Christina McIntosh: Setting Expectations

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Christina McIntosh: [00:00:00] Hey, this is Christina McIntosh with Engel Volkers First Coast. If you are looking to improve your real estate business, you need to be listening to the Real Estate. Excellent 

Christina McIntosh: with my good friend Tracy Hayes. ​

Tracy Hayes: Welcome back to the Real Estate Excellence Podcast. I have a treat in the house today. A Jack's real producer leads her own team with great success, a background in banking before she decided to become a real estate agent in 2017. Graduated from U N F with a [00:01:00] degree in education, Spanish, and marking all the tools you need to be a real estate agent in Florida.

Ranked number 20 for a large team in Jacksonville Business Journal with nearly 25 million in sales last year. Let's welcome the leader of the McIntosh team. Christina McIntosh, to the show. Thank you very much. I did pronounce that correctly, right? McIntosh? McIntosh. But the a, there's no a in there, right?

I know 

Christina McIntosh: I married it 

Tracy Hayes: Well. I one thing I, I did notice is the I is actually not capitalized. Is, is that correct? I was looking at where, how your social media and stuff and the I is small cause I, the tendency is to is to go M little C Capital. 

Christina McIntosh: I, there's a funny thing about that. It's supposed to be capital I, uh, but.

They have been all kinds of different variations. 

Tracy Hayes: I appreciate you coming on today. Thank you. I'm really interested in, you know, you, you growth of a team. I know there's a, we talked pre-show a little bit. There's a lot of agents out there. Do they want to start a team? of course said one of the, you know, inspirations that you've had in your [00:02:00] career.

And we'll talk a little bit about your pre real estate career is, you know, mentoring and, and grooming people, you know, to leadership and, and success in whatever they're, they're doing. Correct. so, so please definitely expand on that part of it. as I kick off every show. Oh, I know. I wanted to, I want, actually want, one thing I found interesting, cuz you kind of, you, what, what do you, how many do you have like half a dozen agents right now?

Correct. And they consider that a large team. And so the be ranked number 20, and I know there's some large teams in the area. That's a pretty good, I think, I think they, they should have mid-size team. I don't know what small, small team, I guess is what, two or three people. I don't even know how they even 

Christina McIntosh: rank that.

I don't even look at the numbers. I honestly, it's, is it a right fit? Yeah. And that's kind of what 

Tracy Hayes: we go with. I, I did notice this year versus last year, there wasn't a lot of, crosstalk on the jack on the, not the Jacksonville producers, but the business journal there. Everyone was worried about what their ranking was.

I, there was, there was a lot of scuttlebutt on, on, on Facebook. But [00:03:00] anyway,tell us where are you from? Where'd you grow 

up? 

Christina McIntosh: So I'm was born in Italy. My dad was in the military, my mom's Italian. so I was born and lived there for five years. And then I moved to Spain and lived in Spain for five years and then came here to Oh, okay.

Tracy Hayes: So, so about 10 years, 10, 11 years old before you came to the States, correct? 

Christina McIntosh: Correct. Oh, cool. English was my third language. was really kind of a neat upbringing because I was able to live in Europe for 10 years and really immersed in the culture over there. Mm-hmm. Then came here and was able to, hey, I had to learn English.

Christina McIntosh: which I did speak English because I did go to the Dug. it was a school in Rhoda, Spain that was for military children. Right. But it was a stretch. So in all of it, it's been a wonderful experience, you know, growing up. By the beach has been one of the biggest pieces. so that's when I first started.

Well, so your 

Tracy Hayes: mom's Italian. Mm-hmm. Did she speak English obviously, when she met your dad, or no? 

Christina McIntosh: No. funny thing is [00:04:00] they thought they stood each other up on their first date because they didn't really speak a common language, but they figured that out. my dad's Filipino, so it was a very big stretch, but between Italian, Spanish, they kind of figured that out.

And then, here we are, 

Tracy Hayes: so, ah, very interesting. Yeah, very, when you come, when you came, cuz I, I always find this very interesting and I, and I think it's, I was fortunate enough to, if I've mentioned before in a show to go to Sweden when I was in high school, not for 10 years, really for 10 days, but.

our, because I have an interest in it, I think it,heightens my alertness to, like what you're saying, the importance of some of our, our, our American kids here born and raised, need to, you know, kind of get a taste of some of these other cultures to understand like what their culture is and what a, you know, you know what I'm saying?

I think they are really what they, a lot of times what they have here compared to a lot of nations around the 

Christina McIntosh: world. I think it's fun to [00:05:00] explore and get to experience other cultures. Mm-hmm. I have always wanted to continue traveling. and I have passed that on to my children. I think it's important to.

Enjoy where you live, but also be willing to explore 

Tracy Hayes: other opportunities. Yeah. Yeah. There's, there's so many. I, I just find, I often just like to sit down with people from other cultures, nations and just, you know, how, how they think, you know, we're all brought up a certain way. We have information coming to us.

Of course, now it's, you know, way too much than it was when I was growing up. And, that, you know, what are they actually absorbing? What is their, you know, what is their,perception, you know, of what it's like to live in Italy or what it's like to live in Spain, you know, without, you know, so what a great experience.

So coming here to states, you're, you're already, about ready to enter middle school, right? Right, right. You know, ending elementary school. Mm-hmm. Going to middle school. What are some of the challenges that you had then as a young person? Like you said you English wasn't your primary 

Christina McIntosh: language, it was not.

so coming [00:06:00] here, it, it was interesting because it was completely a different, cultural experience. The way school was set up was different. I was very fortunate to have parents that were very encouraging. So even though I did not understand or necessarily speak the language as well, adapting was a big, a big deal and having patience.

So with that, it has helped me throughout life. Yeah, those were life skills that, have helped me till today. So 

Tracy Hayes: there was something my, my wife sent me the other day. It was a real, some psychologist talking about. When children have challenges, you know, as adults, it doesn't affect our brain as much as it does as a younger person, but it sets these tracks in our brain.

The, the challenges of overcoming, you know, whether for you obviously coming to the United States, the, to, well, actually you did, that's your third country. Mm-hmm. Right. Italy, Spain, and then come to the United States. So you're, you're having these cultural changes early in your life and then dealing and then having a language barrier.

I mean, that, that's, [00:07:00] to me, that that's a huge obstacle to overcome. you have to chip away and, you know, work at it. Obviously your parents did between the two of them. Yeah. but, but as a young person at 10 years old and you're learning this, but I imagine by the time you, by the time you're in your high school, I imagine English is a little more 

Christina McIntosh: fluid or Oh, absolutely.

Yeah. Absolutely. I was a. Fortunate to have speech classes back then. That's what they were called. I don't know what they are today, but, and so I was able to work with speech and figuring out different ways of pronouncing things and spelling used to be actually one of my worst subjects and ended up spellcheck was a great thing because then it helped.

Yeah, actually seeing it and being able to learn it right. and adjusting my expectations, but also willing to adapt. as a young child, I think. That most children really want to explore and learn. Mm-hmm. And want to understand. So that's kind of the mentality I took. You know, I'm in this country, I need to learn, I need [00:08:00] to adapt.

Right. I need to understand. With that said, we had pasta and rice every night for dinner. So, you know, it, it was good. It's fine. 

Tracy Hayes: Well, I, but do you had to go back there? So now, I mean, as a young, I said 14, you, you've made some major changes in your life, did multiple cultures. You got,you know, the, your, your parents' cultural, you know, differences and all that stuff.

And you know, I, I can just imagine, you being a fairly confident teenager because you, you've like seen a little bit of the world, versus a lot of your classmates. 

Christina McIntosh: Correct. Yeah. I actually didn't realize how little sometimes people travel until I moved here. Because even though we lived in Spain for five years, we went to Portugal, we went to France, we went to Germany.

So there was always a a level of travel, right. That was included. Right. countries are closer, but I take that here and. When I get a chance, we travel, whether it's by plane or by car or by boat. We will try to, you know, reach, 

Tracy Hayes: reach a different area. The one thing I think is unique about the United States, [00:09:00] which I mean it relates to real estate too, cuz we are, we're dealing, although Florida's kind of, that, Florida is the melting pot to me and mm-hmm.

And from a lot, but you can go around the country, whether you're, you're in, you know, I was in Michigan, we were talking about Quicken loans before the show, Quicken. I grew up in New England. Right. my mom's from Geico, Tennessee. So I go, when I go, would go see my cousins and the, and their, their twang that they had.

you know, and, but you go to California there, it's almost like there is, these little cultural differences because over history people don't realize, well I think they do if they really think about it. Different groups. Europeans came and settled in different areas. you know, obviously the New York was a Dutch colony, and, and then you had New England, and then so you had this, these groups of people that over, you know, a couple hundred years have grown from that, from that culture.

So you can actually go and touch some of those little things. Subtle, but they're there if you look 

Christina McIntosh: for 'em. Oh, absolutely. [00:10:00] Yeah. but that's the neat thing about exploring. Yeah. Yes. And the ability that not everything I, the way I look at things is not always right. Mm-hmm. So look for what is a good thing and a positive thing, no matter where you are.

And enjoy it. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the place. I was recent, recently in Chicago, beautiful city. Mm-hmm. I really enjoyed being there. Weather was great. It's part of growing and developing. Teaches you patience. It teaches you understanding it. Such an enrichment if you're able to travel. And it could be as simple as getting in the car and going to next state.

Yeah. And just figuring out, you know, I'm always up for adventures. Like, oh, where should we go next? Where, you know, should we go hiking? Should we go whitewater rafting? Should we, right. You know. Right. 

Tracy Hayes: No, a hundred percent. and I, I still think a majority, I think of the statistic is still out there.

Majority of Americans still live within 50 miles of where they were born. I think that's still a major statistic. I'm [00:11:00] sure it's deleting a little bit, especially after Covid. I think a lot of people started moving. And obviously we know here in Florida, which is what we're talking about, real estate we're gonna get into.

So you decide to go to U N F. What, so what did you actually just start off with? Hey, education, Spanish and marketing. Is that just, or to just kind of evolve into that major? 

Christina McIntosh: It somewhat evolved. I wanted to start in education. I wanted to teach. and then I, marketing has just really always appealed to me.

Mm-hmm. Really find it fascinating to see how people react to situations or what makes something successful or doesn't. So that's kind of the track I took, understanding that I needed to finish college before I could start my life. And that's kind of how I took it on. Mm-hmm. I graduated from UNF and then was very fortunate to start a banking career.

Went through a management training program. It was a very select training program at the time. Barnett Bank. Yeah. was in town and had a huge, huge, complex on the south [00:12:00] side area. And I was able to go through their management training program right after college. Is that the same 

Tracy Hayes: complex, is now the Bank of America complex?

Is that the 

Christina McIntosh: same? Okay. Yeah. Yes. And everything in there was green because Barnett Bank was green and white lollipops. it was called Emerald City. Yes. and it was connected by bridges and paths and walkways. Right. But it was a wonderful first career step. Was in the banking industry for 25 years before I decided I wanted to 

Tracy Hayes: change.

Wow. when you were at U N F or, or even, you know, during, I mean, what kind of careers did you imagine as a young person? doing, I mean, was banking like, oh, I want to go be, you know, I don't know if anybody jumps down. I wanted to become a banker, know, or, or you know, I wanna go work for the bank.

Cuz to me, having worked for Ameris Bank was great in the mortgage department cuz they're kind of separate working in the bank. And as strict as some of the rules are, I would not be able to play with that. 

Christina McIntosh: So I didn't know what position I really wanted to take on. I knew that I wanted to help people.

Mm-hmm. I knew I wanted [00:13:00] to learn more about the banking environment. so that's kind of the leap that I took, even though my degree was in education and I thought I wanted to become a teacher. Then banking kind of lured me away and started, my career in one of the entry level leadership positions.

But at the end of the day, when we talk about banking, there's so many aspects in so many roles that I actually became one of their corporate trainers, and that's marrying my education mm-hmm. Into the banking world. Yep. So I was there during the merger of, you know, when Barnett Bank merged with Nation's Bank and the Bank of America.

We would give an. Manuals and said, here, learn this this weekend. You're flying out to LA on Monday morning. Good luck. but without kidding aside, it was a wonderful experience to travel. Wonderful. To be able to educate. And from that it kind of spun off to leadership training. So I did a lot of soft skill and leadership training and was very, involved in the development [00:14:00] of quite a bit of those skills.

and I would work with local leadership, as I traveled through my career. Mm-hmm. Went through different financial institutions, I was able to work with local leadership to help develop leaders for the next, you know, step. 

Tracy Hayes: Yeah, yeah. what actually, I mean, I, I had here what led you to bank. You kind of just, was it just, you know, Hey, I graduated, I need a job, and then you saw an, an advertisement and that, and then you were there for 25 

Christina McIntosh: years or so.

When I was in college, I. Actually had a friend that worked for Barnett Bank and he said, Hey, they're looking for, you know, part-time customer service reps. I said, sure. They're like, if you speak Spanish, you get, oh, they'd love it more. Right. So I joined a team and was hired on, and because of my, Spanish speaking ability, I was able to start right away.

Mm-hmm. And so I did that part-time. Mm-hmm. And then when I was finishing my college career, that's when they came to me and said, Hey, would you like to apply for the management training program? At the time, I thought I [00:15:00] was gonna become a teacher. Hence then I went through a very rigorous interviewing process and mm-hmm.

Test taking process. And, they were able to, they selected me as one of the candidates. Cool. And I spent. Over 12 months getting paid to learn, and develop my skills as well. Oh, 

Tracy Hayes: awesome. What did a what a, I mean that's almost, that's your ma that's a master's degree right there. I mean, when you really think about it.

I mean, cuz you're, hands on. Absolutely. and doing that, what an opportunity,fall into, in that case that hopefully you remember your friend who led you that way. Yep. I certainly do. funny. so we talked about, we've mentioned a little earlier, I wanted you to expand on, I mean, 25 years in there.

Obviously, you know, you not only were consistently training, but you were being trained, by, you know, huge corporations that have a huge budget for that. what were you able to, to, to take. In your, in from that, in, in your day-to-day operations of your team that you [00:16:00] have now, but also just also as a real estate agent dealing with 

Christina McIntosh: clients every day.

Absolutely. So one of the biggest things I think that was a big help and I carry it on, is setting expectations. Whether it's a client, whether it's a colleague, whether it's a teammate, whether it's another agent, making sure that everybody has the same expectations is the key to a success. Understanding that, okay, we might be here, but we all need to reach to this goal that is growth, that is understanding.

So early on, setting the expectations, understanding expectations, communication, and making sure everybody was on board and had the same, vision is, was super important back then, and it's still used every day. I was very fortunate at the time to get certified and what matters, first things first.

Mm-hmm. Which was a cubby. Skill and I actually went around the country and trained it, along with other communication skills, part of the soft training of [00:17:00] leadership So 

Tracy Hayes: well simplify that for me. Mm-hmm. The expectation and your, the, the Covey training, you're, you're talking about what exactly was the bank trying to get across to their 

Christina McIntosh: staff for Absolutely.

For expectations is it was very simple. Here's the job description, but this is what it looks like. This is what it feels like. A lot of times we see generic job descriptions, right? Mm-hmm. And it's been a long time since I've interviewed, but what does it look like? Right? So then setting those expectations and understanding the bank at the time was trying to make sure a retention was huge.

Hiring someone. It costs a lot more than retaining someone. Right. So once you hire them, you wanna 

Tracy Hayes: retain, very few companies actually realize that I was very fortunate, so not to spend a lot 

Christina McIntosh: of money to figure that out. I was very fortunate that I worked with good companies. Mm-hmm. That took care of their employees.

Yeah. So from that point on, that was part of it [00:18:00] is how do we retain good people and how do we help them grow if, if they wanna grow? Because development is important, so many aspects, but leadership, not everybody wants to be a leader. Not everybody wants to take the home. Some people wanna sit back in understanding that everybody has different buttons that are important to them.

So keying in on those is what makes somebody understand and retain retention stays pretty strong with that. 

Tracy Hayes: I, I love the way, and this might be a slight tangent to our, show, the, the job description part of it, but really, Like you said, there's a job description or a description of what a real estate agent should do or supposed to do.

But, there was a statistic, the other that I heard it, I don't know, it was on a podcast or something. It just crossed over and made total sense. and then when you were talking about the job description, I wanted to share it. Women, when they read a job description and they're, you know, looking for jobs, they almost [00:19:00] feel they have to fit that job description nearly a hundred percent when they read it, even though it's written by some HR department who may not even have anything in the hiring decision.

The hiring, hiring person, obviously, you know, in most cases, hey, I, I'm, in their mind they has someone who would fill that role and what they want them to actually do, men will apply for, for, Jobs where I think they were like 30 or 40% of what that job description was. It was very interesting, the dynamics of that.

But I think it's the, it's the realization of of getting outside the box. You know, whether you're the hiring person or you're the person reading that job description going, well, I don't necessarily know how to do that, but I've done these other things. I can learn how to do that part cuz I'm really good at this other part, which is really the title of the job.

You know, that's, at least that's the thinking. I see. I say, I read some of these job descriptions and I'm like, okay, you're not gonna find the chances of you finding that [00:20:00] person that fits that. Every box on that is not likely. you're, hi. You're gonna hire somebody that has, doesn't necessarily have those skills, but you're gonna teach them because of, you know, obviously, the resources that a large corporation like that would have, 

Christina McIntosh: And that's very true job specific. Meaning if you're looking for a chemist, a scientist, or someone that, you know, obviously very specific skills. Mm-hmm. But if we're looking for customer service, if we're looking for, retail, if we're looking for things that, to help grow your business in a different aspect, then some of those skills are transferrable.

And that is one key that people need to, I think, and they, I think, do realize, but it's important. Try it. You never know. And having a conversation right. With a recruiter, it doesn't hurt. Mm-hmm. Just to understand what they're looking for. Right. And it might be a good fit, it might not, but at least you have a better understanding with real estate and with any position.

I think part of the [00:21:00] disconnect sometimes is not understanding what is expected, but also not sure what to do. So training has always been a crucial part mm-hmm. Of the development and the learning and the retaining 

Tracy Hayes: since running ex expectation part. All right. Let's take, it's flipped this now to real estate.

Correct. when you, when you, this thought of expectation, when you're taking on, and you can go either way with this, you know, a buyer seller, maybe you can use an example for us. How are you making sure that you and your customer are actually, you're, you're letting the customer basically know, Hey, these are the ex that, Hey, we're talking about expectations here.

Okay. Or, you know, cuz we could talk about, hey, we're, we're gonna put your house on the internet. We're gonna do this and do that, but what is the expect, you know, how, how do you ha how do you have that conversation with a, a, a possible client? Whether is a buyer 

Christina McIntosh: seller. Either way, buyer or seller. I always have an introductory meeting.

And in that meeting I always ask the client, what are you looking for? [00:22:00] And making sure that there is a good fit. And from there, discussing the different expectations they have. Expectations I have expectations. Do they meet? Do they marry? Does it make sense? So in a way, whether it's a buyer or seller, it's always very important to have that crucial first conversation.

Mm-hmm. And making sure that in order for me to perform my best as an agent, I need to make sure I understand what they want. Obviously selling it's, you know, one degree and one avenue that you go through. And then with buying, it's a different one. But asking those open-ended questions, understanding what is at the core.

Interestingly enough, a lot of buyers sometimes, and this has happened quite a bit, I always ask, what is your must-haves, non-negotiables? And then tell me what would like, you would like to have. It ends up being that usually one will have a stronger say about one thing or another and maneuvering through that to where they both are happy.

Right. 

Tracy Hayes: So yeah. Deal dealing with a [00:23:00] husband and wife situation. Yeah. Yeah. we know that obviously there's only a, a very small percentage of the number of real estate agents. I, everyone keeps throwing out this 12,000 numbers, 12,000 real estate agents in Northeast Florida, but we really know there's only a, you know, a small percentage of that single digit percentage that are really making the bulk of it.

Do you feel conversations, you know, like that is, is really a, a probably a pretty big differentiator from someone who is a Jax real producer type versus someone who is not and just not 

Christina McIntosh: getting there. I feel that for me and for my clients, it's huge. Yeah. It's a huge defining, factor because we are then identifying what is the.

Process. What is, what do they want? And is it realistic? Does it meet the expectation? And what is the next step? So versus just talking to someone for five minutes and then taking the [00:24:00] show them properties and not being on target at all. Right? I think that creating a process, whatever that process is, has to work for the person.

And most agents, I would hope that that's where they would start. But I will tell you that in interviewing quite a bit of people that are starting out, that has been a huge challenge. You know, you get your license, you're like, great, now I have a license, and now what? Mm-hmm. So in order to successfully grow and develop your business, get with a good mentor, make sure that you understand whether it's joining a team or even if you wanna do it independently, but create a process that works for you 

Tracy Hayes: to put it out there, give it, give it real kind of, tool for our agents who may be listening and, and they want to set these expectations, but I know as you know, a lot of new agents, you know, it's one thing when you get a referral and you're, you're more or less in control, right?

Does someone's put an endorsement on you? Hey, you need, you need to use Christine. [00:25:00] And, and now, so when they call you and you start kind of saying, okay, this is what we're going to do. We're gonna meet and have coffee, or we're gonna have a conference call, and we're gonna talk about your expectations for those agents who, they're first, well, you know, they, they call me and they just, they just want to go see this house and, letting the client do the leading.

How, how do, how do you coach them to kind of get back in control of that, to have that, it could be a five minute conversation, it could be an hour long conversation, going over expectations, and get back in control. 

Christina McIntosh: Having an understanding of the questions, right? So you get the call and, oh, I wanna go see this house.

That's awesome. I would love to go see the house with you, but tell me a little bit more what you're looking for so that if there's other options that we can also look at those. 

Tracy Hayes: Okay. All right. I will take that answer. You were short with me. All right. but I actually, so I, I wrote down something else and then we're, we're, I'm kind of jumping ahead a little bit.

Mm-hmm. Cuz you did mentors [00:26:00] and coaches is on my, always on my, on my thing there. We do want to talk about that, but I used retention. Mm-hmm. And, you know, a lot of agents, think they want to have a team. I've had many of the greats on, that everyone can mention in the area, and I guarantee one of their biggest core things to, for growth over time is retaining good people in your core and continuing to grow from that.

with your experience in banking and understanding that the bank. Realize how much it costs to bring somebody on versus training somebody up to do it or move them to a position that they're actually better at, is cheaper than trying to hire somebody in there. It takes a large corporation with bean counters that are tracking all that and everything else to come to that conclusion.

even though it's, it's common sense in life to me, but the smaller people don't often realize that. But anyway, as a team, as a real estate team that you're building right now, which, I, you started in 2017. I you've been at Ingels [00:27:00] Volkers not quite three years, right? Correct. Did you start the team when you came to Ingels or did you already have the No, I started Engel Eng.

I always, always wanna add the S on there. I'm sorry, Corey always want to add the S on Engel. I started actually at Watson. You did start the team at Watson? Yes. Okay. So. Understanding the retention part in, in building off, you know, the layers of those core, core people. What is some of the mindset as a leader, when you come in every day, every week, every month that you want to deliver to them in a value that they're seeing, they're getting value from you.

Cuz that's why they joined your team. It's named after you. Right. 

Christina McIntosh: And funny enough, it wasn't because I wanted it to name it after me. Mm-hmm. It was just one of those, oh, we have a team, so what should we call it? So, right. but with that said, part of the retention is, in my opinion, is making sure what value do I add?

You know, being a team leader is more than just being there to a answer questions, but also helping them [00:28:00] understand and guiding them. The offset of that as a team leader is that you do see, and you do want people to do well and sometimes they will leave the team, but the question is, Is it a good fit for the team?

Does it make sense? Mm-hmm. Want, you know, positive, influential team working together type group. some people are not made to be on teams, and that's okay. They're more in of an individual, type of a worker. And if that works for them, that works for them. However, I will say that everybody on my team, we all pitch in, we all help each other.

We have an ongoing group chat. We see statistics, we share them. We always discuss what's out there, what's happening, what's going on, what we're seeing, what we're not seeing. It makes us well-rounded, right? and that is the value that I think I add to my group. I'm available 99% of the time. I'm available all times.

as well as being able to answer questions, but then having them understand why, what's the answer [00:29:00] or why we're doing something. Those are huge components. Yeah. The understanding, the why. And then obviously growing and developing and, you know, how could we get better? How do we ask the right questions?

What questions do we Or starting from the beginning, you know, the expectations that are set. If we need to stage a property, then we work together to take care of it. Resources, we share resources. So there's quite a bit that we provide, as a team, but then that I also help with as a team leader.

Tracy Hayes: Does. Do you feel, and, and again, not Avery agent, cuz some agents, you know, have a background or whatever and they, they kind of can grasp what's going on. They understand they gotta, you know, how to market or, you know, I know my wife, she came up, she basically, you know, works off referrals and one thing led to another and her, her business has grown cuz she's, she has.

Was in corporate America, like yourself for a long time doing marketing and that kind of thing. And it just naturally came to her. [00:30:00] Others, they can be lost a little bit in the, in the team environment, makes 'em feel like they're not, cuz you can feel like you're out on an island basically. That's what I'm trying to get to is being part of the team it sounds like, and the culture you're is they wanna be part of it because hey, they know there's a sounding board.

Someone actually, when they say something, there's actually someone listening on the other end with intent and wanting to obviously assist or whatever, you know, whatever. Or just hear them. Right? Absolutely. 

Christina McIntosh: That's the one of the hardest things in starting a career or any business really by yourself.

Mm-hmm. Is you feel like you're an island and what do I do next? being part of a team is incorporating and understanding that yeah, somebody's listening to me, somebody might have an answer, maybe we can brainstorm together. How do we diversify our portfolio? How do we make sure that this makes sense?

Not only that, but from a marketing standpoint, it's not only my touchpoint, but everybody's on the team, right? So we try to share [00:31:00] all our listings, share, you know, what our buyers are looking for. What is the trend that's going on out there? I'm 

Tracy Hayes: gonna transition, mentors and coaches was on there. You mentioned mentors and coaches.

Mm-hmm. tell us about, you know, you early on, you were at Watson for what, almost three years there, right? If I, so remember the LinkedIn a little bit. Who were some of the, the people or, I mean, you know, if you don't wanna mention names or you know, what were some of the things those mentors and coaches did for you?

Christina McIntosh: So, I was, I'm very observant and I paid attention to some of the top producers as well as, you know, the broker there. He was great. Learned quite a bit from him, as well as some of the other agents that were there. But then I also created a process on my own. Truly. We told my biggest mentor was someone that actually was my boss, 20 something years ago.

Oh yeah. Teaching me life skills. Mm-hmm. In how to think about things. Mm-hmm. Interesting story is she [00:32:00] called me last year and said, Hey, we're thinking about downsizing and retiring. Would you be interested in working with us? Went over there, worked with them, got their house under contract and they are not happily retired and moved away and I was able to help them with their purchase and their new, city right, as well as the sale of their property here.

very discreet, but at the same time, it was an honor for me to help her. 

Tracy Hayes: So, if I'm hearing you correctly, and correct me if I didn't hear correctly, that's a plan of words. Yeah. you observed, you took a little from here, took a little from there mm-hmm. And then made them your own. Correct. in, in the, in the process.

And I really think every, every agent that's out there that's been in the business for a little bit and having any sort of success, that is what we're doing. We talked a, again, a little bit, what the importance of, of new agents coming on is. You were with Watson for a while, so you saw a lot of new agents to really, you know, take the [00:33:00] time, to.

Have a coffee, have a lunch, go into office, whatever, with some of these people who have been doing it a while, have seen a lot, have had enough at bats that they can actually, you know, understand their experience. Cause I think you need to do that. You have to do something a little bit to understand what you actually saw.

We see a lot of things, but sometimes we don't have a wall to stick 'em on yet until we actually experience it, that situation ourselves. And we go, oh yeah, I remember that from so and so told me to do that, but I didn't know where to ever apply it. Right. but how important is, you know, the new agents to, to write even before, before becoming a real estate agent?

Really, if you're, if you're listening to this and thinking about becoming a real estate agent, you need to like sit down with some top producers and get a real. Good expectation, 

Christina McIntosh: right? I, I'll never forget, someone said, oh, well you work for yourself, you make your own hours. And I'm like, yes, but you have to be available when your buyers wanna go see property.

You have to be available when your sellers are ready to meet. So to [00:34:00] an extent, yes, you do control your co your calendar, but at the same time, you also have to have some flexibility because if you're not available here, here, here, here, here, then they're like, well, I'm gonna go find somebody that is right.

Not to mention that deals and offers come at all crazy times. with that said, it is truly crucial to create some sort of streamline process, but to sit down and talk to a professional that does it full-time and truly ask them, what does it take to become an agent? Because it's not just opening a door and showing a house.

There is so much, it's like an iceberg. You see the tip, but there's so much that happens underneath, right? That. In the back. That's our job is to make it as seamless as possible. But the sleepless nights, the racking, your brain of what else can I do? What needs to be done? How can we make it what I call show ready, right?

is super important, 

Tracy Hayes: in dealing with the personalities,[00:35:00] husband and wife differences, or he wants a three car garage, but she wants something else, and, and, you know, where are you gonna find the happy medium? Because there aren't many houses at both. You know, you, you, you stress over that. 

Christina McIntosh: I've actually had quite a bit of buyers when they, after they meet with me initially and they come up with this list and I always provide them a copy, they go back and usually within two, three days we've come to realize that we probably.

Are not on the same page, but we want the same thing. So now here's our new list, because they have had now an open conversation. Right? I didn't realize a half path was so important to you. Well, I didn't realize a three car garage was so important to you. Right. And that's the, you know, the key component, right?

If I can get people to talk, that's what you want. Right? Because then they know what they're looking for and then they can really find what they want. 

Tracy Hayes: Have you ever had, a, an aha moment when, when we, when talking [00:36:00] to, or maybe, you know, if you ever shadowed or, I think that's a a, I think that's important for every new agent, at least, you know, talking to a lot of top agents mm-hmm.

When they first start to, you know, spend two or three weeks and really truly shadow someone. Correct. in that, but that aha moment, talking to a mentor or coach or whatever, and either they told you or you, they, they did something and you're like, whoa. I never, never even thought of that. I never even came to top of mind 

Christina McIntosh: at all.

Absolutely. There have been quite a bit of aha moments. Mm-hmm. Because I always feel like you're learning every day. Mm-hmm. A good day is when you learn something new. Right. So, you know, one day I had somebody had a listing and the agent called very kind agent and said, I walked away with the key in my pocket, did not realize.

So that was an aha moment. Yeah. okay, let me meet you somewhere and take the key and bring it back. Because I had other showings happening. Right. So having a contingency plan in place of what could happen, [00:37:00] those, that was one of the biggest steps. 

Tracy Hayes: Do you put two keys in the lockbox now? 

Christina McIntosh: No. Strategically, I'm very fortunate to have a team that we are dispersed throughout.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So sometimes it's a quick s sls who's closest to this. Good. I had a b a seller get locked out of a home one time. The Agents showing the property didn't mean to, but locked the garage door and the front door, the sellers came home and they always just come through the garage door and guess what?

They couldn't get in. Yep. had a very supportive team in Ingel. Vols has helped. our offices being spread out has also helped. I've had people that are not on the team that are like, Hey, I won't mind helping, you know, I live in the neighborhood. Right. Let me go unlock the door for you. Yeah. So using your resources has been one of the biggest aha moments in thinking quickly outside the box.

[00:38:00] 

Tracy Hayes: Well, that goes in, kind of opens another little, Pandora's box, so to speak. How important have, have you, realized and maybe you, maybe you never really think about it before you became an agent? but I go back to something Patty Ketchum said on, on the show, oh, year and a half ago, I think she was episode 20 something, 30 something, and she said it was.

It, it's not the buyers and sellers that'll make and break your career. It's the other agents. Correct. And because she was, we were talking about being [00:39:00] part of the board and your, your being active and so forth, but meeting the other agents, she was off on our island and she was okay cuz her and her husband had a, you know, real estate background.

She would've done mortgage before she was on her little island. And she really, for the first 10 years of her real estate career, didn't go to the board of realtors. But when you're, when you're out there today, whether, whether it's other agents at Watson's or Engel Vols, but just the, the agent field in general, you know, now you know your top producer, how important it is to, to, you know, mix and mingle and get to know these other agents even though they, they are working for other 

Christina McIntosh: brokerages.

It's super important. At the end of the day, we're, we all have the same goal in mind. If you have a seller, you're wanting to sell a property. If you have a buyer, you're wanting to, they wanna buy the property. And it's that collaborative effort that makes a deal, makes it to the end. Mm-hmm. So working together, learning and understanding and getting to know them is, is very important.

Tracy Hayes: Do you, do you try to get out the socials and, [00:40:00] and try to meet the agents, you know, or do you have, I mean, do you have time to do it, you know, whether it's a social event or even just the educational events cuz you have breaks and stuff to kind of go and mix and mingle and say hi to some of the other agents?

Christina McIntosh: Absolutely. I always, when I'm, when I'm able to, I try to go to the events, sometimes, especially when it's after hours, you know, if there's other things going on mm-hmm. Then it might be a little bit more of a struggle, but it's important to get to know them. Although even these big social events, I always like to get to know people one-on-one.

Mm-hmm. Getting to know them, getting to understand them, and having conversations one-on-one is huge. So, 

Tracy Hayes: well, especially if you, you know that some people have brought up on the past shows. If there's an agent that really is good in PRA or Nassau County or so forth, then all of a sudden now you've got a listing out there.

Well, I don't normally tread that turf out there, so, you know, to be able to call on this person that you met at a social had some time to that [00:41:00] willing to pour into you, oh, you know, hey, this is what you should expect. You know, put this in your list. You know, whatever the little things that you n may not understand because it's not an area you normally 

Christina McIntosh: work.

Absolutely. Again, going back to your resources, right? Mm-hmm. And, and having that connection that you can pick up the phone and say, Hey, can you help me here? Most of the agents will be more than willing to help, and it's that collaborative effort of understanding that, The key. For example, there is a property that we currently have listed and we, I'm actually this week gonna work on doing a collaborative open house for all the properties that are in the same area.

Yeah. So that, hey, if even it might not be my house, but if it's somebody else's house that went under contract and we've all helped each other, we're almost willing to help each other again next go round. So it, it's putting the houses, whether it's buyers, sellers, is leveraging and understanding and going out there and showcasing what you have.

Mm-hmm. 

Tracy Hayes: I, I think [00:42:00] that, I don't know if it's underestimated. Maybe some people just don't wanna put the work in it. Maybe, maybe the, you know, I don't know, maybe other agents. I think that's a brilliant thing to do. You know, you have these neighborhoods where you have two or three, four houses that are listed, which is a lot for a neighborhood right now with inventory.

As low as it is, is, but you know, To bring attention to the area. You may have agents who don't know that subdivision, but because you're having four open houses at the same time where they can go through and walk through those houses for future, purchases are by, it just makes more sense. and obviously advertising now you have four people posting, you know, come to our neighborhood and see these four houses.

it just, I mean, that, that, to me, that makes a lot of sense. I think it should be done more. I do see people doing that, but they should, should be done. I think it should be, could be done more. I, we're kind of working backwards cuz we did move forward quickly with a lot of things. But tell us, you, you're at Watson.

I guess a really question, I'm gonna kind of bundle maybe a couple questions here [00:43:00] into, into, into one big one. What you know now. Mm-hmm. You know, almost, almost six years right In the business, what you know now. Versus that, you know, what you knew six years ago, six and a half years ago, whatever it was when you walked in the door at Watson, what would you, what are two or three things you'd be telling yourself?

Christina McIntosh: No deal is ever the same. Mm-hmm. Ever. So understanding that is key. Every deal's different, every single one. Understanding that you are able to figure out by asking questions, and it's so important to make sure that you ask the right questions, but then create a process. Early on I was on an island and felt like I don't know what to do.

I, there's, yes, I know what I studied. Yes, I know what a test I took, but what is a, what is the process to writing a contract? To, [00:44:00] I understand what it says, but how do I write one to what is the process to get it to completion, and how do I get it to closing successfully? There's so many different pieces and tabs to that, that whether you're in a team or whether you are in an individual, create that process for yourself and that works.

And understanding that's always a work in progress, right? Because 

Tracy Hayes: every deal is different. Every deal is different. And that process, and you might do step three before you do two, because that's, 

Christina McIntosh: that's what makes sense for that deal. Yeah. So working through that. and don't be afraid to interview your buyers and sellers and making sure that there's someone you wanna work with.

Tracy Hayes: What tip would you give for that new person to. Create the, you know, because they haven't done enough at bats, right? It's not, I mean, if, if a new person does 12 deals in their first year, wow, that's great, but there's 12 different deals there. And you're like, well, how do I create a process? I had all these different 12 different situations, right?

How [00:45:00] would you recommend for that person in their first month or two to at least create that baseline process? You know? And then, and then obviously you can deviate from that. 

Christina McIntosh: So I will say that schedule your time, especially when you're starting out and actually really throughout the entire career, you wanna schedule your time.

What are you gonna do? You're gonna get up and work out, or whatever it is that you do. But when you get to work, what does that look like? Is it making 10 phone calls? Is it writing 10 letters? Is it checking the mls and seeing what's on the market? What's new? What's you know when gone under contract? Know your process.

Know that you need to make sure you schedule your time. So that then you do have time to have lunches or breakfast or brunch to network and grow your business that way. But understanding that you need to put the effort, things are not just gonna fall in your lap. I mean, they might, and that's low hanging fruit, [00:46:00] which is great, but what you put in it is what you're gonna come out of it 

Tracy Hayes: in trying to explain, which I imagine, you know, when you sit down with some new agents, and maybe you don't, but I would think just hearing what you're saying, you, you probably, and as we lead into marketing mm-hmm.

as I had Britta Donahue with Landmark on there, and it's like, you know, real estate is like a blank slate when it comes to marketing. If you can find your niche, your niche in marketing that gets you deals, go for it. 10 exit. Right. Grand Cardone just. Double down on triple down, 10 x on that and, and, and, and chase it.

But obviously it takes, sometimes it takes a long time to find that niche, right? It's like just playing the lottery and all of a sudden you find it one day and like, oh, these are the numbers. I need to play these every day now. Right? just to, when you're working with an agent, they may see someone else, you know, the fir that come and walk in the door to their new couple months in.

They're seeing this TopProducer, they're seeing you and seeing how [00:47:00] you market. They start trying. That doesn't really bear fruit, but how do you, how do you work someone through, especially someone who's been in corporate America and not, doesn't necessarily have the out-of-box entrepreneurial type mindset.

They're, they have to get, break those barriers, but hey, work through 'em. They're gonna have to find this niche that just because door knocking works for Sally doesn't mean it's gonna work for John. You know what I mean? 

Christina McIntosh: Correct. Yeah. And that is where trial and error. Mm-hmm. Trial and error. Try something.

If it doesn't work, try something else. With that said, be very purposeful of what you're doing in understanding if I do this, then the consequence is this, then my expectation is this. And kind of go through the list mm-hmm. Of what ideas you have. I always say idea dump and then go through and say, okay, what's realistic?

You [00:48:00] know, look at your budget. You should spend money to make money. It's a common known. You can't market if you don't have the money. But at the same time, it's a kind of, you know, if I don't close my first deal, then I don't have money. So I always say that the expectation is the first six months. If you close a deal, that's awesome, but use that time to ramp up.

It's very difficult, I believe for agents to start off and not have a safety net of some sort. Mm-hmm. Because at the end of the day, everybody wants to have some sort of income and that's what they need to think through or set themselves up prior to taking that leap. Now by joining teams, you do have that support, because there are things that the team does.

A team leader will spend their money to help promote everybody on the team or should, right, 

Tracy Hayes: through buying leads or some sort of 

Christina McIntosh: marketing team. Correct. Yeah. Whether [00:49:00] it's to team events, team marketing, helping set you up and your expectation so that you're understanding what the next steps are. There's a whole slew of things that can be done and it's individualized or should be individualized per person.

I always meet with my team members one-on-one every quarter, and we kind of discuss what are we getting at Target, what are we trying to hit? What is going on? What's working, what's not working? And then brainstorm ideas. 

Tracy Hayes: Yeah. Break, break us through, you know, you know, what a coaching session, again, the questions, right?

If you're coaching, you're asking questions and getting the, the agent you're mentoring on the other side, or coaching, you know, to, to rise up Cause you're trying to find this niche mm-hmm. Marketing for them. What are, you know, when you, because you don't want to just mail the postcards out one time. Oh, I didn't get a call and then stop.

A lot of our, lot of the things that [00:50:00] we do in this industry take time. I mean, it's, you just gotta keep the consistency is the word, right? Social media, you gotta consistently do that. Then eventually, who knows? It might take two or three years and then you'll consistently get leads from it eventually. But, You know, how do you, how do you, you have that initial coaching session and then set expectations for the marketing campaign that you may be electing to, to try 

Christina McIntosh: and sitting down and going, okay, where do you wanna go?

What do you wanna do? You know, numbers are one thing, but it's celebrating small successes along the way. I think it's very important as well. Mm-hmm. So having those open-ended questions, like, okay, so we're sitting down today and we're, what have you done? What does your day look like? And this is for a newer agent.

Mm-hmm. What does the structure look like for you? If somebody says to me, oh, I wake up, and when I feel like it, I'll just, Peruse m l s and 

Tracy Hayes: stop by Starbucks on the way to the office and Right. 

Christina McIntosh: [00:51:00] how much time did you really work? Right? And so that's the key. And how do we create a process or a work area environment that works for you?

and then discussing, okay, you wanna market or farm this area? So what are some things that we can do? Let's try writing cards. Let's try the, but the biggest thing, I think the biggest influencer is who the person is in going in, out and meeting the people that are there. So if you are in your neighborhood, get to know who, where, where you live, and get to know the people around you.

Tracy Hayes: great point leads into, you know, again, Some very, uh, top real estate agents. I've had some say they actually regret they didn't actually work on their sphere of influence earlier. What are some of the things that, you know, cause I think, I think obviously, I think in a lot of things in life, our biggest obstacles ourselves, right?

What we're willing to do, what we like doing, what we feel comfortable doing, and then what actually [00:52:00] is, you know, actually gonna put create business. What are some little things, some, some subtle things that the agents can do to create that,influence, especially in their neighborhood? I think a, I think a lot of, I know it because I've, I live in a neighborhood with a lot of agents.

I don't see their stuff. They're not working that neighborhood. What, so if they're not working, the neighborhood you live in, what neighborhood are you working in? Right. 

Christina McIntosh: Well, and their strategies around there, right? It, it's, Who are you marketing to? Who are you targeting? a lot of it could be word of mouth.

And so not everybody in the, depending on how big the neighborhood is. Mm-hmm. But if you don't believe in yourself, who's gonna believe in you? Right? That's the number one thing. So as a, a new agent, if you don't believe in yourself, and if you don't believe that you can do it, how are you going to get somebody else to believe in you?

Understanding that that is going to be the be key. And then making sure that you have the resources that a good broker, a good team leader that can [00:53:00] help you and can help you maneuver through the process of their first deal. those are key components. If you are looking for a certain type of client or if you have a sphere of influence that you network with, it could be fire.

You know, if If you're a firefighter and you like, you know, hang out with other firefighters, then that might be your Box. Mm-hmm. But what are you doing to grow that business within that? 

Tracy Hayes: So taking that mm-hmm. Leading into Ingel and Volker. Yes. You decide to go over there. Now you've been there, almost three years.

Almost three years. Two, two something years and some months. What are some of the things that Ingel and Volkers, because you know, I have had Corey on the show, and if you listen to that episode mm-hmm. you know, he likes, you know, their mindset is opposite of Watson. Mm-hmm. Right? They want the experienced agent, who's, who's doing business and take them to that, that next [00:54:00] level.

I assume you, that's what you saw, and you can explain, I'm gonna finish the question, but you can, I'm gonna lead you into explaining why, but why Engels and Volkers for you. And, and I, cuz I assume you felt it was going to add, you know, take you, move you, forward. but then again, and this was probably probably gonna be part of your answer, but what are some of those tools that Engels in Volkers has at their fingertips to nurture the things that we were just talking about?

Christina McIntosh: So, correct. They do target more active producers that have met a certain threshold. When Corey reached out and we chatted, you know, it felt like a good fit. But interestingly enough, the international feel, for me, that was my biggest reason and my biggest leap. And my mom's from a small town in Amalfi, the Amalfi coast in Italy, and they have a shop there.

So I remember when I went in 2019 pre Covid, we were there, we went on a family vacation, got to [00:55:00] spend time there and there was a little ngel wil shop right in the wealthy ghost. So I, and I did not forget that and I actually went in and talked to people and chatted with them. So it was part of that as part of the, you know, I speak through languages, so how can I leverage what I'm doing and touch base with other parts of the world, right?

And I can truly tell one of my clients, you know what, your listing is not only going local, but it's going international. Mm-hmm. And it does. So those are pieces that I really liked about, Ingel vs. Watson was fantastic. A great use of tools. Ingel vs. Has also amazing tools. The ability to. Coordinate all the different pieces, of how to get the leads and how they work through the different processes and the different pieces that they have are very beneficial as well.

It's almost taking it, to the next level, if you will. 

Tracy Hayes: Mm-hmm. Well, I would imagine, as you said, [00:56:00] what, what is it specifically that you in, in your personal marketing? I mean your, your team, your, the people that are part of your team, your group. I mean, they, like I said, everyone has their, their thing.

They gotta find their thing. There's some, I mean, might imagine quite a few of 'em are still trying to find truly what that, that golden niche is. But what is it, what are the things that you find right now for you are the most successful marketing campaigns that you're doing that is getting the biggest return?

Christina McIntosh: For me, the biggest return is my COIs, my centers of influence. And by that I mean I've worked, you know, I was in the financial industry for 25 years. I have a lot of contacts, but not only that is past clients that then refer me clients that then refer me clients. And just recently, in the last two years or so, I've had a whole different niche open up to me.

I helped a client from Singapore that was coming over that was a referral from a totally different [00:57:00] group that I don't even chat with that often. and so that has helped develop and grow. Mm-hmm. And 

Tracy Hayes: I have helped. It makes you feel good too when you get one from, you get one from left field you didn't ever expect.

Exactly. Exactly. 

Christina McIntosh: very thankful. And that has turned into a couple listings, couple buyers. Mm-hmm. So that has turned into a wonderful situation. I was on a HGTV show a while back, actually in 2020. Mm-hmm. We filmed in 2019, but it aired in 2020 and, I'll never forget I got my first call of someone that found me on TV and then researched me.

And was able to find me cool. And, that produced a buyer, which they remotely built a home while they were in California. I was here and we virtually built their home until they did not walk through the home until right before closing. Wow. Yeah. happy to say they're 

Tracy Hayes: still homeowner. That takes a lot of confidence.

Yeah. I mean the, the confidence in, in you, I, I've talked to a couple other agents who have dealt with a lot of site unseen [00:58:00] buyers. For some reason they've been attracted to 'em, but that takes a lot of trust, credibility for those people to rely on. You're gonna be your, their eyes over here. 

Christina McIntosh: Absolutely.

Yeah. I've helped quite a bit of clients that way as well, and it's such a rewarding feeling when they walk in and smiles ear to ear and, right. This is what we envision. Thank you 

Tracy Hayes: for advising me on that. Thank you for helping us select this lot or whatever, you know, and going 

Christina McIntosh: through the entire process.

and then those clients become, Givers of more clients. Yeah. They will refer you business and you don't even have to say much because they've done it for you. Well 

Tracy Hayes: touch on that part, because I think a lot of people go, oh yeah, I wanna build a, but that, that is a marketing campaign. obviously you delivering great service, that's step number one, right?

The actual transaction you put them through, they appreciated it. but how do you stay top of mind? Cause it's not every day that someone knows someone ready to buy or sell a house. Right? So what are some of [00:59:00] the things that you're doing to reach out and stay top of mind and touch those 

Christina McIntosh: people? I really feel like I build relationships with my clients, whether buyers or sellers, whether they move outta state out of country.

I always try to keep it personal. I keep in touch with them via email or phone call if they're out of country, you know, via, apps mm-hmm. That we now have that are wonderful. But just keeping in touch and really caring about them goes a long way. Because at the end of the day, it might be a business transaction, but we are all people, we're all human.

So that human interaction is fantastic. Do you keep 

Tracy Hayes: a, you know, cause after you build up so many, I know I, I could, I'm terrible at names. I could tell you what someone's face looks like, but to remember someone's name sometimes if you're not regularly talking to them, that that's migrant. But do you, do you keep a little file with some notes on 'em?

Like, Hey, the kids Oh, absolutely. Kid's name, dog, whatever kind of 

Christina McIntosh: stuff. Absolutely. I, I'm very fortunate, knock on wood. So far my brain, my mind's been really good about [01:00:00] track of, who's what, or something will, I'll look at something, I'm like, oh yeah, they bought this house and they have this many kids and this is what they wanted to do.

Or they're looking for this as an investment property. Or they're, you know, we built that house together. Especially when you're dealing with a build. It could be six to eight to 10 months. Mm-hmm. Or longer or Exactly. Mm-hmm. and that's a relationship. You're not gonna forget that person. Yeah. Right. and that's where keeping in touch, I always send them a card a least twice a year, if not more, 

Tracy Hayes: for a holiday, birthday, whatever, con 

Christina McIntosh: card, date, birthday, or just because.

Mm-hmm. It's interesting when you send something out on odd times, people remind, remember, and they're like, oh, you just sent me this. I've never gotten the card like this before. 

Tracy Hayes: So, this is, uh, the viral reel, right. I always, I always like to get, you know, obviously our conversation's always great and positive, but we, I always like to reach out a little bit because I [01:01:00] do, when there's gossip out now that's, say gossip, but just scuttlebutt, I guess you say from, you know, or dealing with agents on the other side.

Obviously I'm married to an agent, so I hear some of the, you know, like, oh my God, you won't believe what this agent did or how they're talking to me, or that kind of thing. What are, you know, you were doing a class at, at nefa talking in front of a bunch of, a bunch of agents of something like not to do or change their mindset.

What, what is like a pet peeve like sometimes you, you've had in transactions with that agent on the other side that weren't being so collaborative and have the goal of buying, selling a house? 

Christina McIntosh: I will say a successful agent. We'll return calls, we'll answer emails, we'll communicate. That's probably my biggest pet peeve is when there's zero communication or lack of communication, how are you supposed to get the deal done?

And that's, that's huge, right? [01:02:00] So I, I always try to look at the positive and I always look at everything with positive intent. So if they don't respond right away, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna keep the positive intent and what maybe they are held, you know, life happens. Mm-hmm. So there's always that. But when there's not a collaborative, communicative effort, then it, it just tells me how difficult or easy that transaction's gonna be.

And if it is a difficult transaction, you're gonna remember that 

Tracy Hayes: how important is education, whether it's going to ne far. Are going to, you know, some vendor that supports or another real estate agent putting on something. Especially for new agents, like you said, in that first six months, they need to, I forget the word, actual word you used, but it made me think of this about they really, you know, when you're time [01:03:00] blocking that day, there's, you're gonna do your prospecting cuz that's number one.

You gotta try to, but then the rest of the day you need to be finding some sort, something that's, that's gonna grow you in the business. And obviously educating yourself would be the term for it. 

Christina McIntosh: If you learn something new every day, it's a good day. Mm-hmm. Bottom line, I always feel there's always more to learn.

Go seek it, go find it. If it's a 30 minutes a day that you carve out to read a book that is gonna help you grow, or a technique or a marketing strategy. Or even collaborative coffee, make it happen. Try to schedule twice a week, whether it's breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or even a glass of wine or coffee so that you can understand how somebody else is doing things.

Ask the questions. [01:04:00] But if you don't put the effort and if you feel like you've learned it all, you've already 

Tracy Hayes: lost. Right, right. I, I put out there that little, little tip, and you, this probably just comes natural to you, but, you know, being with a large builder here in town for, you know, three of the last roughly four years of my mortgage career as a loan officer, I wanted to add value, right?

So I, I'm finding, because I knew I'd people calling and getting pre-approved, they can afford this much of a payment, and this, they're looking for this kind of home. The builders now, now, right now, they're reaching out to you like. This is what we got. This is what, and they're telling you every day.

Then they didn't have to reach out and they had inventory, but they didn't have to do anything because they knew in a matter of days somebody was gonna have a contract on it, and find it somehow, way or shape or another. But that night, that might be your client that should have had that [01:05:00] house and to take some time.

And with all the new construction and we know new cons. I don't know what the percentage of our inventory is, new construction, but it's, it's a big part because the existing home sales are, are very low. Mm-hmm. to get out and tour these neighborhoods, find out what the builders are. Especially if you're new and you don't know you should be going through these neighborhoods.

What are their options? Do they have options? You know, so when your client does call and then obviously calling those site agents or whatever say, Hey what, cuz a lot of the builders went to spec homes, because they realized. To build with options. By the time they got the supplies, the costs had gone up and they didn't, they had to call the client and say, Hey, we gotta charge you another 40 grand.

so they went and started building spec homes and didn't price 'em out until they had everything on the ground. Then say, okay, yeah, this house is gonna cost that. So then know what those inventory, no one knows inventories are coming on. Cuz I know that there's people moving into the area they're renting, waiting to find your house to be built [01:06:00] or they to find a house right now and then take that time.

So to get to know the builders, get to know the site agents that that can rely on. I know site agents right now are hungry. So if you get on their list, you get on their mailing list. Right. You know, so you know what's going on. But these are all types of things that, you know, when you say you're building your, you, you said that one of the most important things was having a really, a schedule.

They should, I mean, if you don't have anything after one o'clock, that's probably what you should be 

Christina McIntosh: doing. Would you agree? Absolutely. And you're learning. Mm-hmm. You're only as good as, you know, as good as you know your product. Right. So builders you have to look at as they have a consumer good and you wanna learn as much as you can about it.

So then understanding and creating also relationships with their site agents because they are the ones that know what they have in inventory. They know. And you might get a call tomorrow and say, I need a three bedroom genna bath X, Y, and Z. And because, you know, and you have that database in your mind because you have taken [01:07:00] the time mm-hmm.

To go see those sites and understand the locations and what the schools kind of, and Exactly. Yeah. Whatever it is. It helps you narrow down. Mm-hmm. So that you're not driving all over the city and then realizing, oh, they only wanted to see this portion. And again, setting those expectations. Mm-hmm. What are you looking for?

Mm-hmm. But, Absolutely. I feel it's very important. And they used to do it pre covid to where we used to get on buses as agents, and we used to travel to new neighborhoods Yeah. And really get to learn about the neighborhoods. Right. Obviously some things have changed, but why don't you take the initiative and do it?

Yeah. 

Tracy Hayes: Because I mean, I I would you agree to a lot of people, you know, cause ones that say that when they look at a real estate agent and they say, oh, you guys, you know, make your own schedule. Yeah, I can take vacation when I want to take vacation, but that doesn't mean because I don't have to actually submit for it and have it approved.

I am the boss. That's, that's your free time. You [01:08:00] can take vacation when you want to take vacation with knowing that you better have someone covering for you if that's the only dates you can go or that's the dates you desire to go. You can have that kind of control, from that, from that scenario. But to, to go back from that.

A lot of the, the socialization, the, you know, Hey, I, I did my prospecting calls today. I, I'm, I'm worn out from that. you know, you don't wanna burn yourself out, but you want to, you know, commit. I say a lot of teams, they commit like two hours, nine to 11 every day. They're gonna make so many calls.

Right. having lunch with somebody, I forget who said it. one of the personal developments is we never have lunch alone. I, I forget who actually said that, but never, never go somewhere and eat by yourself. Invite someone to go and, and interact. And obviously whether that might be a, a, a fu maybe a future client, someone never refer you, somebody or another real estate agent might learn something from, right?

Absolutely. Absolutely. But then you, you do have these, you still have hours of the day to block off tines for, [01:09:00] you know, these little . things, and typically the afternoon would be, you know, going around and seeing models. And sometimes in the mornings there's trainings going on all over town. there's so many of 'em.

All the, the lenders and title companies are all offering something to bring you in and to take advantage 

Christina McIntosh: of those. Absolutely. Take advantage of what's out there, see what's being offered. But with that caveat, don't just go to every single training and every single and not work on developing your business.

Mm-hmm. Because you need to do that as well. Yeah. Cause they're not gonna pay you there. 

Tracy Hayes: No. Well, 

Christina McIntosh: it's not even that is, you will be so trained, which is fantastic. Right. However, you're not growing your business. Right. So, The pendulum has to be in the middle. You can't swing one way or 

Tracy Hayes: the other. Well, that was something the thought went through my mind earlier in our conversation is how, how do you, when someone comes on, I imagine you've seen a lot of new agents in seven years, you know, especially like you said at Watson, you saw a lot of new agents come in, including yourself.

How many don't have a full realization [01:10:00] that prospecting, you know, whatever it is, whether it's your circle of influence or you're making cold call, whatever it is, knocking on doors is like 90% of your business. That's what you should be doing 90% of the time. 

Christina McIntosh: Correct? Yeah. Correct. And, and that's why, you know, at the beginning, great, you wanna learn.

Absolutely. But schedule yourself. You know, if you go to a training and you take a week and say, okay, I'm gonna go to all the training I can this week, you've now lost a week of production. Mm-hmm. So make sure that you have a balance in that. it's super important, super important to grow your influences and in your businesses, you know, have.

Purposely schedule your days and there's some days that you're gonna say, you know, I'm taking a day off. That's okay too, cuz you do need some downtime. But remember what you put in it is what you get out of it. 

Tracy Hayes: I have a question here. It's gonna take a little thought for you. Okay. and the answers could come cause I'm gonna ask you for three, three things and I could [01:11:00] just be just any random things.

Cause I think, like you said, every day you wanna learn something new, right? and I think some of that is learning about yourself. Mm-hmm. since you've been in real estate, what are, what are the three most important things that you've learned as an agent? Whether it's about yourself, about the business, three most important things you think you've learned?

Christina McIntosh: That I have personally learned? Mm-hmm. That is 

Tracy Hayes: a good question. It's kind of a life question. It is. Yeah. 

Christina McIntosh: I've had to really dig deep and realize how much patience I really, really need. I, I have a lot of patience, but it definitely puts it on a different level. When it comes to patience, is 

Tracy Hayes: that both in working with your group as well as clients or overall?

Overall? Overall, just working with people in all aspects of it. 

Christina McIntosh: You know, sometimes the expectation I have in my mind is I ask this question, I should have an answer right away, and it might not be until 24 to 48 hours later that I get an answer. Right. Okay. So those kind of [01:12:00] questions. Mm-hmm. Or, you know, for me that has been one of the biggest pieces.

I would say another piece that I have learned is no deal the same, but at the same time, everything is negotiable and I've had to learn that really pretty good at it now. And the other aspect would be that sometimes it's not a good fit, and that's okay. 

Tracy Hayes: And not every client, sometimes you have to, not 

Christina McIntosh: every client and not every team member fire and not every team member.

Right. And that's okay. 

Tracy Hayes: the second one, the negotiable. Everything's negotiable. Do you, you know, cause the stories here, when, when someone does a successful negotiation, you generally don't hear, unless it was just some just really brilliant, you know, negotiation that closed the deal. But the little negotiations that go on after inspections and that kind of thing, that, that, that eventually close the deal.

You, you typically, Hey, all right. They'll give you a couple thousand [01:13:00] dollars in seller concessions. Okay, we'll close. You don't hear the stories a lot, sometimes do you feel, sometimes, do you feel that agents on the other end, if you, if you were able to again, you know, be in front of that class at NEFA and talking to Agent w.

Not to take the counter off or not to take the, you know, when you're going back and forth. Not to take it personally. Cause I I, from the stories that I hear from my side, cuz you know, you know, as a loan officer we're dealing with a loan now there's a negotiation going on and so I, I hear little bits of it, right?

Not necessarily on the call or anything, but I see sometimes I see the emails go back and forth. But, that some, the agent on the other side is taking things a little too personal. Some they have to actually, you know, you know, work out what's best for your client. But, you know, if your client agrees to it, your client agrees to it, they're trying to sell the home.

You may think you know everything of why they want to sell the home or their, their sense of urgency to do it or for whatever reason. But if they're, they may be at the point where it's like, yeah, a thousand dollars in repairs. I, I want that house, [01:14:00] I'm. Let's do it. I'm not, I'm not gonna give up on, that's the house I, I want, I like the address, I like the schools, whatever.

And not to, so the agent on the other side getting, kind of putting their ego or pers their emotions, their motions as an agent in front, in between the negotiation. 

Christina McIntosh: See, that's the thing. It's not about us. Yes. It's about our clients. It's what they want. It's what they are looking for. So we have to take ourselves out of the equation.

And, and by that I mean emotionally, although we get very involved emotionally because we're super excited for them. You're building 

Tracy Hayes: relationship. You're exactly. You're trying to friend. Yeah. 

Christina McIntosh: But at the end of the day, it's not about us. It's about them. What do they want to do? Our job is to make sure that we get, provide them all the different pieces and then they make the educated decision.

That's the key. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's not about us, it's about our clients. 

Tracy Hayes: Well, it, it takes out the, The conflict. I think, you know, they're adults. They, you presented what the other [01:15:00] side offered and they agree to it. And, you know, maybe they asked something back and you're, you're going to bat for them and you try to get it and they know you're doing the best.

They're, when the deal closes, most of 'em walk away with smiles on their face. Anyway, that's done, thank God. Yeah. Right, 

Christina McIntosh: right. And of both end, I mean, it usually is, it's a, it's a celebratory time. Mm-hmm. But it's not about us, it's about the client. Right. And that is the, the key. Yes. Getting feelings hurt, have thick skin.

It's not about, you know, well this so-and-so said this about blah blah, blah. It's what does the client want to do? Right. I'm going to provide them the best options and all the options that we're, you know, given. And then they decide. So it's not about us. 

Tracy Hayes: Do you have anything you'd like to add to our conversation here as we wrap up?

Christina McIntosh: No, I've had a great time. Yeah, it's been 

Tracy Hayes: fun. No, I think there's some real, there's some really, I, I [01:16:00] truly enjoyed our conversation. I think there's a lot of great reels that'll spin off of this. We can splice up what's,as we know, most people can only take that 30 or 45 seconds at a time. But you had a lot, a lot of great stuff.

And, and you know, I, I think, you know, with someone listening to this, as we talked about pre-show a, a new agent or an agent that's hit their lid is, and my, my first start is slow down for a minute. Or call you and have a cup of coffee with you because some, you know, we, we talk a lot of times at, at, general levels.

Mm-hmm. but yeah, I try to dig in a little bit, but there's only so much time. And there may something, you know, as an agent, if you're listening to this and you've heard something that Christine said and you're like, you know, I wanna know more about that. To, to pick up the phone and to, to call you. How do you, you know, we talk a lot about building relationship with, our, our,the clients mm-hmm.

Their buyers or sellers. That sounds all good, but some [01:17:00] people are more, you know, have a natural ability of doing it. You know, like there's some people that can walk in a room and they can talk to anyone. Yep. There's others that are a little more bashful. You know, I'm kind of more the, the bashful side, but then you start talking to me and then I open up, you know, sometimes I just, I'm just, that's is the way I've always analyzed it.

Some people just walk in the room, their life, they life of the party. Right. If you don't understand how people are building relationships to sit down with an agent who's good at building relationships and, and really break down like some of the little things that you do, like the cards, like, you know, the phone calls, what do you, what do you say?

I think a lot of people are afraid, well, if I, what do, what do I say to 'em? Call man Facebook, see that they went on vacation. Call 'em it's reason. Callem. Hey, I saw you went to Italy, which a lot of people are going to recently. I don't, I've seen a lot of that. Yeah. 

Christina McIntosh: There's actually, I had two clients a week apart, send me pictures of the England Wils and Ibiza, so, and they must have been riding the same bus because it was about the same [01:18:00] shot.

Right. But I thought it was pretty funny that the boat said, Hey, I saw one of your shops here. 

Tracy Hayes: So, 

Christina McIntosh: yeah, they, you know, Italy, Spain, Europe, and even Asia have actually a client in, Japan right now. Oh, cool. Which is kind of cool. Cool. One of my clients went back to Singapore just recently, last week. So, it's, it's fun.

It's fun. The world is big. Yeah. Let's explore it. But if somebody wants to reach out Yeah, just pick up the phone. Yeah. It's just leave me a message. If I don't answer or text me, I'll be more than happy to chat. The, 

Tracy Hayes: I I, you know, I, I have put out there before, I haven't said this re recently. I really would love to have,put together and I, I go this and I, I tell this story when my dad was starting his business when I was, you know, we little and the small township that we lived in, the Massachusetts on Cape Cod, they had a board you could go to of other successful entrepreneurs say, Hey, this is what I want to do, or this is what, you know, they give you advice or whatever kinda thing that there really should be a real estate board.

where [01:19:00] you have agents where people who want to be real estate agents can come in and share some of these things, some of these stories. Cuz I really think a lot of the reason why there is a lot of agents that move out, you know, 80% don't renew, is because they didn't get off to the right first step.

And that first month or two or three could be very important. And to reach out to someone like yourself and, and really just, you know, pull some stuff 

Christina McIntosh: from you. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, it would be great. There's enough business for everybody. Mm-hmm. It'd be great to see everybody succeed.

Part of it is realizing, you know, is this the right position for me? Yeah. Is this the right career for me? Yeah. And it's not for everybody. No. because you will have a lot of nos, a lot of yeses and everything in between. Mm-hmm. The important part is if this is what you wanna do, then how do we get you 

Tracy Hayes: there?

Yeah. Ten four. Great way to finish. All right. Thanks Christine. Thank you. All right. 

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