How AI Replaced Her Real Estate Cold Calling Team | Susan Casias

Susan Casias (00:00)
AI turned my business around. You know, businesses are always moving, the cheese is always moving, and it’s you have to be able to pivot. I had feet on the street, I had people calling on the phones, and it wasn’t providing the same results it had been for the last nine years. So then I was introduced to this AI software and it has turned my business around completely.

And I don’t even need a team of people anymore, even though I still have them. My AI is putting them to shame.

Joseph Crooms (02:08)
Welcome to Investor Fuel Real Estate Pros Podcast. I’m your host, Joseph Crooms. Today I’m going to be joined by someone I’ve been looking forward to chatting with. Her name is Susan. I’m gonna let her ⁓ pronounce her own last name so I don’t chop it up or mess it up, but no one can say it better than she. So ⁓

We’ve been make she’s been making some serious moves in the real estate industry ⁓ space, so she’s gonna share some unique experiences with us. so Susan, I’m glad to have you here. Say hello.

Susan Casias (02:40)
Hey, thank you so much for having me, Joseph. My name is Susan Casias You know, it doesn’t matter how you say my name, my name is as long as you’re calling me.

Joseph Crooms (02:50)
Sounds

good. Sounds good. I love that. I think our listeners are going to get takeaway something away from ⁓ your approach. ⁓ you spoke a lot in our pre- ⁓ pre-session. How has AI helped you?

Susan Casias (03:05)
AI turned my business around. You know, businesses are always moving, the cheese is always moving, and it’s you have to be able to pivot. I had feet on the street, I had people calling on the phones, and it wasn’t providing the same results it had been for the last nine years. So then I was introduced to this AI software and it has turned my business around completely.

And I don’t even need a team of people anymore, even though I still have them. My AI is putting them to shame.

Joseph Crooms (03:40)
Mm. So first off, for people who are not familiar with you, give us the short version. What’s your main focus these days? What’s what markets are you operating?

Susan Casias (03:51)
Well, you know, ⁓ thanks to the AI I have exp and moving into the Texas Real Estate Investment Center, I’ve expanded my horizons. I used to just focus on people in the foreclosure arena and now I deal with all kinds of people looking to move distressed properties, land, multifamily, commercial, the whole nine yards because this software enables me and empowers me to be able to

Make all those audiences become viable.

Joseph Crooms (04:21)
How does AI identify these clients? Does it identify what their needs are? And how do you ⁓ dovetail into a conversation with them?

Susan Casias (04:32)
Good question. So I have ⁓ different program that I use to get my leads. Okay, I’m currently using Prop Stream to pull my leads. And then the AI, she vets everybody. Whether I’m buying or I’m selling, she gets them to be ⁓ what I need them to be and then sets the appointment. So all I’m doing is talking to people who are vetted and interested in either buying or selling.

Joseph Crooms (04:58)
So once you and I like the term vet that you use, once you vet them, how is your introduction with this vetted information? Has it shifted how you introduce introduce yourself to them? ⁓ you know, ’cause it’s more elaborate, you got more detail?

Susan Casias (05:13)
Yeah, so I can create more conversation and you know it’s all about creating relationship, right? Sales is always about that. And so the more I know, the more questions I can ask. People don’t care how much you know till they know how much you care. And you show people you care by asking questions. So having that knowledge empowers me to ask questions and makes them feel like I care.

Joseph Crooms (05:36)
So let’s this this this stay there for a minute. So I’m in foreclosure. And what is a question because some people may not want to open up, you know, they want to seem larger than they actually are. How do you penetrate?

Susan Casias (06:39)
Well, you know, with those people they’re a little bit of a different mindset because there is a sense of urgency there, whether they want to recognize that or not. So I have to be gentle and I have to ask the right questions. So get them to understand where they are, what all of the options that are available out there and what’s options that are really viable to them specifically and their situations, which requires me to ask a lot of questions.

Joseph Crooms (07:08)
That’s not easy, especially in this climate. So what’s been keeping your machine running smooth?

Susan Casias (07:16)
my attitude and my dedication. You know, people talk about motivation. ⁓ motivation won’t make you any money, dedication makes you money. You know, you can be as motivated as you want, but if you don’t get off off you duff, nothing’s gonna happen.

Joseph Crooms (07:30)
So you’ve been doing this I think you told me nine years about, right? Am I correct? How did you get into what what made you get into real estate?

Susan Casias (07:34)
Nine and a half years, yeah.

So originally I was the sales energizer and I had a team of people that would

call and set appointments and this gentleman who was running this company initially hired my staff to call on these homeowners and set appointments. Then he found out I had all kinds of talents. And over the course of seven years I ended up pretty much running the company for him, which I enjoyed very much. Unfortunately, you know, ⁓ I wasn’t feeling like I was compensated properly and it was kind of time for me to go out on my own. So for the last several years I’ve been out on my own and it’s been wonderful.

Joseph Crooms (08:13)
Do you remember your first sale or first

Susan Casias (08:17)
Contract? Yeah, first contract. I’ll I’ll tell you though, I remember the first one I didn’t get was w the first person I sat down with and I learned a hard lesson, ⁓ because I ⁓ didn’t realize how

how much of somebody’s feelings were involved in this process. So I’m letting this person fill out the paperwork themselves and then they kind of I got too real and they got up and walked away. So then when I my next person that I sat down with, I’m like, okay, I’ll ask questions, I’ll write down the answers. And just like in every sales environment, which is the reason why I love sales, my blood was pumping and I felt alive. And that’s what I love about sales period and then this industry.

Joseph Crooms (09:00)
Let’s go back a little bit. When when they realized you said that they they they they filled out the paperwork, what was it that spooked them?

Susan Casias (09:09)
think it got real for them that they realized that you know they were they were really losing their house and I you know I find a lot of times the people that were in foreclosure created a story and you know reality is all right here and their reality was a little distorted and I had to learn over time to ask more questions like when did that happen? You know how long ago did that happen because everything sounded like it just happened yesterday and most of the times

On average I would find that these people haven’t paid their mortgage in two to five years. And so relating to them was hard because I’m I’m the exact opposite. If I even think I’m gonna be late to pay my mortgage, it just freaks me out. So I had a hard time at first understanding where they were coming from.

Joseph Crooms (09:58)
And when you w and and so how has that helped you now? ⁓ how do you approach things now? Because you know what, a lot of people when they come to this ⁓ tremendous loss that they can possibly face, and here you are sort of rescuing them in what sense, ⁓ how how have you shifted your conversation?

Susan Casias (10:53)
I became more aware of all kinds of options so that if there was some way I could help a family stay in their home and keep their home, I would show them how to do that even if I didn’t make money on it. I became more empathetic and I became more ⁓ Christian like if you would. It wasn’t about getting the sale, it was more about helping them and giving them their best options that were specific to their situation, even if it meant I wasn’t getting paid.

Joseph Crooms (11:20)
Hmm. I I I think that’s really key, ⁓ that you the compassion that you brought into the relationship. Let’s talk about that compassion so much now. How has that compassion changed you when you go into a a a a potential client? H is your passion upfront more?

Susan Casias (11:44)
Well, you know, that’s just who I am, Joseph. ⁓ I’m full of energy, I’m full of passion. I’m an Italian girl from Brooklyn. I don’t know how to be anything but out there and ⁓ and let myself be vulnerable by letting people see me faults and all, because, you know, we’re all imperfect humans, just doing the best we can.

Joseph Crooms (12:04)
And that part of Brooklyn was okay, I went to school in Flatbish, I went to Midwood High School.

Susan Casias (12:07)
Flappish.

wow. So yeah, I was born in Brooklyn and then in nineteen no no we moved to Long Island.

Joseph Crooms (12:19)
You don’t women don’t tell their age, but I I I I got you, I got you, but I must tell you you look tremendous. So let’s take this a little different. ⁓ now every operator I know has a moment when things got real. Can you ⁓ maybe a deal that went sideways or a time that they had to pivot fast? And I know you spoke about one in the past. Are there any current ones? ⁓

Susan Casias (12:42)
Yeah, you know, just recently ⁓ came across a gentleman who was introduced to me by some people that I know and trust. They said he had money and he he was wanting to buy certain properties and he told me what he wanted and I went out and got all those properties. He signed the contracts, he put down the non refundable earnest money, he even did closing documents with the title company and then never funded the deals.

Joseph Crooms (13:09)
Yeah.

Susan Casias (13:09)
And I never saw that coming. You know, the the little bitty ⁓ earnest money that I ended up getting out of that was nothing compared to what I was expecting to make with this gentleman. And ⁓ I had to learn to make sure that I didn’t put all my eggs in one basket. I was actually surprised that I did that.

Joseph Crooms (13:27)
Are there certain things that you look for to circumvent circumstances like that happening again?

Susan Casias (13:32)
Yeah. Like I said, first of all, not putting all my eggs in one basket, not depending on one specific person or one specific venue. And then yes, I’ve got a lot of things in place that for the most part would deter people from doing something like that. But apparently he had other problems which I don’t need to go into that bled into this business situation.

Joseph Crooms (13:54)
For our listeners, can you share do you mind sharing w s ⁓ one or two ⁓ things that you have put in place?

Susan Casias (14:42)
So when I do a contract with somebody, especially a new in investor that’s buying from me, of course I write non refundable in the contract that the earnest money is non refundable, and then I have them sign ⁓ authorization to release the earnest money and it says in there only if they fail to perform will I use that and I’ve only had to use it once.

Everybody else said they sign it no problem because they are sincere. I also don’t do option periods and ⁓ like I said I learned over the years how to vet people and ask a lot of questions to find out what they’re really all about and if they’re a real fit for what’s going on.

Joseph Crooms (15:24)
So you you you turned out y you said a statement that I’m not aware of. What is the option period period?

Susan Casias (15:30)
So some people

⁓ they’re they’ll need to put a property under contract with what’s called an option period and it could be whatever that is, a couple of days, a couple of weeks, whatever you both agree on. That means they’ve got that X amount of time to figure out how they’re going to exit the property, or they can go ahead and terminate the contract without any repercussions.

Joseph Crooms (15:53)
Thank you for sharing that, Susan. That’s the kind of stuff people don’t talk about enough. And honestly, it what separates folks who just dabble from the ones who stay in the game long term. Let me ask you this. What do you focus on solving or scaling next? What’s your next real goal?

Susan Casias (16:12)
Multifamily. I wanna do more multifamily properties. You know, ⁓ it’s the old sales game. You can put the same effort into a small deal as you would put into a large deal. So why wouldn’t you wanna make more money with the same effort, right?

Joseph Crooms (16:27)
What’s caused you to to say this is the time now?

Susan Casias (16:30)
You know, part is the economy. I’ve I see a lot of ⁓ people downsizing. I see apartment complexes going up everywhere because people aren’t able to keep their homes anymore. As we all know, if you’ve ever done any kind of investigating, there’s more people in foreclosure now than ever before and that list is just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Joseph Crooms (16:52)
That’s big, especially when when you already got ⁓ a team in place, I guess. But you it’s sorta shrinking, but the the the market is growing in place. So that next move can either compound things or create chaos depending on how you play it. Now I know a lot of people listening are either early in their journey or looking to level up and I think their benefit from me in this. When it comes to building relationships

and growing your network. What’s made the biggest difference to you?

Susan Casias (17:24)
being friendly competitors. ⁓ the and being honest and also not being greedy. A lot of people are outpricing properties because they want to make a hundred thousand dollars on every deal. Those days aren’t around. I mean there are there’s the occasional deal you’ll make a nice penny on. But for the most part, the average investor is making about ten grand tops on on a deal for the most part.

And so a lot of people they for whatever reasons they’re trying to make too much money and they price the deal out of the market.

Joseph Crooms (17:58)
And you think that shift in ⁓ character or mindset is an advantage?

Susan Casias (18:06)
Well yeah, because then I can attract all kinds of business to myself because I’m open and there are people who owe too much on their house that you can’t get any lower price than that other property. And so if I don’t need to be greedy, I get more deals. And it’s always those little deals that add up every month. That those are the ones that pay the bills.

Joseph Crooms (18:30)
Hmm. I I thank you for sharing that with us. ⁓ and you can’t fake fake fake relationships ⁓ in this in the space that you’re in. Yeah. So ⁓ before we wrap this up, if someone wanted to to reach out, connect with you, maybe collaborate or learn more of what you’re doing, what’s the best way to reach you, Susan?

Susan Casias (18:53)
They can call me on my cell phone at seven one three three two zero eight zero one nine or they can go to thepropertyenergizer.com and they can fill out the form there and then ⁓ my f my business number is on that as well, which goes directly to my cell phone. Cause I’m always mobile, so I always got this going on.

Joseph Crooms (19:13)
So you know what? So if people like me sometimes they’re fumbling trying to get things together so they can write that information. Mind sharing it one more time?

Susan Casias (19:21)
Sure, and I’ll even go slower, which is very difficult for me. You can call or text me at seven one three three two zero eight zero one nine.

Joseph Crooms (19:37)
Sounds good. Perfect. Well listen, I appreciate your time, your story, your philosophy, and how ⁓ and your perspective. I guess they’re pretty much the same, but I want to really bring out the philosophy. We need more people in this space who’s doing the right thing. Thanks again for being here. And ⁓ and for for those of you tuning in, if you got value from this, and I know you did, you make sure you subscribe.

We got we have more conversations coming with operators just like Susan, ⁓ who are building real businesses. So we’ll see you on the next episode of Invest a Fuel Real Estate Pros podcast. See you soon. Susan, say hello. Say goodbye. Thank you, Susan.