Florida 3-17-25 by Top Agent Magazine

3 Surefire Methods that Make For a PRODUCTIVE MEETING JUAN ACEVEDO FEATURED AGENT

for Agents MY CRYSTAL BALL: You Can Predict You’ll Be Successful Selling Real Estate Using

LIANNE GRAUBART

Juan Acevedo’s rise to the top of the real estate world demonstrates the strength of his resilience and determination. Around a decade ago, Juan found himself at rock bottom, having simultaneously been laid off as a successful personal trainer and experiencing a painful breakup. Juan lost his home, his cars, and was deeply in debt. Rather than letting this chapter define his life, he decided to face the challenges head-on, opting to work tirelessly to get himself back on track. With a relentless work ethic, he juggled multiple jobs, from delivering sandwiches to driving for Uber, while also exploring his interest in real estate. When he learned that 87% of agents fail in two years, he was inspired to keep going. “My motto is ‘Never Give Up…Never Back Down,’ because I refuse to give up in life,” Juan says. He explored many creative ways to grow his business, and while some strategies didn’t work out, others did. His mindset is a key reason for his success. “Every year my goal is to just grow, grow, and grow,” he explains.

LIANNE GRAUBART

Now, as a successful agent with Sotheby’s, he not only continues to build his career but also mentors young agents, ensuring they receive the training and motivation necessary to flourish. When it comes to real estate, one would be hard-pressed to find a better teacher than Juan. He stands out through his profound connection with clients and a deep understanding of the geographical nuances of Palm Beach County and North Broward, including areas like Delray Beach, Boca, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Parkland. Specializing in these regions allows him to provide tailored advice. Juan’s approach to real estate is deeply personal, as he believes his success is directly tied to the trust and respect he earns

from his clients. “My clients truly me,” he says. “When someone believes in me and trusts me, like my clients I’ll do anything to protect them, ter what.”

Juan’s marketing strategies are ibly effective, centering on providing unparalleled service. He explains, make it memorable for potential buyers,” he explains. He utilizes the MLS, sional photography, and social media reach buyers. Juan also chooses put lock boxes on his listings, preferring to be there for showings. “I’m there and I sell the property. Seeing a friendly helps the homes stand out.”

Outside of his professional life, Juan enjoys winding on the golf course, playing both golf pickleball with friends and clients. He values working out, practicing hot yoga, traveling, dining out restaurants, and connecting with others. “I also hanging out with my girlfriend and our two dogs, and Gringo.”

The future is bright for Juan, as he aims to significantly scale his operations and increase his transaction ume. With a recent milestone of a $4 million sale aspirations to reach $20 million in transactions, is no limit to his growth. Beyond his financial Juan dreams of giving back on a global scale, ultimate vision involving trips to impoverished to donate food to the local communities. As progresses, he never takes it for granted. “This comeback story in life. I have so many great and wonderful friends, and I am looking forward taking this to the next level.”

JUAN ACEVEDO

Laughs!

3 Surefire Methods that Make for a Productive Meeting

Sometimes a business meeting can achieve exactly what it sets out to do: communicate, assess actions, set goals, or otherwise. Other times, meetings can feel like a drain on your time and energy, and only advance your agenda in marginal ways. While meetings are an integral form of communication in the professional world, how can you ensure that they are both productive and worthwhile?

The truth is, it takes intentioned planning to make a meeting a success. A well-curated meeting makes partners and employees feel unified as a team, excited about what’s to come, and motivated to achieve a collective goal. With that in mind, consider a few approaches below to maximize your next meeting and ensure that all parties involved leave with a renewed sense of direction and inspiration.

1. Create a detailed agenda in advance

Oftentimes meetings are scheduled with a loose goal in mind—to hash out the terms of a contract or to strategize a new marketing campaign, for example. To ensure your meeting is productive, time-efficient, and achieves its end, create a detailed agenda in advance. This means breaking down your overarching goal into pieces and outlining what’s required to complete each component. You might also consider making time blocks for each respective component, so there is a clear structure and hierarchy in place. Not only does this ensure that time is used wisely and evenly, but it also creates order and momentum for the greater task at hand. What’s more, you’ll want to distribute this detailed agenda in advance of your meeting, so that all attendees will be familiar with the format and delineated goals of your gathering. This will set a professional tone, while keeping team members and conversation on task.

2. Reserve off-topics ideas and comments for later

Too many meetings are derailed when an off-topic question or comment is made and hijacks the attentions of attendees. While it’s natural that outlying issues may arise when all team members are gathered, you can ward off distractions by creating a so-called holding area for off-topic talking points. This holding area will serve as the receptacle for any off-topic or lower priority addendum, and you can create a chunk of time towards the end of your meeting to readdress those

points separately. Once you’ve achieved the highest priority goals of your meeting, you can then return to the items in your holding area. Note: be sure to familiarize your staff with this approach so that the expectation is already in place and interruptions won’t distract from your meeting’s true intent.

3. Conclude every meeting with a brief summary and action items

The very last thing you should do before concluding your meeting is to reemphasize the main takeaways of your gathering and outline a specific list of action items. Again, successful meetings are clear and give attendees a sense of direction. That’s why reiterating action items—or next steps in need of completion—to each respective employee is an essential component of a productive meeting. Likewise, summarizing main takeaways unifies a team’s understanding of what’s important and why the meeting was called in the first place. Ending on a concrete yet proactive note helps launch team members toward the next event in their day and gives them a sense of confidence as they tackle their duties.

Meetings don’t have to be a formality or a bore. When planned and executed with incisiveness, they can inspire your talent roster and streamline productivity in your office. Especially in the world of real estate, ensuring everyone is on the same page and doing their jobs effectively is key to success and longevity. Put a little planning into your next meeting, and you’ll save yourself valuable time and energy as you move forward.

Cooperation, Not Competition, Creates

Mutual Success for Agents

When people get along during a business transaction, everyone comes out happier. And in a service industry like real estate, agents have the power deliver that happiness. By working cooperatively, sharing advice and helping each other help clients, agents not only enhance their own reputations, but that of real estate in general.

“Bring everyone together”

Matt Kobelski, with Credentials Real Estate Group in Massachusetts, points out that providing good service involves more people than the party you’re representing. “I’m not afraid to bring together all the parties in a deal and say, ‘OK, let’s figure out a solution that works best

Teaming up with an agent from a different brokerage on a transaction is not as uncommon or complicated as it might seem

for everyone,” he explains. “My goal is to avoid being adversarial.” Real estate, he believes, should always be a field in which each person can win. “It’s about working toward a mutual goal, shaking hands, and walking away happy that a seller sold, a buyer bought and everyone got what they wanted.”

But Is it that simple? Most agents have experienced the ways conflicting personalities and tension during a transaction can heat up even the most cordial relations. In reality, however, it’s more productive to let down your guard and work with others as a team than it is to allow stress and competition to preside. South Florida REALTOR® and broker associate, Risë V. Siegrist, for instance, has zero interest in competing with other agents. “It’s more important to be professional and associate with competent, caring people,” she says. By serving others with a cooperative spirit, experienced agents like Risë set an excellent example for emerging real estate stars. Risë hopes to be a model for the next generation of agents, training people who may one day become part of her team.

Risë’s position on cooperation inspires more reasons for nurturing relationships with other agents. Over the decades, many agents change brokerages several times. Who knows if that agent across the table will one day work at the

same brokerage you do? Perhaps you’ll even have an opportunity to partner on an exciting, future transaction. Good relations keep doors open to endless possibilities.

Co-listing cooperation

Teaming up with an agent from a different brokerage on a transaction is not as uncommon or complicated as it might seem. In fact, some agents cleverly capitalize on their collective attributes, rather than competing against one another. South Carolina REALTOR® Kimberly Pannit is a perfect example of the universal benefits of co-listings. Although she has always been an independent agent, Kimberly works hard to form professional alliances that give her business the feel of a cooperative network across brokerages.

This cooperative approach may be nontraditional, but it benefits clients in unique ways. By working closely with agents at other brokerages, she shows how agents can improve client service while helping one another.

Kimberly’s cooperative approach began in her own neighborhood, where an agent friend from a different brokerage also lives. “Several years ago, I approached her because both of us were friends with our neighbors. I asked, ‘Why don’t we give our neighbors superior service and

co-list together? We both love our area and are passionate about our jobs, the location and schools.’” She also didn’t want to make their mutual friends choose between them when they could work together. “I said, ‘Let’s give them amazing service together!’” With their brokers’ permission, two weeks later the agents co-listed their first home and put extra energy into ensuring uninterrupted client service.

Networking and “Co-opertition”

When the ultimate goal is to match a client with the perfect home or create optimal terms of sale for a listings, networking with other agents can facilitate that ideal buyer-seller match. Nashville REALTOR® and broker/owner Lisa Land embraced every opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the real estate industry and to her local market, even before building her own team. “Agents would frequently ask me for help or advice,” she says, noting that she shares, rather than guarding, the methods she uses to get through difficult or confusing transactions. “I was fortunate to have great mentors when I started in real estate, so I’m always

willing to offer help, even to agents outside of The Luxe Collective.”

Meanwhile, on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, Janet Leigh Scott describes the climate between agents as relaxed and professional. “While the real estate market is highly competitive, we’re truly a ‘co-opertition’ market; agents work together and a have greater sense of community than you might experience in off-island brokerages,” Janet says. “If I have buyer coming into town, I’ll reach out to agents I’ve done transactions with to ask if they have anything coming up that might not be on the market yet.”

Even in hot, competitive L.A. real estate, independent agents such as Andrej Nagy of The Agency RE knows the importance of receiving and providing professional mentorship. “My relationships with clients are extremely important,” he says. “But my relationships with agents on the other side of a deal are also important.” For REALTORS® like him, working smoothly with other agents is a privilege. Doing so builds rewarding relationships while ensuring win-win transactions for everyone at the closing table.

LIANNE GRAUBART

Top Agent Lianne Graubart specializes in luxury properties across Florida’s Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles, Coral Gables, and Parkland, which she calls home.

Lianne Graubart knows how to spot an opportunity and turn it into success. After graduating from college and moving to Los Angeles, Lianne spent a year working in the entertainment business under a talent agent. But something didn’t feel right. Lianne’s determination and people-oriented personality weren’t being utilized to their fullest potential, so she explored new paths. She moved to New York City with plans to become an interior designer, but real estate caught her attention. “I had a family friend who was a REALTOR®, and I asked myself, ‘why am I not doing this?’” So Lianne hit the ground running, earning her license in 2003 and never looking back. Today she specializes in luxury properties across Florida’s Bal Harbour, Sunny Isles, Coral Gables, and Parkland, which she calls home.

It’s Lianne’s lasting relationships with her past clients that have led to tremendous growth. With 95% of her business coming from repeat clients and referrals, it’s clear that trust and transparency matter more to her than chasing money. “I’m not in it for one deal,” she explains. “I’m not even in it

for the commission. If you love what you do, it’s really not work, and success naturally follows.” Her approach is built on honesty, as she refuses to put a client in a home she wouldn’t buy herself and never pushes a deal just to close it.

Unlike many agents who focus on growing massive teams, Lianne prefers a hands-on

approach, keeping her operation small so she can personally oversee each transaction. She has a few agents working alongside her, but only those who share her values and dedication to doing right by their clients. “Every person I meet is a potential friendship and client,” she says. That philosophy has built her a loyal client base who return to her and also send their friends and family her

Lianne prefers a hands-on approach, keeping her operation small so she can personally oversee each transaction — a philosophy has built her a loyal client base who return to her and also send their friends and family her way.

way, knowing she’ll provide the same exemplary service.

When it comes to marketing her listings, Lianne takes advantage of technology. “Social media in the last couple years has been a game changer,” she says. Lianne creates videos that showcase properties and offer advice to new

agents. “I like to make videos that are sort of targeted to those just starting out in real estate, giving advice about everything I learned in the beginning.”

While online presence is important, Lianne believes nothing replaces strong visuals. “The most important thing when you get a listing

is really the photography, in my opinion, and the video,” she says. She also uses targeted Facebook ads to ensure her properties reach the right buyers. However, her real “secret sauce” isn’t just digital marketing, it’s faceto-face relationships. “Social media, phone calls, and Zooming are great, but honestly, the old-school approach of seeing people face to face…there’s nothing better than that.”

For Lianne, real estate is about matchmaking people with the places they will build their lives. “Your home creates the energy for how you feel when you wake up every day,” she says. “So I love that I’m a part of that process, and I’m helping people make their dreams come true. It’s really a good feeling.”

USING CLIENT FEEDBACK TO ELEVATE YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

For real estate professionals, publishing your client testimonials is a key strategy for establishing trust, enhancing your reputation, and drawing in new clients. Through the strategic use of positive

client feedback, you can demonstrate your expertise and the exceptional value you offer in real estate transactions. Here are key strategies for maximizing the impact of real estate testimonials in your business:

Diversify Your Testimonials

Collect feedback from a broad spectrum of clients, such as first-time buyers, sellers, investors, and those facing unique challenges. This approach offers a comprehensive view of your capabilities.

Promptly Request Testimonials

Aim to obtain testimonials soon after closing a deal. Prompt timing ensures clients’ memories are fresh, enabling them to share detailed and impactful experiences.

Enhance Your Website with Testimonials

Develop a section on your website dedicated to client testimonials. Display them attractively, including clients’ names, photos, and specific transaction details if possible.

Utilize Testimonials in Marketing Efforts

Embed powerful testimonial excerpts in your marketing materials, including brochures and flyers, to catch the eye of prospective clients and underscore your track record.

Broadcast Testimonials on Social Media

Publicize your client feedback on social platforms, using engaging visuals or property photos to accompany the testimonials.

Innovate with Testimonial Videos

Elevate your client feedback with video testimonials. Short, engaging videos can make a lasting impression on potential clients by showcasing genuine satisfaction.

Incorporate Testimonials into Email Marketing

Utilize testimonials in your email campaigns to underscore your expertise and encourage engagement from potential clients.

Present Testimonials to Prospective Clients

Integrate client success stories into your presentations to illustrate your track record and reassure potential clients of your ability to deliver favorable results.

Feature Testimonials in Your Blog

Share client success stories in blog posts, integrating testimonials to lend credibility and a personal touch to your narratives.

Create Detailed Case Studies

With client consent, develop case studies that explore specific challenges and your successful interventions, offering deep insights into your problem-solving prowess.

Highlight Testimonials in Your Online Presence

Feature client testimonials in your profiles on key real estate and social media sites to bolster your online reputation and attract new clients.

Promote Third-Party Platform Reviews

Encourage clients to review your services on esteemed real estate platforms, enhancing your visibility and credibility.

Engage Through Testimonial Events

Host webinars or events where clients can share their experiences, providing a dynamic forum for potential clients to learn and interact.

Advertise with Testimonials

Use testimonials in your advertising campaigns to spotlight positive client experiences and foster trust with your target audience.

Keep Your Testimonials Current

Regularly refresh your testimonials to maintain relevance and demonstrate your continuous commitment to excellence and client satisfaction.

By strategically publishing real estate testimonials across various platforms and marketing channels, you can build a compelling narrative that resonates with potential clients. Authentic endorsements from satisfied clients serve as a powerful tool for establishing trust and differentiating yourself in a competitive real estate market.

JUAN ACEVEDO — THE COMEBACK STORY

from his clients. “My clients truly trust me,” he says. “When someone believes in me and trusts me, like my clients do, I’ll do anything to protect them, no matter what.”

Juan’s marketing strategies are incredibly effective, centering on providing unparalleled service. He explains, “I make it memorable for potential buyers,” he explains. He utilizes the MLS, professional photography, and social media to reach buyers. Juan also chooses to not put lock boxes on his listings, preferring to be there for showings. “I’m always there and I sell the property. Seeing a friendly smile helps the homes stand out.”

Outside of his professional life, Juan enjoys unwinding on the golf course, playing both golf and pickleball with friends and clients. He values working out, practicing hot yoga, traveling, dining out at nice restaurants, and connecting with others. “I also love hanging out with my girlfriend and our two dogs, Pisco and Gringo.”

The future is bright for Juan, as he aims to significantly scale his operations and increase his transaction volume. With a recent milestone of a $4 million sale and aspirations to reach $20 million in transactions, there is no limit to his growth. Beyond his financial goals, Juan dreams of giving back on a global scale, with his ultimate vision involving trips to impoverished regions to donate food to the local communities. As his path progresses, he never takes it for granted. “This is my comeback story in life. I have so many great clients and wonderful friends, and I am looking forward to taking this to the next level.”

Carla Cross, CRB, MA

Grab the best business start-up plan you can find and start the plan. Find someone to coach you to the plan.

What New Agents Expect

From my survey of hundreds of agents under three months in the business, I found that more than 1/2 of them expected a sale the first month of the business. What does that mean? When do they have to start looking for leads? That first week in the business! Yet, how many new agents start lead generating even in the first month? How long have you been in the business?

When did you start lead generating on purpose? Or, have you started? That’s why my book, Up and Running in 30 Days, now in its 6th edition, has you lead generating in week one. It’s your assurance plan you will get a sale fast and will stay in the business.

Expecting ‘Dumb Luck’ to Carry You to Success

Inevitably, there is a new agent who has an Aunt Martha in his back pocket. That is, Aunt Martha wants to buy a home, and has told nephew Tommy she’ll wait until he gets his license to purchase from him. Ca-ching. Dumb luck. Tommy concludes that’s how the business goes. You just wait for someone to find you and

sell them a home. We know that’s not the norm, though.

Unfortunately, Tommy’s going to wait a long time for that next transaction! The ‘dumb luck’ approach to the business results in low results. Since the ‘dumb luck’ agent isn’t doing a business start-up plan, we have no way of predicting results, because we can’t measure businessproducing activities. We can only measure other ‘dumb luck’ agent incomes. That’s way too late to actively coach–or to terminate with purpose.

Your Manager Could be a ‘Dumb Luck’ Manager–Pardon the

Expression…

Dumb luck managers just look at results; sales and listings sold. So, they are not aware that agents may be failing for months. If new agents expect to make a sale in month one, how many months do you think it takes for them to get dis enheartened? 2-3? Not long. So, once new agents are mentally and emotionally out of the business, they will resist any help from managers. They’ve decided they can’t make it in the business. They’ll stay awhile, though, for ‘dumb luck’ transactions.

Are You Lead Generating on Purpose?

Are you working a specific, prioritized lead generating plan? Is it made up of prioritized lead generating activities? Does it have ratios of activities to results, so the new agent knows whether he is on track to his goals?

Here are my activity ratios from Up and Running that will result in 8-12 transactions the first year in the business:

• 20 contacts to get one buyer or seller lead

• 8 times of putting people in the car to sell someone a home

• 3 listing appointments to gain one marketable listing

https://carla-cross.com

• 80% of listings sell

• 80% of transactions close

What are the ratios in your office? Do you know? Do you know the work it takes to consistently generate the income you want to generate? Or, are you counting on ‘dumb luck’?

Best Advice to Create your Assurance Plan

Grab the best business start-up plan you can find and start the plan. Find someone to coach you to the plan. Analyze your numbers frequently. You’ll stay on track AND assure your success.

In the real estate business for over 3 decades, Carla Cross is an international speaker, trainer, and coach for real estate. She specializes in career development, business planning, leadership, and instructor development. She’s won numerous sales and leadership awards in each area, including being named as a National Realtor Educator of the Year. A popular international speaker, Carla has spoken on leadership and training topics for 16 years at national Realtor conventions.

Author of eight books on real estate sales, her wildly popular book, Up and Running in 30 Days, is used by hundreds of thousands of new agents internationally to start their careers right.