Ninja Selling Podcast

In this Best Year Yet episode, Eric Thompson interviews Belle Caplis, a Brooklyn based Compass agent on the Bateman Fields team. Belle shares how she grew from 9 million in sales volume to 23.6 million in 2025, increasing from 11 to 25 sales transactions, while also expanding rentals and referral business. Belle's story is especially compelling because her real estate career began in March of 2020, just days before New York City shut down. With the city locked down and her new career uncertain, she found structure and community through a Compass recovery meeting that led her to Ninja Selling and a powerful accountability practice called the 10 at 10. Three times a week, Belle joined a Zoom session, started with gratitude, then turned cameras off and called 10 people using FORD questions before regrouping to report back. That early rhythm gave her confidence, listening skills, and the ability to build trust fast, which later made her highly effective even with Zillow leads, where she routinely stayed on calls 30 to 40 minutes to deepen connection.
Belle explains that her 2025 growth came from two main shifts. First, she became much better at follow up after open houses, using specific, personalized follow up tied to what the person said and continuing to deliver value through listings, pricing strategy, and education rather than generic check ins. Second, she leaned fully into education and service across her sphere by giving real estate advice freely, offering to find answers when she did not know them, and becoming the person people consult for clarity. Belle's approach is rooted in what she calls rigorous honesty, transparency, and risk analysis. She promises clients she cannot control outcomes, but she can control how honest and clear she is, and she builds deep trust by pointing out both pros and potential risks so clients can make confident decisions. She closes by encouraging listeners to be imperfect, take small steps, be honest about what they are not doing, and start again tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
Accountability creates momentum and Belle's early 10 at 10 practice built confidence, consistency, and relationship skills fast
FORD questions are a business builder because they shift the focus to people, create trust, and help you listen for what matters
Attraction over promotion works because you do not need to announce you are an agent, you just lead with curiosity and care
Trust building beats pretending and the phrase "I'm not one hundred percent on that, so I'll get back to you very soon" protects credibility and creates natural follow up
Longer first conversations create faster trust and Belle's ability to stay connected for 30 to 40 minutes helped her convert leads at a higher level
Open house follow up is a growth lever when it is specific, personal, and value based rather than generic check ins
Education is a referral engine when you freely explain pricing strategy, negotiation, and why listings sell or do not sell
Service creates opportunity because you never know where the next referral will come from, so treat everyone like they matter
Define your A list as the people you are rooting for and call them to reset your mindset and get out of your own head
Humor and personality can be part of flow and Belle uses memes, "real estate gossip," and stories to stay top of mind while reinforcing expertise
Rigorous honesty builds lifetime clients and Belle's promise is transparency, not outcomes she cannot control
Risk analysis is a differentiator because clients feel protected, informed, and confident in their decisions
Progress matters more than perfection and small daily improvements compound into big years
Memorable Quotes
"I onboarded at Compass on a Wednesday in March of 2020 and on Friday the entire city shut down."
"I don't know how to do real estate, but I know how to go to a meeting."
"This is attraction, not promotion."
"I'm not one hundred percent on that and I don't want to answer until I am, so I'm going to get back to you very soon."
"My goal was to gain trust before I got off that phone call."
"I'm not a gatekeeper."
"My A's are the people that I am rooting for."
"The fastest way for me to reset to factory settings is to focus on other people."
"I'm going to tell you no way more than I'm going to tell you yes."
"I give you permission to not do it well today. Just do it."
"Make one or two baby steps of progress today, then start over tomorrow."
Links:
Website: https://ninjaselling.com/ninja-podcast/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-254-1650
Podcast Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheNinjaSellingPodcast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinjaSelling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjasellingofficial/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ninjaselling
Upcoming Public Ninja Installations: https://NinjaSelling.com/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=183&tribe__ecp_custom_2%5B0%5D=Public
Ninja Coaching: http://www.NinjaSelling.com/course/ninja-coaching/
Belle Caplis: https://www.compass.com/agents/belle-caplis/
Belle's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belleclosing

Eric Thompson interviews Jed Inductivo, a Ninja with Compass in Los Angeles, who achieved his best year yet in 2025 with business up 56% year over year. What makes the story remarkable is that it happened during significant adversity. LA faced devastating fires that impacted clients and the community at large. Jed's brokerage dissolved, forcing a rapid transition. Instead of contracting, Jed expanded by choosing a player mindset, leading with value, and committing to simple, repeatable Ninja fundamentals.
Jed credits a guiding belief, "This is happening for me, not to me," as the mindset shift that kept him solution-focused. During the fires, he stepped into service by supporting displaced clients, helping people find temporary housing, and sending resource packed newsletters that were widely shared and generated inbound calls for lease support. Jed breaks down the systems that drove his growth. He created two versions of a Real Estate Review, a five-minute version and a fifteen-minute version, to make Habit 7 consistent. He pairs those reviews with a steady rhythm of coffees and lunches, and he built a highly intentional agent referral engine that now contributes roughly two-thirds of his business. He also shares how his hospitality background helps him deliver a Four Seasons level experience through intake forms, milestone moments, and event style open houses.
Looking ahead to 2026, Jed's focus is on calm in the hard, protecting mornings for focus and clarity, and doubling down on his vital few activities, including Real Estate Reviews, two coffees or lunches per week, and his power hour.
Key Takeaways
Adversity can be fuel when you choose a player mindset and stay focused on solutions
This is happening for me, not to me, is a practical mental shift that prevents victim thinking and creates forward motion
Value creates opportunity, and Jed's fire resource newsletters were shared widely and led directly to new lease clients
Real Estate Reviews paired with coffee or lunch became Jed's strongest growth lever and biggest source of sales
Simplify the habit so it happens consistently, and the five-minute and fifteen-minute review options removed friction and made execution weekly
Follow up with an insight rather than asking if they have questions, which keeps the burden off the client and highlights your expertise
Agent referrals are built intentionally through consistent relationship building, two agent connection calls per week, and making it easy to remember and refer you
Make referring you easy with a simple one sheet that explains your market areas, specialties, and personal connection points
Hospitality creates bespoke service and intake sheets plus milestone touches create a Four Seasons experience
Authentic flow wins and the most sustainable systems are the ones aligned with your DNA and interests
Memorable Quotes
This is happening for me, not to me
Real estate agents are problem solvers
My biggest sales this year have come from this combination of real estate review, coffee, lunch by far
Treat your clients like they're staying at a Four Seasons
The best flow is authentic flow
Links:
Website: https://ninjaselling.com/ninja-podcast/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-254-1650
Podcast Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheNinjaSellingPodcast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinjaSelling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjasellingofficial/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ninjaselling
Upcoming Public Ninja Installations: https://NinjaSelling.com/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=183&tribe__ecp_custom_2%5B0%5D=Public
Ninja Coaching: http://www.NinjaSelling.com/course/ninja-coaching/
Jed Inductivo: https://jedi.la/
Jed's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jedi.agent/
Schedule a meeting with Jed: http://www.calendly.com/jed_i

Episode Summary
In this special live episode of the Ninja Selling Podcast, Eric Thompson records in front of a live audience at the first Ninja Installation of 2026 in Fort Collins, Colorado. Eric is joined by Denver agent Dave Hettrick of RE/MAX Professionals and Dave's Ninja Coach, Julie WIll. Dave had his best year yet in 2025, growing his business 62% year over year in a market that was essentially flat, and he broke through a major income milestone by earning just over $300,000 for the year.
The central theme of the conversation is flow, specifically hyper flow, and how Dave creates massive results without asking for referrals. Dave is known in the coaching community as Mr. Gratitude, and he shares how leading every coaching call with wins and gratitude keeps him in a powerful mindset that helps him see opportunities, stay positive, and show up better for clients. Eric and Julie highlight that Dave's breakthrough came as he learned to trust the process, lean into consistency, and stay committed to incremental progress rather than perfection.
Dave explains how he has structured his life around live flow through intentional networking groups, coffees, lunches, and social time with friends, turning everyday connection into a predictable business engine. He shares how he built clarity and focus by knowing his numbers, maintaining a database of 426 people, and identifying a top 100 "client base" who receive extra attention and meaningful experiences such as an intimate annual pie party. He also shares the strategy that made his pie party so effective, emphasizing that the real power is in the touches before and after the event, including calls, texts, handwritten notes, and personal deliveries.
Julie shares how Dave's growth accelerated when he stopped rushing out of conversations to handle lower value tasks, and instead stayed present in relationship building while delegating operational and marketing tasks to his wife, Christine, who now works full time in the business. Dave closes by sharing his 2026 goal of 95 transactions, along with the visual accountability anchors he is using, and the creation of a "President's Club" travel reward system that celebrates their success and reinforces the life they are building.
Key Takeaways
Gratitude is a performance advantage and Dave uses it intentionally to fuel mindset, energy, and opportunity awareness
Trusting the process creates momentum and Dave's results grew when he stopped forcing what he thought he should do and committed to what works consistently
Flow fixes everything and live flow in particular becomes a predictable engine when it is scheduled and protected on the calendar
Hyper flow does not require asking for referrals when relationships are nurtured with genuine care and consistent connection
Incremental progress beats perfection and Dave does not miss twice because anything missed gets scheduled and corrected the following week
Know your numbers because your database is your primary asset and Dave can immediately state his database size and what matters most within it
Focus on a top 100 client base and give them extra love through deeper experiences and more intentional touches
Events work best when you maximize the before and after touches because invitations, reminders, thank you calls, notes, and follow up visits create multiple flow opportunities
Personal delivery creates outsized impact and Dave generated seven referrals from delivering cookies and handwritten notes to people who could not attend his event
Networking groups are only the beginning and the real value comes from turning brief interactions into coffees, lunches, dinners, and deeper relationships
Delegation increases flow capacity and Dave's wife took over tasks that do not require a license, freeing Dave to stay in high value conversations
A strong warm list is built by listening for change in FORD and Dave is consistently adding people each week because he is in frequent live conversation
Anchors increase accountability and a simple visual reminder can keep a goal present and actionable every day
Coaching becomes leverage when it shifts from cost thinking to value thinking and when the cadence is customized to what keeps momentum alive
Memorable Quotes
It was not a strategy. It was a way of life
Trust the process
The most powerful form of flow is live flow
Consistency and just doing the same things every week
If you miss it once it is a mistake, miss it twice it is the start of a new habit
Consistency brings power
It is not just about the event, it is about what happens before and after the event
What is it worth, not what does it cost
Links:
Website: https://ninjaselling.com/ninja-podcast/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-254-1650
Podcast Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheNinjaSellingPodcast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinjaSelling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjasellingofficial/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ninjaselling
Upcoming Public Ninja Installations: https://NinjaSelling.com/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=183&tribe__ecp_custom_2%5B0%5D=Public
Ninja Coaching: http://www.NinjaSelling.com/course/ninja-coaching/
Dave Hettrick: https://david-hettrick.remax.com/

In this wide-ranging conversation, Rob Nelson is joined by longtime mentor, friend, and Ninja partner Peter Parnegg to explore what sits at the very foundation of Ninja Selling: personal mastery. As the first of the four cornerstones of Ninja, personal mastery isn't a destination or a checklist; it's a lifelong path of alignment between mindset, skills, and daily actions.
Peter and Rob discuss what it means to live from abundance instead of scarcity, to choose creation over competition, and to take full responsibility for how we present ourselves in the world. They move beyond business planning and tactics to examine character, emotions, habits, and the behaviors that either move us forward or hold us back.
The conversation weaves together neuroscience, gratitude, ego, confirmation bias, leadership, and the discipline of consistency, especially when things are hard. They challenge listeners to stop chasing perfection, embrace grace, and recognize that executing at 50–70% consistently can radically transform life and business. The episode closes with a powerful reflection on Word of the Year, daily routines, and how personal mastery is ultimately about becoming a better human, not just a better salesperson.
Key Takeaways
Personal Mastery Is a Path, Not a Destination: It's a continual practice of aligning mindset, skills, and actions with who you want to become.
Creation Over Competition: Ninja is built on the belief that the world is abundant and that we are here to create, not compete or take.
Responsibility Is Foundational: Personal mastery requires taking responsibility for outcomes, emotions, and how you show up.
Gratitude Is the Reset Button: Gratitude is the fastest way to move out of scarcity and reframe mindset, even in difficult moments.
Upward vs. Downward Spirals: What you focus on expands; choose the upward spiral intentionally.
Consistency Beats Perfection: Dramatic improvement comes from consistent execution, not flawless performance.
Grace Over Perfectionism: Perfectionism is not mastery; progress and grace are.
Character Before Results: Personal mastery is about how you show up: as a leader, partner, parent, and human, before any business outcome.
Word of the Year as an Anchor: A meaningful word can guide daily decisions and reconnect you to what truly matters.
Daily Habits Matter: Small, repeatable routines (gratitude, reflection, practice) compound into fulfillment and growth.
Memorable Quotes
"We are here not to compete, but to create."
"Personal mastery isn't a destination...it's a path."
"Abundance doesn't just mean more money; it can mean more joy, love, and fulfillment."
"When you are afraid, you are usually thinking about yourself."
"Gratitude is the fastest way out of scarcity."
"What you focus on expands."
"It's easy when it's easy, mastery shows up when it's hard."
"Perfectionism is a form of self-abuse."
"Most wildly successful people execute at 50–70% consistently."
"Progress is the ultimate motivator."
"Personal mastery is a character issue, not a goal."
"Be graceful with yourself."
Links:
Website: https://ninjaselling.com/ninja-podcast/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-254-1650
Podcast Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheNinjaSellingPodcast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinjaSelling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjasellingofficial/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ninjaselling
Upcoming Public Ninja Installations: https://NinjaSelling.com/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=183&tribe__ecp_custom_2%5B0%5D=Public
Ninja Coaching: http://www.NinjaSelling.com/course/ninja-coaching/

In this New Year's episode, Rob Nelson and Eric Thompson unpack one of the most powerful, and deceptively simple, Ninja coaching tools: "If you could wave your magic wand…" What sounds playful on the surface is actually a strategic question that fosters psychological safety, removes invisible limits, and enables people to access what they truly want without fear, risk, or "yeah-but" thinking.
Rob and Eric explain how the magic wand question puts people into a pretend state where there's no ceiling and no consequences, allowing clarity, emotion, and authentic motivation to surface. They explore how the tool applies to business planning for 2026, coaching oneself through challenging moments, and guiding clients to make better decisions in emotionally charged transactions.
The episode also delves into how the magic wand works in real estate, uncovering genuine priorities for buyers and sellers, anchoring clients back to their original "why" during negotiations, and helping agents build trust by asking questions that go beyond must-haves and logistics. Eric shares his personal magic wand goal—buying a home in the Colorado mountains—and connects it to Ninja's broader framework of designing life first, then setting goals to fund it. They close by tying the concept to the Ninja "Word of the Year" as an anchor for focus and growth in 2026.
Key Takeaways
The Magic Wand Creates Possibility: It removes ceilings and risk, quiets defensive thinking, and unlocks clearer, more creative truth.
Pretend State = Psychological Safety: Clients (and you) feel safe to share what they want, not just what seems practical or "reasonable."
Clarity Beats Logic Lists: With buyers, the magic wand gets you beyond "must-haves" into how they want to live—which reveals what matters most.
Meaning Fuels Motivation: Goals aren't about transactions or income—they're about the emotion and life those outcomes create.
Anchor Back During Conflict: In inspection drama or negotiation gridlock, the magic wand helps clients reconnect to the bigger purpose and regain perspective.
Coach Yourself the Same Way: When you feel bogged down, return to your magic wand vision, ask "Has anything changed?", then recommit with clarity.
Use "Tell Me More About That": This follow-up deepens meaning and uncovers the real "why" beneath the goal.
Works Beyond Real Estate: It's a powerful conversation starter with spouses, kids, friends, and teams, helping people dream out loud.
Word of the Year as an Anchor: A single word can reconnect you to your magic wand vision and align your mindset, skillset, and actions.
Memorable Quotes
"It's cute, but it is really powerful."
"In a pretend state, there's no ceiling and there's no risk."
"It diffuses the little voice that says, 'Yeah, but…' and 'What if…'"
"It's not about the property. It's about what it means."
"What's on the other side isn't a number; it's an emotion."
"Begin with the end in mind."
"Tell me more about that."
"Buying or selling a home is emotional, even if people insist that it's not."
"Your word of the year can be the ultimate anchor."
"My word of the year is Elevate."
Links:
Website: https://ninjaselling.com/ninja-podcast/
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-254-1650
Podcast Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheNinjaSellingPodcast
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NinjaSelling
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjasellingofficial/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ninjaselling
Upcoming Public Ninja Installations: https://NinjaSelling.com/events/list/?tribe_eventcategory%5B0%5D=183&tribe__ecp_custom_2%5B0%5D=Public
Ninja Coaching: http://www.NinjaSelling.com/course/ninja-coaching/