Social Selling Made Simple

Most entrepreneurs are told that they have to specialize and focus when it comes to finding a niche, but we have to apply this concept to every area of our lives. How do we clean house in our lives and let go of behaviors that delay our progress? What are some of the values we need to uphold as entrepreneurs, and the inner hurdles we need to remove? On this episode, I’m joined by, author, speaker and wealth strategist, Danielle Pierce as we discuss our journeys and experiences as women, mothers and entrepreneurs. Consistency is doing what needs to be done, regardless of how you feel about it. -Danielle Pierce 3 Takeaways   As an entrepreneur think of the specific problem you solve for people first. That will help you determine what you will sell. Before you start to promoting yourself, do the work internally to overcome your fears, doubts and insecurities. They can make navigating the business world a lot harder. Helping people is great but don’t make yourself a “Master of the Universe” in the process. You’ll burn yourself out, cripple people, and end up with people who resent you. We also discussed: Things you have to let go of in order to succeed The importance of spending time with yourself and doing your inner work How to eliminate things that aren’t helping you progress Becoming an entrepreneur isn’t just about the elimination of a corporate job we don’t like, it's also the elimination of things that aren’t serving us and actions that aren’t giving us the results we want. Specializing isn’t just about making business easier, it’s about being focused on one goal. Very often, we have to take a long hard look at ourselves and realize that not doing our own internal work holds us back, and when we do it, business and life will only get better.

The goal of a real estate agent is to turn the people they talk to into deep, meaningful relationships, and that’s impossible to do without a solid lead capture plan. When it comes to capturing leads, what kind of information do we need to collect to increase our chances of getting a sale? Why should our goal be to personalize the information we put out to people, and how does the quality of our lead capture influence this? On this episode, ActiveCampaign Director of Education, Chris Davis, talks about the building blocks of lead conversion. We’re not just trading emails and names. We’re really exchanging valuable information for attention. -Chris Davis 3 Takeaways Your first investment should be your contact relationship management. There’s a lot of information you need to centralize in order to close the deal. If you can’t centralize the info, you won’t be able to personalize it. When creating a landing page, the questions we put should answer themselves. They should lead them down the thinking process. How we frame the question is going to lead to their probability of filling out the most accurate information. Social media isn’t for us to share what we’re doing, it’s for us to share what we know and what we do. We also discussed: Why attention naturally declines in marketing How to centralize to personalize Why we need to capitalize on video   In this business, we’re not just collecting names. We’re giving valuable information in exchange for attention, and the amount and quality of attention we get is determined by how personalized our message is. Our outbound communication is only as good as the information we’ve captured, and that goes back to our lead capture, the kinds of questions we ask, and how we ask them. Additionally, we need to have a centralized place to collect this information, because that increases our chances of having the right information that will trigger a sale.

The biggest challenge agents face in social selling is the belief that we have to be a certain persona to succeed, but that misses the point of technology entirely. How should we leverage technology to boost our businesses? How do we show our clients that we care using social media? What are some of the tools we can use to be more engaged and active online? On this episode, I’m joined by EXIT Realty’s Vice President of Technology Engagement, Annette Anthony, who shares what we can do to separate ourselves from other agents.  Technology has given us the opportunity to enrich what we do and highlight who we are as people. -Annette Anthony 3 Takeaways Hone in on who you are, be comfortable in your own skin and really highlight who that is online.  When we are doing our work, meeting and talking to people, many nuggets and pieces of information are thrown at us. We need to take that content and share it with the world because it has value.  Mobile business cards are a way to give out our information to people and make it easy for them to download our contact information. We’ll no longer have to worry about running out of cards.   We also discussed: The kind of content we can create. How messaging utilization has surpassed the utilization of social media and technology. Alexa Flash Briefings and how to use them.   Social media is not about being a certain personality or playing a role—it’s actually the opposite. It should be a tool for us to be ourselves and highlight what makes us unique and what we care about. As real estate professionals, we should be striving for being known for providing value, mentorship and improving lives. Social media is our way to do this seamlessly and sustainably.  

When it comes to sharing online, many real estate agents struggle to find the balance between the personal, the professional, and what people actually want to see. What is a “professional social persona”, and why is it the perfect way to build your brand online? How can you increase your online engagement? How can we build relationships with people who are the influencers in our market and industry? On this episode, I’m joined by tech strategist and author, Crystal Washington, who shares on how to improve your brand online.   3 Takeaways Put your professional social persona online. Find a balance between who you are as a REALTOR® and what people actually want to see on social media. When it comes to contacting people, it's not about the initial numbers. It's about your closing ratio and the quality of the interactions you have. Many REALTORS® haven't stopped to really think who their influencers are. Think about the whole professional ecosystem working in real estate and build relationships with the right influencers.   At the start of the show, we talked about the professional social persona, and how to leverage it online. Next, we talked about the kind of content people respond to online, and what being a professional means nowadays. We also discussed why the quality of conversations you have are more important than the quantity on social media.   We also discussed: How non-tech natives can increase their online engagement Why the “spray and pray” method isn’t effective Financial advisors and other professionals you should build relationships with   To make an impact with social media, it’s not about you showing how many houses you sell. It’s about giving information that’s relevant and impactful to consumers in your market. You have a wealth of information that can be valuable to the people who see your profile online, and if you can find someone to help you polish up your knowledge for social media, you can build solid relationships and boost your business.   Guest Bio- Crystal is a futurist, technology strategist, speaker and author of the books One Tech Action and The Social Media Why. She works with organizations that want to leverage technology to increase profits and productivity. Technology includes social media, apps, smartphones, and the web. Hired by companies including Google, Microsoft, and GE, companies in North America, Africa and Europe book Crystal Washington when they want their teams to take action online. Go to https://crystalwashington.com/ for more information.

The real estate industry has matured to a point where agents are becoming commodities. While this is good for the consumer, it's difficult for real estate agents who have to set themselves apart. Why is it so important to leverage video in order to build deeper relationships? What is the toughest objection agents have to overcome and how can you handle it? How can you use technology along with face-to-face interaction to convert at a higher level? On this episode, I’m joined by iconic sales trainer and speaker, David Knox, who shares on winning strategies to stay ahead in the real estate game. Step out of familiarity-building into direct prospecting phone-to-phone, face-to-face, Zoom-to-Zoom. -David Knox     3 Takeaways Leverage video content. Five minutes of “show me” is worth five hours of “tell me”. When it comes to dialogue, think PAID. Pause, Acknowledge, Isolate, and Discover. Search hashtags in your local area to learn what your ideal client is interested in. Use the most relevant hashtags to connect with them.   At the start of the show, we talked about the importance of being the same person both online and offline. Next, we talked about the steps you need to take to handle the commission objection, and the 4 key points of dialogue. We also discussed why you still need to talk to people on the phone, or in person if you want to have a higher conversion rate. We also discussed; How to use hashtags to learn more about ideal clients in your area Building familiarity vs. direct prospecting Why social media should be used as an introduction   With real estate becoming more of a commodity, what truly separates agents is the level of service we give our clients. In order to fetch the commission we want, we have to deliver value that sets us apart and makes us different from everyone else. Our communication is very important in differentiating us. Whatever social media tools we use, we're still going to have the highest conversion rate if we pick up the phone and meet people. Social media is a great introduction, but we still need that in-person connection to really solidify the relationship.  

For real estate agents, Facebook can be a great place for generating and converting leads. What are the 3 “boxes” your content and activity should check in order to succeed? Why is the engagement and conversion rate on Facebook so much higher than other channels? How can we make sure our messaging and platform work well together when we use Facebook? On this episode, I’m joined by James “The Zillow Killer” Rembert, who shares a plethora of information on what agents should be doing to win at the Facebook marketing game. With any paid-traffic medium, it's always about relevance, omni-presence, and being hyper-local. Those three core concepts will win on any medium. -James Rembert   4 Takeaways If you want to increase your conversion rate, you have to make sure people actually interact with your brand. In order to successfully use Facebook messenger, there has to be congruence between our distribution and response. Keeping all our communication native to Facebook achieves this. Facebook Messenger gives us the ability to go from lead to conversation immediately because the messages open automatically. What truly marks the success of your video content isn’t how many people viewed. It’s about who actually engaged with it. At the start of the show, James shared the number 1 thing agents should be doing with their marketing, and the 3 elements of successful Facebook marketing. Next, we talked about why you should always think of the end customer in all the content you create. We also talked about how to create congruence between your distribution and your response.   We also discussed: The importance of adding calls-to-action to your video content Why you have to keep your Facebook activities native to the platform How Facebook messenger increases conversion significantly   Many people think of Facebook as a magical tool that just gives us leads, but that’s not the case. Facebook is an accelerator, and when we put the right systems in place, it will help grow our business. To increase our chances of success, we have to understand the market, give relevant content, push for omnipresence, and always strive to be hyper local. If we do this right, we will start attracting clients.

Social media can be really intimidating when you’re just starting out, but it doesn’t have to be. What is the very first platform you should start with? How can you use Instagram’s IGTV to reach more people and increase post engagement? How do you make social media connection a habit? On this episode, I’m joined by social media strategist and consultant, Katie Lance. She shares on the top social media tips just about anyone can implement. Instagram is such an aspirational platform, which is perfect for real estate. -Katie Lance   You don’t need the perfect strategy or the perfect content to get started with social media. If you want to make it less intimidating, you have to just start now. Begin with what you have and make a habit out of consistent use of social media. Commit to 15 minutes a day to connect with people and build relationships, and make use of the Live features of Facebook and Instagram. This will get the momentum going and you can build up from there.

Most people think social selling doesn’t work because there’s no face-to-face connection, but if we leverage our devices the right way, it can be highly effective. How can we get better at connecting with people when we create video content? Besides Instagram and Facebook stories, what are other platforms we can leverage to get our brands in front of more people? On this episode, I’m joined by social selling coach, author, and speaker, Chelsea Peitz, who shares on winning social media strategies. Remember, your brand is not a house. It’s your face. -Chelsea Peitz   Video content doesn’t have to be the lesser version of a face-to-face conversation. Having mobile phones means people have the chance to connect literally right in the palm of their hands. We have to get comfortable with video content to achieve this, we have to force ourselves to do it until it becomes a habit. If we take the camera-first formula, we can ultimately convert people and turn social activities into business outcomes.      

In the age of social media, we’re bombarded with changes in trends and technological advancements. What will remain the same in spite of all of those? Are there any constants we can capitalize on? This episode is the talk I gave at Inman Connect in New York, where I share why people will continue to use the internet to find solutions to their problems, and what that means for us and our use of social media. I explain how you can become people’s advisor of choice in a sea of social media accounts. They used to say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, today one minute of video content is worth 1.8 million words. You should be creating those one-minute videos. -Marki Lemons-Ryhal   To get ahead using social media, video content is non-negotiable. While professional video is popular (and advisable, when possible) remember that at the core, your videos need to be serving the needs of your audience. Create content for the people you want to attract to bring you new business. When you don’t have all the answers, interview experts. You can even speak to people in your area of influence- just always be sure to keep the camera rolling. 

REALTORS® who leverage technology and social media have a massive advantage over those who don't. How do we stay current with social media trends and implement a good strategy? How can we tell stories and make people want to follow us? Why are our families and friends our best brand ambassadors? On this episode, I talk with Tracey Hicks, founder of All Things Real Estate, and she shares the social media strategies that are working for her business.  If you know what your intention is for, your social media marketing, your business, and everything else falls into place a lot easier. -Tracey Hicks   At the start of the show, Tracey shares on the unique selling proposition that allows her brand to stand out. Next we talked about the importance of telling a story, and why you need to document the process of buying and selling a house with a human element. Tracey also shares how he uses Instagram stories, and why you need to let your family and friends support you.   We also discussed: How to hire out for what you don’t want to do Hacks and tools you can use to run social media more efficiently   The most important thing you need to have in all your marketing and business development is intention. Ultimately if your intentions are good, and you want to really help people it will show through all of your content and social media posts. Make sure everything you do has a strategy behind it, and be consistent. The strategy that works is the one that you follow through on.