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Ryan Serhant10 December 2025

Sales Expert: 3 Ways To Get A YES Every Time

8Frameworks
10Insights

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Frameworks in this episode

Sales5 steps

Push, Pull, or Persist

Choose the negotiation move that fits the buyer and the moment

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Self-Mastery5 steps

The 24-Month Future Memoir

Define your identity, write your future in detail, then execute toward it

Read →
Sales4 steps

The Orchid Trick

Turn rejection into a memorable follow-up instead of a dead end

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Sales5 steps

The Six-Ring Trust Path

Reach wealthy clients through advisers who already hold their trust

Read →
Productivity4 steps

The Thousand-Minute Rule

Treat each productive minute like one dollar from a daily account

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Leadership5 steps

The Three E's Hiring Screen

Screen for energy, empathy, and enthusiasm after testing raw intelligence

Read →
Sales4 steps

The Two C's Trust Opener

Open with an authentic compliment and a real point in common

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Influence5 steps

Translate, Punch, and Funnel

Translate value, ask first, then narrow the conversation toward the fear

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Hot Take· 2

Hot Take

Every Public Audience Splits Into Fans, Indifference, and Hate

Serhant divides his audience into superfans, people who do not care, and people who hate him. He treats criticism as a consequence of doing visible work and says other people's opinions consume none of his working minutes.

  • One audience bucket is actively supportive
  • A second bucket is unaffected and indifferent
  • A third bucket responds with hostility
  • Criticism need not receive productive time

“There are three buckets of my audience.”

Ryan Serhant

“Um what other people think affects no part of my working minutes.”

Ryan Serhant
#haters#audience#public work
Hot Take

Money Is a Tool, Not Serhant's Leading Indicator

Serhant says he understands both business and personal costs but does not use money as his main motivator or leading indicator. He argues that focusing on the work and treating money as a resource keeps potential greatness above dollars.

  • Financial costs still need to be understood
  • Money does not determine which work Serhant chooses
  • Taking care of the work can produce financial results
  • Money serves impact rather than defining the goal

“Money is just a tool.”

Ryan Serhant

“And if you take care of the work, the work will take care of you.”

Ryan Serhant
#money#motivation#work

Explainer· 3

Explainer

Why Billionaires Prefer Text Messages to Phone Calls

Serhant gives two reasons wealthy clients favor text: it saves time and forces the sender to persuade in writing. Written communication also creates a record that can be reviewed later, which matters to people familiar with litigation.

  • Texting avoids time-consuming phone persuasion
  • A written pitch tests whether the case is concise
  • Messages preserve what each person said
  • Litigation makes written records consequential

“First reason is it saves time and they know that if you try to get them on the phone, what are you gonna do? You're…”

Ryan Serhant

“Two, is so that it's in writing.”

Ryan Serhant
#billionaires#texting#communication#time
Explainer

A Leader Chooses the Vision; a Manager Keeps the Line Moving

Serhant distinguishes leadership from management by assigning them different jobs. The leader chooses the right direction and stands at the front, while the manager makes sure the organization follows that direction correctly.

  • Managers focus on doing things right
  • Leaders focus on doing the right things
  • The leader selects and embodies the vision
  • The manager keeps execution aligned

“I think that a manager does things right and a leader, right, does the right things.”

Ryan Serhant

“I think the leader picks vision and stands at the front of the line.”

Ryan Serhant
#leadership#management#vision
Explainer

Inside Serhant's Brokerage, Media, Education, and AI Flywheel

Serhant Technologies holds four connected operating businesses: a cloud brokerage, a production company, a sales education company, and an AI workflow engine. Organic media creates top-of-funnel lead flow, the brokerage serves transactions, education trains salespeople, and Simple removes back-office work.

  • The cloud brokerage operates primarily through the phone
  • Studios creates organic lead-generation content
  • Sell It provides sales education
  • Simple replaces back-office support
  • The operating companies reinforce one another

“So I set up Sir Hand Technologies, which is a holding company whose operating companies help people move forward.”

Ryan Serhant

“And then we just spin that flywheel all day long.”

Ryan Serhant
#business model#flywheel#media#ai

Story· 3

Story

The Soap-Opera Death That Forced Serhant to Start Over

Ryan Serhant moved to New York for theater and landed a role on As the World Turns. His character was killed during the writers' strike, ending his $544-per-episode income and forcing him to find another way to pay rent.

  • Serhant originally moved to New York to act
  • His character's death also ended his job
  • The income loss preceded his move into real estate

“Which for me in my life uh meant that I had no job.”

Ryan Serhant

“And then my, you know, $544 per episode was gone.”

Ryan Serhant
#career pivot#acting#real estate
Story

How Serhant Built Brokerages on Bravo, YouTube, and Netflix

Serhant describes building a leading real estate sales team on the back of a Bravo show, then selling through YouTube when that looked unusual. He later started his own company and used Netflix as the next distribution engine while audiences watched the journey in public.

  • Bravo provided distribution for the first sales team
  • Serhant began selling real estate through YouTube in 2015
  • Netflix supports the next company-building phase
  • The public can follow the same work across years

“Like I built the number one real estate sales team in the United States on the back of a Bravo TV show.”

Ryan Serhant

“I started selling real estate through YouTube in 2015 when it was stupid.”

Ryan Serhant
#media#distribution#build in public#real estate
Story

The UnGoogleable Buyer Who Vanished, Wired $830,000, and Closed

Serhant warns that sham buyers are common, then recounts the rare opposite: an unGoogleable internet lead for an $8.5 million home. The buyer sent unusual proof, disappeared, later wired an $830,000 deposit, disappeared again, and eventually completed the purchase.

  • Online research is the first check for an unknown buyer
  • Missing evidence around a high-value purchase is suspicious
  • This buyer's behavior looked implausible but proved genuine
  • Serhant continued responding because he had little other deal flow

“I mean, the first way to tell is to look them up online.”

Ryan Serhant

“That guy actually did one day wire the eight hundred and thirty thousand dollar deposit, just randomly showed up one day and then totally disappeared…”

Ryan Serhant
#buyer verification#real estate#fraud#story

Takeaway· 2

Takeaway

Discipline Means Doing the Work You Do Not Want to Do

Serhant says goals continue to direct him on tired days and defines discipline as doing unwanted work anyway. He uses waking at 4:30 and deadlifting at 5:30 as examples of actions driven by the job rather than enjoyment.

  • Goals provide direction when motivation drops
  • Discipline is not the same as enjoying the task
  • Necessary work remains necessary on tired days

“I'm motivated by goals, right? So even on the days that I'm tired, I know that I have goals to hit and achieve, and I've…”

Ryan Serhant

“And I think, you know, I think discipline is defined by doing the things you don't want to do”

Ryan Serhant
#discipline#goals#motivation
Takeaway

Top Salespeople Expect Losses and Follow Up Relentlessly

Serhant says the top 1% of salespeople separate themselves by refusing to quit. They expect losses, keep showing up, and use memory or systems to follow up and follow through until wins begin to outpace losses.

  • Consistency is the defining separator
  • Losing is part of the salesperson's job
  • Wins compound only after sustained attempts
  • Reliable follow-up requires memory or systems

“The top 1% of salespeople just don't quit.”

Ryan Serhant

“They're also relentless with follow-up, right? And they have pretty great memories or systems and processes in place to make sure that they follow up…”

Ryan Serhant
#sales#follow-up#persistence