Baseball has always been Robert Lucido’s dream and passion. At the age of 5, he dreamed of joining the big leagues. He played through high school, became an all-academic athlete in college, and played professionally for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers.
He was often the smallest guy on the team. But what he lacked in height, he made up for in hard work. As an athlete, he always believed in setting goals and making progress in achieving those goals. He brought the same passion and grit when he transitioned into the real estate world in 2018.
Today, Robert is the Director of Business Development for Lucido Global. He drives corporate strategy and innovation, intending to create an economic moat, scale, and efficiency across the Lucido companies.
In this episode, we talked about how the adversities he faced in his baseball career helped shape his character and what you can do to keep creating opportunities in your life and your career.
Key Takeaways:
03:00 How Robert started his baseball career
07:02 The importance of proper timing
11:31 What made Robert decide to leave baseball
16:10 The book that helped Robert get out of rock-bottom
20:48 The changes that Robert sees in the market
25:50 What are “forest agents”?
28:59 Who is the future of real estate: Teams or solo agents?
34:27 The key technologies people need to have in their real estate business
34:52 The value of time
36:08 How leveraging technology can affect your ROI
39:09 What does Lucido Global’s latest acquisition mean for their business
40:27 What benefits does a team owner get when they join Lucido Global?
44:26 Robert’s most important piece of advice
To get a hold of Robert, you may email him at robertlucido@lucidoglobal.com
Podcast Transcript:
Brian Charlesworth 0:34
Right. Hello, everyone. And welcome back to the GRIT podcast. I'm Brian Charlesworth, founder, and CEO of Sisu and your host of the show. And today I have a special guest with me who I got to know probably about 90 days ago. And that's the great thing about being in that position I'm in I get to meet people like Robert Lucido. Robert's, our guest today. Robert is with Lucido Global, and he really has a lot of people know, Bob Lucido. I know he's KW famous anyway. And I think beyond that.
Anyway, Robert really does all the systems operations and development for the company. I'll let him talk more about that. But I think you guys are now over 50 locations. Is that right, Robert?
Robert Lucido 1:19
Oh, we're approaching 50 or about 45.
Brian Charlesworth 1:22
Okay. So, huge team. And I want to emphasize team. And so we'll talk about that here in a few minutes. And I'd love to just start by getting your background. Robert, I know when you first met me, I had these jerseys in the background. And you were drawn to that because you were a professional athlete, not basketball, but baseball. And you know, when I google you to try to learn more about you for this podcast. You know, there are baseball pictures everywhere.
Robert Lucido 1:52
Wasn't tall enough to play basketball. So
Brian Charlesworth 1:56
So let's talk about that. You know, the name of this podcast is Grit, real estate growth mindset. But really, the Grit is what I want to key in on because, in my opinion, that's the most important thing for someone to be successful in anything. And so let's go back and dive into your background and your baseball career.
Robert Lucido 2:14
Yeah, absolutely. So I grew up playing baseball, ever since I was five, a dream to play in the big leagues. You know, my dad started me young, we would we started with push-ups and sit-ups every other day growing up, we would go over, you know, after school, we'd hit in the basement of my grandfather's, my grandfather's house. Baseball was always been my dream passion since I was five, and started early play through high school. As you know, as I alluded to, before, basketball wasn't my path. I was never the biggest guy. In fact, I was always probably the shortest guy in the team. And I always needed to be the hardest worker on the team to achieve at the level that I wanted to. And so I think looking back, you know, everyone strives for the good times, but the adversity and the hard times the struggles that's really shaped your character. So I definitely relate, to what you said regarding grit. And I think that really defined how I was able to play professional baseball. because growing up, I was always good. But I played against a lot of people and with a lot of people that were just naturally more talented, whether they're taller, faster, or stronger. So it really took perseverance and resourcefulness in order to ultimately get there.
Brian Charlesworth 3:17
Awesome. So So let's talk about that. Like, where did you get to and not like, cuz that's part of what I want to know about is that challenge of, Okay, I'm not going to play professional baseball? I mean, my childhood dream was to be a professional basketball player. But I broke my finger. My junior year in high school. This one right here, I realized, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna make it to college. Right. So but you went much further than that. And so at some point, you needed to decide, Okay, stop. Right. So tell. Tell us more about that. Like,
Robert Lucido 3:47
Yeah, so I'm out of high school. You know, my, my dream school was Duke. I wanted a good academic school. That was division one. ACC is right near I grew up, you know, at the time, it was ACC sec, my coach played at NC State. So I was kind of partial there. So anyway, I wanted to go to Duke. I worked my tail off in order to get interests, you know, constantly reaching out to them every week. Finally, they came to watch me play. And I had one of the best games of my high school career. And I was pretty excited. They came up talk to me after I was like, finally, you know, it's all coming together. And then their entire coaching staff got fired, and the interest went with them. So then I went to my second School, which was Harvard. And so I went up for the visit, took part in their camp, had an unbelievable day, what four or five, three doubles, just crushed it. And then they ended up presenting an offer to a guy who was six, three out of Chicago, the guy didn't get in, and then the coach, unfortunately, passed away. So it was just this culmination of all these unfortunate events and ultimately brought down to University of Richmond, went down there and had a really good showing for them actually through a one eight on a second base, which was the best I've ever done. So that's the time from when you catch it to when it arrives at the second baseman Smith at second base and One eight is pro level. So I had a really strong tailwind that day. But anyway, I remember that recruiting coordinator call me. And I was like, finally, you know, it's the scholarship offer. And he actually called me and the first words he said were, don't come to Richmond. And it was because the coach wouldn't have played me because I was below six foot. And so that he's like, I'm leaving school because I've been trying to get you an offer for months. And he won't do it just because of your height. So at that point, my D one interest offers had dissipated, I was obviously pretty crushed. And so I had a couple, few dozen d3 schools that I could have gone to, and at that point, it was, you know, what's the best academic school I can go to. And the school I ultimately decided on was Amherst College. And the reason was, they had three alumni who were big league general managers. And so I thought if I couldn't play, I want it to be a big-league front office guy. And so that's what ultimately led me to Amherst College where I played college ball.
Brian Charlesworth 5:57
Okay, so this guy actually left the school because he was so frustrated that he couldn't bring you in.
Robert Lucido 6:05
Yeah, I mean, I'll be frank, I was actually in the bathroom when he called me and I was like, crap, what do I do, and I picked up and I was like, hello. And he just blurted out with a, he's like, Don't come to Richmond, you know, he's not going to give you an offer, you're going to be a walk-on, you'll never play is like, just listen to me, I'm leaving the school. So that was that. I went to college and college was his own experience. It didn't exactly go out of plan. And eventually, I didn't actually even play my senior year in college, but I played summer ball, and summer balls where I really turned some heads. And that's where I got interested. And, you know, the old adage is, you never know who's watching. And I was having a good year, I was actually an all-star. I was one of three division three players in the league. And three or four. I've made the all-star team, I lead the league in a bunch of offensive categories. And just coincidentally, a guy saw me play who was a retired Scout, one call led to another got a few workouts, and that's what ultimately led to being drafted by the Blue Jays.
Brian Charlesworth 7:05
Okay, that's awesome. So, such a challenging time to get there. One of the things you mentioned, is timing. And I've had some of that in my career as well, like, first time, I have a company that we raised over $60 million. And guess what happened? What the.com bubble burst, right? 2001, tech went from so inflated to, like, nearly impossible growth. So, you know, timing is something we can't necessarily play into the best of the best, maybe they’re able to do that, because they just have this sixth sense that, you know, drives them
Robert Lucido 7:46
Some of its time, but it's also about putting yourself there and being positioning yourself to take advantage of that timing. I'm reading Steve cases book now founder of AOL, and they secured their first partnership with Apple, it didn't actually go according to plan, but that's how they got their foot in the door. They secure their first off a partnership deal with Apple. And it was only because Steve Jobs had been relieved the service he'd been fired. And so the new management agreed to license the apple brand. And Steve Case in his own book says this deal never would have happened, they would have never licensed their brand. If for that just one, you know, fortunate scenario, which was unfortunate for jobs but fortunate for him. But in order to take advantage of that opportunity. He moved out to the west coast, he rented a one bedroom apartment, and he went to Apple's headquarters every day for six months until finally he got in the door.
Brian Charlesworth 8:37
Well, even Steve Jobs, though, like, unfortunate for him at that time, but how much stronger? Did he come back?
Robert Lucido 8:44
I mean, yeah, exactly. I mean, it sucks to go through it, you hate going through those times, and they tend to break you down. But I mean, I've basically learned and train myself that those are the times I love because I know it's like, what, what's to learn here? Like, what's the message? How can I make myself better? And you always come out, you know, harder.
Brian Charlesworth 9:03
What's the growth? What's the outcome? What's, what's the positive outcomes gonna come from this? Right,
Robert Lucido 9:07
Exactly. And so I mean, if I hadn't struggled early on in my career, like, you know, not to be immodest, but I was always the hardest worker on the team first arrived, last leave. You know, my senior year, I, shortest guy in the team, or junior year in college, I squatted over 100 pounds heavier than the next closest guy. Like, I want all the strength categories. I mean, it was my goal, and I was determined to do whatever I could to accomplish it. And so those, you know, sources of adversity, standing between where I wanted to go and I mean, of course, we’re actually wanted to end up which was the big leagues, which didn't happen, but that's really shaped who I am.
Brian Charlesworth 9:48
Yeah, it's obvious, so we're gonna take it one step further, we went to the Blue Jays.
Robert Lucido 9:54
I went to the Blue Jays I played for the Blue Jays for two seasons was an absolute dream come true. At St Time was incredibly stressful. I mean, think about like, you know, real estate's competitive, it's incredibly saturated with people like, at the same time, it's like, the complete opposite for baseball, because there are so few positions. And there's 40% turnover every year. You know, every day could be your last and that sense of like, you know, you're always, you know, at least in my position, you're, you know, you're weren't a guy that signed for millions of dollars in the first round. Your back was always against the wall, and you're doing whatever you could to get in the lineup. And if you got in that lineup, you're giving everything you could to try to get in the lineup the next day. So I played for Blue Jays for two years. We made to the championship in our first season, which was the first time they had reached the championship, I think ever in that league. We won game one game, we lost game two by a run, we ended up losing to the Red Sox. So I went back, I got released in my second season. And I mean, in its own right, I got resigned by the Texas Rangers where I played for one season. And then I played for an independent ball for a year after that.
Brian Charlesworth 11:03
Okay. So, I mean, you've spent your whole life Robert like baseball, I know just from coaching. I coached competitive basketball for kids growing up, and all the kids on my team that also played competitive baseball, baseball was always top priority, like baseball is year-round. You're always, you know, competing, it's your life through training. So how do you go from your whole life being baseball to now? Okay, what am I going to do? Right, that that had a moment of Okay, you know, I was built, I'm guessing in your mind, you were built to be a baseball star. And now, maybe not sure. A little bit short, but But now, like, what's his great thing you're gonna do with your life? Because I know, I know somebody as competitive as you like, you want to make great things happen?
Robert Lucido 11:59
Yeah, so I mean I went through it twice. So I got released by the Blue Jays. And obviously, that crush because it, it came and you know, it lasted for almost two years, but it flew by. And all of a sudden, it's like, taken away from you. Like, you know, they say like, Don't make baseball your full identity. My dad told me that, like, every week, as as a Yeah, it's hard to do it when it's your sole focus like it's all you want in life. And so that came, you know, pulled away and I got released by a Blue Jays. It's like, Alright, what the hell do I do now. And I wasn't willing to walk away. And so less than 5% of high school players ever played pro ball. But if you get released in pro ball, only 1% of those ever get resigned. So if you get released, it's a kiss of death. And so I knew that I'm a numbers guy. So I knew that in the back of my mind. But I was, you know, I wasn't ready to walk away, I wanted to exhaust every possible opportunity. So, you know, I worked my network, just like, you know, all realtors worked your soI, you know, I worked my network, trying to get in touch with people. And ultimately, what it came down to was just cold calling. And there are no public numbers for the front office. So I would just call the stadiums and just bullshit my way through. You know, I would call ticketing or stadium operations. And I would just talk my way through. And so I remember when I did call the Texas Rangers Stadium, I called stadium operations. And, you know, I just said, Hey, I just got disconnected. Can you put me through to get one second, sir, I was like, Alright, now you very rarely ever get an answer? Once you get transferred over, I got transferred over a few times, I only got answered, answered twice. And a guy picks up he goes, hello. And I asked him who, you know, sorry, who's this? He goes, it's kid you call me. I was like, crap, I got him on the phone. So I just rolled. So I gave my elevator pitch, you know, established base level rapport told him about my situation. And he came back to me something that always stuck. He said, Listen, I'm in my office two days out of the entire year. And you caught me on one. He goes, I'm gonna give you a shot. I'm gonna call you next week after the winter meetings. And he did. And he invited me to spring training, because I put myself out there, push my way through talk myself to create that situation. And then the timing comes in the fact that he was just in that office that day. So So I went through the first time, I knew in my heart of hearts, it wasn't going to happen again. At that point, I was turning 26. If you're 26, you need to be at least double-A. And knowing the dynamics of how it all works, where basically big leaguers get pushed down to triple a, you know, and then you're pushing up the top, you kind of get squeezed out of the middle. And so basically, you need to be starting you need to be playing and you need to be get promoted every year. Otherwise, you're going to get, you know, asked to retire. Yeah, so I knew it wasn't gonna happen again at that point, you know? Now, that's where I kind of hit rock bottom. There's a lot of stuff that happened whether it was personal family health stuff, That coincided with that. And so that's where, you know, I was stuck in that, frankly, you know, you lose your identity, it's really tempting to get stuck in self-pity and so forth. So my career ended, I decided, you know what, out of college, I was going to go in the Marines, I was all set to go to OCS when I got drafted. So I was like, You know what, I always knew that. And still, it's going to be one of my biggest regrets. But I hung up the cleats moved back up to Maryland to be close to Quantico to go into the Marine Corps. And I thought it was, you know, again, you got to take three or six months to get ready get shipped out. And it took two years. So I had a sprained ankle, and I got sick while playing in Dominican Republic. And those two things held out my medical clearance for two years. And so I was stuck at home, I'm a guy that needs to be an action needs to be making progress. And sitting at home for a year waiting for the call from the Marines stuck in that that state. And so, looking back, that's not something I'll ever do again. Yeah.
Brian Charlesworth 15:57
So let's talk about rock bottom for a minute. Because I think we've all hit it. I know, I've hit it a few times in my life. What's rock bottom, for me may be different than rock bottom for somebody else. We all have our own journeys, but you're there. And so what's the next move? Like? How do you? How do you get out of that? Right? And how do you elevate your life was here? Now it's here? how did you make that happen?
Robert Lucido 16:20
Have you read 12 Rules for Life? Jordan Peterson?
Brian Charlesworth 16:23
I have not.
Robert Lucido 16:24
Alright, I'm gonna have to send you a copy. It's my favorite book. I've read it three times. Yeah, there's actually a second one just came out. I actually suggested it to someone who's a close friend, and, and they were so appreciative that they actually arranged for me to go out and meet the author, we all went out together, got incredible. I read that book three times when I was in that rock bottom state. And so I'm a big believer in basically, you know if I was gonna boil it down into one sentence, you know, life is full of suffering, it's inevitable, we're all going to hit challenges, adversity, whether it's from natural or whether it's from, you know, other people's malevolence, you need to have something to counterbalance it with. And so ultimately, the answer was the progress of some sort, you need to set a goal, and you need to make progress towards that, it can be a little goal. And then you go a little bit bigger than he, you know, but you need to be making some sort of progress, you have some level of fulfillment towards that end goal. And that's what it came down to me.
Brian Charlesworth 17:22
I think progress is happiness. mean, even, you know, so many people think I'm working to retire, right, working to retire. Well, if you're working to retire, when you retire, you're going to realize, it's not that glamorous, because you're not growing anymore, you're not making progress, you're not going to be happy. So, like, find something you're passionate about, and do it for life, right? 100 do something else for life but do it for life. Because the minute you sit your butt down in front of that TV, and that's your every day. That's when life sucks.
Robert Lucido 17:56
It does. And it's like short-term fleeting happiness, and a life of meaning, you know, a life of fulfillment, I really perceive those things as differently. I mean, you can pursue short-term happiness, you can go out and get hammered or whatever, have a good time one night. But in the heart of hearts, you know, if that's not getting any closer to something that would deliver full meaning and something that's sustaining, it's something that's going to help you grow and help you balance off that sense of suffering that so kind of look down the door around the corner, someone's going to get sick, you know, tragedy is going to hit, you need to have something to counterbalance that. So that's why I'm I'm like, super motivated in terms of pursuing meaning charting a goal charting a bigger goal, and working as hard as I can to get closer and closer to those big goals.
Brian Charlesworth 18:41
Yeah, so, you know, we could just end the podcast right here. And I think everyone's got the value that they came for today. But, but we're gonna keep going,
Robert Lucido 18:51
Hey, read that book. They don't need to listen to me. That's that books way better than I can do. It's unbelievable.
Brian Charlesworth 18:56
So I will download that book. I like to listen to my books. And what it allows me to multitask when I'm exercising or driving or something like that. But thank you for sharing that. I won't need to ask you that question at the end of this podcast today. So let's talk about the Lucido group. What do you guys up to? Is it the Lucido, Lucido Global Team? Right?
Robert Lucido 19:20
Yeah, absolutely. You know, we're, um, we're in a big transformation. Right now, we've been in that for the last last two years, we really saw a change coming in the market and we wanted to reposition ourselves. And we've been executing, you know, not just from a corporate level, but for all of our partners that comprise our business. So at the end of the day, it's always about helping our partners achieve their goal, and that's, you know, that's boilerplate or whatever. So, you know, what does that mean? Whatever it means to partner, everyone has goals, has family as friends, has priorities, money is just a tool. So what are they used? What do they want to do with it? So we sit down with our partners and, you know, an architect business plans for them. And then all those business plans, you know, ramp up ramp up to the corporate level. So if we're helping And then grow their business, grow their income provide for the family, it comes back to us. So that's kind of how we approach it right now.
Brian Charlesworth 20:05
Okay, so two things. First, you said you saw a change in the market? What is that? What changes do you see in the market, we're gonna, we're gonna look at the market, we're gonna look at the market for a minute, we're gonna come back to Lucido.
Robert Lucido 20:17
Alright, there's a ton of disruption. So we're in a hyper-competitive market here, we have big teams. But we also have a lot of disruption coming from the low end of the market, you know, discount brokerages, we have a few brokerages that actually lose money on the brokerage, and they make their money from the title, their title partner, which is a subsidiary. So we have disruption and competition where, you know, from all sides. And so the model that brought us to where we were in 2019, I mean, we went from 38 million in volume in 2008, to 800 million in that timeframe. And, you know, we saw basically contracting and margins, and that largely coming from competition on downside. But then also you have a disruption coming from technology, which can be a positive disruption. And so basically, we saw these, you know, market conditions shifting underneath the bus, and we wanted to reposition ourselves, and really take control of our destiny, rather than letting the market dictate, you know, our level of success. Okay. So we'll jump back to the team, and then we'll come back to the brokerage again. So you guys are you just said 800 million, that was, will be well over a billion this year. Okay. So I was gonna say you're approaching a billion, but it sounds like it'll be over a billion this year. So congratulations, by the way, there are not many teams that can say they're over a billion, I was actually looking at our Sisu customer lists just last week, because I had a coaching company say, Hey, you know, like, do you have 10 teams that are over 100 million. And, you know, he's like, we like get a sample data conversion ratios from those teams. So I look see how many teams we have over 100 million, or hundreds of teams, over 100 million. And I think that says a lot about where this industry is going back that we this company that just started two years ago, we have hundreds of teams doing over 100 million in volume, I remember when that was like everyone's goal of I can only get to 100 million in volume. Okay, you remember when that was your goal. I mean, I wasn't in the company when the goal was 100 million. And that was, I was still in college at that point. I mean, I can't take credit for everything that my parents, you know, all the other rest of the management team, and every, you know, every part of this organization is created. You know, I've been here for the last two years. And, you know, I've been really proud and, and humbled to contribute in the ways I have for the last two years. But I certainly can't take credit for the first 700 million in production.
Brian Charlesworth 22:44
All right, so you've been focused on systems operations, let's talk about that, like, what are some things that you're doing that that are making a difference?
Robert Lucido 23:03
For us, it all comes down to the value of time. So our target agent, we know we have agents across the entire spectrum. But if you're gonna ask me who are models really, really, really good for, it's the agent that is approach approaching their capacity. You know, solo agent, typically, we see a solo agent reaching capacity around 40 units in a calendar year. But we don't stop there. Because again, like if you're comfortable doing 40 units a year, and you just want to manage your whole business yourself, like, you know, you don't really want to do any other things and you want, you know, you're 100% there's a lot of other options in our market. We want someone that doesn't just want to real estate, you know, a real estate job. We want someone that wants to have a career and wants to have a true business and wants to become, you know, go from being a realtor to a business operator. That's where we thrive. You know, we help people not just be do brokerage. But to get rental properties, you know, we had a conversation with one that's has graduated for the rental properties is now pursuing multifamily assets. So we help people not just grow an incredible real estate business, you know, where they're not capped at 40 units where they, you know, 100 100 Plus, our goal is to get people to grossing over a million dollars, just from their brokerage business, but then it's like, what do they want to do with that? And because of our network, because of Bob and Tracy's experience, we have the connections and the experience in place to help them avoid paying the dummy tax. So it's you built an incredible business, we're partners and helping you get that scale, get that leverage, get that level of support and tools, you need to have a business that throws off a million dollars for you. What else do you want to do with it? How can we help you develop a true real estate business that way?
Brian Charlesworth 24:42
Okay, so I think most teams focus on bringing in an agent and helping an agent get to 100 or 200 or $300,000 in income, whereas you guys are a little bit different. you're focused on bringing in these high performing agents that may be a little bit tapped You're saying, Let us help you get to a million dollars,
Robert Lucido 25:03
I guess, you know, the way I was thinking of before it's like, kind of call them like forest agents. So we want people that can see the forest through the trees. In other words, there are tons of agents that see the trees and say, Oh, I want 90%, or I want 100% of that unit. Because they kind of perceive like a, you know, a self-limiting principle around it, where they think in the back of their mind, they're only capable of doing 2030 or 40, or whatever it may be. Yeah, we really want the people that say, you know, I don't want just 20, I want to grow each year, and I want to get to a million, I want to get to well over a million, I want to have an incredible level of financial freedom around it. So I can accomplish anything I want for myself, my family, and so forth. So that's what we're really focused on. Again, like our model is extremely competitive. We have agents, I mean, we just brought on, you know, two more new agents in the last two days. So we definitely have that we have tools and resources to help them grow. We brought on one agent that was a new agent, she's already in our top 10. We brought another one on last year that was new to the business. And he did several 100. You know, he made several 100,000 last year. So we have the tools and systems in place to help grow train and develop them. But we're really focused on again, our sweet spot is that person that's super hungry, and wants to go from just being a realtor to being a business operator. And that's a big mind shift there, as I'm sure you know.
Brian Charlesworth 26:20
Oh, yeah. And that's how you guys have 15 locations, right? So these people, you're actually turning them into teams, right? I mean, these are, what was the term you guys use for that?
Robert Lucido 26:32
So each location is a team? Yeah. Within the with the exception of Maryland, Maryland is balmaceda. Team. It's all one team. We're our own brokerage in Maryland. But each, we have locations throughout all we're in 15 states in Canada right now.
Brian Charlesworth 26:46
Okay. We're here talking about teams. You've talked about agents, getting them to the next level. I want to get your opinion on this. Robert. I think the industry is changing. I mean, you maybe more than most, you know, Gary Keller wrote a book, millionaire real estate agent, right mRNA book, but I don't know how long ago that was maybe 1520 years ago. That really is what sparked teams coming in into the industry in my opinion. And I think AWS far more teams than most brokerages, although a lot of brokerages now like they've built their entire business based on teams, rather than the traditional brokerage. So some of the newer brokerages, that's all they have are teams, they don't really have brokerages, their brokerage is a team. And so as I look at this evolving and developing, as I see some of these new brokerages coming out, I believe that teams are the future of real estate, meaning they will be the brokerage and I also believe that the solo agent is going to have a hard time continuing to compete, other than the super solid listing agents, right? Because they know how to generate their own business. So I want to get your opinion of that, and how else the industry changes, like, where are we going to be in two years, three years, four years?
Robert Lucido 28:04
You know, my sense is that it's the party right now. I mean, property values are skyrocketing money super cheap. You know, it's a seller's market. Maybe it's tough right now for buyer's agents that they're solely buyer's agents or so forth. But it's a party now. I mean, you're going to see a lot of solo agents succeeding right now. But the true test comes when the market turns. And you know, I'm sure you're a big believer in mean reversion, it's going to revert back to the mean, you know, it's not sustainable to continue at this trajectory. So I think you have two factors going on. The first is just the underlying macroeconomic conditions, and how that will impact the market. I mean, you can just look at, you know, different things such as spending interest rates, you could look at, you know, foreclosures that are looming, and so forth. You know, I think we're somewhat on a house on stilts, right now. And so the first thing is, is how are these solo agents going to be? And if the strength of the wolf is the pack, it will lead to your proposition that teams are the future. The second thing is just technology, you know, is a solo agent, as a team better positioned to take advantage of those technologies to form partnerships with technology companies to grow in tandem. You know, if you're a solo agent, even if you're you kick ass, and you're your solo agent, a solo agent making a ton of money, maybe they're doing 50 units, maybe they're doing 100 units. That's 100 units that relative to a team, which is doing 1000s, how much are you going to have? How much of your resources can you invest into your business? Get a piece of technology? If you make a phone call? Are you going to get or is the technology company going to pick up? So I think it's going to come down to those two things is first How well are you positioned to compete just based on the underlying market, but also how willing and able are you to take advantage of these disruptive technologies. I mean, if you just think this is how people used to search for homes. Yeah, I pulled that this was from
Brian Charlesworth 29:53
Awesome.
Robert Lucido 29:54
It's from years ago.
Brian Charlesworth 29:55
You know, if you go up to Island Park, Idaho, where I was this weekend, it's You know, stuff by Yellowstone and you still walk in any gas station and you have those sitting there. That's how people still. Now obviously, obviously, you know, you can go into I don't even know what the MLS is up there. I think I think Zillow is what people go into up there to look for homes. But
Robert Lucido 30:18
Crazy. I mean, I just wrote a piece for old trends that will come out in a few weeks. And I close it out not too much of a spoiler, but just looking at the trajectory of you know how technology is disrupted. I mean, 20 years ago, you couldn't use your computer and your phone at the same time. 25 years ago, it was illegal for most consumers to access the internet. So you go from illegal to only being able to use your phone or your computer at one time, 15 years ago, 15 to 10 years ago, you're using the newspaper search for properties where you have that little block and you're looking at the front exterior. Now you can be on the phone while searching for properties at a showing where they don't even have Wi Fi. And so if you think back, it's like, What if you were resistant to adopting, you know, a smartphone? You know, what if you're still using a flip phone, and I know people that still use flip phones, if you think about that one small example and then grow it out? I think that's kind of where we're at right now. Whereas if you're still resistant to adopting these technologies, or at least your company, to adopting and implementing these technologies, how, how are you going to be able to position to compete, and I and I believe that the companies that are resistant are going to, you know, join the line of the companies that were, you know, once robust, but now dwindling, as these new market movers whether they're new to the industry, or incumbents, but are more adaptive incumbents? I think those are the people that are going to soar.
Brian Charlesworth 31:42
Yeah, there's no doubt. I mean, if you look, I grew up with a dad who me and a few different businesses, but he ended up building a real estate company actually had his brokerage. I don't remember how many agents I would guess maybe around 50 to 100 agents. But still the MLS back then, like, it was paper. Right. So and then it moved to being the way it is today. Yeah, even like, just going through what I went through over the last week, and having a report built within Sisu to show how many of our teams are doing over 100 million. Like you can go back 20 years, and there were probably no teams that 400 million, right? Well, number one teams didn't even exist, probably. But you couldn't run a business the same way you can now. So you've talked about technology being the advantage for some of these companies over like solo agents, and what are some of the key technologies that you think people need to have in their businesses. Obviously, we're specifically talking about real estate at this moment.
Robert Lucido 32:48
For us, it boils down to and I mentioned this before value of time, everyone focuses on their annual income goal. And it's this abstract thing. But really, you need to architect and model it back in terms of time, because time is the ultimate equalizer. You know, whether you're a new agent, you know, fresh out the gate, or whether you're a veteran of 25 years making 500 grand, you still only have 24 hours in the day. And so at some point, there's no more time you can't work more so you got to work smarter. And so when you really boil it down to I can give you like one example. We have our ISS and our agents and our leads division on a dialer. And this dialer will not only dial the numbers for them but also leave pre-recorded voicemails, if they don't answer. It will, it has all these different functionalities, they can leave quick notes. So they can indicate the quality of the call. It interacts automatically with different smart plans. If you go down the list of all the things all the time, it saves for each agent or I say, you know, for an hour of calls, saving about 20 minutes of their time, and things that they used to have to do manually leaving a 15-second voicemail for every person that doesn't answer. So it's like those little things where you leverage technology that leads to a lot of dollars in return on investment. We blast out success stories from our lead gen division. And when you properly leverage technology, and you have a success, you know, we had a success, I was $21,000 success, why we got a response from a client who wants to list their house and his $21,000 Commission. It took one free text message from us. And so when you properly leverage technology, the return on investments huge, not just in terms of cost management optimization of time, but also you know, automating different strategies to make yourself more effective. So right now we're really gung ho on our CRM utilization is a lead gen initiative. And so,
Brian Charlesworth 34:43
Yeah, okay. I think it's great example, and, you know, again, going back in time, people didn't have I say, you go back just five years ago, there were very few I mean, they were people were starting to talk he were talking about ISAs but Most people didn't have I think last year was kind of a year based on my experience in this industry, which I work with and speak with a lot of team owners. And it seems like last year, everyone's like, building out a nice, it's like, I need to generate my own leads.
Robert Lucido 35:13
Well think about the disruption. I mean, for most teams, most individual agents, a primary source of lead gen is your open house. open houses, gone? Okay. What's next? Alright, well, face to face interactions, meeting people out in stores gone. listing, consultations, getting referrals from, it's like, gone. So it's like you take out all these interpersonal things on how human beings are built. You know, how do you, you know, how do you survive that disruption? We are fortunately ahead of the curve where there is a program and we just turned put gas on the fire last year. But you're 100% right. I mean, again, disruptions come suffering. You know, adversity comes How do you pivot? How do you adjust? And that was a huge disruption. I mean, fortunately, real estate yield was still a good year, just due to macroeconomic stuff. But still, I mean, you did see a bifurcation of teams and agents that struggled, and the other ones that really excelled. Yeah, because they're positioned with the, you know, the systems, the resources, the personnel to capitalize on that, you know, there was a vacancy in the market where people weren't positioned to capitalize on it, they, they didn't have an ice age division, they didn't have lead funnels coming in, they didn't have the systems and nurturing, qualifying and setting appointments. So we fortunately did. So we were able to do that remotely. And we had a really strong year.
Brian Charlesworth 36:30
Yeah, it's, again, it's one of things I love about what I do is, we got to experience a lot of our customers have their best years ever, in fact, most of them did. And, you know, if you step outside and go look at people who are playing, playing ball the traditional way, they didn't have such breakers. So, alright, let's talk about this acquisition. You guys did, Robert, you recently announced an acquisition in Inman, tell us more about that? What does that mean to you guys within your business? Why'd you guys do that?
Robert Lucido 36:59
Yeah. So this is a big credit to our COO Jack, Jack Mazz, he as well as Andrea Leslie and Carol Delgado, who are directors of growth. They bootstrapped and really pounded the pavement for three years on this deal. They're a team out in the Midwest, covering three states, with over 50 team members. And so earlier this year, they joined Lucido Global, so we not only brought on three states, but our partners, bringing all our systems to them. And they're already seeing dividends paid off of it. I mean, we're growing our referral network. I mean, the first day that we announced a merger, we already sent two referrals back and forth on the first day. So you know, by nature of having such a large reach, you know, we're covering 15 states in Canada, we're sending pieces of business across everywhere, we really see ourselves not just as, you know, 50 teams, but one company. So we really try to drive as much collaboration and synergy as possible across our teams.
Brian Charlesworth 37:54
Okay, so we have I don't know how many, but I would guess a very high percentage of people listening to this podcast, are team owners, or broker-owners. So maybe you're attracting team owners to come in and be a part of Lucio global? What is the benefit? benefit to the team? owner? Yeah, yeah, like you have these guys. They're your audience. Why should they?
Robert Lucido 38:17
Absolutely, I mean, you know, and we're bringing on so we have a minimum standard, in order to entertain a conversation, we know, we're not going to start at a location from zero. But within that we have a big range, whether it's 10 million, whether it's, you know, a team up in Canada 15 million, double the last two years a year, or whether it's, you know, the teams around the Midwest, and I think they're at 400 million last year. You know, it's sign it sounds, you know, abstract sounds like it's just, you know, blowing smoke up your ass. Some people just say it's our systems or whatever. But when you really sit down the devils in the details, I can walk you through like a litany of different examples of how we do that. So our track record team joins us in Canada, they double their first year, they've already doubled through June this year. So it's about you know, taking our proven systems or models, the way we were structured, where we allocate resources, how we allocate resources, and also our brand, our reach, you know, yeah, it would be a really long conversation to substantiate all these different points. But really what that's what it comes down to is like, how does a business operate well? Well, you could just say systems. Yeah, well, there's truth to that. Like, it's important how a business operates like, so as well, although it sounds like you know, everyone says that. That's really what it's been for us. It's how do you run a business? This is how we run our business. This is how we're going to help you do the same thing. This is how we're going to use our scale and our reach to make it even easier for you.
Brian Charlesworth 39:46
Great. Okay. So we just have a few minutes left. You know, I just want to ask you a few personal questions. Oh, now that your life is no longer baseball like what's your favorite thing to do in your personal time today?
Robert Lucido 39:59
Right now, a lot of work and working out. I mean, I'm gearing up to move down to Florida. So for the last year, I've just been in grind mode, you know, simply focus. I'm happy when I'm working. So I'm not, I'm not the kind of guy that wants to work nine to five, and then just take the weekends off. You know, was there's some quote that an entrepreneur is the only person that will work like 80 hours to avoid working 40. Yeah. So I'm happy right now, you know, of course, I do social things, go out with friends go out to eat on the weekends, and so forth. But I'm really happy when I'm working, accomplishing getting closer to a goal contributing to the company, helping out the family and so forth.
Brian Charlesworth 40:38
Awesome. Okay. And do you have a favorite place that you'd like to travel?
Robert Lucido 40:43
I played in Japan when I was younger. I love that. I love South Africa. I went there, I dove with great whites. You know, hike Table Mountain, there's so much to do went on a mini Safari, play with Cheetos and stuff. I love South Africa. So I mean, I I like to travel and it's on my bucket list. Again. It's like grind mode right now. So I can start experiencing them. But I guess South Africa would be my number one. I just had a really good experience there. Yeah, that's
Brian Charlesworth 41:07
a good one. We actually had some friends want us wanting us to go to South Africa a couple years ago. And we haven't been yet there's been a lot of chaos in the world and made it difficult to get there. But you know, I'll send you an itinerary.
Robert Lucido 41:19
I mean,
Brian Charlesworth 41:19
it's good to hear.
Robert Lucido 41:20
It's, you can do so much in that in that little space. I mean, there's beaches, obviously, we're out there on the same boat that the Shark Week. So we're out there diving off seal Island. So you see 1000s of seals, and you're just seeing these great white circle. It's just an unbelievable experience.
Brian Charlesworth 41:36
Wow. Okay, with all like real estate, just seeing the shark circle. You know, I think you gave some good advice earlier, just around identity, because like your identity was around baseball, I think a lot of us our identity can easily become who we are professionally. I don't I don't think anybody wants to get to that. But I think that can easily happen. But what's the most important piece of advice you would give to our listeners today, just in closing out?
Robert Lucido 42:06
I guess, you know, if I'm talking to someone that is in that, you know, in that rock bottom or near rock bottom place, just to do something. So I think back in so many different opportunities that came my way from like a secondary thing. So I did one thing which led to one thing, which led to this big opportunity. And you're sitting there like you're kind of if you don't have any forward progress, you're sitting there and it's like Poor me. Or maybe if it's not poor me, but you just don't even know what direction to go in. Just start moving. It's like you're on a bike. If you don't move you're gonna fall over. So I know you're a bikers, you appreciate that?
Brian Charlesworth 42:42
Yep. Everything right?
Robert Lucido 42:44
Yeah, do something. And that's something you'll find an opportunity there. And even if you don't you just at least on something, you're gonna feel better about yourself. But I guarantee you just by doing something, it's going to lead to the next opportunity, which leads the next opportunity. And next thing you know, I mean, when I started with the family company, it was because we had a mergency where they had to let someone go, and I had to come in to schedule photos for our listings. Like, that's how I got started here. And it was because I was stuck at home waiting to hear from the Marines. They call me like, we need a big favor. I was like, tell me what you need. So that's how I got started. So I was stuck in that place. And ultimately, just something I never thought I was doing. I was like, you know, former professional baseball player went to a really high-level school that I came in, the first thing I was gonna do was schedule photos. So it's fine, do something which leads the next thing which leads to the next thing.
Brian Charlesworth 43:31
Yeah. Great advice. How do people get ahold of you, Robert, if somebody wants to reach out, I'm sure people are gonna have questions for you guys. You guys have done a lot of great things. So what's the best way to reach you?
Robert Lucido 43:42
You can email me at RobertLucido@lucidoglobal.com.
Brian Charlesworth 43:48
Okay, awesome. Well, everyone, thanks for joining us on another episode of the Grit podcast. been great having you with us today. Robert, thank you so much for joining. And it's also been great getting to know you over the last several months and grateful to have you as a seasoned customer. So, again, everybody watch for the show next week if you haven't go out and give us a five star review. That helps us bring people like Robert onto the show. So we'll catch up with everyone next week. Thanks for joining.
Robert Lucido 44:18
Thanks, Brian.
