OHIO 7-26-21

OHIO EDITION

1 Billion-Plus Reasons Why

YOU SHOULD BE ACTIVE ON FACEBOOK

BODY LANGUAGE: How to Read Your Prospect Like a Book!

COVER STORY

HOLLY SCOTT

How to Answer the Inevitable Question:

WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE YOU?

FEATURED AGENT

WENDY GEIGER

OHIO EDITION

WENDY GEIGER

A longtime resident of Ohio, Wendy first home last June, she remains focus 9 Geiger 17 served in the banking industry for many on what matters most: building lasti years, building an accomplished career relationships with her clients. “I’ve alwa as a mortgage lender; however, through sworn that I would be true to myself,” s it all, she always had an interest in real says. “Rather than just asking for busine estate. Inspired, she decided to pursue her I pay attention to changes in the lives license and launch her career as a Realtor, people I know and step in when they ne applying her background in finance to help assistance. For me, helping others is t clients obtain their dream homes. Today, bottom line.” she is an agent for Coldwell Banker Realty where she services clients throughout Outside her career, Wendy is tremendous HOLLY SCOTT WENDY GEIGER Hamilton, Warren, Butler, and Clermont Counties. She active around her neighborhood, organizing gatherin is also licensed in Kentucky, allowing her to facilitate for the local women’s dinner club and participating transactions of all kinds—even those across state lines. various events and causes around town. When she’s n with clients or giving back, she enjoys relaxing w When listing a home, Wendy prefers a hands-on approach. friends or spending quality time with her family a Starting out, she goes through the property with her three children. clients and helps them fully prepare it for the market.

After providing a suite of professional photography serGoing forward, Wendy has strong plans for her futu vices—and even drone photography—she broadcasts her in real estate. As her volume maintains its rapid grow listings over a blend of targeted digital and social media she intends on further expanding her client base w In the meantime, she utilizes resources15) like 5ambitions to oneMEDIA day build a team—or even include h 4) HOWcampaigns.

TO ANSWER SOCIAL email blasts and direct mailers to the surrounding neighfamily in the business. Most importantly, though, s THE INEVITABLE REALherESTATE borhoods, givingQUESTION: her clients an added advantage. MISTAKES will keep serving buyers and sellers in the only w she knows how.

“Kindness WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE YOU? AGENTS MUST AVOIDis everything to me,” s Throughout the process, Wendy makes sure everyone says. “More than anything, I want to continue buildi is included in the transaction. For example, during a close knit relationships with each client. As long as I recent home closing,REASONS she found herself chatting with the BODY that, the rest will fall into place.”

6) 1 BILLION-PLUS 20) LANGUAGE: daughter of one of her clients, a little girl who was overWHY YOU BE ACTIVE HOW TO READ YOUR joyedSHOULD at the prospect of finally having a room to herself.

“I was so excited for her to start her life with her family ON FACEBOOK PROSPECT LIKE A BOOK! in their first home,” Wendy says. “Moments like those are what this career is all about. After all, these are the biggest purchases we make in our lives; they’re important—not just financially, but also emotionally.”

CONTENTS

Elsewhere, Wendy is just as devoted to her buyers, Phone 310-734-1440 | Fax 310-734-1440 leveraging her extensive background in mortgage lend-

ing to navigate their transaction and guide them to the mag@topagentmagazine.com | www.topagentmagazine.com

To learn more about Wendy Geiger right property for them. Since getting started, she has No portion of this issue may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior consent of the publisher. Top Agent please call (513)254-4843, earned a terrific reputation throughout her commuMagazine is published by Feature Publications GA, Inc. Although precautions are taken to ensure the accuracy of published email wendy.geiger@cbws.com, nity, as evidenced by her rapidly growing referral base. materials, Top Agent Magazine cannot be held responsible for opinions expressed or facts supplied by its authors. or visit wendygeiger.cbintouch.com handled send $8.5 inquiry milliontoinmag@topagentmagazine.com. volume since selling her To subscribe or Having change address, Published in the U.S. www.

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How to Answer the Inevitable Question:

Why Should I Choose You? In some markets, a real estate agent is competing against thousands of other individuals and teams. There are only so many bells and whistles—so many buzz words you can throw at prospective clients. To a buyer or seller who has interviewed several other agents already, all of it begins to blend together and every realtor sounds as though they’re reading off the same script.

Your clients want to know why they should choose you. They want to know what makes you different. It’s highly likely they’ll even 4

ask you this question directly in your initial interview, but as an agent, you might have a hard time coming up with a response that either you or your clients are truly satisfied with.

To answer your client’s why you must go back to your own why.

WHAT SKILLS DO YOU HAVE THAT OTHERS DON’T? Just because there are other agents in your area doesn’t mean those agents have the

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same skills that you do. We each bring our own backgrounds and experiences to the table. What comes naturally to you? Maybe it’s your negotiating skills or your ability to connect people that sets you apart from the rest.

WHAT PART OF THE BUSINESS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST? There are skills and then there are passions.

In real estate, there’s so much to enjoy.

There’s the opportunity to match a family with the right home and the sense of safety and comfort that brings their loved ones.

There’s the ability to give someone a sense of financial security by advocating and negotiating on their behalf. And then there’s the houses and neighborhoods themselves— the architecture, history, and community.

WHAT ARE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS? When you look at your client list and the portfolio of work that you’ve built over the years, what are you most proud of? Sure, there are financial rewards, but there are also other accomplishments that your prospective clients will likely be eager to hear about, such as happy client testimonials, a thriving referral business, volunteer and charity work, or even how you lift and support your own team.

Everyone needs money, but those other accomplishments and how you speak about them show your client what kind of person Top Agent Magazine

you are and if that’s the type of person they want to work with.

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS? Real estate might seem like your entire world at times, but you also have a life outside of work. Maybe you like music or traveling or being outdoors. The best part about being a realtor is that there are often ways you can thread these interests into your work, like hosting client functions and events.

WHAT DOES YOUR CLIENT CARE ABOUT THE MOST? Let’s face it, your clients likely care the most about only a few things: saving or making the most money, doing it as soon as possible, and making sure that doing so isn’t too stressful. Your response to your client’s question—why should I choose you?— should address these concerns.

Maybe you excel at creating systems that make the selling process efficient and profitable for your client. Or maybe you excel at providing a personalized experience for homebuyers.

Try out a few responses. You might even start with a template: My [skills or passions] helps me [provide this service] because I can [achieve my client’s goal].

Like most things in life, coming up with a compelling and concise response for why clients should hire you will take time and practice.

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1 Billion-Plus Reasons Why You Should Be Active on Facebook

By Bubba Mills

The number is staggering and potentially career ending for REALTORS® who ignore it: 1,440,000,000. That’s the total number of monthly active users on the social medium Facebook.

That number alone is reason enough to use it regularly in your real estate business. But Facebook can also help turn you into the expert in your community. Just by sharing knowledge and relevant events about the community you can become the go-to source for all things local – a perfect way to capture the attention of prospective buyers.

Plus, Facebook advertising also gives you tons of targeting layers like age, location, recent life events and interests. Plus, it constantly adds new targeting filters and functions that help you reach even more niche prospects who closely meet your customer criteria. Talk about pinpointing a target audience.

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Another Facebook real estate ad tool is Website Custom Audiences that lets you create Facebook ads that target users who have visited your website.

And several apps specifically for Facebook have emerged. Consider these: • Heyo.com: Helps you host contests, showcase promotions and high-

light special offers.

• Woobox.com: Let’s you easily create quizzes and other fun tools for engaging content.

• Pagemodo.com: Helps you make your Facebook business page both sleek and stylish and tabs allow for easy lead capture.

But the latest offering is just as cool. It’s called Facebook Live and it lets you stream live video on the internet. I recently wrote about Periscope, another live video streaming app, but when you use Facebook Live you’re automatically featured at the top of Facebook users’ news feed. What’s more, statistics show that live video is viewed more than recorded video.

How can REALTORS® use Facebook Live?

Open Houses: Broadcast a walk-through of a new listing

and highlight all the great features.

Webinars: Host live webinars targeted to buyers and sellers. They can sub-

mit questions just like a real-life seminar.

Real Estate Talk Show: Offer the latest news in the industry plus share lo-

cal events and your newest listings. In short, become the Lester Holt or Diane Sawyer of real estate in your town with your own “TV” show!

Facebook offers these tips for using Facebook Live: Promote: Tease upcoming Facebook Live broadcasts for more viewers.

Plan better: Take time to plan what you want to do in the video, whether

it’s a few key talking points or to have a few questions ready ahead of time in a Q&A, in case incoming comments slow down.

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Invest in some equipment: A shaky live stream turns off viewers so con-

sider a tripod or other stabilizing tools, especially if you’re taking viewers on a tour of an open house. And check the shot before going live.

Get the lighting right: If you’re indoors be sure you have plenty of good

lighting and avoid a lot of light directly behind you because it’ll wash you out.

Sound good: A common mistake for beginners is overlooking sound.

Consider an external microphone to make sure your viewers can actually hear you.

And if the live option makes you a little nervous, you can also stream pre-recorded videos. Hey, that has worked like a charm for TV for decades. Some businesses promote their web series to “air” on Facebook Live at a certain time like TV shows. After they are streamed, Facebook Live videos function as normal Facebook videos. Some business owners believe videos may perform better if they begin as live ones.

NowThis, a news company that publishes entirely on social platforms, experimented by streaming a 38-minute compilation of its favorite viral videos via Facebook Live. The stream received over 20,000 views and over 500 comments, according to Facebook’s counters.

Yes, all the new-fangled internet tools, apps and options for REALTORS® can be a bit overwhelming. Just take it one step at a time and you’ll slowly be right there in the business-winning mix. E-mail me today at Article@CorcoranCoaching.com and I’ll send you more free information about how technology can help your real estate business.

Copyright©, Bubba Mills. All rights reserved.

Bubba Mills is the CEO of Corcoran Consulting and Coaching Inc. (www.corcorancoaching.com/programs, 800-957-8353), an international Real Estate, Mortgage, and Small Business coaching company committed to helping clients balance success in business, while building value in life. Bubba Mills is a nationally recognized inspirational and education speaker, coach and mentor to the top real estate agents and mortgage companies. To find out more about Corcoran Consulting & Coaching, call 1-800-957-8353 or visit us at www.CorcoranCoaching.com.

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HOLLY SCOTT

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Top Agent Holly Scott and the Columbus House Team at eXp, represents clients in Columbus and the surrounding area.

Like all lifelong residents of Gahanna, Ohio, Holly Scott grew up understanding the importance of family and friends— as well as honoring the truth that what affects one, affects all. It’s a concept reflected even in the name of the city itself, a Native American word for a confluence of waters. As a Realtor with the Columbus House Team at eXp, Holly 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

takes that knowledge to work with her every day.

“The most important thing is to be able to sleep well at night, knowing that I’ve done right by my clients,” she explains.

“They’re family, neighbors, and I care about them. I’m also always trying to help out new agents, because I remember Top Agent Magazine

what it was like trying to break into the business.”

Holly spent two years working with a local builder before breaking into real estate herself, at the urging and support Top Agent Magazine

of another agent who paid for her to get her license because he felt she was wasting her talent. Which is not to say that Holly’s time with the builder was wasted: “I developed many relationships there and gained a lot of essential knowledge 11 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

about new builds and spec homes, all of which I’ve been able to use to my clients’ benefit over the years.”

Now in her seventeenth year as an agent, Holly represents clients in Columbus and the surrounding area, although she’s closed deals as far away as Springfield, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, for people Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

who didn’t want to work with anyone else.

These days, 100 percent of her business comes from repeat clients and referrals, an achievement any agent would envy.

She doesn’t attribute that loyalty to any one specific thing.

“I love meeting people and I treat them well. I’m not just talking about clients— Top Agent Magazine

“The most important thing is to be able to sleep well at night, knowing that I’ve done right by my clients,” Holly explains.

“They’re family, neighbors, and I care about them.”

I mean other agents, contractors, lenders, whoever. Everyone is important. I’d also say I’m a good communicator, and if someone calls me I always get back to them the same day.”

Holly is also known for helping her clients get the maximum value from their investment, and she’s able to utilize the Top Agent Magazine

considerable resources the Columbus House Team has to offer. She creates professional photographs that capture the most unique and beautiful qualities of her listings, which are then posted to all of the social media platforms, real estate websites, and the MLS as a matter of course. She also reaches out to other agents and past clients who might have Copyright Top Agent Magazine 13

interest in a particular kind of home. After a closing, Holly follows up with clients to see if there’s anything they need, or just to congratulate them on birthdays and anniversaries. “If I happen to be showing a house in their neighborhood, I’ll also pop by just to say hello,” she adds.

Giving back to her community is second nature, and Holly has made personal contributions of both time and money to various efforts in her city. She also plans to keep up her mentoring of new agents for as long as she’s in the business, and looks forward to forming her own team someday soon.

For more information, contact Holly at 614-554-4795 or email HScott@ColumbusHouseTeam.com

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SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES

Real Estate Agents Must Avoid There is perhaps no greater marketing tool for agents these days than having a large presence on social media, but there is more to social media marketing than just opening an account and gaining followers. A lot of agents forget the social part of social media. It’s all about engagement, but it needs to be the right kind of engagement. This can often be the first impression potential clients or industry peers have of you, so make it count. There is no second chance to make a first impression, and that is especially true for real estate agents. Here’s just a few things you want to avoid.

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1 Using it to Vent

Social Media is a great place to complain and commiserate about things, but save that for your personal page. A real estate transaction is already a stressful ordeal, the last thing anyone wants is someone who seems like they’ll bring a negative energy to the process. Even worse?

Bad mouthing other Realtors® or listings. You’re selling yourself and your skills, so don’t sell anything that shows you in a bad light. Much like marketing a property, everything you put out should be professional and inviting.

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Lack of Consistent Branding

Yes, social media is about social engagement, but it’s also about creating brand recognition. While you don’t want it to be purely promotional, you are running a business, so create a consistent branding across all social media platforms. If you can afford a professional graphic designer to help you out with this, that’s great. But at the very least, have the same profile pic, cover image and highly visible contact information, across the board. And don’t forget to share links to your other accounts, some people prefer different social media applications.

3Not Posting Enough

It’s good to create a schedule of how many times you’ll be posting per day and to pick times when you might have the most engagement.

Don’t over do it, but three posts a day at the right time, tends to be a good goal. There are numerous tools on Facebook, for example, that 16

can let you see when interactions are the highest.

Stick to your schedule and adjust accordingly.

It’s also important to not just post your listings.

Be a resource for people who follow your page.

Post community events, or other informative articles that are relevant to home ownership.

Be a page they want to follow even when they aren’t buying or selling a property. They’ll remember you when the time comes.

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Not interacting With Your Followers

It’s called social media for a reason. The more you engage with your followers, the more they see you as a real person, and not just a marketing tool. Not only do you get to know your past clients and potential clients, on Facebook, engagement actually will make your posts seen by more people. So it’s a win/win.

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Not Sharing or Linking to Others

It might not seem like a good idea to not promote the blogs, pages or listings of other people, but it’s not only an excellent way to build goodwill, it will also increase your own presence when they reciprocate. So make a point to share posts and links for local businesses and even the blogs of your peers, if it’s a post that offers valuable insight into an expertise you don’t have. That will encourage them to share your posts and even your listings, which will increase your potential buyer pool. This is another incentive to create your own blog. Unique informative content is always of value, and more likely to be shared than promotional links.

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WENDY GEIGER A longtime resident of Ohio, Wendy Geiger served in the banking industry for many years, building an accomplished career as a mortgage lender; however, through it all, she always had an interest in real estate. Inspired, she decided to pursue her license and launch her career as a Realtor, applying her background in finance to help clients obtain their dream homes. Today, she is an agent for Coldwell Banker Realty where she services clients throughout Hamilton, Warren, Butler, and Clermont Counties. She is also licensed in Kentucky, allowing her to facilitate transactions of all kinds—even those across state lines.

When listing a home, Wendy prefers a hands-on approach.

Starting out, she goes through the property with her clients and helps them fully prepare it for the market.

After providing a suite of professional photography services—and even drone photography—she broadcasts her listings over a blend of targeted digital and social media campaigns. In the meantime, she utilizes resources like email blasts and direct mailers to the surrounding neighborhoods, giving her clients an added advantage.

Throughout the process, Wendy makes sure everyone is included in the transaction. For example, during a recent home closing, she found herself chatting with the daughter of one of her clients, a little girl who was overjoyed at the prospect of finally having a room to herself.

“I was so excited for her to start her life with her family in their first home,” Wendy says. “Moments like those are what this career is all about. After all, these are the biggest purchases we make in our lives; they’re important—not just financially, but also emotionally.”

Elsewhere, Wendy is just as devoted to her buyers, leveraging her extensive background in mortgage lending to navigate their transaction and guide them to the right property for them. Since getting started, she has earned a terrific reputation throughout her community, as evidenced by her rapidly growing referral base.

Having handled $8.5 million in volume since selling her Top Agent Magazine

first home last June, she remains focused on what matters most: building lasting relationships with her clients. “I’ve always sworn that I would be true to myself,” she says. “Rather than just asking for business, I pay attention to changes in the lives of people I know and step in when they need assistance. For me, helping others is the bottom line.”

Outside her career, Wendy is tremendously active around her neighborhood, organizing gatherings for the local women’s dinner club and participating in various events and causes around town. When she’s not with clients or giving back, she enjoys relaxing with friends or spending quality time with her family and three children.

Going forward, Wendy has strong plans for her future in real estate. As her volume maintains its rapid growth, she intends on further expanding her client base with ambitions to one day build a team—or even include her family in the business. Most importantly, though, she will keep serving her buyers and sellers in the only way she knows how. “Kindness is everything to me,” she says. “More than anything, I want to continue building close knit relationships with each client. As long as I do that, the rest will fall into place.”

To learn more about Wendy Geiger please call (513)254-4843, email wendy.geiger@cbws.com, or visit wendygeiger.cbintouch.com www.

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Laughs!

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Body Language: How to Read Your Prospect Like a Book!

By John Boe Are you aware that your body language gestures reveal your deepest feelings and hidden thoughts to total strangers? The very first sale you must make with each new prospect is to “sell yourself”. If your prospect doesn’t like or trust you, he or she will never even remotely consider buying your product or service. Understanding body language gestures will help you build trust and rapport quickly with your prospects and customers... face-to-face or over the phone.

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Body language is a mixture of movement, posture, and tone of voice. Top sales reps and the most successful managers recognize the importance of nonverbal “buy signals” in the selling process and have learned to “listen with their eyes”. They understand the power of body language and know how to use their gestures and voice tone to establish trust and build rapport quickly. Body language research shows that nonverbal communication has a much greater impact and reliability than the spoken word. Therefore, if your prospect’s words are not congruent with his or her body language gestures, you would be wise to rely on the body language as a more accurate reflection of true feelings.

The good news about body language is that you were born knowing the information. This explains why people from different cultures can communicate effectively without having to speak a single word. In the animal kingdom, every cat, dog, bear, horse, etc. on the planet will use the same body language gestures to communicate with each other. For example, when an animal is angry, they will pin their ears back flat against their head.

Even though people understand body language instinctively, the meaning of “finger gestures” may change from one culture to another. Finger gestures, such as the V for victory sign or the okay gesture are “learned gestures” created by the culture and the meaning often varies from country to country. For example, on January 23, 1968, the USS Pueblo, a Navy intelligence ship, was engaged in a routine surveillance mission off the North Korean coast when it was intercepted by North Korean patrol boats. The 83-man crew were captured and imprisoned in Pyongyang, where they were interrogated and beaten. In an attempt to gain propaganda value from the crew, the North Koreans conducted a news conference. When photographed during the press conference, some of the ship’s crew expressed their disdain for their captors by sticking out their middle finger. While this finger gesture was noticed by the North Koreans they didn’t understand the disrespectful meaning that the gesture implied. After the photos were released worldwide and the meaning Top Agent Magazine

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of the finger gesture was revealed, the North Koreans were politically embarrassed and severely beat the crew.

During your sales presentation, it’s critically important to get started on the right foot. Research shows that we decide in the first few moments whether we like someone or not. Yes, we also judge a book by its cover too. There’s absolutely no substitute for a positive first impression. Create a favorable first impression and build rapport quickly by using open body language. In addition to smiling and making good eye contact, you should show the palms of your hands, keep your arms unfolded, and your legs uncrossed.

Body language is

a mixture of movement, posture, and tone of voice.

You can build trust and rapport by deliberately, but subtly, “matching and mirroring” your prospect’s body language in the first few minutes of the appointment.

For example, if you notice that your prospect starts off the appointment by crossing his or her legs and sitting back in the chair, you should match them by crossing your legs and sitting back in your chair as well. After you believe you have developed trust and rapport, you can verify it by seeing if your prospect will begin matching your gestures. Try leading your prospect into a more open and receptive body language posture by uncrossing your legs and leaning towards the table. If you notice your prospect subconsciously begins matching your body language gestures, congratulations, this indicates that you have laid the foundation of trust and rapport. Conversely, if you notice that your prospect is mismatching your body language gestures, you know trust and rapport has not been established and you need to continue the “matching and mirroring” process.

Be mindful to evaluate the flow of “gesture clusters” rather than isolated gestures taken out of context. Listed below are some important body language gestures that you need to become familiar with. There are two basic categories of body postures; Open/Closed and Forward/Back. In an open and receptive body posture, arms are unfolded, legs uncrossed, and palms are exposed. In a closed body posture, arms are folded, legs are crossed and the entire body is usually turned away.

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Body Movement Gestures • Leaning back and closed = Lack of interest • Leaning back and open = Contemplation and cautious interest • Leaning forward and closed = Potential aggressive behavior • Leaning forward and open = Interest and agreement Head Movement Gestures • Head neutral = Neutral and open attitude • Tilted back = Superior attitude “looking down your nose” • Tilted down = Negative and judgmental attitude • Tilted to one side = Interest Facial Gestures • Eye rub = Deceit, “see no evil” • Looking over top of glasses = Scrutiny • Nose rub = Dislike of the subject • Hand or fingers blocking mouth = Deceit, “speak no evil” • Chin stroking = Making a decision • Thumb under chin with index finger pointing vertically along the cheek = Critical judgment Are you missing your prospect’s buy signals? As a professional salesperson you must continuously monitor your prospect’s body language and adjust your presentation accordingly. By understanding your prospect’s body language gestures you will minimize perceived sales pressure and know when it’s appropriate to close the sale!

“As the tongue speaketh to the ear, so the gesture speaketh to the eye.”

– King James the First (1605) Copyright ©, John Boe. All rights reserved.

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational and sales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for sales meetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognized sales trainer and business motivational speaker with an impeccable track record in the meeting industry. To have John speak at your next event, visit www.johnboe.com or call 937-299-9001. Free Newsletter available on website.

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