NEW YORK — Mike Ferry doesn’t want to be your friend.

Not if you’re his coaching client, at least.

The industry bigwig, widely regarded as the granddaddy of real estate coaching, believes coaches who socialize with their clients are less likely to be effective at teaching tactics for drumming up business and closing more deals.

That hard-nosed pedagogy, along with a tendency to diminish competitors, including his own son, Tom Ferry, has earned Mike Ferry something of a — as Ferry himself puts it himself — “bad guy” image.

But that’s never bothered the grizzled real estate bigwig. In fact, he believes that his bulldog reputation is part of what’s driven the success of his business over the past four decades.

“I’ve had that label of being the bad guy for 40 years,” Ferry said at panel on real estate coaching at Real Estate Connect. “It’s been a good badge.”

Playing the bully has helped him sculpt a powerful brand that’s loomed large over those of his competitors, he said.

By peddling the message “I’m the guy you listen to, don’t listen to the rest,” he said he’s outlasted many upstarts who’ve tried to claim a piece of his pie.

That sharp-edged marketing come-on jibes with his coaching approach, which seems to emphasize telling agents what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.

“My belief is if you’re involved in coaching, there’s specific things you have to do,” he said. As a result, Ferry said he can be a “demotivational speaker” in pushing real estate agents to do those things.

That could be part of the reason why, according to Ferry, 50 percent of his clients move on every year. But it’s also produced results for real estate agents for the 40 years he’s been in the business.

Show Comments Hide Comments
Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines
What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments
By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman.
Success!
Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines.
Back to top
×
Log in
If you created your account with Google or Facebook
Don't have an account?
Forgot your password?
No Problem

Simply enter the email address you used to create your account and click "Reset Password". You will receive additional instructions via email.

Forgot your username? If so please contact customer support at (510) 658-9252

Password Reset Confirmation

Password Reset Instructions have been sent to

Subscribe to The Weekender
Get the week's leading headlines delivered straight to your inbox.
Top headlines from around the real estate industry. Breaking news as it happens.
15 stories covering tech, special reports, video and opinion.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
Unique features from hacker profiles to portal watch and video interviews.
It looks like you’re already a Select Member!
To subscribe to exclusive newsletters, visit your email preferences in the account settings.
Up-to-the-minute news and interviews in your inbox, ticket discounts for Inman events and more
1-Step CheckoutPay with a credit card
By continuing, you agree to Inman’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

You will be charged . Your subscription will automatically renew for on . For more details on our payment terms and how to cancel, click here.

Interested in a group subscription?
Finish setting up your subscription
×