NEW JERSEY 3-21-22

NEW JERSEY EDITION

COVER STORY

MARY PREMTAJ

JUICE UP YOUR

OPEN HOUSE STRATEGY

6 Ways to GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU

MILLENNIAL BUYERS:

FEATURED AGENT

JESSICA FIGLAR

Where They Are & What to Know

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

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

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

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Put Testimonials or Case Studies on Your Website

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

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

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

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Be Responsive and Accessible

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

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

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Be Honest and Transparent

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

You should always act in their best interest.

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Go the Extra Mile

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

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Put Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes

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

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Be Consistent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Hire the Right Team Members

Put Your Team Members in the Right Positions to Win

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

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

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

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

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

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Communicating Your Vision to Your Team

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

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

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

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

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

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MARY PREMTAJ

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Top Agent Mary Premtaj leads The Premtaj Team through Compass Real Estate, where she assists clients throughout Bergen County and the surrounding areas of Northern New Jersey. she decided to launch her career as an agent in 2001—and the rest is history.

Today, Mary leads The Premtaj Team through Compass Real Estate, where she assists clients throughout Bergen County and the surrounding areas of Northern New Jersey. Alongside her outstanding team member, Michele Gordon, she has cultivated a forward-thinking approach to meet the needs of any buyer or seller. Having been ranked among the top ½% of agents in Bergen County, as well as the top REALTOR® in Franklin Lakes for over a decade, Mary holds many other prestigious designations.

Throughout her life, Mary Premtaj has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit. After earning her BA in Finance and Economics from Rutgers University, she would pursue a successful career on Wall Street as a foreign exchange trader, making markets and holding proprietary positions. When she moved out to the suburbs to start her family, she took an interest in the real estate industry.

Realizing that she could bring a new perspective to the business, one that included thoughtful management and a deeply collaborative mindset, 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

When listing a property, Mary equips her clients with a cutting edge strategy. Starting out, she helps them fully prepare their home for the market, providing a suite of professional staging, photography, and videography services. From there, she shares their listing to a highly targeted blend of digital and social media campaigns, also leaning on the robust Compass platform to connect her sellers with a network of buyers that spans the nation. With a passion in design and a background in photography, Mary’s aesthetic eye adds to achieving impressive property presentation. Above all, though, she personalizes her process to each client, drawing from the voice of Top Agent Magazine

their home to craft a unique marketing plan around a distinct buyer profile. Her creative approach blended with shrewd negotiating skills allow her to further ensure a smooth transaction catered to her clients’ best interests.

Elsewhere, Mary is just as attentive when assisting her buyers, leveraging her decades of experience Top Agent Magazine

to uncover the right investment for their needs.

From start to finish, she is there for her clients, empowering them through a structured approach, founded in deep knowledge and experience, centered around the values of reliability, integrity, and open communication. “My business acumen goes all the way back to my Wall Street career,” she says. “But while I’m very analytical, I’m also 11 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

“Michele and I go all-in for our clients. Sometimes we can forget all that we bring to a transaction, not only as Brokers, but also as parents, professionals, and colleagues.

At the end of the day, we’re really good at what we do.” sensitive. If my client needs to be picked up or encouraged, I’m always here for them.”

Over the years, Mary has earned a fantastic reputation throughout New Jersey, with the vast majority of her volume coming from repeat clients and referrals. Having completed $60 million in volume in 2021 alone and approximately $400 million in career sales, she remains focused on what matters most. “Michele and I go all in for our clients.

Sometimes we can forget all that we bring to a transaction, not only as Brokers, but also as parents, professionals, and colleagues. At the end of the day, we’re really good at what we do.”

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Outside her career, Mary is committed to her community, contributing to IronMatt, a foundation that supports research efforts fighting pediatric brain cancer; Oasis, a safe haven for women and children; and various local events and charities throughout the year. She also makes annual trips with Fusion Church, a church group from Egg Harbor Township, in which she joins other volunteers on a trip to the Dominican Republic to build houses and work on outreach projects within the underprivileged communities of Los Cocos. Their ongoing project on the community center has just opened its doors this year, providing a safe gathering place that keeps children off the streets through Top Agent Magazine

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fellowships, activities, and education. She has also been able to raise thousands of dollars to support this mission through friends, family, and clients.

“There’s nothing like helping to literally provide a roof over the heads of families that have nothing,” she says. “It’s exceedingly fulfilling.” Mary spends as much time as she can outdoors and loves all sports, including running, skiing, tennis, and water sports. She also loves to sit field-side, watching her children play lacrosse.

Looking ahead, she also has exciting plans for the future of her business. As she continues to evolve with the industry, she intends on scaling her dynamic workflow while upholding her strong standard of service. “Real estate is such a people-oriented business,” she says. “Every day, a new client or family welcomes me into their home, and it brings me so much joy to build a lasting connection with them. I can’t think of any other job that offers so much fulfillment through relationships.”

For more about Mary Premtaj and her team, please call (201) 410.8022, email mary.premtaj@compass.com, or visit compass.com/agents/mary-premtaj 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 Top Agent Magazine

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 18

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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JESSICA FIGLAR Driven and creative, Jessica Figlar wanted more out of her career in 2007. “I was working in the corporate world for five years after college,” she explains. “But I knew I could find a path that was more fulfilling.” Landing a job at the New Jersey Association of Realtors®, Jessica found what she was looking for. “I was envious of these agents coming in and out, working at their own speed and genuinely loving what they were doing. At that point, I felt I had to become an agent.”

So Jessica earned her license and began the journey, never regretting it for a moment since. She served the greater Hoboken, New Jersey area for 14 years, where she became a well-regarded agent with a reputation for superior service.

Moving to the Toms River area over a year ago, she now serves Monmouth and Ocean counties. Despite having to start her client base from scratch, she has already become a top agent in the region.

“Once I moved here I started making cold calls,” she explains. “It was a lot of work to gain people’s trust and allow them to get to know me and what I can offer them. But now that I’ve built that base, I am getting a lot of referrals.” Those who speak with Jessica quickly understand that she looks out for her clients’ best interests, and is eager to go above and beyond to reach their goals. Each referral is a reminder to Jessica that she is on the right track. “It’s the biggest compliment, and is all the encouragement I need to continue building my business.”

Having been in the industry for over a decade, Jessica’s skills are refined, and her knowledge is extensive.

Clients appreciate that she can guide them through the transaction and answer all of their questions, often before they even ask. “I come from a very fast-paced market up north, and I bring that all down here to the Shore,” Jessica explains. “But most importantly, I believe people refer me to their friends and family because I treat them so well during our time together. They become more than just a client to me. I fully invest myself into getting them the home they want, or getting them the best price for their home. I do everything possible to bring them happiness.” It’s not uncommon that Jessica gets together with them after the closing, as she considers all of her past clients to be part of her extended family.

Although working takes up much of Jessica’s day, she makes sure to carve out time for hobbies. She has participated in three marathons, and during the summer she enjoys being out on the water. Social gatherings are an important part of Jessica’s life, as she comes from a large family and has a group of friends she has known since kindergarten.

But some of Jessica’s happiest moments happen at work, as it’s her true passion. “I don’t even like calling it a job, because it’s really what I love to do.” In the coming years, she hopes to continue growing her business and helping more people.

For more information about Jessica Figlar, please call 908-447-9968 or email jessicafiglar.realtor@gmail.com, visit jessicamariefiglar.com www.

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Top 4 Ways to Juice Up Your Open House Strategy

by Rob Flitton

I go to open houses, but not just because of my profession or interest in architecture and interior design. I go to open houses to see how effective real estate agents are at selling. It has been rather eyeopening because there is very little selling going on—the average open house strategy needs work.

1.Build a Dynamic Open House Booklet After they leave, open house visitors will discard a one-page for-sale info sheet naming a home’s features. But they will keep, and possibly use, a 6 or 8 page booklet loaded with interesting items that directly solve problems for them.

Perhaps “selling” is considered an outdated skill, or that it feels socially awkward for agents to be regarded as a salesperson. But if you’re a real estate agent, you are a salesperson. At most of the open houses I go, I see money floating out the door every time a visitor leaves because of the agent’s inability or refusal to sell.

It will require some strategic thought to nail the content and design, but perhaps include: (i) descriptives about the benefits of buying the property you’re showing, and not just data, (ii) compelling reasons why they should consider working with you along with a web link to search for listings on your website, (iii) a web link telling them how to get a prompt, written estimate on the value of their home, or to find out what other homes in their neighborhood sold for, (iv) possible discounts on real estate related services—maybe a reduction in fees from your preferred lender, or a reduced home inspection price, (v) possible discounts on non real estate related items.

An open house is a lucrative opportunity to find buyer or seller clients –selling the listing itself may also be the goal, but an agent should not pass up this chance.

There are 4 distinct strategies an agent can immediately employ to juice up their open houses and get awesome leads.

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If you combine this dynamic booklet with properly trained closing language, as touched upon below, it is something the average person will either keep and use or pass along to someone they know. A well designed booklet can bring you a lot of business.

data—and they are void of interesting or problem-solving information.

2.Work The Neighborhood A few days prior to your open house, find the names and addresses (from tax records—or elsewhere) of, say, 20 homes in each direction from the Pre-internet, both open houses for open house. resale listings, and model homes for new construction, relied on strategic For the cost of postage and some collateral materials (handouts). Vis- sweat-equity, mail a postcard to these itors were ostensibly looking at sev- 80 homeowners inviting them to the eral competitors at the same time, so open house and offering something collateral materials had to have the unique and compelling—perhaps a power to bring them back to your drawing or giveaway for those willing site—a great call to action, eye- to provide their opinion on the asking catching color, identification of the price of the home (and the entry card, of course, will net you their email benefits of buying your product. address and phone number). People Yet at open houses today, I primarily are generally nosy and like to be see bland information sheets dis- validated, so asking for their opinion cussing features—the listing price, on something happening in their own the square footage, and the standard neighborhood is very appealing.

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And, it is best to mail them again right after the open house to talk about what happened.

“From our Saturday open house, we discovered 3 qualified and eager buyers that are now looking for a home in this neighborhood—if you would like to know what your home is worth for these buyers to consider, please give me a call.”

dynamic booklet and say: “Please enjoy our open house, and am hoping you’ll do me a favor. This booklet is loaded with great information about, and if you become interested at some point in buying or selling, would you please call and give me the opportunity to earn your business? Or if you happen to know someone now who is looking now, would you kindly pass this booklet onto them?”

Also, adding on door-knocking or If they reply with a “don’t know” type flyer-hanging to your mailings boosts of answer this usually means they are your neighborhood equity even more. indeed looking but are just not ready yet to reveal this to you, so you will 3.Close and Qualify need to work to make a connection.

Engage every single visitor in closing Good consultative sales connections dialogue, because every single visitor are made when you can make them feel you’re not pushy and are able to is there for a reason. directly resolve their problem.

While smiling, with shoulders erect, and maintaining suitable distance, A “yes” type of response is great, but look them in the eye and offer your you should take the qualifying step of handshake while stating your full asking them if they’re working with another agent. If they are, the dyname and company—and then ask: namic booklet comes in handy again: “Are you out looking to buy a home “If for any reason your agent is today?” unavailable to show you homes, I can be reached at the phone number in There are 4 categories of answers, this booklet. Plus, it contains fantastic and any answer they provide is an resources for searching online and a opportunity to get to the marrow of discount on financing.” what they need. There are “nos”, “don’t knows,” “yeses,” and “other.” If you can’t get a sandwich, get a bite.

If they are definitive about looking, If they reply with a “no” variety of and don’t have an agent, then they are answer, then you can hand them your available for you to work with and 22

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here again you need the right type of closing and qualifying dialogue.

The goal here is to evoke from them their home-buying goals so that you can match and narrow down to a single opportunity. It’s a mistake to present multiple listings to a buyer at once. Ask broad questions and then narrowing questions followed up by “if-then” questions.

Example: “What types of functions do you want in your new home, or activities near your neighborhood?”

Followed by something like, “is the number or size of bedrooms important to you?” Followed by, “so if I can show you the kind of home we just described, are you ready to go see it and possibly make an offer?”

4.Have Interactive Tech Tools Onsite It is the worst feeling to engage someone as a potential client at an open house and then have no tools available to solve their problem— don’t assume they aren’t going to want to do business right away.

If you’re engaging a potential buyer, you better be able to instantly gratify their desire to see viable homes online so internet access and an easily view-able screen are necessary. They may ask you to go see other homes in-person, so you need to have a coagent available to either show them those homes, or spell you off as host while you do. You may be asked to write up an offer for them so you will need the tools and ability to create and e-sign documents.

Naturally, any objections or “nos” you receive in this process are just fan- When a potential listing client is in tastic opportunities to learn about their front of you, you need to be able to needs and earn a connected trust. show them recent comparable sales and may even be asked to list their The “other” thing they might tell you home and will need the tools and is that they’re not a buyer at all, but a ability to create and e-sign documents potential seller. Potential sellers often for taking that listing. go to open houses to find out how their home stacks up, but are you It happens sometimes—but it never aware what the number one reason happens if you’re not ready. they attend open houses is?

Potential sellers go to open houses to Rob Flitton is a Seattle Real Estate Mardirectly or indirectly interview you, a keting specialist helping independent agents to increase their income. Email Rob potential listing agent. And they hire robflitton@gmail.com at any time or call/ confident, prepared professionals. text him at 206-612-2314.

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