Elite Agents Real Estate Podcast With Debbie De Grote

Hello and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips. As we talk about plans for the New Year ahead, have you ever conducted any community events? This is something that we're encouraging our coaching clients to look at adding to their menu of opportunities for the New Year. There are two types of events you might consider putting together. There is the fun type of event that might include a family photo in the park or photo with Santa, or maybe even a shredding day. The next type of event is the educational event. You might have a seminar on moving up, downsizing, or renting versus owning. In our Inner Circle, we have kits developed for each of these topics. If you ever choose to join us, we make it easy for you to just plug and play. I do, however, want to share a couple of tips with you in the meantime. If you're doing the fun, community type of event, it can be easier to get attendance and yet the conversion of actual sales or listings will typically be lower. If you choose an educational event, it will be a little t

Hello and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips. We're working on a strong finish to the fourth quarter and a powerful beginning to 2019. I have a suggestion for you today. What if you formed your own organic networking group? One of our coaches, Alyssa, when she was a young, single mom, she grew her business to over 100 personal transactions without a team. The way that she did this, is she put together her own organic networking groups. So for example, she put together a group of women in businesses in her local market that were all in a commission sales type of job. They got together and strategized how they were each growing their business. They encouraged and supported each other and they had a strong commitment to send business back and forth to one another. Alyssa shared with me that from that one group alone, she would close typically at least 25 transactions a year and it was easy. They just met once a month for dinner or for lunch and in addition to the success, it was fun. So maybe consider that. It's als

Hello and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips. As we power through the fourth quarter into the New Year, it will be here before we know it, right? Time flies. Someone signed up for coaching this morning and they said to me, “I have a pretty good business,” and actually it was quite a good business, they were doing over 50 deals a year. But he said, “I never get past 50. I'm stuck there and in fact, I feel that there's some erosion of my business occurring recently because customer loyalty just isn't the same as it was in the past.” So we talked about some the great agents across the country that we have the pleasure of coaching, that as the coaches are working with them to upgrade and improve their business, we're working to make sure that they have a minimum of three quality sources of business, because this particular gentleman did not. Basically all he was doing was working with the people that he knew, past clients in his sphere, and if they didn't call, he didn't get a listing. So certainly, database is a hu

Hello and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips as we're powering forward into a new and exciting 2019. One of the things we want to do as we set your goals for the year ahead, is we want to review your numbers from this year. So let's take a look at where you're at listings and sales. I would love to have you break down what percentage is buyer versus listing business. Also, if you can, go back and reconstruct your listings taken ratio. What percentage of those appointments that you went out on did you actually take? Because what I like to do is look at where your business came from, your success ratios, and then set growth goals in each and every category. For example, let's say that you discover you're listings taken ratio was quite good. It was 85%, 85% of what you went out on you took. But then what I want you to do is challenge yourself. What if you could bump that to 90% or 95%? Just like the Olympic athlete when they say that record can never be broken, and yet someone always does. So let's set your goals. S

Hello and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips and our series on ramping up for the new year ahead. So as you're thinking about your goal for next year, I would assume that you're hoping to make more money, right? And to make more money than just enough to get by, to just to pay our bills, which we all need to do - but wouldn't it be nice to have some leftover profit? I'm assuming that as you're setting your goals, you're planning to have some leftover profit. So as you're looking at that number, after expenses, after overhead, after taxes, what will you have left to put away in the bank or to put in your pocket? Then I'd like to ask you to do what we call, “spend it on paper.” In other words, sit down and think about what would be your use for every penny of that money. Now, it might be setting up a six month reserve account. It might be investing in a new property. It might be paying off debts. It might be taking a vacation. It might be a little bit of all of the above. The reason I encourage you to spend it on

Hello, welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips! We're continuing on in our series to get ramped up for the year ahead. So as you're thinking about your strong finish for 2018 and your launch into 2019, hopefully the best year of your entire career, I'd like to ask you to consider this. What is your definition of success? Success is very different for everyone. For some, it's really going to be all about the income. For others, it might be about building a career that gives them the freedom and flexibility to have time with their children or family. And for some, there may be a different, big why. I just spoke with someone today who just finished putting their son through nine years of college and law school. He said, “You know Debbie, thank you so much. If I hadn't had the coaching to keep me motivated and on track, my son would have lots and lots of student loans.” So we all have our definition of success. We all have our big “why,” and yours should be uniquely your very own. It’s what drives us to get through the t

Hello its Debbie and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips. I just had a conversation with an agent and I thought this would be a great topic for us to talk about today. We were discussing the fact that often real estate agents just focus on being a great salesperson with their buyer and seller, but they forget that part of being a great salesperson is selling everyone in the deal on how to do what you need them to do. In other words – gaining their cooperation. We were discussing in this conversation how it’s shocking that sometimes, real estate agents who have offers written on their buyer’s behalf, are rude, unprofessional, or aggressive to the listing agent. What do they really think that will accomplish for them? And then of course other times you see certain veteran real estate agents who are very prima donna-ish, and very difficult to deal with, to the point that sometimes people actually avoid working with them. And yet in every market there are the examples of those incredibly gracious people that you seek

Hello welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips. How do you communicate to a client why they should choose you? Often they’ll ask, “Why should I choose you or how are you different?” I wonder – in 60 seconds or less, can you explain what you do and why it’s unique? It’s the old elevator speech. Elevator speeches are no longer than 60 seconds. So as you’re setting up your elevator speech, use clear and concise words and make it interesting and engaging. You might even include a third party story. A great elevator speech is even crafted for that particular type of customer. It should have a hook, something that makes that customer want to know more about you. An outstanding elevator speech allows the customer to determine very quickly that you are worth listening to. It could include your value proposition, a short statement that communicates the potential benefits they will experience when they choose you. And remember – they do buy the benefits, not the feature. So everything you say, as you’re explaining services you p

Welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips and today we’re talking about community events. It is important today to increase your range, your reach, and your influence in your local community. In fact we encourage our coaching clients to expand their reach, to expand their database, and to raise the level of their connections and communication with those prospects in their market. A rejection free way to do that is through community events. Now these events can be fun events, things like a family photo in the park, a pet photo, or maybe a concert in the park. A client of ours recently even hosted a day at the local small zoo, a zoo that’s small enough to actually close for a private event. They invited the community and they invited their past clients. So events like this can be fun and can be a great place for you to meet, greet, and reconnect You can also choose to put on an educational event. In our Inner Circle program, we provide an events planning kit for our coaching clients that has 8-9 different types of events.

Welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips and today I was thinking about the difference between being a super star salesperson and an average agent. There could be a number of factors, obviously we could make a big long list, and yet here’s the one that struck me most. Super achievers in any field, in any industry, do what others know they should do, but simply don’t. And they do it whether they feel like it or not. As I think of the mega producers that we coach, which are many, I think about their approach to their business. They don’t make excuses and they don’t whine about the hard work. They have a routine and a schedule, they are very protective of their billable time, and they make sure they’re maximizing those billable hours in the day. In fact, many of them measure and track it. For example, one of our great clients keeps a time log every week. Their goal is that 80% of the day, every day, will be income producing. So there’s IP, income-producing, IS, income-servicing, which of course we all have to do some of t

Hello, welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips! I wanted to talk to you today about what you need to do to have a strong listing year. First of all, you are going to need to dig in. You’re going to need to hunt and be at the top of your game.  You are going to need to outshine your competition at every turn.  You are going to need to maximize your strengths and your key sources of business.  We cannot let any leads, any past client, or quality prospect go unattended. In other words, we don‘t want to leave any money on the table! Are you guys with me so far? Ok good! If you don’t mind, I would like to say - stop worrying about the disruptors! The commission cutters who want to erode your share of your listing market. Don’t get mad, get even. Get even by shutting them down, by locking in your clients’ loyalty and setting yourself apart as the wise advisor. We need to have a more logical, systematic, and deep approach to the business segments you choose to work.  In other words, you need to work smarter, not harder. If y

Hello its Debbie and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips! You know, in each of your markets there are areas of opportunities. So for a moment let’s focus on the geographical areas. Whether you are a geographical farmer or are simply looking for the pocket markets that offer greater potential, you will want to identify where the best areas of opportunity might be. Here is what I mean. Let’s say you plan to make calls, send letters, or door knock and that you‘re doing this in an area with only 1% turnover versus an area with 4% turnover. Logically it just makes sense to choose the area with greater turnover.  And yet, agents often give this very little consideration before launching their marketing campaigns. In addition to geographical territories, we can next take a look at the segments of the population that interest you, or that you feel have a powerful potential for return. Now these segments could include absentee owners, downsizers, or networking groups that have your ideal type of clients as members.  What I

Hello, welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips! How do you gain the listings you need? Well, you must expand what you do. If you don’t have all of the listings you need, it just makes sense that you are going to need to expand what you do, but there are many many ways that you could actually expand. For example, you could work a bigger geographic area. You could try a new type of prospecting method. You could increase your marketing budget. You could improve conversion ratio. Before you expand though, my first challenge to you though is to identify what you do best already. What are your key sources of listings? And close the gaps. In other words, set a goal to extract more out of those key sources and then add a web of systems so strong, drop that web on them, that you stay top of mind, and that you stay top of mind as their wise advisor. Okay so don’t forget, expand something that you do, and then set yourself apart as that wise advisor. Talk to you soon!

Hello it’s Debbie De Grote and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips! Did you know that 85% of homeowners still choose an agent they know and trust? As I travel around the country, so many agents tell me that they are worried about the disruptors, the online lead portals who are trying to take their seller leads away. They are worried that their future seller will ditch them and go online in search of their new real estate opportunity.  But here is the good news: 85% choose an agent they know and trust. However, the scary part is that they know a lot of agents and they‘re are being marketed to by lots of agents. We need to be certain that you are top of mind, and yes, that you are a shining bright light of knowledge and wisdom. Because let’s face it - they can get data and they can even Google answers to their questions. What they need though is that wise advisor to put it all together for them. So again, you need to own that space. Your marketing needs to showcase your skills, your expertise, and your results. And

Hello it’s Debbie, and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips. I was thinking today about marketing, because so often I speak to real estate agents who are frustrated with their marketing campaigns. They’re just not getting the results that they want to get. So as you sit down and strategize about your marketing campaigns, you need to be thinking about the conversations that are going on in the mind of your marketing prospects. Let’s take a look at some of the things they may be thinking and may need your help with: Should I move up? Are we heading into a down cycle? Is it time to downsize? Should I buy an investment? Will rates increase? How can I help my kids buy a house? How do I time the market? You know, a few years ago I was reading an Inman report and the report said that as real estate agents, we are always telling homeowners, “Now is the time to move up!!!!” But what we haven’t been addressing is the how, the process, the system, and how we can help them do it in a way that doesn’t leave them homeless or o

Hello and welcome to Debbie's Daily Tips! I was thinking about the downsizing Baby Boomers today. I realized, The Baby boomers are a massive generation, and what you may not know is that they own 40% of the real estate. Many of them are looking to upgrade their quality of life, diminish their overhead, unload the maintenance of owning a large house, and move in to a smaller property in a cooler location. In fact, some are even buying two smaller homes, one in their neighborhood to be close to friends, family or aging parents, and one in a different destination, maybe what in the past for them has been a vacation destination. You hear a lot about the snowbirds, right? Snowbirds move between their locations depending on the season. The Boomer generation is not defined by their age; they see themselves and young and vibrant and on the move. They often do express concerns about a dip in the real estate values, which is something they fear. They may feel their home is at the top market price and if the market dips

Hello, it’s Debbie De Grote and welcome to Debbie’s Tips. You know, I had an email this morning. It was perfect, just in time for me to record this tip for you. It was a list of questions from a guy that we coach, a fabulous guy, who is all fired up and ready to go with a mission of making 40 contacts per day. Now, I get it, that that’s a big goal, and I get it that many people who would listen to this Debbie Tips, would not have an interest in doing 40 contacts a day or a plan to do so, but his questions were so valuable and appropriate, I’d thought I’d answer them for you on the Debbie’s Tips today. So, number one question that he asked is, do I count a contact if they’re a new lead, or does it count if they’re also people from my database, and does it count if they call me or do I have to make the outbound call? So guys, I want you to think of it this way. In a very pure sense, think of a contact as a live conversation, eye-to-eye or ear-to-ear, with a decision-making adult, that potentially could spark a

Welcome to Debbie’s Tips, and I’m going to answer a question that just came in today. And it’s not a unique question. I do get asked this question a lot: If I’m not a team, if I do not have a team, I’m a good veteran agent and I’m out there competing against a big team, how do I do that? How do I sell against them? Well, it reminded me of a book Barbara Corcoran has. You can find it, on Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and the title of the book was, If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons In Your Pigtails. The subtitle was: Use What You’ve Got. Alright? So, let’s think about it. If you have a team, certainly there are some advantages you bring to the table. If you don’t have a team, though, there are some advantages you also bring to the table, and that is that most likely, that seller is going to have your full attention. That when they list the home with you, and they call in tomorrow for something that they need, they’re going to get you. They’re not going to get passed around through a pipeline of team me

Hi, welcome to Debbie's Tips. Today, I'm going to talk to the brand-new agents. Because often, I will be at events and new agents will say to me, my goodness. It's such a competitive market. How can I sell myself when I'm new, especially to a seller? Because buyers are a little bit easier, am I right? Because they're not actually paying you commission. So, you know, you find them the right house, they're, for the most part, pretty easy. But a seller is a different story because they are paying a commission, and there are some big veterans out there, and there are some big teams out there, so how does a new agent really get their start? Well, here's what I would suggest. First of all, a very easy way to do it is to consider partnering with a veteran on a few listings until you've got your groove, until you feel more confident, and see what you can learn from them. This is always an option, especially if you're working higher-end properties, you may need to do that. Now, another idea would be, because you don't

Hi, welcome to Debbie's Tips. Today we're talking about newsletters for marketing. I get asked this question a lot: Are newsletters good? You know, do people like them? Do they like to get them? Should I do them? And, of course, there's a lot of electronic newsletters that you can purchase, or maybe even your company has for you that you can plug and play and send that out to your clients. And by all means, go for it. So, that's fine if you have that available to you. I would share with you, though, that electronic newsletters are not opened and read as often as I wish they were, because there is some great content out there that you may be sending. So, personally, my preference is to actually send a written newsletter, and we do that every month at Excelleum. We have our Excelleum newsletter, and that goes out to our clients and our warm connections. In fact, if you'd like to get it, send me an email at Debbie@Excelleum.com and say, please add me to your newsletter list. Because, see, here's what I know. If