7 Levels of Communication and Why Structure Matters with Michael J. Maher
In this episode, I am thrilled to interview Michael J. Maher, who is CEO of REFERCO, the world's foremost authority in business referrals. In just his third year in real estate, he did 187 transactions and over $40 million, entirely from referrals. For the next 8 years, he received over 500 referrals every single year and netted over $1 million. Michael is an internationally bestselling author and his book (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals has been the #1 book in Real Estate Sales on Amazon for over 9 straight years. In addition to these impressive accomplishments, he has shared the stage George W. Bush, Tony Robbins, Barbara Corcoran, and John Maxwell.
As we often do on the show, we started by talking about Michael’s background. He began his working career as a high school math teacher and coach of three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. He spoke about how dedicated he was and earned District Teacher of the Year in his first year teaching. Michael had an interest in real estate so he got licensed as an agent at the same time he bought his first home. He talks about how he built his business almost entirely through word of mouth and referrals.
Because Michael became an agent in 1999, I asked him how he weathered the housing market crash years. He said that because they were getting almost all their business through referrals, they ended up having records years during that period. This is when Michael first knew he was going to have to write a book because he had discovered a system of doing business that worked well in good markets, but even better in depressed times. He spoke about how the 7L system is basically tailor-made for a challenging time like we are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We talked about specific marketing and deal-generating strategies based on his 7L principles, going into detail about making your marketing as personal as possible.
I then asked Michael about his book, (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals. He walked us through the levels and their amount of influence in relationships with people. The second-most powerful level involves events and seminars, and Michael explained some of the programs that they offer. That led us to a conversation on the necessity of some structure to your day in order to increase productivity. He used the example of going to school and having an intense focus on a particular subject for a pre-determined amount of time every day. Michael also walked us through the morning and evening rituals, which he imparts in his book and classes through the use of acronyms.
Michael then told us about how he helps business owners build their businesses on a foundation of love, generosity, and appreciation. He went into great detail about the personal and professional benefits of choosing to live and conduct yourself this way. Michael described love as our super-power, and generosity is that love in action. He also explained that it is vital for us to appreciate everything that happens in our lives, good or bad.
I can’t tell you how powerful and wisdom-packed this episode is! You would be crazy not to join me as I interview super-successful entrepreneur, Michael J. Maher!
Notable Quotes:
“Good market - referrals are really good. Bad market - referrals are everything.”
- Michael J. Maher
“When people are thinking they are going to lose their home, they want to talk to someone they trust.”
- Michael J. Maher
“I’m big into personalized and customized service.”
- Michael J. Maher
“What is the most important currency in today’s world? It’s not money - it’s trust.”
- Michael J. Maher
“Love is your superpower.”
- Michael J. Maher
“What I’m really excited about now is helping people get structure in a world of chaos.”
- Michael J. Maher
“Why do we charge for them? So people show up. If they have skin in the game, they come.”
- Michael J. Maher
“There is a lot of people that would trade their wealth for health and happiness right now.”
- Michael J. Maher
“Energy is the most precious resource known to man.”
- Michael J. Maher
“You can change your life by changing your strategy.”
- Michael J. Maher
“We are going to have a day - why not structure it in the most effective way you can possibly structure it?”
- Mike Simmons
“It mixes the best of ‘go with the flow’ with ‘get in the flow.’”
- Michael J. Maher
“Your purpose in life is to be referrable.”
- Michael J. Maher
“Picking and choosing the opportunity is a lot better than chasing opportunity.”
- Michael J. Maher
Links:
Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months
(7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals
Miracle Morning for Real Estate Agents
Matt Walker: Sleep is your superpower | TED Talk - TED Talks
