Real Estate Uncensored - Real Estate Sales & Marketing Training Podcast

52% of your communication has nothing to do with your words or tone of voice, it’s body language. Improving your body language can have a massive impact on your ability to communicate, influence and persuade.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Improve your first impression by smiling with your eyes and adding an eyebrow bump

2. Attraction to you is created when there is more demand for you than supply - having an energy of need or lack can sabotage you before you ever show up for a meeting

3. Spend a few minutes before appointments going through power poses to put yourself in a powerful and confident mental state

We kick things off with a question squarely within Greg’s wheelhouse on serving beer at an open house. Greg explained why you should never, ever, ever serve alcohol at an open house, and how that differs from client parties or other events where you control the environment and access.

Greg then shared a tip on how he uses body language to greet people at an open house, blocking off certain avenues so they go through the house in a certain way and opening up your body language so you make the best first impression.

Then we dive into body language basics, starting with 4 initial responses every human has to other humans: 1) Friend, 2) Threat, 3) Sexual partner or 4) Indifferent. Each of us is sending and receiving these signals from other people all the time, and it’s possible to give off the wrong signal without realizing it.

Next we covered how to smile naturally, using your eyes and not just your mouth, and incorporate an eyebrow pop to make people feel comfortable. Greg also shared the ideal handshake, and the origin of the phrase “over the top.”

Then we get into posture, alignment, protective versus open posture, expanding, taking up space, power poses and peacocking. Greg explained how he’s used the power poses to put himeself in a great mental state for client appointments. Matt shared how much of the body language issues can be solved by 1) Dealing with the underlying insecurities that leak out in your body language, and 2) Asking yourself are you being open or are you being protective, as a shortcut to getting into better body language.

Lastly, Matt shared some body language No-No’s, how to immediately boost your appearance of confidence in appointments by slowing down your movements and breathing, letting go of tension. Matt also explained how important energy is to body language, how it affects other people, and how to channel nervous energy into movement during public speaking.

You can improve your body language in two ways:

1) Paying attention to and changing your physical posture and mannerisms, or

2) Work on the underlying issues that cause your poor body language. Start by taking practical steps, like slowing down, smiling more and staying in an open posture.

“You just have to get your name out there!” That’s the best marketing advice most people have to offer. Sadly for most people, it’s also wildly ineffective. What good is your spreading the word about you if you give people no compelling reason to trust you or contact you? Where’s the attraction? In this special Marketing Q&A episode, we tackle some common (and not so common) real estate marketing questions.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Slogans are usually cheesy and have no compelling reason for prospects to trust you or contact you

2. Direct mail is coming back- especially in a world of social media and email

3. Get out there and start serving clients - your marketing message or slogan should come organically from the actual work you do for clients

It’s much better to be clear than clever. -Anonymous

We started by answering a question about solar panels from the Lead Gen Facebook Group, Greg recommends solar panels only in cases where you plan on staying in the house for decades to come. We also answered a question about direct mail versus email newsletters and shared why direct mail is an option to seriously consider if you have the right demographic market.

Then we tackle the common question: What’s a good slogan for an agent? Assuming you don’t want to use the winner, “We very rarely kick puppies” it also begs the question, Why do you need a slogan in the first place?

Greg shared some slogans from his team’s history, and Matt accidentally mocked the slogan Greg wrote himself, “Treating every client like family.” Both Greg and Matt agree you’re better off figuring out your ideal client and your unique way of serving them and allow your marketing message to come together naturally. Remember, it’s much better to be clear than clever.

So if you’re looking to attract more clients, it’s going to take more than getting your name out there. People need a compelling reason to take a step toward you, and it’s your responsibility to figure out exactly who your ideal client is and adjust your message and marketing materials to attract your ideal clients.

Short sales and foreclosures are a unique niche most agents will encounter at some point but frequently don’t have the skills or expertise to handle. Short sale negotiator and expert Angela Burton joins us to share her background, how she helps negotiate short sales and what it takes to work this niche.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. You don’t have to be a short sale expert yourself - you can bring in a short sale expert to help you negotiate with the banks and give your client the best service

2 Short sales take an average of 3-6 months

3. Beware of buyers wanting to buy a short sale - your buyer agent fee cannot come out of the listing side, so your buyers are responsible for paying you directly

We believe real estate could radically change in the next 5-10 years, so you may need to shift gears to stay in the business. You might even need to learn new types of transactions and a new way to manage transactions for your clients by putting together a custom team of outside experts. Take Angela’s advice and binge on educational content on YouTube and take advantage of company training programs. They might lead to whole new source of business for you.

Guest Bio

Angela Burton is a short sales real estate expert, negotiator, property manager and licensed agent. She serves as Short Sales Negotiator for Significa Corp and as a listing agent for Keller Williams in Pittsburgh, PA. Angela has over 20 years experience in every facet of the real estate industry, including sales, investing, financials, appraisals, working with hedge fund investors, REO’s, apartment buildings, eviction hearings and much more. To bring Angela in as a short sale expert to help your existing client, or to send her referrals in the Pittsburg area, contact her at 412-345-8050 or email [email protected].

Over the years Greg has accumulated many legal pad lists full of free and low-cost tools and resources for agents, and today he’s opening those legal pads and sharing the goodness with the rest of us.

First we tackled a question from the Scripts & Objections Facebook Group on how to handle a potential listing who wants to wait till they make improvements before listing. Greg explained how he would follow up and offer value with resources like his Good Guy List, pop-by’s, check-ins, offering to meet up with vendors he recommended to introduce them in person, etc.

The first set of tools and resources are for local market and neighborhood stats that will help you stay informed on your target areas.

http://www.homesnap.com/
http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/
http://homedisclosure.com/

Next we talk about how to use Zillow to find market information, and https://www.padmapper.com/ and https://www.rentometer.com/ to look for rental information. This is great for a seller client who’s looking to rent after their sale.

If you work with clients where English is not their primary language, https://en.duolingo.com/ is a great free language learning tool that makes learning fun through gamification. You can also use Word Lens (just bought by Google) to use your smartphone to translate the printed word from one language to another in real time. Check it out at: http://questvisual.com/.

Next Greg dips into some general tech tools and interesting resources, such as LTE-U, which may allow you to use free WiFi from the unlicensed spectrum of existing LTE networks. Visit: https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/technologies/lte/unlicensed to learn more about LTE-U. Updater.com http://www.updater.com/ is a free time-saving app that helps you manage your moving process including updating contacts and contacting utility companies. If you want to find someone in your database who’s contact info is outdated, use PeopleFinders.com to perform a skiptrace - http://www.peoplefinders.com/.

We finish up by sharing some more real estate resources:

AM Open House: http://www.amopenhouse.com/home/
Jeff Cohn’s favorite resources including Altek World for Craigslist Posting: http://jeffsfavoritetools.com/
The Personal Marketing Company - 5-Year Postcard Follow Up for Seller Clients: https://www.tpmco.com/(S(asjadsxlhljabooxwvj24bu5))/default.aspx
AmazingClubs.com: Item-of-the-Month clubs perfect for closing gifts and pop-by ideas for past clients and sphere - http://www.amazingclubs.com/
PopByIdeas.com: Drop-off item ideas with scripts and taglines to go with them - http://www.popbyideas.com/
Word of Mouth: Tips and tricks to keep you top of mind and generate word of mouth with your sphere of influence - http://wordofmouth.org/

Now that you’re armed with some great resources, apps and tools, go out and start using them to build your business and make your life easier!

Feel like your clients are beating you with sticks to lower your commission? In our latest episode we share two different perspectives: 1. Scripts to deal with the objections as they come up, and 2. Ways to prevent commission-cutting objections from coming up at all.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. You do not work FOR the client - The client has hired you to lead them to a certain result

2. Understand when to cut your losses and move on to other potential clients who are a better fit for you

3. Marketing efforts like building a platform and using media appearances, social proof and success stories can eliminate commission objections from every coming up

So many agents do not honestly believe that they are in charge. They believe they work for the sellers or their broker. BS. YOu are driving the ship, you’ve got to have ownership of that. And that starts with protecting your commission. -Greg McDaniel

First we answer a question on how to generate seller leads on Facebook, and Greg shared his team’s strategy for using actual buyers and their criteria to run a custom ad. Of course, you get the buyer’s permission (and use no last names) but otherwise give somes details on the buyer’s situation and the exact type of home they’re looking for.

Then we dive deep into scripts and how to handle objections from potential sellers during your List Pres/CMA meetings, Greg shares his favorite scripts for each situation. One of his favorites is to simply state what your side of the commission is and ask the seller, “What would you like to pay the buyer’s agent?” This script hits a couple birds with one stone; it reminds them that you don’t receive the full commission, explains how it’s split and forces the seller to think about attracting buyer’s agents rather than what they’re paying in total commission.

Next we go into 7 keys to prevent commission objections from every coming up.

1) Go in by Referral
2) Have an Ideal Client
3) Have a Platform
4) Have Success Stories - Testimonials, case studies, online reviews
5) Have Social Proof
6) Have a System For Everything
7) Ask Questions

You are the captain of this ship - YOU run the deal. It’s your job to get the client the result they want, and that starts with protecting your commission so you and buyer agents have every incentive to sell your client’s home.

If you needed a new client right NOW, what would you do? In our latest agent interview, Trey Willard shares how he’s built a referral-based real estate business thanks to the relationships he’s built with the 1,600+ people in his database. Trey can call any of those 1,600 people right now and they’d be happy to take his call.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Facebook Gifts are an easy way to thank people for sending you a referral

2. The higher the level of human contact with your database - the more effective it is

3. Before calling someone in your database, check their Facebook Timeline first

Prospecting and internet lead gen should only be built on the foundation of a great database. Start with the people you know and make sure they know what you do. You don’t have to aggressively ask for referrals. Make simple check-in calls, bring value and make a genuine connection with them and the referrals will come naturally.

Guest Bio

Trey Willard is the the Lead Residential Agent for Donnie Jarreau Real Estate, a new division of a prominent local developer. Prior to starting this division, Trey was Keller Williams Rookie of the Year (2010) and Top Producer 2010-2012. Any referrals you have in the Baton Rouge area, please send them to Trey via email: [email protected].

Live streaming video is taking over the social media conversation. The tactics will change constantly but there are 4 strategic uses for live streaming that will always apply.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Live stream your Open Houses to demonstrate your value to current and potential clients

2. Use live streaming tools to build a Platform and reach a larger audience of your sphere and potential clients

3. Offer live streaming video as an alternative to your weekly update calls

First we answer a question from the Facebook Lead Gen Scripts & Objections Group on how to make prospecting calls on Sundays, and Greg rants about his exhausting Super Bowl experience.

We also teased our upcoming test with a live streaming video platform called Smiletime, which allows you to host a live interactive video show with live chat and video call-ins from guests. We’re excited to run our first event and hopefully it goes well enough that we can make it a recurring interactive podcast event.

Then we dive into live streaming video, and the 4 main strategic uses:

Better client interaction- Instead of a weekly phone call update to sellers, offer a Skype, FaceTime or Google Hangout update. I would much rather do a video call than an audio call.
Demonstrating Value to Existing Clients - Live streaming Open Houses, door-knocking sessions, phone call sessions, open house invites, etc.
Platform- Building trust by using regular scheduled live streaming. Trust is about promises made and promises fulfilled over time.
Attracting New Clients Through Shareable Content- Housewarming parties, neighborhood events, local business interviews and anything else that is ideal for sharing.

Live streaming is just picking up momentum and might be poised for mass adoption. This creates a great opportunity to leverage these tools to build deeper relationships with clients and sphere as well as reach a larger audience through a Platform.

Jay Samit joins us again to judge the best business ideas we’ve come up with over the last 30 days. For those who watched Jay’s original appearance, Jay challenged us to come up with 3 problems a day and ideas to solve them. Today we pitch our best ideas and get live constructive feedback on how to improve our business ideas.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Every day write down 3 problems you might be able to solve

2. Don’t nurture an idea - kill it every possible way you can think of till you hit a Zombie Idea

3. Scratch your own itch - some of the best product ideas were created by people outside of an industry solving their own problems

So take the 30-day challenge and start writing down three ideas a day for problems you could solve. Doing this exercise helps you to see the world in a different way - as a series of problems that can be solved instead of just obstacles to your happiness. In those 90 ideas could be the seeds of a billion dollar company.

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.

Who the hell are we and why do we do this? In our latest episode we decided to tackle all that in one show. We share our backgrounds in life and real estate, the purpose and future of the podcast and why we don’t sell coaching.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Don’t give up - even market crashes create opportunities to get better

2. Know your competitive advantage so you present it to potential clients in any form- verbal, written, voicemail or email

3. Sometimes you have to humble yourself and ask for help

Remember, even market crashes can create opportunities to get better, learn new skills and become even more successful. It’s all in how you respond to what happens to you. 

100% of nothing is still nothing. That’s why we believe commission splits should be toward the bottom of your list of concerns when looking at brokers. In this episode you’ll learn the key things that make a great brokerage so you know exactly what to look for when selecting a brokerage to join.

Takeaways + Tactics

1. Don’t chase commission splits. 100% of nothing is still nothing

2 Interview multiple brokers - don’t join a brokerage where you’re swimming uphill against the culture

3. Look for brokerages where the incentives are aligned so agents and admin staff are motivated and rewarded for helping newer team members

Look for a friendly, knowledgeable, experienced and generous atmosphere around the broker office, and take the time to ask current agents, office staff and agents who have left the brokerage you’re interested in to get the full picture of that brokerage. Only then make your decision on brokerage to join, and whatever you do, don’t chase commission splits!