If you want to learn how to succeed in real estate, you should learn from the best. That’s where Jeff Lobb comes in. He got started in real estate in 1988 and worked in sales prior to that. Since then, he’s become a speaker, trainer, coach, consultant, and podcaster who has helped countless agents grow their businesses. We’re so happy that Jeff took time out of his busy schedule to speak with us about all things real estate!
Hi, Jeff! Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. Can you start off by telling me a little bit about yourself and your professional background?
Sure. I got started in real estate in 1988. At the same time that I was getting into real estate, during my college years, I had an opportunity to go work in a sales role in St. Maarten and Aruba. So I booked my college classes to take place on Mondays and I would fly out on Tuesdays to the islands, where I would sell radio advertising. I’d come back on Sunday and go to class on Monday, and do it all over again the next week. That job was a great way to learn about sales!
I kept my license throughout that time, so when the .com bubble burst I was ready to jump straight back into real estate. I then started taking real estate to the next level. I’ve been a top-producing agent, I’ve run teams, I’ve run brokerages, and I was a corporate executive for a franchise brand that gave me that level of exposure to the business, before parting ways with them and starting my own company Sparktank Media, which is about eight years old now.
Wow, what a story! What made you decide to create Sparktank Media, and to focus on coaching agents?
Before Sparktank, I was working with EXIT Realty. That was a forward-facing executive role, so I got a lot of face time on stages and I started speaking at conferences like ‘Explode.’ That stage time got me speaking at Inman and NAR events, etc., and I really liked that. Over the course of many years of doing that, I built a reputation from my speaking and there were a lot of people coming to me who wanted me to help them with their brands. However, being an executive at one brand, I obviously couldn’t do that. So I eventually started my own business where I can help anyone who wants to grow. I want to help people who have the right attitude and the right passion and are open-minded, and who really just need the guidance and direction to make it all happen.
That’s awesome. Can you tell me a little bit more about all the great things you do to help agents?
Sure. First of all, I offer one-on-one coaching. Then there’s also Coach52. That was built on a 52-week, on-demand platform as a way for me to take all of the coaching strategies that are making people money – the things we talk about in our sessions that I speak at, the things I’ve learned from other colleagues in the industry, and the other things we take from our one-on-one coaching sessions. This allows that information to be delivered to a mass scale of agents who maybe can’t get to the one-on-one level yet, or a team leader who would like all of their agents to receive training, and/or brokerages that can deliver that information to agents. So I wanted to scale all of the cool ideas and strategies that we build top producers with. So Coach52 is goal setting and tracking, and weekly and monthly coaching sessions on-demand. It’s got training modules built in, and it’s got a built-in marketing center to do all your marketing, branding, and social media in one platform.
Do you help agents all across the country, or are you more targeted to those working in major cities?
I work with agents across the country, taking them from where they are to where they want to be. And because I’ve worn the hats of agent, top producer, team leader, and broker owner, I can put myself in their shoes. If they’re not ready for that top level one-on-one commitment, the Coach52 platform will give them a ridiculous amount of value for a really affordable price.
“I see huge value to migrate to teams.
It’s been an extreme seller’s market for the past couple of years and many agents have found that they don’t have to try very hard once they win the listing. What would you say to agents who feel it’s okay to slack off under those circumstances?
I think there’s going to be a huge cleansing of real estate agents in the next two years. I’ve had seasoned agents tell me that they can’t believe my advice is to work as hard and prospect as hard as they did decades ago. I always ask why they thought they could stop in the first place!
“When the fish are jumping in the boat, it’s easy. But that doesn’t mean you can stop working hard.”
How do you feel about the use of tech in real estate? Is it the only thing agents should be using, or is there still a place for the old-fashioned way of doing things?
I think it’s best when you can find the marriage of both new and old. For example, if you’re going to do print marketing, do it with the right call-to-actions that deliver some tech in the deliverables. For example, if I was going to use print marketing, I’d have a QR code on the postcard. And then maybe that code takes them to a HighNote which delivers great information to them.
I’m glad you just mentioned HighNote! Can you tell me about all the different ways you use it?
I’m always looking to provide value to my clients in ways that they can improve and level up their performance, so I use HighNote in a way that teaches them about problems and solutions.
“HighNote is hands down one of my favorite tools to use to win business.”
I also use it to share my own speaker coaching content. My audience can use the HighNote I provide to see my speaker reels on YouTube, my speaker media kit, links to some of my website stuff. They can get a snapshot of everything I do on one platform.
Lastly, we’ve used it to hire and potentially bring on new clients with what Coach52 does, and we use HighNote to show all the benefits and features they can get from Coach52.
“HighNote’s analytics let me know when I should follow up, and that’s magical.”
That’s great, Jeff. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us!
Visit the Sparktank Media website for more information on Jeff’s one-on-one coaching and Coach52. You can also find out more about Jeff and his Relaunch Live podcast on his YouTube channel.
…And if you’re a real estate agent looking to take your business to the next level, click here to get started with HighNote!
