One of the most remarkable aspects of being a mentor is watching how quickly things change for someone once they fully commit to the process.
I’ve mentored hundreds of agents at this point through my signature mentorship program, The Listings Lab.
Watching what people can accomplish when they go all in on the program and say, “I’m doing this, no matter what” – well, seeing them reap the rewards of that mentality never gets old. It’s one of the most gratifying parts of this job. It’s what gets me out of bed to work and I’m determined to welcome more agents into our programs.
One of those incredible success stories is my dear friend, Chris Cook.
Since joining The Listings Lab, Chris Cook did an entire 180 on his business. He went from impending financial doom to having more business than he knows what to do with.
He has a successful, growing team, and in his own words, “every month feels like a six-figure per month rainstorm”.
Keep reading to learn more about how Chris did it 👇
Chris started the program with a healthy dose of skepticism. He’d tried other programs that had always felt like a waste of money. He’d hired assistants that hadn’t worked out. He felt doubtful that our program would really move the needle.
Joining the program at the peak of COVID, Chris was deep in his victimhood.
He felt at the mercy of the low inventory in his market.
What he’d previously been doing to generate leads and sign deals simply wasn’t working anymore.
And Chris was starting to panic.
In his own words, he was “on the edge of the cliff”.
He was selling off some of his assets, just to stay afloat.
He was even starting to worry that he might need to sell his house and cottage in a few months if things didn’t start to turn around.
The thought of delivering that news to his wife terrified him.
Chris knew he had two options.
- He could keep implementing the strategies that had worked up until this point, but even then that had started to flatline. He could continue to complain about the market, and how everything was changing, without significantly adapting his approach.
- OR he could make a radical decision and go all in on the method we teach in The Listings Lab. He could stop dragging his feet and decide that he was in control of his business – no matter what external factors were at play. He could rise against what was going on around him and find a way to get his business back on track.
If you hadn’t guessed already, Chris chose #2.
The Moment That Changed Everything
Even though Chris initially took a leap of faith and joined The Listings Lab, he was slow to implement.
His mindset was so resistant – he was so set in his ways that imagining a different vision for his business was hard.
In his own words, “I was showing up to the coaching calls in body only…I might have been on Zoom, but I wasn’t really implementing, and a part of me wasn’t believing either”
But there was one particular coaching call where Chris decided that instead of passively listening, he would own up to his struggles.
He told our coaching team just how scared he was…
About losing his house, about what that would mean for his family.
And at that moment, through the support of our mentors and the other members on the call, it was then that Chris decided:
I’m going to take responsibility for the state of my business.
No more blaming COVID.
No more telling himself that failure was inevitable.
He’d already invested in support to help turn the ship around – now he just needed to follow the framework to get there.
From then on, Chris showed up differently.
He didn’t just quietly sit on the calls – he started to become an active participant and asked better questions.
He became active in our member support group and started taking the strategies we taught seriously.
And most of all – he implemented.
He didn’t just take in information, he took decisive action.
From A One-Man Show To Caption Of The Ship
One of the most game-changing decisions Chris made was to bring on his assistant, Elaine.
While he’d hired part-time assistants in the past, none of them had ever done much for his business. Between the time it took to train and manage them, Chris had never really felt like his investment paid off.
But with Elaine, things were different.
She was able to immediately jump in and see the things that needed fixing.
Chris quickly realized Elaine wasn’t just a warm body to lend him a hand – she was an A-Player who could help him scale his business.
Within just a couple of months, Chris turned Elaine from a part-time hire into his first full-time employee.
From there, Chris hasn’t stopped growing. He’s ditched the solo agent mentality and is forging full force ahead with building a powerhouse real estate team.
An Upleveled Service Quality
Chris admits that he was slow to see the value in building a team, but now that he’s seen the light, he can’t imagine a better way.
One of the biggest lessons he learned was that having a team actually allowed him to offer a better level of service to his clients.
As agents, we often have this idea that if our clients have to deal with a team, rather than just us, they’ll somehow be losing out.
When in reality, it’s the opposite.
As a solo agent, you’re pretty limited when it comes to being able to offer white-glove service to your clients – especially when you’re swamped.
Since growing his team, Chris has had clients comment about how seamlessly and quickly everything has come together.
He’s now able to be the director rather than the doer, and his clients are loving him for it.
Chris’s lightbulb moment was actually at The Listings Lab Live when other mentors and team members of The Listings Lab spoke on stage.
While I might be the face of the brand, Chris realized that the value of the program lied in the combined expertise of the whole team.
He knew that it could be the same for him, and that gave him hope for the future!
The Compound Effect
Every week that Chris showed up and put in the work – he got a little closer to building a 7-figure business.
By acting from a place of empowerment instead of fear, he was able to move faster. Whereas he previously was struggling to implement a lot of the concepts we teach in The Listings Lab, after hiring Elaine, things started moving.
From social media to systems, Chris and his team started to implement our framework.
This also allowed Chris to be more strategic and start looking at his business from a birds-eye view.
Instead of using our coaching calls to ask questions that would help dig himself out of a hole, he was now focused on the high-level strategy that would propel him forward. He became sharper, more direct, and more strategic with his questions.
Because of one simple decision to go all-in on The Listings Lab, Chris’s success started to compound.
In less than a year, he went from being on the brink of financial ruin and having to sell his house, to building a thriving, 7-figure business.
“I have more listings than I know what to do with. We spent an hour on Monday just reviewing our current clients. My assistant is so busy that I think SHE needs an assistant soon. These are such good problems to have…I’m tearing up just thinking about it.”
Did Chris’s journey inspire you?
No matter where you’re at, I hope Chris’s story reminds you that you are capable of so much when you decide to take ownership of your success.
Instead of feeling victimized by the market – Chris decided to take charge.
Now, imagine…how different could your life look in 6 months if you decided nothing could get in your way?
Let’s start imagining it!
If you’re ready to make your dream a reality with the help of a supportive team, The Listings Lab can help make it happen.
Get the tools and resources you need, as well as support for every step of the way to scaling your business to seven figures.
Apply here to book a quick call with our team to see if one of our programs are right for you.
