AgentLocator Success Story - Nick Moretti

SERVICES USED

Nick Moretti got his real estate license when he was 25 years old, after a career in sales. Real estate was always his dream job - Nick's father was a builder, and this world fascinated him. Unfortunately, he realized he wasn't such a talented builder as his father and decided to become a real estate agent instead.

After earning his real estate licence, Nick immediately started working part-time in real estate before joining Keller Willams Energy Real Estate Brokerage full-time. A very motivated individual, in the first eight months after joining Keller Willams, he was able to close 50 leases and earn $50,000, even converting three of the leases into buyers. After 2.5 years on that team, he decided to venture out independently.

Nick serves the Durham region, focusing on the communities of Clarington, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Oshawa, West Rouge, Coburg and Kwartha Lakes.

"Kudos to AgentLocator and your Customer Service Team, the people that have been working with me and everyone that helped take care of me when I joined. They really made sure I was good. I was really able to ask any kind of questions or come with any kind of new ideas and thoughts, and the AgentLocator Support Team was really there to make sure that I knew how to use the system properly."

Nick Moretti
January 2021

Nick Moretti decided to separate from his team at Keller Williams and start on his own in March 2020, just when lockdowns and restrictions started being introduced all over Canada. This was a bold move, especially for someone like Nick, who has been successful so far but still only three years in the real estate business.

"I was on the team for three years, and I just jumped during the pandemic. People called me crazy. But I was like: "Whatever." I knew this was the right time. I was not going to risk my life to make double the sales to be secure. If I'm going to risk my life, I'm taking all the risk."

The most important driver for his decision was that he was entirely sure he was at the right place and had the right resources to start on his own.

"I had the right things happen in my life. I had the right coaches, the right people involved. My mentor at Keller Williams really showed me how to do things, and I just wanted my spin on it. I learned that I was good at dealing with, not cold leads per se, but random strangers."

After reaching out to AgentLocator, Nick was set up with a lead generation and a branded website, as well as the AgentLocator CRM system. As he already had experience with the AgentLocator system, he set out to create a system unique for him and how he envisioned serving his clients.

"At Keller Williams, we actually have a lot of these automated systems, so I've been taking advantage of that. I've been using some of their stuff and then transferring it over into the AgentLocator system."

Nick started his AgentLocator journey with a minimal ad budget of $250 per month. After just two months, he closed his first deal and used then used part of his commission to increase his Google Ads budget. Nick closed nine deals in less than a year working with the AgentLocator system.

"Why I like you guys the best is because you get me people that are searching at an early stage. These people are on Google, and they're searching "homes in Clarington", "homes in Pickering", "homes in Oshawa". And yes, they're not the best leads because these leads take three to 18 months to convert. But for me, it's actually about "How can I get in contact with these leads sooner?"

Nick has created his own scripts and automated messages to help him get the most out of the leads he gets through the AgentLocator system. But he also emphasizes that another essential part of his success is being consistent with what he does.

"The other day I went back to leads from 200 days ago that are still active. Because remember, it's three to 18 months to convert these leads. And the best part is, probably no other Realtor followed up with them. The money's in the follow-up. Sometimes I call people 7-10 times until I figure it out."

After his first successful year with AgentLocator, Nick decided to ramp up his branding efforts and dedicated part of his budget towards Tag Marketing. With Google Tag Marketing, all the visitors to your website (branded and lead generation) are being tagged. As these visitors browse on the Internet, they'll be shown banner ads on relevant websites, thus helping you put your brand and face closer to your prospects.

From February 2021, Nick has been part of our Expert Live Dial sessions. Twice a month, he jumps live in front of a Zoom audience and dials his leads to demonstrate his pitch and answer questions from the audience about different aspects of converting online leads.

In August 2021, Nick expanded his team and brought one of his former colleagues on board to help him grow his business. With a growing Google Ads budget and more leads coming in than he could handle, he decided to share his knowledge and scripts and get ready for the next stage in his real estate career.

So far, their results as a team have been great, with his new team member already converting her first leads after just a couple of months

If Nick would have one thing to recommend to any agents just getting into the online lead generation game, it's this:

"I'm going to be upfront and honest with you: get motivated, get motivated to call. For me, I really have a great script. I come from a customer service role. Instead of being like: "Hey, I'm Nick, I'm the real estate agent that's going to sell you a house.", I am always looking for ways in which I can add value. I'd rather be the customer service representative, than the sales guy that's trying to sell them and push them into it."

Video Transcript

Ado Topuz:

Now and then, we do these things when we get some success stories. We love sharing success stories. And one of the reasons why, in fact, is so funny. Before we get into this, I’d like to share with you what's interesting about our system. Every time we share one of these success stories with the rest of our clients, we see a spike in CRM usage. It’s like they all get motivated. “Oh, wow, I got to do more; I want to do better.” So, that's one of the reasons we truly want to create that atmosphere of sharing amongst everybody. And you know, bring up the value. So, I appreciate you doing this. You were just saying how you got into real estate. Tell us a little bit about that.

 

Nick Moretti:

How I got into the real estate game? I was in sales for the majority of my whole life. My dad was a builder. So I knew I wanted to do some stuff with him. I didn't have the construction skills, even though I worked with him. I just had to pick up another talent. So, I got into sales at a young age, which was great. And then I got into real estate. I started doing my course and got my license by 25. I'm now 30. So, you know, time flies by when you're having fun. And, it's so true. Because real estate will make your years go by so fast.

 

Ado Topuz:

It's what you love, right? If you do what you love to do, it's not work. It doesn't feel like work in any way, shape, or form. And that's what's amazing about that when you're doing something you absolutely love. So, yeah, that's awesome, and I’m very, very glad that you found your passion.

 

Nick Moretti.

Yeah, thanks, man. I'm super happy; I am too. And I'm happy that I was able to find it at a younger age, right? Because that's the thing. So, I got into the game at 25. I started with a part-time job, saved enough money and then jumped in full-time. Once I jumped in full-time, I had a great time; I had fun. I joined KW (Keller Williams), and I had a mentor at that time. The mentor was helping me do everything else. In my first eight months, I did a bunch of leases, like 50 leases. And then I flipped three of them to purchase. I did like $50,000. And I worked part-time. So, hey, this was great.

 

Ado Topuz

That's awesome.

 

Nick Moretti:

So, then I saw the opportunity to join my mentor. I liked the way he did business. And I liked everything about that. I asked him. And he was like: “No.” Every time I asked him, he was like: “No, you're not ready yet. If you join now, you're just going to use me. So, you're not going to appreciate.”

 

Ado Topuz:

Wow, interesting.

 

Nick Moretti:

But when he saw me do well - because you know, I had to prove myself - he then asked me. And I was so close to saying “No” because I was like “, You know what? No.” But I actually did it and had a great time. The reason why I'm telling you this is because he used a few online systems. That's how he built his business. So, I was able to try a few platforms at the time.

 

Ado Topuz:

Oh, nice, that’s awesome.

 

Nick Moretti:

Yeah, so one was a seller campaign. One was just AgentLocator. And there was another one as well, too. But ultimately, I really liked your platform. And I'll tell you why. If you're a real estate agent, right now, if you go on TRREB, you can't see what they're looking at, and you don't know what they're viewing or how many times they viewed. I mean, on your platform, on the new generation that I have, I can see that. And that's, that's huge.

 

What I've been doing is, actually, instead of using TRREB, where they only limit you to 200 or x amount of leads, I've been putting the right people into there and have then been funnelling my system. At KW, we actually do automated systems and stuff. I've been taking advantage of that. So, I've been transferring some of that stuff right into the AgentLocator system.

 

I was on the team for two and a half, three years, and I just jumped during the pandemic. People called me crazy, but I was like: “Whatever.” I know this is the time, and for me, I was like, “I'm not going to risk my life to have to make double the sales to be secure. So no, if I'm going to risk my life, I'm taking all the risk, you know.”

 

Ado Topuz:

So, you jumped off the team as the pandemic started. I'm checking when you signed up. You signed up with us on March 6th, 2020, and that would have been like in the midst of when they locked us down when they said they're locking everything down. So, oh my God, that must have been an interesting feeling. How did you make that decision? That must have been really hard. Not only were we going through a huge change as the entire world, but you were also making a huge change from a career perspective. That's interesting. 

 

Nick Moretti:

Totally! I had the right things happen in my life. I had the right coaches, the right people involved. My mentor really showed me how to do things and I just wanted my spin on it. I learned that I was good at dealing with, not cold leads per se, but random strangers. I'm really good at

 

Ado Topuz:

Internet leads. Let's call them what they are. They're crappy leads. Most Internet leads are crappy leads.

 

Nick Moretti:

They’re not qualified.

 

Ado Topuz:

That's right! But you make them into good leads. There's a lot of gold within those leads. There's a ton of it. Let's actually jump a little bit ahead. You've joined in March and started as of May. And now it’s January. So, how many deals have you closed so far?

 

Nick Moretti:

2020? I closed nine, I believe.

 

Ado Topuz;

Nine deals? Awesome. That's incredible. We generally have clients that always ask us these questions when anybody says they closed a particular number of deals. How many leads do you get on a month-to month-basis? How many leads are you getting each month?

 

Nick Moretti:

Great question. I started with the $250 budget, what's recommended for starters. I actually had some really great reps. Kudos to you and your customer service team, the people, working with me, and everyone who helped take care of me. They really made sure I was taken good care of. I was able to really come with any kind of questions or new kinds of thoughts and get some answers and suggestions.

 

Ado Topuz

Support is really there to make sure that you know how to use the system and help you go through that process. One of the things that you went through was our training process. We have trainers that actually have one-on-one sessions with you. And they check in on you once in a while to make sure you got everything down. That you got all the answers, yeah, that's awesome. I'm very happy you took full advantage of that.

 

Nick Moretti:

I think Richard and the other lady, Karen, were both awesome. They were also saying that every time I close a lead, I should put $100 extra towards ads, keep adding an extra $100. In the first two months, I did the $250 minimum. I closed one deal in those 30 days. This is lucky because online leads, remember, is three to 18 months, as you and I both know it. But it's recording. So I'm just trying to let people know.

 

Ado Topuz:

Yeah, that's great.

 

Nick Moretti:

And from there, it's just, how can I get in contact sooner? I like you guys the best because people are searching at an early stage. They're on Google and they're searching “homes in Clarington”,  “homes in Pickering”,  “homes in Oshawa”. And yes, they're not the best leads. But I mean, especially in the pandemic, you can't do anything. I did door knocking, online leads, and I was also going to the bank.

 

Ado Topuz:

Yeah, yeah.

 

Nick Moretti:

So you know, the problem is that I don't have two of them now. So what do I need to do? I need to really up my online and social game. So, that's exactly what I've been doing. Currently, I'm at a monthly ad budget of $500. I think I'll re-up shortly soon because I'm working with a couple now.

 

Ado Topuz:

Yeah, the biggest hurdle you're going to run into after a little while is you're going to hit your capacity. You're going to hit your capacity in terms of being able to diligently qualify and follow up with the leads. In terms of that capacity, I've honestly seen some clients go up to $2,000 a month and hit their capacity, and some go up to $1,000 a month and hit their capacity, saying, “I can't handle it anymore”. And they need to get assistance and get other people involved.

 

And I'll give you a word of advice. As you get other people involved with the system, churn is one of the biggest issues we have, which means that you're losing people. You get them on board, train them, teach them everything they need to know. And then they just leave because they've learned everything you need to know, just like we have.

 

That's okay. Because when we think about it, that's what we should do. That's what you did. That's what everybody would do. Because you're in this business as an entrepreneur, you're in this business as a self-motivator. And if you can motivate yourself and get more out of what you want, then why shouldn’t everybody want that. Just keep that in mind. That way you understand, the process of how it works and everything else.

 

You've done an incredible job. Those are pretty much all the questions that people ask, like what areas you're in. You’re in the Durham Region.

 

Nick Moretti:

Yeah.

 

Ado Topuz:

You've closed nine deals so far from when you started. You've actually started with the program in full in May. We've been upping your budget every now and then. That's awesome. Do you call your leads right away? Or do you call your leads? Do you only text leads? How do you work your leads?

 

Nick Moretti:

I had Twilio installed. Twilio is great because you guys send out that text message in the first five minutes. And then after, I don't really recommend using it anymore, in my personal opinion, that's just my experience.

 

Ado Topuz

So, the SMS? You mean the SMS when it goes out?

 

Nick Moretti:

Yeah. What I did was I called everyone. I realized that not a lot of people are callers. So I went back to leads from 60, 80, and 200 days ago when they were still active. Because remember three to 18 months, right? And the best part is probably no Realtor followed up. And maybe it was just a phase when they were just searching. The money's in the follow-up. Sometimes I call people like 7-10 times until I figure it out. A really good tool that you guys have is those calls you guys introduced. Those three agents that did over 51 deals. I listened to what they did. Honestly, I do the same thing. I am doing the same thing.

 

Ado Topuz:

So, most of your responses end up coming from text messages that are being sent out? And then you communicate from there, right? You're then creating that relationship and establishing it based on the responses that are coming in from SMS messages?

 

Nick Moretti:

Yeah. And then what I've done is, since I have another database, where I do have automated messages and my automated scripts. I have them saved in my CRM stuff. So now I’m maybe doing a little bit of manual. I am wasting my time a little bit. I'm just experimenting. Put it that way.

 

Ado Topuz:

That's awesome, man. That's great. So, if you had one thing to tell others agents to help them succeed with Internet leads, what would that be? So, if you have one thing to say to a brand new agent who has never done internet leads before? What do you say to them to help them succeed?

 

Nick Moretti: 

Other than calling and following up. I'm gonna be upfront and honest with you: get motivated, get motivated to call. I really have a great script. And my script is fire. Like, it's just super easy. I come from a customer service-based role, so they start opening up to me when I start talking to people. And now they’re going to tell me what their criteria are. Opposed to me being: “Hey, it’s Nick, I'm the real estate agent that's going to sell you a house.” Just knowing your sales approach, knowing where you can add value, and being motivated. That's the best.

 

Ado Topuz:

Yes, knowing what to say. And how to say it. It'd be the customer service representative rather than the sales guy that's trying to sell them and push them into it. That’s amazing advice. Thank you so much, Nick. I really appreciate it.