On this episode of Mentors Collective: CEO Interviews, host Jay Feldman sits down with real estate investor Brad Smotherman. Brad believes in taking a holistic approach to real estate investing and stresses the importance of adapting strategies based on each specific deal, avoiding the use of blanket terms like "always" and "never." He specializes in creative financing, such as taking over payments on a loan without qualifying for it, and focuses on buying properties and selling them with owner financing, which he considers to be a recession-proof strategy. Brad emphasizes that owner financing allows for easier acquisition of good assets during a recession and expands the potential buyer pool. He successfully applied this strategy from 2010 to 2014, buying creatively and selling with owner financing. By creating notes instead of traditional rentals, he avoids overhead costs and management difficulties, making it a scalable model. Brad compares the profitability and scalability of the owner financing model to that of major finance companies. In his journey as a real estate investor, Brad was mentored by a builder developer who taught him about investing in real estate, sharing both successes and the bankruptcy experience in 2009. This mentor's ability to have both money and time inspired Brad to pursue real estate investment. He retired his real estate license in 2010 to focus solely on investing. During the discussion, Brad also shares his expertise in generating leads for real estate businesses. He discusses the importance of understanding the value of leads, conversion rates, and various marketing methods like digital advertising and direct mail. He highlights the significance of being found by potential customers through optimization and conversion-focused website design. Mentoring others has been a major passion for Brad, and he finds more excitement in his mentees' success than his own deals. He believes in giving back and bringing people along, inspired by a generous individual named Howard Wall. Brad's ultimate goal is to be in a position where people are approaching him to buy rather than the other way around. The episode concludes with Brad discussing the importance of understanding keywords, marketing strategies, negotiation skills, deal structure, and solving problems in the real estate business. With motivated seller lead flow, effective negotiation, and solid deal structure, one can achieve success and enjoy the time and financial freedom that real estate offers. Join Jay Feldman and Brad Smotherman on this inspiring and informative episode of Mentors Collective: CEO Interviews.

Topics Covered:

- Holistic approach to real estate investing

- Adaptation of strategy based on specific deals

- Specialization in creative financing

- Focus on buying and selling with owner financing

- Benefits of owner financing during a recession

- Scalability of the owner financing model

- Comparison of profitability to major finance companies

- Speaker's journey and background in real estate

- Mentoring experience and impact

- Importance of being found by potential customers

- Optimizing conversion on the website

- Insights on search engine marketing and cost per contract

- Keyword strategies for capturing leads

- Emphasis on conversion-focused pages and split testing

- Real estate as a marketing business with a real estate arm

- Importance of negotiation skills and understanding deal structure

- Challenges and problem

-solving in real estate

- Achieving time and financial freedom through real estate