ILLINOIS 11-14-22

ILLINOIS EDITION

6 WAYS TO GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU

Top Agent Tips and Questions for

CHOOSING YOUR LISTING AGENT

Why Millennials Are Now

The Hottest Segment Of The Buyers Market

FEATURED AGENT

COVER STORY

CHRISTINE SHEPARDSON

NAUREEN STACK-FRIERDICH & CARLA MERCER

mailto:mag@topagentmagazine.com

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6 Ways to Get Your Client to Trust You The word “REALTOR®” can leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths. Many of today’s home buyers and sellers grew up during the 2009 recession. They are wary of anything 4

or anyone who comes off as too salesy, and they want to work with individuals who they can trust.

But how do you prove to someone you’ve likely never met that you can be trusted?

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Put Testimonials or Case Studies on Your Website

When something goes wrong, own up to your mistakes. Don’t hide bad news from your clients. Be upfront and responsive.

Testimonials and case studies are social proof that you have both the experience and the skills to do the job your clients are hiring you for. People often leave testimonials when they are either incredibly disappointed or extremely happy with the service they were provided, so they’re a good indication to prospective clients of the treatment they’ll receive.

Case studies, which you can post on your blog or website, have much of the same effect, but even more than testimonials, case studies demonstrate your real estate and finance expertise because they explain how you achieved a specific set of results.

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Be Responsive and Accessible

Can your clients reach you easily? That doesn’t mean you need to be available 24/7, but you should respond to your clients within a few hours of receiving their message. When agents don’t respond to their clients’ calls or emails for days on end or fail to provide them with a direct line of contact, their clients’ experience can quickly become frustrating.

Agents are busy but so are their clients. If you constantly show up late to or reschedule meetings, your clients won’t feel like their time is respected or their business is valued. Make sure you set a realistic schedule for yourself rather than spreading yourself too thin.

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Be Honest and Transparent

Sometimes you don’t have the answer to a client’s question. Be honest about your strengths, weaknesses, and the limits of your knowledge. A good response might be, “I don’t know, but I can find out.” Be transparent with your clients, and they’ll respect you for it.

You should always act in their best interest.

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Go the Extra Mile

If you do the bare minimum, that’s what your clients will remember. Their experience won’t be memorable, and they won’t gush about you in online testimonials or in real life to people they know who could use your services. It’s that simple.

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Put Yourself in Your Client’s Shoes

Clients understand that you need to earn money, but that doesn’t mean they want to feel like they’re just a dollar sign to you. Be empathetic to your client’s concerns, even if you’ve heard it all before. Your clients should know that you are there for them.

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Be Consistent

Being responsive, friendly, and knowledgeable shouldn’t be an act. If you “turn on” your personality for clients and then suddenly become a different person when they leave the room, it’s likely that the cracks in your mask will eventually become apparent.

But “faking it till you make it” is so common it’s become a cliché. When we are starting out, we don’t always have the systems or resources in place to create a smooth client journey, from onboarding to closing, so instead we constantly try to reinvent the wheel. Give yourself time to pause, slow down, and reevaluate your workflow. Creating systems creates

consistency, and those systems can and should be constantly updated.

Developing trust between you and your clients will take time, but doing these things can give you a running start.

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Top Agent Tips and Questions for Choosing Your Listing Agent Now that you’ve decided to sell, it’s time to select the professional to help you market your property. Before meeting with agents, however, consider Top Agent Magazine’s tips for preparing yourself. Frist, ask yourself what kind of relationship you’d like to have with your listing agent. Are you seeking a casual, personable relationship and the latest marketing tools or are you interested in a more formal, traditional relationship and approach to marketing techniques? Next, populate your list of agents by attending open houses and asking for recommendations from recent buyers and sellers.

Finally, schedule your meetings at your home, where you’ll be able to gauge the chemistry between you and each agent.

During your meetings, expect any Top Agent to ask you several questions, but also consider discussing the following: 6

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Will you please describe your sales experience and local network?

Ask your Top Agent to describe recent listings and sales of homes comparable to your own. Ask about the sellers’ priorities, the original list price, market time and number of offers. Top Agents will also describe how well they are connected with other REALTORS® in the region as well as their contacts with relocation companies, local corporations and chambers of commerce.

Be sure to ask about each agent’s knowledge of how your market has changed over time and what has influenced change.

You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’ opinions.

How will you market the property? Each

Top Agent has a unique set of online or local marketing tools at his or her disposal. Some use lead-generation applications and nearly ever luxury agent take advantage of video. Even video marketing tools vary from agent-to-agent, however.

You’ll get to decide if you prefer an agent with higher-end video production and 3D Matterport tours or an agent with more intimate techniques featuring walk-and-talk style video tours.

What factors influence your list-price recommendation? Before an-

swering this question, most Top Agents will have several questions for you, including whether you’re more focused on a faster sale or a higher list price.

They’ll also educate you on how best to balance both market time and list price relative to sales histories your area.

Now that you’ve seen the home, what repairs or improvements do you recommend before listing? You’ll learn a lot by listening to agents’

opinions on your home’s sale potential with or without some improvements.

Most Top Agents will also recommend a full professional inspection prior to listing to avoid surprises during buyer inspection.

How will you help with staging? Some Top Agents will pay for part or

all of the staging costs. At a minimum, however, a Top Agent will have a staging professional or two in their partner network. While they’re at it, they may provide referrals for carpet cleaning, painting, gardening and other minor finishing touches.

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What attributes of the property will you want to highlight? Each Top

Agent will have a somewhat different answer to this question, but that’s a good thing! Even if you have your own ideas about your home’s greatest attributes, you’ll glean insight into the current market by considering different agents’ opinions. In learning their views, you may even change your mind about your home’s most marketable features!

What is your approach to Open Houses? How many agent-only Open

Houses will your Top Agent want to host? How many truly Open Houses?

Some Top Agents may even reveal a “swankier” approach to the Open House – such as an evening cocktail party or by-invitation “open” hours to which buyers visit along with the agent representing them.

Who will be our primary point(s) of contact from your office? This

important question will help you understand the scope of your agent’s practice. You’ll get to see if your agent runs a robust team with many hands on deck or if he or she works by close, one-on-one contact with each client.

Either approach is wonderful; you get to decide what suits you.

Now, let’s list!

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NAUREEN STACK-FRIERDICH & CARLA MERCER Top Agent Magazine

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With over twenty years of combined experience, Naureen Stack-Frierdich and Carla Mercer have recently joined into a partnership to bring their in-depth knowledge of the market to the southern Illinois area.

Two REALTOR®s are better than one.

With over twenty years of combined experience, Naureen Stack-Frierdich and Carla Mercer have recently joined into a partnership to bring their in-depth knowledge of the market to the southern Illinois area.

As for how they came together, the duo worked on the same team for years before both eventually leaving and forming a partnership at eXp. “We share the same values and have a strong connection with our faith, which initially drew us together,” explains Naureen.

While Naureen and Carla are primarily based in and around the St. Louis, Missouri metro area, they are willing to go further for clients to support their home buying and selling needs. The beauty of working with the pair is that there is always someone who will answer questions and provide expert insight on a listing. “It’s important

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to us to put our clients’ needs first,” says Naureen, who is both a REALTOR® and a broker at Crossroads Realty Group. “We go where we are needed and spend time building relationships that will last.”

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Providing full service with a boutique feel, the team is striving to change the face of real estate in their area by educating clients and offering a caring, informed approach.

They are supported by two other licensed

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“It’s important to us to put our clients’ needs first,” says Naureen, who is both a REALTOR® and a broker at Crossroads Realty Group.. “We want to impart our commitment to our community and this business onto other REALTOR®s in our agents as well as an administrative staff who share the same motivations for working in real estate. No matter what project they have underway, Naureen and Carla hold each other to the highest standards and try to instill a sense of responsibility in their entire team. “We want to impart our commitment to our community and this business onto other REALTOR®s in our area,” says Carla. “In any business, it’s important to Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12

see the bigger picture when it comes to the impact you are making.”

Both REALTOR®s have a big heart for their community and participate in a lot of local events and charities. They recently were involved in an event to help stray animals and are currently fundraising for a local family who needs a service dog.

They also support One Life Camp, which Top Agent Magazine

is a nonprofit that fundraises to send foster kids to camp. Finally, Naureen is on the board of Foundation 6141, which provides help to families and individuals in need.

So far this year, both Naureen and Carla have independently done around $7 million

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in sales. While they expect to grow a lot now that they are partnered, both believe strongly that their work is more than just numbers. “Real estate to us isn’t a transactional business,” says Naureen. “We grow organically based on how we treat our clients.”

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For more about Naureen Stack-Frierdich, call 618-972-5928 or email naureen@Crossroads-RealtyGroup.com.

For Carla, call 618-207-1804 or email carla@crossroads-realtygroup.com.

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Creative Meditation

for the Real Estate Professional The real estate world can be an industry of intense emotional and psychological pressure. Deadlines, meetings, employee needs, client needs and a hundred other items on which one needs to focus on a daily basis can create an environment that is not only not conducive to mental well-being, but can be outright detrimental.

Learning to quiet the mind has been the focus of meditation for millennia. While those not familiar with the concept of meditation may instinctively think of yoga mats, incense, and chanting when the word “meditation” arises, there are in fact, many forms of meditation that can integrate quite Top Agent Magazine

easily into the daily hustle & bustle world of the busy real estate agent.

First, think about when you are alone each day. Here are some possible times to practice mediation during the work day: • When driving to the office in the morning • When driving to a showing or to meet a client • Before your open house begins • After the open house • Driving home in the evening 15

Repeating a mantra can be very calming, particularly when you are trying to rid yourself of negative, self-defeating thoughts.

These are just five examples of times when you can take advantage of meditation techniques to quiet your mind and, by extension, increase productivity. A calm mind is a more thoughtful, better tuned instrument.

Here are some examples of meditations you can try:

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For when you’re driving, download and listen to any number of audio Guided Meditations available on the internet. YouTube has a generous selection of these, many of which are geared towards success in business.

2 Repeating a mantra can be very calm-

ing, particularly when you are trying to rid yourself of negative, self-defeating thoughts. It doesn’t matter what words you choose, as long as you feel good about your choice. “I am a success” or “I will approach all of my clients with love today” are two examples. Whatever works for you and gets you into the desired mindset.

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3 Something as simple as listening to pleasant music in your car can be considered meditation, provided it brings you to a place of comfort as opposed to one of spiritual discordance.

4 The most important thing, however, is to take time to find gratitude in everything you do. Count your blessings, be grateful the exciting career in real estate you have built for yourself.

Once you’ve mastered some of these techniques at quieting your mind, you can attempt to find some that work even better for you. Walking, plain silence, or even exercise can have meditative qualities and benefits if practiced on a regular basis.

When you’re truly feeling calm, your clients can sense this. And with this comes the feeling that you can be relied upon to stay focused and calm in any unforeseen circumstances. And in the world of real estate, that’s a highly prized commodity.

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CHRISTINE SHEPARDSON Forthright and honest, with a focus on helping the client above all else, Christine Shepardson stands apart in Chicago real estate. Christine became fascinated with real estate soon after college. “My husband and I had just purchased our first condo, and the whole process really intrigued me,” she recalls of her start. “I decided to get my license, and it took off very quickly. I really enjoyed it, and the rest is history!” Now celebrating her 20th year in real estate, Christine is proud to serve her clients by helping them achieve their real estate goals.

With @properties, Christine serves much of the city of Chicago. North Center, the neighborhood where she lives, is her central hub and she works many areas radiating out from that location. “Directly working with clients and building relationships is something I really enjoy,” she says. “I love being able to be there for my clients from start to finish, and the tools provided by @properties make that possible.”

Close to 100% of Christine’s business comes from repeat and referral clients, a testament to the strong relationships she forms. “I don’t focus a lot of my energy on advertising my business,” Christine explains.

“I focus my energy on going above and beyond for my clients, and the result is the referrals that come my way based on that. That’s the best possible advertising I can get.”

It’s easy to see why clients keep coming back, with Christine’s compassion for her clients evident in everything she does. “Real estate is a very emotional process, and trust is definitely at the heart of it,” she says. “The advice I give my clients is not based on my bottom line, it’s based on the needs and goals of each individual client. It involves a lot of listening, partnering with them and bringing my expertise to accomplish those goals. Over and over, each client finds success, and each success story is a little different. They have Top Agent Magazine

a trusted partner with the tools necessary to guide them to the finish line, and that’s where the real value comes in.”

When it comes to marketing her listings, Christine says, “A huge part of my strategy is the networking that comes with my 20 years of experience. I can reach out specifically to agents I know who work in the area a listing is located, and I can rally around all of that exposure to create the best possible outcome for sellers. For buyers it’s a similar approach, just the reverse. Everybody now has access to what’s on the MLS and the public sites, so networking can create great opportunities for buyers. That networking is part of the value that I bring to my clients, in addition to market insight, negotiation skills and guidance every step of the way.”

As for what the future holds, Christine looks forward to continuing to serve her clients. “I’m really happy in my business and I love the relationships that I make,” she says. “It’s very rewarding to help people achieve their goals and see how that affects their family. For the foreseeable future, that’s my goal: to keep doing what I’m doing and building more relationships.”

To contact Christine Shepardson, please call 773-960-5581, email cshepardson@atproperties.com, or visit cshephomes.com www.

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Laughs!

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Why Millennials Are Now the Hottest Segment of the Buyers Market

and How You Can Attract Them to Your Home There are many factors when it comes to knowing how to sell your home to the Millennial generation. Millennials are becoming an important part of the buyer market, and to fail to cater to their needs will cut you off from a large and important segment. But, why have Millennials all of a sudden become interested in buying houses when they were perfectly content to rent for the rest of their lives?

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A number of factors contribute to what has recently made Millennials the hottest segment of the Buyers market. One factor is the improved job outlook for Millennials. Millennials took a serious blow during the recession.

Unemployment in this group soared to 14 percent, compared to the 9.6 percent for the population as a whole. But, in recent years that number has been decreasing, with unemployment for Millennials being 9.3 percent this past year.

Rising rents are also contributing to making Millennials more interested in purchasing homes now. Rents have risen so much that buying a home now just makes more sense. Half of all renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Millennials are becoming increasingly stressed over the constantly increasing financial obligation to something that isn’t even theirs to own.

The near-historic low mortgage rates are luring Millennials towards purchasing a home with their promise of affordability. When compared with the skyrocketing rental rates, buying a house looks even more enticing.

Another factor helping Millennials get over the hump of purchasing a house is the lower down payment requirements. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now offering new loan programs that require as little as a 3 percent down payment. This may just be the last push the Millennials needed to turn toward buying a home rather than rent.

So, now that we’ve established that Millennials are finally joining the Buyers market, the next thing that it is important to understand is what exactly Millennials are looking for in a home. What kind of floorplans do they prefer? What locations are they interested in? Here are some of the essentials that Millennials are looking for in a home: • Updated Kitchens and Baths: Almost everyone wants to buy a

home with new kitchen and bath fixtures, but this is especially true for Millennials Buyers. Millennials are going to spend most of their savings on the down payment and furnishings, leaving little room to update the Kitchen and Bath, which are also the most expensive parts of a home to

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update. Millennials who are on a budget simply won’t have the money to sink into those areas. An updated Kitchen and Bath is sure to bring in a younger crowd.

• Big Kitchen with Open Floor Plan: For Millennials, the kitchen has

become the room where they hangout in addition to the family room. This is why having an open space that can transition easily from the kitchen to the TV room is high on the list of things Millennials are looking for in a home. Along a similar vein, Millennials are attracted to an open floor plan rather than one that compartmentalizes the home. This has to do with how Millennials entertain. Millennials want their guests to flow through the rooms and mingle together, rather than be sectioned off in different rooms.

• Home Office: More than 13 million Americans now work from home,

and if you look at the trend, that number is only going to increase as the time goes on. With technology steadily increasing, more Millennials than ever have the flexibility to work from home. But, the home office isn’t just for someone working from home full time. Having a separate space dedicated to work helps people concentrate and focus on work while they are at home. They can separate themselves from the activities going on around the house and have a quiet space where they can set up their workday, plan a presentation, hold a meeting on Skype, or even pay bills.

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• Less Maintenance: Many Millennials work different schedules that

don’t conform to the 9 to 5 workday, as well as full social calendars. This doesn’t leave them much time to clean a big house. Lawn services and low-maintenance front yards are particularly appealing, as they take less responsibility to still keep the curb appeal high.

• Energy-Efficient Appliances: Millennials have been educated on

keeping the Earth clean from the time they were born. They want to do their part to help the environment and appreciate the long-term cost savings that come with it. Energy-efficient appliances and greener ways to heat and cool the home might end up being the tipping point that makes them choose one house over another.

• Hardwood Floors: Millennials don’t have the time or patience to clean

dirty carpets, especially those that own pets. Hardwood and laminate flooring is easy to mop up if there’s been a mess. The more time they can conserve, the better.

• Good Location: Millennial buyers are looking for homes that are in

proximity to public transportation and have a good walking score. Young Millennial buyers without children are more likely to want a location closer to the action of the city, while Millennials with children would prefer more residential areas.

• Technology: Technology rules the Millennial’s life. They do work on

their computers through an Internet connection and solely use cellphones for communication. They are going to ask about how strong the cell service is and about the Internet service provider. While these amenities are out of the seller’s hands, Millennials are still going to ask these questions, and you will need to know how to answer them.

Knowing what Millennials are looking for in a home will ultimately help you make the necessary changes that will attract these buyers to your home.

Since they are the a serious segment of the market now, updating your home to fit their needs will lead to more buyers and better offers. So, get with the times and embrace the Millennial buyer.

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