She Sold 140 Homes a Year With No Internet and No Assistants with Lucy Ham

May 27, 2026

Suneet Agarwal sits down with Michelle Terry, a 28-year real estate veteran, broker, and owner of the Michelle Terry Team spanning Massachusetts and Connecticut. Michelle shares her Suneet sits down with Lucy Ham, a real estate powerhouse who has been in the business since 1974. Operating out of Flushing, Michigan — a small town of just 30,000 people — Lucy consistently carries 50 to 60 listings at a time and was once the #2 agent at Prudential nationwide, selling over 140 homes in a single year with no assistants and no internet. Lucy shares how her upbringing on a South Dakota farm instilled an unstoppable work ethic, how adopting Mike Ferry’s scripts instantly boosted her listing conversion by 25%, and how she brought her son Justin — a former geologist — into the business. She also reveals her secret to longevity and avoiding burnout: taking a full week off every month. Whether you’re a solo agent looking to sharpen your discipline or a team leader trying to recruit and retain buyer agents, Lucy’s five decades of wisdom will challenge everything you think you know about building a real estate business.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) – Lucy Ham’s secret to never losing a lead
(00:01:00) – What it’s like running real estate in small-town Michigan
(00:02:00) – How Lucy started selling homes in 1974 with a newborn
(00:04:00) – When buyers couldn’t access any market data
(00:05:30) – Becoming the #2 agent at Prudential nationwide
(00:06:30) – Selling 140 homes a year with zero assistants
(00:08:00) – The farm-kid mindset that built a real estate empire
(00:10:00) – How her geologist son read Rich Dad Poor Dad and changed careers
(00:12:00) – 25 years of Mike Ferry coaching and the script that changed everything
(00:15:00) – How Lucy and Justin split the business without splitting the family
(00:18:00) – The coaching call that led to 12 weeks of vacation per year
(00:20:30) – Team structure: office manager, listing coordinator, and buyer agents
(00:21:00) – The new hiring strategy to recruit 6 buyer agents by December
(00:24:30) – The #1 piece of advice for every real estate agent
(00:27:00) – Advice for team leaders and how to contact Lucy

Links and Resources:

Website
Lucy Ham on Facebook
Team Leader Secrets by Suneet Agarwal

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