Transcript:

Beatty:                 This is the Get Sellers Calling You marketing podcast for real estate agents, and I’m Beatty Carmichael. For simple to do, proven marketing strategies focused exclusively on finding sellers and getting more listings, visit our website at getsellerscallingyou.com. And now, let’s begin our next session of Get Sellers Calling You.

Caroline:              Space as a realtor. And I believe that that is our cue that Beatty might have just popped on.

Beatty:                 That is me.

Caroline:              Okay. Hi.

Beatty:                 This is I.

Caroline:              Well, I think, you know, it two o’clock so maybe we can just officially open up the call and get started.

Beatty:                 Let’s do.

Caroline:              Okay. So welcome everyone. I’m Caroline Springer. Welcome to the next session of Get Sellers Calling You. This is a unique call. This is one of our radical face calls. So as you probably if you’ve been following along, we have had a series of calls about marketing and marketing in the real estate world. And interspersed with those, we’re going to be kind of delving into how to bring your Christian faith into your business. So if this is not something that might be interesting to you, you can just skip on. But if you are interested to talk about radical faith and talk about what it means to be a Christian as a realtor, welcome. We are excited to have you.

                                We are going to be interviewing Beatty Carmichael. As I was talking about earlier, Beatty is, professionally, he is the CEO of Master Grabber, the [inaudible 00:01:47] agent dominator, and is one of the top marketing experts in the real estate field. And you know, more specifically, in regards to today’s call, he is a Christian, and has for many years, really, really powerfully and inspirationally brought in his Christian faith into his business, into his business relationships, and really reflected Kingdom values in the way he operates business and the way he deals with clients. So we’re really excited to kind of explore and share some ideas, and talk about what it is to live out your Christian faith as a realtor. So welcome, Beatty.

Beatty:                 Well thank you. It’s good to be back, Caroline.

Caroline:              Well, I didn’t know if you wanted to pick up just where we left off last time. Last time, we talked about some really challenging, I think, just good ways of how to bring integrity into your business, and how that reflects Jesus and His kingdom, and how in that way, we’re living out Christianity as a realtor. And really we talked about who owns your business, you or the Lord. So I didn’t know if we wanted to do a refresher or kind of continuing on. I know you had some things lined up to talk about working from a position of rest, and trusting the Lord, that I’m really excited to hear and receive myself as well. So I’m just going to kind of let you take it away if you want to do a refresher or just start on some new topics.

Beatty:                 Well let’s say talk just briefly, and just kind of hit on the highlights. So, in our last session on the radical faith side of things, and just as a quick reminder for folks, these calls, people, sometimes people will say, “Well, I thought this was a real estate marketing call. Why are you talking about your faith?” Because it’s my call. I get to do anything I want. But we do let you know, these are going to be the radical faith calls, so you don’t want to hear anything about my faith, then just move on, on anything listed as radical faith.

                                But it’s really who I am. And last week, we talked about I think the most important thing, and just kind of recognition of who owns your business? Is it you or the Lord? If it’s you, then you make the decisions. But if the Lord owns your business, then you’re simply a steward. And what that means is everything you do needs to be done in light of what would the owner want you to do. And that changes, for a lot of people, it changes a lot of things. Because once you have to answer to someone else, then all of your decision making process changes. I’m reminded in terms of maybe the CEO of a public company. No ownership in the company. He’s just a hired CEO. His, or maybe the CEO of a privately held corporation. That CEO’s role is not what betters him. His role is to do everything for the benefit of the shareholder. He is, in essence, a steward.

                                And that’s kind of what we talked about on this first radical faith call is what does it mean to be a steward of your business, and not owner of it, and how does that impact what you do? I think today what I want to go into is kind of taking that another step further. So that’s our quick recap for today.

Caroline:              Oh good. Well thank you. Yes. I think even that was a good reminder of what we’ve already covered, but even more of a challenge, and just a way for us to connect and remember every day that this is the Lord’s business, and that’s, it’s a privilege that we, and an honor that we get to have, to steward what He’s entrusted to us. So I love that little analogy you just gave too, kind of connecting to the business world.

                                But yeah. I’m excited to just kind of take it further and see where we’re going.

Beatty:                 Alright. Well, what I thought, you know, today I want to talk about coming out of the closet, kind of the, unfortunately in today’s social cultural liberalization, coming out of the closet is when someone has been doing something that they kind of know is wrong, and now they come out of the closet because they want to proclaim it as right. Coming out of the closet for this topic is not that. But I think society tells us that it’s wrong to live your life as a Christian, that your faith should be a private matter, not a public matter. And if you own your business, then I think they’re right. If God owns your business, and you’re merely a steward, then they are wrong. And so I want to talk about coming out of the closet, so to speak, or living your life in the open in terms of your Christian faith, and following the commands of Jesus, that if you light a lamp, you don’t put it underneath a bushel and hide it. You stick it out on the mountaintop and shine it out. So that’s kind of the direction that I want to talk a little bit about on today’s call. Does that work?

Caroline:              Yes. I love it. And I think if anybody has, you know, the qualification, if you will, to speak on that or speak to that, it would be you. I mean, just even from interacting with you, and you know, from the time that we’ve known each other, there’s nothing left that I could say. You know, just you are such an example of somebody that does bring, is not afraid, is just completely fearless to bring Jesus in in every aspect of your business and the way you treat your employees and your clients. I’ve seen it in your relationships. And so it’s very inspiring. So I think there’s no one that’s going to be more qualified to really even just share some real life examples. Even if it feels like in a moment, like is this going to cost me? But really, what is that stake? What is the real cost? Is it not reflecting and not showing Jesus, or is it taking that chance to trust that God’s going to honor your actions by just referring to Him in everything that we do. So-

Beatty:                 Well, let me ask you. I’m going to turn the stage over to you for a moment-

Caroline:              Okay.

Beatty:                 … both out of curiosity, but I think as well, sometimes, the best teacher is modeling it. And I’m not sure how to really explain it, because it is who I am. So sometimes I take a lot of things for granted. But if you were to list, what are the things that stand out about me in terms of living my faith within my place of work, how does it look from your perspective? What is it that maybe someone on the call can kind of take and maybe translate that into what they do within the real estate business?

Caroline:              Absolutely. Well, I mean, I think it, too, it all depends on if the realtor’s on a team or has an assistant or things like that, because I know I’ve seen the way that you treat your employees. So that would kind of refer to like a team scenario, or if they have an assistant or something like that, or a buyer’s agent. You know, I think just the way, like taking a genuine concern for your employees, and just really valuing them as people, and seeing who they are and who they’re meant to be, not necessarily just the performance. I think that’s been something I’ve seen be really inspiring.

                                And then, just cultivating and creating an environment where people don’t live in a state of fear, or don’t live … They know that they’re valued, and they know that they can come to you. But, and then also too, on the other hand, it doesn’t mean that we’re creating an atmosphere of expecting anything less than excellence. I think there’s a difference between excellence and perfection. And when you set your employees up with an expectation for perfection, they’re doomed to fail, and they’ll feel that in their spirit. I think, though, when you put the challenge for excellence, that brings, that calls people higher. That calls people up to their utmost potential. And I think that’s definitely something I’ve seen just in the way that you invite people to be a part of the process, and aren’t just giving commands, but inviting them to get creative and think, and take ownership themselves.

                                And even just speaking to more of the fearless side, I’ve definitely been inspired by even this right now, what we’re doing. Like your willingness to bring your faith into your business, and to intersperse this with marketing calls. And something that you, in the professional world are very skilled at, but are willing to intersperse in calls about your relationship with the Lord, and how that affects everything you do. I just think that taking that “risk,” like I was saying earlier, I think is really inspiring, and something everybody that’s listening can ponder on, you know? Just being willing to put Jesus out there. I know I’ve heard you pray before meetings. And kind of somehow, the Lord works His way back in the conversation. So I think just that risk factor is really inspiring too.

Beatty:                 Well let’s talk about that, because I think that there’s … So I want to kind of talk in terms of the application. So you’ve got someone who says, “I’m a Christian,” meaning “I follow Jesus,” not that I simply go to church or I relate to, or feel like because I came up in a Judeo-Christian family that I’m a Christian. But you truly are what I’ll call a Jesus follower, a disciple of Jesus. How does it look? How does that appear in your real estate business? And I’d like to suggest that we’re to be a witness, and not hide who we are.

                                Throughout scripture it says, “Be a witness.” Okay, and what is a witness? A witness is someone who tells what they’ve seen, shared what they’ve experienced, someone who … Imagine that, you know, you’ve got … Imagine that you’ve got the cure to the flu, and you come across a friend who’s got the flu. And all they have to do is these two, three things. Mostly you can buy it just from the local grocery store, and the flu automatically goes away. I mean, you would want to tell everyone that you came in contact with who had the flu. So the question is, as a Christian, why don’t we do that? And how do we start to do that? And I think, you know, our society tells us, “Keep your faith at home.” Jesus tells us to, “Make your faith shine out like a light.” And who are we going to follow?

                                And then the question is, obviously we want to follow the Lord. But then how do you do it? I think you bring up a great thing, which these radical faith calls. So why do we do it? Because the Lord directed me to. Is it a risk? Absolutely. In this day and age, lots of risk, lots of potential backlash, lots of potential, I’ll lose lots of clients because they take an offense because I take a stand. And I take offense because they are offended at my willingness to take a stand. But yet if they take a stand, they think I should embrace it, okay? So it’s a willingness to say, “I want to take a risk, and it doesn’t matter what happens, because ultimately, this will actually be for our next radical faith call. Ultimately, what happens is God controls it anyway. I mean, I could tell you the history of my business, and probably the realtors out there can attest, you get business that you don’t even realize is coming your way, but God simply delivers it to you, because He loves you, because He chooses to reward you.

                                And it says that the Lord protects those who are loyal to Him. And so the question is, how are you showing your loyalty? In fact, here’s a great question to ask, Caroline. Let me see how to phrase it. If you were brought before a judge in a court of law and accused of being a Christian in the workplace, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Caroline:              I would hope so.

Beatty:                 Yeah. [crosstalk 00:15:28].

Caroline:              Yeah. Just from you know, maybe testimonies or, you know, different things like testimonies from other employees or things like that. I would hope that there would be enough.

Beatty:                 Yeah. And so if we were to turn that table, that question, to the realtors on this call, if you were to be brought before a judge and accused that you were living out your Christian faith as a realtor, is there enough evidence to convict you? It’s a pointed question, and if the answer is no, it’s time to make a change. I remember my father, and this is, I think this is also part of the issue. I’ve heard in the business world a lot of times, I’ve heard it from my father. “Don’t hire a Christian. They’re the worst workers.” And with my father, on the investments he’s made, that he’s lost money in, he says every time he invests with a strong Christian, they always screw him. Isn’t that a horrible testimony?

                                And here’s what’s going on. There are people who call themselves Christians, who wear it on the sleeve, do business with me because I’m a Christian. And people follow them, and they’re nothing but a wolf in sheep’s clothing. They may be a Christian at the technical sense. Maybe they’ve given their life to Christ. But they are not a Christ follower, okay? So I’m not sure if you can be technical and not be a Christ follower. But ultimately, they’re not a follower of Jesus, and they end up doing things that are wrong. So I think more than ever, those of us who follow the Lord need to stand up, and to model what it is to be a Christian in the workplace.

                                Well you know, I think this is kind of what I’m talking about, okay? It’s not being preachy in your business. Okay? When clients call me up, and I talk to clients, I’m not sharing the gospel with every one of them. I will if they ask. But I think what I’m talking about is kind of what you’re talking about. You love them to an extent that you’re going to at least be present.

                                I remember kind of along your story. And this, I think, is kind of going where I’m trying to hit. I know I’ve been kind of vague, because I’m not sure how to put tangibleness to it, to some degree. But many years that ministry called China Inland Mission, they would send missionaries from the U.S. over to China. First step is they would go through basically missionary school for a while and start to learn the language and the culture and the customs. And one of the ladies who’d been a missionary to China for many years, she was teaching the wives. So they would sit in this room, like a classroom, and the first day of “class,” everyone’s sitting there, and she walks through the entire classroom, up and down the aisles not saying a single word.

                                And she gets back to the front of the classroom, and she says, “Did any of you notice anything?” One lady would say, “You know, I noticed this beautiful smelling perfume.” And someone else said, “You know, I remember that perfume smell as well. Yes.” And all the ladies would start saying, “I noticed this beautiful perfume.” And the missionary said, “This is what it’s like to be a missionary in China. You don’t know the language, and you can’t speak their language. You don’t know their culture. But you want to let the fragrance of Christ be so strong that when you leave, they remember it.”

                                And I think that what I’m talking about in terms of bringing your relationship with the Lord into your business is not a technique or a tactic that says, “I’m going to get in the car, and I’m going to ask them the salvation question,” or something like that. I think more than anything else, it’s letting yourself, and letting Christ, living through you, to be so powerful that it’s unmistakable there’s something about you that’s different. It’s not being, it’s not shying away from sharing what’s important to you in life. But it’s not pushing it on them either. It’s being present. Does that kind of make sense Caroline?

Caroline:              Absolutely. I mean, I think, you know, I think I mentioned this on the last call, but some, a verse that I think about all the time is in Ecclesiastes three. It talks about eternity has been planted in the hearts of all men. And so, I think about that frequently, just thinking about every person we encounter is designed and created by God, and designed and created to live in relationship with Him. And so everything in them, in their mind, soul, spirit, body, when they’re around, everything’s going to feel right when they’re around a Christian, or when they’re around a Kingdom lifestyle or things like that. It’s going to naturally, there’s going to be a pull in them that’s been designed to bring them back to the Father, I think. I mean, that’s the way I like to view that.

                                And so I think like what you’re saying, if we live our life with that kind of fragrance, people are going to, they’ll see. They’ll see the values of the Kingdom. They’ll say, they’ll walk away, “Something was different about them.” And they’ll feel that peace, and they’ll feel that love. And it will feel right. And it will speak to them probably more than like loud shouts. Feeling and being around authenticity of walking around somebody who is truly walking with Jesus. I mean, you even look in the scriptures. Jesus didn’t have to beg people to follow Him. People flooded to be around Him because they knew there was something about Him. I mean, He naturally draws people in. So I think that absolutely that makes sense. And I think that’s a really great analogy of a challengeable way to live in our business and in our lives. That’s, every room we leave, every place we step in that territory should change. People should walk away feeling different, just from the way that we carry Jesus.

Beatty:                 Let’s talk about how these kind of apply. We’ve got only a few minutes left, and I want to focus on application real quick. And it’s just a, sometimes that application not meant to be followed simply to follow the application, but to kind of see how this maybe is lived out in one’s life. Let me ask a crazy question. Imagine for a moment you’re a real estate agent. You’re helping a client buy a home. And that your broker is one of these amazing brokers that just has a knack for being able to look online, pick a house, and says, “This is the home that this buyer’s going to love. And they’re going to be able to get it at this price.” And he is like 95% accurate every time. If you had a broker that could do that, and you’re starting to take a buyer out, would you choose to consult that broker first, say, “Where should we look?” Or do you think you would ignore the broker’s help and just go look at any house that was out there? What do you think you would do?

Caroline:              Well, I think that’s a pretty easy answer. So yes. I think I would absolutely refer to that broker, and ask them their thoughts, just because it’s working smarter, not harder.

Beatty:                 Yeah. Okay. So now, let’s take another scenario. You’re wanting to place a contract on that house, and you want to ensure that that contract goes through. And somehow, that broker has a way of making sure that every, 95% accuracy, every time you place a contract, if he then gets involved and makes a call to the seller’s agent, the contract is always accepted. Always. 95% likely. Then, if you [inaudible 00:24:23] go place a contract on that home, do you think you consult that broker and get him involved, or do you think you would just wing it and do it on your own?

Caroline:              Again, yes. Absolutely would consult with him.

Beatty:                 Okay. So now, we don’t have that broker. And God’s not that broker. However, ultimately, God does, God is in control of all things. He may not control all things all the time, for His own purpose. But He is absolutely in control of all the things all the time. And so, here’s maybe one way to live out this application, okay? Why not, in the presence of your buyer or your seller, commit the act that you’re about to go through, putting the home on the market, going and looking at homes, and just saying, “Hey, would you mind real quickly if we pray and just ask for the Lord’s guidance and favor on this?”

                                That’s all it is, just a simple thing. If they say, “I’d prefer for you not to,” say, “No problem.” But if they say, “Yes,” then it gives you a chance to be a witness, because chances are, they’ve never had a real estate agent that did that.

                                Then maybe when you put a contract on a house, you do the same thing. I remember when we bought our current home, when we wrote out the contract, my realtor, the lead realtor on this is a lady named Helen. And she says, “Hey, why don’t we, let’s pray about this. Let’s ask for God’s blessings upon this offer.” I thought it was a great idea, and we did. I thought it was the neatest thing, because she’s bringing her faith into her business, and she’s not shying away from it. You get the kind of picture of maybe how this can start to be applied?

Caroline:              Absolutely. I think too just as an encouragement, I think people nowadays are a lot more receptive to prayer than we might think in our mind. I know my husband goes out, and every store we go into, everywhere we go, he asks people for prayer. I mean, he tells people he loves them. God bless you, things like that. And people are always responsive in positive ways. I mean only, in years of being married, and knowing him, can I think of maybe two times where somebody had a negative response. And I think it all has to do with the sincerity of your delivery. And when people feel that, at least if they can associate it with a positive thing, I don’t think that they’re going to say no. They usually are always like, “Oh, that’s nice they want to pray,” you know?

Beatty:                 Right, so-

Caroline:              I think we don’t have to be fearful of that.

Beatty:                 Well we don’t have to be fearful. And this is the part that I’m trying to, live your faith out. Put your light on a hilltop. If you are a Christian, and you are a real estate agent, take the opportunities to at least pray for your clients, and pray in their presence. And pray for their success of the sale of their home, for the purchase of a home, for a good inspection. Because the more they see you living out your faith, the more that fragrant aroma of Christ that they’re going to get. And what it’s going to do is it’s going to create a witnessing opportunity.

                                It doesn’t mean that you have to know how to share the gospel. All you have to do is be willing to live it out in front of them. And then for those who have interest, they will inquire, and say, “Well why do you do that?” And now that gives you an opportunity to share.

                                So that’s the beginning side. Or you can go to the far end. I have another friend. He’s not in real estate, but he’s in a business where he’s constantly selling. And every single person that he meets with in the business environment, he always shares the gospel with them. I’m talking about 100%. He is in business to share the gospel, and he puts it front and center. And so, you can take, this is the other end of the extreme. Every client you begin to work with, you start to share the gospel. Make sure that they know Jesus, or at least have an opportunity. It doesn’t mean that they have to accept Him. It just simply means that for my friend Bill, he always gives them an opportunity to hear. And then he lives out his faith throughout the entire business transaction, during the sale, after the sale, into servicing. And they know very clearly where he stands. And they’re not offended at it. It’s simply that he always takes the opportunity.

                                And so I think these are the type of things that we can do within our own right to always be present, always live our faith in front of people, and as the scriptures direct us, always be ready with a good word. Always be ready for defending our faith.

                                And back to the question. If you were accused in a court of law, of being a Christian while you’re being a real estate agent, is there enough evidence to convict you? And if there’s not, then I think you need to change it, and to see what God does. I just think it’s the coolest thing, because then, you’re stepping out in faith, and you’re trusting the Lord to take care of everything else. And watch what happens to your business, and watch what happens to your life. I think it’s really cool.

Caroline:              Mm-hmm (affirmative). Well I think that’s a good challenging point, or kind of question, for us to end on, for people to kind of take that and kind of think on that. If they were in a court of law, would they be convicted? So since we are out of time, I guess we’ll wrap up there.

                                Beatty, thank you so much for your time, and just your willingness to share your life, and how you incorporate your faith with your business.

Beatty:                 If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please tell others about it. Also, be sure to get our step by step training on how to double sales and referrals from past clients and sphere of influence. It’s absolutely the easiest way to grow your business fast and is completely free. You’ll find it on our website at getsellerscallingyou.com. Thanks for listening.

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