Honoring the Life and Legacy of Michael Pallin

Written by Mary Pallin

Mike Pallin started his sales career doing presentations at the kitchen table selling encyclopedias.  Then, he sold houses.  His listing presentation won a regional contest in New York and he was recruited to be the statewide trainer for the company.  It was in that position that he met Floyd Wickman.  Mike drove the speakers hired from the airport to each city, then back again.  He remarked that Floyd was the only one who was the same in the car as he was onstage.  From the first Wickman Program hosted in New York, Michael was hooked.  

With his big brain, it was easy for him to learn the material and he repeatedly asked Floyd if he could teach the program.  Floyd said, “No.  The pages of the manual are blank, and no one could get the results I get.”  But one day when they were sharing lunch, Floyd got a call from a small broker in northeastern Canada.  It was Michael’s shot – and he got higher results than Floyd had!  Floyd said, “I guess someone else can train the program!”  And he began building the company.

I became a trainer four years after that, in the same year as Sheldon Spiegel, Michael Valenti and Steven Poscente.  Michael’s role changed from trainer to creative director to partner and president.  Along the way, he was responsible for every cassette tape, video product and recording made by Floyd.  They held quarterly trainer meetings and co-taught Speakers Academy where hundreds were taught the Wickman magic of holding an audience in the palm of your hand.   

With Floyd’s direction and a team of staff people, Michael was in charge of Master Sales Academy, annually drawing 1000 people to Las Vegas for lots of years.  For those events, Michael wrote songs and choreographed skits. He and Floyd wrote The Pledge, which thousands of Realtors still say every morning, while overlooking the lights on the Strip.  (If you’d like a copy, just email [email protected])

When Floyd retired, the company came into Michael’s hands, and we were placed in charge of carrying on Floyd’s legacy.  It is with heartfelt commitment and much joy that we have operated “Team” for the last eleven years.  It is such an honor, and we have never stopped upholding the Wickman standards and philosophies, updating material as the market changes, and loving our clients and students with all our hearts.

My husband was the “Visionary” as Gino Wickman would describe it.  He was the guy constantly thinking up new ideas and dreaming of implementing them.  Michael had BIG ideas.  He thought of our company, our students, and helping our industry all the time.  There was always something on his mind and our home is filled with notepads and journals as he developed his thoughts.  It was his idea to create R Squared Coaching 17 years ago, and the replace with today,  four coaches are helping agents get results each week.  (Oh my! Do we ever love our people in R2!) 

He achieved a lifelong goal in 2025 by publishing his first book, “Rethink Everything You Know About Selling Real Estate” and he was working on his second one.  

Michael was father to two marvelous sons, Derek and Tim.  Together they shared an incredible bond – the “Pallin mind” that sees unusual patterns in the world, never forgets an interesting fact, is super-smart and wins at Trivia, hears what non-Pallins do not, writes songs and sings with gusto, plays guitar with unfailing heart and soul, and connects with one another in a deep, inexplicable way.  With his friend Mike Callahan as drummer, he and his sons attended “The Fest For Beatle Fans” each year, always entering both the “Sound Alike Contest” and “The Battle Of The Bands” – and frequently winning first place.

He embraced my large extended family and my three children, calling Anna his daughter when introducing her.  He loved his daughters-in-law, Kayla, Kendra and Christy and was proud of the happy marriages our sons created.  Nine grandchildren lit up his face and his life.

In Minnesota, he found a 25+ gang of golfing buddies that he played with at Oak Glen and Loggers whenever possible, shooting his age every now and then.  Toby Sauro and John Hamerly were his best friends, though he never stopped missing John Brown.  It was his idea to take Samuel’s friends to a cabin “up north” for seven consecutive years, calling them “our boys.”  Each summer meant a visit to see his brother, Jeffrey, and play the “Member/Guest Tournament” at Turner Hill outside Boston.  (They became a little famous for wearing matching outfits each year.)

And he loved me.  We held hands everywhere we went and our community of friends often commented on how much we loved one another.  He frequently said he was happier than he’d ever been in his life.

When not on the road, we played pickleball daily and enjoyed a large network of friends.  We watched sunset on Barefoot Beach or on the second hole of Oak Glen Golf Course every night it wasn’t cloudy.  We sat beside one another and watched the sun come up and the birds greet us each morning as we did our morning routine.  Our routine centered around gratitude, healing and peace for others, and inspiration.  It is that, along with the prayers of so many, which sustains me now.