It's no secret that when it comes to Real Estate, more conversations equals more relationships which lead to more closed deals. This means that success in real estate is directly correlated with the amount of individual people you have the power to interact with in any given year. Since that is a fact, it begs the question:

Why don't real estate agents take better advantage of the holiday season?

With tons of opportunities to attend parties, dinners, brunches, and local holiday markets there's never been an easier time to mix-and-mingle! Here are 5 ways to guarantee you grow your CRM as you get closer to the new year:

1. Don't Use Your Business Cards

Alright, we know this one sounds weird, but hear us out. The holiday season is a time of cheer, celebration and gratitude. Yes, sales are involved because people are shopping, but you don't sell stocking stuffers for a living...unless you sell tiny homes #JK 

On a serious note, this is no time to mass-pass your business cards. Instead it's a time to collect phone numbers and email addresses; personally. Whip out that phone of yours and ask for THEIR contact information. Do this at every holiday party, dinner, casual get-together, and brunch. For any local holiday markets you attend, collect their business card.

*Disclaimer: If you're attending holiday markets and spark conversation with the local vendors, business cards are okay here. They're busy trying to sell and may not have time to exchange numbers like your uncle's work friend might.

2. Attend Events With "Strangers"

Now "stranger danger" aside, you already know when your family and friends are getting together. It's time to get yourself invited to, or register, for events where you don't already know everyone who is there. 

If this is your first time, or you're no entirely comfortable working a networking room, bring a friend/team member. Refer to tip #1, rinse and repeat for as many events as your heart and schedule can handle.

3. Take Your Online Audience Off The Platform

If you spent 2020 & 2021 building a social media audience across Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, TikTok, or YouTube; it's time to extract your audience. Their emails and phone numbers need to be in your database. If Instagram shut down tomorrow how would you reach them all?

Ideas for getting this done include: Adding Call To Actions to your post directing your audience to an email sign up; going 1-by-1 (if you have a smaller audience) and asking them to connect; hosting a holiday giveaway and require email/phone number sign ups; download the data directly from the platform if possible (i.e. Facebook and Linkedin).

4. Host a Holiday Party

Short on time to attend events? Throw your own and extend the invitation beyond your sphere of influence. We covered how to do this include of Marketing Mondays in November – if you haven't signed up click here.

This is a great way to gather a lot your own raving clients/fans in one room and mix them with potential future clients.

5. Ask For Referrals 

Are you sending out holiday cards? Are you making holiday phone calls? Don't be shy about mentioning your ability to handle and care for referrals! There is a lot of money left on the table by agents and brokers who simply don't ask for the business. Everyone knows someone looking to buy, sell, or rent. It's up to you to make sure your sphere of influence knows that you are taking on more clients.

Do you have more ideas for database building during the holiday season? Comment below and share this post with a fellow agent!

When we think about closing we think about the Wolf of Wall Street telling his subordinate to sell him a pen. The truth is that it doesn't have to be as hard, cold and rigid as that. The truth is closing is all about crystallizing someone's thinking. Allowing them to see themselves in a space, understand the market, and make the best choice for themselves. So, lets go over the only 3 closes you will need to use when showing a property. 

The Only Three Closes You Will Ever Need For Showings

How would you set up this space? What is the size of your bed set, couch, dining room table, etc. 

Visualization is a powerful and remarkable tool. Sometimes by asking simple questions like this the prospective customer can start seeing themselves in the space. It gives them a better experience and puts them in the mindset of what they want, need and can create. Most houses are not perfect but if they are able to overlook the little things and focus on the bigger picture they will be a lot happier with their decisions.  

I ran the comps for the house and based on the demand I think we should…

Knowing your numbers before you go to a showing is a must. It not only helps you justify offers but it helps clients to understand value and make choices logically rather then based on gut intuition. "I feel like this house is overpriced," is a very different statement than "I know this house is overpriced, and here are the comps to prove it."  This helps you take control of the sale and allows you to negotiate more effectively. 

From a scale of 1-10 what do you rate this property? 

This is one of my favorite closes. I prep my clients during the buyers presentation for this close. I tell them that I will be asking them after every showing to rate the property from a scale of 1-10. It's a tactic I use to better understand what they are looking for. I also let them know that anything rated 7.5 and above will be a property we place an offer on (disclaimer: placing an offer is always the buyer's choice, but I use this close as a way to help them decide).

I also back this up with a story about how I had a client once who saw a property that he ranked a 7.5 out of 10. After going out to numerous other showings he couldn’t find a property better than that one. By the time we submitted our offer we lost the property to someone else and he was devastated. Although we eventually found him a home he liked, he always compared things to that original 7.5 property.

There are many closes out there, but these 3 will lay down a solid foundation for you to start crystallizing your clients and customers' thinking. Leading you to closing more deals! Now go out there and help people find the homes they want. 

If you are taking any home buyer out without pre-approving and qualifying them, you are setting yourself up for failure. Contrary to popular belief, the Buyer's Presentation is a time saver and an amazing way to build rapport with potential buyers. Here are 5 reasons why the buyer's presentation is so important: 

1. It Allows You To Create the Agent/Customer Relationship. 

When you meet a buyer via zoom and or in-person it gives you an opportunity to connect and find common ground; hence, building a deeper connection than just showing them properties where their main focus is on the house itself. 

You get to understand why they are looking to move. You get to understand where their potential struggles will be. You can also show off a little of your expertise and prove why working with you will benefit them. 

2. It Will Save You a Trip Around The World.

When I was new in the business I would run around showing unqualified buyers all day. Just to be ghosted like a bad Tinder date. Scheduling a half hour to an hour meeting with the prospect prior to showings helps you gauge how serious this buyer is. You also get to see how realistic their wants and needs are, as well as understand their timeline.

I once showed a client 5 houses to find out that they had the credit score of high school kid. Yes, they had no credit. It also hurt to find out that they had less buying power than I did – and I was making less then $30K/year at that time.  So, let's nip it in the bud in a half hour meeting. 

3. You Can Turn No-Chance-Buyers Into Buyers.

When meeting with your buyers you will sometimes find that their credit may not be all to good or they don't earn enough income per year to qualify for a mortgage that fits their monthly budget. This is not the end of the relationship. You can refer them to professionals that can help them, or come up with a saving plan that will make their home buying dreams a reality.

If you refer them to a helpful professional they will come back and become a raving fan of your services. We're playing the long-term success game here.

4. It Helps Make The Buyer More Realistic. 

When the world is your oyster, and there is a seemingly endless amount of listings that can be viewed, buyers have a hard time narrowing down what their wants and needs are. This is where you as a professional come in. You can show them listings in a projected price range; virtually.

If they hate everything in their budget you may have saved yourself 5-10 hours of your life. They also might curb their unrealistic view of what they can and can't afford – basically, bring them back to earth. 

5. You Can Create a Game Plan and Take Charge of The Sale.

Last but not least is taking charge of the sale. When you establish the professional/customer relationship you will have the opportunity to call the next steps. Whether it be getting pre-approved, LP/DU Verified, credit repair, saving more or going right to showings.  

6. It's Safer...

There's not denying that this is a people business, but it's also a business of dealing with strangers on a daily basis. It should go without saying that meeting a total stranger at a vacant property at the drop of dime simply because they claim they're interested in buying it...well, it's a bad idea. Red flags galore. 

Conducting a Buyer's Presentation allows you and the buyer and opportunity to meet formally, in a public and safe environment, prior to touring potentially empty properties together. 

But, My Broker Said I Should Take All Buyers Out Right Away...

There is a school of thought out there in the Real Estate Industry that teaches agents to play by numbers. It teaches that when you're brand new you should just take everyone and anyone on, show them properties right away, and hope for the best. 

Yes, you will learn a thing or two with this strategy – but some agents don't have time to learn the long way. If you're a part-time agent, or a full-time parent and newly licensed, or your savings account isn't as large as you'd like it to be. Chances are, you can't spend hours on end learning those hard lessons at a slower pace. 

The Buyers Appointment/Presentation solves this and will help speed up the learning process. So, if you are still taking out unqualified buyers after these 5 reasons, and feeling like you're not placing as many offers as you could be, you have no one to blame but yourself. Just know that you have been warned about the consequences.

Remember, it is all about qualifying and building relationships! If you do that you will rarely waste your time and your business will run a lot smoother. 

Are you a fan of pre-qualifying your buyers through a formal buyers appointment? Share in the comments below. Know a fellow agent who would benefit from this article? Share the link with them!

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There's so much fun to be had when creating a marketing campaign around a specific holiday – especially one like Halloween! Let's break down some actionable ideas you can implement for your 2021 Halloween marketing strategy:

Host a Halloween Giveaway

This can easily be done on social media by offering up to giveaway a Target, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Home Goods, or even Home Depot Gift Card ($25 - $100). You can create a social post, or even landing page asking your audience/locals to sign up to enter to win. This is a great way to collect emails/phone numbers and generate a wave of engagement.

We're going to tie this in to an Halloween Themed Open House idea later in this post.

5-10 Days of 'Scary Projects' Content 

This can be done in the form of blogs, videos, or short social posts. The idea is that you share a "scary" home improvement project and a solution to make it easier or more cost effective! This can also be done with "Scary First Time Home Buyer Mistakes" broken up in 5-10 days; OR "Scary Home Seller Mistakes".

You can get really creative here and even ask a vendor (inspector, appraiser, contractor, credit specialist, etc) to chime in on the content so you don't have to write it all!

Halloween Themed Open House with Giveaway 

Alright this idea needs to be executed on steroids...seriously. In order for this to really have a great turn out you've got to take your regular open house strategy and 10X it!

• Promo minimum 1-week in advance
• Have candy/candy bags ready to give out
• Tie in a giveaway 
• Door knock the nearest 100+ homes in the area the day before or morning of inviting them to enter into the giveaway at the open house
• Call the nearest 200+ homes in the area 24-48 hours before inviting them to the open house and collecting emails to enter into the giveaway
• Create a Halloween Theme with your printed/social marketing materials
• Document the event on video to post later on social media
• Announce the winner on the video and post to social media

Those are just some general tips to make sure you make the MOST out of the event. If you work with a team and you can host multiple open houses on the same weekend then make it happen! You won't regret it!

Halloween Themed Instagram Reels Idea 

Here's a Reels idea that you can record today:

Title/Headline: 4 Scary Things First-Time Home Buyers Believe

• Getting pre-approved will ruin your credit score.
• Waiving your Home Inspection is "required" in this market.
• The bank you currently use will give you the BEST mortgage rate.
• You can "safely" make furniture purchases BEFORE your closing date.

In the video, explain/write out why these are NOT true for each of the bullet points.

Recording Tip: You can easily shoot this anywhere in your home or office. No speaking required. Just some fun spooky music and some pointing fingers!

Call To Action: Looking to buy a home? Send me a DM or Call Me Today – Risk Free!

Total Video Length: 30-45 Seconds

Music Mood: "Michael Jackson's Thriller" by The Mystery man; OR "Jack's Obsession" by Vitamin String Quartet from the Nightmare Before Christmas

Video Production Time: 10-15 Minutes

Did you enjoy these ideas? Let us know in the comments below!

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I know this is the name of one of the most horrifying movies of all time, but this story is also horrifying – for Realtors. It involves an activity that many fear. That activity is door knocking. I know those 2 words send a cold shiver down your spine and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, but I want to tell you the story about a $15,000 commission check I received. 😱

It was a fall day in Flatlands, Brooklyn. My oversized suite blew in the chilly air. I was officially on hour 2 of door knocking and I was going to give it one last block. Twenty more houses before I called it quits for the day.

It had officially been 3 months since my last commission check and I needed something to happen. 

“20 more”, I said to myself, “only 20 more.” The first house no one answered. Most of the houses on this side of the block were the same. I got a couple of “not interested” but nothing unusual. The first 10 houses flew by! 

I started back around to finish up my last 10 houses.

I gazed at the last house on the left. It seemed to pier back as I made my way up the first porch. I rang the bell and instantly broke out into a cold sweat.

“Who the **** is it?”, a voice from behind the door said. “Hi my name is Alex with…” Before I got to finish my statement a huge man swung open the front door. “Who gives you the right!?”, he said – throwing his arms in the air. His near 7 foot frame cast a shadow on me. “I’m sorry, I just...” He screamed, “You will be sorry, if you don’t get off my porch!” He turned around and slammed the door. 

My ego felt like it had been hatchet murdered! I turned around and walked briskly off the property. If you’ve been door knocking before then you know one of these “curse out” moments tend to happen once every so often. This time it felt a little worse because I thought I was about to fight Kimbo Slice in a suit that was way too big for me. 

I stared at the last house on the left. Just 9 more... Lightning doesn’t strike twice I thought to myself. Long story short on this block lightning struck 3 more times. I ran into one angry homeowner after another. I even had someone threaten to call the cops on me! 

I thought about cutting out early! I didn’t want to deal with anymore abuse. I had enough and my ego looked like Freddy Krueger's face at this point. Finally, I looked at the last house on the left.

“2 more houses” I said shaky to myself. It can't be worse than what I’ve already been through. 

I walked up to the second to last house and rang the bell. As soon as the bell went off I heard a massive dog slam into the door barking! I instantly ran for my life leaving my soul on the doorstep. I was really over it at this point! I was traumatized by this block! But I was going to finish the block if it was the last thing I did. As soon as I was done I was going to hop in my car and find a beer as far from this evil block as possible.

I walked up the last house literally ready for anything! I took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. I waited a while and as I turned to leave an elderly lady answered the door with the warmest smile! 

She’s going to mace me, I thought to myself as I introduced myself. 

“Hi, I’m Alex with XYZ Realty. Would you happen to know someone looking to buy or sell in the area?” She looked at me confused and paused. Uh oh I thought to myself again, she was definitely going to mace me. 

“I’m so very glad you're here!”, she was smiling widely, “I hate my neighbors and would like to move ASAP! Please come in! Come in” That deal led to a lot of great opportunities in my career. It would have never happened unless I didn’t stay focused on the last house on the left…

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