The Better Agent Podcast

Can a solo agent win multiple-offer bidding wars and build a referral business without a team or a single paid lead?
Josh Lavik, host of The Better Agent Podcast and a Wisconsin REALTOR® who scaled his business from 5 to 50 transactions a year, talks with Milwaukee agent Codi Alger, who was named rookie of the year for a seven-state region in her first year with 25 sales and $6 million in volume.
You'll learn how to win multiple offers, keep your real estate systems simple, grow referrals through real relationships, and handle what you can't control.
🎧 Hosted by: Josh Lavik
🎧 Guest: 
Codi Alger – Solo real estate agent in the Milwaukee market with seven years in real estate. In her first year, she was named rookie of the year for a seven-state region with 25 sales and $6 million in volume. 
🎤 Featuring: 
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Multiple-offer tip: call the listing agent before writing an offer

Choosing a client niche makes real estate systems repeatable

Bad-fit clients: refer them to a colleague after the first meeting

Intentional days off help real estate agents avoid burnout

Agent growth strategy: tour vacant homes to sharpen inventory knowledge

Clear next steps build client trust and future referrals

Listing appointment tip: tell sellers you can't control every buyer

🎯 Key Questions Answered in This Episode :
Q: How do you find out what a home seller really wants?
→ A: Codi Alger, a Milwaukee solo agent, asks sellers to imagine having a magic wand and lay out their ideal timeline and process, such as when to close and whether they want to tidy the house. She then builds a plan from those answers, since every seller wants something different.
Q: What should a real estate agent do when a deal falls apart?
→ A: Josh Lavik, host of The Better Agent Podcast, lets the deal go and accepts it, because pushing too hard to save it can make things worse. He notes that sellers can find another great buyer and buyers can find a home they love as much or more.
Q: When do first-time home buyers usually sell?
→ A: First-time home buyers statistically sell within about seven years, according to Codi Alger. She's now seeing the alumni she helped buy their first homes come back to sell as their families grow.
📇 Connect with Codi Alger:
🌎 Website → https://codialgerhomes.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thecodialger/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/codimjohnson/
🎙 FOLLOW JOSH LAVIK & THE BETTER AGENT PODCAST:
🌎 Website → https://www.joshlavik.com/
🌎 21-Day Challenge → https://www.abetterrealestateexperience.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/joshlavikassoc
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jla_madison/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlavik
Listen to the full conversation now and subscribe to the Better Agent Podcast for more real stories on building a better real estate business 
🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!
⭐ Produced by Icons of Real Estate – iconsofrealestate.com
#TheBetterAgentPodcast #JoshLavik #WisconsinRealEstate #MadisonRealtor #RealEstateGrowth #AgentTips #5to50Transactions #RealEstatePodcast #BetterAgent #ScaleYourBusiness

What is your time worth, and are you still spending it stuffing envelopes?
Josh Lavik, host of The Better Agent Podcast and a Wisconsin REALTOR® who scaled from 5 to 50 transactions a year, talks with Beth Jaworski, a Shorewest REALTORS® agent licensed since 1992. Beth has sold 50 - 70 homes a year with no assistant for about a decade, leaning on trusted vendors and go-to agents instead of a formal team.
This episode shows how real estate systems, smart pricing, and agent mentorship keep a top producing agent growing for 34 years.
🎧 Hosted by: Josh Lavik
🎧 Guest:
Beth Jaworski has been a REALTOR® since September 1992 and works with Shorewest REALTORS® in the Wauwatosa area. She sold 10 - 12 homes her first year, later sold about 70 homes a year consistently, and now closes closer to 50. She has run her business without an assistant for about 10 years.
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Every agent needs a team, formal or not.
✔️ Outsourcing low-dollar tasks frees time for client appointments.
✔️ Reinvest early closings into part-time help to build more.
✔️ Serving both buyers and sellers helps you adapt to market shifts.
✔️ List price reveals more about pricing than sold price.
✔️ Clean offers can matter more to sellers than top dollar.
✔️ Saved client thank-you cards can lift you on hard days.
✔️Giving your time to a cause builds know-like-trust.
🎯 Key Questions Answered in This Episode :
Q: How can I tell when the real estate market is starting to shift?
→ A: Beth Jaworski spots a shift when price-reduction emails suddenly arrive after months without any. Brand-new listings with no price reductions tell her the market is still moving fast.
Q: What is the best way for agents to get more referrals from other markets?
→ A: Beth Jaworski gets referrals from other markets by connecting with agents at conferences and conventions, often over coffee or lunch. Many come from agents who didn't know her but whose office colleagues met her there.
Q: What is a "fantasy offer" in real estate?
→ A: A fantasy offer, as Beth Jaworski describes it, is written far over asking, such as $80,000 over, while keeping full inspection, appraisal, and financing contingencies. Since it's unlikely to appraise, Beth warns newer agents that sellers often won't accept it.
⏳ Timestamps:
📌 00:00 - You Need Support or You'll Burn Out
📌00:31 - Meet Beth Jaworski: 34 Years in Real Estate
📌03:17 - Selling 50 - 70 Homes a Year With No Team
📌06:58 - Build a Trusted Agent Network
📌11:44 - The Night Owl Secret to Delegation
📌12:58 - What Is Your Time Worth?
📌 15:22 - When New Agents Should Hire Help
📌18:22 - How the Housing Market Has Changed
📌19:15 - Why Work Both Buyers and Sellers
📌24:11 - Absorption Rate Explained Simply
📌27:04 - Listed $405K, Sold $505K: Pricing Trap
📌29:52 - Clean Offers vs. Fantasy Offers
📌31:57 - Conventions, Coffee Chats & Referrals
📌35:02 - How to Stay Positive When It's Hard
📌36:18 - Lost 7 Listings in a Row
📌41:10 - The Thank-You Card Drawer
📌 43:01 - Rinse and Repeat Your Systems
📌 44:21 - Community Involvement Builds Trust
📇 Connect with Beth Jaworski:
🌎 Website → http://bethjaworski.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/BethSellsHomes
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/bethsellshomesinwi/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethsellshomes/
🎙 FOLLOW JOSH LAVIK & THE BETTER AGENT PODCAST:
🌎 Website → https://www.joshlavik.com/
🌎 21-Day Challenge → https://www.abetterrealestateexperience.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/joshlavikassoc
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jla_madison/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlavik
🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!
⭐ Produced by Icons of Real Estate – iconsofrealestate.com
#TheBetterAgentPodcast #JoshLavik #WisconsinRealEstate #MadisonRealtor #RealEstateGrowth #AgentTips #5to50Transactions #RealEstatePodcast #BetterAgent #ScaleYourBusiness

"The most demoralizing days were when eight leads shrank down to two and even those fell through." Here's how Jake Barr pushed past it anyway. 
Josh Lavik has spent 20 years building his own real estate business in the Madison, Wisconsin market and on The Better Agent Podcast, he unpacks what actually separates agents who scale from agents who stall. In this episode, he sits down with Jake Barr, a Compass agent on Milwaukee's Horizon Homes team, who closed over 100 transactions worth nearly $30 million in under three years.
Jake walks through the exact systems paid leads, relentless follow-up, a BiggerPockets referral partnership, and a house-hacking strategy that landed him his first duplex that took him from an anxious first year to a real, repeatable production business.
🎧 Hosted by: Josh Lavik
🎧 Guest: 
Jake Barr is a real estate agent with Compass, part of the Horizon Homes team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In under three years in the business, he has closed over 100 transactions totaling nearly $30 million in sales volume, and recently purchased his first investment duplex in Milwaukee's River West neighborhood using a house-hacking strategy. 
🎤 Featuring: 
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ How to keep going when your pipeline shrinks to just 2 active leads 
✔️ Why the first 3–6 months of paid leads always underperform and how long to actually wait it out 
✔️ How to build a follow-up system that keeps converting leads 12–18 months later 
✔️ How a BiggerPockets referral partnership became a steady source of investor clients 
✔️ How to buy your first investment property with limited capital using house-hacking 
✔️ How to keep a stalled $700K listing alive by "showing the sweat" to a frustrated seller 
✔️ How to protect family time while still scaling a growing real estate business 
📇 Connect with Jake Barr:
🌎 Website → https://www.compass.com/agents/jacob-barr/
📘 Facebook→ https://www.instagram.com/jakebarr_realtor?utm_source=qr
📷 Instagram → https://www.facebook.com/jake.barr.3766
🔗 LinkedIn → http://linkedin.com/in/jake-barr-69b02b191
🎙 FOLLOW JOSH LAVIK & THE BETTER AGENT PODCAST:
🌎 Website → https://www.joshlavik.com/
🌎 21-Day Challenge → https://www.abetterrealestateexperience.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/joshlavikassoc
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jla_madison/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlavik
Listen to the full conversation now and subscribe to the Better Agent Podcast for more real stories on building a better real estate business 
🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!
⭐ Produced by Icons of Real Estate – iconsofrealestate.com
#TheBetterAgentPodcast #JoshLavik #WisconsinRealEstate #MadisonRealtor #RealEstateGrowth #AgentTips #5to50Transactions #RealEstatePodcast #BetterAgent #ScaleYourBusiness

769 cold calls a week. One floor call turned into $3.2M. Here's how a 26-year-old agent built a real business. Most agents burn out chasing the next transaction instead of building something that lasts and this episode is a reminder that the two aren't the same thing.
Host Josh Lavik has spent nearly 20 years in real estate across three different companies, and on this episode he sits down with Griffin Dobson, an eXp Realty agent who went full-time right as the pandemic hit in 2020. Griffin's path is different from most he came up through competitive bodybuilding, not a traditional sales background, and it shapes how he talks about consistency, patience, and playing a long game most agents give up on too soon.
Together they break down what it actually took for Griffin to log close to 40,000 dials in a single year, how a "dead" lead from 2022 turned into a $3.2 million listing three years later, and why he's convinced team-based leverage not solo hustle is what let him hit 40+ deals in progress this year. If you're grinding through a slow stretch and wondering if it ever clicks, this one's for you.
🎧 Hosted by: Josh Lavik
🎧 Guest: 
Griffin Dobson is a full-time real estate professional with the Mike Coke Team at eXp Realty. Bringing six years of industry experience, he specializes in residential and luxury property sales, leveraging deep market knowledge and a proactive, client-focused strategy to drive high-volume results and successful transactions. 
🎤 Featuring: 
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ How to turn a 45-minute drive to a showing into productive prospecting time instead of dead time 
✔️ Why circle prospecting can take years to pay off and how to stay consistent through the silence 
✔️ How an ABC lead-tracking system tells you exactly who to follow up with each week 
✔️ The real math behind 40,000 dials in a year and why it's more doable than it sounds 
✔️ How one floor call turned into a $3.2 million listing through relationship-based follow-up 
✔️ Why shifting from a "30-day" mindset to a "5-10 year" mindset changes how you handle a bad month 
✔️ What a real estate team can offer a young agent that going solo can't 
✔️ Why even part-time administrative help is essential to scaling past a certain point 
📇 Connect with Griffin Dobson:
🌎 Website → http://griffin.tfrwi.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/griffin.dobson/
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/griffindobson_/
🎙 FOLLOW JOSH LAVIK & THE BETTER AGENT PODCAST:
🌎 Website → https://www.joshlavik.com/
🌎 21-Day Challenge → https://www.abetterrealestateexperience.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/joshlavikassoc
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jla_madison/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlavik
Listen to the full conversation now and subscribe to the Better Agent Podcast for more real stories on building a better real estate business 
🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!
⭐ Produced by Icons of Real Estate – iconsofrealestate.com

Are you treating your real estate career like a professional athlete, or are you just showing up to the gym to "look at the weights"? Why do some agents thrive independently while others struggle to find their footing?
In this episode of the Better Agent Podcast, host Josh Lavik sits down with Lance Nowak, a highly successful real estate broker with 23 years of experience and the founder of Victory Realty Elite. Lance shares his incredible story of transitioning from a technical IT background into the relationship-driven world of real estate. Together, Josh and Lance discuss why treating real estate with the 24/7 dedication of a competitive bodybuilder is the absolute most critical tool you need to survive. They dive deep into the psychology of sales—explaining how to use the "Three Deep" questioning method to instantly build rapport, why Lance calls For Sale By Owners "FSNOs", and how independent brokers can leverage low overhead to win listings.
🎧 Hosted by: Josh Lavik
🎤 Featuring: Lance Nowak, Broker & Owner of Victory Realty Elite
Lance Nowak is the Broker and Owner of Victory Realty Elite. Active in the industry since 2005, he has sold over 650 homes across his real estate career. He leverages nearly two decades of local market expertise to guide clients seamlessly through their real estate transactions. 
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ Why starting your career at a massive brokerage is the best way to build your resume.
✔️ How to peel back the layers of a client's motivation using the "Three Deep" rule.
✔️ Why Lance calls FSBOs "For Sale Not On Market," and how to use it to win listings.
✔️ How the 24/7 discipline of competitive bodybuilding translates to real estate success.
✔️ How independent brokers can leverage low overhead to overcome commission objections.
✔️ Why new agents must prioritize ride-alongs to build their listing appointment confidence.
📇 Connect with Lance Nowak:
🌎 Website → https://www.victoryrealtyelite.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/victoryrealtyelite/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoryrealtyelite/
🎙 FOLLOW JOSH LAVIK & THE BETTER AGENT PODCAST:
🌎 Website → https://www.joshlavik.com/
🌎 21-Day Challenge → https://www.abetterrealestateexperience.com/
📘 Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/joshlavikassoc
📷 Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/jla_madison/
🔗 LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlavik
🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW!
⭐ Produced by Icons of Real Estate – iconsofrealestate.com