Better Together: How to Build a Scalable, Referral-Only Real Estate Business with Bret Johnson

What if your real estate business could run on clarity, systems, and trust without cold leads or burnout?

In this episode of Take It and Run, Kristi and Kelcie sit down with Bret Johnson, Associate Broker with REAL Broker and founder of Better Together Academy. After 20 years in the business, Bret shares why he walked away from the traditional team model—even though it was "working on paper"—to build a 90% referral-based business that thrives on systems, relationships, and human connection.

You’ll hear:

• Why Bret shut down a 14-agent team and what he built instead
• How the VIP Buyer System allows him to serve clients in just 4 hours
• Ways he blends tech, AI, and automation to scale trust (not just transactions)
• Early warning signs that your business is built on shaky systems
• How to make your real estate business more human (without sacrificing your personal life)
• Simple actions to stabilize and scale your business this week

Whether you’re leading a team, starting over, or somewhere in between, this episode will challenge you to rethink what success really looks like.

🎯 Take it and run with this:
Have 10 meaningful real estate conversations this week. Track them. And watch your business shift.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Better Together Academy
  Learn more or connect with Bret at @BretJohnsonAZ
  on all social platforms.
• Client Giant – for automated, relationship-driven gifting
  clientgiant.com
• Gifting via Local Vendor – Bret works with a local baker for personalized thank-you treats (e.g., cake pops).
• Lofty CRM – Used for smart automation and AI integration
  lofty.com
• Google Gemini & ChatGPT – Bret uses these to create strategic SOPs and automate business systems
• "Who Not How" by Dan Sullivan – Referenced in discussion around leveraging teams. Link to book.

If this episode gave you an idea you can implement in your business, don’t just listen — take it and run.

🎤 Book me to speak at your event/team meeting: 
kristijencks.com

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https://www.youtube.com/@coachkristijencks

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🎙️ About the Podcast

Take It and Run is the podcast for ambitious professionals—especially real estate agents—who want practical strategies they can implement immediately. Each episode delivers mindset shifts, frameworks, and real-world insights to help you move from thinking about it… to doing it.

Transcript

Kristi Jencks (00:01.815)

Welcome back to Take It and Run. I've got a question for you. What if your business could run on clarity, systems and trust without having to chase cold leads or even burning out? Today's guest knows exactly what that looks like. And after 13 years of leading a traditional team, built around lead gen and just hustle and grind, he shut it all down to build something better.

and literally called it Better Together. So if you've ever felt like you've been on a hamster wheel, this episode is your permission to design a business that's stable, scalable, and truly human.

Kelcie Dowd (00:47.108)
Yep. Today we are sitting down with Bret Johnson. He's an associate broker with RealBroker in Mesa, Arizona. Shout out my hometown. who's been through it all. the booms, crashes, comebacks, that whole cycle that we've seen. he built a 90 % referral based business that runs on systems and relationships, not on chaos. Doesn't that sound great? He's the founder of a Better Together Academy. And I'm sorry, I just want to keep saying Bretter Together and.

Kristi Jencks (01:17.262)
That could be your tagline.

Kelcie Dowd (01:19.334)
But anyway, he did Better Together Academy where he teaches agents how to blend structure, technology and connection to build businesses that actually give them freedom. So Bret, welcome to the podcast.

Bret Johnson (01:33.394)
Thanks, guys. Appreciate you having me today. It's going to be exciting conversation, and we should have some fun with this, I hope.

Kelcie Dowd (01:38.608)
Yeah.

Kristi Jencks (01:39.274)
So, so Bret go ahead and take us back, you know, as back as far as you want to. you know, what should our audience know about you? I kind of tease that you've done a lot of grinding through leads, chasing deals, you've been through a lot of market shifts and cycles, you know, tell us a little bit about you and your business.

Bret Johnson (02:00.144)
Yeah, thank you. Good introduction. So this year I celebrated my 20th year as a full-time agent. I actually started as a intern at ASU. I had found a mentor my senior year that was kind of running not only commercial, but also a big residential team. And out of college, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go into commercial real estate or maybe just focus on residential. My mom actually was a 30-year residential agent with Remax in Colorado.

So I'd always loved watching her put together deals and that kind of hustle and grind of an entrepreneur and seasoned agent as she was. And so I had an idea going into ASU that this is kind of the career I wanted, just not too sure what style that was gonna take. So Lester and Pat Cox were at Rulity Executives at the time, was it 2004 or five when I was the intern there.

And they took me under their wing and kind of showed me the ropes. So I started literally as an intern. I worked in the transaction department with my current partner, Becky Trujillo, as her lowly intern, honestly. And now 20 years later, we work together still. I'm blessed to have her. She's an incredible partner for me and really, I call her the boss, but does it all for us.

From there, I worked about five, six years, really grew a business under their tutelage, ended up becoming kind of a sales manager for the team. And we got heavy into REO back with the crash. So that is really where I think I grind my teeth or whatever you want to call that to really understand how a market changes, right? I got in right at that good time of 2005, if you remember any of those days.

And that lasted one or two years and then immediately was wondering what I was going to do when things shifted. luckily Lester was a great mentor and big into coaching. And so we really, you know, leveraged relationships at that time and he traveled the country. I did a lot of entertaining, if you will, with asset managers and things of that nature to get those relationships. And really it was that kind of understanding of, you know,

Bret Johnson (04:07.61)
real estate becomes a relationship business. And what I think I found, and you'll hear maybe we talk a little bit more about this today, is that's really kind of the theme of my career. I started as a intern, right? Just grinding on internet leads. I think many of us know that feeling, especially you guys, Kristy, with your team and our Boomtown relationships back in the day and all of the fun stuff. And realizing now 20 years later, there's more to it than just

Kristi Jencks (04:30.04)
Yep.

Bret Johnson (04:35.602)
looking for that next transaction. And so the relationships I think I kind of learned in that REO heyday really have since changed my mindset of understanding how to create business now today. And honestly, over the last two years, last year right around 89 % this year over 92 is a past client and referral base for my business. So truly just a relationship and we'll talk about kind of our client for life strategies and things there.

I actually ran as a designated broker for three years, two and a half as that as well, right out of REO to get some of those big accounts. So I've had that side of it. And then really for the last 13 years, I have moved to just a team lead type situation and been running teams. It wasn't until October of last year when I moved over to real actually closed down our team. had about 14 agents.

and decided I was gonna go explore this new bottle and really have fun with the understanding of mentorship and the ability to really scale this nationally and just create partnerships with some of the best agents, but still have that feel of the relationship side. So I feel like it's come full circle from an intern to now, I guess we almost call a single agent backed by a lot of systems, AI, things like that. But I've truly found my...

I happiness again. think there's a lot of burnout that happens when you're chasing internet leads and that transaction wheel. But to now have the understanding that my business feels so predictable. I know that there's deals coming every month and I get to work with the clientele and the type of clients that I actually enjoy. And it's just simply based on those relationships. So it's been a fun 20 years, honestly, and I've learned a lot, but enjoying it still to this day.

Kelcie Dowd (06:19.086)
Yeah. So, you mentioned, you know, the shift in real estate that happened in 2008. Can you tell me about how, you know, that moment, that shift changed the way you thought about stability and systems and trust in your business?

Kristi Jencks (06:36.654)
And maybe even, I would even say, so you mentioned 2008, but we also know what happened after Easter 2022. So like you've been through multiple shifts. And I think what Kelcie and I are curious is like, how has these market shifts, you know, as she said, shaped your business and your thought process around stability and systems and trust?

Bret Johnson (07:00.134)
Well, I think the big key to that word is systems. It really was that REO heyday that got me to realize how important systems are in a business. We as realtors agents are natural salespeople typically. So we love that chase. I think that the thrill of the kill of the deal, if you will, right? To go find that next app bats, use our scripts and talking tracks and all that fun stuff to.

to really get to that point of conversion. And I still enjoy that part of it today, but realizing that it's so easy to lose a deal on the backend if you don't have the right systems in place to really function that. And when we did, I think it was 555 deals right there in the heyday, still my record for the most transactions in one year, you have to have systems. Now what's crazy is with my mentor Lester at the time and Becky, my current partner, we did all of that with just Becky running our transactions, if you can believe it.

she is a monster systems coordinator. I don't know how she's still with me after to let Alaina with all of the side of it. But to now have virtual assistants, AI, crazy CRMs and all the automation that comes with it, it really shows that if you have the right action plans, the pieces in place, and you just work off those checklists and systems as however you want to define them.

Kristi Jencks (07:57.643)
Dang, Becky!

Kelcie Dowd (07:58.886)
Yikes.

Bret Johnson (08:23.218)
there's so much scalability in that where you can still enjoy, guess my side is still more that visionary, right? She's my integrator, if you think of the E-Myth, but she does all the operations similar to you, Kelcie And so that allows me then to use say AI now and my coaching for strategy sessions and then still get that relationship side, which doesn't slip through the cracks from our client for life.

Kristi Jencks (08:31.502)
Yep.

Bret Johnson (08:48.732)
Key point in all of that along with the answer is systems. That's truly where you need to start. And there's so many opportunities now to kind of build upon that. You really don't have to recreate the wheel. You can kind of get some coaching or even use ChatGPT to kind of walk you through it nowadays, which is awesome.

Kristi Jencks (09:04.174)
Right now you've you've lived through hard lessons, right? And I'm gonna bring it home here to Phoenix just because this is our marketplace. This is our stomping ground You know, what are some of the signs that agents should be like early warning signs that maybe they're dependent on the wrong things like maybe they don't have the right systems in place Maybe they're not tracking the right metrics. So if you had to like give a cautionary tale

Bret Johnson (09:17.008)
You know, what if it is a fact that it should be the early warning sign that makes it

Kristi Jencks (09:32.78)
from a market shift perspective or even just a lead pillar, what would those warning signs be for any agents who are listening?

Bret Johnson (09:41.016)
Yeah, great question. I think for me, the key has always been just tracking activities. If you're showing up daily and doing the right things, the results follow. And it's so easy for a new agent especially to want to find that shiny object or next best thing thinking that's going to solve their mistakes, right? And in reality, if they look and do some self-reflection, they're just not putting in the work or doing the activities that really

move the needle and drive business. So for me, it's still just simple systems. I use CTE, I've had SISU and all the crazy stuff over the years when you run these teams that you think you need. In reality now, it's just how many conversations am I having daily? And it's so enlightening to realize that for me, a big clientele that I have luckily now over 2000 home sales, with Becky and I over that 20 year period, I just, I focus on 10 conversations every day.

Kristi Jencks (10:20.642)
Yes.

Bret Johnson (10:38.076)
I don't need to set the world on fire, but if I can have those meaningful, just outbound relationships, the predictability in my business knows that I'll still close that six to 10 a month or whatever that number needs to be to kind of live the lifestyle that I want. And now with the systems that Becky and I have and not running the teams and some of the headaches that come with that, as you know, Kristy and Kelcie, but now I have the freedom and I've really found passion in just spending more time with my family and really

I guess living that life that real estate affords us, where we can kind of have it all, a great income, but also the freedom that comes with running a business that provides it, I suppose.

Kristi Jencks (11:20.046)
Okay, so I'll wrap up that section by saying be resilient. But he broke it down, it's super simple. If you are not having 10 conversations a day, like that, don't overthink it. Can I have 10 conversations that are going to be centered around real estate? That would be your first warning sign. If your business isn't where you want it to be, that's the first thing that you should track.

Kelcie Dowd (11:46.566)
Amen.

Bret Johnson (11:48.294)
That's probably light, right? And most teams are pushing 20 conversations nowadays, especially if you're a new agent.

Kelcie Dowd (11:52.731)
Yeah.

Kristi Jencks (11:52.746)
it is light, but I like what you said and I like the simplicity. It's very reachable for everybody who's listening for no matter, no matter what your goal is, that takeaway right there, everybody can have 10.

Kelcie Dowd (11:58.555)
Yes.

Bret Johnson (12:04.882)
for sure.

Kelcie Dowd (12:05.092)
Yes. So let's kind of talk about the whole team aspect. know, Kristi and I know full what it's like to run a big team, small team, medium team, then shut down the team. So at one point you had a big traditional team model and plenty of success, but what made you make the bold decision to shut it down? What led to that moment?

Bret Johnson (12:30.256)
Well, I think it was having an internal reflection with myself and my family of what was making me happy. You know, I think as salespeople, we often are driven by egos and I love to win awards. I love to have, you know, sales. I love to, you know, be number one when it comes to that. And, you know, I think I got on a hamster wheel of just wanting to have that next transaction or hire that next agent and just create.

numbers, right? And how do I become number one at my brokerage or whatever that was? And in reality, I was grinding so much that I was missing certain things in my life that I realized just weren't important or missing important things over things that weren't. there's burnout that comes from team leaders. There's profitability too that I think a lot of us hate to mention. mean, it's the elephant in the room for many of these teams. You see the numbers and if you really looked at their P &L, would they...

they'd be proud to show that, right? And so I just had a simple conversation with Becky and myself and said, what makes us happy? And really mentorship still is a big part of that. We love coaching agents. We love to be, you know, the person that can help them put that deal together or, you know, coach them through those deals. But I wasn't prepared any longer to miss family time or my girls, got a two and a four year old.

I want to be there for him. I pick up my daughter every day from school. I drop her off. I don't want to miss those times to help bring up agents and just try to close more deals. And so that truly was the vision. In several masterminds, they joke Bret is notorious for just blowing it up. I have probably fired every agent I've had three or four times in my career, started all over, and I've done that system.

And this was the final nail in the coffin, if you will, where we said, we have opportunity now with RealBroker where we can have the same passion, not only just in the Phoenix metro area, but we could grow this nationwide or globally, still have that passion of coaching, but have profitability back, get to work with the clientele that we like, run a referral-based business, and have true profitability too. And so it was a no-brainer to be able to kind of run that.

Bret Johnson (14:43.698)
Yeah, there's days where I miss a team, I guess, right? But I still have show-in agents. I've transitioned into that kind of model now. So I have the freedom, but I also have the profitability and the life again. I think that's most important.

Kelcie Dowd (14:56.059)
Yes.

Kristi Jencks (14:56.078)
Yeah, it's a gutsy move. mean, you walked away from something that works and on paper, depending on profitability on paper, what you want, right? But it wasn't necessarily working for your life. And that's, know, essentially where you built this Better Together. Talk to us about the Better Together Academy. What does that look like? What should our listeners know about that?

Bret Johnson (15:21.636)
Yeah, so I kind of lost six months have had this passion project in mind called Better Together Agents. And it's really the goal is a community of agents where we believe similar to the real model of just collaboration is better, where we share things together, right? And we work together as opposed to competitiveness against one another. And so the idea is to build a community where I can help

mentor agents, I can coach them, I can provide them the systems that so often they came to me to join my team for. I don't do a lot of lead generation anymore, but I coach them on those type of models, right? My referral-based business, a lot of our referral products that are in there now too, just offer the ability to get to scale how my current business runs. And so I get the ability to have that passion of coaching and mentorship, but at a bigger level.

And so the other part of that is the Academy or Better Together Academy. And that part is more education-based and training. So I do two video blogs a month where I pick a topic and I kind of share real world stories, stuff that kind of resonate with my business. And I've grown just kind of a community right now. I really only started this in the last couple of months on socials. I've got a few thousand followers on this now and it's gaining some traction. I've got two private masterminds that I kind of invite. We have a...

application process for the one where we are looking for agents that are committed to their business and really want to grow and get some higher level strategies. And then I have one that's more open to everyone where we just kind of meet weekly on a Zoom and we try to give an idea of what's the big hurdles right now you're facing? How can I help? What are some shared stories that we can all collaborate with? And what I've found is now being a virtual team, right? We have workspaces and the ability to do that.

This gives me an excuse, if you will, to kind of collaborate and get more involved in our agent community. I've been in YPN and various things over the years, and I miss some of that too, and not having an office where I'm surrounded with lots of agents always. This has really been the best way for me to kind of give back still while also finding that excitement again where we get to collaborate.

Kelcie Dowd (17:32.241)
That is really cool. The emphasis of collaboration and community over competition. Like I'm thinking about other fields that are similar to real estate, if there's anything like that out there or if it's even, you know, like you said, salespeople are naturally like, I want to win, I want to win, I want to win. but we're in this, we're in this community where so many people can win at the same time because the opportunity is out there.

Bret Johnson (17:58.694)
Yeah.

Kelcie Dowd (18:00.774)
All of that you know.

Bret Johnson (18:01.116)
That abundance mindset I think is so amazing in our career. And I think Kristi you and I would probably agree, we've been at different brokerages and things, right? There is something about at least my experience in last year with Real about how legit that is. It is truly a community where everyone shares, everyone's cheering one another on. Maybe it's because we're all owners in the company to an extent, right? But.

That is something that I didn't believe right away I've now witnessed and it really truly aligns with kind of my vision behind this. And so I feel like I found my home to where we all kind of have that same, you know, fun attitude together, I guess.

Kristi Jencks (18:35.712)
Yeah, well, let's dive into some of the meat of what you cover in a lot of your training and mentorship. So you have something called the VIP buyer system. And I think this is where our worlds align. We both believe that you've got to master the buyer side of the business. And I'd love for you to tell our listeners about your framework, how you've taken those overwhelmed shoppers and turn them into confident, loyal clients.

Bret Johnson (19:04.731)
Yeah, definitely. Well, I'll say it saved my business this year as everyone wants a buyer instead of listings. I've really focused this. And again, I think a lot of agents hate buyers because of the time commitment of showing. So I learned a couple of years ago about the showing agent model and it's really changed my outlook on that. Not to get too in the weeds on that, but I can work with a buyer literally from start to finish with a four hour commitment of my own personal time. The rest is leveraged through other.

showing agents or systems behind the scenes. But the VIP buyer system was really a way to not only attract a clientele. So there's different avenues of lead generation, whether it was internet based or in my case, past client and referral based ideas, but compelling those contacts, say as we have somebody that's waving their hand saying, I'm interested in buying next year or something, compelling them with a value enriched offer and why they'd want to meet with me.

and then sitting down and actually having a buyer consultation, showcasing the strategy, the idea behind working with me exclusively, and then what the benefits are to that buyer. So this is something, full disclosure, was with my mentor coached under Craig Proctor. This is his system from 20 years ago, and it's still something I use to this day. But this is what has kind of given me the freedom where even with that change, and was it 24 with NAR,

lawsuits. Like this is something I've done my entire career. You know it.

Kristi Jencks (20:33.427)
August 2024. Well, it was September, but Phoenix in Arizona, we implemented in August. I remember our contracts and everything changed in August.

Bret Johnson (20:42.3)
Good point. Exactly. So I've been coaching a little bit over the last couple of years, other teams and agents who haven't really had a system, right? They always just kind of quoted it was free to work with buyers or whatnot and really trying to show them what is your value proposition? What are the unique selling propositions that you can offer to separate yourself from other agents, but more so take care of your client and really give them

a true system to not only beat out other buyers to the best deals, but get proprietary information that they wouldn't find elsewhere. And with that comes the ability to charge a fee that you feel is fair for your services. And so I've found it to be enlightening. mean, it's a true system and kind of four parts, that's how we break it down, but it gives me the freedom. And again, I can work with a lot of buyers. think I've done, I was saying this at a coaching the other day, I've done 17 buyers in one month.

All closed, obviously, Becky handled all the transaction, but that's the way the system works. I meet with them, they then drive by, they're taking a look at the properties they want, they're only telling me when they want to see it. I can then use a showing agent if need be to open those doors for me. And then we have a system in place to get them the right offer, a strategy obviously designed to get them the most amount of discount in their closing costings of that nature. And then really obviously there's the side of closing it too, which Becky helps out.

transaction one. But I think the one piece that we love as agents, and I know your business is like this, Kristi, but it's the repeat business opportunities that come from a buyer, right? That lifetime value of the client. And so we've really taken that initial meeting where I don't mind working with a first time buyer because I'm going for this for 20 years, right? I'm going to make sure that I get their next seven transactions and all their referrals. And that client for life that we've kind of made up from that is really the true, you

Kristi Jencks (22:18.382)
Mm-hmm.

Bret Johnson (22:36.85)
key to this, guess, is way to say it.

Kelcie Dowd (22:39.11)
So I guess I'm really curious how an average of four hours with a single buyer, how do you maintain trust? How do you keep trust when you're not the one showing them the home?

Bret Johnson (22:52.72)
Yeah, and that was my big fear originally when I learned about this, but it's managing expectations. So I always believe I need to have a consultation upfront. We need to understand what the market is, what's important to that prospect at the time. And if I'm going to ask them to make a commitment, become a client of mine, what's the value that I'm going to provide? So there's so many agents, these Zillow teams that are taught from day one.

You get a call, you go open the door and you try to chase them down the driveway and show value in why they should work with you when they didn't like that house. Mine has always been, excuse me, what can I do to sit down with you from day one and really have a strategy session and understand what's your goals and important to you in this process? And then how can my systems align to accomplish that for you? So I don't just go meet with buyers to show homes. We actually have done it this way for 20 years.

have that buyer consultation, right? And that's what they're coaching so much now with this whole change for many agents. So really the first hour is spent in that meeting. Next hour then would be maybe some showings or some kind of process of understanding comps and things. We have some systems behind there. You go under contract, I'll spend an hour in that on the inspection, negotiation. Sometimes I'll do inspections and go to those. I really was taught early in my career like,

If you can't change the outcome of something, you should delegate it. So I always thought, all right, if I open the door or if another agent opens it, the door still gets open. Would you agree? So do I need to be there, or could I delegate that system out of it if I manage the expectation? So in that upfront meeting, I would tell that clientele, hey, you're going to work with Chloe or Frank, my showing agents. They see way more homes than I do, so they're going to be available as well.

in many meetings and masterminds and stuff, they can get there in an hour. You'll never miss out on the home of your dreams. And they're going to walk you through all the important things. But when you find that home you love, my specialty is your advocate and your negotiator. So I'm going to step in at that point and I'm going to make sure that we've structured the deal. We get the offer done to your best interest, but you get the best of both. Now you get somebody that's only about, you know, showing and they see all the things in that home that I might miss because I don't see as many, excuse me, but

Bret Johnson (25:11.43)
you're going to get me as the negotiator and my specialties, right? So we look at what, if we break our team down, where do we focus best and what are the top avenues that we can work on that would move the needle for that client? And that's what I focus on. Obviously, Becky is a master at systems and the transactions. So I don't need to call lenders and title companies. She's going to handle all of that. And then my fourth hour in the transaction is attend the closing, right? I'm going to get it over the finish line. I'm going to be that person there with the gift and all the fun stuff.

and we create a collaboration. So we truly believe in a team system, but I don't have to do it all. I can leverage my team and we all focus on what we're best at. And that's how we feel personally. And I think our clients and our 600 plus five-star reviews would agree that they feel like it's a true experience working with us because I'm not dropping the ball in communication when I'm trying to juggle everything myself. We all focus on what we're best at.

Kelcie Dowd (26:06.458)
Yeah, very who not how.

Kristi Jencks (26:06.72)
Yeah, can tell you. Yes, I love that. That's true. Good callback to it. We love that book. It's funny, though, because I can tell that you've said that a couple thousand times. And I loved how well you knew each of the four hours in your part and your value. So you talked a lot in that about blending systems. We've teased automation, maybe even a little AI. And I know you're doing a lot here locally with AI and helping people.

have some breakthroughs. Can you share an example for our listeners of how you're using tech to create more clarity in your business?

Bret Johnson (26:44.722)
Well, a lot recently has been just strategy. What I've loved about chat GPT, I'm more of a Google Gemini guy myself now, ever since chat five has come out. I'm not a big fan of that, but the high level strategy that I used to pay thousands, tens of thousands a year in coaching, I can get now through there and I can align it by coaching it, my business, my background, my speech tonality, all of this stuff you're familiar with, Kristi especially, and really get it to align with where I want to go.

and then to have it dumb things down to where Becky, my integrator, can take a true SOP or a step-by-step and go in, integrate it, or I could send it to my VA team in the Philippines and they can get that up and running. Like that to me is the true power of the automation. Excuse me today. But I will say we've used all the various bots. I mean, we use Lofty and all of the fun things. They're very integrative with AI into their systems. Really, I think the true...

tech and automation though that we love right now is the client for life stuff. So Becky is kind of my operation similar to you, Kelcie. And she's the key to that, right? She's overseeing it, but she'll use things like Client Giant to send our quarterly gifts out with a touch of a button, right? Like that's done for us, gifted all of the systems and action plans that she's built. It's just checklists that we can run or she can have a VA kind of do.

And so for Becky and I, it's really given us this higher level, almost manager status where we can just oversee the systems that are running behind the scenes and just make the tweaks that really look at, and as long as we're tracking this, right, where is our money being spent? What's generating ROI and what can we really improve upon on that experience? So our real mantra is really easy real estate. We wanna dumb things down for our clients to where they feel like they don't have to know it all.

Kelcie Dowd (28:35.558)
Hmm.

Bret Johnson (28:38.544)
You come work with us, you don't have to lift a finger, everything runs like a true system. And that then allows us to focus on the experience. So we gift seven different places through the transaction, for instance. They get referrals and opportunities for our team throughout there. And it's just kind of a fun process now to work with. And I think that's kind of what really enlightened me over last year. You chased so many of these internet leads and the transaction grind that comes with it.

Now I know that I actually am going to go have fun with that client and we're going to really enjoy the experience. And because of that, then the post-close campaigns that run for 10 plus years, like how many opportunities of referrals and repeat business will we get? And that's really the fun part, I think, in all of this too.

Kelcie Dowd (29:24.592)
I love that. So we're going to, this is the last part of this section talking about our buyer process, but be, talk to the agent listening today. What, if they could just fix one part of their buyer process this week, what would you tell them to start with?

Bret Johnson (29:45.712)
Well, I think so many agents feel like they have to do it all. In reality, if they could focus on the relationship part of this, that's the key. So that could be in the beginning part where you're just generating the lead, right? What do you need to do? Well, have a conversation. Who do you know that's looking to buy or sell? How can I be of resource? You know, the lead gen part of it. Maybe you've got a buyer in the car right now that you're hoping is going to make an offer you're going to try to set up.

A lot of agents just put it on MLS and they try to hope that the portal is going to be the reason that they get a call and let's go look this weekend. The relationship is what it is. If I can call that client and show some value and say, I was looking at some new build opportunities right now. And I think there's something if we could tweak this, would align with your needs. Would you be open to us talking about that? I mean, there's just so many opportunities if you look at the relationship at each stage of the process and how you improve upon that communication.

That's what I would focus on. The rest of this stuff, there's tools and tactics that you can implement. You can't replace yourself in that process. And I think you would feel too, there's many agents that do a horrible job of that, right? And that just kills that whole process for that buyer experience for the buyer as well to where they're calling us to hopefully go find a home because they're over their agents. So truly the relationships, all they got to focus on and that will go leaps and bounds wherever they're at in the pipeline stage.

Kristi Jencks (31:14.638)
clearly, you've mastered that, right? You've got this client for life and I would almost call it like human systems, right? Like you've mentioned the relationship, you mentioned my system. So I'm gonna tell you a mindset that I hear a lot and I wanna see how you answer it. So recently someone told me they're like, I don't necessarily want to be friends with my clients. Like I wanna do a good job, but like I don't wanna go to.

dinner. I don't want to host, you know, the way this agent said, like, a small wedding for my clients, you know, like these big client appreciation parties and things like that. So you mentioned client giant. So, and you mentioned some gifting. But like for an agent, I remember there was a point where one of my coaches, she told Merrill and I, she's like, You need to go out to eat and go to dinner with your clients. And at the time,

Kelcie Dowd (31:48.165)
you

Kristi Jencks (32:07.95)
We had what I call the triplets. They're our three youngest. They're 11 months apart. And I kind of looked at our coach and I joked, said, do you know how hard it is to find a babysitter for seven kids? Because at the time we had seven kids and I was like, first of all, you can't hire somebody because especially they're like, well, how old are they? Oh yeah, so three, three, three, five. They bail.

Bret Johnson (32:32.786)
you.

Kristi Jencks (32:36.684)
You know, and so we, Meryl and I, we've always done a great job for our clients, which we have a great client experience as well. We've done some client events and things like that, but how do you manage this, like, if you don't feel like you have time to commit to, I mean, you know, all that I see incredible agents doing out there, what's the system? Again, that was a long explanation, but you said client giant. I heard some gifting in there, like,

How do you develop these relationships without sacrificing your family time and being able to do the things that you want to do with the people who are closest to you?

Bret Johnson (33:13.138)
Well, I'm glad you bring that up because I've had that same mindset over the years too, where I didn't want to be that, right? And it isn't that I didn't enjoy my clients and they would say the same, they loved working with me, but I am very extroverted and outgoing. just, you know, there's a point where my life has a different tactic and I want to spend my time with my family. And certainly at two and four year old, we wouldn't be going to dinner either. So it comes down to the touch points to answer your question. We really believe, I mean, you look at the red book, right?

36 touch idea. We took that several years back and we just looked at where can we stay top of mind and how can we automate that as best as possible so that gets done no matter what is going on in our lives, but not make it feel automated that it's just a canned thing going out, right? So what we did initially is we really focus on like a

brought up a of times, the relationship and the experience. If you win during the escrow and during that process, you get to know these folks. So we have four points, and Becky, correct me if I'm wrong, but where we try to get what's called things about them accomplished. So we have a Google Doc, it's now an app that I built with Manus that sends it all out, but it's basically what about them will they share with us? You'd be surprised how hard it is to get them to want to fill that stuff out, right?

Kristi Jencks (34:34.499)
Yeah.

Bret Johnson (34:35.31)
So we've then taken it and dumb it down four different places through the escrow, whether it's a buyer that we're nurturing for three years while they get to the point of even looking at homes, where can we get these pieces of data answered? And then once we know that, we formulate everything around that experience. How can we get it to what they want?

So like our gifts now are never branded on us. We always have a nice package with the RNG realtor network group. know, the delivery can be branded, but everything about that gift or whatever within reason, say with client giant, it is, you know, their system, but is about them. And that's where the power comes when you're actually aligning with what they already told you. I mean, you can't, I can't tell you how many times I'll send something out immediately. They call or put on Facebook. Like how'd these guys know that we love.

this or that restaurant or whatever it may be. I always love sending out, know, if somebody sends me a referral, we try to, whether they buy or sell, we always reward good behaviors. So we send out a, we have a local gal that puts together cake pops and kind of a little thing. And we'll always find something that aligns with them. Maybe as a bottle of their favorite wine or whatever, or we'll take them to their favorite dinner if they sent a big referral, right. And we'll have the, my driver go pick them up and we'll just have an experience for them, right. Nothing about us, nothing that's, you know,

going over the top as far as like Respa or something. But the gifting I think is the key to that. But if even without the money that you're gonna spend there, if you just can focus on where are the touch points throughout this and how can it resonate with them versus sounding canned, right? I'm not gonna send, I used to say I love send out cards, cause I could automate that and do it. like my dentist sends me a birthday card every year, like I could care less, right?

But if I could do a video text message, I don't even have to send the money with a card, but I can have that about them. And by the way, I use my HeyGen avatar now quite a bit for those too. Like a lot of this stuff can be automated where it still has that factor in. And with AI, mean, the scalability of this is absolutely incredible. So to answer the question, I still think it comes back to the relationship and then how can you brand or deliver that to their status? want to, you know, want to...

Kristi Jencks (36:28.558)
Nice.

Bret Johnson (36:47.28)
sell and how they want to be sold to, guess, way to say it, kind that dis-personality as well. Again, another long-winded answer to that, we can stay on this maybe.

Kristi Jencks (36:55.352)
was good.

Kelcie Dowd (36:56.352)
I love that. You really like there's so much pressure for automation. And I think that you really teach agents how to humanize their systems and to be intentional. Like what I'm hearing from you, if I could sum it up so far, before we jump into our next segment, you set expectations. You care about the experience no matter where it's at in the timeline. And you are intentional about

Bret Johnson (37:01.522)
Thank

We have had to keep.

Kelcie Dowd (37:26.22)
every single system. you're going to rely 80 plus percent of your business operation to be automized, I don't even know if I'm using the right word, but automated, you got to care about where your human face shows up. that's awesome. I'm going to take us into this next segment of looking into the future. So you've lived through the multiple cycles of market and tech shifts and now this big wave of AI.

What do you think the next five years of real estate will look like for agents who want to stay relevant?

Bret Johnson (38:02.47)
Well, I don't think AI is replacing us yet. think, if anything, lenders are going to have some thoughts on that in the next 10 years once that allows some structure. But if an agent doesn't adapt to AI and the tech that comes with that, they're going to get left behind. It's kind of like if you don't have a CRM 10 years ago or nowadays, how that has changed. If you're working off a spreadsheet or a Rolodeck or whatever, I remember my

Mentor saying that 20 years ago, that's how he did it. There's just certain changes in our business that you have to adapt to. We have a core value, we embrace change and we shift to innovate. And so I don't need to have the latest and greatest. I love tech, I'm always looking for that next shiny object. But I think it goes back and funny, we're bringing this theme up. If we focus on how tech can humanize or just help in that relationship.

Kristi Jencks (38:31.128)
Yeah.

Bret Johnson (38:59.194)
That is the key, think, in the next five years. Because we were just talking about a gentleman you were mentioning, how you'd rather hear about AI's response first, right? Well, my comment would be, I want AI to take my strategy and my human aspect of this and make it better and scale it and deliver it faster, right? So if I could do 10 pieces of content around that daily on automation, that's amazing. And that's something that helps. But it can't be

and automated, we were talking Kelcie before this, right? Like how you can tell now when an agent or anyone in the public is using a chat GBT, right? And at what point does it become so commonplace that we almost just tune it out because we know it was generated there. I don't think if you, I think if you have value, people don't care if you used AI to generate it or to improve upon it, if you will.

Certainly things behind the scenes are systems in place to automate and use AI. It's a no brainer. And I think that's where agents in the next five years have to adapt and integrate. But if you let your relationship or that human factor go and you try to replace that to where you just step back on the beach and you think this is gonna work, like that's where you're gonna have problems. Even my agent avatars, you'd probably agree, Kristi I yours the other day.

You like I have to break those up now with B-roll and I have to get it, cause it's just not quite there, right? It may be in the next couple of years, maybe even next couple of months, who knows it's so fast. But if you're going to just throw that one video out and expect somebody to not believe like you have to, you have to embrace it, but you have to keep that human element and that relationship. And so I think for me, it's a matter of, okay, I want AI to help leverage my time. I want to be able to automate a bunch of stuff. I want to be able to work with Becky.

Kristi Jencks (40:23.608)
Mm-hmm.

Bret Johnson (40:46.012)
to improve upon our experience using AI, but I still wanna be the one that can send that video message or whatever, or send that quick call and just check in. And to go back to like, if I have to take my clients out to dinner or be that person, I'm not that way, but as long as I'm hitting those touch points with enthusiasm and with something that aligns with what's important to them, I don't think there's a better way. I think AI is the only way you do that on true scale, especially when you get.

2000 plus clients, right? There's just no way you could do that in a year and do 36 start to physically, which is not possible.

Kelcie Dowd (41:16.795)
Yeah.

Kristi Jencks (41:17.027)
Yeah.

now? Well, I mean, you've kind of you've kind of gone full circle. And so here's here's a question I'll ask you to answer for our our viewers. If you could go back to your younger self, you know, the the intern, the sales manager, the team leader grinding those online leads, like if you go back to your younger self, knowing what you know now, knowing where you're at now, what would you tell yourself? What would you say?

Bret Johnson (41:47.77)
That's funny because the same thing we've talked about value that relationship. I've had this question many times over the years and it's an easy answer. I didn't value the lifetime value of a client early in my career. have over 500 closed clients that have bought and sold without me. And it wasn't for the last 10 years that I've tracked that. And these were all families and people that loved me. We loved working together. It was on me for not valuing that relationship and stay in top.

mind, right? They would have gladly worked in the, I've maybe have a handful in 2000 deals that, you know, I will never work with again or wouldn't write. Like I enjoy this and I still have a passion for it. I think our clients would agree. But if I had valued the lifetime value and realized it's not about that next internet lead and, trying to get 17 more buyers this month and just feed in that new business. And I just focused on the past clients and those relationships. I mean,

my net income would be unbelievable, right? And I'd probably have a lot more hair too without the grind that I've put on for years of trying to track the new stuff versus just servicing what I already had. Easy answer.

Kelcie Dowd (42:57.22)
Yeah.

Awesome. So every episode, Bret, we end with a simple question of what's one thing that agents who are listening can take and run with this week to make their business more stable, more human, and more scalable? So what would you encourage listeners to take and run?

Bret Johnson (43:17.596)
Talk to people, pick up the phone, have 10 conversations a day, send text messages, video, whatever that is, 10 outbound conversations of something meaningful. Obviously we want real estate related side, but start with something about them, that Ford idea of family occupation, can't think of it right, just an icebreaker of an idea of how to talk to them and get them to open up. That's all that's important. If you just think about how on top of mind with 10 people every single day and you do that at scale with them,

know, relentless commitment and, you know, do the work, your life will change overnight. Or mean, at least in that first year, it'll be unreal the opportunity you have.

Kelcie Dowd (43:57.319)
Yeah, and track it. I figured you included in there.

Kristi Jencks (43:57.528)
I love it, it's simple. Yes, and track it.

Bret Johnson (43:59.772)
track it.

Absolutely. Good talk. Thank you.

Kristi Jencks (44:08.11)
So before we wrap up, what's the best way for people to connect with you, maybe learn more about your network, about the Better Together Academy, opportunities to learn from you, work with you, where should they find you?

Bret Johnson (44:19.854)
Yeah, I'm pretty easy. It's Bret with one T Bret Johnson AZ on pretty much all socials. I've got link trees that link to the better together Academy. There's marketplaces. There's all sorts of resources in there. Pick up the phone. All my contact information is everywhere. I'm an open book. I love meeting with agents over coffee and just kind of chatting. To me, it's relationships and I still enjoy whether it's a brand new agent, just picking my brain on what might.

be helpful in their system or obviously someone looking to partner with me for a bigger goal. I just like to meet others and see how I can add value in their lives. So Bret Johnson, AZ, hit me up and I'd love to connect.

Kelcie Dowd (44:59.152)
That's awesome. Yeah. I liked how a lot of today's conversation was just connecting heart with structure and you really, you really emulate that. So it's been awesome having you.

Kristi Jencks (45:11.79)
Absolutely. So if you're listening right now, right, and you've been running the grind and running on hustle, let this be your wake up call to what Bret said. Your relationships are your ROI.

Bret Johnson (45:11.826)
shut it.

Bret Johnson (45:17.618)
Thank

Kelcie Dowd (45:23.972)
Yes. And if you liked this conversation with Bret, make sure you hit subscribe. If you're on YouTube, we're on all of the, anything you can listen to a podcast, we're there. So hit subscribe, share it with somebody who's rebuilding or rethinking of their business, rebuilding their business model. know, Bret said it and we've done it. It's okay to disassemble what you've created and start new. You'll find all of Bret's links and the stuff that he talked about today. So the, the, the gift, I didn't catch the name of it, but the, the gifting website and all of that in today's episode in the show notes.

So as always, take what you learned today and run.

Kristi Jencks (45:58.126)
Thank you so much, Bret.

Bret Johnson (45:59.762)
Thanks guys.