SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDITION
6 Ways To GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU
Small Yard?
7 REASONS WHY YOUR PROSPECTS AREN'T TURNING INTO CLIENTS
COVER STORY
CLAUDIA FLORES
Big Statement: How to Make The Most Out of Micro Outdoor Spaces
ADDING VALUE TO LISTINGS
& the Advantage of Identifying Neighborhood Amenities
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Call 1-800-771-5971 or visit us at www.lgscompliance.com email info@iusecompliance.com Top Agent Magazine
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDITION
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CLAUDIA CLAUDIA FLORES FLORES CONTENTS 4) ADDING VALUE TO LISTINGS & THE ADVANTAGE OF IDENTIFYING NEIGHBORHOOD AMENITIES
15) SMALL YARD? BIG STATEMENT: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF MICRO OUTDOOR SPACES
6) 7 REASONS WHY YOUR PROSPECTS AREN'T TURNING INTO CLIENTS
19) 6 WAYS TO GET YOUR CLIENT TO TRUST YOU 22) CREATIVE MEDITATION FOR THE REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL
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Adding Value to Listings & the Advantage of Identifying Neighborhood Amenities Everyone knows the famous real estate phrase: location, location, location. In fact, it is hard to underestimate the pivotal role that a region can play when it comes to determining a home’s value. In today’s competitive market, the littlest things can truly add up—especially when it comes to neighborhood amenities. While most savvy agents know the figures regarding school 4
district ranking and local property taxes, have you ever considered the under-the-radar amenities that drive buyers and bidding wars? To derive the highest value from a listed home, you need to paint a complete picture of the area in which you’re selling. With that guiding principle in mind, let’s consider a few modern amenities and how they add drastically to your bottom line.
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Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites. A little can go a long way: restaurants, coffee shops, and entertainment
Know thy history: creating a narrative of the neighborhood
Everyone has a favorite take-out spot, coffee shop, or neighborhood watering hole. Identifying the key players in an area—such as restaurants, nightlife, and entertainment hotspots—will create a livable picture that prospective buyers can latch onto. Walking a fifteen-minute radius of the area or performing a deep-dive into customer review sites or food blogs can help you identify hidden gems or local favorites. While a cute coffee shop down the street may seem like a bonus instead of a foundational amenity, you never know what kind of homebuyer you might net if you include the cozy characteristics that make a house a home.
As humans, we’re drawn to narratives. Sales pitches and marketing campaigns hinge on an alluring storyline. That’s why understanding a neighborhood’s history can frame and contextualize a property to great effect. After all, buyers aren’t just drawn to sturdy foundations and bedroom counts; they like to imagine their lives unfolding inside those four walls. Get a sense of the area’s historical timeline, architectural style, noteworthy community members, and the like. Conveying this intriguing information to buyers helps them connect more personally with a property, while understanding the holistic picture of their potential new home.
From here to there: public transportation and commuter access While this rule may not apply to all properties, considering access to public transportation is a major draw for today’s buyers. Especially amidst the more eco-conscious Millennial segment eager to buy within city limits—knowing public transportation access points and schedules can add serious value to listed properties. Also, think outside the box: do nearby thoroughfares boast dedicated bike lanes? Are there plans to expand rail lines to the area in the future? Deliver a confidant picture of the area’s public transportation access and prospective buyers will trust your expertise. Top Agent Magazine
While it is always good to cover the basics of school districts and property values, it is even more useful to expand your knowledge base and bring a warm, human element to locational knowledge. Not only will you appeal to a younger demographic of homebuyers who values this strategic information, but you will also broaden your understanding of your service area at large. Think of it this way: a neighborhood is far more than a collection of homes on a block. A neighborhood is about atmosphere, access, and a sense of community. If you authentically appeal to this guiding truth, and buyers will surely rise to the occasion.
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7 Reasons Why Your Prospects Aren’t Turning Into Clients Real estate experts suggest prospecting daily so that your sales pipeline never runs dry. But sometimes all that effort doesn’t translate into results. If your prospects aren’t becoming clients, there’s a reason, which is better than it sounds because that means you can fix the problem. 6
1. You’re Too Slow The Association of Real Estate License Law Officials estimates that there are about 2 million active real estate licensees in the United States alone. Of course, not all these individuals are working in the same markets. Nonetheless, that
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If your prospects aren’t becoming clients, there’s a reason, which is better than it sounds because that means you can fix the problem.
means that realtors face a lot of competition. If you are slow to respond to messages from prospective clients, someone else is sure to beat you to it. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to return calls and emails within 24 hours. If you’re too busy working with active clients to return the phone calls and emails of prospective clients, consider hiring a real estate assistant who can help take administrative or marketing tasks off your plate.
2. They Don’t Trust You There are different reasons why a client might not trust you, some of which overlap with others on this list. When a client asks you a question, do you answer it directly or do you sidestep it? Do you have testimonials and reviews from happy clients publicly available? Do you have an online presence? Social proof of your skills and knowledge is key.
3. You Don’t Seem Knowledgeable Enough Is your client constantly coming to you with new listings or marketing ideas rather than the Top Agent Magazine
other way around? Do they mention real estate and finance terms you’ve never heard of or ask you questions you’ve never thought to ask yourself? Every agent starts somewhere, but if this seems to be a pattern, it’s one clients will pick up on too. Your clients want to know that you will add value to their home buying or selling experience, and part of that value is your expertise and passion.
4. You Have No Web Presence It’s not enough to be on Zillow or have a Facebook page. There are clients who don’t use these platforms, and at the end of the day, you don’t own the content or your access to it. Both platforms could suddenly go out of business and any following you’ve gained could be lost. It doesn’t cost much to create and maintain a website today. If customization matters little to you, sometimes you can even get up and running for free. At the very least, it’s a good idea to invest in a domain name because yourwebsite. wordpress.com looks a lot less professional than yourwebsite.com.
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5. You Don’t Seem to Care When clients don’t think you care, it usually means they don’t feel like you are listening. You may have systems, processes, and a proven marketing strategy. You may like to get right down to business, but to your client, this isn’t just business—it’s their life and their family’s livelihood. When your client tells you what’s important to them, they want to make sure that you really hear them. Make sure your body language conveys that. Slow down. Shut your office door. Make eye contact, nod your head, and pause before you speak so that they understand that you’ve put thought into your words—that they aren’t simply lines from a script.
6. You Use Too Much Jargon Remember that your clients don’t speak real estate. At most, they might buy or sell a home once every few years. They hired you to be their advocate and may even expect you to be a bit of a teacher too. Use layman’s terms so that your
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client fully understands how the two of you will work together.
7. Your Target Audience Is Everyone Your clients are home buyers and sellers, yes, but who is your ideal client? Some specialties you might consider are college students and recent graduates, working professionals, military families, seniors, CEOs, or other high-profile clients. As a newer agent, your target audience might be anyone who will hire you, but over time, you might find that you click more with certain clients, that their lifestyle is similar to yours, or that their goals align with your mission. Whatever the reason, marketing your business to this “ideal client” rather than every potential client will make selling your services easier. Remember: It’s within your power to alleviate your client’s concerns, but understanding why your prospects aren’t turning into clients is a good start.
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CLAUDIA FLORES
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CLAUDIA FLORES
Top Agent Claudia Flores works and invests in the highly competitive Los Angeles market. “I don’t just sell properties, I invest in them myself,” Claudia shares. “So, I suppose you can say that I absolutely practice what I preach.” After graduating law school, Claudia Flores was hesitant to continue as an attorney. When she went into labor while taking the bar exam, she took it as a sign from above to change her career path. “Okay I get it, this is not what I’m supposed to be doing” she laughs. What she didn’t know was that her background in law would give her a unique advantage as a Realtor. Now twelve years into the business, Claudia is able to work almost solely off of repeat and referral business in the highly competitive Los Angeles market. “My law degree helps me tremendously as a real estate agent” 10 Copyright Top Agent Magazine
Claudia explains. “The way I interpret and use the contracts is a bit different than others who don’t have that formal training and it adds an extra layer of protection for my clients. My first priority are my clients, I’m fiercely protective of them, and I think they feel that.“ Another distinct angle Claudia shares with her clients is that she too invests in real estate, “I don’t just sell properties, I invest in them myself,” Claudia shares. “So, I suppose you can say that I absolutely practice what I preach and am proud to say I’ve helped convert some of my clients Top Agent Magazine
into successful real estate investors” Claudia enthusiastically states. “I remember taking a business manager friend of mine to see a duplex I was considering buying, my enthusiasm must have rubbed off on her because she ended up buying it instead!” Claudia laughs. “Yes, my clients always have first dibs,” she jokes. Consequently, they trust me on a different level, I think, because they know I would never advise them to buy a property I wouldn’t buy myself.”
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An expert negotiator, Claudia closes anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five transactions in a year with an upward trajectory every passing year. While she predominantly works as a solo agent, she does have a team of people who she is available to assist and partner with. Claudia maintains an extended network of clients by touching base via phone, email, texts and social media. When it comes to her listings, Claudia is known for her ability to get multiple offers
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and secure the highest price for her clients. “Research is one of my strong suits,” Claudia comments. “It’s important for me to keep my finger on the pulse of the market at all times to help my clients navigate their sales and purchases. Fortunately, my clients trust my pricing recommendations, which is how I’m able to Copyright Top Agent Magazine 12
get the majority of my listings into multiples.” Claudia is also highly skilled in obtaining large price reductions and credits during escrow for the buyers she represents. Claudia’s clientele represents the diversity of the region she serves. As someone who is Top Agent Magazine
fluent in both English and Spanish, Claudia is able to assist a wide range of people looking to buy or sell their next property. Whether it is a high-profile celebrity, an experienced investor or a first-time home buyer, she is able to adapt her skill set to match the individual needs of each and every client. “I love being part of one of the most important purchases
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they will ever make,” Claudia muses, citing closing as one of her favorite parts of the process. “Handing them the keys and seeing the look on their faces is definitely a high point for me.” When Claudia is not working, she is an active animal advocate. She works with a local
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shelter and instilled that respect for life in her children. Flores’ family fosters kittens, donates, and aids in adoption processes. She adores her 3 children and visits them at their respective universities every chance she gets. Now that she is an empty nester, Claudia is going back to her interests that precede becoming a mother. She
enjoys spending time with friends, family, traveling and with a college degree in literature and psychology from UC Berkeley, she even writes as a hobby! While Claudia has no plans to retire, she is enjoying a work-life balance. Claudia is emphatic that “I love what I do, and hopefully I’ll do it forever!”
Contact Claudia at 424-334-9291 or 818-618-8706 and email her at Claudia@ClaudiaFloresProperties.com. Check out her listings at ClaudiaFloresProperties.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn! www.
www.facebook.com/floresventures/ www.instagram.com/floresventures/?hl=en
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www.linkedin.com/in/claudiafloresproperties
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Small Yard? Big Statement: How to Make the Most Out of Micro Outdoor Spaces When house-hunters compile their lists of musthave home items, a dreamy backyard space is often near the top. After all, who doesn’t want an outdoor oasis of their very own? From summer barbecues to open space for your dog to frolic— everyone has their own aspirations when it comes to creating the perfect backyard paradise. But as homebuyers seek properties deeper within city limits, and Millennials opt for properties with Top Agent Magazine
urban amenities and access, home-connected outdoor spaces are becoming a bit smaller in stature. Of course, size isn’t everything when it comes to outdoor space. Even balconies, rear patios, and ultra-tiny yards can provide homebuyers with the outdoor reprieve they crave—even on a smaller scale. For a few ideas that can help you envision all the possibilities of a micro outdoor space, read on for inspiration.
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Think vertically. When space is at a premium, think up instead of out. In other words, make the most of small spaces by capitalizing on your backyard, balcony, or patio’s overhead height. Mood-setting string lights, hanging pocket or wall gardens, floating shelves, and modern overhead hangings can create a sense of privacy and luxury without cluttering the square footage on the ground.
Soothing sounds set the mood.
Upgrade the look of structural components. Not in love with your patio pavers? Don’t have the sweetest view off your balcony? Whatever your small backyard living space gripe may be, there’s always a solution if you go back to the basics. Consider the structural components of your outdoor space that you aren’t in love with and there’s likely an affordable, eye-pleasing solution. For instance, plenty of home goods 16
retailers make a variety of punchy or luxe outdoor rugs that can disguise stained or lackluster outdoor flooring. Power-washing is another great solution for old grime and dirt that’s an eyesore. Don’t have a great view? Planting ivy on bare walls, installing adjustable mood lighting, or hanging planters can create a more inviting ambiance.
While there may not be room for a swimming pool or pond in a micro yard or balcony, you can still bring the calming presence of water to your outdoor oasis. Fountains run the gamut in sizing and price, making this amenity an easy acquisition. What’s more, a running fountain not only adds a soothing sound to your space, but it also helps drown out noise from the street or the neighbors—making your space entirely your own and stress-free.
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Don’t compromise on your culinary dreams. If you love to entertain in outdoor spaces or relish the chance to man the grill—small outdoor spaces don’t have to trip you up. Grill options (both propane and charcoal) come in a range of sizes, many of which can be outfitted securely to balcony posts or be tucked away and out of sight when out of use. Consider nesting tables or those with a removable leaf to adjust your seating and dining options depending on company.
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Another trick? A small, oscillating fan can keep air flow moving in a small space during grill season—and can be easily affixed to walls or posts, as well. Don’t let yourself or clients be discouraged by spaces with more limited square footage in outdoor areas. Furniture and design trends have already begun shifting toward providing better small-space options, and at the end of the day, a backyard space is all about providing an area for relaxation. With a few well-placed, strategic choices, you can still have it all.
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Laughs!
Graham Harrop Graham Harrop Cartoons Cartoons
Putting the power of humour to work for you!
Putting the power of humour to work for you! grahamharrop.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 Top Agent Magazine
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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1
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. 20
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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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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.
easily into the daily hustle & bustle world of the busy real estate agent.
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
• When driving to a showing or to meet a client
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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
• Before your open house begins • After the open house • Driving home in the evening Top Agent Magazine
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:
1 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. 23
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