Texas 6-4-18 by Top Agent Magazine

TEXAS EDITION

How to Incorporate Current Events to Your Email Blasts and STAY RELEVANT Developing Your PRICING PHILOSOPHY 10 Seconds to CHANGE A HABIT Five Ways to INCREASE YOUR COMMISSION

FEATURED AGENT

ANGELA ANGERS COVER STORY

JP PICCININI

TEXAS EDITION

JP PICCININI

ANGELA ANGERS

CONTENTS 4) HOW TO INCORPORATE CURRENT EVENTS TO YOUR EMAIL BLASTS AND STAY RELEVANT 13) DEVELOPING YOUR PRICING PHILOSOPHY

18) 10 SECONDS TO CHANGE A HABIT 22) FIVE WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR COMMISSION

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How to Incorporate Current Events to Your Email Blasts and Stay Relevant Email marketing is a cost effective and straightforward method of getting your name and services in front of clients with just a few keystrokes. This tried-and-true approach to digital marketing is a favorite of many, and there are countless ways to customize (and maximize) your email blasts to reap superior results. Despite this, many real estate profes4

sionals are content to standardize their email advertising and take a broad, one-size-fits-all approach to capturing interest and leads. While an up-front sales pitch certainly has its uses and benefits, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt to shake up your routine and refresh your email marketing approach by adding specifics that draw renewed interest from your audience.

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One way to accomplish this is by tying in current events and local happenings to your email blasts. After all, your sphere of influence likely receives countless marketing emails per day. To cut through the noise, sharpen your message with a few specifics that separate your communications from the pack. Not every email should be focused on closing a sale, or else your audience will learn to stop listening. How do you build your brand, stay top of mind, and keep the lines of communication open with your clientele? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

against an old rival? Do they host themed fan days honoring veterans or catering to families? Tailoring your communications to a local sports franchise’s big news or next event can draw intrigue and provide added value for your clients. Remember, not every communication you send should be focused on pitching and closing a sale, otherwise your audience will tune out your emails altogether. Instead, incorporate fun, community-oriented content that lets readers know you’re a resource for much more than real estate.

Sports news makes a splash

Become a one-stop-shop for holiday fun and seasonal ideas.

People love to rally behind the home team. Is a regional, local university, or professional sports team in your area headed to the playoffs or the championship? Are they facing off

From Mother’s Day to Thanksgiving, anyone can send an email wishing clients a happy holiday. While the sentiment is a good one, you’ll be one of dozens flooding inboxes with

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your well-wishes. Instead, go beyond the traditional greetings and good tidings and become a hyper-specific resource for clients. Create a gift guide for Mother’s Day, outline family-friendly local events occurring in your area around the holidays, or engage in a promotional partnership with a local business who’s offering a holiday special of their own. In other words, don’t settle for just saying hello during certain times of the year. Instead, up the value of your email blast by offering clients curated information that relates to their interests and area. Doing so makes your emails a must-read, while demonstrating your ability to go the extra mile.

Pop culture serves as a fun and timely tie-in. Is a new gaming app sweeping the nation? Have your social media feeds been flooded with the same viral video? Is everyone gossiping about the same TV show premiere? Pop culture tie-ins in your email marketing campaigns can be extremely effective, but in order to for

them to work, you’ll need to move quickly and keep your focus on the phenomenon, rather than your service pitch. The goal behind pop culture marketing tie-ins is communicating the progressiveness and hip factor of your brand, while capturing timely, topical interest that’s at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be in on a running joke or trend, and if you leverage trending pop culture moments in your email marketing, you’ll be able to draw views and clicks from a wide audience.

Plenty of services offer standardized email marketing templates and content for today’s real estate professionals, and while the motivation behind marketing is transactional, your communications don’t have to be. The surest way to make an impact in your clients’ inboxes is to add original value and break apart from the pack. Consider updating some of your routines with these current events oriented techniques and your email audience is sure to take a second look.

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JP PICCININI 7

Amidst a successful career as a project engineer, JP Piccinini was ready for a new challenge. He’d always had an entrepreneurial spirit and desired a course that would allow him to be his own boss, while flexing his skills of self-determination and creativity. Naturally, real estate made for a compelling fit. At age twenty-seven, he earned his license and propelled himself to the very top of the Columbia, South Carolina market. After reaching those heights, however, he was determined to take his career to the next level and return to his hometown area of Dallas-Fort Worth. There, JP launched JP and Associates Realtors (JPAR), a full-service brokerage with a transaction fee cap model, a productivity standard, and service-based culture. Along the way, he’s achieved his own personal milestones—from his first Rookie of the Year Award amounting to twenty-five homes sold in his first year in business alone, to closing 100 transactions in a single year to the tune of $20 million in volume.

JP PICCININI 8Copyright Top Agent Magazine

These days, JP has hung up his Realtor hat in lieu of fostering his ever-expanding company. In 2011, he launched his own independent brokerage in JP and Associates and today his enterprise sponsors 1200 agents across eighteen offices, clocking in as the 88th largest brokerage in the U.S. JP’s model is unique not only for its swift success, but also because of its productivity standards, which foster growth, accountability, and standout performance. “We only employ full-time real estate professionals, and when you focus on production, you have agents committed to the client and who know what they’re doing. When you’re doing right by your clients and exceeding expectations— referrals and growth come naturally. All the while, our agents are enjoying the fruits of their labor and leveraging the extensive support and tools our brokerage has to offer.” Top Agent Magazine

While the majority of JPAR offices are situated in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, their presence is on the move, with two offices in Austin, and additional outposts in San Antonio and Houston. They’re also in the midst of offering franchise options for JPAR, and it’s a particularly exciting time to be part of JP’s exemplary business model. “We’re professional, knowledgeable, and willing to look out for our clients’ best interests before our own,” he explains. “We lay it all out on the line and exceed expectations, whether working with a buyer or a seller.” Top Agent Magazine

To foster success in his offices, JP has established a vital training regimen for new agents, while offering in-depth tools, support, and educational opportunities for veteran agents, as well. “We have an amazing training curriculum for our agents from day one,” he recounts. “Whether they’re brand new or experienced, our agents can latch onto a mentoring curriculum or a training curriculum that offers over 100 classes a month for them to plug into. Better trained agents make better agents all around.” Likewise, a multifaceted in-house Copyright Top Agent Magazine9

tech toolbelt, called BOSSS (Broker One Stop Shop Systems), provides agents with a host of digital tools to connect with clients, maximize listings, and compete ahead of the curve in today’s critical market. “Our newest agents are assigned to mentors that guide them through their first few transactions,” JP explains. “All our agents collaborate and uplift one another, and it’s part of our company’s culture to help others achieve success.” To give back to their various Texas communities, JPAR agents contribute regularly to causes Copyright Top Agent Magazine Copyright 10

close to their hearts. “We’re blessed by the giving nature of our agents,” JP says. “Giving back is a core value of our company and we really encourage brokers and agents to make a positive impact on their communities.” To accomplish this, JPAR contributed over $200,000 in 2017 alone toward charitable organizations, impacting thousands of lives—from the homeless to the at-risk underprivileged youth. Additionally, JPAR recently launched a non-profit arm of the enterprise called the Better Future Foundation, serving underprivileged and at-risk children. In his remaining free hours beyond the office, JP Top Agent Magazine

most enjoys quality time with family and loved ones, cooking, and exploring new cultures and cuisines through travel.

says. For now, he’ll be working on recruiting top talent, supporting his staff and offices, and reaching new heights year over year.

Planning for the future, JP shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon and the same entrepreneurial streak that guided the launch of his business carries on today. He aspires to make JPAR the top brokerage in the DFW area by 2025, with ultimate hopes to become a top ten U.S. brokerage, nationwide. “I’m a true believer that if we focus on those core values of productivity and service, we’ll get there,” he

Finally, with a sterling track record behind him and an ambitious eye toward the future, JP Piccinini considers what he enjoys most about his chosen field. “I love being able to impact so many agents’ businesses and help them achieve a greater level of success,” he reflects. “It’s so rewarding to give back to our agents and community by supporting them with the tools and encouragement they need to keep climbing.”

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For more information on JP Piccinini and JP and Associates REALTORS visitÂ jpar.net http://

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Developing Your Pricing Philosophy By Dirk Zeller

Ask a dozen agents to explain their home pricing philosophy, and you’ll

hear a dozen different approaches. And if the talk reveals frank responses, you’ll also learn that the most common pricing strategy is no strategy at all. Here’s my advice: Break out of the ranks by establishing and following a specific strategy for arriving at the ideal selling price for each home. Adopt the philosophy that, in real estate sales, price is king. Price trumps all other factors—including marketing approaches, home condition, market competitiveness, and sales approach. I believe that, in the end, marketing and condition of the property are controlled by the price. The alternative, advocated by many agents, most sellers, and even some sales trainers, is to emphasize marketing over pricing. Rather than working to set the ideal price, they believe success will come from optimizing the home’s condition and presentation and then marketing it with skill and savvy.

I take the opposite belief, based on years of experience working with sellers who wanted unrealistic prices for their homes and who experienced firsttime sales failures as a result. Over my sales career, I resurrected and re-listed more than 600 expired listings—nearly 75 a year. Among all those transactions, I never met an owner with an expired listing who thought that an unreasonable price had anything to do with the home’s failure to sell. They all blamed the previous Copyright Agent Magazine Top Agent Top Magazine

agent and that person’s approach to marketing. Each sought some magic marketing strategy to change the reality of the law of supply and demand. There is a magic strategy: Price the home correctly. Price is the only factor that can overcome sales obstacles, compensate for a home’s deficiencies, and motivate a purchaser even if the condition of the property and your marketing approach is less than perfect. Getting the listing at any cost Does this scenario sound familiar? An agent (usually a newer agent) is short on business or maybe even desperate for the chance to stake a sign in someone’s yard. The agent wants a listing at any price – even if the chance 14

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to seal a deal erodes the likelihood of selling the property. To gain a seller’s nod of approval, the agent makes a flatteringly high pricing recommendation, throwing out a number the client wants to hear and then hoping something good will result from the bad situation. I can think of few examples, if any, where this philosophy works. Hope isn’t a successful pricing strategy. Worse, the please-the-client mindset is a hard one to abandon. Agents who achieve listings with unrealistic prices find it hard to later counsel their clients honestly.

If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret! The pitfalls of a “please the buyer” approach are many and significant. By overpricing, you can practically count on a reduction in your productivity, profitability, and salability, and here’s why: It’s impossible to keep your productivity high when your time is spent in conversations with an unsuccessful seller who lacks motivation to take corrective action. The seller’s negativity, concerns, and phone calls will only increase with each week or month the house remains on the market. Top Agent Magazine

As time goes on, you’ll devote more and more time unsuccessfully trying to create a sale not only for your seller but also for yourself. This will pull you away from activities that are more likely to deliver income. The ensuing frustration will de-motivate you and stunt your ability to secure better appointments that create other income opportunities. An unsold, overpriced listing negatively impacts your profitability because it costs you time and money to service while it delivers no revenue to your business. And the situation only gets worse the longer the listing languishes on the market. You’ll end up deducting the expenses of this in-limbo listing from the proceeds generated by any revenue-producing deals you manage to close in the meantime, reducing your net profit and business success. Unsold homes that linger on the market seriously diminish your salability, which is the term that describes your sales success track. Your salability is based on such key statistics as your average ratio of listing price compared to sale price and the average number of days your listings are on the market. Obviously, these statistics, which prospects rely on when choosing one agent over another, can be crushed by a “get the listings at any cost” philosophy. They’re also harmed by the “start high and reduce later” tactic. If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret! Dirk Zeller is an Agent, an Investor, and the President and CEO of Real Estate Champions. Copyright©, Dirk Zeller. All rights reserved.

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10 Seconds to Change a Habit By Barry Eisen

I’ll bet that most of the speakers you’ve heard and books you’ve read on the subject of personal development, tell you that it takes 21-30 days to change a habit. Like a wives’ tale passed on generation to generation, sometimes the story is better than the information. Clichés like, “habits are hard dying,” and “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,”etc., are primarily about protecting your ego from possible failure (psychological) and upsetting your brain in its quest to stay unchallenged and comfortable (physiological). 18

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If purpose is strong enough, shifts can happen immediately. A near death experience while driving on the freeway can make the driver quit tailgating forever. A drug overdose can have a sobering effect. Having The choice as to a new baby in the family can make a smoker stop smoking right now. whether you make Having enoughfinancial pressure, it easy or hard, like a child in the family needing fast or slow are college tuition money, can cause choicesyou get to an inconsistent salesperson to prospect consistently like their hair is make. on fire. There are lots of positive and negative motivations that can cause change instantly. When the perception of achieved pleasure is strong enough, the behavior will change. Purpose can take the form of the carrot or the stick. Some habits will never change if you perceive the end result not being worth the efforts necessary to get there. Over thinking is just another way of saying... self-sabotage. So, is there a real answer to the question, “How long does it take to change a habit or attitude?” Here’s my answer. See if it works for you. Immediately, NOW. The only time you spend on this earth is called NOW. What’s done is history. What hasn’t happened yet is the FUTURE. The only time you have to think or act is in the NOW. If you focus on the best decision in your NOW, for that moment you made a change. Make that same change again in the next NOW time, and you will have reinforced and made more comfortable the habit or attitude you are addressing. Make the same decision many times and you have the expression used by many neuroscientists that, “When brain cells fire together, they wire together.” At a certain point of critical mass (tipping point) the new behavior becomes a no-brainer... automatic. This can take a one time shift or days or weeks or...? The choice as to whether you make it easy or hard, fast or slow Top Agent Magazine

are choices you get to make. So why make things hard when you always have choice? You always have NOW. 3 Keys to Change Habits and Attitudes

When confronted with a “tough” decision (e.g.) Prospect for business or check out Facebook? - Eat this serious piece of cake or go for the fruit? - Go to the gym or turn on the TV? - Return the phone call or put it off for tomorrow? Take a deep breath and picture yourself doing what’s right, not what’s easy. Surrender the self-imposed stress you associate with the change. Let go of the history of excuses and make a better choice NOW.

Follow through with that thought (NOW), not just to make this better decision, but also to set a pattern of realizing the power you have in controlling your life. This is a simple, but valuable lesson about helping to develop confidence and a positive self-esteem. Most who go to the many varieties of therapy, usually go because of lack of control issues or self imposed victimization. Show yourself what you CAN DO.

Learn and use self-hypnosis and hypnosis to reinforce the habits you choose. In “speaking” to your subconscious mind with words, pictures and emotion, in a relaxed state of mind, you are encoding brain cells with instructions (cause). You become what you think about (effect). Hypnosis will speed up learning, whether it be specific subject matter or whether it be learning an improved habit, 2-5 times faster. Habit change doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does usually entail being Mindful. Exercise your good decision making abilities and you’ll develop a do it now attitude, improve physical health and energy, develop consistency in your business, more fully enjoy your relationships and so much more. Copyright©, Barry Eisen. All rights reserved.

Barry Eisen teaches personal development seminars and coaches Southern California top producing REALTORS®. “Your business will never grow more than you do” is the theme; self hypnosis and behavior modification are the tools for playing a bigger game. barryeisen.com, barryeisen@LA.twcbc.com 818-769-4300 20

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ANGELA ANGERS How did Angela Angers become the premier agent specializing in rural property and acreage communities in Montgomery County? In 2005, Angela was teaching at a private school when she and her husband began buying and flipping properties. “He convinced me to get my real estate license, and I did, and I’ve been in real estate ever since!” she says. Angela is a platinum agent with Covenant Realty, where she has been top agent every year for thirteen years. She serves eastern Montgomery County, including Splendora, Cleveland, Conroe, Porter, New Caney, and Kingwood. . What sets Angela apart from other agents in the area? “I am a stickler for always being available. I try to answer my phone calls immediately. I remember when my husband and I were buying our first home—we had a hard time with communication with our agent. So when I became an agent I decided I’d always respond to my clients promptly.” To stay in touch with past clients, Angela reaches out by mail, sending holiday cards, tax information, and helpful market updates. She also maintains relationships via social media.

Angela lives in a small, tight knit community and giving back is incredibly important to her. “I am very involved in the school and the community sports leagues,” she says, “even though our kids have graduated.” She volunteers time and donates money to support schools and sports teams in Splendora ISD. During Hurricane Harvey, Angela coordinated drop off points for supplies, food, and donations; and she worked closely with community leaders to make sure the supplies reached families in need. She also worked with schools to ensure they could stay open as donation drop-off points, and then with the athletic department to transport trailers of supplies from Fort Worth to shelters around the community, that in turn distributed them to those affected by the storm. In her cherished free time, Angela loves to spend time with her husband and her children. For the future, she would like to open a Covenant Realty in her hometown. With her dedication to her community and her expertise in real estate, she’s sure to make that dream a reality!

To prepare a property for listing, Angela hires a professional photographer to take high quality photos that include aerial views to showcase acreage properties. To market listings, Angela mails handwritten, personalized letters. “It takes a little more time to handwrite letters, but people respond to the care and attention,” she says. She posts all listings on numerous real estate websites and conducts a thorough marketing campaign via social media. She also contacts clients, other realtors or people in her large sphere of influence that might be interested in the property. After working with Angela, her clients rave that she is accessible anytime of day. They love the combination of her can-do attitude and laidback demeanor, which always puts them at ease during what can be a stressful transaction. “I tend to stay friends with most of the people I work with,” Angela says. “I’m personable.” What is Angela’s favorite part of her job? “The people that I meet!” she says. “I also like the satisfaction I get from being competitive in the market and being an agent other people call and ask questions of. I’ve been doing it long enough that people look to me for advice and guidance.” She loves being part of her clients’ experience of buying a home, which is one of the Big Five life events. Top Agent Magazine

To find out more about

ANGELA ANGERS, email angie@kingwoodhomes.com or call 832 - 512 - 7297. You can also check her out online at har.com/angieangers www.

Five Ways To Increase Your Commission By Walter Sanford

Sanford Systems has the best systems for making money in real estate. Sometimes, our clients forget how to stop discounting and to instead raise their “fee.” This month, we’ll cover five ideas. Here we go:

Raise it. Before the listing appointment, fill out all paperwork with the new rate and make it business as usual. Scared? Well, make a great listing presentation. Don’t leave until you get the objection. Learn how to overcome the objection. If you have to, drop it back down to your old retail rate but only after much hesitation.

Email new listings. Send new listings to your database immediately, hours before it hits the MLS. This is a two-fer: #1 - Keep your database informed with secret, prelisting information that they are reluctant to spam and in the email tell them to forward this hot info to their sphere. #2 - You make more double ends with new people.

Institute a cancellation fee. Many agents allow sellers to cancel listings with a guarantee stating

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they can cancel if they are not happy with the process. If you offer this guarantee, you will always be worried about offending sellers who are serial cement heads with a bent toward overpricing. You won’t try hard enough to get the price reduction, thinking they are going to cancel the listing. On the other hand, sometimes sellers have a legitimate reason for needing to cancel, and, as upsetting as that is, you can’t sell a property that the seller does not want sold. Offer them an out and you get paid for your time, while working with a chance to get the listing back. “I offer an ‘any reason to cancel’ clause. It is $1000 in the first month and goes up an additional $500 a month after that. (Adjust for your price range.) It is fully refundable should you ever re-list the property with me and I am successful in contributing to its close.”

Gain limited partnership as commission. I carried many of my commissions due from builders as a limited partnership interest in their next project, rather than giving them discounts.

Skip the discounts. Instead of discounts, carry your commission as part of any seller carry back. It is better than taking a beating on the amount. I coach top agents on a limited basis. If you are interested in coaching or a speaking engagement, please call our office at 800.792.5837. Be sure to ask about the half-off sale on our already discounted internet prices for training systems. Don’t re-invent the wheel. Use 30 years of real estate wisdom and experience to your benefit! Copyright©, Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.

Walter Sanford has been designing and implementing real estate systems for 30 years. One of the most successful REALTORS® and now wealthy from his systems, Sanford teaches his systems and strategies through his products, seminars, and personal coaching producing the best results in the industry. Do what works, do what is proven. Hire Walter Sanford. Call our office at 800.792.5837, email walter@waltersanford.com, or chat with us online at www.waltersanford.com. Top Agent Magazine

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