What are the responsibilities of a real estate professional? These days, the answer isn’t so simple. From designing websites and logos, to blogging and social media, to managing all kinds of software, today’s real estate pros have a wider range of tasks than ever before. Sometimes, with all that extra work, agents lose sight of their most important priority: to grow their business. But Vija Williams has her eye on the prize. For Vija, the devil isn’t in the details: it’s in the big picture, with...
Jul 12, 2017•38 min
When asked why they don’t use content marketing to promote their businesses, real estate agents have all kinds of explanations. They say they’re too busy, or they tried it and it didn’t work, or their market is too competitive. But Katrina Benton is here to debunk all these excuses, and then some. A lifelong resident of Anchorage, Alaska, Katrina comes from a long line of real estate professionals. But unlike her father and grandfather, Katrina has invested heavily in digital marketing. That inv...
Jun 06, 2017•34 min
Real estate agents face a unique challenge in deciding where to hang out their shingle. Do you join a franchise for the brand recognition and resources? Do you opt for an indie brokerage with more flexibility and local authority? Or do you strike out on your own and start a new business? As it happens, Lindsay Reishman has done all three. Lindsay has worn a lot of hats in the real estate business. After years of working closely with consumers, first as an agent, then as a broker-owner, Lindsay s...
May 05, 2017•20 min
When it comes to advising new or aspiring agents, there are two persistent myths. Some folks say you can start earning right away in real estate. Others tell rookie it’ll be months before they make their first deal. But for Melissa Boucher, the first six months weren’t for making money: they were for learning. A year ago, Melissa left her first career as an oncology nurse in Seattle to become a full-time real estate agent. Instead of taking on clients right away, Melissa decided to spend time se...
Apr 20, 2017•28 min
Real estate is built on personal branding. Whether you work for a major franchise or an indie brokerage, your first responsibility as an agent is growing your own list of clients and prospects. And with all that branding comes ego. It’s everywhere, from bus stop ads to websites and everywhere in between. Some would argue that ego is an asset—project confidence, they say, and your audience will take notice. But for Pat Hiban, ego has a way of coming back to haunt you. Pat should have something of...
Apr 07, 2017•40 min
For many real estate agents, the 2008 housing crash was a disaster. Yet even in the darkest days, there were still corners of our industry that found a way to thrive. Distressed sales, for instance, made up almost a third of all real estate transactions in 2009, with real estate owned properties taking the biggest chunk of that market. And that was good news for Steve Jolly. A former home improvement contractor with a background in selling to businesses, Steve realized in 2005 that the REO marke...
Mar 17, 2017•26 min
One of the first lessons we learn when entering the working world is what it really means to start at the bottom. Whether it’s writing parking tickets as a police officer, sweeping floors at a hair salon, or processing endless data at a corporate job, working your way up the ladder is an often unpleasant reality of most careers. But real estate is the exception. Irina Kim Sang has a great analogy for this. Irina started her real estate career by diving right into Miami’s luxury scene, and manage...
Mar 01, 2017•24 min
In the age of digital marketing, where there’s so much choice and so many distractions, It’s easy to find a reason why a listing or a lead didn’t go your way. Maybe that buyer wasn’t actually ready. Or maybe that seller decided to list with an old friend. But for Tim and Julie Harris, there’s only one reason why your real estate business isn’t what you want it to be: and that’s you. Tim and Julie know a thing or two about what it takes to succeed in real estate. In their first year as real estat...
Feb 15, 2017•48 min
In an industry that runs on commission, it’s easy to see why a lot of real estate professionals have a hard time making a significant up-front investment in clients the may not lead to a sale. But that investment is a cornerstone of Brad Allen's business, from marketing to personnel and everywhere in between. Armed with the belief that one agent can’t be prolific and provide a high level of service, Brad started The ART of Real Estate to provide a superior end-to-end experience for clients. With...
Jan 31, 2017•27 min
Living in Hawaii is enough to make anyone a dreamer. But Matt Beall has his feet planted firmly on the ground. With a long-running television show on HGTV and an award-winning brokerage that encompasses all the islands, Matt has spent years building Hawaii Life, an incredible real estate business and a celebrated brand. But as polished as Hawaii Life’s image comes across, underneath that brand is an engine fueled by necessity and hard work. Years ago, Matt faced a dilemma: how would they connect...
Jan 18, 2017•37 min
For most real estate agents, selling homes in the high six figures sounds like a pretty sweet gig. But Ben Bacal wanted more. As a young, hungry agent in Los Angeles, Ben decided that the the city’s most affluent neighborhoods were actually undervalued. But there was a problem: Ben, a Toronto native, didn’t have many connections in the luxury market. So, he went back to basics, driving door to door in Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, and the Hollywood Hills, promising homeowners he could deliver a buyer....
Jan 10, 2017•33 min
When I was starting out in real estate, I learned pretty quickly that there’s a big difference between knowledge and experience, between earning your license and being an expert in your craft. In fact, most of the agents I’ve talked to have a similar story of realizing that they knew plenty about real estate, but next to nothing about running a real estate practice. That’s where Lee Davenport comes in. A former agent and broker in Atlanta, Lee faced the same hard truth when she was starting out....
Dec 13, 2016•28 min
In the world of digital marketing, content providers have something of a mixed reputation. On the one hand, real estate agents are struggling to find the time and the know-how to create great content that attracts prospects online. On the other hand, content providers are often dismissed as little more than “content mills,” promising front-page placement while churning out low-quality blog posts and articles. But Chris Craft begs to differ. As founder of Atlanta-based Nao Media, Chris has built ...
Dec 06, 2016•29 min
Real estate agents and consumers take many of today’s online search tools for granted. But back in the early 2000’s, before Google Maps and Zillow, there were few solutions for harnessing the power of the web. So Garron Selliken decided to take the initiative. An agent based in Portland, Oregon, Garron developed a set of tools that eventually became Homequest, one of the first map-based technology platforms for real estate. Today, Garron is bringing his problem-solving mindset and love of tech t...
Nov 29, 2016•40 min
Real estate agents are constantly told that they need a great website. And for the most part, they’ve listened. Today, over half of REALTORS say they’ve had a website for over 5 years. But that’s only part of the story. Once you have a website, how do you convince consumers to visit and use it? That’s the million-dollar question, and Lisa Archer has the answer. For a lot of folks in the real estate industry, Lisa needs no introduction. She’s been a favorite speaker, panelist, and tech geek on th...
Nov 22, 2016•30 min
For many real estate agents, leads and deals are the currency of success. But we’d propose another, more valuable currency: loyalty. In this business, earning your clients’ loyalty can make the difference between one paycheck, and a lifetime of rewards. And if you run a team, loyalty isn’t just for consumers: it’s also for your agents and staff. That kind of trust can be hard to come by. But Jenny Wemert has it figured out. Jenny is consistently ranked one of the top 50 agents in Orlando, Florid...
Sep 20, 2016•27 min
Between easy consumer access to tons of data, better tools for targeting prospects, and the culture of instant gratification on the internet, real estate has never been more competitive. That’s why being at the right place, at the right time for your real estate leads is so important—after all, if you don’t stay in touch, someone else will. So how do you track your prospects’ journey, craft the best message, and deliver it where they’re spending their time? It all starts with a great CRM tool. W...
Sep 07, 2016•30 min
Years ago, the vast majority of people were content simply to own their own home. Today, however, more and more people are exploring the possibilities of real estate investing. Even after the harsh lessons of the 2008 real estate bubble, today’s consumers increasingly have access to an incredible amount of data and financing options to invest in a second home, a rental property, or a fixer upper. Nevertheless, it wasn’t always so easy. Twelve years ago, Joshua Dorkin was a real estate investor s...
Aug 30, 2016•29 min
At its core, real estate is an entrepreneur’s dream. Agents enjoy incredible freedom to build their businesses as they see fit, facing bigger risks than most professions, but also greater potential rewards. Yet in an industry as diverse and individualistic as real estate, making the leap from agent to leader presents unique challenges. For Lee Adkins, the key to building a great team or brokerage is understanding that you can’t do it alone, nor should you. After several years in production as a ...
Aug 23, 2016•31 min
What does it really take to achieve success in real estate? Is it a great website? More leads? A powerful personal brand? These are all important elements. But Tom Ferry believes the answer is something more obvious, and more difficult to pin down. A New York Times bestselling author and the top-rated real estate coach on Swanepoel’s Power 200 list, Tom is one of the most influential people in our industry, and a leading authority on what it takes to prosper in this business. For Tom, it all sta...
Aug 17, 2016•25 min
When it comes to personal branding, real estate professionals walk a fine line. On one hand, agents need to differentiate themselves from a sea of competitors. On the other hand, they don’t want to do something that might alienate any potential client. The result is a lot of agents who play it safe, selling themselves with worn-out cliches. But for Leigh Brown, enough is enough. An award winning coach, author, and working agent with one of the most successful real estate teams in the country, Le...
Aug 03, 2016•34 min
By now, most real estate agents interested in marketing online know that content is king. They also know that success is about producing tons of great content. And that’s enough to make anyone hesitate. Blogging several times per week, forever—that sounds like a lot of work. That got me thinking, maybe there are some alternatives. In 2010, Dale Chumbley saw an opportunity to create digital content about his community of Vancouver, Washington. But instead of just setting up a blog, Dale issued hi...
Jul 26, 2016•32 min
In today’s tech-obsessed world, we’re often told that technology is the answer—to happiness, to health, to success. That’s certainly true in real estate, and it looks like agents and brokers are starting to listen. According to the NAR, the average agent spends about $850 a year on tech, while brokers spend over $1400. Of course, technology isn’t everything. Just ask Billy Ekofo. As director of leads management at Century21 Redwood Realty, Billy spends his days ensuring that agents across ten of...
Jul 19, 2016•40 min
In the age of big corporations, there’s something special about a family business. That’s especially true of real estate, where family ties in business often come with a strong connection to the community. That’s certainly true of Tamara and Shannon Stone. Twenty years ago, Tamara decided to follow in her parents’ footsteps, entering the real estate business in her hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia. Shannon joined her in 2005, and together, they built The Stone Sisters, one of the most succe...
Jul 12, 2016•22 min
Real estate teams are all the rage these days, and with good reason. Teams allow agents to grow their businesses and create more value for clients, without the added labor and overhead of starting your own brokerage. But that doesn’t mean building a team is easy. Rachel Adams knows from experience: her first real estate team failed after just eight months. But Rachel didn’t give up. She learned from the experience, building a new team with a clear vision. Today, Rachel is in the top 1 percent of...
Jul 06, 2016•34 min
The stereotypical real estate agent is many things: at best, personable and full of local expertise; at worst, aggressive and obsessed with closing the deal. Rarely, however, do people think of real estate agents as being funny (with the possible exception of Phil Dunphy from Modern Family). In fact, the real estate business as a whole tends to take itself pretty seriously. Perhaps that’s to be expected—after all, real estate is one of the most tightly regulated industries out there. Still, with...
Jun 28, 2016•24 min
As any homebuyer or seller will tell you, moving isn’t easy. But what happens to real estate agents who move? When your community is your livelihood, starting over in a new city essentially means starting your career over. Agents who relocate are often faced with an entirely different market, and must build a whole new sphere of influence from scratch. But that didn’t scare Greg Fischer. After several years running a brokerage in his native Texas, and a few more building real estate software at ...
Jun 21, 2016•37 min
As an industry built around independent contractors, real estate has always been a somewhat lonely business, with many agents scraping together the training they need to compete on their own. But Bernice Ross saw a better way. A college instructor turned broker with a PhD to match, Bernice put her skills to use in founding RealEstateCoach.com, one of the top training and coaching companies in the world. Bernice is a force in the real estate industry. From her years leading education initiatives ...
Jun 14, 2016•32 min
If you asked most people what it means to be a real estate agent, they’d probably tell you it’s just a job like any other. But real estate is more than a job: it’s a business. That’s exactly what Shay Hata thought when she earned her license and started her real estate career in Chicago. Three years later, she’s poised to do $25 million in sales in 2016 alone. While she’s been an agent for a short time, Shay isn’t exactly a novice. She’s observed and supported her husband and fellow Marketing Ge...
Jun 07, 2016•23 min
Everybody loves a good success story, especially when there are major hurdles along the way. Amanda Todd has had a few of them. In 2013, Amanda suddenly found herself a single mother to three children, living in a new city, and realized that success was her only option. After earning her license, Amanda dove headlong into real estate, closing her first deal in 2014. Now, just two years later, Amanda has sold more than $30 million in real estate. Amanda is a testament of focus, determination and ...
May 31, 2016•31 min
