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One Year of MoxiWorks at Jim Maloof/Realtor
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE A quick update on the incredible tech platform I’ve been working on for 365 days – and how it is setting Jim Maloof/Realtor agents apart from their competitors. This has been a true labor of love – identifying the “best-fit” vendor for our large, local, market-leading brokerage – and introducing agents to its easy-to-implement tools. It is re-defining how we engage and serve our clients and making our agents more productive.
3 Creative Ways to Grow Your Sphere This Summer
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
Sphere growth is the bread and butter of your real estate business, as it’s an integral part of keeping business constant and expanding your reach via word of mouth. As we have discussed, keeping your CRM database clean and organized is necessary in order to fully utilize the connections you have and successfully turn them into leads. The process of getting the contact information to put into your database in the first place can be a whole separate hurdle to tackle though, as efforts to stand out can easily get lost among the efforts of every single other real estate agent trying to do the exact same thing. It’s incredibly annoying and slightly discouraging – we know.
Rest assured, you’ve got this, all you have to do is bring your a-game to the table. Along with your strong online marketing strategy, get your hands dirty and go the extra mile to think outside of the box and make a lasting impression. To get you started, we have compiled a few unique and corky ideas to further grow your sphere and become the first name that clients think of the second they decide it’s time to buy or sell.
Forget me (not).
Full disclosure – I can’t take credit for this idea as it was something I saw years ago, but it’s simply too good not to share. Go to the store and snag packs of “forget-me-not” flower seeds. You can even order personalized seed packs if you’re in the mood to really get fancy. Attach your business cards to the seeds and spread them around your neighbor’s doorsteps. Not only will this spread your name, but it will ensure they won’t “forget about you.” Get it? Genius, I know. The point is that regardless of how cheesy it may be, the cleverness and effort will be impossible to forget, resulting in a win for you.
There’s never a bad time for skincare.
What earns the respect and attention of people in your community more than you showing that you care about their hydration and skincare? I’m talking about sunscreen and water. Get your logo and name put on mini tubes of sunscreen and water bottles. A website like this will do the trick. Great, the weather forecast is heating up! Sounds like the perfect time to head down to the local park or swimming pool and make your neighbors’ days with your new swag. Not only will they see your name every time they use the product, but they will also have a positive association with you from the get-go because it shows you care about them. Aw.
Get out the hotdogs.
Or veggie dogs, whatever suits your fancy. Who doesn’t love a good summer barbeque? Invite friends, family, neighbors, and your local grocers to join you for a get-together. Know any aspiring rock stars? Invite them to put on a show. People love to work with fun people, it’s just a fact. Showing off your personality will not only help market your personal brand, but it will also serve as a major networking opportunity. If you really want to make the most of it, cover the napkins, beverages, and cups in your logo. Shall I say it again? Exposure, exposer, exposure. If you still aren’t sold, think of it as an excuse to be surrounded by dogs – you’re welcome.
Regardless of if you actually bring these ideas to life (although you totally should), the point is that getting your creative juices flowing can be fun and help your sphere growth throughout the year. You want that, we want that for you – let’s make it happen. And once you get all of those new contacts into your system, let us know, we can help you with that too.
What Traits Home Buyers Look for Most in Real Estate Agents
By Tiana Baur, Content Marketing Manager
While every consumer out there has their own taste, personality, and priorities, there are certain things all home buyers look for when it comes to choosing their real estate agent. If you’re looking for more ways to attract more clients, make sure you’re working on improving these essential traits. And if you’ve ever wondered what made a client pick you over someone else, these could very well be why.
Where’s Waldo?
Honestly, just being easy to find is often the reason why a real estate agent is chosen. It doesn’t sound glamorous or exciting, but it’s the truth. Everyone knows that a surprising percentage – 74 percent to be exact – of home buyers go with the first real estate agent they contact. It’s why we’re so crazily adamant about agents focusing some of their efforts onto marketing their skills on social media, across multiple channels. The more people that see you as an option, the more will pick you. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.
Hand-holding.
We don’t mean literally. Please don’t reach for your prospects hand – it’ll get awkward quick. We mean they need a little extra help and encouragement along the way. Make them know how much you care, how much you know, and how far you’re willing to go to help them reach their first-home purchase objectives out of the gates.
Believing in the dream.
Buyers have dreams. They picture themselves in a certain house in a certain setting. Don’t go to the interview or take the call and immediately tell them Santa doesn’t exist. Find out more and what it will really take to achieve their home goals. Often, first time buyers don’t really know what they’re looking for until they’re going through the process. To recap: let them know you believe in their dream as much as they do.
Knowledge.
And we don’t just mean knowledge of the home buying process itself. It means knowledge of the current market not only in the city, zip code or, neighborhood, but on the exact street they’re looking to buy.
It also means knowing tips and tricks for avoiding bumps in the road during the home purchase or even after they’ve signed on the dotted line. The more information you can provide upfront, the better clients feel, the easier it is to say “yes” to you.
Superhuman communication.
If trust is the foundation and the walls, then communication is the roof. You can never overcommunicate. Ever been on vacation and wish you received more pics from your dog sitter, but instead you’re lying there at the beach wondering how your dog is doing and if they’re happy? When it comes to anything close to the heart or heavy on the wallet, don’t worry about being annoying. Worry about not being communicative enough.
Cutting out those little white lies.
Honesty is everything. It’s the foundation and the walls of a trusting, long-term relationship. Prospects will appreciate your integrity and honesty when you’re 100% upfront with them about their home buying goals and how you can help them reach them. If they’re being completely unrealistic – tell them. Gently. Help them find a balance for a realistic home buying journey, while keeping that dream intact.
Negotiation skillz that save the billz.
While this agent trait might not be a reason someone goes with you in the first place since these skills aren’t seen immediately (besides from your impeccable Zillow reviews), it’s why that client will choose you in the future and refer you time and time again. Being a good negotiator takes practice, but also an innate talent that others out there just don’t possess. If you’re an agent that kills it at the negotiation table, make sure you’re marketing that skill above all else. Those that look for this trait in real estate agents (especially more seasoned home buyers and investors) will pick you faster than Usain Bolt picked off his competition.
How to stay competitive with brokerage technology
Why Timing Is Everything When It Comes to Winning Listings
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
As a real estate agent, you need to be able to reach out to the right people at the right time, because when it comes to winning listings, it’s all about timing. People tend to work with the agent who contacts them first. In fact, 74% of recent sellers contacted only one agent before finding the right agent they worked with to sell their home (NAR). So, how can you ensure you’re there right when they need you?
In this article, we are going to hit you with the facts and offer up some ideas for how you can make sure you win more listings by reaching out at the perfect time.
First of all, you need to master the art of staying in flow with your sphere. This stands true not just after the sale, but in the long-term. According to NAR, in 2017, sellers had typically lived in their home for 10 years before selling. That’s 10 years that you need to stay top-of-mind with your clients in order to win that repeat business.
Manually keeping track of clients over the years is time consuming and inconsistent. There’s an art to staying in flow with your sphere without costing you a ton of time. Here are a few ways to easily keep in touch with everyone in your sphere:
- Newsletters – Set it and forget it. Put your marketing touches on autopilot by leveraging automated newsletters. Your sphere will receive valuable reminders that you’re their real estate expert, without you having to invest a ton of time.
- Social Media – Social media is a great way to stay relevant in the minds of your sphere. Publish helpful, valuable, and engaging content to the masses, and they’ll surely remember you when it comes time to buy or sell. Here are some tips for which social media sites to focus your efforts on.
- Events – Regularly host events that will bring together people in your sphere. Include those you haven’t talked to in years along with those you communicate with regularly. It builds a sense of community and helps you stay relevant in the minds of past clients.
- Special Dates – House-versaries, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Use these special dates as a reason to reach out once a year.
Keeping in touch is not only the key to winning repeat business, but it’s essential in winning referral business as well. In 2017, the typical seller has recommended their agent twice since selling their home and 33% of sellers recommended their agent three or more times since selling their home (NAR).
Predictive analytics is gaining popularity in real estate, and rightfully so. Using data to gain predictive insights can enable agents to anticipate who might be gearing up to buy or sell a home. Applying this to your sphere selling methodology means using data to get to know your sphere better. Moxi Insights, for example, auto-fills your Moxi Engage CRM with public data, giving you consumer insights for everyone in your sphere. It then notifies you when someone in your sphere is likely to buy or sell. This type of functionality gives you a leg-up because you can be more strategic about when you reach out to your contacts to check in. It’s like having insider knowledge that allows you to be right on time.
Remember, 89% of buyers say they would use their agent again or recommend their agent to people they know (NAR). Don’t let those listings pass you by. Use timing to your advantage and keep in touch with your sphere so that you’re always there when they or someone they know need you.
Video Tour or Virtual Reality – Are Both Necessary?
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
Virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D imaging, mixed reality – overwhelmed yet? These flourishing technologies are just getting started. Yes, even imagery and video are getting more advanced. If you think these things aren’t going to start seeping into your role as a real estate agent, think again. They already have. Don’t worry though – in many cases, they’re actually helping agents deliver a higher level of service to home buyers. The way we show spaces is no longer limited to open houses and still images – there’s a whole array of options for experiencing a space even when you aren’t physically in it.
First, let’s define VR and AR since they’re buzzwords that might be unclear.
Virtual Reality (VR)
Virtual reality is the more immersive experience, as a computer-generated simulation of a realistic situation. VR typically requires a headset display – yes, those big, futuristic-looking goggles. It immerses the user in an entirely new environment, so it is often used for gaming, entertainment, and training. Think: flight simulators.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Augmented reality does not close people off to their surroundings like VR does. In fact, it simply augments the user’s current surroundings, enhancing or changing aspects of reality. It adds new layers of content to reality in order to enhance a person’s experience. Think: Pokémon Go.
So, how are these tech advances working their way into the world of real estate? Here are a few ways.
Virtual Walk-Throughs
Create a virtual tour to show off a property. Rather than a prospective buyer having to drive out to the property and view it in person, a video walk-thorough can serve as an effective introduction to the property so they can decide if they’d like to take the next step. Services such as Matterport enable agents to construct 3D walk-throughs of a listing. Basically, it models the space so the viewer can experience the space just like they would in reality. 3D imaging offers a true experience, giving a potential buyer a true feeling for how the space is situated and laid out.
Tip: even if you don’t have a high-tech tool to accomplish a 3D walk-through, you can still add a video walk-through to your listing presentations. It lends a personal touch and enables the prospective buyer to truly experience the home and picture their own life taking place there. With the incredible quality of smartphone cameras now, you can accomplish this without investing in expensive video equipment.
Virtual Staging
Virtual staging is a rising trend in real estate – it means augmenting images of the home to enhance or update the 
space. PadStyler, for example, specializes in virtual home staging and makes it especially simple for agents. Agents pay a flat fee for an image, and PadStyler does all the heavy lifting. A virtual staging service such as this is particularly important for properties that are outdated or have an undesirable curb appeal. Buyers are often quick to overlook properties that lack polish, and this is an easy way to help them visualize the property’s potential.
New Construction
Virtual reality is increasingly commonly being used for new construction. Companies such as Virtual Xperience and VR Global are using VR to bring properties to life before they’re built. Instead of making a decision purely based on plans and 2D mock-ups, prospective buyers are able to put on a VR headset and explore the home as if they were in it.
Whether or not you have access to these technologies, consider the trends and how you can improve your service to meet client expectations. The key here is to help buyers visualize their lives in a space, no matter where they are or what the current state of the home is. Put the property’s best foot forward and enable your clients to experience the home in its best light.
Making Brokers the Center of the Universe
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE What was born and bred within a forward-thinking brokerage now stands as one of the most well-entrenched technology players in the residential real estate industry. Since its launch as an independent entity in 2012, MoxiWorks has gone from serving its parent, Windermere Real Estate, and its 6,000 agents, to providing its open-platform, Cloud-based system, which allows data to be shared among tools from any vendor, to more than 60 brokerages and 110,000 agents across the country. And along the way, MoxiWorks has been joined by more than 40 platform partners.
How to Prepare Your Clients for Your Vacation
By Jessie Trapp, Marketing Coordinator
So, you’ve decided to take a vacation. I applaud you for taking initiative to achieve a healthy work-life balance! The bad news – nearly 60% of people say that they continue working while they’re away. As an agent, it can be tough to hit the “off” button, but it’s essential in order to truly enjoy your well-deserved time out of the office.
To avoid you becoming the person checking their email at the beach (no one wants to be that person), we’ve compiled a quick pre-vacation checklist to ensure that you can make the most of your trip and feel confident that your business is covered before you take off.
1. Let your clients know ahead of time.
The more notice, the better. Scheduling your vacation as far in advance as possible will make this process run more smoothly – but we get it, things occasionally come up last minute. Regardless of when it happens, send out an email or pick up the phone to let your clients and coworkers know you’ll be leaving the second your plans are solidified. This will remove any potential guilt on your end and they will appreciate your efforts to keep them in the loop.
2. Set expectations.
Make it blatantly clear to clients when you will be leaving and when you will be available again using exact dates and times. No one enjoys feeling overwhelmed the second before a trip, so consider extending the dates you tell your clients by an extra day on either end. This will allow you plenty of time to wrap up last-minute tasks without being bombarded by more to-dos prior to your vacation, and a day to ease back into the flow of things upon your return.
3. Prioritize.
To prevent things from getting messy, prioritize exactly what you need to do before you leave and what is best left until after. Make a clear plan of when you will complete your tasks by to avoid leaving everything until the last day which, if you’re anything like me, will already be filled up with the packing you have successfully procrastinated until the very last second to do.
4. Send out a last call email.
You don’t want to leave your clients in the dark, but you also want to enjoy a work-free vacation. In order to accomplish both, send out a “last call” email one week prior to your departure to see if there are any last-minute tasks you can complete before you log out of your email. And just to make things clear, you will be logging off your email. Trust us, it’s a must in order to avoid any temptation to work during your vacation.
5. Set up an automated reply.
Setting up an automated “out-of-office” reply for your email is the key to avoiding any mix-ups and hurt feelings. You want to choose one that leaves a positive feel, possibly even a laugh – so check out this article for some inspiration to get it right.
6. Assign points of contact.
If you are vacationing somewhere where you can absolutely not be reached – good for you. In this case, make sure to dedicate someone to handle emergencies for you in case any arise. Your brokerage manager or someone equivalent will likely do the trick!
Six simple steps to a work-free, stress-free vacation – that’s not so bad, right? Covering all your bases prior to your vacation will ensure that your reputation as an agent remains in-tact and will allow you to rest assured that your vacation will do no harm to your career long-term. Rest, relax & recharge – you’ve earned it!
Think like a CEO: Why the Mindset Will Lead to Success
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
Agents have traditionally been thought of as salespeople, which, is understandable since on the surface that’s what they do. They sell houses. But there is so much more to it than that. As a real estate agent, you’re running your own business.
You have to take care of everything from marketing, to selling, to transaction management, and even the nitty-gritty like keeping your financials straight and properly filing taxes. You have to be entrepreneurial in that you need to take responsibilities for your business’ successes as well as its challenges, and you need to get creative when it comes to growing your business.
Here are some tips to growing your real estate business by using a CEO mindset:
Focus on the bottom line:
At the end of the day, you’re working to make a living. Just like any CEO, you have to pay attention to your bottom like and focus on activities that drive revenue growth for your business.
Get a system in place to track your sales and your expenses. If you aren’t tracking the second half of that equation, you’re missing half the story. You should always begin the year with a financial goal and work towards that. It will serve as a benchmark throughout the year to ensure you’re generating the cash you had hoped.
Prioritize:
“The question I ask myself like almost every day is, ‘am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?’… Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time.” – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
Many agents struggle with time – there are never enough hours in the day. Because you can’t do everything. Especially as an agent, you constantly have a lot of balls in the air. You need to be able to prioritize each and every day to ensure you’re spending your precious hours on things that will truly have an impact on your business. Technology comes in handy, here. Rely on a task management system that will assist you in keeping track of everything you need (and want) to do and prioritizing them to improve efficiency.
Look forward:
“You have to be very nimble and very open minded. Your success is going to be very dependent on how you adapt.” – Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp
Change isn’t easy. However, our industry is changing rapidly, which means you need to set yourself up for success to ensure your business will grow along with the industry and market. Be flexible, embrace change, and make sure you stay ahead of the game by adapting your business as necessary.
Think outside the box:
Get creative and be innovative. It’s ok to follow trends and use proven methods, but take those to the next level. What else could you be doing? Where else could you take your marketing efforts? Drive business by thinking outside the box and delivering service that is a step above what else is out there. In order to stand out in today’s competitive market, your marketing efforts not only need to keep up, but they need to be ahead of the game. Leverage your brokerage brand and your personal brand and think outside the box to build your business.
So, although you already wear tons of hats, it’s time to put your CEO hat on and drive your business into a successful future.
5 Ways to Get the Most out of Moxi Talent
By Maddie Jostol, Marketing Manager
Agents are being recruited constantly. The experience that you show an agent throughout the agent recruiting process must stand out. Not in a kitschy way, though… they already get bombarded with brokerages showing off their latest, shiny reasons to sign a contract. As we all know, recruiting a new agent is all about building a relationship with that person, gaining their trust, and illustrating what your brokerage has to offer them and their real estate career. The trick to winning over new talent is to take care in that process, using a tool that will support the efforts of recruiters and managers from the time they first contact a new recruit all the way through until they’re an active agent, and beyond.
Recruit great agents, offer them the training and tools they need to be successful, retain those agents, grow your business, rinse and repeat.
We’ve compiled a list of ways to get the most out of Moxi Talent, our new recruiting tool (haven’t heard about it? Check it out here). The tool was designed with recruiters and office managers in mind, enabling them to successfully meet business growth goals with a simple, easy-to-use system.
1. Let the technology do the heavy lifting, then add a personal touch.
Like with any tech tool, allow it to relieve you of the tedious tasks so you can develop your business in the important ways. Rely on the technology to keep track of your notes, notify you of tasks, and hold the information for all of your recruits. Meanwhile, you’ve opened up time to focus on building those relationships. It gives you the ability to get out of the weeds, relieving you of the day-to-day, tedious tasks, and focus on the important stuff: the people.
For example, the system will remind you of important dates. When you see that reminder pop up, you can make a personal phone call to the candidate, showing them a little extra care. Similarly, the system might remind you to send a ‘thank you’ note or welcome gift. Use the system to process this, but add a personal note, adding a human touch.
2. Use the data to drive your business forward.
Brokerages don’t always realize how much valuable data they already have. Moxi Talent enables your managers to leverage that data to gain valuable insights and progress your business. The more you know about an agent, the more successful you’ll be at winning that agent over. You have the data – use it internally to help guide the recruiting process.
First, when you hit a lull, with few new prospects in your recruiting pipeline, Moxi Talent will use data to help you identify agents to recruit. Lean on this information to help build a healthy pipeline. Second, when using Moxi Talent, you’ll have visibility into the sales volume history of your recruits. This gives you the opportunity to understand an agent’s sales style and how they might fit into your business.
3. Look for agents who are a strong culture fit.
Think about it in terms of longevity – building an organization with a strong culture creates loyalty. When people share values with their company and love working with their peers, it makes it that much harder to leave. It’s in every brokerage’s best interest to hire individuals who not only contribute to the bottom line, but fit their organization culturally as well.
Moxi Talent will identify agents in your brokerage who have a similar sales pattern as a recruit. Send the two of them out to coffee or lunch. It will give your recruit an opportunity to connect with a like-minded agent. Plus, you’ll be able to get a second opinion from the agent regarding if they think the person would be a good cultural fit. If hired, that new agent already has a familiar peer to lean on, making their transition into your brokerage an easy one.
4. Nurture your relationships for better agent recruiting.
People aren’t going to switch firms overnight. Change takes time. Switching brokerages likely means lifestyle change, change in compensation, and adjusting to an entire organization of new people. It’s your job to nurture your relationship with candidates through the recruiting process, building trust and respect along the way.
Move recruits all the way through the flow. In reality, recruiting is a multi-step process. We’ve broken it down for you into phases, so you can move recruits through your pipeline as you nurture those relationships, suggesting actions along the way.
5. Always know where you left off with a recruit.
Managers and recruiters typically have a lot of balls in the air. Keeping track of every new recruit and every growing relationship can be tough when you’re entrenched in the day-to-day. A tool like Moxi Talent serves as a CRM in a way, so you always know where you left off with a recruit.
Use it as a digital to-do list. Moxi Talent will tell you what to do every day in order to crush your recruiting goals. Use that to your advantage and save yourself some time and frustration. All of your tasks will be clear prioritized, ensuring you don’t miss a beat.
These are just a handful of ways you can rely on your agent recruiting tool to guide your rockstar recruiters to meet their goals. When they’re armed with the right data and the right system, they’re able to blow agents away, winning them over and ensuring they stay.
