No Signs of Slowing Down

Larry Kendall displays his book "Ninja Selling" in front of Hudson Booksellers.

On His Fourth Career, Larry Kendall Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

When Larry Kendall was named to the Colorado Business Hall of Fame earlier this year, it was one more recognition of a lifetime of accomplishments and contributions to the Colorado real estate community.

Kendall co-founded The Group Inc. Real Estate in 1976 from which he retired two years ago. He also served on the board of 1st Bank for 25 years, taught at the Colorado State University School of Business for 10 years, and was CAR REALTOR® of the year in 2006.

Like the industry itself, Kendall has evolved over the decades, learning and finding new ways to utilize his skills to nurture a new generation of real estate professionals. Presently, he is focused on teaching his Ninja Selling System, a sales course he co-created used by real estate professionals.

“I now have 14 trainers, so I’m not doing it all. I used to teach 200 days a year. We’re training about 1,000 students a month with our system throughout the U.S., Canada, and even New Zealand,” Kendall said. “It’s very rewarding and a lot of fun. I mostly teach now in Ft. Collins where people will fly in from all over. A typical class is 96 students and 20-25 states are represented.”

A graduate of Kansas State University, he developed an interest in real estate while in college. Later, he and his wife moved to Colorado in 1974.

“We just decide that was the place we wanted to live,” Kendall said of moving to Ft. Collins.

However, moving during a recession to a new state where he did not know anyone presented unique challenges that might have sent less determined individuals back home to Kansas. He had no database of prospective clients,

no prior real estate experience.

“That was a pretty big challenge and it took me a couple of years to get going.”

Kendall jokes that he got into real estate until he could get a “real job,” but then came to quickly realize that he loved it so much he wanted it to be his life’s work.

“There were times I wondered if this was the right choice. But the more I did it, the more I loved it.”

Although it was difficult to become established in those early years, Kendall attributes being in an environment that fostered success. He attended weekly meetings with fellow agents on Tuesday mornings over breakfast. In those pre-internet days, the MLS listings were in printed books and every agent would pore over the new listings and talk business.

“I looked around the room and saw some of the most successful people in our business. I said to myself ‘If they can do this, I can do it.' They were really the inspiration for me to keep going,” he said.

In his years of involvement in the real estate industry, he has identified several qualities that are inherent in the most successful agents. At the top of the list is motivation.

“There’s some rocket fuel that gets them [the agents] up in the morning. The people I notice who are very successful have a strong work ethic,” he said.

He finds the second attribute successful agents have is the ability to focus on relationship building rather than just racking up transactions.

“It’s easy in this industry to focus on the transaction and move from transaction to transaction. If you’re just transaction oriented, what I have observed is that people ultimately burn out.”

Kendall cites a study that analyzed over ten years the topproducing real estate agents who had a gross commission income of $250,000 or more per year. At the study’s conclusion, the researchers found that 75 percent of those agents were either out of the business or were making less money.

“They had burned out. Burnout is something that’s fairly common if you’re just going from lead to lead.”

He believes REALTORS® need to build a smart business that is sustainable and focuses on the relationships and will not lead to burnouts. For example, Kendall cited a Harris Interactive poll that found every American knows four people who will move this year. He said agents should be focused on those individuals.

“If you build a relationship with your friends and your clients and access those four referrals, that’s a lot easier way to do business than to be chasing leads or strangers, buying leads or doing any of the crazy stuff I see in the industry. Just take good care of your people and your relationships. Access and earn those referrals.”

During a low-inventory market like Colorado has been experiencing, he said agents must have a special skillset, especially when it comes to finding homeowners wanting to sell. Agents must go out and find the inventory. Having cultivated relationships with friends and clients, agents will know about life events that would cause a homeowner to sell, such as a divorce, retirement, or birth of a child.

he said. “If you’ve built those relationships and the communication is good, then you’ll be good there.”

He also suggests agents identify out-of-town owners in a specific neighborhood who might be willing to sell a house they don’t live in.

“Many times what we find is that once a upon a time there were people who lived there and moved. And for whatever reason they were not able to sell the house at the time. So, they rent the place, but don’t want to be a long-distance owner.”

When it came to the topic of iBuyers, Kendall remarked that he didn’t find it as new as everyone else does. The Group has been offering a “guaranteed sale” program since the company was founded in 1976 and iBuyers are essentially offering a modern, online version of that. He thinks iBuyers could hold a similar percentage of the market that For Sale By Owner does, about eight to ten percent.

Agents should not be intimidated by iBuyers, but they should embrace it. Agents should ask potential clients if they have considered using an iBuyer to set the stage for transparency.

“You better have done a little research. Know what the iBuyer price for that house is and know the Zillow Zestimate. Be prepared that the seller has checked all these platforms and knows what their options are,” Kendall said. “Your job is to see if you can help them have a better outcome. Can you do better than they can do on their own or with an iBuyer. If you’re a savvy REALTOR® who has some skills, then in almost every case you’ll be able to.”

A key component of Kendall’s Ninja Selling system are the Ninja Nine, which include the Five Daily Habits and the Four Weekly Habits. He believes a key for an agent’s success. They are:

FIVE DAILY HABITS

• Gratitudes and affirmations.

• Write two personal notes.

• Show up. Stay on your agenda.

• Focus on your Hot List.

• Focus on your Warm List.

FOUR WEEKLY HABITS

• Customer service calls.

• Two live real estate reviews

• 50 live interviews.

• Update your database.

“Those five daily habits are the most important,” he said. He shared an anecdote of how effective those Daily and Weekly Habits are to successful agents. He recently moderated a panel discussion with four top real estate producers in four different markets who had all gone through the Ninja Selling course.

“My last question was what was the one thing you learned from the Ninja course. All four, much to my surprise, said the Five Daily Habits,” Kendall recounted. “One woman, who was a top producer of $80 million, said ‘When I do those five daily habits and I get my day started right, I have a great day. If I do that consistently then I string great days together. My great weeks turn into great months.’”