Zero Fear, All Hustle: Las Hermanas' Blueprint to Real Estate Success - Gabby & Marcella

Join us as we sit down with the dynamic duo, Gabby Zenner and Marcela Torrez, known as "Las Hermanas de Real Estate," who have turned social media into real estate success in Salt Lake City. In this heartfelt conversation, we explore their journey from working nine-to-five jobs in call centers to becoming successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders in real estate.

These remarkable sisters share their real-world experience, offering actionable insights into leveraging social media without making cold calls and building a thriving local community with the Real Estate Sisterhood. Discover how their fearless approach and authentic storytelling not only earned them top accolades but also helped them connect with clients on a personal level. Let's connect and learn how you too can transform your passion into a prosperous career.

Follow the host for more inspiring interviews with industry leaders and renowned actors who share their Hollywood stories and communication strategies. Don't miss out—this is your chance to elevate your game!

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Follow the Guest
Gabby IG: https://www.instagram.com/gabby_zenner_the_realtor/tagged/

Marcella IG: https://www.instagram.com/marcella_the_realtor/

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This podcast has been edited and produced by Content by Fabio LLC

Transcript

Alright. You're gonna learn some tactics today about how to start documenting your journey using your social media and how to turn your social media into dollars. And so, um, I couldn't be more excited about this because I've been, um, watching from the sidelines as a legit fan of these 2 amazing individuals, um, out of Salt Lake City. And I'm just amazed with what you've been able to do with your social media. So today, we have 2 amazing guests, Los Hermanas de Real Estate in Salt Lake City, Gabby Zenner and Marcela Torres. Both were working 9 to 5 jobs, barely making it. I think it was, like, in call centers, just straight hustling, and then you guys decided to make a bet. You bet on yourselves and you went full entrepreneur selling real estate. And here's what I absolutely love is that you guys made a decision to become multimillionaires, and you guys are both documenting the journey like no one else I've ever seen. You have your personal life. You show everything. And so I feel like I'm living this amazing American dream by watching you. And some of the other cool things you guys are doing is you're both, um, you're both named, um, president and vice president of a local NAREP chapter there in Salt Lake City. You rebooted the entire chapter, which is really cool. Top 250 NAREP, top 500 in Salt Lake City. I mean, I can go on and on, but you guys have done amazing things. You also created an amazing local community, uh, in in the Salt Lake City area that is called the Real Estate RRE Sisterhood, which has events every couple of weeks. Um, you guys have done you've you've had me out there to speak, which was probably one of the coolest things I did. Um, but it's just an amazing community that you guys have built. So I thought that it would be really, really cool for anyone that's watching and saying, how do I get my name out there? How do I document my journey? That we can get you guys on to talk about the tactics that you're doing today, um, to to really get, you know, seen in your market. So I wanna thank you guys for being here today. For having us, Grace. Yes. Thanks for having us. We're excited. Well, let's talk about it. So tell me a little bit about like, let's just talk about the journey that you guys have been on in terms of getting involved in NARAP, getting involved in your community. Like, where did that all come from? Well, um, I guess I started real estate about a year before Gabby did. And, through the RE Sisterhood, we have to find quite a bit of speakers. And we had someone come and speak, and that person is Nuria Rivera, and she is and at that time was the national president for NAREP. So in having her come speak for our event, she met me, and then one day brought me in, and it just turned into this, hey. I have the NARIP chapter for Salt Lake. I you know, it's so close to my heart, and it needs to be rebooted. And so, naively, I've gone the challenge because I was really new, and I didn't really know what I was doing. But I just remembered, um, I was still in that in the momentum of knowing that anything I wanted to do would require me being uncomfortable. I had been uncomfortable for over a year now. And so I I said to her, I'm really scared, and something tells me that's why I should do it. And so I jumped, and I rebooted the board. And my sister joined me a year later, and I'm so so happy that she did. And now she's, you know, moving on into that, uh, vice president role, which is awesome. But it's it's been something amazing to have a platform for myself and for her and for the Hispanic community and getting involved and making friends. Especially coming from a small brokerage, we don't really have that ecosystem already built for us. So we basically had to build it, and it was a lot it was done a lot faster by these networking groups and, you know, a nonprofit that we became part of. Making connections. Absolutely. Well, so so you said something that I wanna tap into because I think a lot of people get get into their heads about doing something that's uncomfortable. So you said, you know, I was feeling this certain way, and that was my cue to lean forward, right, in in doing something that was uncomfortable. Um, but most people take that cue to to pull back and and actually not get something done. Right? Like, you know, you guys being on the podcast, like, somebody else would have said, uh, maybe not ready or whatever. They get that that mindset, but you guys have just leaned in on every opportunity. Where do you think that comes from? My mom. I would have to say my mom and she's been she's just been a big advocate for us to never have any fear and to just jump in. You know? Because, I mean, what are you gonna get out of it? If you don't try it, you're not gonna get nothing out of it. And if you fail, oh, well, you try again. But that's always been instilled in us from day 1. Yeah. I think, um, obviously, the obvious response is to say no, and, you know, you may shot you don't take, and my experience had been at that time that I had to put myself in awkward situations. And it was awkward because it was doing something new. I felt like I was, you know, um, impostor syndrome or or whatnot. But very early on in my career, and I know I'm sure Gabby felt the same way, I knew that, um, I had to act act like I knew what I was doing or, you know, perception creates reality. And so for me, I knew immediately putting yourself in these rooms, in these on these platforms, being a part of these boards, and being able to say, like, oh, I'm a director in the NAREP chapter. It does give you proximity, and it gives you, you know, the ability to put your name in a spot that others don't. And so I've never seen my mom play small, and I know Gabby hasn't either. And so for us, it's always been like, she achieved so much with so little, and we have to do that much more because our opportunities and options are so much bigger. So, I mean, yeah, we we really rarely say no, and I always tell Gabby. I'm like, oh my heck. Why did I say yes to this? I'm always, like, putting us in situations where we'll be here teaching kids in high schools and then we're doing our events and then we have the sisterhood and we have our client events but always calling You know, everything going on, I think, ultimately, for us has always been, like, we have to show our audience that we are well rounded. And so There's no fear. And then for me, Chris, um, I came to United States illegally when I was about 6 years old. We crossed the borders with my brother and my dad. So anytime that I remember that. Do well, hold on. Sorry. You can't just glaze over that. That's a big deal. Right? So the when you did this, when you crossed over, you said you were 4? I was about 6 years of age. Oh, 6 years old. So when you did that, do you remember, like, the actual experience of that happening? I remember everything. I remember it like it was yesterday. So it was about 6 years of age. Yeah. Yeah. So let's talk about that because that's that's, like, that's a really big, um, journey, and I I've never heard you talk about that. So so let's Yeah. Nobody has. So, yeah, I was about 6 years old. It was, uh, in the late eighties. It was when the war was happening in Nicaragua, and we only had my brother and I, we had a mom. We had a dad. We had a great family. Um, and in a few hours, everything changed. And all I remember was my mom saying, hey, Gabby. I'm gonna take off, and you're gonna be left with your dad, but he's gonna take care of you. That was never the case, um, which is fine. You know? However, when it was time to get ready to cross the border, I believe I was 6 going into 7. And, yeah, it was a scary absolutely. I think it was about a week and a half where we were actually imprisoned in Mexico. And I remember that, like like I said, like it was yesterday, and we got caught not once but twice crossing the border. I do recall that we ran for days and hours, and I was very sick. And but all I had was I just had that dream that I needed to make it happen. And the only way that I was gonna make my dreams come true as a little kid, I didn't even know what really dreams were, but I know I needed to reach America. And so as far as fear or being scared about, you know, making an offer, uh, being on social media, being on this podcast, there's nothing really that fears me, Chris. So as far as, uh, you know, being scared or anything, no. Not at all. And, you know, it's always been in me. We jump, and we'll figure it out as we go. And, you know, we we always we always figure it out. I I think, though, those are the life experiences that really shape, you know, this fearlessness that some people have to have in order to make a bet on themselves. It's it's you know, I can be afraid. You know, I used to make this joke. Like, I don't wanna be that guy that is afraid of picking. I have has to explain to my kids that I couldn't send them to college because I was afraid to pick up the phone. You don't have that mechanism that says, oh, I'm afraid to do this because you've stared, you know, life in the face in a way that most of us haven't had to. And, you know, it it this is, like, this is easy compared to you've had to live through. So, um, man, I'm I'm just amazed by that story. So what what a crazy, um, what a crazy thing to think about, and and, you know, this is awesome that you were able to to do that and and be here today to to talk about it. Absolutely. When you guys started to get traction with real estate, what came first? Was it was it starting to see momentum in real estate and then deciding that social media was gonna play into it, or was it in order to get momentum in in real estate, we have to be on social media? What what came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, like I I mentioned before, I started real estate about a year prior to Gabby, um, Both for the same reasons. We both spend because you're the younger sister and you wanna make sure that your older sister knows. Just so everybody knows. But it's just is a little different. I think, uh, I say this because it plays into the fact that Gabby came in and adapted so quickly, and that's why we were able to grow even faster. But she came in, and I had already been going for a year with little to no support. And so when I say little to no support, my mother's been a real estate agent for the last 25 years, and it was an automatic thing, right, to go to her brokerage. It didn't make sense to really go anywhere else. It was, you're gonna work with your mom and you're gonna stay at this brokerage, but the reality was there was only 4 people and all of them were above the age of 50. So I knew really early on that I wasn't going to receive, uh, the type of, uh, I don't know, support exposure, yeah, with them. And, really, like, they weren't gonna they weren't gonna teach me how to make real and do things like that. But I was already in that generation that used social media. I grew up on Facebook. I grew up on Instagram. I already loved it. Um, posting reels and making, uh, you know, social media something that I use consistently, was nothing I had to introduce. I was already doing that. And so when I started real estate, I also left my 9 to 5, and I was a single mother. Um, it was a really split decision. I it was very irrational. I didn't even think about it. I didn't think about losing my health insurance, my benefits, nothing. I just thought, um I'm gonna make it. Yeah. I'm gonna make it happen. And it was one of those moments, like you said, I don't wanna look at my kids and be like, I couldn't do this because I was lazy. I realized that, you know, coming out of a really abusive relationship, um, I I had one of those moments where I asked for some money and he said, Where's your money? And I thought to myself, so where is my money? You know what? You're absolutely right. Where is my money? And I thought, I'm never gonna ask anybody for anything again. And if somebody wants to give me something, great. But I should be able to provide for my kids, and I shouldn't have to ask anybody for anything. I I moved with that momentum. I got my license in 56 days. I left my 9 to 5, but it meant that I needed to do 2 jobs at the same time. So I took on a role as a property manager, and I was in the office all the time. So I was doing real estate and property management so that I could still pay my bills, but it also gave me a lot of free time. And so I started getting on social media, and I would look and I would see that really the only thing they were doing was going on social media and posting these videos of houses. And, like, I didn't know anything really, but I just started copying. I would go on social media. I would find a couple reels. I would remake them and post them, and I remember going through, again, imposter syndrome and thinking, I don't even know what I'm talking about, but I did have a background in real estate. I spent both her and I spent over a decade doing mortgage servicing. So I've done short sales, deed and lose. You know, everything you can think about. Foreclosures. Yeah. Foreclosures. We've seen everything. You know, we helped these clients come back from the 2008 recession. So we have seen it. We've lived in it our whole lives. It just wasn't in the sense of selling real estate. So I applied what I knew and I started making reels, and I would go to homes and I would schedule listings or I would schedule showings on homes that were vacant but staged. And I would go in and I would do reels and then I would, like, do whatever I could to make it seem like I was working with all these people. And I I realized that perception really was reality because people thought I was killing it and they were like, oh my gosh. You're so good. And I was like, what? Laughing hysterically at myself because I'm like, I have literally not closed anything at all, but people thought that I was showing homes. And so I realized really quickly, okay. So what I need to do is just tell people every single day that I'm a real estate agent. And eventually, hopefully, somebody will call me and ask me to help them. And my client interrupt you. I'm sorry to interrupt you. But write this down if you're listening. I mean, if you're watching this or writing if you're, you know, on the live stream or you you catch this somewhere, you know, letting people know every day how you can help them is probably one of the most important things you can do. But you also said something else, and I and I don't wanna miss this because, you know, I I want people to really think about this because while you felt like you were an imposter, um, by going into these homes every day and posting something about it, what you were doing was strategizing on I am putting something into action. Um, I'm actually I can sit at home and do nothing, or I can get out of the community and go look at homes that are already staged and promote them. Right? But but in your head, you're not necessarily categorizing it like that. You're like you kinda feel like an imposter. But instead, that action created momentum that then created, you know, people to reach out to you, and all of a sudden you started, you know, selling more houses. But I think if if anybody's listening to this, one of the things that I would say is getting just getting out there and promoting what you do and how you can help someone else is probably the one of the most important things that you just said. So I'm sorry to interrupt, but Keith No. No. That's great. Well And I think to segue into the next part, you know, I I did build momentum, and I did about 14 transaction my 1st year by myself. And then my sister, I started getting really busy, and she was like, okay. I think it's time. I'm gonna I'm gonna get my real estate license. And I was like, yeah. Do it. And my mom was like, you're gonna do it this time. And granted, everybody should know my mom paid for us to get our license twice. We were babies. But we never did. And so, um, she did try. And and at this point, she was like, sure. They're gonna get their real estate license, but she did. And she came on, and I remember telling her, like, really, really early on, she's always been very private. I'm extremely private. Really, if she had Instagram, it was private. If she had her Facebook, nobody knew about it. And so I knew when she came into the industry, that was gonna be her first barrier or, like, roadblock because she doesn't like anybody know who she is or where she's at. And in real estate, you don't have that option. Your phone number's everywhere. You're every you have to be everywhere. And so I told her, I said, you're gonna have to let that go, and you're gonna have to start posting Instagram, reels, and videos. She was like, absolutely not. Cringe. I'm like, no. You have to. You have to. And I think for me, it was so awesome to see her come in and start doing just that, just posting on social media. It wasn't anything else. It was just posting on social media, and slowly, her momentum started picking up, picking up, and she got her first client through social media, and I know that that was really quick. It was, like, months into her getting her real estate. I I actually What what was the DM? How did it work out? Like, walk me through You made a post. Right? You're making posts. So, actually okay. So I get my real estate license May 1st. I get my real estate license. I pay for all the fees within 2 weeks. During those 2 weeks, though, I would post and post and post. And I would go to showings. I would post the houses. And a friend, somebody on social media said, hey. You know what? I really like that property that you have. In a couple of weeks or maybe in a few months, I'm gonna be ready to buy. And so from there, I started nourishing. That was my first, like, potential lead. And so we made that deal happen, and then we got a rock and roll. So why not do my signature as Las Hermanas Real Estate? And that's how Las Hermanas Real Estate were born. I said to myself, hey. I think this actually sounds pretty good. And, hey. We're sister by blood, and we will be here till the day we die. And so why not start that name? And that's how that name came in To play. Into play. I should say, I think Gabby made that sound so beautiful and, like, it went through, like, just, like, you know, uh, ease uh, easily think. But the reality is is my sister doesn't like change. And for her, stability and knowing exactly what's coming and being able to say, like, I have x, y, and z is a necessity for her. And, you know, she is older than me, and so I think she's always been wiser. And and granted, that's a good thing. And I think now that we've been in business for over a year, I see it. And every every once in a while, I'll tell her, thank God we're we work together because I wouldn't have been able to do that. And then she'll say the same thing like, thank God you're here because I don't I don't know how you do that. And so it's a good Yeah. Balancing act. Yay. Yay and yay. But she definitely took a minute to push off, you know, the leaving her her comfortable, um, or not her comfort zone. Right? And, um, I we were so busy, and I remember looking at her and thinking, like, you need to quit your job. She she wouldn't. She's like, no. I I, like, I I can't. And I'm like, we are so busy, and I promise you it will pay off. Like And I was working around the clock, Chris. I was working my 9 to 5. As soon as that shift ended, I will start showing houses. I would start you know, if it was a listing that we were getting ready for, I work. I wake up every morning at 4:30 AM, and I begin to work. It never stops. I'm on the phone by 5 AM. Her and I have already had a few emails exchanged, a few texts, like, hey. You know, this morning, we're doing x, y, and z. I will be to your house at, you know, x, y. But the reality what I mean is is, like, it doesn't it doesn't matter. Yeah. If you wanna do well in real estate, you need to be full time, period. And I I and I know that a lot of people may hear that and take offense to it because maybe they're part time real estate agents, but the reality is is unless you're doing this 100% of the time, unless you have to sell to eat, you don't have the fire that other agents do. Gabby and I have that. We wake up every morning, and and we can't fall off. We are self motivated. We have to keep going, and we keep driving forward regardless of outcomes because we know that we don't have that option to fall back on something. We are full time real estate agents, commission based, and if we don't sell, we don't eat. And so for us, I think as soon as she went full time, it was like night and day. We picked up even more because now it was like, okay for her. It was like, I'm not working that other job, so I have something to prove. And for me, it was like, yay. Now I finally have, you know, as this help where we can work together and and grow. She would go to this client and show homes. I would go with that client and show homes, and it allowed us to tackle more. So, uh, uh, for sure, it it was the best idea, but it was it took a couple of, you know, months weeks just like anything. Anything. Maybe more because we're siblings. And so, you know, you you can cuss out your sister, but you can't cuss out somebody else. And so it it's been awesome, though. I'm so grateful for the dynamic that we have and And we're funny. Yeah. And we're super happy. I really know. This is this is you're really funny. I mean, this is what I've we're gonna get to we're gonna get to some banter. I think, you know, we've finished the podcast. Goes by. There's not a day that goes by that I'm like, this was boring. I'm like, man, this was great. I wanna work. Let's go. You're you have an a very infectious energy, the both of you, and but you have very 2 you you have very different personalities then, and you're you're you're both each of your own person, which is why I think, you know, this relationship really works. And, you know, I I think about it, like, how cool would it be to be able to work with one of your siblings and and be able to create, you know, a life on it. But let me go back to some tactical stuff. Right? So when you guys started to really go to hard. Right? Like, so for specifically you, Gabby, because, Marcela, the mechanics of social media, you already understood. You already you can pick up this phone and immediately do a story and know that, you know, how to put the music on and how to do this and how to do that. You're you're good at that. And then, Gabby, you had to come and really learn a new skill set and also get over the hump of, I'm gonna start sharing my life. Yeah. And and so tell me about, like, your tactical things that you were doing every day that you had to, you know, really put in the work around social media that then became a muscle and where it is today. Like, what what did you have to do from beginning to to now to be the type of person who's literally sharing so much of their life story on social media? I would say just to not be scared and just go for it. So just not be scared and go for it. There's really no there there's no scientific formula. You just have to do it. I wake up every morning, and I'm like, hey. You know what? I know that I have to post our listings. I know that I have to do maybe 2 personal stories. Marcela and I will do one business together. Maybe we'll do a few listings, But we just do it, Chris. Like, I I I can't, um, you can't think about it too much. You hit record, and then you post it. Well but that didn't come, like, overnight. I mean, you had to get to a point where you're okay with that. Do you remember that moment that you were, you know, like, you got a It was when I got my first lead. Oh, and you got your and you realized that you saw the power of it. 1st lead? You got you got a taste of it. And you're I got my first lead, I was hooked. Absolutely. I was hooked. I knew that what I was doing, it was going to work. And then I also started, uh, right from the beginning. From the beginning, as soon as I signed my paperwork with, uh, uh, Zach Spence as I sign that paperwork, I say, hey. You know what? I'm brand new. I don't know what I'm doing, and I wanna make sure that I also learn from Marcella but from others. What house coming up? Do you have any listings? Is there anything I can do? I'll do it free of charge. I do work a 9 to 5, but, man, I'm off Saturdays, I'm off Sundays, and I'm willing to work 24 hours. Just allow me to do something for you. And, um, I wasn't showing for just one agent. I was showing for multiple agents. I was going out. I would pick up the phone, like, hey. You know what? And that's when gas was super expensive. And so I would say, like, hey. How many showings do you have? Oh, I have, like, 3. Tell you what, we can do $50. I'll take care of a little bit of my gas, and then the rest will come in as extra income. But that's basically what I did. And then after the first lead came through face or Instagram, um, at that moment in time, I knew that I couldn't stop. It was gonna work. It was a great formula. Obviously, I have my sister to back it up. That's exactly what she was doing. It was working. So why not? Now we have different, um, she has over 10,000 followers, and they're different than my followers. And so I think we both bring our own uniqueness. I am 10 years older, so, obviously, my fan base or my followers are gonna be a lot older than that you know, than her. Um, and it is, um, yeah, I would say, you know, that's what I did, Chris, if that makes any sense. Well, it does it does make sense, and I love it. I'm I'm curious to know, um, because you say it, and and this is the this is the interesting thing about talking to someone like you both who are, um, just doing it as a like, you just know you have to do it. It just comes to you. And, you know, the audience is is looking at you and saying, well, how do I do what they do? Right? And you you said something. It's almost like you have this calendar of, I know I gotta get listings. I know I gotta show, you know, x y. So tell me a little bit about, like, the the things that you know you have to show because everybody has these personal moments. Everybody has these business moments, and then everybody has private moments that they don't wanna share. And and they don't need to share. Right? Like, I'll I'll I'll I'll give you an example. I, um, my daughter, um, broke her elbow, and I posted about it. Um, and then a few weeks later, my wife had something that she had to go to the hospital for, but I was like, that's a little bit more private, so I'm not gonna post about that. And so, you know, there there there there's levels of things that I'm willing to share and things that, you know, that don't need to be shared. Uh-huh. But how do you guys determine the the list of things? And and if you don't mind, share some of the things that you know you're gonna be sharing every day. Well, I think really early on, like, if you're looking for a pattern or or, you know, something that you can write down and say, like, okay. If I can stick to this, really early on, I always said I have to post every single day, one static post. For the 1st year in real estate, I said I will build my Instagram. My Instagram has to become 100%, you know, my resume. And so for Gabby, I would I said the same thing. I said every single day, I want you to post 1 static post, 1 carousel post on your Instagram and also a reel every day. And that sounds like a lot. It sounds so annoying, and that's what you wanna be. You wanna be annoying. And I remember telling her, you're gonna feel so annoying because it's over and over and over, but that's fine. You're planting a garden. You're watering your garden. If your garden is dead because you never go in for it, then when people go in to look for this garden, you know, they're not gonna go with the dead garden. They're gonna go with the one that has this beautiful lush green grass. So for us, it's every single day, you know, one one post and one, uh, one reel for at least a year. Once we built our Instagram, it became a little more selective for me, obviously, because now I had a following, and so I wanted to make sure that the aesthetic ran and that I didn't wanna post just anything, obviously. I wanted the videos to do well if I posted a reel. So it kinda went down, but I still kept the same pattern. Post, real. Post, real. So at least my my page and my the flow of my Instagram and my Facebook looked the same. But as far as what to show, there's nothing you shouldn't. Reality is the clients I want working with me and my sister are the ones who wanna work with me and my sister. I'm not faking it. If you want me to sell your $4,000,000 listing, it's because you like who me and Gabby are as people. You like gangster rap. We grew up in Glendale. We're Latinas, and we're vocal. Yeah. And we're vocal. And if that bothers you, then we probably don't wanna work with you. So the right client. Yeah. We're you're following up the wrong the right client. So we want you to know who we are. I think, uh, I share a little bit about my personal life. You know, I like to work out. I have 2 kids. Got engaged this year. We bought a home. So a little bit of everything, and I think it keeps you human. People don't buy a house with me because sell a lot of homes. They buy a house with me because they think I'm cool. And with gas, they wanna hang out with us. You know? And I think that has been the reason why we've been so successful because we've never pretended to be someone we're not. We're authentically who we are, and we know client for everybody. And so for the shy, for the games for there's space for everybody, you know, and that's why lenders do so well as well because there's a certain type of lender for every person. And that's why we have certain lenders that work with certain clients and other ones that don't mesh with other clients, you know, because everyone has different personalities. And I even know sometimes this client does a little better with Gabby or maybe Marcela, you know, speaks to this client a little bit better. And so we kinda personalities. Yeah. Personalities. Everybody has different personalities. And so, usually, on a listing or on a new buyer, we both go together so that we know, like, hey. Okay. Let's fill this client out. Okay. You know what? This one will probably rock with me more. Or, like, hey. You know what? This one's great for you. I'll take a step back, and then I, you know, I start with another client. But we are able to read and and really go from there. And I think because of the social media, it gives you the opportunity to walk into these listing appointments or buyer appointments where the counterparty kinda already knows you. And so that helps too. Right? Because it kinda breaks the barrier of, um, meeting this random person. Like, I know who I'm going to talk to. Obviously, if somebody calls me via another method, I may not know, but I'm still going in and she's still going in as who we are. And so I that's why we love our clients and the clients love us and everybody, that we work with ends up being a long term family friend because they are our people and they gravitate to us naturally because they see who we are naturally in public and everywhere. I don't think there's really anything you shouldn't show and I think at the end of the day, hopefully, you know the difference between something that's appropriate and something that's not appropriate to share. But if that person felt, you know, inclined to share something about someone passing and somebody didn't perceive it appropriately, maybe that's just not someone, you know, that you would work well with. But at the end of the day, I don't think you should ever dull dim your light for anyone. You should be authentically who you are, and your clients will come. And then also, I think our knowledge. You know, when people see like, Marcela and I are not just real estate agents. My background and her background, we've been in the post closing, uh, department. We've been in the pre. We have seen foreclosures. We have helped people with bankruptcy. We know that we can help you buy a home. That's no that's no problem, but we can also help you. If stuff goes down, if shit goes down, we also got you because we know about modifications. We know forbearance plans. We are well rounded real estate agents. And so we know the front, we know the back, and we know the middle. That's another thing. You know? That speaks for itself. When we meet these people, they can see that we know what we're talking about, and we can help them. And as far as sales and as far as being told no, we've been told so many different times. In a call center, you pick up the phone. Do you know how many times you're gonna be told no? A millions of time. We've been through that already. And so I think that also people gravitate to that as well. You don't need the knowledge. So I'm so You don't. You don't. Well, I'll I'll tell you this. I mean, I think I think you you know, I'll say it again. I think people who are ultra successful in what they're doing or they use a platform to help other people, I think there's a few key things that you said there that I think people need to write down. And I think one of those is, um, your audience, the people that you wanna work with, you gotta be very definitive about. And I think what you guys have done is said, look. I'm who I am, and if you don't like it, it's probably not a good fit for me. But I'm not going to dim my light in order to make you happy. Right? And I think that that is something that I think a lot of people need to realize is that you don't always have to play to the masses because I think the people who gravitate towards you, if you're real and you're authentic, are going to gravitate you because you're real and you're authentic. I think a lot of people are afraid, um, and and I I think a lot of the audience members that are listening to this, um, may not understand that it's okay to show your personal life. And I was on another mastermind a few weeks ago. I actually posted about this as well, but, um, they they they said something along the lines of, you know, there's so many people that are afraid to post their personal life because they're afraid that people are gonna think they're not working. And it's no. It's it's actually the opposite. It's show your personal life because people wanna know, like, you know, I know that you guys, um, work out at f 45. And so if I work out at f 45 or I I like group training or I'm wondering about f 45, that may be a reason that I reach out to you or, like, comment on something that you're doing. You know? And then or I'll notice, like, something, you know, you guys dress really dope, and and I'll I'll comment sometimes on that. And I'm like, you know, I love what, you know, you guys are doing. And so that makes me wanna be connected to you. But the person that is not showing that, the person that's going through the hustle that you're going through but they're afraid to pick up their phone is missing out on major opportunities. So so let's talk about that for a second. When you look at your business and you look at your business model, how much of your business do you think has been either generated or you're converted higher simply because you had social media presence? Uh, so out of a 100, uh, 70% of our transactions close or originated through social media. Okay. Hold on. Stop right there. Stop right. Hold on one second. If you close a 100 deals, 70% of them are coming because of something you posted on social media and the frequency you posted. In some way, shape, or form, or it's that it's SOI that we've kept communication with through social media. And so that's where that's that for us is, like, the key factor. I know people will say, well, like, that's your SOI. You met them at a job you once had. But for me, I look at it like this. Where did they see me and where did the lead actually originate? And I know it originated online because they saw me post something. Like, Gabby and I both know that if we post a video about of a pretty home, just the video, you will get questions about it. Where is it? How much does it cost? Oh, I love that bathroom. Or, oh, one day when I move up in homes, I'm gonna call you. And that's exactly why we post consistently, but I don't know if you wanna add anything to that. Yeah. That's mine is all social media. So if you go in originator. If you open up your your DMs right now in Instagram, um, how many conversations do you think you have in a day just in DM? Um, I think I usually I mean, my d I would be lying if I said my DMs are answered immediately, but on average, more than 50% of my communication is in my DMs. I really It goes down in the DM, guys. It goes down. It goes down. It goes down. I'm like And so, truly, it does. It really does. I mean, obviously, I have my text messages. But once you've moved into my phone and I'm texting you, it's because more than likely we had business running at that point. Right? And so, uh, it I would say it almost always originates in the DMs, but, oh, I don't know how many conversations I have running on a daily basis. I that's my way of communicating with people. That's how I stay up to date. That's, you know, maybe not Popeyes, but I comment on all of my clients' pictures. I stay up to date. I know when they're getting divorced. I know when they're moving. I know when they got a new job. I know when it's their kid's birthday. I know when when on vacation, and that's what I think keeps, uh, us informed of our public, but I we use social media 100%, honestly. And then the other 30 comes from direct referral. And that could either be, like, a family member or my mom because she's been, you know, licensed for over 2 decades. And so she clearly comes with, um, a long line of of clients as well that will continue to come to her for a long time. And then also, Chris, on my end, um, on my end, what I do every single Friday is I send anywhere from 3 to 500 messages. I get up at 4 AM, and I'm done by, like, 7 AM. And I send a specific well, I mean, just like a message to the mass, but it's very detailed message to each single person. And I do that every Friday. Out of that, I will probably get about person you're sending it to. And is it So I send it out to my, like, social media, so, like, my followers. So on Facebook and Instagram, they're very different. Like, very different crowds too. The Facebook for me are more of the older crowd. Instagram is more of the younger crowd, but I am sending messages on both ends, Instagram and Facebook. Out of that, just this week, we got a lead because it was like, oh, yeah. You know what? Marcela and Gabby are great. You should give them a call. And so everything comes through social media. To who? Anyone. I mean, sometimes they don't even live in the state, and she'll send the message. You know. And so and for me, I'm really big on groups. So, like, I'm in a single mom's group. I'm in Connect Utah. I'm in, like, uh, the Kerns group, the Taylorsville group, the Sandy group. I'm in all these groups so that I can, like, be vigilant at what people are posting and when people have questions about specific things that I it's weird. I could be scrolling through Facebook for hours, and I don't know how I always see the post where someone's asking about a house. But for me, that's what works. It's staying on top of everybody and kinda seeing what they're doing through social media. I don't know why anybody wouldn't use it. It's crazy. It's free. It's like Well, it's amazing. It's amazing that people won't, but, I mean, like, this is this is what we're trying to do. We're trying to inspire, you know, the person that is sitting there watching this and saying, well, I can do what they're doing. Right? So I wanna go back a little bit because I wanna turn what you just said that you I think you do so easily, but I wanna turn it into something that somebody can tactically pick up. But you said, Gabby, I'll start with you. You said, I I actually send out messages. Right? So when you on Friday, you start engaging in people's social media, is this through DM, or is it a combination of DM and then comments on post? What is your what what It's actually a DM. I sent a message, and I'll it's a message like, um, hey, Kathy. It's me again. Hey, girl. Don't forget. I'm a real estate agent, and if you need a house or if you know of anyone that wants to buy or sell, send me a message. I'll take care of it. She had sending a 2 to 300 Oh, yeah. Message to you. This was One person at a time. Yeah. All access. Person at a time. Okay. Alright. And then On Facebook and Instagram. And and and that is yielding you conversation and leads. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. That that's a done it. And and and I've been doing it from the day that I started, and that's where her and I are like you know, she's like, okay, Gabby. I'm gonna do I always tell her, hey. I'm gonna do this for a few months. It's gonna take me about 7 months, but I really need to see the data behind it to see if it's even gonna work. So from day 1, it's been bam, 250 messages, Instagram, Facebook, 250 to 500, and it's every Friday. Does it work? Absolutely. It works because it's been working for us. And that's basically what I do. It doesn't fail. That's what I do. And then on the second hand and then and then, Marcela, you are saying, okay. You focus on that. I'm gonna take, and I'm gonna go hit the groups. Right? You're going to the local community clubs that are online, and you're going in there, and you're answering questions, and you're engaging, and you're commenting. And through that, that's yielding leads as well? Well and also so Gabby does a lot of our static posts. Mhmm. Now that she's adapted to that, and she does so great. It took a little while because I was like, hey. You gotta match the aesthetic, but she got it. I think a lot of people are scared to jump in and learn Cam, but you need to. If you don't know how to learn if you can't do a flyer and make it look pretty, then you know? But it doesn't matter because her flyer started off not pretty. And I always told her, I said, look at how mine started, night and day. I said, but you have to learn, and learning means doing. So you have to do it consistently so that you can get better. And so little by little, she got better. She learned how to drop in pictures and whatever. For me, it's also reels. Reels do really good for us. I do have over 10,000 followers. You know, we've gone, uh, viral so many times. And so for me, it's more like she does the direct, and I do more of, like, the, okay. I'm gonna, like, gather, uh, uh, content that's trending, and we're gonna do this real, this real, this real, this real. So she goes exposes us this way, and then I get 20,000,000 or 20,000 views on a video and a bunch of comments, and that also gets us exposure. And, you know, it all comes fruition that way. And for us, it also helps us in marketing the properties. You know? So we've been able to successfully market these homes and get them even more exposure because of it, but we also have such a big following and we follow so many that we have the insider detail too. So I know about those homes that are, you know, for sale that aren't on the market because I watch my friend's Instagrams that say, hey, I got this property in Sandy, Utah for sale. You know, it's it's off market and now I've given my buyers opportunities that maybe other agents can't because they don't know what's going on. And so I think we live in a society that doesn't like change. I know for a fact because my mom's been a real estate agent for so long, and getting her to adapt and do things is like pulling teeth. She doesn't want to. She's made a career for herself already without posting on social media and doing this and doing that. And so I think that's always the, um, like, the excuse. I always say it's an excuse. If you say, oh, I don't post because this, this, this, this Excuse. Excuse. You don't post because you don't want to. Just be honest. Like, that's a trap. But, I mean, I think I think most of it is I think most of it is a mindset of being fearful. It's it's afraid of what people are gonna say about you. So let let's talk about that a little bit because I think you guys have had to deal being women, I think women have it the worst on social media. Right? Like, the comments or you know? Talk to me about that. Like, how how do you digest when somebody is a troll or somebody slides in the DMs and is, you know, inappropriate? Like, how do you guys handle those? Do you just block them immediately, or do you do well, you know, how do you handle it? Depends. Depends what what mood you catch us on. I usually say that these dumb posts and then a lot. But, uh, yeah. That's why It depends on, you know, it depends. Obviously, we've posted some videos that, you know, were very controversial and it got a lot of heat. And Which one which one is controversial that got a lot of heat? Because I I I posted one that, you know, was about not chasing leads. I don't believe I love that one. Actually, that that one, I love because you were like, I don't I'm sorry, but I didn't I've never had to chase it. I won't. Like, that's I won't. And I think that that bothers people because so many brokerages thrive on the fact that agents will call these lists that they bought and that they'll make money off of them without having to really do any work. And I don't believe in that. And so sorry. I also don't believe in calling you to ask if you wanna buy a house. You should know. And you should be calling me and my sister. Why am I chasing you? If I have to call you to ask you to submit your documents, you're probably not ready to buy a home. You should be fully ready to be committed to 30 year mortgage with, you know, a payment and principal interest taxes and insurance. And to me, you show your preparation to be homeowner by doing that. By I think the people who are gonna I think the people who are gonna hate on you the most are people who are not doing as well as you are. That's number 1. But number 2, you've proven out that you can attract versus Chase. And I think if you if you can prove that out, then I I mean, I would implore you to keep talking about it. And this is what this entire podcast is about. In fact, I think, you know, what we should call it is, like, you know, how how to never chase a deal because of social media. Because I think that you guys have have proven that 70% of your business will come from a post that you've done, and the rest of the deals are coming from maybe a post from somebody that initially came post. Yeah. So so it is all the same thing. Right? But I think for you guys, um, and what you're doing is remarkable. I mean, it it's remarkable. And before you know, because we're we're almost at time, and I wanna I wanna capture this, um, because this is what the podcast is all about. Like, there are times in life where people find themselves in a moment, and it and it's a critical moment that they're sitting by themselves or they're in a time where they know they need to make a change. And they know that if in order to get to the next part of their their life or the over this hump or out of the hole that they're in, something that they are going to have to do is gonna have to change. And I wanna talk about a moment that you guys had. Maybe it's together or separate, but I don't wanna end this without sharing that story so that people who might be in that hole right now can can leverage what you can give them to get out of it? Well, I mean, I'll go first. I think Gabby and I, we do have separate stories. We obviously had our a breakthrough moment together in our career. And it was probably just learning to work together and learning her fortes, my fortes, and us, you know, coming together as a group. But for me, it was different. I came to a point of realization, you know, at a different period than my sister did, and I didn't go into it a lot. My sister came. She immigrated into the country, and so she's always had a different thing and her life situation was different. Um, mine was as well, but I unfortunately got into, you know, 2 really bad relationships and had my 2 babies and, um, had been in a really bad one for over 4 years. And I think terrible credit, I had had thyroid cancer, 2 back surgeries, 2, um, preemie babies, my gallbladder taken out. I mean, you name it. I had had just everything. And so, coming out of a severe depression was really hard as a single mom, But I remember that day when I asked for some money, and it was for something that I needed. And I had done so much for this person, and I just couldn't believe that they would tell me, like, where's your money? And I realized in that moment that everything that hadn't happened in my life was my fault, that I had lived a mediocre existence up until that moment. And I was, you know, just kind of taking the motions of life and raising my kids but not doing a good job. And if I wanted better, I needed to do better. And, um, I made that choice and I haven't gone back. That was a very, like, split decision, and I'm so thankful that I decided about being, um, passive in life, but that was my moment. I decided that nobody else was gonna come save me. My mom couldn't keep paying for me to do x, y, and z. I couldn't ever put my kids through sports. I couldn't do anything that I wanted unless I took the responsibility to do it. And now I can put them through those things, and I'm so grateful, but it it comes to it comes down to me. You know? I had to do it, and, you know, my sister's been a huge example. She had a baby at a young age, and I always remember thinking, like, being a single mom was never, um, something I was embarrassed of, and so I needed to pick it up. And when I did, it was like that moment of, like, showing up for yourself and you see it. You're like, God. Why wasn't I showing up sooner? As soon as I started showing up, life turned around. I got my teeth done. I got, you know, I got a nice car. My kids were in sports. He played football, hated it, but still could put in it put him in it. You know? And so, for me, that was my breakthrough moment. It was a moment of raising. My shortcomings were my fault, and if I wanted better, I had to do it. I love that. And and real quickly, I mean, isn't it weird, like, there's things that, um, we growing up think to ourselves are, like, what the rich people do. And, like, kids being in sports is, like, what the rich people do. Like, I didn't play sports when I was growing up because that's what that's what the rich people did. Right? Like but when you can actually send your kids to do the stuff that you were never able to do, it's a good feeling. So I never buy my kids stuff for them. And I think they think I do, but it's not. I'm like, you guys look nice for me. I'm like, it's me. I'm proving to myself I did that. It's a it's a funny thing. That is a funny thing to say and admit, but I it's so true. I think they think like, oh, I'm buying you a $160 pair of shoes because I want you to floss on your friends. No. I'm flossing on myself. I'm reminding myself, like, I got my kids looking so nice and half the time, they don't even know what the heck they're wearing. You know, I'll ask them, hey. Did anybody say anything about your cool outfit today? No, mom. Nobody said anything about my outfit. Nobody ever says anything about my outfit. I love this. I love this. But for me, it's, like, so much pride that I feel when I see them going to school dressed to the nines and at their best, and I want them to know. And I and I tell them that too. My mom's always been really big on you wake up and you dress for the job you want, and you you don't go through life, you know, not in your best. So I tell them that as well, and I always tell them, like, I don't want you guys to go to school and someone will look at you and be like, oh my god. That mom does not take care of their of her kids. And I want you guys to wake up when you grow up and know, like, okay. I gotta take my kids to shower, do their hair, get them dressed, and you do that every single day. And that's something that Gabby and I are really, really big on. We show up every single day. We get up, we get dressed, we change, and it automatically changes our mindset. So, you know I love that. No. That's so true. I think that that's like a brilliant I mean, that's even another hack, you know. It's like, you wanna be successful, you have to dress for the part, um, and, you know, you can't be in sweats all day. I mean, you're gonna have to get ready. And and what a part of your brand, both of you, is that you dress really well, but I think that that's part of the gig. I mean, you you realize and you you wanna and it and, also, in a way, it makes social social media a lot easier to post something when you're when you feel good about yourself. So, you know, if you're afraid to post, it's probably also because you just don't feel good about yourself today. So so, you know, step it up. And so, uh, let's hear Gabby. Tell me about your breakthrough story. So for mine, um, Chris, I've always I've had many, many years in management. Bring the mic a little bit closer. Can you hear me better? Yeah. We can. So like I I was saying, um, I've had I've had a few I've had several years in management. And when COVID happened, I was working for one of the greatest companies that I've had the pleasure to work with, and that's Academy Mortgage. Well, you know, everything was tanking. They were closing down, and they laid me off. And during that time, I said to myself, what do I do next? And it was something scary. Like she said, I'm very methodical. I need to make sure that I am reviewing everything. If this doesn't go right, what can happen? That's how my brain works. Um, but then I thought to myself, like, you know, we're gonna take it back to when I was 6 years old. Okay? So at 6 years old, I crossed the country illegally. I was imprisoned with my with my, uh, father and my brother. Before that, my dad left us for 2 full years. We don't even know where he's at. We shouldn't even call him that. Anyways but, um, and after that, I get pregnant at 15, and my mom wasn't easy. She was like, hey. You messed up, and now you're gonna have 2 weeks to leave my house. And I'm gonna, you know, give you these couches, but I need you to up and run because you fucked up. And I said, okay. That's fine. And so I took that upon myself to go. You know? There was never that fear. And so when it came to real estate, and here's COVID, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm working for this company, this attorney's company where I'm like, oh, man. This is not gonna work. But Marcela keeps telling me, hey. I'm busy. Please help me. Come. And I'm like, you know, I'm telling my husband, like, should I do it? Or what about if I fail? Holy cow, Alex. And and and it's not to, like, you know, like, not to sound crazy or anything, but I just didn't really fail when it came to jobs. And so this was one thing where I was like, damn. And it was. It slapped me in the face. I went through my testing, and I failed 3 times at what 69%. I was 1% away from making it every single time. And that right there drove me even more because I was like, oh, hell no. Like, I am not. Like, I will pass this goddamn test. And when I when I sell 1 house, if I can just sell 1, I'll say I did it, and then I'll move on to something else. I've always been good at corporate America, but that was not the case. I went in, and within my first two weeks of having my license, a friend of mine called me, and she was like, hey. There's this little elderly man that needs help. He needs to sell his trailer. And so I said, okay. No problem. It was on a Thursday. I get there, and he was like, hey. You know what? They've only been offering me 13,000, but my wife is dying of cancer, and I really need help. It wasn't about the money, Chris. It was and it's never about the money with us. Um, and I said, okay. Well, I'm gonna help you. And I helped this elderly man get from 13,000 to 35,000, and I think that was the first little commission check that I got. That was 3,000. I remember driving home, and it was, you know, the exchange, like, here you go. Here's your 3,000. And I was static, but it wasn't because of the money. It was because, like, hey. Now you have 35,000 in your pocket, and you get to go home to Chicago and get your wife, get her into Mexico and bury her. And that right there was a breaking moment where I can do this. I can help people, and there's nobody else better than us to be out there helping people. I mean, our first house with my mom, it was through Habitat for Humanity. I worked my brother and I. Marcella was a baby, but my brother and I and my mom, we worked. I remember my 5th grade year, my 6th grade year. There was no such thing as having your Friday, Saturday, and Sunday weekend. No. It was like, hey, Gabby junior. It's Saturday. You guys need to put in 8 hours. We need to get that house. We need to take care of grandma. We need to take care of Marcellus. I think she was only, like, 2 years old. And so everything packed in one, Chris, there has never been a question in my mind that I was not gonna you know, going to succeed. I was going to by all means necessary, and, you know, and that's what we do. We we don't stop. We just keep working. But my mom is a great example, and, I mean, man, she's done so much, then why wouldn't we? Like, why not us? You know? And, uh, that's that's how I see it. I think that that what my breaking moment. I think that question is something that everybody should be asking themselves if if they can do a why not us. Yeah. Why not us? I think that comment that you say to yourself and when you're driving by yourself and you see somebody with that success and you're not asking that question, why not me? Why why not me? Is, you know, something that we gotta push ourselves to do more. But, um, I'm I'm so fortunate to be able to be in rooms with you guys and to be friends with you, and I and I love your story. I love your energy. Um, I'm proud to watch what you guys are doing because I I think I said this to you. I'm literally watching 2 multimillionaire Latinas breaking through every day when I open up my phone. And I love engaging with you guys. I I know that this is gonna be a long term friendship, but I'm proud of you. I am so proud of what you guys are are, um, building. And so just know that um, the pleasure of doing this podcast with you is all mine. Mhmm. I want to do more with you guys. And so, um, the next time I'm in in Salt Lake City, we will have our podcast studio there, and we can go live and we could do some fun stuff. But I love you guys. I don't cry, but yeah. Nice to be here. We we love you, Chris. We do. We don't love everybody. But we love you. You're amazing. Your story, you know, I actually, for not rep, I met you through not rep. And then I was sitting there, and I didn't wanna go. I was like, oh, man. This is gonna be done. But after I heard you speak and you were legit raw. You were like, hey. You know, I'm here. I think I'm I think at that time, you were like, hey. I'm 60 days sober, and this is me. And then I thought to myself I told Marcela right after that. I said, that's the shit that you need in our rep. People to be truly genuine and to truly tell the stories how they are. Not, oh, I sold houses and all of this, and I have so many $1,000,000. It's like, no. I've been through hell and back. Because social media only sees they only see the colorful things. They don't see what Marcela and I, those 45 days in a transaction, what we go through, nobody sees that. You only see Oh, yeah. At the end, the beauty. We try to share every aspect of our lives so that people know, like, oh, the girls work day in and day out. And I think you said something earlier. People are so scared to post on social media because you don't wanna perceive something like, oh, they don't work. They don't work. Right? But, I mean, the reality is is that social media is crazy because you get to curate what you post. This is you get to be what you want on social media. You could be anybody. You know? So if you create this persona that's hard to keep up with, then, obviously, it's it's rough, and that's why a lot of people you know, if I could say one thing, it's build your business off of your current presence, off your social media that you already have. Stop building these second accounts where you have your business, and then on this side, you've got your personal life. Now granted, if you're a little crazy, then I understand. I maybe have 2 accounts because maybe you don't wanna be posting everything online. But but I would also say often. This is a question I get often from, you know, masterminds I'm in and people I'm coaching is should I have 2 accounts, a business and a personal? And my advice is always no. Like, you gotta mesh them together. 1, it's hard. I don't have time to do, you know, different ones, like Okay. You know. Yeah. Um, but if you foe if you can just mesh it into 1 and show everybody everything, then that's the authentic you, like, what you have built. And I think, obviously, I I have somebody in mind as an agent, and he's a little controversial. And he posts a little, you know, uh, some things that are a little bit, you know, leftist and outlandish. And he would always say, like, I don't know how this is gonna translate. And I I always told him, perfect, to the people who are meant to work with you. So you keep being exactly who you are. Don't don't sugarcoat it. If you need to cuss and swear and, you know, say some weird thing, there are those buyers out there who think that's funny. I'm like, maybe I don't, but, you know, somebody out there has your humor and they need to sell, and they need to buy. And they don't wanna buy with me and Gabby because we're weird to them. But you? They think you're normal. I'm like, so there you go. I'm like, who knew? Don't don't make this You have a total, um, abundance mentality, and I think that that is, like, that is, you know, really what serves you guys well. But I I don't think that anybody has ever come on here and explained branding in such a a raw way. But it's just be you, and don't be afraid of it, and know that you can't serve everybody. Who who who likes you is who's gonna like you, and who's gonna work with somebody else is gonna work with somebody else. Um, but I I I appreciate the the fact that you guys have been here today, and it means the world to me. And so the next time I'm in I'm in Salt Lake, we're into this live and in person. Yeah. But I I wanna thank you guys for being here today, and I know the audience appreciates it. And we will be rolling this one out very soon, so stay tuned. Cool. Thank you. Thank you, guys.