Strategies: Homes.com; Inside Real Estate

Pulling Back the Curtain

HOW TOP INDEPENDENT BROKERAGE, SAMSON PROPERTIES, RECRUITS MORE THAN 100 NEW AGENTS PER MONTH

by Paige Tepping

For Donny Samson, CEO of Samson Properties with 3,600 REALTORS® and 29 offices in Virginia and Maryland, when it comes to recruiting, he’s got nothing to hide. Having added 1,100 agents in the last year alone—86 percent of whom came from referrals within the brokerage—he’s pulling back the curtain and sharing his tried-and-true strategies for finding the best talent.

His recruiting success rolls up into three important strategies: 1) Give agents the information they need upfront, 2) lead with value and 3) pay it forward.

Unlike other brokerages that spend copious amounts of time and resources hunting down prospects or cold calling, Samson’s strategy revolves around providing all of the information an agent would need in order to make a decision—upfront. “They all want to explore and put their toe in the water before they jump in,” explains Samson. “Giving them the information they need upfront breaks down the wall so they can make a decision before they even talk to you. We never cold call. If they have enough interest based on all of the information I’ve put out there, they will call us. I woke up this morning and have six people that want to join our team, and I haven’t even talked to them yet.”

Samson gets this information out via a multi-touch marketing approach. He mixes email, Facebook marketing, in-home marketing and weekly in-person lunch-nlearns. His email nurture consists of 17 touches that cover 17 different topics. “You never know what will resonate with them the most,” says Samson. “It could be print centers, our best-in-class tech suite, kvCORE, training or something else.”

Samson has also created his very own recruiting site, joinsamson.com, which has been a key factor in his ability to consistently bring in new agents as we continue to grapple with the effects of the coronavirus.

“Given the virtual world we’re living in, today, more than ever, real estate professionals want to consume things when they want to consume them,” says Samson, who goes on to explain that his entire recruiting proposition can be heard online from the comfort of one’s home.

But it doesn’t end there.

Samson’s pay-it-forward attitude that’s centered on doing everything he can to make the lives of his agents easier is what truly sets him apart.

“Take care of your REALTORS®, and recruiting will take care of itself,” explains Samson.

“Once agents see and hear about our technology, and find out it’s free to them, the deal is done. The tech stack offered by Inside Real Estate’s kvCORE Platform has been a gamechanger for us,” says Samson, who can’t say enough about the value it has provided the agents within his brokerage.

“Not only does kvCORE have the complete tech stack from beginning to end, but it also consolidated a lot of

things for me, including a website, CRM, and the ability to roll in lead generation with CORE PropertyBoost and social media with CORE ListingMachine and CORE Social.”

“Through CORE PropertyBoost alone, we help our agents promote every listing they put on the market through Facebook,” says Samson, who also uses the platform to promote open houses being conducted by his agents. “It’s produced a ton of leads and opportunities for our agents.”

Samson doesn’t just stop with the tech. He puts an emphasis on education, and encourages that “pay-itforward” mentality throughout his brokerage. “Successful REALTORS® consistently do the right thing,” he explains. “Our best REALTORS® will give back and teach how and why they are successful. We offer four to five classes a day on how to be better, so we can continue to help people grow.

“If I’m helping my agents be better and happier, then I’m successful,” concludes Samson. With 86 percent of his new agents coming from referrals within his brokerage, we’d consider that successful.

For more information, please visit www.insiderealestate.com.

Connecting With Clients in Innovative Ways

HOMES.COM HELPS NORTH CAROLINA BROKER EXPAND HIS BUSINESS

by Jameson Doris

An Army veteran and current broker at Wilkinson ERA in Charlotte, N.C., Blake Smith has carved out a career for himself by supporting his local community and seeking innovative ways to connect with potential clients.

Smith first heard about Homes.com’s extensive suite of product offerings just last year. Like many, he had been aware of Homes.com for many years, but it wasn’t until a 2019 sales call that he became aware of the variety of services they offer real estate professionals.

“I was a brand-new agent and looking for ways to expand my business and get leads,” says Smith. “Once the products were explained to me, as well as the pricing, I compared them with some competitors—and the choice was simple.”

The three Homes.com services he currently uses are Local Connect, City Sponsor and Lead Concierge. Local Connect, a lead generation tool, helps Smith build his presence in specific zip codes throughout the Charlotte metro area, while City Sponsor is set up to feature real estate professionals like Smith as experts in certain cities on Homes.com. Lead Concierge allows Smith to separate good leads from ones that could ultimately be a waste of time. “All three of these products work well for helping me grow my brand,” says Smith. “Lead Concierge is not only great with helping to sort through the leads that are generated by Homes.com, but I can also set it up to review leads that are generated from all of my sources. This saves me countless hours of what could be wasted time sorting out false leads.”

While the benefits associated with working with Homes.com are numerous, Smith points to the connections he is able to make with potential clients as the most significant. In fact, he’s seeing real results by working with Homes.com as the company regularly feeds him leads that manifest into clients, including one that led to a recent closing.

Initiated via email, a prospect recently reached out to Smith, letting him know that she was looking to move to the Charlotte area from New England. She and her husband told him exactly what they were looking for, and he was able to find several great options for them.

“[We] worked together to narrow down their choices, first with virtual showings before they came down, then we did the last few in-person,” says Smith. “Once they found the one that was right for them, we made an offer, and it was accepted. I still keep in contact with them, and they are always sharing with me the ways in which they’re setting up their new home.”

As Smith continues to watch his business expand thanks to Homes.com, he has nothing but great things to say about both the company and his working relationship with his main contact, Amber. No matter what, Smith knows he can always contact her if an issue arises…and she’ll help him right on the spot.