FLORIDA 12-17-18

FLORIDA EDITION

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Fresh New Approaches to Content Marketing

Untangling the Bidding War: A BUYER’S & SELLER’S PERSPECTIVES

COVER STORY

Norman & Mandy Elliott

FLORIDA EDITION

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NORM & MANDY ELLIOTT

CONTENTS 4) UNTANGLING THE BIDDING WAR: A BUYER’S & SELLER’S PERSPECTIVES

15) ARE YOUR PRESENTATION SKILLS COSTING YOU MONEY?

6) 5 FRESH NEW APPROACHES TO CONTENT MARKETING

20) TRY VS. DO

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Untangling the Bidding War: A Buyer’s & Seller’s Perspectives In a competitive marketplace, bidding wars become the norm. While this may put sellers in an excellent position to recoup on their investment, it can push buyers beyond their budgets and test their temperaments in the process. As an agent, how do you navigate both sides of the coin? After all, you want to net the best results for your client—regardless of which side of the closing table they’re on. To fortify your approach to a heated bidding war, here are a few ideas and insights to better clue you in on the perspectives of buyers and sellers alike.

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Buyer’s Perspective: Emotions Running High?

Channel it.

When the market is booming, buyers feel the pressure—especially when affordable inventory is limited. This can create stress, feelings of hopelessness, and impulsivity. As an agent, how do you channel this emotional energy into something positive? Consider asking buyers to put those anxieties and high hopes onto paper. Have buyers outline

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who they are, why they’re inspired to buy a home at this juncture in their lives, and how they see their lives unfolding once they become a homeowner (or repeat homeowner). Think of it as a letter of intent.

Buyers benefit from taking abstract fears and dreams and articulating them on paper. Likewise, this document can serve as a valuable tool during a bidding war. Letters like these can help sellers with multiple offers make a personal, emotional connection with a particular buyer.

Sellers Perspective: Manage expectations.

When multiple offers are rolling in on a property, it’s easy for sellers to get carried away. Numbers are flying, expectations are heightened, and sellers may become hypnotized by higher and higher offers and ideal outcomes. While it’s good to celebrate prime market positioning, it’s also important to maintain an even keel so that your seller’s mind is clear and they’re thinking rationally through their options.

Sometimes the highest offer isn’t necessarily the sure thing. Manage your clients’ expectations by leading by example, offering a balanced perspective, and talking them through all potential outcomes so that they don’t only hone in on the best-case scenario.

During a bidding war, tensions are running high for seller’s too, who will soon begin their next chapter in another home. Keep a cool head and remind your client to see the big picture, recognize that it’s possible for some offers to fall through, and to sit tight until the closing table has been successfully reached.

Buyer’s Perspective: How do you authentically and convincingly convey your interest?

When ten or so offers are in the mix, it can be hard to differentiate your buyer from the next. While numbers will obviously do a lot of the talking, you’d be surprised how much of a difference a Top Agent Magazine

personal touch can make. Some popular approaches to standing out include personal letters—as mentioned above—tailored to the property. Was the property in question a family home for years? You might have clients detail their dreams of raising a family inside those walls, rather than tear the property down and rebuild something to boost the lot’s value. Including a family photo is also a good tact for personalizing letters in a bidding war. Likewise, little gifts included with your offer can speak volumes about your personality and due diligence as an agent. It may seem a little cheesy, but when sellers are looking at ten near-identical offers, those personal touches can really paint a compelling, personalized picture.

Seller’s Perspective: How powerful is cash?

Data shows that cash offers—typical of investor clientele—double the chances of having an offer accepted. This goes hand in hand with waiving a financing contingency, which also helped boost the probability of an accepted offer, according to research. Cash is king, however, since offers that aren’t completely reliant on comprehensive financing seem to minimize risk for sellers, who are already eager to see a deal go through. Cash deals also tend to go through quickly, freeing sellers up to pursue their next property and move on to new horizons. While not every buyer has the ability to operate in cash, it’s a worthwhile consideration for those in ultra-competitive markets and with liquid capital.

While the bidding process can be stressful for agents and clients alike, it’s important to remember that it’s a time of opportunity, too. If you want to make the most of it as a seller, data shows that a personal touch can endear buyers to their seller counterparts. For sellers navigating a competitive process, it’s important to keep a balanced perspective. For agents, here’s the bottom line: get creative, be resourceful, and use all the tools in your arsenal to achieve the best result for the clients you serve.

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5 Fresh New Approaches to Content Marketing A couple of weeks ago we were conducting a workshop when we were asked two excellent questions about content marketing:

• People

don’t want to hear from a roofing company every day. So how do you produce fresh and interesting content for social media that goes beyond your core services and yet ties back to your business?

• Can

you extend your social media presence and content to include personal things (like your hobbies) and how does that affect your overall business image?

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The workshop attendee who asked the first question was right. Almost no one wants to hear from any company every day… especially if all the content is about products and services…and yes, even if they’re giving helpful tips and information. Does that mean you should stop producing excellent daily content related to your business? No, of course not! Content is created for two reasons.

First, to provide knowledge, expertise and even entertainment to your ideal customers in order to achieve top of mind awareness as an authority in your industry. And second, to produce SEO-rich results that keep you at the top of search engines. You must strike a

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balance between the two, and try to include content that draws people in by being super interesting and entertaining….and yes, sometimes personal.

To help answer those content questions above, here are five different types of content (beyond the traditional stuff) that can give your brand a fresh, unique and balanced approach:

1. PHILANTHROPIC Your community efforts say a lot about who you are, and people will make an extra effort to do business with you as a result of this connection. We’ve consulted business owners who are very hesitant to promote these efforts because they don’t want it to seem as though they are exploiting the charities and organizations—and most especially because they don’t do it for the promotional aspects. They do it to give back. I ask you to keep this in mind. Nonprofit and charitable organizations very often have small marketing budgets. Not only do they rely on outside marketing forces to promote their initiatives, they would likely be forced to close their doors without that support. That means that when someone with a strong brand and presence promotes them, it’s a highly trusted and personal connection, and you can’t buy that kind of support. In other words, they not only need you to promote them, they want you to promote them. But your instincts are correct. It’s not about you. So just make sure your entire content focuses on the organization you’re helping, what they do for the community and how Top Agent Magazine

others can join in the cause. Then it becomes a huge win for all.

2. HOBBIES You bungee jumped from four of the tallest bridges in the U.S. In your spare time, you go fly fishing. You love playing chef and use only locally grown, organic foods. Your friends are always begging you to go to Vegas with your card shark talents. You’ve done mission work in Africa and would like to start your own group. You almost played professional baseball. You have an insane talent for gardening design or bass guitar.

Your family works at a soup kitchen once a month. Ok…you get the picture. And two more words. Reality TV. People are interesting…and people are interested in interesting people. We remember others based on these unique traits. And most of all, people love the story behind the face. Don’t be afraid to share your hobbies. Quite often, it’s the first thing that will personally connect you to a prospect.

3. CREATIVE CONNECTION This one is perhaps our favorite. While we can’t imagine seeing something come across our news feed from a landscaping company every day, imagine this for a moment. What are we always told to remember in this hectic world? Stop and smell the roses, right? So what if…a landscaping company posted a beautiful flower each day, just to remind you to ‘stop and smell the roses’. And at the bottom of that photo (small print), you included

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the type of flower and type of environment needed to make it flourish (moist soil, full sun, etc.). And then, of course, watermarked it with your logo….and a title like, “Sam’s Daily Reminder: It’s Time to Stop & Smell the Roses”. You could even include some great, thought-provoking quotes. It has the personal connection (Sam), the business connection (flowers & logo watermark) and a cool creative connector (pause the meetings and paperwork to take a moment and appreciate life by noticing this beautiful flower). This is a great idea for staying ‘top of mind’ and connecting business with the kind of creative messaging people wouldn’t mind seeing every day.

4. EXPERIENCES This one is similar to hobbies from the personal aspect, but instead of something that identifies us like our hobbies, our experiences are random happenings that can have great interest and meaning to our audience.

Whether you have a unique experience buying a new car or a fateful conversation with a stranger in the airport, if you feel it ties into a life lesson or business lesson you’d like to share, by all means do. The lesson is to keep your radar up 24/7. Any experiences you have which relate to your

ideal customer are an opportunity to connect beyond the business world. And when we do that, we become a part of the family.

5. INFLUENCERS “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”. You’ve probably heard that saying, and the same is true whether you are a teenager or a business owner. Maybe you’ve learned a lot of your business knowledge from Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Warren Buffet…or you like to quote Benjamin Franklin. Perhaps you have some mentors you’d like to recognize and tell why they’re important to you. Sharing the people and things that influence us is what makes us human. No matter how successful your business, you didn’t get there alone. People and circumstances shaped you along the way. Recognizing others for their contribution in our lives, large or small, is important in staying connected and grounded.

We hope these five types of content help you to put a fresh spin on what you share with your audience, whether personal or professional. We believe you must have the combination of both to build an incredible brand.

Tonya Eberhart is the Branding Agent to Business Stars and founder of BrandFace®, LLC. Michael Carr is America’s Top Selling Real Estate Auctioneer & BrandFace® partner. Together, they focus on personal branding and marketing designed to help real estate professionals become the face of their business & a star in their market. BrandFace® for Real Estate Professionals is a book, professional speaking series and an exclusive workshop for agents, and is currently active in 18 U.S. states, Canada and New Zealand. For more information, visit www.BrandFaceRealEstate.com.

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Norman & Mandy Elliott

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Norman & Mandy Elliott Top Agents Norm and Mandy Elliott run a team of five buyer’s agents, a sales manager, and two full-time administrators serving the central Florida real estate market.

When Norm and Mandy Elliott formed a team, they became an unstoppable force in the central Florida real estate market.

Mandy had worked in the industry since 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

high school, first as a personal assistant, then as an agent. When she moved back to Florida from Michigan in 2010, she met Norm, her now husband and Top Agent Magazine

business partner. He had always been an entrepreneur, and started his career working with his father’s painting firm. After the economy took a downturn, he and Mandy decided to tackle real estate together. “We teamed up and got into the business with no Top Agent Magazine

branding, no past clients,” Norm explains.

“We hustled, and were on the clock 7 days a week, all while trying to maintain a stable family life.” Today, they maintain that same determination, with their motto being ‘work hard, play hard.’

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Norm and Mandy run a team of five buyer’s agents, a sales manager, and two full-time administrators. They started their team with just themselves and one other agent, but a year ago, decided to start growing. “As things got running, we were getting calls from people wanting to join us, so we knew the talent was out there,” Mandy explains.

“We thought, let’s just go all in and build the team.” With an expanding team, they solidified their long-term plan and business vision, wanting to to provide the same superior service to each client. “We set a team vision. We want every customer, whether they deal with Mandy, myself or anyone, Copyright Top Agent Magazine Copyright 12

to have the same excellent service,” Norm says. When clients work with the Elliott team, they can talk to anyone and get the same amazing experience. With this unified goal, they have established a strong team of people who are just as eager to exceed expectations. “We’re proud of our team, we have no problem with talent retention or turnover,” Mandy says.

A happy team makes happy clients, resulting in the Elliott team collecting dozens of fivestar reviews. One recently said, “I cannot recommend the Elliott Team enough! They know their market and they work very hard Top Agent Magazine

for their customers. This team truly goes the extra mile. My husband and I went from being perfectly ‘fine,’ with our home, to me driving by a home and falling in love with it, to a contract on our home to sale within 12 days, us purchasing the new home in less Top Agent Magazine

than 30 days, and then a second closing to sell our old home STILL within those SAME 30 days (actually a little less). This may sound like a lot, but if you’re the type of person with goals and you know what you want, this is a dream come true. Our transactions Copyright Top Agent Magazine 13

were very smooth and stress free. We plan to begin our rental portfolio in the next few years and you can bet your pennies that we’ll be reaching back out to Mandy and Norm to find/ sell our properties.”

Creating new goals is one of the Elliott team’s favorite parts about their work. Currently, they’re aiming to double their transaction

count in the next year. They also want to develop their brand even more, becoming the go-to agents for the central Florida region.

Every day, they wake up inspired and motivated to do their work. They truly love what they do, and it shows. “There’s nothing better than handing over the keys to a happy customer on closing day. There’s a euphoria to that.”

For more information about Norm & Mandy Elliott, call 863-273-2861 or email theelliottteam@gmail.com Copyright Top Agent Magazine 14

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Are Your Presentation Skills Costing You Money?

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ometimes we’re so focused on technology and education that we forget this is a “people business”. And, a great deal of the money you make comes from your ‘point of contact’ skills. What do I mean by that? Lead generating dialogues and presentation dialogues. Yet, how much do we work on those verbal skills?

Unfortunately, communication sales skills have gotten short shrift in the last decade. Why? I think it’s because many of us are so challenged by technological changes. But, slow down. Think about how you actually make money. It’s at point of contact.

Getting better at point of contact skills translates into more money in less time.

We’re All Presenters Everyone in the real estate business presents: Agents present, when they are doing listing or buyer presentations. Managers present when they are recruiting, or doing their office meetings. Mortgage and title Top Agent Magazine

By Carla Cross

When you’re doing a listing presentation, what do you want to happen? You want them to sign the listing agreement when you’re done. reps present when they are in front of a group of agents in an office, talking about their services. So, doesn’t it make sense to become ‘killer’ at those presentations? You’ll double your money and halve your time.

Bug Off: I Do Okay Just Like I Am Yeah. I know. As a musician, I’ve worked with literally hundreds of people who thought they ‘played good enough.’

Some people just get to a certain performance level and leave it there. Have you ever thought that, often, our presentation strategies (or lack of) work in spite of us, not because of us?

As a musician, I know the thrill of performing at high levels. So, open your mind and consider

stepping up to a higher presentation level. Not only will you have personal satisfaction, you’ll make more money!

Now, let’s tackle one set of presentation skills: Organizing that presentation effectively.

Having heard listing presentations that wander all around the world, I know the importance of effective presentation organization.

Three Steps to Organize Your Presentation to Knock Their Socks Off Most of the time, we just get in front of people and say whatever we think of first. That leads to some big presentation mistakes, and costs us ‘sales.’ Instead of stumbling through a presentation, why not organize it to 15 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

grab their attention, persuade them to your way of thinking, and motivate them to action?

You can. In my new resource, Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make Your Best Presentation Ever, I show a simple three-step format to create your persuasive presentation. No matter why you’re in front of people, we need to be persuasive Think about it. When you’re doing a listing presentation, what do you want to happen? You want them to sign the listing agreement when you’re done.

So, it’s extremely important that you organize your listing presentation using a persuasive format, not just an information-heavy dialogue flow.

Grab Their Attention in the Opening Have you thought about your opening? Or, are you nervously standing at the sellers’ door, worried about what you’re going to say? Are you hiding in your office because you dread doing that sales meeting? When we haven’t organized our presentation, we come up with some really boring, off-putting openings, like: I won’t take much of your time, but...

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We have a lot to cover today We won’t get through the outline I know you don’t want to listen, but...

I’m not really prepared

You just open your presentation book, point to the pretty pages, and say, “here’s a keybox” (I’m not kidding. I’ve seen it….)

Great openings, yes? Yet, we’ve heard them dozens of times. You don’t have to settle for whatever Top Agent Magazine

If you’re doing a presentation to sellers, one of the major objectives of your presentation is to persuade them to your listing price point of view. comes ‘naturally.’ Instead, make your openings: Provocative Interesting Different Engaging I just attended a ‘Train the Trainer’ session (yes, I still learn great stuff every day!), where the trainer said it was important to engage the audience in a meaningful way in the first two minutes of your presentation. I think that’s a great rule to follow today, because people’s attention spans are the length of a gnat’s eyebrow. So, the next time you attend a presentation, see how much time elapses before the speaker/presenter/trainer gets the audience into meaningful action.

I don’t mean to ask a rhetorical question, either!

A Middle That Educates Your ‘Audience’ to Your Point of View In the middle of your presTop Agent Magazine

entation, add those stories, statistics, and visuals that support your point of view. By the way, as you create that presentation, jot down your point of view. If you’re doing a presentation to sellers, one of the major objectives of your presentation is to persuade them to your listing price point of view.

Retention is Key

Why Use Visuals?

Three days later:

There are two reasons to use visuals in your presentation:

We retain 10% of the information when we hear it

We believe what we see

We retain 65% of the information when we hear and see it

We retain the information much longer As you organize your presentation, ask yourself:

Have you ever met with sellers or buyers, given them lots of information—and then had them question you about it a few days later—as if they never heard you—or heard you backwards? That’s because people don’t hear and retain very well.

Look at the statistics:

So, use visuals to prove your points, not to merely show pretty pictures of houses.

The Ending: What are the main, and fre- Back to the Beginning quently, unspoken objections my ‘audience’ will have? How do I educate them to show them the reasoning behind my point of view?

Have you thought about your wrap-up? Or, like many presenters, does your ending sound like this?

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Well, that’s all. What do you think?

pop tunes are constructed with this format:

We’re out of time. Thank you.

I hope you’ll list with me

theme—variation—theme

I don’t have time to close.

I couldn’t get to much of the material, but you can read it In fact, even the most professional presenters frequently have trouble with their endings.

One of the main reasons is that they run out of time. Another is that they haven’t thought the ending through.

How to Do a Stunning Ending Crafting an effecting ending is the second most important part of your presentation. (The first is the opening). To craft a great ending, Go back to your beginning opening theme Summarize the benefits of going ahead with you/take action Motivate your ‘audience’ to take action

A Great Presentation is Crafted Like a Pop Song As a musician, I know that all 18 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

This is known in the music business as the ABA format.

Think of your favorite pop tune: Hum the beginning.

Think of the end. They’re alike, right? It’s the middle— known as the ‘bridge’—that is the humdinger. It wanders all around. Your persuasive presentation should be crafted like that pop tune: A. A compelling start (think Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, etc.)

B. An interesting, developed middle, with stories, statistics A. Back to that theme, with a motivating ending Now, you’re all set to craft a great listing or buyer presentation, great recruiting meeting or sales meeting, or awesome product/service presentation to any audience.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, President of Carla Cross & Co., is an international speaker, coach, and resource provider specializing in real estate management. A former master level CRB instructor, and National REALTOR® Educator winner, Carla was recently named one of the 50 most influential women in real estate. For a free document on standards to establish, email Carla at Carla@carlacross. com and ask for standards document.

Carla has written six internationally published books, and provides coaching programs for management, including her affordable inoffice coaching programs Up and Running in 30 Days and On Track to Success in 30 Days for Experienced Agents, which provide standards, focus, and accountability.

Reach Carla at 425-392-6914 or www.carla cross.com.

P. S. Practice!

Many more tips on presentations and presentation skills are in my new resource, Knock Their Socks Off: Tips to Make your Best Presentation Ever.

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Try vs Do

By Barry Eisen

“Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda (1977) The day is done. It seems you’ve done a million things. Everything went well. You had loads of energy and you’re stoked. Clients listened to you and acknowledged the clarity and wisdom of your suggestions. Your kids paid attention. Even the dog obeyed. Great feelings!

Dawns a new day... You wake up groggy, you become a magnet for clients’ frustrations, you feel invisible, the dog spits up on the thick white rug, an associate points out a huge stain on your shirt, a selling appointment cancels and it’s not even 10:00 AM. Know what you are? Normal. Look around and you will find a lot of normal. Stuff happens to us all. To some, who seem to attract more stuff than the rest (something to be said about selffulfilling prophecies) the distractions feel overwhelming and continuous.

Some try their best to turn the tide. Trying doesn’t work. Doing does.

Effort is appreciated, but accomplishment creates the lifestyle and is a lot more satisfying.

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We use the word often and teach our kids to try hard. Think of what the concept of “trying” implies. We are telling ourselves to make the effort.

But how often do we confuse effort and activity with accomplishment? Is it not our egos protecting ourselves from the perceived agony of failure by saying...you don’t have to do what it takes, just appreciate the effort.

It’s kinda like the controversy raging on today about all kids getting trophies for participating in a competition, even if they came in last place. Maybe rewards for the little ones keep them engaged, but the reality of life for most adults is about accomplishing, not efforting.

Some try their best to turn the tide. One of the surest ways to become a victim is to try.

Trying doesn’t When we commit to trying something and fall short work. Doing oftoadosuccess, we can always claim “ I tried.” Even in failure does. we can claim victory as we achieved what we committed to... I tried! Be careful of the words you use as they become converted into action. As in sports, good effort is appreciated, but the ones who want it more generally prevail. They call it Scoreboard.

The “doer” is the person who takes the bigger risk of making the extra effort. Without the risk to continue and create a victory, you create “normal.” It’s safe but unsatisfying. And worse yet, this settling for the lazy way out develops into whining, excuse making, low energy, irritability and much more. Do what’s right, not what’s easy. The best of your intentions won’t create a better relationship, clean up the planet or make you more money.

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7 DO’s to make a difference:

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Leave every part of your day with a positive accomplishment (even a small one).

In every endeavor, act AS IF you were already successful and capable. Show yourself what you CAN DO.

3

Do what’s right, not what’s easy.

Read or listen to positive books or recordings at least 30 minutes each day-spend as much time with personal development as you do growing your business. Look for and apply the lessons that feel right.

4

Write out your to-do list every night before you go to sleep, whether you feel like it or not and prioritize it. Let it guide you to better decisions during your day.

5

Create a Value Added mindset that allows you to under promise and over deliver. That unexpected extra personal touch, that personalized attention, that piece of humanity, the extra door you knock, the thank you, please, your welcome can put you over the top. It is usually the little things that make a difference.

6

Develop strong enough “whys” and the “hows” answer themselves.

Dig deeper than just an amount of money. Money doesn’t motivate.

Figure out what moves you and your focus will become laser-like.

7

Follow through and do it not because you “have to,” but because you “get to.” Play, have fun, lighten up and shine.

Barry Eisen teaches personal development seminars and coaches Southern California top producing REALTORS®. “Your business will never grow more than you do” is the theme; self hypnosis and behavior modification are the tools for playing a bigger game. barryeisen.com, barryeisen@LA.twcbc.com Copyright©, Barry Eisen. All rights reserved.

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Laughs!

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