Just as the real estate market was starting to pick up across the country we’re hit with a pandemic like none of us have ever seen before. While this business already has its fair share of uncertainty, this is something none of us have ever experienced before.
Schools closing, businesses closing, the stock market tanking, people deciding to not list their homes…all of these are things you cannot control. So instead of focusing on these short term negatives we’ve put together some ideas for things you can control during these uncertain times. The following are ways you can be a leader to your clients and community – and also a few suggestions of how to stay in a good place mentally as we navigate these times together.
1. Reach out to your active and upcoming clients
This is number one. Everyone you’re currently working with and any buyer or seller coming up in the next few months is freaking out right now. They’ve got questions…are agents still doing showings? What if I miss a mortgage payment? Are people still buying right now? Is the market going to tank? Is it still a good time to list my home?
There’s virtually no news out there on how the real estate market is being and will be affected, so first things first – reach out to all of your clients.
– Let them know what you’re seeing out there
– Tell them you’ll keep them updated as things progress
– Let them know they always have a choice – this is BIG. Give your clients options and empower them to make the decision that’s right for them
– Just listen and ask what you can do to help
You might choose to do this through individual videos or phone calls or maybe you can send out a mass video to all your active clients and follow up with individual calls.
Next it would be helpful to release some sort of response to your database and to your social media network. As mentioned above people are looking for answers and there is very little news on how this is affecting and/or will affect real estate. The plus side is that people are home and constantly checking Facebook. You have a captive audience!
– Let them know what you’re seeing out there and what your predictions are moving forward
– Provide tips and advice on navigating these uncertain times
– Be vulnerable and let them know how you’re handling this personally
This would be best done by video – emailed to your database and posted to your social media channels. You can follow up the video with regular social media updates – share helpful and positive information, have fun and be respectful. Here are some great examples of posts we’re seeing online right now.
3. Help
What can you do right now to make an impact? Are there any families, vulnerable people or elderly members of your database who could use some extra help?
How about:
– Delivering supplies or help them setup an Amazon order
– Calling people and catch up (people are lonely and bored right now!)
– Setting up a video conference to have a drink and catch up with people virtually
– Sending an Amazon or Skip the Dishes gift card to a few people
4. Use this as a chance to get stuff done
All of you have business and personal projects that you’ve been hoping to tackle for a while but haven’t had time for. This is the perfect time! Not only will you tick something off the list but it’ll make you feel like you’re moving forward and taking back control – which can be huge for our mental wellbeing right now. Here are some ideas…
– Update your business plan for Q2
– Create a video policy manual for your team members or assistant
– Update your buyer and seller presentations
– Update your buyer and seller checklists
– Bank some content for the future (create videos & write those blog posts)
– Do a database purge and update
– Take a professional development course or learn a new skill
– Read
– Do your taxes!
– Do some spring cleaning or tackle a project around your home
5. Take a staycation
While you might not get to go to the beach right now, you can still get a mini vacation and spend time with your family in a different way.
If you’re going to take time off the best advice we can give is to plan your days off like you plan your days on. It may seem counterintuitive but without a plan we’ll end up doing what’s easiest in the moment – ie. watch Netflix and eat chips all day. And maybe that’s the plan and if so, that’s cool! But humans are terrible at deciding in the moment what will actually make us happy. So decide what a perfect day at home looks like to you and act accordingly. You’ll end up feeling more refreshed and satisfied overall.
We always have a choice of what to focus on – and while there is a lot of crap out there, over all the positivity online is overwhelming.
How often have you looked into a product or service, became interested, then saw that the company did not have any recent reviews or simply none at all? Did it make you question your purchase or commitment?
Your reviews can really make or break a potential client.
Ask For Reviews
“Ask for reviews from people you didn’t sell a house to, but created a relationship with.” – Taylor Hack
As Taylor mentioned in this Over A Pint episode, don’t feel like you can only ask clients that you have sold or purchased with. One of the best reviews I received, when I was selling, was from a family I had recommended not sell.
“It’s the documentation that a relationship exists.- Taylor Hack
Think of it as a “thank your exchange.” For example, when someone calls you asking for a free valuation of their home today or to consult with you on whether or not they should sell, as soon as they thank you for your time ask them if they wouldn’t mind giving you a 5 star review on your prefered platform.
Not only have you created a relationship with a possible future client, but you’ve given yourself the perfect opportunity for someone to let other strangers know how much you care.
At the end of the day, the client’s decision is an emotional one. Even if you have the best stats in town, if people don’t enjoy the process of working with you and share that experience with others, clients will move onto the next realtor.
We Want To Help You Optimize Your Reviews
We can help you optimize your reviews online!
You can book your free consultationhere. We’ll discuss your goals and figure out the best way we can help you succeed online.
Got any topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode or a guest you’d like us to sit down with? Let us know in the comments below! You can also reach us onFacebook andInstagram.
What do you look for in a brokerage? What do you expect from them?
Brokerage Standards
Whether you’ve decided to move on from your current brokerage or are doing it for the first time, interviewing a brokerage can be a tricky process. Here is a list of standards REALTORS® Kristina Wilton, Rick Sergison, and Steven Sarasin, featured in the video above, look for in a brokerage:
Attention
“When I’m calling you, you’re not rushing to get me off the phone.” – Steven Sarasin
Support
Invests in you and your career
Proper training
Positive energy
Respect what you have to say
When Kristina met with her broker, she mentioned she felt unsafe working in the current location. She also didn’t like bringing her clients to the office as she felt it didn’t represent her business. Her broker listened and moved to a different office that resolved both issues.
This made Kristina feel respected, valued, and confirmed that she and the brokerage she works with have similar standards.
Get A Prenup
As far as Rick’s concerned, the brokerage works for you. You as a realtor are the broker’s client. If the managing broker doesn’t do their job, the agents leave. He says that one of the most important questions to ask is, “How will you treat me when I leave?”
Brokers can offer you the world when you join them, but what will they do if/when you decide to move on? When your clients call, will they forward your new number or will they tell them that you’ve left the business? Legally, they can take your business after you’re gone. So you need to figure out if their ethical standards align with yours. Think of what you would put in a prenup before shaking hands and working towards growing your business with that brokerage.
Give Us A Call
Book your free consultationhere. We’ll discuss your goals and figure out the best way we can help you succeed online. Got any topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode or a guest you’d like us to sit down with? Let us know in the comments below! You can also reach us onFacebook andInstagram.
Setting and keeping a positive mindset everyday and knowing when to take a moment to recharge can change your business and your life.
Perspective
Most people don’t see the stress, struggles, and sacrifices that happen behind-the-scenes in real estate. The long hours, day after day. The interrupted family events, holidays, and vacations. The ones that are missed entirely.
It can be tiresome to smile all day for clients while working your butt off to sell/buy their home. It can be tough to stay positive at the end of a 12 hour day and know you have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.
Kristina Wilton, one of the special guests featured in this month’s Over A Pint, brought up the struggle of keeping a positive mindset.
“How do you get yourself out of a negative mindset?”
It’s all about perspective. If the way you are tackling challenges and everyday stress leaves you in a negative space, you need to change your outlook. It can be easy to enter a negative space and stay in it. Rick Sergison shared an example, in the video above. One of his coaching clients continued to self-sabotage everything they were doing. They’d put themselves in a “victim” mindset. One day, he decided to give his client a Superman t-shirt and asked them to go into the washroom and change. When his client came back, Rick said “Let’s start all over again and talk about this situation as if you were a superhero.” The conversation became something completely different.
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” – Henry Ford
Steven Sarasin, also in the video above, mentioned that wearing a suit and going into the office leaves him far more productive than working at home in sweatpants. Wearing a nice suit is his own version of wearing a Superman suit.
Change the way you think about the upcoming day and its challenges. Focus on the things you’re grateful for, make a list if it helps, and start your day ready to conquer!
If you’re feeling a little run down, as all people do sometimes, give yourself an extra boost. Put the Superman t-shirt under your button-up and wear your Clark Kent glasses. Don’t have a prescription? No problem, get yourself a pair of blue light glasses. They’ll protect your eyes from harmful blue light coming from your device’s screen. Hey, who doesn’t feel smarter with a good pair of glasses on?
Train Your Mindset
Creating a positive mindset doesn’t happen overnight. You need to consistently train your mind and be aware of when you’re entering a negative space.
Rick’s first piece of advice, and Steven agreed, is to read as many books as you can. Read any book that will inspire you. If you’re not someone who likes to read, listen to them. Realtors spend countless hours driving. What better time to put on an audio book and take a moment to put yourself in an inspired space?
I’ve always kept a pretty even, solution-based mindset. If something happened in my business, I’d think to myself “this is my fault, what do I need to do to fix it?” Rick brought up something interesting. He said not to confuse “fault” with “being responsible”. Most of us don’t like to hear this, but we cannot control everything that happens in life. Sometimes it’s just not your fault, but you are responsible for how you react to the issue and what the outcome is.
Your clients get the best of you. You take on their issues, their challenges, and then at the end of the day you have to go home and deal with your own. It can be a lot and leave you with a bad mood and short temper for your family and friends.
Find little tricks that can help you hit the reset button when you find yourself in a negative space. For example, when Rick’s in a bad mood and heading into the office, he’ll park further away from the front door. This gives him time to take a moment by himself, take a short walk to the front door in the fresh air, and reset his mind.
If you love music, create a playlist of songs you love to listen to on your way to an appointment or on your way home at the end of the day. Take a minute to take a few full breaths and list things you’re grateful for. Steven said that working out on a regular basis affected his general mood in a positive way.
Remember, You’re Human
Emotions, negative or positive, are completely natural and only make you human. It’s important to allow yourself to feel whatever emotion presents itself when working towards setting and keeping a positive mindset. Kristina says “if you’re having a shitty day – you can have a shitty day. If you’re feeling angry, if you want to cry, whatever it is you need to do, do it, but then end it.”
Take the hour, the day to feel whatever it is you’re feeling, but then let it go. “Allow yourself to feel it because they’re real and it’s healthy but then release it.”
Give Us A Call
Online marketing is a stress that we can help you with! You can book your free consultation here. We’ll discuss your goals and figure out the best way we can help you succeed online.
Got any topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode or a guest you’d like us to sit down with? Let us know in the comments below! You can also reach us on Facebook and Instagram.
Have you ever thought about using targeted Facebook ads as a networking tactic when attending an event?
I had the chance to sit down with Jason Stephen, CREA’s 2019 President. We discussed everything CREA, online marketing, social media, and Facebook tactics for REALTORS®.
“Funny, I Just Saw Your Ad On Facebook!”
Jason and I were both basketball coaches before becoming parents. Jason said he got a client out of that here and there though it wasn’t why he coached. I didn’t want to be “that guy” who walked around handing out business cards at games and practices either.
People don’t want to be sold a service while they’re trying to support their children at a game or practice. At the same time, you want people to know what it is that you do and how you can help them.
So, how can I get them to come to me?
I noticed that parents would pull out their phones during time outs. I decided to run a Facebook ad with a picture that included my face and logo. I then targeted it to the specific building we were playing in and the people attending it. After the games parents would walk up to me saying “Hey! Funny, I just saw your ad on Facebook!” I would smile and say “Wow! What a coincidence!”
It’s an easy way of advertising your services and keeping yourself at the forefront of people’s minds. This applies to any event you’re attending as well. For example, I’ll create an ad when I speak at a conference. I take a picture of myself in front of the building and create an ad inviting attendees to my session.
You don’t have to speak at an event to let people know you’re there. If you’re attending a community event and have a table set up, create an ad and let people know where you’ll be!
Getting Your Facebook Ads Approved
You’ve created your ad and yet, no matter how many times you try, Facebook refuses to approve your ad. There are 2 main things to watch out for:
It could be that you never certified your compliance with local regulations.
You could be using the wrong type of language/words in your ad.
One of our clients runs 2 crossfit gyms. When we run an ad for them, the ad cannot contain a before-and-after picture as it may cause the viewer to feel bad about themselves. Facebook also disapproves ads that use the word ‘you’ too often. Generally those ads make the viewers feel that they aren’t enough and need to be doing more.
We Can Help You!
Need help targeting your Facebook ad to the event you’re attending? Just Sell Homes can help you with that. Click here to book a free consultation.
Got any topics you’d like us to cover in a future episode or a guest you’d like us to sit down with? Let us know in the comments below! You can also reach us on Facebook and Instagram.
