MY CRYSTAL BALL: YOU CAN PREDICT YOU'LL BE SUCCESSFUL SELLING REAL ESTATE
HOW TO BUILD A TEAM THAT WILL WIN BIG NO MATTER ITS SIZE
FEATURED AGENT DIANA BRAUN COVER STORY
5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A MENTOR
HOW TO SPEED UP FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER TRANSACTIONS
LGS was founded in 1987 to assist Realtors in meeting mandatory requirements prior to the close of escrow. As the list of requirements grew, so did we! LGS has been committed to providing the professional service necessary to successfully meet our customer's needs. One hundred percent customer satisfaction is not only our goal, but it is our mantra.
n Retrofitting Inspections and Noncompliant Plumbing Disclosures
n Los Angeles DWP Certificate of Compliance
n Seismic Earthquake Valves
n Low Flush Toilets
n Water Heater Straps
n Smoke Detectors
n Carbon Monoxide Detectors
n Window Glazing
industry intimacy ing technology, $75 million several years. her recognition Real Estate
4) MY CRYSTAL BALL: YOU CAN PREDICT YOU'LL BE SUCCESSFUL SELLING REAL ESTATE
14) 5 REASONS WHY YOU NEED A MENTOR
of Santa Monica, California, built her real estate enterprise prioritizing her relationships – with and clients – above all other over the past two decades. “Our changed so much during the past years. We used to bring value homes for people, but today value of my network to my clisecure deals for them, or provide about their investments while system of professionals that can and market houses optimally.” formally entering real estate, Diana enjoyed a flight attendant. “I loved that job. I worked Airlines until September 11th, 2001,” she “and that was a pivotal moment for me. It to reassess my profession and explore other had just built my first house with my husVenice, and he was working as an architect – I enjoyed the beautiful structures here California and we wanted to explore the field, so connecting with local brokers in our com-
17) HOW TO SPEED UP FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER TRANSACTIONS
America’s Best “I thought when ing to focus homes, but the business is the
I get to work what we do, and who are
20) HOW TO BUILD A TEAM THAT WILL WIN BIG NO MATTER ITS SIZE
With her position cemented looking forward to perfecting additional agents, and prosperity to the rest of long time supporter of The Los Angeles, and I’m also They help children who are system and getting ready ing internships and housing ceed. Only a small percentage
►Carla Cross, CRB, MA
You can predict if you’ll be successful in real estate. It’s not what you think, either.
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.
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.
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.
Grab the best business start-up plan you can find and start the plan. Find someone to coach you to the plan.
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
• 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’?
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.
https://carla-cross.com
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.
Jennifer Landon knows how to get her clients every penny they deserve in the highly competitive Los Angeles real estate market. After graduating from USC, Jen began her career in property management with the prestigious Charles Dunn Real Estate Management Company. With over twenty-four years of experience, in numerous sectors of the real estate industry, she is not your typical REALTOR®. Having sold real estate from 1999 to 2007, only to take a break to become a Certified Real Estate Appraiser and build an appraisal company, to then return to sales in 2014 and become a broker. Landon Realty Group is her boutique brokerage that serves the greater Los Angeles area, with a focus in Hollywood Hills, Toluca Lake, Burbank, and Studio City.
Jennifer’s brokerage operates a skilled team of agent specialists, which includes a sales manager, transaction coordinators, and marketing specialists. “We’re pretty robust,” Jennifer laughs, “we’re able to service a lot of clients.” That volume consists of an average of 75 to 80 transactions annually, solely with her sales team. With listings ranging from condos
Landon Realty Group is Jennifer Landon’s boutique brokerage that serves the greater Los Angeles area, with a focus in Hollywood Hills, Toluca Lake, Burbank, and Studio City.
to multi-million dollar homes, and even to celebrity estates, such as Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook’s Beverly Hills home, Jennifer has proven she is able to market any style of property. Her nuanced approach to listing any property has cemented her reputation as a broker that clients want to refer to their friends and family. “Real estate transactions are quite
complex,” Landon comments. “It’s not simply the sale of a piece of property, there’s a lot of emotion behind it…so we really give respect to what is happening.” Whether it is a family selling a loved one’s home or an investor wanting to ensure a return, Jennifer makes it a priority to get to know her clients’ needs and helps them achieve their goals.
Landon’s approach to marketing is different from other agents and brokerages in the industry. “We offer a pre-launch marketing plan when it is appropriate for the property,” she explains. The pre-launch plan consists of surveying buyers agents and brokers to ensure that the listing is on target with the price point. Landon and her team determine if there are any objections to the property that can be corrected
before exposing it to the public, which allows them to be intentional in capturing every penny for their clients’ listings. This tactic has ensured Landon’s success, which has allowed her to move her brokerage into its new, larger office in the upcoming month. In the next few years, Landon intends to open satellite offices within the Los Angeles community in an effort to service more communities.
Whether it is a family selling a loved one’s home or an investor wanting to ensure a return, Jennifer makes it a priority to get to know her clients’ needs and helps them achieve their goals.
Landon Realty Group has built its reputation from being a contribution-based brokerage that donates time and money to charities focusing on the most vulnerable. They sponsor local animal rescue groups, host quarterly food drives, and are sponsors of the local Boys and Girls Club. Jennifer is proud of her female-based business, and created a team that has some serious girl
power. “It’s not to say we don’t love men,” she laughs. Outside of work, Jennifer maintains a simple, yet intentional lifestyle. Formerly a dance school owner, she is now a certified yoga teacher who enjoys a night at the theater or a nice dinner with friends. “I love to spend time with my husband, my kids, and my dog,” she muses, “With that, happiness is really simple.”
As great as it might feel to start your own business, and be solely responsible for its success, at some point, every entrepreneur reaches the limit of their potential, and needs a boost that only experience can provide. But how do you get a lifetime of experience when you’re just starting out? Sure you can read countless books, but no book can replace the real life experience and advice of a mentor.
Mentors not only provides valuable insights, but they also have access to valuable connections as well. In fact a majority of the
most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs in the country have said that having a mentor early on was instrumental in their success. Here are some of the reasons why.
When you’re working non-stop to get your business off the ground, you might feel sensitive to any criticism from people who aren’t going through what you are. A good
mentor knows exactly what you’re going though, and has probably made every mistake. When you’re in the thick of it, you might not be able to see where the problems are. A knowledgeable outsider, who knows exactly where you’re at and has only your best interests at heart is just what you need. When you have a trusting relationship with someone like that, you will be more willing to listen to that brutal honesty, even if that constructive criticism stings.
Years of experience can give someone a great idea of what works and what doesn’t. They’ve seen things first hand, not just in theory. At the same time, mentors recognize the importance of taking chances, calculating risks, as well as cutting losses and moving on. A good mentor isn’t trying to encourage you to be a carbon copy of them, they are trying to create the best ‘you’ possible. That includes encouraging you to take chances, and then being there pushing you to keep going forward if it doesn’t work out. A good mentor knows that even failures can be opportunities.
Unlike you, a mentor has no emotional investment in certain business approaches that you might have decided to try. There’s nothing harder than admitting something isn’t working when you’ve put a lot of time and
energy into it. They can see things in a completely logical way and guide you based on the facts rather than emotion. A good mentor helps you work smarter, not harder. They help you focus on your goals and how to get there, as well as setting boundaries for you so you don’t overextend yourself. They teach you how to say no and help you let go when you need to move on from a setback.
In addition to expertise, building a strong network is something that can only come with time. A mentor will most likely have that already, giving you access to people and resources that would take others years to gain. These connections will lead to opportunities that might never have happened otherwise. It’s also a great confidence boost knowing that your mentor trusts and believes in you enough to invite you into their inner circle.
At the heart or it all, a mentor offers you encouragement and motivation along the way, in good times and in bad. After a failure, it can be hard to get back on track and keep forging ahead. It helps to have someone who has spent year getting back up after being known down and coming out stronger than ever. It’s during those moments, when you feel alone and isolated, that having someone around offering you advice and positive feedback will be a much needed salve. They’re your cheerleader, they want you to succeed, and hopefully, you’ll pay it forward one day when you become as successful as them.
Diana Braun of Santa Monica, California, has steadily built her real estate enterprise by prioritizing her relationships – with both agents and clients – above all other elements over the past two decades. “Our job has changed so much during the past twenty years. We used to bring value by finding homes for people, but today I bring the value of my network to my clients and secure deals for them, or provide insights about their investments while adding a system of professionals that can help stage and market houses optimally.”
Prior to formally entering real estate, Diana enjoyed a career as a flight attendant. “I loved that job. I worked for United Airlines until September 11th, 2001,” she recalls, “and that was a pivotal moment for me. It caused me to reassess my profession and explore other options. I had just built my first house with my husband in Venice, and he was working as an architect at the time – I enjoyed the beautiful structures here in California and we wanted to explore the field, so we started connecting with local brokers in our community.” During a year-long furlough, Diana interned at local Venice Properties, and her real estate career began to blossom.
Today in 2023, Diana leads the Diana Braun Group at Compass: a nimble team of three that services the luxury markets in the Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, and Venice. “I had a team of eleven for a while, but I prefer to be hands-on and involved. I vacillate a little bit – sometimes I mentor newer agents to help them fall in love with the industry, and that’s something I’m really passionate about – but the focus for me is helping my clients get what they’re expecting, and then some!” This emphasis on unparalleled client service has helped Diana create a business that, for the past two years, has thrived entirely on clients that are introduced by referral or during open houses.
By combining this hand-tailored approach with
industry intimacy and Compass’s marketing technology, Diana has boasted over $75 million in annual volume for the past several years. Her success has brought her recognition on LA Magazine’s 2023 Real Estate All-Star List, and RealTrends America’s Best List for 2021 and 2022. “I thought when I got started I was going to focus on architecture and beautiful homes, but the most important part of my business is the relationships I’ve forged. I get to work with people who appreciate what we do, and who are excited to work with us.”
With her position cemented in the industry, Diana is looking forward to perfecting her systems, mentoring additional agents, and spreading her success and prosperity to the rest of California. “I’ve been a long time supporter of The Midnight Mission here in Los Angeles, and I’m also a part of Ready To Succeed. They help children who are aging out of the foster care system and getting ready to go off to college by finding internships and housing support to help them succeed. Only a small percentage of them make it through college, and I’m proud to help them any way I can.”
Working with first-time homebuyers can be among the most rewarding real estate transactions an agent can embark upon. Not only are you helping guide newcomers into the housing market, but you’re also witness to the excitement and triumphs along the way, including handing over those keys for the first time. While
helping first-time homebuyers navigate the transactional process can be a reminder of real estate’s benevolent power, it can also come with its own bumps and bruises. So, what’s the best way to streamline the homebuying process for first-timers, while maintaining the magic and keeping your sanity along the way?
It’s no secret that communication is a cornerstone of a successful real estate practice and client relationship. Amidst a transaction as complex as buying (or selling) a home, it’s important that no wires get crossed, no questions go unanswered, and no information gets lost in translation. To accomplish this, create communication parameters with your clients up front. Inquire about the communication medium they’re most comfortable with—a text, a call, an email, etc. Then, tailor your outreach accordingly. Also, consider setting a weekly time to check in, even if no official progress has been made. This helps clients and agents touch base, float questions and concerns, and get ahead of any problems or developments. Another helpful tool is to draft a transaction timeline for your client that outlines the major milestones along the way, what sort of information will need to be gathered, what steps taken, and what outcomes are possible. This might seem like exhaustive work, but in the era of digital research, clients will come to their own conclusions and biases
whether you like it or not. To stay on the same page and timeline, be the foremost resource for your client, and don’t leave their questions up to chance.
There are a variety of national, state, regional, and local grants and programs that aid first-time homebuyers as they pay their down payment, shop for home or mortgage insurance, and otherwise deal with the financial implications of becoming a homeowner. Sometimes these programs are neighborhood-specific in certain cities, with incentives to buy in up and coming areas. In some cases, there are grants that support underrepresented minority communities breaking into homebuying, and these can go a long way in making the burden of a down payment and associated fees doable. In other words, do your research. The right program or grant could make the difference in nabbing a dream starter home for your client, while setting them up for future financial success.
While helping first-time homebuyers navigate the transactional process can be a reminder of real estate’s benevolent power, it can also come with its own bumps and bruises.
Not all mortgage rates are made equal. As an agent, you likely have good relationships with area lenders that you trust, but it’s still important to complete your due diligence when helping first-time homebuyers find the rate that suits their longterm housing goals. Also remember that first-time homebuyers are new to this process, and while real estate transactions are complex in their own right, the borrowing and lending processes can be alienating in their complexity. As an agent, it’s your job to play intermediary and teacher, ensuring your clients know their options, are prepared to make an educated decision, and
feel confident that they’ve chosen correctly. Talk with your preferred mortgage partners to best outline options for your clients’ understanding, laying out a framework that’s informative, projected into the future, and allows them to feel empowered by knowledge.
All in all, working with first-time homebuyers can be an exciting and joyous occasion, as long as you’re adequately prepared for some hand-holding and instruction along the way. Aside from the enthusiasm of successful first-timers at the closing table, you’ll also enjoy the lasting benefit of strong referrals to their friends and family, many of whom will be shopping with you for their own first dream homes.
In the real estate world building a team is a goal almost every agent strives towards achieving. Doing business with a team as opposed to solo has numerous advantages. With more agents handling clients as well as other employees specialized in areas such as marketing and administrative support there to assist you; you can greatly increase your business and sales.
So, when creating a team, logic would tell us that the bigger it is, the better, right? Wrong. When it comes to real estate teams, size doesn’t matter so much as the players you bring onto that team to work with you. A team doesn’t have to be big to win big, and here are the secrets to building a team that wins big no matter its size.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “you’re only as strong as you’re weakest link.” That idea holds true for any kind of team, including those in real estate. If you have weak members on your team, then it’s not possible to have a strong team. Drawing strong team members to your business is essential.
To better understand what kind of person would make a strong addition to your team, you need to ask yourself what skills and characteristics you want your team members to possess. The strongest members are often ones that share their leader’s values. When you share values with your teammates, you are all running along the same course towards the same goal as one. Your definition of a victory in this case is also your teammates’ definition of it. This helps strengthen even the smallest of numbers because you are all working together toward a common goal.
Another characteristic too look out for in potential team members is a positive attitude. You can teach someone the skills needed in real estate, but you can’t teach someone how to have a positive attitude. Positive members tend to achieve more due to their optimistic nature, but more importantly, they spread that positive attitude to the rest of the team, which improves every members’ performance.
Finding strong team members is just one part of the equation. As the leader of your team, you now have to assess each member’s strengths and weaknesses and position them appropriately. You want the best player for each role playing that part and catering to their strengths. Choose your team member’s roles wisely, and place each individual in the position where their strengths can shine and they can best contribute to a win for the entire team. Every role is important to the team working smoothly and winning as a whole, so it is important to place each team member in the role most suited to his or her skills.
Your team members are the key ingredients to ultimate victory, but what recipe do you follow now to lead them to victory? That is what communication is for a winning team; the recipe you will use to
help best utilize each team member and instruct them on how they need to work together to fulfill the recipe that will lead them to be a winning team. Your team members need to know the plan and you must give them the tools to successfully execute it.
It is up to the leader of a team to help your players see your vision and help them understand what a victory looks like. The goal may seem simple and obvious to you, but you must communicate it over and over again to your team members, so they understand it as well as you do. With different personalities coming together to form a unit, you are going to be dealing with numerous challenges such as competing agendas. You will find this on any team. You must keep the goal and at the forefront of your player’s minds in order to encourage them to put aside their own personal desires in order to come together as one cohesive, single-minded unit and push towards the team’s goal.
The final thing all great leaders do is equip their team members with the proper tools and training needed for them to succeed. You have to show them how they can each come together with their different strengths to work as a team towards one unified goal. This involves more than simple skills training, but also endurance, so they can last as a team and win even those matches that seem unending and impossible.
Think of all the challenges that they could possibly face ahead, and clear their path to victory by giving them the necessary training and tools they will need to get past any obstacle. As the leader, you must be prepared to continually communicate the team’s goal and your vision. Use that vision to motivate your team members throughout the journey towards victory.
