GEORGIA 5-17-21

GEORGIA EDITION

CONNECT BEYOND REAL ESTATE TO ATTRACT FUTURE CLIENTS

MILLENNIAL BUYERS:

FEATURED AGENT

WHERE THEY ARE & WHAT TO KNOW

DAPHNE BARON

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MIND-BENDING PHILOSOPHIES TO EXPAND YOUR PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

How To Get The Biggest Recharge OUT OF YOUR LUNCH HOUR

COVER STORY

ANDERSON McCARTER TEAM

GEORGIA EDITION

DAPHNE BARON

Entering her third year in the business, agents in my area weren 9 23 Daphne Baron is a Realtor® with a diverse do just about anything t range of experiences and a people-first atout.” Daphne has a stro titude, which have allowed her to make a she knows many peopl name for herself in the Savannah, GA area industries, such as cont as an elite agent. She works in a partnership provide any service a clie with Trudi Dockstader – they started their and Trudi take pride in careers around the same time, and have homes for Market thro created a strong business model together, staging and photography focused on providing the best customer service they can offer to their clients. As Daphne is enthusiastic ab ANDERSON M CCARTER DAPHNE BARON a woman of Honduran descent, Daphne is listings, and uses photogr TEAM one of the few Hispanic agents in the area, fluent in raphy to make them look pristine. S Spanish as well as English, and she caters to a commuof success in marketing through Fac nity that oftentimes is offered limited options when it sincere effort to make her listings av CONTENTS comes to buying a home, and goes above and beyond an audience as possible. Daphne an the call of duty to provide for them. closed 35 transactions in 2020, and to close even more than that this yea 4) 3 MIND-BENDING 16) MILLENNIAL BUYERS: Daphne is a naturally friendly person who aims first THEY ARE PHILOSOPHIES TO EXPAND WHERE and foremost to make the people she works with comIn free time, Daphne loves garde YOUR PROFESSIONAL & WHAT TOherKNOW fortable, regardless of their goals, background, or life- time outdoors with her family. She PERSPECTIVE style. She particularly loves working with first-time her business in the future, wh 20) HOWbuilding TO GET first-time sellers, and finds THE a lot BIGGEST of ability to offer high quality service to 6) homebuyers CONNECTand BEYOND self-fulfillment in offering aid to people whoRECHARGE are in a areaOUT with limited REAL ESTATE TO ATTRACT OF options who need it vulnerable position and truly need it. “I loveYOUR people LUNCH lookingHOUR for high quality real estate se FUTURE CLIENTS and I love working with them,” Daphne says. “The from a Realtor® who truly cares abou best part of my job is meeting and interacting with so her clients, look no further than Daphn many different people, and having the opportunity to help them in so many| Fax ways.

It really does feel good.”

Phone 310-734-1440 310-734-1440 A large portion of Daphne’s business comes from the mag@topagentmagazine.com | www.topagentmagazine.com Hispanic community in her area – she is uniquely No portion of this issue may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior consent of the publisher. Top Agent Magazine to work with them and make themarefeel is equipped published by Feature Publications GA, Inc. Although precautions takencomto ensure the accuracy of published materials, Top Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied fortable due to her ability to breach the language and by its authors.

To subscribe or change address, send inquiry to mag@topagentmagazine.com. culture barriers, and she is very popular among them, Published in the U.S. as she gets the bulk of her business through referrals from the Hispanic families she works with.

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When working with clients, Daphne takes a hands-on

To learn more about Daph

You can trust your clients with the BuyNowTeam because we will be with them every step of the way! From navigating your clients through the loan application process to closing, we do everything in house at our downtown Roswell office.

We are a local lender that understands the market and will go the extra mile to get your clients in their home.

Amy Buynoski, NMLS# 545254 www.BuyNowTeam.com | (678) 249-7457 Top Agent Magazine

buynowteam@southstatebank.com

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3 Mind-Bending Philosophies to Expand Your Professional Perspective

Beyond the day-to-day duties that make your business tick, so much of success is derived from the principles you put in place to guide your business. The foundational tenets you subscribe to can make or break your business for the long-term; they not only influence how you complete routine 4

tasks, but also impact your growth, your ability to manage a team, and what the future might hold. With all that in mind, here are three philosophies to remember as you strategize your professional life—whether you’re mapping your monthly goals or creating an overarching plan for growth.

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Treat Your Business Like a Business

One of the perks of working in real estate is that you’re often able to create and manage your own schedule and volume, but that doesn’t mean you can skimp on the technical details of being your own boss.

No real estate professional worth his or her salt would forgo empowering tools like a business and marketing plan, or spreadsheets to track cash flow and expenses, or regular profit-and-loss statements, or fiscal year budgets and projections. Taking these measures may appear daunting at first— and completing them will certainly require discipline and a learning curve—but harnessing valuable data and information can intelligently inform your professional decisions, strategies, and long-term growth.

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Achieve a Holistic Understanding

When schedules are busy, it sometimes feels like enough to reach the end of the week’s to-do list. But, if you’re planning on a lasting career built on year-to-year growth, it’s not enough to account for the short-term.

By creating daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, and five-year goals, you’re outlining and quantifying your progress.

While your quarterly and yearly goals may be clear in your mind, what about five years from now? Perhaps you’d like to add to your designations, or incorporate a new team member, or add an additional branch.

No matter how you envision your profesTop Agent Magazine

sional future, the first order of business is to create a timeline. Once you have a clear deadline in mind, it’s far easier to build out the steps and calendar necessary to achieve your goals.

3 Specificity is Empowering While you may have a general sense of where you’d like to see your business go in the next few months or years, it’s hard to work toward or attain a goal that’s abstract.

To make the most of your time and efforts, you must identify and understand precisely what you’re aiming toward. For instance, instead of planning to add volume to your enterprise, outline a specific, attainable number to work toward. Or, if you’d like to add an administrative staff in the years to come, consider the details of this decision—the money it would take, the type of people you’d want to hire, how many hours per week they’d work, what tasks they would complete, etc. Adding hard details to your goals not only makes them more realistic, but progress is more easily made when you have specific items you can cross off your to-do list along the way.

While there are no 100% fool-proof or guaranteed routes to success, shifting your mindset from the present and the abstract, to the specific and the long-term can have a major impact on your chances of success.

Instead of dreaming of being more productive or successful, do yourself a favor and craft a gameplan you can bank on.

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CONNECT BEYOND

REAL ESTATE

to Attract Future Clients What kind of content are you sharing on your blog, website, and social media? Does most of it have something to do with buying or selling a home? While sharing the latest market information or tips on how to qualify for a mortgage, or when someone should buy or sell is important and demonstrates your value as a REALTOR®, it shouldn’t be the only subject you cover. If you only focus on real estate, you’ll be missing the chance to connect with future clients that might not be ready to move just yet. By sharing a lot

of industry-heavy content, you are only going to appeal to those who are currently in the market rather than a broad base of potential clients.

To pull in those other future clients you want to provide fresh, interesting content that will appeal to those possible future clients that aren’t quite ready to move yet. However, you also want to still tie this content back into your business goals.

So, how do you share content that will speak to a wider audience, but also still be relevant to your business?

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Talk About Your Philanthropic Activities

The philanthropic work you do to support your community says a great deal about who you are as a person. Many people will be attracted to working with you because of the charitable works you are involved with. While you may be hesitant to share these efforts because you feel it may come across as bragging, you also need to remember that sharing information about the charitable organizations you support will actually help those organizations. Many of them have small marketing budgets, so any free exposure you can give them helps to promote their cause.

In fact, they want and need you to promote them.

And you can promote them without coming across as a braggart. Focus your content entirely on the organization. Talk about why you support them, how they help the community, and how others can also get involved. This turns what could have been bragging into something that benefits everyone. n

Your Local Community

We humans are connected to each other through our community – our local sports teams, parks, churches, schools, and much more. What better way is there to connect with people in your community than to talk about your community? Demonstrate that you are an expert on your community, and bring that community to your followers. Share information about a local event; perhaps even share the actual event through live-stream video. Interview city officials to get the low-down on the latest development project. Share information with your followers about things they didn’t know about their community. Consult with local historians or the historical society to share interesting information about your community that your followers will want to read. You could even turn it into a series of podcasts or videos. n

Use Your Creativity to Connect

Find creative ways to engage your followers on the topic of real estate. Try engaging your followers in an interactive project such as posting photos of interesting front doors. Doors are the entry point into our homes as well as our private lives. The way we adorn our front door can give someone a sense of our style and personality. Ask followers to submit photos and choose one to post each Friday. Make sure to watermark each photo with your logo at the bottom and include an inspirational quote that ties back to the importance of home. You could also ask your followers to provide a little story or caption to go along with the photo that tells something about them and their home. These kinds of projects are interesting and unique, and clearly connect back to your business. n

Share Your Hobbies

Are you an adrenalin junkie who has bungee jumped from some of the tallest bridges in the world? Are you a foodie that grows your own organic vegetables and fruit? Do you have a Top Agent Magazine

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secret passion for photography? Everyone has hobbies that they enjoy outside of work. When you look past the surface people become quite interesting. People also happen to find interesting people interesting, and tend to remember people based on their distinctive traits. We humans love discovering a person’s behind the scenes story, the mind behind the face. While you don’t want to talk too much about yourself, sharing pieces of your personal life and things that interest you can be a great way to connect with followers. By sharing interesting facts about your life, you will find that many followers will feel a strong, personal connection to you based on your hobbies and personal interests. n

Divulge Interesting Experiences

This is somewhat similar to the idea of sharing your hobbies. Sharing some of your more interesting personal experiences such as a fateful conversation with a stranger or an exciting adventure you had while in another country can be a great way to connect with followers as long as it also relates to some kind of life or business lesson. Talk about experiences you’ve had with clients or purchasing your own home. Experiences that relate to your business are great ways to connect with future clients in a manner that goes beyond the world of business. n

What and Who Inspires You

No matter what you’ve chosen to spend your life doing, you didn’t get there alone. You may have had a mentor that made a special impact on your life or someone already in the business that you looked up to and who perhaps inspired you to get into real estate. You may have found inspiration through a love of architecture or design. People want to know why others do the things they do. Sharing who or what influences you in your personal and business life is a great way to connect with followers. Recognizing that you didn’t get to where you are now by yourself shows humility, and talking about those people that had an influence on you shows others that you stay connected to the world and people around you.

Connecting with potential clients is something that is essential to any REALTOR’S® business. If you’re doing the work to create interesting blog posts and make those connections, you want to make sure that you’re sharing the right kind of content to draw in those future clients. It takes a lot more than simply providing the latest market news. To get the most out of what you share, you need to provide a wide array of interesting content

that will draw in a broad range of followers.

Providing the right kind of content can make all the difference when it comes to connecting with future clients and building the right kind of relationship with them right from the start. Connecting through your website or social media and sharing more than just real estate advice will help you build confidence and trust with future clients before you even meet them.

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ANDERSON McCARTER TEAM Top Agent Magazine

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Top Agent Lynnsey McCarter is a part of the Anderson McCarter team with her business partner, Kelly Anderson.

The two agents service communities such as Milton, Roswell, Alpharetta, and other communities north of Atlanta.

“We have a heart to help people with every stage of life. Whether it’s their first home or their last home, we know that buying and selling property is a stressful situation, a big decision, and a lot of money for most people,” says Lynnsey McCarter, a top agent working out of Georgia with Engel and Völkers Atlanta North Fulton. “We want to make sure that our clients feel happy, confident, and have all the 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

information they need to make a great, educated decision.”

Lynnsey started her career working on foreclosures for a mortgage company. When her company merged with another, she moved to the agent side of the business. “I managed properties all up and down the east coast for all different banks,” Lynnsey explains. After Top Agent Magazine

doing that for many years, she moved to new construction before moving to her current position at Engel & Volkers Atlanta North Fulton where, Lynnsey describes, she does a little bit of everything.

She is a part of the Anderson McCarter team with her business partner, Kelly Anderson.

The two agents service communities such as Milton, Roswell, Alpharetta, and other communities north of Atlanta.

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Both Lynnsey and Kelly have a large range of experience in real estate. “We’ve done every facet from foreclosures to new construction to everything in between,” Lynnsey says. “We’ve both been doing this for such a long time and have worked in so many different realms of real estate that we come with a wealth of knowledge.” Their expertise, especially in contract negotiations, is key in this market where having an advisor protecting your financial interests is key.

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“We specialize in residential resale, new construction, luxury custom builds and designation second home markets,” Lynnsey says. “We’ve both been in real estate for such a long time and have worked in so many different realms that we come with a wealth of knowledge.”

Their clients appreciate the team’s high attention to detail. Over 70% of the Anderson McCarter Team’s business comes from repeat and referral clients. Lynnsey credits their loyalty with the team’s accessibility. “We’re responsive to a fault,” she says. “One of us always answers our phone. If one of us has to be somewhere, the other one knows that Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

they’ve got to answer. All the while, we’re open, honest, and set realistic expectations to help people through the process.”

During the hours she isn’t working hard for her clients, Lynnsey loves to give back to her community. One organization especially near and dear to Lynnsey and Kelly’s hearts is the Top Agent Magazine

Special Olympics. They give monetarily each year and host events at the games. One year, they hosted a booth where anyone could come Top Agent Magazine

and paint a flowerpot. Lynnsey is looking forward to returning to giving her time when restrictions related to COVID-19 lift.

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Outside of work and supporting her area, Lynnsey likes nothing more than spending time with her small children. Her boys are involved in mixed martial arts and soccer, and the family loves to stay active. “We’re always trying to travel or do something outside,” she says.

Looking to the future, Lynnsey and Kelly are excited to continue providing their high level of service. “We’re going to keep on being a valuable resource to every person who comes our way,” Lynnsey says. “Our goal is to continue to nurture all of our clients. We don’t want to sell you one house. We want to be who you call in four years, five years, or ten years.”

To learn more about the Anderson McCarter Team, call 252-412-7455, email lynnsey.mccarter@evrealestate.com, or visit andersonmccarterteam.evrealestate.com www.

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Millennial Buyers: Where They Are & What to Know Homebuyers and sellers come from all walks of life. If you’ve been an agent for long, you’ve likely worked alongside a wide variety of folks—from first-timer homeowners and down-sizers, to second home searchers and those finally hunting for their dream home. While there is hardly a shortage of diversity in the housing market, there 16

is one generation that is making big strides in homeownership these days: Millennials.

Millennials can be loosely defined as those between the ages of twenty-two to thirtyseven. As you can see, this constitutes a wide swathe of the population. If you’re an agent who stands to learn a bit more about

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a demographic whose influence and homeownership goals are rapidly evolving, tune in below for a few pointers that can help you expand a segment of your clientele in the process.

Where do Millennials prefer to buy?

Many Millennials came of age during or immediately following the Great Recession, and as such, many of them relocated or returned to mid-size cities and smaller communities where the cost of living was most affordable. Of course, there are countless Millennials that call the U.S.’s major cities home—especially those in the

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tech industry. The good news is that you can court Millennial clientele no matter where you service area is located. That said, community amenities are of great importance to this generation. They value public transportation, green space, and entertainment—from coffee shops and topnotch restaurants to farmer’s markets and boutiques. Emphasizing those attributes will be key in selling to Millennials and locating neighborhoods they’re most interested in.

What sort of communication do Millennials prefer?

Most Millennials are digital natives, or close to. That means they grew up learning

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how to navigate digital spaces, and prefer to communicate through mediums like email, text, and social media. This isn’t to say that Millennials aren’t good communicators, but they’re often on the go, and have learned to research and shop online. To accommodate this, it’s best to build a presence across the most popular listing portals and social media platforms. Although, it’s not enough to establish a site and wait for the calls to come in. Responsiveness is a key factor for Millennials, who expect speedy response times. Make sure you’re checking your inbox frequently, responding accordingly, and engaging with your audience online. This will let Millennials know

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that you’re savvy, available, and understand the value of their preferred method of communication.

Are Millennials ready to buy?

It’s a common misconception that Millennials are uninterested in the rite of passage of purchasing a home. While Millennials maybe waiting a bit longer than their parents did to buy a home, there are good reasons to explain this phenomenon. For starters, Millennials entered the job market during the downturn, which means they are more conservative when making big purchases, and have to play catch-up to reach a sound

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financial position. Likewise, student loan debt has proved a major financial inhabitation for Millennials. Instead of socking away a few hundred a month to save for a home, they’re forking over that cash to pay down their educational loans. How does a Realtor compete with this reality? For starters, a bit of understanding goes a long way. Work with your mortgage partners to find financing possibilities that cater to this younger demographic. Recognize that Millennials—like most buyers—have some trepidations when buying a home.

Also consider fielding Millennial clientele with the long view in mind. You might be Top Agent Magazine

courting them for months or more until they’re ready to take the plunge, but they’re also famous for their reviews. When a job is done well, Millennials shout it from the rooftops—or at least share it a dozen time from their phone.

As time passes, Millennials will continue to dominate the marketplace when it comes to buying and selling homes. A little self-education on this powerful demographic can go a long way. If you know your clients and your audience, you’ll be in a far better position to serve their interests and make a customer for life.

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How to Get the Biggest Recharge

Out of Your Lunch Hour When things get busy, it’s typical to find a grab-and-go lunch and keep plugging away on the tasks at hand. While some days demand this kind of hustle, your lunch hour can be a valuable window in which to recharge and set the tone for the latter half of your day. In fact, taking a mindful break at midday can create 20

mental space for extended productivity and provide the morale boost necessary to take on a new task for the afternoon.

But how do you maximize that hourlong reprieve amidst a busy schedule?

Here are a few ideas for inspiration, no matter what your tastes or preferred habits may be.

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Taking a mindful break at midday can create mental space for extended productivity and provide the morale boost necessary to take on a new task for the afternoon.

GET MOVING Just ten minutes of light exercise can get your blood pumping and your energy renewed.

Step outside and take a brisk walk around the block, or walk to your favorite sandwich shop instead of hopping in your car. Find ways to incorporate light exercise into your lunch hour routine and you’ll not only enjoy a chance to stretch your legs and get your eyes off of screens, but you’ll also reap the health and mood benefits of endorphins. Even extended stretching or mild calisthenics can provide rejuvenating relief in short order.

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PLAY CATCH UP Sometimes catching up with an old friend or family member can brighten your day and give you a morale-boosting outlet beyond the office. During your next lunch hour, why not combine a jaunt around the block with a call to catch up with your sibling or college buddy? Shifting your focus from work and centering instead on a comforting interpersonal relationship can really boost your mood and reinforce your personal values.

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CHANGE YOUR TUNE

SOAK UP THE SUN If you’re tempted to eat your lunch at your desk while staring into the same computer screen that you’ve been working on for hours—think again. Sure, a busy schedule sometimes means making that sacrifice, but when your schedule and weather permits, try to take your lunch outside and disconnect from your office setting. Soak up the sun, feel the breeze, and lift your gaze to the horizon instead of toward your phone or computer screen. The mood-boosting benefits of time spent recharging outside are well-documented, and a change of scenery can give you the boost you need to power through your afternoon to-do list.

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Use your lunch hour to treat your senses. As you eat or get active, try queuing up your favorite music or the latest episode of your favorite podcast. If you focus on the same tasks and stimuli for too long, your brain will fatigue and your focus will erode steadily over time. Shift gears and treat your mind to some music or stimulation outside of your daily tasks. You’ll help yourself relax, recharge, and create a natural transition point for your ensuing afternoon workflow.

Your lunch hour isn’t just about being purely functional. If you want to maintain a steady rate of productivity and leave the office satisfied by the progress of your day—use your lunch hour wisely. As important as it is to nourish your body, also consider nourishing your mind. No matter what your chosen outlet may be, don’t overlook the power of a well-spent lunch hour and the positive benefits that are sure to follow.

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DAPHNE BARON Entering her third year in the business, Daphne Baron is a Realtor® with a diverse range of experiences and a people-first attitude, which have allowed her to make a name for herself in the Savannah, GA area as an elite agent. She works in a partnership with Trudi Dockstader – they started their careers around the same time, and have created a strong business model together, focused on providing the best customer service they can offer to their clients. As a woman of Honduran descent, Daphne is one of the few Hispanic agents in the area, fluent in Spanish as well as English, and she caters to a community that oftentimes is offered limited options when it comes to buying a home, and goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide for them.

Daphne is a naturally friendly person who aims first and foremost to make the people she works with comfortable, regardless of their goals, background, or lifestyle. She particularly loves working with first-time homebuyers and first-time sellers, and finds a lot of self-fulfillment in offering aid to people who are in a vulnerable position and truly need it. “I love people and I love working with them,” Daphne says. “The best part of my job is meeting and interacting with so many different people, and having the opportunity to help them in so many ways. It really does feel good.”

A large portion of Daphne’s business comes from the Hispanic community in her area – she is uniquely equipped to work with them and make them feel comfortable due to her ability to breach the language and culture barriers, and she is very popular among them, as she gets the bulk of her business through referrals from the Hispanic families she works with.

When working with clients, Daphne takes a hands-on approach and provides as many different services as possible to make the experience as smooth as possible.

“I go out of my way to make sure my clients are well taken care of,” Daphne says. “I started offering professional staging services for my clients when most Top Agent Magazine

agents in my area weren’t doing it – I’ll do just about anything to help my clients out.” Daphne has a strong network, and she knows many people in a variety of industries, such as contractors, who can provide any service a client might need. She and Trudi take pride in preparing sellers’ homes for Market through professional staging and photography.

Daphne is enthusiastic about marketing her listings, and uses photography and videography to make them look pristine. She has found a lot of success in marketing through Facebook, making a sincere effort to make her listings available to as wide an audience as possible. Daphne and Trudi together closed 35 transactions in 2020, and they are on track to close even more than that this year.

In her free time, Daphne loves gardening and spending time outdoors with her family. She hopes to continue building her business in the future, while maintaining her ability to offer high quality service to the groups in her area with limited options who need it the most. If you’re looking for high quality real estate service in Savannah from a Realtor® who truly cares about the well-being of her clients, look no further than Daphne Baron!

To learn more about Daphne Baron please call 281.740.1807 or email daphne.rbaron@gmail.com.

For Trudi Dockstader from Next Move Realty, please call 678.457.8384.

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