Social Selling Made Simple

Real estate teams are a powerful vehicle for growth and success, but they still remain heavily misunderstood and underutilized by agents who desperately need the structure and freedom they provide. In order to build a team, it’s critical that we shift from thinking like an agent to thinking like a business owner. The best and highest use of our time as agents is becoming better salespeople, interacting with clients, setting the vision for the business and doing what no one else can...

To build a valuable and successful real estate business, we have to put key pieces in place in our lives and take deliberate actions every day. We can either build a business that burns us out or gives us freedom and allows us to earn the most money for what we have to offer. In 2020, there were certain critical pieces I put in place in my business to emerge stronger. How did I use my time at home to increase my streams of income? What are the biggest life lessons I apply in my...

If you want to succeed in real estate and build a sustainable business, you need to have a powerful marketing system. We need a repeatable and scalable process that helps us generate leads. We’re in the real estate business and whether we want to list, flip, or wholesale a property, it’s impossible to do so at a high level without a marketing plan. In today’s low inventory market, it’s important to be extremely dialed into our local markets so we’re able to identify and maximize our...

Sales and networking require us to effectively communicate with strangers. In those situations, many agents struggle to separate themselves from the crowd, and fall into the trap of simply being seen as a commodity. We all have things that make us different. What we’re passionate about, the value we bring to the table, the niche we serve and our own personal journeys that set us apart. When we’re able to present ourselves leading with these things, we get elevated to the status of an...

One of the most important marketing fundamentals we need to make a reality in our own lives and businesses is finding and dominating a niche. When we create our own lane, we’re able to have a clearer message, stand out more, understand our clients and serve them at a higher level. Mobile home investing is one of the most fascinating and profitable niches in real estate. Today, I’m joined by an entrepreneurial couple who have flipped over 400 mobile homes, and are now teaching other people...

When it comes to marketing, we’re often so focused on the individual aspects that we overlook how all the pieces fit together to create a memorable customer experience. By focusing on the whole customer experience, we can create joy, build loyalty, get repeat business, and build a strong connection with people. Everything we do in marketing should be about showing value to our customers, and being authentic and personable so that they genuinely get to know, like, and trust us. Why...

If we want to be more effective at marketing and social selling, we have to get better at leveraging the devices in the palms of our hands. We have to approach everything we do from the angle of finding solutions. Every pain point in our business and our marketing is an opportunity to learn something that can make us better. When the lockdown happened back in March, I set goals for what I wanted to achieve to keep growing my business. Instead of seeing the lockdown as a problem, I then...

Through all the content we create and post online, our primary goal should be to build brand awareness. But we should also position ourselves as assets to our community by constantly providing value. Delivering value through content sets us apart and allows us to digitally dominate the real estate communities we want to buy and sell in. When we position ourselves as marketing all-stars, we become top of mind and show people that we’ll work hard at selling and marketing their...

Once we’ve identified our target audience, we have to craft content that resonates with them by celebrating what’s important to them. We need to create branded content that looks polished, but also shows what makes us unique and what we have in common with our audience. It has to be content that comes directly from us. If we build a social media strategy based on reposting other people’s content, we miss out on the opportunity to become an authority in our markets. In order to achieve...

One of the biggest mistakes real estate agents make is focusing on buying leads, while skipping over actually building relationships and cultivating fans. Once we become clear on what our brands represent and the target audience we’re crafting content for, the next step is nurturing quality interactions to connect on a person-to-person level. If we want people to know, like, trust and refer us, we need to have a mindset of giving and a system for reaching out that makes them feel...

An effective content strategy needs to reflect our unique value proposition, and the unique needs of our target audience. When we put out content that’s too general, it won’t speak directly to a specific market and it won’t stand out. This is a mistake I see many agents making. If we don’t commit to doing things differently, we won’t be able to reach our Business Social Goals. On Day 1 and Day 2, we talked about leveraging our unique selling point and finding our niche and target...

Finding our target audience is the first step towards becoming unstoppable in our real estate careers. The second thing we need to do is dial in our morning routines and schedules. We have to develop the habit of living by our calendars, and a set of non-negotiable actions we’re committed to daily. A solid morning routine sets us up for a productive day, and sets in motion the activities that align with our goals for higher income and a better business. Time is the most limited commodity...

At the beginning of 2020, many of us had big goals set out for the year ahead, but those were all shattered by the pandemic. We were quickly faced with two choices - either give up on our goals, or pivot what we do so that we can stay in business. If we set the right intentions and nurture productive habits, 2020 can still be a year of growth. The Social Selling Journal is all about being social every day, both online and offline, to stay number one in your customer’s mind. It is a reboot...

2020 forced us to shift the way we do business. For some, it was a moment of panic because so many of us don’t know how to move what we do in person into the virtual world. For others, this was an opportunity to pivot, get creative and embrace the opportunities that working virtually has to offer. One huge point of friction is the world of virtual meetings and events. When people can no longer be in the same room, can we maintain the same level of energy and engagement? In order to get...

There’s a 20-year age gap between the average Realtor and millennial. Even though millennials now make up the majority of real estate transactions, there’s still a huge disconnect between expectation and reality with the agents on the ground. Millennials think, function and make decisions differently, and Realtors are conflicted by this new dynamic. Instead of paying attention to the habits of these consumers and adapting what we do, many agents make the process of buying and selling...

Over the last few months, there has been increased conversation and dialogue around racism, and what we can do to make a real lasting change in this country. It’s been necessary for us to talk about how racism impacts the real estate professionals in Chicago, and the challenges we face. In order for us to begin to see change, it’s important for local and state leaders to have and facilitate the necessary conversations. We need focused dialogue and the lesson of this season is to get...

A huge part of what real estate agents do on a daily basis is marketing. We have to bring people into our world while allowing them to know, like and trust us. There is one platform that can help us cut this work in half, and that’s YouTube. With people already searching for local real estate content, there’s already a demand for our knowledge and expertise. While other niches are full of competition, the opportunity for success with localized YouTube videos is still wide open for...

The events in our country over the last 2 months have been challenging, and as a nation, we’ve had to have conversations about race and inclusivity on both the community and professional level. The Women’s Council is a group with a significant amount of influence, which can help to amplify the voices of Black Realtors and map the way forward for real estate. Today’s episode is a special panel discussion hosted by Brenda Lee Szlachta, National President of Women's Council. We’re joined...

In the first month of legalization in the state of Illinois, cannabis sales reached almost $40 million. If anyone is looking for a single reason to get into the cannabis business, this is it. How can we enter the cannabis space? Are there any business opportunities we can take advantage of while we get locally licensed? As real estate professionals, we need to make sure we safeguard our reputations - but it’s becoming easier and more accepted to get into the cannabis...

These have been challenging and uncomfortable times and on the South Side of Chicago many communities have been impacted and devastated. My fellow REALTORS® have reached out in need of support for their communities, their families and their businesses. The events we’ve seen over the last few months have been difficult for the 77 communities of Chicago. I love my city and my community, and have pulled efforts to help the people who need support right now, but we can’t do it alone. We...