Podcasts about Reo

Keith explores how real estate strategies have shifted from the 1980s to today and explains why investors need to adapt deal structures to changing interest rates, lending conditions, and market cycles.  He highlights current opportunities in new construction and builder rate buydowns, along with the long-term benefits of fixed-rate debt.  Keith is joined by economic futurist and author Richard Vague, who challenges conventional beliefs about inflation and interest rates and explains how government intervention, war, and supply constraints shape asset prices and leverage decisions. Together, they provide a big-picture framework for understanding how today's macro environment affects real estate investing decisions. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/621 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  FAMILY to 66866  Join Mid South Home Buyers' one-time, free live webinar featuring Keith Weinhold on September 30 at GetRichEducation.com/MidSouth to learn how Memphis' economic expansion could create new real estate investment opportunities, and have your questions answered in real time. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com  Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. Learn how dramatically real estate has changed from the 1980s through the late 2020s. We'll be sure that your approach is changing with it. Then a great guest and I discuss how war and future calamities will affect mortgage rates, inflation, and your real estate today on Get Rich Education. What if I told you that one of America's strongest cash flow real estate markets is also becoming the new brains and brawn behind AI? That city is Memphis, believe it or not. In September 30th, we're going to show you why the smart money is paying attention now, along with an investing opportunity you won't want to miss. Join me, Terry Kerr and Matthew Van Horn of Mid South Home Buyers, the largest turnkey company in Memphis with more than 6,000 homes under management, for a free live webinar, the likes of which I've never done before. We're going to look at what billions in new investment could mean for jobs, housing demand, neighborhood appreciation, and your portfolio. Everyone who attends live will also get exclusive access to the best deal terms Mid South has ever offered. Reserve your free seat at getricheducation.com/midsouth. Again, that September 30th. Don't say we didn't tell you. Save your spot at getricheducation.com/midsouth.   Speaker 1  1:35   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is Get Rich Education.   Keith Weinhold  1:51   Welcome to GRE from Cambridge, England, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and across 188 world nations. I'm Keith Weinhold. You're inside Get Rich Education. You could be doing anything with your time. I'm grateful that you choose to listen to me every week. You know, real estate investors sometimes say, "Ah, there aren't any deals anymore. What they usually mean is the deal structure that they learned five years ago stopped working. There are always opportunities in real estate, but your approach changes with interest rates, lending standards, inventory, construction, government policy, and just the overall economic cycle. The best investors don't wait for yesterday's market to return. That's like someone still hoping for Blockbuster Video Store to reopen. They identify what today's market is offering instead. Just consider this historic retrospective on real estate investing from the Reagan administration to today, in 1981, the 30-year mortgage rate peaked above 18.6%. I mean, just imagine proudly telling your friends that you locked in at 17% before rates went higher. That mortgage needed its own defibrillator. By 1984, rates were still near 16%. The strategy then, the approach, was for a buyer to assume the existing owner's lower rate mortgage that they locked in a few years earlier, perhaps in the late 70s, that's how you got a good deal, assuming that existing owners lower-rate mortgage. You can't do that so easily today.   Keith Weinhold  3:50   By the late 80s and early 90s, the opportunity shifted from assuming attractive debt to buying distressed properties. The S and L crisis was upon us. Savings and loan failed lenders found themselves holding piles of distressed real estate, so investors bought foreclosures and REOs at discounts. They improved neglected buildings and then they repositioned them for income. You probably know that REO stands for real estate owned on a bank's balance sheet. All REO means is bank-owned property, but that's what you did. You found those, and then you scooped up a deal that way. As the 1990s progressed, interest rates declined, and loans also became really easy to obtain. We were tilting into the loosey-goosey easy lending environment. In the 90s, it was popular to buy an undervalued property, renovate it, raise the rent, and refinance it based on the improved value. That process later got a buzzy acronym and became known as the Burr strategy: buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. By 2005, financing got more creative. This is when I was a new real estate investor. I remember obtaining what were known as 8015 five combo loans. This meant an 80% first mortgage, 15% second mortgage, and 5% down payment. You remember those? If you've been around for a while, you do. And see, this way you could avoid paying PMI, and you could control property with an astounding 20 to one leverage ratio due to that 5% down payment, but soon enough lending just got absolutely too creative and easy. The quiet lending party turned into a boisterous kegger, delivering the 2008 financial. crisis, and pretty soon I could no longer get any loans. From 2009 through the early 2010s, you could buy foreclosures and short sales at enormous discounts if you could find the loan.   Keith Weinhold  6:20   Financing was tough, but prices were super low. It might have even made sense to pay cash at that time. Fear was everywhere right after the global financial crisis. I mean, it really took courage to act when others were hiding under the bed. By 2020 and 2021, the opportunity changed from cheap property to cheap money. Mortgage rates dropped below an absurd 3% as a result of the COVID pandemic. You could lock up extraordinarily cheap debt for less than the inflation rate, and then let inflation nibble away at it like Pac-Man. Of course, a lot of us are still benefiting from that today, but that opportunity is long gone now. But it doesn't mean that deals are gone today. Where's the opportunity? One of the best ones is often found in new construction, large build. have got to keep moving their inventory as they build these homes because they have got to keep their crews busy. An unsold house for a builder-I mean-that produces as much income as an unplugged Bitcoin miner. Rather than make conspicuous price reductions, builders use their financial muscle to buy down mortgage rates for you, often in the 5% range or even lower.   Keith Weinhold  7:52   Builders might also offer you closing cost assistance, upgraded finishes, or other incentives that a single resale seller just can't match. So from the Reagan administration to today, over 45 years, the winning strategy just keeps morphing. It started out back then as assume the loan, over to buy distress, then to renovate and refi, then it was a creative financing wave, and then cheap debt, and today take the builders buy down. That's where we are. The mistake is deciding in advance what a deal is supposed to look like. The best deal structure changes, and of course, it's going to change again. The investor who keeps fighting the last war is always going to conclude that the opportunity has disappeared, but it hasn't. It's just changed clothing. Still, though, today's new purchases now-they're not as good as the deals that they were five years ago, but the best investors keep investing. They keep adding to their portfolio. It's what they've always done. Absolutely zero winning investors that are successful over time look back and say things like, "I didn't add anything to my portfolio during that 10-year span for this or that reason, the market changes, and you've got to adapt with it. That's a way to think about it. Take solace in knowing a few things. Deal structure changes over time are inevitable. And larger picture, you are investing in a product that is sustainable residential real estate in the form of long-term rentals. These entry-level properties are a scarce asset that people are going to continue to need. I mean, that's what we do here. Just compare. To the fads that we avoid around here, like NFTs, metaverse real estate, which we discussed on the show a few years ago, but said is highly dangerous, eye buying, value add apartment syndications, SPACs, or how about ICO funded altcoins? We don't chase the latest hot thing here at GRE. It is about what's sustainable, necessary, and cannot be easily disrupted by AI, and that's one reason that Get Rich Education is still standing strong after 52 episodes every year for almost 12 years now. Shortly, we're going to bring in a rather esteemed guest today on the future direction of interest rates and inflation. Interestingly, he believes that raising interest rates does not cool inflation, and that's contrary to popular belief. I'm going to press him on this and ask why, but first, our new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh. He's only been on the job a few months now.   Keith Weinhold  11:07   He is gaining a reputation for not forecasting what they're going to do ahead of time, like his predecessor had. I guess I tend to like his disposition and the way that he communicates, I sense some pragmatism with Warsh, but gosh, it often seems that a new Fed chair gets off to a well liked start, and then they do something that lots of people criticize. Like, remember in 2004, late Fed Chair Alan Greenspan suggested more borrowers could benefit from adjustable rate mortgages shortly before rates rose and ARM resets became financial landmines. In 2007, Ben Bernanke said that subprime mortgage problems were likely to be contained. Oh, right after that, they helped trigger the global financial crisis, and more recently, the Jerome Powell gaffe, which I'll mention in the interview shortly. Here's what current Fed Chair Warsh says about inflation:   Kevin Warsh  12:14   For some households, businesses, and market professionals, five years of high inflation have left a mistaken impression, that's hard to shake, that the Fed's implicit inflation target was somehow above 2% Let me reiterate, there is no soft inflation target. There is no soft implicit target, not on this committee's watch. There's only a target, and it's 2%   Keith Weinhold  12:42   It's obvious that he is serious about getting inflation back down to 2% That tends to point toward interest rate increases. Let's discuss that and more with this week's brilliant guest. This week's guest is an economic futurist keynote speaker, and he's quite a popular author. He is chair of the board of the Public School Employees Retirement System. That's the largest public pension fund in Pennsylvania. Previously, the Pennsylvania governor appointed him as the secretary of banking and securities for the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he's also the founder and president of several various organizations today, and he serves on several boards, including at the University of Pennsylvania and the School District of Philadelphia. I mean, I hardly know how he has time to do it all, but he made time for us today. Hey, it's great to welcome back Richard Vague.   Richard Vague  13:45   It's such an honor to be with you. I certainly enjoyed our last session, and it's really wonderful to be back.   Keith Weinhold  13:51   Well, and so much has changed since you were last here, Richard. First, why don't we pull back and talk to us about the general state of the national economy today, as you see it.   Richard Vague  14:04   ou know the economy was rocking along okay, and you know since you guys are such experts in real estate, I'll tell you one of the most important statistics, in my opinion, is the number of unsold homes, and by all rights, that number should be about 2 million homes. It's only about a million and a half. So there's a deficiency in our housing stock in the United States, which is, yeah, I think good news for the housing industry. It's always good to have a reason to have to grow. You may recall that in 2007, that had gotten up to four millinomes, which was a catastrophe, as we all know. So, it's the economic statistic I looked at first and most closely, and that was, you know, an okay number, and a lot of the things were going along. You know, not fabulous, but not terrible. Things were kind of moving. And all of a sudden now we have the war in Iran, and that's creating all sorts of problems for us, which you know I think you guys are concerned about. So I generally think the economy's been good, but there's a lot of dark clouds on the horizon.   Keith Weinhold  15:15   You know, Richard, I was recently sharing something remarkable with our audience. To your point, just since 2020, consider all the calamities that we've had: COVID, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, tariffs, and the Iran War. Just since 2020, what's the result of all that? Both stocks and residential real estate are near all time highs.   Richard Vague  15:42   Yeah, well, you know, one of the things that's true is that this is something I go to in great detail in my book Paradox. But the more debt there is, the higher asset prices go.   Keith Weinhold  15:53   Yeah.   Richard Vague  15:54   You know, in the case of housing, that broadly helps middle America. In the case of the stock market, the top 10% of the country owns 87% of the stocks, so that tends to go to the wealthiest instead of to the broad population. But yeah, those two things are at highs.   Keith Weinhold  16:12   You're touching on your well-received 2023 book, The Paradox of Debt, and you know, Richard, amidst all these calamities and all this potentially unprecedented level of government intervention that we've had-you know-it makes one wonder during the next crisis, which is inevitably going to happen, will the government just step in and provide relief again? And how would that look?   Richard Vague  16:38   You know, I think that's one lesson that government has learned indelibly. Way back in 1929, in the couple of years that followed, the government did not step in, and we saw what happened. And I think there's a generation of economists that understand the role of government in a calamity, and you know it's pretty simple. You know the government comes in and crops up financial institutions as they did in 2008, simply by providing the liquidity or buying the bad assets, or the government steps in with relief checks as they did in such a massive way in 2020. But the government has learned that at least to some degree, it needs to intervene. I can't imagine that ever not being true.   Keith Weinhold  17:26   Goshmright when you think about 2020s stimulus and how emergency lending facilities were set up, you had the payment protection program, stimulus checks, mortgage loan forbearance. It's just like this government won't let the asset holders fail.   Richard Vague  17:46   Well, yeah, you know, there's failure, and then there's something that's hurtful but not quite failure. You know, I can imagine that the government will be able to prevent, in some circumstances, certain asset prices going down some amount, it's actually fairly commonplace for stocks to go down 10 or 20% I can see real estate prices going down as they have in the commercial office space. Yeah, but yes, the government will step in when those things become extreme to prevent a true calamity.   Keith Weinhold  18:19   Of course, one consequence of the interventionism is elevated inflation. I know how you've talked before about how the level of inflation is higher than most people think. For example, you'll see today's CPI numbers in the mid threes. Talk to us some more about why inflation is higher than most people think.   Richard Vague  18:41   Well, I have studied inflation, you know, fairly diligently, and inflation really relates to the constriction of supply. And if you look over the 250-year history of the United States, we haven't had that many episodes of bad inflation, and they've always related to a constriction of supply. Most of them have occurred during a war when, for obvious reasons, you know, supplies are constricted. The big 1970s episode of inflation was because OPEC, which had so much more power back in those days, acted to you know punish the United States by constricting supplies, and the price of a barrel of oil went from $4 to $40 a barrel. Yeah, between 73 and 79. COVID was another instance where inflation related to constriction of supply. That was you know people couldn't go to the meat factory to cut meat. People couldn't go to the factories to build things, so all of a sudden our supplies were decimated, and we had a short burst of very painful inflation. Well, now we've got the straight of four moves, and that is impacting the price of oil. I think it's going to impact the price of oil more going forward because. Because we've been able to rely on reserves, both the U.S. has been able to rely on reserves, and China has been able to rely on even greater reserves. And you know we haven't seen the brunt of that, but unless something's resolved pretty quickly, I think in the fall and winter we're going to see even more problematic prices there. But we know agricultural prices and even the flow of commodities like wheat are constricted by the constraints in the Strait of Hormuz and, frankly, other waterways as well. Now, one of the things the numbers that you see reported tend to underreport inflation because it looks at a year-over-year number and doesn't really capture it if it's moved up more sharply in the last month or two. So we look at it on a month-by-month. We you know we break it down about as to as many parts as you can break it down into. But PPI, which is kind of a leading indicator on the eventual CPI PPI's producer price index, it was 4.7% this last month. That would suggest to you that things which are in the mid threes now, which is more higher than we want, you know, probably trending over. Maybe not next month, but you know, over the next three to six months, I'm not going to be surprised if the number's more in the four to five range. So, yeah, I think inflation's being somewhat underreported at the moment.    Keith Weinhold  21:29   The PPI being that harbinger of consumer prices, often four to six months down the road. And Richard, the last time you were here, when it comes to checking and controlling inflation, you said something so interesting. You said that higher rates, which is typically the response in order to try to quell inflation, higher rates actually do not lower inflation, and you did not get a chance to expand on that because we ran out of time. Tell us more about why higher rates do not reduce inflation.   Richard Vague  22:05   Well, I'm going to answer that a couple of ways. One of them is higher rates don't open the Strait of Hormuz.   Keith Weinhold  22:12   Right.   Richard Vague  22:13   You can put rates as high as you want, and it's not going to open the Strait of Hormuz.    Keith Weinhold  22:16   Chairman Warsch doesn't open the Strait. Yes, he doesn't get oil produce nothing.   Richard Vague  22:20   Strait of Hormuz.   Keith Weinhold  22:21   Yeah.   Richard Vague  22:21   And so we can do all we want to on raids, which is a very blunt instrument, and it's not going to address the supply constraints that are geopolitical and war related. So, if you want to curb inflation right now, there's two things to do. One of them's you know end the war with Iran, and the other is to kind of back off a lot of these tariffs that have become so problematic. I think there's a place for tariffs. I think there's certain things China's doing that you know a call for an appropriate level of tariffs. I'm not sure we should be big tariffs on Canada and some of these other places, which have the effect of increasing the cost of our farm equipment and cars and other things like that. So, if you really want to address inflation and address the things that truly underlie inflation, and if the second way I'd answer this is to say, go look at the debt, track the data from you know 1945 or 50. You know, we really look at the post World War II period as the place we really learn things from, and over that period, increased government spending has been accompanied by reduced interest rates and reduced inflation. So, reduced interest rates and reduced inflation have gone hand in hand, and rising interest rates and rising inflation have gone hand in hand, and it's a really easy thing to look at. We've got the data on our site, but there's only been three periods where you've had big shifts in government spending and rates. They're pretty easy to look at, and there's actually empirically an inverse relationship between rising interest rates and it's the opposite of what economists tell you.   Keith Weinhold  24:09   I think, in general, economists tell us that when inflation is high, you raise interest rates because consumer spending is about 70% of the economy, and those higher rates therefore incentivize people to be savers because they're getting paid a higher yield, keeping those dollars out of the economy, and they're less incentivized to be borrowers and expand the economy that way. I think in general that's why economists say that higher interest rates reduce inflation. Do you agree with that?   Speaker 2  24:40   Well, no, I don't, and the reason I don't is because when you look at the data, that doesn't happen. These are easy things to check, and what I would say to you is that rising interest rates increase costs, and you guys know that better than anybody in the world.   Keith Weinhold  24:56   With mortgages. Yeah.   Richard Vague  24:58   What do rising interest rates do to? Cost of your mortgage.   Keith Weinhold  25:02   Everything increased substantially.    Richard Vague  25:03   It has system prices at the grocery store. Well, the grocery stores have to pay our interest for their inventory. So the more intuitive and obvious thing is that rising interest rates increase prices. And by the way, if you and I were to go look at the data right now, which I look at almost daily, that we would see periods of rising interest rates correlate to periods of rising increased costs.   Keith Weinhold  25:29   Well, I'm glad you look at history because I often say here at Get Rich Education, if you want to know what's going to happen in the future, it's easy to have a hunch, but it's more important to look at history. Can you talk to us some more about how, over the long term, higher interest rates don't suppress inflation? If that's what you're saying,   Richard Vague  25:47   yeah. The greatest rise in inflation, you know, in my lifetime was the late 1970s.   Keith Weinhold  25:55   Yeah,   Richard Vague  25:56   and for the entire time that interest rates were going up, prices and inflation were going up, and it wasn't until interest rates started coming down that inflation started coming down. So we could look at any number of periods, and if you're going to argue the opposite, you need to go find me some data.   Keith Weinhold  26:15   Okay. Well, speaking in more modern times, in the last wave of inflation that we had, the CPI peaked at 9.1% in June of 2022. This is the whole famous Jerome Powell: inflation is only transitory. Oh shoot, no, it's not. I better hike rates. He did, and then inflation came down. Is it as simple as that cause in effect, or did something else make inflation come down post COVID.   Richard Vague  26:42   Inflation came down, and it came all the way down in July of 2022. It didn't come down gradually over six, 912, 18 months. You go look at the length monthly inflation. Inflation came all the way down in July of 2022, and stay has stayed down all the intervening period until very recently with the Iran War. July of 2022 was before there was a dramatic increase in interest rates.   Keith Weinhold  27:18   Right,   Speaker 1  27:19   that's simple.   Keith Weinhold  27:21   What caused inflation to come down? Then is it because supply began to arrive on the market again?   Richard Vague  27:27   People went back to work, started building things again.   Keith Weinhold  27:30   Producing.   Richard Vague  27:32   And the problem was folks had not been able to go to the factories and make things, and so we had a you know global supply deficit. Well, the nice thing about that is that you know money incends people to scramble back to work, make things again, and you know once they start doing that, and the Fed actually produces something they call the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index. You can get it on the Fed site. If you look at it, it's supposed to be kind of at zero, and anytime supply chains are disrupted, it shoots up. And any you know, any time the opposite happens, you know there's overcapacity. It goes down, and you can see exactly when supply chains repair is happening. So go look at the. It's called the GSCPI. It's on the Fed side. You'll see that global supply chains had largely started to be dramatically repaired in the spring and summer of 2022, and naturally, supply and demand works. All of a sudden, supply starts showing up, and prices go to hell.   Keith Weinhold  28:39   We're talking with economic futurist author and Pennsylvania's governor-appointed former secretary of banking and securities Richard Vague, more when we come back on the affliction of inflation, what this means for real estate investors, and more. This is Get Rich Education. I'm your host Keith Weinhold. What if you got your mortgage loans the same place I get mine. You sure can at Ridge Lending Group NMLS 42056. They provided GRE listeners with more loans than anyone because Ridge specializes in investment property. They'll help you build a long-term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequal and even chat directly with President Caeli Ridge. While it's on your mind, start at ridgelendinggroup.com. That's ridgelendinggroup.com.   Keith Weinhold  29:29   Let me ask you something: If you've worked hard to build wealth, is your money positioned to actually support your goals? A lot of accredited investors leave capital sitting in cash because it feels safe, but inflation and missed income opportunities can quietly erode its value. Freedom Family Investments offers freedom notes for investors seeking structured income backed by real estate. It's a straightforward approach built on real assets, not speculation. In full disclosure, I'm an investor myself. What I like is that their team walks you through how it all works, so you can decide if it aligns with your portfolio and income goals. Every investment carries risk, and nothing is guaranteed. But with a track record of consistent, on-time investor payouts, they built real credibility. Go to freedomfamilyinvestments.com to book a clarity call or text family to 66866. That's family to 66866.    Dolph Derues  30:31   This is the king of commercial real estate, Dolph Derues. Listen to Get Rich Education with Keith Weinhold and don't quit your daydream.   Keith Weinhold  30:45   Welcome back to Get Rich Education. We're talking with Richard Vague. Richard is the founder and president of so many organizations today. He's the author of several popular economic books. He chairs the board of the Public School employees retirement system. That's the largest public pension fund in Pennsylvania. He's in a lot of places at once, seemingly. Richard, we're talking about inflation before the break. What is the right inflation rate?   Richard Vague  31:16   Well, like I said, inflation. If you look at the entire 250-year span of the United States has it been an affliction that has affected us that often? It is political kryptonite. So when it does happen, it steers our consciousness, and it you know certainly affects your industry. But you know, if we look historically, the Fed targets 2% It's not a bad thing to target. We never really have achieved that level for any length of period. I think if you look at it over the past several decades and take out the high inflation periods, it probably has averaged closer to three. So I don't think two to 3% is an inappropriate level, and I kind of suspect it'll be a level that typifies our future once we get past, if and when we get past this more.   Keith Weinhold  32:09   Yes, not long ago, I was looking at the history of the CPI or the CPI's equivalent, and over the last 100 years, the rate is about 3.2% and we haven't hit that government-mandated 2% target, which is stated right on the Fed's website. We haven't hit that for any month in about five years now, and this asset inflation, as we know, this disproportionately enriches existing asset owners, and it widens this inequality. Something that's more recently been known as the K-shaped economy, can you talk to us some more about this exacerbating wealth inequality?   Richard Vague  32:48   Well, you hit the nail on the head. Something on the order of 80% of all the net wealth held by Americans is in the form of two things: stock and real estate. If you want to talk about wealth, it's those two things, and those two things, probably 60 or 70% of all of those in the U.S. are held by the top 10% I think it's a single-digit number of those that are held by the bottom 50% So you know, if inflation and debt growth push asset prices up over time. It is a mathematical inevitability that the rich get richer faster than those in the middle and at the bottom, and that simply means inequality will increase through time. I believe that's structural. Unless you address that in very some very specific way it will continue.   Keith Weinhold  33:43   Inflation affects real estate investors more than it does the average person because we borrow these big pools of money often at 75 to 80% loan to value, and in a sense, although we know it's bad for general society, and we do think about the K-shaped economy. Of course, inflation benefits us because it debases our debt. But even if you're not a real estate investor, even if you just own your own home, you know, Richard, I really think it begs the question: Is a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage one of the best forms of debt ever created for ordinary Americans?   Richard Vague  34:22   The 30-year mortgage, which was created, you know, that started on that path in the 1930 s for the very reasons we all know and love, which is getting Americans to own their own home, and has been, you know, a game changer for the country, and truly one of the great things that's been done, and I hope it's something that we continue to defend and preserve.   Keith Weinhold  34:46   Well, that brings up leverage and the prudent use of leverage. As real estate investors, we have this benefit of getting all these 30-year fixed-rate loans without the threat of a. Margin call being made. We're not borrowing over in the stock market. When you sign your loan documents, it doesn't say that the bank can call your note due at any time, but one could take it too far. And when it comes to debt, I think that really begs the question: Where does intelligent leverage end, and then dangerous leverage begin. What's the border?   Richard Vague  35:25   Well, you guys are experts, and I'm not. But the very simple premise is starts with not overpaying for the property to begin with. It is not an exact science, but generally speaking, I think we can tell when prices are relatively high in a given market and or a given year and relatively low, and you you'd always want to kind of be at least in the middle or somewhat on the low end before you acquire a property. So that's step number one, and then step number two is really just giving yourself a buffer, you know. We saw in the global financial crisis that real estate loans were being made in some cases at 100% of value. Yeah, and frankly, we saw at least some episodes within that folks borrowing over 100% of value, and certainly they were very happy when that happened. But we know there's zero margin for error when you do that, and perhaps even a negative margin for error when you do that. So I would think, you know, you guys know better than me, but you know, I hate to borrow it much more than like 90% of value, maybe 95% if it's a smaller asset and you have a government guarantee, and if you can do it at lower leverage, you know, 70 or 80% of value, that's not a bad thing to consider. I tend to think in the real estate world that you know I've seen many investors, particularly in the commercial space, buy things with lower leverage, 50 or 75% But then, as the asset proves itself, they work with their lender to increase the debt-to-value ratio, you know, and get more money at it over time as it becomes an increasingly proven asset. So they migrate their way from 75% to 95% over time. I think that's a logical path.   Keith Weinhold  37:20   That acronym Ninja Loans, which were popular from about 2000 to 2007, that acronym Ninja means no income, no job or assets, and you might still get a loan of 110% of the value of the property. It was profligately irresponsible. Well, Richard, in a moment, I want to ask if you have a resource that our audience can follow along with you if they would like to do so. But before I do that, do you have any last thing that you would like to talk about? Maybe something that I did not ask you, whether it has to do with the general economy or real estate or interest rates or inflations. Is there something else that we should know?   Richard Vague  38:00   What I would do is just endorse your podcast.   Keith Weinhold  38:04   Thanks.   Richard Vague  38:05   You're approaching this in a very intelligent way, and you're very empirical, and I think your listeners are doing themselves a service by continuing to follow what you do. That's a really reasonable, secure, and yet bold path towards creating wealth, then I think you're to be commended.   Keith Weinhold  38:27   Oh, I appreciate the endorsement. I'm always blown away at our following, but you have some resources worth following as well. Tell us about that.   Richard Vague  38:36   Well, we do. We have a weekly video ourselves that it's about a five-minute video, and you can go to our website, which is tycos.com. So t y c h o s.com, and you know we have data on the site. If you're a real geek, you could go in and you can look at our macroeconomic data. You know, but if you're not, you can sign up for the video, and we come out with what we hope is a short but relevant video once a week talking on some aspect of the economy, and you know we'd love to have folks join that if they're interested.   Keith Weinhold  39:10   Well, it's valuable. I suggest you, the listener, check that out. Richard oftentimes turns conventional economics on his head, just like he did with us today, talking about how if there's higher interest rates, that does not necessarily mean lower inflation. Richard, it's been valuable as always. It's been great having you back on the show.   Richard Vague  39:30   It's an honor to be with you. Keep up the great work.   Keith Weinhold  39:38   In this remote interview, I got a beautiful look over Richard's shoulders there on the screen at Center City, Philadelphia, in the ornate buildings there. I will be in that part of the nation again shortly. Big thanks to Richard Vague. If you're looking him up, it is spelled V-A-G-U-E. We've got a. A lot of terrific content coming up on the show over the next few weeks, including fresh takes on building your wealth that you've never heard before. Until next week, I'm your host Keith Weinhold. Don't quit your daydream.   Speaker 3  40:18   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal, or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of Get Rich Education LLC exclusively.    Keith Weinhold  40:46   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building. getricheducation.com  

What if you started buying real estate in 2008 - right in the middle of the housing crash - at just 18 years old? In this episode of The A Game Podcast: Real Estate Investing For Entrepreneurs, Nick Lamagna sits down with Tyler Casey, founder of Pro X Property Management, TMC Construction, and Iron Harbor Capital Partners, to break down how he built a vertically integrated real estate empire managing over 2,100 units across multiple states. Tyler shares how he went from flipping cheap bank-owned foreclosures ("Oreos") in small-town Kansas to running a full-service property management, construction, and capital investment business - and why he's now franchising the exact systems that took him from a broke college kid to a multi-state operator. But before the scale came the grind. Tyler opens up about learning construction on the fly, recruiting friends to teach him what he didn't know, protecting his net worth before ever taking a bigger swing, and why most people - self-managers and professionals alike - get property management completely wrong. In this episode, you'll learn: ✅ How Tyler bought his first rental at 18 and scaled to 175+ units before most investors even get started ✅ The real story behind "Oreo" (bank REO) properties and negotiating seller-friendly bank financing ✅ How he was doing BRRRR deals before the term even existed ✅ Why most property management fails - and what actually separates good operators from bad ones ✅ His transition from single-family renovations to new construction and multifamily development ✅ How and why he's franchising his property management business model Connect with Tyler: Tyler Casey on Instagram Tyler Casey on Facebook Tyler Casey on YouTube Tyler Casey on LinkedIn Tyler Casey on TikTok Connect with Pro X Property Management: www.proxproperty.com Pro X Property Management on Instagram Pro X Property Management on Facebook Pro X Property Management on YouTube Pro X Property Management on LinkedIn Pro X Property Management on Twitter OWN A PRO X FRANCHISE Connect with Pro X Realty: www.proxrealestate.com/ Pro X Realty on Instagram Pro X Realty on Facebook Connect with Iron Harbor Capital Partners: www.ironharborfund.com/ Connect with The Ideas & Capital Show with Tyler Casey: The Ideas & Capital Show with Tyler Casey on Apple Podcasts The Ideas & Capital Show with Tyler Casey on Spotify --- Connect with Nick Lamagna www.nicknicknick.com Podcast@NickNickNick.com Connect on ALL Social Media and Podcast Platforms Here FREE Checklist on how to bring more value to your buyers

Is a luxury beachfront property with massive rental income always a slam-dunk deal for a note investor? Welcome back to another episode of 50 Note Deals in 50 Days!In today's episode, real estate investor Scott Carson takes you down to sunny Galveston, Texas, to analyze a high-end, waterfront short-term rental (STR) facing foreclosure. Featured on a popular wedding show on Netflix and operating as a premier event venue and Airbnb, this three-story coastal property boasts incredible ocean views and high-ticket revenue potential. However, behind the beautiful listing photos lies a 20-month default, a listing price disconnect, and a hedge fund seller eager to offload the paper off their balance sheet.Scott walks step-by-step through the numbers, comparing property values against the debt balance, evaluating foreclosure mechanics in Texas, and revealing why lenders often prefer selling the note over acquiring an REO asset on the water.Key Topics Covered:Property Overview & High-End Asset Profiling: Examining a three-story, waterfront short-term rental and luxury wedding venue featured on Netflix.The Default Timeline: Unpacking a 20-month payment default and analyzing why the borrower listed the home for sale during the foreclosure process.Sourcing Hedge Fund Tapes: How this asset was identified out of an 86-note tape direct from a institutional seller (and 1 of only 5 Texas assets in the pool).Valuation vs. Debt Exposure: Comparing current active listing prices, comparative market analysis (CMA) data, and the actual underlying mortgage debt.Foreclosure vs. REO Risk: Why lenders prefer to sell non-performing paper to note investors rather than taking back coastal real estate and managing property operations.Texas Foreclosure Advantage: Leveraging Texas' fast non-judicial foreclosure timeline to take control of defaulted assets quickly.Bidding & Exit Strategies: Determining maximum bid thresholds, workout opportunities with existing operators, and foreclosure execution plans.Whether you're looking to acquire paper on coastal real estate or just want to see how pros evaluate complex non-performing notes, this episode provides actionable due diligence strategies you can use in your own portfolio!If you want to submit an offer, partner on deals, or have questions about distressed paper, book a call directly at talkwithscottcarson.com or email Scott at scott@weclosenotes.com. Ready to master note investing? Join our upcoming Virtual Note Buying Workshop by registering at notebuyingfordummies.com!Watch the Original Video of this Episode HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

Is every real estate deal a home run, or do some turn out to be too skinny to touch? Welcome back to another episode of 50 Note Deals in 50 Days!In today's episode, real estate investor Scott Carson breaks down a full case study on a high-equity convertible reverse mortgage in Tyler, Texas. Sitting on nearly a third of an acre with a solid structure and clean interior photos, this property looks great at first glance. But as every experienced note investor knows, beautiful curbside appeal doesn't always guarantee a profitable debt deal. Scott pulls back the curtain on his exact due diligence process, walking through property valuations, legal balance payoffs, rehab estimates, and calculated bid strategies to determine whether this asset yields a winning return or is better off left on the table.Whether you are looking to acquire non-performing paper, navigate foreclosure auctions, or manage real estate owned (REO) conversions, this breakdown offers an honest, numbers-first look at evaluating risk, calculating ROI across multiple scenarios, and knowing when to walk away from a deal that is just too tight.Key Topics Covered:Property Overview & Visual Inspection: Analyzing Google Street View history, roof conditions, and BPO interior photos for a 3 bed, 2 bath, 2,511 sq. ft. single-family home in Tyler, Texas.Property Valuation vs. Debt Balance: Comparing a $331,000 Zillow estimate and a $345,000 BPO valuation against an updated legal payoff balance of $316,000.The Bidding Strategy: Why offering 80% of the legal balance ($250,000) protects capital and sets a floor for potential hedge fund counteroffers.Scenario A: Foreclosure Auction & Credit Bidding: Calculating 90-day returns if the property sells to a third party or yields a full credit bid payoff.Scenario B: The REO Breakdown: Factoring in a $25,000 cosmetic rehab budget (paint, wallpaper removal, updated appliances) alongside 10% closing costs to project net margins.ROI & Margin Risk: Why an 8% gross return (16% annualized) over six months leaves too little room for error if market values drop or timeline delays occur.Essential Due Diligence Steps: Conducting live property walkthroughs, reviewing collateral files, pulling title reports, verifying attorney foreclosure timelines, and pulling local comps.Knowing when to pass on a deal is just as crucial as knowing when to buy. Take these insights, apply them to your own pipeline, and stop overpaying for skinny deals!If you want to partner on deals or need help evaluating your paper, book a call directly at talkwithscottcarson.com or email Scott at scott@weclosenotes.com. Ready to take your strategy to the next level? Join the upcoming Virtual Note Buying for Dummies Workshop on August 29th & 30th at notebuyingfordummies.com!Watch the Original VIDEO HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

What it takes to go from your first deal to a lasting development career Getting started in real estate development can feel overwhelming, especially when you're trying to figure out who to hire, where to find deals, and which lenders will actually take a meeting with you. In this episode, Keith, Monty, and Alice share what it really takes to build a strong foundation as a new developer. They cover how to put together the right team, where to find properties (from bank REO to sales brokers to good old fashioned drive bys), and what lenders like CDFIs and community banks are looking for. Plus, they break down the financial metrics you need to know, like DSC, LTV, and amortization, so you can walk into any conversation with confidence. Have questions after listening? Reach out, we're happy to help.

From rebuilding after the REO era to leading 220 agents, George Laughton breaks down how he scaled a Phoenix-based team to $1B in annual volume. Learn the hiring frameworks, decision filters, and timing that turned opportunity into durable market share. In this episode: The reset: from REO team to George, his wife, one agent, and one assistant—then scaling to 220 agents $1B/year, 1,800–2,000 transactions, and gaining share despite a contracting market When to start a team—and when not to (operator vs. visionary vs. top producer) First hires, role clarity, and setting outcomes for 90 days/6 months/1 year Hiring to strategy vs. getting swept up by "magnetic" candidates Moving fast for undeniable talent and when opportunity forces scale (Zillow Offers) Internet lead gen at scale and training that unlocks agent capacity Footprint: five Phoenix offices, Tucson, small NV/Denver presence, Texas on deck; 98% of deals in AZ   Links & resources: George's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/georgelaughton/ Zillow Premier Agent: https://www.zillow.com/premier-agent/ Realtor.com: https://www.realtor.com/ Ojo (OJO Home): https://ojo.com/ Follow Up Boss: https://www.followupboss.com/ Fireflies.ai: https://fireflies.ai/ HouseWhisper: https://www.housewhisper.ai/ The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game The 4 Disciplines of Execution: https://www.franklincovey.com/books/the-4-disciplines-of-execution/  

'27 Ram, Fox AG Wagon, REO cheap truck, Diesel Pardons, Quick Hits, plus the latest recalls. The Truck Show Podcast is brought to you in partnership with AMSOIL, Kershaw Knives, and OVR Mag. Don't forget to check out truckshowpodcast.com for special offers from our friends and sponsors.

Guns Up, real estate investors! In this episode of The Note Closers Show, Scott Carson heads up to Lubbock, Texas, to analyze a unique non-performing first-lien note case study. This occupied 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home features significant recent exterior rehab (new roof, windows, and paint), 33% equity, and a surprisingly low $158/month principal and interest payment that has gone unpaid for nearly two years! Scott walks through the exact due diligence, valuation metrics, and multiple exit strategies—showing you how to navigate low interest rates, foreclosure options, and REO sales to target returns ranging from 25% to over 67%!Detailed Episode HighlightsProperty & Location: 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,881 sq. ft. single-family home (built in 1950) on a 7,900 sq. ft. lot in Lubbock, Texas. Loan Details & Peculiarities: Non-performing first lien with an estimated legal balance of $85,600 and a 3.25% interest rate. The original 2005 loan was $40,000, resulting in an unusually low $158.39/month payment. Property Condition & Transition: Recent Zillow imagery reveals major exterior upgrades (new roof, single-tone paint, new windows) compared to older bank BPOs from 2022 ($88K value). Current Zestimate sits conservatively at $129,000. Occupancy & Title Research: Tax rolls and deed records show the property was transferred from the original borrower to his daughter, who currently occupies the home. Exit Strategy #1 (Reinstatement Risk): Why requiring full reinstatement (36 months of payments in year 1) is mandatory—and why a low $158/month payment yields an unappealing 2.77% long-term return without foreclosure pressure. Exit Strategy #2 (Foreclosure Auction): Bidding at 80% of legal balance ($68,500) offers a $17,000 gross profit if sold at auction (~25% annualized ROI or 100% simple return on a 90-day timeline). Exit Strategy #3 (REO Retain & Retail Sale): Foreclosing and taking the property back to sell at $122,000 net proceeds yields a potential $41,300 profit (67%+ ROI). Key Risk Factors: Managing bankruptcy risks, unknown interior conditions, and evaluating servicing notes/right-party contacts. The Next StepReady to evaluate non-performing notes, execute proper due diligence, and structure winning bids? Reach out to Scott directly to submit offers, discuss strategy, or partner up on upcoming deals!

Send us Fan MailHe went from a foreclosed first home to negotiating $20M-plus deals in the Las Vegas luxury real estate market and he didn't get there by pretending it was easy. We sit down with Kamron, founder and CEO of Luxury Estates International (LEI), to unpack the setbacks that forced him to rebuild twice, the habits that kept him in the game, and the moments that reshaped his entire career trajectory. We get specific about what actually works when the market turns: how he moved from open houses and early struggle into the REO and bank-owned property wave, what it felt like to scale fast, and why losing that business exposed the risks of relying on one income stream. Kamron shares the money lessons most high earners learn too late, including taxes, saving, and why passive income matters if you want to survive real estate cycles without burning out. Then we shift into the world of high-end clients and multimillion-dollar listings. Kamron explains why luxury is not just a price point, it is language and credibility: understanding architects, materials, finishes, and smart home technology so you can speak with confidence in rooms full of accomplished people. We also talk about the Las Vegas luxury boom, feeder markets like California and Seattle, iconic communities like The Ridges and Summit Club, and why he built LEI as an independent boutique brokerage with a long-term vision for a trusted international network. If you care about entrepreneurship, sales, luxury branding, or the Las Vegas housing market, hit play and take notes. Subscribe, share this with a friend chasing a bigger vision, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway.

Welcome back, note investors! Scott Carson, "The Note Guy," is diving into a high-potential case study straight out of the hot Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex! In this breakdown, Scott walks through a vacant reverse mortgage (HECM) deal located in Grand Prairie, Texas. With an unpaid legal balance sitting far below the market value, this deal offers multiple exit strategies—whether you are looking for a quick 90-day foreclosure flip or taking it back as an REO for a massive profit margin. If you've been curious about how to analyze real estate debt, structure winning bids, and generate annualized returns ranging from 40% to over 80%, this episode is packed with numbers, strategy, and actionable steps! Key Highlights & Deal BreakdownProperty Overview: A 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 1,505 sq. ft. home built in 1969, sitting in the Grand Prairie (DFW) area. Loan Details: High Equity Convertible Mortgage (HECM / Reverse Mortgage) where the original borrower has passed away, leaving the home vacant. Valuation & Balance: Property value sits around $263,000 against a $176,000 total legal balance owed on the loan. Strategy #1 (Quick Foreclosure Flip): Bidding at 80%–90% of the legal balance allows investors to target a $18K to $35K gross profit directly at the 90-day foreclosure auction. Strategy #2 (REO Takeback & Rehab): Foreclosing, spending ~$30K in cosmetic interior cleanup/renovations, and reselling on the retail market yields a projected $49,000 net profit (a 52% annualized ROI). Due Diligence Steps: How to review interior photos/BPOs, double-check legal heirship notices, pull title work, and work alongside foreclosure attorneys. Episode ConclusionOpportunities like this Grand Prairie reverse mortgage showcase the true power of being the bank. Whether you have capital ready to deploy or want to partner on high-yield real estate notes, now is the time to take action! Got $150K to $200K ready to invest, or interested in submitting an offer on this specific deal? Contact Scott directly at scott@weclosenotes.com or schedule a strategy call at talkwithscottcarson.com!

In 2018, historian Paul Moon published a book arguing that te reo Māori is on course to disappear as a living language, and that almost everything being done to revive it is failing. The reaction was immediate and hostile.Moon's position is that he is a friend of the language, and that a good friend does not offer false comfort. He argues that compulsory language teaching has failed in Wales, Ireland, Luxembourg and Singapore, that fluency figures are self-reported and unverifiable, that no indigenous second language anywhere has been successfully revived, and that te reo risks surviving only in ceremony, the way Latin and Old Slavonic did.Dane Giraud pushes back throughout: on Israel's revival of Hebrew, on the punishment of Māori children for speaking their language at school, and on whether hostility towards non-Māori learners is part of the problem.Moon's conclusions are disputed by many te reo scholars and revitalisation practitioners. We publish the conversation because an argument about the survival of a language is worth testing in the open.CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:40 The book, and the reaction to it02:15 Why he wrote it03:10 Kōhanga Reo, and the smell of an oily rag05:20 Do the politicians actually mean it?07:45 Does compulsion work? Wales, Ireland, Luxembourg10:50 How languages pass between generations13:00 Language as an ecosystem14:00 No indigenous second language has ever been revived14:50 213,000 speakers, so where do you hear it?16:20 The trouble with self-reported fluency17:25 The risk of becoming a ceremonial language19:00 Israel, Hebrew, and why it does not transfer21:00 The 1820s, when most Pākehā spoke te reo21:50 Solutions, and why there is no magic pill25:05 Should non-Māori learn te reo?27:00 The pronunciation argument29:20 English: muscular, arrogant, invasive34:00 Was te reo beaten out of schoolchildren?35:55 TikTok, and the content problem37:55 The burning maraeABOUT FREE TO SPEAKFree to Speak is the official podcast of the New Zealand Free Speech Union: uncensored conversations on free speech, civil liberties, and the people defending them. Hosted by Dane Giraud.SUPPORT THE WORKJoin: https://www.fsu.nz/joinDonate: https://www.fsu.nz/donateNewsletter: https://www.fsu.nz/subscribeFOLLOW THE FREE SPEECH UNION NZWebsite: https://www.fsu.nzX: https://x.com/NZFreeSpeechFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/freespeechunionInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/freespeechunionnzTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnzGot feedback or a guest suggestion? podcast@fsu.nzSupport the showhttps://www.fsu.nz/https://x.com/NZFreeSpeechhttps://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

In today's episode, we sat chatted with Zach De Bernardi of REO: a new car company that's hoping to bring super affordable and highly modular gas trucks to the market.Host: Jason TorchinskySpecial Guest: Zach De BernardiProducer: Griffin RileyMusic: ArtlistRead more of our thoughts at our website:https://www.theautopian.com/And follow us on all your favorite social media pages!Instagram: / theautopianYouTube: / @theautopianTikTok: / the_autopianFacebook: / theautopianX: https://x.com/the_autopianBuy your Autopian merch here:https://galpinautosports.myshopify.com/collections/the-autopianHave any story ideas? Email them to tips@theautopian.com

Are you ready to stop chasing traditional real estate flips and start dominating the high-yield world of paper investing? In this episode of The Note Closers Show, Scott Carson breaks down a highly lucrative, real-world case study on a vacant, non-performing reverse mortgage (HECM) located in the booming market of Waco, Texas—home of Baylor University! This unique asset has been on the radar for nearly a year, and Scott shares exclusive details after personally driving the neighborhood and walking the exterior of this red-brick family home. When an elderly reverse mortgage borrower passes away, the family often walks away, leaving a property packed with hidden equity and a fast-track path to profitability for savvy note buyers. Scott pulls back the curtain on the asset's internal BPO, dissecting the interior condition, the layout of the property, and the exact foreclosure timeline in the state of Texas. You will learn how to analyze the legal balance against real-world comps, manage a cosmetic "lipstick on a pig" clean-out budget, and protect your capital from market devaluations. Whether your goal is a quick 90-day foreclosure auction exit that yields a staggering 40% to 80% annualized ROI, or taking the asset back as an REO to capture a $39,000 net profit, this episode delivers the exact step-by-step numbers you need to replicate this strategy. Scott also maps out the critical due diligence items every investor must verify, from pulling fresh title reports to utilizing a realtor walk-through before pulling the trigger. Tune in to discover how short-term distressed note plays can secure major double-digit returns for your self-directed IRA or passive investment portfolio! Key Topics Covered in This Episode:Understanding HECM Investing: What happens when a reverse mortgage borrower passes away, and how investors can capitalize on the resulting distressed debt. Waco Market Dynamics: A deep dive into a 3-bed, 2-bath brick property located right around the corner from the highly rated Waco Midway community. Dissecting the Case Study Numbers: Breaking down the $148,000 legal balance against a Zillow fair market value of $214,000. The 80% vs. 90% Par Bidding Strategy: How offering different price points on the legal balance changes your annualized yields and downside protection. Foreclosure Auction Exit: The mechanics of Texas's rapid 90-day foreclosure timeline and how an auction payoff generates immediate cash velocity. The REO & Rehab Blueprint: Budgeting for an interior clean-out, appliances, and paint while projecting a $225,000 retail exit strategy. Essential Due Diligence Checklist: How to leverage lockbox codes, review internal BPOs, identify potential title liens, and calculate true days on market. Don't let your investment capital sit idle. Tap into the power of high-equity distressed paper today! Watch the full episode to see the video walk-through, and grab your tickets for our upcoming 2-Day Virtual Note Buying Workshop at NoteBuyingForDummies.com!Watch the Original VIDEO HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

Ever wanted to pull a six-figure profit out of a property without ever swinging a hammer, dealing with a tenant, or managing a single contractor? Welcome to the lucrative world of Texas reverse mortgage note investing. In this episode of 50 Note Deals in 50 Days, host Scott Carson breaks down a fascinating, real-time case study on a Texas reverse mortgage (HECM) foreclosure deal currently sitting on his desk. Scott walks you step-by-step through a non-performing loan on a vacant, highly equity-rich property in Wichita Falls, Texas. You will learn how buying the debt—instead of the physical real estate—allows you to structure a deal that can yield a massive 80% annualized ROI in a fast foreclosure state like Texas, or convert into an REO with a potential $113,000+ net profit. Whether you want to invest your own capital or learn how to leverage OPM (Other People's Money) using Self-Directed IRAs for infinite returns, this episode lays out the exact underwriting, numbers, and exit strategies you need to know.

⚡ Flipping the Lender: How to Arbitrage Non-Performing Hard Money Notes for 42%+ Quick PaydaysWelcome back to the 50 Note Deals in 50 Days case study series! In this episode, Scott Carson—"The Note Guy"—uncovers an extraordinary, under-the-radar sector of the distressed debt market: buying non-performing hard money loans directly from institutional portfolios at massive discounts. When a fund broker dropped a list of 29 nationwide hard money defaults on his desk, Scott immediately hopped in his car to personally audit an incredible investment opportunity sitting right in the West Side of San Antonio, Texas. If you are a real estate investor who wants to learn how to transition from a traditional fix-and-flipper to an institutional "Lien Lord," this breakdown reveals the exact blueprint to intercepting foreclosure files. Discover the exact math behind snapping up a $150,500 legal unpaid balance for just $105,000, and how you can manipulate DSCR cash-out refinancing guidelines to print tax-free private wealth without ever lifting a hammer! Let's get into the data.

This was a Scripting Fridays session of the Agent Power Huddle led by Ed Lane, who presented a deep dive on the Moving Concierge Program as a tool for converting seller leads. Ed explained how the program offers sellers three options for selling their homes: cash offer, as-is on the market, or as-repaired on the market, and shared scripts and tools for presenting this approach to clients. He emphasized the importance of demonstrating a 40% return on investment (ROI) before proceeding with repairs and using a side-by-side comparison tool to help clients visualize the different scenarios. During the Q&A portion, Alyson shared success using Ed's whatwouldedsay.com chat tool to help a difficult client situation involving an emotional seller in Oregon who was planning to raise his price by $100,000 monthly despite poor showings, and discussed her growing REO business with positive feedback from contractors.

Show Notes: On this episode legendary writer and show creator talks about being the first white guy on stage at the Apollo, getting a show about alcoholics cancelled because the network president was an alcoholic, the pleasure of writing a first draft, and driving way too fast, and how music drives his writings and the time he was oddly alone with Bruce Springsteen and told him a dirty joke. Bio: on Reo has always been quick with a quip, from the time he got his first laugh sometime back in junior high school to the jokes he wrote for traveling comedians, through the half century he spent “pushing the limits” of sitcoms to the book he is currently negotiating with Random House—The Tibetan Joke Book of the Dead.  “It's about Hollywood and death which are probably synonyms,” said Reo, the recipient of WGAW's Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement to be presented at the 2026 Writers Guild Awards. “I think you're born with a funny gene, or maybe it's the way you're raised. Nobody else in my family was particularly funny, but I got a laugh in the seventh grade, and I thought, ‘Maybe I can do this. This is nice because it stops people from hitting you.' I read that Woody Allen was making $500 a week writing jokes, and I thought, ‘Well, fuck, I can do that!'” And he did, effectively launching a career that has spanned seven decades, earning writing credits on series such as Sanford and Son, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, M*A*S*H, and Rhoda and creating or co-creating Blossom, My Wife and Kids, The John Larroquette Show, and The Ranch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Valerio Varesi"E' sangue di noi tutti"Neri Pozza Editorewww.neripozza.itReggio Emilia, 7 luglio 1960. Nella piazza dei Teatri sono arrivati a decine di migliaia, richiamati dal Pci e dal sindacato per protestare contro l'imminente Congresso del Movimento sociale italiano a Genova, città medaglia d'oro della Resistenza. Sono ex partigiani, operai, ragazzi, le magliette a strisce per riconoscersi, i cartelli stretti in pugno, sulle labbra le canzoni della Resistenza e gli slogan gridati contro il governo Tambroni, eletto proprio grazie ai voti dell'Msi. Sono tantissimi, il loro entusiasmo fa paura. I poliziotti della Celere arrivano in piazza per sgomberarla, spegnere le proteste sul nascere, tacitare le voci sempre più forti. Arrivano con licenza di sparare. Sparano. In quarantacinque minuti di mattanza muoiono in cinque: Lauro Farioli, Ovidio Franchi, Emilio Reverberi, Marino Serri e Afro Tondelli, ragazzi, padri di famiglia, tutti ugualmente attoniti di fronte alla polizia che apre il fuoco su gente disarmata. Questa giornata di sangue, tuttavia, non arriva dal nulla: le sue radici affondano nei quarant'anni che l'hanno preceduta, nelle traiettorie singole plasmate da forze storiche opposte. Come quella di Afro Tondelli che, di origini contadine, cresce testimone della brutalità squadrista ed entra nella Resistenza; e quella dell'uomo senza nome che preme il grilletto – uno fra i tanti educati dal fascismo alla violenza politica – di cui l'autore immagina origini, percorsi e ragioni. In pagine vivide e adamantine, Valerio Varesi narra così queste due vite unite da un tragico giorno d'estate. È il romanzo di una strage, emblema della frattura mai ricomposta di un Paese senza memoria.Ci si genuflette per pregare, per rendere omaggio a una divinità, a un santo o a una donna. Ma il poliziotto si è genuflesso per uccidere. A volte i gesti capovolgono il loro senso. E con essi anche quello della Storia, che inverte la marcia e rigurgita il passato.«Valerio Varesi sottrae all'oblio storie passate che meritano di essere ricordate per affrontare il nostro presente». AvvenireValerio Vares, giornalista e scrittore italiano (1959). Laureatosi in Filosofia, ha iniziato la sua carriera giornalistica nel 1985, collaborando come corrispondente di vari quotidiani, tra cui La Stampa, la Gazzetta di Parma e la Repubblica. Autore di romanzi gialli, ha esordito nella letteratura nel 1998 con Ultime notizie di una fuga, in cui compare per la prima volta la figura del commissario Soneri, protagonista di altri polizieschi di V., ai quali è stata ispirata una serie di sceneggiati televisivi dal titolo Nebbie e delitti. Tra gli altri libri con il commissario Soneri protagonista si ricordano: Il Fiume delle nebbie (2003), L'Affittacamere (2004), Le Ombre di Montelupo (2005), A mani vuote (2006), Oro, incenso e polvere (2007), La casa del comandante (2008), Il commissario Soneri e la mano di dio (2009), Il commissario Soneri e la strategia della lucertola (2014), Il commissario Soneri e la legge del Corano (2017), La paura nell'anima (2018), Reo confesso (2021) e Vuoti di memoria (2024). Nel 2002 ha vinto il  Premio Fedeli con il romanzo Il cineclub del mistero. Tra gli altri romanzi: Le Imperfezioni (2007), Il paese di Saimir (2009), Lo stato di ebbrezza (2015), Un marito (2018) e L'ora buca (2020). Per Giallo Mondadori ha pubblicato Vuoti di memoria (2024) e Lago Santo (2025).Diventa un supporter di questo podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/il-posto-delle-parole--1487855/support.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/

What does the new threat look like for inherited properties right now? In this episode of the Real Estate Excellence Podcast, Tracy Hayes sits down with Tammy Legette. Tammy is a Charlotte based real estate broker, inherited property specialist, author, and founder of Inherited Property Navigator. In this episode, she shares how her own family experiences with probate, foreclosure risk, heir disputes, and deed fraud shaped her mission to educate families and real estate professionals before inherited property becomes a crisis. Tammy explains why inherited property is not the same as a normal real estate transaction. She breaks down the importance of opening an estate, identifying rightful heirs, securing proper authority to sell, checking deeds, understanding family dynamics, and protecting generational wealth before grief, confusion, or fraud takes control. Listen to the full episode, share it with a family member or real estate professional who handles inherited property, and subscribe to the Real Estate Excellence Podcast for more conversations that protect clients and strengthen the industry.   HighlightsTop of FormBottom of Form 00:00 - 16:52 Inherited property begins with grief and responsibility Tammy's path from moving company owner to real estate broker Early real estate marketing and client building REO work and mortgage industry experience Her mother's passing and the 15 inherited homes Why inherited property is not a normal real estate listing 16:52 - 30:46 Estate planning before the family crisis Tammy turns her personal experience into public education Families learn why an estate must be opened Legal heirs and administrators create early confusion Wills, trusts, and planning protect generational wealth Legal costs can drain the value of inherited property 30:46 - 47:05 The fraudulent deed that exposed the system The story behind From Death to Disposition Her grandfather's estate reveals a false affidavit A deed appears after death with impossible signatures The property is nearly sold without rightful heirs included Tammy begins fighting for deed fraud prevention 47:05 - 55:19 Family myths that destroy inherited wealth Why property does not automatically transfer after death Living in the home does not guarantee ownership Siblings need clear conversations before grief arrives Administrators carry serious legal responsibility Families need a plan before conflict takes over 55:19 - 01:03:05 What agents must verify before the deal Buyer agents should ask for estate authority documents Listing agents must confirm who can legally sell Title problems can appear late and stop the closing New deeds should be compared with prior deeds AI makes deed fraud harder to detect 01:03:05 - 01:16:44 Protecting homeowners from title fraud Paid off homes can become easier fraud targets Mortgaged homes can still be vulnerable Families should regularly check property records Agents need better probate and fraud awareness Tammy shares how education can protect family wealth   Quotes: "Inherited property is a different, totally different animal." – Tammy Legette "Selling homes, that is the end product. The beginning product is the grief." – Tammy Legette "One small disagreement can destroy your whole estate." – Tammy Legette "All it takes is a pen and someone willing to go and record a document that says they own your home." – Tammy Legette   To contact Tammy Legette, learn more about her business, and make her a part of your network, make sure to follow her Website, X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.   Connect with Tammy Legette! Website: https://inheritedpropertynavigator.com X: https://x.com/tammyblegette Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammy_legette/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammybarbourlegette/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/tammylegette LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammylegette/   Connect with me! Website: toprealtorjacksonville.com   Website: toprealtorstaugustine.com    SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW as we discuss real estate excellence with the best of the best.   #RealEstateExcellence #TracyHayes #RealEstateExcellence #TammyLegette #InheritedProperty #InheritedPropertyNavigator #ProbateRealEstate #EstatePlanning #DeedFraud #TitleFraud #GenerationalWealth #RealEstateAgents #RealtorEducation #RealEstatePodcast #FamilyProperty #HeirProperty #ProbateSpecialist #EstateAdministration #RealEstateTraining #PropertyRights #TitleSearch #HomeownerProtection

Master the new Microsoft Marketplace ecosystem. Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ Discover the tectonic shifts happening within the Microsoft ecosystem as Cyril Belikoff and Jon Yoo dive deep into the unification of the Microsoft Marketplace and the explosive rise of AI-driven commerce. This comprehensive discussion explores how the marketplace is transitioning from an incubation island to the mainland of Microsoft’s go-to-market strategy, allowing partners to tap into massive Azure consumption commitments. Learn how product-led growth, AI agents, and optimized digital flows are replacing traditional sales motions, making cloud marketplaces the default engine for scaling revenue in 2026 and beyond. https://youtu.be/cAeSIEXbnNo Key Takeaways Microsoft unified its various marketplaces into a single digital flywheel for customers to discover, try, and buy applications. Applications, such as Copilot certified agents, are contextually surfaced directly within Microsoft products to meet users in their flow of work. Customers are making massive Azure commitments, and purchasing full software stacks through the marketplace retires those commitments entirely. Cloud marketplaces have evolved from a secondary channel into the default go-to-market engine with triple-digit revenue growth. Partners must shift from deal-led transactions to product-led growth by optimizing their digital marketplace listings for AI and search engines. The future of software procurement will increasingly involve AI agents acting on behalf of organizations to seamlessly integrate multiple smaller applications. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags: Microsoft Marketplace, Azure commitments, AI agents, Frontier transformation, M365 Copilot, Foundry, digital flywheel, co-selling, product-led growth, ecosystem shift, SaaS distribution, REO, resale enabled offer, listing optimization, search engine optimization, agentic commerce, cloud go-to-market, revenue recognition, multi-party private offers, Hyperscalers Transcript: Cyril Belikoff and Jon Yoo Audio Podcast [00:00:00] Cyril Belikoff: Why do you have to outsource this or create this vi? Just edit the video right there yourself. Like why do you have to just go do the, as a marketer you want to create a beautiful piece of content, just go and create it. ’cause it can create it for you. Now [00:00:13] Jon Yoo: you can feel it happening. The ecosystem is shifting beneath us, the way Hyperscalers are partnering. [00:00:19] Jon Yoo: How AI is remaking the channel and what it means to win in 2026. [00:00:25] Vince Menzione: Welcome to The Ultimate Partner Podcast. I’m Vince Manzione, your host. [00:00:30] Jon Yoo: We just wrapped up two days in Bellevue with some of the sharpest partner leaders in the business, and what we heard wasn’t incremental, it was tectonic. In this series, we’re going deeper into these conversations, the insights, the frameworks, the real movement we’re seeing in this market right now, because being in the room changes everything and we’re bringing that room to you. [00:00:55] Vince Menzione: And I am thrilled actually for this next one. Uh, I’ve had this opportunity to spend a little bit of time with this gentleman before, and welcoming him back is a pleasure and an honor. Cyril Beov, the vice president. I’m gonna botch up your title ’cause I always say marketplaces, but it’s much more than that. [00:01:14] Vince Menzione: So come on up, zero. And we’re gonna have a conversation and Cyril is amongst other things at Microsoft. Good to see you, sir. Yeah, [00:01:24] Cyril Belikoff: you too, [00:01:25] Vince Menzione: uh, is responsible for the, the Microsoft marketplace. [00:01:29] Cyril Belikoff: Are these your notes here? [00:01:30] Vince Menzione: These are, um, what is that? Yeah, these is gonna be our, our questions, so we, yeah, I, I need help sometimes so prompting, but, uh, so great to have you. [00:01:38] Vince Menzione: So just for purposes of title and context, ’cause your role is much bigger than just marketplace. Yeah. And we’re, we’re gonna sit down and John, is this me? Yes. And then John’s gonna join us. [00:01:47] Cyril Belikoff: Okay. Great. [00:01:48] Joe, [00:01:48] Vince Menzione: well, we’re gonna get started and start having a conversation. And we’ve, we’ve done some of these things before. [00:01:53] Vince Menzione: I’ve, I’ve had, you had me on your stage Yes. In your event at Alyssa Taylor’s event. [00:01:57] Cyril Belikoff: Yes. [00:01:58] Vince Menzione: And then, uh, we’ve, we’ve done some nice things together on stage, both at, at our event in Redmond last year. Yes. Then at our big, uh, ignite breakfast back [00:02:07] Cyril Belikoff: and forth, we had Vince come to our wider org and sort of, uh, I got to do the reverse. [00:02:13] Cyril Belikoff: And so interview him in front of a bunch of, uh, 500 marketers on what do we have to think about for partners. And so he gave us sort of the what’s going on in the partner ecosystem, how to think about it as we think about it, our marketing. [00:02:26] Vince Menzione: And I tried to be candid and represent this group. [00:02:28] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah, that’s great. [00:02:29] Yeah. [00:02:30] Vince Menzione: Was wonderful. Thank you for doing that. [00:02:31] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. [00:02:32] Vince Menzione: You, you work, you work in an amazing organization. Um, I’ve known Alyssa for many years as well, and you’re an incredible leader. And I just, I wanna frame this maybe with a conversation about, ’cause we’re gonna talk about what’s changed, but, but I think it’s still important for everybody in the room to understand what you did and what your team orchestrated around market. [00:02:52] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah, [00:02:52] Vince Menzione: because it was fragmented, it was in different organizations, it felt very dis disorganized, I guess. Yeah. For lack of a better word. [00:02:59] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. Thank you. Um, essentially we took it from incubation Island to the mainland Microsoft. I love it. Uh, GTM [00:03:07] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:03:07] Cyril Belikoff: Is the simplest way to think about it. Um, and, uh, come September last year now, uh, we unified the, the, the, the many marketplaces. [00:03:19] Cyril Belikoff: Uh, whether it was an Azure marketplace or AppSource and others, and we created the new Microsoft marketplace. Yeah. So one single place for customers to come, discover, try, buy, and for partners, software companies and other NSIs to put their wares up. And, uh, it was the first step in a vision for us to create this digital flywheel for us to bring our customers and our partners together in a more, you know, automated way. [00:03:47] Vince Menzione: Which it, it sounds crazy when you think about it, right? Microsoft has always been like the partnership leader, the leader in the technology, and to have fragmented marketplaces before, right? Yeah. And so what clarity to bring that all together. [00:04:00] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. It was a big, it was a big step for us and I think what we realized is that customers and partners were saying, Hey, uh, it’s all one place. [00:04:07] Cyril Belikoff: If I’m looking for a SaaS application or an agent or, and plug into teams or whatever it is. I just want to get it all in one spot. Uh, and, uh, and then we need you to connect us to your channel. [00:04:21] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:04:21] Cyril Belikoff: Uh, and your partners and, uh, can you build out, you know, partner capabilities for that Connects channel to software companies, to, to customers in a digital flywheel way. [00:04:30] Cyril Belikoff: Um, one of the things we actually also announced at that time was this concept of what we call. The marketplace framework. So it’s not just the fact that we have this digital experience or web experience, but that, um, applications that go into the marketplace, depending on the type of applications they get contextually surfaced within Microsoft products. [00:04:53] Vince Menzione: Okay. [00:04:53] Cyril Belikoff: And so if you’re, [00:04:54] Vince Menzione: explain that for this Yeah. For me and for this crap. [00:04:57] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. So if you are a, um, if you’re a co-pilot certified agent. M 365 copilot agent, you’ll be in the marketplace, but you’ll also be automatically surfaced inside the M 365 copilot, um, product. [00:05:11] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:05:12] Cyril Belikoff: Same for, uh, large language models in foundry, add-ins in teams, those sort of things. [00:05:18] Cyril Belikoff: ’cause it’s one thing to be where people go to discover Tribu, but users also go into these stores, whether it’s a developer user or an end user. They go in the flow of their work and they want to move quickly. Yes. And so, uh, so they have access. We think that’s very attractive. And the feedback was, Hey, that’s quite differentiated. [00:05:35] Cyril Belikoff: ’cause we have, uh, hundreds of millions of customers in these products every day. [00:05:39] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:05:39] Cyril Belikoff: And so giving our customers access, our partners access to it and improving their customer experience, um, has worked out well. [00:05:47] Vince Menzione: And something else you did too, because at one point, you know, we were talking about co-selling and single-threaded. [00:05:53] Vince Menzione: And Microsoft has this incredible ecosystem and channel. [00:05:57] Cyril Belikoff: Yes. [00:05:58] Vince Menzione: And it, it was totally disconnected from the whole marketplace strategy, right? Yes. Yeah. [00:06:03] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. So we, uh, um, we launched, I think in, uh, sorry. At that time in September, we launched five of our largest distributors who were also federating the Microsoft marketplace into their marketplaces. [00:06:16] Cyril Belikoff: And then in the November timeframe at Microsoft Ignite, we launched resale enabled offer [00:06:23] Vince Menzione: RO, [00:06:23] Cyril Belikoff: which is REO, which is a new capability that is proven extremely popular, that connects the software company and the reseller, you know, um, to go and do more deals at scale faster. So [00:06:36] Vince Menzione: we have, we have four of the Es in the room, [00:06:38] Cyril Belikoff: right? [00:06:38] Vince Menzione: Some of the four at the top. Five or six. And then also one of your largest resellers software, one is here as well. [00:06:45] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. Great. [00:06:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:06:47] Cyril Belikoff: Great. So it’s, uh, we’ve been busy. [00:06:48] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:06:49] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. Like I said, um, uh, much more work to do. But we are moving from like this incubation project to mainland get it integrated into our core customer, go to market, uh, so that our, uh, software companies and partners have access to those customers. [00:07:03] Cyril Belikoff: And then integration, uh, with the channel. So [00:07:06] Vince Menzione: it’s been a lot happening these last 12 months. Uh. Then Frontier, let’s talk about Frontier. That’s another piece of this. [00:07:14] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. I’m sure Steven touched on, uh, frontier Transformational or becoming Frontier or Frontier Firm. So probably not helpful to me rehash that. [00:07:23] Cyril Belikoff: I think in general. If you go to a Microsoft discussion or session and you don’t hear about frontier or Frontier transformation, please like, raise your hand and give feedback because that is, um, [00:07:34] Vince Menzione: I kept away from the word frontier with Steve. We were talking about it, but we weren’t using the term frontier. [00:07:38] Vince Menzione: Yeah. ’cause I feel like it gets overused. It’s, [00:07:40] Cyril Belikoff: yeah, it does. It’s, it’s sort of, um, what we try to do with it is articulate it in a way that it’s not just about AI for AI’s sake. [00:07:48] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:07:48] Cyril Belikoff: But it’s AI based on what the customer outcome is trying to, what the customer is trying to achieve on their outcome. Um, and so as part of that, of course, you know, agents, AI applications is a big part of what’s driving customers’ capability of, uh, to become frontier. [00:08:05] Cyril Belikoff: And, uh, the marketplace is part of that. ’cause they can either custom build that. Uh, or they can, you know, buy off the shelf, right? Uh, or, and actually in Combin they do mostly they do both, right? And so, um, in order to accelerate their ability to become more frontier, we have these, uh, partners that build, uh, third party solutions through a marketplace. [00:08:27] Cyril Belikoff: And then, uh, uh, those same partners or others that build bespoke solutions around that. So, um, a lot of momentum around, uh, AI apps and agencies, as you can imagine. Um, we have, I think, 5,000 plus AI apps and agents. [00:08:43] Vince Menzione: I was gonna ask you what you’re focused on now, but you, I think you’re tying into this now already. [00:08:47] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. Um, so of course that’s important. [00:08:50] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:08:50] Cyril Belikoff: But really for us it’s about doubling down on driving customer, customer demand. How do we merchandise the right things that customers are looking for? How do we, uh, accelerate any of our flows? Like we will spend hours just looking at like the flow of one scenario. [00:09:07] Cyril Belikoff: Where is it getting stuck? How do we improve it? Um, and then how do we connect it to the channel? And, and what, what more things can we do like EO or multi-party private offers and the like, and we have. Probably an announcement a month in the next three or four months. [00:09:24] Vince Menzione: Oh, come on. Let’s, [00:09:24] Cyril Belikoff: that will, [00:09:25] Vince Menzione: I know, I know it’s early. [00:09:26] Vince Menzione: I know it’s early, but you, you’ve got some, I know you’ve got some things. Think [00:09:29] Cyril Belikoff: about the customer experience. Think about the channel integration and dream about [00:09:33] Vince Menzione: what maybe more of a global scale with some of the offerings, maybe, maybe. Um, so, you know, I, so I, the earnings, we talked about the earnings with Steven, but I thought that there was a very compelling number around the commitment number. [00:09:46] Vince Menzione: Yes. You and you run your Azure as part of your remit. We didn’t go through your entire remit. [00:09:50] Cyril Belikoff: Yep. [00:09:51] Vince Menzione: It’s not just marketplace. You also, you also own the Azure number. [00:09:53] Cyril Belikoff: Yep. [00:09:54] Vince Menzione: Let’s talk about that. [00:09:55] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. Um. You know, it’s, it’s exciting times for customers. They want to do things not only with us, but with everyone in the room. [00:10:04] Cyril Belikoff: Um, and they are making very large commitments, huge commitments over the next two to three years to spend on Azure. Um, and so it’s now our joint jobs to go and help them identify the right business outcome and go and, you know, consume that commitment. It is just a commitment. It’s not actual. Consumption. [00:10:27] Cyril Belikoff: Yes. And so it’s all of our jobs to take advantage of that. The, the customers are saying, Hey, we have line of sight to the types of things we want to go do over the next two to three years. Uh, probably not everything is, you know, i’s dotted and t’s across, but they have line of sight to most of it. Um, and how do we go help them drive that? [00:10:46] Cyril Belikoff: Um, and so from an Azure perspective, obviously that’s very encouraging for us. It, it allows us to. Invest in more data centers and more capacity that we are doing as fast as we can. Um, and then, um, and then of course on marketplace, the marketplace can retire. [00:11:04] Vince Menzione: That’s [00:11:04] Cyril Belikoff: that Azure commitment. That’s, [00:11:05] Vince Menzione: I wanted to make sure [00:11:06] Cyril Belikoff: people understand that the, in fact, not only the Azure component from the marketplace, but the full software stack from the partner, uh, the software company retires the Azure commitment. [00:11:17] Cyril Belikoff: So if it’s. Uh, I’ll make it up if it’s, uh, a hundred bucks and it’s 50 50, it’s not 50 50, but, um, I won’t disclose any percentages, but let’s say it’s 50 50, it’s much more for the software company, by the way. Um, if it’s 50 50, it’s not just like the $50 for Azure that gets retired. It’s the entire a hundred dollars that gets retired on the customer commitment, commitment, which is great for the software company. [00:11:39] Cyril Belikoff: It’s also great for the customer that they can, you know. Bring that through, uh, to, uh, to their Azure commitment. And we do the same thing with our sellers. So the marketplace sales retire our sellers compensation. So we’re like checking every box so that there’s no friction in the system. So that, so the partner, the customer, our sellers, they’re all juiced to go and. [00:12:03] Cyril Belikoff: Deals with marketplace. [00:12:04] Vince Menzione: I, I hope everybody un understand. I mean, I understand this. I hope everybody else understand this too. ’cause I, I was, watch, you know, I, I, I watched LinkedIn and I see people post things and somebody made a comment about how difficult it was to use Microsoft Portal. And I was thinking to myself, do you realize that there’s, I’ll say 150 billion, but it’s probably a bigger number than that. [00:12:22] Vince Menzione: That’s a total addressable market available to you if you’re a Microsoft partner. You can access these customer commitments. [00:12:30] Cyril Belikoff: Oh yes. [00:12:30] Vince Menzione: If you bring your product on Mark over 400 now [00:12:32] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. [00:12:33] Vince Menzione: You bring your product into the marketplace, you have access and the customer can retire that commitment. [00:12:38] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. [00:12:39] Vince Menzione: Without having to justify a new cost justification. [00:12:41] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. They don’t have to go to procurement. They don’t have to. Yeah. [00:12:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. I mean, it’s a huge opportunity. [00:12:46] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. [00:12:46] Vince Menzione: So, um, so you’ve been focused on quite a bit. We wanted to invite John on stage. [00:12:53] Cyril Belikoff: Great. [00:12:53] Vince Menzione: John, you from Sugar is here. Where’s John? Is John in the house? Where’s John? [00:12:57] Cyril Belikoff: There he is. [00:12:58] Vince Menzione: Who’s also an expert in Marketplace. [00:13:00] Vince Menzione: A great friend of Ultimate Partner. Great. Hey, how’s it going? He’s a great partner of Ultimate Partner. Great to see you, sir. All the way from San Fran. Oh, actually we’re on your side of the coast, so, uh, it’s long. He looks [00:13:12] Jon Yoo: cooler than us [00:13:12] Vince Menzione: though. He, he always looks cool. I said that about time. [00:13:15] Jon Yoo: You know, I gotta be comfortable. [00:13:16] Jon Yoo: I gotta be comfortable. [00:13:18] Vince Menzione: So John, good to, good to have you. You’re thanks for having us. You guys are like, every time I see a post from you, you’re moving into a new office space ’cause you’ve outgrown your office space. [00:13:26] Jon Yoo: Yeah, we’re, we’re really excited about the new office. We have hvac, which is a, a big, big, uh, it’s a big thing. [00:13:31] Jon Yoo: Improvements, high ceilings, you know, the whole works h help [00:13:36] Cyril Belikoff: sometimes. Yeah, [00:13:37] Jon Yoo: yeah, yeah, yeah. We, we have our, uh, office opening party if anyone’s an SF on Ally first. [00:13:41] Vince Menzione: Nice. Nice. Yeah. May, may, May 21st. May 21st. That’s right. Well, so, so you’ve been, you’ve had like a front row seat to all of this. I would love to get your perspective on what you’re seeing across partners and what’s changed over the last 12 months. [00:13:55] Jon Yoo: Yeah, so, uh, for those that don’t know, um, sugar is a, uh, a revenue platform for cloud marketplaces and co-selling. Um, so we partner very closely with Microsoft as well as either hyperscalers and other marketplaces like Snowflake, Alibaba, et cetera. And what we, what, what I’m seeing is a couple things. One marketplace is becoming a default to go to market engine. [00:14:17] Jon Yoo: So, you know, I think a lot of people see the stats about how the, the GMV, so, you know, the, the throughput through these marketplaces have been doubling. We’re seeing that in our data as well. So we’re seeing triple digit revenue growth from marketplaces. We’re seeing companies who, you know, maybe the earlier end of marketplaces were infra platform layer of software that used to really adopt it. [00:14:37] Jon Yoo: Now you’re seeing. You know, explosion in a business application layer of companies as well. And so that’s super exciting. I’d say the second piece is channel players are getting more and more involved. Um, I think, you know, I’m the Silicon Valley SaaS bubble, uh, or the AI bubble, so to speak. And I didn’t know as much about the channel world and even these big AI companies. [00:14:59] Jon Yoo: I mean, you’re seeing unprecedented, unprecedented demand, uh, for these, you know, LMS or these AI biz apps. And despite that, they are really working with a partner ecosystem because you’re realizing that most of the world do not really know how to adopt ai. Yeah. And they’re really leaning on expertise. [00:15:18] Jon Yoo: And these AI companies, AI native companies, are looking to channel partners who have these. You know, relationships with their end buyers on how to deliver change managements, how to deliver enablement, not just a system integration site. [00:15:32] Vince Menzione: And they’re also looking to the platform or platforms in the case, Microsoft here also. [00:15:36] Vince Menzione: Right. Which, because like what, where am I gonna do just go out and buy philanthropic or Claude or whatever? I need that to be integrated into my enterprise as well. Right, exactly. [00:15:46] Jon Yoo: So we’re definitely seeing like more adoption of Microsoft Foundry, for example, as people think about security and governance and whatnot. [00:15:52] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Very cool. Any comments on, on? [00:15:55] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah, that makes absolute sense. It’s, uh, um, you know, lots of layers to AI from data. The a, the AI layer itself, the application layer, uh, and innovations happening at all of those pieces of the stack. Um, and so when a software company is trying to, you know, uh, modernize their thought process or build new. [00:16:19] Cyril Belikoff: They ha they have to think about all of those components. Foundry obviously is the AI layer and it provides them with capability to be agile and move quickly and do compliance and, and snap into an organization’s, um, architecture. But it’s the same applies to data, like how it’s fine to have AI but doesn’t, doesn’t do anything without data. [00:16:40] Vince Menzione: Right. [00:16:40] Cyril Belikoff: And so then how do they get data in the cloud? Um, uh, [00:16:44] Vince Menzione: and then how do you security [00:16:45] Cyril Belikoff: govern and govern, right? And how you secure govern, you know, all those sort of things. So obviously we have first party experiences, but they have partners with, um, their own solutions. They’re built on top of, [00:16:53] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:16:53] Cyril Belikoff: Those Microsoft layers. And, uh, you know, like John says, lots of momentum. [00:16:58] Vince Menzione: So let’s talk about the maturity curve. Like walk us through it. Where do you see partners in this room sitting today? And what does it take to move for them to move to the next stage? Like, what would be your guidance for, for this group? [00:17:11] Jon Yoo: So, you know, we, we work across the entire spectrum of companies. You know, we work with the, the largest enterprises who’ve done billions through these marketplaces like Snowflake, workday, to leading AI companies like Glean or OpenAI, uh, to earlier stage startups who are completely new to marketplaces and really look for, for guidance around what do I do in my first 90 days? [00:17:33] Jon Yoo: How do I get the attention of Microsoft sellers, or how do I. Optimize my marketplace operations so that we can be discovered, uh, really easily on Microsoft Marketplace and others. And the, the way that I think about it is companies first come on, because it is buyer driven oftentimes. So, I mean, that’s just the truth of the nature of you have these big enterprises that want to, you know, burn down their Mac agreements, for example, and that’s how they get started. [00:17:59] Jon Yoo: And or a, a as like this whole space maturing, you’re seeing. A new CRO come in and they’ve done this at X, Y, Z companies and they want to bring that playbook over. But then as they start to do a couple deals through these marketplaces, they think, and this is start of the the flywheel, right? Hey, what do I need for co-selling? [00:18:19] Jon Yoo: And there are systems, you know, integrations and playbooks that need to be done well. Once you do have co-selling figured out, how do I now know which opportunities to co-sell? So we have things like intense signals to be able to. Help them, you know, help overlay a cloud, go to market lens over your existing pipeline. [00:18:36] Jon Yoo: And then now it becomes less of a partnership initiative and actually elevates up to the CRO initiative. And across each of those, um, layers, uh, you have different automation needs because once you actually start to get the flywheel going, it becomes. Holy crap. Now I’m doing 10, 20, 30, 50% of my revenue through these market, you know, through, through marketplace. [00:18:58] Jon Yoo: And it’s creating different data pipelines of work to be done. And now I have to figure out my finance angle of how do I do revenue recognition through these indirect channels. And so that, that, that is kind of the maturity covers. I think about it when you try to retrofit like, uh, all the automation up front, it doesn’t go as well. [00:19:16] Jon Yoo: You have to do a crawl, walk, run approach so that you can also build and bring the rest of the organization with you. So if I look at ’em to the, you know, there’s some familiar faces, some folks that probably are wondering some new faces [00:19:28] Vince Menzione: as well. [00:19:29] Jon Yoo: Yeah. What, what Microsoft marketplace or what marketplace even is. [00:19:33] Jon Yoo: I’d probably say people are in that transformation bucket of, Hey, I’ve done a couple of deals, we’re in this early stages of co-selling. Now I, now I gotta figure out how to supercharge it because this is kind of the future, you know, we can talk more about agenta commerce and whatnot, but, um, I think a lot of people are figuring it out than looking for. [00:19:51] Jon Yoo: For guidance here, [00:19:53] Vince Menzione: zero. [00:19:55] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. You know, I would say, um, I’ll get what I call tactical yet strategic. [00:20:01] Vince Menzione: Okay. [00:20:01] Cyril Belikoff: Which just think about product-led growth. Yeah. Just think about, uh, similar to the consumer world, if you wanna sell something, you need search engine optimization. If you are thinking about these marketplaces and Microsoft marketplace being one, how are you optimizing your listing so that when a user goes into like the search bar, it’s optimized to bring back the results that make sense to you? [00:20:29] Cyril Belikoff: I think historically we’ve had scenarios where some partners have used the marketplace primarily as like a transaction thing. They’ve done the deal, but then they’re transacted on the marketplace ’cause they wanna retire the the Azure commitment. And that is changing to be sort of product led and marketplace led, uh, versus deal led. [00:20:49] Cyril Belikoff: Uh, but you cannot have a generic one line sentence in your listing. You will not be surfaced unless the customer literally knows your name and will search for you. You’ll not be surfaced if they search for a particular category healthcare app that does something right. And if that’s your thing, you should have the right keywords, you have the right images, have the right videos, and we believed in it so much. [00:21:14] Cyril Belikoff: We actually built a listing optimization AI tool that will auto look at your listing. And based on our best practices, and we know what our search engine is doing, we will make recommendations to you on how to improve. Listing. And so it’s not like a read a document as a best practice. It actually will be an ai, uh, customized tool for your particular listing. [00:21:37] Cyril Belikoff: So lean into those types of things, you know, to, as John says, says, think about the digital flow. This over time will become much more of your, of your business. So make sure you’re thinking about, you know, if someone’s on the marketplace and they decide to trial something for you, how, how are you following up? [00:21:56] Cyril Belikoff: Like, how do you take the next steps? Um, maybe you, maybe you working with a reseller and you don’t have your own sellers, but how do you wiring that into your resellers so your resellers are following up? Or if you have your own sellers, you know, your own sellers are doing it. So you have to sort of digitize your thinking on sales and marketing in this new market, commercial marketplace world, versus in the same way we would’ve done in like the consumer marketplace on Amazon or, you know, um, as you search something on Google. [00:22:26] Cyril Belikoff: Maybe bing. Um, so, um, yeah, yeah. This [00:22:29] Vince Menzione: size. B Come on, come on. [00:22:31] Cyril Belikoff: I [00:22:31] Vince Menzione: had bing. [00:22:32] Cyril Belikoff: Um, [00:22:33] Jon Yoo: I do wanna double click on that, which is when, when we, you know, I talk about like, hey, a lot of it’s buyer driven. A lot of people think about private offers, but then the marketplace offers. But the reality actually, when we look at the data is that there’s a lot more self-service [00:22:46] Vince Menzione: correct [00:22:47] Jon Yoo: offers than there are what they call private offers. [00:22:50] Jon Yoo: So where there’s deal led and that, that, that, that shift. It’s super exciting to see where now these marketplaces are becoming where buyers or users go to discover new products. Let alone, you know, in the future where let’s say there’s an AI agent that has some reward seeking function, and in order to do its job, it needs to go purchase a tool marketplace might be the channel where this happens, which is all the reason why that your listing does need to be optimized. [00:23:16] Jon Yoo: So that one, the agent knows exactly what your tool does and it can match against. Reward. And then second, you have to win the a EO race, right? Yeah. Of, of how you show up in these AI engines. So just wanted to double click on how important that is. Yeah. [00:23:31] Cyril Belikoff: Makes, makes total sense. And we’re, we’re seeing that shift from private office to having a public listed price and a, a public offer as well. [00:23:39] Cyril Belikoff: And so we’re, we’re ourselves investing in our own marketing demand generation. Just in the last three to four months because we’ve seen that taking off and as soon as we saw the signal, we’re like, oh, we should pour fuel on that fire. Because if, if we see organically customers don’t do it, we should, you know, we should go after that and help them understand that we’re here. [00:23:58] Cyril Belikoff: And, uh, if it’s working for some that are doing it by themselves, it’ll work for others and we’re seeing really, really good results. Um, so yeah, get your listing optimized. Think about your digital flows. As John says, the flows of the future are probably agentic wise, maybe not even a human coming to the Microsoft marketplace. [00:24:17] Cyril Belikoff: So you gotta be thinking, not now, it’s okay. You have time. Um, but in the future, you know, six months from now, that quite easily is a scenario. So you really have to start thinking about those, uh, those, uh, digital flows. [00:24:29] Vince Menzione: Yeah. It’s so insightful. Well, it’s what you call product led growth, basically. Yes. And agent led growth. [00:24:35] Vince Menzione: Yes. Right. In some respects. So this is where like we need to think about that. The future model where the agent comes in and actually does the purchasing. We’re not there yet, are we? [00:24:45] Jon Yoo: No. With some products, you know, um, especially, especially if it’s like developer tools. We’re starting to see some of that, but, uh, no one’s gonna buy a cybersecurity solution. [00:24:55] Jon Yoo: Um, that’s seven figures or an agent’s not gonna do that. Right. But the eng the, the search functions are a little bit changing. [00:25:03] Vince Menzione: Yeah. So a lot of ai, you know, we had Steven Boyle on earlier, we were talking about ai, AI natives, you know, that’s Jason Grey’s organization does a lot of work in that area. How do these organizations need to think and act and how do they leverage the cloud marketplaces? [00:25:17] Vince Menzione: Or how do le how do marketplaces fit into the equation? ’cause most of them are coming from a different like paradigm or mindset. [00:25:24] Jon Yoo: I mean, uh, it’s like the number one question, you know, I’ll give a little personal story of like, I get a lot of parking tickets, uh, and I don’t know how to pay off my late fees. [00:25:34] Jon Yoo: So we set up a little open claw that will actually go and ask me questions, and it actually pays off my parking tickets on my behalf. Um, so, so, so, you know, on the other hand, like there, there’s layers to it, right? It could be like layer one, I ask ai, Hey, how do I pay off my parking tickets? Layer two could be. [00:25:52] Jon Yoo: Hey, you know, what’s the best way for me to structure my cadence to pay off the parking tickets? And then layer three is like, Hey, AI, proactively check if I have parking tickets and go pay it on my behalf. Here’s my credit card information, you know, stored in a secure vault. So, uh, what, what I mean by a native as a company bring that analogy is, uh, bringing it at its core. [00:26:12] Jon Yoo: So like a little for, for sugar. We’ve spent the past six months optimizing around our entire, like company brain where we are storing all the context. To a singular, singular place that is queryable, that there’s no coordination tax between teams. Our entire product development process actually is automated where we have multiple agents debating one another, PRDs to code generation, code review, uh, you know, security, qa, et cetera, et cetera. [00:26:40] Jon Yoo: And then there’s humans in the loop across the process. So I would actually think about when we, when we fit that into, into marketplaces, it’s not just thinking about who’s going to send the offers or who’s gonna do the co-sell, or who’s gonna X, Y, Z, but how do you bring all that together so that your sales reps and your partnership person and Microsoft all has to share context in a given deal and it’s done automatically without, you know, back office folks having to update what partner led or partner influence means and reporting things in a, in an old way. [00:27:11] Jon Yoo: So it’s almost re-imagining. Entire workflow, given everyone should have open context of what’s going on in a given deal. So let’s say maybe a hand wavy way of answering that question. Yeah. But it does mean that we should be re-imagining, uh, what the job to be done is, uh, very fundamentally [00:27:28] Vince Menzione: cy, how are you thinking about it since you’re building the, the, the toolkit at Microsoft? [00:27:32] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah. Um, yeah. Well, John says absolutely is right, particularly around marketplace and how that sort of flow and ecosystem will work. Um, in addition to that, it’s. Not only about how marketplace or about developers ’cause the developer, uh, scenario or persona was the first globally to see the value of AI and agents in the flow of their work. [00:27:55] Cyril Belikoff: It was the first to like, oh, one developer can now do much more. I can be empowered, I can build agents to work on my behalf. I can, uh, I can be an architect instead of a hands-on coder. Right. It’s changed the profile of what developers do exactly what. Uh, John mentioned what he’s doing himself. That’s just one profile of a user. [00:28:17] Cyril Belikoff: Th there are many other profiles. A sales person, a marketer, a uh, CFO team, hr. Each of these are literally going through the same transformation. They’re one beat behind developers because developers, you know, was really tech enabled and tech stack driven, and the, and the opportunity was, was obvious quite quickly. [00:28:39] Cyril Belikoff: These are coming really quickly. This is not like the internet adoption cycle that took many multiple years. This is like, we’re talking months. So, and even inside Microsoft, we have our own, what we call, uh, frontier Marketing Internal Initiative to re, um, rewire marketers and how they go about their daily job and stop doing it this way and do it this way. [00:29:04] Cyril Belikoff: Just pick up M 365 copilot with. Coworking Claude, uh, embedded and just go do the work. Why do you have to outsource this or create this? Just edit the video right there yourself. Like, why do you have to just go do the, as a marketer you want to create a beautiful piece of content, just go and create it. [00:29:21] Cyril Belikoff: ’cause it can create it for you now. [00:29:22] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:29:23] Cyril Belikoff: three months ago, literally three months ago, it couldn’t do that. And so what is it gonna be in two months for a marketer or a salesperson or finance person? I mean, just co-pilot in Excel. What that is doing to the financial business is in, like if you, any financial person will tell you they live and breathe through in Excel, like it’s just, it’s their equivalent of, it runs [00:29:44] Vince Menzione: most businesses [00:29:44] Cyril Belikoff: their dev tool, right? [00:29:45] Cyril Belikoff: It’s their thing. It’s really [00:29:46] Vince Menzione: is. [00:29:47] Cyril Belikoff: So this is happening over and over again. Again, if you can package those things up and package a package, that piece of IP on a marketplace is, is not only gonna be a big system, it could be a very, very small piece of. Functionality in a flow for a marketer or a salesperson that is so valuable that can be solved many times on a marketplace. [00:30:08] Cyril Belikoff: And in many cases, everyone’s a software company at this point. Everybody can go and package something up. And so I would be stunned if we don’t see cross pollination from system integrators to channel partners, all just publishing on marketplaces based on, oh, I’ve done this thing four times. I cannot do it 400 times. [00:30:26] Cyril Belikoff: Let me just package it up and put it on a marketplace. So. Yeah, I’m sure you know, John alluded to that. It’s, there’s a lot of exciting times. [00:30:33] Vince Menzione: No, the future [00:30:33] Jon Yoo: is [00:30:33] Vince Menzione: great. What do you [00:30:34] Jon Yoo: totally, I mean, it’s, it’s a case of like, how do, what does being marketplace native also mean? [00:30:38] Cyril Belikoff: Yes. [00:30:38] Jon Yoo: You know, and not, I feel like I’ve seen so many people just use it as a, Hey, we’re opportunistically there and if we get some leads out of it, great. [00:30:45] Jon Yoo: Or if there’s some deals, great, but they’re not really leaning in and being marketplace native the way, you know, and right now there’s, this might be uncomfortable, but there’s no excuses. You know, like creating a partner marketing content with your brand guidelines. It should not take so many time. Or it’s a 10 minute exercise. [00:31:02] Jon Yoo: Exactly. Exactly. Three [00:31:03] Cyril Belikoff: prompts. [00:31:05] Vince Menzione: It used to be that ops used to get involved because, oh, we, we know that they have a commitment. Let’s go run it through the marketplace. Right now, what you both have been suggesting here is it becomes a discoverable process. It becomes part of your normal go to market strategy, and you’re, you’re driving pr, product led growth and SEO and all the things you need to do running a a corporation and modern corporation today. [00:31:26] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah, [00:31:26] Vince Menzione: exactly. So, what’s the future like? Where, where do we go in 12 months with this? What do you think? What do you predict? We, we get out a Ouija board or a crystal ball here. What, what, what do we think? [00:31:38] Cyril Belikoff: I think more broadly in the industry, you’re gonna, some of the scenarios that John alluded to, agent to agent interactions, uh, many agents acting on behalf of humans and on behalf of organizations, uh, and doing. [00:31:55] Cyril Belikoff: Simple things and quite complex things. Uh, and those need to be, uh, managed carefully, uh, with, uh, the right, uh, engagements and built carefully. And in, in many cases, customers will look to partners that are quote unquote certified on, uh, uh, HyperCloud platform. Uh, as a way to get going quickly, but also get the, the quality that they need. [00:32:21] Cyril Belikoff: Um, and I think instead of buying this monolithic, massive application, I think we will see lots more of smaller applications being built that have cleaner open, uh, you know, MC, you know, MCP type agent interfaces that can just work together, uh, without, you know. More complicated integration work, [00:32:42] Vince Menzione: cobbled together your own solutions as opposed to big [00:32:45] Cyril Belikoff: monolithic [00:32:45] Vince Menzione: applications. [00:32:46] Cyril Belikoff: Yeah, there’ll be a much more agile, [00:32:48] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:32:48] Cyril Belikoff: Uh, personalization. I mean, a lot of people saying SaaS is dead. It’s not quite dead. But I think that SaaS will get significantly more agile, more custom and more personal, uh, for, uh, for customers. [00:33:03] Jon Yoo: I, I would agree with that. Um, I mean, I’m biased, but I think marketplace are gonna be even more relevant than ever. [00:33:08] Jon Yoo: I mean, it’s already highly relevant, but, uh, as you, you know, I think in the past the, the narrative was, well, there’s a new generation of buyers and they’re millennials. They, they wanted, you know, uh, I always talk about consumer experience to B2B sales, you know, and, and now it’s like agents that’s that on steroids. [00:33:24] Jon Yoo: Um, but what I, you know, beyond that, I think, uh, there, there’s a lot of talk of like SAS apocalypse or software companies getting. Destroyed by, you know, the, the, the AI labs or SaaS is dead or whatever. I think SaaS is gonna, I mean, there’s gonna be way more software companies because the cost to build is a lot easier. [00:33:46] Jon Yoo: That means that competition will be. Even more fierce than ever. And you have all these AI native companies that are coming out with a quicker time to market, quicker time to value, and they have some recursive loops that makes the product even that much better. Um, so what that means for everyone is like, one, you gotta go back to the, the core differentiations. [00:34:06] Jon Yoo: Or like in the past, maybe the, the time to build was the differentiation, but today it’s, or you know, there’s some other, obviously the core elements, but then there’s. Distribution. Yeah. So how do you partner with Microsoft, for example? How do you have your own self-improving like distribution model? That makes sense. [00:34:22] Jon Yoo: Marketplace being a huge component of that. Two is obviously there, there’s a piece of like network and data. That’s what we think about of hey, what makes our product better as more, more people use it. Um, because yeah, competition is crazy fierce and it finally goes into times deployment. That’s why you see these companies like. [00:34:41] Jon Yoo: Open AI anthropic that are competing for their enterprise, uh, pie. And instead of doing it themselves, they’re, I mean, I think OpenAI just did a joint venture of like $4.1 billion into the deployment company. Anthropics doing the same, they’re surrounding themselves with the ecosystem and channel is going to be more relevant than than ever, as long as you know how to enable AI services and know how to deliver on this technology to the, to the broader world. [00:35:07] Jon Yoo: And so. Channel awesome. Marketplace, awesome. You know, competition’s gonna be fierce. Success is not going anywhere. [00:35:16] Vince Menzione: Good conversation, gentlemen. [00:35:18] Jon Yoo: Awesome. [00:35:18] Vince Menzione: I’ve been told we’re over time. I wanted to open it up to questions. Um, but I do feel like we, yeah, I’ll get, I’ll get yelled at. But this was incredible. Um, some great, I mean, the, the pa it, it’s terrific to see. [00:35:36] Vince Menzione: How far we’ve come in, so shorter period of time, and it’s only gonna continue to get better. I think the one question I’ll have is like, what, what would hold any of these companies back at this point? It feels like it’s such a compelling reason we need to move forward. Is there, is there anything, like why would, why would we hold back? [00:35:54] Cyril Belikoff: Um, you know, some of the discussions we have, um, is about how to balance today’s world with tomorrow’s world a little bit. [00:36:01] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:36:02] Cyril Belikoff: Today’s business model with tomorrow’s business model, today’s financial results with tomorrow’s financial results. Um, and there are very different approaches to all of this. [00:36:13] Cyril Belikoff: Those AI natives, they’re like, there is no yesterday. There’s only tomorrow. Um, there those companies that realize they’re being threatened by AI natives and so they have to move quickly. Um, and, uh. Figure out a, a, a business model and then someone else who wants to do a bit of both and bridge into it. [00:36:32] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:36:32] Cyril Belikoff: Um, and just within that frame there are different ways to tackle it, whether it’s create two teams, one’s the future team, one’s the current team, and, you know, may the best team win, um, makes sense with the customer and that, uh, or, uh, give the, give the customer the choice and have the teams going together. [00:36:49] Cyril Belikoff: So there are lots of different approaches. [00:36:51] Vince Menzione: Right. So great to have you. Did you have some, did you have a comment to make on that? [00:36:55] Jon Yoo: Uh, no. Just, uh, unwillingness to lean in and learn something new. Yeah. [00:36:59] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:37:00] Jon Yoo: I’m, I’m, I’m much more in the burn all boats buckets. Yeah, [00:37:03] Vince Menzione: I know. Me too. [00:37:03] Jon Yoo: Of, uh, no, no old team and new team. [00:37:05] Jon Yoo: Just new team and you know, that’s just push forward. [00:37:07] Vince Menzione: Well, great to have two amazing leaders on stage with [00:37:10] Cyril Belikoff: us. Thanks [00:37:10] Vince Menzione: so [00:37:10] Cyril Belikoff: much. [00:37:10] Vince Menzione: So thank you [00:37:11] Jon Yoo: so much. Yeah, thank [00:37:11] Vince Menzione: you [00:37:15] Jon Yoo: so much. [00:37:16] Vince Menzione: Don’t forget. Ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, October 26th through October 28th in Reston, Virginia. I hope to see you there. [00:37:28] I.

Welcome back to our 50 Deals in 50 Days series! In this episode, note investing expert Scott Carson takes us to one of the fastest-growing regions in the country: Kyle, Texas, located in booming Hays County just south of Austin. If you think note investing requires massive capital, this distressed asset case study will flip the script. Discover how you can leverage a heavily discounted, non-performing note on a high-value acre of land to lock in massive equity protection and exponential returns. Key Topics CoveredThe High-Equity Asset Blueprint: This property features a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom attached double-wide mobile home sitting on a spacious 1.02-acre lot. While conservatively valued at a tax assessor price of $123,000, the legal payoff balance on the note is a mere $31,000—representing an incredible 25% investment-to-value ratio. Current Loan Status & Foreclosure Timeline: The owner-occupied property was modified in 2022 to a 40-year term with a low monthly P&I payment of $270.82. However, the borrower has fallen a full year behind, and formal foreclosure proceedings were initiated in February, positioning a potential auction within the next 60 days. The Low-Cost Investment Breakdown: Investors can acquire this first-lien note from the hedge fund at 80% of the legal balance ($24,800) plus a $1,000 transaction fee, putting your total out-of-pocket entry cost at just $25,800. Multi-Tranche Exit Strategies: Learn the various ways to win with this deal. If the borrower reinstates with a lump sum, your first-year ROI can skyrocket to 25%. If it goes to auction and sells at the legal balance, you net a quick $5,200 profit—yielding over a 100% annualized ROI due to the rapid 60-day turnaround. Creative Workout Options: If the note doesn't sell at auction, you take back a high-value acre of Texas land as an REO property. From there, you can pursue a deed-in-lieu, offer cash-for-keys, or clear the asset to rent it out for an estimated $1,500 to $1,700 a month. Conclusion & Next StepsDon't let profitable, asset-backed deals pass you by while your money sits idle. Whether you want to purchase this non-performing note outright, come on board as a funding partner, or completely master the note business, now is the time to strike. Reach out to Scott directly at Scott@weclosenotes.com or lock in a strategic call at TalkWithScottCarson.com. To learn the exact mechanics of buying discounted notes safely, reserve your $99 seat for the upcoming virtual workshop on August 29th & 30th at NoteBuyingForDummies.com. Take action today, and we'll see you at the top!Watch the Original VIDEO HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

The $28K Fort Worth Note with Massive Equity PotentialAre you looking for a real estate investment strategy that lets you step in as the bank, bypass the heavy competition, and capture massive equity for pennies on the dollar? Welcome back to our 50 Deals in 50 Days series! Host Scott Carson dives deep into a unique, low-balance nonperforming note opportunity sitting right in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas. Unlike typical cash-flowing performing notes, this distressed asset features a jaw-dropping dynamic: a rock-bottom legal balance on a property that is absolutely bursting with equity. If you want to maximize your returns using your IRA, savings, or investment capital, this episode reveals exactly how a $23,000 entry point could yield anywhere from a fast 21% ROI to a massive six-figure profit. Key Topics Covered in This Episode:The Anatomy of the Deal: A look into the 3-bedroom, 1-bath property in Tarrant County built in 1953, featuring an incredibly low legal balance of just $28,000 against a fair market value of $195,000–$205,000. The "Rehab the Borrower" Strategy: How a simple loan reinstatement or double-payment structure could instantly skyrocket your ROI to 23% or even 46%. Navigating Texas Foreclosure Laws: Capitalizing on the fastest foreclosure timelines in the country to secure a quick cash return or take the property back as an REO. The Power of Cash for Keys & Deeds in Lieu: Creative exit strategies to avoid court, obtain the deed directly from the borrowers, and take total control of the real estate. Turnkey Rental & Owner Financing Options: Analyzing market rents ($1,700/mo) and leaseback structures to create long-term cash flow. Partnering and Scaling up: How to utilize small-balance IRAs or partner directly with Scott to fund and flip these high-margin deals. Multiple Exit Strategies, Maximum FlexibilityThe true beauty of note investing is that you aren't locked into a single path. With this Fort Worth asset, you can play the role of the benevolent bank or the savvy real estate liquidator. If the vacant property heads to auction, a third-party bidder might pay off the debt, handing you a quick $5,000 profit in roughly 60 days (an annualized return of over 120%). "The real profit lies not taking this property to foreclosure... but taking the property back. When you buy the note, you don't own the real estate. You own the debt. But buying the note, you become the bank." — Scott Carson If no one outbids you, the property becomes a real estate owned (REO) asset. Suddenly, you are in control of a ~$200,000 home for just your initial note acquisition and light renovation costs. Whether you choose to fix and flip, rent it out for $1,700 a month, or offer owner financing back to the marketplace, the safety net of a 14% loan-to-value ratio ensures your capital is incredibly well-protected. Conclusion & Next StepsWhether you are an experienced investor or completely new to the space, small-balance nonperforming notes offer an unparalleled way to outmaneuver traditional foreclosure buyers. You get to skip the crowded courthouse steps and control the asset months before it ever hits the public market. Watch the Original VIDEO HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

The news of the morning including BIG Medford fee increases. Wheels up with Eric Peters, the Hyundai Ioniq review, REO trucks to come back? Slate trucks from Amazon a bust? Your calls, too.

Many real estate teams try to build an appointment-fed model with ISAs serving agents ready-to-go opportunities. This can work - it can create efficient production.But when Ryan Crighton and Danny Rinaldi tried it, they discovered it wasn't building agents who were as strong and well-rounded as they wanted.Learn how the shift from appointment-fed to well-rounded happened, including what prompted it, what it took, and what it produced for their 23-agent team serving clients in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City.Learn the accountability structure that's enforced more by the environment than by team leaders and the vibe-first recruiting approach that attracts new agents who exceed performance standards before anyone asks them to.And learn how Danny evolved from ISA to coach to sales manager, what that role looks like day to day, and how he and Ryan complement each other in a partnership that lets each of them operate in their strongest area.Watch or listen for Danny's and Ryan's insights into:0:00 Intro and welcome1:22 Being in the weeds as the must-have characteristic — and why agents watch what you do more than they ask what to do2:08 The difference between vibe and culture — and why vibe is what actually drives performance and retention4:11 How Ryan built from REO listings in the 2008 downturn to a 23-agent brokerage team, and how Danny went from Brooklyn phone sales to Las Vegas sales manager10:00 Why new agents book appointments before they know anything about real estate — and why knowledge without attitude slows them down16:17 Why Danny leads recruiting conversations with vibe, not accountability — and how accountability reveals itself before the agent ever joins17:34 How the Creighton Rinaldi accountability system enforces itself. No manager required.19:06 How the peer accountability pod model (inspired by Brett Jennings, Ep 98) turned Danny into a facilitator — with agents coaching each other for most of the hour26:59 Why Danny makes phone calls side-by-side with every new agent within 24 hours of joining — and what that did to prospecting adoption29:32 How Nevada's two-month gap between passing the real estate exam and receiving a license became a training opportunity32:37 Why handing agents ready-made appointments produced weaker agents — and what happened when they stopped37:25 Why too much focus on market stats gives agents an excuse not to prospect — especially in one of the most volatile real estate markets in the U.S.40:23 Why the team model is the only structure built to meet what today's real estate clients actually expect41:51 At the end, Danny gives an impossible-to-follow team story and a sought-after spreadsheet and Ryan reveals a frivolous ride and a timely sports team.Related episodes→ Peer Accountability Pods with Brett Jennings→ Leadership Structure with Ryan Rodenbeck and Johnny McCarthyBook mentioned in this episode→ The War of Art by Steven PressfieldConnect with The Crighton Rinaldi Team→ Ryan at CRHomeTeam dot com / 702 217-1048→ Danny at CRHomeTeam dot com / 347 598-0913→ https://www.instagram.com/dannyrinaldi/→ https://www.instagram.com/crightonrinalditeam/→ https://www.crightonrinalditeam.com/team-pageConnect with Real Estate Team OS→ https://www.realestateteamos.com→ https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos→ https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/

Elizabeth Heritage reviews Te Kaikaukau: The Swimmer - I te Ao o te Reo by Witi Ihimaera Smiler published by Auckland University Press.

Are you ready to uncover the massive hidden real estate opportunities hitting the Lone Star State this June? Welcome back to The Note Closers Show! In this episode, we are diving deep into the freshly leaked June 2026 foreclosure data for Texas's biggest counties. After a significant dip last month, foreclosure filings are officially bouncing back, sparking an 11% swing and creating a prime playground for note investors, REO hunters, and private money lenders. Whether you are looking for subject-to deals or trying to deploy private capital, this monthly market breakdown is your ultimate roadmap to distress debt success.

The age-old debate in real estate investing, is it better to go direct to seller, or direct to agent? In this value-packed episode, Brent Daniels sits down with the incredible flipping master, Jerry Norton, to break down the exact pros, cons, and profit margins of both strategies. Jerry takes a trip back to his 2004 origins to explain how the 2008 crash forced him to pioneer the REO listing strategy, and how the market has drastically shifted since then.They also dive into the mind-blowing success of investors grossing $1.7 million a year with zero marketing spend using the direct-to-agent model. You will learn the harsh realities of Proof of Funds when dealing with agents, Jerry's highly effective "5-5-5 Method" for daily agent outreach, and how to safely navigate the terrifying rise of TCPA text-blasting lawsuits. Whether you want the massive spreads of direct-to-seller or the zero-cost scalability of direct-to-agent, this episode will help you find the perfect model. Be a part of the TTP training program now.---------Show notes:(0:00) Beginning of today's episode(1:00) Brent's introduction to direct to seller vs. direct to agent(3:40) Jerry's origins and how the 2008 crash forced an REO pivot(7:43) How Hugh Boy grossed $1.7 million with zero marketing spend(11:06) Why mastering real estate strategies is a developmental process(13:05) "Sniper" listed properties vs. networking for off-market deals(15:43) Overcoming agent intimidation with Proof of Funds and Earnest Money(21:02) How licensed agents can successfully navigate novation disclosures(23:39) Preparing to go full-time with six months of living expenses(27:35) Handling seller-financed paperwork and title company recordings(28:47) Jerry's 5-5-5 Method for daily direct-to-agent outreach(30:42) Tracking quality conversations over raw call volume(32:16) How moving to Puerto Rico saves millions in taxes(33:17) The 80% drop in active wholesalers and surviving the market(35:02) Navigating TCPA lawsuits and scrubbing the Do Not Call registry----------Resources:FlipsterReal Estate DisruptorsBatchLeads@jerrynorton on Instagram@realbrentdaniels on InstagramTo speak with Brent or one of our other expert coaches call (281) 835-4201 or schedule your free discovery call here to learn about our mentorship programs and become part of the TribeGo to Wholesalingincgroup.com to become part of one of the fastest growing Facebook communities in the Wholesaling space. Get all of your burning Wholesaling questions answered, gain access to JV partnerships, and connect with other "success minded" Rhinos in the community.It's 100% free to join. The opportunities in this community  are endless, what are you waiting for?

Register here to attend the live virtual event "Why Investors Are Targeting Oklahoma Real Estate in 2026" on Thursday, May 27th at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Keith explains how rent payments are starting to factor into credit scores, boosting accountability for tenants and strengthening landlords' position.  He introduces the "GRE Duck" to show how a plain long-term rental can quietly build wealth through several profit centers beyond visible cash flow. Keith also shares why he expects a new era of heightened inflation and how owning real assets with long-term fixed-rate debt can help investors stay ahead of it. Finally, Keith is joined by a GRE Investment Coach, Naresh Vissa, to highlight Oklahoma as an under-the-radar, business-friendly market that many investors see as a promising "next place" for cash-flowing rentals. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/607 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  FAMILY to 66866  Unlock truly passive real estate income—visit flockhomes.com/GRE today to see if your properties qualify for a 721 exchange with Flock Homes. To get in the best physical, mental, and professional shape of your life, go to DanielThomasHind.com and apply for Daniel's intensive 1-on-1 coaching for burnt-out entrepreneurs and executives. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com  Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. The American consumer is in real trouble today, and persistent inflation is poised to make it worse. How should real estate investors adjust their strategy? Learn the difference between delinquency, default, and foreclosure. Why making an early mortgage payoff is almost always ill-advised, then we explore an investment market that's poised for potential today on Get Rich Education.    Keith Weinhold  0:32   You know, Mid South Homebuyers, that top Memphis turnkey provider, I learned that a secret weapon behind their explosive growth is more than just you buying their properties. It's an executive coach for nine years now. Their CEO, Terry Kerr, and his COO, Pat Nix, have worked privately with a coach who I've now learned from too, and he doesn't market himself online anywhere. After 12 years behind the scenes, that coach is now making himself available exclusively for GRE listeners. His name is Daniel Thomas Hind. If you're a hard-charging business owner or investor who wants to get in the best shape of your life, physically, mentally, and professionally, you can fill out an application for a free consult. This is private one on one coaching for those willing to go to uncommon lengths to achieve uncommon results. Thanks to Daniel, we've all become better leaders, better operators, and better men. It started by showing up for ourselves. Now it's your turn. Go to danielthomashind.com H I N D, that's danielthomamashind.com and sign up before spots fill.   Keith Weinhold  1:45   Flock Homes helps multifamily owners exit the operator grind, whether it's your sixplex or a 50 unit apartment through a 721 exchange. This defers your capital gains tax. It's a strategy long used by institutions. Now you can swap tenants and toilets for passive income and zero management. Request your initial valuations. See if your property qualifies at Flock homes.com/gre that's F L O C K homes.com/gre   Corey Coates  2:18   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is Get Rich Education.   Keith Weinhold  2:34   Welcome to GRE from Arcadia, California to Arcade New York, and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold. You're listening to Get Rich Education. Around here, we don't look at a house and see four walls, we see five profit centers quietly doing jumping jacks behind the drywall. At the same time, most people seem to think cash flow is something that you catch in a stream. Hey, well, Who's in trouble out there amidst persistent and rising inflation? Well, you know the answer, it's just another reflection of the K-shaped economy and the hollowing out of the middle class. Now we can look at how many Americans are missing their mortgage payments. The mortgage delinquency rate is historically between one and 2% That just means that's the proportion of borrowers that get seriously behind on their mortgage payments. That's the normal range over the long run. Today's figure is pretty low at 1.1% so on the low end of that historic one to 2% range. So homeowners are in good shape, but credit card and automobile loan delinquencies are now deeply concerning, and a lot of times these people can be your rent paying tenant for credit card delinquency. Back in 2022 the rate was 8% Now 13% of credit card users are seriously behind on their payments. How about automobile delinquency? Back in 2022 it was 3.6% Now it's 5.6% and then there's student loans. The proportion of seriously delinquent student loans is 10.3% That's the highest since 2020 So the average borrower entering student loan default is now fully 40 years old. Before the pandemic, it was just 36 and a half. Now, there's surprisingly few hard statistics on the exact average age at which Americans fully pay off student loans, but the best available evidence from a platform. Called the Education Data Initiative, it suggests that the typical borrower who successfully repays on a standard timeline finishes somewhere in their early to mid 40s, and a substantial share of borrowers still carry student debt into their 50s and even 60s, so the US student loan crisis is intensifying. How about your tenant in that rent payment? About one in eight renters are behind on their rent payments per the CFPB. Almost every tenant catches up. Some live a paycheck to paycheck timing game. The payment that renters are most likely to miss is for credit cards, and, like I just put the numbers to, they are more than twice as likely to miss a credit card payment than they are an automobile payment. To most tenants, losing the car would mean losing the job, so they'll make the car payment before the credit card payment, and eviction is catastrophic, so they don't want to face that. They'll make that rent payment before a credit card payment too. Alarmingly, half of American credit card users carry balances from month to month, fully half the average interest they're paying is 21 to 22% I mean, sheesh, if Luboo is in a collection of wildly overpriced Stanley tumblers that all look big enough, waste of money. Now, some debtors can tap home equity to pay their consumer debt, but a lot of them aren't homeowners, all right. So, what does this all mean for residential income property owners? Well, since 1980 rent increases have compounded at 3.9% annually, that's the number, so almost 4% rent growth since about the time that Ronald Reagan became president, but rent growth is currently lagging behind this, and I expect that rent hikes will continue to be pretty paltry for the next couple years. Inflation is stressing tenants' consumer purchases too much for them to deal with steep rent hikes. The median household income of a US renter is $55,000 Overall, it's $84,000 All right, so to be clear, that 84k household income is not for homeowners, it's 84k overall for every American household. The 55k number is just for renters. What all this means is that this coming higher wave of inflation from the Iran war, where you're now poised to potentially see the highest rate of inflation of your entire life occur in the next couple years is that when you're looking at adding rental property on your pro forma, you can see how the numbers would be with those historic 3.9% rent increases each year, but it's wiser to run your numbers with no rent increase at all, because higher inflation on all these consumer products means it's less likely that they can handle a rent hike   Keith Weinhold  8:25   In the mortgage world. What's the difference between delinquency, default, and foreclosure, anyway? Because some people use a couple of those terms interchangeably, but there is a difference. The timeline is that once you're 30 days late, that is delinquency, and this condition occurs the moment that a single payment is missed. And at this early stage, your bank still hopes that this is temporary, because the bank actually doesn't want to take back your property. They're not in the business to do that. They want you to be able to keep making your payments in general, because if a borrower keeps missing payments and a bank has to take possession of the property, well, then that bank has to pay legal fees and court costs, and even property taxes if they end up taking back the property. Yeah, the bank pays all of that if they have to take it all right, so that's 30 days. What about when a borrower gets to 90 days late on payments, where we're trending closer to the bank having to take back the property? Well, 90 days, that's the point at which we're in mortgage default. When a homeowner's 90 days late on payments, the lender kind of says to themselves that bank is saying, hey, this is serious, and they file what's called a notice of default with both the homeowner and the courts at the 120 day mark. This is pre foreclosure, right? So, after about four months or more of missed pay. Payments and state timelines vary. Texas is famously Formula One fast, really lender friendly, then, but timelines can drag on for one to three years in a bunch of northeastern states, Florida, Illinois and Ohio, so they're more borrower protective, and during Covid, this was overridden, and even fast states became slow. Beyond 120 days of non-payment, this is foreclosure, the legal seizure process. This is when the home sells that auction to the highest bidder. That's sort of like Sotheby's for distressed drywall, but if no bidder raises their paddle, well, then the property returns to the bank and becomes R E O. You've probably heard this term before, that stands for real estate owned, R E O. It also kind of means bank owned, and bank owned is the phrase that kind of makes more sense. That's what REO is, all right. Yes, this is when the bank becomes the home's reluctant landlord, and if the occupant has not left, the bank can formally file for eviction. Banks don't like being in this position, and they might sell the home cheaply. Why would they do that? Because, again, banks are not in the business of owning property, and they don't want to pay those holding costs, besides paying legal fees and court costs, and the banks now having to pay property tax because they do temporarily own that foreclosed upon property. Now they're also usually paying for maintenance, repairs, and insurance, a non-paying borrower like this can typically cost a lender 1000s per month. So this is the difference between delinquency, default, and foreclosure. But, like I said, we are at a time when mortgage delinquency rates are historically low. Instead, it's consumer debtors that are more likely to default today on things like their credit cards and their automobile loans. The takeaway for real estate investors here is that in today's inflationary times, renters are increasingly cost-burdened, rent increases are historically slow. That's sort of the bad news. And then the upside, the good news is it also means that tenants must delay home ownership and keep on renting from you, because as they struggle to pay these rising expenses, it's also harder and harder for them to form a down payment and go buy their own place, that's the real lesson with the parts of the economy where you see default trends today.    Keith Weinhold  12:52   Now, if you're an income property owner, like I am, you probably have mortgages with a bunch of different banks, lenders like I do. You've probably noticed more than once that various banks and mortgage servicers, a lot of times, they feature these early payoff tools, enticing you to pay your mortgage off ahead of time, before it goes its full 30 year term, or whatever your full loan duration is. I mean, a lot of banks love it when you try to pay off your own early. It's often good for them and bad for you. And there are a few reasons that banks do this. They reduce their default risk if a bank convinces you, the borrower, to aggressively pay down your principal. It also builds equity faster, and you become less likely to walk away, so it's safer for the bank during downturns. Say there's a borrower with a 300k property and a 50k loan balance, meaning it's mostly paid off. Oh, that's far less risky to the bank than one with a 300k property and a 200k loan balance, meaning that you have less equity in it. So banks value stability. Another reason that some banks want to roll out the red carpet to try to get you to pay off your mortgage early is because banks recycle capital. They don't simply hold every mortgage for 30 years. A lot of loans are sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or they're bundled into mortgage-backed securities, or they're serviced for fees. So your originating bank, when they first made that loan with you, oh, they've already earned their origination fees and servicing income and cross-selling opportunities, so getting principal back from you sooner allows them to reissue new loans sooner, and see rising interest rate environments like we've been in lately that changes the incentives for banks too, because if current mortgage rates are higher than your old rate a. Wow, then banks really love getting your old low rate loan paid off. Just say, for example, you have a 3% mortgage that you got five years ago, and new mortgages today are 7% Oh, if you pay off or refinance the old loan, oh well, now the bank can redeploy that money into higher yielding loans. Now they can lend it out at today's 7% that is really valuable to them. So encouraging your payoff, that is often just some consumer service positioning and marketing. You'll see messaging like, hey, make extra payments, or hey, you can own your home faster if you make extra principal pay downs, that's sort of marketing psychology. Because emotionally, a lot of consumers, they're not thinking big, they still emotionally love debt freedom, because a lot of them don't even consider true financial freedom is something that's in the realm of possibility for them, so banks provide tools because customers oftentimes want them and like them. Regulators actually like this position too. It's positioned as responsible lending optics, and financially healthy borrowers are deemed to be safer customers, but a bank sure does not want delinquency or foreclosure from a wealth building perspective. Productive low-cost debt benefits you, the borrower, enormously.    Keith Weinhold  16:34   And on previous episodes, I've talked extensively about how making extra principal pay downs on your mortgage is a bad idea, and that's whether it's rental property or your own home, and you know, I'll bring a new example to this for you. It might feel good to pay off your mortgage faster. Your bank probably likes that, as I just explained, but feeling good doesn't build your wealth. Let's just take a 400k mortgage at a 6% mortgage rate. We'll keep it simple. With a 30 year loan, your payment is about 2400 monthly, so you'll pay 864k over the life of the loan. Well, instead, with a 15 year loan, your payment's 3376 and you'll pay just 608k over the life of the loan. So, by paying extra principal with the 15 year, you save about 255k in interest over the life of the loan, and that's it. Most people stop right there, and they think, oh well, then the 15 year paying down principal faster than that has got to be the smarter way, look, I can point to this on paper and show you, no, but with that extra about $1,000 per month of mortgage payment that you made by going with the 15 year, if instead you would have just invested that at an 8% return, you would have about 1.1 million more dollars in your pocket. Some people say they sleep better because their house is paid off, but I would rather sleep knowing that my money is growing faster than my debt is costing me. I only used 8% as a return, too. If your dollars were instead invested in a different vehicle, say in buy and hold income property. We know that it can be multiples higher than 8% and all the while, if we keep our own money and avoid making an early pay down, our cash is also going to remain more liquid than if we sunk it into the house, because houses make terrible banks. It is indeed rather myopic to make extra principal payments on a mortgage loan in most cases. In fact, somewhat related to this, coming up on a future show, I'm going to tell you about the biggest financial expense you will ever have in your life, it is not taxes, it's not housing, it's not interest charges, it's not inflation, it's not paying for children, and it's not health care. Most people have never heard of it. The biggest financial expense that you'll ever have in your life. I'll talk about that coming up in a future episode.    Keith Weinhold  19:23   Is today's American housing market a buyer's market or a seller's market? In fact, it's somewhat of a discussion that you can have. There's not a clear cut answer, because more so than usual, it depends on which region of the nation you're looking at. As we know, six months of available supply is a balanced market nationally. There's only 4.4 months of existing housing supply, but almost twice that much new housing supply. National median home values are only up about 1.1% year over year. And what's the future of the investment market? Good, I'm going to discuss this and more with a guest later today. I would like to seriously thank you for your listenership. GRE is a platform largely built on long form trust, podcast listeners, newsletters, coaching calls, and referrals, releasing a show 52 weeks a year for between 11 and 12 years now, and the show is delivered every week from me, a real human flesh and blood host with a pulse and sometimes a cowlick in my hair, really human stuff going on here. I say this because robot podcast hosts are becoming more common, though I still wouldn't say that robot hosts are widespread. Amazon's Alexa Plus now produces AI-generated podcasts featuring chats between two robot co-hosts, but here on GRE it's always been human delivered with no plans to change that promise, and speaking of human connection, I learned that a number of successful guests that you've heard here on the show, they've gotten counsel from a rather special executive coach that's really developed some of these people that you've heard on the show. This coach has helped people show up as the best version of themselves and build them into better leaders, better operators, and better men and women, just like you, I know there's a gap between who you are and who you could be. When someone points out that gap to you, that can be a motivator alone, and when you learn the steps to close that gap, you really start to fulfill your potential. It often takes a trained eye from the outside to get you on the right trajectory and build the sort of person that compounds and builds you closer to your optimal self and people of enormous success have a coach or mentor behind them. Steve Jobs did, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Taylor Swift does the accountability piece alone is often enough to elevate your performance. I just learned about this coach this year. This man has been the behind the scenes key to success for a number of not just real estate related pros and GRE guests, but other people too. And interestingly, he hasn't marketed himself online anywhere. Well, I got curious, I learned more about him and kind of tracked him down, and he and I had a great lunch in California together not long ago, and I have since learned from him after 12 years behind the scenes. Well, it was quite a successful lunch, because that coach is now making himself available exclusively for GRE listeners. His name is Daniel Thomas Hind, the number of people with life-changing testimonials from working with him is pretty remarkable. So, if you're a hard-charging business owner or investor, and you want to get in the best shape of your life, physically, mentally, or professionally, you can fill out an application for a free consult. It's private one on one coaching, if you're willing to go to uncommon lengths to achieve pretty uncommon results. Thanks to Daniel, we've all become better leaders, better operators, better men. It started by showing up for ourselves. If it sounds interesting to you, now it can be your turn. You might at least look into it, since it is close personal one on one coaching. He can only help a limited number of people. So, complete an application before spots fill. You can go to Daniel Thomas hind.com H I N D is how you spell his last name, that's Daniel Thomas hind.com More next, I'm Keith Weinhold. This is Get Rich Education.    Keith Weinhold  24:05   What if you got your mortgage loans the same place I get mine? You sure can at Ridge Lending Group, NMLS 42056 They provided GRE listeners with more loans than anyone, because Ridge specializes in investment property. They'll help you build a long-term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequal, and even chat directly with President Chaley Ridge. While it's on your mind, start at Ridge Lending group.com That's Ridge lendinggroup.com    Keith Weinhold  24:36   Let me ask you something: if you've worked hard to build wealth, is your money positioned to actually support your goals. A lot of accredited investors leave capital sitting in cash because it feels safe, but inflation and missed income opportunities can quietly erode its value. Freedom Family Investments offers Freedom Notes for investors seeking structured income backed by real estate. It's a straight. Forward approach built on real assets, not speculation. In full disclosure, I'm an investor myself. What I like is that their team walks you through how it all works, so you can decide if it aligns with your portfolio and income goals. Every investment carries risk, and nothing is guaranteed, but with a track record of consistent on-time investor payouts, they built real credibility. Go to freedomfamilyinvestments.com to book a clarity call, or text family 266866 that's Family 266866    Keith Weinhold  25:38   This is Peak Prosperity's Chris Martinson, listen to Get Rich Education with Keith Weinhold and Don't Quit Your Daydream.   Keith Weinhold  25:52   For an in-house chat, I'd like to welcome back our head investment coach here at GRE. He has his MBA, but perhaps more importantly, he's an active real estate investor himself, and he spends his days helping GRE listeners cut through the noise and actually make smart real estate investing decisions, and this means helping you figure things out, like what market fits your goals, whether cash flow appreciation or even showing a tax law should be your priority, and how to think about financing and what properties, the exact properties pass the smell test, and maybe most importantly, helping investors like you avoid expensive mistakes. And yes, the coaching is free to GRE listeners at GRE Investment coach.com And basically, if the real estate world feels like Costco on a Saturday afternoon, he helps you find the free samples, find the exit, and get the good deals without getting run over by a shopping cart. It's time for you to share with the audience. Naresh Vissa.   Naresh Vissa  26:53   Thanks a lot, Keith, for having me back on the show. Always a pleasure to connect with our loyal GRE listeners and followers,   Keith Weinhold  27:01   a lot of loyal listeners, some that have listened to all 600 plus episodes, starting from back in 2014 and Naresh we continue to see income property builders provide incentives that we haven't seen in years. Tell us about it.   Naresh Vissa  27:19   We're at a key point in this real estate cycle, Keith, regarding incentives, because we had GRE, and I think investors will tell you this, not just through GRE, but maybe in their hometowns and their local markets, that they're seeing incentives that they've never seen before, and a major reason for this is understanding why these incentives are there in the first place. If we go back five years to 2021 we didn't really see any incentives in 2021 outside of maybe like one year of free property management, which isn't the most enticing incentive out there, but today we are seeing more incentives than we've seen, at least in my career as a real estate investor, which is not very long, it's only about 10 years, but in my career as a real estate investor, in my career as a real estate investment coach, and a major reason for that is because providers, we call them providers, we can call them local market builders, or specialists, or flippers, wholesalers - we'll just call them sellers - they want to offload inventory, they want to sell their homes as quickly as possible. And why is that? Because we're not in a 2021 environment anymore, where a property gets listed and within three hours the first offer comes in, and within 24 hours multiple offers are in, and within two days of property is sold. We're not in that environment anymore. There are a variety of factors about why we're not in that environment. Part of it is economy related, part of it we talked at length about Doge, and the government contracts that have been cut. I mean, we're talking about hundreds of billions of dollars that are worth of dollars that are no longer pumping into the US economy, and the many jobs associated with that. We're also talking about the artificial intelligence, so the tech industries for the last few years, have not necessarily downsized, but changed their job functions, or removed, just eliminated job functions entirely, and this has affected markets, not the entire United States, but it's certainly affected some markets that we operate in, Florida, certainly in Texas, you can look at Austin, Texas, for example, and see the impact that the artificial intelligence and AI has had in the sector there. There are just all sorts of reasons, and so this is why builders, they're not building as much. So there were five years ago what are called spec homes. And pre construction homes, pre construction homes are homes that are to be developed and they get buyers ahead of time and they don't build until they get a buyer and then they build and they complete the property. Pre construction homes are not being done anymore as compared to custom home. A custom home is when you have a buyer and the building has started, the buyer has paid a good portion of the building, and the property is complete. But in pre-construction, they haven't even broken ground, they haven't even gotten permits, and a lot of investors have been scared away from that, saying, Why get a home like that when I can just buy a spec home or a custom home. A spec home is a home where the builder just builds a property and they hope that a buyer is going to come after it's built, and the problem with that, as we're seeing today, this is why builders are trying to offload their inventory. It's because so many of these spec homes were built because these builders thought, oh, 2021 2022 those are such amazing years, but now in 2026 they built these homes, and there aren't buyers throughout the building process, they weren't able to get buyers, and there still aren't buyers available, so what do the builders want to do, they want to offer really, really enticing incentives, because it's very highly likely they took out some type of construction loan, and they took out some other type of loan, and they've got all this debt on the property. Builders are not landlords, builders build, they want to build something and sell it off. They do not want to hold on to it and let something just sit there, that builders make money by selling their property, so all these different reasons are why we're seeing incentives like we've never seen before. And to give you an example, instead of one year of property management, we're seeing two years of property management. Yeah, instead of closing cost credits, we're seeing builders and sellers in general actually pay money to buyers, so they close on a property. Let's say they, instead of a closing cost credit, you close on a property, they'll literally just wire you or overnight you a check for x amount of dollars, and this is not like $1,000 $2,000 We've had some investors get up to $50,000 mailed to them after closing on a property, so I think this is a really, really good time for investors to find deals. You brought up Costco earlier, I'm like the Costco finder, it's a really, really good time to find deals, because through networks like GRE we have access globally, not just mainland 48 states, not just United States, not just globally, whether it's teak timber parcels in South America or in Central America, or it's duplexes, quads, single family homes in mainland United States, we have access to these deals, to these incentives, whereas your average person, they're just reading some headline saying, oh, real estate is a bad investment right now, and home values are supposed to crash, and there's so many homes available for sale, and there's going to be this big crash, and and inflation is very high, which means interest rates are really high. That's like the general consensus, but that's what the mainstream news media is telling, and that's what's creating a consensus.   Keith Weinhold  33:29   That's what clicks and fear. Yes,   Naresh Vissa  33:31   that's where I say that there are GRE is here to find those diamonds in a rough to find those incentives to find those good deals to find those markets, just like even in the stock market, the stock market can be at all-time highs, but you can still find those diamonds in the rough that are good, high-quality companies. Maybe they're undervalued. There's always going to be some type of diamond in the rough. I don't think we've ever gone through a period in our lifetimes where it was like, oh, everything is going so well, and there's nothing to invest in. There's nothing we should just do nothing with our money. I don't think there's ever been a point. There's always in any asset class in any industry. So that's why I say right now I'm seeing incentives. That's how I began this conversation. I'm seeing incentives that I've never seen before, and I'm excited to share them with all of our GRE followers.   Keith Weinhold  34:24   Yes, there's never perfection in a market like a panacea, where everything is tuned in just right, and it's really not a buyer's market nationally, in a sense. Now it sort of feels that way, because in 2021 to 2022 we had such a frenzy and such a run up in such a seller's market that things have come somewhat back more into balance. We still have substantially less than six months of supply on a national basis, but yes, to your point, some people are really cashing in on. These incentives, and that's created a pickup in activity recently that you've seen with investors.   Naresh Vissa  35:07   I have absolutely seen a pickup in activity, and there could be.. I don't want to speak in absolutes.. there could be a variety of reasons for this. Number one is the stock market has consistently reached all-time highs for the past few weeks or so, and many people, they liquidated some of their portfolio, they liquidated some of those stocks, and said, all right, it's time to get into real estate. Another reason is, yes, you do see these headlines that are doom and gloom, next big crash, and there are some markets in Florida, for example, in Texas, for example, in the DMV area, DC metro area, Maryland, Virginia, and even in some parts of California, you do see a stagnation in home values, maybe even a decline in home values in some of these areas, but I bring them up because some areas where investors own are still thriving and doing really well, and many of those investors who we work with at GRE, they opted to 1031 and say, you know what, I had this property, it appreciated by 60% since I bought it, 60% 50% whatever it might be, and I want to cash out. Well, I don't want to necessarily cash out, but I want to sell in 1031 into an undervalued market, or a market where the homes have declined, or maybe it's an up and coming market. For those who don't know, 1031 is special tax favored strategy from the tax code that allows real estate investors to sell a property and to essentially replace it with a like kind property, and there's tax break, you don't have to pay a capital gains tax or anything on it. There's nothing like that with stocks. So, if you sell a stock, for example, you can't get a more expensive stock with that capital gain and avoid paying the capital gains tax. Unfortunately, you can't do that for stocks, but for real estate, you can. So, we've had several investors do that, where they, 1031 they said this market, it's taken off, maybe it could go down, who knows, but I'm selling at the peak, and I want to buy somewhere else, so that's what we help people do, that's what I help people do, I help them find those deals, those incentives, those markets that could be up and coming, or maybe that declined, and that's why still it makes a lot of sense to be on the lookout for those deals.   Keith Weinhold  37:47   Now, one such place is potentially the Oklahoma market. Last week here on the show, I had your co-host for an upcoming event with me, Richard, whom is an Oklahoma City provider, and we were sort of a phrase that I use, Naresh, is that next place, that next place, Oklahoma City, where the prices haven't run up, it's business friendly, and you do have these affordable prices, and you have landlord-friendly laws, potentially that next place where your dollar goes further, and as the Oklahoma City Thunder go deep in the playoffs, you know the nice thing about Oklahoma is that you can still buy real estate there without needing an NBA contract to afford it. In fact, we were spotlighting their $145,000 new build detached single family rental. Now it is tiny, and it comes with both LVP flooring and granite. I mean, it's something that sort of sounds like science fiction in Metro New York City and coastal California. I don't know if paying 145k would even give you permission to look at a house, but that's one opportunity that we've been talking about here. Niresh,   Naresh Vissa  39:03   let me talk a bit about Oklahoma, because this is a market that we haven't covered much. In fact, we, I would say, have never covered it in writing. It's not heavily featured throughout GRE's history. Yeah, it's not prominently featured on our website. This is a newer market, and I brought up the term up and coming, so I brought up the 1031 people are 1031 into up and coming markets. Oklahoma is an up and coming market. It's a very landlord friendly state, it's a very tax friendly state. The property taxes are significantly lower in Oklahoma, for example, compared to a Texas or a Florida, which are two very popular in real estate investment states. Investors go after Oklahoma is not quite as high, their home insurance isn't anywhere as high as a Florida, for example, but the best part. It is because of all these different factors. Oklahoma has a lot of industry, and we'll go into it this Thursday on our webinar. Go to GRE webinars.com to register, but Oklahoma, the tourism is getting up and running. The energy industry still has a very important part to play in this world's energy consumption, Oklahoma, it's got huge academic areas. You have Oklahoma University, you have Oklahoma State, you have a plethora of Tulsa has a very strong university there. You have medical schools there. Oklahoma is an underrated state. People don't think about Oklahoma when they think about what are the greatest states in America, or what state that I want to move to, but Oklahoma, I think, is that next up-and-coming state, because there's actually more stuff now. I brought up tourism, you brought up the Oklahoma City Thunder, they never had really any professional sports teams, what, 20 years ago,   Keith Weinhold  41:02   right?   Naresh Vissa  41:03   And the Thunder now are the best NBA teams. They have been the best, and I'm rooting for them. So this is all good. That's the Oklahoma City area, where the Thunder play, but, like I said, I brought up other markets, like Tulsa, where we have inventory, and there are a few others that we're going to cover, but mostly the best properties that we're going to cover on Thursday are in the Oklahoma City area, places within 45 minutes, 50 minutes from Oklahoma City. So, as you're watching the webinar and following the Oklahoma City Thunder, that should only kind of enhance as the team does better and as Oklahoma gets more publicity, and is on TV more, and you see all those nice stills on TV, and those shots, and ESPNs covering the city, that's all very good for real estate, and for publicity, and this is like an intangible reason to invest in Oklahoma that actually makes a very big difference. So, overall, Oklahoma is what I would call, like I said earlier, up and coming, the home values, because it's up and coming. You can't get $145,000 new construction property anywhere in the United States right now. When I say anywhere, there's a little bit of hyperbole there. If you look to some boondock towns and cities, yeah, you'll find them, but are they really good renters markets? Are they good appreciating markets? Well, in fact, the most of the state of Oklahoma is now, and definitely that Oklahoma City area is. So, I'm excited about this online special event we're having this Thursday, because, like I said, this is a new market, just like the team, I mean, so many fans are just new to Oklahoma, you know, like Oklahoma, like what's in Oklahoma. Well, attend our special event this Thursday, GRE webinars.com and we're going to get down to the nitty gritty of it. I think this is out of all the up and coming markets I've covered over the last 10 years, I think this is the best one, because the problems I had with some of these up and coming markets, like Memphis, for example, crime.. it's why are they up and coming? Why are the home value solo? Well, you know, crime was a major issue. There's no comparison between an Oklahoma City or a Tulsa and Memphis, for example, or a Baltimore. There's no comparison when it comes to esthetics, when it comes to newness, niceness, crime, homicides, no comparison. So, to me, this is a no-brainer. And I think investors should be really excited about this.   Keith Weinhold  43:32   There is anticipation for Thursday's live event, which you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. You'll learn about real estate investing, you'll get to chat with Naresh and the co-host, Richard, that provides there. Ask any questions that you want to have answered in real time. The event name is why investors are targeting Oklahoma real estate this year. It is this Thursday night, the 20-eighth, 8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific. Sign up is open@grewebinars.com It's free. Naresh, we all look forward to seeing you Thursday night. It was great having you here.   Naresh Vissa  44:06   Thanks a lot, Keith. Looking forward to seeing everybody.   Keith Weinhold  44:15   Yes, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the reigning NBA champions, and they've gone deep into playoffs again this season, but what you'll find more interesting about Oklahoma City's real estate investment market is that it's business friendly, still affordable population growth, job growth. There are still good deals. You don't need to have a venture capital exit just to put some rental property in your portfolio, and while those $145,000 properties are small detached cottages with LVP and granite, there are other single family rental and duplex styles, all new build, everything here is new construction, the. Like a nice looking 565k duplex in Edmond, Oklahoma. I'm looking at a photo of it right now. Edmund abuts right up against Oklahoma City. Between 2010 and 2020 it had whopping population growth of 16% That is not random. People vote with their moving trucks. Learn more about Oklahoma's growth in energy, aerospace, aviation, logistics, and tech, along with Oklahoma City's downtown revitalization. This creates the rent-paying tenants with stable incomes that we need at the event, the provider is even offering two years of free property management, and they handle all the tenant placement for you. Save your spot for Thursday now@grewebinars.com Our team will see you then. Next week, we'll have Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki back here on the show with us. We'll see you Thursday. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. Don't quit your daydream.   Unknown Speaker  46:08   Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of Get Rich Education LLC exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  46:36   The preceding program was brought to you by Your Home for Wealth building get richeducation.com  

Lucas Sherraden hosts Brian Weast from the Wiest Group in the DFW area, exploring his journey in real estate from teaching driver's education to leading a successful team. Brian shares insights on shifting strategies, from focusing on REO properties during market downturns to leveraging technology and relationships for growth. He highlights the importance of structured lead generation, understanding profitability, and the challenges and rewards of building a real estate team. This episode offers valuable lessons for agents aspiring to elevate their business with actionable strategies and a team-first mindset. Connect with Brian at https://www.weastrealestate.com/ ---------- Be sure to leave a rating and review and don't forget to go to www.builthow.com and register for our next live or virtual event. Part of the Win Make Give Podcast Network

Summerall. Fargo. REO. C. Christie.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What's worse? Adversity or no respect? [1:09]Respect or adversity? It's the NFL's world. [12:37]The five “must see” games. Name That…Movie, song, or person. [20:00]Summerall. Fargo. REO. C. Christie.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What happens when you get slapped with a $742,000 judgment, lose your cars, and find yourself riding a bicycle in 103-degree Phoenix heat at absolute rock bottom? You start dialing. In this special crossover episode, Brent Daniels sits in the hot seat as a guest on the Grid Talk podcast to share his ultimate real estate origin story and the exact steps he took to build a massively profitable business from scratch.Brent pulls back the curtain on how he clawed his way out of massive debt by driving for dollars, skip tracing, and relentlessly picking up the phone. After making an astonishing 45,000 cold calls over eight years, Brent reveals the exact psychology of a successful cold open, the only six responses a seller will ever give you, and why mastering "energy management" is the true secret to scaling your income and avoiding burnout. Be a part of the TTP training program now.---------Show notes:(0:00) Beginning of today's episode(2:23) Brent's origin story!(4:26) Hitting rock bottom with a $742,000 judgment and riding a bicycle in the Phoenix heat(8:22) Crawling out of debt by working REO sign calls and transitioning to driving for dollars(13:40) The four essential pillars to fully prequalify any distressed property owner(15:40) Lessons learned from personally making 45,000 cold calls over eight years(16:50) Six possible responses you will get when asking a seller to consider an offer(21:59) Why energy management is far more important to your success than time management(29:45) The danger of treating business revenue like Monopoly money(39:05) The perfect Real Estate Schedule (RES)(40:18) Brent's advice to his younger self on hiring, making calls, and buying assets----------Resources:Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert KiyosakiLexisNexisTTP InsiderBrent Daniels - Real Estate Coach on YouTubeTo speak with Brent or one of our other expert coaches call (281) 835-4201 or schedule your free discovery call here to learn about our mentorship programs and become part of the TribeGo to Wholesalingincgroup.com to become part of one of the fastest growing Facebook communities in the Wholesaling space. Get all of your burning Wholesaling questions answered, gain access to JV partnerships, and connect with other "success minded" Rhinos in the community.It's 100% free to join. The opportunities in this community  are endless, what are you waiting for?

Are you ready to take your note investing to the streets?Welcome to another Money Monday! This week, we are diving deep into the world of "Roadshows" and a specific niche that is seeing a massive surge in inventory: Reverse Mortgages (HECMs). Whether you are a seasoned note buyer or just starting to look at distressed debt, understanding how to navigate these assets can be a total game-changer for your portfolio. In this episode, Scott Carson discusses a unique "divine intervention" moment—a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, that perfectly coincided with a fresh tape of over 35 reverse mortgage assets in that exact market. We break down what exactly a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is, why families often walk away from them, and how you can step in to create massive equity through foreclosure or REO plays. We also talk about the reality of "engineer-designed" platforms versus real-world note trading, the importance of product over platform, and why the "Tulsa Note Roadshow" is just the beginning of a new way for our students and investors to partner on big deals.

You don't need a huge savings account or even a ton of life experience to start investing in real estate. At just 18 years old, today's guest used her entire life savings to buy her first real estate deal. It was just an empty parcel of land, but it ended up becoming a $120K home-run deal that catapulted her toward 10 more deals over the next six years! Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Tiffany Da Silva had just graduated from high school when she decided to go (literally) all-in on real estate investing. Despite having no credit and just $12,000 to her name, she took the plunge, using every last dollar to bid on an empty parcel of land at a tax deed sale. What was going to be a simple land flip turned into a rental property that has made her over $120,000! With proof of concept, Tiffany went back to the well, buying up several more real estate owned (REO) properties at auctions and even dabbling in new construction. Whether you feel you're too young to invest, too old to start, or somewhere in the middle, anyone can follow Tiffany's blueprint and copy her success! In This Episode We Cover How Tiffany bought her first real estate deal at just 18 years old Tiffany's journey from zero to 11 real estate deals in six years How to buy discounted properties at tax deed sales and auctions Using hard money to fund your off-market real estate deals Real estate owned (REO) properties explained (and how to find them!) And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠h⁠t⁠tps://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rookie-713. Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertise@biggerpockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Master the Microsoft co-sell evolution today. Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this deep-dive panel discussion, industry experts Erin Figer, Erika Irby, and Reis Barrie celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Microsoft Co-Sell program by dissecting its evolution from its 2016 inception to today's data-driven, outcome-focused landscape. The group explores the critical shift from transactional sales to modern, frictionless co-sell motions, emphasizing the importance of signals, intentionality, and building credibility with Microsoft field teams. Whether you are navigating the complexities of the marketplace, struggling with reseller enablement, or looking to integrate AI into your sales process, this conversation offers actionable insights to align your organization's go-to-market strategy with Microsoft's evolving priorities and achieve results. https://youtu.be/KV1MGSoyWbQ Key Takeaways Effective co-selling has shifted from autonomous, fragmented motions to a highly collaborative, data-driven approach essential for modern cloud GTM strategies. Credibility is the currency of partnership; without trust from vendors and customers, technical go-to-market motions will fail to produce long-term outcomes. The “REO” (Reseller Enablement Offering) model is an operational unlock for ISVs to go global and sell local without the friction of multi-party private offers. Integrating AI into CRM systems is vital for identifying total addressable market (TAM) signals and maintaining sales velocity. “Don’t automate a bad process” remains the cardinal rule; technology should be used to refine existing, successful motions, not to propagate inefficient ones. The human element—community, in-person events, and empathy—is a necessary differentiator in an increasingly digital, automated B2B landscape. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Microsoft Azure, Co-sell evolution, Hyperscaler strategy, SMB partner investment, Cloud Marketplace, Veeam GTM, Partner Center alignment, Channel enablement, REO, Cloud consumption, ISV scaling, Go-to-market optimization, Partner-led growth, Azure consumption, Channel friction reduction, Outcome-driven sales, Microsoft ecosystem, Revenue acceleration, Partner alignment. Transcript Erin Figer Panel For Cut Out [00:00:00] Vince Menzione: So when we, so, uh, this all started ’cause I was trying to figure out what was next when I left Microsoft and I had this woman who was doing work, actually starting the co-selling process when we first started doing co-selling. And she was working with one of our partners and she was working with my team when I was at Microsoft. [00:00:17] And then I said, this lady knows a lot about this stuff. So I reached out, I left Microsoft, I said, I think we can help each other. Like, I think we’re gonna, I got these companies that I spoke at Microsoft’s conference. They’re like, can you come help us out? And we teamed up. And, uh, we’ve been friends and doing fun stuff ever since. [00:00:34] And she’s spoken at just about every event in some capacity or another, whether it was on stage or a workshop. Aaron Feiger. And then, uh, I, I found, I also, through Aaron, I met this other gentleman who had another company and he was doing amazing work with ISVs or SDCs, uh, Reese Barry from Carve. And then, uh, when I think we started up the event, I mean, Erica Irby came to one of our first events and spoke on stage. [00:00:58] I was like, yeah, this. The person knows what she’s doing. So I’ve asked the three of them to come up and kind of round out and end the day, but all three of ’em have a tremendous, uh, background in this whole process of co-selling go to market strategies. And I thought you, you can, I’m just giving it over to the three of you. [00:01:17] Erin Figer: I we don’t need [00:01:18] Vince Menzione: a, you don’t needer you don’t need a clicker and you, you know what you’re all gonna be talking about. But these are some really smart people about how to partner with Microsoft. So, yeah. No, thank you for having us. [00:01:27] Erin Figer: Um, hello. Hello. I think this is on. All right. So actually we’re gonna do an exercise. [00:01:32] Um, I want everyone to close their eyes. Close your eyes. Close your eyes. All right. I want you to think back to January of 2016. What were you doing? Where were you in your career? What company were you working for? What was going on in your Microsoft partnership in January of 2016? Okay, Erica, what was happening for you? [00:01:59] Erika Irby: So, uh, is this on? Sorry, I cannot tell. Um, I was at Veeam for the first time. We had just launched our first, uh, endpoint backup, uh, product in April of the previous year because nobody knew what cloud was yet, and people were scared. So we had to launch that product. And we had a relationship with Microsoft in a sense that about 20% of our business sat on Hyper V. [00:02:25] That equated to about, I think like around 90 ish million dollars, which at the time was incredible for us. But to Microsoft was, you know, like, who are you guys again? And, um, we begged and begged to have any type of communication with them. Events. Funding nothing. We did not know what Azure consumption was. [00:02:43] We didn’t have any of that information. And if somebody would’ve told me at that time that nine years later we would sign a five year contract with them and have multiple products dedicated to Microsoft, I would’ve been like, y’all are bananas. [00:02:58] Erin Figer: Reese, what were you doing in January of 2016? [00:03:00] Reis Barrie: Uh, let’s see, Jan, 2016, I was moving from Orlando, Florida to Seattle, Washington, uh, sight unseen with no place to stay. [00:03:10] Uh, to take a job at a place called Microsoft or Consulting Gig, a place called Microsoft. Um, kicking off some of the cool motions that we’re, uh, we’re gonna talk about today, I think. [00:03:20] Erin Figer: Does anybody know the significance of January, 2016 in the audience? Any takers? It was the launch of Cosell officially for Microsoft. [00:03:31] Congratulations. We’re celebrating 10 years of officially. Problematizing how you connect with the Microsoft sales organization in a programmatic at scale way. And try to build meaningful relationships. And I have been helping partners since the inception of Microsoft’s Cosell program. Um, I was on the partner side, Reese was on the inside. [00:03:59] You were at a partner. So we have all seen the evolution of Cosell across all three hyperscalers launching, you know, their co-sell initiatives. So I just wanted to take a moment to recognize. I didn’t know how many people realized that it’s been 10 years, it’s 10 year anniversary. I think it’s a big milestone. [00:04:15] Huge. So. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we, you know, when they launched it, I went, I was consulting for a startup outta Boston and we were trying to get Microsoft’s attention, competitor to fame, and I went to the business development guy and said, uh, do you, did you just see this program that Microsoft launched? I think we should include this in our branding strategy and we should use co-sell as a way to get our brand out to Microsoft and be able to tell our story of who we are and what we’re doing and that we’re in their accounts and they don’t even know it. [00:04:55] ’cause we’re the startup out of Boston who switched over from AWS to Microsoft. And we did, and I put every single opportunity in the system I could for the first six months, which was the last six months of their fiscal year. We go to partner of the, we go to, what was it called? Them WPCI think at the time. [00:05:13] Mm-hmm. Uh, in Vegas. And Nasuni won wins like all four wards worldwide. US Education, healthcare Partner of the year because I put 117 deals in the system and then it seeded Na Sunni’s Marketing for the next two years. ’cause Microsoft gave them tons of money and attention and we were off to the races. [00:05:35] Right. And then it was, can you repeat that? And we went and repeated it with Red Hat and Rubrik and Nintex and Quest and. I don’t know, lots more. But it was, it’s been fun journey co-selling. And it’s interesting to see now, um, how we continue 10 years later to evolve co-sell. And so Erica, what were some of the takeaways you had today listening to the conversation about how co-sell, how you’re modernizing and co-sell is changing inside your organization, especially now being a boomerang. [00:06:08] Erika Irby: Yeah, well we call it a Veeam ring ’cause everything a veer ring, everything has to start with with Veeam. Well, one thing I was gonna comment on, I think I’m sitting here thinking how wild is it that back in the day we actually had to define that co-sell was an action that, that, you know, partners and vendors needed to take or, and different vendors and alliances. [00:06:25] I mean, now we can’t even imagine going to market without, you know, that, that attach. But at the time, we were just very autonomous and everybody sold their own product and it, it took like this actual motion, um, to get us working together. But now look at us. I mean, this community is incredible. And we can also see this by, and even when AGU was mentioning earlier, all the bosses he had in his room, I mean. [00:06:47] How many people like know each other. I mean, this is like part of that, that ecosystem. But today, um, a couple of things I took away, and by the way, we want a lot of interactions, so we’re going to kind of throw it back out at you guys. But for me, um, outcomes came up repeatedly that was mentioned multiple times about outcomes. [00:07:04] Um, speed with intentionality. I think that was super critical. We have to go to market. There has to be a sense of urgency, but if we’re not intentional, it’s like, what are we doing? It’s just like a big mess. Um, and then credibility. And this is something I think is super important, regardless of, um, all of our emotions, all of our go to market, all of the, the things that we do, if we are not credible or not building trust with our vendors, our, our co-partners, our customers, we will never be successful. [00:07:35] Um, so those are the three main things that I took away from, from everybody talking today. And I, I thought, I mean, to me personally, I thought those were pretty powerful. [00:07:42] Yeah. [00:07:42] Erika Irby: So we’d love to hear. [00:07:43] Erin Figer: Yeah. And I know Reese, you have been doing a lot around outcomes and changing kind of the cosal, um, intention. [00:07:54] Reis Barrie: Yeah. The, uh, the, just thinking back to today, like that was like such a, it was really a, a big key theme of today. Like everyone talked about, whether it’s pivot of, of sales, partnership, um, even when you’re talking about AI and some of the, the, uh. POC discussions. So the live like type of stuff, everything was centered around that narrative. [00:08:17] And so, um, and it’s the same with, it’s the same with partnerships. It’s the same with your co-sell motion, same with your benefits utilization, um, and the way you’re utilizing partnerships. And so that’s, that’s a huge, huge component of, um, what I also took away from today. Um, and then somebody, I think it was Mark who said it that I’m gonna, I’m gonna steal this because the, the whole, um. [00:08:40] Near and dear to my heart of like, don’t, don’t scale automate ai, A-I-F-I-A bad process. Like as someone who deals with like, for the most part, bad processes, like day in and day out, um, and trying to refine them and improve them. Like, that’s one of the first things that we, uh, that we talk to partners about when it comes to their partnership and, and the processes they have in place. [00:09:03] So those are like two really big, just takeaways from [00:09:06] Erin Figer: Yeah. Nice. So we’re here to learn from each other, right? Like this is an ultimate partner community of learning from each other. So I’d really love to hear from the audience, like what are some of the things you’re doing in your cloud? Go to market approach and co-selling that you’re trying out. [00:09:23] Either you tried it, you failed fast, you learned from that, that you can share those lessons learned or like what’s working and how are you changing to be more outcome driven in your cloud go to market, uh, approach. Any takers in wanting to experience share? Great. Give that man a mic. [00:09:50] Audience Member: The SMB investments. Um, these, these new, I don’t know what they are. I partner accelerators, PBAs, uh, there’s kind of something going on in the SMB space where it just seems like they’re coming outta the woodwork to come help. On deals. I’ve never seen Microsoft really embrace the customer that they, the way they have in SMB in the cos sells. [00:10:10] I’m not sure if anybody else is seen that, but seems to be working. It’s two things. One, you at Data 60 [00:10:22] America. [00:10:54] I think, I think part of the rarity there is that. Typically you wouldn’t get a seller attached, right? They’re unmanaged that they’re kind of in the nobody cares category, but, [00:11:06] um. So Microsoft made a huge investment in the distribution space saying we’re gonna lean on distribution to help enable our 165,000 indirect resellers that we have as a business. And part of that enablement goes back to field sales alignment. So there’s these roles, ca roles called um, partner Solutions Sellers, PS. [00:11:30] And so they’re aligned by, um, solutions architecture, if you will, for Microsoft. So, or cloud solution area, whatever the new term, modern work, uh, or, uh, AI work, AI workforce, um, data and ai. And so they are there to help support your deal. So it’s, it’s a huge investment and one that I would just can say continue to advocate for it if you’re seeing success with it, because I mean, we’re heading into FY 27 planning for Microsoft. [00:11:58] So. Like there, there could be role changes. So I would say if it, if it’s helpful, like make sure you’re talking positively about it. [00:12:05] Reis Barrie: Yeah, yeah. Just to, to your point, like I, I’d say like, um, in the last six to 12 months, like that’s been a, a thing that’s like we’ve to go back and like, I mean we manage a portfolio of a couple dozen, dozen partners at this point, and so we’ve had to go back and rewrite some of our playbooks, reeducate some of. [00:12:26] Uh, some of the partnership folks that we use because, um, historically you kind of get into this like void of, you’re in partner center, you’re picking, you know, account alignment and it’s not managed. And so it’s like, okay, I expect to do nothing with this deal on the Microsoft side from a co-sell standpoint. [00:12:42] Um, but that’s kind of, that’s changed quite a bit, um, in the last six months where, um, it’s not like a, it’s hard to create, it’s hard to create processes and dependence around it ’cause it’s not like a guarantee that you’ll get, you get engagement, but. Uh, you see more eng engagement, more on more and more deals. [00:12:58] Um, and so we’ve had to go back and work with some of our partners to rewrite some of our, uh, deal sharing playbooks to account for, uh, things like that, which is, it’s super cool to see, frankly, um, to see engagement on these, like predominantly. [00:13:12] Erin Figer: So in that motion. So first off, for the folks that are on the other side of this black curtain by the food station, if you guys could please stop the conversation. [00:13:19] It’s really hard to pay attention to what’s going on in this room. Um. Thank you. Thank [00:13:25] Erika Irby: you for saying that. [00:13:26] Erin Figer: That was a great, that was a great, that’s a great point. And what I wanna talk about next is like in order to kind of continue to evolve the playbooks and they’re changing and people are changing, and priorities are changing, what are some of the signals that you guys are using internally in your organization, whether you’re building or buying, um, but would love to learn from all of you. [00:13:46] What kind of signals are you looking at to help you continue to like co-innovate, co-sell, co-market? Um, in your go-to market strategies? [00:13:58] Audience Member: Yeah, [00:13:58] Erin Figer: please. Um, [00:14:00] Audience Member: well, I’m, I’m, we’re building everything from scratch right now because we’re brand is integration. [00:14:39] Like having our, our engineer be able to interact with product [00:14:43] Erin Figer: engineer. [00:14:50] I’m gonna pick on trend ’cause I had just spent last week with them and Sanjay, I think like what you guys are building internally, um, using signals, building it into an AI agent. To help you understand your tam, you wanna share a little bit. [00:15:06] Audience Member: Happy to, and I’ll disclose. The first thing I did was hire Aaron Feiger to run my co-sell operations, uh, for the, for the second time. [00:15:12] It’s [00:15:13] Erin Figer: nice to be a GDI again [00:15:14] Audience Member: for the second, so well planted. Um, but honestly, like I can’t have an environment where I fail my sellers, like this process has to be frictionless in co-sell and marketplace operations. Or I lose trust in my own house, let alone in my channel and in my customer base. So. Uh, building that strong foundation is like job number one. [00:15:34] I’ve been, I spent a decade at Trend. I’m back, uh, five weeks on the job now. Um, but I’d say we’ve built a multi hundred million dollar cloud marketplace business thinking highly transactional. And what we’re trying to pivot to is a highly dated driven approach where we can look at any cloud in any region around the world, figure out roughly how many accounts they have. [00:15:57] Figure out what those customers are spending and things that we can protect from a cybersecurity standpoint, knowing that four or 5% of that total spend will be spent on cybersecurity, doing an overlap of where I have existing customers in that drawing a tam, overlapping that with my incumbent partners to get the Venn diagram of like, where’s my sweet spot to move this forward? [00:16:18] And then where’s my blast radius? So when I sit down with a guy leading France, or a person leading healthcare. I can have a really specific opportunity about how to leverage my cloud partnerships to accelerate deals and expand growth in a very surgical, data-driven, propensity driven way. And it like totally changes the conversation. [00:16:40] And the other thing we’ve done because you get a lot of pushback and when you’re working with Microsoft, uh, I was chatting with a few folks today, like if you’re in cybersecurity, it’s not easy. They got a 25 billion ish dollars cybersecurity business. So you gotta find your swim lanes. And the dialogue I have now internally with my sellers is a major League baseball analogy, which is, if you play major league baseball and if you hit the ball 30% of the time, you’re gonna go to this little thing called the Hall of Fame, right? [00:17:07] If you bat 300, if you’re in sales and Microsoft, or Amazon or whoever helps you, 30% of the time, you’re gonna go to this thing called President’s Club. That’s the difference between sitting at home in Ohio and sitting with your beach. You know, your, your toes in the sand. So it’s, we’re really trying to change. [00:17:25] Uh, one of the first things I ask my team is, what’s our brand promise to our sales leaders and our sales team? And if you don’t know that answer, you got a fricking problem. So you gotta get that. What’s your Brene Brown would call it? What’s your North Star? What are your values? Whatcha are you gonna deliver? [00:17:38] Right? So you gotta get that right and then you gotta be relentless in making it frictionless. And then you gotta hire Aaron Fier to run your co-sell. [00:17:46] Erin Figer: Okay? Okay. And so, I mean, I think like that’s a trend that I’m seeing across the partners that I’ve been working with is how they’re using data and doing more data driven, um, decision making and getting to their TAM faster so that as they start to then look at this pathway of, okay, now I’m trying to go to market, what. [00:18:11] Programs does Microsoft have or my other partners have that I can use to move me down that path faster. But getting that tam and feeling more confident about it, like, this is the group, this is the subgroup that I’m gonna start with until I see something that says, oh, I need to deviate and do something different. [00:18:30] Um, so I’m definitely seeing that trend. Like what are you seeing, uh, what are you guys doing at Vem? [00:18:35] Erika Irby: Um, so a couple different things. So like you were saying, we, we do leverage, um, AI more, uh, recently for New Deal Reg, um, automation. And we lit, literally just launched it this week. So this is the week that it’s exciting until the, someone tries to use it for the first time and then for. [00:18:52] Um, so I can’t wait to see my emails later, but, um, it, it’s, we’re seeing like that, that that movement, which is, uh, definitely good for that. We have a task force internally for marketing, so trying to figure out how we’re gonna, um, you know, leverage that, uh, um, internally. And I think that Veeam, you know, they, they have been on the forefront of technology for, for a while. [00:19:12] You know, they were the first with the. Virtual backup and, you know, all these things, you know, really trying to be ahead of the thing, ahead of the game. But, um, one thing I, I, I love how many people brought up the intentionality and the mindfulness because I think sometimes we can easily. Put out a whole bunch of tools. [00:19:28] I love that you called out the point about the bad processes, um, because it actually, I think, can just create more confusion, more of a mess, and that, um, really mindfulness will be so much more beneficial, you know, down the road for your partners, for your customers, for everybody that has to, you know, do that interaction business with you. [00:19:47] I did wanna call out that I thought it was lovely that you had a positive comment about Microsoft. I dunno if I, [00:19:53] Audience Member: yeah, [00:19:53] Erika Irby: I like rarely hear that. So like, awesome. I hope that does get back to Microsoft. I hope that they do, um, continue that. I’m sure their SMB is quite a bit bigger than maybe others, but that is a massive install base for, for Veeam as well. [00:20:07] And even though we’re driving and trying to push into the enterprise, protecting that install base is just absolutely critical for success. [00:20:15] Erin Figer: What about you race? [00:20:17] Reis Barrie: So if I’m looking at like signals, I, I think. Uh, I’ll focus on too, I think you mentioned, uh, the, the cycles of change at Microsoft. Like it used to be an annual thing and now it’s like a, then it was a half base thing, and then it was a, now it’s a quarterly thing basically. [00:20:30] Um, but there’s also like, there’s, there’s big signals and small signals, and so annually we still get like that, like the, the, the guiding direction so that we can align. How we talk about ourselves, how we talk about our partnership, how, how we enable our sellers and whatnot. And then we got a lot of programmatic shifts from a, from a quarter to quarter standpoint. [00:20:50] Um, and so focusing on the, like these, um, these signals so we can align our, our messaging and our frameworks to align with, with, with our partnership, um, is, is one thing that’s, you know, super, super important to keep, keep tabs on. Um, and the second one, I’ll, I’ll give, you’ll. Mention is more on the cus sorry, uh, customer side, but like the seller enablement. [00:21:15] And so how is your, on the marketplace side, how, how are your sellers talking to your customers about marketplace? Um, are they, are they bringing up earlier in the, in the qualifying discussions of how does the customer prefer to buy? Um, are there fire drills with two weeks to go, um, till the, till the deal closes and now the customer wants to go marketplace and, and no one knows how to do it? [00:21:37] Um, seen that way too many times. Um, and so, but how, how, like studying kind of the, uh, maturity of our sales org to see well, like where, where, where is our, our, where are our sellers competent to have this marketplace discussion? Um, because I often relate, like, this is kinda a silly analogy, but I, I, simple stuff works really, really well with me. [00:22:00] But I like, have you ever been to a farmer’s market and you’re like nervous to buy something? ’cause you don’t know if they take credit card. [00:22:07] Audience Member: Yeah. [00:22:07] Reis Barrie: And so like to me, I’m like, okay, well, like it’s the same thing with Marketplace to me. And so like, it’s, it’s the same concept of you want your customer to be able to buy, they want the way that they would like to buy. [00:22:19] Um, and you want the person that they’re interacting with to be able to, um, facilitate that, that transaction in, in a way that feels frictionless. Yeah. Right. Uh, and so that’s a lot. Like, those are the kind of, the really two deep signals, um, that we, we look at a lot. [00:22:37] Erika Irby: I wanna make a comment on the marketplace. [00:22:38] So I don’t know if anybody else is experiencing this, you know, Veeam being an ISV, we have a really strong traditional, traditional channel motion. So, to your point about how sellers are, are managing the marketplace, to be totally honest, we struggle on, um, that, because right now it feels like a deal that goes to the marketplace is taken away from a reseller, and that reseller loses out then on that upfront margin and. [00:23:06] Um, there’s not a clean path necessarily for, you know, just because the, the deal happened there. They really, they still need to maintain that because they’re the one pri providing the services. And somebody had brought up earlier that, um, A SMB customer will never be successful without a partner. And I, I totally agree with that, but it’s like that part is missing. [00:23:26] So we almost need like a mindset change. In the channel where the marketplace is just a route to market and how the customer receives the product. It shouldn’t totally matter because at the end of the day, the, they still have to provide the services. It’s like, I could go to Home Depot and purchase a bunch of pipe for my house, but can I install it a thousand percent? [00:23:49] No. I would destroy my house. I used to have to have a plumber. So I think there’s, we could help our channel by changing that mindset, and at the same time, we, we need the marketplace owners to, to provide the benefits so that it is still very attractive for those traditional. Partners to, to push their customers there or else I, I think we’re just gonna constantly have that strife. [00:24:11] Erin Figer: Yeah. Does anyone in the audience, has anyone in the audience activated REO with Microsoft? You have? Yeah. So how’s it, like, how’s it going? Yeah, there’s Bump. Yeah. [00:24:32] Audience Member: How that shifts making people more effective in their roles individually. So we’re early stage of it, but it’s, it’s been a good experience. [00:24:42] Erin Figer: Has it helped to kind of unlock some of that friction with the resellers and continuing to include them to get to the s and b customers? [00:24:49] Audience Member: Yeah, I think the, the challenge that we’re working through right now is, you know, Erica may have said it, but it’s. [00:24:56] It’s not just the, the view of the marketplace taking people out of the equation, it’s how do we use the marketplace for, for co-innovation to keep people in it. So if, if, if it’s gonna take three to five of, of us in this room to deliver that spectrum to innovation for the customer. Um, how do we use the marketplace as a force multiplier of bringing that together and making that transaction easy? [00:25:21] Yeah. If, if our consumers are more and more influenced by Instagram and TikTok Shop Now buttons, like my husband’s texting me about my stuff that showed up today, [00:25:31] Erika Irby: which is none of his business. [00:25:32] Audience Member: None of your business. That’s right. Just put it [00:25:36] Erika Irby: in my room. Thank you. [00:25:37] Audience Member: If people are, people as consumers in the, in the u, us consumer based economy is driving more and more people through like that social experience of purchasing, that is an area where I do think Microsoft could help us and we could help ourselves in marketing how that, how we leverage it to be a force multiplier versus another omnichannel. [00:25:58] Well, [00:25:58] Erin Figer: so on that note, how many of you have put a button on your website? Click to buy? Yeah, [00:26:02] Audience Member: that’s, that’s where I’m at with our marketing team. [00:26:04] Erin Figer: Right? [00:26:04] Audience Member: Yeah. That’s, I think, the next evolution for us in the, in the REO piece. [00:26:08] Erin Figer: Yeah. Yeah. [00:26:10] Audience Member: I, I don’t want it on our website. I want to, I want it on my Instagram, my LinkedIn, my TikTok reels. [00:26:15] That’s, we’re going to, sir, it’s coming next week at our sales kickoff. Yeah. [00:26:21] Erin Figer: Nice, nice. Anybody else? Uh, activated. REO [00:26:28] besides the, you know, RE speed wagon? Uh, it’s the Microsoft Reseller Enablement. Um, offering, so like you activate your resellers to just take your listing and be able to do a private offer so that you don’t have to do multi-party private offers anymore. Your resellers can just take the listing and sell it directly, and they don’t have to wait for you to send them the offer. [00:26:52] Then they have to go do, so it takes out some of the steps and that friction in the process streamlines it and it allows them to like. Add on and do their own pricing. And then the reseller, however you have your arrangement with that reseller, continues to pay you in the back end for, um, selling that through the marketplace. [00:27:11] Erika Irby: I think I’m going to have you come and do a webinar for our Veeam partners to, to help them with that, because to your point, I don’t, I don’t think it’s as prevalent yet. It’s, it hasn’t really caught on. [00:27:21] Erin Figer: Yeah. It’s been really an unlock of, I had a large, um, ISV that I helped. We implemented REO internally, so they have 34 marketplace offerings and they have this initiative. [00:27:36] They wanted to go global, sell local, and so they launched five more publishing accounts and they came to me and said, we need to replicate our catalog five times 34. And I was like, oh God, please, no. And luckily like two months later, Microsoft, like GAed, uh, REO, and I was like, here’s your answer. We’re not going to do that. [00:27:58] We’re going to enable each of your publishing accounts to be resellers of your quote unquote gold standard publishing account, and that we actually implemented REO as an internal mechanism for them to issue their own publishing accounts, to resell private offers in local currencies. Um, and that was really an operational unlock for them. [00:28:25] All right. Anybody you wanna ask a question to the audience? [00:28:29] Audience Member: Okay. I’ll just keep going. [00:28:32] Erin Figer: Um, all right. So what are some other, um, signals or ways that you guys are evolving the way you’re co-selling? Um, does anybody else have some experience shares that they want to, to share with the audience? We’ve got, we’re using data, uh, we’re using some ai, we’re helping us get to our audience faster. [00:28:51] I really loved work span, um, building in an AI tool inside your CRM system, um, so that you can get some of those signals. Any other signals that you guys are using, uh, to change the way you’re co-selling? [00:29:07] It’s quiet on [00:29:07] Reis Barrie: Maybe, maybe I’ll share one, but Yeah. Yeah. So, um, just when it comes to, like, for us, account alignment to me is like one of the most important things and consistently doing, uh, you know, account planning and account alignment against Microsoft their accounts. Um, now it’s a bit interesting ’cause you can include some s and b stuff in there. [00:29:27] Um, but also, uh, Jason you mentioned up there, the. Uh, marketplace rewards, having the propensity mapping. And so looking at not only from an account alignment, um, what Microsoft accounts are, we, um, you know, areas are we most penetrated in, but also of those accounts, which ones are already buying on marketplace. [00:29:47] Uh, maybe have a commitment to Microsoft in, in some way to help us just further, uh, further target and focus on, you know, if we have 500 opportunities that we’re trying to, um. I’m trying to work through, um, to Sanjay’s point, like what’s, what’s the 30% that I’m gonna get my batting average on? Um, and so that constant account alignment to us is like a, is a huge, huge signal, um, for us to focus on. [00:30:14] Um, and then you can even take it a layer deeper to identify, okay, well if I’m looking like, do I have density within Nina had the, the ou up here on the screen. So do I have densities with density within like specific. Uh, verticals or regions, um, or segments that I should maybe if I just focused on that one segment or one vertical, um, you know, then all of a sudden I, I’m super successful having an executive sponsorship in that, uh, in that ou, something like that. [00:30:44] Um, and, but that, that’s all starting with, um, the foundations of that being that consistent account alignment and leveraging some of the, some of the propensity stuff that Microsoft is, is providing. [00:30:56] Erin Figer: And then making sure you’re like bringing it back into your CRM and storing it so that you can continue to use that information ongoing. [00:31:03] And we’re trying to figure out how to embed more and more. [00:31:37] And are you integrating like. Microsoft and other partners into that data as well. It’s like, this is a great partner. Incorporate them at this point in the journey. Yeah, we um. [00:31:50] When [00:31:50] Audience Member: you’re in the process with, with Microsoft, we haven’t opened it up externally, so that’s our crawl, walk, run is we’re, we’re trying this out internally. Let’s see if we can work the bugs out, get the agents working, and then how do we now go to our MSP community and offer this up as an agent they can use within their sales team. [00:32:08] And on the end of. We’re still working in the middle, but front end profiling, it’s helping a ton, um, and giving us a lot of good intel that the sellers are driving through the agent on the back end. It’s, it’s giving us not, um, just propensity data, but what’s resonating. So if we launched 12 products this year and we trained sellers on. [00:32:28] What’s hitting, where’s my pipeline velocity coming from? Where’s my close rate coming from? So that every month when we have our sales town hall, it’s like, here’s the top three sales motions that are actually driving pipeline and fast to cash close rates. [00:32:42] Erin Figer: And I gotta imagine that helps you get to your differentiators. [00:32:45] Audience Member: Oh [00:32:45] Erin Figer: yeah. And refining your superpower story. [00:32:48] Audience Member: That’s right. That’s. Yeah, because it’s for, for our sales team. I mean, we were talking about it earlier, it’s all about simplification. There’s so many options, so much noise. It’s like, just go focus on these three things and this is where you’re gonna deliver impact and outcomes to your customer. [00:33:01] And if we’re doing that, we’re all winning. [00:33:03] Erika Irby: Yeah. I, I, um, just recently, this is why one of the coolest things that Veeam has done, we just launched this tool called, um, expansion iq, and it’s part of our command, the expand motion this year where we’re really. Upselling and cross-selling our, um, install base. [00:33:17] This tool takes all the partners individual propensity data, puts it against four solution plays that we think are the main plays, and then provides them, this is what you could be earning if you took this motion. And then from a marketing perspective, we provide them. And to do this, here’s your campaign. [00:33:37] Here’s your this, here’s your that. Step one, send this email. Like very, very, you know, just, uh, planned out. And I loved what Nina said earlier today when she shared that, um, org chart. Essentially with all the different, um, industry focuses we are driving. One of our go to market actions is a Microsoft healthcare campaign. [00:33:56] That is like very, very specific, but it’s helping our partners in that manner. Could they go to their own database and pull their own and do all this stuff? Of course. But for our sellers to go blink and then give them a report and be like, here it is. It makes it so much more relevant. And then the steps just, they just hand that to their marketing org and then they’re just off and running. [00:34:18] Going back into your team to say, Hey, we rolled out these 12 things, only three landing. You gotta go back to the drawing on the other side. Or We need more money for these three. Yeah, but let’s figure what’s not with customer [00:34:38] to record the. [00:34:47] Audience Member: A better, faster, uh, listening post for, uh, can I talk really loud? Um, it’s, it’s, it’s helped turning on a listening post for our engineering, our marketing, our service delivery organization that would’ve taken months or quarters to get spun up in an executive board meeting or something. Right now they get it real time every week. [00:35:09] Okay. [00:35:09] Erin Figer: So what I’m hearing, like the theme here is to really like. Understand your sales process. Also, your co-sell sales process that runs in parallel with that. And how do you continue to serve up the right data at the right time to help your people take the right next action to continue to drive those outcomes that you’re looking for, but then also using data to circle it back, to say what’s working, what’s not working, to continue to refine that whole motion. [00:35:43] Um, so if you’re not doing that, I think that’s a big aha moment and takeaway, uh, from today’s session or from here today is like, okay, am I really identifying all the opportunities in my process to involve data to help my people continue to drive outcomes? [00:36:04] Audience Member: You [00:36:04] Erin Figer: have a, [00:36:05] Audience Member: you have your head in up back there, Gary. [00:36:06] Yeah. I, I couldn’t tell if, uh, you were prompting me when you asked that question and I, I didn’t want to, you know, do a shameless plug for cloud, but I think everybody [00:36:15] Erin Figer: should shamelessly plug, plug away. [00:36:16] Audience Member: Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, you brought up a mitt and, uh, the co-sell thing, but it, it does relate to what Reese had said about, um, you know, the being at the farmer’s market and. [00:36:26] Not sure what, you know, can I use a credit card or not? And I think that, um, or [00:36:30] Erin Figer: can I use Apple Pay? I still ask. I’m like, do you, do you accept Apple Pay? [00:36:32] Audience Member: Oh, yeah. Yeah. So it’s like, I think, uh, a lot of times you don’t understand the seller in that situation is not sure how to handle that conversation. So, and there’s not a lot of information about their, about that. [00:36:44] Like how to, when it comes to a seller talking about marketplace and asking about the commit. Because the commit obviously is one of the main drivers, right? 900 billion out there. And committed spend across all the hyperscalers. So how to actually bring that up with a customer and what if they don’t know, right? [00:37:05] So there’s a whole process that, you know, they, they need to be taught this. But the first thing that’s also come up multiple times is activating them also means how to engage them. So an approach there of how to engage your salespeople is critical because if salespeople aren’t in it, they’re nothing’s happening. [00:37:23] You’re not gonna do well with marketplace. And on the co-sell part, it’s kinda the same thing. The typical thing, and I remember talking to Aldo Desal about this at another Ultimate Partner event, but uh, you bring your salespeople into a call, like you set up a call with, with Microsoft and the seller comes in unprepared. [00:37:42] Typically they’re not sure what to say and it’s a little bit intimidating. How, how, how do I, you know, what do you do in this situation? Like, so you start talking about product ’cause that’s what you know, and it’s the last thing you want to do. You, you want to understand what they care about, like em stage and, and, uh, what’s your consumption story and what kind of MRR impact you’re gonna have. [00:38:03] So it’s, these things are just unusual topics for the salespeople to be prepared, uh, to talk about. But it’s critical if your salespeople are gonna be enabled that they can do that. So I think from a co-selling standpoint, that’s just what I want to mention. And by the way, we offered a tool that does that. [00:38:20] Erin Figer: Nice. Awesome. Thank you. Uh, I mean, I don’t know about you. Reese Cloud Atlas. Every time we helped an ISV with their cosell motion, we would say, okay, we’re ready to go share cos sells and drive introductions. Have you done your sales enablement? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ve enabled the sellers we have, and then we launch like the first batch of cos sells and then they immediately come back. [00:38:43] Stop, stop, stop. Don’t share any more deals, like we’re causing too much confusion. Uh, we didn’t do our sales enablement. Wow. Grace, [00:38:52] Reis Barrie: I mean, sound [00:38:53] Erin Figer: familiar? [00:38:53] Reis Barrie: It sounds very familiar. It sounds too familiar. Uh, P-T-S-D-A little bit there, but the, uh, sorry, [00:38:58] Erika Irby: but that’s why you guys have jobs. [00:39:00] Reis Barrie: Yes. Go on. It’s, it’s, um, but this, you know, I, I always come back to the, the concept of like, if we showed up to a Microsoft co-sell call the way we do to a customer call, like, oh. [00:39:14] Erin Figer: It, [00:39:14] Reis Barrie: it would, it would be night and day difference of the value you’d get outta your Microsoft partnership and co-sell. That’s all. It’s [00:39:20] Erin Figer: Well, [00:39:20] Reis Barrie: but I think people [00:39:21] Erin Figer: forget Microsoft is your customer too. [00:39:23] Reis Barrie: Yeah. [00:39:23] Erin Figer: They’re your partner, but you have to sell to before you can sell with and through. So you first gotta like master the sell to. [00:39:30] Reis Barrie: Yeah, a hundred percent. So there, there’s there like, and then to your point, [00:39:34] Erin Figer: it’s still true. 10 years later, people, it’s still true. Back to the fundamentals, right? [00:39:39] Reis Barrie: Yeah. It’s, [00:39:40] Erin Figer: yes. Go for it. [00:39:44] Audience Member: The, um, Microsoft being customer, right? So, and I love what you said about sem uh, alignment. So we actually made it a point, um, in our co-sell process, we have a validation checkpoint with Microsoft. If we build a co-sell packages, um, we are an si We’re not primarily ISV, but I think that’s shifting as well gradually. [00:40:10] And ESI kind of becoming a little bit of ISV. Um, so why it’s important, I think like Ree said, like you come up, you show up to co-sell call and you just pitch your services or say, well, let’s do account planning with this and that. Right? But what if it doesn’t work in the field? So that validation became critical for us, and I can tell you that now we have success stories that are actually proven based on that multifaceted feedback, uh, as to it’s one thing to build it. [00:40:46] Yeah. But is it useful for seller, for Microsoft sellers actually in the field? Can they actually position it and help clients to be more successful? Because that’s the ultimate goal. So that validation became, uh, an important checkpoint for us, uh, to make those packages repeatable and successful for customers at the end of the day. [00:41:06] So when we talk about signals, you absolutely right. It’s not just customer signals like we use ZoomInfo, we use all this data points, et cetera, but it’s also signals from the field because while Microsoft is a huge organization, they’re also very dynamic. On very regular basis, a lot of things changed. So taking those signals into account, uh, has created that, what we call like, more of a holistic approach for us, uh, to make it more meaningful. [00:41:33] So [00:41:34] Erin Figer: I like it. And you made it sticky by making it like a required point in the sales process? Absolutely. That everyone stops. Take a moment. [00:41:41] Audience Member: Yeah. [00:41:41] Erin Figer: And make sure that we’re all on the same page. [00:41:43] Audience Member: Yeah. And I think for us as si it’s even more critical. Like I, I, I think there is a lot more to happen in marketplace as, as, as much as we talk about it, but being in si I, we still kind of figure it out, like how Mark marketplace actually becomes a place of transaction for a size. [00:42:01] Yeah. So that’s why, you know, we’re passionate about packages and it’s not just a matter of publishing it and say, oh, it’s co-sell ready? Then what? Yeah. Right. So yeah, so, so that’s why that, that checkpoint is very important for us. So [00:42:16] Erin Figer: definitely, definitely. I think you ladies over here in the corner had some, some hands up, Michelle and, and the other Michelle, Michelle Squared. [00:42:26] Audience Member: Thank you. Michelle Squared. I like it. Um, so. I’ve been a little quiet because I wanna just give my background. So I’m a global VP of channels and alliances and, um, I think it’s a bit of this, uh, the movement, right? So I love your farmer’s market analogy so much. I’m gonna steal that. Thank you. But the reason is because you don’t know unless you’re gonna meet your partners where you are or meet your customers where they are in that journey. [00:42:53] So the first time that they’re selling whatever their goods or wares are, and somebody says, do you take Apple Pay? That’s a clue. And then when you hear it over and over again, you realize there’s a correlation that there’s a need in the market. So in In my life, all roads read to Romes, right? Reseller and VARs, OEM, alliances, MSPs, MSPs, ISVs System integrators. [00:43:17] And as a partner leader, you wouldn’t necessarily think marketplace is first because you feel like you’re going around your partners. But am I meeting my partners where they are in their journey and choosing to procure the way they want to procure? And I think that’s the notion that I have a lot of learning from this team and everyone in this room to understand how do we in a company. [00:43:38] Prescribe the right solution to, to meet our partners in that journey. And I’ll use, kind of circling back to the MSP space, PAX eight, one of Microsoft’s largest partners created a marketplace dedicated to MSPs. And while I was the global Channel chief of SonicWall, a lot of partners said to me, I like you. [00:43:56] I like your products, I like your firewall, but unless you’re on the park, PAX eight Marketplace, I’m not gonna buy from you because they make my life frictionless. And easier to do business with. And I think that’s the motion that every vendor in this room needs to understand is, are we truly meeting our partners where they are? [00:44:14] PS I work for Carrero DDoS Solutions and come to talk to me about that. Thank you. [00:44:18] Erika Irby: Well, and a Guo owes you some money for that commercial right there. [00:44:30] Audience Member: From, we’re actually community first. Um, as an MSP, even though we’re national, like we really focus in on community local touch. Um. Like you said, um, um, Southern seldom me in a southern way. Like that’s what we focus on. I’m your [00:44:45] Erin Figer: huckleberry. [00:44:46] Audience Member: I love that. Exactly. Um, and we’re seeing a ton of success with actual in-person events now. [00:44:53] Like the majority of our business is come in, leads are coming from that right now. And even though, like I, I truly believe in digital first motions, we need to be on Instagram and have that self-serve motion as the next generation comes up in our. Buying and transitioning to their kids or whatever that looks like. [00:45:14] Like we have to remember that there’s also a trend of tactile in person people first coming with it. And so like we, I, I feel like there, there has to be that motion engaged and I would love to hear your thoughts around how are vendors thinking about engaging in that community driven approach, not just the platform itself. [00:45:37] Erika Irby: Yeah, I, I personally also, this is hilarious ’cause we’re like best friends, so we can talk about this later, but, um, from a Veeam perspective, Michelle, um, we are seeing a resurgence in like these thought leadership type of events. And I think there’s, this is, this is sort of related, but just to, this is kind of how I think about this. [00:45:57] Um, Barnes and Noble’s business has like gone through the roof lately, and they are, they’re actually like opening more stores, which is bananas because at one point they were like going outta business because nobody wanted to go and like, touch a book or talk to somebody. But that is changing, thank God. [00:46:11] Right? That is like changing and people are actually like becoming more social because they’re missing this. Um, my kids’ generation refers to places like Barnes and Nobles as the third place. Like this magical place that exists where you can talk to a real human that’s not on your phone. Like it’s, it’s amazing. [00:46:28] But anyways, we’re, I think we’re starting to see this in marketing. We used to like pump everything out digitally, but after a while people get that form and they’re like, I am not putting my dang information in this form. And then your ability to capture that lead completely dissipates. All it is, is, is now an impression, which is. [00:46:47] Fairly worthless. You can have millions of them and nothing happens. So we are definitely investing more into, um, uh, live events, but also with the live streaming because then people can, they’re still watching it live. They still have to register for it. They knew they couldn’t make it. So I think that there’s definitely that digital aspect that’s super helpful. [00:47:05] But a purely digital, you will never make that connection. [00:47:10] Erin Figer: Yeah, I mean, I think. Unfortunately, COVID made us, you know, all do things digitally. But now that we’re past that, getting back to that multifaceted approach, I think if we think about what’s going on in the B2C world, lots of communities within communities, there’s whole company’s getting created, like women are bringing women together to do craft circles. [00:47:37] And literally. Okay. But like I did that digitally. That was pretty awesome. I was like three years. That shameless plug. No, I, no. But like then now there’s like companies that are actually like renting space, bringing people together, like crafting and while they’re doing the activity, um, if anyone’s ever done therapy, a therapist will say. [00:48:01] You know, if you wanna get your kids talking, get them coloring, like distract them and they will start to open up. And so you distract people with an activity and they start to open up. And what they really are, thrive, like what they really need is in this digital world where we’re getting so much information, we still need. [00:48:22] The next layer of filter to help us vet out and validate and confirm like our thinking or like our suspicions on things like, am I in the right going down the right path? Is this the right direction? So there’s still a human element that needs to be involved in that buyer journey, and you’re seeing that with these little micro communities inside communities. [00:48:45] Um, and so I’ve. I mean, I love micro communities inside of bigger communities. I’ve started two of them, three of them. So I, it definitely, like, we need still that in person, uh, interaction and I love seeing it coming back in our space. [00:49:04] Erika Irby: I, I was just thinking about ear, the, the previous panel and the, the topic came up about who can assist partners as they transition from that direct to CSP motion. [00:49:15] And I mean, yes, it, I think Microsoft plays a role there, but I think it would behoove Microsoft to invest in these communities and they would enable that change. Yeah, [00:49:26] Erin Figer: yeah, yeah. There is a person inside of Microsoft who has that remit, but she’s like one person, one person trying to do that. I was like, wow. [00:49:36] Okay. Grace, what are you seeing amongst your partners and also your perspective with working with Microsoft? [00:49:42] Reis Barrie: Yeah, yeah. Um. There’s a really good, uh, the frontier study, the work like door work study that they did, um, which talks really heavily about just like in this, you know, post 20, you know, 2020 culture, how like the amount of busyness has just increased in an insane amount and how a, a really strong use case for AI is to buybacks from that time essentially, um, for us to, you know, return back to a, a normal state and I think social creatures, right? [00:50:10] And so, um, in this. I run a fully remote company, which is like a blessing and also like really interesting to try to create a really strong culture within people that are, you know, 13 times zones apart times. Um, and so it’s uh, it’s a really interesting thing and coming together and, um, into an in-person space or a place here or a place where you can actually talk to your customers, talk to, um. [00:50:39] Step away from that, like that busy day to day where like, I, I can’t even fit a 15 minute break in to grab lunch. You know, days like how much, supposed to find 15 minutes to just have a, a casual conversation and these types of events, which I’m sure Vince is cheering back there that we’re talking about this right now. [00:50:57] But the, uh, but these type of events, they let you decompress from that day and they let you kind of just have these really important conversations that, you know, bring us back to just being humans To me. [00:51:10] Erin Figer: And being human and co-selling with each other. And on that note, we’re 44 seconds over. Yeah, we’ll give it back to Vince, [00:51:18] Reis Barrie: but we were plugging Vince’s events, so I think we’re okay. [00:51:21] Vince Menzione: We One more question. We have one more question from, sorry. Oh yeah. [00:51:23] Reis Barrie: It’s [00:51:23] Audience Member: maybe more a, a shared just as we’re talking [00:51:25] Vince Menzione: by the clip, right. [00:51:27] Audience Member: And to compliment everything that you guys have been talking about around co-sell and. Getting ready in line with Microsoft to speak to the customer and speaking. So the signals that we’re going after are on the actual conversations that are happening in the conversation. [00:51:41] So aside from all the planning, which I agree on, we’re building agents to hear what’s going on on the calls with Microsoft, on the calls with customer, and grab those actual signals. Are we answering the questions in the right way? What types of questions are coming back to us that we weren’t able to answer. [00:51:58] Maybe we forgot some information that we planned on and thought about can we signal and provide that feedback to the user, the seller, or whatnot on the call. And so as we’re doing this, ’cause we’re in the communication space, so we have some self-interest here ’cause that’s sort of the future of our business. [00:52:12] But it’s a really interesting opportunity for us to grab these signals to improve how we’re selling with our customers, how our partners are selling with our customers, with Microsoft. It’s just an interesting way with everything that’s going on full circle, we’re trying to complete that sort of sales journey with AI and, and grab those signals and keep getting better all the time. [00:52:32] Erin Figer: Yeah, I love that. And I think it’s like the ongoing balance of people, process and technology and how do you continue to keep the human in the loop? It, as we continue to introduce and evolve AI and use of data in our companies is like continuing to be mindful about the human in the loop. Um, part of that journey. [00:52:54] So thank you all. [00:52:55] Vince Menzione: Very cool. Great conversation. [00:52:56] Erin Figer: Thanks for all the audience engagement. We appreciate it. [00:52:59] Vince Menzione: Co-selling the house, co-selling the house. [00:53:02] Audience Member: Thank you, Vince. [00:53:02] Vince Menzione: Thank you. And I remember that January, 2016. Yes.

Ed Lane conducted a training session on buyer scripting strategies for challenging market conditions, covering five different buyer scenarios and corresponding dialogue scripts. The session focused on addressing common buyer paralysis caused by market uncertainty, including discussions about interest rates, market timing, and life decisions versus market conditions. Ed shared specific scripts for first-time buyers waiting for rate drops, move-up buyers frozen by fear, luxury buyers concerned about market timing, downsizers afraid to give up low rates, and buyers paralyzed by uncertainty. The training included practical examples and visual aids to illustrate key concepts, with Ed demonstrating how to use ChatGPT for script assistance. The session concluded with a discussion about eXp's potential headquarters relocation from Washington to Texas, and Alyson sought advice about handling a high-end REO property with specific commission structure questions.

In the latest episode, Dan covers: ✅ How to structure your listing language to attract qualified buyers from the start ("seller financing available for deserving borrowers with a large down payment" works wonders) ✅ The best DIY platforms for finding seller finance buyers — Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are still producing results ✅ How to find a great REO-specialist agent, even in markets you've never worked before ✅ Why pre-screening takes just 5-10 minutes and filters out 95%+ of problem borrowers before you go under contract ✅ A real deal breakdown: Dan's own recent Michigan REO — listed, 6 offers received, and closed in about two weeks with an 18% down payment and a 677 FICO borrower Dan also shares updates from his note portfolio, including a messy Wisconsin bankruptcy situation, a high-stakes California non-performing note, and news about the latest Note Accelerator cohort. This episode is a must-listen if you've ever found yourself stuck with a bad borrower — or if you want to make sure you never do. Call The Underwriting prescreening guide: https://calltheunderwriter.com/prescreen/ Call The Underwriter Register for the weekly Call The Underwriter onboarding call, every Thursday at 12 ET

On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan Greene interviews Mike Russo, head of product innovation at Auction.com. With more than 20 years of experience spanning franchising, proptech, and distressed assets, Mike shares how his career evolved from early roles in real estate franchising to building platforms and eventually leading product innovation at the largest distressed real estate marketplace in the United States. The conversation explores how investors can navigate today's real estate landscape, particularly when it comes to distressed properties, auctions, and identifying real opportunities versus perceived deals. Mike explains how platforms like Auction.com actually work behind the scenes, including reserve pricing, auction dynamics, and why many properties cycle without selling. He also shares practical advice for new investors, emphasizing the importance of starting with lower-risk opportunities like vacant REO properties and building experience through repetition. Jonathan and Mike also discuss the realities of active investing, from flipping houses to managing rentals, and why many investors underestimate the complexity and operational demands involved. They highlight how technology can be a powerful tool for sourcing deals, but cannot replace on-the-ground knowledge, experience, and due diligence. The episode also touches on market dynamics, investor behavior, and the risks created by inexperience, FOMO, and misinformation. For investors, this episode offers a grounded perspective on how to approach distressed real estate, avoid common mistakes, and build a sustainable investing strategy over time. In this episode, you will hear: How Mike Russo transitioned from real estate franchising to leading product at Auction.com How online real estate auctions actually work, including reserves and bidding dynamics Why new investors should start with vacant REO properties instead of jumping into foreclosures The risks of inexperience, FOMO, and relying too heavily on online deal analysis Why seeing properties in person and getting real reps is critical for long-term success How to think about active vs. passive investing and the realities of managing real estate assets Follow and Review If you enjoy the show, please follow Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing on Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and review. It helps other listeners discover these conversations and supports the show's growth. Supporting Resources Connect with Mike Youtube: http://youtube.com/@mikesrusso  Instagram: @mike.s.russo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikerusso1/  Connect with Jonathan: Podcast - www.zenandtheartofrealestateinvesting.com Brokerage - www.streamlined.properties  YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos Instagram - www.instagram.com/zenrealestateinvesting Instagram-  www.instagram.com/trustgreene Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties Instagram - www.instagream.com/zenupstate Zillow - www.zillow.com/profile/trustgreene Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene Facebook - www.facebook.com/zenandtheartofrealestateinvesting Jonathan's Hub Site - www.trustgreene.com Email - Jonathan@trustgreene.com This episode was produced by Outlier Audio.

Unlocking the Power of Frontier Partnerships Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this compelling discussion from the Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat, Microsoft GM Katharine Kennedy joins Vince Menzione to break down the operating models of “Frontier Firms.” Katharine shares her incredible journey of scaling the ServiceNow partnership from zero to $1 billion in TCV and reveals her current mission: building Adobe into the next great frontier firm for Microsoft. The conversation dives deep into the necessity of AI-led innovation, the critical importance of placing trust at the center of every technological stack, and why traditional quarterly business reviews are being replaced by real-time, constant connectivity. Whether you are an ISV, SDC, or channel partner, this session provides a roadmap for navigating the tectonic shifts in the AI ecosystem through organizational alignment and shared vision. Key Takeaways Frontier firms integrate AI up and down the UI, agent, and data layers while evolving their internal operating systems. Successful partnerships require a shared vision at the highest level that melds two mission statements into a single belief system. The traditional QBR is becoming outdated, replaced by real-time, constant communication across engineering and product teams. Trust must be the primary pillar of AI development, supported by core principles like fairness, reliability, and accountability. Leading with co-innovation and customer-centric data solutions is more effective than leading strictly with revenue goals. Strategic use of the Microsoft Marketplace remains a “hidden gem” for achieving scale and high-velocity growth. https://youtu.be/OU22MIfs-1A If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags: Frontier Firms, SDC, Microsoft GM, Adobe Partnership, ServiceNow, AI Operating Model, Responsible AI, Co-innovation, Partner Value Chain, Organizational Alignment, Microsoft Marketplace, TCV, Data Sovereignty, AI Agents, Adobe Firefly, Azure, Ecosystem Growth, Digital Transformation, AI Governance, Strategic Partnerships, Tech Leadership. Transcript: Katharine Kennedy Vince Menzione: [00:00:00] Honestly, it’s people. Yes, with agents. Um, and I know we hear that and it’s very like, oh, what does it mean? Are we really using it? I cannot tell you how many agents I use in a day. We just finished Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat here in beautiful Boca to a sold out crowd. Come join me now for a compelling discussion on the impacts of the tectonic shifts we’re all seeing. We, we’ve talked about MSP, we’ve talked about channel. We’ve talked about marketplace. We haven’t really dug deep into the SDC conversation, and I still, that doesn’t roll off my tongue. I still say ISV in my own mind, but the software development corporations, um, we’ve had several executives from that, from that world. Sandy Gupta has been. Um, many time guests, uh, at, at, at our events and we really wanted to double click. And I was so fortunate to meet Katherine Kennedy several months ago and learned about what [00:01:00] she’s doing and what the work that she’s driving. So I wanna invite her on stage ’cause we’re gonna have a very intimate conversation by Yeah, we call these so great to have you here. And, uh, you’re a GM at Microsoft, which is a big deal, by the way. A lot of people don’t know that. Thank you. And you’re running, uh, two of, I’d say two of the most significant partners within the Microsoft ecosystem. I would say obviously two. Now. Just one. Okay. We’re doubling down on focus. So nice to meet everybody. I, I wish there was a fire ’cause it did. What you Well come on. This goes off heat by the way. We get back off a little bit. This goes off our, so all good. So tell us, give us your, yeah. Give us your background and your role. Katharine Kennedy: Sure. So Catherine Kennedy. Nice to meet you all. Um, I’m a GM at Microsoft previously overseeing both the ServiceNow and the Adobe practice. Um, spent the last four years building ServiceNow too. What now our previous guests got to refer to as our REO, you know, exciting, uh, big growth [00:02:00] partnership. Um, so we took that from, for them from $0 in terms of shared revenue to a billion dollars in TCV. Um, and they have one of the largest Macs now with Microsoft. And we did that over the course of three years. So we’ll talk a little bit about. Um, the mindset, uh, and the operating models and things that we implemented with ServiceNow. Um, and then at the time, um, they asked me to take on Adobe as well. And when we saw the opportunity at Adobe, we said, wow, we really need to focus here. And so I have the privilege of being able to focus on Adobe this year. And, um. What I’m most excited about is the ecosystem and the ecosystem opportunity with Adobe as we build them into the next frontier firm or Microsoft. Vince Menzione: And of course we use the term spark, the ecosystem, so yes. Um, so let’s, let’s dive in [00:03:00] here. Use the term mindset. I was thinking about mindset. Market shift, frontier Firm, how do those things align together? Microsoft has been talking, I mean, Judson up on stage and Ignite talking about frontier firms. Nina’s talked about frontier firms. This is a shift in how organizations operate. Yes. In for some, yes. Uh, for others. I was thinking, what are you seeing across the SDC community specifically where you’ve managed before, where you’re managing now, but with ServiceNow and Adobe as an examples? What defines a company that’s truly making this leap? Katharine Kennedy: So as we’re looking at these frontier firms, uh, especially in the S-D-C-I-C spaces, we’re looking at, um, how do they implement AI up and down their stack, but then across the operating system, um, and. I refer to it in our business as the partnership value chain. ’cause we look at our SDCs and ISVs as partners. Um, and so the partner operating model between Microsoft and in this [00:04:00] case, Adobe or ServiceNow, has to be solely in lockstep and moving at warp speed. It’s as, as we’ve been talking about all day, it’s just moving so fast and so the tighter. We’re connected. The Cohesity across the company, um, is absolutely critical, but it’s AI up and down, AI across, um, and what I mean by that is, uh. That’s from the UI layer to the agent layer down to the data layer. So unlocking all of the layers of the stack. And then across the operating model, how are we empowering each executive to buy in on that North star or that strategy that we have jointly? And then how do we drive that operationally to execute at the field level? And that’s. Probably the biggest undertaking, um, I’ve ever done because it’s really you, your team becomes, uh, [00:05:00] these we’re like ants running between two giant companies. I mean, it’s just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And um, that’s really the art and the science of it is that honestly it’s people. Yes. Um, and I know we hear that and it’s very like, oh, what does it mean? Are we really using it? I cannot tell you how many agents I use in a day. It’s truly remarkable. Vince Menzione: You mentioned North Star, so I wanted to Yeah. Can I double click on it? Katharine Kennedy: Please do. Yes. Happy to. Vince Menzione: Yeah. I think about mission and purpose and all that tying into North Star. Are, are you implying that an organization needs to get its North Star, right? First and then how, how, and what, what are most of these organizations you’re seeing today, not the ones you manage, but other organizations in the SDC portfolio? Like where are they in terms of the continuum? How are, how are they moving along and what’s your guidance to them? Katharine Kennedy: It’s a good question. So I’ll start by saying my observation, my opinion is [00:06:00] as I’m looking across the companies that are successful and the ones who are yet to be successful, um, the key differentiator is that there is a shared vision at the highest level of the company that drives all the way down to the field. And what I mean by that is we’re taking two mission statements and we’re melding them together. Then we’re creating a belief system and it becomes a cultural shift across two companies versus, Hey, we’re gonna have all of these siloed, tactical, yeah. Operating units and they’re gonna do their own thing and maybe they’ll be successful over here. Maybe they’re doing something different over here, but we’re really. I think I heard Nina say this also, we’re pulling that red thread through the company. Yes. Um, which is critical. And I’ve seen so many companies just show up for the revenue. And yes, that’s an absolute outcome and it’s a [00:07:00] tremendous outcome if you do it right, but you have to do it right. You have to pull that red thread and you have to have every single part of the. Partner value chain buying into this strategy and this North Star, and if they don’t, if one piece of that chain is not bought in, you fail. Yeah. Vince Menzione: Organizational alignment is what you’re saying and what, what I’m hearing is in order, in terms of getting the AI Strat, the North Star aligned. Yes. You’ve gotta get the, I call the C-Suite aligned. Yes. You need to get all the functions of the organization aligned to the thread that you talked about. Yes. And then what does that look like? What does that North Star look like? What is it, what is the ideal example of what the North Star would look like? I’m, I’m a frontier firm. I brought in on ai, music agent ai. I’m doing all the things that we’ve talked about earlier. Katharine Kennedy: Yes. Um, so I think it, so operationally, um, it’s moving the operational rhythm from what used to be [00:08:00] qbr. Frankly, I think that’s outdated. Yes, it is. It is real time, constant communication. And yes, there will be checkpoints and they could be weekly, they could be monthly, they could be quarterly, but this is just real time constant communication because the pace of business, the pace of innovation is going so fast. We have to have that direct line of communication product to product team. We have to have that direct line of communication, engineering to engineering, because with everything going in on. Everything going on in the macroeconomic climate today, especially given concerns around sovereignty. Um, I run a global business, so we have customers saying, Hey, I don’t wanna host my data in a place where I don’t align with the values. That’s a real situation. That was actually a topic at Davos, as you mentioned, um, Nina. And so, um, we’re rapidly addressing these concerns with our customers and meeting our customers where they are. [00:09:00] Um, but it’s that real time constant connectivity. Um, and we’re frankly. We’re seeing it across the board. Um, but the operating model has to change. We have to look at more advanced, modern models, uh, for these partnership businesses to sustain in this next wave of transformation. Frankly, Vince Menzione: you know, it’s, so, you talked about values? Yes. This is, this leads into another conversation, right? When we talk about ai, we talk about, we talk about AI and the use, use cases. We skip over things like values and trust and governance. Katharine Kennedy: Oh, good segue. This is, this is my passion, please. Oh, I get so worked up about this. Good. So I, I had the privilege of, um, sitting, uh, with our SLC community a couple weeks ago, and, uh, they introduced, oh, here’s our amazing new, uh, pitch. We were just [00:10:00] speaking about it in the back actually. And, and it is, it’s amazing. And, uh, they said, do you have any feedback? And I was like, oh. And I waited and I saw everybody, every, you know, oh, we need to change this or tweak that. And I, and I waited. And then at the last moment I stood up. I was like, okay, I gotta say it. I was like, you say intelligence and trust. I, this is a small tweak, but trust has to be first, foremost, first, last, center, everything. Trust has to be everything. And, um, and I truly mean that. And I think, you know. Of all the companies I’ve worked for and I’ve worked for quite a few, um, Microsoft is the company that I believe in the most that can do the most good in society and in the global. Macroeconomic economy, a anything right in the world, in your communities. Um, and so one of the things that really struck me, and I keep coming back to with Microsoft and the, the topic of trust is how Microsoft, [00:11:00] um, was first to the table in this, in this, um, moment of ai. You know, introduction a few years ago to say, Hey, we need a set of core values and ethics and principles that we’re all gonna, we’re all gonna marshal around and I haven’t heard it as much recently, and now it’s coming back. And, uh, you know, the, the six core principles that Microsoft used is, I’m just gonna tell you right now, our fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusivity, um, transparency and accountability. And it’s not. Just six principles that you see on a poster in the offices. These are embedded, again, back to the operating model across every single aspect of our business. So within our product, within our engineering, even just in our collaboration tools, you could be sending a teams message and you’ll get a notification, Hey, this is not aligned to the Microsoft. Core [00:12:00] values of ai. And so there are gates and governance and guardrails built into every layer of our technology stack and then across the company in our operating rhythms. And that is what gets me so excited and gets me up at, at out of bed in the morning. Um. I actually got a call from Sila. No one wants a call from Sila. Does anybody know Sila? Uh, yeah. Yes. Okay. That’s our legal, that’s our legal team. Legal affairs. Sila. Yeah. No one wants that call. Uh, I actually, I got so excited. I was like, are you calling about responsible ai? ’cause I was one of the first, um, I was one of the first to raise my hand to say. We will sign up. Was it Brad Smith calling you? Oh gosh. Oh, that would be a dream. I think he’s so, I’m, I love him. I think he’s so cool. Um, I love that you actually, sorry, side, I’m gonna take you on a side tour. Next slide. Um, my favorite thing to do is pull up the news and you’re seeing something from the Prime Minister in, you know, Germany and Brad [00:13:00] Smith’s in the foreground Yes. Of every photo. You’re just like, wow, we’re influencing at such a global. Um, base that I could just, it’s hard to wrap your head around sometimes, but, so anyways, going back, I’m gonna take us back to trust. Um, please. Vince Menzione: Well, I just think we need to apply it back to ai, right? Because it is so important. It is. It is. These agents are out there and if they’re not governed and if you don’t Yeah, yeah. Katharine Kennedy: I’m so, so, yeah, thank you. Keeping me on track. So, so why I am excited about it is, is because, um. As we’re going out into our communities, um, we’re here in the southeast and one of the biggest issues that comes up over and over again is, how do I trust that AI is not gonna learn off my data? How am I gonna trust that it’s telling me the right information? And so on and so forth. And that’s when I get to this great conversation about trust and our responsible AI pact and, um. This is, this is truly what I mean, that it can be a force [00:14:00] multiplier, but it can be a force for good. And if you don’t have those guardrails and that governance and those principles aligned across the companies. You fall down, right? You fall down with the customers, you fall down with the organizations you’re serving. And so going back to our North Star two, we align there, we align with the values and the ethics, and then we can start to really build a business together. And that’s how we were able to do it so fast. And so, um, at such scale, at such global scale, um, with. ServiceNow, but now we’re going to take a mature partner in Adobe and we’re gonna take them to the frontier in a way you haven’t seen before. So. Just a little commercial. Adobe is gonna be announcing their Adobe marketing agent. I love it as GA next month. So they are a frontier firm for us. Yes, very exciting round of applause for Adobe there. For Adobe. Yeah. And more to come. So we’ll be [00:15:00] having, uh, their firefly, uh, video models coming out on Azure and available through Marketplace as well, um, coming soon. So lots of exciting things happening. Vince Menzione: Sounds exciting. So let’s talk about those partner big wins that you’re saying. Give us some examples of those. Katharine Kennedy: Now are you talking about from a Microsoft and Adobe co-innovation perspective? Yes, from the co-innovation perspective. Okay. Yeah. Um, so from a co-innovation perspective, this is. This is a labor of love. Um, I approach it in a very disciplined manner. The way that we look at, um, these frontier firms is we’re leading with co-innovation versus leading with revenue. And it’s a, it’s, it’s a paradigm shift that takes everyone to buy in back to my earlier point, but also, um, the hardest part is. Teaching companies, um, to do things differently. Uh, so we start with [00:16:00] engineering and product. And actually before we get there, we start with customer and we sit with our customers. We understand what our customers are asking for. We’re understanding the value that they need unlocked, and typically it’s at the data data layer. And so what we’re doing is we’re seeing, okay, what are the data things? What are the data silos that need to be unlocked? And so we start to kind of build up from there, taking the customer perspective. Then we sit with engineering and product and we say, okay, what do we have on the truck today? How can we elevate this to an AI led AI first motion that meets our customers where they are in their AI journey? And delivers value and business outcomes day one versus, hey, we have to go through this laborous process. One of the other things we’re seeing is forward deployed engineers. Um, so thinking about, Hey, how do we sit with our customers and start architecting. What they need to address their business challenges today, um, because AI [00:17:00] can solve a lot of this, right? And so it’s a really interesting model shift that we’re seeing across the board within Microsoft, within our largest ISVs, and within our customer and our, um, ecosystem community with our GSIs, our sis, as well as our channel. Vince Menzione: So I know we were. You’ve had a lot. We, we had Jason up here talking about marketplace. Yes. And Jason Grey, Ja. Oh no, Jason. R Jason. R Jason. Yeah. We’ve had Jason Grey. He’s had Jason Grey. Yes. Well, we, um, you’re, you ServiceNow got called out in that last set session. I know. I was thinking about marketplace and co-selling. Yes. And then ecosystem. So I wanna like tie those three things together if that’s possible with you. Like what are you seeing from a best practice perspective. Obviously ServiceNow has been a top a top partner. We’re starting to see a lot of, well, channel D, channel [00:18:00] resellers, and the like. What are you seeing from a best practice perspective and is there yes. Central opportunities there? Katharine Kennedy: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay. Three things. Um, one is AI led innovation. First and foremost, you gotta have the solution. You gotta have it. If you don’t have the solution, you don’t have something to sell. Second is a, um, AI led go to market hero motion. And what I mean by that, so in the, I’ll use ServiceNow as a, as a. Example ServiceNow. We created a, the first, uh, copilot plus, um, ServiceNow assist agent to agent go to market hero story. It landed really well with our customers and so we started to build off of that and we integrated across, um, up and down the stack. Like I mentioned, the data layer, the agent layer, and the ui. Um, and our customers were thrilled. They were like, wow. What else can we do with this? Can we unlock HR with this? Can we unlock. [00:19:00] What else can we do? Finance? Can we do finance? And so we started to see these, these moments in time where our customers were taking the technology and taking it to places we just hadn’t even thought about yet. Um, so I would say those two. And then the third would be, uh, making sure that we’re enabling the field. In a way that they know that story, they can tell that story, and then they have access to people to support that story. Um, and then wrap that in marketplace leverage micro, uh, marketplace as a scale motion. And now I know we still have opportunities to continue to improve around marketplace. Um, but we’ve come a long way and we’re seeing tremendous growth and scale out of this engine. So it’s, it’s definitely a hidden, um. I would say honestly, it’s still a hidden gem in the Microsoft. Uh. Bag, if you will. Vince Menzione: $300 billion in total.[00:20:00] Katharine Kennedy: Yeah, I seriously, yeah, but not anymore, I should say. Yes, I’ve been to Singing from the Rooftop. Yes. Vince Menzione: And you’re gonna be back this afternoon, right? Yes. A session with Ashley, so, oh, okay. I think, was it with Ash? Maybe? Oh know, maybe. I don’t know. Maybe. I’d be delighted it’ll be back the same. I’m happy to be back. I wanna make sure, I do wanna make sure, we’ll, we’ll cover some more of this there. Katharine Kennedy: And then the last thing, yeah. Shared KPIs. Yes. Shared KPIs. We gotta track it. We gotta be accountable. So get your vision aligned. Get your vision, get your organizations across all of the disciplines aligned. Yes. And then have a set of shared KPIs and owners for each of those KPIs. Yes. Right. And govern it. And govern it. Govern it, yeah. Report up to the CEO on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis, on a quarterly basis. I started reporting up to our CEO and he was like. What is she doing? He’s like, this business is going really, it’s growing fast. What is she doing? Can we do this somewhere else though? Um, it’s, you know, making sure people know the story, um, [00:21:00] and everyone’s buying in and they’re accountable. It’s, um, it’s a simple thing, but it’s powerful. Thank you for having me. Vince Menzione: Thank you so much. I really, yeah. Appreciate it. Thank you everyone. Alright, thanks. You don’t forget, ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, May 11th through the 13th in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. I hope to see you there.

Yesterday, Apex Critical Metals published their first drill results from the Rift Rare Earth Project in Nebraska. Hole 2 returned 81.6 m at 2.02% REO, including 50.9 m at 2.40% REO. The results also returned a highly enriched Neodymium-Praseodymium ("NdPr") zone with an average NdPr distribution of 49% over 10 m with an average 0.75% REO grade. Joness Lang of Apex talks about the results in this episode of MSD.

Master the $500B Cloud Marketplace Engine Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this compelling discussion, Vince Menzione sits down with Dexter Hardy, founder of Ntegral and the visionary behind Spark, to deconstruct the massive transformation happening within the cloud ecosystem. Dexter shares his journey of evolving from a traditional systems integrator to a marketplace powerhouse with over 300 solutions and customers in 100 countries, revealing the “Marketplace Operating System” that drives global sales without a massive headcount. They dive deep into the Spark GTM methodology, discussing how companies can bridge the gap between building a solution and actually driving “Get It Now” transactions while navigating the $500 billion committed cloud-spend landscape. From the nuances of multi-party private offers to the critical role of AI in becoming a “frontier firm,” this episode provides a high-level masterclass for any partner looking to turn the marketplace into their most effective revenue stream. https://youtu.be/VLkkuHPpYuk?si=x03Odt2UsCjhtVf4 Key Takeaways The cloud marketplace represents a potential $500 billion in committed spend that partners cannot access without MAC-eligible, transactable solutions. Marketplace as a Service (MaaS) helps traditional SIs pivot to becoming SDCs or ISVs by providing a strategic roadmap for IP conversion. Successful marketplace strategy requires a “Marketplace Operating System” that aligns digital sales with your internal operations and business goals. The “Get It Now” economy allows for 24-hour global sales and lead generation without the need for traditional manual email or phone chains. Becoming a “Frontier Firm” means combining human experience with AI to do things faster, better, and more efficiently than the competition. Co-selling is evolving beyond just the hyperscalers to include rich, multi-party private offers involving resellers and distributors. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags: Integral, Spark, Marketplace as a Service, MaaS, Marketplace Operating System, Marketplace Strategy, Transactable Offers, Get It Now button, SI to ISV pivot, SDC, Microsoft Marketplace, AWS Marketplace, Google Cloud Marketplace, IP Co-sell, MAC eligible, Multi-party private offers, REO, Reseller enabled offers, Cloud Committed Spend, Frontier Firm, AI agents, Spark GTM methodology, Marketplace Optimization, Digital Sales Flywheel. Transcript: Dexter Hardy Audio Episode [00:00:00] Dexter Hardy: AI in the hands of someone who has no idea what they’re doing is just a, it’s a faster way to failure, right? Yeah. ’cause they have, they [00:00:06] Vince Menzione: still don’t understand the concepts. [00:00:11] Vince Menzione: We just finished Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat here in beautiful Boca to a sold out crowd. Today I’m joined by Dexter Hardy, the founder of Integral for a compelling discussion. Dexter, welcome back to the podcast. Great to be here, Vince. It’s [00:00:29] Dexter Hardy: always a pleasure. [00:00:30] Vince Menzione: It is so good to have you back in Boca. [00:00:33] Vince Menzione: Uh, we just wrapped up our ultimate partner executive winter retreat. We call it the Winter Retreat now. [00:00:39] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:00:39] Vince Menzione: It’s still February when this airs. It’ll probably be March or April. [00:00:43] Dexter Hardy: Okay. [00:00:43] Vince Menzione: But, um, yeah, the weather in the north has been, they’ve had a tough winter. [00:00:49] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. It’s been brutal [00:00:50] Vince Menzione: for, it’s been brutal. Even, even Atlanta where you are. [00:00:53] Vince Menzione: Had a little bit of winter this year as well. [00:00:54] Dexter Hardy: I was happy to get on the flight. Yeah. It was like 29 degrees the day out, so, [00:00:59] Vince Menzione: so, um, this is your second time Yeah. On Ultimate Partner. And we’ve been friends for, we’re just talking about this. You’ve been to every single one of our Ultimate Partner events. [00:01:10] Vince Menzione: Nine events, [00:01:12] Dexter Hardy: yep. [00:01:12] Vince Menzione: Three times here in Boca and then in other cities like Dallas and Las Colinas. Seattle, Seattle and Reston. Oh my goodness. And we’re back in Seattle again in May. So, uh, we’ve been, we’ve been busy. We’ve been busy. Both of us have [00:01:27] Dexter Hardy: Scott Myer [00:01:28] Vince Menzione: up and we’ve been, and we were introduced. We’ve been friends and worked together. [00:01:31] Vince Menzione: And so I would love to get caught up on you and Integral. [00:01:35] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:01:36] Vince Menzione: Um, the first time we sat down, we talked about Integral as a marketplace. Uh, customer base or, or, or vendor supporting the marketplace. [00:01:45] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:01:46] Vince Menzione: And you were, you’ve been, uh, showcased at Microsoft with the Marketplace organization. You’ve done some astounding things in terms of driving business without like a big sales force, you know, and driving marketplace sales, uh, to very high levels. [00:02:02] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:02:03] Vince Menzione: And, uh, and now you, I’ll call it a little bit of a twist and turn, but now. You’ve taken all the great learnings, and I’m probably sharing some of your thunder here, but you’ve taken all the great learnings that you’ve had in marketplace and your business [00:02:16] Dexter Hardy: mm-hmm. [00:02:16] Vince Menzione: And now you’re like looking at all these other companies, they’re probably trying to do the same thing and finding ways to help them. [00:02:21] Vince Menzione: So let’s, let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about where you’re going. [00:02:25] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. So, so thanks for that. And it’s always a pleasure to be, you know, in the room with you, especially on the podcast, uh, seeing it grow over the years. And, um, to kind of double click on. How did we get to where we are with, uh, spark Bi Integral? [00:02:40] Dexter Hardy: Um, it’s our marketplace as a service offering. Um, we [00:02:46] Vince Menzione: marketplace as a service. You get that? I just wanna make sure people are listening and watching. Get that. That’s a, that’s a new acronym for me. [00:02:53] Dexter Hardy: That’s a new one. But, but what we, how do we get there? So to your point, yes, we. We’re a, um, marketplace first organization looking at the digital sales leaned in heavily on marketplace. [00:03:08] Dexter Hardy: Um, and what we were doing internally was we created our marketplace operating system. Like literally, how do we run our business? How do we digitize, how do we get those, uh, how do we turn the marketplace into our 24 hour sales guy? Yeah. Taking all those lessons learned how you deal with the hyperscale or how do you understand, you know, the, the signals that’s happening in the market. [00:03:33] Dexter Hardy: Uh, coupling that with, because we’ve been a member of this wonderful organization and getting into the partner community ecosystem, we get asked a million times, I bet. What do you do? How do you do it? That’s help us understand marketplace and so what we. What we saw there was an opportunity to both lean into the challenges that other partners are facing. [00:04:00] Dexter Hardy: If you’re an SI that’s trying to pivot [00:04:02] Vince Menzione: yep, [00:04:03] Dexter Hardy: and be in the marketplace, you’re already established company, how do you create Transactable offers? How do we take the the marketplace opportunity and leverage AI and put our agents in the marketplace? Our aha moment was this is, this is an en enablement opportunity that we can get into and basically be the first ones in because we leaned into it, we understand it. [00:04:35] Dexter Hardy: What makes us different from the other companies is we actually use that methodology every day. [00:04:43] Vince Menzione: For those who maybe didn’t listen to the last podcast we did together, I know this story, but I want others to know the context of it. Tell us about your transformation to a marketplace firm. [00:04:54] Dexter Hardy: Okay, for sure. [00:04:56] Vince Menzione: Maybe the shorter version. [00:04:57] Dexter Hardy: The shorter version, [00:04:57] Vince Menzione: but I, I do know that there was some, you were in business for a long time before this became the business strategy. [00:05:03] Dexter Hardy: Yeah, so the shortened version business founded 2002, Microsoft partner for many years. Yep. 2020. Si. Si as an si. 2020 COVID. [00:05:16] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:05:16] Dexter Hardy: Consulting 2.0. [00:05:17] Dexter Hardy: How do you do what you do at scale for others? Taking your ip, converting it. We did that at 2020. Embraced the marketplace. We created our solutions, deploy them to the marketplace. The rest is history. We leaned in how [00:05:32] Vince Menzione: many solutions in the [00:05:33] Dexter Hardy: marketplace, over 300 solutions. I wanna [00:05:35] Vince Menzione: make sure people [00:05:35] Dexter Hardy: got that. [00:05:35] Dexter Hardy: Over a hundred, 300 [00:05:36] Vince Menzione: solutions. [00:05:37] Dexter Hardy: Over 300 solutions. Yeah. Uh, we have. Customers in over a hundred countries. I mean, and [00:05:42] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:05:43] Dexter Hardy: You know, continuing to build and expand our customer base on a daily basis. And so, [00:05:48] Vince Menzione: and they’re, and they’re buying when you, while you sleep. I mean, we, we’ve known each other pretty well for a number of years. [00:05:54] Vince Menzione: And [00:05:54] Dexter Hardy: yeah, [00:05:54] Vince Menzione: you have customers like, um, I’ll throw out a number, like 25,000 customers, probably, maybe beyond that. And these customers are buying your solutions. All hours of the day and night, [00:06:06] Dexter Hardy: right? Yeah. I I love the get it now button in the marketplace. Literally all they have to do to work with us or transact with us is click on, get It Now, and that’s the transactable offer that everyone, there’s this mystique around. [00:06:19] Dexter Hardy: People are like, well, we don’t have any leads. We can, you know, our, we have an offer in the marketplace and nobody’s clicking on it. And I’m like, Hmm, [00:06:27] Vince Menzione: yeah, [00:06:27] Dexter Hardy: we can help you with that. Right? And so, um, you know, that’s how we. Our, our story with that, our background with that was it’s our 24 hour sales guy. We drive our campaigns, we align with the solution plays. [00:06:41] Dexter Hardy: We’re getting those clicks with, to your point, without this huge army of people. Yeah. And so now we’re saying from a marketplace strategic advisory, a lot of people were saying it earlier, like, you know, marketplace isn’t this adjacent thing to business. How do you strategically think about it as. Um, part of your business all up. [00:07:03] Dexter Hardy: How do you add that as a revenue stream, uh, for your organization? And yeah, there may be some changes that you need to make, you know, how do you incorporate the channel? How do you add in all of the things that you’re currently doing, but create that as a flywheel for this. Get it now economy. [00:07:22] Vince Menzione: So all the, I’m, I’m thinking out loud, like there’s probably a lot of people watching you up on stage at these events talking about how you evolved your company and grew it. [00:07:31] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:07:32] Vince Menzione: Going, that’s me. [00:07:33] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:07:33] Vince Menzione: That’s me. The old, the old version of you absolutely is them. [00:07:37] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:07:38] Vince Menzione: And they all, they all want help. [00:07:39] Dexter Hardy: They all, [00:07:40] Vince Menzione: everybody wants help in marketplace. [00:07:41] Dexter Hardy: Right. And [00:07:43] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:07:43] Dexter Hardy: And, and to that end. Because I was them. I understand how their mind, it’s a mindset shift, right? You’re saying, okay, we have these traditional sales, we’re a systems integrator, we have all this ip, these, there are all these things that we can do. [00:07:57] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:07:58] Dexter Hardy: I don’t, how do we convert this to transact ability? How do we get our sales teams enabled to sell it? And I was, and my, my feedback and my response to that is, well, one, we have a service for that. It’s our marketplace advisor services. I’m sorry for the plug, but not sorry. [00:08:16] Vince Menzione: No, we’re, no, we’re gonna plug today as well. [00:08:18] Vince Menzione: Much as you want. [00:08:19] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:08:20] Vince Menzione: And then I think about this too, because a lot of these sis are developing, we’re just, uh, talking with Agua about MSPs, developing agents for their customers and then making ’em repeatable. [00:08:30] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:08:31] Vince Menzione: And so you have other sis that are creating AI tools and agents. Microsoft is created and the, and so has AWS and Google, they’ve created space in their marketplaces for agent AI tools. [00:08:44] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:08:45] Vince Menzione: And so now you’ve got all these companies that were traditional sis that are now becoming what we would call ISVs or, or SDCs. And they need help in getting these solutions to the marketplace. [00:08:57] Dexter Hardy: Absolutely. [00:08:58] Vince Menzione: So, so talk about what you’re doing with Spark. [00:09:00] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. So our concept with Spark is. When you look at enablement, so you’ll have platforms that are enablers and a lot of people will say, well, what makes Spark different? [00:09:12] Dexter Hardy: Why? Why you versus Tackle Or Sugar? [00:09:15] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:09:15] Dexter Hardy: Any of the other work span. Work span or any, they’re all friendlys to us because we’re meeting you where you are. Right. In order for you to use their platform, you gotta already have the solution together. [00:09:29] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:09:30] Dexter Hardy: Right. They can help you deploy. There’s Deploy. They are a deployment firm or [00:09:35] Vince Menzione: Right. [00:09:36] Dexter Hardy: Um, platforms We’re saying [00:09:38] Vince Menzione: they’re middleware in many respects. Correct. Between the, they’re, [00:09:41] Dexter Hardy: they’re integrated into the marketplace. They’re highly embedded into the systems behind it, and we’re saying what happens before that? I have no idea what solution to build. I have no idea how we’re gonna take advantage of Marketplace. [00:09:58] Dexter Hardy: How is Marketplace gonna change? Again, we had these conversations at dinner. Um, [00:10:04] Vince Menzione: yeah, [00:10:04] Dexter Hardy: all of the big players are saying, we have channel, we have our sales teams, we have all these things already. How does marketplace play into that for us? And so that Marketplace strategic advisory goes into it and says, here’s how. [00:10:19] Dexter Hardy: Right. We have a. Our Spark GTM methodology goes into how do those things play together? What are your KPIs or what are your business goals as an organization all up? And then we marry this, basically a Venn diagram of how we marry marketplace with your current objectives. Okay. To not just be this, uh, ubiquitous thing that’s kind of sitting over on the side, like, let’s just put it in marketplace because we need to, and nobody knows it’s there and nobody knows it’s there. [00:10:49] Dexter Hardy: It’s part of. Everything all up. Your messaging, your sales organization, your, um, documentation that you have for your organization. So now everyone understands, not just you as the, let’s say you’re an SI that you were, but you, the si with your agents and how that plays into your bigger value proposition. [00:11:10] Dexter Hardy: So take [00:11:10] Vince Menzione: us through the, go to the methodology you described the Spark methodology. [00:11:15] Dexter Hardy: Yep. So, um, a lot of people, when they think about. The methodology, you’ll say we’re a, we’re an si. I’m just going to use an example. You’re an si. How, how do I get somebody to click on my, my opportunity? How do I get somebody to understand what we have as a value proposition? [00:11:39] Dexter Hardy: And I’d say to people, well, there’s this, it’s part of the methodology. There’s product viability. Can you build something? Versus should you build something. Right. [00:11:50] Vince Menzione: Interesting. [00:11:51] Dexter Hardy: If you are, if you are out there today and you’re saying, I mean, everybody’s seeing Claude, the agents, you can, you can ask AI to build you pretty much anything. [00:12:00] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:12:00] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:12:01] Dexter Hardy: Now the question scary and that, that’s a, that, that introduces a new problem. But it’s, can you do it or should you do it? [00:12:08] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:12:09] Dexter Hardy: And and what I’ll tell people is part of our advisory, so the steps are. What is your North Star right now and what is the software that would enable you to get on that AI rocket ship to propel you even further with where you are? [00:12:27] Dexter Hardy: Those are the solutions that we would try to [00:12:29] Vince Menzione: Okay. [00:12:30] Dexter Hardy: That out, pull out of, uh, as part of that marketplace. Um, advisory Second, what partner or partner organizations are you a member of? Is it Microsoft? Is it the AWS? Is it, you know, Google Cloud? Google Cloud, what have you, and let’s say Microsoft. What are solution plays? [00:12:51] Dexter Hardy: What is Microsoft focused on? How does what you’re doing as an organization align with that go to market? Mm-hmm. Because now you have that jet power of what they’re, um, promoting along with your organization. [00:13:06] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:13:07] Dexter Hardy: And then the final piece is, well, now that you’ve done that, how do I get it into market? [00:13:12] Dexter Hardy: How do I, uh, get people to click on it? And that’s where some of the secret sauce that I won’t divulge on this, [00:13:19] Vince Menzione: uh, [00:13:20] Dexter Hardy: but there is some secret sauce to getting the ICPs to lean in, getting the [00:13:25] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:13:25] Dexter Hardy: You know, you’re listing to light up inside of that. And so that’s. You know, that’s at a high level. That’s kind of how the marketplace, [00:13:32] Vince Menzione: I think what you’re alluding to, and I, I don’t wanna put words in your mouth, but I do think you’ve done a very good job on what I would call maybe digital marketing, maybe. [00:13:41] Vince Menzione: Would that be the right terminology? Yeah. To make your solutions discoverable, to make people understand that they’re out there and to lean in and be able to purchase them. [00:13:51] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:13:52] Vince Menzione: Which I think I would say that’s probably part of the secret sauce, probably of Spark. That is what you’re saying because a lot of organizations struggle here. [00:13:59] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:14:00] Vince Menzione: They put something in the marketplace and nothing ever happens with it. Even even big companies do that. They don’t know how to do it. [00:14:06] Dexter Hardy: So, so yeah. Without divulging the secret sauce, I had a gentleman ask me yesterday, um, during the conference, so how is this different from SEO? I said, good question. [00:14:20] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. Is is SEOS? Is, is SEO involved? Sure, but that’s not the final answer. Because you could do SEO, that doesn’t mean anybody. That just gets you, doesn’t mean anything. Doesn’t mean anything. And so. That’s why I keep going back to this methodology of really aligning it with, uh, what it is you’re trying to accomplish, who it is you’re trying to get to lean in, and then what is the value proposition? [00:14:42] Dexter Hardy: Because at the end of the day, Vince, I think even with any service, like I said, we did our first offerings with our R zero offerings and now we’re doing this. It’s what is the value, right? Um, it’s a hard. Thing to do to really wrap your brain around how your, how your business is going to change from, if you’re doing direct sales and you got your bag and you’re out there selling to now, you mean I don’t have to pick up the phone and call you? [00:15:15] Dexter Hardy: There’s not an email chain that goes out. It’s literally people are just clicking on Get it now to get it [00:15:21] Vince Menzione: and getting it. [00:15:22] Dexter Hardy: That’s a, that’s a mind shift change and that’s. To your point, there is some market, there is some marketing expertise that is required. [00:15:29] Vince Menzione: And we’ve also talked about, I know you and I went down a journey on the co-sell business [00:15:34] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:15:34] Vince Menzione: And how difficult it can be to get a, a seller from a Microsoft or a Google and Amazon involved, unless it’s, you know, a $10 million transaction, they don’t want to get involved. [00:15:45] Dexter Hardy: Right. [00:15:46] Vince Menzione: Uh, you really wanna reach the customer. Because you know, the hyperscalers is great. If you’re driving a ServiceNow or an ADO a big solution, it’s gonna be tens of millions of dollars. [00:15:56] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:15:57] Vince Menzione: But if you are an SI and you’re selling this as part of maybe a services offering, or you’re selling it as, you know, you’re just selling as a standalone. [00:16:04] Dexter Hardy: Right? [00:16:05] Vince Menzione: Um, you want as much eyeballs and transactions as possible and you’re not gonna get that just going co-selling. [00:16:12] Dexter Hardy: Right. And, and the other part of that I will say about co-sell. [00:16:17] Dexter Hardy: I think co-sell has gotten like a dirty rap or bad rap around it. Co-sell is with the hyperscaler, but it’s with other partners too. [00:16:28] Vince Menzione: Sure, [00:16:28] Dexter Hardy: right? Oh yeah, absolutely. So, um, being in the marketplace gives you the option of co-selling would, not just the hyperscaler, but co-selling with other orgs. And so now anytime that you’ve give, you’ve given yourself that X factor on top of your existing ability to deliver. [00:16:44] Dexter Hardy: That’s where you’re seeing the true power of marketplace. [00:16:47] Vince Menzione: And yesterday you were on stage with Jason Rook. [00:16:50] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:16:51] Vince Menzione: And this was part of the conversation. It was you, Jason Rook and Amit Sinha at, at uh, work Span. [00:16:58] Dexter Hardy: Mm-hmm. [00:16:58] Vince Menzione: And part of the conversation was around the, uh, reseller enabled offers. And I think what that’s somewhat of what you’re alluding to is that you have other wait routes to market channels to market. [00:17:10] Dexter Hardy: Right [00:17:11] Vince Menzione: through building other partnerships for co-selling. Yeah. That what you, you were alluding to. Yeah. [00:17:15] Dexter Hardy: So, so yeah, there, there are a million ways to, once you’re in, once you have a transactable offer, that’s when you get the magic unlocks. Right. You, the barrier to entry is being in marketplace with a transactable offer. [00:17:31] Dexter Hardy: And if you’re outside of that loop, again, the REO. You’re not available. Guess who? Guess who can’t do that? [00:17:39] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:17:40] Dexter Hardy: If you’re not in the marketplace, you can’t do that. [00:17:41] Vince Menzione: Can’t do that. [00:17:43] Dexter Hardy: Multi-party private offers can’t do that. ’cause you’re not in the marketplace. [00:17:47] Vince Menzione: No. [00:17:48] Dexter Hardy: Right. And so what we’re saying is think about all up, how you’re missing out on. [00:17:56] Dexter Hardy: All of these wonderful opportunities to, I think, I think the number got thrown out a couple of times. Jason ran away from it when you said it’s like a $300 billion number on, he [00:18:07] Vince Menzione: didn’t want, he didn’t, he didn’t want me sharing or he wasn’t, he, he didn’t want to, uh, what, what did he say? Validate that that was the right number, but $300 billion in potential cloud budgets. [00:18:21] Vince Menzione: That you could have access to. We know the number across the three hyperscalers is north of 500 billion. [00:18:27] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:18:27] Vince Menzione: It’s just that Microsoft doesn’t break out their numbers and make them public, and so we, you know, [00:18:32] Dexter Hardy: and, and [00:18:33] Vince Menzione: estimates. [00:18:33] Dexter Hardy: What I would tell everyone that’s listening, I would invite you to consider [00:18:37] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:18:38] Dexter Hardy: the following. [00:18:39] Dexter Hardy: If you’re not in the marketplace with a IP, co-sale or MAC eligible solution, you’re not eligible for that. [00:18:49] Vince Menzione: That’s right. [00:18:50] Dexter Hardy: Spend. And so is that worth it for you as an organization to say, yes, we need to figure out this and get involved with that? [00:19:01] Vince Menzione: So I’m an SI and I raise my hand. I’m like, Dexter, help me. [00:19:06] Vince Menzione: What happens next? [00:19:08] Dexter Hardy: I would say. Let me introduce you to my team. [00:19:12] Vince Menzione: I love it. I love it. [00:19:13] Dexter Hardy: Um, [00:19:14] Vince Menzione: and you’ve been building your team since, uh, we go back now four years, but like yeah. You, you’ve been growing your business, hired some incredible people in your [00:19:22] Dexter Hardy: team. Yeah, we have some rock stars on our team. I’m really, really happy with my team. [00:19:25] Dexter Hardy: Uh, you know, we’re still growing and it’s, it’s a wonderful thing to be in this economy and still growing. Yes. Um, and like I said, yes, we, I would introduce you to my team and my team would then help you, uh, through. The marketplace advisory. We can help you with the health check. We can do the strategic advisory, the alignment around, here’s what we’re doing. [00:19:47] Dexter Hardy: Another thing that I’ll go ahead and put in here, if you already have listings in the marketplace and people aren’t clicking on them, we have marketplace optimization as well. [00:19:58] Vince Menzione: I love that [00:19:59] Dexter Hardy: because we, again, that conversation comes up all the time. Yeah. We put, we, we invested in Marketplace and we have our listing out there. [00:20:08] Dexter Hardy: Nobody’s clicking on it. Well, we can help you with that too. [00:20:11] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:20:12] Dexter Hardy: Right, because to your point, it’s not just building an ar, arbitrarily writing something about it, putting it in marketplace. Right. That’s, that’s an arbitrary approach. We’re saying how do you turn those into a lead gen, revenue gen, um, operation arm of your business. [00:20:29] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:20:29] Dexter Hardy: Which is what we call market marketplace operating system. [00:20:33] Vince Menzione: Marketplace operating. Okay. So we got another, I got another word I need to learn. Another acronym I need to learn. [00:20:38] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. You know, I [00:20:39] Vince Menzione: less, [00:20:40] Dexter Hardy: I’ve been around Microsoft too long, I guess. [00:20:42] Vince Menzione: Yes. I [00:20:42] Dexter Hardy: created all these, [00:20:45] Vince Menzione: so, um, just perspective could, because you’ve been in the marketplace since we talked about COVID. [00:20:50] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:20:51] Vince Menzione: Really. So that’s five years. Five [00:20:52] Dexter Hardy: years. Yeah. [00:20:54] Vince Menzione: Um, talk about how it’s changed from your perspective. I mean, I, we talk about it all. We talk, we have leaders like Jason and Cyril comes here and. Does, uh, speaks about some changes going on, but tell us your perspective on how it’s evolved. [00:21:08] Dexter Hardy: Um, so the marketplace is always evolving really. [00:21:12] Dexter Hardy: Um, from, from when we got in early in the marketplace. Uh, REO didn’t exist. Multi, multi-party. Private offers didn’t exist. The amount of committed spend on hyperscalers little was, wasn’t there. Um, the seller, the field sellers within the hyperscalers. Marketplace wasn’t part of their thing. So, um, you know, when that, when that frontier, not just that, not to confuse terms when that frontier opened up Yeah. [00:21:43] Dexter Hardy: Like there were, you know, it, it really wasn’t a clear path on how do you channel, how do you do sales, how do you integrate with the team? Um, and now there’s a lot more options, uh, for organizations that want to keep some of those motions together. Disti are now able to get involved with the conversation. [00:22:05] Dexter Hardy: They were kinda locked out for a while, but now with the s and the multi-party private offers and disti are in the conversation, [00:22:12] Vince Menzione: it’s lit up the disti like crazy. Yeah. In fact, we were, we just spent time with a few and some friends there and [00:22:19] Dexter Hardy: yeah. [00:22:19] Vince Menzione: Yeah, it’s been wild to watch this. [00:22:21] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:22:21] Vince Menzione: We haven’t talked about AI very much. [00:22:24] Vince Menzione: I mean, we talked about it from a solution and something you put in the, the market as an agent. But we haven’t talked about the change in a big way. Um, what’s your perspective for the partners out there and how they need to think about AI and embracing it and where they are in the journey? [00:22:41] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. Um, I really, AUL said something, uh, in his, in the panel discussion that he had the other day and it, it just really resonated with me. [00:22:53] Dexter Hardy: Uh, will AI take your job? Probably not. The person who’s using AI [00:23:00] Vince Menzione: will take [00:23:00] Dexter Hardy: the job. Will take you [00:23:01] Vince Menzione: job. Yes. [00:23:02] Dexter Hardy: Same thing. That’s really [00:23:04] Vince Menzione: so true. [00:23:05] Dexter Hardy: Same thing for, same thing for companies. Yeah. If you don’t have, and I, I’ll, I’m, I, I’m really gonna ask, I should have asked Jason this question. Why isn’t there a badge for frontier firms for SDCs? [00:23:21] Dexter Hardy: That’s a solution. Partner badge, not a frontier firm. [00:23:24] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:23:24] Dexter Hardy: but I’ll say if your company isn’t investing in combining people and ai, you’re missing the boat. [00:23:36] Vince Menzione: Yeah. So be a frontier firm. [00:23:37] Dexter Hardy: Be a frontier firm where it doesn’t matter if you’re an si, SDC, if you are not leveraging that superpower of how do we do things faster, better, quicker. [00:23:50] Dexter Hardy: Make that part of your go to market and your operating total operations, you’re going to get left behind. [00:23:57] Vince Menzione: Yeah. We’re hearing it loud and clear. I mean, all the sessions we had yesterday. [00:24:02] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:24:02] Vince Menzione: All the people like yourself that have been here are all frontier firms. They’re all companies that have leaned in, in a big way. [00:24:07] Dexter Hardy: Right. [00:24:08] Vince Menzione: Um, and in some respect, I mean, we we’re, I’m, I’m saying proceed with caution because I, I know by 2030 our world is gonna look very radically different than it looks today. [00:24:17] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:24:18] Vince Menzione: Uh, we just, I need to make sure we have the security and the governance and the data structure the right way so that we just don’t, things don’t just go crazy in some respects. [00:24:27] Vince Menzione: Right? [00:24:27] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. And I, I do think that, um, to your point, you have to, we still have to keep the human factor in everything that we’re doing. Um, there is, again, it’s AI plus your experience that makes you better. [00:24:46] Vince Menzione: Yeah, agreed. [00:24:47] Dexter Hardy: AI in the hands of someone who has no idea what they’re doing is just a, it’s a faster way to failure, right? [00:24:53] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. Because they have, they still don’t understand the concepts. And so I really want to make sure that, you know, when you think about ai, think about it from the context of experience, right? Yeah. [00:25:06] Vince Menzione: And yeah, we can go, we can go down a, a whole discussion point here about ethics and what I’ll call AI for good. [00:25:14] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. Like I said, having the right approach, having an ethical approach. We talked about Microsoft on stage yesterday with people like Brad Smith, who, uh, there’s people that have this, this right philosophy and approach to ai. Right. That [00:25:29] Dexter Hardy: right. [00:25:29] Vince Menzione: It will do good for the world and not bad for the world. [00:25:32] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:25:33] Dexter Hardy: And I think that has to be, well, I’ll just speak for myself. Can you do something and should you do something [00:25:42] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:25:43] Dexter Hardy: You have to, that should be a question that you’re asking yourself. You should be evaluating and you have to have whatever your moral compass is that has to align with your moral compass. [00:25:53] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. Because they’re, you know, because with AI the can you do something becomes a lot bigger. Yeah. [00:26:02] Vince Menzione: Good point. Good point. [00:26:03] Dexter Hardy: Should you do it well, you know, greater good. I think as a, as a collective, one of the things that’s. If it hasn’t rained true. Uh, we all live on this planet. We all are part of the, we’re all in part of a connected ecosystem. [00:26:21] Dexter Hardy: Um, and so can we do it? Should we do it? Those are questions that we need to, you know, really think about as we continue to leverage AI and do the things that we’re doing. I mean, there’s, there’s a lot of opportunities. [00:26:36] Vince Menzione: Good points, good points. So for partners watching, listening today, um, two, couple things. [00:26:43] Vince Menzione: First of all, it’s changing fast. We need like, what would be, we’re at the beginning of 2026. We’re the first quarter, 2026, maybe the end of the first quarter at this point. [00:26:53] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:26:54] Vince Menzione: What is the one or two or three things that partners need to go do differently or better? And then, um, what would you say to them about marketplace and embracing marketplace? [00:27:09] Dexter Hardy: So I’m gonna answer the second question first. [00:27:12] Vince Menzione: Okay. Sounds good. [00:27:14] Dexter Hardy: Get in the marketplace. [00:27:15] Vince Menzione: Get in the marketplace, [00:27:17] Dexter Hardy: period. [00:27:17] Vince Menzione: Like why wouldn’t you be in the marketplace? [00:27:20] Dexter Hardy: Every hyperscaler has doubled down, tripled down. Yeah. On their marketplace. Microsoft had multiple marketplaces, now it’s just one. [00:27:28] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:27:29] Dexter Hardy: Writing should be all over the wall. Not that [00:27:31] Vince Menzione: one. There is, there is no market without marketplace. I mean, literally today, the old way, days of selling, the old days of co-selling are gone. [00:27:39] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:27:39] Vince Menzione: Like the days when we, we got pos and we, we sent a, an Excel spreadsheet to Microsoft to tell ’em about the deals that were co-sell. [00:27:47] Vince Menzione: Ready? Those days are gone. So you’re saying we’ve gotta be in the marketplace now and then, what would you say maybe the one thing that’s, let’s limit it to one for all of our amazing viewers, listeners, and ultimate partner guests, when when you, when I see you in Bellevue again, ’cause you’re gonna be in Bellevue, May 11th to the 13th again. [00:28:08] Vince Menzione: Absolutely. With us helping lead the marketplace conversation. What do they need to be doing now? Right now? Besides getting the marketplace? [00:28:18] Dexter Hardy: Besides getting the marketplace, I, I would, I would do a hard look at operations. [00:28:24] Vince Menzione: Operations. [00:28:25] Dexter Hardy: Like a lot of companies, they’re growing and they, what is it? How are we looking internally in our organizations to figure out again, can we do it? [00:28:34] Dexter Hardy: Should we do it? Companies need to focus on their superpower, even, even the big ones, right? Um, being. Not having the focus, not look, looking at or listening to your why as an organization can, can put you in a, in a really weird space. And so, uh, with everyone being able to grow and do what we’re doing, I would say lean into your why, [00:29:01] Vince Menzione: like into your why. [00:29:02] Dexter Hardy: Lean into your why. [00:29:03] Vince Menzione: I think too, I think what you, what you’re saying here, and I’m, my, my reaction to it too is that, uh, we’re, we’re so caught up in the moment right now. And things are changing, so it feels like they’re changing so fast, like coming back to philanthropic and [00:29:20] Dexter Hardy: yeah. [00:29:20] Vince Menzione: What’s evolved just in the last month or so that people are taking their eye off the why or the wall, so to speak and reacting? [00:29:29] Vince Menzione: Is that, is that your point? [00:29:31] Dexter Hardy: Yeah, that’s my point and, and I’ll give you an example. So AI is different from the following technology, but. And I both were around for the blockchain, blockchain, blockchain conversation. [00:29:45] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:29:45] Dexter Hardy: And if you weren’t doing blockchain, you weren’t part of the conversation. I invite you to consider how many conversations have you heard about blockchain do? [00:29:56] Dexter Hardy: Again, AI is a little bit different because it’s, it’s an enabler. It’s, it’s, it’s, it, it does a lot more than that. But I, I will say. AI is gonna become table stakes. And that’s why I say you have to, you have to embrace it as an organization. Yeah. And if you’re not, you’re gonna get left behind. [00:30:13] Vince Menzione: Okay. It’s a drop. [00:30:14] Vince Menzione: Drop the mic moment there. So drop the mic. I’m gonna ask you one more question, personal question. Yeah. I’d love to ask this of every single one of my guests. [00:30:22] Dexter Hardy: Yep. [00:30:23] Vince Menzione: I probably have asked this to you before, but I’m gonna ask it to you again. [00:30:26] Dexter Hardy: Yes. [00:30:28] Vince Menzione: You are hosting a dinner party. You can have this dinner party anywhere in the world. [00:30:32] Vince Menzione: We could talk about locations as well, and you can invite any three guests from the present or the past to this amazing dinner party. [00:30:41] Dexter Hardy: Mm-hmm. [00:30:42] Vince Menzione: Whom would you invite today and why? [00:30:48] Dexter Hardy: Wow. So the last time I answered that question, for those who didn’t hear the first podcast, it was Barack Obama. [00:30:56] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Nelson [00:30:57] Dexter Hardy: Mandela. [00:30:58] Dexter Hardy: And my great-grandparents. [00:30:59] Vince Menzione: Your great-grandparents. I remember your great-grandparents [00:31:02] Dexter Hardy: In this conversation, it’s gonna be more than three people. I’m sorry. [00:31:07] Vince Menzione: All right. But [00:31:07] Dexter Hardy: it make [00:31:08] Vince Menzione: some exceptions here. We’ll make them. [00:31:10] Dexter Hardy: It would be my great-grandparents. Still [00:31:13] Vince Menzione: nice. [00:31:14] Dexter Hardy: My parents and my children. [00:31:18] Vince Menzione: Very cool. [00:31:19] Dexter Hardy: Because I want to look back and let them see the same reason that I had them there before. [00:31:25] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:31:26] Dexter Hardy: Look at what you started. [00:31:27] Vince Menzione: Nice. I love that. [00:31:29] Dexter Hardy: Look at the continuation of your legacy in my parents. [00:31:32] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:31:32] Dexter Hardy: Look at what I have been able to build because of the investments and the things that you’ve poured into the love, the energy, the effort, the sacrifice, and then the sacrifices that I’m making to pass into that legacy. [00:31:46] Dexter Hardy: The next legacy. So this would be a. This is why I would say leaning to your why, like understand the importance of family. [00:31:54] Vince Menzione: Tell us about your great, your great grandparents. You told me about this on the last podcast for those who didn’t, didn’t listen in. [00:32:01] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:32:02] Vince Menzione: And don’t have the inclination to go back. [00:32:05] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. [00:32:05] Vince Menzione: But I think it’s a great story. [00:32:06] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. So, you know, growing up in the south [00:32:10] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:32:10] Dexter Hardy: Alabama specifically, uh, my great grandparents were part of, you know, slavery era. [00:32:16] Vince Menzione: Yep. [00:32:16] Dexter Hardy: Jim Crow. Jim Crow. Crow. Yeah. The whole. [00:32:21] Dexter Hardy: The history of the United States and what, how it was built, you know, [00:32:26] Vince Menzione: an important part of the history of the United States, by the way, that we all should never forget. [00:32:29] Dexter Hardy: Yeah. So again, some of those, some of the ceilings that are out there now, there wasn’t even an option for. [00:32:36] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:32:36] Dexter Hardy: And so that’s why I really wanted them to, I would really want them to be here to see something that they probably could never even conceive as an option of, of it being. [00:32:47] Dexter Hardy: Uh, to be able to see where things are and then to, you know, why my kids, if this is where we are right now, I want you to dream big. The same amount of energy it takes to think small is the same amount [00:33:04] Vince Menzione: of energy it takes to think big. Dream big. Dream big. Dream. [00:33:09] Dexter Hardy: Dream big. [00:33:10] Vince Menzione: I think we’re gonna leave on that message. [00:33:12] Dexter Hardy: Yeah, [00:33:12] Vince Menzione: that’s a great message. [00:33:13] Dexter Hardy: Awesome. [00:33:14] Vince Menzione: So great to see you, my friend. It’s [00:33:16] Dexter Hardy: always a pleasure [00:33:16] Vince Menzione: to be with you, so always a real pleasure for me as well. [00:33:19] Dexter Hardy: Yeah, [00:33:19] Vince Menzione: and I want to thank you for watching and listening and being part of Ultimate Partner and the Ultimate Partner YouTube channel and our great guest and friend, Dexter Hardy. [00:33:30] Vince Menzione: Great to see you again. [00:33:31] Dexter Hardy: Always a pleasure us. Thank you, [00:33:33] Vince Menzione: sir. [00:33:33] Dexter Hardy: All right. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thanks. [00:33:35] Vince Menzione: Don’t forget, ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, May 11th through the 13th in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. I hope to see you there.

Stop Chasing Vendors and Start Closing Deals Are you tired of spending more time vetting vendors than you do analyzing deals? In the fast-moving 2026 real estate market, your success is defined by the strength of your team and the speed of your due diligence. Whether you are closing your first note or managing a portfolio of hundreds, having a reliable "boots on the ground" network is the difference between a high-yield win and a costly mistake. In this episode, we are pulling back the curtain on a massive national database of experts—honed over 25 years in the industry—to help you streamline your workflow and keep your overhead low.Key Topics & TakeawaysComprehensive Due Diligence Outsourcing: We are rolling out a "one-stop shop" for the essential tasks that often bog down investors. From pulling Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) and conducting thorough title work to skip tracing and lead generation, you can now leverage an established infrastructure to handle the heavy lifting across all 50 states.National Reach with Local Expertise: While Texas remains a powerhouse for investment, our network extends far beyond Austin. We discuss how to access localized experts—including mobile notaries, realtors, and title reps—who understand the specific nuances of their markets, ensuring your due diligence is accurate and culturally relevant to the asset's location.Cost-Efficiency and Competitive Pricing: One of the biggest hurdles for individual investors is the high cost of retail due diligence services. We break down how our leveraged relationships allow us to provide these professional services at a fraction of the cost you might be paying elsewhere, directly impacting your bottom line and increasing your ROI on every deal.A Call for Quality Vendors: This isn't just for buyers. If you are a real estate professional—a realtor, BPO agent, or service provider—we are actively looking to expand our referral network. We discuss how quality vendors can integrate into our ecosystem to provide value to a growing community of active note and REO investors.Personalized Strategy Sessions: Moving into the final stretch of the year, we are offering direct consultations to help you compare your current due diligence costs. By booking a strategy call, you can identify exactly where you are overpaying and how to refine your systems to ensure you are ready to "kick ass" through the rest of 2026.Your Path to the Top Starts with a Phone Call The year is already moving at lightning speed, and there is no room for "lazy" systems in a competitive market. If you want to close more deals with less stress, it is time to tap into a proven network of professionals who are dedicated to your success. Don't let paperwork and vendor management hold you back from the lifestyle you've been building. Watch the full video to see how these new services can transform your business, then head over to book your strategy session. Let's work together to make the rest of 2026 your most profitable chapter yet. We'll see you at the top!Watch the Original VIDEO HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

In this episode, Dylan Silver sits down with Chad Urbshott to discuss opportunities in the distressed mortgage space. Chad shares how he began investing in single-family homes before transitioning into purchasing non-performing loans (NPLs) and distressed mortgage notes. He explains how distressed mortgages occur when borrowers fall behind on payments and how investors can acquire these loans at a discount through brokers, investment funds, or foreclosure auctions. Chad also walks through his journey from buying REO properties on the MLS to purchasing mortgage notes before foreclosure.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind:  Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership:  Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright:  Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform!  Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

Are you tired of the "dark side" of real estate—dealing with toilets, tenants, and trash? In this episode, Scott Carson, "The Note Guy," pulls back the curtain on a real-world case study in Texarkana to show you how to become the bank, not the landlord. We dive deep into a performing note deal on a $65,000 property that delivers a staggering 16% return—or even an infinite return if you know how to structure the arbitrage. Whether you are looking to invest a small amount of your own capital or want to learn how to raise private money using Self-Directed IRAs, this episode provides the blueprint for building a cash flow machine without the headaches of traditional property management.What You'll Learn in This EpisodeThe Texarkana Case Study: A breakdown of a 3-bedroom, 2-bath asset sold on owner-finance terms with a 13% interest rate.The Math of a 16% ROI: How buying a performing note at 80% of the Unpaid Principal Balance (UPB) creates immediate equity and high-yield cash flow.The "Infinite Return" Strategy: How to use private money at 8–10% to fund 85% of a deal while you keep the difference in interest and a "cha-ching" on the front end.The Three "Cha-Chings": Identifying profit centers on the front end (origination/funding difference), the middle (monthly cash flow), and the back end (payoff/refinance).The 6-Figure Blueprint: Why you only need approximately 20 "small" deals to generate over $100,000 in annual income.SDIRA Secrets: How to find the 6 to 9 private investors you need to raise $1,000,000 for your note portfolio.Foreclosure as a Safety Net: Understanding why Texas is a "friendly" state for note holders, allowing for a 90-day foreclosure process if a borrower stops paying.Asset Appreciation: How a $65,000 property can grow to $100,000 over 10 years, increasing your security and potential REO profit.11 Exit Strategies: From "The Flip" to "The Flow," learn the various ways to monetize both performing and non-performing notes.Market Insights for 2026: Why note buying is the smartest strategy in a landscape where traditional REOs and wholesale deals no longer make sense.Stop flipping burgers and start flipping notes. Real estate investing in 2026 is about being a "Lienlord" and leveraging the power of the bank. If you're ready to master the fundamentals and start your journey toward a 6-figure side hustle, don't miss our upcoming 3-day Virtual Note Buying Workshop. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee because we know this proven plan has helped thousands of investors succeed. Visit NoteBuyingForDummies.com to grab your seat at 50% off and start building your cash flow machine today! Watch the Original Video HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

Whether you are a seasoned real estate pro or a newcomer looking for a high-yield entry point, nonperforming notes (NPNs) offer a unique "backdoor" to property ownership. In a recent episode of the Note Closers Show, Hold or Sell Edition, note expert Scott Carson broke down a prime opportunity in New Bern, North Carolina, involving a single-family home with massive upside. With a foreclosure date already set, this deal is a masterclass in how savvy investors can leverage distressed debt to see returns that far outpace traditional fix-and-flips.Key Takeaways from the New Bern Note OpportunityThe Asset Details & Location: The property is a 925-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bath single-family home located at 571 Rocky Run Road in New Bern, NC. Situated on nearly 0.7 acres, the home is in a solid market near Raleigh and Greenville with a population of over 31,000. While the previous owner is deceased, the property has been well-maintained and recently cleaned out, sitting just off Highway 17.The Financial Breakdown: The note has an unpaid balance of $51,000 and a total legal payoff of approximately $60,000. The seller is looking for bids around 80% of that legal balance—roughly $48,000—plus a $1,000 broker fee. Recent BPO (Broker Price Opinion) values the home at $189,000, with a quick-sale price of $179,000, providing a massive equity cushion for the note holder.Strategy 1: The Foreclosure Exit: For investors seeking a quicker turnaround, finishing the existing foreclosure process is the primary play. North Carolina is a nonjudicial state but features a unique "upset bid" period that can last from 30 days to several months. If the property sells at auction for the full legal balance of $60,000, an investor at the $49,000 entry point could net an $11,000 profit, representing an annualized ROI of 44.8%.Strategy 2: The "As-Is" Resale: If the property does not sell at auction and the investor takes it back (REO), they can choose to sell it as-is. By listing the property at a conservative $149,000 to ensure a fast sale—allowing the next buyer to handle the upgrades—the investor could net approximately $134,000 after closing costs. After the initial investment and a small cleanup budget, this path offers a projected gross profit of $83,000.Strategy 3: The Fix-and-Flip Model: For those willing to manage a renovation, a $30,000 rehab could bring the property to modern standards. Even when listing at a discounted "moved-in" price of $169,000, the projected net profit stands at roughly $73,000. This strategy yields a 92% annualized ROI, though it requires more active management and local vendor oversight.The New Bern deal highlights why note investing is often called "the cleanest way to play dirty real estate." Whether you prefer the hands-off approach of a foreclosure payoff or the higher-margin potential of a full renovation, the numbers in North Carolina are incredibly compelling. As Scott Carson notes, the key is taking action before the foreclosure clock runs out.Watch the Original VIDEO HERE!Book a Call With Scott HERE!Sign up for the next FREE One-Day Note Class HERE!Sign up for the WCN Membership HERE!Sign up for the next Note Buying For Dummies Workshop HERE!Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join the Note Closers Show community today:WeCloseNotes.comThe Note Closers Show FacebookThe Note Closers Show TwitterScott Carson LinkedInThe Note Closers Show YouTubeThe Note Closers Show VimeoThe Note Closers Show InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest