The Science Of Building A Brand, Network, And 7 Figure Business From Social Media | Rachel Adams

Matt A.: [00:00:00] I am so excited to welcome in one of my best friends, ultimate badass mom businesswoman. Just straight crusher in all areas of life. My good old pow, Rachel Adams. Hi. How are we doing? I'm good. How are you? Good. I am always excited for you and I to, to catch up and oh gosh, I was in your community and your group with all the amazing coaching, you know, clients and your mastermind group, which I know we'll get to a little bit later.

But, um, how are you doing first and foremost before we dig in today? Oh my

Rachel Adams: gosh, I am good. I took a shower today, which I mean, I will tell you, doesn't happen every day as a, I call myself a new mom, but. I've been a mom for three and a half years now, but I've had three kids in four years. Yeah,

Matt A.: you're crazy.

So I know. And you're still running a million dollar business? Well, multiple businesses, yeah. And, you know, [00:01:00] crushing it on social media. And so I know we're gonna talk about how are you balancing all of this? How are you, you know, uh, growing all of this, not just balancing it and like surviving, but you're thriving right now.

So I'm really excited to dig in on that. But for those that, thank you, you know, you, this is your second time being on Millionaire Mind Cast, and people have heard your story before, but a lot has, you know, transpired since. The last time you were on, and a lot has transpired in the overall journey of when you and I first started our, oh my gosh, entrepreneurial careers, which I don't know if everybody knows that story of where you and I started and how this real estate investing and entrepreneurial journey began.

So from your perspective, where did this all

Rachel Adams: start? Oh my gosh. Well, so Maddie and I go way back when he was Matthew, when he was, no, Maddie a when I knew this kid. So, and he had, he was like bald. He had no hair when we first, no

Matt A.: hair wore suit every day. So I could make up for how young

Rachel Adams: I was. Totally. I know.

We were like, we're five years old, can you let us sell your house for you? Um, so [00:02:00] yeah, Maddie and I actually met, I was managing a real estate office. I was unlicensed. I was in a really unhealthy marriage and actually unhealthy place kind of at that point in my life. Um, I was married to somebody that was 80% disabled and 50% was PTSD for marine.

So I'm at this real estate office and my job was to like, tell all the agents, you're gonna get your offer accepted. You got this. And then I'm crying myself to sleep every night because I'm like personally in a bad spot. And I remember seeing all these realtors paychecks coming through and I was like, man, if I just had money, everything would be better.

I'd fixed my marriage, it'd fix my life. Um, and you got licensed and you came to the real estate. I'm gonna call it a boutique brokerage cuz that's been very nice. That's been very nice. There was like a shooting next door when we left. Do you remember

Matt A.: that? There were bullet holes in the office window from the gas station shooting, which we were right next to.

Yeah. It was a choice

Rachel Adams: for us. Um, and so I remember you and I just clicked. We really clicked. We had very similar upbringings. We had good families and we were [00:03:00] like, Both really hungry to be successful. Yeah. And like, we didn't have to prove it to anyone but ourselves. Like we had the support, we had people that loved and cared about us, but we were like, let's freaking roll.

Mm-hmm. So you and I decided to partner in real estate and our first, the beginning of real estate was brutal. Um, I remember being told like loosely from John Brophy was like, get ready for blisters. And I was like, okay, what does that mean? He's like, like, actually have blisters on your feet. And I was like, why would that happen?

Well, our first year we door knocked 200 doors a week. We did three open houses a week. So we didn't sell any homes for the first, um, four months. Nope. And we were paycheck behind a paycheck. Um, I had p my cell phone bill paid from my nail lady at

Matt A.: one point. My God, I forgot about that. That was, she was awesome for that, by the way.

She was so nice. I know.

Rachel Adams: I'm like, she

Matt A.: gave you the money without evens on the house. Yeah. That was one thing you were not skipping was your nails dude.

Rachel Adams: No, I was my image man. [00:04:00] Um, I was like, I'm, but look at my fingers. So, yeah, we didn't sell any homes for the first four months, but we sold 39 the first year, then 109, then 123.

So you and I hit Wall Street Journals, top 1000 agents in the country together, which was such a cool thing. And then we quickly realized your passion was investing. It was not in traditional real estate. Yep. And I wanted to grow a team, and I wanted to stay in traditional real estate. That was my passion.

And I did. So, um, I have been in real estate now 12 years. Um, so have you cause I know when you got licensed. Yeah. Um, and it's been a wild journey. Um, I. Still running a team. We're number 43 in the US for small teams. Um, I've had big teams with like 10, 15 agents on it and no one was closing deals. And then I've had really small teams and I've learned that my model is small and profitable versus big and broke.

Um, I've definitely done things for the wrong reasons and like [00:05:00] really felt the pressure that like, I need to have this big fancy team and like what it looks like on the outside to everyone else. And then if I was truly honest with myself, like when I was by myself or when I was journaling, I was like, what actually makes me happy?

That doesn't make me happy. Mm-hmm. Like, I literally was like, I'm, I wanna get on stage. That's what I want. I wanna be on stage. This is my milestone. And when I got on stage, I was like, Still same person, still same problems. Like, okay. And so I realized like happiness had to come from within and it wasn't gonna come from any of this outside validation.

And so I went on this like personal growth journey. Um, and I actually, I ended up getting a divorce and, well, we can get into some of the social media piece of that, but I, for a long time, Didn't tell anybody what happened because I thought like this limiting belief, but I was like, nobody will work with the divorce realtor.

Like I am selling the American dream and I am broken. And I just really felt that way and I was so, you know, and. And so I [00:06:00] went on this personal growth journey for like three years and I started journaling and I started exercising and I was drinking way too much wine, so I switched it to water. Um, and I started to just like learn who I wanted to be and not just who I wanted to be, but like the conversations I wanted to have and the conversations I allowed around me had to change my group of friends.

Like it was a big deal. And I did all this personal growth work for like three years, and then I got on Tinder. And I, um, met my husband Ryan, who you know very well. Yeah. Um, and, um, we, he's my absolute best friend. We do life together. He's a mechanical engineer. We, he quit his job to come work in my businesses.

Um, and so we, he like runs the back end of the real estate team, the coaching company. He's also HR when I get outta line.

Matt A.: Can't do that. I

Rachel Adams: know. Um, when I spend too much money in the p and l, I get in [00:07:00] trouble for that. I really like shopping. Amazon Prime is my favorite. Um, but yeah, it's been a wild ride and we decided we wanted to have a family and so that was like one I always said.

I never wanna have to set down a baby to go on a listing appointment and I don't. Um, we have structured our life so that I can. Work. And I'm like, I love, I'm like, I'm not a stay-at-home mom. I'm not made to be. I'm like a passionate woman that loves to work. Um, and so I basically like have a baby in one hand and a business in the other.

And, um, I've got three boys now. Three kids. Okay. It's so nuts. We have a three and a half year old named Henry. We have a one year and three month old named Harrison, and then we have a three month old named Hayden. So life is beautiful and messy, and I showered today. So that's my

Matt A.: win. That's a win. You're here and I think there's so many things to unpack there because yeah.

I know from previous generations, at least you [00:08:00] and I, we come from hardworking families. Yeah. That rolled up their sleeves and did whatever they needed to provide for their family. And sometimes that meant, you know, parents not always being around and at the same time, parents always in our cases showing love.

And then there's a lot of scenarios where kind of some of the older generations, It was all work. Yeah. And it was, family was an afterthought or it was justified as being okay cuz you're providing for the family but you're not really there. And so like I feel like this newer generation of entrepreneurs and business owners, while there still are a lot of people that are bankrupt in other areas of life, I think a lot of the conversations are about, How do you build a business?

How do you go and get financial freedom? How do you go and crush it in your career, but still be a great parent? Totally. Still be good with your health. Still be, you know, a good leader. And that's something that I know you put a ton of time and attention into and you talked about it. Yeah. Like it's messy.

Yeah. What does that look like for you? How do you approach [00:09:00] being a good mom and, you know, being a good business owner and still taking, you know, accountability and ownership of all the other areas that are still important. It's

Rachel Adams: a really good question. I think, you know, I, before I had kids, like I've always wanted to have kids.

When I, when people were like outside playing in the dirt, I was like playing with the babies inside. Like I've always wanted to be a mom. Um, and you know, my dad, I always said I would never go into real estate. So my dad, my grandma was a real estate broker. My dad was a real estate broker, and I said I'd never go into the industry.

And I think the reason why was, No one talked about work-life balance. When we were kids, it was just like you work, you show up, this is what you do. And so my dad would like miss dinner sometimes or be late for dinner, and my mom would get frustrated or whatever, and I was like, well, that's not the life I want for me.

And then I realized, There's a better way to do it and it's just about setting like really healthy boundaries. And so I, in the beginning when I first had Henry, so my first baby, I would like run out of the room when I had a client call and I would, and I like pretended I didn't have [00:10:00] kids because I like didn't want someone to hear a baby crying in the background and.

I remember that a listing appointment came in for a doctor and he wanted to sell two houses. Um, so it was gonna be like, you know, 2.4 million in, in, um, uh, gci. And I was like, I, or in sales, sorry. And I was like, I gotta, I, I have to do it. So that was 19 days postpartum. I left. I got in the car. It took, I got, it was an hour away from my house.

The appointment took two hours. By the time I was coming back, I was in tears because it was too soon to go back to work and I felt like I needed to do it. And so I ended up taking two months off after that. And that was a really good lesson for me of like boundaries. And I realized that like, They're only gonna be little one time and everyone says that, but like it really is so true.

Now, I will say, I am not the person who's like, oh my God, I love newborns. I'm like, get go to sleep. I'm so tired. Can you turn three months and smile at me

Matt A.: please? I'm the same way. Everybody's like, oh, the newborn stage is so cute. I'm like, Yeah, for like 10 seconds and then that wears off and I'm like, [00:11:00] okay, I'm not, I know I

Rachel Adams: feel bad.

I'm like the only woman in the world that's like, no newborn stage, not for me. I'm like, the pictures are cute, but like I get to three months. Please. Cuz then like the reflux, all of it. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So anyway, um, I, so. As things kind of developed for me, I always heard moms talk a lot about mom guilt.

I've got mom guilt, I've got mom guilt. And I, I didn't wanna have that and I thought there has to be a way to do this because I wanna have a big business, but an even bigger life, an even better life, right? And everyone was like, oh, you're gonna find balance. You're gonna have find balance. And I'm like, I don't think there is.

I don't think there's balance. I think there's counterbalance. Yeah. Because I know that some seasons I freaking kill it in real estate. I kill it in real estate. I'm selling more houses than ever sold. I'm crushing all my goals, you know, social's, growing, all the things. And then some seasons I'm just like a mom and I'm happy to stay home on the weekends and not do things and like.

[00:12:00] I think unfortunately, there's so much pressure to be everything to everyone all the time. Be the best mom, the best wife, the best realtor, the best business owner, the best, you know? And it's like Jesus, like it's hard. And so what it looked like for me was learning that it, it really just comes down to being present.

Like it's comes down to being fully present. So if I'm. If I'm choosing to be like, right now I'm on this with you, right? My family knows my nanny's here, my husband's here, he's doing reference calls for someone. We're bringing on our agent, right? But like my kids are in the other room. I have like a sound barrier under my door.

It's like a, it's definitely d i y. Um, It's a beach towel. Fancy. Nice. Um, but it's like, this is where I'm fully present. I don't feel bad for not being with my kids right now. I don't, I feel like this, I'm excited to do this, this like, you're my person. Like I, this is my business. And then at the same time, as soon as I'm done here, if you send me a text and say, Hey Rachel, that was fun.

I'm not gonna see it [00:13:00] because I'm out there with my kids. And so I think for me, the reason I don't have this like crazy mom guilt that a lot of people get, Is because I'm super present when I'm with the people I'm with, when I'm doing the choice that I'm doing. Yeah. Um, and it, it doesn't, it's not always perfect.

Like sometimes Henry's crying and I'm on a call and I hear him crying and I'm like, I would rather be out there hugging my baby than doing this right now. And so sometimes I literally say, Hey, I have to call you back. Like all listing, I'm like, I've gotta call you back right now. My kid's crying. And so what's been really cool is instead of apologizing for being a mom, I freaking own it.

When I have someone now who's like, Hey, I, I like, you know, like, I don't care if it's a 3 million listing. I can call you at seven when I put my kids down. Which is really eight, but it's like, you know, I, I like unapologetically. I am a working mom and I think that not enough people real don't, like, they don't know how freaking rockstar like badass working moms can be.

So that's what I wanna show people. It's like you can have this big business, you [00:14:00] can have this big life and you just gotta time block it. You have to figure out when you're doing what and like it is, it is possible. And just remember like. Good God, grit yourself some grace. Cuz there's certain seasons, like I said, some seasons you're amazing in business and some seasons are better for family.

And my gosh, if someone gets sick, that's the season that happens right then, you know, and that's what you focus on. And it's like, you just gotta take a deep breath. Cuz I feel like everybody's doing the best they can with where they're at. And that's it, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

Matt A.: I, I, it, it's one of those things where, I think what you said, which really stuck out to me was building a bunker around where you're at.

Yeah. That, that was, that's kind of one of the things that we talk about is like, build a bunker. Yeah. And, and a bunker meaning like, you know, back in war, you know, everybody got in the bunker. Yep. To protect themselves and make sure that, you know, Everything that was going on around them, didn't kill them, or, you know, didn't totally snipe them out of, you know, their [00:15:00] productivity or, and so looking at your calendar and looking at, you know, the activities, it's really building a bunker around those things.

And then what you said, setting the proper expectations with the people that it impacts or that, you know. Have, uh, a part in that. And I think that's usually, you know, in seasons where I'm like, Hey, this is gonna be a season of grinding. I got big goals this quarter. I got a lot of commitments. I'm gonna be traveling.

Who does this impact? Well, Maureen, I talk about it, Hey, this is gonna impact you first and foremost, babe. Like, what do you need from me? Mm-hmm. What can I do to help, you know, show up? Can you help me with some of these things that normally I may not ask your help for, but I need you, you know? Yeah. Sit down with the kids and talk with them about.

And then obviously plan your schedule accordingly and all the big stuff around that. And just like you said, you and I have always kind of lived and died by our calendar. Like if it's not in our calendar, it doesn't exist. Lizabeth, right?

Rachel Adams: Yeah. And I think too, like my people know what I need to be successful.

Like our nanny is so incredible and she brings me lunch cuz she knows that my focus is [00:16:00] work. And if I'm like in my mode, I'm in my mode. It's like I am focused on what I'm doing. I've got, you know, cause we have four different companies, so there's things that happen in each of those companies and I don't know exactly what happened, but for some reason, I'll share the story with you in a little bit.

But in for some reason with this pregnancy, once Baby Hayden came out, normal people go to sleep. I, for some reason have this weird thing where like, I feed the baby, I should go back to sleep. And I'm like, let me build a business. And so like I'm in this like massively creative mode right now, which to be honest, I don't know if I've ever felt so creative and I don't know if it's cuz it's the last baby or like, you know, I, I don't know what it is.

And it's like really exciting to be in this space where like I'm freaking stoked about work right now and like, you know, you're in a good spot where work, when it doesn't feel like work, you're like, yeah. I'm like, how can I add value to other people? How can I help them achieve their goals? What is missing?

Like I literally am like, what is the missing? What is the gaps in the real estate industry? [00:17:00] How can I fill it? How can I be the person to fill those gaps out there? And. It's like, it's so fun right now.

Matt A.: So what does that look like? Like how are you managing all of the existing stuff that you do have commitments to while with the little time you do have with three young kids and you know, all the other stuff that you're committed to.

Finding time to really lean in on some of these things that you're excited about and passionate about, and feeling called to. Yeah,

Rachel Adams: it's been, it's actually, it's been really interesting because they say if you wanna get something done, give it to someone busy. Right? And I, um, it comes down to choices. Like what's my priority?

So I have my first company, my baby is the real estate team, right? So I have the Rachel Adams Lee Group, traditional Buy and Sell. We also have an investing spot, um, side door business now. And, um, I. I still have that. So what that looks like is I tell the team on Mondays, we do a team call on, um, when [00:18:00] every, the second and fourth Wednesday of every month we do a team in-person meeting from uh, 12 to two.

And then we have a team Vior chat. That's my commitment to the team. I am constantly coaching, educating, but my 90 day onboarding is done by video and prerecorded webinars and workbooks, and they have milestones that they do with our admin, with our, um, op operations. And Ryan is the productivity coach on the team.

So like, I will help you, I will hug you, I will give you the script. I will, you know, do convers lead conversion with you. But I'm very clear with them on what I am for them and also what I'm not. I do expect my people to lead generate. I do expect them to have the standard that I set on the team, and I'm not available a hundred percent of the time.

And I think that's where like a lot of things fail for people is they pr, they overpromise. Mm-hmm. Uh, I don't do that anymore. I'm very clear when somebody joins my organization, this is my, this is when you will have availability to me. And if they have a question, like if you ask any of them. In fact we just did, we did a interview on Wednesday [00:19:00] and they were interviewing a girl and we did it through Zoom and she said like, what's your favorite part about the team?

And they were like, the support, the accountability, the. Not one person is like, I can't get ahold of Rachel. You know? Mm-hmm. Cause I've set the expectation. So there's that piece to it. And then with my coaching, um, I was like, this random thing happened where I was feeding the baby, um, at 4:00 PM one day, and I Oh, did a call with someone about an idea and that it, the idea didn't quite work for my world.

But after we got off the phone, I started thinking about, What is missing in the industry? And I realize so many people want to go and they wanna have a real estate coach. They want to be pushed to the next level. They want the accountability, they want the mentorship, and yet they don't, either they feel like they can't afford it or they've never gone to that space, or maybe they had the wrong coach or whatever it looked like.

And so I made a post on social and I said, Hey, just curious. If I offered to coach [00:20:00] you in a private mastermind group for $29 a month, I'd come in there twice a month and do a 45 minute coaching session. We'll talk about like how to build the National Referral Network and best social media practices and you know, um, 10 x the buying process and perfect your listing presentation and you know, dominate client events.

I'm like for 29 bucks a month, who would be in? And I went to sleep cuz I napped and. I woke up then at to 380 comments, 380 people saying like 29 bucks I'm in, and I was. That's cool. I should probably tell Ryan about this because I'm me. And so, because we already have the coaching company and we have the two programs we offered.

I was like, I had the platform. So 14 hours later I launched Rachel's coaching crew and which is what you got to speak in. Yep. Um, and we have about 317 people in there right now. In the first week we had 11 [00:21:00] referrals. Now I think we're up to 19, but it's. It's a national referral network for them. There I go in and I talk about all different things.

We just did client events in there last week. Um, nice. You came in and talked to us about how to build, um, your investment portfolio without your money and, and we have just like massive industry leaders coming in and everyone's excited about it. And some people are pissed cuz they're like, why are you charging so little?

Like this is giving coaching a bad. I'm like, you're missing the point. This was a gap that needed to be filled. And I will tell you that the people who get into coaching, they want more. Mm-hmm. And they want higher level and next level. And so like, my thing is to fill these gaps. And what I like about it is it fits in my life.

Yeah. It's twice a month for me, for 45 minutes now. I do extra stuff in the group and I, it's really important to me to keep the culture going. Yep. But it's like if you're gonna build a company, don't build your life around the. Build the company around your life. Right. And I think that's a difference that I only now feel like I can, like say [00:22:00] confidently.

Whereas before I felt like I have to be everything to everybody. I have to work around their schedule. Like when I first started speaking in offices, I was doing Zooms and I was like, oh, I'll speak in your office. They're like, great, 8:00 AM on, you know, Monday I'm like perfect. And they're in freaking New York, which is 5:00 AM our time, which means I have to get up at four to do my hair.

That sucked. So now I'm like, I do speaking. You know, twice a month from 11 to one, cuz that's the time that my kids are na. And it's like, you can do it. You just have to choose what it looks like for you.

Matt A.: Yeah. Talk about the sequence of that. Right. Because like, I think for a lot of people, like, okay, that sounds nice, but you're at a different stage of your journey and your life.

Yeah. Would, would you, and could you do it the same way at the beginning or is there a certain level of. You know, I got to hear and I stabilized some of the things that I really needed to have stabilized to then give myself permission to go and do some of these other things. Or is there a different approach [00:23:00] that you would take looking back?

Rachel Adams: I think you have to earn your stripes to a certain degree. Like I think that, like I, I started when I decided I wanted to, to like speak, it was because I was doing, I was door knocking 200 doors a week. I was doing three open houses. I was getting the results and people were like, tell me about that. So I started speaking in person in my local office and then I would go, You know, you would do it with me sometimes and we'd go an hour away or two hours away.

Okay. And then when it got too far, I was like, you, can you fly me out Also, I can't afford the, the plane ticket. Will you pay for it? You know, like, and I, it was okay with me to ask for that because it was like on my way. So I definitely think it's important to earn your stripes and like I, I wouldn't just jump out and be like, Hey, I'm $10,000 to have me come speak.

Yeah, I can say it now, but I would, I didn't say that in the beginning cuz I had to earn my stripes. So I think like, I think there is some process of like learning how to do it. And if you decide you wanna create a coaching course or you wanna build, you can start [00:24:00] where I am now and you can say, these are the times in the days I'm available and offer it to someone.

Yeah, you can do that. You can be smarter. That to me is working smarter, not harder. Whereas before I was just like grabbing at straws and I was like, I'll take anything from anyone. And, and it, it, it looks a little

Matt A.: different now. Yeah. And I think a part of that, right, which I say the same thing I, it's. I, I, I, I can do things differently now because, I'm not in a place where I have to do things anymore.

Yes. When you're in a position where you have to do stuff, like when you and I were, you know, you're siphoning gas from someone's car to make it to a showing, you know, we had to do some of those things in order to get ahead. So I think it's understanding like. What is your baseline threshold of I'm comfortable enough Totally.

To be able to take some risks. Yeah. And to do it a little bit differently where I don't have to do things anymore. I get to do things now. Yes. And once you get to that level, then it starts to become, you know, a lot more fun because now [00:25:00] you're somewhat setting the rules of the game instead of playing the game.

Totally. The way the rules have been set for you.

Rachel Adams: Yeah, and I think too, like you. Like I I, the pressure piece for me, like, I don't know, as like a woman or something, I just felt like I have to like comply and be a certain way and like, this is what is good to do. And you know, and then I'm like, screw that. I have this life that I wanna lead and I, I want to get after it.

Like, I passionately love working. I am so excited to like show up and do what we do and keep creating these courses. And like, I keep getting another idea. The other day I was, Man, people don't know how to like build their company. Right? And I was like, I'm gonna create a course for how to recruit to your office or your brokerage or your, like your team or your brokerage, like your real estate team or your brokerage, right?

Mm-hmm. All these people out there, I'm like, the scripts people are using are just not genuine. Yeah. Like they care too much about themselves and not the other person. And everybody feels that. Everybody feels that so and so, it's like, yeah,

Matt A.: go ahead. Talk a little bit about that, I think, and, and not [00:26:00] just that particular piece, but you said a keyword there that I think has become a big part of why your brand has grown so big and, and, and so far in a, in a short period of time.

Is because you're, you've become very transparent. You become very genuine and authentic with what you're sharing, and I know that's been a journey and an evolution for you over time. Yeah. So like, talk about the importance of that and, and how you approach that and like, Am I sharing too much? Am I being too vulnerable and transparent?

Yeah. Like can that hurt my brand? Has that helped your brand? Like what does that look like for you and your approach? Yeah. And how you do it. Is there strategy behind that? Is that just you? Like what does that look like?

Rachel Adams: I think in the beginning it was just like, throw it out there and see what sticks.

Like I didn't know what I didn't know. Um, I think that with anything you're gonna be successful in, the one thing that's gonna make or break is consistency is how you show up and how often you show up. Yeah. Um, and [00:27:00] when I. Got my divorce. Uh, like I said, I didn't tell anybody that I got a divorce. I just kept working and it ate me up from the inside and I felt so empty and I was doing everything for everyone else.

I was like making sure that everybody else was covered, like my, my business, my clients, my friends, my family, and I had nothing left for me. And, um, So when I decided that I was gonna go on this journey of personal growth, I actually went on social media and made a post and I apologized to everybody. I'm like, Hey, I have to write.

I, this is super vulnerable. I've never really shared this with anybody, but like I have not been honest with you guys. I got a divorce and I've worked so hard to like keep up this image of perfection cause I thought that's what you guys wanted, but it. Not healthy for me. And I have actually had to go into the hospital for like dehydration cuz I was just crush.

I was pushing so hard on all cylinders, but I wasn't taking care of myself. Yeah. And. I was like, I got a divorce and I thought nobody would wanna work with a divorce realtor. And that was how [00:28:00] I felt. And I just, you know, and I, and I told everybody and I apologized. And what I was so worried for was that people would judge me.

But all I received was so much love and grace and acceptance and like people truly want you to live your best life. That's what they want for you. And, um, Then, you know, I, I realized that from that moment forward I was gonna learn how to do social media the right way, and I am self-taught for social. Um, so last year we had, uh, 131 referrals come through social media.

So 131 referrals, and I primarily use Facebook and Instagram, and I have a YouTube channel. Um, and, uh, I have a podcast as well. Um, but that's just literally my YouTube channel with the audio extracted because I'm, I like to repurpose and I'm too lazy to do it twice. There you go. Um, and. You know, it, um, it's, I I definitely have strategies, so I have what I call a social media model, and I actually, it's one of [00:29:00] the courses I have is I kind of coach on it.

Um, so just kind of lightly to, to jump through it a little bit. Like I believe that people work with people they like. And they like you, but they need to know who you are. They need to know what makes you tick. Right? So many people make mistake in business of just talking about their business, and people feel that and they delete 'em, they block 'em, they unfollow 'em because they feel like it's about what they can get.

Yeah. And that and, and that not about what they can give. And so when I decided I was really gonna focus on social media, I remember I had like 17 referrals come in the first year, then 30, then 50, and it continued to grow. And I continue to grow my craft. And the first thing I do when I'm sitting down with someone is I'm like, Who are you?

They're like, I'm a real estate agent, or I'm a attorney, or I'm a, you know, a doctor, whatever. I'm like, okay, what makes you tick? What do you like to do on the weekend? So I have everybody write out five passions, like five pillars of who they are as a person, and only one of them gets to be business. And then the other four, it should be different for each person and then, [00:30:00] You know, I also, I'm proactive on my social.

I like to have my post prepped ahead of time, so people always say like, when's the best time to post? And I will tell you the best time to post is the morning, but not, like if you Google it, it's like six 12 to 7:14 AM like, don't wake up. To post something, what I do is I will actually be proactive. I've got my next like five or six posts ready to go in my phone.

Um, and I have an app that I use called Google Keep, that I really like. Um, and those five passions I told you about, I have 30 hashtag sets for each. One of those five already said in my phone the trending hashtags that people are using the most often on Instagram. Um, And then what I do is when I wake up in the morning and I'm ready for social media, I'll take one of my posts, I'll make.

I'll put my hashtags in. So I always go to Facebook first, keep 'em unlinked from Instagram cuz the algorithm doesn't like it. So I'll go Facebook first, then I go to Instagram. I have put the hashtags on [00:31:00] Instagram, then I pop over, um, to YouTube shorts, I'll put it on YouTube shorts. And then I have someone who will also put it on TikTok for me.

Um, and. So it's the same content just repurposed. Yep. Um, I am very wordy, so I always have to do Facebook first because Instagram limits my characters to 2200. So sometimes I have to take my post, put it in character count, tool, limit it, um, and then put it in Instagram, which is why that's the order I do.

Um, but you know, the thing is like social media can be this like beautiful, empowering thing and it also can absolutely tear you down and make you question like who you are as a person and. The comparison trap. I don't know if it's as bad for like men, but at least for women, like it is rough. You compare your bodies, you compare your mother, your mothering style, you compare your marriage.

Like yeah, you compare your business. And I just remember waking up and look, first thing I do is I grab my phone and I'm scrolling and it's like the mom who just wrote her kid's handmade lunch and you know, like made a little love note and the dad who just got off the [00:32:00] treadmill and some guy who just sold his, you know, hundred thousand, it's March.

And I'm like, oh my God, I just woke up and I'm already behind for the. And it was like, what a crappy way to feel, you know? Yeah. And so I had to be proactive. I had to protect my mindset and protect my emotional health. And so I would make my post, and then I allowed myself time to scroll. Um, and I set a timer around it.

And, you know, I, I have a business page and a personal page, but I will tell you all 131 referrals came to my personal page.

Matt A.: Hmm. All of 'em. And of those referrals, how, how much. Convert into in terms of transactions and, you know, revenue that Yeah. Really came in from your social media

Rachel Adams: presence. So a lot of it is like I get a referral and I'm tagged in like a Facebook group with a bunch of other people.

I do not do the pay and play referrals. I don't pay for referral groups. So I don't have 75 people tagging me saying I'm amazing. I like to earn my referral. So it's actually a fewer number that will tag [00:33:00] me. Um, so I would say, Of those, we probably closed about like 34 deals. Um, and our average price points like, well, and our team, our average average was like 6 72, I think.

So

Matt A.: that's like, so 22 million potentially in home sales. Yeah. And at a two and a half percent commission, you're looking at over a half a million dollars in commission because of your social presence. Yep. And the window you've given people into who you are, what you believe in, what you're up to, what your lifestyle looks like.

Yeah. And, and a very small part of that is not business business, right. It's, it's all about.

Rachel Adams: Yeah, and it's like the, the thing that's cool about that is like, that's just the referral piece. That's not the, all the production we do, right? That's just social media referrals and that's non-paid. Those are none of those, or there's a dollar that goes out to that.

It's just about building those relationships with people and. When I think about lead generating through social [00:34:00] media, I'm not just like, oh, let me just sit back and like, like everyone's post today, I am super proactive about it. So if somebody likes my page, like everyone's gonna comment, right? And I time block for commenting.

I have two times in the day, like I have a, I'm about all, I like to wake up the algorithm, right? So like if I'm, I think of the algorithm like a tool and say that you have Facebook, right? Or Instagram, either platform. If you break down the platform, their goal is to keep you on it as long as they possibly can.

Right? So they're gonna put stuff in front of you to keep you on it, to keep you excited, to keep you into it, right? Yep. Yep. And so, When I want to be in front of other people with my, my content, what I'm doing is I am using all the tools. So you can make a post, you can like something, you can comment, you can do it real, you can go live, you can send a direct message, an audio message.

All of those are tools. They're more tools you'll use at a platform. The more eyes you'll get on your content. So when I make a post in the morning, About an hour after I make the post, I'm going in and I'm commenting and engaging and liking everybody who [00:35:00] connected on my post. I'm connecting with them cause I wanna wake up.

The algorithms like made a post comment, like engage, she's doing it right, give her more eyes. Then an hour before the end of the day, I go back in and I connect with everybody else on the post. When I'm doing lead gen, I actually go to a post that I've made that has like a decent amount of comments and likes.

I've already commented the people cuz that was in my time block time. But my likes is like the missing thing where they're literally people that are like, Hey, I'm right here. I wanna get to know you better. Like I'm right here. And then what I do is I will literally click on their name. I'll see what's happening in their world.

I'll see if they're like daughter, they just got back from a trip to Disneyland. With their family or whatever, and I send 'em a private message. So they like my post. I send them a private message proactively and I'd be like, Hey Maddie. Oh my gosh, I saw you guys just had the best time in Disneyland. So much fun.

What was the highlight for you? And I'm, and notice I didn't say anything about me. Yeah. Right. And then you're like, oh, we had such a good time, Rachel. Right. And say you live in North Carolina, right? And you're go, when I ask about you, what are you gonna.

Matt A.: I'm gonna tell you [00:36:00] everything that's going on, and then I'm gonna ask what's going on with you?

Right?

Rachel Adams: Ask with me, and I wouldn't be like, oh, things are so good, Matt, do you ha wanna buy a house in California or know someone who. That's never how it goes. I go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I get to know you. I build a relationship with you, I connect with you on a personal level. And then when it feels like a natural transition, whether it's the same day, the same week, or sometimes the same month, when it feels natural, I see something to the effect of, you know, Maddie, I've really enjoyed getting to know you on a personal level these last few weeks, which makes me think if we align this well personally, we'd probably align pretty well in business.

I don't have a referral partner in North Carolina. Do you have one in Northern California? And it's like, that's how I have these relationships with agents around the country. And like I, we were, um, with Harrison, so our, our second little guy, um, I ended up, um, hemorrhaging with him and had me put on bedrest for a full month.

And like, you know, me not a good bedrest person. Um, and I remember that [00:37:00] I was sitting in our living room and I told Ryan, I was like, Hey babe, I, I wanna buy, um, a new couch. And he was, Our couch is a year old. Why? And I was like, well, don't you think we need a lighter couch? And he like rolls his eyes cuz he married me and he is like, whatever you need to do, honey.

And so the next morning is a Sunday night. The next morning I had like new bars, new, new bar stools, new rug, new plants, new curtains, new couch, like the whole thing. Easy chair, all of it. And I'm like showing him at breakfast, like waiting for his excitement. And he's like, what are you doing? We have a full living room.

And I was like, don't worry babe, I'm gonna sell it all on Facebook marketplace. And he's. You're crazy. Okay. Yeah. You're crazy. Um, so I start listing everything on Facebook Marketplace and, um, I don't, have you ever used Facebook marketplace before? Mm-hmm. Um, you're lucky you'd hate it. Um, you like put something on for $400 and someone's like, I'll offer you 25 bucks.

Or like they say, they'll, they NoShow just a bunch of whackadoodles. Yeah. Um, and so I got really annoyed with the Facebook marketplace community and I made a rant one night on [00:38:00] Facebook. It had like, it went viral. There was like people from my community, like past clients, like realtors from the community, like all over the place.

And I get a voicemail from my phone rings and I, and I didn't answer it and I got a voicemail from this kid named Joey and he was in Kentucky and he was like, Hey, my name's Joey. Um, I have a referral for Rachel. It's in Rockland, California. It's like 700,000. They just got it appraised, but I just wanna make sure like, are you the couch realtor?

And I'm like, what is this cat talking about? So I call him back and I'm like, Hey, this is Rachel. Like definitely wanna help you. What is a couch realtor? He's like, I don't know. Like in my office, whenever we have a referral, we just like say we need someone. And I was at the team meeting and said I needed a referral.

And this lady stood up and was like, yeah, that Rachel, she's selling her couch on Facebook. And I was like, I got a $700,000 listing cuz I'm talking about my couch. You know? But it's like, that is the power of social media. That's what it can do when you just share your life and you talk about like who you are and what's [00:39:00] going on.

So talk

Matt A.: about that a little bit more in terms of like, we got a little taste of there is a strategy there, there is the method to your madness. Right. And it's not, and it's not a selfish one. It's, it's it's intentional and it's purposeful. Yeah. But in a genuine and authentic way. Right. So then back up and talk about, How are you creating your content?

In terms of planning it out? Yeah. And scheduling it and Yeah, thinking about what you're gonna say because you have a ton of engagement with people, obviously you're giving that engagement after, and you told us about that. How are you getting the engagement? How are you planning these posts out?

Rachel Adams: So one of the things that I, two, so two parts to this.

So one of the things that I do to get the engagement, um, People most, if you're in real estate, right? And you, um, you sell a house, you're like in, in Kelly writes a Zillow testimonial and was like, you're amazing. Thanks for selling my house. You most realtors take a [00:40:00] screenshot of that testimonial and put it on Facebook or Instagram and they're like, I am so good at real estate.

I love what I do post. And it's like cricket. Your mom likes it. Couple of your realtor buddies like it, but it's like that's not gonna help you build your business. I believe in storytelling. I believe in storytelling. So when I, so first and foremost, when I. Share something. I'm a share, I believe with social media, you're doing one of two things.

You're either educating people or you're entertaining. You're either educating or entertaining. I do a balance of both of those things. Um, I'm su I'm like a very self-deprecating person. I think there's a lot of things about me that is fun to make fun of, um, which is why I'll never do math. I've

Matt A.: never made fun of you.

Rachel Adams: Rude and lies. Do you remember when I used to try do an accent when I was talking to somebody and I would like take on their accent? It was horrible. Oh yeah. Yeah.

Matt A.: Horrible. Those are good days though.

Rachel Adams: I mean, we were something. Um, and so when I am on social media, I think like, okay. [00:41:00] I know that I have five different things I talk about.

Right. I talk about real estate, I talk about personal growth, and, um, I'm very passionate about learning to love my body in this postpartum season. Mm-hmm. Because it's not natural for me and I'm struggling with it. So I talk about it to help other people feel that they're not alone. Yeah. Um, marriage and kids.

Right. Um, being an entrepreneur, like all the different parts of me and when I do. Real estate post. I tell the story of the clients. I take a picture of them jumping in front of the house and I talk about our first conversation, our first phone call, and I take 'em on the journey of the clients, them having two jobs and having to do this and that.

And then, and then I celebrate the success with them and please help me. And then one of the things is people don't realize sometimes if you say, comment below, you can get put in Facebook jail for 24 hours because the algorithm knows it's not authentic and genuine and you're just looking for interaction.

I always say, please help me congratulate. Please help me congratulate. It's a loophole. I am asking for the [00:42:00] engagement, I am asking for the engagement. And when social sees a platform with a lot of people engaging, they're just gonna give you more engagement cuz you're using the tools the right way. Yep.

And so I, my language is very intentional. The other thing I am very clear on is like, I call it, um, the Anatomy of a Post. So the goal with social media is to stop the scroll. The goal is to stop the scroll. And so what I will do is I will always put a subject. Literally like as if you're writing an email, I do a subject line about what my post is about.

Um, and they decide if they want to stop and read it or not. So I literally will post it in bold, whatever the subject of the post is. The body of the post is the story. And then I always ask a question at the end. I ask a question because I want people to give me their opinion and engage with me. The whole point of social media is to build relationships and engage.

Yep. People work with people they. And they like you, but they need to know who you are. They need to know what makes you tick. And one other thing you could do before you post. Um, [00:43:00] I call it my rule of five fifty five. Is every, if you're gonna be really intentional and do social at a high level, this is a business model.

You're not just like dittle ding and like seeing what happens, right? Um, is it dittle ding or fiddle fating? I dunno.

Matt A.: Either one. Sounds like a Rachel comment, so we'll just run with both of them. Okay. So you're

Rachel Adams: fing and, um, so when I'm on social, I'm like, okay, I need, I'm gonna make my post. Before I make my post.

I need to wake up the algorithm. So I do the rule of 5 55, every single person on my team and anyone I coach in social, what we do is we make a r a list of 25 names every single month. Every month we're doing 25 names. It could be 25 realtors from around the country. It could be 25 past clients, it could be 25 local business owners.

And then, this is my rule, five minutes before I make a. I comment on five people's post, a comment of five words or more. [00:44:00] So five minutes before I make a post, I comment on five people's post, a comment of five words or more. Now those five people are from my list in my top 25, because reality is with the algorithm, you are super limited on who's seeing your content.

Mm-hmm. And the rule is like, if you're not seeing them, they're not seeing you. We see about seven to 10% of our friends right now, 7% of the people, seven to 10% of the people we're following. We see them, which means you're be working so hard on the social content and doing all these cool things in your life, but if you only engage with the same people, You're only gonna have opportunity for referrals from the same people.

Yeah. So you have to be proactive and get in front of this other group, the people who already like you, who love you, who'd wanna refer business to, but they're simply not seeing your content. So I go in every day before I do my post, I hit my 5 55 from my list to my 25, and then I make my post. Then two hours later I go in and I comment.

End of the day I go in and I comment, and when I'm doing my two hours of lead gen for social, I'm hitting up the

Matt A.: likes. It's brilliant. I mean, from. [00:45:00] When you and I were sitting back, you know, chair to chair, back to back for so many years when we were building the real estate team, I saw how purposeful, intentional, and killer you were at social media.

And I mean, just what you've talked about in today's, you know, short interview, insane, where you've taken this too. And I'm curious like what are you working on next? What are you excited about and what are some of the new strategies or things that you're testing out that you really want to use to continue to expand your.

Rachel Adams: Yeah. Um, so I have, so I have a, well, I, first off I have the coaching crew. So I've got that $29 a month coaching crew where it is a very high level mastermind group. Um, we've got industry leaders coming in to speak. I'm there twice a month, the first and third Wednesday at 11:00 AM um, Pacific time. Um, and I'm given, I mean, we're talking about everything from like how to break into the luxury market to hire your first admin to.

I made this Instagram post and got no trashed and what did I do wrong? You know? Um, then I've [00:46:00] got, um, a social media masterclass that I love called Hello Social, and we do deep dives into social media. So that's kind of like the model, but then also it's, it's an eight week course and that's really fun. Um, and there's q and a too, so you get the group coaching pricing, but you get the one-on-one feel and I will make sure.

That I do, um, a um, I'll call it a Maddie a will be the discount code, but I'll make sure to give a discount code for your listeners if they wanna, um, take advantage of the social media masterclass. Cool. Um, and then the big thing we're working on right now is I, again, I wanna fill the gaps in real estate.

So we are launching. A video, um, part of my company where we are, there's three different videos the realtors can take advantage of. One is areas they serve, so it's gonna be like a really fun, interactive video. I give them the scripts. I know how to convert, so I give them the scripts exactly what they need to say, but give 'em a graphic and stuff.

Another one is, um, reviews and testimonials. Zillow and I mean, Google reviews, Zillow reviews, however you wanna get your reviews. I'm [00:47:00] big on Zillow and Google. Um, I have a script, I have an email template. Every time we have a client close on a home, I give them the script and then there's a video we'll create for them.

And then, um, also intro and outro. So if they wanna do YouTube or anything else, we have, like, they pick a brand kit, they pick their music. So that's one piece. The other one is we're doing, um, which I'm really excited about, is I'm doing reels for people. I spend all my time on Instagram and social Facebook, TikTok, right?

I'm seeing the reels. I know the trending audios. My goal is to help people build both a referral network with agent to agents around the country, but also their client and community. Yep. So I'm literally coming up with the wheel. It's a weekly reel, so they literally can sign up to do a weekly reel with us.

I give them Nice. Yeah. They send in the rough video, we send 'em back the edited reel with captions on it, with trending audio, the exact post, and even their hashtags. Um, and it's, it's gonna freaking kill it. We're really excited. We're, we're, it's gonna be, there's nothing like it on the market, so I'm like super stoked [00:48:00] about it.

And it was one of my ideas I had when I wasn't sleeping. So,

Matt A.: See breastfeeding at 4:00 AM is I tell you what, it's a money maker. It's liquid gold. They call it liquid gold. Liquid gold. So for those that wanna know more about how to engage with the courses, the community just follow you. Where's the best place for them to

Rachel Adams: do that?

Yeah, they can. I'm on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Um, you can find me under Rachel Adams Lee for all those, uh, platforms. And then, um, we'll make sure in the show notes I'll give you guys all the links. Um, but if you go to Level Up Coaching co you can sign up for all of the different coaching courses and offerings that we have.

Um, and I'd love to connect with you. Yeah,

Matt A.: and we'll link up all of that at million of mind cast.com on Rachel's episode. Rachel, I just gotta say, I'm, I'm, I'm not only so proud of you. A killer businesswoman that you are, but to see just how well-rounded your life is with Ryan and the boys, and how much you, you know, dedicate time to your family and your friends.

Like you're [00:49:00] just, you're a hall of fame human. I'm, I'm grateful that we began our journeys together and I'm so excited to see what you continue to do going forward, and we appreciate you coming on The Millionaire Podcast.

Rachel Adams: Thanks, Maddie. Hall of Fame Human. You're gonna make me

Matt A.: cry. Let me, I'll get you a trophy one day.

Okay, dear.

Rachel Adams: Thanks, Maddie.