The First 12 Deals: How to Build Real Estate Momentum Before You Feel Ready

In this episode, I’m talking about my book The First 12 Deals and why those early transactions can completely change the direction of your real estate career.

Most new agents are looking for the perfect script, the perfect lead source, or the perfect time to start. The truth is, your first 12 deals are not about perfection. They are about learning how to talk to people, follow up, solve problems, handle fear, and build confidence one transaction at a time.

This book is for the agent who wants a real path forward without the fluff. I break down what actually matters in the beginning: getting visible, building trust, creating daily discipline, learning from every showing and conversation, and understanding that real estate rewards the people who keep going when it gets uncomfortable.

If you are new, stuck, starting over, or wondering whether you can really make this business work, this episode will help you see that you do not need to have it all figured out. You need a plan, a work ethic, and the willingness to take the next step.

The First 12 Deals is your reminder that momentum is built, not wished into existence.

➡️🎉Real Estate As Your Next Chapter  https://amzn.to/4bYLi7R
➡️🎉The First 12 Deals https://amzn.to/4bYzZfS
➡️🎉Skip The 9-5 https://amzn.to/4bUCBLG

Email me if you are interested in The Agent Authority Lab 

AgentAuthority@RobynCavallaro.com

Thanks for watching. Be sure to catch the video version on my YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@StopChasingStartAttracting

Transcript

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Just got your license, or you may have been licensed for a few years and you're finding you're not gaining traction. You are not getting the deals that you thought you would have at this point in time, and you're lost. I understand where you're coming from. I was in your position a few years ago, which is why I wrote a book called The First 12 Deals. It's a realtor's playbook to gain traction, authority, and get to closing. And I give you all of the structure that I used to get to where I am today. My name is Robin Cavallero. I am a realtor in the villages, Florida, an active realtor. And I am the creator, founder of Stop Chasing, Start Attracting, a podcast where realtors come to build a brand, grow their authority, and reinvent their life in real estate. I've also written a couple of other books, and I do have a new training coming up that I will talk with you about in a little bit here. And it will help you get to where I am today. I've closed over 300 deals in the past seven years, uh, taking in 110 million in volume and now making over half a million dollars a year. And everyone can do it. You just need a system. And unfortunately, I find most new agents do not get that system from their broker. They have to figure it out on their own or they have to join a team. And hopefully that system works for them. But again, this book and this podcast is devoted to new agents or almost new agents that are still guessing, wondering where the next step is. And the first 12 deals you will get are not luck. It's not magic. They're not just about knowing the right people and are definitely not about sitting around and waiting for your phone to ring because you posted an announcement on Facebook that said, I am so excited to share. I'm selling real estate or meet me at my open house. It's cute, but it doesn't put money in your bank account. The truth is, most agents are not struggling because they're lazy or untalented. They're struggling because they don't have that system we just talked about. They get licensed, they join the broker, they get their business cards, they have their social media channels all looking really cute, but that doesn't turn attention to you. It doesn't prove your authority and your knowledge that will turn into appointment. They don't know how to trust you because they don't know who you are. I wanted to give agents a practical playbook, not more motivational pep talk, like you find in many of the channels. They're realtors or they're generalists who are telling you, you can do this, you can do that, but it's not specific. My content is geared towards realtors. It is not for everyone. So I hope you're going to find value in this. Let's get into it. So the system I teach in this book has six parts: traction, authority, conversations, appointments, tractions, and closings. And that's the order. And most agents obviously want to jump to the closing because that's where the money is. But you have to start at the beginning. You don't wake up one day with closings because you hoped and hard, you hoped hard enough. Closings happen because you built that traction, you created your brand, you developed your authority, and you became that force in real estate that buyers know they need to call you before they ever pick up the phone. Traction means stop winging it. Stop waking up every morning and say, What do I do today? That's not a business, people. That's a panic plan. And we've all been there. Okay, so I'm not telling you anything that I haven't already been through. Because when I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. And I had a broker who didn't offer me any support. I had to learn my market on my own. Some of it from hard knock, some of it losing customers because I didn't know what I was talking about. But that's not where I'm at today. And it'll take a couple of years. This is not a sprint, people. This is a marathon. You are in it for the long haul. You have to work hard at it. I say real estate is not a hard job, but you have to work hard at it. Because most agents stay very busy doing things they don't create business from. They tweak their logo, they change their bio, they update another graphic in Canva, they watch another training video from somebody who dances on TikTok. But that's not bringing you customers. Would you want to buy a house from somebody that was dancing on TikTok? And that's all they did. You do have to incorporate some lifestyle and get people to know you. Like there's times where I'll post content about me with my granddaughters, my grandchildren, taking them to the pool, getting ice cream. You have to be a real person. What I like about YouTube and social interest media, as I call it, well, I don't call it that. Gary Vee killing that phrase. I'm copying him, interest media, because the algorithms have changed now and they're putting content out in front of people that want to see the content, not just because your friends posted it. But you have to have part of that so you become real. You're not like legacy media that nobody wants to watch anymore. Everyone is getting their news from YouTube. And most people, when they're looking for a home, they are searching on some online platform to start. So you need to be visible. I can't stress that enough. A lot of this book is about how to build traction, how to become that authority. And you're going to do it by telling your audience who you are. Who are you? Who do you serve? Where's your market? Why are you different? And agents make this mistake all the time because they just post nonsense fluff. You need to think about pain like I am here. I'm talking to you about your pain. You're not getting any sales, you're not getting any phone calls. What do you do to change that? And I'm telling you, you need to focus on who you are, who you serve, and why you're different, and create content around that. It's the pain. If somebody's moving new into a community, what do they need to know? These are the things realtors do not talk about. And anymore now with AI, I see content posts where there's so much text you almost can't even read it. And that's not good because people are just going to scroll over it. One topic, keep it simple, develop your authority. And I talk about these topics in this book, but I also have a training and I'll talk to you about that now. It's called the Authority Lab. And in the Authority Lab, it's a six-week small group. I limit it to 12 students for six weeks, one hour live Zoom content where we discuss, we have a specific agenda and you have an assignment to do every week. It's an easy assignment, but it's effective. I need you to buy in because you are going to make an investment and you need to be bought into it. So I know that you are going to be effective. Because if you take this class and do nothing with it, I won't be happy. I'll be cranky. Yes, I'll be cranky. You don't want to see me cranky. I don't get cranky you often, but when I do, run. But you need to define your market, find the pain. And the in the authority lab, again, six weeks. I have it's called a foundation build. That's the first level. And then I have an inner circle, which you get more one-on-one time with me. You get into the group half an hour before every session, and I have a seventh bonus session at the end for the inner circle members only, and a private Facebook group and one other bonus that you'll have to watch the presentation to find out about. But I think once you get through that training, no, I know once you get through that training, you'll be seeing things in a different light. Read the book, do the training, and you'll be on your way. Now, everything I'm teaching you are things that I have done. It is not anything I just made up. So, number one, what we talk about is don't try to be everything everywhere. Who do you serve? Where do you serve them? And how you're different. You have to pick the lane and you have to know the market and create the content to solve the problem that your buyers are looking for. And please, when I tell you this, listen carefully. Buyers first, sellers will follow. Buyers first, get the money, learn your craft, then you can start to go after listings. I finally started getting listings. Like this is my third year where I have had quite a few, I'd say more than 15 listings. In the beginning, I had one, two, three, that was it. And I made money, but I was all buyer-centric. I was well buyer's agent. They trusted me because I guided them in the right direction. I would walk into a home and I would talk about this on my YouTube channel. Hey, I really liked some homes, but some of them are real dumb. When buyers know you're going to be upfront and honest with them, they'll flock to you because a lot of realtors get a bad name, just like many car salesmen and that type of business. They don't trust you. So you have to give them a reason to trust you. And I talk about that in the book as well. In this book, we discuss platforms, the interest media, social media platforms, what each of them are like and what you should do with them. I also have a very important chapter on contract to close. Everything that you need to do during a closing or once you go under a contract to keep your buyers at ease. The whole thing is getting them through that without a lot of tension, without um, many people are very upset because you got to remember they're nervous. So it comes out as they're upset, but they're buying, it's a big buying decision, no matter if it's a hundred thousand dollar house or a five million dollar home. It's all a lot of money to the person who's buying it. So you have to make sure you keep, you know, your craft, you keep the kind calm, and you guide them through to the end. You need to have a daily rhythm. What do I do on Monday? What am I doing on Tuesday? I have checklists and I have social, I have platforms that will keep my posts organized and where I can schedule them out. I find that very helpful because I don't have to create new content every day. Some of it is evergreen. I can repost it, but I will spend four hours in the morning researching, creating content, working on podcast, social media posts, writing my books, researching and really understanding and get a deep dive into situations so I can assist my buyers, my sellers, and my students. So you will have to spend time and effort to grow your business. It's not just going to drop into your lap. So I will urge you, I'm going to cut here. It's about 13, 14 minutes. Check that book out on Amazon. I'll put a link in the description box below. I do have one if you're just looking to get into real estate. It's called Real Estate is your next chapter. And then I have the first 12 deals. Pick them both up, Kindle, print, or an Audible. And make sure you check out my Agent Authority Lab. Again, if you're interested in learning more about it, the doors will open in a couple of weeks. Email me at agentauthority at robincavallero.com. So the sooner you stop winging it, the sooner you can start building a business that actually works. Thank you very much for listening to this podcast. Stop chasing, start attracting. I'm Robin Cavallero, and I will see you next time.