Events are a great way to connect with your database and past clients and have fun while building your business, and in our latest episode Greg shares how to run the 3 types of events that have been successful for his team.
We start by sharing our favorite podcasts for business, marketing and entrepreneurship and answering a question about scripts for calling people listed on Zillow’s Make Me Move.
Next Greg shared his structure for monthly events to connect with his sphere on a regular basis, and how to create an event that fits your personality and target market. Then Greg explained why you should be throwing quarterly events for just the clients who worked with you in that quarter, and why it should be a step up in quality from your monthly event.
Last, Greg shared how to throw a yearly blow-out event for all your clients, past clients, leads, friends, family, referral partners and your entire sphere. Greg’s team event is so well known to his database that the one year they decided not to have the event they actually received calls from their sphere asking if they had been taking off the invite list!
3 Takeaways:
1. Invite everyone in your sphere to a monthly event at a venue that fits both your personality and your target market
2. Throw quarterly events for just the clients who worked with you during that quarterly
3. Look for charity events or causes to get involved in or incorporate worthy causes into your event calendar to connect with your sphere and meet new people
Now that you have the structure, look for unique venues for events, causes you can get involved in, and social events that you can model to create your own event calendar for your business. Throwing events allow you to build genuine connections with your sphere and build your business while having a lot of fun.
How do you break into the business as a new agent, or break into a new market? Ashley Horcher did both, getting into real estate after moving to the Bay area. In our latest episode, Ashley shares how she built her business over the past two years on 5 low-cost lead generation activities, including Zillow and Facebook private messages.
3 Takeaways:
1. Get more Zillow reviews by sending a closing gift with handwritten request note paired with an email with your Zillow profile link
2. Send Facebook private messages to reconnect with your database and generate referrals
3. Pick up as many Open Houses as possible - They're one of your best free marketing options
So follow Ashley's example: Start with your sphere and use free and low-cost options to connect with them combined with Open Houses. This allows you to break into your target market while capturing as much business from your personal sphere as possible.
Housing prices are up and experts are predicting they might rise another 6% this year alone. Is that really possible with interest rates potentially going up further?
Bay Area mortgage expert Tony Mendes is back to share his predictions for 2016, and we covered a lot of ground. We talked about the implications of TRID, why you should only work with lenders who are fully trained on TRID, and the trends supporting rising home values in the Bay and other metro areas around the country.
Listen to Tony and Greg talk all things Bay Area real estate on KDOW 1220- www.kdow.biz and connect with Tony at BayAreaLoanSource.com.
Entrepreneurs are working on projects right now that will disrupt and transform our lives in the next 5 years. So how do you thrive and even capitalize on all this disruption? For special guest Jay Samit, the answer is to disrupt yourself first.
3 Takeaways:
1. Be the best at what you do - or the only one doing it
2. View the world not as a series of obstacles but as problems that can be solved
3. Success doesn’t make you happy; happiness makes you successful
You only have to be right for a nanosecond to become a billionaire. -Jay Samit
In this very special interview episode, serial entrepreneur, digital innovator, industry disruptor and author Jay Samit joins us to share insights into how to capitalize on the coming disruptions and the mindset and strategies behind his repeated success.
We start by discussing how crowdfunding and the sharing economy are disrupting real estate finance and even the size of homes. Jay also shares what he believes is the most significant societal change affecting real estate today - women delaying the start of families.
Jay then shares his prediction for transportation (which generates more backlash than of his other predictions). He also reveals a strategy you can use to break down the value chain of any industry to uncover hidden opportunities, and shares why you only need to be right for a nanosecond to become a billionaire.
Next, Jay shares a daily exercise to create a ‘deal flow’ in your life that rivals the best VC firms, why you should kill your ideas until you find the Zombie Idea, and how most big disruptions don’t start with an “Aha moment.”
We finish up with a couple questions for Jay in which he outlines how to give yourself an unfair advantage in predicting disruption, what motivates him to keep achieving, the key to success as an entrepreneur and much more.
Show Highlights:
2:10 The secret to Jay’s repeated success - Looking at the world not as a series of obstacles but as problems that can be solved
2:35 The most significant trend in residential real estate - Women delaying families - How the sharing economy will affect home sizes
4:35 Crowdfunding and real estate
6:50 You only have to be right for a nanosecond to become a billionaire
7:23 Jay’s statement about the future of transportation that generated the most hate of any of his change predictions
11:04 How to look at a business and break down the value chain to find where the most value is made and could be unlocked
15:00 The daily exercise that creates a “deal flow” in your life that rivals the deal flow at billion dollar VC firms
19:00 The misconception of the “Aha moment” and why you should kill your idea instead of nurturing it
23:08 How to use Other People’s Money (OPM) by finding businesses who can benefit from you solving a problem
25:20 They key to success with VC firms - Learning how to speak in a way so that they want to give money to you. It’s the only test in your life where you get to write the questions
27:38 Be the best at what you do, or the only one doing it
28:22 How to have an unfair advantage in predicting change - Why you must commit to a lifetime of learning
30:27 How Jay stays motivated and why it actually gets easier to achieve as you develop your track record
34:10 Your career will be disrupted - Why the illusion of security robs ambition
36:34 Success doesn’t make you happy; happiness makes you successful
38:58 The definition of an entrepreneur
Toward the end of the interview, Jay challenged us to write down 3 problems every day to uncover disruption ideas, and then pitch our best disruption ideas to him on a future episode. We’re looking forward to going through that process and having Jay back on the show! If you’d like to join us in the challenge, download Jay’s 40 page companion workbook here.
Guest Bio
Jay Samit is a serial entrepreneur, intrapreneur, innovator and pioneer in the music, video distribution, social media and eCommerce space. His background includes stints as head of Digital Distribution at EMI, adjunct professor at USC, senior management roles at Sony and Universal Studios and taking the video chat service ooVoo to over 100 million users. He currently serves as the CEO of SeaChange Int’l, and recently released the book Disrupt You!
Visit JaySamit.com to receive a free copy of the 40 page Disrupt You! companion workbook.
I used to drive all kinds of leads - 400-500 leads a month - people registering on my site. The issue I found there is there was no personal connection. They didn't want to talk to me. Anyone you message after you connect with them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter you've got a 95% chance of a response. -Rod Watson
As an agent it's critical to find your platform - your stage to deliver your message and connect with your database and future clients.
In our latest episode, Rod Watson joins us to share how he used Instagram and Twitter to break into the San Diego luxury market, and continues to use them to build his following and connect with potential clients.
Rod shared shared how to post listings to Instagram and use your profile link to drive people to landing pages or your IDX site, and how to use Instagram as a movie editor to post short video clips of your marketing efforts, a great strategy to reinforce your farming efforts.
Then we discussed Twitter, and Rod shared why you should use Twitter to post to other services, and how often to post to get engagement and build a following. He also outlined
3 Takeaways
1. Message people ASAP after connecting with them on social media
2. Twitter is like massive wall of constantly updating content - post there first and use Twitter to repost to other networks
3. Look up the owners of Expired listings on LinkedIn to look for mutual connections who might be able to give you a direct introduction to that seller
Working with buyers can be challenging - even frustrating - if you don't have the right process, scripts and confidence. In our latest episode we answered buyer-specific questions dealing with every phase of the buying process.
3 Key Takeaways
1. Use the Cheating Script to discourage buyers from working with other agents.
2. Never EVER take out a buyer without Proof of Funds or Pre-Approval letter.
3. For Open House follow up, the phone is king. But if email is your only option, do it Sunday night or wait till Tuesday.
We also shared a strategy Jeff Cohn's team uses for gift card giveaways to encourage registrations at Open Houses and make follow up easier. You bring three things to the table for buyers - your time, energy and knowledge. Being confident in the value you bring and putting a structured process in place for buyers will solve a lot of the questions we answered in this episode. So get working on your scripts and systems; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
The endgame is to have the people who are good at what they do rise to the top and make more sales because of it. -Kristian Peter
Every agent who works with sellers is looking for that edge - that technique, tactic or strategy that will convince the seller to list with them. Credibility is often one of the hurdles a listing agent must jump before a seller is comfortable listing.
Enter HomeBuzz, a unique app created by our latest guest, Kristian Peter, a 20-year real estate investor, broker and leader of a team at one point ranked #1 in in Keller Williams (in GCI).
3 Takeaways:
HomeBuzz has the potential to disrupt the industry, so go download it today (it’s 100% free) and start reviewing homes, building credibility and showing how you’re more experienced and skilled than other agents.
Guest Bio:
Kristian is a real estate innovator, investor, and entrepreneur, having sold over 2,500 properties and developed multiple web and mobile apps. Kristian is now CEO of HomeBuzz, an enterprise mobile platform that allows real estate brokers, agents, and mega teams to showcase their dominance of markets by gamifying the job of the real estate professional.,
In this special Q&A episode we pull some questions from the Lead Gen Scripts & Objections Facebook Group, run by our friend Aaron Wittenstein.
We started by explaining how to set client expectations so you don't get calls or texts at all hours, then we deal with a questions on farming and seller client objections, including turnover rate, total number of homes to farm and how to set realistic expectations on price.
3 Takeaways
Not already a member of the Facebook Group? Head on over to Facebook.com/groups/gotobjections to join, we're both members and enjoy interacting with other agents and coaches to see what's working around the country.
Every agent - no matter how many years (or days) in the business - has something that sets them apart from other agents. In our latest episode, 6 Figure Coach Genny Williams shares the process to finding your Unique Edge.
3 Takeaways:
1. Never use words like Integrity, Honesty or Trustworthy in your marketing.
2. Find your Unique Edge by first looking at your skillsets and success stories.
3. Build an Ideal Client Profile starting by listing the types of clients you don’t want.
We start by taking a question from an agent via Facebook on how to deal with the objection: “Why shouldn’t I just work directly with the listing agent?” Greg gave his perspective and favorite scripts, and then Genny shared how to use your stats, concessions and negotiation skills to answer that objection.
Then we cover how to eliminate this objection upstream with better marketing, and why most agents are using bland and boring marketing full of buzzwords they should never use, like Honesty and Integrity.
Genny then gave us an overview of the process to find your Unique Edge, starting with your skillsets, past experience and success stories. She shared her own story of using her top 3 skillsets in her marketing, and stories of successful clients who’ve done the same. We also cover two different approaches you can take as a new agent, and why Genny told everyone that she was new to the business.
We finish by showing you how to narrow down your ideal client - starting with who you don’t want to work with - and how to overcome obstacles and mindsets that hold you back from working exclusively with your ideal clients.
Show Highlights:
4:45 Objection Handler - “I want to work with the listing agent.”
6:45 Why you must know your stats - what you save your buyer clients on your avg deal
9:00 How to use concessions and negotiation skills as part of your point of difference to buyers
11:45 Boring agent marketing and why you must stand out to a buyer before they even contact a listing agent
14:30 Why you should never use the words Integrity, Trustworthy and Honest in your marketing. Those are words other people should be using to describe you, not words you use to describe yourself
19:00 International real estate differences
22:12 Overview of the process for discovering your unique edge - Start by looking at skillsets you get feedback on from family and friends
26:20 How to grade your perfect day, based on your personality and prospecting methods, and hold yourself to it
29:00 How to look at your background positions, past experiences and past successes that might reveal something unique about you
31:00 Clients only know what you tell them. If you tell them a success story, they don’t know if that’s your only one or if it’s just the tip of the iceberg
33:00 How to use your lack of experience in the business to your advantage
34:50 Genny’s background and how she applied her 3 key skills to her own marketing to find her Unique Edge
36:40 How to create an Ideal Client Profile - Start with who you DON’T want
38:10 Obstacles to working with higher niche clients or selling real estate while renting, and why none of those things really matter
40:15 Listing Appointment Tip- Use Facebook to find the rough number of potential buyers for that specific home and share how you will attract that demographic
43:00 How Genny helped one of her clients transition from working all over the city to farming his higher-end neighborhood and becoming the dominant agent in the area
45:40 How Greg articulates the team’s message and point of difference to their market
This process can be used to craft an Ideal Client Profile and an appealing message that will attract them. Knowing yourself, your strengths and your ideal client is the first step in building a fun and fulfilling real estate career.
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In our latest episode, we asked speaker, author, trainer and social media expert Jeff Lobb to share the mistakes he sees agents making on social media, and how to avoid them. With so many agents running drip campaigns, automated posts or trying to outsource their social media entirely, Jeff shared a different way to use social media to promote your business by picking one channel that’s right for you and then engaging with your database on that one channel.
3 Key Takeaways:
1. It’s better to be on one social media channel and engage, than to be on every channel and outsource your content
2. Use social media as a way to listen to and engage with your clients and past clients
3. It’s not about the technology - it’s how you use it that counts
Jeff also shared some new tools and apps that agents can use to capture prospects information at Open Houses, shoot compelling augmented reality video of a home to wow seller clients and much more.
Pay-per-click lead generation might seem to be the realm of big teams and mega-agents, but it can be accessible to the solo agent if you do it right.
In our latest episode were joined by Pierce Plam, licensed Realtor and founder of Eqquity, who shared simple, actionable advice for setting up your online presence to start generating online buyer leads.
He shared the two types of websites every agent must have, a branded site and a lead capture site, explained the differences and shared how to get a simple branded site up and running quickly for only $5/mo.
He also shared some of the behind the scenes details of lead capture sites and why massive numbers of leads can actually be paralyzing rather than helpful.
Native content and live streaming video are all the rage with Facebook Live making a big splash in the last few weeks. What other trends should you be watching in 2016?
That's the question we answer in this episode, starting with high-touch methods like strategic alliances and humanization, combined with more high-tech advances in personalization and ad targeting.
So if you want to DOMINATE in 2016, develop a simple strategy in each of these 5 key areas. The power is in combining high-tech and high-touch to produce the best results.
Check out our latest episode where we interview Justin Moy, an agent just reaching one full year in the business, and see how he is aggressively prospecting for clients to grow his fledgling business.
Justin shared his daily schedule, including how he plans his prospecting, when he makes the bulk of his outbound calls, when he follows up and how he spends his afternoon flex time.
He also shared how he uses a simple spreadsheet to track metrics like list-to-sale price ratio (currently at a whopping 107% of list price) and his sale-to-list price on the buy side (currently at 98%) and how he uses those figures to his advantage in listing and buyer presentations.
Justin also outlined his journey of finding his ideal client, moving from first-time homebuyers to young homeowners/condo-owners to his current ideal clients, Expired and FSBO seller clients in their 30's and 40's. We discussed how Justin uses stats and research to overcome his youth and position himself as an expert to completely eliminate the objection of his age or length of time in the industry.
If you're new to the business, this episode is a perfect place to start for actionable ideas and inspiration to hit the ground running and aggressively build your business!
Special guest Matt Clawson, Realtor and contributing writer to Houzz.com, joins us to share his insights into writing for real estate publications, including where he gets ideas, the writing and editing process and how to get your articles published.
Matt also shared some lessons drawn from his writing experience, such as contributing to Inman magazine and writing email and sales page copy, as well as ideas for capitalizing on your published articles by incorporating them into your marketing.
We also answered a couple questions on how to follow up with future seller leads, and how to pre-qualify a potential seller before investing time doing a CMA or listing presentation.
The world responds to action. The world doesn’t respond to dreaming, it doesn’t respond to goal-setting, it doesn’t respond to anything that goes on up here, it only responds to action. . -Matt Johnson
It’s that time of year for agents to set wildly optimistic goals for their business in 2016. And that’s the topic of our latest episode- What’s the best approach to goal setting? Do you Go Big or Go Home? Do you set rituals and routines to change your daily behavior and let the chips fall? We debate that topic in our latest episode.
3 Takeaways:
1. Your BIG WHY must be stronger than the pain of change in order to reach your Big Hairy Audacious Goal
2. The world responds to ACTION.
3. Do something today that you’ll thank yourself for tomorrow.
Before the debate we answered a couple questions on how to handle seller objections such as “We may sell it ourselves and list on Zillow” and “We’ll probably list with an agent we know who is more experienced.”
We then opened the debate with each of us giving our overall views on goal setting. Greg’s approach is to set Big Hairy Audacious Goals and stay in touch with his Big Why through visualization. Matt’s approach is to focus on realistic, attainable goals he can commit to 100%, and turning those into rituals and routines that propel him to success.
We also debated dreams versus goals, visualizing by using a Dream Book or vision board, our favorite books on goal setting, and shared some new tech tools Greg discovered on a Blab earlier that morning.
So what’s the best goal-setting approach for you? The answer is simple...whatever gets you to take ACTION. Whatever approach you choose, make sure to spend this holiday season thinking about what you really want in 2016, figure out how to get there, set a plan for daily action, and then get started!
Show Highlights:
5:45 Question: How to handle the objection: “We may sell it ourselves and list it on Zillow”
9:00 Devil’s advocate- How does the average agent SHOW a potential client they are better equipped than another agent to sell their home?
12:45 Question: How to handle a seller who objects to your lack of experience, wants to go with an agent with 20 years in the business (hint: the answer isn’t lay down with your tail between your legs)
16:00 Script: “I do everything a normal Realtor does, PLUS these X things…”
19:50 Greg’s opening statement- Be realistic AND optimistic - Look Big and long-term - BHAG’s -
21:06 Matt’s opening statement- Focus on what you control and what you’re actually willing to commit to - Don’t set goals that aren’t rooted in real behavior change - Use big thinking as a creative exercise
23:45 Entrepreneur Memory and how it allows entrepreneurs to continue setting big goals and believe the next thing will be a huge success
24:50 How to incorporate big thinking with a ritualistic pursuit of realistic, attainable goals - The role of ACTION in achieving your goals
27:55 What to do when the emotional high of setting your Big Hairy Audacious Goal fades - Why you must know your Big Why
30:15 Difference between goals and dreams, and the role of dreams in your daily behavior - Greg’s Dream Book
32:10 Set goals you can 100% commit to and based on actions that are completely within your control - “Conference High” and how to deal with the emotional dip that comes after a big goal setting experience
35:30 Book recommendations - practical goal setting that changes your daily action - the world responds to action.
39:12 Do something today that you’ll thank yourself for tomorrow - using visualization to keep yourself motivated and taking daily action
42:40 Setting goals that are within your control
46:42 Tech Tip: XSplit, Katch.me and EyeJot
Holiday parties are an excellent opportunity to meet new potential clients and position yourself as the neighborhood expert. In our latest episode we shared how to interact with people at holiday parties in a non-salesy way, how to answer the "How's the market?" question in a way that positions you as a consultant (not a used car salesman), and how to exchange information with people you meet and follow up.
We also kicked off the episode by answering a couple questions on how to promote broker tours and using cell phones with triple-line dialers. Google Hangouts glitched toward the end of the episode, so you may not hear the second round of shout-outs. Thanks Google!
Working a farm means staying in front of prospects and putting yourself in position to compete for the listings that are up for grabs. Email and social media, paired with leveraging your time with tech tools and services, will help keep you top of mind in your farm.
In our latest episode we shared options for email newsletters, non-real estate related emails and automatic email campaigns for specific types of prospects. Then we shared social media tactics and tools that leverage your time and allow you to keep in touch with people in your farm effectively.
With so many social media networks and types of content, it can be overwhelming to find your niche and generate actual leads through social media.
In our latest live episode we shared The Four Knows of social media:
Know Your Ideal Client - Who are they, what social networks are they on, etc.
Know Your Content- what's important/exciting to you outside real estate, whats important/exciting to your target market
Know Your Personality- Be goofy, be controversial, whatever, just don't be boring.
Know Your Medium- If you want to build an audience on a social media network, your posts have to be perfectly adapted to that medium. You can't treat every medium as another Facebook.
How do some top agents generate hundreds of leads through postcards and mailers?
Marketing consistency is the key, and in our latest live episode, special guest Chris Burnley, CEO of Corefact, shared how you can dominate your farm by sending personalized postcards linked to trackable home value sites, combined with a follow up system of calls or door-knocking.
3 Key Takeaways
We started by sharing how top agents approach their direct mail campaigns, starting with their monthly budget, their target market, their message and Call-to-Action to their online components and follow up systems. Your follow up system could be the difference between a massively successful direct mail campaign or a total failure, and top agents have great follow up systems in place before any postcard goes out.
Greg then shared what’s working for his team in the Bay Area, showing examples of their actual current postcards, including the messaging and personalized map that makes their postcards so compelling to homeowners who receive them.
Then Chris shared some of the common misconceptions and mistakes agent make with direct mail, including the “cutesy” marketing and large, one-off campaigns, and weak calls-to-action. Over years of testing, “home value estimate” calls-to-action have proven most effective in generating real, trackable responses. Agents often fail at direct mail because they make the marketing about them, when it should be about the homeowner.
We talked about how to get started with direct mail, minimum number of homes to market to and the budget required, and how to follow up on your direct mail campaigns with door-knocking and follow up calls to create the ultimate listing lead gen system.
We finished by talking about mailers in the context of dominating your farm over the long run, and how to “domino” the success of one listing or one sale into many more. The key is to look at every listing or sale as the part of the marketing process, not an event. This a universal marketing principle, and if you think in these terms, you’ll give yourself a huge advantage over other agents who don’t maximize every listing, every Open House or every sale.
Done well, direct mail can be the foundation of your lead generation efforts and help you establish a solid 15-20% market share in your chosen area for years to come. If you have a long-term outlook, a set amount to invest each month and a solid farm area with good turnover, you can become the dominant agent in your farm in just a few years, maybe even months. So get out there and start dominating!
Show Highlights
3:30 The secret sauce that separates the top producers from those who fail at direct mail marketing- Consistency, commitment, and follow-up
6:00 Elements of successful direct mail- Personalization, Clear message, Clear call to action, and Follow-up
10:30 Sending a homeowner a message that’s important to them- Messaging that works in low inventory environments
15:10 The ultimate listing lead generation system- Combining door-knocking with direct mail and a consistent follow up system.
18:50 Why stick with old school marketing that’s been proven to work rather than chasing everything that’s new- Have a plan and trust that the plan is going to work
20:15 Why 300 homes is a good minimum number for direct mail - minimum effective spend to get started
24:30 Why direct mail is becoming even more effective as social media becomes more popular - the problem with digital campaigns and the impact of a direct mail campaign on your door-knocking efforts
33:50 How to leverage success through Just Listed/Just Sold/Open House direct mail and domino one success into many more and build your brand recognition in your farm
37:30 Why a listing or a sale is not the goal, it’s just part of the overall farming process - the goal is to dominate your market over time
38:40 Subtle ways top agents maximize their marketing potential in their target neighborhood
44:05 The secret is in follow up that has the right cadence for your market- the better your “back end” follow up system is, the more chances you can afford to take on the “front end” - your lead generation systems - People respect diligence
46:25 How to get testimonials and then leverage that content to help close leads
Holding Open Houses in your farm gives you multiple opportunities to meet potential clients and build your reputation as the neighborhood expert, and there are many ways to capitalize on an Open House.
In our latest episode we shared our favorite ways to combine high-tech methods like native videos on Facebook and virtual open houses on Periscope, with high-touch methods like neighbors-only Open Houses, door-knocking and calls to drive targeted traffic and capitalize on your Open Houses to attract new clients.
Prospecting doesn't have to be painful, uncomfortable and full of rejection. There are multiple levels of prospecting - cold, warm and hot - based on what level of relationship or connection you share with a potential client.
In our latest episode we broke down a multitude of prospecting options and methods, and gave you strategies to apply those methods to different levels of potential clients.
3 Takeaways
There are multiple "pain levels" of prospecting - And every agent can find a pain level they're comfortable with, and pain also refers to the level of relationship you have with a potential client.
Each pain level has some unique prospecting methods - however, many methods can be tweaked to serve multiple pain levels.
You can use technology for a variety of purposes, but it will replace or outperform high-touch methods like phone calls and pop-by's.
We talked about prospecting methods ranging from old school techniques like outbound calls and door-knocking to high-tech options like Blab.im, SlyDial, Google Hangouts, BombBomb videos sent via text and much more.
We even shared how to use Zillow's Make Me Move feature as a 'secret MLS,' what other top agents around the country are doing for lead follow up, and methods for keeping in touch with your sphere of influence through Facebook and happy birthday videos.
Now that you have your menu of prospecting methods, and the pain levels they fall into, just pick the prospecting methods that work for your comfort level and get out there and start meeting potential clients!
Show Highlights
8:54 Prospecting doesn't have to be painful and uncomfortable - Options for Cold Prospecting
12:00 Why "cold" means your prospect's level of comfort and relationship with you - How prospects move from cold to warm and hot
18:00 How to use Zillow's Make Me Move feature as a secret MLS
22:00 Warm prospecting- Pop-by's and Greg's other favorite warm prospecting methods
24:25 What top agents do for warm prospecting and lead follow up
27:25 More options for warm prospecting- Sending personal happy birthday videos via social media
29:30 Hot prospecting- Sphere of influence, past clients, anyone you have a basic relationship where they know who you are and what you do - Options for hot prospecting
33:30 Keeping in touch via FB by uploading segmented lists of contacts and commenting/liking posts on a regular basis - Handwritten notes and how Greg used to get Thank You notes for his Thank You notes
Stop chasing clients and start growing them. One of the best ways to grow clients is by building a platform and putting out content on a regular basis. Done right, your platform works 24/7 to position you as the neighborhood expert, blow away your competition and attract your ideal client. In our latest episode we covered the main ways to build a platform for real estate agents, and the mediums you can use - written, audio and video content.
Key Takeaways
1. Find your medium first - What you are most drawn to and best equipped to produce- written, audio or video content.
Set a regular schedule to put out content- Whatever you decide to do, do it consistently
2. Make it easy on yourself to create content - watch what top agents are putting out and look for opportunities in your daily life to share information that people in your farm will be interested in
We started by sharing Greg’s story of transitioning from very traditional farming, with door-knocking, mailers and brand marketing like moving trucks, over to video blogging, email newsletters and other high-tech forms of marketing. Then we outlined what a “platform” is and why you should build one and start putting out content.
We talked about how to pull together your own email list from different sources, why use LinkedIn to build your email list, and why you shouldn’t worry about sending your content out to your entire contact list.
Then we shared how to get started with a written blog, some options for hyper-local and micro-niche blogging to position yourself as an expert, and explained why consistency is so important when it comes to your platform. We moved on to audio blogging, also known as podcasting, gave you the optimal running time for a podcast and shared some options to outsource the technical work and get your podcast syndicated to iTunes.
Next we went deep into video blogging, screensharing Greg’s actual Bay Area Real Estate Video Blog, including all the different topics Greg has covered and video series he’s produced, which range from market updates and local business profiles to “Why You’re Wrong About Real Estate” a series of myth-busting videos for buyers and sellers. We also shared how to use native video on Facebook and how to use social media networks as your platform rather than your own website.
We finished by giving the key to dominating a farm area with blogging and two different FREE sites where you can detailed stats, demographics and interesting market information to share. This is a topic that’s near and dear to both of us, so we had a lot of fun while covering a lot of ground. We know there’s a lot of options and it can be a little overwhelming if you’re a solo agent, so our best advice is just Get Started!
Show Highlights
4:25 Shout-out to listeners and people who have reached out to Greg for personal advice
6:21 Greg’s transition from traditional farming to building a video blog platform to communicate with their past clients and farm areas
9:00 Don’t be scared to email your content to your entire contact list - Those who aren’t interested will unsubscribe (and it’s usually a low percentage)
11:45 Written Blog- options include area-specific, community or farm area, or niche topics such as school districts, youth sports, churches or other hyper-local topics
14:50 The key to blogging is consistency
16:15 Audio blogging, or podcasting, and options such as turning your videos into podcasts, using Soundcloud to publish your audio, or using Libsyn to syndicate to iTunes
20:15 The optimal time for a podcast is 22 minutes
21:00 SCREENSHARE: Greg’s Bay Area Real Estate Video blog, including the topics Greg uses in his videos, including market updates, myth-busting videos for buyers and sellers, testimonials, local business spotlights, community events, etc.
27:45 More ideas for local videos - School profiles, local business and non-profit profiles, public service announcements (weather, potholes, etc.) contests, client appreciation parties and more
31:00 Greg’s experience posting New Listing and Open House videos straight to Facebook, using Periscope and Blab.im
35:27 Using a social media network as your platform rather than a website or blog - What to talk about in your videos or blog posts
39:14 The key to dominating a farm area with blogging - Two different FREE sites where you can get detailed stats and demographics information you can share on your platform
Any agent who wants to farm a neighborhood runs into dominant agents - do you take them head on? In our latest episode we share strategies to outflank that dominant agent so you don't spin your wheels competing directly against them.
The first step is to go after the low hanging fruit - buyers - and get ahead of the buyer population moving into that neighborhood, and we shared some ideas for bringing buyers into your target neighborhood, throwing housewarming party and meeting new potential clients, including a unique tech tip for getting cell phone numbers instead of giving out your business card.
We also shared other strategies for outflanking a dominant agent such as door-knocking, email newsletters with HomeActions, attending events in your farm area, prospecting Expireds/FSBO's and more.
We see so many agents trying to grow their business by dabbling with things other agents are doing, trying something once and then moving on.
Building your business on prospecting that doesn't suit you is unsustainable - inevitably you hit a ceiling where the only way your business grows is by you doing more of what you're unsuited to do.
In our latest episode we share a better way, which is to start with your personality and select from the spectrum of prospecting - cold to warm to hot - to find the prospecting methods that work for you.
The pop-by is exactly what it sounds like - you “pop by” someone at home. This works great for anyone in your sphere of influence, including current and past clients, referral partners, friends and family, and even prospects you’ve been in contact with.
Key Takeaways:
In our latest episode we talk about the beautifully simple, old-school tactic known as the pop-by. Greg inherited his love of the pop-by from his father Terry McDaniel, a 40-year veteran of the business, who masterfully used the pop-by to keep in touch with past clients and sphere of influence to generate referrals.
We talked about the mindset of the pop-by, such as WHO deserves a pop-by, why you should even do them and how to approach them with the confidence of knowing that people honestly want to see you.
Then we shared some specific scripts for breaking the ice, starting conversations and wrapping up your pop-by with powerful questions that add value. We also shared proven ideas for value-add items to bring, and what to leave if no one is home.
We finished by sharing a powerful script called The Carousel, which you can use to generate solid leads off pop-by’s, and how to use personalized messages and videos on Facebook as a “digital pop-by.”
By the end of this episode you’ll be armed with the mindset, scripts and tactics you need to effectively use pop-by’s to generate leads and referrals!
Show Highlights
5:00 Results from October’s high-intensity prospecting program - Greg’s two-step listing process - Using TouchCMA for professional-looking CMA packets and follow-up
8:45 Outsourcing paperwork so you can focus on lead generation - How Jeff Cohn hired a TC as his first hire
11:45 Mindset of a pop-by - What it is and why make it part of your lead gen strategy
15:45 Who deserves a pop-by?
17:35 Scripts for a great pop-by - How to bring value and transition into the FORD script
22:30 Idea: Use Zillow Zestimates print-outs with handwritten notes as leave-behind items
26:37 How to overcome the anxiety of feeling like you have to steer the conversation
28:07 FORD questions are better than scripts for pop-by’s - Script for answering the question, “How’s the market?” -
31:00 How to smoothly exit conversations and leave - 3 script ideas for wrap-up questions that add value
32:00 How to use personalized Facebook messages or Facebook videos as a “digital pop-by”
37:00 The Carousel Script- How to use pop-by’s to generate solid leads - How to introduce yourself to those leads and put them into a follow-up process