The Golden Handoff & Long-Term Success with Nick Krautter

This week on the Team Lally Real Estate Radio Show, we interview Nick Krautter, bestselling author of The Golden Handoff. Nick shares the inspiration behind the book, why he released an updated edition, and what readers can expect to gain from it. He also discusses his book Change Your Own Diaper, the qualities he believes lead to lasting success in business and life, and what made him decide to live on a sailboat.

We also have our Experts We Trust. Danny Langerman of DHA Financial shares a mortgage tip on the importance of honesty during the pre-approval process, while Amphay Champathong of Estate Planning Group explains why creating a trust is essential and clarify what probate means.

Watch or Listen to the full episode

Interview Transcription

ADRIENNE: 
Our guest today is a dynamic storyteller, adventure and lifelong learner with a passion for personal growth and helping others succeed, based in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, he’s known for his curiosity, love of reading and writing and fun fact, he once lived on a sailboat, proving he’s never afraid to chart his own course in life.

ATTILIO:
And then he crash landed this boat on this island, and they called him Gulliver. No, I’m just kidding. He is the author of The Golden handoff, a practical, inspiring guide built on real world experience, meaningful relationships outside of writing. He enjoys golf, exploring new food, travel experiences and experience, oh and embracing each day with the genuine enthusiasm. Please welcome our guest. Nick Krautter, all right.

ADRIENNE: 
Nick, welcome. Welcome to the Welcome to the team Lally radio show. Thank you for being our guest. Yeah, again, actually, we should see, welcome back

ATTILIO: 
and yeah, we’re coming to you from the broom closet. So Nick, we the we, we got that intro in there. You’re an author, an adventurer, an adventurer, sailboat liver. Do you hang out with Richard Branson?

NICK: 
Yeah, I wish I did. He’s like, a fun

ATTILIO: 
guy, yeah, yeah, no. So you’re, you’re living the life of Riley, as we say. So we got questions. We got questions. We got questions. What’s one of the questions we got for Nick today?

ADRIENNE: 
So what was, what was your inspiration? So, like, we first came across you and met you because you’re the author of the golden hand off. Yeah. What was the inspiration and the story behind putting that book together?

NICK: 
Yeah? Well, it was a little bit of hubris, and it was like I thought it would be really easy to write a book. And it turns out it’s pretty hard. It took about three years off and on, six rounds of editing. Yeah, what inspired me to write it was, it was a book I needed. I was buying businesses from agents who are leaving the business and retiring. And I reached out to everyone in the real estate group I was at for at the time, 800 offices to say, is anyone written a book about this, or know anything about this that could could help me out, and unfortunately, there wasn’t a book on how to help someone buy or sell a real estate business. And I had already bought about three businesses. We had onboarded about 1000 clients, and all these people that I was reaching out to to try to learn more about how to better help clients and other agents encouraged me to write the book, and so that was why I ended up writing the golden hand off. And I’m really glad I saw it through. There was a lot of times I wanted to quit because I was running a real estate team at the time and very busy, but I’m glad I saw it through and that it’s out there for everyone.

ATTILIO: 
Now. I was thinking like, if. You, like, the perfect if I was, like, your like, PR guy, or your promoter manager guy, I would have you do a book launch at a movie theater, and then you would show that James Bond movie called Gold finger.

ADRIENNE:
That’s so weird, Italy. Oh, but

ATTILIO: 
then it’s the whole hand would be, you would come on a stage. We’re not giving you the golden finger. We’re giving you the golden hand off the whole

ADRIENNE: 
now. Now, Nick, you have written an update, an updated version to this book. Why did you do the update? What’s the difference between the first version and the second version? Do tell

NICK: 
Yeah. So one of the biggest hurdles I had in convincing people to work with me was that they didn’t want to quit or retire completely from real estate. They wanted to keep working part time, or they wanted to keep working with some of their clients, and I didn’t really have a way to connect with them. And so the second edition is the one with the blue and white cover. Is all about what I call partial handoffs. And so that’s what anyone who is thinking of slowing down or they want to live, you know, part time in Hawaii or part time in California, or part time wherever. It allows them to connect with another broker or team that is really active in growing the business and to do what they want, when they want, with the clients they want, but not lose out on all the other business and all the other relationships that they have. And so that’s why I wrote this new edition. It has a whole new section on partial handoffs, and I also did a whole section of interviews with people on how they’ve implemented that. And it was really fascinating to learn from from other agents and teams and brokerages on how they’ve taken the idea and made it work for them.

ATTILIO: 
Yeah, I think what I like about your book because we bought because I think I don’t know how we’ve had you on the show before. How long has it been? It was before covid? Yeah, it’s

ADRIENNE: 
been a couple years. Yeah, we had a bunch of copies of your first edition, and then we ordered a bunch of copies of the new edition, and we’re excited to implement some of these new concepts that you’ve addressed, you

ATTILIO: 
know. So in my car, we have a list for our agents. It’s called the junk in your trunk. And then on on that list, I put stuff in there because, you know, do you have you heard the term RDR? It stands for realtors. Don’t read. So I put some, some little, some little red herring things on the list there, like Daddy butter, ankle grease, head removal kit, just see if they’re reading it. But on a serious note, what I have in my car, and I’m just, I’m visualizing it right now, a copy of your book is sitting in my car, so I got a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, workout clothes and a copy of your book in case I’m working out at the gym, or I got to put somebody’s car fire out, or I run into a retiring agent, and so I got

ADRIENNE: 
that, or a semi retiring agent, right? Because, I mean, who wouldn’t want to live in Hawaii part time, and then maybe experience, you know, like the snow, and have, you know, part time, like skiing, and then they’re at the beach,

ATTILIO: 
yeah? So talk about in the book, because you have, I was in Oregon for almost 20 years, yeah. And, you know, in the Yeah. So tell us more about the book. What can people expect to be in the book? Tell us a little bit more.

NICK:
So for anyone that’s in real estate, and I would say any other service industry, the relationships you have have a ton of value. And especially in real estate, there hasn’t been a way for people to to really access that value. Because if it takes is it takes another realtor, like the Lally team, who’s going to do the work and meet with the clients and send them the newsletters and have the events and build those relationships that that like you’ve spent your time building in the future. And so, you know, this is something that is really common with, you know, your dentist doesn’t just disappear. There’s a new dentist, and they eventually take over. And there’s a lot of other industries where succession planning is really part of the business, but it hasn’t been a part of real estate. And so this book is a very simple, proven, repeatable way for agents who want to slow down, who want to change careers, who want to relocate, to connect with an agent that’s growing their business and still wants to engage with clients and take care of them and to help grow the business and also get referral income from all the deals your clients do with their new agent. So it’s a way to get to retirement sooner. Make sure your clients are cared for and for people growing their business like you guys, a way to grow even faster by referral.

ADRIENNE: 
Yeah, and it’s a step by step. You really make it very simple. You got the the retiring agent, and then the receiving agent. And everyone does their part, right?

NICK: 
Yeah, everyone does their part. And again, like you said, it was kind of wild that this didn’t exist before I started doing this, and then eventually wrote the book, which it came out 10 years ago now, which is wild just this October. Sure, and it kind of blew my mind that there wasn’t a model for me to follow. But for anyone that hasn’t read the book or isn’t, you know, clear on it, it isn’t complicated. It’s basically the same thing as a referral agreement. It’s just for a lot more people, and everyone in real estate understands referral agreements, and so I use that as the framework, because I think that’s the fairest way to do it and the easiest way. And it’s worked for 1000s of people, and 10s of 1000s of people have read the book. So I’m really happy that you guys are sharing it with people, and a lot of folks out there have used it to help them in their life and in their business. Yeah,

ATTILIO: 
I think it’s important for people to to manage the expectations when doing something like this, because you don’t want to to intentionally or unintentionally mess up someone’s reputation and then they regret getting into that business relationship with you. Speaking of a business relationship with you, we want to segue a little bit to another book that you’ve written, Adrienne. Tell her. Tell them the title, change your own diaper. What’s that about? Change your own diaper.

NICK: 
I’m so glad you guys asked me about this. So I’ve written more than one book, and this book started out as a joke, actually, at a company brunch that I hosted. So I do a Christmas brunch like the week before the holiday. And one year, one of our agents was very pregnant, about to give birth to their first child. And so everyone at the table started kind of giving advice on how to be a new parent. And, you know, half the team had kids. And so there’s a lot of really good, thoughtful, helpful advice. And then it got to me. And the joke of the whole book is that I don’t have kids, and so change your own diaper is basically advice from a bachelor on how to raise your kids without screwing up. And it’s, it’s, it’s a satire. It’s meant to be funny. The whole point is I don’t really know what I’m talking about. And it started kind of as a joke at that, at that brunch. And I just, I just kept every time I thought about it made me laugh. And I just started asking my friends, you know, what’s the funniest thing about being a parent? Or tell me a funny story of raising your kids? And I just got all this amazing funny stories from friends. And, yeah, I ended up writing the book. It came out a couple years ago, so it’s a that’s a fun one. If you need a good Christmas present or, you know, a baby shower gift, that’s kind of what it’s perfect for.

ATTILIO: 
Yeah, I think it’s like one of those books. It’s like, if you want Amazon and you bought, like, what to like all parents know about this book, or people get pregnant, what to expect when you’re inspecting I would highly, I would, I would say, like, maybe the algorithm is going to say, and people have also bought how to change your own diaper, yes.

NICK: 
So when you’re when you’re falling asleep trying to remember how to do parenting, right? It’s something to maybe make you laugh and give you a little break from the the non stop action of being a parent.

ATTILIO: 
Yeah.

ADRIENNE: 
So, okay, so Nick, you’ve met with many professionals throughout your career. What qualities do you believe help someone succeed long term in business and in life?

NICK: 
I think the secret is kind of in the question, you said long term. So I think if you have a long term perspective on a business that grows with your clients, I’m sure you guys have experienced this. You know, I I have relationships that have lasted 20 years from people where we all started our businesses at the same time, in very different worlds and industries, some of them related to real estate, some of them completely separate. And I think if you try to provide value, and you’re there for your clients before, during and after they you know, have a transaction where they buy or sell or invest, I think you can do incredibly well. I think to put everyone in your database stay in touch. Life is a lot about timing. And so if you can be there when your people need you, whether that’s your friends, your family, your clients, it takes a bit of intentionality to be consistent with communicating value meaning you’re in real estate. So talk about the real estate market. Talk about changes in the the market of housing, but also changes in mortgages, changes in insurance, changes in construction, changes in code and zoning. There’s so many things that affect anyone who owns real estate, and so the more you’re a professional in that, I think the more success you’re going to have and just always do right by your clients. I i I can’t tell you how many clients I have that trust me completely because I talked them out of doing something that they were wanting to do because I knew it was going to be a mistake, or I thought their numbers were wrong, or, you know, I I gave them time to reconsider. So it isn’t always about just pushing someone into a deal. It. It’s about making sure it’s the right thing for them.

ATTILIO: 
Yeah, it’s that fiduciary responsibility that we have. You know, it’s part of our code of ethics. It’s a big dollar 50 word. But do we actually do we? Are we authentic and genuine as persons really thinking about the best interests of the other person in front of us? And so, you know, I wanted to add that you don’t want to be that like divorce attorney that, I think there’s a comedian named Ron Wright, and he just went world war three. It was like a terrible experience with his ex’s divorce attorney. And then he called the office to return, you know, whatever, check on some things with the wife’s divorce attorney. And then the guy’s like, Oh, I’m so sorry, but so and so passed away. And then he called right back again. And then he said, Oh yeah. I was just, I’m calling for so and so. And then the person says, Oh, I’m so sorry he passed away. And he was like, Oh yeah, I just wanted to confirm that. So we don’t want to be that realtor. We don’t want to be that realtor that had that terrible relationship. And a lot of times it’s like, it’s, it’s a, I think you said it, but I, and I’m going to repeat it, I’ll give you the the credit on it is that, you know, when have you ever gone to a realtor’s retirement party? Never. You’re more likely to go to a realtor’s funeral than a retirement party because they’re they weren’t intentional in keeping track of their database and finding and having a game plan reading your book and coming up with a game plan to still generate some income off of all those relationships they developed over many, many, many years. So thank you for coming out with the with the game plan.

ADRIENNE: 
Yeah, yes. Thank you. Thank you. Nick. I have one more question. We have

NICK: 
one more question. Well, thank you guys for sharing it and implementing it. Yes,

ADRIENNE: 
we’re excited. We’re excited to have this tool and to be able to use it as a resource, as we, you know, are having conversations, and, you know, like we want to be helpful, and, you know, connect with our, you know, the agents that are in our community, yeah, but this one has nothing to do with either of these books. We’re just curious about this, living on a sailboat,

ATTILIO: 
living on a sailboat. Yes, that. Why did you live on a sailboat, and what did it teach you? Did you have a lot of interesting conversations with yourself? What was that about?

NICK: 
I certainly did. Yeah, it was a much more romantic idea than a reality. I have to blame my maternal grandfather and grandmother, because they when they retired, they sold everything they owned and bought a sailboat, and they sailed from England through France and lived in the Mediterranean. So I grew up with all these amazing stories of living on a boat. My version of it was a much smaller boat in the Berkeley marina in California and and I did it in the winter, which was the wrong time of year to do it. So pick your season? Well, I recommend sometimes Sunny, but I look back on that fondly. Still. It was, it was enough room for a laptop, a guitar and some clothes, and I think everyone thought it was the coolest idea. I actually sailed the boat. I didn’t just sit there in it. I actually went out and sailed on the bay. But it was, it was a fun phase of my life, and if I do it again, I’ll do on a much bigger boat, yeah,

ADRIENNE: 
and during much nicer weather,

ATTILIO: 
I’m saying, you know, there’s, there’s an old, wise saying, you know you’re, yeah, you know you’re not living life unless when you get up in the morning you can see your breath in your room and because it’s cold. But yeah, that would be our invitation to come, come live on a boat in Hawaii.

ADRIENNE: 
How long were you on this boat for Nick I think

NICK: 
it was about, I can’t remember really clearly, two to four months. It wasn’t a weekend. I definitely, like, didn’t have an apartment. So it was, that was, like, my only spot. I think the mail was going to my parents house. You know, it was also I recommend doing crazy things like that when you’re in your 20s and you’re not as used to being comfortable. I’m a little spoiled by comfort at this point to want to do that again. Yeah, all right,

ADRIENNE: 
you gotta. If there’s, we’ve got a couple minutes, is there anything more that you want to share with our listeners or our viewers today before we wrap things up.

NICK: 
Yeah, I think, you know, whatever industry you’re in, especially if you’re in real estate, take the time to read the golden hand off and find a way to implement it. Because whether you’re listening to this and you’re thinking, Well, I’m not going to retire for five or 10 or 20 years, there’s still a lot of lessons in it on how to build your database correctly, how to stay in touch with your people. Kind of how to lead with value so that you maintain those relationships. Because it is hard in real estate, because our clients work with us once every 10 years, basically, versus insurance gets renewed multiple times a year if you have multiple policies, and you go to your dentist a couple times a year and and it’s, an interesting, unique business that way, but you can provide value just like Team Lally teams does a great job providing value throughout the year. Whether people are going to buy or sell that year isn’t the main thing. It’s just staying in connected and building those relationships for the long term. And I. Think that, you know, I was given advice to work by referral and to really take care of people, and that was just fantastic advice to get early in my career. And I think that applies to everything you know, all your relationships. It makes life so much better and sweeter and easier if you get to spend your time and work with people that you know and trust. So, yeah, I think if you can take that as a takeaway today, I think you’ll be time well spent, and I’ll help you kind of point your compass in the right direction.

ADRIENNE: 
Yeah, I would say that for any industry like this book would be helpful, not just for real estate, you can, you know, kind of shift the the words and it would apply to insurance. I The dentist, like other relationship type businesses that we see all around our community,

ATTILIO: 
I disagree. I think this would only work for businesses where you have customers and you have a product or service

ADRIENNE: 
that’s all businesses. Yes, yeah. So any business you can just, you just change the verbiage around a little bit, and it would apply to, really, any business. And I think a part of your your business planning, even when you’re starting the business, you have to have like, what’s the exit strategy? And so this golden handoff is part of that exit strategy planning, even if you don’t plan to be retiring for many, many years. You want to think with the end in mind and set yourself, set your business up for success, for when you are ready to retire. Well, we’ll

ATTILIO: 
speak it into your life. We’re looking forward to being on Good Morning America and USA, the cover of USA Today, talking about your book change your own diaper,

ADRIENNE: 
and the golden handle and the golden

NICK: 
hand. Well, thanks for spreading the word. Yeah.

ADRIENNE: 
Is there a website that our listeners can go to direct order, or do they just go on to Amazon as the best spot to get the books. You

NICK: 
can get both books on Amazon, but go to goldenhandoff.com and if you go scroll down and put your email and you’ll get copies of the contract scripts, dialogs, marketing pieces from the book in you can download them to your computer and use them today without having to try to redo it all. So I wanted to make that easy for you, and that’s you can get [email protected]

ATTILIO: 
goldenhandoff.com goldenhandoff.com and if you don’t know how to spell goldenhandoff.com What the heck no, it’s goldenhandoff.com

ADRIENNE: 
thank you, Nick for coming back, and it was so nice to see you again, and hopefully we’ll see you again at another mastermind here. Yes,

NICK: 
yeah, great to meet you guys in person finally. And thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.

ADRIENNE: 
It’s been fun. Okay, Aloha, aloha. Bye, Nick Aloha.

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