In this episode, Joey Romero continues his conversation with Sarah Ayala of Tower Agency, diving into her approach to mentorship, team building, and navigating today’s unpredictable real estate market. Sarah shares how she developed an 8-week mentorship program designed to equip new agents with the mindset, systems, and lead generation strategies needed for long-term success. She also discusses the importance of vulnerability, consistency on social media, and finding balance while managing both personal production and leadership responsibilities. With insights on today’s “emotional market,” this episode offers valuable guidance for agents, buyers, and investors looking to adapt and thrive.

Sarah Ayala is a Broker Associate and Director of Talent and Growth at Tower Agency. Since entering the real estate industry in 2015, she has specialized in helping first-time home buyers and sellers achieve their goals with confidence and care. Sarah holds a California Broker’s License—the highest credential in the state—and a Bachelor of Business Administration from California State University. She is dedicated to guiding clients through one of the most significant decisions of their lives, providing clarity, professionalism, and personalized support every step of the way.

RADIO SHOW EPISODE

In This Episode

• Joey welcomes Sarah Ayala, Broker Associate with Tower Agency.

• Sarah shares how her childhood home and family influenced her passion for real estate.

• The challenges and lessons from her first year in the industry.

• The role of kindness, confidence, and service in every transaction.

• How social media, Instagram Stories, and DMs became her main business driver.

• Tips for building authentic connections with clients online.

• Insights on working with investors and handling distressed properties.

• Why providing education, options, and transparency is key to investor relationships.

Episode

Narrator

Welcome to the Norris group real estate podcast, a show committed to bringing you insights from thought leaders shaping the real estate industry. In each episode, we'll dive into conversations with industry experts and local insiders, all aimed at helping you thrive in an ever changing real estate market, continuing the legacy that Bruce Norris created, sharing valuable knowledge and empowering you on your real estate journey, whether you're a seasoned pro or a newcomer, this is your go to source for insider tips, market trends and success strategies.

Joey Romero

Welcome back, everybody to part two of our interview with Sarah Ayala, broker, associate with Tower Agency in Riverside California. Let's get to it. Alright, so let's talk about the team building side. You actually, Brent, one of the things that Brent shared with me is you actually built the mentorship program for Tower Agency. So what was the vision behind that?

Sarah Ayala

The vision was like a 2am wake up like, I need to do this. I had recently been talking to but that's really what happened. I had recently been talking to a couple of newer agents, and they were telling me, you know, the state license test, great, awesome. Glad I passed it, but didn't prepare me for anything real estate. And I was like, You know what? That's so true. I know I kind of had to learn everything for myself, and really asking a ton of questions to great mentors like Brent Lee, Collette Lee, like a such great foundation there. And I'm like, I have all this knowledge, and I love teaching. I've always loved teaching. And so I started creating the mentorship program, and I started breaking it down week by week. And I'm like, what is an agent want to know the most? Right? The number one thing they want to know is, well, how do I get business? Like, I think that was, make money. How do I make great glad I passed the test. What now, you know kind of thing. So we start there. But it starts even further than that. Starts with goal setting mindset. You know, what book should I be reading? How can I prepare myself for this journey we call sales and time blocking. So we start week one there, and then we go into, here's 20 great lead source generating activities you can do, including door knocking, cold calling, you know, we go back to the basics of basics, and then include, really, you know, new stuff, like social media. AI, you know, what can you be doing there? And then open houses, of course, and then then from there, breaking down week by week, here's the buyer process, from start to finish to the time you get the phone call all the way to you hand your client the keys, and what care looks like after for that client relationship to the seller process, and just breaking it down further from there, and it's been an eight week program, and I love it so much. And we're still learning it's baby, you know, we're learning how to, like, grow and adapt. I get feedback all the time and changing things, but it's definitely been a passion project, and I'm really proud of some of the things these mentees have been able to do. And they're not even mentees anymore. They teach me things that I you know, that's the whole thing, though, you know, teaching and reciprocal.

Joey Romero

So one of the things that Brent did tell me was that you hired more than 20 people last year. So, so why did, why do you think they chose you like, why did they say yes to you?

Sarah Ayala

Gosh, well, without bragging too much about myself, I would say that I think that I'm really vulnerable and honest. You know, I am the first to sit down with agents when they ask me or tell me they're having a hard transaction or having a hard quarter. Like, I opened this phone call saying I had a really bad first quarter. Like, I am extremely vulnerable, and I think that they appreciated that. But I'm also very open. I will tell you anything you can sit down with me and I'll give you my entire social media plan, like I want to help everyone, and I really feel like that, that openness has created a lot of great friendships, connections, and created more more people wanting to come to Tower and and do the mentorship program. So I've been very blessed.

Joey Romero

Well, one of the things that I walk a lot, and I listen to a lot of lot of books, and one of the, one of the things that has stuck with me recently was there's no courage without vulnerability first. I agree, yeah. So now he's

Sarah Ayala

vulnerable honestly.

Joey Romero

So, so now that you're in this role, you're 11 years in, how do you balance your own production with, yeah, handling

Sarah Ayala

being a mentor? Yeah? Well, I want to give huge props to Brent Lee, because he's been probably, without being a mentor, you can't have a mentor and be a mentor, you know. So I have great mentors in my life, and he's one of them. He's created such a great he's he's phenomenal creating, helping me create balance. You know, I think he's the first, especially because I'm the first to raise my hand and be like, I'll do it. I'll do it. You know, he's the first to be like, okay, hold on. You know, we got all going on right now. What do you want to do? And giving me space and and guidance to take on? But also take off, you know, and take time apart. He's such a great mentor in that way of helping me create balance. But, yeah, it's, it's been a little I'm still learning. This has been a year of me having mentees and underneath me getting frantic phone calls. You know, this is stressful for them too, especially when deals start to fall apart, or they've never experienced something before, and then my own production, it has been that's probably been one of the biggest things I've had to learn this year was the balance aspect. And I think the way that I've been able to do it, and I think everyone needs to do this, is they need to find something that grounds them in nature. You like walking. Walking is huge for me, too. I walk every morning, and when I feel overwhelmed, I walk into, but nature walking and time blocking has been huge. My Google Calendar huge.

Joey Romero

So what's the, what's the thing that you teach first? Is it lead generation? Is it a mindset? Is the systems? What do you what do you guys start first?

Sarah Ayala

Everything is mindset. Because, as I said, sales is not for everyone. And I think that you can get very emotionally weak. I know I experienced that my first year. I mean, you can imagine not getting a paycheck for six months and then get not getting one for another six months after that, or three, three to six months after that. Yeah, it was a very difficult time in my life. Glad I went through it, but it created a lot of I'm very emotionally strong now, so I teach my mentees that, you know, here's books, resources, and I'm a huge advocate and believer of the 5am club. The 5am club kind of changed my life, the book and implementing that into my day to day. So I do wake around 435 30 every morning, depending on my schedule, you know? And I am a huge, huge believer in that. And I teach my mentees that first thing that they get started with me

Joey Romero

a really great book, is buy back your time. I don't know if you've read that. No, I haven't.

Sarah Ayala

I'll definitely read. I love reading.

Joey Romero

Yeah. So check that one out, those 20 people and just agents in general, what do they struggle with the most?

Sarah Ayala

Yeah, and so funny. We're talking about this. We just talked about mindset. I think it's the mindset aspect of it, time time blocking, too. But because hit sales are hard, I think a lot of people get really excited they pass their test. They're like, Hey, I'm ready to, you know, I'm ready to go to open houses and get a lead and close someone this weekend. And it doesn't work that way, and for some it might, but for me, it definitely didn't. And so I think it's preparing them for what that looks like, how long it could potentially take to, you know, obtain a lien and close the lead. But I think another thing that they're experiencing right now is a lot of buyer and seller emotions, especially right now, I have had more mentorship calls on managing emotions and expectations from our clients than ever before, and I think that also with balance, I do want to add not taking on your clients emotions. I mean, maybe you can agree it's really easy to take on their emotions and take it home with you. I tell myself, and I tell my mentees very often that this is your work. It's not your life. Sales can feel like this is your entire life. It is not you know, you still have a life after work and before work and even during and creating that separation between the two is really big.

Joey Romero

It's and it's a little different with with realtors. When I was, when I was in a different industry, I could go home and at five o'clock, you know, I wasn't taking any more business calls, yeah, but you guys are, you know, weekends, 10 o'clock at night, like people, for some reason, feel like they can call and so, so it's a little tougher for you guys,

Sarah Ayala

and they do, you know, setting boundaries with like, okay, we're X hour to X hour. It I do do, but it's rarely respected. But I understand it, you know, I Yeah, and people just think,

Joey Romero

well, you guys are making, you know, selling all these houses, making all this money, you guys should be available. 24/7, yeah, and that's

Sarah Ayala

what it is. And I think there's a lot more transparency in how much, which I think it's great how much real estate agents are making, you know, and some people do feel like I'm paying you X amount to sell my property. I think accessibility would be huge, and I do to a

Joey Romero

certain level, but let's respect some boundaries. I agree. Well, well, let's talk about the market. You just brought it up. So what's happening

Sarah Ayala

right now in the Inland Empire? Oh, man, if anyone told you they know exactly what's happening and this is what's going to happen, I think that they would be I know their line because each day is each week has been different. I'll be honest, last week we were experiencing multiple offers on properties. And every single one of my buyers and sellers, you know, we were just going and going, going, and then this last week, this last weekend, dead. And I'm like, I had one person through my open house, and you know, I'm putting an offer and on a property for one of my buyers, and they have no offers. And I'm like, last weekend, if they would have listed this property, they would have. Probably been competing against multiple so we are seeing just a very strange, emotional market. I'll be honest, I really haven't experienced anything like this in my 11 years, and I'm excited to keep growing with the business. But it's been, it's been rather interesting. I think headlines are important. Headlines are definitely dictating a lot of emotion, and also very funny. But I feel like seasonality is also playing a role, like at Spring break our USD spring break is this weekend, it I think that has a huge influence on, you know, the market and what's going on, where before, it really didn't as much. So we're experiencing, I would like to say an emotional market. I think every buyer seller transaction has been extremely emotional, and that's what I'm seeing on that side. But other than that, it's very balanced. It's can go either way, buyer or seller.

Joey Romero

What's, what's the data that you're sending out the the market updates? What is that telling you right now,

Sarah Ayala

yeah, so telling us, same thing. Interest rates are up. We had like, a three day window where they were down lowest we had seen in three years. They're back up again. They're still on the lower side, lower than they had been side, but there's, we're seeing them pretty high right now.

Joey Romero

Problem is that people are just so used to, you know, there's three, four and fives that now it's six and sevens are like, losing their mind, exactly.

Sarah Ayala

And, yeah, you know. And we try to provide enough historical data to be like, this is actually a very normal interest rate. So sorry about what happened before. Probably won't see that again. And there are some, there are some buyers, sellers, Everyone Hanging Out to get interest rates back into that, that that range, you know, and I just that was gonna be my

Joey Romero

next question, what are you gonna What are you gonna say? What would you say to somebody right now, sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the perfect opportunity?

Sarah Ayala

Yeah, I don't think there is a perfect opportunity. I don't think there really is. I I never think that there is. I think maybe 2021 was a perfect opportunity. 2020. Was a perfect opportunity. But I really don't think that there is ever one. I think that and two, I think this also goes back to the emotional market. Why I believe it's an emotional market. Almost every single one of my clients who are moving it's all emotion based. I need to be closer to grandkids. I need to be closer to the school district. We need a bigger house. None of it is financial. None of it's like, I love the interest rate right now. So let's do this. I haven't seen that, so I really think that it has to make sense for whoever selling or buying. I think you need to be very, very educated with what your budget is, what your numbers look like, what your interest rate, what your comfortability is, and that's who if you are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for any time you know any perfect scenario, maybe look at what the scenario looks like now so you can game plan. You know, if interest rates hit reach a 4% or whatever it might be that you're waiting for, know exactly what that looks like. Because I'm telling you, I think if we were looking for a perfect opportunity, and interest rates did hit 4% I can't even imagine the flood of buyers and inventory would probably see into our market.

Joey Romero

So we come from the investor side, and it Bruce Norris who has put together these market timing reports for a very long time. It's 30 years now. We just did one in 2026 and for those interest rates to go back down, yeah? Like, what people don't understand is, like, a lot of bad things have to happen in the economy, like, so, all right, we might get back down to 3% interest rates, but that means, like, unemployment is huge, and, like, nobody can afford a

Sarah Ayala

house, yeah, be careful what you wish for, right?

Joey Romero

Yeah. And it's funny that you say that, that, you know, motion, motion. We, we've actually have a tool called the moodometer, because we gage the mood of the buyer and the seller. That's, that's kind of where we're at. So it's interesting you say that. So, so where's the opportunity in an empire, in an empire right now for investors and buyers and sellers?

Sarah Ayala

Yeah, honestly, I'll tell you first time home buyer range. It's so funny that those houses fly off the market. Anything, first time home buyer is such a great well, one price range, but two, like your monthly payments, great. And then also, it's funny enough we like skip a little bit. And then everything luxury is great too. It's like this or this, no, in between?

Joey Romero

Yeah, we've seen that in Florida too, because we build in South Florida, Florida also,

Sarah Ayala

isn't it so interesting?

Joey Romero

Yeah, it's a middle market that's just getting hammered. Yeah, all right, well, I want to do a quick rapid fire as we start wrapping this up. So give me your three tips for new agents.

Sarah Ayala

Okay, three tips for new agents. One, find a really good mentor. Find a really good office. Be excited. Start there. I have started my career at Tower, probably never leaving, and I think that's so important who you surround yourself with. So one, two, get on social media and post consistently enough. And I would recommend posting consistently for 30 days, then looking at your analytics and seeing who you're talking to and who's engaging with you, if it's, you know, 70% women. And the age group is, you know, 18 to 25 Is that who you want to be selling to, you know? And then see if you need to change your messaging. Can they buy anything? Yeah, 18 year old realistically gonna, you know, purchase whatever those conversations might be, and then switch it up if you don't like the way that looks. And third, I would say, just put your blinders on. I think it's very, very easy to say, look at it. You know, at people online, especially like this agent just got their license and they've sold, like, $3 million dollar home, or whatever it might be, you have to be so blinded to all of that and just focus on what you're doing. And also, if you do find something that brings you success, double down on it. I like. When I started my career, I was door knocking, open houses, you know, cold calling, I wasn't doing anything well because I was doing too much of everything, and then when I started just focusing on social media, is when I really saw the business come. So find your thing and don't stop doing it.

Joey Romero

Okay? What's the best lead source

Sarah Ayala

for me right now? Instagram, social media. What is the biggest social media mistake? I would say posting too many infographics would be a big mistake, but also budget, budget too. I think I see a lot of agents feeling like they need to hire a professional videographer to, like, do all these professional videos for them. We have such a great resource in our hands, our iPhones. This is basically movie quality, video and most and you don't have to pay for all that. I would say that is one of the largest mistakes I'm seeing on social media right now is hiring professional videographer. I never have. I don't pay for ads anything. Haven't spent $1 it's all me, you know. But yeah, that's especially

Joey Romero

early when you're not making money, right? Yeah, I don't do it. Alright? So here's, here's the one of my last questions, what would you do differently right now, if you're starting over again, knowing everything that you know right now?

Sarah Ayala

Yeah, I'd definitely be that thing. I wouldn't pour like 10% into all these buckets of lead source and generation. I would focus on open houses and social media and just do those two things really well, and I would just double down on them. I spent a lot of time doing a lot of different things trying to find what was best for me. I think it's great for my mentees now, so I can share them all the ups and downs. But man, I really had to learn my lessons. And I think another one is comparing. I really compared myself to other agents and what their success level was. And I'm so happy I never gave up, and I just kept going. And I wish I would have spent more time doing that and less comparison.

Joey Romero

Comparison. Let me, let me. I want to get into maybe a bonus little section. Okay, because, because I know that in the past you have and I know tower, just as an office does get involved in the community. So how, how important do you do you think that isn't, and how much do you instill that into your new mentees that they need to get involved in the community? Yeah, it's huge.

Sarah Ayala

And we spent almost, we spend a whole week almost talking about it. It's called, who are your people, right? So you figure out who your people, who your ideal client is, and a lot of time it's who you are. And then we do this exercise where it's basically a mirror of themselves, right? Like, my ideal client has a huge heart for animals, like they love Marius Roberts. They want to, like, donate their time. They want to like, advocate for dogs and cats in our area. And I've gotten business that way from, you know, just being a part of the community and being a part of Marius Roberts or posting about animals. So it's huge, not only for like connection for business, but for your heart and soul. And we've really it's a huge thing that I want my mentees to connect with. Is find something you're passionate about, pour yourself into that, because there's nothing like the reciprocal. You know, when you reciprocate that energy of giving and receiving, and you also meet really great people business wise, potentially. So yeah, it's really huge. And Brent's been a huge advocate for, obviously, the community, and he's instilled that in me also. So absolutely, at one point in time, when I was the first, when I first was licensed, and had a lot of time on my hands because I wasn't selling anything. I sat on seven boards around our city, and I donated a lot of my time. I'm telling a treasure. Yeah, I'm not. I don't recommend that for agents, but finding a couple, they're excited about it, even pouring into them,

Joey Romero

yes, yes. And then the my final bonus question is, what is it meant to you to be able to work with your family? Oh, everything,

Sarah Ayala

yeah, I love my family. I think everyone, I think everyone is Yeah,

Joey Romero

cuz you just, just so they, they know that you work with your sister

Sarah Ayala

and your mom, right? I do. I work with my sister and my mom and they. Are phenomenal. They honestly keep the boat afloat. We all have very different strengths. All of us do like I tell everyone, you'll never see my mom, she's a huge introvert. She is all in the backside. She's taking care of everything contractually, and she loves it like she loves that. And she would hate to do this. This would be her worst nightmare. I love it. And my sister, she's just, she executes every crazy idea I have, and she's been phenomenal. So it really means everything. People ask me, how do you work with your family? And I say, it's so easy. We just balance. We're enough, we're different, enough that it works really well. So it's good.

Joey Romero

That's awesome. Alright, so how do people connect with you? Yeah, social

Sarah Ayala

media or my phone number.

Joey Romero

No, I'm saying, here's your opportunity tell us

Sarah Ayala

what it is. How do people connect? Okay, so, like, is this something like, Call to Action? Or you say, like, I

Joey Romero

don't know, I don't know how much. Like, if you want to, you can give out your phone number, email, your handle, whatever you want.

Sarah Ayala

Cool, yeah. So you can find me on social media. I am Sarah s Ayala, Instagram primarily, so you can find everything there. I post a lot about my dog and life and cool stuff. Um, but my phone number, I it's very accessible. My phone number is 951-743-4463, so if you have questions about the market, or you're an agent or whatever you need, please let me know. I'd love

Joey Romero

to help. Awesome. Well, Sarah, thank you so much for joining us and and sharing, you know, some of the success and not being afraid to, you know, having that abundance mentality and not, you know, gatekeeping any of this stuff there. You know, we live in a big, big world and, and there's definitely plenty for all of us, as long as you're willing to work for it and and go, go, go after right? So I agree. I really appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us.

Sarah Ayala

Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you so much for having me.

Narrator

For more information on hard money loans, trust deed investing and upcoming events with the Norris group. Check out the norrisgroup.com. For more information on passive investing through the DBL capital Real Estate Investment Fund, please visit DBL capital.com

Joey Romero

the Norris group, originates and services loans in California and Florida under the California Dre license 01219911, Florida mortgage lender license 1577, and NMLS license 1623669, for more information on hard money lending, go to the Norris group.com and click the hard money tab.