Today's track: Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (1975) — Kleiber, Wiener Philharmoniker

Good Morning,

Today I'm telling three stories. They happened years apart, but they're really one story — the same move in three different outfits.

A client I've been working with for a while — sold their house, hunting for the next one — spotted a property a little above budget that would need some rehab to get it the way they wanted. They sent me a text with a number on it. "Rob, what about this price? What do you think?"

I said, "Say less."

Picked up the phone. The listing agent turned out to be my former landlord back when I lived in St. Matthews. Small-world Louisville, man. I left her a voicemail: "Hey — they really like it. Great buyers. We can close quick. Our number is 275. Let me know if your clients will work with that and I'll get an LOI in right quick."

Meanwhile, Beethoven's Fifth was crescendoing in the background. Which is what it is.

It felt legendary. Honestly, sending LOIs feels legendary most days now. Think about what this used to look like — realtors checking keys out of a lockbox book, driving across town, dropping keys off, picking up the next set. Insanity. Now I can send an LOI every two minutes. That's not an incremental change. That's a different job.

Think about how much opportunity that puts at our fingertips.

A few years back I had seven out-of-state investors reach out to me over a short stretch. Six from California, one from Illinois. Loved it. Appreciated it. Couldn't figure out where they were all coming from.

Finally, standing in line outside Headliners waiting to see Tyler Childers, I asked one of them straight up — "Yo. How'd you even hear about me?"

He said: "I listen to the BiggerPockets podcast. They were talking about markets to consider investing in. They didn't say Louisville. But I heard Louisville. Went on BiggerPockets, saw you were active, reached out."

So I called David Greene.

"David, you generated a lot for me. I've got seven new clients out of this. I'd love to help you make some money."

Then I flew out to California and hosted a happy hour. I brought Louisville to him. Carvana style. Property management, title, lending, and sixteen million in off-market deals. All on the table. I still keep up with plenty of the people I met on that trip. And if you go back and watch David's webinars, he'll zero in on Louisville and mention he's got a great plug here.

Louisville is still that great market. I'm still that great agent. Life rewards effort — especially consistent effort. (If you missed it, I wrote a whole love letter to this town: Louisville Doesn't Brag. So I Will.)

One more.

There's a show called Kentucky Sports Radio, hosted by Matt Jones and Ryan Lemond. If you're from Kentucky, you already know. If you're not — it's one of the most listened-to shows on the planet, and in this state it's the show. I've been reading the blog since the beginning. Huge fan.

Here's the thing. Ryan Lemond is also a licensed realtor. In Lexington.

So I reached out. "Hey Ryan — I'd love to start referring you people."

Now, realistically, Ryan is on the biggest radio show in Kentucky. He probably has more referrals to send me than I have to send him. I reached out anyway. Because I was confident enough to do it.

That relationship has opened doors. He introduced me to a former UK player about some commercial properties. Sports, business, real estate, Kentucky — all mixing together.

Gosh. That's the dream. All of this is the dream.

Three stories. Years apart. Same move every time. And here's the part that still gets me — none of these paid off once. They paid off over and over.

The "say less" text didn't happen overnight. That was years of trust compounding until a client saw a number and came to me first. One text, but built on a decade.

The California happy hour didn't just net me seven clients. David Greene still mentions Louisville in his webinars. Still mentions he's got a plug here. That one phone call is still working for me.

Ryan in Lexington didn't just become a referral partner. He introduced me to a former UK player on commercial property. One reach-out, a completely new lane of business.

This is the same instinct I wrote about in If It Doesn't Say You Can't, Then You Can — just put yourself out there and be open to what comes back. The multipliers take care of themselves.

When I say shoot your shot, I don't mean it as a motivational line. I promise I'm not saying it because I'm shooting mine. I'm saying it because every single time I've done it, something came back that was wildly out of proportion to what I put in — and then it kept coming back.

Life rewards effort. And the multipliers are crazy.

You don't need a strategy. You need to make the call. Send the text. Fly out. Reach out to the person you assume is too big to respond.

That's the whole move.

With Enthusiasm,
Rob Bergeron
Owner–Realtor at Award-Winning Winner Realty
OffMarket.deals | Property Partner Data Company

PS: Hit reply and tell me your "shoot your shot" story. The one where you reached out and something unexpected came back. I want to hear it.

PSS: If you're ready to put out some fishing lines and make some letter of intent offers, hit me up. It’s kind of like planting seeds, you never know which will become of anything…eventually!