BRITISH COLUMBIA 4-4-22

BRITISH COLUMBIA EDITION

Uncommon Contact:

24-HOUR TOUCH-UPS

CONNECTING WITH CLIENTELE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

to Maximize Your Price List

MODERN EMAIL ETIQUETTE FOR TODAY’S AGENTS

FEATURED AGENTS

DANIELLE CHAPMAN JARETT & STEVE MERKAL COVER STORY

CARRIE NICHOLSON

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5 Tips to Get New Clients If you’ve been in the industry for a while, you’ve probably built up a healthy percentage of repeat and referral business.

Although it can be tempting to just maintain those relationships rather than generating new business, there’s something to be said for staying on top of 4

your game by never resting on your laurels. Actively pursuing new clients is not only a way to generate more business, but depending on how you do it, it could even lead to a profitable new niche. Here are just a few ways to build up your new client base.

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Become a referral partner with industry peers

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Cold Call Expired and FSBO Listings

Everyone from mortgage lenders, to financial planners, to insurance agents, can be potentially lucrative referral partners for a Realtor®. You may already have great relationships with some that just need to be more formalized. But, you don’t just want to partner with anyone, make sure these are people you also feel completely comfortable referring your clients to - people who share your values and work ethic.

Another avenue to consider is divorce attorneys – yes, you heard that correctly. Helping people go through this difficult period actually requires a very specific skill set.

You need to be able to handle the legal aspects, as well as the emotional ones. There are numerous training courses you can take if you decide to take this route, which could end up being a lucrative and much-needed specialty.

This is a route a lot of agents take when they are just starting out, that usually leads to great success. You probably haven’t cold called since you started out, and this is a great skill to build up again.

It will not only sharpen your sales skills, but could generate a lot more business.

People with For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) and expired listings, are usually very motivated to sell. This is a great chance for you to really hone in on why they need to hire you. Do you offer innovative marketing plans? Access to a large sphere of influence? Expired listing clients are looking for ways to sell a property that seems impossible to move. With FSBOs, you need to show them how you can get them more money in their pocket, even

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with paying you a commission. Pursuing both will really engage your mind to think outside of the box, which will not only get you more business, but make you better at what you do.

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Partner up with a Relocation Company

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Become a Builder’s Realtor® of choice

This is another niche market that you can really capitalize on if you want to pursue a new specialty. But, it is a specialty, so getting educated on the process will help you generate the business you want. It’s a complicated area of real estate, you’ll often

times be helping to facilitate dual transactions, as you try and secure a property at the same time you are helping your relocation client sell their previous home. This specialty is becoming an in-demand skill in areas that have major corporate headquarters.

This can be a real score for any Realtor®.

The competition might be fierce to land a client like this, but there are numerous ways to make yourself stand out from the rest.

Gain certifications and become knowledgeable about the construction process. Be wellversed on what trendy materials, features, and finishes will add value to a property.

Get the builder on board with you by offering to take just a segment of the subdivision then wow them with your marketing skills.

Take on properties they haven’t been able to sell. You can even offer to throw an open

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Create a Website that Offers Real Value to Potential Clients

Perhaps the most useful way of getting contact information for people looking to sell is by adding a home valuation feature to your website. When people are first considering selling their home, finding out how much 6

house for them. This is another way to show them the level of service they can expect from you. These clients might be harder to land, but the payoff will be enormous.

it is worth is one of the first questions they want answered. By becoming a resource to potential clients (and current clients!), you just might be the first person that comes to mind when they’re actually looking to sell.

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CARRIE NICHOLSON

Serving a wide swath of the Northern British Columbia, Broker and Top Agent Carrie Nicholson produces as a solo agent with over 80% of her business being referrals— a testament to how hard she works to secure transactions. add her middle daughter, Decoa, to her team in the summer of ’22. She’s serving a wide swath of the Northern British Columbia with her daughter currently helping and getting ready to become a licensed agent as soon as she can.

After a few transactions of buying some houses and land, Carrie realized that becoming a real estate agent would fit her single mom lifestyle and allow her to still take care of her kids. She was licensed in 2011, and she followed up in 2017 by getting her broker’s license.

She produces as a solo agent with two assistants, although she’s looking to 8Copyright Top Agent Magazine

Over 80% of her business is referrals, a testament to how hard she works to secure transactions. Her clientele trusts her, knowing she does a lot of hard work to make everything possible, and that reputation spreads quickly. She’s determined and passionate about what she does. She views herself as persistent, while her peers prefer the word tenacious. She will work with anyone on any Top Agent Magazine

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Carrie views herself as persistent, while her peers prefer the word tenacious. She will work with anyone on any property, always doing her best, no matter what the size of the deal is. property, always doing her best, no matter what the size of the deal is.

With so much of the industry being centered on building strong relationships, she has found the most important step is to thank everyone involved in any given transaction. She focuses on being grateful for each individual’s efforts, from agents to accountants. Extending her Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10

appreciation to clients and colleagues is what keeps her contact lists constantly growing. Once a deal closes, she keeps open the lines of communication, making sure everyone gets contact every quarter. That communication can be a holiday card, texts, email or a phone call. She lets them know she’s thinking about them, keeping up with them on social media so she can be thoughtful Top Agent Magazine

and consider everything that they have going on in their lives.

Carrie loves working on rural residential and land deals throughout her British Columbia territory, using MLS and third party destinations to get the word out there as well as Instagram and Facebook and reaching out to all of the

possibly interested parties in her database. She places ads in Country Life and has been shifting her focus now to work more heavily in video. In 2021, her process landed her over 100 completed transactions.

In the end, it’s the changes she can bring to client’s lives that matter. She loves the Copyright Top Agent Magazine 11

challenge of matching people to a new property, and helping them through what may have been recent difficult occurrences that brought their change around, always keeping people before profit.

Between juggling numbers like the ninety plus active listings she’s working right

now, she likes jet skiing, hiking, skiing and spending time with her kids. With bringing her daughter into the fold and growing her team, Carrie is looking to concentrate on more commercial transactions, turning her eyes to selling big farms and land that she truly enjoys.

For more information about Carrie Nicholson https://exprealty.com/agents/#/agent/robert-davenport-105309 please call 250-614-6766 and email carriejnicholson@gmail.com

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24-Hour Touch-ups to Maximize Your List Price Sometimes it takes a full-scale overhaul to prepare a house for market. Other times, only a series of small adjustments are required to make a listing’s true potential shine. Whether you’re gearing up for an open house, assessing a list price, or maximizing a property’s appearance prior to photography—the devil is in the details. However, touch-ups and refreshes don’t have to dominate your schedule or break the bank. For a few ideas of where Top Agent Magazine

to begin, consider our handy check-list below for quick home projects that will fortify your bottom line.

Refresh grout for a sparkling clean look.

Perhaps the quickest and most cost-effective way to make bathrooms, kitchens, and other tiled areas shine is to refresh grout until it looks

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good as new. Specialty grout stain removers and cleaners are inexpensive and sold at most home improvement stores. Plus, the project only takes a bit of elbow grease and an hour or two for a major makeover effect. Suddenly, dark, stained, and worn-down bathrooms gleam as if tile has just been placed.

Create mood lighting with soothing bulbs and fixtures.

A warm white light from specially chosen LED bulbs creates a welcoming environment when potential buyers come calling.

If outdated fixtures are bringing down a home’s otherwise modern styling, consider more design-neutral replacements that won’t

detract from the property’s charms. These are inexpensive but highly noticeable and impactful upgrades that shift a home’s ambiance for the better.

Repaint doors for an updated and inviting entryway.

It may sound like a hassle, but repainting doorways with a fresh coat signals a wellkept property—and that’s before prospective buyers even pass through the threshold. You can also change out generic doorknobs and switch-plates to add an updated flare while on a budget. Color-of-the-year trend choices can turn heads, while neutral paint choices signal less hassle for future homeowners.

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scrub, or with the addition of new shelves or styled bulbs.

Make windows shine— both inside and out.

Cleanliness goes a long way in communicating a well-cared for home in which buyers can imagine themselves. Cleaning the inside and outside of windows not only refreshes a room, but it allows light to infuse the space while appealing to the move-in ready crowd.

Closet spaces are not an afterthought.

Every prospective buyer wants storage options, and you’ve surely led a home tour where guests inspect closets and pantries.

Don’t let these hidden spaces go overlooked. Make sure they’re clean, cleared as much as possible, and you can even touch them up with fresh paint, a good

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Remove tough appliance stains with a bit of elbow grease.

If you’re packaging appliances with the sale of a property, you’ll want to make sure those big-ticket items are also in top shape to showcase their value. Stainless steel polish, electric cooktop polish, and stain removing pads for the kitchen sink can make your appliances look five years younger with nothing more than an hour or two’s labor.

Organize garage and basement areas to maximize storage and hint at bonus space.

It may take a labor of love, but organizing and decluttering these special storage spaces

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can add significant value to a property. Instead of telling prospective buyers how much storage space there is—let these areas speak for themselves by giving them a neutral, airy bout of cleansing. That way, craft-lovers, car aficionados, and buyers with interest in renovating basement areas can witness the potential immediately.

Individually, these bit to-do list items might seem like extra work without the promise of 16

a major return. But combined? These small tasks go a long way in crafting a home’s image and projecting pure potential. After all, prospective buyers imagine their lives unfolding inside those walls. That’s why cobbling together these small-scale projects can have a big payoff in the end. Not only will a home present itself in a cohesive, attractively-packaged form, but it can also translate to higher interest and a significant pay-off—in more ways than one.

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DANIELLE CHAPMAN Danielle Chapman is an award-winning licensed Realtor® from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, who got her start in the industry in 2004 while assisting her father, Doug Chapman. She became a licensed Realtor® in February of 2018 has proven to be an indispensable member of Team Chapman as a leading agent and authority on residential properties and neighbourhoods in the Penticton area. In just a few short years, Danielle has achieved the Director’s Platinum award in her second year (top 5% Royal LePage Canada), and Diamond awards in 2020 and 2021 (top 3% Royal LePage Canada).

Danielle made the most of her time while learning the industry from her father and now acts as a guide for the best industry practices and highest levels of customer service. Her family-oriented team manages each client together as they take the time to ensure their client’s comfort with each meaningful step throughout the process. Adding her brother to the team has brought Danielle plenty of additional business and referrals, which now account for approximately 50% percent of her team’s repeat business. Her team closed on an impressive 115 transactions in 2021.

Utilizing in-house CRM and data management, Danielle stays in continued contact with current and past buyers, ensuring all needs are met (and move-in anniversaries are celebrated!). For sellers, Danielle provides a full marketing package that includes a high-quality virtual tour, professional photos, zoning, overhead views and much more. She strives to provide as much information as possible to all potential buyers in an active market, where in-person viewings aren’t always conducive to everyone’s current location.

Danielle grew up in Penticton and the Okanagan region, and fosters a love for her career and for helping residents in her community achieve their real estate dreams. “I love every aspect of real estate. It’s just Top Agent Magazine

so rewarding giving someone their keys, or winning on a competitive offer. I don’t think I could choose another career I’d be happy in.”

Danielle sits as the Director on the board of a local conservation society, and is an active member of her community. As a mother to two boys and a little girl, she also volunteers her time at her children’s school.

When not working, Danielle and her family enjoy outdoor sports, RV trips around western Canada and family vacations to Disney World. Her family lives an active lifestyle, including bike riding together as well as boating on nearby lakes, paddleboarding, camping, fishing, skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. She also loves to organize and throw BBQs year-round.

Danielle plans to be in the real estate business for the remainder of her working years. In the future, she plans to help transition her father into retirement while still keeping him on as a team consultant. Her brother Jesse may take a more active role in management and together they will continue to steer the ship successfully for many years to come.

To learn more about Danielle Chapman email daniellechapman@royallepage.ca, call (250) 490-6989 or visit teamchapman.ca www.

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Modern Email Etiquette for Today’s Agents In today’s tech-forward culture, consumers are constantly inundated with promotional emails, alerts, invites, and social media blasts. As a real estate agent or a loan officer, how do you stand apart from the noise? What’s more, how do you stay relevant in a digital landscape that’s constantly changing?

For starters, there are a few timeless techniques you can apply to up your skillset when it comes email and digital communication: asking questions that 18

inspire conversation, politeness, and following up regularly—to name a few. Likewise, there are surely new tricks you can add to your arsenal to stay ahead of the curve. Let’s outline a few ways you can refine and update your email etiquette to compete in today’s virtual marketplace.

Make your subject line count Too often, we labor over the content of our emails without giving much thought to subject lines.

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Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity.

However, these little headlines can go a long way in luring the consumer to open your email and ultimately click through to your website in search for your services. An enticing subject line should be short and sweet, ideally less than fifty characters.

You might also include the name of the recipient, and be up front (though concise) about the subject matter of your message. Remember: the first thing a client will see is your name and subject line—be sure to make this prime real estate shine.

Think mobile Research tells us that 79% of Americans check their phones within fifteen minutes of waking up. In fact, much of modern day correspondence occurs by smartphone. Accordingly, you’ll want to account for email readability on a mobile phone.

For instance, incorporating paragraph breaks for each new thought allows information to be parceled out in a palatable way for readers utilizing small screens. Also, any sort of graphic flair or links within your email should be shortened and streamlined for mobile consumption. Send yourself an email every now and again and access it from your phone—you’ll be able to double-check that all the elements of your emails are working well on a mobile platform.

Incorporate email tools There are excellent tools out there to enhance your email experience. With just a quick download, Top Agent Magazine

you can add spellcheck, a URL address shortening feature, or a delay option that holds emails for thirty seconds before they’re sent. Think about the possibilities! Haven’t you sent an email without including the attachment you intended, or realizing you sent correspondence to the wrong client? If that’s the case, a delay feature can help you save face and build in a window for error— just in case. Regardless of which tools speak to your email habits, there are plenty of add-ons out there that can revamp your digital correspondence style.

Use email to maximize your online presence These days, there are plenty of ways to communicate—email, text, phone, apps, and social media.

When you interact through email, consider it an opportunity to invite your client to follow you elsewhere online. Ensure that your email signature includes unobtrusive, streamlined links to your social media accounts, professional website, or review page. This will build in an opportunity for clients to engage with your brand, and you may even add an online follower for the long term.

Though email is no longer a new-fangled invention, there are certainly ways you can modernize its use and take advantage of its ubiquity. Keep these approaches in mind as you reenergize your email technique and fortify your communication in the digital era.

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Connecting with Clientele Through Social Media Social media is one of the newest and most powerful tools in an agent or mortgage professional’s arsenal. With just a few keystrokes, you can stay top-of-mind with buyers, sellers, and borrowers near and far, past and present. The key is knowing how to use these mediums to your advantage, working smarter instead of harder to keep the thread of professional relationships intact. With that in mind, here are a few ways you can maximize the pull and power of social media by shifting just a few of your ideas and practices for the better.

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Not everything has to be about business.

While your relationship with a client or fellow vendor began over the course of business, your relationship going forward doesn’t have to be limited. One of the great things about social media is that’s it’s social. Not every comment, post, or communication has to revolve around your business, its metrics, or turning a sale. In fact, you should do your best to branch out and curate a brand and online identity that’s about who you are and

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the lifestyle you’re authentically interested in living. In that vein, consider interacting with clients in an organically-driven way, encouraging them during life’s milestones, reaching out with a local event, restaurant, or news item that’s relevant to their interests or neighborhood. The goal is to be a persistent presence in their lives without feeling like a talking head. Engage as you would like to be engaged with, as a human being with interests and needs and boundaries. Keep that personal thread in mind and your dynamic will shift from past business contact to present resource.

Expand your medium.

Many Realtors are comfortable on Facebook as an interactive meeting to connect with clients, but there are several other mediums where you can connect with clients both past and present, as well as future. Particularly when courting Millennial clientele, the fastest-growing segment of the buying market, a presence on Instagram and Snapchat are key to finding new faces, demonstrating hot properties, and creating an interactive brand as an agent. Not only does this help when you’re listing a property and seeking potential buyers, but it also serves as a perusable portfolio of your work and real estate prowess. You can also use these mediums to interact with clients on an outlet they might feel most comfortable in. Liking pictures, commenting, streaming Instagram Live home tours and Stories are all ways you can build engagement by simply spreading your social media presence around. Likewise, 22

these photo and video driven mediums are popular for home design ideas, and before and after renovation pictures. When you expand from Facebook into these new platforms, you’ll already have plenty of visual content ready to be transferred and consumed by an expanded audience.

Don’t just react.

Create your own content.

It’s easy enough to post a link to a new listing, or retweet a helpful article on real estate news. Creating your own organic content is a different story, but worth its weight in gold when it comes to luring engagement, ranking higher in search fields, and overall crafting an interactive presence for yourself and your business online—which is where more than 90% of homebuyers and sellers begin their process. Creating your own content can seem risky, or else like no one is listening in a digital world already crowded with information. However, original content is sure to boost personal engagement with your social media pages, guaranteed.

Instead of recycling content, consider posting a video with a Q+A theme for first-time homebuyers, or perhaps posting a live tour of a new listing will perk up your clientele surfing at home.

No matter how you decide to expand your social media presence when it comes to interacting with clients, consistency is key.

Find the ways that work best for you and stick to them, and you’ll watch your audience and business grow in tandem.

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JARETT & STEVE MERKAL Jarett and Steve Merkal are a father-son Re/Max real estate team based in the lower mainland of Vancouver, precisely White Rock.

It all began when Jarett heeded his father’s footsteps, Steve, who has been in real estate for thirty-five years. While Jarett originally got into banking and financing, he eventually made the switch to real estate, an industry he’s been encircled by for his entire life. “It was a no-brainer to join in at some point,” Jarett shares. Today they are an established and well-recognized team who are proud to be working together.

Jarett and Steve have found victory since they’ve been up and running together. They service the geographic region of Vancouver’s lower mainland, including Surrey, Richmond, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, and White Rock, where their office is based, and also the growing area of Chilliwack. Their long-term clients have trust and “believe in Merkals” immensely, as many have asked for help in buying and selling in far-out locations, such as Merritt, Clinton, Big Bar Lake, Loon Lake, Green Lake, Sooke (Vancouver Island), Kelowna, and Osoyoos. Recently, Jarett set a record for the dad and son team in completing a sale in Castlegar!

Jarett and Steve’s clients understand they are getting the complete package with the pair. As a result, their repeat and referral business is roughly 95%. The family component of their business impacts their clients through their commitment to providing services throughout the years. In addition, they often lend a helping hand beyond the transaction, including assisting elderly residents with downsizing their belongings and joining clients with local businesses in their community.

Jarett and Steve consistently qualify year after year for the Medallion Club, a realtor board of recognition in Greater Vancouver, recognizing only the top ten percent of agents in the Fraser Valley. Currently, Jarett and Steve are dealing between twenty-five and thirty-five transactions per year with an annual volume of roughly ten to sixteen

million dollars. The pair have achieved these results through their familiarity, prominent community involvement, and marketing methods. While they predominantly rely on MLS to reach potential clients and buyers globally, they also use social media, YouTube videos, virtual tours, and occasionally drones on superior, high-end properties.

Community involvement is a natural participation and pleasure for Jarett and Steve, while they love connecting with the community through neighborly ways. They organize local block parties, barbecues, firework events, pumpkin carving contests and keep it joyful; however, they find ways to make these experiences charitable by supporting their regional businesses, including ordering meals or catering from local restaurants and inviting the local fire department to join their events to surprise the neighborhood kids.

As a result, the community undergoes a sense of merging and “coming together.” In addition, Jarett and Steve stay active with their association in Re/Max as they host blanket drives for the less fortunate, provide scholarships for local students and donate proceeds of commissions to Children’s Miracle Networks which supports local hospitals.

While they both consider themselves extroverts, they love making their clients happy and relish the everchanging dynamics of their career where each day differs, bringing sentimental moments, delight, and laughter. Jarett is grateful for the flexibility to enjoy time with his wife and one-year-old daughter, and Steve most treasures working alongside his son. When the father-son duo isn’t working, you can find Jarett tending to his veggie garden, enjoying leisurely sports, and going for walks around the neighborhood. Steve also enjoys spending valuable time with his family and new granddaughter. Jarett and Steve plan to continue plugging away and appreciate their business together for years to come. You can count on Jarett and Steve Merkal to be more than your Top Agent, as they are here as your friendly neighbors and the family next door.

To learn more about Jarett and Steve Merkal, visit jarettmerkal.com email jarettmerkal@gmail.com or call 604-802-9195 www.

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