ONTARIO 4-4-22

ONTARIO EDITION

REACHING THE MILLENNIAL MARKET THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

BE THEIR REALTOR® FOR LIFE:

CONNECT BEYOND REAL ESTATE

How to Build a Relationship with Your Clients that Will Last a Lifetime

to Attract Future Clients

FEATURED AGENTS

KIRSTEN BURSCHE JAY FRIESEN COVER STORY

SAI TIRULOKAN

mailto:mag@topagentmagazine.com

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Be Their REALTOR for Life: ®

How to Build a Relationship with Your Clients That Will Last a Lifetime In the world of real estate, an agent’s relationship with their clients can make or break their career. This industry revolves around working well with people, and being able to develop a strong relationship with your clients is the foundation that you business is based upon.

Just like with a house, if that foundation is weak, the rest of the structure is also going to be unsteady and fragile. The mark of a good REALTOR® is their ability to build up a good referral network and following of loyal clients. This isn’t something that just happens by accident. Building healthy, strong relationships with your clients takes work and knowing how to gain another person’s trust, respect, and friendship. Here are some ways to make sure you are building the right kind of relationship with your clients.

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1. Use Your Friendliness and Optimism to Win Them Over: No one wants a pushy, overly confident salesperson for a REALTOR®. Clients are much more inclined to put their trust in the hands of someone who is friendly when it comes to one of the biggest financial transactions of their lives. A pleasant, outgoing disposition will win you more clients as well as friends. You want to establish rapport in the first few minutes of first meeting prospective clients. Rather than starting with business right off the bat, begin your meeting with some small talk such as similar interests, hobbies, and family life. This will immediately help to put your clients at ease, and show that you are not simply trying to “sell” them something.

People also respond well to optimism. During what can be a very stressful time, clients need someone to help them stay positive when a situation looks difficult and challenging. Optimism also tends to radiate charisma, and people want to be around and do business with charismatic people. You want to learn how to understand, motivate, and inspire people.

2. Be an Inquisitive Learner and an Empathetic Listener:

out any potential concerns they might have.

After you’ve gained as much information as possible, you can then gauge their interest in your possible solutions by asking “what if” questions. Being inquisitive also demonstrates to your clients that you are genuinely interested and invested in their situation.

On the other side of this coin is knowing how to listen empathetically. Empathy involves actually putting yourself or your mind in their shoes so you can genuinely understand their concerns, needs, and opinions. That understanding and empathy is then reflected in your conversation with that client. Your clients want to know that you care about their situation, and that they’re not just another sale for you to make. People are much more willing to put their trust in you when they can sense that you are actually making an effort to feel what they feel in order to understand their situation.

Showing your interest through questions, and then thoughtfully listening goes a long way towards gaining trust. Showing empathy and acknowledging the feelings and emotions involved in your clients situation helps build a relationship founded on genuine care and trust.

3. Watch for Nonverbal Clues:

Don’t be afraid to show your curiosity and ask your clients a lot of questions. Some of these questions may even be difficult and uncomfortable. You want to discover and learn as much as you can about your client. Don’t make the mistake of jumping straight into the role of the know-it-all. Every different client has unique needs, so you want to learn as much as you can about their specific situation before trying to propose a solution. You want to uncover their primary motive for buying or selling, and flush

Most communication happens nonverbally, so knowing how to interpret your client’s body language can be incredibly helpful. Here are a few things to pay special attention to: Eye contact: Be careful with the level of eye contact you use with clients when first meeting.

Too much and too little eye contact can send the wrong impression. You want to try and maintain eye contact around 70 percent of the time. That is the amount that most people are comfortable with. Pay attention to your client’s level of eye

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contact to determine how comfortable they are.

When someone avoids eye contact that could mean they are not engaged in the conversation.

A good way to quickly build a feeling of rapport when first meeting clients is to make eye contact when you first meet them and then start nodding yes to what they’re saying. If the client reciprocates the eye contact and nodding, you’ve established a connection.

4. Prove your honesty and credibility:

Choose the right handshake for each client: One handshake does not fit all people, and that first handshake can be crucial to making a good first impression. The way to do a good handshake for each client is to try and mirror the other person’s handshake in strength, keep your shoulders aligned as you are preferably standing when you shake hands. While you shake your client’s hand make sure you make eye contact and give them a sincere smile.

Showing a little weakness can actually be to your advantage in this situation, and will actually make others more inclined view you as honest. You don’t want to come across as too good to be true. When revealing this weakness, however, the key to coming out on top is turning what sounds like a weakness into a strength. For example, your service may be more expensive, but that’s because you offer more personalized and extra services than your competitors.

Honesty and integrity are the two traits that 98 percent of buyers and sellers report are qualities they consider “very important”. The thing is you can say you have these traits all you want on your website, bio, etc., but trust has to be earned, and the only way to do this is to prove your credibility.

Here are a few tips for how to sound more credible:

When you talk to your clients avoid using filler words such as “um” and “uh”, which can decrease your credibility. You also want to watch the tone of your voice. People tend to translate a deeper tone as sounding more credible.

You want to develop a relationship to last a lifetime when interacting with your clients. There are many things you can do to accomplish this, and using these tips can take you from getting just a few referrals and repeat customers to gaining a loyal client following. Taking the little extra time to make sure you are projecting the right attitude and making sure that you are doing things to gain your client’s trust can make a world of difference for your business.

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SAI TIRULOKAN

Broker Sai Tirulokan with with ReMax based in Toronto, Canada has two teams—one concentrates on residential sales and the other focuses on commercial sales. parents also encouraged him to obtain his license upon qualifying with age when turning eighteen years old. So, Sai got started, studied alongside a brokerage, and got licensed by the time he was twenty years old. Today, he is a broker with two teams, as one concentrates on residential sales and the other focuses on commercial sales. With ReMax, Sai has achieved notable sales, ranking 4th in Canada and 11th globally.

Eager from the get-go is broker Sai Tirulokan based in Toronto, Canada. Only seventeen years old at the time and already thinking about real estate, Sai decided to study the industry while simultaneously beginning his first year at University. His 8Copyright Top Agent Magazine

Now twenty-eight years old, Sai is still as driven as when he began. “You’re only as good as your previous deal,” he shares and touches on the success of his team comprised of younger agents and how their eagerness has brought in triumph in the field of real estate. Together they serve a large geographic region of Toronto and areas extending to Ontario. The commercial and the residential side runs strongly on repeat and referral business, though the Top Agent Magazine

team continuously prospects these areas in which they currently dominate. Sai keeps in touch with past clients through phone calls, texts, WhatsApp, and social media as he works to maintain his relationships constantly. By leveraging an expansive range of tools, he can drive business and

stay in touch. As a result, many clients become long-term friends.

The team’s total sales volume is astonishing, nearly 200 million dollars, and averages 70-100 transactions per year. Though, each year the sales continues to grow organically.

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With ReMax, Sai has achieved notable sales, ranking 4th in Canada and 11th globally. In addition, he obtained the Hall of Fame award, which marks him as one of the youngest “hall of famers” at ReMax. Sai has discovered an efficient system for marketing listings that allows the team to hit new records consistently. Through social media, sponsored ads, attention to details regarding market demographics, and Google AdWords, the team is terrific at spreading the word on available properties.

It doesn’t end here; they also make phone calls, send email blasts to their growing list and utilize other platforms and websites.

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For Sai, his career doesn’t feel like work, and he remains passionate as a broker even after eight years. “Each day, you see something different,” he shares regarding his favorite aspects of his career while mentioning his fondness of being able to take on different roles and continuously engage with different types of people from all different backgrounds. In addition, Sai obtained the Hall of Fame award, which Top Agent Magazine

marks him as one of the youngest “hall of famers” at ReMax, which he achieved after only two years.

While Sai is earnest about his career, he enjoys the usual pleasures of a successful

young and upcoming broker. He loves socializing, going to the movies, and trying new restaurants to support the local community. He also hopes to start a family in the future. The future looks promising as he plans to expand organically and build a Copyright Top Agent Magazine 11

larger team. Sai’s primary goal is to climb in ranking and make it to the top 10 for residential sales with ReMax while exploring unique strategies and technological

opportunities for the brokerage. One thing is sure; Sai is a noteworthy broker. Keep an eye on Sai because his fate looks sealed for success!

To learn more about Sai, call 416-700-2724 https://exprealty.com/agents/#/agent/robert-davenport-105309 visit remaxmetropolis.ca/SAI-TIRULOKAN http://

or email RealtorSaiTiru@gmail.com

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Adding Value to Listings & the Advantage of Identifying Neighborhood Amenities Everyone knows the famous real estate phrase: location, location, location. In fact, it is hard to underestimate the pivotal role that a region can play when it comes to determining a home’s value. In today’s competitive market, the littlest things can truly add up—especially when it comes to neighborhood amenities. While most savvy agents know the figures regarding school

district ranking and local property taxes, have you ever considered the under-the-radar amenities that drive buyers and bidding wars? To derive the highest value from a listed home, you need to paint a complete picture of the area in which you’re selling. With that guiding principle in mind, let’s consider a few modern amenities and how they add drastically to your bottom line.

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Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites.

A little can go a long way: restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment

Know thy history: creating a narrative of the neighborhood

Everyone has a favorite take-out spot, coffee shop, or neighborhood watering hole. Identifying the key players in an area—such as restaurants, nightlife, and entertainment hotspots—will create a livable picture that prospective buyers can latch onto. Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites. While a cute coffee shop down the street may seem like a bonus instead of a foundational amenity, you never know what kind of homebuyer you might net if you include the cozy characteristics that make a house a home.

As humans, we’re drawn to narratives. Sales pitches and marketing campaigns hinge on an alluring storyline. That’s why understanding a neighborhood’s history can frame and contextualize a property to great effect. After all, buyers aren’t just drawn to sturdy foundations and bedroom counts; they like to imagine their lives unfolding inside those four walls.

Get a sense of the area’s historical timeline, architectural style, noteworthy community members, and the like. Conveying this intriguing information to buyers helps them connect more personally with a property, while understanding the holistic picture of their potential new home.

From here to there: public transportation and commuter access While this rule may not apply to all properties, considering access to public transportation is a major draw for today’s buyers. Especially amidst the more eco-conscious Millennial segment eager to buy within city limits—knowing public transportation access points and schedules can add serious value to listed properties. Also, think outside the box: do nearby thoroughfares boast dedicated bike lanes? Are there plans to expand rail lines to the area in the future? Deliver a confidant picture of the area’s public transportation access and prospective buyers will trust your expertise.

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While it is always good to cover the basics of school districts and property values, it is even more useful to expand your knowledge base and bring a warm, human element to locational knowledge. Not only will you appeal to a younger demographic of homebuyers who values this strategic information, but you will also broaden your understanding of your service area at large. Think of it this way: a neighborhood is far more than a collection of homes on a block. A neighborhood is about atmosphere, access, and a sense of community. If you authentically appeal to this guiding truth, and buyers will surely rise to the occasion.

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KIRSTEN BURSCHE The flight path did not land where Kirsten expected. She was training to get her pilot’s license, working as an airplane mechanic and not loving her job. When she and her husband sold their house, she started talking to their agent about how miserable she was at her job. The office admin at the RE/MAX branch they were working with was taking a year off for maternity leave. Kirsten was invited to step in and fill that position. For a year, she learned the back end of the real estate industry and the paperwork flow.

She changed her training from a pilot’s license to a Realtor® license and completed courses online. Once she was completely trained as an agent with all of the office background and experience in place, she hit the ground running. She knows she was incredibly lucky the way things worked out, and she’s been busy and loving the real estate world ever since.

Kirsten works in the Sault Sainte Marie branch in Ontario, covering the Algoma Region. She handles residential work on her own, while her mentor, Sam, works with her on commercial listings, sharing a wealth of knowledge from over 40 years of experience with her. The region is vast and covers farmland and vacant land as well as commercial properties, hi rises and traditional residential neighborhoods.

In the relationship driven business of real estate, Kirsten knows that if you are well liked, you are well known.

Coming at it from a business perspective never works.

For residential transactions, it’s a very large investment for the average everyday person and she’s helping plan where they may spend the rest of their lives. She keeps the human element in all of her work and loves meeting new people and making new friends along the way as well as the many relationships she has built within the industry. Carefully staged houses, possibly including items from her own home and getting her hands dirty with repainting and replastering, are primed for modern social media marketing. Social media is key, and she Top Agent Magazine

uses Canva to produce professional and polished presentations, knowing a lot of the market now turns to Facebook before even checking standard real estate sites.

She keeps a positive outlook at all times, a quality essential to success in a small neighborhood like Sault Sainte Marie.

She keeps that positive feeling going after transactions are closed, often presenting the buyers with a commissioned water color painting of their new property. Clients often become friends and she’s likely to go grab dinner and hang out with them long after the sale. Many of the attendees at her April ’22 baby shower started out as clients and have become fast friends.

A lot of her time last year was taken by designing the office space her RE/MAX branch is now in, and she’s looking forward to spending more time in the field with the clientele she loves. She’ll also be looking into newer marketing trends like TikTok with an eye on design school to bring fresh ideas to her listings. Until then, she’ll be helping out the Humane Society and the Critters In Need non-profit. She’s primed and ready for whatever new changes the future holds.

To find out more about Kirsten Bursche please call 705-943-9226 or email kburscherealtor@gmail.com 15 Copyright Top Agent Magazine

CONNECT BEYOND

REAL ESTATE

to Attract Future Clients What kind of content are you sharing on your blog, website, and social media? Does most of it have something to do with buying or selling a home? While sharing the latest market information or tips on how to qualify for a mortgage, or when someone should buy or sell is important and demonstrates your value as a REALTOR®, it shouldn’t be the only subject you cover. If you only focus on real estate, you’ll be missing the chance to connect with future clients that might not be ready to move just yet. By sharing a lot 16

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

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

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

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Talk About Your Philanthropic Activities

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

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

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

Your Local Community

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

Use Your Creativity to Connect

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

Share Your Hobbies

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

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

Divulge Interesting Experiences

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

What and Who Inspires You

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

Connecting with potential clients is something that is essential to any REALTOR’S® business. If you’re doing the work to create interesting blog posts and make those connections, you want to make sure that you’re sharing the right kind of content to draw in those future clients. It takes a lot more than simply providing the latest market news. To get the most out of what you share, you need to provide a wide array of interesting content 18

that will draw in a broad range of followers.

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

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#Reaching the Millennial Market Through Social Media

by Bubba Mills

The old adage in marketing says if you aim at everyone you’ll miss them all. I know REALTORS® sometimes fall into the trap of attempting to reach everyone and then scratch their heads when they only hear crickets chirping. If you’re one of those (or even if you’re not), stick with me and I might be able to help you.

know how to reach them. For that part, I’ll share two words: social media. Many surveys have confirmed that social media is the Millennials’ dominant source of information, even above search engines. So the best way to build relationships and trust with Millennials is through social media.

The true beauty of social media is not only its reach but its implied advocacy. When Millennials find content they relate to, they share it with their The National Association of REAL- peers. So if one person shares your TORS® has found that Millennials message, it could instantly go to hunrepresent the largest share of recent dreds (or even thousands) of people buyers (32 percent of all buyers last with the inferred praise of the person year were Millennials). But here’s sharing it. the kicker: the overwhelming majority use real estate agents. Are If you’re not using social media, lights and bells going off in your again, check your pulse. Then start learning about social media and get head? If not, check your pulse. active on it. I promise it’ll be well So a great place to sharpen your worth your time. The big ones are marketing aim is with Millennials. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr That’s half the equation—knowing and Instagram. You can Google each who to go after. The second half is to and get a feel for which ones make Let me start with one word: Millennials—those between the ages of 18 and 34.

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Many surveys have confirmed that social media is the Millennials’ dominant source of information. the most sense for you, but all of them have something to offer REALTORS®.

I’m proud of that because I know in this day and age anyone who sells anything must use social media.

Now I’m not one to toot my own horn, but for this topic I will only with the hope that you give what I say a little more weight. Last year, a national magazine named me to its 25 most connected professionals list.

So here are some tips you can start using to reach Millennials on their terms:

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1. First, take time to understand social media. Join them (they’re free!)

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Millennials under stand marketers and they’re open to their messages on social media—if the messages are relevant to their lives. Otherwise, they simply ignore it.

and just take it all in. See what it’s all about and what kind of information people share. Spend at least several days learning before you share info.

2. Make sure what you share fits the specific social media outlet. For example, Facebook and Twitter are primarily personal tidbits, news and they’re both fairly casual, while Instagram is geared almost exclusively for visuals and photos.

3. Make sure your information is relevant and useful to improve the chance it gets shared. Millennials understand marketers and they’re open to their messages on social media—if the messages are relevant to their lives. Otherwise, they simply ignore it.

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4. Make it interesting. Instead of saying, ‘Gee, I have this great listing.’ Why not just share a picture of a cool looking wrap-around front porch of a house (that just happens to be one of your listings) that was built in the 1940s.

Bubba Mills is co-owner and executive vice president of Corcoran Consulting and Coaching Inc. (www.corcorancoaching. com/programs, 800-957-8353), an international consulting and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and the implementation of sound business systems into Real Estate Companies, Mortgage Companies and Small Businesses. 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 1800-957-8353 or visit us at www.Corcoran Coaching.com.

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JAY FRIESEN A longtime resident of Woodstock, Jay Friesen has always been passionate about helping others. For years, he would build a successful career in the corporate sphere, where he developed elite project management and communication skills.

Along the way, though, he began dabbling in investment properties, which later sparked his interest in real estate.

Inspired, Jay decided to launch his career as an agent in 2020, quickly establishing a network of satisfied clients and colleagues that spans the region. Today, he is a REALTOR® with Jennifer Gale Real Estate Team, powered by RE/MAX a-b Realty Ltd., where he assists clients throughout Oxford County and the surrounding areas. There, he has combined his leading business acumen with his penchant for client service to meet the needs of even the most discerning buyer or seller.

When listing a property, Jay is there for his clients each step of the way. Leveraging the Jennifer Gale Real Estate Team’s in-house photographer and videographer, he equips his sellers with a suite of marketing resources, including a detailed writeup designed to highlight the key features of their home. From there, he shares his listings to a highly targeted blend of digital and social media campaigns, as well as the Woodstock and Toronto real estate boards.

Elsewhere, Jay is just as thoughtful when assisting his buyers, drawing from his outstanding knowledge of the area and background in real estate investment to identify the right property for their best interests. In fact, he prefers to keep in touch long after the deals are done through regular check-ins—all to ensure his clients are thriving in their new homes. “I wind up becoming good friends with most of my clients by the end of our transaction,” he says. “For me, real estate is never simply about buying or selling a house; it’s about forging a genuine connection with someone and getting to know the people in our community.”

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Since delving into real estate, Jay has earned a terrific reputation throughout Oxford County, as evidenced by his strong rate of repeat clients and referrals.

But as his volume maintains its steady growth, he remains focused on what matters most. “I speak the truth to my clients.

They can trust that I won’t say anything I don’t believe in. Most important of all, I would never pressure anybody to make a deal that went against their needs.”

Outside his career, Jay is deeply committed to his community. On top of supporting United Way throughout the year, he also coaches his son’s baseball team, having previously served on the board of the Woodstock Minor Baseball Association.

When he’s not with clients or giving back, he can be found practicing meditation in the mornings, traveling the globe, cheering on the Blue Jays, or spending quality time with his family and friends.

Meanwhile, Jay has exciting plans for the future of his business. As he plans to double his volume in 2022, he intends on expanding his reach and social media presence throughout the region while scaling the model of boutique service that has consistently set him apart.

But more than anything, he looks forward to all the new clients and opportunities that await in his beloved hometown.

To learn more about Jay Friesen please call (519) 536-6542. email jfriesensells@gmail.com, or visit jennygsells.com www.

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