Why You Need Professional Photography for Your Listings

If you're not using professional photography for your listings, you're behind the times and you're not doing your clients justice. Here's why.

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Too often, I see horrible photography presenting properties for sale. As a real estate professional, you probably already know that 95% of people search for homes online. Did you also know that 50% of buyers find homes they want to look at on their own?

Now buyers show up to our office with a listing on Zillow that they want to see. We use to be the gatekeepers of all that information. Now that buyers have Zillow and all the similar websites, everybody has access to the same information. Presenting your seller’s home online is probably the most important thing you can do in today's market. You want to draw the client in.

If you show up to take photos with a little digital camera or your iPhone, I'm going to eat your lunch. It's not OK! There are so many professional photographers who can show your properties in a better way.

Think about it as if you're buying a car—two models are the same and have the same mileage but one's dirty and the other is freshly detailed. Which one would you be willing to spend more money on? The one that's cared for better! The same goes for real estate—you need great, professional photography, video tours, matterport tours, or whatever it is that clients are looking for today online to present the property in the best fashion.

You're not doing your client justice if you're not using professional photography.

If you're still trying to cut corners but not using professional photography, you're not doing justice to your client. If you're not doing this or you're not selling enough listings to make it happen, maybe it's time to join a team that will work with you and has already vetted all the best photographers in town and knows where to get the best prices.

Hopefully, this has changed your mind if you're still not taking professional photos because you just can't get away with it anymore. If you have any questions for me about improving your career or you'd like to learn more about my team, give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd love to hear from you!

What Basketball Taught Me About Team Building

In our business, the difference between winning and losing boils down to the kind of people that we have around us.

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Do you have the right people around you?

I started thinking about this topic just the other day as I was coaching one of my son’s basketball teams. I have two sons, and I’ve been coaching both of their teams for years now. I’ve tried to step back a couple times, but every time I do, something pulls me back in. Some of these teams I’ve won championships with. Some I went winless with.

A couple of weeks ago while I was watching my younger son’s team play, I started to think about how this ties into real estate. You see, my son’s team is undefeated right now and we have a good shot at a championship. The last couple of years, though, I’ve been the coach of teams that couldn’t scratch together a single win. What causes that kind of disparity?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that it has everything to do with the dynamics of the kids involved. By that I mean the chemistry of the team itself—both how they work together and how they enjoy their time.

What kind of team are you on?

Try and assimilate that logic into what you are doing as an agent. Do you have one of those “fun” teams that does nothing regarding business and instead prioritizes having a good time, or do you have one of those teams where everybody is out there being successful without you to the point that you feel left out?

I think being successful in life means including a little bit of both. We always want to feel like we belong to the group, and real estate is a very lonely business, but we also need to find success. We need to find success not only with our companies, but with our families as well.

As we end 2016 and look forward to 2017, I think you should stop and ask yourself two questions:

1. Am I achieving the kind of success I want?
2. How much of that has to do with the people around me?

Is your team friendly but not results-oriented, or are they only results-oriented and unfriendly? In my opinion, it varies all the time, whether it’s coaching basketball or coaching a real estate team. It has everything to do with how we interact with each other, how we enjoy our time, and what our definition of success is.

I hope that at the end of 2016, you can look back and say that you’re 8-0. As we know, it’s not fun to be on the losing side in this business.

If you’re not winning now but you think you have the ability and might just be on the wrong team, I’d love it if you gave me a call or sent me an email. I wish you great success!

Are You Happy With 2016?

The two months left in 2016 may seem like a lot of time, but 2017 will be here before you know it. Did you meet your goals? What do you need to improve? I'll explain why now is the time to look ahead to 2017.

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As we approach the end of 2016, I want to use this installment of our career video blog to focus on 2017.

A lot of agents think that with two months left in the year, there is a lot of business yet to be done. Keep in mind, though, that we have two major holidays in that time frame. If you're working with a buyer, you really only have about two weeks to get them under contract to have any hope of closing before the end of the year. Right now is the time to really work on getting your business plan for 2017 together.

I can't stress enough how much you should focus on what you'll do to improve. How did your year go? Did it work out the way you expected? I can tell you, with the 87% failure rate in real estate, the majority of agents would probably answer 'no.' That doesn't mean that you're in the wrong business or even on the wrong track, although it could mean that you're working with the wrong team or company.

Don't wait for the end of December to think about your goals for 2017.

There are a lot of great opportunities out there in real estate, and unfortunately, I think there are some great people out there who won't stick with it and will lose traction. As you go forward, don't wait until the end of December to think about the processes and marketing skills that you need to improve upon. Where do you want to go with your business? What kind of market share should you go after? Do you have a database, or are you working off a paper pad?

I think that The 10X Rule is a great book to read. The reality of this book says that to achieve anything you want to do, you have to put 10 times the effort toward it. If you didn't achieve your goals for 2016 or you fell a bit short, then 2017 might be time to ramp it up 10x.

If you're with the wrong team or the wrong company, it might be time to talk with a different company. That could be our team, which is team-based and can help you through a lot of those growing pains, or another team that fits you better.

I hope you have an amazing end to 2016! If you have any questions for me or you're interested in learning more about our team, give me a call or send me an email soon. I hope to hear from you!