The Tom Ferry Podcast Experience

From $10M to almost quitting — to $143M in one year. These are the luxury real estate tips Manhattan's top agent wishes he knew sooner.

Michael Franco started in real estate in 2008 with a law degree, 14 years of closing experience, and zero idea how to actually build a business.

He sold $25 million his first full year. Then sat back and waited for the phone to ring.

By 2012 he was down to $10 million and almost walked away from real estate entirely.

Then he found coaching. And everything changed.

Today Michael is one of Manhattan's most respected luxury real estate agents at Compass — with $1.5 billion in career sales and $143 million closed in 2025 alone.

In this episode Tom Ferry sits down with Michael to unpack the luxury real estate tips, mindset shifts and business decisions that made the difference — including:

• Why being a former attorney gives you an unfair advantage in luxury real estate • The 3 decisions that transformed Michael's career from $10M to $143M • How to earn trust with wealth managers, accountants and family offices • What luxury clients are really hiring you to do — and how to deliver it • The psychology of getting comfortable at a higher price point • The co-listing strategy that gets you into luxury real estate fast • The biggest pricing mistakes luxury agents make — and the scripts that fix them • The pre-launch phone and email campaign most agents completely skip • Where Michael is investing his marketing dollars in 2026 — and why print is out

"Everybody has imposter syndrome in the beginning. You gotta get a little confidence, remove the ego, and just serve the customer." — Tom Ferry

If you want to break into luxury real estate or take your high end business to the next level — this episode is for you.

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Most realtors sound like everyone else — and it's costing them clients every single day. Joanna Wiebe built a $30M business on client communication tips for realtors that actually work.

Everything a realtor does every day is writing. Emails. Texts. Listing descriptions. Offer letters. Your bio. Your website headline. Your Instagram profile.

And yet almost nobody in real estate was ever trained in the art and science of using words that actually get clients to say yes.

That changes today.

Tom Ferry sits down with Joanna Wiebe — the woman who coined the term "conversion copywriting" and built a $30 million business helping brands communicate better — to unpack the client communication tips every realtor needs right now.

Here is what you will learn:

• Why your homepage headline is almost certainly wrong — and the one fix that changes everything

• How to write a realtor bio that makes clients feel understood instead of sold to

• The voice of customer method — how to use your clients' own words to attract more clients

• The Instagram bio formula every realtor should be using: "I help [blank] do [blank]"

• Problem-Agitation-Solution vs Desire-Obstacle-Solution — which framework to use and when • Why AI produces generic copy — and what to do instead to stand out

• The rehab center headline that got 400% more clicks and 20% more signups overnight

• How one word change made people 4.6x more likely to act — and what that means for your listings

"Value and differentiation are at the heart and soul of all marketing, all copywriting, all advertising." — Joanna Wiebe

If you are a realtor who feels invisible online, sounds like every other agent, or just wants more clients to call back — this episode is for you.

Get Joanna's Book: The Copy Selling System: https://copysellingsystem.com

Follow Joanna Wiebe on Instagram for daily copywriting tips

Tom Ferry Success Summit: https://www.tomferry.com/success Free Tools & Playbooks: https://www.tomferry.com/tools #TomFerry #ClientCommunicationTips #RealtorTips #JoannaWiebe #RealEstateMarketing

A 100-year-old brand you already know and trust is about to revolutionize real estate lead generation strategy forever. And their August 1st launch might be the biggest listing lead opportunity of 2026 — but only for the right agents.

If I asked you how much your car is worth, there's one name that instantly pops into your head. Yes. Kelley Blue Book.

Now they're coming for real estate — and your lead generation strategy will never be the same. A Name You Know. And One You Probably Don't, But Should.

How did a former New York real estate agent and Harvard graduate named John Liss convince Kelley Blue Book to enter the home valuation game? That's exactly what Tom Ferry unpacks in this episode of the Tom Ferry Podcast Experience — including:

• How Kelley Blue Book Homes is building a smarter real estate lead generation strategy by replacing oversimplified AVMs with accurate, data-based property valuations

• Why this changes everything for sellers, buyers, and agents tired of Zillow Zestimate alternatives that still miss the mark

• How TrueTrack gives agents hyper-local pricing intelligence that no automated valuation model can match

• The subscription model that delivers real estate seller leads without a single referral fee

• And most importantly — how to get in on the ground floor of the biggest listing lead opportunity of 2026

"Real estate is a hyper-specific game, and you really need to give people the experts where they're at," John says.

Might that expert be you?

Sometimes the answer isn't to try harder.

It's to try differently.

We've all seen the fly that keeps slamming into the window.

More effort.
More force.
More frustration.

And yet, no breakthrough.

The same thing happens in business.

When something isn't working, our instinct is often to push harder.

More calls.
More hours.
More hustle.

But what if the real solution is to stop for a moment and look for a better approach?

Ask for feedback.

Learn from someone who's already solved the problem.

Challenge the assumptions that got you stuck in the first place.

Because breakthroughs rarely come from doing the same thing with more intensity.

They come from gaining a new perspective.

This week, ask yourself:

Where am I trying to force an outcome that needs a different strategy?

Most people don't fail because they took the wrong shot. They fail because they never took one at all. The call. The email. The video. The conversation. The opportunity. Too many people get stuck waiting for certainty before they act. But clarity doesn't come before action. It comes from action. Take the shot. If it works, you get a result. If it doesn't, you get a lesson. Either way, you move forward. The people who win in business aren't always the smartest or the most talented. They're the ones willing to take the shot, learn from the outcome, and keep going. This week, stop overthinking. Pick one thing. And go for it. 👇 What's one shot you've been putting off that you need to take this week?