Scaling to $100M: The Systems and Mindset of Monique Walker

0:00Welcome everyone back to the power half hour. Today we have my mentor superstar out of Scottsdale, Arizona. Yes sir. And we've been, you know, just on this journey of real estate together. I mean, I met her in 2012-13 and she was already crushing it. Now she is 23 years in the business selling millions and millions in real estate in Scottsdale, Arizona. Today she's going to share with us exactly how we're going to succeed for the rest of 2025 into 2026. So welcome, Monique Walker. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thank you. And yes, I love selling real estate in Scottsdale, but I also sell in 20 other smaller cities and towns. Okay. So that's Phoenix, right, Paris Valley, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, like the list kind of goes on and on in our county.

1:02And we truly service almost every city in our in our Maricopa County. Just just so you all know. Okay, so not just Scottsdale because I know you as the Scotts Scottsdale agent, but there's 20 other offices are in Scottsdale. Scottsdale is a pretty long rectangle, but pretty small. Oh, yeah. And encompasses, I mean, maybe like a tenth of our population or, you know, maybe it may be 15%. Why is it so prominent on the map like people talk about it all the time? Why is that? I think that's because that's where all the exclusive resorts are, you know, the fancy restaurants, entertainment. You know, that's where all our luxury market is. That in Paradise Valley. That in Paradise Valley. Okay. But 20 more cities around there. Exactly. Got you. Okay. So do you still drive way out like 30, 40 minutes to a listing appointment?

2:03Or do you keep it right inside that? Yeah. Let's see. I'm this so far this year. I've done almost 70 transactions. And I would tell you that those are the majority of them are within like a 30 mile radius. Amazing. Okay. That takes me pretty far. Only takes you pretty far. Okay. So that would be would that be like a 30 40 minute drive? Correct. Got you. Okay. Like you guys like our traffic is pretty. I call it like easy living here in like the Scottsdale area. Traffic is still pretty mild if it's like earlier than one o'clock to a clock. Yeah. Want to one side of the city to the other. It's probably like an hour and a half. So you can you can cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. Yeah. Yeah. So how much of you on the road on a daily basis? I mean, I'm usually going like yesterday I went to two appointments. Okay.

3:03So you know, one in Paradise Valley and one in Cave Creek. Okay. So and those are like my favorite days. Like if I can prospect in the morning, right? And then those the people in the afternoon. Perfect. What a what a perfect day and then play tennis in between. Hello. That's perfect. That's a perfect day. We need to live our best life and you're there now. Um, mornings are forgetting business. Lunches are for tennis and then afternoons are forget for doing business. I love that. Or some weights just like you do. I like to I like to get a little lift on as well. I love that. But yes, that's that's the perfect schedule on my mentor, Kathy Anderson, one of the Mike Ferry coaches. You just told me like you can you can have it all. You can have to be really disciplined. Yeah. Maybe not all at the same time, but you can see more about that. I just read somewhere today. Hard work and your dreams are bridged by discipline. How do you develop discipline for yourself?

4:06Gosh, that is I'm so glad that you're asking me this question because I read. I quote from Jim Rohn. And I want to read it to you. So it says motivation is what gets you started, right? Our motivation. We're like, we want to be great agents. We want to make a whole lot of money. We want to serve all these people. But habit, right? Habit is what keeps you going. So it's the ability to create good habits. And I'm so grateful for the Mike Ferry organization because they truly showed me how to do it. Right? And to just start small like, okay, Monique, let's go two hours. You know, when I first started two hours, let's just go 10 contacts. Right? And then in the afternoon, let's just, you know, doorknoc. 10 people if you don't have appointments because I didn't have any appointments. Right. And then you did that for a month and then you increase. Right. You can do 12. Oh, that's scary.

5:07You know, and then, of course, there's one point in time, like maybe 10 years ago, where I was like, okay, I was doing 50 contacts. Right? I was doing on a lot of unqualified appointments. But just so that I could get the practice because my coaches like see anybody that will book an appointment with you. Practice, practice, practice, practice the pre-qualification, practice identifying personality styles. Right? Practice, you know, your closings, versatility. Right? And I'm grateful that now I'm at a point where, okay, I get to choose. Be a little bit more selective, right? On the sources, you know, the type of business. Not too much. I love taking listings really and servicing people. I always say, my criteria is you're kind, you're motivated, and you have equity. Hey, the last one's the most important, guys. Let's be honest here.

6:07Okay. If you have no equity, you know, it's hard to help. It really is. At the end of the day, you might be just saving them from losing their shirt. But you really, there's not much you can do, okay? So motivated kind and have equity. I love that. Okay. 23 years. So you started when you were 12. That's great. Exactly. Thank you. But, um, listen, you've gone through a few cycles here. Yeah. How do you stay so resilient, um, and just keeping your head in the game all these years? Yeah. Oh, so many things I can say is, I mean, so my, the way my team is structured is my husband is my operations manager. And he has been that for me for the last 12 years. So I am the breadwinner. I have a lot of responsibility. Sure. Sure. I have nine people on my team, right? So if I know that if I can do my job at a really high level, all of my people, that's

7:09including my family, can succeed. So I have, I have a lot of motivation, whether it's, you know, the financial commitments that we have, um, the, the things that I still want, because there's a lot of things that I haven't purchased yet that I, that most people think, oh, money, you've already done this and this. No, we've probably sacrificed more than 90% of the agents out there. Not to say it's the right way, it's just the way we did it. Yeah. We saved a lot. We invested well. Um, we were conservative. Um, so they're, for me, John, there's so many things that I still want to have that I'm still in that phase. Yeah. So that, that sounds like to me the financial commitments and everything like that is not so much. I, I would think it's not motivation. It's, it's accountability. Accountability. Yeah. Absolutely. Because, uh, motivation is easy when you are held accountable. Yes. Right. So tell me a more about what, what more do you want?

8:10Because you have a, uh, an amazing career already in real estate 23 years. Most people would have quit. Not most people quit 87% before two years. And then there's another wave of quitters on 10 to five years. Yeah. You've gone through that. So what's next for Monique? Gosh. So, you know, right now, no, I'll throw it out there. So I'm like, I'm getting the new car. I'm so excited. We're shopping for the new house. We've been in our house. Yeah. For the last 20 years. And I see that because like perception is not always reality. Right. Like we've, again, it's like a lot of sacrifice. But man, I'm so excited to do all the things. None. You know, we've been able to have the girls go their in public school now, but they were in private school for a few years. And they, that was a really good foundation for them. So going back to like, there is the financial commitment and the accountability.

9:10And then there's the inspiration. So you can always see my cross. And you know, like I wake up every day thinking like, I am so excited to serve. Like this. Not only is this obviously how I make my income and my family eats and enjoys life. But it's also like my service to the community because I love it. I enjoy it. I love building relationships. I love maintaining them. And I feel so blessed that like God has given me that opportunity to do that. And then, you know, all the obviously all the financial benefits that we get from it is just amazing. Yeah, really. It's about serving. And I would assert that if you stayed in your house right now, I mean, you're good. I think financially you're good. Am I correct on that? Yes. And you want more because you want to serve more people. That is so great because I believe that if you're not growing, you're dying. Yes. What keeps you in that mindset of growth?

10:12You know, today, for example, I had a mastermind group at eight. Started my calls earlier than that. Then I mastermind at eight. Had like an hour to make more calls. My prospecting calls. I had another mastermind at nine thirty. Right. And now I'm with you. It's it's the people around me. I'm around high achievers all the time. Like they won't allow me to fail. I love that proximity. You know, like every single day, like, did you do your contacts? And I'm like, oh, no, I didn't. I do what's going on, you know, but I have that accountability. So it's it's really it doesn't matter if you're 15 and 16 like my daughters. It's so important. We tell them like surround yourself with people that are going to lift you up. Seems like you're lifting a lot of people up. Find people that are like minded. It's the same thing. Even if you're 47 years old, just like you said, just you have to keep growing. And how do you do that? Align yourself with people. So I'm so inspired by my like nine thirty mastermind call because they're they're doing some of them double the

11:13double the production that I'm doing. Wow. Right? And so that's so inspiring. How, you know, like, how are you doing that? And how can I do that? Keeping the fun lifestyle, being a mom, you know, that's obviously part of the business plan. Is that, you know, I get to be involved in everything that I want to be involved with with my kids. I love that. Yeah. It's really about aligning yourself with people who are in that growth mindset. And, you know, keeping yourself involved with them. And you feel like if I'm not doing my part, I'm going to be left behind. So, you know, guys, really proximity is power. You want to be in a room of big thinkers, big players. And if you're the smartest in the room, you're probably in the wrong room. So, you know, kudos to you for keeping that going. Tell me more about sacrifice. You brought that word up three to four times already. What sacrifices have you made in your career to become successful?

12:13Right. So, we, we, we're, I would tell you that we're overstaffed in my opinion. But I love it because our, our clients get such good service. And so, we have, we, not that I, not that I don't promote virtual assistance, but we just choose not to have them. We like to have people that our clients can call, that understand the area, that know their, you know, their house, that are intimate with their file. So, serving at a, at a high level for our clients is, is, is totally pivotal. And you're going to have to take me back to that question because I lost my train of thought. Oh, sacrifice. Because you kept saying word sacrifice. Yeah. Right. So, it's always, I guess, you know, to a fault we put the business first. You know, making sure that it's profitable, that are, that our agents are doing well. Right. That, that obviously we have a good staff. So, in terms of our spending, you know, we've been, like, frugal.

13:16We've been frugal spenders. And, but I'm so excited because now it's the season, right. There's a season of doing that for like 20 years. Wow. Now, my perspective is totally different than my husband's. Okay. So, I'm the spender. How about that? What, how is it different between you two? Oh, gosh. So, expressive, um, quadruple analytical. And that's why he's in the operations. It's a great match. It's a great match. It's a great, he like reels me in and I'm like, no, we can do this. And he's like, no, you can't, you know, let's wait for another six months. I'm like, you're killing me. So, it's, it's the game in the Yang. Um, I love him. Do I wish it was, you know, a little bit different? Of course, you know, not everything's perfect. But I absolutely think that, um, we have put ourselves in such a good position that we're able to comfortably, you know, purchase, you know, the things that we really are excited about and, and for the kids, you know, as well. Amazing. So, really staying financially disciplined for 20 years.

14:17Yes. So, you never really bought into what Mike says. Uh, get a bigger house every three years and buy a nicer car every year. I'm not going to say that's not a good idea. It just hasn't been that lifestyle for me. Like, if, if I was on my own, my husband always laughs at me. Like, honey, if we weren't together, you would have like the bends and the, you know, the big house already. Yeah, of course I would. And I would have already bought, you know, my mama house and, you know, all the things. Wow. But, you know, in, in a relationship, you know, sometimes that's the case with our clients. Like, you, um, you have to make adjustments and be versatile. You know, so that's been, um, my versatility challenge. And, um, I'll, I'll be happy to report something different, you know. I'm looking for a new house for sure. For, yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah, that's going to be exciting. And going, just, but going back to like how, you know, it's, it's, I'd love to share some, like, affirmations and things that help me build my confidence as a younger agent.

15:21Hmm. Okay. So we, like, Kathy Anderson calls these Kathy isms. Okay. So if you want to write some of this stuff down, this is, this is kind of cool. Oh. She said, if it's to be, it's up to me. Okay. That's like a Tracy Brian one. These are some. Yeah, yeah. And then she would say, you know, and you just have to kind of move on. You want to, you have to just, you know, maybe she said, turf the weenies. That's what she said. That's the weenies. Her for weenies. Her for weenies. Her for weenies. Like, keep moving forward. Next. Maybe a better way to say it is next, right? Another thing. Are you a collector or a converter? Who? Yeah. Don't be, don't be a collector. Convert. Convert. Go to the next, right? Love that. And life, there's only two outcomes. You either win or you learn. Hmm. That's a good one for the kids. Tell them that one. That one. Beautiful. Beautiful.

16:21Once it's an appointment, John, it stays an appointment. So if you're not good at lead follow up, follow this strategy. So you got an appointment. They don't sign a contract with you. Okay. I understand. It's a big decision. You're not ready to do it now after you try to close five times. When Mr. Seller, can I follow back up with you next week? Hmm. All right. So it stays an appointment. You know, if you don't get the signature. Next, people are being their best. They can be, they can be at the moment in time. I'm trying to do their best. So give, give a little grace as you, as you do the business. You know, with your fellow realtors, you know, with your staff, right? With your clients. Are you being, are you doing it weekly? Spell W E E Kelly what K L Y? Do you, do you do something weekly? On a weekly basis or weekly?

17:22L B A K L Y. That's right. Wow. Okay. Probably one of my favorites. Like, who are, who are you being? You know, people have an expectation. I think you, you rise up to the occasion so well. So as salespeople, we ask enough questions to uncover their expectations and then step into the role and become who they need you to be. So who are you being? Who? How do I want to show up? How do I want to show up like right now? How do I want to show up when I'm playing tennis with my daughter? You know, how do I want to show up on that listing appointment tonight? Amazing. Thank you for those kathy isms, guys. Please take notes. You know, write them out and chant them on a daily basis. That was great. Thank you for sharing those. Let me tell you one more because I said this already like three times today. We create in the direction of our emotion. So I, I had this really strong goal that I told my mastermind two weeks ago.

18:28I'm like, I want to have my best, my best quarter, this fourth quarter. I had kind of a average third quarter. I didn't have momentum. I had no idea where the business was going to come from. Oh. And I just said, you know what? I just, I want, I'm going to declare it, but I felt it. Like I felt it in my heart. I was, I'm excited about it. I wrote down like a con, I wrote down 25 numbers right in a little line. So I have to fill, fill that each number like with a, with a seller. And then I'm going to, so I'm going to list 25 or more. I'm going to close 25 or more. And guess what? I'm already at nine. And we're barely 10 days in. And holy moly, we're only 10 days in. Like, this didn't happen to be last month, by the way. Yeah. But I was like, emotionally, I said it, you know, like I committed to it. And then my emotions backed it up. So that's important.

19:28You are such a superstar. Um, I mean, as competitive as they come. Is this from tennis? Hunter present. Hunter present. Yeah. This is a trained and learned behavior. But I probably, Nate, I really enjoy the competition. I think it's fun. And I, and I keep it fun. And I keep it light most of the time. The only time. And we've talked about this before. Is when you start comparing. Oh, right. The thief of joy. Don't do that. But for the most part, I keep it fun and competitive. So, so okay. Tell me more about competitive. Being competitive versus being comparing with others. Yes. Where are you competing against? Well, I'm competing against myself, right? Because I have, I have that sheet of paper that I'm competing with. I need to fill those lines up. You said a goal. That's what I'm competing against.

20:2925 and Q4. Exactly. Love that. Love that. Or more, John, because I wouldn't be surprised if more happens. Yes. 25 or more. Don't limit yourself. Always chant 25 or more. I love that. I love that. So we got to know the competitive side, the sacrifices you made, the discipline that you have, and the resilience that you have all these years. It's all about serving people. Yeah. You know, something all up for me is that how you and your team right now. Is succeeding in a down market where it's been a down market for three years? I know. So I would say, I mean, we were at, for three years, we were at like 210 transactions. You know, as a team, we're at 90. We're definitely lower than the past. My team's a young team, so we've been together most of us for a little less than a year. And so it's a lot of, you know, right now, I think it's like a lot of coaching,

21:31a lot of encouraging, helping them keep their schedule to their schedule. So my team and I, we zoom together Monday through Thursday. Wow. And we make calls together from eight to 11 Monday through Thursday. Like you on Zoom. Yes. Okay. Yeah. I love that. So occasionally I'll hear something and I'm like, hey, try this. Remember this script. I'm going to email to you. Like, let's, let's practice it real quick. Just 30 seconds. Boom. They're ready. And then at 11 o'clock, we have a coaching call to talk about, obviously, how their calls went. And then get prepared for the afternoon appointments. So it's not, it's not easy, right? This, this business has, it's been difficult. This summer was difficult. It was hard. I mean, it was slow. And I was like, making contacts. And I, but I will tell you that the first quarter was awesome. And I got a little complacent.

22:31My contacts dropped. Second, third quarter. Pretty average, right? And then about a month and a half ago before the my career retreat, I told my coach. I said, that's it. I'm back. I'm back to old school Monique. Being really disciplined, 30 contacts. But to you, just 30 conversations at a really high level, right? Usually helps me accomplish all the goals. Prospecting solves all your production and even mindset problems. Really guys, I mean, if you're feeling down, go ahead and prospect. If you're going to turn the brain off and just make the calls and go and go serve the public. Like, how can I help somebody today? It'll make you feel so good, like, right away. You know, the secret to living is giving. And if you are serving other people, you're not going to be worried about your own troubles. And how do you serve people is going out there and talk to more people. And you are showing your team and leading by example every single day because you are making the calls.

23:36And they're making the calls with you. Correct. There's really no magic in a market where it's going like this. It's just work. Would you agree with that? Not. Absolutely. It's just having more conversations. You know, if anything, it's like, my lead follow up, I've been more present. I'm my coach, Tony Smith. He's like, Monika, are you being a good catcher? So when we get incoming calls, slowing it down, giving them 100% of my focus. Right? I don't know why this is, but we're such good fishers. You know, we love to go and catch fish, yes, and hunt. You know, but the sweet part of the business is when you get come with me, right? Yes. I know that sounds really silly. But again, just being aware of the little nuances that sometimes you're that you can get caught up in. And it's like slowing it down just a little bit to speed up or rather give them like the service, the conversation,

24:40the attention that, and so that you can provide the solutions, right? In a quicker manner by slowing down and having those maybe even longer conversations. Got you. So what I'm hearing right now to succeed, guys, to finish strong in 2025 really is to talk to more people. It's as simple as that. And what I'm hearing you say is also you're going deep. You're not going super wide. You used to go 50. That's really wide, but now you're going deep and you're doing enough quantity as well. So more conversations and deeper conversations. Yeah. There's always the balance between that quality and quantity. And depending on where you are in your business, sometimes you have to increase the quantity, right? But the magic sauce is when you when we when you can do both at a high level. Well, you're looking at the magic right now in Monique 23 years in the business.

25:41She's mastered everything and she's still looking to improve and grow. I'm absolutely inspired by who you are, Monique. And thank you for being my mentor all these years. When I'm feeling down, when I'm feeling complacent, when I'm feeling like I'm going backwards, I think of you. And I think, what is she up to? I need to get after it. I need to get after it. I'm always alive when I think about you. So thank you for being there for me. And John, I'm watching you from the sidelines being your biggest cheerleader. Thank you. The way you speak on stage is inspiring, like be on more stages, man. You deserve it and you've got great stories to tell. So thank you for this and for all the contribution that you're giving to our industry. Before we go, I always like to ask, what's one last insight you can share with us? That would have us finish strong. Come into something that's uncomfortable. For that's going to get you very excited and get you out of bed, get you like, oh, I get to work today.

26:46Like today, I just woke up like earlier than I needed to because I was thinking of all the things I needed to do and got to do. So don't worry about how you're going to do it. Just say that outlandish goal that you want. Write it, you know, tell your people, you know, that support you. And then you're going to see how sometimes God and the universe put it all together. Not to say that you don't need a plan because a plan is really important, but commit to it. Feel like emotionally committed to it. And I'd be excited if you do have if you do have a notlandish goal for the fourth quarter that you want to share with me. Like message me, you know, Instagram me, you know, text me. That would be really fun to hear. What's your outlandish goal? You know, I've been setting this goal is be hagg for three years now.

27:46And last year we got pretty close. And to three hundred and twelve transactions, my goal is four hundred with the team. And, you know, that gets me out of bed. And that gets me to say, you know what, I'm helping a lot of agents succeed because when we do four hundred, our clients are going to win and our agents are going to win. And my bank account for my family is going to win. So I'm so excited about it. Thank you for allowing me to share. Set a be hagg. Something that gets you out of bed and gets you into uncomfortable territory where you're like, I'm growing, but it's a little scary. Share. Share with Monique. What's your Instagram handle so they can actually DM you and share with you. Mo sells a Z. Mo sells a Z is a sport that I love that I love that. Monique, thank you so much for being here today. Enjoy tennis. And I'm sure we'll have another catch up soon. Guys, make it a great day. Thank you.

28:46All right. Bye everybody.