Ryan Tompot, an agent from Akron, Ohio, loves to write, but with a full-time job and busy family life, he just never found the time.
“But with Authorify, what it was able to do for me is take my thoughts and what I want to give to the customers, the public, my clients is something that I created — but I don't have time to create it.”
Ryan has been using his books for less than a year, and he says they’ve completely changed his approach.
“They took what I wanted to say, and they put it in a book, and now, I can confidently go to somebody and say, ‘Here's my book.’ The amount of confidence that I received, like when I had that book in my hand, and I was like, ‘Wow, this is a game changer because it just gives me confidence and it gives me the ability to help people in a way that I wasn't able to before.
“I got the books edited to what I needed and then — I do a lot of for sale by owner and expired, cold calling. And that's where I get a lot of my listings. And I'm able to send these people a book or stop at their house, make an appointment, get them a book. And I mean, the return on that investment is just unreal.”
While he hasn’t tracked specific numbers, Ryan said he credits about five listings directly to the book.
“For example, like if it was $3,000 commission, that's $15,000 I've made off of a $4.50 book. I mean, it's literally a no brainer. I'm starting a podcast, and I want to be able to use my books as giveaways. And it's not even like — I'm not selling the books to try to make money. But it's just a nice little giveaway that somebody is going to keep and have in their possession and see it on their nightstand and sit on their coffee table. Or if they have company, they see the book there, and it's a conversation starter.
“And I mean, it's endless. It really is endless when you have the skills that Authorify can bring to me in my business, as well as my passion and desire to help people. It's, it's a win win in my opinion.”
Ryan says when he hands people a book, they’re always impressed.
“Most of the time, the looks I get from some people are like, ‘Wait a minute. You wrote a book?’ And, and I can say, ‘Yeah, I physically partnered with a company that allowed me to get my thoughts on a piece of paper. And I mean, I've done the work. I can write the book. I've written the book. We merged together, and I have it here for you to use.
“And it's so cool because I've gone to appointments where I gave that book to a for sale by owner and I have gone for a second appointment and they have the book opened and they're using the book, they're highlighting the book. They referred to the book when talking to me, and I was like, this is it, man.”
Ryan says he loves providing value to his leads that they didn’t have before.
“If I can provide value, that sets me apart from the next guy that's just opening the door and showing houses. No. I have a proven method to get you the most amount of money in the least amount of time. And it's explained in my book here. So if we ever have any questions, please refer to the book.
“And just being able to interact with clients through a book, it just gives me a stamp of approval. And I obviously back that up in my business, in my response time, in my commitment, in my everything. It makes me so much more of a professional because now I have to represent what’s in these books. So it's changed my life and made me as a person better in my business, as well as helping the community.”
Ryan says the greatest advantage of having his books is the confidence they give him heading into any appointment.
“I was afraid to approach somebody on selling their home or, or buying or investing. But now that I have this book, I'll sell the damn president on why he needs to buy a house. Because I have that much confidence. It was a game changer instantaneously.
“Just kind of puts that pep in your step. It definitely does. I mean, to get up each day and have purpose and drive to succeed because now I have a legitimate published book out there that I got to take action now, and it spring boarded me into success, and in my opinion, I can attest that Authorify gave me the confidence and the backing to launch, just to go from day to day to this is the real deal. Now that mindset — Authorify helped me get there.”
Like many other agents, Ryan buys FSBO leads and calls them to initially reach out. He uses his books as a talking point on the calls to get people to meet with him.
“‘And you might be a skeptic right now, but is it OK with you if I send or drop off a book? I wrote a book for people just like you to have to refer to. Is that something you'd be interested in?’ ‘Yes, I'd love that.’ ‘OK, great. Would you like me to drop it off?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘OK.’ So I drop it off. Sometimes, I meet them; sometimes, I just put it on the porch. I call them later, make sure they got the book, and I'll follow up with you in a few days, follow up with them.’”
If people say no, Ryan puts them into a pipeline to keep following up. And for those who do receive a copy, it gives Ryan a conversation starter every time he reaches out.
“Using that book, it makes an easier phone call for me because, ‘Hey, I just wanted to see if you got the book.’ It's a reason to call. ‘Hey, have you had a chance to read it yet?’ ‘Yeah, I checked it.’ ‘OK.’ ‘What did you think about the 80/20 idea?’ And then start them on that topic and then work that conversation to set the next appointment.
“That's how I'm using it as a reason to give them a call and get them to open the book and start reading it somehow. Even if it's just, ‘Hey, I know everybody's busy, but just check out page 48 and 49. Or sometimes I'll even highlight things in the book before I drop it off. ‘Hey, I highlighted a few pages that I thought were really important that stood out to me that might make sense to you. So check those out and I'll follow up with you on Wednesday,’ and then follow up with them if they like it and you talk more, I use it to set the appointment.”
Ryan also uses his books on open houses and holds drawings for free copies of his book.
“So write your name and your email down, and somebody will win a copy of my book today. Now everybody that signs up and leaves their email and they won the contest. Everybody gets a book, right? Because everybody likes to win. I want to get my book in their hand, but it gives them something, like this guy is different than the other agents. Like, there's something different about this guy. And in the book, I have my other marketing material, and I send it to them in the mail. ‘Thanks for stopping by the open house. You won the contest! Congratulations! If you're looking to buy or sell, let me know.’ And then I put them in my pipeline. It's a warm lead at that point that has my book.”
Ryan also leaves a few copies of his books out at open houses for people to peruse so they’ll leave their information for the drawing. He also gives people the option to purchase the book right there for $9.99 so people respect the value of winning the book and are more likely to leave their information.
“For me, I need a reason to call somebody. So if somebody is a for sale by owner, my reasons for calling is I can potentially get you more money than you can, but now if they have my book, ‘Hey, this is my reason to call. What did you think about that? Do you see now how, if we apply this strategy, it can make you more money at the end? And just get them engaged in the book and let it and myself do its job and provide them with the information that they need to list with me.
“I don't want everybody to have this because it sets me apart from the next guy. It really does. It puts me in front of all the other people that don't have a book. That's how I look at it. That's how I use it as fuel to go more and get more because of this opportunity.”
Ryan says the greatest benefit of the books is that they have long-term potential to build his business.
“Maybe my book has helped a for sale by owner sell his house and get more money. And he's going to hang on to my book. And what if one day his nephew comes over and he sees my book and now I get that listing? And that leads to whatever it leads to. I mean, it's endless. It really is endless. What if my book inspires somebody to become a real estate agent and they contact me and I can help them fulfill their dreams by becoming a real estate agent? I mean, it really is endless.”
