WELCOME 

Hello! I hope everyone’s month is going swimmingly. Can y’all believe the year is almost half over? Where did the time go?

We have lots on our plate today, from discussing how to set ourselves up for the rest of the year to how to articulate our value when all the rules have suddenly been changed. The key to everything moving forward is simple—communication. So let’s start talking… and listening.

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

We’re now six months into the new year—it’s time to do some self-assessing as we close in on the second quarter. Where are you in relation to your goals? What’s going well? Just as important, what could be going better? Can you identify areas for improvement and implement a plan?

If a review like this isn’t something you normally do—or maybe you’re just so busy right now it seems like a luxury—please make time because it’s critical you’re prepared for the road ahead.

I predict that the summer will continue to be busy, especially as sellers are coming to the realization that it’s not 2022 anymore and they need to price accordingly. However, it’s an election year and that generally means everything grinds to a halt as we close in on election day.

When races are this tight, it creates a whole lot of uncertainty. I suspect that as soon as school starts again, we’re going to see a flattening of the market because people don’t normally make big buying decisions in times of uncertainty. I mean, I don’t care what side of the aisle y’all fall on, in our lifetimes, we’ve never seen a race where both candidates could die prior to the election and one could go to jail. This is unprecedented. (Frankly, we all wish times could be a bit more precedented, right?)

So, the time to prepare is now. No matter how good we are, the most prudent thing for all of us to do is to store those nuts away for winter and cut out any fat that’s eating away at our bottom lines. Doing a review will help you do just that. Dive into the forensics and analyze your ROI. Use the time to better educate yourself and make your business a well-oiled machine. Hone your processes and work on your systems. We often forget to do this when we’re running around all crazy but it’s so important because it sets us up for long-term success.

Think of yourself like a bear preparing to hibernate. While it’s tempting to laze around by the river, nap in the sun, or steal picnic baskets (full disclosure: I am not entirely sure how bears manage their time, so this is a guess), I imagine the most evolutionarily-evolved bears are feasting on salmon and packing on the pounds.

I’m not saying we have to win real estate’s version of Fat Bear Week, but the better prepared we are, the better we’ll sleep at night.

As a reminder of why planning is important, here I am being my own cautionary tale.

@glenndabaker

That time when I made $137K on one sale! #GlenndaBaker #RealEstate #AtlantaRealEstate #RealEstateAgent #RealEstateInvesting #RealEstateTiktok 

STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

Let’s Properly Articulate Our Value

Not long ago, I was looking at a report from the NAR. They have spent millions trying to protect our industry by lobbying and I fully support this endeavor. I am confident that they are doing their best for us in Washington, D.C.

However, I noticed that they spent only about $65,000 on marketing and I believe this has impacted how Realtors are perceived by the general public. Go to any comments section on any news article and the sentiment towards us will make your blood boil, I promise you that. And the memes about “unlocks a door, gets $30K” are everywhere. I don’t have to tell any of us how unfair this feels.

The call to action is this: we have to be better about articulating our own value. So many of us have been shouting this from the rooftops for months. But it’s not enough for us to articulate our value; we have to be judicious about how we articulate that value.

For example, not long ago I saw that someone on social media had posted that they were the number one agent in CGI for the month of May. So, praise the Lord and pass the money, right?

Wrong.

While this is an admirable achievement, this kind of post communicates nothing to clients except for the fact that they are a commodity, that they are a transaction. We are of value to the consumer because of the risk we mitigate, because of the expertise we offer, because of the guidance, knowledge, and emotional support we impart on families making the biggest financial decision of their lives. There’s nothing transactional about it.

That’s why we’re not doing ourselves any favors when we brag about how much money we’ve raked in, even though we should feel proud for having done it. But do it quietly.

It would have been so much better for this agent—heck, for everyone—if they had posted about how they’d helped 25 families that month upsize, downsize, or rightsize their homes, or how they helped their clients see X amount of appreciation on their homes. Whatever we put out there has to clearly articulate why these buyers and sellers are better off from having worked with us. Absolutely toot your own horn, but do it from the vantage point of having been helpful.

Mind you, I have been guilty of publicizing myself wrong in the past, too. One time I sold a house that had the highest buying price in the whole neighborhood. I was so excited that I had postcards printed up and I sent them to all the neighbors, thinking it would encourage them to list their properties with me. And maybe that would have been the right call if I’d been working with the seller, not the buyer. My buyer saw that they paid the highest price ever in the neighborhood. Oh, my stars were they were furious with me, saying that this mailer made them look bad. They said they’d never work with me again. I hated how I’d inadvertently made them feel. They weren’t a transaction; they were a relationship and I blew it.

The more we think about our work as building relationships, the more we can communicate that what we do has real value to buyers, sellers, and investors, the more we’ll set ourselves up for longterm success.

@glenndabaker

The top five mistakes I’ve made in my real estate career might surprise you. #GlenndaBaker #RealEstate #AtlantaRealEstate #Mistakes. #Top5… See more

GLENNDAISM

Remember This

GO HOMES.COM WITH GLENNDA

I cannot stop thinking about this fantastic listing.

I think I’ve shown y’all the front of this place before, but I didn’t get into the details of all the outdoor living. You’ve got your front porch when you want to be social with the neighbors. There’s your screened back porch when the bugs are biting. You’ve got your upper deck when you want to tan in private. And then there’s the walk-out terrace for when you want to watch the kids play in the tree house! This is a newer home built in Druid Hills, which is a grand, established neighborhood. This property came to be when one of those huge lots was subdivided, so you have all the modern amenities but located in a stately old neighborhood. It’s situated on a babbling brook and there are so many birds singing in the trees that when I opened the doors, it was like turning on a sound machine. What’s ironic is that it’s close enough to walk to everything, but you may never want to leave its magnificent backyard.

Now, don’t forget if you’re an agent, with Homes.com, it’s always your listing, your lead and what could be better than that?