This week Ben spoke to Sherry about her experience and successes as a Smart Agents member.
She is using the social media website "Nextdoor" to advertise her books. She won listings from leads off of there.
The website is a place where you can register through your address. It lets neighbors connect with each other and advertise services or events.
In the interview they go over:
| Sherry:
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So, yeah. I started using Nextdoor, I want to say, I learned about it. I don't remember who I learned about it with, but I thought, "That sounds like a pretty cool tool," so I joined Nextdoor, I want to say maybe a year ago? |
| Smart Agents:
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Okay. |
| Sherry:
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And when I joined Nextdoor, it was a pretty small group of people. It was my neighborhood and maybe two other neighborhoods. So I went ahead and joined it, and just been kinda playing around with it. And I have noticed over time that the area has really grown. So now we not only have two or three neighborhoods in there, we've got several. We've got maybe six or eight different neighborhoods. |
| Sherry:
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So I just kinda post on it and converse with people, just small talk, that type of thing. |
| Smart Agents:
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Yeah. |
Sherry: |
And then certain things, people post their businesses and their services. And I know that they're kinda touchy about that, Nextdoor. So you have to be careful about what you post on it. So what I decided to do was just post a cover, I got a JPG graphic from your office and I just posted the cover of it, and I just said on there, I said, "If anyone's looking to sell their home and looking for the most amount of money, I have a book that I have offered, and I'll go ahead and put it in the documents section," so it's a living article for me all the time. |
If someone goes into the documents section, that way it doesn't go away just as a post. So I got a response right away. Right away. And this guy said "Hey, I'd like a copy of your book." Didn't know who he was, didn't know anything about him. So I sent him a private message, and I just said, "Oh great, I would love to drop off a copy." |
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So he gave me his address and I dropped off a copy. And I didn't have his phone number, I just dropped off a copy, dropped off the marketing packet that you guys provide, along with it. And I have the clear envelopes, and I put my whole marketing materials in there along with the book. And I laid back, I didn't bother him, and I gave him a couple of weeks. And I sent him another private message, and I just said, "Hey, I'm contacting you to follow up. Did you have a chance to look at the book?" |
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And he said, "Yes. I read it cover-to-cover." I'm like, oh wow. He read it cover-to-cover. And I'm like, great. |
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So I said, "Do you have any questions?" And he said, "No, I'm thinking of selling my home, check back with me later." |
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Okay, no problem. So I gave it another two weeks. I sent him another private message and I just said, "Just checking in how things are going, did you have any questions about the book or selling your home?" And he said, "I think I'm ready." He goes, "You contacted me just at the right time, because I've been thinking about contacting you." |
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So the timing was good, because I wasn't forceful. It was just sporadic, staying in touch. And it was all through private messaging. It wasn't on the wall or anything so other agents could see it. |
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And then I scheduled an appointment with him, and he said that he read the book cover to cover and he was really impressed. And he said, "I was going to hire the agent that sold me this house, and you really know what you're talking about, so I want to hire you." |
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And I'm like, great. So we went ahead and sat down and talked about his needs and what his goals were, and I brought the listing agreement with me, I didn't even know if he would sign it that day, because it was that first meeting. And it was a long meeting, it was probably about an hour.Which is no problem, I don't mind taking an hour to meet with someone. And then I didn't push him, I wasn't forceful, but by the end of our meeting he said, "You really know what you're talking about, I want to get this sold, and you're the right person to hire." So he signed the listing agreement. |
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| Smart Agents:
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Wow. That's really good. Okay. |
| Sherry:
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He looked at everything, yeah. |
| Smart Agents:
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The biggest question, it's weird. I talked to the realtor in Oklahoma, I talked to him an hour ago. I'm in Colorado, so everybody else has to do your time change things, so it was, what is it, 1 o'clock there? |
| Sherry:
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Yes. |
| Smart Agents:
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Okay. So it was noon your time. I'm trying to get them all making sense. And he said he went up to a FSBO, he drove past, he stopped, he's like, "Hi, I'm not a sales person, I'm not buying anything, I just want to give you a copy of my book that will make it easier to sell your house. Call me if you need anything," and like turned and got out of there. Didn't hang out or anything. |
| So obviously there's something to that approach, which is different from what most realtors do, which is a whole nother story for another day. I probably do the way more aggressive approach myself, so. | |
| Sherry:
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Okay. |
| Smart Agents:
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Something to learn there. |
| Sherry:
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Yeah. |
| Smart Agents:
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But the biggest things that agents are wondering what to do. So if I was to post on Nextdoor, is it kinda like posting on Facebook? Obviously I sound like a moron because I've never done it. Do you just have a picture of your book and then some text, "Thinking of selling your house, get a free copy of my book" or something like that? |
| Sherry:
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Yeah. All I said was, a complimentary copy of my book. And it was really short and simple. "If you want to sell your home for more money, ask for a complimentary copy of my book." And that was pretty much it. Very short. |
| Smart Agents:
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"If you want to sell your house for more money." |
| Sherry:
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Yeah. It was pretty short and sweet. And then I just posted a JPG. If you don't use a graphic, it doesn't grab people's attention as much. |
| Smart Agents:
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Yep. That's true. |
| Sherry:
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so I just posted a graphic of the front cover, and then I stuck it in the documents section, instead of just a general post. Because that way, if anyone is browsing around, they're gonna find that. There's not many things in the documents section, so if people are browsing around and just getting to know Nextdoor, there's only maybe three articles posted in the documents section. |
| So it's always gonna be there. Rather than just a fee, then it goes away. | |
| Smart Agents:
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So if you post it in the documents section, it'll be there for a while then. |
| Sherry:
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Yeah. I don't know if they ever take it down. It'll just be there. |
| Smart Agents:
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Oh wow. |
| Sherry:
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So it's like a running ad for me all the time. so, I haven't gotten any other people asking about it, but when people are browsing around, it's gonna catch their attention, because of the graphic. The cover is that pink and blue striped one, kinda bright. So I use the bright graphic, the cover that's kinda bright pink. |
| Smart Agents:
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Yeah. I know which one you're talking about. If I was to do the books again I probably would use that cover, if it's the same one I'm thinking of. |
| Sherry:
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Okay. So that was it. And we're closing on Friday. |
| Smart Agents:
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And it's located in Menifee? |
| Sherry:
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It's located just outside of Menifee in an area called Quail Valley. |
| Smart Agents:
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Oh, cool. Okay. |
| Sherry:
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Yeah. |
| Smart Agents:
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So have you gotten any other business from the books besides this listing? |
| Sherry:
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Well, I think I have, but I don't know if it's a direct result of it. |
| Smart Agents: | Yeah. |
| Sherry:
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I'm not really sure. I didn't get another listing. I have the listing right now. I met the people, they called me about a property I had on the market. |
| Smart Agents:
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Okay. |
| Sherry:
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Little senior home. And they called me and they wanted to take a look at it. And when I met them at that house, I had my marketing packet because she had mentioned to me that they need to sell their home. |
| Smart Agents:
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Okay. |
| Sherry:
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So I had my marketing packet with me, plus a copy of the book. And when I met them to show them my listing, I gave that to them at the same time. "Hey, here's some marketing material, here's a copy of the book. Please take a look at it, I know you mentioned that you're thinking of selling, let me know if you have any questions." |
| So I did get that listing, and I stayed in touch with them, and hopefully that one's gonna sell. The appraiser just came in. The appraisal's lower than what they wanted, so I don't know if they're going to continue with it, I'm hoping they do. But I do believe that that had something to do with it, the book and the marketing packet, yeah. | |
| Smart Agents:
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Okay. So it helped you with the conversion there, yeah. |
| Sherry:
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I believe so, yes. |
| Smart Agents:
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Yeah. I understand. Okay. And then, have you gotten any buyer business or any other traffic besides that? |
| Sherry:
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Well, I didn't order any of the books looking at buyers. I don't have any of those books at the moment, so that's not something that I've branched out to. Mainly listing. |
| Smart Agents:
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Yeah. We all want more listings. |
| Sherry:
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I try to be. |
| Smart Agents:
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I remember I worked with an agent who just did listings when I first started, 15 years ago. And he wouldn't even call buyers back, he was horrible at buyers. But he would call sellers back, it was crazy. He would make lots of calls to sellers every day but wouldn't call buyers back, he wouldn't even return their phone calls. Horrible. |
| Anyways, that's another story for another day. Are you using the books pretty intensely? How many have you given away so far? | |
| Sherry:
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I believe I've only given away, I just placed a pretty large order, and I've given away what I had. I think my first order, I ordered the, I don't know, 25 books or something? |
| Smart Agents:
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Oh okay, so 25 books. |
| Sherry:
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I think it was like 25 books or something like that. So now I placed an order for 100 books, yeah. I have a combination of FSBOs, buyers, and then also how to sell your home for more money. So I have a combination of them now. |
| And I saw someone's idea on the Facebook page. And what they did, is they put together a gift bag, so I started doing that. So if I call someone and have a conversation with them, and as a follow-up, I put it in a bright gift bag, and I roll up my marketing plan, and I stick a flower out of the bag, and then the book. And it's just a nice, bright gift that someone gets when they get home, and I just hang it on the door. | |
| So yeah, it's just something different than just a packet. |
What if you left a book that you were the author of with these owners?
Books have a huge perceived value. They don’t get thrown away.
They can get tucked away somewhere, but most people aren’t going to toss them in the trash. They’re worth something, and they’re worth something to the author’s name.
Do this and you will position yourself as the authority in your market. When you give away your book, it will separate you from your competition.
That’s how a Smart Agent thinks!
Want to get a free sample of the book that will get you more listings? Click the link below.