Stuart Neal's Real Estate Blog - Careers Guidance

How Big Should Your Database Be?

Your database should be a place that you spend several hours in a day. Its at the very core of your client pipeline, but show big should it be?

Someone called Dunbar (an anthropologist I believe) has suggested that the maximum number of people with whom you can maintain a meaningful relationship is 150 people. A group bigger than this simply unmanageable for most people.

What do you do if your database is bigger than that? On our team we send out regular and valuable content several times a week to our much larger database and many of these folks come into our inner circle of their own volition when they are ready.

How should you segment your 150 person database?

Create 2 groups. A Hot List and a Warm List.

Hot List

Your Hot List…

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What does Randy Agustin think about Ambergate Realty Advisors Team?

A little over 3 months ago Randy Agustin joined our team. Randy has successfully passed his probation program and is now a fully-fledged Advisor / Partner.

I have been impressed by Randy’s commitment to his craft. Randy has showed up to his work with determination and grit. Randy has demonstrated a strong commitment to the wellbeing of his clients, and this is precisely what makes for an ‘Ambergate Realty Advisor’.

I asked Randy about his experiences so far. His answers follow:

1.  Why did Randy decide to join the Ambergate Realty Advisors Team?

• Stuart’s close mentorship.
  
  
• The open and friendly team culture.
  
  
• The coaching and development program for a new REALTOR® like me.

2.  What does Randy have to say about his experience…

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3 Things to Consider When Calling Prospects

Enthuse

Start by preparing for the call and have a clear understanding of the purpose of the call. This will help you feel more confident and in control of the conversation.

Practice your introduction and opening statement. Make sure you have a strong opening that clearly communicates the purpose of your call and captures the attention of the person on the other end. Avoid talking too much about the house they looked at on your website.

Broaden the discussion right away by asking what strategies they have employed or plan to use in order to find their next home.

Use a friendly and confident tone of voice. Avoid sounding monotone or robotic, as this can make you come across as disinterested or lacking enthusiasm.

Sharp as a Tack

Use…

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3 Ways to be Relevant in 2023

2022 was a mad year.

If you were helping home buyers, for most of the year the main concern was finding a good home and ensuring your client was the first buyer to secure it and hopefully without paying far too much. Or you were in multiple offer situations, and you needed good strategies to emerge as the winner.

All that’s changed now.

Supply of homes and condos for sale has come up to normal levels and buyer demand has backed off.

Prices have moderated. Single family homes can be purchased for far less than in the spring and condos have been trading at stable prices all year.

Interest rate increases is now the topic on most peoples minds and many buyers are worried about expensive mortgage payments and a market crash.

Many buyers…

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It Matters Who Says It

Think back to your own experience. If someone tells you something, do you immediately accept it or believe it?

Probably not.

But what happens if you are asked to gather a several pieces of information and then formulate it into a conclusion and you say it out loud?

You are much more likely to believe it, if you came up with the idea.

Now put yourself in your clients shoes.

You can lecture them, you can provide ‘your opinion’, or you can tease them through the process of self-discovery by asking great questions and helping them to piece together a good answer.

Practice this approach the next time you are in a discovery consultation with a prospective client.

Ask far more questions. Don’t be quick to offer your opinion.

Help…

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Are You a Listener or a Talker?

Many of us REALTORS have a lot of experience when it comes to buying or selling homes. We have a ton of information to share.

Many of us REALTORS® are outgoing and friendly. We like to talk.

Is it a good idea to talk a lot and just share our knowledge in order to educate our prospective clients?

I don’t think so. Here is my suggestion.

Talk less. Listen more. That’s right. Talk less and listen more.

What kind of home your client should buy, or how they should go about it, might seem obvious to you, but it’s not to them.

Most folks in Edmonton move every 10 years. They don’t have the same knowledge or objectivity that you have.

Moving for them is a massive upheaval. The entire family will be off balance and buying home carries a…

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Introducing Randy Agustin

Randy joined us a few weeks ago and already he has made a meaningful impact.

Randy has successfully guided a number of clients toward their goal of home ownership and helped others explore their home selling options too.

Randy’s background in supply chain and operations management truly shows. He is organized, proactive, methodical and trustworthy in his approach to interactions with his clients and prospective clients.

When he’s not working, Randy likes to spend time with his family and their dog. Randy also likes to visit the gym and eat good food. One of his personal goals is to attend an MMA gym one day.

Randy also has an interest in real estate investing and is committed to sharing his knowledge to help others who are on a similar…

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10 Simple Steps to Home Ownership in 2023

Its easy to get confused. There is so much information available to you on the internet that many people get overwhelmed and procrastinate often to their detriment later.

Some people wait for home prices to come down when in fact they go up, Others wait for a better interest rate than the one offered now and at the time of writing our government is planning to increase them again to calm down an overheating economy,

The best time to buy a home is when you are ready.

When you can commit to one home for the next 3 or possibly 5 years and in many cases longer.

That is the time to buy a home.

Let us examine the 10 steps you might wish to follow. I like to call this “The Ambergate Method”. All members of my team will encourage you to follow…

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3 Reasons Not to Mentally Retire Right Now

How was your year? Did you exceed your goals? Meet your goals? Or miss them?

No matter how the first 3 quarters went for you, there’s still lots of time to serve clients and bring in some business before the end of the year.

How do we know this? Three reasons.

First, based on last year’s numbers, there will be more than 3900 sales recorded on the MLS system by December 31st, 2022. You can participate in the market if you reach out to it.

Second, the most active group of buyers are those I like to call the “We want to be home by Christmas crowd”. These are the folks that missed out in the spring, they procrastinated, or they were waiting for prices to come down. The stats show that in most years there is one month during the last quarter…

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4 Reasons to Buy a Home During Halloween

If you can overlook some of the gorier decorations that some folks install, searching for a home during Halloween can be a great time to really learn about a community and the folks that live in it.

Perhaps, the home you have your eye on has lots of decorations? This could signal that the owner is fastidious in other areas of their life like home maintenance. Worth noting.

Driving down the street and noticing how many decorations are in place, or the quality of the work could also suggest the level of commitment your prospective neighbours have to the general wellbeing of the area.

A street with no decorations, suggests an isolated group of people who don’t communicate with each other.

A street awash with complementary decorations that…

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