NEW ENGLAND 12-5-22

NEW ENGLAND EDITION

7 Simple Tips that Are Proven to Help You Stay Ahead of the Competition

KEEPING IN TOUCH –

Embracing Smart Homes

HOW TO STAY IN YOUR CLIENTS’ LIVES FOR THE LONG HAUL

Does New Technology Really Increase Home Value?

FEATURED PROPERTY MANAGER

KEITH HARRINGTON COVER STORY

CHRISTINE L. NAJEM

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7 Simple Tips that are Proven to Help You Stay Ahead of the Competition So you’ve created a successful business, congratulations! You probably did it by providing an unsurpassed level of customer service that not only meets customer expectations but exceeds them in a way that has made you stand out from the rest. As anyone can tell you, starting a successful business is not easy.

Now comes the even harder part. Not only sustaining that high level of performance, but continuing to grow and outpace the competition. There is no resting on your laurels in a competitive business market. Companies that stay successful for the longterm, make an active effort to keep on top. Here are just a few ways you can do the same.

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1. Know the competition It’s not enough to know what you excel at or what makes you unique, you need to know what your competitors are offering that makes them stand out. This serves two purposes: it will allow you to more clearly define your differences, or it may help you identify an area that you hadn’t considered before, opening up a potentially new way in which you can excel above the rest.

2. Know your customers You might know your clientele very well, but as economic conditions change, so does your

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customer’s needs. What might have been a priority a year ago, won’t be if we are in the midst of an economic downturn, for example.

As a business owner you should always be evaluating your strategies in every area constantly, knowing what your customer wants and needs from you is key. In fact you should be using your expertise to analyze potential market changes and anticipate those needs to stay ahead of the curve.

3. Have a strong understanding on what makes you unique Once you accomplish the first two, you should have a clear idea of what unique advantage you offer people. This needs to be clear to everyone, so you can then take that idea and run with it. Find your niche and then market yourself with a focus on that idea. If you have a clear thing you’re selling, it is well worth the investment to market yourself to the hilt with that in mind.

5. Think like your competitors One way your competitors looks to gain customers is by potentially taking yours. It goes without saying, you don’t want to let that happen. You’ve probably built great relationships, so really maintain those relationships by not only providing great service, but service that truly goes above and beyond. Find ways to give more to your customers. You might even want to start offering surveys, where your clients can tell you exactly what they’d like to see.This makes your clients not only feel heard, but blown away when you implement any changes they suggest.

6. Look for untapped markets Don’t settle for maintaining what you have, there could be untapped markets out there.

If you don’t get to them, your competitors will. So even if they come eventually, hopefully you’ll already be the dominate force in that market.

4. Keep up to date

7. Be a great boss

This goes for everything from technology to systems, marketing, and even your own personal image. If you have a brick and mortar location, you want to also keep things looking fresh and modern there, as well. First impressions are important for a reason. Everything about your business should tie into your marketing and branding. What are you selling and does everything line up to support that, from your business cards to your social media pages. Remember the key to branding and marketing is a consistent message.

One of the best things you can do to keep ahead of the rest, is by being a company where top talent and motivated newcomers want to be. Be the company that offers more than a competitive paycheck. Be a place that fosters talent, and offers scheduling and compensations packages that appeal more to people who think outside of the box. This will attract more innovative thinkers who value flexibility. Not only will you benefit from their talents, more importantly, your competition won’t.

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Embracing Smart Homes:

Does New Technology Really Increase Home Value?

Technology and innovation move at a lightning-fast clip, so it can be hard to keep up with all the smart-home trends sweeping the market at a given time. From smart thermostats to security systems accessed through an app on your phone—there are endless options to customize and update your home for the modern era. But which, if any, of these smart home products add 6

value to property in a significant, worthwhile capacity? Especially with new generations of the same products released in quick succession, it can be hard to determine whether it’s worth it to take the plunge. With that in mind, we’ve conducted a deep-dive into the smart home options out there that make the most sense for your bottom line and real estate investments.

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Smart home amenities range in price and return.

There are certain smart home products that won’t break the bank while still adding lovely touches and time-saving features to your space. For instance, a smart thermostat may not run more than a few hundred dollars, but it can take so much of the guesswork and analog nuisance out of programming your home’s internal environment. That said, buyers selling properties with mid-range amenities like this can’t expect a windfall in return. While smart home features can certainly lure buyers and give the sense that a home is attractively modern (and thus move-in ready), it doesn’t mean that you’ll be reaping a sizable monetary reward for your foresight. Conversely, this reality doesn’t mean those smart options

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are without value entirely; it just means that the value of smart home options may be apparent in a different capacity, like luring a particular buyer or creating a desirable, sleek image for a property headed to market.

On the other hand, larger scale smart home amenities that are being left behind for the buyer—like a smart refrigerator or wired sound throughout the property—may be able to lure particular buyers who value high-end details. While it can be difficult to state definitively the value of smart home options, the rule tends to be that the more you put in, the higher the likelihood you’ll reap the investment you sow. Focus your smart home options on home appliances first, then work your way toward security, thermostat, and entertainment options.

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Smart home amenities capture the attention of buyers

Agents must know how to pitch the value of smart home options

Even if you have mostly opted for small or mid-range smart home options, you can still benefit from their presence in a property—even if they don’t inflate your bottom line as a result. Smart home amenities have the power to focus the attention of buyers, sending a clear signal that the previous owners were tech-forward and made an effort to upgrade the property for the contemporary era. Millennial or Gen Z buyers especially value these up-to-date modifications, and the presence of these desirable gadgets can create added interest and drive up value naturally. Likewise, featuring these options in listing photography can also drive interest from younger or high-end buyers looking for move-in ready spaces.

Remember that smart home features are relatively fresh to the market. While some new construction properties are equipped with these smart amenities, just as many homes on the market don’t offer these upgrades and modern flairs. This means that many buyers, of all ages even, aren’t familiar with the benefits and perks of these options, let alone how they’re operated. Before you can derive value from a smart home or smart home features, you’ll need to understand a product’s proper usage, cost, and benefits. Do your homework regarding what smart home features can offer in terms time or cost savings, and be able to show prospective buyers how easy these objects are to use, as well. Do both, and you’ll be in proper command of what smart home features can offer buyers and pitch them accordingly.

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CHRISTINE L. NAJEM Top Agent Magazine

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A licensed real estate broker since 2013, Christine L. Najem has over 50 agents working for her at her brokerage, Cedar Wood Realty Group.

With an approach that is focused on serving her community, Christine L. Najem brings the ethos of her social work background to the world of real estate. Born in Vietnam, at age 5, Christine and her family escaped the war-torn country of Vietnam days before the fall of Saigon to end up in Hawaii, where she spent most of her life until the age of 29 when she decided to take a leap of faith to pursue her studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, then receiving a full scholarship to attend the School of Social Work at Smith College, in Northampton, MA. “I did not have a plan, but God did. I knew I wanted to open my own nonprofit organization to help women and 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

children, but I realized quickly that on a social worker’s salary, that would be close to impossible, so I started doing real estate part time as a way to supplement my income,” Christine recalls. So in 2004, she decided to get her real estate license while working as a Clinician at You, Inc., and in 2005, Christine left the social work world to pursue a full-time career in real estate in the 2nd biggest city in Massachusetts . . . Worcester, MA. Christine is a woman that stands strong in her faith; values family; and is passionate about impacting the future generation. Real estate is her passion and she uses this platform not Top Agent Magazine

just to help clients achieve the American Dream of home ownership, but to encourage and empower women to become financially healthy by offering women’s financial literacy workshops alongside a panel of women in the community who are doing the same. “It is easy for us to help people buy houses, but more than that, we want to make sure that families

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are able to maintain their home by teaching women how to manage their finances and break any generational patterns that have kept them from prospering. For Christine and her husband, Charbel Najem, who is a Real Estate Developer, real estate is so much more than selling houses, it is a vehicle they use to help others live out their dreams.

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Christine and her team serve Massachusetts, with an amazing 98% of their business coming from repeat and referral clients, a testament to the strong relationships Christine and her team members build.

A licensed real estate broker since 2013, Christine has over 50 agents working at her brokerage, Cedar Wood Realty Group. She and her team serve Massachusetts, with an amazing 90% of their business coming from repeat and referral clients, a testament to the strong relationships Christine and her team members build. “Clients know us from our involvement in the community,” Christine explains. “My husband and I are both first generation immigrants who know what it takes to succeed and we try to be an example to our children and those around us. Our form of marketing is to Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

give to the community that keeps us in business. Our philosophy is to sow generously wherever we can, understanding that God will always provide our needs when we take care of the needs of others.” Christine is on the board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and her husband is on the board of the Massachusetts Family Institute. They also have their own nonprofit, the Cedar Wood Family Foundation, which puts on financial literacy classes for women. They support the Torch Foundation as well. The pair and the company are guided by strong Christian values.

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When it comes to marketing her listings, Christine believes in achieving a wide reach through social media platforms, and she invests heavily in social media to ensure optimum exposure.

The results speak for themselves: since starting in 2013, the company has been on a growth track, placing in the top 1% of teams in Central Massachusetts and top 5% in Massachusetts overall for the past several years.

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In 2022, Cedar Wood Realty Group rolled out its luxury home and commercial real estate division selling several luxury homes in Worcester and Wellesley Massachusetts such as 19 Dunedin Road, Wellesley, MA for $2,175,000 and 35 Brookshire Road, Worcester, MA for $955,000; as well as selling the highest sold commercial multifamily in the past 30 years in the 2nd largest city in Massachusetts, being located on 39

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& 43 Grand Street, Worcester, MA, for a total value of $2,660,000 – setting a historical watermark for comparable properties in the City of Worcester.

Christine also works with international clients, and just recently worked with a buyer from the Philippines on purchasing an investment property in Wellesley, MA for more than 2 million dollars. “To help those clients, we have access to lenders that work with international clients who want to invest in the US,” Christine says. She

and her husband also work in new construction and are both investors themselves. When asked if she is worried about the future of real estate, her response is … “We have been through the best of times and the worst of times back in 20052010. We know what it was like and we are well prepared to go through this next season because what we went through only made us stronger.

Now it is our turn to help those around us . . . our agents, clients, friends, and family . . . to walk confidently into the future, regardless of what the future looks like from where we stand today.”

To find out more about Christine L. Najem, call (508) 864-1536, visit cedarwoodllc.com or email christine@cedarwoodllc.com www.

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HOW TO STAY IN YOUR CLIENTS' LIVES FOR THE LONG HAUL

One sign of a great real estate agent is there long list of loyal client following. Part of achieving a great referral base is being a great realtor during the transaction. But, that’s only half of the work. To truly be your client’s realtor for life and keep them coming back to you as well as referring others to you, you have to stay in their lives past the transaction. Keeping in touch with your past clients can be one of the most important parts of your business, and one that many realtors tend to push to the wayside.

Do you stay in your client’s lives, or do you disappear? People refer people that they feel they know well and that they trust, people they consider friends. However, earning and keeping your client’s trust involves maintaining a delicate balance with how much you contact them. Experts recommend reaching out to your clients at least quarterly. But, it’s not just about how often you stay in touch. You also need to be mindful about how you are reaching out to them. Here are some tips on how to keep in touch with your clients for the long haul: Top Agent Magazine

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INDIVIDUAL PERSONAL CONTACT One of the best ways to keep in touch with your clients is to simply give them a call every once in a while. Follow up and see how your clients are doing. Offer them assistance if they need it. Personalized contact helps to ensure that you remain as important to your clients long after the sale as you were during the transaction. Giving your clients a call on special occasions such as birthdays or holidays also makes for a great personal touch.

Of course, nothing beats face-to-face contact. Stopping by to say hello can be a great way to keep in contact. An even better way to catch up and maintain that friendship is to set up a lunch or coffee date with past clients. Giving individual clients your undivided attention goes a long way towards maintaining that bond you formed during the transaction and earning your client’s loyalty and trust. Interactions like this make a lasting impression on your clients.

Of course, many busy REALTORS® may not have time to follow up with every client oneon-one. A great way to still give personal attention to your clients without meeting each and every one for lunch is to throw a client appreciation party. This allows you to get in some face-to-face time with each client and make sure they all get your undivided attention and quality time to catch up with you, even if it’s only for a short time.

Now, if you have a lot of past clients, this can be difficult to manage during one party. One way to get around the numbers problem is to organize smaller events based on client’s interests. Instead of throwing one giant party, host a pool party for the families with kids or a wine and cheese get together for single clients. Hosting special events like these ones goes a long way towards keeping your contact with past clients more personalized and setting you apart from those businesses that simply send them a calendar once a year.

PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH USEFUL NEWS PROVIDE CLIENTS WITH USEFUL NEWS One way that many REALTORS® keep in touch with their clients is by sending them newsletters. This form of contact can be a double-edged sword. You want to make sure you provide them with useful information that reminds them of your value as a real estate professional.

Otherwise your communication will amount to nothing more than spam, and clients will think of you less as a trusted friend and more as a nuisance salesperson.

Clients react much more positively to communication containing information that is pertinent to their lives. Update your clients on what is going on in their local community and 16

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housing market. Demonstrate your knowledge about the community and the things that are important to your clients. Include information about local cultural events, community news, housing statistics, information on the mortgage market, home maintenance advice, home design tips, and anything else that your clients will find personally useful. Your clients will always be interested in value.

SEND CLIENTS MEMORABLE AND PERSONAL CARDS Sending your clients cards related to important events in their lives and letting them know that you remember those events and care will go a long way towards building and maintaining a close personal relationship with them. You want to make sure your cards stand out, though. Sending popular holiday cards can be a mistake, as they will most likely get lost amongst all of your clients other holiday cards and will be quickly forgotten. Instead send something more personal such as: HOME ANNIVERSARY CARDS: Send cards to each client on the anniversary of the closing of their home.

CONGRATULATORY CARDS: Remember important events such as wedding anniversaries, graduations, new babies, etc.

SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CARDS: Instead of just sending your typical birthday card, add something special to yours that will stand out. Include a $1 scratch off ticket or a $5 gift certificate to Starbucks. Make sure to include a handwritten personal note.

GIVE CLIENTS AN UNUSUAL GIFT Make sure the gifts you send your past clients stand out. Send your past clients an odd gift at the beginning of the year or on a holiday. Think outside the box and send things like funny magnets, customized mugs, a personalized piece of wall décor, and other fun and unusual items. A great way to make your gift stand out even more is to include a funny note with it that will catch their attention as well as make them think of you. For example, one cute idea is to send clients a bag of popcorn with the note, “Real estate is popping, give me a call.” You could send a bag of goldfish with a note attached that says, “I’m fishing for your referrals.” Get creative and have a little fun with it, your clients will notice and remember you for it.

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TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS

Social networking sites make staying in contact with past clients in a more informal and friendly basis much easier. Connect with your past clients on Facebook. This will help you stay up to date on the important things happening in your pact clients’ lives. In return, it provides you a great platform for keeping those past clients up to date with what is going on in your business as well as keep in contact in a more informal manner. Use Facebook to remind past clients to check their basement after a heavy rain or that they can contact you for help during tax time.

You can even organize your contacts on Facebook into customized lists such as “past clients,” “industry contacts,” etc. This will help you better manage your Facebook contacts.

This will also allow you to view specific news feeds based on these lists and send messages to a particular list of contacts. Don’t forget about the many other social networking sites such as Twitter or LinkedIn either. Utilize this technology to drive personal contact with your clients.

STAY ORGANIZED No matter how you choose to keep in contact with past clients, make sure to be consistent.

Consistency will help you stay organized and diligent about reaching out to your past clients regularly. A tool used by many real estate professionals to stay organized is a customer relationship management solution. Whether you use one that is online or a computer software program, this will help you stay organized when managing your contacts and allow you to set notifications to alert you when you need to contact certain clients, send out gifts, plan a client appreciation event, and many other things throughout the year.

Staying organized and consistent in your contact with past clients will help you continue to build and manage your referral base, as well as open the door to repeat and referral business.

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KEITH HARRINGTON When it comes to managing rental properties in Boston, Keith Harrington is among the best, the hardest working and certainly among the bravest. He makes it his business to bring the most value out of a property for owners, some of whom have become friends as Keith invests in long-term relationships with his clients. Managing 400-plus units scattered across the city, managing construction for young developers and positioning assets for long term holds or sale, offers more than enough work to keep him busy, yet Keith pulls off the feat while raising four kids under 7 years old in Hingham, Mass., along with his wife and serving as a full-time Brookline firefighter.

Keith’s business has not always been as demanding, even if he was as ambitious. He started with a small leasing company renting a few apartments in the city just over a decade ago. He scaled up when a developer gave him an offer to rent/manage 15 to 20 of his units. From there, Keith found a niche with young developers mainly in East Boston, Jamaica Plain, South Boston and Dorchester. As he grew his footprint, he increased his offerings from simply managing properties to a fully vertically integrated company including full-scale construction, sales, leasing, trash/junk collecting and accounting. Keith’s partnership with Boston construction magnate Luis Loja of City Wall System has scaled them to new heights in Boston’s real estate world. “We try to do as much business in-house and try to do less of that work with third-party vendors where pricing can be less predictable,” he says. “This decreases the cost for owners because we have control of the pricing,

which allows them a benefit of cost savings across the board. We're able to do that because we manage properties in scale.” He adds that the vertically integrated services improves a property’s appeal, “which in turn, gets higher rents, better value and return on investment.”

This year’s success has led Keith to adopt a new growth model that focuses on aligning his company with growing owners and developers. He recently helped close a $47 million sale with one prominent client, and he sees more opportunity for partnerships with emerging owner groups building large urban investment portfolios. “I aim to be their operating partner, which allows them to free up head space to focus their attention to big-picture items without getting bogged down with the day-today operations.”

Keith also commits two 24-hour shifts a week to his firefighting duties. He may be one of the busiest guys in Boston. Still, Keith finds time to spend with his family and give back to causes he believes in. For years, he has supported No Books No Balls, a Roxbury charity that runs a basketball program holding kids accountable for their academics. Keith and his wife made a significant contribution to their annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway, one of the largest in the state, giving away over 1,000 Thanksgiving Day meals. “I like how it ties sports with schooling and how those two intersect in life. Not just focused on one, but combined. Both are very important.” Keith has also donated laptops to the program to ensure many of the kids have access to the internet.

To learn more about Keith Harrington email keith@brookproperty.com Top Agent Magazine

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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 22

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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