CHICAGO 11-21-22

CHICAGO EDITION

6 Ways to

GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU

24-HOUR TOUCH-UPS to Maximize Your Price List

HOW TO BUILD A TEAM THAT WILL WIN BIG NO MATTER ITS SIZE

COVER STORY

DIANE VANNA FEATURED AGENT

MODERN EMAIL ETIQUETTE FOR TODAY’S AGENTS

KAREN McCABE

CHICAGO EDITION

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DIANE VANNA

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KAREN McCABE

CONTENTS 4) 6 WAYS TO GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU

15) 24-HOUR TOUCH-UPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PRICE LIST

6) HOW TO BUILD A TEAM THAT WILL WIN BIG NO MATTER ITS SIZE

22) MODERN EMAIL ETIQUETTE FOR TODAY’S AGENTS

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6 Ways to Get Your Client to Trust You The word “REALTOR®” can leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths. Many of today’s home buyers and sellers grew up during the 2009 recession. They are wary of anything 4

or anyone who comes off as too salesy, and they want to work with individuals who they can trust.

But how do you prove to someone you’ve likely never met that you can be trusted?

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Put Testimonials or Case Studies on Your Website

When something goes wrong, own up to your mistakes. Don’t hide bad news from your clients. Be upfront and responsive.

Testimonials and case studies are social proof that you have both the experience and the skills to do the job your clients are hiring you for. People often leave testimonials when they are either incredibly disappointed or extremely happy with the service they were provided, so they’re a good indication to prospective clients of the treatment they’ll receive.

Case studies, which you can post on your blog or website, have much of the same effect, but even more than testimonials, case studies demonstrate your real estate and finance expertise because they explain how you achieved a specific set of results.

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Be Responsive and Accessible

Can your clients reach you easily? That doesn’t mean you need to be available 24/7, but you should respond to your clients within a few hours of receiving their message. When agents don’t respond to their clients’ calls or emails for days on end or fail to provide them with a direct line of contact, their clients’ experience can quickly become frustrating.

Agents are busy but so are their clients. If you constantly show up late to or reschedule meetings, your clients won’t feel like their time is respected or their business is valued. Make sure you set a realistic schedule for yourself rather than spreading yourself too thin.

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Be Honest and Transparent

Sometimes you don’t have the answer to a client’s question. Be honest about your strengths, weaknesses, and the limits of your knowledge. A good response might be, “I don’t know, but I can find out.” Be transparent with your clients, and they’ll respect you for it.

You should always act in their best interest.

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Go the Extra Mile

If you do the bare minimum, that’s what your clients will remember. Their experience won’t be memorable, and they won’t gush about you in online testimonials or in real life to people they know who could use your services. It’s that simple.

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Put Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes

Clients understand that you need to earn money, but that doesn’t mean they want to feel like they’re just a dollar sign to you. Be empathetic to your client’s concerns, even if you’ve heard it all before. Your clients should know that you are there for them.

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Be Consistent

Being responsive, friendly, and knowledgeable shouldn’t be an act. If you “turn on” your personality for clients and then suddenly become a different person when they leave the room, it’s likely that the cracks in your mask will eventually become apparent.

But “faking it till you make it” is so common it’s become a cliché. When we are starting out, we don’t always have the systems or resources in place to create a smooth client journey, from onboarding to closing, so instead we constantly try to reinvent the wheel. Give yourself time to pause, slow down, and reevaluate your workflow. Creating systems creates

consistency, and those systems can and should be constantly updated.

Developing trust between you and your clients will take time, but doing these things can give you a running start.

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How to Build a Team That Will Win Big No Matter its Size In the real estate world building a team is a goal almost every agent strives towards achieving. Doing business with a team as opposed to solo has numerous advantages. With more agents handling clients as well as other employees specialized in areas such as marketing and administrative support there to assist you; you can greatly increase your business and sales.

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So, when creating a team, logic would tell us that the bigger it is, the better, right? Wrong. When it comes to real estate teams, size doesn’t matter so much as the players you bring onto that team to work with you. A team doesn’t have to be big to win big, and here are the secrets to building a team that wins big no matter its size.

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Hire the Right Team Members

Put Your Team Members in the Right Positions to Win

You’ve probably heard the saying, “you’re only as strong as you’re weakest link.” That idea holds true for any kind of team, including those in real estate. If you have weak members on your team, then it’s not possible to have a strong team. Drawing strong team members to your business is essential.

Finding strong team members is just one part of the equation. As the leader of your team, you now have to assess each member’s strengths and weaknesses and position them appropriately. You want the best player for each role playing that part and catering to their strengths. Choose your team member’s roles wisely, and place each individual in the position where their strengths can shine and they can best contribute to a win for the entire team. Every role is important to the team working smoothly and winning as a whole, so it is important to place each team member in the role most suited to his or her skills.

To better understand what kind of person would make a strong addition to your team, you need to ask yourself what skills and characteristics you want your team members to possess. The strongest members are often ones that share their leader’s values. When you share values with your teammates, you are all running along the same course towards the same goal as one. Your definition of a victory in this case is also your teammates’ definition of it. This helps strengthen even the smallest of numbers because you are all working together toward a common goal.

Another characteristic too look out for in potential team members is a positive attitude. You can teach someone the skills needed in real estate, but you can’t teach someone how to have a positive attitude.

Positive members tend to achieve more due to their optimistic nature, but more importantly, they spread that positive attitude to the rest of the team, which improves every members’ performance.

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Communicating Your Vision to Your Team

Your team members are the key ingredients to ultimate victory, but what recipe do you follow now to lead them to victory? That is what communication is for a winning team; the recipe you will use to

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help best utilize each team member and instruct them on how they need to work together to fulfill the recipe that will lead them to be a winning team. Your team members need to know the plan and you must give them the tools to successfully execute it.

It is up to the leader of a team to help your players see your vision and help them understand what a victory looks like. The goal may seem simple and obvious to you, but you must communicate it over and over again to your team members, so they understand it as well as you do. With different personalities coming together to form a unit, you are going to be dealing with numerous challenges such as competing agendas. You will find this on any team. You must keep the goal and at the forefront of your player’s minds in order to encourage them to put aside their own personal desires in order to come together as one cohesive, single-minded unit and push towards the team’s goal.

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Give Your Team Members the Tools to Help Them Perform at Their Best The final thing all great leaders do is equip their team members with the proper tools and training needed for them to succeed. You have to show them how they can each come together with their different strengths to work as a team towards one unified goal. This involves more than simple skills training, but also endurance, so they can last as a team and win even those matches that seem unending and impossible.

Think of all the challenges that they could possibly face ahead, and clear their path to victory by giving them the necessary training and tools they will need to get past any obstacle. As the leader, you must be prepared to continually communicate the team’s goal and your vision. Use that vision to motivate your team members throughout the journey towards victory.

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DIANE VANNA

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Top Agent Diane Vanna and her husband formed The Vanna Group in 2019. They achieved Baird & Warner’s highest level of Sales Achievement; Founder’s Club Sales in 2021.

After a career spanning twenty-five years in Corporate Leadership, REALTOR® Diane Vanna decided to pursue her dream of entrepreneurship and take The Vanna Group to the next level in real estate. Her husband was already a REALTOR® and in 2019, they decided to form The Vanna Group. Since then, they’ve been ranked as the #1 Sales Team for the Baird & Warner Edgebrook Office 2019, President’s 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

Club Sales for 2020 and achieved Baird & Warner’s highest level of Sales Achievement, Founders’ Club Sales in 2021 selling almost $16 million in real estate. Most recently, they were named in the Chicago Association of Realtors’ Top Producers for 2021. In addition, in 2022, they added a new team member to help ensure they continue to provide outstanding service to their clients.

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Diane’s willingness to go anywhere her clients need — from the city to the suburbs — has grown The Vanna Group across Chicagoland.

They count over 95% of clients coming from repeat and referral clients who are very happy with the high-level service they receive.

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“Every REALTOR® wants to have a relationship-based business and we have it,” she says.

“We’re a concierge-level service provider; we don’t treat our past clients like they are in the past — they are always our clients and they also become friends.”

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Diane’s willingness to go anywhere her clients need — from the city to the suburbs — has grown The Vanna Group across Chicagoland.

They count over 95% of clients coming from repeat and referral clients who are very happy with the high-level service they receive.

When it comes to marketing, Diane says her team does “everything in our arsenal to help our clients move forward.” This includes sending out newsletters and postcards as well as running ads on Facebook, Instagram and Google.

Her approach to social media is “fun and educational” with videos and engaging content that clients enjoy. On a personal level, Diane makes sure to reach out by phone to three people per week that she has worked with to see Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

how they are doing and keep them updated on their current market.

Very involved in her community, Diane works with numerous organizations to support causes close to her heart. Her team caters heavily to First Responders and through The Vanna Group First Responder program, they have given over $71,000 to First Responders. They were named the #1 First Responder Producer Team Top Agent Magazine

for Baird & Warner Companywide in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Additionally, Diane is a member of the Everyday Edgebrook community group, which is a group of local independent small businesses working together to improve her neighborhood’s business district. Her team also sponsors a local artist who paints fun and Top Agent Magazine

imaginative window art at their local grocery store, which the community really enjoys.

Finally, they are very involved in supporting the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.

With their stellar sales last year, The Vanna Group has plans for expansion, but Diane Copyright Top Agent Magazine 13

stresses the importance of growth with thoughtfulness. Diane is committed to working with like-minded clients who can enjoy the process.

To build new relationships, Diane is focused more on getting to know her clients rather than

reaching a sales total. “This business is not just about data and meeting sales goals; it’s really learning what is most important to our clients so we can help our clients fulfill their real estate goals and dreams.”

Contact Diane Vanna at 312-545-5280, email thevannagroup@bairdwarner.com or search out their #thevannagroupsells.

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24-Hour Touch-ups to Maximize Your List Price Sometimes it takes a full-scale overhaul to prepare a house for market. Other times, only a series of small adjustments are required to make a listing’s true potential shine. Whether you’re gearing up for an open house, assessing a list price, or maximizing a property’s appearance prior to photography—the devil is in the details. However, touch-ups and refreshes don’t have to dominate your schedule or break the bank. For a few ideas of where Top Agent Magazine

to begin, consider our handy check-list below for quick home projects that will fortify your bottom line.

Refresh grout for a sparkling clean look.

Perhaps the quickest and most cost-effective way to make bathrooms, kitchens, and other tiled areas shine is to refresh grout until it looks

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good as new. Specialty grout stain removers and cleaners are inexpensive and sold at most home improvement stores. Plus, the project only takes a bit of elbow grease and an hour or two for a major makeover effect. Suddenly, dark, stained, and worn-down bathrooms gleam as if tile has just been placed.

Create mood lighting with soothing bulbs and fixtures.

A warm white light from specially chosen LED bulbs creates a welcoming environment when potential buyers come calling.

If outdated fixtures are bringing down a home’s otherwise modern styling, consider more design-neutral replacements that won’t

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detract from the property’s charms. These are inexpensive but highly noticeable and impactful upgrades that shift a home’s ambiance for the better.

Repaint doors for an updated and inviting entryway.

It may sound like a hassle, but repainting doorways with a fresh coat signals a wellkept property—and that’s before prospective buyers even pass through the threshold. You can also change out generic doorknobs and switch-plates to add an updated flare while on a budget. Color-of-the-year trend choices can turn heads, while neutral paint choices signal less hassle for future homeowners.

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scrub, or with the addition of new shelves or styled bulbs.

Make windows shine— both inside and out.

Cleanliness goes a long way in communicating a well-cared for home in which buyers can imagine themselves. Cleaning the inside and outside of windows not only refreshes a room, but it allows light to infuse the space while appealing to the move-in ready crowd.

Closet spaces are not an afterthought.

Every prospective buyer wants storage options, and you’ve surely led a home tour where guests inspect closets and pantries.

Don’t let these hidden spaces go overlooked. Make sure they’re clean, cleared as much as possible, and you can even touch them up with fresh paint, a good

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Remove tough appliance stains with a bit of elbow grease.

If you’re packaging appliances with the sale of a property, you’ll want to make sure those big-ticket items are also in top shape to showcase their value. Stainless steel polish, electric cooktop polish, and stain removing pads for the kitchen sink can make your appliances look five years younger with nothing more than an hour or two’s labor.

Organize garage and basement areas to maximize storage and hint at bonus space.

It may take a labor of love, but organizing and decluttering these special storage spaces

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can add significant value to a property. Instead of telling prospective buyers how much storage space there is—let these areas speak for themselves by giving them a neutral, airy bout of cleansing. That way, craft-lovers, car aficionados, and buyers with interest in renovating basement areas can witness the potential immediately.

Individually, these bit to-do list items might seem like extra work without the promise of 18

a major return. But combined? These small tasks go a long way in crafting a home’s image and projecting pure potential. After all, prospective buyers imagine their lives unfolding inside those walls. That’s why cobbling together these small-scale projects can have a big payoff in the end. Not only will a home present itself in a cohesive, attractively-packaged form, but it can also translate to higher interest and a significant pay-off—in more ways than one.

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KAREN McCABE

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KAREN McCABE

When Karen McCabe began thinking about what career she wanted to pursue, she knew it had to be in real estate. With a people-loving personality and a driven work ethic, this industry is where she thrives. She spent the first ten years in homebuilding, where she analyzed trends and data to determine what to build and how much homes were worth. It was a logical next step for Karen to enter the sales side in 2009, so she earned her license and hit the ground running. A year ago, she partnered with fellow agent Jennifer Schmidt to form the McCabe & Schmidt Team. They primarily serve Chicago’s northwest suburbs, where much of their business derives from repeat clients and referrals. Though they work individually, they also partner up to provide their buyers and sellers with top-notch service.

helps everyone stay on the same page and know what to expect next. When it comes to her sellers, her goal is to get them as many offers as possible while guiding them throughout the process. She spreads the word far and wide about her listings, hosting open houses, sending postcards, advertising online, and emailing her large network of colleagues and past clients. Karen puts a phone number on all yard signs for potential buyers to

Karen makes it her mission to create an exceptional experience for everyone she serves.

Understanding the stress involved in this life chapter, she ensures she’s always communicating with her clients and keeping them in the loop. This 20

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text and receive an online brochure. She’s then able to answer any questions they have about the property and set up a time for them to view it.

Her buyers receive the same extraordinary support, with Karen helping them get pre-approved for a mortgage so the process goes as smoothly as possible. “We ask them to get pre-qualified and start having conversations with a lender so they are prepared for the expenses and can determine how taxes will fit into it,” Karen explains.

“We aim to educate all of our buyers so they know what they’re doing and understand what they want.” She never pressures them to make a decision, and only wants them to do what makes them comfortable and happy. “It’s the largest investment that most people will ever make, so we really want them to get what they want within their budget constraints.”

Throughout the year, Karen and Jennifer give back to the community. They recently sponsored a Fall Festival at Thomas Middle School in Arlington Heights. “We sponsor things through the high school as well, including a poker night at Buffalo Grove High School to help them raise money,” Karen explains. Karen also led a dog adoption event a couple years ago, where people could sign up to adopt or foster a pet.

As she looks ahead, she envisions a future where her business continues to grow. “We want to really service people at a high level and continue teaching our clients about the market, because it is turning more volatile and is always changing,” she explains. It’s clear Karen will accomplish anything she sets her mind to, and wherever her path leads, she’ll make it exciting.

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For more about Karen McCabe, please call 847-372-5607 or email karen@cbrealty.com Copyright Top Agent Magazine 21

Modern Email Etiquette for Today’s Agents In today’s tech-forward culture, consumers are constantly inundated with promotional emails, alerts, invites, and social media blasts. As a real estate agent or a loan officer, how do you stand apart from the noise? What’s more, how do you stay relevant in a digital landscape that’s constantly changing?

For starters, there are a few timeless techniques you can apply to up your skillset when it comes email and digital communication: asking questions that 22

inspire conversation, politeness, and following up regularly—to name a few. Likewise, there are surely new tricks you can add to your arsenal to stay ahead of the curve. Let’s outline a few ways you can refine and update your email etiquette to compete in today’s virtual marketplace.

Make your subject line count Too often, we labor over the content of our emails without giving much thought to subject lines.

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Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity.

However, these little headlines can go a long way in luring the consumer to open your email and ultimately click through to your website in search for your services. An enticing subject line should be short and sweet, ideally less than fifty characters.

You might also include the name of the recipient, and be up front (though concise) about the subject matter of your message. Remember: the first thing a client will see is your name and subject line—be sure to make this prime real estate shine.

Think mobile Research tells us that 79% of Americans check their phones within fifteen minutes of waking up. In fact, much of modern day correspondence occurs by smartphone. Accordingly, you’ll want to account for email readability on a mobile phone.

For instance, incorporating paragraph breaks for each new thought allows information to be parceled out in a palatable way for readers utilizing small screens. Also, any sort of graphic flair or links within your email should be shortened and streamlined for mobile consumption. Send yourself an email every now and again and access it from your phone—you’ll be able to double-check that all the elements of your emails are working well on a mobile platform.

Incorporate email tools There are excellent tools out there to enhance your email experience. With just a quick download, Top Agent Magazine

you can add spellcheck, a URL address shortening feature, or a delay option that holds emails for thirty seconds before they’re sent. Think about the possibilities! Haven’t you sent an email without including the attachment you intended, or realizing you sent correspondence to the wrong client? If that’s the case, a delay feature can help you save face and build in a window for error— just in case. Regardless of which tools speak to your email habits, there are plenty of add-ons out there that can revamp your digital correspondence style.

Use email to maximize your online presence These days, there are plenty of ways to communicate—email, text, phone, apps, and social media.

When you interact through email, consider it an opportunity to invite your client to follow you elsewhere online. Ensure that your email signature includes unobtrusive, streamlined links to your social media accounts, professional website, or review page. This will build in an opportunity for clients to engage with your brand, and you may even add an online follower for the long term.

Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity. Keep these approaches in mind as you reenergize your email technique and fortify your communication in the digital era.

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