What is the value of leveraging off of reviews? Reviews give you credibility. It's an objective view of you and your performance, and they're presumably from people who know you, like you, and trust you. A lot of our team's business comes from referrals as well, which in a way is a form of a review one-to-one.

On this theme of reviews and customer service, Sarah just returned from her 4th family trip to Disney World. It exceeded her expectations. She came back as a huge ambassador for Disney trips. Something that sticks out to her is that Disney is always improving the experience and adding more value. They could easily adopt the mindset of, let's just keep doing what we're doing because people will always come back for nostalgia's sake. But instead, they make a conscious effort to continually raise the bar.

In any business, you of course have to make sure your business is running efficiently and effectively, but it's equally important to have an unforgettable customer experience. It's true with Disney and it's true with real estate, you want to strive for a customer experience so that long after the price is forgotten the memories remain.

With less than two months left in 2024, there’s still a powerful window of opportunity to make a strong impact! In this episode, we dive into how you can capitalize on the remaining 4-5 weeks of selling time to close deals that count for a 2024 paycheck and, just as importantly, lay the foundation for a thriving 2025.

Many agents slow down around the holidays, which means less competition and more opportunities for you to stand out. We'll share strategies to keep your pipeline flowing, like time-blocking your schedule and focusing on quality conversations to convert leads into future business.

And if pushing through the holidays sounds like a challenge, don’t worry—we’ll cover the power of an accountability partner, so you’re not in it alone. Whether it’s a fellow agent, your spouse, or even your kids, having someone keep you on track is a game-changer. Let’s make these last weeks count and head into the new year with momentum and habits that set you up for a stellar 2025!

The election is next week. Who knows what's going to happen. It is an uncontrollable. You have to focus on the process and disassociate from the uncontrollables.

Focus on what you can control and the process, not the uncontrollables and the outcome. On our team, we use levers to take control of our business. Levers are specific action items we focus on - things like open houses, making calls, or regular newsletters. Levers encourage you to be proactive instead of reactive.

How do you know what levers to focus on? Start by looking at what you're good at. Where do most of your deals come from? Pick 3 levers and go deep on those. Don't spread yourself too thin.

If you're a new agent, your goal should be to have as many conversations as possible. Start out wide and then narrow down and go deep on a few levers after you've built your skills. You'll learn a lot along the way and figure out where your strengths are and what you're passionate at. Get on the phone. Doorknock. Hold open houses. Work works. Get after it.

It sounds obvious but everyone is different. Everyone is motivated by different things and has different habits. For example, Sarah loves finding shows on Netflix that have a lot of seasons. It gets her excited that she'll have something to watch for awhile. Versus Mark, who finds shows like that daunting. He won't watch anything with a lot of seasons.

If you're in a position of leadership, these kind of fundamental differences are absolutely critical to understand. Your approach with each of your team members has to be different. You have to meet people where they're at: to understand them, to motivate them, and to ultimately help them to set and achieve their goals.

Last week, Mark and Sarah did one-on-one check-ins with all 26 agents on our team. One of the biggest takeaways? Sometimes people just want to be heard. They aren't always looking for solutions, just for someone to listen.

It can be challenging sometimes to meet people where they're at. Everyone has a different background, different wants, and different needs.

This also goes back to getting out of judgment and into curiosity. It's okay to ask a fellow agent, friend, or family member: are you looking for my listening ear or a solution? Your relationships will change when you ask that critical question.

➡️ At the time of recording it was September, which you may or not know is Realtor Safety Month. It’s easy to see something in the news or hear about it and just think: that would never happen to me. But in an industry like real estate, you can never be too careful. 

➡️ Back when Sarah worked in car sales, she wanted to sell a mustang to a gentleman quickly. She was distracted and hungry. The client wanted to test drive the mustang. She photocopied his license and hopped in the car with no hesitation. Very quickly she realized the situation was out of her control. The client said he wasn’t taking her back to the dealership and wouldn’t drive the normal test drive route. Sarah was fortunately able to convince the man to take her back and they changed protocols going forward for test driving. 

➡️ If you’re a realtor, situations can easily get out of control when you’re in a house with a stranger with no one else around. Safety conversations are critical for you to have with your fellow realtors, your broker, and your spouse. 

➡️ Our team utilizes Forewarn and cross references prospective client’s criminal records and other public information. Your safety should never be put at risk for the sake of making a sale. 

➡️ Be aware of your surroundings and listen to your gut.

Imperfect consistency will outperform perfect inconsistency every time.

If you follow Mark on social media, you know he puts out regular reels on social media. They aren’t perfect, but they add consistent value. He posts 2 every week. He recently got 2 leads from those imperfect videos: a $1.7 million seller and $300,000 buyer.

Sarah posts a reel every Friday afternoon. She was recently told by someone that she needs to hire someone to help her because of the low quality of the videos. But for Sarah, her priority is to get her message out there and consistently post every single Friday. And it’s working for her…she’s been posting every Friday for over 2 years. She’s building traction because people value what she says and people expect her videos every week. Perfection is not her goal, but rather imperfect consistency.

From an agent perspective, committing to something like social media reels has more of an impact than you might think. Unexpected people are paying attention. When that random middle school classmate you’re friends on facebook with is ready to buy a home, they’re going to think of you first. You will be top of mind. Your followers will already know you, like you, and trust you and that’s half the battle.

How do you gain confidence in the luxury market? You have to preview, preview, preview. Locally, it can also be beneficial to read St. Louis Business Journal, Town & Style, and Ladue News. You may not like the periodicals, but you'll know about charity events, recent business acquisitions, and the like. The more reference points you have in the business environment and local happenings, the more likely you'll be able to connect to a luxury prospective seller.

You should also do your homework on your prospective clients. Look them up on LinkedIn. What business are they in? What can you learn from their email address? If you can't find common ground before the appointment, pay attention when you get to the home. If you notice a bike in the garage or a bike rack on their car, ask about that. Mark and Neil used to cycle and it's an easy conversation to share common ground.

It's also very important to personalize luxury listing presentations. It won't be as impactful if it's a canned or one-size-fits-all presentation. Make the presentation about them. Answer their questions and engage them. You have to be a chameleon. If you get caught up in your planned presentation, you'll put them off by saying "I'll cover that later." Spend time on what their concerns are and don't be dismissive.

At the end of the day, knowledge gives you credibility and confidence. Don't lose sight of that.

➡️ Special guest today! Neil, Mark's brother and real estate partner, joins Mark and Sarah this week to discuss luxury listings, specifically working with luxury sellers and preparing for sale.

➡️ About 2 decades ago, Neil started like all real estate agents do: buying and selling at every price point. Early on you have to go wide so you can learn areas and grow as an agent. But over time, the ultimate goal is to naturally specialize in an area. Neil specializes in the area around where he lives, but you don't have to do that as an agent. You can choose your target area and focus your business accordingly.

➡️ At face value, there isn't a big difference between a luxury seller and a non-luxury seller. However, often luxury sellers are repeat sellers. They've had multiple transactions. While that adds to their knowledge of the process, it can also complicate things. Luxury sellers often have higher expectations and require more time. Luxury homes are also often one-of-a-kind homes, so your approach to prep for sale and marketing is different for every home. You have to be a chameleon.

➡️ On the front end, this all requires a tailored prelist appointment script. A canned script isn't going to get you the listing. Have the mindset that you're not going in as a salesperson, but as a consultant.

➡️ You have to understand what their motivation is for selling, which is critical regardless of price point. Are they moving for family, for their health, financial reasons, downsizing, etc. And no matter what that reason is, you have to meet them with empathy.

➡️ If you're an agent looking to tap into the luxury market, what gives you credibility is your knowledge. You have to be the expert and be able to illustrate you're the expert. This also gives you confidence.

➡️ An important aspect in the prelist appointment is to also make sure you're taking time to listen and not just talk. At the end, ask: Is there anything that came up today that would prevent you from working with me to sell your home? That kind of open question probably wasn't asked by a competing agent and gives them a chance to voice any concerns.

It's absolutely critical for agents to get in front of objections and avoid having to be reactive. Many issues that come up in the home buying or selling process often have foreshadowing clues in earlier conversations or situations with clients. Deal with those potential issues or doubts early on and maybe you'll be able to prevent a mutual release or your client feeling uncomfortable about a situation.

A good example is with inspections. Sometimes buyers, especially first-time home buyers, panic when they get a 100-page document showing everything wrong with the house they're about to spend a lot of money on. You can start to reassure them before they even make an offer by saying things like: "This house is a wonderful fit for you, but keep in mind that it is 100 years old and there will be some things that come up in inspections. No house is perfect, but rest assured, I've sold older homes before and most likely it's not going to be anything we can't handle."

Get in front of it. Set expectations.