KGCI: Real Estate on Air - Ten Steps for Realtors - Turning Relationships Into Referrals Part 2

Episode Date: June 10, 2024

Are you ready to generate way more leads with way less struggle? I have great news for you. I'm now accepting new students into high performance agent Academy. Inside the Academy, you'll get eight months of customized support from me and get access to my entire playbook. Sales, marketing, social media, systems, all of it ready for you to copy and paste right into your business. Check the show notes for the link to learn more. We start on May 1st. Hey, my name's Tina Belivo, and I am obsessed with all things real estate, growth, marketing, social media, technology, and team building. If you're an ambitious agent who's hungry to grow, work on your own terms, and build a thriving life outside of your business, this is the podcast for you. I got into real estate when I was 18 years old and grew my business from nothing through referrals and social media.

And since then, I've built a top performing team and I've sold over 1,700 homes. and $400 million in sales volume. In this podcast, I keep it real, and I tell you exactly what I'm doing to sell tons of houses, lead my team, market my brand, grow my social following and database, and maintain incredible work-life balance. I'll never shy away from sharing my biggest mistakes

as well as the juiciest parts of my secret sauce. Pull up a seat and get ready to learn and be inspired. This is the high-performance agent podcast with Tina Belabow. So we've talked about steps one through five, adding to your CRM, friending them or following them on whatever social platform is you're choosing. A monthly quality email that is about your personality, your personal brand, your local expertise, and that would appeal to people whether they want to buy or sell right now. And then the home value email, any homeowner is interested in knowing what their houses were. and then the fifth piece of having at least two events a year, if not more. And sometimes don't forget about just joining someone else's event and like co-branding it so that you can really like hack the time and energy that would be required.

So then from there, it gets into things that are a little bit more of like a deeper layer. Yeah, the deeper layers. And like, okay, what's important to you and like how do you connect with people and how do you build? So the first one is taking the connection that I have with people on social media and then deepening it. So one of the ways that I do that as like a habit, like once or twice a day, I go through my Instagram stories and I don't just heart. Sometimes I do that, but I actually write something to people and just start conversations in the private inbox, whether it's on Facebook or on Instagram. So I just, and I'm strategic about strategic in the sense of like, if I see a client posting something and I feel authentically like interested or wanting to cheer them on or whatever the case may be, like I just continue the conversation. So it's a great tool for me, especially having a team.

Like I was just right before we pressed record for the podcast, I was DMing with a past client who just bought a house. She bought and sold with our team. She worked with one of my team members. I haven't physically seen her in real life in years, but were like so closely connected on social media. I posted about what color I was going to paint a cabinet in my new house. Then she sent me pictures of her house. And that all was like a very quick interaction in, you know, in my inbox. And for me, that's like the ultimate way.

I'm at a point even where like texting is overwhelming. Do you feel that way? Like your text inbox is just like so full. Yes. So I kind of love that like my messenger and. DM box is where I really just like connect with people. And then I also don't feel like there's as much like time urgency to get back. I just, I get to it when I can. Some days I'm really on it. And sometimes I like fall way behind and like follow back up with people later. That's actually so

true that you say the urgency. I just did something the other day. Like if you're looking how to create conversation, I love doing polls or like asking people's opinions. And it's great because they interacted, but then like it takes the pressure off of you of like reaching out. And then it's like, it's just so fun, like, to have that conversation. And I did something. And I don't think, I think I went back two days later and reconnected with everybody about that. Like, there is really no pressure to do that follow up instantly. Yeah. And I think what's so powerful about what you just said, I was like, oh, yeah, polls. Like, they've been an Instagram story feature for what, five years. Like, I know I've been using them for like a relatively long time. It's just like

email. Like, it can seem tired because we've been doing it for a long time. And but these tools really, really work when you use them. And especially when you find the way. Like, so you might enjoy the polls right now and for whatever reason, like, although I did just do a poll today, but I hadn't in like a long time. I find it very easy to kind of respond to what I see, to not even create the content. So I have so much activity that I don't have to create content and design anything. Like I just respond to what people are posting. And those are the relationships that are just easiest for me to nurture because we're on the same level. They like to be on Instagram. So do I. They want to post stories about their kids and their house and their job and whatever.

Like, I want to talk about that. So I, yeah, I just like, I go, I meet people where not just where they are, but where I am. And then I'm not like working outside of my strength zone to form bonds. Like I have, I have this one friend, Kate, like we have a similar mutual circle of friends. We used to see each other, person, but now we've both had babies and like, we're never in the same place anymore, but we have, like, such a deep Instagram relationship. And it's just funny. Like, as she's coming to my event on Friday, but I was, like, laughing with her, I was like, I can't believe I get to actually see you, you know? And she's been one of my most supportive clients and referral sources. But that's just a byproduct of the fact that we really, really like each other and just see a lot the same way.

So that's step six is like I use social media to start conversations, DM, P.Ms. Sometimes if something's really high level, like, exciting, I will take it to text. Although, again, I've really just owned that my text inbox is like a lot for me at this point. But yeah, if you have a baby or something major is going on, then that's where I might like take it, you know, outside of social media and like use that as like a conversation starter or a way to connect. So I think for me, I just have a habit of replying to stories. So I think my invitation to anyone and listening is like, what's your thing? Especially, I think a lot of people I talk to, they really don't like posting. They don't know what to say. They don't want to share.

They don't want to put pictures of their kids up. All these things that are like so valid and I really understand it so well. So then how can you respond to other people? Everyone's interested in themselves more than anything, right? Be interested in them. Yeah, exactly. That's step six. Start conversations. And like you did it, you're using a platform and you're using it purposefully. So like you said, you have to do like what's good for you, but like you do it with intention and purpose of, you know, wanting to build rapport and be connected. And I love that. Yeah. And it's not all canny. It's not all just like, oh, how am I going to build a relationship with you and get a referral? Like that's not my thought process. But my systems really aid in that.

And then beyond that, I just get to form a lot of like friendships and relationships and find ways to give. Right. Like I love being everyone's, I use this hashtag sometimes Tina's tips. Like I want to tell you where to, you know, the cute new place that opened up to eat. I want to tell you about the dog trainer I just tried. And the new dog walker who's so lovely. And like, like, I like being that kind of resource of people. And social media really like fuels that. And then that generosity definitely like feedback into my business. Comes around 100%. Yes. Okay. I love it. This is great. And then my seventh strategy is something that I implemented in 2020. And I've recorded a separate. episode on this is I started a private Facebook group for all of my past clients specifically. Just your past clients. Just my past clients. And you don't have to do it that way. But that's what felt right to me. In case you missed it, high performance agent Academy is officially open for new students and we start on May 1st. Do you feel frustrated by making slow progress, sick of your systems and CRM being a mess, lonely and tired of figuring out how to grow your business on your own, And are you ready for a breakthrough in your sales, marketing, and lead generation?

First of all, you're not alone. I have been there. And I've blazed the trail to solve all of those problems. I've assembled every single system, template, and marketing strategy I use so you can copy and paste them right into your business. If you're ready to transform everything about your real estate business, this is your golden opportunity. I will walk alongside you for the rest of 2024 and help you plug these systems

directly into your business, and we will customize every element to your market, your brand, your voice, and your goals. High performance agent academy starts on May 1st, and I don't want you to miss the boat. Head to the show notes to get the link or DM me on Instagram at Tina Bellevaux, and I'll send you everything you need. See you in the academy. What about referrals, so if I wasn't a past client, but I refer you a lot. Yeah, I do have a lot of my advocates in there. My systems have been kind of geared towards getting past clients all in one place. And it came from a very specific need. In 2020, I was rebooting my team. I'd had a team for five years. I was learning this lesson that when agent, when people in my sphere

worked with other team members and then those other team members moved on, I was losing the future business in some cases, just by virtue of having a team and having some people depart. So for me, the Facebook group came from a very specific decision of, I want to have a connection with everyone who buys ourselves with TVG now and ongoing and not try and like catch them years later if and when I have another agent departure. So the Facebook group was formed for a bunch of reasons. That was one of them. Also COVID. And I was like, can't have an event. What am I going to do instead? And that like led to this whole thing. So now being 2024, do you find it still very successful. Yes. It's not something that I utilize as often, but I have found that people regularly

use it as a resource. The number one thing my clients do in there is ask for a contractor referral or a vendor of some kind. And I love that. And I think it's interesting because some of those people don't know me as well or they were referred by someone who knows me, but then they worked with someone else in my team. It's a place and a forum that to them feels like an appropriate way to like tap into us without maybe bothering someone they don't know as well. So I just think it creates like a really comfortable avenue for people to ask questions. And then there's a lot that I do with the group. I use it to crowdsource information. I did a poll in there. And I put it on my Instagram story too a few weeks ago and said, I think I want to have a cookie decorating party

for our clients. Would anyone come? And if so, would you come as just you or would you want to bring your kids. And my poll got a lot of activity on Instagram, but it got even more in the Facebook group. Because that's my, the people who are in my, we have 300 some people in that group. I was going to ask how many. Yeah. They all want to be there. Like, you have to opt in to be in a Facebook group now. It's not like you can just get added to one. So they all ask to be in it. We can't add you. So, or I can add you, but you're like, don't really end up in the group until you confirm. Yeah. So we have like a system where when they're under contract, they get two different touches reminding them to like join the group if they would like to be part of it.

So that's where the group has grown just by having all of my amazing like email templates and systems for the contract. I know this is probably a silly question, but I'm thinking it. So I hope that means that somebody else is thinking. What if I had like, you know, if I'm newer in the business and I only have, you know, 20 or even 50 past clients, which is great. Like, do you think it's still worth starting up a group and grow from there? Or do you feel like you have to have an abundance of people in this group? Oh, it's a really good question. Number one, absolutely, you can start your group with five people. Because I say this with love to myself and others all the time. No one cares but you. So no one's going to join and be like, oh my God, Laura only has 20 people in here. Right? And if they are, like, they must not like you very much and they probably shouldn't be there anyway. Right. So I think it's good to start with where you are. And but more importantly, I'm like, is this the layer in the,

the 10-layer cake we're talking about today that needs attention next. At that moment in my business, it did address a lot of needs because I needed to get back in touch with past clients. I wanted to solve the problem I already described just now about team member departures and all of that. And I couldn't have events at the time. So I used the group for those reasons. So it's, you know, again, I would just say this may or may not apply right now. If you want a deep dive it, definitely go back in the episode archive. And there's, there are two different podcast episodes, It's one about creating a digital farm and one about creating a community group for your clients. And that's what I'm talking about here.

So I love that group because I use it for the extra touches. So if I want to remind people about the cookie decorating party, instead of emailing them for the third time and having them opt out, I can just do a social media post and be like, by the way, like deadline to RSVP is such and such. Or there's only three seats left or, oh my gosh, I decided to bring a florist. We're going to have flowers and we're going to give away two bouquets. So that's where you can really do the like the follow up and the reminding and the conversion. And Facebook is awesome because it allows links on like Instagram. So it's a little easier to get people to like fill out a forum or lead capture or take action unless you have like the whole like comment for this. And some people don't want to comment.

Right. They just want to click and do something privately without like showing up in the comment feed. 100%. We're going. Okay. All right. I love it. Let's keep going.

Yeah. Okay. Okay. So we're kind of like step, we've jumped over the step of when you actually buy and sell with the team, right? Because there's like the funnel of what you do when they're a buyer and seller lead to nurture them and then kind of get through the contract or closing process and then you stay in the database overall. And that was actually something you had asked me on the side. You were like, when do you scrub people and when do you remove them from your database? Oh, yes. And for me, what I've found is, I mean, if there's someone you straight up, never want to interact with again, like absolutely remove them from your database. And once in a while, we, you know, we have an interaction or a client like that. No question. But overall, if we feel like, yeah, we'd work with them again, maybe they weren't our favorite, but we would work with them again. Like, it's fine. Like, they're in the database. And then what is helpful is I have tags assigned to everybody for what year they referred us if they did and what year they transacted with us and

whether they bought or sold. So then I can kind of tailor certain things that I do like the event invites to the kinds of audience, like the segments of the audience that I'm targeting. So again, if you had like a past client tag, then you could mass invite them all to a Facebook group with like an email or a text campaign. And that kind of feeds directly into the eighth layer, which is I do do birthday cards for all of my past clients. I just like it. I think for your past clients, you said.

For my past client. It's just a birthday card. Yeah. And it's a mailed actual birthday card. It's a software that I use that's automated. I have an episode called How to Automate and Level Up Your Client Gifts that kind of covers some of this. So I will say, I think birthdays are a really good icing on the cake to just keep one of their cake analogy. I don't think it's only a once a year touch.

So I think it's something that you kind of maybe add on later when you already have a lot of names and addresses because you need to be able to mail them. And then you need to have a way to get their birthday. So we've developed a way to, we have like a form we send our clients when we're under contract. And that was going to be one of my like bonus things I was going to say at the end here, but I'll bring it up now. We have like this VIP system. And when they're under contract, we invite them to fill this form out where they let us know what their birthday is, where their favorite restaurant is, their favorite kind of flowers. And that actually helps us figure out what kind of closing gift to give people because we tend to do a gift that's a little more customized to the client. We do a lot of things that are very like systematic otherwise. So for closing, you know, we have the time to kind of like think through that. So that's where I get birthdays. So you can kind of build your birthday database. Otherwise, the best way to get birthdays is to go through Facebook and download all your birthdays from there. It's just it's a little bit administrative. So I think it's a great touch. Chip at it, you know, like just totally. So if I'm a past client, I'm getting a birthday card. And like for you, I'm just supposed nosy because you've been in the business for so long.

Like they don't, they always get a birthday card. Like the client you sold 10 years ago, if you have the right address, they're getting a birthday card from you. Is that correct? Yep. Simple as that. Yep. Okay.

And it's just an ongoing touch. And maybe this is part of your next one, but I've heard you before with, and maybe it was your last, your previous podcast too. But I heard something about like carmels once. Like, was that for something else? Oh my gosh. Yeah. I have so many gifts that I send.

Okay. I freaking love it all. I'm not sure what the gifts are anymore. Like, because we had brownies. we had cookies. We had caramel pop bar and that's not for birthday. That's for something else. Well, you're asking about the next layer like right in time. No, no, no. It's perfect. Okay. So we were at step eight, which was birthday cards if you're a client. But if you have referred us in the last few years, which for me is like the last four years that we've kind of focused on, you also get a birthday gift,

which is. Yeah. So some people are like, oh, you only send gifts to people who refer you and not people who bought and sold. And I'm like, yep, that's the truth. voice that I made because to me, like, the referral is almost like the ultimate compliment. Well, I don't know. Build your business. Yeah. I mean, buying and selling is the ultimate compliment because you hire us. But I think for me, it's just like such a clear behavior to track and incentivize and thank and appreciate. So I basically, I have a tag for what you referred me. So I can pull my list of everyone that referred between 2022 and 2024. And then I have a software that sends them

some sweet treat. I've lost track of what I'm sending anymore because I've changed the campaigns a few different times. Which I actually like too, because I ran into that when like I did a birthday card, but I was handwriting them myself, so I need all your systems. And then I sent a little something, I sent a lot of card and I guess that's illegal, so don't do it. Really? Yeah. Oh, gosh. Okay. Do do your, do your diligence to look up to see for comfortable with it or not. But then, like, I got, I got bored. Like, I didn't want to send that to them for their next year. So I love that with the system. Like, if you choose to, you could change it up so that they're not getting the same thing. Like, I like that. Yeah. Especially if you're doing anything

manually and it gets boring, like, that's very hard to continue to carry out. And, like, our birthday cards, they're not, like, super exciting. But it's just a thoughtful touch. And, like, most people don't receive that much mail anymore that isn't a bill or junk. So it's just a nice standout. there was a time where I was trying to do four postcards a year to my database, just because postcards are the most cost effective way to just, you know, it's the lowest cost per piece. It's the lowest amount of postage. I just found that it was a little bit kind of catch as catch can with what even made sense to send everybody.

I think a postcard is really great for a client event. Invite. Yes. Love that idea. Yeah, but I found that text delivery for my events got the best response rate because people can just tap an RSVP. So that is kind of why I got away from postcards. But if you want to bring a little more mail in, you can. But mass texting is a lot cheaper than mailing. So that's why I don't do as much mail, but I do the birthday card and or the birthday gift for my recent referers.

Okay. I love that. And that brings us home to the 10th layer. To the 10th layer. Which is my home anniversary gift box. So that is a gift on your home anniversary every year. And every year. As long as you still live in the house that I sold you. Is it what, tell me, well, what can you tell me? Is it the same gift? Is it different every year? Is it Carmel's, what is it? Yeah. So it's really cool. So the software that I use is called mailbox power. And it's really, really fabulous. So I'm holding my hands up. I'm not going to waste time going to the drawer and getting it since we're recording this. But it's a really cute box that's like this like, I don't know, four by eight inches. And it has like a custom branded label on the.

the front that says like happy home anniversary and it doesn't have our logo on it but it's our colors. So it's like branded without being like the Bellevaux group. So it looks like a gift and then you open it and it has all this like colored confetti in it. And then again, I can't tell you exactly what's in it because I keep changing. Oh no, I just changed to custom sugar cookies. And they say happy homeversary on them. It's super cute. It's sugar cookies and then one other thing and then a card. So that, I think, is like $25 shipped per box for everything that's in it. So it's very cost effective for the wow factor, especially the box with the confetti. Like, it comes across like a gift and not just like a thing that came like wrapped in the mail in like packing, you know,

material. So that goes to a list of many past buyers. But if you sell with us and don't own the house anymore, I scrub the list once a year, which works well. So it's not like a huge heavy lift. So once a year and I just finally unbottlednecked myself and made a training document on it. So I have someone who's going to do that for me from now on. We scrub the list. We, you know, we delete everyone who sold. We add everyone who bought. And then we change the sweet treat so that it's not the same thing every single year for people.

It gets the most thank you. And again, I love creating the inbound communication where people are like, thank you. And I'm like, you're welcome. By the way, how are you? Can you believe it's been four years? You know, how's everything going? And then I can just, again, have that dialogue and make people feel really appreciated. Wow.

I love it. It's like simple, doable, powerful. And I like how, like, you don't have to do everything at once. There's such items in there, like, just get started. And that's just, I don't know. That's just like the blueprint that I needed. I feel like I was like throwing things at the wall, kind of doing things like maybe doing a birthday card, maybe doing a home anniversary.

And for me, you just really like solidified on how to do it consistent and how to you know, save time. Yeah. And I feel like, you know, if you've listened to all of this by now, like you've probably heard like there's a lot of thought underneath, like why I, you know, do these certain layers and like what medium I'm doing them with. For example, I added some of the mail components because I hadn't been doing mail for so long that it was sort of a way to kind of shake things up a little bit, but I was only going to do mail if it could be completely automated. So that's why I went with a platform. did and like figured all of that out. You know, the Facebook group was for a very specific purpose.

My email strategy is for a specific purpose. So I think, again, just sort of like wrap this up for anyone listening. It's just sort of thinking about what your biggest holes are. And maybe it is that you need a lot more automation. And that's where I feel like the mail system can make a lot of sense. And then also the monthly emails that give the home value update. That's the like, everyone wants to know what's the easy button, what set it and forget it. Those are usually my two recommendations. I love it. Did you share your juicy thing at the end? No. Well, I shared one of them. Okay. So the one of the juicy things was like my VIP system. So that's how I, you know, collect all the different contact information and all of that. The other thing, and I did mention this

already is charitable engagement is definitely one of my, it should probably be 12 steps to turning relationships into referrals. So kind of inviting people to be part. of what I'm doing from a charitable perspective is really just a lovely thing to do. It's very like community oriented. It's very relationship driven. So whether I'm, and I don't come at people and ask them to donate money. But like if, you know, years ago, I would organize teams for a 5k. I have this play date for a cause. I organize Christmas gifts. Yeah, the diaper drive. So, so ways for people to give that are like accessible and not feeling like you're being like hit up for like a like large amount of money or something. Or an event where you just come and hang out. We had a diaper drive

at a coffee shop last fall where the diapers were just optional because the coffee shop also donated a portion of everyone's coffee if they came and got a drink. So it's just a way for, that was like a way for moms to come and just like network and kind of learn about this organization. So that has definitely been my secret sauce to having more than two events a year where it's not a ton of time and money and like all of the planning that would go into something like a pie party or a fall fest or even the cookie decorating party. Like, you know, there's just different components. And I'm like, well, we should probably have coffee and we should probably have something for people to snack on. And then, you know, you've got like a little bit of a to do list. Whereas if you're like, hey, everyone,

I'm running in a 5K, like here's the link to join my team. Right. Like it's just much less effort and time. And then your people will be drawn to that. And the people who aren't interested won't be. And that's perfect because then you find out who your people are and then you can build on that. I love that. Yeah. And yeah, I think that's enough. So I just want to say as like a recap, we have a Facebook group that Laura and I are both in that I run called Relationship Driven Real Estate. So if you want to kind of continue this conversation, maybe unpack like which layer of the cake you want to be working on or maybe even just like leveling up a little bit.

maybe you just need to rework something or see it through a new angle. We just invite you to come chat with us. And I'm going to put some different things in the show notes with some of the resources we talked about. And I feel like today we referenced a lot of episodes in the library. So maybe just like scroll through the prior episodes if you want to dig deeper on any of this because I did a lot of very like highly tactical episodes on this. Is there anything you want to say to tie this up with a bow? No, you did it all. Okay.

All right. Well, we're done. We'll be back. And we'll talk to you all soon. Thank you so much for your time and spending your time listening to us. We really appreciate it. And we'll be back soon. I hope you enjoyed this episode of the High Performance Agent Podcast.

Make sure to subscribe by hitting the follow button so you don't miss the next episode. And check the show notes for links to all of my goodies, including my newsletter filled with tips for ambitious agents. You can also find me on Instagram at Tina Bellevue. Talk to you soon.