In this Expert Success Story, learn how Mike Biryla has grown his business by approaching Experts as a relationship platform, rather than a transactional one. When COVID hit and Mike could no longer build relationships with potential clients in person, he joined Experts to find new opportunities. To his surprise, he received more leads than he knew what to do with. Mike uses his neighborhood and building-specific knowledge to help clients win over the co-op board, and he’s had unique success working with buyers who are also selling a home, representing them in both transactions.
Mike Biryla became a licensed New York City real estate agent in 2013 for his love of people and building relationships. Not only does he enjoy it, but he’s skilled at it, too. “The best way that I build my business is establishing relationships and meeting people,” Mike says. So when COVID-19 hit the city in early 2020, he was in a difficult position. Being “locked in my apartment, unable to go out and socialize – which is my favorite thing to do, and that’s one of the reasons why I got into this business – was extremely challenging.” Mike had leaned on StreetEasy in the past as a Premier Agent, so when thinking of ways to create new opportunities under the circumstances, he decided to join the Experts program in March 2020.
Mike previously spent six years at Compass, starting as a rental agent and working his way up. He’s been with Triplemint since September 2021 and started his own team there, the Mike Biryla Team, specializing in condos, co-ops, and townhouses on the Upper East Side, downtown, and all throughout Manhattan. He represents both buyers and sellers, often simultaneously.
For Experts, Mike specializes in the West Village, Upper West Side, and Upper East Side. Starting out as a team member, he’s now a Team Lead. Here’s how he got there.
Opting into opportunity
Expert agents have the ability to opt into buildings in which they’ve bought or sold apartments in the past. On the StreetEasy website and app, interested buyers will then see the agent listed as the Expert in that building and be invited to contact them.
When he joined the program, Mike made sure to opt into as many buildings as he was eligible for. “I’ve sold in a lot of buildings,” he says. “I opted into the opportunity.” Soon enough, the floodgates opened and he was receiving numerous inquiries from prospects looking to buy in these buildings. It was a move that ultimately paid off, but it faced him with a challenge he didn’t expect to have: so many leads, yet so little time.
A good problem to have
When asked what the biggest challenge of the Experts program has been, Mike answered with what most real estate agents would consider a good problem to have: too many leads. And in 2020 when the industry seemingly came to a halt, this was an especially good problem to have.
“I didn’t realize when I unleashed this program that I was going to get so many connections and so many opportunities,” he says. “So the biggest challenge that I faced was fostering all of these clients, making sure they’re being reached out to and followed up with.”
To handle the volume, Mike had to become extremely regimented in letting no connection slip through the cracks. “I watched as every lead came in and made sure that I had the capacity to take that business.”
“I didn’t realize when I unleashed this program that I was going to get so many connections and so many opportunities.”
He also did what many Experts do: leveraged the help of his colleagues, many of whom were itching for leads during a very slow time in the industry. “The time that I joined the program, people were very, very hungry for business because they weren’t able to foster relationships,” he remarks. Mike added two of his colleagues to his Experts team, and it’s helped him scale his business even further.
Beating out the competition
Having abundant leads doesn’t guarantee beating out the competition. In fact, Mike believes the biggest challenge facing real estate agents today is standing out from the crowd. “New York City is a very, very competitive and ferocious market. Trying to stand out in such a saturated market is probably the biggest challenge that most agents face.”
Experts is designed in a way that gives agents a leg up, and it’s one of Mike’s favorite aspects of the program. When a buyer shows interest in a StreetEasy listing, a single Expert is suggested to them, rather than multiple. “The way the program works is they’re not giving that lead to 15 different agents. So you have an actual perfect opportunity to have a direct, one-on-one intimate conversation with a potential buyer,” Mike explains.
“You can really show your value and knowledge of the buildings and neighborhood that you’re given the lead in.”
In addition, the right Expert is matched with the right buyer. “StreetEasy doesn’t just give you any type of buyer. If you’re very strong in the West Village, they’re not giving you Upper East Side clients,” he adds. “You can really show your value and knowledge of the buildings and neighborhood that you’re given the lead in.”
He likes this feature for the newer agents on his team, too. “StreetEasy’s given me that opportunity to help my team build their business and scale much faster. It took me years to build the business that I have now, and I didn’t have this opportunity,” Mike says. “When I see something of extreme value, I always want to put that on my agents, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Knowing the neighborhood, down to its co-op boards
Mike takes pride in not just knowing the neighborhoods he specializes in, but knowing the buildings, down to their co-op boards. It’s this intricate knowledge that makes him a great match for the program, and a great Expert.
“It does service to you because you know what you’re talking about, and it does service to the buyer because you’re giving them real value.”
“Having it catered to a specific neighborhood where you’ve done deals, and you know the intricacies of different co-ops in that neighborhood, is very vital,” he reiterates. “New York City is a very hyper-focused market. Each neighborhood is very specific and very different, and each co-op board has different qualifications. If you’re on Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, or if you’re in Yorkville, they’re just different types of boards.”
The result is a mutually beneficial relationship. “It does service to you because you know what you’re talking about, and it does service to the buyer because you’re giving them real value.”
Building trust through transparency
When first connecting with a buyer, Mike approaches the conversation with candor. It allows him to not just disclose his role, but also sell the prospect on using his services as a buyer’s agent.
“When someone calls me, I’m very open and transparent about why I’m being connected with them, and the value and the reason why I’m the agent they were put in touch with.”
Mike is a big fan of using scripts when he initially speaks with a potential buyer. “I tell them basically a script that I’ve already established and kind of crafted, and I make certain accommodations when necessary,” he explains. Check out the Scripts section of the Experts Resource Center for helpful scripts you can download and follow during a call.
Mike lays out what he likes to say during the first call:
I’ve sold multiple units in this neighborhood, and several in this building. I’m very well versed in the intricacies of this co-op, and my job is to represent you as a buyer’s agent in which I’m compensated by the seller at closing. So I’m more like an advisor to you, and my job is to get you the best possible price and get you a home that you’re going to be happy with. And when you go to sell it in the future, we’re going to have a nice conversation.
How he wins over reluctant buyers
As many Experts do, Mike comes across leads who aren’t interested in using a buyer’s agent. But as an agent with experience both on the buying and selling side, Mike leverages his insider knowledge of how seller’s agents operate to convince buyers to work with him. Similar to his approach during the first call, he uses radical transparency.
In being upfront about his experience as a listing agent, Mike will tell a lead: “From my experience, every time a buyer came in directly, I set a record for the highest price per square foot sold in the building. So let’s just put it that way. I don’t recommend it because I know what I’m doing.”
“My biggest opponents of using a buyer’s agent ended up coming back full circle.”
He gives another example: “The last transaction I did with someone who came in and thought they knew more about the market than I do, I ended up getting a higher price than I’d ever anticipated getting, and my seller thought I was an absolute rockstar. So if you want to roll the dice on probably one of the biggest purchases you’re going to make, without having someone watching out for your best interest, I wish you the best of luck.”
Mike boasts that most of the time, “my biggest opponents of using a buyer’s agent ended up coming back full circle” after realizing that seller’s agents look out for the best interests of the seller, not the buyer.
And with the Experts program in particular, not only is the Expert looking out for the buyer, but they know the neighborhood, building, and co-op specifics as well. “Having a buyer’s agent, especially through the StreetEasy Experts program, who’s probably sold in that building, has just done a deal there and can tell you about all of the issues that came up – it just goes without saying. You really need to have someone watching your back.”
Using the app to speed to lead
Like his fellow Expert Serene Powers, Mike raves about the StreetEasy Agent Tools app. It’s his favorite feature of the program, and he loves using it to assign leads to his teammates while he’s out and about.
“When I first started using the program, before they came out with the app, I would have to constantly check my emails. But when I’m out and about and I’m running around, I don’t pay as much attention,” he points out. “So as soon as they established the app, I made sure all notifications were on. I can instantly reassign leads.” If it’s a lead he needs to speak to himself, Mike makes sure to respond right away and schedule a time to talk. “I follow up with them immediately and say, listen, I’m available to speak at six o’clock. I apologize. I look forward to connecting.”
“If you’re not the first agent, there are tons of other agents that are jumping on that opportunity faster than you.”
Speaking of speed to lead, Mike is a big believer that time is of the essence when responding to leads. It turns out that in real estate, if you’re not first, you’re last.
“If you’re not the first agent, there are tons of other agents that are jumping on that opportunity faster than you. So I pride myself in the fact that I answer within two to three minutes, tops,” he says. “This is the toughest market for real estate and there are going to be a thousand other agents that are ready to jump on it. I think priority number one is speed and response.”
Experts as a relationship platform
For both agents and their clients, real estate is largely about who you know. As such, Mike likes to treat Experts primarily as a relationship platform, rather than a transaction platform. It’s an approach that’s helped him build long-lasting relationships with clients, whether they transact right away – or at all.
“Not every buyer I’ve been introduced to has transacted, but building a relationship with that person, establishing value and that you know this market, it’s just another way to build your sphere of influence.”
Mike says he recently connected with a slow buyer through the platform, but despite her tempo, they’ve built a strong relationship and she’s referred three friends to him. “She understands that I know this neighborhood, and she just so happens to be an Upper East Side socialite. So every single person who says or breathes the word real estate, the next words that come out of her mouth are ‘You have to call Mike Biryla.'”
“Building a relationship with that person, establishing value and that you know this market, it’s just another way to build your sphere of influence.”
“The fact that the program gives you more opportunity to build more relationships – that’s such a value add to your own personal business,” he says.
“Any lead is a good lead”
If there’s one thing Mike Biryla rarely does, it’s letting go of a lead. He’s skilled at building relationships as well as maintaining them, and makes it a point to regularly communicate with his connections. Whether it’s months after closing or the buyer is nowhere near transacting, Mike stays in contact regardless. “I stay in touch with these people, whether they’re going to buy in six weeks or six years,” he emphasizes.
For instance, Mike connected with a potential client in June 2020 who was looking to buy, but first needed to sell an apartment he had inherited on the Upper East Side. The sale was going to take time, as it was part of an estate and located in a complex building. However, “We follow up and we talk probably once or twice a week, even if it’s just the same, ‘Hey, how’s it going? How’s the family? How’s the wife? I get it, we’re not making any movement, but let’s just stay in touch,'” Mike says.
“I stay in touch with these people, whether they’re going to buy in six weeks or six years.”
“There is no bad lead. Any lead is a good lead. Whether it turns into a transaction, it turns into a relationship, or it turns into someone you just add to your weekly mailers so they stay in touch with you. It’s all about building out your sphere,” he adds. That sphere may include “meeting their friends and their friends’ friends, and their cousins and their aunts. It’s just another way to spider web your business.”
From buyers to sellers
Another way Mike forms long-term relationships with clients is by supporting them through their entire journey, even if it involves both buying and selling a home. As a skilled seller’s agent as well as a buyer’s representative, Mike has had several clients go from buyers to sellers (and vice versa), using his services for both transactions.
One of his most memorable examples involves a woman who was interested in buying on the Upper West Side. “When I made the phone call, I was just so excited and happy about the building she chose because I’ve sold multiple units there. It’s one of my favorite buildings,” Mike recalls. The woman and her partner weren’t ready to jump on anything right away, but “as soon as we left the apartment, she said ‘Mike, would you like to come over to our place because we also need to sell this apartment too, and we just think you’re lovely.'”
“I turned one lead into probably about five deals just through building a relationship in the Experts program.”
Mike met with the pair in their apartment, and the three bonded over their love of Australian shepherds. He put the apartment on the market, and the buyer ended up purchasing the apartment he had initially shown her in the Upper West Side building. Around the same time, the apartment sold. But the story didn’t end there.
“Two weeks later, she introduced me to her friends from Princeton who were coming into the city to buy apartments as well,” Mike continues. “I have coffee with these people probably once every six weeks.”
“I turned one lead into probably about five deals just through building a relationship in the Experts program.”
His advice for new Experts
“Go back through all of your past transactions, and make sure that you were declared as the buyer’s agent on that transaction. Because once you’re declared a buyer’s agent for that transaction, you’re now eligible for that building, and you’re also eligible for the like buildings in the neighborhood,” Mike says, alluding to the Like Listings option, which allows Experts to opt into buildings similar to ones they’ve had success with.
“When you’re a new agent starting, you haven’t done any transactions [in the Experts program], so make sure you put it in StreetEasy that you were the agent for the buyer and the transaction. That way you can start getting those opportunities.”