WELCOME 

Happy Wednesday, everyone! The good news is, I will live to sell another house. So yes, I have recovered from my laryngitis from last week. Y’all were so sweet to have been concerned and I thank you. The bad news is… there is no bad news! I mean, I am Glennda Baker and my mantra is that only good things happen to me.

I have a lot of interesting stuff to dig into this week and I can’t wait to share exactly what I’ve been up to. If there’s a theme, it’s that the older I get, the more I realize what I’ve gotten wrong in the past, even the bits I was so dang sure about. So let’s get to our conversation about the life-changing magic of changing your mind!

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

A Change of Heart

Buckle up, because I have something to admit to y’all—sometimes I am wrong. And I am woman enough to own it. I’ve written about always wanting to learn, to grow, and to improve for my business and this is one of those cases where I have done just that.

A while back, I was skeptical of Opendoor. I was convinced they were trying to take agents out of real estate and I was not shy about expressing my opinion. Turns out, I wasn’t the only skeptical agent. Opendoor realized there was room to improve the agent experience. They have an entire team dedicated to partnering with agents, and even recognize the value agents from brokerages like you and me bring to sellers through their Agent Access Program. Even after witnessing a noticeable change in the way Opendoor was partnering with agents, I was slow to fully warm up to the idea of partnering with them because it can be scary to adapt to new ways of working. Then, something happened that changed everything.

When Denver, my videographer, was looking to buy, we stumbled across a house Opendoor had acquired. Denver and his family fell in love. The process from contract to closing was easy and seamless. It was the quintessential grandma’s house! It turned out that the seller of the home I helped Denver purchase was looking for a convenient cash option to move quickly without having to handle all the prep for listing, and she spoke so highly of how simple it was to sell to Opendoor.

After that experience I knew I needed to understand more about Opendoor offers–how they could benefit certain selling situations, and how they really worked with agents who refer or represent their sellers. I had been asked about cash offers during seller consultations in the past, and simply not felt well-versed enough to really educate my clients.  After researching the Agent Access Program I was convinced that Opendoor not only gave me another tool in my toolbox, but also let my seller know I was looking out for their best interest. I was showing up as an invaluable asset in their selling experience.

Then I learned that my MLS offered an Opendoor offer when I generated a Cloud CMA. I knew then that I should be showing up to all my listing appointments with an Opendoor cash offer in hand to educate sellers on all their selling options – it was just too easy.

Even Glennda Baker can’t win every listing, but I will always prioritize the best interest of my sellers and their specific situation. As an agent with Coldwell Banker, my top priority will always be my clients. 

To be the best agent you can for your seller, you should be versed in every option. So head to opendoor.com/agents to get started working with Opendoor today.

^{*This post is sponsored by Opendoor, but the opinions expressed are 100% my own.}

STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

When a Mind Change Snowballs into a New Life

I ran my business the same way for a very long time. My usual practices were working, so it didn’t occur to me that there could be a better way, a way of doing things that could spike my growth and change my world exponentially.

It took a pandemic and a lot of down time to determine that maybe I should finally consider producing video content. Once I started, I quickly learned that TikTok was a great platform for me (although not for my dancing videos). When I’d film my videos, I spoke my truth, I shared my knowledge, and in so doing, my whole world flipped upside-down.

Now let’s flash forward to April 18th of this year, where I was one of four Atlanta influencers picked to meet with Suzy Loftus, CSO of TikTok. Oh, my stars and stripes, I knew what TikTok had done for me, but I’d had no clue what it had done for so many others, or how the platform created so much revenue for other small businesses!

Maybe you’re one of those people saying, “TikTok’s gotta go,” but hear me out. The other creators were Frozen Skin Care, an audiologist, and a cake baker. (There’s probably a joke in here somewhere, like, “An audiologist, a baker, an aesthetician, and Glennda walk into a bar…)

Maybe your first thought is, “Why are they on TikTok?” The short answer is because you can show your product to lots of people for free and the only cost to you comes directly out of what you sell in your TikTok shop. With the audiologist, showing very un-sexy videos about earwax removal allowed him to grow so much that he quadrupled his payroll, not just by earwax removal, but also in creating custom earpieces for musicians. For the cake baker, he made so much money on collaborations, he’s opening a brick and mortar business. There are literally millions of TikTok success stories with jobs created, businesses built, and taxes paid. You just cannot duplicate this experience on other platforms.

I was so interested to learn about TikTok’s analytics—90% of small businesses using the platform experienced increased sales, particularly those that are Black, Hispanic, and women-owned.

The success makes a lot of sense because what TikTok accommodates is a frictionless experience. Unlike the Meta platform, no one has to pay to boost their views. (In fact, the analytics are more favorable to the smaller creators.) At this point, Meta has taken over the role the Atlanta Journal-Constitution used to fill for me. I used to have to spend $2,000/week on scatter ads in the paper to get my listings seen, and now I have to do the same thing to have my content viewed on Facebook and Instagram. And the bigger the brand, the larger the check they write, the more it’s pushed to you. You’re not going to see nana’s homemade chicken potpie recipe—you’re going to see the one using Campbell’s Cream of Chicken. There’s no democratization whatsoever on the platform and that bothers me.

Let’s look at the idea of removing friction. For me, I love Cuban-heeled sandals. They’re so cute and they’re walkable for when I’m on my feet all day. I’ve been buying this kind of shoe since back when Jesus was a baby. Used to be, if I wanted a new pair, I’d have to drive to the Macy’s at Lennox Square, find parking, wait for a sales associate to help me while they saw if they even had my size, then carry my purchase to my car and into my home. Eventually, I found the same things on Amazon—for less—and now I can just click to have them delivered. There’s so much friction eliminated. And if for some reason I don’t like the sandals, I can drop them off at Whole Foods when I grocery shop.

No friction is why I have such appreciation for TikTok. This frictionless environment is what everyone’s looking for. The lack of friction is also why I had that change of heart about Opendoor. Whenever I consider something for my business, I look at everyone’s experience, how it works for the agent, as well as how it works for the consumer. If it’s great for the consumer but rough for me, no thanks. If it’s easy as pie for me, but there’s a barrier to entry for the consumer, I’ll pass. What impressed me about Opendoor’s changes is that they listened to people like me expressing our opinions on TikTok and they used that input to create a frictionless experience; the whole thing is just so easy now.

Having the opportunity to be heard is the biggest and best way to get others to that change of heart. A while back, I put out a video about how Millennials were so indecisive. My Millennial followers jumped on that and explained to me, “No, no, no, we’re slower to commit because we have more student debt. We’ve seen less of an increase in pay in our generation. You have to know this if you’re going to work with us.” While we all believe our perception is reality, that’s not always the case and you’re only going to find out the real deal by interacting. I am living proof of that.

So if you’re looking for positive change in your business or your life, open your ears… and maybe the TikTok platform.

@glenndabaker

I’m full of great ideas today… @Zillow if you’re listening! @Tinder show me the days on market! #G#GlenndabakerR#RealEstateA#AtlantaRealEs… See more

GLENNDA’S GURU

Meet Nick Boniakowski!

I am delighted to be hosting Nick Boniakowski this week! Nick was recently named a 2024 Rising Star by Housing Wire! I just loved chatting with him and I think y’all will most interested to hear his take on how to navigate our current unchartered waters. Enjoy!

GLENNDAISM

And That’s the Truth

GO HOMES.COM WITH GLENNDA

I have to tell y’all how pleased I’ve been with the way that Homes.com has stepped up to the plate this year. They have made themselves invaluable to me and to my clients, and I am so appreciative on how it’s my listing and my lead. If you’re looking for unmatched exposure for your listing and your brand (because it’s more important than ever), I highly recommend a Homes.com membership!