From horseshoer to real estate broker, Cody Cox shares his inspiring journey of career transition in Billings, Montana. Find the keys to his success: grit, networking, and unwavering integrity.
Explore the wisdom of structured outreach and the role of visibility and diversified services in achieving success as a broker. Also, discover sales strategies, market trends and the significance of community involvement while gaining insights into maintaining a consistent work-life balance. This episode offers more than just a career evolution story; it's a masterclass in reputation building and relationship leveraging, applicable to all professions.
Ready to learn from the best? Tune in now! #RanchInvestor #Entrepreneurship #Horseshoeing #Billings #Montana
From horseshoer to real estate broker, Cody Cox shares his inspiring journey of career transition in Billings, Montana. Find the keys to his success: grit, networking, and unwavering integrity.
Explore the wisdom of structured outreach and the role of visibility and diversified services in achieving success as a broker. Also, discover sales strategies, market trends and the significance of community involvement while gaining insights into maintaining a consistent work-life balance. This episode offers more than just a career evolution story; it's a masterclass in reputation building and relationship leveraging, applicable to all professions.
Ready to learn from the best? Tune in now! #RanchInvestor #Entrepreneurship #Horseshoeing #Billings #Montana
And my fear as a broker is overpricing and then not selling.
Colter DeVries:I'm Colter DeVries, owner of Ranch Investor Advisory and Brokerage Services. I'm an accredited land consultant with the Realtor Land Institute and proud member of ASFMRA. The Ranch Investor Podcast is the most downloaded and informative industry-specific content that intrigues while entertains. All right, Cody, thanks for coming in. Good afternoon. Cody Cox, you are the horseshoeing, broker, extraordinaire; former horseshoer, former. Is brokering easier on your back? Quite a bit better, I would say.
Cody Cox:Unless I spend a lot of time in the pickup, I think uh past damages are residual and I still feel pretty bad when I have to drive very far and uh got to do some mitigation there with stretching and moving around. But for the most part, yeah, I feel a lot better at night than I used to.
Colter DeVries:You're not crouched over, but you can still feel it. Yeah, that's a fact. So why jump into real estate and actually give us your background?
Cody Cox:So my name is Cody Cox. I grew up in Southeast Wyoming, a little town called Pine Bluffs in the 80s, went to college there in Cheyenne for a little bit and went to horseshoeing school. Then I went to UW for a little while and decided I didn't play very well with others so I needed to work for myself and just started shoeing horses and kind of didn't really have a direction I was super passionate about after college, so wanted to rope and liked horses, like ranching, and figured that was a pretty good way to go about it. Um, yeah, so I did that for quite a while and, um yeah, then I always liked, figured out that I, I liked the uh, the theory of shoeing, um, working on lame horses and performance horses. I really enjoyed that.
Cody Cox:But the work is for a tall, skinny guy, it makes it kind of tough and uh, and then I really enjoyed the people and so, uh, I think it was suggested to me several times throughout the years and I ought to look into selling real estate and I was like, well, it kind of sounds good, but I was moving all over the place and didn't want to be tied down. And when I got to Montana I shot horses for another couple of years and decided I needed to do something else long term, and that's when real estate came around.
Colter DeVries:Well, now it makes sense why you married a chiropractor. That was a big bonus for me. Farriers need one of those on speed dial yeah.
Cody Cox:I tell you what I was. My hips were in pretty bad shape when I moved up here. I was locked up and had trouble, some real bad back spasms, and it took her about six months to a year to get that out of me to where I could function very well.
Colter DeVries:So why? Why land in Billings or the Billings area?
Cody Cox:That's where my girlfriend at the time was from. She had a practice here, and so yeah.
Colter DeVries:Cause when I, when I think of guys who rope and they, they maybe leverage their, their book of business in one business and then they take that to real estate. Maybe you're considering, well, I've got all these horseshoeing clients, they might sell their ranch someday. Normally, you monetize your home area, right? You monetize that network of where you're from, where you're established. Name recognition, you have that relationship. But, you had to start over clean here in Billings.
Cody Cox:Oh yeah, definitely. I knew maybe two people, maybe half a dozen people when I moved here. For sure, I got a job at Western Ranch Supply the first winter I was here. I think I worked there for about six months just to meet people. Pass out your real estate card. While we're at Western Ranch Supply the first winter I was here, I think I worked there for about six months just to meet people you know.
Colter DeVries:Pass out your real estate card.
Cody Cox:There you go. It was a year or two before I got my license, but yeah, I should have.
Colter DeVries:So, what was that experience like? Finding a broker that worked.
Cody Cox:You know, I went to the real estate class. I think it lasted seven days or a week, something like that. It was here in town, it was in 2007. So it was huge, you know. Everybody was right before the market crashed and the class was full and packed from wall to wall.
Colter DeVries:Oh, everybody was going to be an agent like the last four years. Probably, Probably, pretty similar.
Cody Cox:And I scheduled my test the day after we got out of class that would have been a Monday and went and took the test, passed it and then went hunting for a brokerage and I got a letter from three gals and went and met with them and they all had just left Century 21, I think at the time, and started their own deal and really liked all of them and they offered me a place there. So, I went with them and been there ever since.
Colter DeVries:Well, if you started right before the crash, how did you manage to stick with it?
Cody Cox:I'm a pretty slow learner and I think, and so I didn't have high expectations. I kept shooting horses. I shot horses for probably another six years and that was kind of my. A lot of my business was organic from my horseshooting business at that time.
Colter DeVries:And hoping that those team ropers would win a few so they could use you to buy a little small acreage roping arena in Shepherd, right. Exactly, yeah.
Cody Cox:Don't spend it on beer.
Colter DeVries:And at that time trucks and trailers and horses aren't as expensive as they were as they are today relatively.
Cody Cox:Oh, it's crazy out there now. Horses, bring you know know 30 to 100 and who knows how much thousand dollars, and you know pickups worth over.
Colter DeVries:Are you also a horse trader?
Cody Cox:No. Because I mean, if you were a broker and a horse trader, there would be a lot of people who'd be like, oh my god, there's Cody Cox, walk the other way yeah, yeah, people would cross the street to avoid me not only is he a broker, he's a horse trader yeah, I've sold some horses but I'm not very good at it, so only the best I well, I keep them if they're very good. So, but going back to 07 and 08, that would have been difficult to be like, oh man, kind of what we're dealing with right now.
Colter DeVries:A lot of new licenses, licensees and not a lot of movement out there, because we have low inventory right now. Back then it was low buyer demand because of the new mortgage rates and the economy. I guess the new lending requirements back then Dodd-Frank, um. But yeah, how do you? How did you say? You know I'm I'm just gonna make this work cause my back really hurts.
Cody Cox:I think that was it and there was no. You know, I had cashflow to sustain me so I wasn't needing it, but it was just kind of like a bonus when I sold something. I think I sold one property the first year or maybe the first seven or eight months maybe, and uh yeah, and I was pretty busy just trying to learn the nuts and bolts of the business and trying to get, uh yeah, grow my expertise and just how to write contracts, all the legalese that we speak every day and how to do comparisons and then just getting familiar with the market. So that's what I kind of concentrated is just working on the craft, I think for the first probably couple of years.
Colter DeVries:Becoming proficient with the deal, becoming good at the deal.
Cody Cox:Yeah, exactly.
Colter DeVries:And not just farming. It takes a certain amount of farming, marketing, to pick up new clients. But you also want to be proficient and be able to know your product, know what you're selling and talk the talk and say here's how I can walk you through it.
Cody Cox:You know, uh, have a pretty in-depth conversation with anatomy and physiology physiology on the lower limb of a horse and uh, I didn't have. I wasn't that adept at real estate at that point in time, so I wanted to feel that comfortable when I had a conversation about the market. What's going on locally, what's going on regionally and nationally?
Colter DeVries:Not a lot of prior similarities between horseshoeing and getting into real estate.
Cody Cox:No, no. But the important part to me is the people part. You know, and that's what I enjoyed with the horseshoe and that's why I stuck with it as long as I did is because I really like my clients and the people I got to work with, the places I got to see and kind of get to scratch that itch with real estate as well.
Colter DeVries:Whenever people call me and they're like I'm thinking about getting my license, what do you recommend? Where should I start? I'd like to sell ranches. Of course I want to sell $10 million ranches is usually the the leading reason. I want to sell $10 million ranches. I kind of joke halfheartedly but kind of serious. Like dude, If I were to do it over again I would almost want to be a Schwann's man for the first five years and just work those rural routes and get those relations. Everyone loves the Schwan's, man.
Cody Cox:Oh they're always happy when you show up with ice cream yeah, yeah and you?
Colter DeVries:Then you can just transition into real estate and say, oh, here's your, here's your push pops. Your uh maple or not maple, but uh gosh, dang it. What is that? Chocolate favorite malt? Here's your malt flavored push pops.
Cody Cox:And, by the way, here's my card yeah, that would be a pretty seamless transition, I think so another, another thing I recommend.
Colter DeVries:I don't recommend, but I I would consider looking back if you were to do it over. I think, starting off as insurance as well, because you have to go farm, you have to go knock and ask for people's business. Selling whatever type of insurance probably be easier to sell. I shouldn't say that it's never easy to sell anything. It might be, uh, there might be a larger market, a higher demand to sell, like auto insurance and health and some of that other than life insurance and some of the bigger, more expensive type products. But I would, I think that would be a good way to start If you wanted to get into real estate too, because you have all those contacts, you have an established relationship.
Colter DeVries:But I think you don't see a lot of people jumping from insurance to real estate and I think it's because that cash flow, that auto renewal comes in. Man, that gets so good, it gets so easy, I shouldn't say easy again, it gets so nice to just keep building those auto renewals, whereas in real estate we have to go hunt it, we have to kill it, skin it, cook it, every time. You bet. We don't get the auto renewal.
Cody Cox:You bet, I think we in my business, you know, obviously there's more probably turnover than there is in what you're dealing with with big ranches. But, um, I think that residual might come through our relationships with those people where they're willing to give us referrals of their friends and family and that they trust us, and that's kind of how I look at it is. Uh, when I develop those relationships with those people, that they'll come back and they will recommend me to somebody else because you're right, yeah, when you start from scratch, I mean it's a long process yet because it's a big deal. Somebody, it might be, you know, a hundred percent of their net worth is wrapped up in their real estate, sometimes. I mean I don't recommend that but, um, you see that and so that's a, that's a big ask of somebody to have them help you through that, or have you helped them through that transition.
Colter DeVries:Well, when I was banking with the world's most evil corporation, Wells Fargo at the time John Stumpf as the CEO, Kerry Tolstead as the CFO. During the pressure cooker environment that everyone knows about remembers of Wells Fargo stock the model was changing and it's not like as a banker you were just a credit officer or a relationship manager or a loan officer. You actually had to go out there and get new clients. That was part of the new model of banking. The old guys hated it. Because the old guys, they used to bank from nine till about three in the afternoon you know, take a long lunch and about three they would open up the whiskey and completely different models. So we were I mean, it was sales in the sense that we were selling money. Sure. So, we had to learn how to do CRM. Wells Fargo had an extensive proprietary CRM system and I'm curious. So my sales training with Wells Fargo when I was essentially selling money, we had to work centers of influence. So attorneys, insurance and leaders of the Elks Club or some organization.
Colter DeVries:You had to work your community leaders and say we had to have to do like three a week and then you had to have like 10 direct solicitations a week. Do you have a model like that in your business? How much do you focus on centers of influence and direct outreach?
Cody Cox:You know, I'm starting to implement that a little bit more. Call it my strategic partners are probably a good way to think about it, but there's just other small businesses that I utilize and I want to promote, so I take them out to my sphere. I'm just starting that. I just went in my monthly newsletter. I just included one small business, and he's actually a home inspector that just had bought another business and he tried to do some value add with my monthly newsletter. So that's something new that I'm trying. I'm always looking for sources of referrals, so I think that's what you're speaking to, is you?
Cody Cox:know yeah yeah, yeah, and so I'm always thinking about that with other. I look at it as m y past clients are probably my primary um focus in that regard, but I also I'm trying to, you know, network with other, with other small businesses that, uh, I utilize, you know, so I know what they are, how they work and that I can be trusted to recommend them to my people and then, you know, hopefully we'll get some, I bring some value to them and hopefully they can refer people back to me.
Colter DeVries:It's funny how many high-performing brokers use the sticky note as their CRM. I, when I was at Realtor Land Institute, and has their annual convention a couple of years ago, they had a CRM guy talking about you got to figure out a process, you got to implement a process and stick to it and work that CRM, stay organized, stay neat, stay clean, stay diligent. He said by show of hands how many people here are still using post-it notes, and you know there's plenty of guys in their fifties and sixties and forties. These are all high- performing brokers that are looking left, looking right. Yeah, I still use post-it notes, but there is. I mean, it's true, I was.
Colter DeVries:I had a long road trip with an estate planner. We drove four hours to meet with one of my clients and one way. So I got to hear his craft, and he got to sharpen my pencil quite a bit and he's probably one of the most successful estate planners in Billings. So he sells those high- commission products like life insurance and annuities and all those things that go into retirement, death, secession, all that stuff. And he was saying I've just stuck to the plan of 20 new leads or 20 outreaches a week and like 10 follow-ups and three in-person meetings. So it's it's like a 20-10-3. He called it something, something towards that effect, and obviously, it's worked for him. He's been highly successful doing a 20-10-3 20 new, 10 follow follow-ups, three in person. Yeah, wouldn't that be nice if we were that disciplined?
Cody Cox:Well, I've not done that for a long time, right, and here a couple of years ago, I decided I needed some better processes, so I've been trying to implement that. So I and I have developed some something similar to that. That it's been. It's been helpful and it's I've been able to stay in contact with people that you know maybe I haven't reached out to in a long time. And then the people I've recently sold things to. I'm in really good contact with them and, yeah, I just needed a system in place, because if we're not in front of them, they forget about us pretty quick.
Colter DeVries:Yeah, and I think that kind of goes back to you and I were talking on the phone the other day what makes a successful brokerage or real estate business? And if you look at any small town America, probably has two or three 50, 60, even 70 year old brokers. They sell residential, lots of land, farm and ranch, some commercial, some business, some development, some recreation. And in any small town America, those two or three brokers, they're not living in a manufactured home, they're not driving an old jalopy vehicle, they're doing very well. So it's almost like this, the proven model.
Colter DeVries:And that's part of the reason because people see them at the post office and the bar and the basketball games and the football games and they know who to reach out to, they know who to talk to. But that proven model, it also has risk management in there. Through up cycles, down cycles. There's a you know if they're, if they have the competence to sell those different assets, they're like the clearinghouse for that local area yeah, there's a lot of truth to that and that I mean I think.
Colter DeVries:You know I don't want to make recommendations, but if you wanted to be successful at this business in a small town, go to a small town and sell. You know, sell it all and stay active in your community and you'll never be in a manufactured home.
Cody Cox:Yeah, you'll do very well and that's great for those brokers. But it's a double edged sword because they, I think a lot of times they can get pretty complacent too, and the clients have limited options when they want to buy or sell something in terms of competency of that broker, because what's the incentive for them to improve and get better?
Colter DeVries:Yeah, and who's the competition? Who's checking their numbers and their timelines?
Cody Cox:For sure.
Colter DeVries:Their opinions.
Cody Cox:Yeah, I think there's 1,300 agents in Billings, the town of a hundred and some thousand people. That's quite a few.
Colter DeVries:What kind of variance do you think would happen? Say, Billings, where there's more license, more licenses than listings, and you can turn to. You know, your cousin has a license, your neighbor has a license, your hairdresser has a license, you can get three CM As What do you think the variance is? Is there going to be a 20% difference in opinion?
Cody Cox:Of the suggested price? Yes, I don't know. I don't know. That's a good question. I would think agents are just people, right, and so there's a spectrum and there's going to be people that really need that listing and they might try to offer a higher price than maybe the data is suggesting if they think that the seller wants to hear it. I mean, everybody wants to hear that their stuff's worth more than it really is. And there's some brokers that they might contact that are doing well, and then they'll give them the realistic price, say, hey, this is, it's worth X. And you know, take it or leave it. They'd love to have the business but they don need to have it now. Their, their mortgage payment doesn't depend on next, next month, and I think that leads um to brokers, um, really burying, probably on that, on that price. You know trying to, because when you're coming from a place of I, I need to have it, the conversation's different, you know. You know I really need this, so yeah, so I don't know, I need this yeah.
Cody Cox:So yeah, boy did.
Colter DeVries:I ever learn a lesson when I got a tattoo from a guy who said, dude, I need the money, from a guy who said, god dude, I need the money. Eventually I need to go get that tattoo redone. Yeah, I might have to have a laser treatment. Well, this sounds like another conversation. I would imagine the broker who is doing well, who gives the CMA or the BPO that's accurate, they don't quite deliver as take it or leave it Correct and then, also going into the conversation, the new agent who says I really need this really need this listing either internally.
Colter DeVries:I can't imagine too many people say that explicitly. They might say it internally, but you and I have been talking about negotiating Chris Voss, correct, and what are his books that we talked about? It's "Never Split the Difference,"N ever Split the Difference." How has that helped you in your business?
Cody Cox:I think when I'm trying to implement his principles, I think it's made me a better listener, because I'm actively trying to listen and understand what the people are really trying to say. A lot of times people will want something and they don't really want to say it out loud. I want to get to what their motivations are to best help them, because a lot of times people don't even know what they want or they're unfamiliar with the market. I'm sure you run into that and these amenities for that they want for X price just doesn't exist. And so, yeah, I'm looking for a way in to kind of help them get to where I think ultimately they want to be.
Colter DeVries:Doesn't that? Doesn't that go right in the face of a negotiation, in that you're negotiating with the client for the listing, you're trying to figure out their motivations, but then you have someone like me at an open house with his wife saying do not show how much you like this kind of like car shopping. Don't let the salesman know how much you like this. We don't want you to know our motivation. Sure.
Cody Cox:Isn't that?
Colter DeVries:just generally, like I don't want to tell this broker my motivation or what my bottom number is.
Cody Cox:Yeah, if you're across the table versus being on the same side of the table. You know if you're, if they're your client versus another broker's client. Yeah, that's always kind of the rub. But I think you had an open house scenario for sure, like if they like, oh, we really like this house. But don't say that, yeah, exactly, exactly. But if they want it there, I mean if it's priced accordingly, you know they're gonna. I think that's probably part of the reason why they're there.
Colter DeVries:If they're generally interested in the area and the price, they wouldn't be there if it was overpriced, right, and you know, um, I don't know now, when you say across the table or on the same side, when you're going into a listing agreement, that is a negotiation. You're negotiating listing price and commission and duration, time on the market, correct. Um, how do you get to the same side of the table, same side of the table, to where they trust you, you've built rapport, they respect you as a professional. How do you get there? So that it's not combative that I say listed at three, you say four, I want 18 months, you want 12, I want 8% commission, you want 2% commission.
Cody Cox:Sure, sure. And I think that's where being generally genuinely, genuinely interested in what they have to say and where they're coming from. And I think that's what gets back to the listening part, cause you know, maybe they want that and it's not realistic. So why are they saying that? Where are they coming from? Say, maybe they have a $500,000 house that they want $754,000. All right, we're way off, that's not going to sell for that.
Cody Cox:So why do you think? First of all, why do you think it's worth that? and they can give you reasons. And then, if they're valid reasons, then maybe you need to look at your own price that you put on the property versus the information that I'm, hopefully I'll have more information than they do, especially concerning price, and maybe I can bring some back, some some facts and say I appreciate what you're saying, but this is what the facts are telling me, this is what places have actually sold for.
Cody Cox:That's kind of the beauty of us living in a non-disclosure state too. A lot of people look at listing prices and they don't get to see sold prices. So we can, we can come armed with some actual information of what happened, how many days on market different things. But that gets back to their motivations. Maybe they don't care, maybe they don't, they don't care if they sell in the next three or four years or buy, you know, and then you can kind of attack those problems as they come up. But you don't find that out until you have a real, real conversation with them.
Colter DeVries:Well, this sounds intense. You're using the words come armed and attack. I never want to sound like that. I'm immediately defensive, that's true. So how do you get people's defenses down if that's even the right way of looking?
Cody Cox:at it. Yeah, I shouldn't say that.
Colter DeVries:Especially when you have to sometimes you do have to invalidate them and say you know what? I see what you're saying. You have a beautiful place, you put a lot of work into it, but I just don't see the numbers working out for you.
Cody Cox:How do you
Cody Cox:invalidate someone gently? I I try to do with facts and then ask them, yeah, pointed questions as to why they feel that way, why you know, this is what the numbers are showing me, and say I have a, two comparable that are pretty good information, and they come, come at me and it turns into more of what they're feeling. They think the place ought to be worth them and, um, yeah, so sometimes I'll leave it at that and revisit it a time later or say, you know, we can list it high if you want, but it's probably not going to sell, you know. And these are the reasons why, um, yeah, I just try to get down. I don't. I want to be with them through the process.
Cody Cox:I'm not trying to be adversarial towards them and and sometimes it doesn't work out, sometimes you know they want more than I think. Then the market will bear and I can choose to walk away or they can choose to walk away with me. But I'm hoping when I sit down at the table with them I've built up enough trust where they trust what I'm. They want me there. They called me, so hopefully I can through my advice. They're willing to believe me.
Colter DeVries:Do you have to use explicit labels such as Tom, I am not your enemy. I've never done that, thank you, help me help you. I am your friend here, Tom. I'm put your to put your Dukes down. I'm not your enemy. Do you? How do you label and how do you, how do you explicitly get that point across, that you are there in there, in their best interest?
Cody Cox:Well, for one, we're entering into a fiduciary role, meaning that we have to legally put their interests in front of ours in terms of the transaction. So, at a bare minimum, we enter into the agreement like, this is our position, this is our relationship, if we choose to go forward. So it's my duty to tell you that what the market value is for this house. Um, hopefully it doesn't come like the example you gave. Hopefully it doesn't get that adversarial. Hopefully I've, you know, headed that off way before then. Um, but yeah to to label specific things, I don't know, I don't know, I haven't really thought about that. Uh, in terms of how I would handle a situation like that, it's.
Colter DeVries:I I'm going to make a broad generalization here, but I would say dealing with small rural acreage residential lots and lots and more recreational consumer properties probably has less of that, because there's less of a variance in opinion. Whereas ranches are trading like art, it's a collector item and that is very subjective. And, yes, there is a market range. But everyone knows that, uh, one man's junk is another man's treasure. And when it's so subjective there there could be another 30 percent left on the table. If you don't that's the fear if you don't price it 50 over what the market's doing, how much are you leaving on the table, and so that then that does become very combative and adversarial. But no, I, I see what you're saying. You do have a great place.
Cody Cox:However, the probability of you stretching the market that far is very low yeah, and the word to use there was fear, and so I might, in that particular situation, I might key in on their fear that they might be missing out, or undersell by 30 percent.
Colter DeVries:Yeah, yeah, yeah, fear of uh leaving money on the table is a huge one. It's probably gosh, it's one of the biggest fears out there. Yeah, yeah, fear of uh leaving money on the table is a huge one.
Colter DeVries:It's probably gosh, it's one of the biggest fears out there yeah, yep, and my fear as a broker is overpricing and then not selling yes, yeah, wasting your time, money and effort and, I would say, with residential, the fear of leaving five thousand dollars on the table, although I guess I do need to empathize that most of these homes are their largest asset, right. Just like a ranch is a rancher's largest asset.
Colter DeVries:So $5,000 on a $500,000 home 1%. It's hard for me to gauge that. What the level of fear and resistance based on fear of loss rather than opportunity for gain.
Cody Cox:Correct, yeah. And the other thing to take into consideration with just purchase price is just one of the house and even a new home or new place is is inspections. You know that can beat you up worse than than the purchase price where will, or or a price reduction in a lot of cases and there's so much more data to defend opinions BPOs and CMAs. Oh, for sure.
Colter DeVries:It takes the subjectivity out of it.
Cody Cox:It helps for sure, yeah. Especially in neighborhoods that have got a lot of activity in them, you can get kind of dialed down to a square footage price and be pretty darn close if your condition isn't even in the ballpark.
Colter DeVries:So, other than reading Chris Voss, "Never Split the Difference." What else do you do to improve your business?
Cody Cox:You know I focus a lot on, I would say, just self-improvement, something that interests me. So I try to do things like control my diet, my exercise, things that are going in, um, kind of just puts me in a better mood and a better ability to serve my clients. Cause this can be, this business can kind of be an emotional rollercoaster, you know. So try to do hard things and um, um, yeah, then the the day-to-day stuff seems to go by the wayside a little bit easier, you know it can. Yeah, I like it when bad things happen. It can be like water off a duck's back, you know.
Cody Cox:So I'll I do time restricted eating. I've done that for a long time. That was very difficult for me to start off doing that, um, but I've been doing it about seven years now and that's been gained, you know, been very good, beneficially, both health wise, and then it's painful every day. So you know I get used to that pain and, uh, make sure that things easier. I do cold water immersion. I've been doing that for a couple of years now and that's been that sucks every morning.
Colter DeVries:Gosh, when you were a beer drinking, rope and cowboy, did you have any idea how much discipline you're going to be getting into and feelings, dealing with other people's feelings and handholding? No, it's like you're a shrink. Yeah, it's something that I didn't see coming. Beer drinking, rope and cowboys don't often strike me as good shrinks?
Cody Cox:no, we're not.
Colter DeVries:Sometimes I think I am, but then yeah, turns out I'm not and then not just a shrink for your client to help them through their emotions, but, as you mentioned, the roller coasters of your own business.
Cody Cox:Yeah, yeah. And if I can't help anybody else, if I'm if I'm working on myself all the time, you know, and always in peril and and worried about things and high anxiety and whatever, whatever daily things come through, I got to have my my own ship, kind of right before I can help anybody else. So that's kind of what I I can help anybody else, so that's kind of what I focus on.
Colter DeVries:Call them up, screaming at them just sign the listing agreement.
Cody Cox:I need this. I need this, yeah, exactly. Cause, like a lot of things I think this business is it can bring the best out in of you, out, and it can bring the worst out of you, and you just got to be cognizant of that.
Colter DeVries:Well, especially if you're hangry all the time. Especially if you're hangry all the time. Yeah, how do you? How do you cope with that? And kids at the same time? Oh, yeah, if you can do that, you can do anything right? That just sounds like you need another cocktail to numb the pain. I'm going to do I'm going to do cold bath, but I'm also going to take painkillers. I'm going to do time eating regimen, but I'm also going to consume edibles to take my. That just sounds like it could spin out of control very quickly for the wrong person.
Cody Cox:Oh, I bet it could, yeah, but I tell you what struggling through things is important for all of us, I think. And if I can kind of craft my own struggles, that then maybe I won't have to deal with the ones that or thing you've ever experienced is the worst thing that you've ever experienced. So if you experience really crappy things every day, you know it's it's not that big a deal it sounds like do you study Stoicism.
Colter DeVries:This sounds a lot like Stoic philosophy.
Cody Cox:I've heard it, you know. Uh, another thing, that's, I've spent a lot of time working on my faith, probably the last five, five or six years, and that's been really important to me and so prayer, meditation, another, yeah, another uh regimen oh yeah yeah, read the bible every morning, first thing yeah, it helps, keeps you humble. I need that.
Colter DeVries:I I've got jujitsu for that, so I get smashed oh, my goodness, so cold baths, starvation, the bible, prayer, meditation and jiu-jitsu do you have. Do you have time to be out selling?
Cody Cox:yeah, yeah, yeah, and that's that's why I needed systems, because, um, that doesn't come naturally to me, so I need to working on time blocks when I can do this different stuff, and because it's important, I think it came to me later in life. Well, a lot of that stuff didn't exist, you know, years, years ago, when I probably could have really used it.
Colter DeVries:But, uh, better late than never, I guess if only we could have started when we were 20. I know right. What it was the old saying that uh, beauty is wasted on the youth. It's kind of like. If only I had the wisdom of a 36 year old, which I am when I was 26 yes yeah yeah, I probably got the wisdom.
Cody Cox:I'm 48 now, so I probably have the wisdom of a maybe 30 year old by now.
Colter DeVries:So I'm hoping it's gonna be. It's gonna be fun when we have teenage girls, huh I don't don't know what not to do.
Cody Cox:I think not to guide them.
Colter DeVries:So what? What does the average, what does the average day look like for you? You got cold bath in the morning, prayer meditation in the morning.
Cody Cox:Yeah, so typically, um, I'll get up make some coffee, um, read my Bible, and I'm usually into a book. Get up make some coffee, read my Bible, I'm usually into a book, so that's about 15 minutes.
Colter DeVries:Is this a professional book? Is this honing your skills?
Cody Cox:Yeah, always I don't enjoy it. Abstract, yeah, and so that's what I need to do. I don't really read for fun, but it's not terrible. I enjoy some of the books I'm reading and, um for sure I always get something out of all of them. Um, yeah, so then I get that going, then about then my wife's getting out of the shower, so it's time to get the kids up, get them ready for school on either a couple of days a week my daughter's four, so she stays with me a couple of days a week. So on those days I don't get much done in terms of prospecting. I can do some computer work and maybe five shillings or things like that I can schedule for then. But yeah, and then the other days a week I'll take her to daycare, come back, do a cold bath at that time, like some savages do it right when they jump out of bed, and I do every once in a while, but not very often I have to work up to, I have to talk to myself into it every day and I'm sure I've got a neighbor that comes over now and he's been doing it with me, and so there's a lot more people I'm doing
Cody Cox:I did it by myself pretty much for a year and a half and so, um, but it's kind of fun doing with other people watching the utter pain on their face. I enjoyed it. Yeah, then I'll, then I I'll usually grab a workout and then, uh, have a time block for calls and note cards to people and prospecting what, whatever activity is I'm involved in that day and then whatever transactions I've got going on and then try to and sometimes I'll go meet people for coffee or or uh, or try to have lunch with people two or three days a week and that's fulfilling to me. I need to be around people. I really enjoy the conversations.
Colter DeVries:Sometimes it's about business, sometimes it's not part of the business fills your tank. It's that interaction with other people does, does feel rewarding and gets you going.
Cody Cox:Definitely, Definitely. That's why, uh, COVID was hard on me. You know, I had a baby at the time and I was pretty isolated for a couple of years there anyways, just because the function of having a child at home and, um, you know, since I work out of the home and my wife doesn't, I was endo facto was taking care of the kid most of the time and, um, or a good part of the time anyways, and when everybody else is working and yeah, I was it took me a while to figure out really that I was just, yeah, missed the interaction of other people and then. So I really appreciate it now I don't, it's not lost on me, Um, that I get to make money, you know, being around people that I really enjoy.
Colter DeVries:So yeah, that's part of my story.
Colter DeVries:Why there wasn't a lot of love lost when I left the ranch was because I was by myself with my dog all day long and it was changing water, fixing water and fencing by myself, and I mean there's immense beauty and reward and pleasure in that. I was under the big Montana skies, out in nature, exercise, staying active, all that's great. But I was by myself all day long and that's why there wasn't a lot of love lost when I left yeah, yeah, and I can relate with that too.
Cody Cox:I always thought when I grew up my uncle had a place, we had some cows, and I always thought I always thought, man, it'd be go to cool to go to big ranch and country and just disappear and be by myself all the time, just just cowboy, it's like that sounds really cool to me. And as I got older, in the winter time, every once in a while, probably in my 20s, I went and helped some friends uh, cab cows and we were out there quite a ways and they were really good friends of mine. But in this little town that nobody was or even close to me, it was like 50 miles to town, 60 miles of town, and all of a sudden I figured out I didn't like being out on the ranch that far by myself.
Cody Cox:Yeah, and after Paul Harvey died I didn't have him on the radio anymore to look forward to yeah, it was a rough one yeah so Paul Harvey was my only friend for a while yeah, yeah, and I didn't realize how much I needed that until I got, didn't have it, you know.
Colter DeVries:So do you have? What are you working for why? Why do all this discipline? Why have this regimental structure and schedule? Do you have a mission, vision and value statement? Do you have BHAG - big, hairy, audacious goal? What? What's your why? I think because I need it.
Cody Cox:I don't. I'm not real formal in terms of writing goals down. That's something I'm working on. Um you have a coach for that, right, I do. Yeah, yeah, so you even have.
Colter DeVries:You even have a professional personal business coach, which some people it's their pastor or their counselor in some some, and but it sounds like you have a specialized business coach or life coach.
Cody Cox:Yeah, no, not life coach, but business coach. But yeah, and I think a lot of that why, um, I think I need the accountability, but why?
Colter DeVries:why are you going through that effort? Why? Why do you think you need the accountability?
Cody Cox:Just to see my business grow.
Colter DeVries:Why do you want to see your business grow?
Cody Cox:I think because if you're not getting better, you're getting worse, and I think if you're not growing, you're atrophying and you're not using it. I think it's more of a philosophical thing for me. Of course, you always want to make more money and do better and provide more things for your family, but at the end of the day, for me, none of that stuff drives me a lot. I mean, I'm not real big on things and stuff, but experience is really important to me. So, yeah, I just want to be better.
Colter DeVries:I guess is maybe my reason behind it for, for my family, yeah, for you, and you will know the tree by the fruit it bears. Is that a bible verse?
Cody Cox:yeah, I don't know if that's a bible verse. It sounds like one so you're, you're trying to try.
Colter DeVries:The fruit you're bearing is is for the family, the tree, the roots.
Cody Cox:And then community. I think we have an obligation. We live around other people and we need to contribute. We can't just be passive and just be takers. I'm not comfortable with that. I like to serve, I like to help people out. That you know. I like to serve, uh, I like to help people out. I think, deep down, I have a easy time empathizing with people that are that have problems. You know they're having trouble in their life and I think I just it wasn't really conscious, but I started doing some of the stuff and one thing leads to another, leads to another, and like I can't help anybody else if I can't help myself, I think was the maybe the impetus that got me going down this track.
Colter DeVries:So well, you're a very uh, empathetic rodeo cowboy, that's.
Cody Cox:That's an anomaly again painting with broad brushes, broad brushes correct.
Colter DeVries:Well, Cody Cox, we're coming up to the uh, the outro here the last 10 minutes or so. Oh, that was quick. Yeah, it goes fast when you're having a good time, kind of like life, yeah yeah thanks for coming on. Do you have any burning desires here to talk about, to share, um to clear up any of my fallacies or misconceptions? You know, not really. I don't think so. I think we. Busting my stereotypes.
Cody Cox:No, I think you're probably right on at the rodeo cowboy stuff. Yeah, we could just talk about real estate a little bit. What's going on there in terms of?
Colter DeVries:What is going on? What's your crystal ball, say I. That is my running question. I ask everyone what's? What's the crystal ball?
Cody Cox:yeah, I think their interest rates by all everybody, all the experts that I listen to, are supposed to be going down this year. So that's going to help the market, I think, and people that are sitting on the fence I think it'll be able to knock some people off the fence when things get a little bit more desirable. Um, you know, hopefully we get, from what I've heard, second, third quarter this year they're going to start backing off even more. They're pretty volatile right now and I think that's going to be in the short term. That's good. They're going to be all over the place and, yeah, hopefully that helps with our inventory problem that we're dealing with, because there's a lot of, there's a lot of new buyers coming on the market and there's a lot of baby boomers that are retiring and possibly moving down. So, yeah, there's going to be a lot of activity here.
Colter DeVries:The next couple of years. Price is going to continue to climb.
Cody Cox:They're pretty steady right now. But yeah, I mean, I think, simple supply demand economics. If there's more demand than their supply, prices are going to go up. So time will tell.
Colter DeVries:Yeah, it doesn't sound good to me. It sounds like cause we already we still have a lot of transactions happening, a lot of pending. Already we still have a lot of transactions happening, a lot of pending. The absorption rate is not it hasn't tipped into a buyer's market still a pretty quick absorption rate. And yet we're at what? 7.6 for a 30-year mortgage or something like that with good credit yeah so if that goes down, we're already at low inventory levels.
Colter DeVries:Prices have to adjust higher. As you said, a broadening buyer pool I I man. That just doesn't sound good for buyers like myself right now yeah, first time home buyers are it's. It's tough stuff and, fortunately, if you have the asset we, we are on the fence because we have the asset. You can wait, but I think it's just going to be super rough for anyone looking for a while.
Cody Cox:I think you're absolutely right. So, yeah, so, and you're, you're starting to see it and you have seen it a little bit in the residential market with how things really when, because when the, the faucet turned off, it really turned off, like it was crazy multiple offer situations to almost you know just nothing 60 days on the market, just almost overnight, and uh, but I would say right now it feels to me obviously not when I started in the in the business in 2007, but probably in the 2010s when the recovery kind of happened it seems like kind of like a typical type market, you know, in terms of days on market and appreciation and things. So, yeah, I hope demand isn't too high, just so we can help these people find a place where they want to be, you know, and uh, but like you say, you you're on one side of the fence or the other. Like, it's great for if you're selling, maybe not so good if you're on one side of the fence or the other. It's great if you're selling, maybe not so good if you're buying.
Colter DeVries:Yeah, it's really good if you have two homes and you can sell one.
Cody Cox:Yeah, for sure.
Colter DeVries:That's the ideal situation is have that one in the chamber.
Cody Cox:But I don't like to make predictions because I thought in late 2019, early 2020, I thought things had kind of peaked and it was going to level off and I was couldn't have been more wrong.
Colter DeVries:So well, Cody. Thanks for coming on. Appreciate, appreciate your time here.
Cody Cox:All right. Thanks for having me. Click subscribe on your streaming platform, so you know when the latest episode has dropped.