Episode Details

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Guess who's buying no matter what the market does? Investors don't care about interest rates, they don't care what's happening geopolitically — they're always buying. So why are most agents still treating them like the competition?

Every real estate agent should be working with real estate investors — not competing against them. That's the conviction Ben Deal, a Houston-based realtor and leader of the Investor Agent Wolfpack at eXp Realty, brings to this episode of The Faithful Agent Podcast. Ben began his career as a wholesaler and acquisition specialist, meeting with thousands of homeowners before becoming a licensed realtor in 2020. Today he mentors agents through the Investor Agent Game Plan, teaching them how to build a business around investor relationships instead of chasing endless retail buyers.

In this conversation, Ben breaks down why most agents view investors as competition rather than partners, and why that mindset is costing them deals. Retail buyers only transact every 5–7 years, but a single active investor doing 3–5 deals a year is worth five retail clients in volume alone. Ben explains how to find investors fast by building relationships with hard money lending loan officers — the people who already have qualified, ready-to-move buyers — and how to tell a good investor partnership from a bad one using discernment, not just deal volume.

They also dig into "agent outreach," the marketing strategy investors use to mine agents for distressed leads, and how understanding it can flip the dynamic in your favor. Ben shares the mistakes that cost him early on, including partnering with investors whose values and work quality didn't align with his, and why walking away from a lucrative but misaligned relationship is sometimes the most faithful move an agent can make. Throughout, Ben ties his business philosophy back to his faith, describing his work as a way to honor Christ through integrity, excellence, and purpose — and encourages agents to seek God's direction before chasing the next strategy or shiny object.

Key Takeaways

• One investor can be worth five retail clients. A homeowner buys every 5–7 years; an active investor doing 3–5 deals annually delivers that same volume in a single year — with far less hand-holding per transaction.
• The fastest way to find investors is through hard money lenders. Loan officers only get paid once — at funding — and don't want to source deals themselves. Partnering with them puts you in front of pre-qualified, ready-to-transact investors.
• "Agent outreach" is a marketing strategy, not a real investor relationship. The mass emails and texts agents get from investors looking for deals are cheap marketing plays — understanding this lets agents reverse-prospect instead of just being mined for leads.
• Not every investor is worth partnering with. Discernment matters more than deal volume. Ben walked away from an investor doing heavy deal flow because the quality of her work didn't match his standard or his reputation.
• Investors are always buying, regardless of the market. Unlike retail buyers, active investors don't pause for interest rates, seasonality, or geopolitical noise — making them a stabilizing force in an agent's pipeline.
• Alignment with Christ comes