Ignoring Your Database Cost Her 20 Years. Here Is What Changed with Michele Mamo

Q: How did Michele take a three-week vacation during her best month ever?

A: Michele spent three weeks in Europe with her family and dreaded leaving — she worried about what would happen when she got back and whether she’d be on the phone the whole time on the Seine River. Instead, she checked in one night and her team told her to stop working because they had it handled. She came back to everything running perfectly, a board that had grown to 36, and almost 40 more already pending for the next month — her best month ever. Her point is that the trip only worked because she spent 18 months building the systems and people behind it.

Q: What was going on 18 months ago?

A: When she and Suneet first met, Michele was thinking about quitting. She had one or two agents and was debating whether she even wanted to restart again, because she’d restarted her business several times over the years. She’d always had success despite herself because she could outwork any problem, until her husband finally said no more. She also knew she’d practiced real estate for a long time and never created the systems she needed, which is exactly why she wanted a coaching program that would be hard on her.

Q: What actually changed in 18 months?

A: Two daily habits: recruiting and the database. Suneet pushed her to figure out how many agents she needed to recruit so she could step back from doing as much personal business, and when she tried to veer off course, he wouldn’t let her. She was never a database person, and now she’s obsessed with it — her answer to what changed is that there’s no secret, it’s making the calls and getting into the database consistently every single day. She admits she spent a lot of money over the years on shiny objects when the answer was right in front of her.

Q: How did the Zillow Preferred program force structure?

A: Michele got invited into Zillow Preferred right around the time she was rebuilding, and she didn’t have enough agents to handle it — so she had to quickly recruit and get her act together. The team was religious about the training, and the six agents from that first wave are crushing it 18 months later, with a new wave now learning the same system and starting to put deals on the board. Every single week they talk about the database, and she’s a broken record about it because it works.

Q: What structure did she put in place as the team grew?

A: They run a weekly all-team meeting focused on the database plus a separate weekly leadership meeting. The leadership group split the roster into pods, with each leader responsible for watching out for and helping a handful of agents — her lead agent checks on everybody. Training is now split by level too: higher performers get their own meeting, and newer agents go through what she calls their own little school on an app called Agently, where onboarding trainings get checked off before they move to the next step. One of the gates: agents have to add 100 people to their database and make 100 calls before they can get leads.

Q: What’s her biggest challenge during this growth?

A: Bandwidth. When you grow quickly, the staff gets buried — her transaction coordinator was underwater just this week — and there’s never enough time to get to everything, especially since she’s still in production herself. She’s honest that being in production while running the team is exactly where she always gave up in the past. The operational support she gets now is what’s keeping that from happening again, because she can’t do it all as one team leader.

Q: How did Michele start over in a brand-new market?

A: She moved to Cincinnati around 2009 knowing no one, in the middle of a divorce, right after the crash. Her answer was to drive all over Cincinnati and Kentucky offering $200 consultations to help people decide whether to foreclose or do a short sale — her first deal was a $22,000 short sale. She prospected relentlessly with calls to for-sale-by-owners and expireds, got licensed in both states, and built relationships that made agent referrals her number one source of business. That’s why she has no patience for people who say they don’t want to start over.

Q: What does Michele say to agents who don’t want to pay referral fees?

A: Her blunt answer: fine, then we’ll just take all the leads ourselves. She’s a big advocate for making Zillow a partner rather than an enemy, and she thinks you’re being shortsighted if you see the referral fee as something happening to you. Her comparison: if a lender hands you a lead, you don’t run from it, so why treat Zillow differently — they’re giving you an at-bat, not forcing you to use them, and counting your conversion is fair accountability when someone is investing that much in you.

Q: What’s her secret to being a listing machine?

A: Michele loves listings and treats them like a project — she says they practically flip the house before they sell it, while most agents throw it on the market and hope. She believes new agents should master being a buyer’s agent first, because listing has an art to it: more questions to ask, more to show the client. Her core approach is removing as many objections as possible up front so she knows exactly how to make decisions. A busy executive at a recent closing told her he chose her team because everything was presented in one place and done for him.

Q: What’s her advice for agents and team leaders?

A: For agents: stop overthinking it and get in your database every single day, and make it your mission forever. For team leaders: stop trying to do all the things and focus on structure. Her confession is that she was the least structured person in the world — a good real estate agent but a terrible business owner — and every team leader has to decide which one they want to be. If you’re going to lead a team, become a better business owner or don’t be a team leader.

Michele: [00:00:00] So I decided that I would go all around Cincinnati and Kentucky, and for $200, I would help people decide if they were going to foreclose and be able to do a short sale. And that’s how I decided that I would restart my business.

Michele: So I have no patience for people that say that they don’t wanna start over, because my first deal was, like, a $22,000 short sale from being in DC

Michele: And I was just willing to hustle all the time. 

Suneet: What’s up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Reside Platform Podcast. I got a good one for you today. My friend and incredible team leader and great person, and someone who I love hanging out with and talking to, so I know you will too, Michelle Mamo from the Dwell Well Group at eXp.

Suneet: Michelle, what’s, what, what’s going on? 

Michele: Yay. [00:01:00] I’m so excited. 

Suneet: Good. What are you most excited about? 

Michele: Well, I’m excited that I saw you three times this week, which I had to go to France to, leave for three weeks and then come back so I could see you. That’s what happened. 

Suneet: So let’s, let’s talk about that, because you just came back from a three-week European vacation, and you took your kids, your husband, your son’s fiance.

Suneet: Like, y’all were out there. Listen, how long have you wanted to do a trip like this? 

Michele: Long. I’ve, I’ve wanted to do it a long time, but I could never decide if I could be gone that long. 

Suneet: Yes. Yes. You wanna do it for… I think every real estate professional, scratch that, every professional, period, has that same fear.

Suneet: I know I do. [00:02:00] 

Michele: Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was actually at first thinking, “Oh my gosh, I’m dreading it. I’m dreading it because what’s gonna happen when I get back?” And like, “Am I gonna be able to, you know, not be on the phone the whole time while I’m on the Seine River?” You know, that kind of thing. Just, and it wasn’t like that at all.

Michele: It was amazing. 

Suneet: What did you have to build to give you the confidence to know that, that you could do that? 

Michele: I had to Yeah. I, for the longest time, have not had the right group around me, in order to feel like I could just leave, and they crushed it. they… it… I don’t think I did anything. maybe, like, at the very tail end, right when I was going to the eXp conference, which is why I stayed at the end, when I get back to work, because I chose to.

Suneet: So did work [00:03:00] mean you were checking emails or you were making calls and checking in? 

Michele: I didn’t even… Honestly, I mean, I think there was one night that I decided I would check in, and they’re like, “Why are you working?” Like, “Stop.” Like, “Stop working.” Like, “We’ve got this.” And they did the whole thing. I mean, I came back to everything, absolutely, perfect.

Michele: And honestly, I can- 

Suneet: And you came back to a lot of escrows, right? 

Michele: I did. I ca- it, it was awesome. I mean, I came in on Sunday, ’cause I’m kind of an OCD person about the office, you know? And I’m like, “I gotta have it all organized, and I have the boards, you know, like, all set so that…” They only missed the one thing, right?

Michele: The board. So I like to do the board. So when I did it, I was like, “Oh my gosh.” I’m like, up to, here’s 35. I’m up to 36. Like, this was amazing to just the whole month. So it was, it was awesome. 

Suneet: Is it looking like you’re about to have your best month ever? 

Michele: This month [00:04:00] was incredible. Yeah. And we have already, you know, almost 40 or more for the next month.

Suneet: For next month. 

Michele: Yeah. On our pending board right now. It’s amazing. 

Suneet: Amazing. And you were gone, ’cause you built it. But we’re 

Michele: on. Yeah. 

Suneet: Right? Because 18 months ago, when you and I first met- Oh … you were in a different place. 

Michele: Oh my God. That was the worst. You were so mean. No. 

Suneet: I was a little mean. I’m okay with that.

Suneet: You were. 

Michele: You were actually a lot mean. And you were like, “What are you asking me for?” You know? I, I, I did this because I, I knew that you guys were gonna be really hard on me, and I knew I needed this because I have practiced real estate for so long, and I have literally never created the systems that I needed to create, and I knew that you would kick my butt, and you did.

Suneet: Yeah, and now you’re having your biggest month ever after going on a freaking three-week [00:05:00] trip to Europe. 

Michele: Yeah. And it’s, like, I love it. This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my job, and the day that I talked to you was probably, I was thinking of quitting. 

Suneet: Listen to that So what changed in 18 months? 

Michele: everything.

Michele: Everything has… I had maybe like one or two agents ’cause I was restarting and I was debating on whether I really wanted to restart again, because I’ve done that several times, and I think I had success despite myself just because I could- I felt like I could outwork, always outwork the problem. finally my husband’s like, “No more.

Michele: We’re not doing that anymore. This is stupid.” So I said, “Let’s, let me do this.” And so when I started You said, “How many people do we need to recruit? Like, how many people do we need to talk to in order for you to start to not doing as, as much business? What does that look like?” So we did that [00:06:00] in the very beginning.

Michele: I tried to veer off and you wouldn’t let me. You’re like, “No, like this is what we’re doing.” And honestly, I have never been like a big database person, I’m not gonna lie, and now everybody looks at me like I’m crazy because I’m obsessed with the database, and there’s just no secret. Like, there’s no secret.

Michele: Like, we could talk about a thousand things, but it’s like- … making the calls and just getting in your database, and I, I love it. So those are like the biggest changes is just being consistent every single day with recruiting and with, your database. Just making calls and getting the agents to get used to doing that.

Michele: it’s that simple. 

Suneet: Yeah. So number one, I love that, and it can be that simple because so many people wanna overcomplicate it. 

Michele: And that’s me. Like, “Oh, we can do this, and this, and I can… Here’s the sh- next shiny thing.” I mean, I’ve spent more money in my life [00:07:00] unnecessarily when really this is all it is.

Michele: It’s right in front of you every single day if you just utilize your database. 

Suneet: Yeah. I- That’s so great. So were you guys using a CRM 18 months ago? 

Michele: No. No. 

Suneet: No. And look, in 18 months- Yeah … of using the CRM… what CRM do you use in case nobody is using the same one? 

Michele: I’m using Follow Up Boss- Yeah … which I am obsessed with.

Suneet: Yeah. So what was that learning curve in learning how to get used to it? 

Michele: I mean, it, there was a learning curve, right? it was a lot, for sure. I mean, I had actually, when I had met you, I was move- I’d moved twice. I was, had this new database, this new, coaching company- Yeah … with, you and you were putting it up there.

Michele: So I was losing my mind. But honestly, it’s just been the best [00:08:00] thing that’s ever happened to me is that database. I love my database. 

Suneet: Good. Good, and that’s what it takes, right? 

Michele: Yeah. It, it took a, took a little bit to get used to it, but my gosh, if I can get in there and do it, like anybody can do it. 

Suneet: How has the agent adoption been?

Michele: you know, it took a little bit of time, and you know what’s really interesting that I found is, so I ended up with like, I had a couple of agents, and then we, ended up doing the Zillow Preferred Program. We got invited to do that about that time, and I actually didn’t really have enough people at the moment to do it, so I had to quickly get…

Michele: I had to quickly get some agents. I had to quickly get on hub and get my act together, right? Because I just had to. So we were very religious about the training, and ended up with like six agents, and those six agents honestly are crushing it 18 months later. They are crushing it, and [00:09:00] now we got another wave of people where they’re learning that same way, that same system, and now they’re starting to put deals on the board.

Michele: So you can really see that’s the strategy because we, every single week, we talk about our database religiously. I’m like a broken record, and I say that, to them, and they get it, but it works. And now these, these waves of people are starting to, they’re becoming productive. 

Suneet: You guys, everybody listening and watching, are you listening?

Suneet: if you are, if you’re tuned in, then I know that you’re listening, but, to what Michelle is saying? here is a top producing team leader with her biggest month ever In 2026 with a two-year-old team that she was thinking about burning down. They didn’t use a CRM when they started And now the CRM adoption has gone through the roof.

Suneet: Sure, there’s [00:10:00] challenges, sure there are some adoption type things, but, I think that’s great. I think that’s, that is so great. Let’s talk about what positions you had to put in place to help you do all this. 

Michele: Yeah. honestly, you know, it’s been little by little, you know, we’ve been adding that and, and you’re gonna have those bumps, right?

Michele: ‘Cause, you know, even this week, you know, your, now your transaction coordinator is like buried. We’re like, “Okay. Wow, okay, that’s a lot.” w- we’ve had to put in a couple little systems, systematic changes ’cause we have a leadership meeting also every week. So we have a meeting with the agent team going over just database stuff, and then we have a, a, our little leadership group, and I feel like that’s been such a good, healthy adoption for me.

Michele: Because those guys are just… They are such great leaders. My lead agent, I mean he, like, checks on [00:11:00] everybody, and we kinda separated it out into, like, everybody took, little pods. Like, “Hey, h- these are some agents you can watch out for. Here’s some agents that you can watch out for and help out.” And I feel like that actually has really been a very beneficial thing to our group.

Suneet: Awesome. Good. Good. What do you guys do to get the agents trained? 

Michele: so we’re kind of making a little shift on that now because it, it’s been chaotic, you know. especially when you have… ‘Cause we had the first wave group where we met every week, and now the group’s getting bigger, right? So that becomes more of a challenge.

Michele: So what we’ve done is we’re, we’ve, we have a meeting where everybody is at that meeting each week. But now we have a m- for the, the higher performing agents, we have a separate meeting. And then for the newer agents that are coming on, we have, a, our own little school is what I like to call it. And [00:12:00] we have, adopted an app that we take them through, like, all of the different trainings that need to happen right when they onboard so that that’s clear.

Michele: And then once they complete those trainings, ’cause they just get checked off, then they’re able to move to the next step. Yeah, and part of that is pulling stuff out of the database and making calls and, you have to add 100 people to your database and make 100 calls before you can, you know, get leads and things.

Suneet: Yeah. Is, what’s the app that you’re using that does that? 

Michele: it’s called Agently. 

Suneet: Okay. 

Michele: And you can just put all the trainings and things that you want in there so it kind of becomes your own, teams app and everybody can, you know, follow along. 

Suneet: Okay, awesome. Good. what have been some like What have been like some challenges that you’ve encountered during this period of growth?

Michele: Yeah. the, the biggest challenge is really grow- when you grow [00:13:00] quickly like that, just not having the bandwidth you feel like to get to things. ‘Cause, you know, you’re… There are all these other things that you want to do and you just, your staff is just covered up. They’re buried. That’s a big challenge that, you know, I’m working through right now because, you know, I’m still in production, and when you’re in production and you’re doing all the things, that’s always been where I gave up, and I would’ve given up without having you guys.

Michele: I’m telling you right now, like that’s been a game changer because you guys have, Lauren and Brooke and all these people operationally to like dig in there and help me, because I can’t do that as one team leader. 

Suneet: Totally. 

Michele: That’s just a game changer, period. 

Suneet: Awesome. Awesome. So let’s get us into some of the origin story, ’cause it’s super fascinating.

Suneet: Yeah. So you, when did you get [00:14:00] your license? 

Michele: 2002. 

Suneet: 2002. Well- How was the market in 2002? 

Michele: God. Let’s remember back that far, Sunny. Let’s see. 

Suneet: Yeah. Well- Let me think. It was pretty good. It was the subprime boom, right? 

Michele: It wasn’t too bad. I mean, it didn’t, nothing dropped out until like 2008. Like 2008- Yes … is when it started to fall apart.

Michele: Yeah. And 

Suneet: I- Oh, trust me, I know. When I foreclosed all my houses, lost a couple million bucks. Yeah, I know about 2008. 

Michele: You remember that. That’s when I got really good at short sales and it kept me alive for like 

Suneet: a couple- That’s when I quit being a realtor. That’s when I got out of real estate. but like what got you into real estate?

Suneet: ‘Cause w- had, had you had any kids yet? 

Michele: No. Oh, well, no. Yes, I take that back. I had a three-year-old. Jared was three, so I was actually working for the federal government, and the guy who was my agent, he had start, he was starting a real estate company, and it’s actually the biggest real estate company in Northern Virginia right now, and I was one of the first five agents that he had, and he’s amazing.[00:15:00] 

Suneet: So I didn’t know that. So you were… What’d you do at the, at the Fed? 

Michele: I was, I worked for Treasury. 

Suneet: You worked for Treasury, and then an, somebody that you worked with in the government decided to open up a real estate company. Well, 

Michele: he didn’t work for the government. I was looking for a house, and I ended up buying…

Michele: Well, I bought a for sale by owner. 

Suneet: Oh, he was a realtor. Got it. 

Michele: Yeah. So I bought a FSBO and he was the agent, and he, And I remember these agents calling me before him, and I was so annoyed, and I was like, “Oh my gosh,” like, “I hate these people.” I remember saying- And then when I met him, he was like, “You know what?

Michele: You need to buy that house and I’ll always be here for you.” And look what happened. And so I ended up quitting my job at the federal… No one quits a federal government job. 

Suneet: No. Walk away from that pension and the, and the benefits. That’s a big step. 

Michele: I was a good… I was working grade 14 already. I mean, I was like really like, in [00:16:00] it.

Michele: And they’re like, “No way.” And I said, “You know what? I’m gonna do it.” So I worked two jobs for like six months and went with him, and there was only like five people there. He has 5,000 people now at his, company. 

Suneet: what’s the guy’s name? 

Michele: His name’s Danny Sampson. 

Suneet: Oh, God. He has 5,000 people now?

Suneet: Are you guys still in touch? 

Michele: I, you know, I haven’t seen him in such a long time. I have so many s- levels of gratitude for that man. 

Suneet: Yeah. So that’s awesome. Well, that’s so awesome. You’re one of the first. What… So like, what were those first couple years like? 

Michele: It was so great. It was kind of, you know what, it was like going back to like what I just did with this little group.

Michele: You know, like there was just five of us, and those five people were always top producers, you know, for the longest time. And then, you know, I ended up, I think at the time I, I ended up leaving because, I was… What did, why did I leave? I was trying to create a team and we didn’t really have [00:17:00] that going on, and then I ended up moving to Utah.

Michele: So that’s why I was, you know, kinda left at that point. I moved to Keller Williams and then moved away. 

Suneet: And how long were you at Keller for? 

Michele: I was at Keller Williams a long time. For probably 14 years, I think. 

Suneet: Yeah. And you were a top pr- producer in your office, right? 

Michele: Yeah. Yeah. And, and if I hadn’t moved around so much, like that kind of affected me, so I’ve always been sort of restarting, I swear.

Michele: you know, I left DC and I was really doing well as a solo agent. You know, that was great. And then when I moved out west, I was a productivity coach for a couple years and did that. And then we ended up moving to Cincinnati and 

Michele: didn’t know a single person. So I’m like, Yeah, and I was actually, my life was kind of falling apart too, because I was actually going through a divorce, and had nothing.

Michele: Like, I had nobody. it was like, “What am I gonna do?” And I decided [00:18:00] that I was not gonna move my kids again, ’cause they’d moved already without Wes, and they moved all around. And I had to just get after it. So I was… You know, I’d done really well. The sales prices are really high in DC, you know, Northern Virginia.

Michele: So when I came to Cincinnati, that was in, like, 2009, like, right after the… When everybody’s still in short sale. So I decided that I would go all around Cincinnati and Kentucky, and for $200, I would help people decide if they were going to foreclose and be able to do a short sale. And that’s how I decided that I would learn to restart my business.

Michele: So I have no patience for people that say that they don’t wanna start over, because my first deal was, like, a $22,000 short sale from being in DC

Michele: And I was just willing to hustle all the [00:19:00] time. 

Suneet: So what, what did hustling look like? Did you make a bunch of cold calls? Did you knock on doors? Like, what was happening? 

Michele: Oh, yeah. I did those crazy titanium solution $200 deals. Went all over the town, you know, and didn’t die from it, and then I could’ve gotten shot, but I didn’t.

Michele: And then I, made calls to for sale by owners and expires. 

Suneet: Wow. So you were just prospecting? 

Michele: That’s all I did. And then I would also built the relationships, ’cause we’re in between two states, so I decided to have my license in both states, and I would get referrals because I knew how to do business, right?

Michele: So I would just be… That’s my number one source of business, is agent referral. 

Suneet: Did you have a coach back then helping? 

Michele: So I’ve had… I didn’t have a coach then at that time. No, I didn’t. And then I ha- started getting some coaches, which is when then my life did start to improve [00:20:00] because I, you know, had what I think were some, you know, had some good coaches.

Michele: But I will tell you that I decided that I, when I signed on with you guys, I’m like, “I don’t think I’m coachable.” That was kinda where I was at, because I kept, I would be successful, but never enough to where I felt like the business… You know, I was always just, again, that agent that was overspending and out just would, I could go sell another house just to run the team.

Michele: And I just was over that. It’s because I never set up the systems correctly, and I never worked my day job. 

Suneet: Love that. And look, you did those simple things that you probably heard 1,000 times- Yeah … because you were in the right productivity environment with somebody to hold you accountable- Yeah … whose name is Suneet Agarwal, who can be an asshole.

Suneet: Yeah. But only ’cause he wants the best for the people he cares [00:21:00] about, like you. Yeah. so let me ask you, you got into Zillow Flex, now called Zillow Premier, right? 

Michele: Zillow Preferred. 

Suneet: Zillow Preferred. Yes, okay. My bad. Zillow Pre- What’s Zillow Premier? Is it, is that the old one? Yeah. 

Michele: Zillow 

Suneet: Premier is the old one.

Suneet: I thought that was the old one. Wow, Suneet, catch up. All right. Zillow Pro? Zillow 

Michele: Pro is something else. 

Suneet: Okay. So what’s it called? Zillow Preferred? 

Michele: Zillow Preferred. 

Suneet: Okay, good. Hey, if, if you’re watching this, I swear I know what I’m talking about, okay? But yes. Zillow Preferred. 

Michele: Yes. 

Suneet: And hey, a lot of people- are afraid of spending money on online leads, and a lot of people are afraid of Zillow, and a lot of people hate the referral fees.

Michele: Yeah. 

Suneet: So first question: What’s your overall feeling on online leads? 

Michele: Yeah. So I [00:22:00] was never a fan of online leads because that’s not how I started my business, ever. Even, you know, when I started, it was from open houses. and I did Premiere for years, but I think now of the waste. I mean, I wasted so much money because I wasn’t following up on them, so I obviously didn’t believe in them that much, and how stupid that was because, again, the reason I was happy to get into Preferred is because you pay, yes, a big fee when you close the deal, but once you pay, those, those are yours.

Michele: and the way that I see it is that’s filling the gaps, and between being at Reside and being part of that, that’s what’s been the change. I mean, it’s been the game changer, like just knowing that it’s, systematic. It’s not just, like, waking up and throwing something at a wall, it’s consistency. 

Suneet: Yeah.

Suneet: It’s running it like a business. 

Michele: That’s it, and that’s what agents [00:23:00] don’t do. They- 

Suneet: Yeah. That’s what people don’t do, right? Not just agents. 

Michele: People don’t do it. Yeah. 

Suneet: think about- I didn’t do it … any independent contractor. Yeah. 

Michele: I didn’t 

Suneet: do it. Think about any independent contractor, right? Maybe the phone rings today, maybe it doesn’t.

Michele: Well, because you ask yourself and you’re like, “Well, I’m not coachable and I’m not, you know, I’m never gonna be able to do this. It’s just me.” No, it’s, it’s because you’re choosing to not have a schedule and be consistent. You’re choosing- Totally … to not hold yourself accountable to that and making every excuse for it that’s not yourself.

Michele: Yeah. 

Suneet: Totally. 100%. What do you have to say to people though that say, “I don’t wanna pay a referral fee”? 

Michele: Fine. Then we’ll just go ahead and take all the leads ourselves. 

Suneet: Yeah. More leads for me. Yes. Good. 

Michele: I would kinda… I mean, I just, I tell people that they’re, I feel, I say, “It’s your decision,” but, I’m very a big advocate for Zillow and that kind of [00:24:00] thing because I feel like, make them your partner.

Michele: Make these people your partners because, you know, you’ve got a, you’re growing your business. I think if you’re, you got the… I feel like you’re being shortsighted if you feel like- 100% … that that happens to you. Like, come on. You, you take care of yourself and you know, make your world bigger, then you’re gonna be, you’ll be able to grow in a better way.

Suneet: What do you tell people who feel a way about ZHL? 

Michele: you know, there’s been those times where I, I’m like, “Ugh, I don’t like that.” But, you know, if you look at this with ZHL, like if you have a lender and they give you a lead, are you gonna try to, like, run away and, like, give it to somebody else? No. No. So why are you looking at Zillow like somehow they’re different than your local lender who gave you a lead?

Suneet: Yeah. 

Michele: At least you’re giving them an at bat. They’re not forcing [00:25:00] you to use them. Yes, they count that towards your, your whatever. Everything’s counted, your conversion, all of the things are counted, as it should be in real estate. As 

Suneet: it should be. If someone’s investing so much money in you, you should have some accountability to the process.

Michele: That’s all it is. And so, you know, I feel like, you know, we’re all trying to just make excuses for why we shouldn’t do something instead of embracing it and then just saying, “Hey, I have a lot of gratitude for you. Thank you.” 

Suneet: Yeah. 1000%. what’s your secret to getting lots of listings, Michelle? ‘Cause I know you’re a listing beast.

Michele: I do. I love listings. That’s my- 

Suneet: I know you do … my thing. One of the first things I said to everybody who’s listening to this or watching it, as soon as I saw Michelle, I was all, “Oh, this woman gets some fucking listings,” right? And I was right. I can usually call them out. I go, “Oh, that’s a great listing agent,” and I was right.

Suneet: So there you go. 

Michele: Yeah. I am all about listings. I just get such, I mean, it’s like we [00:26:00] practically flip the house before we sell it. not everybody’s gonna do that. But I think it’s just that people just go to somebody’s house and they just wanna quickly throw it on the market and like, hope it sells.

Michele: And I’m seeing there’s a lot of good listing agents, but there’s a lot of people that, I always say new agents should always be good buyer’s agents before they become listing agents, in my opinion. Totally. Because there’s an art to it. If you’re really gonna be a good listing agent, there’s a lot more questions to ask.

Michele: There’s a lot more things that you can show your clients. And my big thing is, is if I can remove as many objections as possible, then I know how to make decisions. And I think- Yes … most people- I love that … aren’t doing that. They’re just, you know, not thinking it through first. 

Suneet: I think what you also said, and also ’cause I know about you, is it’s a very full service white glove experience.

Suneet: Yeah. And it’s not [00:27:00] what’s the quickest, cheapest way I can get this thing on the market fast? 

Michele: That’s right. 

Suneet: So you guys really take the extra care, and that’s how you build a great referral, a listing business. ‘Cause people say, “Man, Michelle came over here and she did all this stuff.” 

Michele: Well- “

Suneet: It was amazing.

Suneet: And as a result, we got X.” 

Michele: Yeah. It’s interesting. Today, I had a closing and the guy said to me, he’s a really busy, you know, executive, and he said, “I just want everything done for me.” He goes, “And what you presented to me was all in one place. I didn’t have to go do everything, and that was why I chose you guys.”

Michele: and I think that more and more people, like if they see that, he, from everything. He says, “You just had it ready to go, and I didn’t have time to do it, and you just, you did it. That’s how I wanna see things.” And I, I think that says a lot. 

Suneet: What has you most excited for the future? [00:28:00] 

Michele: Gosh, I’m so excited.

Michele: I literally, I, all of it. I think just the idea that I feel like a lot of people are giving up right now, and I’m excited because I think it’s a time that everybody can, like, gain market share right now because it’s hard. Real estate’s not the easiest thing in the world to do. But, like, if you can just embrace consistency, embrace, like, not think about the world.

Michele: So everybody thinks about, like, what’s wrong? The market’s slow. The mar- Don’t think about that. Like, I’m excited because I’m just building systems that can withstand anything that happens in the future. 

Suneet: Yes. Yes. Good. The first of the last three questions. Number one, what advice do you have for real estate agents listening?

Michele: My advice is stop trying to overthink it and just get in your database every single day. 

Suneet: Yeah. 

Michele: And make it your mission. [00:29:00] 

Suneet: Yes. For how long? 

Michele: Forever. 

Suneet: Yes. Great answer. Good. 

Michele: Yeah. 

Suneet: Now, what advice do you have for team leaders listening to this episode? 

Michele: kind of the same thing. I mean, stop trying to do all the things and just focus on structure.

Michele: I was the least structured person in the world, and I was a good real estate agent, but a terrible business owner. 

Suneet: Mm. 

Michele: And you have to decide, which do you wanna be? Do you wanna be a good real estate agent and just do a few deals and be done? That’s fine if you want to. But if you’re a team leader, then become a better business owner or don’t be a team leader.

Suneet: Yes. Love that. Love that. Good. I’m sure everybody listened, listening to this is so impressed by all the knowledge you dropped and how easy you make it sound. 

Michele: Yeah. It’s only 2024. 

Suneet: [00:30:00] Ladies and gentlemen, she, this l- this woman’s a beast. I know people will wanna send you referrals. What markets do you cover so they can send you all their business?

Michele: We are in northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio right now. 

Suneet: Ohio and Kentucky right now. You m- you made it sound like there may be some more places. 

Michele: Yeah. Why not? 

Suneet: Yeah. What’s next? 

Michele: Well, we gotta, make sure that we’re doing a good job in our local market, and 

Suneet: then we’ll see what’s next. All right.

Suneet: She’s, “I’m not dropping it on a podcast, coach.” Not 

Michele: dropping it. Okay. 

Suneet: Now, and I know people will wanna talk to you and maybe learn about your eXp downline, which I know you’re doing great stuff in, too. Yeah. And you’re really supporting people that you help grow over at eXp, which I love for you. How does somebody reach out to you to learn more about you and eXp?

Suneet: Maybe if they’re in Cincinnati, they wanna join your team. 

Michele: All 

Suneet: they need to do is- What’s the best way for them to find you? 

Michele: Tell them to shoot me, [00:31:00] a text, find me on Facebook or Instagram, or I don’t know. Any, you can- 

Suneet: Yeah. Yeah, whatever Yeah, just look up Michelle Mamo, M-A-M-O. She’s probably the only one, huh?

Michele: I, th- there is one more, but not in real estate, so. 

Suneet: Okay, yeah. There is another Suneet Agarwal who is a doctor at Harvard. He does have a mustache and he is Indian, but, he ain’t me, that’s for damn sure. 

Michele: That’s right. 

Suneet: Just- He has more YouTube followers than me, though. Ah. ‘Cause he puts out a bunch of educational videos about, like, brain surgery or some shit, so I don’t know.

Michele: There you go. There you go. But yeah. Good. 

Suneet: Well, well guys- You’re what? 

Michele: I’m always excited to talk to anybody, so call 

Suneet: me. Yes, good caller. You guys, Michelle is absolutely killing it, and that’s the reason I’ve been begging her to be on this podcast for so long. ‘Cause it’s been a long time that I’ve been asking you.

Michele: Yeah, I know. 

Suneet: Yeah, okay, good. But she’s been busy making money, selling houses, taking listings, [00:32:00] right? And going on cool trips. Yes. So the reason I wanted Michelle on here, everybody, is because you’re closer than you think. I remember so many calls with you, Michelle, where, like, you were… had a lot of challenges- Oh, yeah

Suneet: and a lot of doubts. But you stayed the course. You had that grit. That’s what you get from moving around and going through hard things and having to start over, right? You have that grit. Yeah. And now you’re having your best month while just going on a three-week vacation, taking your whole family to Europe.

Suneet: Yeah. So bravo. Bravo, my friend. Thank you. You guys, you can have the same success as her. A great place to start is by going back and listening to a whole bunch of other Reside Platform Podcast episodes with other great leaders like Michelle who have figured it out and are doing the right things, okay?

Suneet: So take that as belief. That’s the inspiration that I needed when I started, right, Michelle? You remember being inspired by somebody? 

Michele: Absolutely. That’s- Yes … [00:33:00] that’s absolutely the truth. 

Suneet: That’s… Yes, right. 

Michele: And you- it’s never too late. Look at me. I was doing this a long time, and now here we are. Yeah. 

Suneet: It’s never too late.

Michele: Feels good to, to, to do that, ’cause, it… You didn’t think you can’t. You just didn’t think you had it in you, and there, there it is. 

Suneet: Yes. Good. All right, guys, I hope you got something out of this episode, this inspirational, get… do hard shit kinda episode. And if you did, click like, sub- share, and click, blah, subscribe, and share with a friend.

Suneet: And we’ll see you on the next episode of the Reside Platform Podcast.