Mike Ferry's Podcast the Original: Mike Ferry Interviews Sam Williams

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00][music] >> Well, good morning everybody. We are on podcast number 18. We are very fortunate today to have a long time client and a great producer and most importantly a good guy. And that's Mr. Sam Williams from Coldwell Banker Schmidt, which they dominate the Keys really from probably just south of Miami all the way to Key West. And uh Sam is the smartest one of the family because he's right in the middle in a place called Marathon, Florida, which we've been to many times, Sue and I. And uh it if we ever relocated again on the East Coast, we would be talking to Sam about coming to Marathon because it is a delightful community. And I'll let Sam brag about that in a few minutes. So, welcome Mr. Sam Williams. Thank you for being part of the podcast. And uh we are glad you are here.

[00:00:59]Thank you, Mike.

[00:01:01]Okay, I've got a bunch of questions I want to ask and any that I ask that uh you're uncomfortable, you just go like this and we'll cut it out. Yeah. I haven't got one of these yet in doing 18 podcasts, but you never know what's coming out of my mouth. So, what the what the heck? So, Sam, how long I'm going to count on you to make me look good. So, There there you go. How long have you been in real estate now? I've been in real estate 20 years now.

[00:01:28]And how long with Brian Schmidt? 20 years. Heavy. So, you started with Coldwell Banker. I sure did.

[00:01:36]And and it's amazing to me because Brian has the lowest turnover I've ever seen for a major brokerage. Um and he has the best people to support that, which is people like yourself. So, what is the difference between Brian Schmidt, Coldwell Banker Schmitt Sam and the competition. What what is the biggest difference? Uh you know, we just we have extreme leadership from the top down, you know, so uh uh you know, I always say Brian has put way more money into my pocket than he's ever taken out of it. Um he supports us in literally his his entire focus is to help us make more money, to show us how we can make more money. He talks about it every day. He said he said it on our sales meeting this morning. And uh you know, you can't outwork you cannot outwork our broker. He is uh if I had to compare it, you know, I would say he is uh he is our Earl Nightingale, um Mike, if I if I had to compare it somehow.

[00:02:42]>> [clears throat] >> I would I would agree with that. That that's a real compliment. That's a compliment to both Earl and Brian.

[00:02:49]Because uh And I mean it that way.

[00:02:52]I mean it that way cuz I just think about, you know, you having the privilege of having grown up and being able to work around Earl and and I'm such a fan of Earl. I've probably listened to you know, so so much material there and and I just I always wonder about that, you know, about that fact that you had the privilege of doing that and I feel like I have somewhat of that and and being able to grow up around Brian.

[00:03:15]So the company now has what, four office locations in the Keys? Actually, we just opened our sixth. So we had five. Yeah, and we and we just opened one in Cudjoe, which is number six. So we've got Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine, Cudjoe, and Key West. We have about 150 agents.

[00:03:34]150 agents. So the turnover in a company like you're working in with Brian Schmitt, the turnover must be relatively low because the per person productivity is so high. Um what kind of turnover do they have?

[00:03:52]I mean, our average time for an agent here is 13 years.

[00:03:56]The average length of time is 13 years.

[00:04:00]Wow.

[00:04:01]>> Right.

[00:04:01]Yes.

[00:04:02]And you are 20 years, correct?

[00:04:04]>> 20 years. We have some We have some 25.

[00:04:07]We have a We have a 40-year agent. Um, you know, these I mean, if you're in the Keys, I know every market is different, but if you're in the Florida Keys, Coldwell Banker Schmitt is the number one broker.

[00:04:19]That is correct.

[00:04:22]>> [clears throat] >> That that That is impressive when you're working with a buyer or a seller. No question about it.

[00:04:29]>> [snorts] >> So, um production-wise, is most of your business come from listing sold or buyer sales? How is that divided up?

[00:04:38]Yeah, about probably I think I think it's like 65% is listing sold and 30 to 35% is buyer controlled sales. And I would say out of that 35% buyer controlled sales, I don't know what the exact number is, but probably about half of those are double-sided listings.

[00:04:57]Yes.

[00:04:58]So, it's interesting if I look at the list of the people we've done podcasts with, they're all like yourself first successful, and they all are at about 70% listing sold. It is the most common thing. So, for our viewers, if you're not a listing agent, it's probably time to commit to becoming a listing agent.

[00:05:19]So, we can be uh So, you and I and Sam can have a more favorable conversation.

[00:05:25]No question about it. Um, how many transactions will you do this year?

[00:05:30]What is What is your goal?

[00:05:32]Uh, my goal? My goal is 75. Uh, right now I am I think uh what, 18 or 19 closed with like 14 pending, something like that. So, you're you're you're right on schedule.

[00:05:48]Um what is your what is your average sales price?

[00:05:52]Uh my average sale price is 1.1 right now.

[00:05:55]>> 1.1 million.

[00:05:56]>> 1.1.

[00:05:57]Good good for you. That's great. And is that common for Marathon?

[00:06:03]Um yeah, well, the average entry to the Florida Keys right now is 1.1. So, yeah, that would be um that would be common that would be fairly common.

[00:06:11]That's interesting. So, what is the uh plan for the next 5 years for Sam Williams?

[00:06:18]You know, I'm going to sell real estate in this market until I retire. So, and I have no clue of what that retirement you know, I I I have no I have not set a timeline or a you know, I look at Brian.

[00:06:30]He's 73 years old and he's still doing this every single day.

[00:06:35]Um and you just and you you cannot work him. So, uh you know, I I like one time Lee Marcus said something that I just that was really uh was really great statement. He said, you know, we're fortunate enough in this in this industry that we can build a business that we do not have to retire from and and I'm and I'm I I believe that uh that is one of the just one of the many amazing things about this industry.

[00:07:00]That is that is great. Uh Lee Marcus is on the podcast one prior to this one. I saw it.

[00:07:08]Um he will feel good that you mentioned his name and that is >> I've always hung on to that when he said it and I mean that was probably like 5 years ago, you know, but I've always hung on to that. That is great. So, what do you do best as a realtor?

[00:07:24]I would say lead follow-up. I mean, I just I I just I I'm going to I'm going to call you until you tell me to stop calling, you know, and I'm going to do it with energy and enthusiasm. That's kind of been my MO. That's really you know, what what got me really seated into this business and you know, now you know, we do things with, you know, uh you know, more purposefully and with and with more skill and training, you know, and experience. Uh but certainly the energy and enthusiasm and and uh just my tenacity for lead follow-up, I believe, is, you know, what what sets me apart as I I'm, you know, I'm I I'm I'm doing that every single day relentlessly.

[00:08:02]>> So, if you took Orlando, Florida, which is a very active real estate market, also, and a seller is going to sell, they make a decision quickly, pick a realtor or the realtor picks them, and they get a contract signed. Um it I I've always felt that in the Keys, that process is a little bit slower.

[00:08:27]And it is First of all, would that would that assumption be somewhat correct because I don't want to assume the wrong?

[00:08:34]It would be. It would be. I mean, even even with, you know, past customers, you know, a lot of times, they're preparing, you know, they're not going to be down because they don't live here. These are second homes. You know, so, like, you'll have an initial phone call. You might go visit the property without them there, and, you know, then you're going to do your market analysis, and then you have to have another, you know, some a lot of times another meeting with them or a or or a Zoom meeting or, you know, to go over documents and and and marketing and everything else. So, a lot of times it is a two-visit approach. Um you know, I I would love to uh uh say that it's a one-visit approach, but I mean, and sometimes it is, but a more a lot of the times we do have to do two visits.

[00:09:16]So, the Keys is very water-oriented because it's a little skinny peninsula.

[00:09:24]Um what percentage of your transactions are waterfront, or is that common?

[00:09:31]Oh, yeah, of course, especially in the Middle Keys. Um you know, uh gosh, I don't know that exact number, but if I had to look right, it's going to be the majority. I would probably say somewhere around 70% is going to be waterfront.

[00:09:45]Wow, that is a lot. Um, that highway is two lanes most of the way and four lanes part of the way going from here to Key West. Um, does that interrupt the transactions that take place in terms of speed and efficiency because the access to the keys is very limited?

[00:10:09]Mike Ferry Events, where top producing agents get [music] sharper. The original real estate coaching. Get registered today and invest in yourself. [music] Yeah, I I would say it depends on, you know, how far you're you're going in your travel. Like I really try to focus on the middle keys. You know, so I'm really my focus is from Long Key to Seven Mile Bridge, which is, you know, maybe a 15-mile span. So, I'm typically not going that far most of the time.

[00:10:41]Like I'm not going to like go to Key West. We have a great office in Key West. We have great agents there. I would just be much happier referring to one of those great agents that can, you know, protect the interest of the customer, you know, down there better than I would, you know, here. I can protect your interest in the middle keys. I know it better than anybody. So, that's the way I feel about that. So, for me, nothing's really more than, you know, 10 or 12 minutes away.

[00:11:07]Wow, that is that is great. That really condenses the activity level and gives you a real chance to score at a much higher level. No question. So, 1.1 million average sales price, you do 75, you're making substantial income, you're in a tax-free state. How much better does it get? It's a it's a good state. I love Florida.

[00:11:32]>> [snorts] >> I love I do.

[00:11:35]Because you know that tax-free, we have that in Nevada also as you Somebody said to me, "Why did you move to Nevada 20 years ago?" I said, "Zero tax." Yeah, but why did you move to Nevada?

[00:11:48]I said, "Zero tax."

[00:11:51]Well, what does that have to do with your business? Everything.

[00:11:55]So yeah. [laughter] That's pretty good.

[00:11:57]>> I I I say I still think we pay for it. We pay for it in our insurance rates. We pay for it in the cost of living.

[00:12:03]They're They're taxing us, you know, so it's They're They're getting it one way.

[00:12:07]No question. So what What is if you have a weakness that you're always working on fixing, what would that sales weakness be?

[00:12:18]Um my my sales weakness would be not be you know, I've always and this has just been um with every coach I've I've had, but they'll tell you the same thing, um getting out of my transactions. You know, I still have a habit of being in there. Um just it's um It's been very difficult for me to get uh 100% out of that, and that costs me being able to make all my calls and and um you know, just it costs me It costs me time.

[00:12:48]Do you prospect daily or do you prospect 3 days a week? Uh no, I pros- I prospect five. There's not a day that I'm not making calls, and I do even a little bit on Saturday. So there's not a day that goes by that I'm not making some calls.

[00:13:01]Um you know, if I had to say sitting down in front of my dialer, um you know, I would say 4 days a week. Um but no matter what, you know, you're you're making calls on the road as you go, in between appointments. So there's there's never a day you're not doing lead follow-up and and um you know, talking to people.

[00:13:18]How big [snorts] is your database?

[00:13:21]I've got about 3,300 people in there.

[00:13:24]Wow, that is terrific. Um how do you How do you stay in touch with that many people?

[00:13:31]>> and and I'll separate that. So, between past customers and SOIs, there's about 2,200.

[00:13:36]Um, you know, so a lot of that is, you know, the you know, everything is set up these days, you know, they all the lead systems aggregate into there. So, all buyer leads spill into that into that base and um, but yeah, about 2,200 would be makeup my past customers and sphere of influence.

[00:13:51]That's That is great. Um, is the company advocate that you all follow this kind of a prospecting system?

[00:14:00]Uh, yeah, we actually do. Um, we have uh, we even have a um, uh, they call it a fire up Friday. So, every Friday we do our own prospecting session and everybody gets on a Zoom and um, and they track the phone calls and the the appointments set from those phone calls and the business done. And uh, it's been a really great program, especially for a lot of our newer agents, which, you know, if you were a newer agent, I mean, again, that goes back into this is such a great company to join cuz we have management and staff and leadership that not only provides the tools, but we train you and and help you and use them with you to get you going and let you see other agents in your office doing the same thing. So, they they really have a strong example uh, set here and you can you can leave you can you can be led by it.

[00:14:46]That is That is great. Um, the average prospect takes how long to a seller or seller prospect to how long do they take to make a decision to list with somebody? I would think it would be a longer period of time than say Orlando or Fort Lauderdale.

[00:15:08]Um, you know, I I I feel like lately um, the sellers, a lot of them can see um, you know, the the changes in the market and and I feel like the I feel I feel like I'll the the last few of them have been like, "Okay, we really want to get this on the market before it's too late, you know?" So, I I I think there's a little bit of I I sense a little bit of shift uh there right now because they're, you know, nobody down here has to sell, but again, if you see that the market's even in a soft decline, you know, unless you plan on holding for a longer period of time, it it just makes the most sense right now.

[00:15:44]What what percentage of your total transactions are second homes?

[00:15:49]Uh probably about I would say probably about 70%.

[00:15:54]Probably about 70.

[00:15:55]Yeah.

[00:15:57]So, would they generally be people that live in the South?

[00:16:02]Or would they be The all of our business is almost 100% domestic. Uh we have very little foreign uh transact foreign foreigners buying in the Keys. They buy up in Miami and Fort Lauderdale a lot, uh but this market has never really attracted that buyer base, you know? So, international buyers I I think it's less than 1% of our transactions are international. So, it's all domestic. And then, prior to COVID, it was really the the entire East Coast, like Michigan down the entire Eastern Seaboard, but now, I mean, we have Midwest, uh California, Colorado, Texas, um you know, just Wisconsin, Minnesota, all those northern states. They They just It's It's really And then, of course, our largest source of buyers has been and always will be Miami-Dade and uh Broward County, which is our neighbors to the north right here.

[00:16:57]So, as you know, we kept a second home in Naples, Florida for 8 or 10 years.

[00:17:02]And at that time, um it was nice high-end area that we lived in. There were 12 homes in the neighborhood, and you know, they were expensive. I'll just put it that way.

[00:17:14]Sure. And um it was so interesting to me because we were the only ones from the west.

[00:17:22]>> [snorts] >> Because our our primary residence that time was Southern California before we moved to Nevada.

[00:17:28]>> [snorts] >> And it was interesting because, you know, they almost said, "Why would you come here? Why wouldn't you go to Mexico?"

[00:17:35]I said, "Because I'm not Mexican."

[00:17:38]>> [laughter] >> You know, it's not complicated. So, um it was interesting to me that how I'm trying to think what the word would be that people stay together when they move.

[00:17:54]You know, [snorts] the the Smiths move from um the Carolinas to the Keys. And they end up taking over the course of a couple years three or four of their friends and neighbors that come to the Keys.

[00:18:08]Is that still a common trend?

[00:18:11]Uh yeah, and and so most of the buyers here, they they have a they're buying here because they have a connection here. They've either been coming out here since they were kids, they have friends or family, or they grew you know, they grew up, or they they just there's always some type of connection.

[00:18:27]Um or they just really like the water, and they you know, the diving and the fishing is important to them. So, you know, you're buying that second home um especially in Marathon, the Middle Keys market. We're allowed to do vacation rentals. So, the Middle Keys mar the rest of the county is a 28-day minimum, where Marathon allows to a 7-day minimum on rentals. So, we're the only key that besides Key Colony Beach, which is inside of Marathon, that allows a 7-day rental. So, you can actually do those short-term rentals, which is a huge um way to just greatly offset the cost of ownership. So, now you can have your place in the Keys locked in, you can have your stuff already there. It's easy for you to get back and forth, and you can rent it out the rest of the time that you're not using it. and people really like that about this market.

[00:19:14]Interesting. Well, you live in what we would say is a great vacation spot to visit. Yes.

[00:19:23]Where when you live in the Keys, where do you go on vacation?

[00:19:26]>> [laughter] >> Well, I we went on a cruise. We went on always another subtropical climate, it seems like, you know? So, it's kind of funny how that happens again. I think people go where they're, you know, it's it is like that.

[00:19:40]Yeah, because you're in a little slice of heaven, and everybody wants to be part of that, which is fun. So, >> you, I go I go to I go to San Diego once a year. I go to Vegas once a year. So, my my vacations center around Superstar Retreats and Production Retreats.

[00:19:58]That that is great. We appreciate that, of course.

[00:20:02]Um You've been in coaching how long?

[00:20:05]I want to say 13 or 14. I want to say 13 years. I think I joined in like I think I joined in 13, I want to say.

[00:20:16]Okay.

[00:20:17]>> [snorts] >> And has it been a generally good experience? Yeah, I I and I've, you know, talked about this on stage a few times. I I owe just between my broker and MFO and and all the people that I've met in that process, um it is it's it's it's it's what keeps me signing up every year, and it's what keeps me uh you know, that that that monthly fee for coaching is just something we just don't even blink at it anymore. It's it's just valuable, and and we we value it. So, yes, my whole family values it.

[00:20:53]That is great. Um You're married.

[00:20:58]Mhm. It's only been a few years, if I remember correctly. Yep. Getting ready to have my fourth anniversary at the end of this month.

[00:21:05]Say it again.

[00:21:07]I'm getting ready to have my 4-year anniversary at the end of this month.

[00:21:10]Oh, that's great. What is the date?

[00:21:12]Uh April 30th.

[00:21:14]April 30th. Our Our Serena's and my is May 5th. Okay. All right, right there. We're neighbors by >> Cinco de Mayo.

[00:21:23]Yeah, that's right. That's fun. So, I've got an audience of 500 people in our in our space and you and I are going to do a two-hour seminar together. We'll go back and forth on topics and let the audience ask questions. And of course, somebody puts up their hand and said, um Mr. Sam Williams, um what is the most important thing you can ask me to do to be successful and reach your level of production at some point.

[00:21:59]And that's I didn't I didn't [clears throat] prepare anything for this segment. I just like, you know, I just I I knew you were going to ask me questions like that. You know, I I guess I would just have to say find a leader find a a brokerage and that's going to provide the leadership for you that that I feel mine has and and just show up. Just get involved. You know, you always say all the time it's our job to find a buyer and a seller and then just get in the middle of them.

[00:22:30]Just get get involved in the just get involved and start talking. You don't know the paperwork at the beginning, but you're going to keep reading it and you're going to keep fumbling your way through that and you know, if you want to if you truly want to if you have a if you have a desire to figure it out, you're going to figure it out. And other than that, I would just say you got to talk to people. I mean, that's that's just probably the number one thing that I think is not told to newer agents when they're getting ready to embark into this industry is this is a direct sales business.

[00:23:01]You've got to talk to people. That's whoever he who talks to the most people wins. So that would be in that and and learn the inventory. When if you're in a market, go start scouting that inventory, learn that inventory so you can communicate it to buyers and sellers intelligently and that's going to get you that's going to get you well on your way.

[00:23:22]Most [music] agents scroll. Top agents study. Follow Mike Ferry on all platforms and think like top real estate agents do.

[00:23:36]When you talked >> [clears throat and cough] >> you mentioned talking to people every day. That seems to be one of the big hang-ups in our industry. There's no there's no accountability in most cases.

[00:23:51]Nobody's watching what we do. So sitting at our computer looking at pictures is not going to bring me buyers and sellers and transactions.

[00:24:03]So how do we avoid that that sitting at our desk playing with our computer?

[00:24:10]You're going to have you're going to have to have a schedule and you're going to have to be filling that database and then you're going to have to go call them once a quarter. And you're going to have to stick to that and you should if you're smart hire and get some type of accountability which is what I love about coaching. So get a coach to hold you accountable to make sure that you make those calls. You're reporting to that person every week and you know, I started this business with a buyer's agent mentality.

[00:24:39]Coaching it took 3 years of coaching to shift me to a listing agent mentality and that was the other number one thing that changed the trajectory of my life to you know to what we to what we do today is just understanding that listings are the name of the game and and making sure that that is what you're thinking about every single day.

[00:25:00]One of the questions that people have been sending in after the podcast is viewed is what is the personality style of blank, the person I was interviewing.

[00:25:12]Your personality style big categorized?

[00:25:16]You know, I've always been this has been has been a a topic lately, but I've I've I was always categorized as an expressive on my you know, DISC assessments and everything.

[00:25:28]But all my role play partners think I'm a driver. So I I get a little bit confused there on which on which one, but and my broker thinks I'm an analytical.

[00:25:38]So I'm I've always thought I was an expressive.

[00:25:43]So that's that's what I've always thought.

[00:25:45]So you're like most realtors. You are who you need to be at the time of making a presentation.

[00:25:54]Correct. Yes. Because I would have said Sam is an expressive driver back up and and very very very much analytical.

[00:26:06]Is my impression. Sure.

[00:26:09]Um the more personality styles that they see in a person, the better chance the person has of succeeding because you've displayed a lot of versatility to get to that point.

[00:26:22]So I want to say we've been talking now for 27 minutes, which is the time flies It does. It does. having a good time. So we'll see you in June at the first superstar retreat.

[00:26:36]>> We we will be there in June. Actually, I just booked my plane ticket yesterday.

[00:26:39]So we we will see you and it's always a pleasure.

[00:26:42]You know, anytime that I can do something to give back to your organization, I'm always happy to do it.

[00:26:48]Well, we really appreciate your attitude it your energy and your loyalty and uh we will return all of those to you in uh in getting this podcast out to the world to see. So, Sam Williams, thank you. We appreciate you. Appreciate you a lot.

[00:27:06]And folks, thanks for watching today. We will see you next week.

[00:27:11]>> Get your West Coast Superstar Retreat ticket today and discover the fastest path to higher production. Click the link [music] in the description below.