Tulio Peña grew up in Florida but after finishing school, he wanted to experience something different and moved to Colorado for an internship in the healthcare industry. In his mid-twenties, Tulio became curious about purchasing a home. Throughout the process, he remembers wanting to learn more about the different types of loans, inspections, appraisals, and the purpose of title insurance. A seed was planted.

He developed a friendship with a man who was in real estate, who often encouraged Tulio to explore it as a career. “He told me that I was outgoing, likable, and able to make friends quickly. He knew my salary was capped in the healthcare industry and told me I could do better than that. I finally decided to go for it.”

When Tulio switched careers, the internet was in its infancy and there were no online class options. Tulio attended Century 21’s real estate program in the evenings. He found it challenging and didn’t pass the test the first time. He crushed it the second time, though. After Tulio got his license, his friend connected him with a Remax agent who invited Tulio to work a model home with him. He passed any leads that weren’t a fit for that home on to Tulio. Tulio remembered, “I did strive to help this agent sell the model home, but there were way more people for whom it just wasn’t a fit because it was out of their budget or it was not the right location for them. I received three to five leads per day.”

Tulio learned a lot about contracts, listing, buying, amendments, and property disclosures from this agent, who became his first mentor. In addition to following up on hot leads, Tulio learned to prospect by calling people from the phone book, asking if they had any real estate needs. His mentor would listen in and coach him about how to do the calls better. “It was actually very fun and I was grateful to have the opportunity to work with someone who cared.” 

Tulio’s early real estate experiences were supplemented by helping his first wife manage a four-plex that she owned. It wasn’t long before Tulio saw an opportunity in that niche and started contacting multi-unit owners and advertising multi-family listings in real estate magazines that were found in grocery stores.

Tulio received priceless education through these early experiences. He was a solo agent from 1998 to 2017 before eventually being recruited to Keller Williams. Around the same time, he started to read more books about growth and developed a business relationship with a Keller Williams agent who became his coach and encouraged him to read The Millionaire Real Estate Agent. Reading this book inspired him to stop thinking small and to make his first hire.

That first hire was Dan Culbertson, a colleague from his old medical career who reached out to Tulio when he quit. Tulio recalls, “I decided to hire him as an assistant. Committing to pay someone else’s salary felt like a big, scary step, but I was focusing on the amount of time I could get back.”

It didn’t take long for Tulio to see the benefits of making that first hire. “Dan got his license pretty quickly and when my father passed away and I returned home to Florida for ten days, Dan covered, getting clients under contract. We didn’t miss a beat. It was amazing to see good leverage in action. That’s what got me comfortable with hiring.” Soon after, Tulio added Transaction Coordinator and Showing Assistant functions to his team and his team continued to expand from there. 

Tulio also learned the value of systems. He examined what other strong agents, including his coach, were doing - and replicated them for his business. Tulio acknowledged, “That’s when things really changed. I hadn’t used systems before but saw the value.” Tulio shared an example: “I was really good at getting new clients but really bad about keeping them. I would sell them a house and then see them sell it with a different real estate agent a few years later. They wouldn’t call me because I didn’t stay in touch - I was horrible about that. After getting quality coaching and putting systems in place, I’ve really turned that around. Now I can confidently say it is extremely rare that we don’t retain a client and receive several referrals from them while they are here.”

Tulio often hears from his clients how well his team stays in touch. “Some of our clients have told us, ‘You stay in touch better than my own family does.’ That’s a real compliment. The old Tulio - he sucked.” He laughed and continued: “We have a multi-touch system now and do a lot of client appreciation events. During COVID, we started doing virtual events and that’s something we still do today, which allows us to include clients who have moved away. We host virtual movie nights, sending treat boxes and integrating scavenger hunts and prizes into the experience to make it interactive. These events afford multiple touches - before, during, and after. Plus we do care calls, send newsletters, and acknowledge birthdays and house anniversaries. Our touches create familiarity and trust so when our clients need something, they call us - whether it's a pizza place, a plumber or a painter. Then when it comes time for them to sell, they reach back out to us. They know we’re worth it and wouldn’t think of working with anyone else.”

Tulio remembers where he started. “I always wondered back then where my next transaction would come from. It always came, because I’m social and I get out there, but there was no intentionality. This is a hard business. There’s so much that’s not predictable or in our control with interest rates, inflation, and cost of living. But with systems in place that help us stay in touch and follow up, we don’t let people slip through the cracks.”

Tulio has learned to look to other people to do the things he’s not good at, such as his current Manager of Ops, Jessica Pullig. “She’s great at the analytical side of things. She challenges me, helps me see things from a different angle, and holds me accountable. She’s like a second coach to me.” Tulio now has six agents on his team, including himself, as well as the Manager of Ops and a Transaction Coordinator. His team leverages two Virtual Assistants who follow up on leads and help with technical aspects such as data crunching. 

Two years ago, Tulio started a group called Word Wizards, which provides practice in language skills, scripts, and dialogues and supports agents in getting more comfortable with conversions and objections. This group of over 1600 Realtors meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning via Zoom or Facebook, 8:20 to 9:00 a.m. The Realtors practice timely, relevant and challenging conversations with each other so they don’t have to practice on their clients. Wood Wizards is a safe place for agents to learn and grow together. (Interested? Join them on Facebook at Word Wizards: Real Estate Conversations, Dialogue, & Role Play for Realtors.)

Outside of work, Tulio enjoys watching his kids participate in their sports teams. He and his family enjoy camping, fishing, and traveling to tropical places like Florida or the Gulf of Mexico. 

Tulio has really learned the importance of systems, leverage, and relationships. “The client experience doesn’t have to be Tulio. It has to be quality - that’s what people want. If you can meld the quality of service with the touch of care, follow-up, trust, and the feel of a friendship, that’s the beauty of what we do. I have much gratitude for the people who have trusted us with one of the biggest things in their lives.”