Marketing Yourself and Providing Value

Welcome to the Leading Lane podcast for Real Estate Pros by Real Estate Pros, with your hosts, Ashley Frederick and Stephen Burch. If you're looking for an honest, authentic, and raw perspective, you found it. Yep. All right, welcome back to our podcast today. This is a topic I'm apparently really passionate about, about marketing yourself and being out there. And when I mean being out there, I mean, making sure that you are present, you are being able to be seen. But more importantly, are you providing value, not just marketing to post out there. Like, are you actually providing value to your people for them to be able to see that they want to, like, love and trust you to move forward with. Let it be the. The transaction. Let it be, you know, just a friendship or just somebody that is within their sphere. So opening that up. Ashley, what do you do for marketing? What does marketing mean to you? Well, one thing that we were talking about beforehand, too, is, like, being authentic. And I think that comes back into the posting. And we've talked about it before, but, you know, there used to be, like, business pages and then your Facebook personal page, and everybody would try to keep everything separate. And I mean, like, I think the business pages, as far as, like, us realtors, I feel like they've kind of gone away. They're there, but people are really involved in, like, your personal Facebook. So I think it comes back to being, you know, authentic, which we can get into. But as far as marketing, Right. A lot of people think it's just like, post posting on social media, like, here's my new listing, which definitely is a part of it, but it's more than that. And the fact that people need to know, like, and trust you, so they need to be able to actually see you, like, as you as a human. But also, like, what value are you bringing when you do see them? Is it just like, hey, here's my latest listing, or is it actual value of this is what's going on in the market. These are the connections that I can help you with. But also in general, just being up, like, we talk about all the time, like, showing up. Showing up in actual physical locations is also marketing. I mean, it's. I talk about it with some of my coaching clients, like, and my agents in the office. I was like, do you wear, like, your franchise gear? Like, when you're out somewhere? It's like, well, no. And I said, that's really simple. I mean, like, you just have to put on a T shirt when you're at your basketball game and someone will want. It's like a Recognition of like, oh, yeah, that's what they do or oh, I should talk to them. I was thinking about selling this spring. It's so simple, just the little things. But people are just, I think, I don't know, I think it's just a matter of like easy, but easy, easy buttons here and there. But it's, it's not, it's not just posting on a. Just sold or just listed. Yeah, like I call that posting and praying. You're going to post and you're going to pray that somebody's actually going to reach out to you. There's no method to the madness behind it whatsoever. And you know, also for me, like this me, me, me mentality that like people are trying to be, you know, selling Sunset and the reality TV show and all about me. And you know, like, I think there's a time and place for that, but that's not of a value in my opinion. That's just the reality tv, you know, wasting of time. It's. What is it that is going to attract people to come to you? And you can deliver this in multiple different methods. You know, I mean, like you've already said in person, or it can be digitally, you can create ads, or you can do it organically. You can go through so many different cycles. And it's not just a one size fits all either. There has to be a strategic plan behind what are you actually doing and with your intentions and being extremely intentional with it. So it may be one aspect of it being the only realtor in the room. It may be one aspect of it that you are going to post your just listed and just sold. Maybe you're going to do your postcards, maybe. I mean like, what else are you doing out there though, other than the just general posting? And so I think the easiest way to be able to explain what I'm. What I would love is for people to be able to answer the questions that are constantly being asked. There's a great book, they ask, you answer. And that opened my eyes tremendously because we, we get the questions constantly. And so I think that we, we don't a lot of times realize that that's something of importance and of value that we can start educating and providing that out there. Um, but yet there's people that have no clue what is going on and they're looking for us to be able to help them and guide them. So what better way to show them that you're the professional by educating them. But how are you going to do that? So, you know, another One that we were talking about is video. We, we had Tracy Phillips on here and she does our, our pro shorts, she does our testimonials, which are the video testimonies for from clients and for recruiting and all these different things. And the easiest way somebody can actually get to know you, in my opinion, is being able to watch you on video. And if they say the a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words then is an actual video of you? And I hate getting on video. Right. Like I know the first couple podcasts that we had are in different recordings that we had on. Like I was a nervous wreck. But it comes with time. You have to, you know, I'm way more comfortable now. I'm not trying to be polished and bullet point everything out, you know. So I think that people need to see that authentic you because let me tell you, when you get in front of people, at least for me, when I get in front of people, I'm still going to stutter. I'm still going to trip over my words. I'm going to make up words or put words that aren't supposed to be in that sentence and make, you know, like make sense. But I think that's the part of the fun of getting to know each other and being able to learn and understand like for your clients, customers, the public, that you aren't perfect, that you aren't this perfect, polished person. And that makes you so much more relatable. Yeah, I think that video has come a long way and it's so simple now. Like you can just turn your camera around and you know, tape record yourself for 30 seconds, 10 seconds, whatever it might be. There's also another author in YouTube video, but Karen Carr. It's K A R I N and then C A R R. And that is kind of her specialty is YouTube videos. So she tells a story about how she had to relocate. I think it was because her husband went to a different military base and she was in real estate and they didn't, she didn't know anybody. And so she just started doing YouTube videos about the area that she lived in. It didn't necessarily have to be real estate related. It was just here are some good coffee shops, here's my favorite grocery store, you know, the five things to do on, you know, whatever. And she basically like amounted her this mass business because people found her on YouTube and then they felt like they already knew her before they met her. And she is the same person, you know, whether it's in person or on YouTube. And I think that's the other thing is, you know, we talked about somebody that, you know, didn't want to put something on their, on their Facebook page because of who would see it. And I think, I think that. But like, you're yourself so like, why would you not put that. And granted there's, there's some things that should definitely be left off of Facebook for sure. But when it comes to being yourself or answering questions or asking questions like people want to know you, they want to. And it's also just a reminder. Like some of us have been in real estate for 10 plus years and if we can remind our clients, right, because we might not see them as often or, you know, that's another whole aspect of, you know, marketing is like, how are you staying in touch with your past clientele so the five years from now when they decide to sell their house. Yep. I'm going to call Ashley. Like there's a whole sense of marketing to that as well that people just expect that people are going to call them back when they decide to buy or sell. We had a, a client sign up with us yesterday for, for Rev up our lead system. And in our, like, our conversation she was sharing with me about her neighbor sold her house, listed her house with somebody else and she was so upset and she was like, so I was like, so how did, like, did you have a conversation like, where did that go? And she was like, she went and asked the neighbor, what, what made you choose this person over me? And the neighbor said, I forgot that you did real estate. And I said, this is why you need to have a strategic plan in place to be able to make sure that you're constantly top of mind. And she's like, well, I don't know what to, you know, what to share. What do I, what do I put out there? Like, I don't want it to be all salesy. And they said it's simple. You go to your local small business owned restaurant, like I saw it on your Facebook, share that and tag yourself in there and making sure that they know you're wearing your swag. You know, you're doing different events, you're inviting them to, you know, your Christmas party or a cocktail party or whatever it is that, you know, makes you happy, that you enjoy doing. But now you can be able to share that experience with your, your past clients and customers and your sphere of influence. And I think there's a, a tactic for all of those different categories that you have within your pipeline of what you're going to be able to do and how much you're spending on them, because it's not like you're going to invite. And maybe you will, but I wouldn't invite 3,000 people to a cocktail party. I'm going to invite my most important people to make sure that they are going to be out there and being my biggest cheerleaders, to give me referrals, you know, so it was just really eye opening to, to be able to hear her say that. And she's been in this for 20 years. And she's like, I'm great at doing, you know, obviously what we're all great at is the relationships and the transactional. She goes, but I suck at the market. I don't know what to do. And it's just the simple changes of how can you put yourself out there even further and compound it to what you are already doing in your everyday life, you know, and you were telling a story when we got on about yesterday. You had to call 911 for the A cow in the highway. Right? Welcome to rural usa. Right. Like for real. But that's, that's marketing that could be turned into a picture onto social and saying, welcome to rural usa. Call me, you know, instead of whatever. You know, there's so much that you could have played off of that and we overcomplicating it, thinking that it needs to be this big elaborate post of what exactly needs to happen and only within real estate. But people need to know that, you know, small town rural usa, that you'd like to go golfing, you like to travel, and I think that again, makes you so much more relatable. Well, I think it's also just, I mean, for us, like our hashtag, right, is like humans over houses. And so at the end of the day, like, we need to remember that we're humans and people want to see that we're human as well. So I think that for a long time I struggled posting things that were just, you know, like, oh, I had a golf outing today. Because then there were the people that would be like, oh, must be nice to not be in the office today. And that would always piss me off. But I mean, it's like Ben and I were talking about last night. There, there is no such thing as a day off in, in real estate. Like, we can be on vacation. I'm still writing transactions, right? And that's, that's the life we choose. But then people need to also know, like, yep, it is okay if like you went to a golf outing today because guess what? That was also Showing up. I remember that it's this one golf outing I go to with my friends every year. And at the dinner afterwards it was like a, just a, you know, hors d' oeuvres or whatnot. And my friend, we sat down next to someone else and he, he introduced me to him and we like chit chatted and he's like, oh yeah, like you're in real estate. I've heard your name before. And the following year he called me and he said, hey, I met you at that golf outing last year and my wife and I are looking to sell. And I sold their house that year and it was because I met them randomly at a golf outing. So sure, it might appear that I'm not working, but I indeed was. But then it makes it relatable, right? Because then somebody else in your sphere might like golfing and they didn't know that you liked to golf. And then the next time you see them, they would be like, oh, what did you think about, you know, X Golf Course? We hate that one. Or that one's a tough one. So it's just giving people things to talk about too. So I think we were talking about this the other time is that I think it's also important to remember that just because people don't like or comment on any of your things doesn't mean they're not watching. Right? So I think I was at a, I was at a golf audience and must be nice. So nice. Someone asked how Mittens was doing and they hadn't liked or commented on, on anything but right. Like they saw that I posted that like Mittens had been sick and they took the time to read it and then they took the time to ask me about it. So again, like it makes me human for them. And lo and behold, I mean she, it was a past client of mine and I thought that that was really sweet that she asked. But again, like these are just talking points which I think we also over complicate. Like people are always like, what are we going to talk about? I mean, there's plenty of things to talk about because again, like your clients are typically going to be your, you know, friends. A lot of them turn into good friends. But in the same sense, like you're helping them with the largest purchase they're going to make. Like you want it to be relatable and fun. And you know, I always think about like one of my clients that fell down the stairs when we were, you know, looking at homes and he tried to walk through a screen door. It's the same guy, right? But like, we joke about that for like years and I think I posted a video about my golden Rolodex and like, sure enough, you know, she was like, you are, you're our call for everything. And I need to comment back yet. And I was like, don't know if I can help about walking through screen doors. Right? But it's just like that camaraderie that happens when you engage with people. And the aha moment for me was a few years back because I've, I know that I'm working on being better at social media and posting as well because I, I have this story that if I'm posting different things then it means that I'm, you know, being cocky and I'm, you know, out here trying to brag and all that stuff and that's not my intentions whatsoever. But somebody told me social media is social, you have to be social on it. So that means you have to re engage, you have to like other people's stuff, you have to comment on other people's stuff because then now the wonderful algorithm gods are going to grant you with more visual right in front of other people. So social media is social. And now every single time that I'm posting, like, is this social or is this just me throwing shit on the wall and hoping that it sticks and then getting upset later on that if nobody else is engaging, interacting well, I need to put a little bit more critical thinking into it to make sure that it is engaging and I can get people to reply. And going back to like, people do not necessarily like and comment on your stuff, but that doesn't mean not to not post. I have a client that came to our broker fast track retreat last year and so work with her constantly, even still. And I posted a picture of when I was in college and I chaired at K State and you know, like, because it was the first game last weekend and she screenshot it, sent it to me and she goes, why in the world did I not know about this? And like we went back and forth and you know, talking about K State and she didn't know that I cheered there and like she didn't like her commentary, right? And that's okay, but she sure started and sparked a conversation with me. And now every time that she sees K State and every time that I'm thinking Case State, I'm going to think about her because we had that engagement. So now I have a deeper level of connection with her. And also to echo off of the fact of like what we actually post out here. We need to understand that yes, you know, in our business we sell real estate, but in reality what people are paying for and hiring us for is not necessarily the actual house. In my opinion, they're paying for our services. And our services is us, right? Like that is us as a human again, going back to the humans over houses aspect of it. So it's not like we need to post our inventory of what is available for them to be able to purchase. What we're selling them in reality is our services. So if we lead with our services and us as humans first, then the transactional inventory, if you will, is going to come thereafter. It's going to follow no matter what. Right? Well, I think like one really easy thing I started doing is just if something comes up in my day, I'll just make a note like I have a, like a little thing in my asana and it's called like video ideas. And it's just something that happened during the day that I was like, you know what, like this would be great educational because I think that's at the end of the day is by providing services, like I just want people to be educated because some people make some horrible decisions when they didn't have a realtor, no lie. Like at a client that I bought and sold with and she found a for sale by owner and thought that she'd get a better deal by not working with a realtor. And she called me earlier this week and it has turned into an absolute shit show. Now own owes it, paid cash. Pretty sure she paid like $35,000 over what the true value is. So if she had to sell like it would be extremely tough. But also it was a condo and condo because there's lots of looseness with that one. But nobody gave her the condo docs, so she bought the condo without knowing any of the actual restrictions of what she can and can't do, which are going to impact what her plans were and you know, same thing. So it's just a matter of making sure that they understand. And she said three times, I should have called, I should have called, I should have called. And so I think it's just a matter of us making sure that we are being in touch and reminding them like this is why, these are the reasons. But again like right, I'll probably make a video about did you receive all the documents? Like how did you make sure that you got all of those documents? Or like it's been popular here lately, like probably going to do a video about it. But agents that are denying showings because they're worried about how they're going to get paid, I mean it's disgusting. And there are fiduciary duties that are not being held to standards. And everybody likes to put it under the rug in this area. And I want to be a little bit more boisterous about it that if you want to see a property and someone's denying you that request, like we have definite things to talk about. I know I'm going off on a rampage now, but you know, like there was an agent that called another one of our agents this week and said that things aren't fair because our office works with higher end buyers than their office. So we can just assume that we're going to get paid, but they're not going to get paid because they work with lower end buyers. And it actually really pissed me off because there are plenty of quote unquote lower end buyers that have the ability to pay for an agent. And here's the other thing, like we keep, we keep on getting distracted on, on can a buyer afford a buyer's agent? Where in all reality like if we're negotiating for the buyer and we're putting it in the offer, the, the buyer doesn't have to worry about it. If you explain it to those first time home buyers, which I've done, and they get it and they agree to sign a buyer agency. So again it goes back to people are just so unaware of what's going on in the market and we have to do a better job of leading from the front and educating them. And right now I feel like the only way to do that is via video or via social media because there's so much crap out there. So now I just went off on a tangent and I came up with 10 ideas for videos. It's, it's crazy. The, and I had that exact conversation yesterday with one of my agents and she was like, you know, agent, there's other agents that are concerned about their commission can get that. She was like, but what happens when we get in front of a buyer and you know, they, they don't have the funds. And I was like, okay, first off, that's a prime opportunity for you to tell them that is why they need to hire you because you're a master negotiator. And so therefore if they don't have the funds, they need to make sure they're putting themselves in a position working with a realtor that is actually going to work on their behalf versus getting them into a position and now stuck and can't financially afford anything that they just put on their plate and they're like, huh, Never really thought of it that way. And you know, it's a chin check that we have to realize that, like, we have to be able to articulate our value. And it's okay that you can't financially afford out of pocket, you know, X amount of, you know, dollars, cash. But if you really want the house and you really need a living situation, like work with me and I will do my damnedest to make sure that we check all your boxes and get you in there. And you know, the, the flip side of this too. And what kind of a flip. It's a kind of in the marketing realm. But yesterday there was a post by a local agent and was talking about how somebody can use their VA and have 0% down. True. But then was talking about how on a $400,000 house it would only be about $7,000 a buyer's closing cost. And so let's negotiate that. Also a little iffy in my opinion, but it was so vague. I feel like it was extremely misleading. Yes, you, there's VA that you can do 0% down. But what about the VA funding fee that has to be rolled into the loan? We didn't talk about that. What about the commission now? We didn't talk about that. Like, I think that there's these vague post and vague probably because the person that's actually posting them does not have the education behind it to realize it in the same. Come to think of it, the same person that posted this a couple weeks ago posted how, like, you can tell me that you don't want to go see a house that's not offering commission. And I commented on there, like, I'm going to challenge you on that. Like, I, I think everything in real estate not, I think everything in real estate is negotiable, including commission concessions, all of that. So I would not rule out a property just because they're not advertising buyer commission right up front. She never responded. But still, like, why are we putting that out there? That's not true. You're only working for the best of yourself. Right. Like, that's the other part of like this marketing is that I feel like we need to combat what is out there because there are people that are actually posting things that are scaring people or aren't true. And so I think it's back to us as the realtors, realtors that are educated and are confident in it to have those, you know, conversations. I Think I. I posted a video about just the changes. Right. Like, happening August 17th. These are the three types of forms. And it was great because then someone wrote, ashley, does this mean that I need this in order to go to an open house? Great question. Like, no, you don't have to. But. Right. Like, at least that was engaging. And anybody else that read it now understood it. So that's the other part, is the dialogue that other people are asking can educate other people along the way. Well, and that goes right back to what we were saying, that just because somebody's not liking it or commenting on it, that they're scrolling through, they're seeing that they're reading it, that that's information now that you provided. You. You aren't getting the satisfaction of the like and the engagement, but you are getting the outcome that you're looking for of empowering and educating other people. So I think that's so huge to be able to do. And, and with this, too, like, I think it's so funny that there's. It's all on terminology and especially with the lawsuit stuff that we're always talking about and it's interpretation. I made a comment on our sales meeting this week about that you need a buyer agency agreement. And one of my agents, Sabrina, she was like, well, technically it's not a buyer agency agreement. And I was like, ooh, touche. Ten points for you. Thank you for, like, saying it, like, in this setting. Yes. Like, you are 100. Correct. And so we went through that, and I thanked her, like, I really appreciate you checking me on that, because I did misspeak. You knew what I was meaning in the. In the context of the conversation, but out of all technicality, I don't need the buyer agency agreement. We can do a touring agreement or we can do. You know, there's so many different other things that we can do. So I think it's even with your peers, you know, like, making sure that you are commenting on it and engaging with it. And, you know, if you need to shine some light and maybe in a different way for. For them to be able to see it from a different perspective, like, go for it. Yeah. Or send them a private message or send them, you know, a text message of like. And I try to do that with a local broker. And, you know, he was upset, and he's like, you're expecting agents to walk around getting paid. You're not getting paid. They're supposed to work for free. And I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. That is not what we're talking about. That is not what I said. And I was like, let me explain it to you. And I, I tried, but I don't know if it went anywhere. But, you know, I think that's just. It is at least if we can continue to try to. I mean, I've tried to send a couple of agents to some videos, like, you know, the unfiltered podcast. Like, here, listen to this. Like, this is why we think it's going to work this way. And, you know, if you choose to listen to it, you do if you don't. But it's also a matter of, like, finding those right agents that are taking the time to understand what's going on. I had another client that's going to move here from Arizona, and he was talking about, yeah, like, you know, buyers have to pay for their agents now. And I was like, so it doesn't quite work that way. I mean, like, there's a, there's a roundabout way. And he's like, oh, no, my realtor said that that's only true in Arizona. And I was like, okay. So it was, it's across the U.S. i was like, it, let me explain it to you. So, right. Like, again, like, there's some knowledge that's being spread, but we got to make sure it's the correct all the way around. So, like what you said, I mean, it goes back to marketing. It goes back to us being the experts, us being willing to share that information, not being afraid of what we look like on camera because we're more concerned about impacting humans and making them comfortable in their homes so that they're not house poor, they didn't make bad decisions and that when the time comes, like, they remember how hard we worked for them, that yes, then they come back as repeat clients. Right. And you know, it's tough, you know, being able to combat, if you will, or, or rebuttal, probably a better word. People on social and in person, it's tough because you are going against the grain, but you always say you have to leave from the front. Right. And it may feel like we're going against the grain, but honestly, it's just because it's new territory. And the reason why I'm saying all of this is that I hope probably two weeks ago, we are at an event and it happened to be a place where other realtors were out, totally cool. And one of their clients came up to me and we were talking and we're having this conversation and then he interjected, this other agent interjected and we were talking about the lawsuit, and he goes on about how the lawsuit is. Because in 2008, when we had the crazy downturn in the market, like, he went on this big, elaborate story, like, in front of his client. And, you know, they're engaging, and I'm sitting there, and I'm like, red flag, red flag, red flag. Nope, nope, nope. And then he goes, well, Stephen, I'm. I'm. I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong. And I said, yep, let me stop you, because you're wrong. Where would you like me to start? Link? And I was like, I don't mean any disrespect. Like, maybe that's your perspective, but that's not where we're at. And he kept on going and going, and I was like, all right, so we're going to have to agree to disagree, but I will get you some education points to be able to make sure that you're educating people properly. And then the entire rest of the evening, his client was talking to me about all of these other things, and he got all pissed off, and everything was this big production. I was like, okay, come on. Like, first, if you just educated yourself, like, I'm not here trying to steal clients. I mean, literally making sure you know what is going on. So I don't even sell, dude. Like, so it's not like I'm gonna come and take them away from you and sell my house. So I don't know. I think marketing all the way around. If, again, if it's digitally or if it's in person, being the only realtor in the room, like, it's being bold, it's being loud, it's being vulnerable, it's being consistent, and it's stepping out of your comfort zone constantly. So 100. Good talk. I feel much better. Thank you for letting me doing that. Passionate topic. You're welcome. All right, tune in next time, guys. Thank you for listening, and we're excited to chat again. If you've enjoyed today's episode, please, like, subscribe and share with others. Stay connected for more genuine insights and strategies to boost your real estate career on Facebook or check out our website. We'll see you next time.