Ryan Serhant: How to Sell a BILLION DOLLARS of Real Estate Per Year!

[Music] I'm introducing you in this video. There we go. You gotta say what's up.

You guys, it's Graham here. What's up you guys, it's Graham here! Welcome to the greatest real estate investor podcast and YouTube in the entire world. Do you ever guess? Yeah, now I don’t? You should!

Future right there, I thought you were already taking the audio from here, and using like I should say me Blissett, tell me that's why I'm here! And welcome to my show! And this is Ryan, I guess! If you guys don't have a TV, obviously this is Ryan Serhant. You have the number one team in New York direct. Yeah, you've been doing this 10 years.

How many sales have you done since you passed a billion? Obviously, what we do about a billion a year. That's insane! Um, yeah, but I also have a lot of people that work with me, and my team is large—662 people, ok? So all those people come by. Do you think we would do a lot more? But what's up value?

Oh yeah, yeah, that's not too shabby! But really quick, in the very beginning, I think we should plug the YouTube channel. You're just a few days away, yes! From getting that silver play button for a hundred thousand subscribers!

Yeah, right now, wherever we are, yeah, we are— we're a couple away, trying to get to a hundred thousand. So make sure to go subscribe to Ryan. Why did you decide to start the channel in the first place? That's unique because not many people are doing that; besides Will Smith, I think Will Smith's daughter led the bandwagon to that. Why did you sit?

I think Will Smith is going to set kind of the domino effect here, and you see a lot of other people getting into it because you just have freedom of content. You realize that the audience is so massive, right? Like a TV show these days, if it gets a million people to watch it, like that's—that's a good episode of TV, yeah? Right? And if it's network, it's got to be more, obviously. But cable TV seems as huge, and a million people is a large audience for YouTube. Like, if you can build up your own audience for subscribers, they get that alert every time you put out a new episode!

That's true! It's a built-in audience base that can watch you whenever they want, however they want. Can’t really do that with TV, yeah. Hand, but it's a cumbersome process to make sure you download this app and that app, and you paid this bill and that bill.

Yeah, so for me, I'm always thinking about the future. Yeah, like I am, I'm equally excited but also terrified about the future all the time for myself. So like in the book—and I wrote a book and right now, we're about an hour yes out—go to amazon.com and buy it! I think the second to last page, maybe the third to last page, there is a photo of me at 80 years old, and that's who I work for every day, right? And so the YouTube's, like, it's only a matter of time before every single person, every baby has a YouTube channel. That's why I’d rather start doing it now, planning for myself in ten, twenty, and thirty years for brand and content awareness than jump on it later once everyone's already doing so.

Sure! I really believe YouTube is the future! By the way, I know in some way, shape… that's—that's gonna be the new TV! All the kids these days, they don't have TV! Yes, they have Netflix and they have phone! Yeah, and I watch YouTube videos! Yeah, that's really what it comes down to! So I see that, I see the potential on that! And I also wanted to—like, it's fun for me to tell stories! That's what's fun about TV in the first place.

And with you know, with the vlog and what we do every week, it's just different, right? It's kinda like stuff in my office, it's the behind-the-scenes stuff, it's the stuff in my cars, the things that would never make it to TV, you know? Not because they're boring, but because it just doesn't fit the right mold, which is totally fine. And the internet and YouTube is the right place to do that!

Yeah, we've seen a good response so we're gonna be telling a bit of a story here. Well, you're gonna be telling a story! Let's go all the way back cause I want to make this focus a little bit from the real estate agent's perspective. Why did you decide to get into real estate in the first place? You could have done a million things!

You were doing acting before, right? I was, yeah! I was in New York City. Graduated college 2006, went to New York City with some money I had saved up. I didn't know what else, you know? I didn't want to go to law school or become a doctor or do anything like that—further stories? I couldn't because it just wasn't smart enough.

Even I've had some money saved, yeah! So I had somebody saved and was like, you know what? I want to get this; I want to do this! Otherwise, I'll regret it for the rest of my life! So I'm 21, 22, to go and try to be an actor in New York City! Yeah! And I think a lot of people do that in New York. Like, people do that in LA for sure!

And I tried as hard as I could! I did some soap opera work, and got a free work, like free theater, free student film—all that! I can’t free love, free! Yeah, free's important, right? That's how you get out there! Right? Hand modeled, I held phones for AT&T and I want to watch—when that paid more than anything to be honest! That paid the bills!

Ok, and I ran out of money in the summer of 2008, and a friend of mine said, "Get your real estate license! You know, don’t become a bartender or waiter, because eventually, before you know it, ten years later you’ll still be a bartender or waiter! Keep your real estate license, rent an apartment per month, and if you rent an apartment that’s $2,500 bucks right? The one-month commission that you’ll take in New York City, you split 50-50 with the house? That’s $1,250 in your pocket for showing somebody apartments to rent!

Yeah! And I'm like, "You get paid for that?" I remember the beginning, $2,250 is a ton of money! Like that to me, I was 18 making like $500 for the lease commissioned! Yeah, that to me was the world! I still remember I think one of my first deals was like a $900 a month convertible apartment in Koreatown and the Commission was under—it was like $480 bucks or something like that—and I remember waiting by my boss's door on 49th in Madison, waiting for him to write the checks.

And he looked at me when I went for the check like he was like, "This is what you've been waiting all day for!" Like I—I don't have money man! Like this is—it's $480! Like that's awesome! And I did put it in the bank, I'm like, I'm never spending this ever! Yeah, I know! I thought the same way!

It's almost like he created that out of nothing! Like that’s what I really felt like! When you get paid per hour, it's like okay, I put in the 30 hours! If you ever paid this, but when you get paid on the Commission, it’s really like I really felt like I earned it! Like this just was money I created out of thin air under the—how I looked at it!

Yeah, just from your own willpower and your ability to talk and yeah, write emails and like show up and do the work! That’s what’s pretty incredible about it!

Now, did any people discourage you though when you first started? Because I had a lot of people telling me I was making the biggest mistake of my life going into real estate. No one was gonna trust the one who's 18. No one was gonna trust someone who doesn't have any experience. But you need the experience to begin selling so it's kind of like a catch-22.

Hmm, I definitely had people who thought that I was doing it just as like a sidekick. Yeah, we’re like okay, you know, while you figure out what you really want to do! A lot of people become real estate agents while they figure out what their true meaning in life is! Sure! And that, for me, I just kept doing it because I saw the potential in it!

But you know, I didn’t really have a job at the time, right? Like I went from hand model to real estate agent, and I think a lot of people look at that as like moving up the ladder versus like going down the ladder step up! Okay, yeah!

Yeah, so that my first day was September 15, 2008, which is the day that Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy. Yeah! I started a few months before you. I started in April 2008. Oh wow! Yeah, you got in when things were like insane and then a few months later it was like—yeah! Yeah, no, I started right as it was starting to go down!

So like the peak was over, and every day after then was just slower and lower and slower! And I'm like, 2009 came it was just—but when you're just starting out anything is good! Yeah, so when I was doing those $500 all our lease Commission’s, like that to me was amazing!

Yeah, but what do you think really set you apart in the very beginning? In the very beginning, it was really, really hard, right? Like I didn’t make a real money for three years, mhm! It took me a long, long time! But I think that in the beginning, like I was completely shameless! And I think a lot of real estate agents who have been doing it for a while have a hard time going back to the types of deals that they'd worked so hard not to do!

Like to be a million dollar broker selling, selling, selling—you got severe, then all of a sudden have to like go back to doing $2,000 a month rentals! Posting ads on Craigslist was really, really hard for people! So for people like me and you at the time, hindsight’s 20/20! And I was super hungry for all these little deals, and I would take all of the difficult clients and all the clients that other people in the office didn’t want to take because they were too busy on other things!

I just—I just needed to survive! Yeah, and I used the fact that I was young to my advantage, right? Like it was like okay, well I can't be old, so and I don’t have experience so you’re not gonna lie!

I was 20, yeah, 23! Okay! 22, I guess because then two years later million-dollar listing happened! No, you’re right, 23 somewhere in there! Okay! And then when I turned 24 is really like when I started! Cool! Right?

And so I think that right in the beginning I would tell people like, "Yeah, I’m young!" But that means I have no responsibility other than speaking! Thing like I will work my ass off for you! I will sleep in your attic if you need me to in order to get this sold! I'll be here at four in the morning! Whatever it is! And that’s—that’s what I did for ten years!

Yeah, you know! I said the same thing, that was my sales pitch, and I would do leases too because no one else was doing leases! Sure! But I also said like, "You will be my only client!" If it’s like a big sale, you’re my only listing!

Yeah! Like I will do anything day or night! I don't have any kids, I don't have a girlfriend, I don't have anything that I know of! Hopefully not! What's up, what's up, son? So daughter watching somewhere!

But no, I had no responsibilities whatsoever and that was my pitch and people lumped in! And especially I think the fact that you’re young was really just a benefit to them! But then you were more motivated than anyone else! Even though you might not have had the experience, you can really push beyond what anyone else is willing to do!

Yeah, and it’s the type of deals! Right? So right! Like a lot of people want to know how I got into larger deals? That didn’t happen for like five years! Yeah, those first three years for sure! And definitely the first five! I did the deals that I could do! Which were small ones! Yeah!

Small rentals, large rentals! When I got to the chance, right, smaller sales maybe with clients that would trust me who didn’t need a broker who’d been doing it for 20 to 50 years. I wanted all of that other stuff! Yeah! Like let the larger brokers, you were too busy take all the cream and all the cherries and everything on top!

That’s fine! I’ll get to that eventually! I’m young, so I’ll take everything below! Don’t worry about it because these people are gonna work their heart out and they’re gonna get bigger and bigger, and they’re gonna do bigger deals later!

It’s true! And that’s why getting in from the bottom and like in the dirt is important! That’s so true! So what sort of characteristics do you think were really important to develop early on in your career?

Empathy is a big one for me! That’s what I look for in my team! Yeah, you know? I really look for both in myself but also in agents! Right? Empathy, energy, and enthusiasm!

Yeah! I need them to be able to empathize with clients in the good and the bad! I need them to be able to wake up with excitement! Like to be—you know, to have that energy every day! To be able to also have endurance, yeah, right? And I need them to be enthusiastic about life!

Yes! This business is so hard! The sales business is so hard! They're gonna lose so many deals, and you have to be okay with that! That’s one of the things that I’ve seen it really sets people apart are the people that are really in it because they like the business and interacting with people and they like the sales aspect versus the people to get in!

Like if I sell a four million dollar house, I can make a $100,000, and that’s all they think about! It’s just selling that four million dollar house versus actually selling the house and going through the process and really just enjoying it!

And that, for me, is what I’ve seen the biggest difference being made between the people who are in it for the right reasons or the people who are just in it for the money strictly!

Sure! But how did you begin then scaling your business and delegating to others? And what was that process like? Is that something I've never done?

Sure is! I'm so afraid to ever expand or delegate because people want me for me! And I’m just like, "They were, you guys watch my channel just for me!" So as soon as they start delegating it, more like is it gonna lose that personal touch?

Sure! With just me in it! I mean, I think that's a two-part question! One question is how did I expand? How did I leverage? Any other question is how do I delegate?

So I think for the first part, I was in my office, it was early on in my career, and I was doing these little rental deals, right? Nothing more than $5,000 a month! $5,000 a month was awesome! It was huge! And I saw that there were these other brokers that were doing $4 million dollar sale years! $6 million dollar sale here! If they had rental clients, they’re all over $10,000 a month, right?

And it really pissed me off! Like, you know, it’s human nature! Like you resent people who are successful, especially when you're in the same office as they, right? Like why is that guy better? But that guy sucks! That guy like he can’t even time the same thing!

But I think it’s just saying! Yeah! I think like hungry competitive people do get jealous and angry that, right? And so I was the same way! And then someone else in my office was like, "Listen! Those guys made a decision a long time ago that they were five million dollar brokers when they got their first five million dollar deal, and that’s all they talked about."

Because if Ryan, you do $2,000 a month rentals, but that’s all you talked about and that those are the only referrals you get? $2,000 a month clients have $2,000 a month referrals with $2,000 a month problems!

And success begets success! So you can’t just go from $2,000 a month to five million dollar clients, right? If you can, that’s awesome! But you have to gradually scale!

So I said, "Okay, I’m only gonna do the biggest deals that I’ve ever done!" And just keep that going! So $2,000 a month clients have $2,500 a month friends, alright?

So every time you do a deal, I would try to milk all their friends! Get their whole network! I’m like in that person's pond! Right? So the minute I did $2,500 a month deals, now I only tell people, that’s what I do! Obviously, I’ll do anything bigger and anything under than that!

All of a sudden, I've got Yolanda, the LAN is beneath me! She’s never done a deal before in her life! That’s okay! When you're dealing with clients that are this small! But anything above that I would take, anything below that I would help bring in and work on!

So I’m not disappearing, right? But then she would do the footwork and that footwork enabled me to have enough time to work on what I wanted to work on!

Yeah, the minute that $2,500 a month client goes through and I meet one of his friends who can afford $30 to $50 a month, that is now all I talk about! I do deals $30 to $50 a month and above! And it is painstaking! And it sounds like it takes a long time because it does!

And slowly but surely, I’ve worked up that ladder just by working within each other’s price points! Yeah! And then you do a deal for $10,000 a month and that guy then has something he wants to sell that gets you into the sale category!

And then slowly but surely, you work your way up! But success begets success! Like people only will work with you for what you're known for, right? Like, yeah! I’ve had so many clients, by the way, there’s like, "Oh, I didn’t even know you did sales these days!"

And I help them with like two leases they’re friends with leases! Okay, you do something! Like what did you think I’m doing this all for? So I could lease you a place legally? People won’t know if you don’t tell, etcetera! You have to scream your success from a mountain top!

And it’s not bragging, right? You’re not being, you know, you're not self-promoting in like this weird kind of Sharky way! Yeah! You’re just letting people know, "Hey, this is what I do! I’m pretty good at it because I did this, this, and this! If you would like to work with me, now you know that this is what I do!"

Now you know that LeBron is great at basketball, but you might not know that he’s an avid toy car collector! And he would say, "Dude, you didn’t know?"

Yeah, I collected toy cars! And you’d be like, "No man! I know you for basketball!" He’d be like, "Oh man! You should have come to me!"

No, I don’t think that’s true at all! I can, but people only know what you put out there, right? So how do you—what do you recommend then for people who just want to start in the high price point to begin with?

Because a lot of people—and from itazuke, I wanted to do that! I just want to start! I sort of Beverly Hills! The most expensive area I could find here, working in the like the best zip code! And that’s what I just—I want to all of that!

Now I started with leases still, but I started with leases in the highest price area I can get to within a 45-minute drive!

I mean listen, if you can do that and jump right into that price point, then that’s great! I think the best way to do it though is, you have to work for someone else!

And if you're brand new to the business, if you're brand new to any business or if you're just out of school— the first three years you have to treat like your own grad school! Right! Don’t plan on making a lot of money!

Don’t plan on doing anything other than just learning as much as possible! Just like a lawyer would, right? Someone goes to law school for three years, they make no money, just spend a lot of money. Yeah, a lot of them going into student debt!

And then they get out and then they can start working and making money! Salespeople have to do the same thing! If you treat it the same way, got it!

What do you think your biggest mistakes were? You know, man, too many! Where do I start?

I think at the beginning, well at the beginning! I didn’t take it seriously! Okay, right? So I probably could have learned a lot more and probably done it—they could’ve done a lot more had I maybe work with somebody else the way I tell people to do now!

I joined someone’s team! Become someone’s assistant! Don’t do what I did and just sit by yourself at a computer and just get pissed off when you don’t do deals!

Yeah, I got his posted ads on the internet! It was like no one’s calling! That’s not—that’s what I was told to do, but that’s not a good way to grow your career! And I think I should have taken it a little bit more serious!

Okay, now when you're at your level right now! I mean you’re the number one in New York! Where do you see yourself going over the next 10 years, and where can you go from here?

A good question! Besides YouTube, obviously! Like and subscribe this, and we have there! Yeah, we have the two TV shows on Bravo which are awesome! We’ve put out a book!

Yeah, right! The YouTube channel which we really like doing! We’re about to start a podcast with I heart! Like we’re doing as many different content placements as it possibly can! Yeah, because you have to these days!

But I would like to do real estate in more places than just New York! Okay, right! There’s a lot of real estate out there in the world! And there’s over seven billion people on this planet! New York City is like the size of this microphone, right?

So tiny! And it can be really, really good to you! And there’s obviously enough to go! But I would love to be able to like come back here, maybe not this table, because you guys will have sold this house!

Maybe come back here and sit with you in ten years, and you’re asking me, "So when did you realize that you were gonna enter at those markets?" Sure! Like how did you figure out how to manage all of those different offices in all those different markets in a way that no one else has ever done before?

So world domination, basically! Is smart answer in a smart way! Okay! Have you thought about that? Opening up your own brokerage and doing like the Serhant team? Yeah, yeah! You know, I think about it!

Yeah! I think about it all the time, okay! I think that my best use for myself right now is as a salesperson! Yeah! Selling building, selling developments, and doing resales for both buyers and sellers in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Brooklyn, and Long Island City! Little Miami, a little bit here in Los Angeles!

And I think that once you own your own brokerage, you’re very much like a broker dealer, right? So you’re—you’re also dealing with management issues! You’re also dealing with lots of meetings! You’re dealing with a lot more than just purely focusing on your client and getting things sold!

Well, I mean I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth because that is most likely will eventually end up doing! Right, but I don’t know yet!

Okay! So if someone is starting right now in this market today, what sort of blueprint do you think you would be able to give them if they want to get to your level at this point as a real estate agent?

Or just a salesperson? Real estate agent! If they’re just starting right now, I would first find the best agent that you can in your market! Okay? And petition yourself to work for them! You will work for free!

Right? And I think that’s really going to say to you in my videos, right? Yeah, right! Yeah! It’s important! Yeah, right! If you can work for free, if you can't afford to work for free, then you should have another job that is paying you something on the side or work as someone’s assistant!

Like my assistants always! I have them on in like an apprentice rotation where they can’t afford to work for free! But I need a good assistant, and they have the skills to be a great assistant! So I pay them! You know, I pay them a salary, and they learn, and they get to see how I answer emails! They get to see what my days are like!

They get to meet all the brokers! They get to do everything kind of in my shadow! That way, when they're out of that apprentice program, they’re out to be my assistant anymore, and they hit the ground running immediately! And everyone knows them as you were—you worked right underneath! Right?

Right? So if you can find that type of position, that’s huge! And a lot of times you do it by starting at the lowest level, which is the intern level! To start interning! And you just have to show to the people you’re interning for that you are worth your weight in gold!

Never be late! Always stay for as long as you can! Show them that your time is their time! Right? Help them with things that they didn’t even know they needed help with! And by doing that and taking initiative, they’re never one-one let you go!

Slowly you can turn that into either a paying role or you’re gonna say, "Hey listen, I got my real estate license! I want to be on your team!" Yeah? You—I know you need a junior broker of some sort who’s doing this showing and that showing in this showing!

So you’ll get that person’s role too, and then you slowly build up from there! Yeah, it's like that’s how you do it!

And why do you think so many agents fail at the business? Because I see so many, they’re after six months to a year—they’re out, they’re done! I think because most people are raised to think that they’re great at everything, and they’re really not!

I think most people are bad at a lot of things! And most parents and most teachers are just not honest because it’s easier to lie and just yes people to death! And I think that people can’t handle rejection!

Yeah, right! You get into this business, "Where's your salary? Where's my benefits? Where's my money?" That person said they were gonna do a deal and they didn’t! "Screw this! I want a regular job!"

Right? And then they’re just, you get disgruntled that way! Like the greatest thing my parents ever did for me was be brutally honest in my face! I hated it for like 30 years, but for the last four years, I’ve really come to respect it!

Like my parents made me play every single sport known to man too, even if I hate it! That you have to play one season to see if you like it! And you’ll never know if you don’t try!

And then I would suck! And then my dad—I remember him pulling me off a baseball field and saying, "This is not your sport! You were very bad! As hard as you try!"

Yeah! Yeah, I didn’t suck at the time, and it was embarrassing! And I hated it! Looking back now, I’m glad I tried it! I’m glad he was that honest with me because I didn’t waste time!

And I think a lot of people to waste time because, oh, everyone told them that they’re great at this or great at that! You know, life is—you’re gonna figure it out, and then the doesn’t give a [ __ ]!

Yeah! And so that’s why most people fail! I mean, that’s—it’s the most valuable player, the most improved player disease that we have now especially in the United States!

Yeah, I totally agree with that! Now, are you investing in real estate at this point? Yeah, I invest in some stuff for myself! Alright! I have to be careful though because my whole life is real estate!

So like I invest in other things that I’d like to do. But when I see good deals, I try to jump on it as much as I can!

Okay, are you buying hold or do you try to flip deals or what? I buy and hold!

Okay, it’s really hard in New York City to flip! I mean you can flip contracts in a hot market, but it’s so hard to time the market! And listen, I have so many clients over the years who say to me, "If I’d only just held onto that property at bought in 1980 or 1990, 2000, eaja!"

Right? Like cash flow is where people get killed! So if the cash flow kills you, then you have to buy and sell! But if you can hold and if you can lever it right and you can get good tenants, and you can take care of the property like in the United States!

It will always be worth more years down the line, especially in places like New York, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami, and Los Angeles, San Diego’s, chances for all these urban places! Yep!

Yeah, that’s one of the things to all the Mike from all my clients! I don't think I've ever had a client that had said like, "I am so glad I sold that property in 1992! That was the best decision ever!"

Always, all my clients' regrets are like, "I had this property that was in this prime street and I sold it and I used the money somewhere else and now I don't have any more! I wish I still had it! It would be worth like this X amount now!"

And that's always been the biggest regret! So for me, anytime I buy something, I buy it with the expectation that it want to be like 70 or 80 years old and have this place and just pimp it out and have it be amazing!

I just keep it forever! You look at that like Forbes risk list of young, like the wealthiest Americans, yeah! And a lot of them are prop, just massive property owners!

Yeah, of course! You have like the Waltons and the suckers and this that, but that—the long lists are people who like in Manhattan, you know these families that were nobody! But they just bought all this property in terrible locations and the 40s, 50s, 60s and it completely changed their lives!

Yeah, like John Jacob Astor said, if I knew then what I know now, I would buy up every single inch of Manhattan! And I think that’s important to remember!

Yeah, I think it’s a good point to end this video on! So you guys, thank you so much for watching! I really, really appreciate it! So make sure to check out Ryan’s channel!

Yes! I'll link to all your information down! So if you haven't already subscribed you have to subscribe for us to my channel, and then go subscribe to Ryan’s channel!

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Okay, make sure to add me there! And then finally, I have a private Facebook group! If you’re interested in real estate, want to talk about real estate agent investing, anything real estate, the link is in the description!

Thank you guys so much for watching! And until next time!