Speaker 1: 0:30

I'm Peyton Polychromes with Samson Properties. I'm a realtor and I just got my broker's license. I checked today and it came through depot. It took two months to do, but they did it. Congratulations, Thank you. I'm very excited. So I've been an agent. I think I just crossed my like 10-year mark recently. Beautiful. I serve the entire Northern Virginia area. I've bought and sold in like 14 counties within a hundred mile radius. That is a pretty rare thing. Obviously, that's what it is. I'm not one for plaudits, but I was awarded Rookie of the Year at a previous brokerage and I won Agent of the Year for my office in 2024, just a couple of weeks ago at our award ceremony.

Speaker 2: 1:06

So I'm really proud of those. Yeah, wonderful. And then, as you said, with over nine years in the industry, what motivated you to pursue a career in real estate and how has your journey evolved over time?

Speaker 1: 1:15

That's a great question. Well, as a kid I had a passion for performing and I thought at one point that I would go into education, music and performance education, maybe an elementary school music teacher. But when I went to college it just it wasn't the right time for me. My family was going through a transition. My parents were struggling, my grandfather was ill it was nobody's fault but mine. But my focus shifted away and I ended up coming home and I worked for my dad for 12 or 13 years at the flower shop Michael's Flowers that they've had for 65 years here in Northern Virginia. Yeah, very proud of that.

Speaker 1: 1:45

But you know, I was getting toward 30 and dad was only in his 50s and not really ready to step aside, understandably, and it was time for me to kind of grow up. So my stepmom and my mother kind of double-teamed me from different angles. My mom was really big into me pursuing real estate because I was a big talker and my stepmother was working part-time as a real estate agent and I was watching her kind of flourish and grow, apart from Michael's Flowers, where I'd kind of grown up. So I took the test, passed and then sat on it for like a year and then you know, my girlfriend at the test passed and then sat on it for like a year, and then my girlfriend at the time, I'll be honest, we got pregnant. It was time to make some big boy money and I went part-time and then eventually shifted to full-time about two years after I started my career.

Speaker 2: 2:23

Okay, yeah, so you've been on quite the journey.

Speaker 1: 2:26

Sorry, that was a lot.

Speaker 2: 2:27

No, it's okay, we want to get to know you, so thank you for sharing that.

Speaker 1: 2:41

And then, as a lifelong resident of Northern Virginia, how has your deep connection to the area influenced your approach to real estate? Oh, that's a fun question. Well, it helps that I know where everything is. A lot of folks in our area are transient. They're military. It's about a third of maybe half my business year over year. People from out of state will do video tours. They don't even know where to get pizza or where to put their kids in daycare. They're Googling it or asking ChatGPT what church to go to.

Speaker 1: 2:57

And not that I steer people, but they ask me questions and I can help to guide them. Like, oh, you might want to look over here for soccer or look over here for baseball or whatever, and I feel like that provides a unique opportunity. And then, just, I love Virginia. I think that's part of it too. This is my whole gig. I was a small business family, blue collar, growing up and my whole family's always lived here. And I think my clients I hope they can tell that I really have a passion for Northern Virginia. I think it provides tremendous opportunities and there's a lot of fun to be had. And, as we all know, here in Leesburg you go west or south and it's a little bit country country too, which kind of gives you the mountains and the apples and all the other kind of fun Virginia stuff. So yeah, I think that helps.

Speaker 2: 3:38

We get the best of both worlds everywhere here.

Speaker 1: 3:40

Yeah, I would say that because I live in West Stafford and if I go five minutes I can be at a McDonald's, but I pass a cow on my way. If I go 10 minutes, I'm at Target or two Starbucks, but I pass two farms. And if I go west, I could drive literally all the way to California and never pass a town because I'm right on the edge. So again, a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll. It's kind of fun.

Speaker 2: 3:59

Yeah, and then on, is it east or west where you pass five Wawa's, or both?

Speaker 1: 4:03

Oh my gosh, it's like a five-pointed star. I didn't mention so where I live in like cool but also kind of redneck, I don't know. It's fine, it's you know I come by it honest, but it is kind of nice.

Speaker 2: 4:19

And then your profile highlights a commitment to providing an educational and supportive client experience. Can you share specific strategies or practices you employ to achieve this?

Speaker 1: 4:29

Of course. So my grandfather was an educator in the floral industry, my dad is too and I, like I mentioned earlier, really wanted to be a teacher. So once I kind of got my legs under me, it was first my mentor, pam. Pam was amazing Like 10, 11 years ago. She helped me with my first few deals, kind of showed me how an agent could help another agent. And then, as I began to grow, I went on a lead team and was quickly put in a small leadership position among the team members to kind of help them grow. And then my mentor he was an educator and started a business coaching program and I was brought on to be a coach. I mean I think we did like Zoom sessions with over 100 people.

Speaker 1: 5:05

And my approach generally is rigorous preparation. Like imagine you're in seventh grade giving an oral report in science class. You're nervous because you didn't do the reading. You know what I mean. If you're talking about your favorite cartoon show, you're up there for five minutes taking questions. It's no big deal. But if you're talking about Johnny Tremaine and the book report you were supposed to do, you better have read it cover to cover.

Speaker 1: 5:23

And so as I got further and further into educating people, I realized that it's really important to stay in your lane and make sure you know the rules of the road. You know, to kind of use a metaphor, the idea that, just like I said, rigorous preparation and putting communication forward and remembering that as an agent it's very important that we always take a backseat and anytime you feel like you're steering you're doing it wrong. You know what I mean. We don't wield any power, so the minute an agent feels empowered is probably a slope they're sliding down to get themselves or their client into some trouble. So that's sort of the approach I take to coaching as well Wonderful Collaboration and kind of active listening too.

Speaker 2: 5:59

Very cool. I'd like to ask you about marketing and what you're currently doing to get the name out there and the word out there about your business. Are you big on videos? I know you said you used to have a podcast. Maybe you want to start that up again.

Speaker 1: 6:12

I actually thought about it. I got a little bit of the bug. We'll see oh yeah, we'll see, we'll see. We got to like we went for a year. It was like 20 episodes and I was like, okay, yeah, it wasn't too bad, but ADD, what was that? Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:24

So what are you doing right now for marketing Right?

Speaker 1: 6:30

Pretty start with. My big thing is I have a client event in June. I do them at least twice a year. I've partnered with the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank. They have a summer nutrition program for kids who rely on school meals once or twice a day for their nutrition and they estimate that it's 4,000 to 5,000 kids in the Rappahannock area that come to them for sustenance during the summer months. So with the Fred Nats baseball team and the Fredericksburg Food Bank, we're going to do an event this year and hopefully raise enough money to feed a couple of kids through the summer.

Speaker 1: 6:56

Every dollar is two meals. So like, wow, look it up, donate. But I mean everything postcards and emails and flyers and personal calls. I try to do three or four coffee or lunch meetings a week just to see how people are doing, shifting more away from transactional and more to relationship-based stuff. And that's been my focus for the last few years and it's been pretty fun, honestly, shifting from a growing business where you're really focused on accruing the business. Well, now I've done two or three hundred transactions, I've got a big database of people that I've worked with that I like. So now it's like oh hey, let's just go have breakfast and see how you're doing and it fills my cup and then, yeah, maybe their cousin needs to buy a house three months later and that's a great benefit, but ultimately it's just made me enjoy my job a lot more, kind of connecting on a deeper level.

Speaker 2: 7:43

That's great. The personal touch too, because a lot of people like being able to connect with others. And if there's kind of not, it's kind of just maybe like a text, which is okay too, but I think it's better in person.

Speaker 1: 7:52

You got to break through and it's that we live in a glutted world of input and when you can get face to face with someone and remember their kid's name, like it means a lot. You do care about them. And then you remind them that you care about them. It helps. But I do day in the life videos and Instagram and all that stuff too.

Speaker 2: 8:12

It's you know you got meet the unique needs of each client, especially in a diverse market like Northern Virginia.

Speaker 1: 8:18

Oh, wow, listening. You just have to listen. I'm kind of speaking to the power thing I mentioned earlier when I was a younger agent. You know less, you're less skilled, but you're excited and you're motivated and you're hungry and you bring to it enthusiasm and, hopefully, an eye toward educating yourself and growing. Now that I'm in my second decade and I have my broker's license, as I mentioned, I try to listen and then lay the breadcrumbs.

Speaker 1: 8:43

Somebody says this is where I want to be and this is where I am. It's really about digging in. Why do they want to be here? What's important to them? What makes this neighborhood, this zip code, this school, whatever it is they value, valuable? And how can I take whatever they give me and then move them this way, and part of it is by rote. It's the same process over and over, but a lot of it is personalized and we talk a lot about managing emotional capital around the water cooler, at least in real estate.

Speaker 1: 9:09

I try to put that forward in my communication with clients. It's like if you're burning out, let's take the weekend off. You saw that one last week. It's like, if you're burning out, let's take the weekend off. You saw that one last week. It wasn't great, pacing it so that they can enjoy the process and feel enriched and empowered and not really worrying as much about the end result as it is, making sure that the entire path forward is something that they can experience in a measured and controlled way, feeling always like they have their finger on the pulse. For sure, that's good.

Speaker 2: 9:36

And then can you discuss a particularly challenging transaction you've handled and the lessons you learned from that experience.

Speaker 1: 9:43

Particularly challenging transaction. That's a gotcha question, gotcha For those of you over 40. Oh, my goodness, difficult transaction. Sorry to pause for a second.

Speaker 2: 9:57

No, you're good, Take your time.

Speaker 1: 9:59

I find the ones where I can't quite connect as a teacher are the ones where I feel like we encounter the most friction. You know they give me a mission and my goal is to help them reach it. They're the king and queen. I'm the white knight Like take the hill, get the castle. I'm going to do it.

Speaker 1: 10:17

But you also have to be able to collaborate, to meet on a human level, like we talked about, to receive what they give you and then be able to extrapolate with critical thinking and experience what that really means to them and then help them guide through the process. And there have been transactions, clients, situations where, to my best effort and their best intentions, even with successful keys getting handed over, it's just like you can feel that this wasn't the one. You know what I mean. We never quite got on the same page and early on in my career it was devastating to me not to be able to do that. Now it's like, okay, well, I was just an agent and that's okay. You know that's a certain percentage and you move on and you still send the invite to the fundraising.

Speaker 2: 10:55

Yeah, yeah. How has it been developing thick skin? Could you give maybe some tips or advice to people, or just let it happen?

Speaker 1: 11:07

Yeah Well, first, 10,000 hours or more on a phone, answering phones at Michael's Flowers was a big part of it. I remember early in my career, one of the best first notes I got was like, well, your phone voice is whatever. And I'm like, well, I put my 10,000 hours in Good morning, michael's Flowers. How may I be of service?

Speaker 1: 11:18

And if you can get yelled at over like the wrong ribbon color on a $30 corsage with a line out the door of people picking up and not cry or yell or go curse out your boss, you can definitely slowly work your way toward being able to navigate this industry where we're far more richly rewarded, both intellectually, emotionally and financially. That being said, I did start for the first like seven or eight years of my career on online lead conversions and you make a lot of calls. Those rates are usually four to 5%, so one out of 20, and you got to just learn those other 90. It's not about you, you're just waiting for that one. You know what I mean. You don't blame the rocks for not being gold when you're panning at the river. You just keep panning and let your knees pop and get back to work, and so I think that's just repetition, honestly.

Speaker 2: 12:03

That's good advice actually. Yeah, you just got to get to it.

Speaker 1: 12:06

One of my old mentors was like if you're afraid to call your mama, how are you going to feel calling a stranger? You know what I mean? That's a good one. So it's like maybe start with her to warm up a little bit and then go where the water's warm.

Speaker 2: 12:17

I haven't heard that one, but now that it's recorded, maybe other people can pick up on it too.

Speaker 1: 12:22

It's something I remind myself of almost every time I pick up to call to say hi to people, because it can be like I am their realtor. It's like why is Peyton calling? And I'm like breakfast, but they didn't know that until they picked up the phone. I'm glad I picked up. Yeah, sometimes I will start with my mama.

Speaker 2: 12:37

And then how does your involvement in the community enhance your ability to serve clients effectively, in your opinion?

Speaker 1: 12:45

Part of our job is building homes. I mean not constructing homes, but creating a home for people taking a very small role in a huge decision. And to be able to do that, you need to, like I said earlier, understand them and their needs and their wants and also why they gravitate towards certain things. Being able to bring those things together and I feel like keeping that always as the center of the bullseye, the center of the target, is really the way to thread the needle on that.

Speaker 2: 13:11

Yeah, love it. And then is there anything unpredictable or surprising that you've learned about yourself through being in the real estate industry that surprised you through being in the real estate industry.

Speaker 1: 13:22

That surprised you, that I was meant to be a performer and a teacher. Honestly, that maybe going the traditional route and being a musical educator, as I'd originally hoped, wasn't my path. But the part of me that is most fulfilled by my job is making that connection and seeing that moment of realization in a person's eyes when they go from thinking something that I do every day is impossible and then realizing I don't know, just do these three things and it's done, or give it to Peyton and he'll do it, and seeing them go from afraid or uncertain or thinking it's impossible, whether it takes a month or a year. I have a listing I just sold. It's two years.

Speaker 1: 13:56

Blowing her leaves, nurturing her, and we're great, we hug. It's like Sandy I, and we're great, we hug, it's like Sandy, I'm going to miss her. She's in Tennessee now. Sandy, if you're here, shout out. I'm just saying so I'd say that is. The most enriching part to me is realizing that I somehow stumbled into what I was meant to do and found a way to make it exactly what I wanted to do in the first place.

Speaker 2: 14:16

That's awesome. I love that for you. And tell me where do you see yourself in the next five years as a person and with your business.

Speaker 1: 14:25

Community outreach, I think on a local level, is particularly important these days, and so I've prioritized like what is the use of success? What is the use of power if you can't wield that to serve? And again, speaking to building communities and building homes as a small part of that community, as a realtor, everything I can do to enrich the lives of the people that I'm serving reminds me that I'm in a service industry. It keeps me grounded and humble. It keeps me focused on listening and serving and not the glitz and the glamour and the self-congratulations that a lot of salespeople can fall into, that I myself, earlier in my career, may have fallen into at certain times. So it keeps me humble and focused and I think it also makes me a more whole person. I'm in a better mood, I'm in a better mental health space when I interact with people because I can know in my heart I've done at least a small thing to contribute beyond just buying and selling and living.

Speaker 2: 15:18

Yeah, and on that note of mental health, what do you like to do to set boundaries for yourself, or do you have boundaries? Are you still working on it Sometimes? Yeah, talk to me about that. Give us some tips.

Speaker 1: 15:29

One of my other mentors, jack. He taught me early on in our relationship to embrace the asymmetry of our schedule, which is, you know, as a realtor. There are times when my phone doesn't ring and then it'll ring five times at once and you can't always control when that is. So embracing that, yes, I'm on the phone on a Tuesday at noon but I get to be at King's Dominion with my kids I'm not on the lazy river but I'm in a lawn chair and I can see them. You know what I mean. And I'm making a deal happen.

Speaker 1: 15:56

Or I enjoy Christmas break, because it's a little slower that time of year, but slower that time of year. But then, yeah, in April or May or June, when folks are really popping, everybody knows when daddy's phone rings, he's going to need a minute. So I think over time, growing more accustomed to that asymmetry, has allowed me to find peace in my scheduling, prioritizing the times with my family with absolute focus, and then the times where I have to work, like today, with absolute focus. I'm gone 14 hours, call me if you need me, but then tomorrow I got almost nothing on my schedule and I'm going to spend all morning with my toddler, you know, and that's a rare thing that most dads don't get to do Mine didn't? He works six days a week. God bless him, so it's a rare thing.

Speaker 2: 16:33

Wow, that's incredible that you're able to live like your journey, your career, and being able to have that time to spend with your family, but also be your own boss, set your own schedule and help that and making an impact in the community.

Speaker 1: 16:46

That's that's hard to do sometimes, so yeah, it is a challenge, but when you again it's if I'm keeping my eyes on the prize, if I'm focused on my priority, which is being present for my kids, supporting them, feeding my own spirit, keeping healthy, like those are the things that, the things that really light my fire, and then you bring that to work, just the same as I bring the successes from work home and be able to share that mental and physical and emotional stability as well.

Speaker 2: 17:09

Yeah, Now tell me this are you still able to practice music or delve into that, or have you kind of put that to the side completely?

Speaker 1: 17:18

Well, my son plays piano and I still tinker, but not as often as I should. My dad asks me like every third time I see him even practicing 35 years later. I'm sorry, not as often as I should, but we work really hard. We're the sort of people who sing in the kitchen and in the car. You know what I mean. I love that. So encouraging that, I think, is the biggest thing. Just musicals. And I took my son to see Back to the Future, the musical at Kennedy Center last year and you know, trying to just bring it into his life as much as possible. My father, my mother, my grandparents were all really musically inclined in the sense of like enjoying that as entertainment. So I'd say that's how I try to marry it to my life now.

Speaker 2: 17:54

That's great. That's a nice balance.

Speaker 1: 17:55

Through appreciation.

Speaker 2: 17:56

And did you play an instrument? Sorry, I'm just so curious.

Speaker 1: 17:59

I played piano when I was a singer. I sang a lot. Yeah, I did like that was 20 years ago, but I was like in musical theater and stuff. It was a lot of fun and, as I said, getting that little acting bug is definitely what fuels my real estate career, because I'm a little shy, but being able to be purposeful in my interactions with clients and friends allows me to have the confidence. Like I mentioned, preparation earlier, like I know my industry, go ahead and ask me if it's a good time to buy. We'll talk about whether it is for you. And I feel like that confidence and that little itch of performance definitely is what makes me shine a little brighter than maybe some other folks in my industry.

Speaker 2: 18:36

Yeah, I feel like you've got that charisma a little brighter than maybe some other folks.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Yeah, I feel like you've got that charisma.

Speaker 2: 18:40

I thank you. That's generous, at least the enthusiasm, if nothing else, yeah, oh, speaking of more of those serious terms too, um, what are some challenges right now in the real estate industry that you are seeing, and do you think we'll be able to overcome them? Or how do you see that you would better prepare? Hmm?

Speaker 1: 18:55

Well, inventory is improving over the last couple of years, which has let things ease up a little bit.

Speaker 1: 19:02

But the hardest thing, I think honestly on a deeper level, is that two generations of people have had artificially deflated interest rates which again not to get too inside baseball has created both a very modest expectation of the cost or the barrier for entry for homeownership and also the equity growth or price increases we've seen locally, especially with the thriving economy we have here in Northern Virginia, can create a really high barrier for entry for, like, really hardworking folks.

Speaker 1: 19:28

So a big part of my focus as a professional is again trying to take people who think it's impossible. And then I have one client I'm working with now. They've been in my hopper you know what I mean in contact with me for 18 months, working through long-term consultations with lenders. We meet for coffee like every three or four months and check in and finally this year, like June, she'll be finally ready to make her first home purchase. But it really is like you have to take someone early on and not be afraid to put in that work to get them from A to B, and then they get to open that door and once you get in, you're in, you're in the club, you own a home and then five years later you can make that dream happen. So I think every challenge is navigable. But I would say the realities of affordability and the perceptions of affordability kind of marry together to create a climate that can be difficult to navigate if you're not really skilled.

Speaker 2: 20:17

Yeah, but that's why you've got Peyton over here, so hit him up, he'll be able to help you and help navigate you. And the determination, exactly that's right.

Speaker 1: 20:24

As a client, you have to know it's going to be a challenge, but it's worth it. You have a home now. It's awesome.

Speaker 2: 20:30

The dream right? It's amazing. Is there anything that I have not touched on that perhaps you would like to share with our listeners? Your listeners, anything about yourself, your industry, maybe misconceptions a fun fact?

Speaker 1: 20:45

That's a good question. I think, well, okay, I'll go. Industry Set higher expectations for the performance of the people. In my industry there's a fairly low barrier for entry. I know because I crossed it when I worked hard, but it wasn't that hard. It takes time to become skilled in any profession and, as they say, 90% of homes are sold by 10% of realtors. It doesn't have to be me or one of the people I know, but don't take less than you deserve. It is hard. The interest rates are higher than they've been before, Prices are higher and if you don't have someone who's willing to spend a year coaching you up and guiding you through it and staying in touch again, me or anybody else expect better. We have the skills and if we don't find someone who does, because there's somebody out there who's hungrier, who's more motivated, more educated to make you succeed, because you're the one in control, You're the one with the dream. We just help you find the silver lining.

Speaker 2: 21:41

That is a great message, because I've had well I've heard some situations where people are like, okay, my uncle, he sells, or he sold one house one time. I'm going to go to him just because he's my uncle. What are your thoughts on that, or tips or advice?

Speaker 1: 21:55

Interview your uncle, give him a shot, see what he says. It's it's always an interview. It's something I had took a couple of years to realize, but I've interviewed for jobs like 500 times, a thousand times, like on a on a front porch or in a kitchen or in my office or on the phone. It's always an interview which can be hard to get adjusted to, but it holds you deeply accountable and so I think always keeping again focused on that reality is how I personally stay focused on that goal.

Speaker 2: 22:23

I like that. All right, final question, I promise, do you have a quote saying or a mantra that you like to live by or that you would like to pass on to your kids? Or maybe you were told something that inspired you and would you mind leaving us with that message? Oh my goodness yeah.

Speaker 1: 22:37

No pressure, just right. Oh my gosh, a mantra, oh, something my dad says, but it's too silly, I can't.

Speaker 2: 22:46

No, yes please.

Speaker 1: 22:47

You got to risk it to get the biscuit. I love that. It's the first thing that came to mind.

Speaker 2: 22:52

You got to risk it to get the biscuit. It's ridiculous.

Speaker 1: 22:54

Scared money don't make money. Basically, you have to take those chances. You can't be afraid. You got to burn the boats. You got to commit to your path. Learn whatever it takes, do whatever it takes, love whatever you have to love to love what you're doing and who you are, and make the sacrifices necessary on the sides to focus on the core values that you have as a person, as a business owner, as a parent. I think it's the most essential thing. Cut the fat and focus on the real objectives and don't get distracted, yeah.

Speaker 2: 23:21

Those are great words of wisdom, so I thank you so much for sharing them, and they're funny too, so bonus for me. Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate you being here it was great meeting you. Thank you, you're welcome.