Doorify Real Estate Podcast

The 3 Pillars of Your 2025 Real Estate Business Plan with Neil Mathweg

• Doorify MLS • Episode 70

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The real estate market is unpredictable, but a strong plan can keep you grounded. 

In this episode, I sit down with Neil Mathweg, founder of Agent Rise, to discuss his Three Pillars strategy for success.

Neil’s journey spans over two decades in the industry, with over a thousand homes sold and now, he’s sharing his wealth of knowledge through coaching. We’re talking about the three pillars every agent needs for a solid business plan: sphere of influence, chase, and attraction. Neil breaks down each pillar, sharing practical advice and personal anecdotes. We also discuss the importance of mindset and consistency in navigating the real estate landscape.

Neil’s approach is straightforward yet powerful, and it’s changing the way agents grow their careers. Tune in to hear how you can apply these pillars to make 2025 your most successful year yet.

Specifically, this episode highlights the following themes:

  • The Three Pillars strategy: Sphere, Chase, and Attraction
  • Staying resilient and focused in a shifting market
  • Effective ways to engage and attract clients with social media

Links from this episode:

1ae5b43598204883b524f061d4880e6d10fca88c (for podfollow.com)

Neil Mathweg [00:00:00]:
I just feel like agents are very, very defeated right now. A lot of agents are back on that roller coaster ride where one month they have a great month, and then the next month it's down. And I think the one way to get through all of that is mindset. It really comes down to what you think and feel you make real. And we have a saying around here that no stinking thinking is allowed because you can get that stink and thinking going and get into doubt and fear and shame and all this stuff. And you get stuck in this place and you're beating yourself up instead of building yourself up. And you can right there, or you can change your mind and dream for what you really want and go after it.

Matt Fagioli [00:00:44]:
Hey, guys, welcome Back to the Doorify Real Estate podcast. I'm your host, Matt Fagioli, and today I want you guys to meet a new friend here, Neil Mathweg, and he's with Agent Rise. But he was a very successful agent in Wisconsin, then picked his family up, took an RV across the country, moved to Florida, cranked up a coaching business, and I'm stealing your thunder, man. But I love story. So, Neil, welcome to the Doorify podcast, man.

Neil Mathweg [00:01:13]:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really fired up to be here.

Matt Fagioli [00:01:17]:
Yeah, and I know you're going to be in the triangle really soon. In fact, we may miss our timing with the release of this podcast. We'll see how the dates line up, but tell us about that. What day are you going to be in the Triangle?

Neil Mathweg [00:01:28]:
November 12th is when I'm going to be in Raleigh. Cannot. 9am to noon at the Maywood Hall.

Matt Fagioli [00:01:35]:
The Maywood Hall. All right. What town is that? I'm sorry, what town is that again?

Neil Mathweg [00:01:40]:
Which that is. It's in Raleigh.

Matt Fagioli [00:01:42]:
I'm messing you up.

Neil Mathweg [00:01:44]:
Yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah. Maywood hall in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Matt Fagioli [00:01:48]:
Yes, Raleigh on the 12th, man. So you guys better be ready. If you catch this podcast before the 12th of November, check him out. But you know, Neil, I love what you were telling me, you know, off camera, about your story coming up as an agent. And I'm a big proponent, having been a licensed agent and broker myself my whole career. Agents and brokers want to be listened to. Somebody who's actually been on the street and sold a house and knows what the pain is. So tell us a little bit about your home selling experience up there in Wisconsin.

Neil Mathweg [00:02:21]:
Yeah, so I did over for 23 years. I was an agent there and sold over a thousand homes in 15 of those years. I was practicing. The rest was in Leadership. And when I first started, the first six months, I sold one house and was ready to give up. Thought it was like, this is. This is too hard for me. And I was handed Mike Ferry scripts back then.

Neil Mathweg [00:02:43]:
I was handed Mike Ferry Fizbo and expired scripts, and I hated every second of it. And I just spun my wheels. I just couldn't get things going. I was defeated. And then I found my plan, and I started to develop my plan according to my strengths and to what I wanted to do and the business that I envisioned. And I started working according to a vision. And once I got that vision, my next six months, I sold 35 houses. So my first year, I sold 36 houses, went on to average about 50 to 75 every year.

Neil Mathweg [00:03:14]:
And that was before digital signing, before. Before DocuSign. And, you know, you. You. You practice in those days, too, where I was a fax machine and a lot of driving and no E signatures, but I would. I sold about 50 to 75 homes a year, and it was fantastic. Just a great career.

Matt Fagioli [00:03:31]:
Nice. Yeah, you and I actually had a fairly similar. I got in real estate 2003, and somebody, you know, handed me Gary Keller's book, the millionaire real estate agent, and he said, hey, go take listings. And I didn't know anything, but I could do that. And I went out, took a bunch of listings that didn't sell. I started at the calendar, beginning of the year, and, like, nothing sold, nothing sold, nothing sold. So it's like end of May, and I'm like, dying. And so I go talk to my mentor, and I'm like, man, what am I going to do? And he goes.

Matt Fagioli [00:04:01]:
He goes, how many listings do you have? And I had like, 20 listings or something. He was like, hang on. Just like, keep going, man. And like, 30 days later, it was like, sham. Like, it all sold. And I was like, rookie of the year and all that stuff. So, yeah, you and I had a really similar start, but that first six months is unbelievably brutal. So tell me, how do you coach people through that early season?

Neil Mathweg [00:04:22]:
Now, to me, it comes down to the three things. A clear plan that's congruent to them, one that feels right. Like, I think a lot of us are using other people's plans or just not. We're not adapting to our own strength. So a clear plan that's congruent to you, and then stay consistent with that plan. And what is that plan? Like, what does that plan look like? And that's what I've specialized in to help agents develop that plan and we came up with our, what we call as a three pillar plan. It's your sphere of influence, it's your chase and an attraction. So your sphere of influence are your people and you know, your, your clients, past clients, present clients, your friends, your family, the people you go to church with, the people that you're in small group with, the BNI groups or whatever it is that you're in groups with, those are your people.

Neil Mathweg [00:05:11]:
And for those people, I have a complete plan for in a plan of steps that you follow to build that plan. Then there's the chase pillar. And the chase pillar is open houses, online leads, fizz bowls and expireds. You can get into niches with working with first time homebuyers, seniors, probate, divorce, the list goes on. The chase pillar is meant for you to go out and get it. So what is it that you're going to go chase and go out and get. And then the attraction pillar is how you're going to attract people to you and to that. The best known way is social media.

Neil Mathweg [00:05:46]:
In addition to social media, there's YouTube, there's blogging, there's podcasting. There's so many other ways to attract people to your business as well. So once we get those three pillars in place, then we follow some steps. We have the, what we call as the agent rise steps. So we follow these steps to be able to build out your plan. And I found that if we give an agent a clear plan, that three pillar plan, that feels right to them and is congruent to them, and then we mix in the must moves because we're in a must move market right now. So we mix in the must move markets and then help them stay consistent and give them the tools to stay consistent and away they go.

Matt Fagioli [00:06:27]:
That's just. You made it sound so incredibly simple.

Neil Mathweg [00:06:31]:
It was that easy, right?

Matt Fagioli [00:06:33]:
Yeah. Every agent in the United States should be crushing it now after.

Neil Mathweg [00:06:36]:
That's right.

Matt Fagioli [00:06:37]:
That's all they needed.

Neil Mathweg [00:06:39]:
Yes. Yes.

Matt Fagioli [00:06:41]:
Well, and you travel in the country doing a bunch of speaking on this now as well. What's your, what do you say is the pulse of things that are, you know, where are we at right now? How are agents feeling? What's your latest?

Neil Mathweg [00:06:56]:
Yeah, the pulse. Yeah, it's. It's very doom and gloom, I think is the best way to say it. I mean, I just feel like agents are very, very defeated right now. A lot of agents are spinning their wheels. A lot of agents are back on that roller coaster ride where one month, they have a great month and then the next month it's down. And so a lot of roller coaster rides going on. And I think the one way to get through all of that is mindset.

Neil Mathweg [00:07:23]:
It really comes down to what you think and feel you make real. And we have a saying around here that no stink and thinking is allowed because you can get that stink and thinking going and get into doubt and fear and shame and all this stuff. And you get stuck in this place and you're beating yourself up instead of building yourself up and. And you can stay right there, or you can change your mind and dream with the lid off, like we like to say, and dream for what you really want and go after it and what you think and feel you make real. So just believe it. And we always talk, too, about, you know, being who you want to become. Right. So if there is a vision of the agent that you want to become, to start being that agent right now, and the next thing you know, you will become that agent that.

Neil Mathweg [00:08:08]:
That you're working towards. And so that's the mix of it right there.

Matt Fagioli [00:08:12]:
Man, I love you. Sent me your notes, and I read that Dream with the Lid off. And I don't think there's too many catchphrases in coaching that I haven't heard, but I hadn't heard that. And I love that. I don't know if that's your original. You robbed it from somebody, but I'm definitely robbing it from you.

Neil Mathweg [00:08:26]:
Awesome. Yeah. I don't even know where I got. I think. I think it was an original for me because I. I hadn't heard it anywhere else, but I'm like, just dream it. Take the lid off. Because we get.

Neil Mathweg [00:08:35]:
We get so stuck on. On fear and doubt. And, like, I can't. You know, I heard somebody say, what would you do if you weren't afraid? Right. Like, what would you do if you weren't afraid? And to me, that's the lid. That's what. That's what's stopping us. We're.

Neil Mathweg [00:08:46]:
Fear gets in the way.

Matt Fagioli [00:08:47]:
Yeah. And I think, you know, it seems to me that of all the agents that I've talked to in my life, that it. More so than a lot of other businesses, you hit this natural ceiling of achievement that's tied to a busyness level, and everybody's sort of afraid to go further because the perception is that it's going to take me more time to operate that business. Do you see that with agents as well?

Neil Mathweg [00:09:11]:
For sure, for sure. I think another big challenge that I think agents are running across is what to do every single day to move their business forward, right? They don't have a plan. They're not working according to a vision. They're just kind of grabbing things here and there and hoping that it works. And then when it doesn't work, they get shiny object syndrome. So then they're looking for the next thing. And what I have found is that if we get that clear plan, that just feels right. Because when it feels right, you get fired up about it.

Neil Mathweg [00:09:41]:
You get so excited that you want. You want to work every day and that you no longer need to wonder what to do every day because you're now working according to that vision. But here's the thing. I see more agents working according to their needs because they've got to pay bills, right? I need this closing, I need this client, because I need to pay my mortgage. And you can. That's a trap. That's a trap. If you work according to your vision, your needs will be met, right? So you've got to have that vision, and you work according to that vision.

Neil Mathweg [00:10:14]:
The excitement comes back because you've got this vision now you're working according to that every single day. And the next thing you know, your needs are met and the fear starts to go away, the doubt starts to go away when you've got that clear vision. And I've just seen it over and over and over. I saw it in my own career and then I started coaching others and then, wow, it works for them too. And. And so it's. You gotta have that vision and then work in a work according to that vision. And it eliminates all that doubt and everything that's in the way.

Matt Fagioli [00:10:43]:
Man, that's so good. Well, why don't you walk me a little bit through each of the three pillars? So, yeah, what do you tell people about Sphere?

Neil Mathweg [00:10:52]:
How do you.

Matt Fagioli [00:10:52]:
What's your approach to working Sphere?

Neil Mathweg [00:10:54]:
Yeah, the Sphere pillar. To me, it starts with, you've got to build that database, right? So the first thing that you want to do is build that database. I am so surprised at how many agents don't have a database or if they have one, they're not doing anything with it. And I'm not talking a list of leads that you got from an online source. I'm not talking. That's not, to me, not a database. I mean, it is, it is, but it's not a Sphere database. That's a Chase database.

Neil Mathweg [00:11:23]:
A Sphere database is your people. And so sit down and list out all of the people that you know, go through your Facebook friends, go through Instagram, go through LinkedIn. Look at all of the people you're connected with. Write that list down. Then follow up and get everybody's email address or, I'm sorry, phone. I'm sorry. Don't get. Don't.

Neil Mathweg [00:11:42]:
Don't worry about all that phone number and email address. Just get their address. I'm a huge, huge proponent of mailing newsletters. I just am such a big fan of it. I'll get to that in a second. But we. We build that database, then we send an announcement letter, because a lot of us have not mailed anything to our database in the past. So send an announcement letter.

Neil Mathweg [00:12:03]:
That's step number two. And I've got. I've got a letter for a new agent, and I've got a letter for an experienced agent. And the experienced agent is a reconnect letter. It's a letter of saying thank you for all of the recommendations and referrals. Thanks to you, I'm busy, but I have not done a good job of staying in touch with you. So from this day forward, I want to. I want to begin to do that.

Neil Mathweg [00:12:24]:
So it's a reconnect letter then following that. I'm a huge believer in mailing newsletters. I started doing this back in 2002, 2003, and I thought by now it would be long gone and a thing of the past, but I think it's actually gotten better. The inbox, the email inbox is so noisy, but the mailbox is not. And I also just see that everybody knows another agent, and the other agents are not mailing to their sphere. So you can stand in that place. And I've just seen it work over and over and over again. So, again, what I believe in is build that database, send that announcement letter, and then mail monthly newsletters.

Neil Mathweg [00:13:02]:
That's the foundation. Later on in my agent Rise steps, I come back and I recommend that you add client events and VIP programs and pop buys and gifts and anything else that you can do to always be adding more and more value to your sphere. You know, the average agent, 80% of their business comes from their sphere. So that's the number one pillar. That's the big one. And you focus on that. And then, then we get onto the Chase and onto the attraction.

Matt Fagioli [00:13:30]:
Awesome. Well, tell me about Chase. What's hot in the Chase world right now? What's working?

Neil Mathweg [00:13:34]:
Yeah, what's working in the Chase world? Open houses are starting to come back. Not. Not nearly where they were pre pandemic, but they're starting to come back, which is great news. I was a big open house fan. That was how I built my business. So I loved it. So good to see that coming back. Also starting to see first time homebuyers come back.

Neil Mathweg [00:13:52]:
I love that. As a niche for the chase, you can create a first time buyer ecosystem. It all starts with offering grants and down payment assistance. It attracts first time home buyers because every buyer wants free money. Right. Why wouldn't they want to check to see if they qualify? So grants, down payment assistance attracts them and then you have seminars and webinars to keep them in the ecosystem. You can do first time homebuyer groups and all this other stuff. Okay.

Neil Mathweg [00:14:15]:
So I love that that's starting to come back. And the reason that was dead was because there was no inventory. We know how hard it was for first time homebuyers. Well, with inventory coming back gives buyers more options and hopefully they can be in competitive situations now to get get a house. So I love that one. And then the big one, the big one is seniors serving seniors that are right, sizing and probate living, helping them with wills and trust and all that and then getting into probate. And for that I've seen just great breakthroughs of hosting events at libraries. A library is where you go to get information and you partner with an attorney and the attorney is there to answer all legal questions.

Neil Mathweg [00:14:57]:
And you invite a group of people together to talk about wills and trusts and probate and answer all questions. And you're serving not only the senior, but you're also serving the senior's adult children that have a lot of questions as well. And so those niches have been really, really good. And that's the thing in this market right now we're in a, we're in a must move market. We're not in a want to move market. Right. So if you've got a 2.85%, you don't want a 7%. Right.

Neil Mathweg [00:15:27]:
So you're not really wanting to move. Right. Uh, most of them are must moves. And so the list of must moves definitely include probate, divorce, you know, relocation is the number one. Family relocation, PCs scene and then corporate relocation are all must moves. And so you want to position your business to be standing in front of those.

Matt Fagioli [00:15:52]:
Cool. Awesome. Okay, so, so and now attract is the third pillar. Tell me about what do you, what's working best in attract right now? How are you coaching agents there?

Neil Mathweg [00:16:02]:
Yeah, so we can't skip over social media. That that's the number one way. Right. So attraction. We talk about they need to see you being an agent, they need to like you as a person and you need to ask compelling questions to create engagement. And you use that, see like an ask mix for your social media. Now we could go down so many roads when we talk about social media, but that's a real quick framework that makes sense for a lot of agents to follow that allows them to keep posting on a regular basis in addition to social media. My ultimate favorite is a living in and moving to YouTube channel.

Neil Mathweg [00:16:44]:
And YouTube is, I just absolutely love it because those that are relocating to an area, they're searching for the keywords of moving to and living in. And you can do things that you need to know when moving to the cost of living in. The pros and cons of living in. There's a lot of channels out there. I think we all know what I'm talking about here. But the thing is, is a lot of agents are not doing it because they feel like they're late. And there is nothing to be late about. YouTube is always evolving.

Neil Mathweg [00:17:14]:
And in addition, you are the one that is wanted. Your personality, your work style, the way that you present, they're looking for you. You are wanted in the market. So don't, don't be afraid that it's too late. And I say get out there and build that YouTube channel.

Matt Fagioli [00:17:31]:
Absolutely. You know, it's funny, there are some big channels in a bunch of markets, but I mean it's never more than a handful especially that are any good. And there's just so much room, you know, for growth there. I agree that's it's got to be still by far the, the hottest thing ever. And I really think that, you know, paid ads is an area that more agents should spend some time on and that's getting easier and easier and easier in terms of, you know, the, the, the, the platform algorithms doing the targeting for you and all that. So you know, I don't know, I don't know how you feel about paid ad strategy. I've seen a lot of success with it.

Neil Mathweg [00:18:09]:
Yes, I love it that that fits into our chase pillar under online leads. You know, most, most online leads are paid and the good ones anyways and you know, there's a lot of options for free. But I love a good paid campaign for sure. Especially the agents that can really get it humming and get really good at the follow up. It's all about follow up and it's, we call it matchmaking. So we listen for the buyers search criteria and their contact information and then we get out there and we find them their property because it really comes down to this. Buyers want houses and sellers want buyers. And so we don't have to overcomplicate it any more than that.

Neil Mathweg [00:18:46]:
And we just listen for that criteria. And online leads, I mean they're just coming at you all day long. So get those criterias and get the follow up. And I think you could help with an agent more with that too. So that's fantastic.

Matt Fagioli [00:18:58]:
Well, Neil, I appreciate you being here, man, and it's exciting that you're coming to the Triangle. So guys, if you catch this before November 12th, you got to come see Neil and get the rest of the rest of the story. And I'm sorry, what was the name of that location again? Do you remember?

Neil Mathweg [00:19:13]:
Yeah, so it's going to be. Let me get you, Let me get the scoop. So Atlantic Bay Mortgage is the, is the host and doing so grateful for them. They're bringing me in and so the whole event is completely free. And not only do we have a three hour workshop for the event, but we're also going to. You're going to leave with a bunch of deliverables. Everybody's going to leave with my book and then access to our academy. And so they'll have, they're going to not only get all of the information but all of the resources to go with it.

Neil Mathweg [00:19:44]:
And we're going to be hosting that at the Maywood hall and Garden and that's in Raleigh, North Carolina on see November 12, Tuesday, November 12, from 9am until noon.

Matt Fagioli [00:19:56]:
That's awesome. Well, Neil, thanks again for being on the Doorify Real Estate podcast and we'll see you in the triangle on November 12th.

Neil Mathweg [00:20:04]:
Thanks again, my friend. Appreciate it. Matt.

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