Real Estate Deep Dive With Kara Macdonald

Hello and welcome to the Real Deep Dive Podcast with Kara Macdonald! On today’s show, we’re diving into overcoming a personal struggle while still running your real estate business. Kara is joined by Tiffany Weaver, someone who has done that very thing, and she is one of the most authentic and kind women Kara knows.

The past four years have not been easy for her, but as you will hear in this episode, she got through it, continued to build her real estate business and totally came out on the other side with flying colors.

Tiffany says that when you go through a personal struggle, you realize that the people who are happy for your success are your people.

On the other hand, if you have people in your life who aren’t cheering you on, they are not your people. Delete them from your life. As real estate agents we think we have to stay connected to everyone in order to build this amazing network, and it’s just not true. If you have Facebook friends who never even “like” your great moments, they’re not going to give you a referral, you don’t want their mojo.

You can still find success in your business! Tiffany faced a difficult divorce and a move and she was still able to get referrals and double her business that year because she worked really hard and stayed positive. She’s an overcomer!

Tiffany has been a licensed real estate agent since 2013 and she services the Hampton Roads / VA Beach area. Give her a call at 804-824-4871.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Pruitt Title. Pruitt is an independent title company licensed in MD, DC and VA. For more information, visit www.pruitt-title.com or call me at 571-432-9382.

Links:

Tiffany Weaver

Pruitt Title

Kara MacDonald

We’re excited to announce an upcoming event for Real Estate Agents in the DC area called REBAR Camp Nova. Join us on Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM EDT for a very informal and very free technology conference. Mark your calendar!

Location of REBAR Camp NOVA:
Workhouse Arts Center
9518 Workhouse Road
Lorton, VA 22079

Welcome to the Real Deep Dive Podcast with Kara Macdonald. Today’s episode features special guest Christy Edgar, creator of Content Accelerator and writer at Inman.

Professionals in other industries seem to have shifted to the creation-of-content aspect of their career perhaps better than real estate agents, but we’re waking up to the tremendous benefits that can come from committed, regular content. Blogging, vlogging, social media, podcasting, etc.

Learn why you should you have your own personal website in addition to your website through your brokerage. Kara and Christy explain exactly how to go about getting your own and the sweet spot for how much to spend to get the mobile accessibility you need, but not the extra bells and whistles you don’t need.

Blogs should contain a minimum of 300 words so google will recognize it as new content. 2000 word blogs, long form content can really help your SEO, too. Think of your blog as an advice column. If you don’t feel confident in your own writing abilities, don’t let that stop your from blogging. Honestly, you’re not alone. Many bloggers hire a a copy editor from a freelance website or they can even commission high-quality content from their network of friends, family and colleagues. Christy reminds us that everyone knows and English major.

Vlogs can be used in addition to blogging or they can stand alone. Facebook Live and Instagram Live are great platforms for vlogging. Then you can download your video and also upload it to your Youtube channel. One aspect of video creation that tends to concern people is thinking that they don’t look polished enough. Please don’t let that hold you back. Your authenticity is actually a strength in making connections. Please can see what it’s really like to work with you in real life. This is so much more effective than a staged broadcast journalism production.

Instagram Television (IGTV) is a really undersaturated video platform. “Digging in to something like that and being one of the first ones in your market who is out their producing content – people want to watch and you really have an opportunity right now to build in a pretty new platform and that’s a really cool thing.”

Are you interested in the future of Facebook amid all of the recent legal and privacy issues? Tune in to hear Christy’s take on whether you should still maintain a business Facebook page. Also, learn some strategies for boosting your Facebook ads.

With all of this Kara explains that everyone wants to learn about lead generation but we sometimes procrastinates starting the very thing that will help us with leads. She says this happens to her sometimes, too. She thinks it’s going to be difficult, but once she dives in and immerses herself in learning the new material, she’s always so happy she did. It either pays off for her business or she realizes that it may not be for her, but at least she found out for herself and it wasn’t ever as intimated as she thought it would be.

Learn about the awesome tool that Christy swears by called the Hashtag Generator App. You’ll love it!

Christy’s Content Accelerator program is amazing! She writes organic content for you, two 1000-word posts each month with built-in personalized fields and two outlines for those blogs so that you can write your own. You also get membership into a private coaching program with Christy for $297. A content marketing plan like this would be very expensive if you look around out there, but Christy honestly just wanted to help people. It’s a pretty-intensive content plan all done for you. It’s the difference between ice cold leads and warm leads. Feel free to reach out to Christy to chat with her more about her program by calling her at 571-334-5247.

Above all, be patient, put out content regularly and ask for reviews on every single transaction. Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements and REBAR Camp Nova.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

We’re excited to announce an upcoming event for Real Estate Agents in the DC area called REBAR Camp Nova. Join us on Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM EDT for a very informal and very free technology conference. Mark your calendar!

Location of REBAR Camp NOVA:
Workhouse Arts Center
9518 Workhouse Road
Lorton, VA 22079

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

Have a great day and we’ll see you next time in Episode 012!

You’re listening to the Real Deep Dive Podcast With Kara Macdonald Episode 010, brought to you by Pruitt Title!

We’re excited to announce an upcoming event for Real Estate Agents in the DC area called REBAR Camp Nova. Join us on Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM EDT for a very informal and very free technology conference. Mark your calendar!

Location of REBAR Camp NOVA:
Workhouse Arts Center
9518 Workhouse Road
Lorton, VA 22079

Today we are diving deep into apps with Kristy Hairston, Real Estate Agent and Trainer. Kristy is an expert on time saving and cost-effective apps that help agents. We are so excited to share our discussion with you today!

Folio is a great app to manage transactions and reminders, especially for your buyers.

G-Board is a keyboard app for iPhone users that lets you swipe instead of type (a feature that android users already have) and gives you options for sending someone google maps and send a gift or pay someone right from the text composition platform.

Boomerang lets you manage your e-mail communication in several ways. You can schedule e-mails to go out at a certain time. Kristy uses this when she is writing emails late at night, but she doesn’t want them to go out until the morning. If you send a message to someone and they don’t open it within a certain amount of time, Boomerang will move that message back up to the top of their inbox until they open it and it will notify you all along the way. This was a game changer when we were in a short sale market, but even now it’s super helpful.

For lead generation two great apps are Five Street is a great app to manage transactions and reminders, especially for your buyers. 5 Street and Open Home Pro.

Canva lets you create flyers, post cards, presentations and signatures. There are great templates and you can use either the desktop or app version.

Hootsuite and Buffer are just amazing for scheduling social media posts. You should still log in daily and engage, but batching the posts is a game changer!

Did you know that this app will you can take a picture of a house key and make it for you?

Another great app for buyers is Centriq. It sends push notifications and reminders for the home buying process so your clients can stay organized and you don’t need to hire an assistant to do it!

If you would like to create some beautiful photos of a staged home, but your seller cannot afford to actually stage their space you should use Box Brownie.

Feel free to reach out to Kristy Hairston to learn more about apps that can save you time and money as a real estate agent! Kristy can be reached at: [email protected]

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements and REBAR Camp Nova.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

Have a great day and we’ll see you next time in Episode 011!

You’re listening to the Real Deep Dive Podcast With Kara Macdonald Episode 009 brought to you by Pruitt Title!

We’re excited to announce an upcoming event for Real Estate Agents in the DC area called REBAR Camp Nova. Join us on Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM EDT for a very informal and very free technology conference. Mark your calendar!

Location of REBAR Camp NOVA:
Workhouse Arts Center
9518 Workhouse Road
Lorton, VA 22079

Today we are diving deep into using Facebook with Andrea Vahl, Social Media Consultant and Co-Author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies.

Andrea has had her blog AndreaVahl.com for 9 years where she is constantly sharing the most up-to-date social media tips!

Today Kara and Andrea talk about how real estate agents can use a business page on Facebook. Andrea explains that it’s easy to set up. This is the space where the business part of your life lives on Facebook, but you also want it to be fun! You can post some entertainment and showcase some of your own personality.

Let’s talk about imagery. Your profile photo should be a photo of you, not the one you use on your personal profile. Your cover photo could either showcase a property or you could even insert a video. Remember that changing your cover photo every once in a while is a great way to get a little attention.

The About Page is where you give info about how you work and showcase success you’ve had in your business. Feel free to elaborate. Don’t make this section too short.

Beyond imagery and a strong About Page the next most important thing for Facebook success is to post good content regularly. And, Facebook rewards posts that initiate conversation, so get creative with your posts! Ask questions about homeownership, moving and interior design!

Then, Kara and Andrea go on to discuss some more advanced strategies and ad promotion. First, go in to Facebook Ad Manager and select the objective that you want. The choices are: website clicks, lead generation or conversation. Then you’ll be able to optimize your ad for those results.

Have the Facebook pixel installed on your website if you can.

Next Kara asks Andrea about some other ways to increase lead generation. When someone gives you their email address in exchange for a great piece of content, that is considered a lead. When someone visits your website there should be something front and center that is irresistible!

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements and REBAR Camp Nova.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

Have a great day and we’ll see you next time in Episode 010!

You’re listening to the Real Deep Dive Podcast With Kara Macdonald Episode 008 brought to you by Pruitt Title! We’re excited to announce an upcoming event for Real Estate Agents in the DC area called REBAR Camp Nova. Join us on Thursday, September 20, 2018 from 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM EDT for a very informal and very free technology conference. Mark your calendar!

Location of REBAR Camp NOVA:
Workhouse Arts Center
9518 Workhouse Road
Lorton, VA 22079

Today we are diving deep into Expireds with Borino Borino, founder of the Real Estate Rock Stars Facebook group with 31,000 members.

Borino is The Expireds Guru! He has an incredible entrepreneurial mindset and he now is a coach, teaching other agents how to thrive.

He says that in this career you can turn things around very quickly. You don’t need to rake up $300,000 in student debt or spend 16 years in school. This is not an easy business, but it can be very profitable very quickly.

It comes down to mindset. It takes some very specific qualities and values to become a successful real estate agent and to last as a real estate agent. You need to have an abundance mentality and you need to be incredibly driven.

5.4 million transactions will be closed this year according to the National Association of Realtors. The NAR also says there are 1.62 million registered agents. Look around and you’ll find that the vast majority of agents make less than $50,000 per year. What distinguishes the agents who are making substantially more? They believe different things and they expect different things.

Here are the most important things you should know about how to get expired listings. Make real connections. Technology doesn’t replace communication. You can totally develop the skill of making connections. Practice talking to people in a way that helps them drop their resistance. Another thing to keep in mind is that most of your conversions will not happen on the first contact. Let them know that you truly want to help them, whether they list with you or not.

Borino and Kara also chat about tips for effective open houses. Tune in to learn more!

Kara loves connecting with special guests and teaching real estate agents how to treat their job like a real business. Expired listings are everywhere. It takes a little more work and patience to get them, but they can be a very profitable part of your business.

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements and REBAR Camp Nova.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

Have a great day and we’ll see you next time in Episode 009!

You’re listening to the Real Deep Dive Podcast With Kara Macdonald Episode 007 brought to you by Pruitt Title! Today we are diving deep into Pinterest with Jeff Sieh of ManlyPinterestTips.com. Thanks for joining us today!

Kara loves connecting with special guests and teaching real estate agents how to treat their job like a real business. As in any business, it’s important to know how to use social media and since Pinterest is more like a visual search engine than it is a social media platform, it’s even more crucial for realtors to learn how to utilize it!

Many real estate agents find themselves wondering how to use Pinterest and how often to post on Pinterest. There is a sweet spot for Pinterest posts and Jeff shares what the right number of posts per day is and how to manage your Pinterest presence using a scheduling tool. He also stresses the importance of using a Pinterest-approved scheduling partner. Tailwind is a great one.

Canva and Easil help you make your images vertical which is optimal for Pinterest.

You’ll want to stick to a vertical 2x3 or square 2x2 ratio since those are a better match for Pinterest’s layout. This is different from the typical landscape format that blogging favors.

Most importantly, make sure your posts looks good on mobile. 85%-95% people are viewing on mobile devices so your posts should look good and be easy to read.

Both Jeff and Kara highly recommend Bill Gassett as a great example of using Pinterest in the Real Estate Industry.

Another helpful thing to realize about the difference between Pinterest and other social media platforms is that, while people may want to see selfies on IG, they don’t want to see selfies on Pinterest. So, try to pick images without people in them. You can use stock photos, but keep that in mind as you’re choosing them. Jeff likes to use 123RF and Deposit Photos. He even teaches us how to make animated gifs!

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

Have a great day and we’ll see you next time in Episode 008!

You’re listening to the Real Deep Dive Podcast With Kara Macdonald Episode 006 brought to you by Pruitt Title! Today we are diving deep into protecting yourself from personal liability with Ashley Morgan of Ashley F. Morgan Law. Thanks for joining us today!

Kara loves connecting with special guests and teaching real estate agents how to run their business like a real business. Like in any business, it’s important to protect yourself and your personal assets from liability.

Most importantly, you need to separate your expenses. Ashley gives some great tips for how to set up separate personal and business accounts.

Have a separate account for your business and pay yourself and your business expenses out of that account. If you have to have a credit card for your business in your own name instead of your business’s name (for credit reasons) make sure that you treat it only as a business account.

Ashley advises small businesses to make sure they have access to people on their team to set them up for success. Here’s a run down of the help you’ll need:

You need a lawyer to make sure that your doing everything properly and that you’re incorporated. There are a few different tax classifications to consider.

You need a CPA. Knowing that it’s easier to do things correctly from the start than it would be to fix it later on, Ashley and Kara encourage you to get assistance with your taxes if you can. That being said, if you have found yourself in trouble with the IRS here are two solid tips:

1. File your taxes even if you don’t have the money to pay them. The reason being that you’ll be penalized more for not filing than you’ll be for owing.

2. Try to pay your taxes moving forward and the IRS will be more willing to help you settle your past balance.

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

You can reach Ashley Morgan at 701-880-4881.

She practices law in Hernan, Virginia.

Her e-mail address is [email protected]

You can follow her on IG or Twitter @afm_law

Have a great day and we’ll see you again in Episode 007!

Welcome to the Real Deep Dive Podcast With Kara Macdonald Episode 005 brought to you by Pruitt Title! Today we are diving deep into cracking the conversion code with Chris Smith co founder of Curaytor. Chris is the author of The Conversion Code which is a must-read for entrepreneurs in any industry, but the insights into success in Real Estate are invaluable. Thanks for joining us today!

Curaytor is an amazing resource for Real Estate Agents seeking to stand out. They help agents differentiate themselves and rise above the hundreds of thousands of average likenesses. There is no short cut to growing your business online, so you can either dive in and do it yourself of hire a professional to help.

Chris shares the most important advice that he has for agents. First, you must have a beautiful website to differentiate yourself. Second, quality conversations are essential for building affinity, trust and closing sales. And third, he teaches the “extra mile mindset.” Go above and beyond all of the time. If you just go above and beyond when you need to, it’ll be too little, too late.

Kara and Chris tackle often-asked questions about utilizing Facebook. What is the sweet spot with Facebook posting, what’s new with custom Facebook audiences and is Facebook Live right for you?

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

Have a great day and we’ll see you again in Episode 006!

Thanks for tuning in today to The Real Deep Dive Podcast Episode 004! Today we are diving deep into running your real estate business like an actual business with Cathi Coridan of Keller Williams McLean. Join us!

In just one year since Cathi Coridan began her Moseley real estate course she has closed, or has under contract, a volume of 2.6 million. She is here to teach us tips for how to have a successful first year as a real estate agent.

Cathi comes from a family of real estate agents. She enjoys talking to new people and she is committed to serving people who are transitioning in their life. She networks with a lot of people so she can meet those who are buying their first home or buying their retirement home.

One of her tips to success is holding effective open houses and she holds a lot of them. In a time when open houses may not be seen as the most effective form of marketing, she'll hold open houses three weekends in a row so she can learn about the area first hand and get good contact information.

In all things she remembers that it’s about her clients needs, not her own. Listen in to learn more about how she has built her incredible business in such a short time.

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She's also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

You can reach Cathi Coridan at Sold by Cathi.com or via phone at 703-971-7237 for the McLean, Virginia Real Estate Market. She also has a Vlog on Facebook called Transition Tuesday. Reach out to her on Linkedin as well!

Have a great day and we'll see you again in Episode 005!

Thanks for tuning in today to The Real Deep Dive Podcast Episode 003! Today we are diving deep into running your real estate business like an actual business with Karen W. Cooper of Platinum Group Real Estate. Join us!

Karen has worked in real estate for 16 years. She has spanned almost every possible position in the industry. She’s been a listing specialist working on a team; she’s been a managing broker and now she leads a team of her own.

Working on a team is a fantastic way to develop professionally as a real estate agent. Karen worked on a rainmaker style team for several years. She noticed that working on a team is not sustainable for most agents for long term because the splits tend to be low.

As an agent starts making their own contacts, they’ll go off on their own. Teams become a revolving door. Karen designed her team, Platinum Group Real Estate so that agents would want to stay. She structured a team that provided all of the benefits of a team with centralized marketing, centralized systems and support. It let agents advance within the team.

Kara and Karen share amazing practical tips for running your real estate business like an actual business:

First – remember that your team is your second family.

Second – have an LLC and consult with an accountant. Invest in this as soon as you can.

Third – keep your budgeting clean. Karen uses a debit card instead of a credit card. All of her incomes and commissions go into that account. Then, she pays herself from that account. She pays her expenses from that account as well. Taxes are pretty simple because everything is from this one account. If she does put an expense on a personal credit card she’ll reimburse herself.

When budgeting ask yourself what can afford to outsource so that you can focus on the part of your job that inspires you? The health of your business will be better overall. In the beginning you may be wearing many hats, but as soon as you can afford to outsource a few of your more draining tasks – do it.

Fourth – Income varies, expenses generally stay the same. Kara and Karen share specific tips on how to manage this dilemma!

Thanks for listening to our show today brought to you by Pruitt Title, licensed in Maryland, DC and Virginia to handle Real Estate Settlements.

Kara Macdonald is Your Favorite Title Lady and you can reach Kara via e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 571.432.9382. She’s also on SnapChat as: favtitlelady. Look for her video blogs and amazing goal setting content.

You can reach Karen W. Cooper at Platinum Group Real Estate or via phone at 703- 999-3601 for the Northern Virginia Real Estate Market. She’s also on Facebook at Empowering Women in Real Estate.

Have a great day and we’ll see you again in Episode 004!