Your Business Works Before You Wake Up

That thing at the end of the day that keeps you up at night, those 20 unanswered emails, those tasks that you haven't completed, that client that you were supposed to call back, we're going to put a second shift on you to work on your business while you sleep. Because I have this automation set up in my business that cost me, get this, $20 per month, I increased my productivity by 261%. In the same period of time, I've gone from roughly 13,000 contacts in my customer relationship management system to over 40,000 contacts. Okay. I increased my income by 283%. My business is working consistently before I even clear the gunk out of my eyes. Wait, let me go back. You need the $20 per month account to create tasks. I build seven-figure businesses off a $20 tool.

Welcome to AI Agent Advantage. I'm JMan, and this episode is brought to you by our founding partners, Wise Agent, Subi, and the CE Shop. These are the companies that believe in what we are building here, and we're grateful to have them in our corner. AI is not replacing you, but the agent who uses it will. This is AI Agent Advantage. One expert, one tool, one thing you can implement today, with your host JMan.

Today I'm sitting down with Marki Lemons, five-time Hall of Famer, fractional chief AI officer, and someone who has personally trained over a million real estate professionals on how to actually use this stuff. And the tool we're breaking out today is a ChatGPT setup she calls the AI night shift, a system that works on your business while you sleep. If you don't know it yet, you will by the time we're done. Marki, welcome to the AI Agent Advantage.

Well, thank you for having me, JMan. There was nobody else I could have on first. Really? Yeah, other than the Empress of AI herself. Am I the first? Yeah. This will be the first episode. Ah, come on. Let's go. It's going to set the bar high. Set the bar high today.

So, you know the thing where at the end of the day, you read 40 unread messages, right? Twelve follow-ups you meant to do, and a listing description you swore you'd write tonight. Yeah. Today, we're going to fix that, but not the way you think. We're going to make your day longer. We're going to put a second shift on you to work on your business while you sleep. One expert, one workflow, one thing you can use before your next client call. The tool we're breaking down today is a ChatGPT workflow Marki calls the AI night shift. Projects, tasks, custom GPTs. Three features work as one system. If you have only used ChatGPT as a search bar, get ready, because Marki is going to welcome you to the AI agent advantage.

So, in plain English, tell us about the night shift. What's happening? Well, the night shift means that I have set up ChatGPT projects, which I consider roles, and ChatGPT tasks, which are automations, in order to work for me overnight. But actually, I don't deploy my night shift until 6:15 a.m. Central Standard Time, because I now don't wake up until 7:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. So at 6 a.m., 6:15 a.m., 6:30 a.m., and 6:45 a.m., there is a different automation that occurs in my business, so that when I wake up, I can be the human in the loop that reviews the task before it is deployed.

So you said a lot. For people who, if they're just getting started with AI, let's rewind just a little bit. When you talk about tasks, what are you talking about? When we're talking about tasks, we are talking about automation in your business. And what do I mean by that? Today, real estate agents need to be found more than just in search engine optimization. They want to come up in answer engine optimization and generative engine optimization.

For those that don't know, when they go do a Google search, at the very top is going to be your answer engine optimization. Are you answering the buying and selling public in the way in which they're searching the internet? So I want to come up in AEO, because it's free, right? I also want to come up in generative engine optimization. Generative engine optimization would be ChatGPT, Gemini AI, Perplexity.

So it's like if somebody went to ChatGPT and said, "Looking for a good real estate agent in my area." Looking for a good real estate agent who sells three-bedroom, two-bathroom houses in a zip code. Right. And I'm going to tell you why. I'm going to add a layer to this. People are doing... I search like a caveman, but like, audio input. Audio input. That means people are asking for more. All right. Think, go back 20 years ago, and let's go to longtail searches. You remember that? Yep. Longtail search, right?

And so when I'm waking up, because I want to come up in the palm of the hand of the consumer, I need fresh content to share every single day. There was a time, five years ago, I had to sit down and try to conjure up what to post. But now, because we have tasks, I get to tell it my voice, my style, my tone, what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to do it. And unlike an employee, it does exactly what you say. It does exactly what I say, how I say it, on time, with no excuses. No excuses. Yeah.

So, but you're automating a process, to break it down. Automating a process, yes. So you're saying, I want you to do this. Yes. At this time. Yes. Every day. Yes. And then do something with the output of it, either send me an email. Right. Usually if it's ChatGPT, like, how are you getting the output from that? So in ChatGPT, keep in mind that every platform is different. In ChatGPT, you can receive an email notification, or you can receive a notification when you enter into the portal at that time, that says, like, you wanted me to run trending real estate topics at 6:15. Here it is.

Now, I want to take it a step further. Yeah. So, let's say you're a real estate agent, you want to dominate a certain zip code, and you know exactly who your client avatar is. I could go over to a website like National Today and tell it, every single day, share with me a holiday that my avatar might celebrate, so that I can talk about it online. I will tell you, food is always a good one. Universal. Universal, like National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. And then you identify... oh, well, we're going to add another step. And then it can identify, according to Yelp, the top chocolate chip places to get a cookie from in the surrounding area of the zip code. It's done it all for you.

And so what's the beginning part of that? You just say, "I want to create a task," and it's going to ask... Oh, yeah. You tell it you want to create a task, and you tell it the time in which you want the task to run. It'll say, what do you want, and when do you want to receive it? Yes. But I'm... depending on the platform. I want to add another level of complication. Yeah. I have created a custom GPT that creates the task, because it provides it with more detail. Okay. The more details, the better the output. The better the output.

So what's a custom GPT? A custom GPT is a set of rules and regulations that we've given inside of ChatGPT to a custom GPT, for it to essentially do the same thing time and time again. Right. Now, you could either do a custom GPT, yeah, or you could set up a project inside of ChatGPT. Let's go one step at a time. So with the ChatGPT, we go in there, and there's a section, if you go to chatgpt.com/gpts, I believe, is the URL. Well, I just go to the .com, and then go in and click GPTs, and then add one. Okay. Or just search it.

Now, you have to have the plus account to create custom GPTs. I think you need to have the $20 per month account. Well, let me go back. You need the $20 per month account to create tasks. Yeah. And to be able to deploy your custom GPTs. Okay. But you can create the projects with the free account. With the free account. But if you're listening to this and you're thinking about whether or not to pay $20 a month, turn it off right now. Like, stop. Listen. Don't question anymore. $20 a month.

But can we just... you and I are very candid, right? I want to tell you the true benefit. Some people know that I had three surgeries back in 2021 for lipedema. Lipedema are fat nodules that bind, and I was becoming immobile, using a wheelchair, right? Well, because I have this automation set up in my business that cost me, get this, $20 per month, I increased my productivity by 261%. In the same period of time, I've gone from roughly 13,000 contacts in my customer relationship management system to over 40,000 contacts. Okay. I increased my income by 283% while navigating menopause. That means I have brain fog, eye fatigue, and some hearing loss. So, I'm making more money.

But because I have this automation set up, I now get up, I drive 30 minutes to take a 50-minute Pilates class, and 30 minutes back home, because I freed up the first two hours of my day, and I spend $259 per month on an unlimited Pilates pass. So to me, if we're talking about $20, we're not even in the same category. We can't even be friends anymore, right? I build seven-figure businesses off of $20 tools. Are you freaking kidding me? I feel like you should know your numbers better, though. Yeah, I should know my... I know my numbers, because they tell me what to do and what not to do. And having a discussion about a $20 tool ain't something I'm negotiating. Right. Exactly.

So you go in, you create the custom GPT, or you created it for them so they don't have to. I create the custom GPT that I share with people, and it is REALpreneur. I'm supposed to be wearing this, too. Just keep it in your hand. Oh, keep it close. And so I create the custom GPT that tells the task exactly what to do for licensed real estate professionals. Okay. So really, they just have to find yours, or we'll put it in the show notes. We'll put it in the show notes. They get to use the custom GPT for free, whether they have a paid subscription or not.

They can set up their projects for free. However, if they want the 10 automations that are going to be in their voice, their style, their tone, the night shift, the night shift, they need to spend the little $20 a month in order to get that output, that I know if they deploy it consistently... Oh Lord, here's the thing. Well, it's not even deployed. It's going to be consistent. They have to use it consistently. They have to use it. Then create the routine. You have to have a routine. Yeah, we have routines. What time did you get up and go running this morning? 5:30. 5:30. Now, here's the thing. I'm not getting up that early. I get up at 7:00 a.m. But when I get up, my night shift has run for me. And then if I'm at home, I'm going to Pilates. Right. Your business is working before you are. My business is working consistently before I even clear the gunk out of my eyes.

All right. So then you talked about projects. Now, in the project section, what kind of things define what a project is? Well, let me say this. There's a lot of confusion between ChatGPT projects and tasks. There are some areas of my life that I have each for the same thing. And let me tell you what that might be. Yeah. Yeah, I get it. I might have a custom GPT to create an email campaign for a funnel, but I also have a project set up for that. That might have all of your funnels. That might have specific funnels. Yeah. Okay. Or one for each funnel. Yeah. Maybe you have a funnel for each avatar, you're saying, like the kind of client. That would be a great one. Yes. For each client that you have in your marketplace. Yeah. Like, I have a first-time home buyer one that's looking for grants, or I have somebody who's looking for a condo in the downtown Chicago area. Kind of. Yeah.

But the reason for the project is because you're going to give it specific rules and regulations. How to act. How to act. And the project should work better than you just going into ChatGPT, because I'm going to also give it some supporting documentation. Resources and context. Context. Okay. And content, right? Okay. So let me give you an example. We are currently at a conference, right? Can we say that? We're at Beats. Yeah. Okay. We're at Beats, and we're here with fellow real estate educators and with association directors of ed, right? Well, I have specific content that just helps them.

But in order to help them, if I'm setting up a project, when we think about the content we might share with it, I'm sharing with it Stefan Swanepoel's opportunity report. And the reason is because his Danger Report from 11 years ago has proven to be, well, it's been 86% accurate. Yeah. So imagine, in 10 years I'm 55... 65, Lord have mercy, I'm 65, that I could be 86% accurate because I did the right thing at 55. So I give it the opportunity report. I give it NAR's strategic plan. I give it the profile of buyers and sellers. Okay?

So, one, I don't want it to hallucinate. Two, I don't want it to go and identify its own content. I want to structure it, because I have this solid base of knowledge to give it. The better the content I give it, the better the results I'm going to receive. So I am feeding a lot of content to ChatGPT projects so that I can customize it, make it sound the way that I want it to sound. But more importantly, it is guiding how I do business, right? Based on different studies. And it's going to give better answers. It's going to give substantially better answers.

And so then, if they're using your night shift, you've already done this for them. Well, I set night shifts up for people. So we do what we call our Agent OS, which is our done-for-you system. Done for you. But I do free webinars. DFYS. Okay. Oh, new acronym.

Quick shout out to one of our founding partners, the CE Shop. Look, continuing education doesn't have to feel like a punishment. The CE Shop provides online real estate education that actually makes sense. Pre-licensing, post-licensing, continuing education, all of it built to fit your schedule, so you can keep your career moving forward without putting your business on pause. Check them out at theceshop.com, link in the show notes, and be sure to tell them that JSquared sent you.

So, you'll do it for them based on input that they provide. Based on the input that they provide. Oh, let me take it a step back. I do it for them after we create their strategic plan, because we want to feed all of the data to the projects that we set up for them. Okay. Got to do some research. Yeah. And so then, when we're creating the projects, you just go in there, on the toolbar on the left-hand side, you hit projects. And what kind of documents can I add there? PDFs, documents? So we give it a name. Can I add videos in there, or no? I would not add a video, but what I would do is take the transcript from a video and save it as a PDF file. Because now what you're assuming is that it would read the video, right? When it's just as easy... Well, no, the generative engine exactly will do that. So, just take a text transcript from the video.

Yeah. And they could use... it's a Chrome browser extension from a place called Glasp. Glasp. Glasp. Okay. That they can use three times per day for free. And then they got to pay. And then they have to pay. And that'll transcribe it for them. And it will give them the full transcript. There are also GPTs that will do it for you. Do it for you. That'll do it for you.

And so, let me... So I'm going to give it a name. Yep. I'm going to then prompt it with my custom prompt, to tell it exactly what it is I want it to do. And then I'm going to attach the files: Word documents, PDF documents, images. It's a lot easier, though, and you'll get better results, if you convert everything to a PDF and load it. Okay. So if I have it in, like, a Google Doc... Google Doc, downloaded as a PDF. I got you. I got you. Okay.

So now I have the night shift working for me. I went and I did my Pilates. No, remember, this is our... this, what we just talked about, is a project. So that's roles. The task is a little different. The task, I am going to give it a name. I'm going to give it instructions. I'm going to give it the supporting documentation. You need to be in thinking mode. Okay? Okay, because if you're not in the right mode, it won't create. I need to be in thinking, or GPT? ChatGPT needs to be in thinking mode. Thank you. ChatGPT needs to be in thinking mode. I don't need to be in any kind of mode. Just GPT does. GPT needs to be in thinking mode. And you need to give it instructions. What is the cadence under which you want this task to run? Do you want it daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly? What do you want it to do? And also provide any external links that you might want it to pull data from, like nationaltoday.com, and it is going to schedule that as a task.

If you do not use your tasks, they will automatically pause. Yeah, I've noticed that. Yes. But you can go back in and hit resume, and they'll start populating again. Okay. So, I have all these run in the morning. And then what am I doing after, like, when I come back from a run, or you come back from Pilates? We'll switch it up. You went running and I did Pilates. So this is what we're talking about today. I'm going to... It is hard. I congratulate you. Thank you very much. I am going to be what is called the human in the loop, consistently.

We see real estate agents, they want to automate everything. What they're not thinking about is real estate license law, fair housing rules and regulations, federal, state, county, and city, the Realtor's Code of Ethics, right? So to me, I cannot, as a business owner, allow it to essentially talk to, let's say, Slack, and or another... it could talk to Later.com and auto-post. I am not auto-posting content that I have not visually approved. Yeah. Right. And so I'm going to come home, and I'm going to sit down. Now, for me, I actually post myself, because... Look, well, I don't post everything myself. My team does use Later.com and Buffer, but I'm holding them accountable.

Hold on real quick. Later.com and Buffer.com are just social media scheduling. Social media scheduling platforms. And you can have your ChatGPT talk to this. But if we were contemplating whether we should spend $20 a month, right, the automation of this going public, essentially, you probably need to spend some more money, right? So, you're going to need to bring in tools like Zapier, n8n, or Make.com, because you're going to make this AI automation. Okay? And just to clarify, those three tools automate things more. So, if this, then that. Like, if this happens, then I want you to do this. Yes. And they integrate with not just GPT, but, like, almost... I say, yeah, almost all the platforms that are out there now. Every platform that has an API, they're integrating with it, to pull data from one place to make it do something else.

And in saying that, I want to come back as well. We come out of a world... Let's say you go... well, I know this doesn't happen, because your mom cuts your hair, but let's say you went to the barber shop. I went to the barber shop two days ago. You did? I go to my Dominican friend, Fidel does it, every once in a while, too. Okay. My mom doesn't do the sharp edge. She doesn't do... Okay. All right. Well, you better be careful. Okay. Mama, I'm sorry. I don't want you getting in no trouble around here.

So, this is what I want you to think about. So, I go to the barber shop every two weeks. I am utilizing automation to set it up, right? So, instantly, it sends me an email. It populates my Google Calendar. Right? Today, we're living in a world of AI automation. So, all the platforms that were doing traditional automation, they're now bringing AI in. So, it would be able to tell my barber, "Oh, Marki usually gets her hair cut every two weeks, but it's been three weeks now. Do you want to check in with Marki?" Right? It's giving it a brain.

So, you have a high-tech barber. Well, I'm not saying I do, but I'm telling you... Mine still uses pencil and paper and lots of cash only. He's like, "Oh, yeah." No, no, no. I use a very high-tech barber, because it's a scheduling system with the credit card on it and all that good stuff. He needs to get on it. Yeah. Yeah. This is for the barber. But I'm going to be honest with you, Pilates is the same way, right? It's all on a scheduling system. And I live a very scheduled life, just FYI. So, I love these tools, because it goes with me scheduling. Right. Right. And I set the automation up. I tell it the time. It understands who I am as a business. It understands who my avatar is. And we're doing this to create systems, so that we'll have something worth selling in the end.

Right. And so you have all these automations set up. You're the human in the loop. You double-check everything. You get it all out, and then... and then what else? What else? Well, I'm doing everything with a call to action to a landing page. Okay. Which is how we went from 13,000 contacts to over 40,000 contacts in our customer relationship management system. So all of your content has a purpose, with a call to action to drive them somewhere. Not all of it. Okay. Most of it. The mass majority of my content has a call to action to a landing page with an item of value that will be deployed. However, you still have to be social, right? And I was social before social media. There's no doubt.

So I share. That's how we met. That's how we met. So, I share my life. I tell everybody I have five good secrets, and I'm holding on to them. Even though I believe I've told two or three of those, but I don't want anybody to ever say that I lied to them. So, I got five good secrets, and I'm holding on to them. But I share a lot of my personal life online with no call to action, to build relationships, rapport, for people to be able to see themselves in what I'm doing. More relatable. More relatable. And I think that that has also led to the success that my son has in real estate.

Skyler. Skyler, the down payment grant king. That's right. I remember Chicago for some reason. Oh, you met with him. We had breakfast. Yes. This is like when he first started. Oh, yeah. When he was confused and inconsistent. He's consistent now. Oh, I know. I know. But we were talking about Messenger bots at the time. Oh, and he's using ManyChat with great success. Yes. I remember. I'll find that picture. Yeah. I mean, how great is that, though, that you get to work with your son and use this technology to bring such success. I think the true joy comes from... I never wanted him to do this. No, I never wanted him to do this. This is very hard work. It is. He always wanted to do this. He told me at 7 he was going to be a Realtor, and he told me at 9 he was going to be a NAR 30 Under 30, and he manifested both. I wanted him to go keep his good job at Accenture, with all the great benefits, and plan for a real successful retirement. No, he didn't want that. He wanted entrepreneur. Yeah. That's great.

So, what would you say to somebody then just getting started with AI, right? Because there's so many... you get it every day. They're overwhelmed. They don't know where to start. There are so many tools, so many resources, so many people pretending to talk about AI. We don't have enough time to talk about that. But, you know, how should they get started? Where should they go? I think someone starting today, we need to clear the air on a couple of facts before we get there. Yeah. One, the pre-license course does not teach you how to sell real estate. So just because you have a license, I want you to be clear, it's ground zero. Teaches you how to stay out of jail, basically. Ground zero, day one. Yeah.

Okay. The next thing is, we're independent contractors, which means that we are gainfully self-employed. It is our responsibility to learn how to fish. The third thing is, people take great joy in our industry in telling you how long they've been in the business. Yeah. However, they don't have a system set up for anything. There will never be an award for being the oldest, most archaic, non-system-having... Say it again. Say it again. Person in this industry. It means absolutely nothing how long you've been in the business if you aren't an active lifelong learner, right?

Okay. So, once... and that's going to take a couple of weeks for them to mentally get over all them hurdles we just discussed, because they thought they learned how to sell real estate. They think their broker should give them leads, right? Every top-producing team in this country produces their own leads. They're lead magnets. They're producing their own leads, right? Their broker's not giving them leads, right? Well, on occasion, but that's not the premise of how they've built their business. So, if we are starting, I want them to create a business plan, because your business plan is going to dictate what projects you need, what tasks you should set up. But if you don't have a business plan, you have no idea, and you do not have a framework for anything you're attempting to do. So, step one, get the business plan. Step one, get the business plan for your business.

Would you use AI for the business plan? I definitely would use AI for the business plan. Because where else are you going to pull in all of these different studies, and have it summarize it, and then go over to RPR and pull reports? Oh my gosh. RPR is going to be on the podcast, actually. Yeah. And I love RPR. I've built my any-zip seven-figure framework... So, let me come back. Yeah. My framework, I believe you should strategically reach out and or add eight people to your customer relationship management system every single day. I exceed that number, but I know that that's the foundation for a six-figure business.

Coming into the business 27 years ago and being a top producer... so I was in the top 10% of Realtors in the city of Chicago, '04, '05, '06. So I have sales experience. You walked them real estate streets. I walked the streets, and now I'm walking with my agents in the street. We have 265 agents between our five different offices, and we're approaching $4 billion in sales, and 30% of the top producers are there because of me. Just want to throw that out there, because I don't really talk about that publicly. I just want to, you know, just throw a little bit out there. And it's because we have these systems. So, they need a business plan. Yes, they should use AI.

And let me tell you why. One of the pivots in my business was in 2006. And that pivot came because of the 2006 profile of buyers and sellers. Okay? I knew that my billboards, my bus benches, my classified ad in the back of the Sun-Times was not the place to be. Right? That in 1995, 2% of consumers were using the internet as a source of information. And in 2006, that number was 80%. And I'm counting. I'm like, okay, one, two, three, four, five. Oh, that's a 78% increase. The bus benches, the billboard, the wrapped automobile, none of that had seen a 78% increase, right? And that it was my responsibility to put myself in the palm of the hand of the consumer. And mobile utilization has gone up substantially since 2006. But I knew in 2006 that I should take those actions.

So, your business plan, and things like the opportunity report being infused into your business plan, is going to guide you on what you need to do. So, they set up the business plan, and they're going to give their business plan to ChatGPT, and they're going to ask, with all of these reports, what tasks and what projects does my business need in order for me to earn this amount of money? Excellent. Well, Marki, thank you so much. It's over? Wait, are you thanking me already? Yeah. We didn't talk that much. We could talk. We can talk. Dang.

But let me say this. If you got value from this, do me a favor. Share it with one agent who's still trying to figure out AI. Just one. This is how we grow this thing. Subscribe if you haven't already. And next Friday, we're breaking down another tool with another great expert. You don't want to miss that one. And before I let you go, I want to say thank you to our founding partners, Wise Agent, Subi, and the CE Shop. They make this show possible. They are building tools that actually help people in their industry. Check them out. All the links are in the show notes. And thank you for spending time with me, Marki.