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American Land Seller Podcast
Welcome to The American Land Seller, the podcast dedicated to landowners, buyers, and investors seeking expert insights into the evolving land market. Hosted by Koby Rickertsen, an Accredited Land Consultant and Multi-State Land Broker with High Point Land Company, this show dives deep into market trends, investment strategies, and real-world experiences in farm, ranch, and recreational land sales.
Each episode features industry professionals, seasoned investors, and landowners sharing their expertise on topics such as:
✅ Land market trends and valuation strategies
✅ 1031 exchanges and tax implications
✅ Seller financing and creative deal structures
✅ Conservation easements and government programs
✅ Navigating legal and zoning challenges
✅ Building generational wealth through land ownership
Whether you're a first-time land buyer, a seasoned investor, or a landowner looking to sell, The American Land Seller provides the knowledge and tools you need to succeed in today’s competitive land market.
American Land Seller Podcast
#38 - Land Values, AI, and the $100 Million Mindset with David Whitaker
The land market is speaking, and David Whitaker is here to translate what it's saying. In this expansive conversation, the renowned Iowa land broker returns to share market insights that go far beyond the headlines.
We begin by tracing the remarkable journey of farmland values since 2020 - from pandemic uncertainty through a 40% price surge fueled by low interest rates and government support, to the challenging 2024 market where auctions often struggled to find active bidders. David reveals how early 2025 has surprisingly brought renewed energy and stronger-than-expected prices, suggesting the wait-and-see period may finally be ending.
The conversation takes fascinating turns through controversial territory, examining Missouri's unprecedented legal move to seize Chinese-owned farmland and the complex balancing act between property rights and national interests. We explore how recreational land values continue defying conventional wisdom in many regions, often outpacing productive farmland prices.
Technology enthusiasts will appreciate our deep dive into practical AI applications transforming land marketing. David provides a master class in using tools like Claude and ChatGPT to create sophisticated "projects" that analyze property data, generate targeted marketing for different buyer personas, and streamline auction workflows. His innovative approach demonstrates how embracing AI can dramatically enhance efficiency without sacrificing the personal touch that defines great land brokerage.
Whether you're actively buying or selling land, or simply fascinated by the intersection of agriculture, technology and market forces, this episode delivers valuable perspectives from someone who lives at that crossroads every day. David's ambitious $100 million sales goal for 2025 reflects the optimism returning to the market - are you positioned to capitalize on it?
Subscribe, share your thoughts, and join us in exploring the ever-evolving world of land sales, where opportunity still abounds for those who know where to look.
DAVID WHITAKER
BROKER | AUCTIONEER
Licensed in Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska
Email: David@wmgauction.com
Mobile: (515)-460-8585
Today on the American Land Seller. He's back for another episode, folks, and if you've been in the land or auction world for any length of time, you've heard the name David Whitaker. David's one of the hardest working land brokers in the state of Iowa. Some know him just simply as the land guy. I'm lucky enough to know him as friend. He's the owner of Whitaker Marketing Group and brings deep experience to every single deal he touches. David's a multi-state champion auctioneer with titles in Iowa, minnesota, nebraska and Missouri. He's competed and won at the highest levels, from national contests to international stages, earning recognition as both a finalist and a spokesman. Beyond the fast talking, david served as president of the Iowa chapter of the Realtors Land Institute and chaired the Iowa Auctioneers Association. He holds the ALC Accredited Land Consultant designation, as well as AMM Auctioneer Marketing Management and CAI Certified Auctioneers Institute credentials. In short, he's earned his stripes as one of the most trusted names in the game. Whittaker Marketing Group has been named one of the top brokerage and auction houses by the Land Report.
Speaker 1:Whether David's out in the field or up on stage, he's what we like to call a farmland solution architect. Field or up on stage, he's what we like to call a farmland solution architect, someone who can navigate even the toughest deals and deliver solid results for landowners. In this episode we cover so much ground what makes a farmland auction really succeed in today's market, smart tips for setting up your land for sale to maximize exposure and strong bidding, why auctioning is both science and art, and how new auctioneers can sharpen their skills, plus how David and I are using AI to push the boundaries of marketing, research and service in the land world. David also shares stories from the road, gives us the latest on Iowa's land market and no surprise, drops a few gold nuggets on work ethic and doing things the right way. If you're in the land game or just love hearing from the folks who make it happen, you're going to want to stick around for this one.
Speaker 3:Welcome to the American Land Seller Podcast with your host, kobe Rickardson. Kobe is an accredited land consultant and multi-state land broker with High Point Land Company. Join us each week as we explore all things land. We bring you fresh insights and expert guests on sales, marketing, regulations, economics and so much more. Visit wwwamericanlandsellercom and find us on one of your favorite podcast platforms.
Speaker 2:Okay, Kobe and our special guests, let's get started and our special guests.
Speaker 1:Let's get started and welcome back to the American Land Seller. We are here once again with the great David Whitaker, with Whitaker Marketing Group. David, how are we doing today? Outstanding, I always love talking to you, man. I just I learned something new and just right before we started you taught me how to work Riverside here, the studio that we tape in. So I appreciate your help. Hopefully that helps my video a little bit, be a little bit clearer. So let's dig right into it. Man, I know you're a busy man. Let's talk about the news, no matter what channel it is. Trump is an interesting character in the world. Some people think the world's burning to the ground. I know, talking to the people that we deal with across the country and our world, I think things are holding together halfway decent. What are you seeing in your market? What are you hearing from the land professionals across the country?
Speaker 4:Well, I guess, to give a good answer, let's back up to 2020. 2020, of course, covid year, covid-19,. Market slowed. Then we had market facilitation program. This is the previous Trump administration. Market facilitation program a little bit previous Trump administration Okay, market facilitation program.
Speaker 4:A little bit of government influence out there to help with crops. We had lowest interest rates we've ever seen and then we had a new low market. We'll say that way Low market. So we had supply and demand. So we have all the factors that are adding up for a strong, strong market that are coming. Low interest rates.
Speaker 4:Corn was up to $7 prior to that. So we got some of the highest commodity prices we ever had. We got old grain out there. We got a little mark facilitation program. Then we had PPP money that came out, payment protection program. So we as farmers felt pretty doggone good. We had a little jingle in the pocket right. Yep, land prices soared. I don't know if you saw this, kobe, but land prices in my world soared probably 40%, absolutely.
Speaker 4:Okay, now let's level out to 22, 23. Market just kind of plateaued. We saw some of the strongest prices we ever had. The market just kind of plateaued. We saw some of the strongest prices we ever had. I'm going to say 22 was the strongest market and it was May of 22 that I've seen Now go to 23, 24.
Speaker 4:23, we didn't know if it would hold. Interest rates kind of went back up, got a new administration. The new administration, biden wanted to cut capital gains tax, wanted to cut stepped-up basis and I'm not an economist, by the way, this is just my take on it and then we get into 24 and 24, we started to see a decline, a little uncertainty, who's going to get elected, and all of a sudden now we have Trump back in office. Now I know you remember as well as myself of the Realtor Land Institute and I. Well, we do a survey every six months. They saw it go down about 8% over the year.
Speaker 4:So 2024 kind of got a little tougher. I saw a lot more no sales at the auctions and then brings us to present day. So now here we're at 2025. 2025 in January and February I actually saw a resurgence. I don't know if we want to call it a resurgence, but maybe a back to normal, I guess back to normal. So now we know who's elected, we know we're there, but there's still uncertainty there.
Speaker 4:And now you talked about Trump and tariffs and foreign trade and et cetera, but all I can relate it to is what does the market tell me? And at auctions I had a couple last year Let me tell you they were pretty tough. I mean one or two bidders like bidding, actually bidding A lot of people there, but not that many people bidding. I've seen a lot of our competitors actually go to sealed bid auctions where you only need one bidder. I've seen people lower prices, myself included. We've lowered a lot of prices in 2024. And then back to 2025, the first couple auctions I had this year I mean blew it out of the water. I mean blew it out of the water I was hoping for, you know, $13,000 an acre and we get $18,000 an acre. The last four auctions we had have been the most well-attended auctions. But what are you seeing, kobe? I mean mine is like kind of I don't want to know if I want to use the word resurgence, but it's come back Like it feels like the farmers have a good attitude now.
Speaker 1:It feels like the farmers have a good attitude now. I think when you said people waited to see what happened with the election was exactly right. It kind of felt like June, july of last year. Everybody just kind of held their breath and I would almost say November 8th. It was like people were like, okay, well, you know what the plane crashed and here's who survived, you know like I mean it was, you know. And now we know what we're dealing with and people started to go back to work and started to figure it out.
Speaker 1:But yeah, we've seen exactly the same thing auctions very, very, very good luck at auctions. Um, interestingly enough, one of the things I would add to that is a lot of the landowners that not, you know, like the absentee landowners I've I've had people talking to me about selling that maybe I would not have thought have of as sellers. Uh, just because of the low commodity prices. Those guys that have been kind of sharecroppers, you know that have been, you know. Just, you know for quite a while living high on the hog, that all of a sudden, two years in a row, commodity prices haven't been there. That you know they're just like, especially in Nebraska where we have a high land tax, property taxes, so that's been. The one interesting thing I could say is that we've kind of seen that. But yeah, I agree with you.
Speaker 4:Have you had anybody call you that what I call a sale leaseback? So for all your listeners, of course, you and I are in production agriculture, so corn and beans and sorghum and soy, et cetera. So I got a lot of guys that actually put some 1031 money out there on social media and I said, hey, guys typed it out on social media, have $6 million looking to invest. And I had like 12 different people call me and say, hey, dave, if you have 1031 text for exchange money, I'm looking for an investor. Now I want to farm it, but I don't want anybody to know I'm selling.
Speaker 4:So I do think there is some tightening of the balance sheets you know that is out there and there are some that are either really on the good side If you're cash heavy and interest rates don't bother you, then you're good.
Speaker 4:But if you're buying an operating note where you're still at 10% or double digit operating note, well it's tight. And so I had a handful of people, more than I expected, reach out and when they reached out they were saying well, I want to sell it, I want it quiet, I don't want anybody to know, don't go public. But then my response is well, how much are you willing to give cash rent, and so most of my investors are looking for a 3% return, so 3% return on the money. So I'm like, hey, you guys can ask $15,000 an acre, that's fine, but I hope you give. You can ask $15,000 an acre, that's fine, but I hope you give $400 cash rent. Or if you only want to give $200 cash rent, then lower that blooming price of what you want. So I bet I have 12 pocket listings right now that are just kind of I know about them, but they're not out there and I've placed a couple of them with investors. So you know we're talking about the market, do you? Do you see that where you're at nebraska?
Speaker 1:tougher where I'm at, because my guys, my investors, would want more because of irrigation systems, you know. So, like where you're at, where you've got a lot more dry land, um, and it's a little bit simpler for investors to own the dirt and and it's, you know, um, my, my investors would want four or four and a quarter probably, where you guys, 3% return would be good. Gotcha, we have wells and we have pivots, but yeah, I mean we've. But I would say, though I think, thanks to I'm going to give them credit, even though most people don't normally give their bankers credit, I think the Nebraska Banking Association really had a different.
Speaker 1:They really did beat on their producers a little bit the last probably eight, nine years on what their requirements were for renewals and things like that and maybe drilling them down to like per bushel costs and per bushel incomes, and and so I, and then also I think we've seen, like at least in my area, a lot of guys there was a big push for maybe having some cash on hand where that had not been a push before, and so I think our guys are maybe a little bit better shape because, like most of the lenders I've talked to, the farmers aren't really looking to sell any land this year, which I was kind of shocked when I kind of was calling around earlier in the year, whereas when I was talking to guys in like Minnesota, iowa, missouri, even Kansas that is one of the things that's on the table they were looking for those investors that would want to buy and then lease back, that would want to buy and then lease back.
Speaker 1:So I think Nebraska specifically, and then kind of that northeastern Colorado, really have not seen that. You know, at least this year, I think maybe next year, that conversation, if things stay the same, that might happen. But as far as this year, at least in Nebraska or at least in western Nebraska, these guys at least have one more year.
Speaker 4:What are you seeing with mountain ground? We have a lot of friends that are out west that are recreational ground In southern Iowa. In my backyard I still see pretty strong prices. To tell you the truth, some of this hunting ground I sold for more than production agriculture ground this last year. So when the market went down for production I sold some $10,000 plus recreational ground for hunting and build a little cabin. Have you ventured Colorado, wyoming, montana, arizona? I mean, have you seen Seth your license in a lot more states than I am.
Speaker 1:Well, I've talked to, like Gary Hubbell and those guys out there in the mountains, and then, you know, with the conservation easement programs that Colorado has specifically, I mean they are game changers for those guys. They still have everything fairly high. I haven't really seen anything. I mean, it's not like M4 and Gary and those guys that are selling out there. It's not like you have their stuff hanging out on the market very long and then visiting with them. When we were in Arizona it seemed to me like they were. You know, they were pretty excited about life. So, um, even to the point where you know, like I I don't know, like I've I've got to see what they're working on, but the, the federal conservation easement program where they can put, you know, captures on on the use of land but continue to farm it, um, across the entire country and use that for you know, tax breaks. Or you know, like I don't know what that looks like yet, but some of that stuff looks pretty enticing where you can put, build envelopes on a property but yet continue to farm it and protect it from development. You know, and you know the, the 180, like the tax code, 180 and some of that interesting. You know, like I don't there's.
Speaker 1:There's so many things, I think, that are keeping land values up there. That used to be what 20 years ago. What can you do on it? You know you can farm it and that's it. Now you've got, like you said, hunting. We've got elk in the area where I'm at that's driving up pasture land where 10 years ago it was worth $800. Now it's worth 2000 or better an acre. So it's you know it's more than just commodity prices that are keeping the values up. I think the hunters keeping it up and the investor can see more than just the crop value.
Speaker 4:What are you seeing for investor-wise? Iowa has a lot of data, they do a lot of studies, so my opinion is about 80% the neighbor farmer. Again, we're production agriculture and maybe 20% investor, but it's not the investors. Everybody thinks, oh, china's buying farm ground in Iowa. Well, no, we have an anti-foreign ownership policy that you can't and it's really not outside interest. It's too expensive. So we have a lot of investors, but I'm going to call them local investors or investment groups. Do you get a lot of outside money coming your way? I mean, maybe that's why they want a higher rate of return. Our guys are very agriculture driven people. They're not like. When people think investors, they think Wall Street and we don't have that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, nebraska, I think, recently changed their laws so corporations technically can't own farm ground. I have yet to figure out how that works. I know trusts can, so there's a lot of trusts that own it. Ah, my thing on it is is like, how do we reconcile the property rights advocacy that we want to have, like the government needs to stay out of property, right, you know, like our right to own property, and yet have the protection of our right to be a sovereign nation, of our right to be a sovereign nation? That's a really fine line to walk, I think. What's really, I think, going to be more interesting and I think we should maybe take a break real quick and come back and talk about it. But Missouri recently had that verdict that came through about China and and where they're they're maybe going to have you, you know, like where they had. Maybe we'll talk about that during the break and come back, cause we do need to take a break real quick. But let's just do that and we'll be right back.
Speaker 1:The American Land Seller Podcast is brought to you in part by LandHubcom. Join us today and experience the expertise of LandHub's land marketing professionals, whether you're buying or selling. Let us show you the way in the ever-evolving world of land transactions. Visit LandHubcom and discover what the future of land marketing looks like. Landhubcom where your land journey begins. And we are back with David Whittaker from the Whittaker Marketing Group in. Where is it? Are you at?
Speaker 4:in Iowa. David, that's right. Ames Iowa New State University.
Speaker 1:You're where now.
Speaker 4:Ames.
Speaker 1:Iowa. That's right. Yep, that's right. You know, the town you're at is just a little smaller town right outside Ames, correct?
Speaker 4:Yes, so I office in. Huxley about eight miles away south of Ames Just more rural community.
Speaker 1:Great little restaurant there. We've had lunch there before a couple times.
Speaker 1:It's got some great burgers and stuff in the restaurant, so I enjoy stopping there when I'm on my way to the mothership out there in northwestern Iowa. Yeah, but anyway, during the break I looked this up. Missouri had a lawsuit against the country of China about the COVID-19 pandemic and won. $24.5 billion was awarded in a lawsuit against China. China, of course, thinks this lawsuit is absurd and is refusing to pay the award, and so Missouri is taking steps to essentially take Chinese farmland of the $24.5 billion award. So yeah, they're seizing Chinese farmland, it looks like.
Speaker 4:You know this upsets a lot of people in two ways. One is nobody likes China buying farmland period. They just think that's bad. They want to know what's the loophole, what's the deal. So apparently they bought farmland in Missouri. And then the second thing that nobody likes they might like it in this case Kobe is condemnation when people take land, whether it's government for a new interstate or it's somebody for a new intersection, you know it's whatever the condemnation rules might be, for the better of the group. You know people don't like both of those things. So you got you got a weird scenario here. They're using one thing that people don't like condemnation to take ground from something that they don't like China.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, and again, this is probably one of those things where, to your point, I think it's going to be a big smiley face from the American people, or most of them, to Missouri's government here, because, yeah, like I think everybody agrees, we don't really want China owning our ground, and so, but in the same sense, it goes back to um, property ownership and um, you know and, and you know you can get into the weeds of you know, kind of like, what does it do to the other countries of the world where we, you know, we've already allowed this to happen. Now we can just step in and change the rules in the middle of the game? It goes back to the whole question of seizing the cash that we had in the bank of Russia, because those kind of questions of what does it do to our global legitimacy to get into some controversial stuff there today?
Speaker 4:David to get into some controversial stuff there today, david, the reason that the US is all Missouri, for that matter. I think there's like seven military bases in Missouri. I was actually flying my drone. If you've ever taken the Part 107 drone class to learn how to fly your drone, they'll talk about forward operating bases or MOAs, military operating base, and I'm like when I'm taking the class, I'm like I am never going to use this, there's not a chance. Well, I was down by Knob Noster, missouri, which is Whitman or Whiteman Air Force Base, and sure enough I got to take off and I'm looking left and there's like a military plane flying. I'm like maybe I shouldn't fly my drone right here.
Speaker 1:So it does happen. Yeah, no, it's well. And there's like there have been. Drones are interesting because, like there's been some times where I've been flying a drone in the middle of nowhere where you know, like I would have never thought that there would be anything, and here there's a like little plane flying around out, and so it's definitely something that it's good to have. Those classes yeah, you have your pilot's license when you're doing those.
Speaker 4:I remember taking the class and I thought there was nothing in this class that taught me anything about drones. It's all about airspace. It's all about where you can, where you can't, how many feet, where we're at Uh it's. It's more about uh etiquette than it is about how to fly a drone. It doesn't teach you at all how to fly a drone.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, and I, you know, when I first started doing it, like I would have never thought that, you know, like checking with neighbors and things like that, like how are you bothering them? You know, but I can't tell you how many times that when I first started I never would go talk to the neighbors. And then you know people would think they have like a swarm of bees or something outside their house. And so you know, you just get into the habit and make sure you contact the neighbors and things like that.
Speaker 4:Well, there's a whole other conversation to be had. So we talk about China. Let's talk tech for a little bit. Let's talk, if you go into, the drones. Okay, good segue here. Who makes the best drones? Dji. Well, if DJI makes the best drones, are they watching everything we fly? Could they, Can they? There's a lot of technology in those drones but, hands down, we know that China makes the best drones.
Speaker 1:So thoughts yeah, DJI has been the best drone, but, like I don't know, I've had quite a bit of problems with mine lately, so I wish I could find a better brand. Not to not to disparage them, but I have seven of them and three of them are crashed right now. But, um, but yeah, that's that's. Another great question is are they recording everything that we're doing and and uh, keeping track of it? I don't know, I don't know. Probably you have to assume it, don't you? Yeah, my phone probably was made in China. Probably everything I do has been recorded. I just assume. I just assume, Between our government and whatever government made my phone, it's probably everything I do is being recorded.
Speaker 4:Well, you've got to assume that, of course, we had the whole China debacle with TikTok, and so a huge social media platform that's out there that a lot of us as realtors are using and then get into. You know, it's like okay, even if there was 10 million videos out there from TikTok, what are they doing with it? Well then we get into AI, so then we get into. Are they using artificial intelligence to read our videos, to determine how many acres we have, et cetera, et cetera. You know, we think back to. You know what a CLU is? Common Land Unit? Yes, so the FSA.
Speaker 4:Most people don't know that. Most of those mapping systems go back to 2008. So when we get that perfect little shape around on a mapping system that's called a CLU, a common land unit, those aren't up to date. The government stopped sharing those back in 2008 because they were worried about other countries knowing where they were. Well, now are they getting our CLUs some other way? I don't know. I don't know if it's really relevant whether they have them or not. I wish they would get more up-to-date ones.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't know, like on that stuff, is that going to be relevant to a war or anything? Anyway, I mean, google is probably the biggest help for a war anywhere. I don't know. Like I said, the world is going to be a different place. It's a totally different place than it was in any other global war that's been fought. So I think that the data's already out there, so we're dealing with what we're dealing with.
Speaker 4:When I say that with anything, I have a saying. I say all the time is data is the currency of the Internet, or data is the currency of the future, and whoever has the most data is going to win.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's true. So you kind of touched on this, though with AI, what are you using right now? I have a fun story, but I want to know what you're currently. What's your favorite thing you're playing with with artificial intelligence?
Speaker 4:There's really three. We've talked at length on a different episode. If you're listening now, you'll have to go back and listen to one of Kobe's other episodes that we talked about AI and its face. We'll go a little deeper here. The three that I'm using big time chat, gpt Okay, that's the one most people know Really good for content creation and ideas. That's where I'll put that one. I use Claude with an E, c-l-a-u-d-e. Claude. Ai is anthropotic and it was really good for analyzing data. So if you are going to upload a document or have it proofread something or change something, it's really good. Okay, so I use it for that. Let's pretend for a second that you take all of your Google Analytics of who visits your website. Of whatever, which one would I use? I'd use Claude. Claude analyzes the data better. It's unlike my wife. Chat GPT reads a third of the document and assumes it knows what the rest is going to say. Claude reads the entire document, the way it should be done, and then makes sure that it all matches. Okay. So those two.
Speaker 1:Let's clarify, before we all get in trouble here, what part of that was like your wife.
Speaker 4:The part where I only listen to a third of what she's saying. Okay, I'm more like Chad GPT Something with her. Yeah, I'm more like Chad GPT, for sure. Yeah, then there's a new one I say a new one. It's been out for a little bit Grok is one not as familiar with it and then perplexity. So perplexity is more of a real time. So if there was a plane crash right now, we could go on perplexity and it would give us up to date, ai driven but up-to-date uh notices, if you will. So those, those are the, the three main systems I've been using. There's other ones I use for sound or for for image creation, but really, um, for the most part, those are the. Those are the three.
Speaker 1:I'm geeking out yeah, yeah, because the um now chat. I think like probably most people at this point have accepted that ai is worth something and have gotten an account on the free version of chat, gpt or even gemini, gemini's. You know, I kind of use a little bit of both because I use google. So you, you know um and you can kind of trick it back and forth just to kind of check um, you know um and then um. I. I'm a big fan of Grammarly too. You can, if you're doing writing and things like that, you can bring Grammarly back into it and and that um, um or you like.
Speaker 1:I'm a horrible as far as grammar and things like that. So I'm a pretty good writer. I have a lot of great thoughts, but not very good at sentence structure and the spelling and things like that. So that's kind of how I've been using it is. I'll write kind of like they taught kindergartners when my kids were going through how things sound instead of how things are, and then use it to kind of polish everything up. It's all about prompts though, right, david? I mean that's kind of what you taught us at the LAN conference a year and a half ago.
Speaker 4:It is, and you know, even I have an office manager that her and I were working on a project together. She's like oh, I'll put it in ai and she prompted it and it didn't give the answer, I thought. But then I realized her prompt was 180 degrees different than what I would have asked. So I asked very simple questions, but then sometimes I get deeper and where we're going to go. So if you're not there yet, you should be right and that is um, um, I'm blanking out here.
Speaker 4:Hold on one second. Uh, projects, there we go. Uh, projects is where where most people that are advancing to the next level of ai are using projects. So what's a project? A project is pre-saved prompts for something you do repeatedly, over and over, like grammar, spelling, et cetera, emails so you can put a prompt. I'll give you an example of a prompt that I'm using. So in chat or in in Claude, you can do this, and they have projects. Okay.
Speaker 4:So I put in a project and the project was here's everything about my company. Here's the top 10 ways to use Google AdWords. Here's the top 10 things to know about Facebook ads. Here are the Google analytics from my company of people that click on our stuff. Okay, and so again, data is the currency of the internet. So I'm teaching. A project is where I taught AI to do what I wanted it to do, so first I had to teach everything about it. So here's the, the the 10 most used things on on Facebook. Here's the 10 most used things on Google. Here's the 10 most ways that people search for items on the internet. Here's the 10 most used things on Google. Here's the 10 most ways that people search for items on the internet. Here's everything about my company that you need to learn about my company. Here are the past 800 customers we've had. Go search them and learn about them. So now I've taught it. I haven't even asked it a question yet. All I did is study this information.
Speaker 4:Now I'm going to write a multi-level prompt for my project. Okay, so a project is every time I get a new auction, I want you to take this URL on my auction, or take, let's do, personal property. Okay, personal property. I'll just do it that way. It's easy. I go catalog all the personal property here's a tractor, here's a cultivator, here's a whatever. Okay, etc, etc. And I go through and I have a list of 800 items and then I upload this list. So here is the next project that I have project air quotes and and I upload it. Do this every time I get a new project. So now we give it multiple prompts. Well, every time we have a auction, we need to do these things.
Speaker 4:I want to make a heading. I want to make metadata or meta text for Google to find it. I want to make 10 catchy taglines for this auction that I can put on Facebook. I want to make 10 catchy headlines that all follow the Google algorithm, for Google, also called Google snippets, need to be less than a certain amount of characters. Okay, more than a certain amount, but less than a certain amount. That's why I taught at first how many characters do I need? And go create all of this content.
Speaker 4:Oh, I'm going to need something for my website that says hey, the Rickardson auction is held on the 28th, blah, blah. It includes what? Pick out six items from the list that I uploaded to you and put them into the header that I'm going to put on my website. So I'll upload this list. I'll say study this list of items. Also, go through this list and tell me if there's anything unique in here that I might've missed. Okay, so I've asked it already. Like eight questions, oh, yeah. And then here's the whole folder full of pictures. Look at these pictures and make sure that the pictures match the item that we have and tell me if there's anything unique about it. Oh, did you know that this, this, uh, you know that this 806 John Deere or what you know? It'll take a number that it has this. It had the pony motor on the side. I see in the picture it had this motor. So it will go out and do the research for me and then it will make a itemized list of the top 10 things that I need.
Speaker 4:Also, now, let's make in any type of advertising, when we talk AI, we talk about genres or subset of characters. Who would buy these items? Here's the list of items. Who would buy them? Make me a list. Okay, genres, or also in the AI world, they're calling it personas. Who's the personality of somebody that's going to buy it? Not to keep talking, but there's so much more. Kobe, then this persona, you take it. Okay, well, these are guys that like motorcycles.
Speaker 4:Well, I had eight motorcycles on this auction. Well, tell me everything I need to know about these and create an ad for these motorcycle people. Here's the ad for the motorcycle people. Here's the ad for the tractor people. Here's the ad for the acreage people. Here's the ad for the people that like antiques that grandma had inside. And it will do all this work in a project. So now, the next time it takes a little bit to set up a project, but the next time I have an auction, my staff goes out and catalogs all those items I bring that list and I say hey, whoever AI here's my project, here's a new one Do all the same stuff and it puts it all on there. So now did we do what our staff is doing? We all have systems and processes. I have like 130 points to a land auction. Could we knock off 65 of those points with AI in a project? Probably could have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, and again, just take this podcast. We're using very similar things to that too, because we put it to you know like now we have opportunities even in Riverside, where Riverside is doing the production part of this. You know to the point where everything, including the background and you know of the video on YouTube and cleaning up the audio and synchronizing everything comes right out of the Riverside app, and so ChatGPT puts together all the social media and the description and everything of the podcast. So, yeah, it's very time efficient, but hey, let's take a real quick break and we'll come back for one more segment.
Speaker 2:Land isn't just dirt. It's where memories are made, families are raised and livelihoods are built. But when it comes time to sell or buy, the weight of the decision is heavy. Where do you even start? Who can you trust to guide you? For too long, land transactions have been treated like a simple exchange Numbers on a paper, a signature on a line. But it's more than that. At High Point Land Company, we don't just list land, we walk it, we learn its story and we find the right buyer who understands its worth. You are not just another deal, you are the steward of something bigger and we're here to help you navigate every step of the way. When it's time to sell, when it's time to sell, when it's time to buy. We're here Because land is more than just land. It's your legacy.
Speaker 1:And we are back with Mr David man. I always have such a good time when you're around, david.
Speaker 4:I appreciate it. It's always fun.
Speaker 1:There's always so much to talk about because you geek out on tech like I do, which I I love it. So I know, you know, and this will probably be a little bit longer than our normal 45 minutes or whatever, but that's all right, because I think, if I remember it last time, this was one of the more popular ones, um, that we had. So, uh, because people like ai and they're even if they don't, um, if they don't geek out on it like you and I do they definitely are interested in it. So I'll tell you a really quick story. You'll get a kick out of this.
Speaker 1:I have an agent that I have known for a long time. He recently joined our team here at High Point. Great guy, really really smart land agent. Very big Luddite, hates technology. Really smart land agent, very big Luddite, hates technology.
Speaker 1:And so we were driving down the road one day and he was teasing me about using chat, because I use chat all the time, and so I had just done a deal where we went and visited a client and I had got on and was talking to chat about sending an email to that client about what we had just talked about, and I wanted chat to get the email and blah, blah, blah. And then I copied and pasted and sent that email off while we were driving down the road and he was giving me a hard time about, you know, being crippled by technology. And so I had wrote a song and used chat and suno and wrote and produced a song about him and played it for him while we were driving down the road. And just to prove how impressive chat was, I figured out a way to get it onto Spotify and Apple iTunes, so just to prove to him how powerful the use of AI can be. So if you're out there on iTunes, there's a song called Boots in Three States. You can download that on Spotify and that was written by myself and ChatGPT about Brian Reynolds in Nebraska.
Speaker 1:There you go, just to prove to him how impressive chat AI can be. But what are we thinking about the rest of the year? Man, are you bullish, are you bearish, or are you just throwing your bones out there and see what happens?
Speaker 4:I am bullish always, and the reason I am I've been sharing this. You talk about AI. I asked AI. I said, hey, ai, I want to do a better job. Write me a business plan. So it did. And I said we did really good last year, but I'd like to do better. There's always room to improve. What can I do to improve? So you've been in real estate a long time and different companies have like coaching programs and team programs and whatnot. So I told it go study all those programs and I don't need to hire anybody. I can read AI. How about you just write me a business plan? So I did. I said what do I need to do to make $100 million in gross sales this year? That's my goal. What do we do?
Speaker 4:So I set a 40% increased goal than what I had last year and it said to talk about it. That's why I'm talking about it. I thought, well, that's kind of cocky, that's pompous, that's arrogant, I don't want to do that. And it says, no, it builds a team of people that want to see you succeed and so maybe there's a deal to be had that somebody somewhere will be like well, I know, I know he's looking, he's looking and I'm telling you what it already worked. Here's how much it already worked.
Speaker 4:I had an attorney call the other day and the attorney says, hey, I got this deal for you. It was about $3 million. And it's like man, I haven't heard from that attorney for like six years. And he says, well, I kind of get you that $100 million. How did you know about that it? Well, he saw it on Facebook. So, sharing your message, sharing your brand, what it is, so I'm bullish. I have set my attitude meter to be very bullish in that I want to do that, which is a huge, huge goal for us this year. Now I don't know if the market will support Kobe. I don't know if there's that many jobs out there. If everybody's thinking negatively and press the pause button, well, I'm going to try to encourage them to go, because I just got big goals and we need to make that happen. How about you? You got a new company, yeah.
Speaker 1:From the last time I talked with you.
Speaker 4:And sporting a new logo and tell me more about that. Let me reverse the roles here. What happened? Where are you at?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've got the pretty bright green and and, uh, lovely blue. Now the high point land company. No, um owned my own company for quite a while and decided, um, that um it was. You know, in our business, david, as you know, you sell when you get the opportunity to sell. You don't sell when you want to sell. So, had the opportunity to sell. You don't sell when you want to sell. So I had the opportunity to sell our REMAX franchises.
Speaker 1:I've always been the land person and the balloon is amazing, but the balloon doesn't sell land, so it's kind of hard to push that, you know, push that. So I'm partnered with a really good land company and they're kind of young, young couple that owns it, which has been exciting for me to be able to just kind of give them the. They're really super smart, but they, you know my wisdom is a little different than their wisdom. So they're a ball of fire trying to take over the world and I can have, you know, well, I did this, you know, like I was there once and here's, here's kind of how it went for me. So take it for whatever it is, but but no, they, they're great people, you know.
Speaker 4:Yeah, Good, good company. They're very similar to our company and except with a little bigger, farther reach than what we have.
Speaker 1:so yeah, very similar, very similar people and yeah it, it was a good fit at the time. And Shannon has come on board more in the last six, eight months. She kind of had her own thing going for a while and has been able to scale it to the point where she's got time to come on and kind of take a more active marketing and an advisory role with High Point and she's been a real big asset and Jacob is a big visionary. So my job is I'm the designated broker for, I think, five states that they have five or six states, so kind of the western states, and so it's been exciting. It has been and I'm with you, I'm very bullish, I'm super excited. I'm very similar to I did use AI not when I was doing my goals and have been very bullish on this year.
Speaker 1:My goals are a little different. I went to the referral. I set a goal that I wanted to pay out $100,000 in referral fees this year, and so I've been talking about that. I really want to forge partnerships with residential and commercial agents in a way that nobody in the land world has really tried to do before, and so I went to the Nebraska Real Estate. The Realtors Association had a booth there, talked to a bunch of agents, planned to do Kansas as well as maybe a couple other residential deals. So we were really well received, really shocked at how those guys really never thought of that as an opportunity for them and so, yeah, so I think that that's been a really good goal to set and so looking forward to those partnerships and working with those guys.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, it's been exciting, it's been fun. I don't think I realized I had a little bit of a short step with a company that just really wasn't my speed company that just really wasn't my speed, and I don't know, I don't know, I don't think I realized how miserable you can be if you're in the wrong spot. You know, until I made the joke with my wife about something about the last company and she turned white and said no, you're fine where you're at. I mentioned something about going back and I must not have been as happy as I am now.
Speaker 4:So well. It is interesting because I've been at a couple of different companies I think I've been to three different companies before I started my own and there's definitely a different fit for different people. There really is someone 100 percent support. Some like to be a little more entrepreneurial and do it themselves, and each company has a different flavor to it. And it's not that I used to discredit people. I think, like, oh man, they moved, they moved. They only stayed there for six months. They're gone again and gone again.
Speaker 4:But I look back at even my career and it's amazing how many little things you picked up that you didn't even know. You learned while you were there, and so you learned what you didn't like. Sometimes. That's a good thing. So then when you go to your own, you're like I don't want my agents to have to have that struggle. So even you can take those negative experiences and turn them into positives at your own company which is great or at your next company. So, as people look at it, I wish they wouldn't. We're so judgy McJudgerson around the world, but everybody will land where they're supposed to eventually.
Speaker 1:So yeah, Well, it's been. It's been difficult because, like I've been an owner of a company, you know for so long that the difficult part of it is is just, you know, to realize that it's not you know it's not, it's not mine to. You know so, so you have to you know so, so, uh, you have to, you know, make sure that you're that you're checking in and uh, and not over overacting or overreacting to to somebody else's um, somebody else's baby Um, but uh, trying to do whatever needs to be done. And so so far it's been a really good fit and uh, they've been, they've let me have a lot of awful lot of freedom to. I want to get more into education, which has been fun, so but yeah, you're absolutely right, you're a teacher for the Land 101 with the Realtor Land Institute, aren't you?
Speaker 1:Yep, I have three classes that I teach for our line getting ready here in a couple weeks to head to uh oklahoma to teach boot camp, which is sold out.
Speaker 1:it was sold out in four days I tried to send some of my guys to it, but uh, their life is busy, you know, the sad thing was this year was, um, our team training is like it starts our team training the first day of our team training is like it starts our team training the first day of our team training is the first day of boot camp.
Speaker 1:And so I was like I told some of my guys I said I think you can, you know, you don't have to be the whole time, but by the time like we even thought about how we could do it, it was already sold out. It was crazy, but that'll be a fun one, super excited to be a part of that. And then I'm also working on some three hour CE classes that we're trying to get. We're trying to work with like at least the Midwest states to get them, you know, certified so that we can go teach like a land 101 for residential agents. Yeah, so that way if they get themselves into a situation where you know they at least know you know enough about it.
Speaker 4:I hope you get not shoot off the wrong direction, but I hope you get paid for that. And the reason I say that is I've been asked to speak a couple more times at different events this last few years, and you know, and you and I both love to talk and tell people what we've learned. I like to share what I've learned, but of course we're sharing with our competition. That's one thing. Of course, on top of that now, high tide rises all boats. We like that, but it's just time. If you and I are out doing something or teaching somebody else, what are we not doing? We're not selling real estate back home, where we're supposed to be, so we're losing money on the back end doing stuff we should do.
Speaker 4:And time management is crucial. Where do we put our time? And it's not that you don't want to teach, but I, so I give credit to the people I've seen teach for years and years and years. It's like, okay, they're, they're ready to be done. I get it. They're ready to move on to a different stage in their life, and that takes new people coming up to teach too. But for everybody that doesn't think about it, I wish they would. I wish they'd realize it takes a lot of work to even prep that or get the CE certified in that state or et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, that is, the goal is to get to the point where we create enough value that um that we can, we can like, like that's. Actually, that is my goal is, within five years, as to to be a speaker or uh, you know, in the industry so, but right now it's, it's kind of fun to just be able to go out there and just to uh to do some to educate, like some of the associations. And you know, I want to get to the point where I can go to some of the state associations and be a keynote speaker or something for those guys and you know, get up there. I don't know that I'll ever be a coach, but definitely be a speaker for people. I think that'd be fun.
Speaker 4:There you go.
Speaker 1:Have you ever done coaching? What big plans you got for this year?
Speaker 4:Not much. I'm trying to lay low a little bit. I got kids at home that are right into high school and so they're busy with sports and, like I said, everybody puts a time stamp and I never say no, which is bad. So my goal is to say no some more actually, but, like I said, just big goals at the real estate company. So trying to focus there and then also focus on the family a little bit. Um, elk hunting I like to go elk hunting I bought tags.
Speaker 4:You were talking about elk hunting earlier. I'd like to do that. Are you a big hunter?
Speaker 1:no, I'm not, nope. I uh grew up. Grew up on a farm. Kid that we worked too much, so my dad was not a hunter and I just never got into it. I was able to help my son get into it.
Speaker 4:That's good, he's a hunter.
Speaker 1:How old are your kids, Toby Huh?
Speaker 4:How old are your children?
Speaker 1:My youngest is 27. My youngest is 28, so older oh good, good.
Speaker 4:I got, I think, about three years left and one's going to go to college, so we'll be. I guess it goes, quick is the way I'll say it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it does go quick and you know, like I know it's a pain right now, but enjoy the painfulness because you'll miss those games and all the stuff once they're gone. It's definitely true.
Speaker 4:Yeah, very good. No, that's my plans for this year. Stay up, there's so much changing. I want to grow my team as well. We got a new website coming. That'll be cool. Working through that man, it's just a lot of work. Everything is Got to hustle.
Speaker 1:All right, we'll have to keep having you on here, david, because you are so much fun and, uh, it's always always a good I I tell you I we never even have like any sort of time. Uh, restraint on you because, um, we know it's not going to work because you and I, uh, we have, we always have so much to talk about. But, uh, I appreciate you taking the time today here. Y'all, we will see you all down the road.
Speaker 3:As we wrap up another episode of the American Land Seller Podcast. Thank you for joining us. Visit wwwamericanlandsellercom and find us on one of your favorite podcast platforms. If you would be so kind and you enjoyed today's insights, please like, subscribe, rate, follow and review us on whatever app you are listening or watching on. Connect with us on social media for updates. Until next week. Kobe wishes you success in your land endeavors.
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