How I More Than Doubled My GCI (Even In A Down Market)

Cheyenne McGriff:  Platform was really the first major marketing move I made and investment I made back into the business. So I had to just really have a talk with myself and say, “Cheyenne, you're investing in this company. They're investing in you with providing all of the material information and basically giving you the exact roadmap of what to do, and are you taking full advantage?”

So I just had to really dive in and determine how can I improve what I'm giving to this marketing company and how I'm showing up. And that started, I mean, just as last year, I've submitted more ads, more listing videos, and I've really noticed the impact that it's made. And it really just came down to me not making excuses and determining that I was the one that really needed to put my time and energy back in to make it work.

Tim Chermak: This is the Platform Marketing Show where we interview the most creative and ambitious real estate agents in the country, dissect their local marketing strategy, and get the behind the scenes scoop on how they're generating listing leads and warm referrals. We'll dive into the specifics of what marketing campaigns are working for them, how much they're spending on those campaigns, and figure out how they have perfected what we call the platform marketing strategy. 

This is your host, Tim Chermak. I'm the founder and CEO of Platform. I love marketing and I talk too much, so let's dive in. 

Tim Chermak: Hey guys, it's Tim Chermak, and welcome back to another episode of the Platform Marketing Show. I'm joined today by Cheyenne McGriff. Cheyenne is in Rapid City, South Dakota. Cheyenne, welcome to the show!

Cheyenne McGriff: Hey, thank you so much for having me!

Tim Chermak: So we finally have an awesome client in Rapid City. It's one of those cities that over the years we'd always just looked at a map of the US, and there's kind of these mid-size towns all across the country where “Man, that would be a perfect market for Platform.” Rapid has what, a hundred thousand people? Something like that? 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yeah, with surrounding areas. Yep. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah, it's not like a big city, but it's certainly not a small town either. And it’s like “If we could just get the right client in that area, I think they would do really, really well with Platform.” And then Cheyenne joined the Platfam back in 2023, I believe

Cheyenne McGriff: Mm-hmm.

Tim Chermak: As of this recording, we're right about two years into your experience with Platform. Let's share the numbers before we dive into everything else, to give people context of where your business was, where it's at now, where you think it's going.

I know that you mentioned prior to ever joining the Platform Marketing program or starting any of this marketing stuff that you're doing now, your best year ever was $9 million. So you were already doing quite well because to give some context to that, I'm from the Midwest myself. I've probably been to Rapid City more times in my life than anyone who doesn't live in Rapid City. That was always our family vacations in the summer was we'd go to the Black Hills and the OAS there, the Mount Rushmore, et cetera. 

So I know that Rapid City is maybe a little bit more expensive than it was, five years ago, but it's still very affordable relative to many areas of the country where I'm sure you have sold many $250,000 homes. It's not all $800,000 homes or half million dollar homes. So to sell $9 million even, I'm just giving a little preface there, you had to do some pretty significant volume, I imagine to hit $9 million. That's not selling 10 houses, right?

Cheyenne McGriff: Right, right.

Tim Chermak: And so $9 million was your best. Then you heard about the Platform Marketing program. By the way, how did you first get connected with us? Was it a referral or a Facebook ad or what was it? 

Cheyenne McGriff: It was our friend Ashley Goodrich at Spearfish. 

Tim Chermak: Oh, okay. Okay. I didn't know that. 

Cheyenne McGriff: She had posted an end of the year recap and I have always looked up to her. She's an amazing agent and very well known and respected in our area. And because our towns are close, we're all kind of little small towns out here. And I saw she had posted of one of the successes she had for her year and she had tagged you and Platform and she said, “This is such a big help for my business and thank you to Platform for all you've done.” And so then I clicked. Then I kept clicking and then I set up a call and then I joined on. 

Tim Chermak: Cool. I actually did not know that, but that makes perfect sense. 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yup.

Tim Chermak: Are you with REMAX or which brokerage are you with? 

Cheyenne McGriff: I am. Yep, I'm with REMAX Results in Rapid City. 

Tim Chermak: Okay. So that explains the connection to Ashley 'cause I know Ashley's also with REMAX. Ashley, I think was like the number one producer for REMAX, the entire state of South Dakota for the last couple years or something like that.

Cheyenne McGriff: She's a powerhouse. 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. Which is remarkable considering Spearfish has like 15,000 people and you're going up against agents in towns that are much, much larger than Spearfish, whether it's Rapid, Sioux Falls, etcetera. 

Cool. I did not know that. So you apparently saw Ashley Goodrich on Facebook. She kind of just casually mentioned Platform. You looked us up, found that out. You've now been with Platform for two years and we'll get into that, that two years later, but now you're at the point about two years in where we're recording this midyear, and you're probably on pace to hit $20 million this year.

I know you said you just wrote an offer on a property that you're hoping goes under contract for like $2 million, and you said that they're selling a million-dollar house. Was that right? 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yep. 

Tim Chermak: So that's way above your price range, so that's awesome. Those are a lot more expensive than most of the homes in the Rapid area. And then you also mentioned that you have a meeting with a builder later today. 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yep, I do with a high-end builder so it's very exciting. And the primary reason for the call was he had always commented on my posts on Facebook, but he just wanted to hear my marketing ideas. 

Tim Chermak: That's awesome. So that's the exact way you wanna start a conversation like that, because he's actually coming to you asking for marketing advice. So you can lead with value early on in the relationship. So I sprinkled in all these anecdotes, mentioned all these numbers because I wanna kind lay the foundation here of you were selling $9 million before the Platform strategy. Now you're gonna sell this year probably $20 million if a couple things go your way. Who knows? You might hit beyond. Maybe somewhere between $20 and $25 million. So your business, it's fair to say, has actually at this point, more than doubled. You're on pace to have more than doubled your business. 

So now in hindsight, looking back at the last 24 months, it’s like yeah, this Platform strategy thing worked, but for you, it's also part of a larger trend or commitment. You've just been investing in a lot of personal development and growth in the last couple years. I know you've also worked or are working with Lindsey Litton as a coach, helping you design the business model of how you want your life and your business to look. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows the last couple years.

I know that you had a comment in the Platform group, our private Facebook group in the last month or two, where you kind of got vulnerable and you shared like, “Hey, the whole first year I was a Platform, I was basically second guessing, ‘Did I make the right decision here? Because I was investing all this money and my business wasn't necessarily growing that first year.’” Would you mind expanding on that and sharing what it was like being in that situation for that first year where you're like, “I don't think this is working.”

Cheyenne McGriff: Yeah, absolutely. So I would say that my business had, like many agents, been referral, repeat clients and my sphere for the entirety of my first five years and Platform was really the first major marketing move I made and investment I made back into the business. And I had shared in the group that at first I was guessing, “Did I do the right thing? Am I putting my money in the right place?” But on the other side of it, I was not doing the work. I was not submitting all the ads that I could. I was not submitting the listing videos that I could. So I had to just really have a talk with myself and say, “Cheyenne, you're investing in this company. They're investing in you with providing all of the material information and basically giving you the exact roadmap of what to do and are you taking full advantage?”

So I just had to really dive in and determine how can I improve what I'm giving to this marketing company and how I'm showing up. And that started, I mean, just as last year I've submitted more ads, more listing videos, and I've really noticed the impact that it's made. And it really just came down to me not making excuses and determining that I was the one that really needed to put my time and energy back in to make it work.

Tim Chermak: And so it's like this analogy I often mention where signing up for Platform or any marketing program out there, right? It's like buying a gym membership, or maybe it's like buying a premium gym membership, like CrossFit or something like that, where it's more expensive than just getting a $50 a month generic gym membership. But the ROI that you get from that membership has absolutely nothing to do with you buying the membership. 

Cheyenne McGriff: Right.

Tim Chermak: It's purely a function of how many workouts do you actually fit in a month? Because you could actually not have a gym membership and just go for a long walk every day, and you'll be in better shape than someone who buys a gym membership but only lifts weights once per month.

Cheyenne McGriff: Yeah. 

Tim Chermak: It has nothing to do with having the membership. It's what do you do with it. So you kind of had that realization at some point in that first year that, “Hey, I've been doing Platform. I'm technically paying to be in the Platform program, but maybe I'm not taking full advantage of what they're telling me to do. I'm maybe picking and choosing the stuff I feel like doing, but that's not what's gonna make me successful. It’s like waking up every day and just only doing the things that I'm in the mood to do,” right? And yet still you stuck with it. Because obviously you're still here, you're now being interviewed on the podcast because you're this case study, you're a success story.

What made you stick with it all throughout that first year and into probably the 18 month period? What made you stick with it? Because a lot of people at that point, especially with how down the real estate market is, if they tried a marketing program, especially like a premium program like Platform - it's expensive. Platform is not cheap. 

What made you stick with it after a whole year of kind of feeling like, “I don't really know if this is working. I don't know if it's not working, but I also know that it's not totally blowing up my business in the first year.” Was there people that you looked up to or did you have any conversations with other Platform clients or maybe your account manager? What was it that made you decide to stick it out for the second year? 

Cheyenne McGriff: There were a lot of things that made me decide to stick it out. Number one is, I am competitive, as you could probably guess, being in the real estate world, and I didn't want anyone else to be able to snag my spot just because I wasn't doing the work. So I said, I have this spot. I value this spot, and I need to put the work in to make sure it works for me and not just gve up. So I wasn't willing to give up early. 

Additionally, I had gotten a lot of pushback in my market when I first started about these videos. “Videos aren't worth it,” and “The videos aren't gonna grow your business,” and “Why are you wasting money on social media?” And I just really wanted to prove everyone wrong that this works. These videos work. And I remember when I first started in real estate, I had put down to be the best known agent on social media. And I was like, “I'm gonna make that happen with Platform.” 

Cheyenne McGriff: Additionally, I love the community that Platform provides. I gain so much knowledge and value from being in the PlatFam from going to the Mastermind, from just having the conversations that we're able to have as a community in our Platform network. I have learned so much from the other agents that are in the community. I have gone to retreats like that Kara Farrar has hosted and learned so many things beyond just marketing. About business, about being a better agent. And that community piece of it is huge to me. And I didn't wanna give that up either 'cause I really do feel like I'm part of a family. And I had seen it work in so many other agents' worlds and lives. And I knew that if I just continued to put in the effort that it would work for me. And I got so many, I have so much fuzzy ROI from Platform. I'm not able to track it really. 

So often I'll have people say, “Oh, I see you on Facebook,” or I bought a car, and the manager at the dealership was like, “Oh yeah, I know you. You're that agent on Facebook.” And I went to a listing appointment and I had been referred to these folks from another agent and they said, “Oh, we were so glad it was you because we wanted to hire the girl from Facebook.” So just that kind of feedback, and everyone, everyday I see someone, they're like, “Wow, you're pretty busy. I see you all over Facebook.” 

Tim Chermak: And again, you aren't in a tiny town where it's not, “Oh, everyone sees me or recognizes me 'cause my town has 4,000 people.” I mean, you technically live in Wall, right?

Cheyenne McGriff: I do. Yeah. 

Tim Chermak: But the area you work, Rapid, has like you said over a 100,000 people. So it's not this tiny town where, “Oh, people recognize me on Facebook because there's 800 people who live here,” or something. 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yeah. 

Tim Chermak: So it means your ads really are getting a lot of reach.

Tim Chermak: Cheyenne, you mentioned fuzzy ROI. Would you mind explaining that, putting it into your own words, like when you say, “Hey, I'm getting fuzzy ROI.” What does that mean? Because that's a phrase a lot of people on the Platform use, but someone who's listening to this podcast that isn't currently working with Platform probably has no idea what you're talking about.

Would you mind trying to define that in your own words and why it's such an important part of this overall strategy? 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yeah, so sometimes it can be a little bit hard to track that, “Oh, this exact deal came to me directly from an ad that they viewed online.” Fuzzy ROI to me, is being top of mind all of the time for my entire retargeting audience, being top of mind in my community, people recognizing me as the realtor in the Rapid City-Black Hills area that I cover. And just having that feedback from people see my ads, they recognize me from it. They realize I'm in real estate and they see that I'm out working. So to me, it's just having that recognition and it's having that connection. I feel like these people can come up to me and say, “Oh, I recognize you from Facebook,” because they feel like they know me from what I post.

And it's a fun way to really be my authentic self and also show that I'm in real estate and also connect with the community at the same time. 

Tim Chermak: So it's really just this acknowledgement of, Hey, I'm doing this marketing. I'm showing up. I'm filming videos. I'm staying top of mind with people. And because there's so many potentially different photos or videos or ads that someone might see me in, they are not going to necessarily even remember which particular ad they saw or if they saw an ad, right? But they remember me.” So if they don't even remember, there's probably not gonna be a very accurate way for you to track if you know which ad they came from. So fuzzy ROI is this just acknowledgement that you're probably not always going to be able to track and attribute exactly which ad or which video or which Facebook campaign or Instagram campaign or YouTube video or whatever that a certain prospect came from. But you know that your marketing influenced them indirectly in some way.

Cheyenne McGriff: Yes, and I would say when we had issues with Facebook glitching with ads for a short time, I did not realize how much I valued my ads until they weren't working for a short period of time. Because I had people like, “Hey, we haven't seen you on Facebook. Are you okay?” I’m like, “I'm okay.” And so it really was like, you don't know how good you have it until it's gone for a little bit. And they're like, “Oh my gosh, this is so incredibly valuable.” 

Tim Chermak: Yeah. It's so annoying. So just to give a little bit of history there, Facebook ad accounts had some glitch a couple months ago and we're actually still really working through it. Facebook really hasn't honestly fixed the issue per se, but they weren't letting people's cards be billed for ads. So if you were spending money on ads, even if you had a card that worked, Facebook wouldn't accept the cards. And so no one could pay their bills for running Facebook ads. And Facebook won't let you run more ads if you don't pay the bill but the problem was their system was not letting you pay the bill. 

And so we had a bunch of clients who went a month or more without running actual Facebook ads. Like we were still making the posts and editing the videos and everything, but the actual ads weren't being run to reach 50,000 people or whatever. They were being seen by a couple hundred people and clients like you that this happened to, 'cause it didn't happen to all of our clients, it was this glitch in Facebook that affected maybe 20% of Platform agents. I have no idea why it wouldn't affect all of them at the same time, but whatever. And you said you noticed, hey, in just that month or six weeks or whatever it was that you weren't running ads, you noticed that, “Oh wow, okay. People can tell that I'm not top of mind as I used to be.”

I actually had an agent who just joined the PlatFam again like this last month here. He had joined Platform a couple years ago, quit and then a year later he's signing back up again because he realized that in that year that I wasn't doing Platform, I added up how much business I missed out on and it was in like the millions and millions of dollars of sales volume because I actually had someone tell me that was a high end listing, I think in his area, that “Oh, I would've worked with you, but I thought you quit real estate.”

Cheyenne McGriff: Oh, yeah. 

Tim Chermak: So when he stopped all the social media marketing he was doing with Platform, people literally thought he had gotten out of real estate, and then he's missed out on all this business. Then he also closed and converted some business of leads he had generated a year ago. So he also underestimated the long tail effects of just like that constant planting seeds, and staying top of mind with people. But it is a long game, right? 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yep. 

Tim Chermak: That's really all that fuzzy ROI is trying to capture is just this reality that branding is a long game. It's not like Zillow leads where it's like, “Hey, I got this lead on this date and I closed them on this date and I can exactly track how much commission I made from this money I sent to Zillow.” It's not this neat math. It's a little bit more complicated, a little bit fuzzy. We call it fuzzy ROI 'cause you are getting a return on investment, ROI, but it's fuzzy in how you calculate it. It's just that at the end of the day, hey, if my best year ever before I started doing all this marketing stuff was $9 million in sales, and now I'm on pace to do $20 million plus, obviously what you're doing is working, right?

Cheyenne McGriff: Yeah. 

Tim Chermak: So my next question is, are you doing any other interesting marketing initiatives or stuff in the community, or are there any other marketing or pay-per-click companies or anything else you're doing to grow your business that seems to be working? 

Cheyenne McGriff: No, I don't have any online leads. I don't pay for any of the Zillows, Realtor.com, any of those. I primarily have Platform. I do a ton for my sphere, especially. So I'd always done client events maybe one a year. But after coming to the Mastermind last November, I decided to go all in on client events. So I hired a contractual event planner to help me out. And we are going to do, I think we're doing five or six events this year.

Tim Chermak: Wow, okay. 

Cheyenne McGriff: We've already had two. 

Tim Chermak: Awesome. 

Cheyenne McGriff: Yep. And that's just something I love doing, so it's easy,

For more of this episode, listen on Apple or Spotify Podcasts.