Right. You know, and so it's gonna take all
this time. So having those people and knowing, yeah, you're right.
I mean you, whether it's asking lenders, find out who has the reputations. Yes. And, and then
obviously back it up with a story where they have experienced that, that, that's very good
Elizabeth Elliott: advice. Yeah. Actually, Howard and Keith have an amazing reputation
and that was something that I really cared about because you, that follows you, even though
you are your own business owner, who you work for says a lot about you and I, I told
Howard, like, and keep that like, I need you guys.
Do you have a good reputation, like down to your core? Mm-hmm. Down to your heart of
hearts? Am I gonna hear stories later on? Like, I need to know that you have a great
reputation, that it's, I'm not gonna hear from some [01:25:00] inspection or inspector that you
acted like a baby 10 years ago on some transaction.
Like, I want you to, guys, I don't wanna hear bad stories. You know? And so that's, that's I
think, I think everyone,
Tracy Hayes: everyone clashes in, in personality somewhere, but there's no doubt. I mean,
Howard has been my 21st episode. I had on, it's funny you remembered the number. How,
because I, well, I was, I actually went through, what I'm doing right now is I'm actually
getting the transcripts from each of the, shows.
Mm-hmm. and I, I've, I've been saying it for, A year that I'm going to write a book because I,
what I, I take the, I want to write a book of what's the commonalities, and I, I think I want to
name the book when my thought is, so you want to be a real estate agent, and these are the
commonalities that all the agents are bringing up, you know, in their, in their different things.
So I was going through and pulling the transcripts and, and, and so forth and yeah. So David
Heen was 20 and he was 21. Mm-hmm. I mean, two, probably the two most reputable. that
every, that everyone knows there's a lot of other people out there that I don't know everyone
in unless I, finding these people are [01:26:00] humbly mm-hmm.
Doing their business and doing it at a great level. And I'm like, wow, look at those numbers. I
didn't even know. Mm-hmm. You know, this person even existed. Mm-hmm. You know?
Mm-hmm. and then, you know, each day you grow. So, I appreciate you coming on. I think
your story was awesome. I did not, obviously had no idea of, of, of your story whatsoever.
And, I, I'm glad we had the conversation. Hopefully, yeah. Other people watch it and, and
hear your. Hopefully to
Elizabeth Elliott: relate to it, so I appreciate the invitation. Thank you.