Top Producing Agent Does $12M Solo With No Paid Leads | Codi Alger

What if a top producing agent doing $12 million a year solo has no fancy CRM and no paid leads, just a printed spreadsheet and real relationships? If you're a Wisconsin agent doing $4M+ or 5+ deals a year, you've probably wondered whether growing means working seven days a week, buying another tool, or copying other agents. Josh Lavik, host of The Better Agent Podcast and a Wisconsin REALTOR® who scaled from 5 to 50 transactions a year, sits down with Milwaukee agent Codi Alger. Codi left higher education in 2019, was rookie of the year for a seven-state region with 25 sales and $6M in volume, and now does about $12M a year solo with no team. In this real estate agent podcast episode, you'll learn how to win competitive offers by asking better questions, run a solo business on simple real estate systems and clear client boundaries, build a referral business without paid leads, and stay authentic when the unexpected happens. If nothing changes, nothing changes, so start with the relationships already in your phone. 🎧 Hosted by: Josh Lavik 🎤 Featuring: Codi Alger – Solo real estate agent in the Milwaukee market with seven years in real estate. In her first year, she was named rookie of the year for a seven-state region with 25 sales and $6 million in volume. 💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: Calling the listing agent before you write to learn the seller's preferred closing date and occupancy needs Asking how handy buyers are and how much cash they have before offering inspection or appraisal-gap coverage Running a solo business on a weekly client sheet, a calendar for every deadline, and planned days off Referring poor-fit clients to a colleague when the first meeting doesn't feel right Learning inventory and pricing by touring vacant homes on quiet days, even with no active buyers Using a love/hate, good/bad grid to choose marketing that fits you instead of copying competitors Setting seller expectations upfront: you'll prepare the home, but you can't control every buyer 🎯 Key Questions Answered in This Episode : Q: How can a buyer make a competitive offer without waiving the inspection? → A: Codi Alger, a Milwaukee solo agent, has handy buyers offer to cover inspection defects up to a set amount, and buyers with 20% down consider covering a potential appraisal gap. She never encourages waiving the inspection, especially for first-time buyers. Q: What is a simple CRM for a real estate agent? → A: A simple CRM, as podcast host Josh Lavik puts it, can be the contacts already in your phone, used intentionally. Codi Alger runs her business from an Excel client sheet she prints weekly and a digital calendar that holds every deadline. Q: Why does copying competitors backfire for real estate agents? → A: Copying competitors backfires because agents waste time and energy on tactics they hate, like house tour videos or email campaigns, which probably won't get the result they want, Codi Alger explains. She advises doing what you love and are good at instead. ⏳ Timestamps (Click to Jump!): 00:00 - Rookie of the Year With 25 Sales and $6M 01:27 - Meet Codi Alger: Higher Ed to Rookie of the Year 02:51 - Guiding Clients: The Seller “Magic Wand” Question 06:08 - Win Multiple Offers: Ask Buyers, Call the Listing Agent 12:22 - Solo Agent at $12M a Year: Excel, Calendar & Days Off 16:04 - Pick Your Clients, Refer Out Bad Fits 21:11 - Deals Gone Wrong: Failed Roof & Wildest Showing Story 28:02 - 100% Referrals, No Paid Leads, Reddit & ChatGPT 30:21 - Nurture Referrals: Mailers, Home Tours, Texts & Trust 38:39 - Stop Copying Competitors: Authenticity & the 2x2 Grid 42:56 - Wrap-Up 📇 Connect with Codi Alger: 🌎 Website → https://codialgerhomes.com/ 📘 Facebook →   / thecodialger   🔗 LinkedIn →   / codimjohnson   🎙 FOLLOW JOSH LAVIK & THE BETTER AGENT PODCAST: 🌎 Website → https://www.joshlavik.com/ 🌎 21-Day Challenge → https://www.abetterrealestateexperien... 📘 Facebook →   / joshlavikassoc   📷 Instagram →   / jla_madison   🔗 LinkedIn →   / jlavik   🔖 DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND COMMENT BELOW! ⭐ Produced by Icons of Real Estate – iconsofrealestate.com #TheBetterAgentPodcast #JoshLavik #WisconsinRealEstate #MadisonRealtor #RealEstateGrowth #AgentTips #5to50Transactions #RealEstatePodcast #BetterAgent #ScaleYourBusiness