“Who are you putting over” is a phrase I heard from my mentor and friend Vincent Pugliese. If you have no idea what that phrase means, don’t worry. I didn’t, either. We’re going to get into that right now.
Who are you putting over?
Vincent talks about this on his podcast in an episode titled Who Are You Putting Over? That’s what this blog post is about. Vincent really got into this at the TLF retreat in St. Augustine, Florida, in back in February 2022.
I love the lesson I learned that day. And I love the conversation that we had. I’m trying to apply these lessons in my life since I returned from the retreat, asking myself frequently, “Who are you putting over?”
What is putting someone over?
At the retreat, Vincent talked about whom you put over and his days photographing for the World Wrestling Federation (now known as the WWE). Due to trademark law, I can’t use an official image, but this piece of art with splashes of color conveys the intense nature of that world.
I’m not going to pretend to understand wrestling. Apparently, when there was an up-and-coming wrestler, for that person to be accepted by the fans, one of the famous and beloved wrestlers had to let the new guy defeat him in the ring. They called it “putting him over.”
The famous wrestler invited the less-experienced wrestler to the platform and made him look good or otherwise encouraged the fans to care about this wrestler. These things were done both in the ring and through promotions. Letting the little guy “win” helped his career.
Who are you putting over? Which people are you helping? Are you using your platform to promote others?
During one of our breakout groups at the retreat, Vincent said, “Who are you putting over? And who are the people that have put you over? Who has really brought you up without expecting anything in return?”
Seth Godin promoted Vincent Puglieses’ book
Vincent, on his podcast, often talks about entrepreneurial leader and marketing genius Seth Godin.
Relevant to this post was the time Vincent had given Seth Godin a copy of Vincent’s first book, Freelance to Freedom. That evening, there was an event, and Seth was taking questions from the audience.
Vincent stood up to ask a question, and Seth called on him and said, “Vincent, tell us about your book.”
Vincent said, “That’s not why I stood up.”
Seth held up Vincent’s book and replied, “I know. I know it wasn’t, but tell us about your book.” He did a great job of putting Vincent over. That was crucial for growing what Vincent has built since then.
And so, at the retreat, Vincent encouraged us to thank the ones who have put us over and to answer the question, “Who are you putting over” and to look for people we can help.
People who have helped me
At the retreat, I shared about some amazing people who have helped my business, Vincent being a huge one. Not only is he a great mentor and friend, but he’s used his platform to help me. He has mentioned me when I really did not deserve it. Vincent didn’t do it for recognition or any reason other than to help me. Because of that, people who might not have normally even known about me are finding me.
I think about the other amazing people in the mastermind community that I spend Tuesday mornings with:
- John Stange
- Ken Carfagno
- Kent Sanders
- Wendy Norman
- Michelle Williams
- Jennifer Harshman
- Courtney Wisely
- John Van der Muelen
- Matt Peet
- Nick Adams
So many of these people have put me over, too. So many of them have been a huge part of my entrepreneurial journey and my career and podcast growth. Some of the community members have put me over as well, such as Melissa Bloom, who sent me my biggest listing to date. Maybe even more importantly, they have all handed me borrowed confidence at one time or another.
I am so thankful because they didn’t have to do any of that. They don’t have to. You’ve heard their names before because they’ve been so helpful.
People I can help
My team members, audience members, friends, and family are all people I can help. I want to do a great job of putting people over. I certainly try to do this, but I am working on doing it more. I need to ask myself, “Who are you putting over today?”
When I have people for interviews on the Real Estate Survival Guide podcast, sometimes those people have never done a real estate deal, or they have a smaller platform than mine.
I don’t care. I just want to be a small part of helping their business grow. Someone who has value to share with my audience is going to get an invitation to come on my show. Serving is the whole purpose.
The way I see my entrepreneurial journey is this: It is my job is to try to help people, encourage people, and help them grow. I have a responsibility to do that. I want to help people.
To be successful in real estate
If we want to be successful in real estate, if we want to be successful Realtors, we have to remember some things.
- Reflect with thankfulness on the people who have helped us along the journey.
- We need to give back or pay it forward. Helping others is a huge part of being a successful person, period.
Think about this in your real estate business. Who are you putting over? How can you use your platform to help somebody?
If you want to have success, be generous, be helpful, and it will come back to you. If you only help people to have it come back to you, people will see through that. It’s trashy, and people don’t like it, and they won’t want to work with you.
When you can, put people over. Really serve their needs. Try to help others like those wrestlers who put someone over to accelerate that new wrestler’s career. Who are you putting over?
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