Episode 536: AI Search Visibility & the Future of Real Estate Lead Gen with Trevor Mauch

In this masterclass episode of the Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast, I sit down with Trevor Mauch, founder and CEO of Carrot, a five-time Inc. 5000 company that's helped thousands of real estate investors and agents generate highly motivated seller leads online. Trevor's not just a "software guy" either—he's a buy-and-hold commercial investor himself, doing owner-carry deals and turning dead space into productive luxury apartments in his small town of Roseburg, Oregon. We start with something almost everyone asks me at bootcamps: lead gen. Trevor breaks down what he calls evergreen marketing, online lead systems that work for you 24/7 instead of keeping you on the hamster wheel of cold calling and direct mail. Then we go deep on AI search visibility, how Google's AI overviews and tools like ChatGPT are changing SEO, and what you can do right now to win in that new world. From there we shift into entrepreneur mindset: breaking through revenue "pain lines," designing your calendar around energy instead of just money, and building a business that actually funds your life vision instead of trapping you.  Trevor shares exactly how he scaled Carrot to an eight-figure company, the role coaching and masterminds played, and why your business should give you energy, income, and impact, not just revenue.  Key Talking Points of the Episode   00:00 Introduction 01:04 Who is Trevor Mauch? 03:02 Trevor's background: Growing Carrot and investing in real estate 04:55 The problem with "hamster wheel" marketing 06:56 How evergreen marketing generates inbound online leads 07:57 The impact of AI in how SEO works today 09:15 Practical AI SEO tips you can implement today 12:26 Taking advantage of hyperlocal links to build credibility online 15:56 Where to find Trevor and the AI Search Visibility Challenge 17:20 Business growth in 3s and 10s: The "Pain Lines" 19:50 Avoiding the "shiny object" churn through 12-month contracts 21:02 Optimizing for revenue vs optimizing for energy 22:01 The Quarterly Energy Audit: Identifying top energy-drainers 23:07 Redefining success and the purpose of being in business 27:09 Business game-changers: Coaching programs and masterminds 31:21 Fitness, faith, and proximity 34:04 What's next: EPIC Coaching, AI, and expanding Carrot   Quotables   "Business should give us work that interests and energizes us, it should fund our vision, and it should help us deliver an impact we're proud of."   "Evergreen marketing might take a little bit longer to get going, but it builds this foundation and it builds amazing momentum."   "You're the best person to mentor the person you used to be."   Links   Carrot https://carrot.com   Trevor Mauch https://instagram.com/trevor.mauch   QLS 4.0 - Use coupon code for 50% off https://smartrealestatecoach.com/qls Coupon code: pod   Apprentice Program https://3paydaysapprentice.com Coupon code: Podcast   Masterclass https://smartrealestatecoach.com/actionpodcast   3 Paydays Books https://3paydaysbooks.com/podcast   Strategy Session https://smartrealestatecoach.com/actionpodcast   Partners https://smartrealestatecoach.com/podcastresources