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REality
Welcome to the REality podcast--the best podcast for real estate agents. Join us each episode as we talk with industry experts and top producing real estate agents to peel back the curtain and reveal what it takes to make it in today's ultra competitive real estate business. This is real life, in real time, sharing real experiences of industry professionals to help both new and seasoned agents achieve their goals and realize their potential. Are you ready to take your real estate business to the next level? Let's get started now. Sign up for Gary's weekly FOCUS newsletter, delivered right to your inbox each Monday morning: https://mailchi.mp/e3771e6a2516/focus-email
REality
Mastering the Market: Pricing Psychology and Client Relationships
What does it take to thrive in real estate for over three decades? Robin DiBuono pulls back the curtain on her remarkable 33-year journey that began when she was just 21 years old and still finishing college.
From humble beginnings helping her future husband with paperwork to building a successful family business, Robin shares the principles that have guided her through recessions, market booms, and technological revolutions. Her refreshingly practical approach centers on three core tenets: showing up consistently ("every day is game day"), being thoroughly prepared, and demonstrating resilience through market fluctuations.
Robin's pricing philosophy stands out as particularly valuable in today's evolving market. She explains why "pricing overcomes all objections" and reveals her strategy of calling agents with pending sales to uncover transaction details most agents miss. This commitment to deeper market intelligence has given her listings a competitive edge for decades.
Perhaps most surprising is Robin's dedication to geographic farming—maintaining three neighborhood territories, one since 1991—in an era when many agents chase quick digital wins. Her story of a client who kept her postcard for nine years before listing demonstrates the compounding returns of consistency and patience.
The conversation also explores family dynamics in real estate, with two of Robin's children now working in the business. Her daughter Kristen handles their social media ("for job security," Robin laughs), highlighting the value of leveraging team strengths rather than trying to master everything yourself.
Whether you're new to real estate or a seasoned professional, Robin's insights offer a blueprint for sustainable success that balances timeless fundamentals with adaptability to change. Want to build a business that thrives through any market? Start by treating every interaction like game day.
Welcome to Reality Podcast. I'm your host, gary Scott, and today we have a treat, robin DeBono. Good morning, robin. How are you? Great Good morning to you. I love saying good morning, even though our listeners may listen at all times of the day, but it is fairly early on Monday, august 25th, and so Robin and I are starting our week talking about the real estate business today and the real estate business as she and I see it going forward. So one of the things that I like to do, robin, is I take a look at your bio and I love your summary, and your summary says I enjoy my work and I love helping other people achieve their dreams.
Speaker 2:I love that. Thank you, yes, I like to help people.
Speaker 1:Well, it's funny, I always say to people about our business it's not really about houses, right, it's about people and education. Let's go back a little bit. Let's talk about Robin. Got into the real estate business when 1991. So that puts you, at 34 years, a couple of questions. I always love this one what did you do prior to real estate?
Speaker 2:So my story is probably a little interesting. I was a senior in college at Old Dominion University when I got my real estate license. So I was 21 years old, so I was very young for the time to get a real estate license. Most of the agents at that time were second careers and, you know, had retired from one profession. But I actually probably started working at 13, very young.
Speaker 2:My family was always everybody in my family was self-employed. My grandfather had a big fence company, my dad had a fence company, my aunt grandmother owned a boutique and clothing stores and shoe stores. So at a very young age I went to work at 13. So I was, I remember I didn't particularly, I wasn't particularly fond of it as a child. You know, always being in the, you know different businesses. I was a basketball player and my grandmother would come pick me up after the basketball games on Saturday and take me to the store because I sold more shoes than the salespeople. So I was always, you know, in sales and you know it.
Speaker 2:Just when I was in college I started dating my husband, tom, who's a little bit older than I am, and he had had a carpet business and he had sold that business and got into real estate really to buy and sell properties for himself investment properties. So when I was dating Tom and I was a senior in college, I actually wanted to be a stockbroker and I had gone on a date with Tom and I looked in the backseat and back then the contracts were three pages and I saw a few pages in the backseat and I said you know, hey, what's going on, tom? And he said, oh, that's just some paperwork for real estate and I thought this can't be good. So I don't remember at the time, but I think you could take a class, took the class, passed the test and went and got my real estate license. I thought, well, I'm finishing school, I probably only had two more semesters.
Speaker 2:Got my real estate license. I thought, well, while I'm finishing school, I probably only had two more semesters. You know, I'll help Tom and that's really how it started. And at the time my broker, which in 34 years I've only had two managing brokers Jack Boss was the managing broker and I went in to interview with them and he seemed more concerned about would I keep Tom's paperwork in line, which there wasn't a lot of paperwork back then. You know, you have to remember in 1991,. You know, no cell phones, no GPS, no home inspections. You know, no email, no scanners, no digital photography. So there really wasn't a whole lot to try to manage. But he was, you know, very fixated on could I keep Tom's paperwork in line. So that's kind of how it started.
Speaker 1:Well, you know it's interesting. Robin, first of all, thank you for that. You know, I think it's interesting that your whole family was self-employed, so that gave you, you know, that exposure to a work ethic and things like that. I do want to know why you didn't choose either of those businesses. But before I go there, I want to just share with you I shared with you a little bit earlier, before we kicked off, that I had a chance to interview Courtney Mason recently and she was great on her edition of Reality Podcast.
Speaker 1:You did a great job and she mentioned Jack Voss, and so I just made a note that I think I got interviewed Jack Voss right, because apparently the guy you know we talk about mentors in the business and I'll come back to that question. But you know, jack, obviously you know, had kind of a I'll call it a legacy impact on the real estate market where you are in the Virginia Beach area. So let's go back a little bit. So clearly, at age 13, you were selling shoes and you told me why you looked in the back of Tom's car. Was there ever a thought about going into one of the I'll call them family businesses?
Speaker 2:Well, my uncles were builders too, so actually the family had some real estate business.
Speaker 2:And you know, as a kid I lived over in Ocean Park, which is off of Shore Drive, and you know we built one house, moved to the next one across the street, so I wasn't really particularly a fan of moving as a kid, but definitely had a lot of experience in the building and the construction business.
Speaker 2:So you know, when I had finished school I had an opportunity to work at a brokerage because I actually really wanted to be a stockbroker. But at the time I felt like at 21, I was so young that it would maybe be a little bit more difficult of a business to venture into at a very young age, whereas I felt that 21, at a young age, everybody needs housing and I did have some experience with the new construction and the building and I felt like it would be a good fit for Tom and I. Of course, ultimately we were married and had children years down the road, but I felt like we could be a team, we could build a business together, I felt like it would be easier to be in real estate than be a stockbroker and ultimately I was always been very, very happy with the decision.
Speaker 1:So and 33 years later, what they say. And that is how the story goes. You mentioned you and Tom being a team. Let's just take a minute and talk about that. So Robin gets in the business at age 21.
Speaker 1:One of the things that I think is an opportunity today in our industry is for young people to get into the real estate business. And when you look at the demographics and you look at the millennial and the Gen Z, you know there is going to be a huge opportunity for younger people to come into the business. It is a challenge which we always try to figure out how can we motivate and inspire and encourage 21, 22, 23. I got in it at 23 as well and so just you know this. Our audience today has over 70 years of experience between Robin and I, and I think what's interesting and you shared that in 1991, you know there were no cell phones, there was no social media, there was no texting and you know it's amazing, we figured it out and I'm going to bet you that a lot of those basic fundamentals that were so beneficial to you then still hold true today. So we'll come back to that because I think sometimes we get caught up in the I'll call it the technology or the shiny new penny, and we kind of forget about blocking and tackling sports analogy.
Speaker 1:Let's go back to your team. So you're a team now, obviously's go back to your team. So you're a team now. Obviously you've got a team. When did you and Tom really form a team? Is that a fair question?
Speaker 2:You know it was almost immediately and it was kind of funny. They always say that Tom and I were probably one of the first ones that were a team back then Because, you know, as agents it was always, you know volume under one person or the other and so it's like, well, they're a team, they're two people, and so it was almost immediately that we were a team. We were always on the listings together, we handled the buyers together, and so really from the beginning, you know that's how we started our business. Of course that's evolved now and there's large teams. And you know that's how we started our business. Of course that's evolved now and there's large teams. And you know people.
Speaker 2:You know but two of our children, we have three children. Two of our children have now come into the business my oldest daughter, kristen, and my son Tommy, my youngest. She says absolutely not, she won't have anything to do with real estate. So we'll see that there's always the one kid and of course it's entirely their choice. But so we've been a team.
Speaker 2:We've had larger teams over the years where we had buyers, agents that worked under us, but really right now it's just Tom and I. We also have Greg Mann who has been with us for quite a long time as a buyers's agent, and then, of course, the kids are in the business and we've always had a full-time assistant, and so we have a great assistant that works for us, who actually was from Pennsylvania, was a Howard Hanna manager and she was an agent with Howard Hanna but had relocated to this area because her daughter and husband her husband was military and she came here to be with her granddaughter so when I interviewed her, I was thrilled to have an assistant that was part of the Howard Hanna family, which ended up working out for us wonderfully.
Speaker 1:So I would venture to say in 1991, you and Tom May, I think you're the first team that I am aware of in terms of early on in your careers. I've shared this story many times. I came to the Allen Tate Company, robin in 1998. When I arrived here, there were three teams. I remember them like they were yesterday Bill Scurry, russell Ling and Kathy Spaskle. Today and I apologize, I don't have the exact number in Virginia but in the Carolinas we have 137 teams, 35% of our total business. So you know, I think one of the things that's important is, you know, we can be individual agents. We can be individual agents with an assistant. We can be an individual buyers agent. Just clarify for me Kristen and Tommy, your children are on your team or are they just in the business, operating separately?
Speaker 2:Kristen is on our team. My son, Tommy, is in the business. We also have a tremendous amount of rentals. We also buy and sell flips. So my son's a little bit more instrumental in the, you know, the construction, the flips and acquiring the properties and handling more of that aspect of the business.
Speaker 1:So so it's a. It's the family owned business inside of our country's, you know, the number one, the largest family run familyowned company in America. And then you're running a wonderful business there and you've got multiple facets of it with the flips and the building and the developing and the property management. Let's talk a little bit about the market today and let's talk about, you know, what does Robin see as the keys to success? Talk about what does Robin see as the keys to success. One of our goals of Reality Podcast is I want everybody to grab three things and bring to reality and so share with our listeners today, this morning, this afternoon, whenever they're listening. What are some of the keys from your perspective, 33 years in the business? I mean, you've seen a couple of recessions, you've seen 9-11,. You've seen the financial crisis, you've seen COVID, you've seen post-COVID. What are the keys today?
Speaker 2:You know I would say that I guess the keys to success I think there's, I think it takes a lot to be successful I'll say probably first and foremost is to show up. You know to definitely show up that you've got to be in it to win it. And you know all of our kids played sports. You know baseball, basketball, football. My husband coached for years, for years, and I remember we had this one ad and it was in the football brochure at my son's high school and it was an advertisement for our team and real estate and it said join the winning day, join the winning team, because every day is game day. And you know I always liked that. Because you know I feel like you have to show up.
Speaker 2:You need to do whatever you need to do to make the transaction successful for your clients and help them obtain what they want to obtain. And you know it means being present, being attentive. You know being helpful, being polite. You know being professional dress professional, your language is professional. You know effective communication. You know make sure that your clients understand, make sure that you're managing their expectations. You know be a continuous learner. You know for as long as I've been in the business and even I tell new agents, you're not going to know everything and when you do master something, then the market changes or what's customary changes something, then the market changes or what's customary changes. And so you need to always be a continuous learner and try to, you know, widen your sphere of contractors and people that will help you and people that will help you in your business. So I think, definitely, showing up and really doing all that you can do to be the best that you can be, to represent yourself well, represent your company well, it's very important Probably.
Speaker 2:Secondly, I would say you know to be prepared and be proactive. You know to be very prepared when you go on appointments, when you're in front of clients. You know a lot of times, on listing appointments, I'll call every single pending and find out what it's under contract with. You know what were the concessions. You know a lot of times people will show up with a CMA. It's just active, pending and sold. But I'll try to dig deeper and get more information. I think the more information that you have, you know it's better.
Speaker 2:I think you know when you go on these listings and you see things you know you need to discuss with the seller, you need to be proactive these things are going to become an issue and take care of them ahead of time. You know there will never be a time that I would list a house that's on a crawl space where I haven't had the termite moisture guy go underneath ahead of time, you know. So definitely, I think, being prepared, being proactive, you know, you know what the seller is going to ask you all those questions, be prepared. You know they're going to ask how much is my house worth? What's the net? How much am I going to walk? When will I move? You know, know the answers to all the questions.
Speaker 2:And then I think, probably third would be just the resilience and to be adaptable, to be able to change. You know things are not always going to go your way in real estate. You know, for the most part it can be stressful. Every day is a new day and you really just need to be very resilient, not take things personally, and just always move in a direction that's going to be in the best interest of your clients and help them to achieve what they want to achieve. To achieve what they want to achieve.
Speaker 2:You know so many things have changed in the business. I mean I started my business in 1991 on non-qualifying assumptions. They don't even exist today. You know, in 2007, there were, you know, tons of short sales. Before there were companies to do short sales. I would do them myself personally, you know, and just become very knowledgeable in terms of whatever that market is. You know, in 2008, 2009, sellers were bringing money to the table to sell their house. It was nothing for them to write a check $25,000 to sell a property. You know. You need to know your market well and how can you, you know, achieve their goals and your goals at the same time? So I think that adaptability and being able to change and, you know, move with different markets is is really critical in terms of being a good agent and being a good agent to service your clients.
Speaker 1:Well, I've taken some, some, some notes. A couple of things strike me. I love because every day is game day and you know, I would say over the past five or six interviews that I've had, you know it's interesting the consistency of your number one, which is showing up and being present. You know, and I think that's one of the things that you know, we take for granted how important it is not just to show up but to be present when you show up, and I think, so many times we're multitasking and we've got a lot of things going on and you know, the most important thing is that Gary Scott thinks I'm your only client, right, and that's how I feel. Let me. One of the things you mentioned was continuous learning. One of the things you mentioned was continuous learning. I'm a big fan of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits and Sharpening the Saw, and so any specific recommendations that you know, anything that you subscribe to that keeps you, you know, in your game, any things you attend, is there anything specific from a continuous learning that you could share this morning?
Speaker 2:I usually attend our local Realtor Association, hampton Roads Realtor Association. They have multiple classes on various topics all of the time. They had one recently which were the law changes as of July 1st Um. Sometimes they'll have a builder that comes in to discuss framing Um, but they'll have multiple things that I, you know, I do like to go to and I do, you know, like to learn Um, and a lot of times when I'm at a property, you know, if there's a repair, you know, I know a ton about construction and building, but I will ask them. You know specifically, you know termite and moisture guy. You know typically, they'll tell you I'd say well, what is the industry standard? What are you looking for on the moisture meter reading? So I think, as from an agent's perspective, the more they can learn about other aspects of the business, ask the professionals. You know, if I meet a structural engineer, I question them why is this? What do you see in these cracks? What does this mean? Honestly, you just need to ask a lot of questions. I will call the lender.
Speaker 2:I think it's important as a realtor to know as much about all the businesses that affect your business financing construction, the businesses that affect your business financing, construction, home inspections. You know all of these things. Appraisers know everything about the appraisal. What do those mean? And so I asked the professionals consistently you know what do these codes mean? You're changing the appraisal, what you know. How does this affect the outcome? How do you get this value? What is the price per square footage? You know all of these things. You go to the professionals. They're more than happy to give you the information. But I think a lot of times it's just simply asking the right questions and being knowledgeable about all of the things that affect your business, which, honestly, it's so much. There's so many people involved in a real estate's. It's best to try to get more of that information and that you have your own knowledge base.
Speaker 1:You know it's interesting. You mentioned appraisers and appraisals. You know, I think that as the market, I'll say, adjusts itself to a more normal, you know, I think that's an area where real estate professionals really need to hone their skills. You know, because I do think that as prices go up at a lower pace than maybe we've experienced you know I'm not suggesting we're experiencing a lot of appraisal issues, but I think you know your advice and counsel is spot on and it's about making sure I know as much about a home inspector, maybe without being a home inspector, I know as much about a home inspector, maybe without being a home inspector, know as much about the building guidelines without being an inspector for the county. You know, and just you know.
Speaker 1:I wrote down here. You know, be curious and just ask a ton of questions of the experts, and I think you know the other thing you made a key point of Robin is that they are all willing to help you. Oh, definitely, because the more you know and the more they help you, the more you're going to refer I mean, it's the circle of life, if you will from a real estate professional. So I would particularly brand new people, as you listen here today know what can I do for my business growth, maybe when I don't have a ton of buyers or a ton of sellers? You know, continue to seek guidance and counsel from the experts that are connected to the transaction.
Speaker 1:You know I wrote down here from financing to construction, to appraisal, to home inspector. I made some notes. So that's excellent, excellent advice and counsel. And what's really good, robin, is, a lot of times when you interview great real estate professionals, there's often consistency in the responses. This would be the first response where really you took it to another level in terms of sharpening the saw, continuous learning. What I'd like to talk about now we can shift gears just a little bit is I'm kind of fixated right now on listings, getting them, marketing them, selling them, closing them. But one of the things that I think is particularly interesting and I think a lot of people go about it differently let's talk about pricing and let's talk number one what are some of the challenges? But number two is what's Robin and her team and Tom and company, what are you guys doing to stay ahead of the pricing, perhaps nuances that exist in the market today as we get to this more normal sense of the market?
Speaker 2:I think that pricing is critical. I think pricing is exceptionally important and typically, or always, when I go on a listing appointment, my CMA books are exceptionally detailed and you know what I tell people, or sellers in particular, is that pricing is what drives somebody to the property Typically, first and foremost there's other reasons, but the pricing is usually critical and pricing a property, I always price them and explain to the sellers we want to price it where we know we can get an appraisal. So typically, within any given neighborhood, there's always the outlier, the one house that sold for the most money. But the majority of the homes are going to sell within a certain range and I really go into detail with the sellers in terms of where the price should fall. What's the highest and lowest in the neighborhood? How does your property differ? The condition? Is there any functional obsolescence? Is there anything about that property that is going to be perceived as a negative? Do we not have a backyard? Are we backed up to train tracks? Are we on a main road? What is the condition of the property? Are we on a main road? What is the condition of the property? You know, like I tell people, pricing overcomes all objections. You could have the worst house in the neighborhood. You know it could be an absolute mess. Everybody's going to buy it if it's priced properly, if it's priced right.
Speaker 2:You know and I also go into explaining why somebody would be buying this property and it's not. Buyers aren't so area specific anymore. You know what is the driving factor for the buyer. Is it price? Is it the school district? Is it commute time to work? Does their mother live next door? You know what is driving this buyer to buy a property and I also think that there's I call it it's probably not the right terminology, but maybe computer shunning. So if the house really should be $750, but the seller wants $769, if you price it at $750, when somebody's searching $700 to $750, that house comes up in the search. And if you price it at the $769, then you've only remained in the search. And if you price it, you know, at the $769, then you've only remained in the search. That was the $750 to the $800. So I think that pricing is critical.
Speaker 2:I also think that we're very much in a market where buyers are cautious and they're somewhat hesitant. You know, there's a little bit of uncertainty in the market and I think that if you price your property. You know, maybe even slightly below, where the top number is that you could get. It's going to drive buyers to your property. And what I also share with the sellers is you know we still have low inventory. The numbers have been increasing so the inventory itself has increased but overall the amount of properties that are available is less of an amount.
Speaker 2:So what I tell the sellers is you cannot be wrong in this market Because we have still a limited amount of inventory.
Speaker 2:You're not going to be wrong If it's a lower price and people see value, price it at the appraisal, because when the buyer bids over they're going to have to guarantee it and you've eliminated the risk from your seller.
Speaker 2:So if you're on the market for 20 days and you've got 20 showings, guess what? It's not the right price. And I just kind of go through that with the seller and explain it and honestly I have zeroed a little pushback because I think they understand what I'm saying. They can see the numbers and you know they realize that that's probably right. And I also tell them we're going to know immediately, you're going to know within the first seven days because you know I always tell them in the beginning you're going to get the most activity on the property because all the buyers that have been in the market and are still looking and haven't found what they want, they're going to come look at it. You're going to get the most showings on day one, two, three and four. By day four it almost dissipates. So that first presentation, that price, it's absolutely critical in my opinion.
Speaker 1:You mentioned a range. When you go out to do a listing consultation, do you give them a range and then let them pick within the range? Do you say here's the range and my recommended list price is this? How do you? What's your strategy?
Speaker 2:I typically if I give a range, it's a very small window and I also further discuss with them. You know what are their goals. I have a client right now. He's taking a job in Norway. He has to be out of here on December 1st, you know, and I go over the timeline with him. You know we're in August. We're at the end of August. You say you want to put the house on the market at the end of September.
Speaker 2:Typically when someone buys the house they're going to close within a 30 to 60 day window. You're on a very short timeline. If you want to have the house closed prior to going to Norway, you need to be more aggressive on pricing. So a lot of it I'll discuss with the seller and what's in their best interest and what is their timeline. But you know, typically the quicker the move, the more aggressive on pricing you want to be. We're also getting ready to roll into, you know, september, october, november, december. You know I will share with clients typically there's less buyers in a November December. You know I will share with clients typically there's less buyers in a November December market, you know. So all of those things they need to take into consideration in terms of how that will affect them and what is their timeline for moving.
Speaker 2:But typically I will give them a window, but it's not a big window. You know it's not a window, but it's not a big window. It's not. Oh, you could be at 750 or 800. No, it's going to be based on these sales.
Speaker 2:And the other part of it is do we have a true comp? Is there something that's very similar to that property? Because if you have a true comp, there was a condo that I listed recently first floor, master suite, one car garage, three had sold in the neighborhood for $350. There's really no deviation on that. Every lot of that is going to be based on the comparable sales. Some neighborhoods, there's no way around it. Other neighborhoods, yes, there is some leeway.
Speaker 2:Is there something that makes that property special or is there something that's a detriment to that property that you're going to have to overcome with pricing? So it's really very property specific, very seller specific in terms of what their goals are and their threshold. Do they want to be out quick? Do they feel like they have all the time in the world? But again, I also share with them. Time is not your friend. The longer the house is on the market, the less opportunity, not less opportunity. But ultimately, if you had priced it properly to begin with, you're going to get a quicker sale and closer to that price than overpricing it and then making adjustments continually down the market.
Speaker 1:I love the term goal. I've always said that everything in our business, Robin, comes down to the motivation. It's the buyer and seller's motivation and, as you said, unless and until you determine what that is, and unless and until you determine that I'm moving to Norway and it's important that I don't leave a home, I just think so often we're one or two questions shy. So the thing I would recommend to everybody listening today is you know, when you think you've asked enough questions, ask a couple more, and the other thing I always say is remember, repeat the answer back to them, Make sure that you understood exactly what they said. That kind of art of communication.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I've been sharing on pricing is you know, not every market do you spend as much time on current active competitive listings versus the comparable sales. You know I am encouraging people to spend a lot of time on the competitive, active listings. You know, if I've got a listing and three of my competitor, I have three very competitive listings and one sells and mine doesn't. It goes back to that phone call that you shared earlier that you make and three of my competitor. I have three very competitive listings and one sells and mine doesn't. It goes back to that phone call that you shared earlier that you make.
Speaker 1:Let's get some details. Why did that one sell and mine didn't sell? Did they even look at mine? Am I missing something? Make those extra phone calls to the real estate community to really understand the market even better. So I agree with everything you just said about motivation. I like your small range. I think a lot of people say 750 to 800. Well, that's a big gap, right, and so I like that. Obviously, been in the business 33 years, I'm going to take a guess that a high percentage of your transactions, Robin, are repeat and referral.
Speaker 2:Yes. So, In fact, that listing I had sold 13 years ago.
Speaker 1:So one of the most important things is how one keeps in touch with their clients and their sphere of influence. What is your plan, what is your strategy? How do you stay connected? You know, I guess Ninja says how do you stay in flow with this, your sphere and your clients?
Speaker 2:Well, typically I'll reach out, I'll call them Not on a super consistent basis and probably I should do it more than I do but I do use Engage through Howard Hanna. Every single buyer and seller that I sell is in Engage. You know all of the postcards. I think a lot of it is just staying in front of them. A lot of it is just staying in front of them.
Speaker 2:I do farm specific neighborhoods which that particular client comes out of or is in, a neighborhood that I farm on a regular basis, that I have been farming since 1991. It was a neighborhood that I used to live in years ago. I also there's certain neighborhoods within our area that have kind of a neighborhood magazine. I advertise in the neighborhood magazine so they can see me. I'll randomly reach out to a group. I have like an anniversary list of buyers or sellers. I'll just text them Hi, it's Robin DeBono, just wanted to say hello. I hope you and the family are doing well. Just hello, you know, because I'll have other agents ask me what do you say so? Well, really, I just say hello.
Speaker 1:I was in the neighborhood.
Speaker 2:I remember when you were buying do you remember something funny about you know something that happened at the time. I just wanted to say hi, I'm sure the kids are getting big, you know, just anything like that. It is funny. We have an ad at the airport, in Norfolk Airport. You know Howard Hanna has an ad there Consistently. I'll have friends who'll text me. I saw you in the airport, you know.
Speaker 2:So, I think sometimes just staying top of mind, you know, and reaching out to them. But we do have, you know, we do use the Howard Hanna postcards and Engage and those type of things. We send just listed, just sold cards on every single transaction, you know. So we do stay in touch with them and I also, not only my clients, I stay in touch with other agents. Every agent that I've ever done a transaction with. I send any new listings. You know, when I do send them new listings and try to, you know, treat other agents the way that I treat my clients and you know that's really been very successful for Tom and I Very good relationship, very good rapport. So when I do call on these pending listings, some information they might not want to give out, they are willing to give it to me because I'm willing to help them. So I do you know, treat other agents just like I would you know my clients and staying in touch with them as well.
Speaker 1:So, robin, I love that, I love that. So just I think about you. Know you go out on a listing and you say you know, one of the strategies I have is I connect with everyone who I've done business with and let them know about the new listing. That's a, you know, from a builder perspective. That's called a realtor program, right, and I think that the builders do it great. But I don't believe necessarily that the agent population. I love what you said. I treat my cooperating agents, particularly those I've done business with, just like my clients.
Speaker 1:And now, all of a sudden, when you need a little intel on a property that's sold, they're going to be more likely to number one, return your call and then number two to give you the information. And I love the other thing you said how many times do people say, well, if I call my sphere, what do I say? I love yours. How about the loan? How are you? I'm driving by your neighborhood and I thought about you. I want to go back to Geographic Farm. I'm old school because I think it's amazing the success that people have with Geographic Farm. So a couple of questions how many farms do you have? I know you mentioned one that you started in 1991. Do you have more than one Geographic Farm?
Speaker 2:I have three neighborhoods that I consistently farm in. One of them I advertised in the neighborhood magazine and the others because I typically have listings in that neighborhood. I'm constantly sending out, you know, just listed or just sold cards. I also send out just sold cards when it's a buyer that I've sold in the neighborhood. And I also send cards, postcards that are the sales within the neighborhood. They might not necessarily have been my personal sale, but just kind of keeping them abreast of what's transpiring in the neighborhood and what properties have sold and what the prices are. And it is funny, I think, if you do it consistently, I had gone on a listing appointment and the lady had pulled the postcard out of her drawer. That postcard I probably sent nine years ago and she said well, I knew I was going to sell, we weren't quite ready, but I always wanted to keep your ago. And she said well, I knew I was going to sell, we weren't quite ready but I always wanted to keep your card and I said, oh well, thank you.
Speaker 2:So you know, I think it. And I think sometimes you know with agents they'll do a farm, they might not get anything out of it and they stop. You know, I've had certain neighborhoods where I've farmed and one year very little business, but the next year a lot of business, and so it's not. I think as long as you do it consistently, they're familiar, you know, with you and they know that you work that corridor, that area or that neighborhood and they'll give you a call, you'll get an opportunity. And I think you know we're always just trying for that opportunity. If we can get in front of someone. We've always been very, very successful. But I think as an agent you're looking for as many opportunities as possible.
Speaker 1:And I think you bring up a great point and that is this whole concept of instant gratification. If I do this activity I'll get that outcome. Well, a geographic farm is a test in one's patience, but it's interesting. You started a farm in 1991, 33 years ago, so really you've been through multiple sales of multiple houses, in that perhaps 70% have turned over to some degree or some percentages. And what's fascinating to me is the number of agents that have been in the business 30 to 40 years who do have geographic farms.
Speaker 1:And yet, as I talk to particularly new people, you know they just they don't have the patience or the confidence or whatever for the geographic farm.
Speaker 1:And it's really unfortunate because you know, once you get through it five years or seven years, you know it can become like a little bit of an ATM machine of transactions, right, and you know you can probably I'm going to guess, of your three geographic farms, robin you can probably in any given year get between this number and this number of transactions and it's kind of like clockwork and you know, you know that that happens and you know the word consistency has come out a few times today. The other thing I think you mentioned, I think it's really important to share is you know you do have to invest money. I mean, clearly our business is about investing time. You talked about magazines. You talked about when your kids played sports at the local high school, so obviously you invest in your business financially. Anything in particular kind of work better than other. If you were talking to a group of folks in the business between one and three years like where should they invest their money from your perspective?
Speaker 2:You know I think the farming was good. I mean honestly, when our kids are younger my kids are older now my husband coached. You know a lot of their teams. You know we always participated in everything at the school any advertising, any marketing. People knew us, they knew our children. You know we got a lot of business, you know when my kids were younger and growing up and you know.
Speaker 2:So I think really for agents it's whatever they're involved in, if they're involved in their church or they're involved in you know the kids school or they have hobbies, or you know I see other agents. You know they pay, play pickleball or they're. You know just other places. But certainly whatever your sphere of influence is the places that you frequent the most. You know I'd highly recommend anybody you know, get a neighborhood and farm it and just, you know, start.
Speaker 2:You know it's not a whole lot posted. You can start on a smaller scale, but I think whatever you do, just be consistent in it. You know we have the ad at the airport and you know I can't really correlate that exactly. I've, you know, had a transaction based on that, but the amount of people that have called me oh, I saw you, robin, I think it just keeps them top of mind. You don't know that they haven't referred somebody, and I think being visible, being out there, you know, I think any of those things are good, but I would suggest to agents, pick one that you're most comfortable with, you know, and go with that and start there and then they can expand beyond that. But really I think I would start with whatever their sphere of influence is.
Speaker 1:It's interesting. I grew up in a real estate family and my father used to say all the time you know what? Here's what I know. He said only 50% of my advertising works. Problem is I don't know which 50. But it's just what you just said.
Speaker 1:Like you may not be able to a specific and I fly in that airport and I do see you. You know you may not see that, but somebody might not call and say I'm calling you because of, but maybe they've seen your name five times, right? And then maybe they talked to somebody who used you and then maybe they saw an ad in one of the communities. You just my dad is probably right saw an ad in one of the communities. My dad is probably right. If I spend $10,000, 5,000 works, I'm just not exactly sure what. Because even when you ask questions to ascertain if you are consistent in connecting with people on a variety of fronts we talked about a lot of basics and blocking and tackling. Obviously you know the digital age and social media is a way of the world Tell us where you are on that continuum in terms of social media. Yes, no, a little bit video. Yes, no, tell me about you and Tom and your team and where you are in that kind of evolution of the digital space.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm in a great position now because Kristen, my oldest daughter, who's 26, handles every bit of that for me. And what I think is funny is, you know, I always like to be, you know, like I said, a continuous learner. So I've asked Kristen. I said I want you to show me this on Canva, and I want you to show me this or show me that. And she refuses to show me. And I said to her I said, kristen, I want you to show me here. I'm giving you all this knowledge and I'm always trying to educate you on every transaction, and she'll go on appointments with me.
Speaker 1:She said I need job security.
Speaker 2:I'm not sharing any of this intelligence with you. I think there's definitely something to birth order and I was probably a little hard on her and I said no, I said you're going to get a real job, real company, real people first before you come and work for mom. And so she went in the mortgage business and she was in the mortgage business for two years and then eventually, you know, she came into the business with us. So she's really excellent at the social media, the marketing, and she handles all of that for us. So she's really excellent at the social media, the marketing, and she handles all of that for us.
Speaker 2:So it is funny because other agents will ask me gosh, robin, how'd you do that? And I said I didn't, kristen did. So that part of it's been good. We would like to do more video, which we haven't done a lot of video, but definitely as far as the social media and Facebook and Instagram and the posting and the properties and you know open houses and you know just different things like that she's really excellent at, does it very quickly and much more efficiently than I do. So I think sometimes for an agent, if someone else can do a task for you and they're more efficient. Let them do it and move on to the things that you're best at. So let them do it and move on to the things that you're best at.
Speaker 1:So I would just say that, of all the nuggets that Robin has shared today, the one she just shared is a really important one. That is, there are times and situations where I am better off asking somebody else to do it rather than me painstakingly trying to figure something out that doesn't come naturally to me. You know, I think I've shared this story many times, rob, back in the old days. You know, when you did a self SWOT analysis, you know strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats you always then part of your game plan was to strengthen my weaknesses, and it was about 10, 12 years ago. I read this article that says that's the biggest mistake people make. You want to leverage your strengths and have someone else handle your weaknesses right, and so, again, it's exactly that bit of advice you just gave, and that is. You know, you certainly could become really well-versed in social media, but you've got this team member who is kind of in her wheelhouse. I will say that. You know, I think video is critical and I'm not necessarily on the cutting edge of social media by any stretch, but I will say that I do a little bit of video, and when I do video it gets way more engaging. So that would be a little takeaway.
Speaker 1:A couple of questions as we wrap it up. This might be one of my favorites 33 years, great, great success, consistent, sustainable Share with us. Either a situation, a transaction, where you learned something, perhaps early in your career. That was like that moment where I got involved in something and I learned something. Perhaps early in your career. That was like that moment where I got involved in something and I learned something and I became so much better because of it. Can you think of an example of either a transaction or an interaction where you know something transpired and it just made you better because of it? Think of anyone on top of your head.
Speaker 2:You know I think the whole process was a learning process. You know, coming in as a young agent and just taking something away from every single transaction, I think I learned at a you know, very young age to be very honest with your clients. You know good news, bad news, you know I will say I see agents and something bad happens and they cry about it for two days. You know always try to figure out the remedy to the problem or whatever the issue is and just address it with my sellers. You know clients can handle bad news or things that don't exactly go their way, but you know being able to present solutions or frame it in a way that seems better. You know, a lot of times, if something happens and we're not closing on time, I'll contact the seller. You know we have these issues. The good news is we are going to close. You know, as opposed to me calling and saying this is not going to close, you know, and framing it in a better way, that you know puts opposed to me calling and saying this is not going to close, you know, and framing it in a better way that you know puts them more at ease.
Speaker 2:But I think you know that is the one thing about being in the business for a long time is that experience and learning from situations, various situations Although I will say, you know, there's rarely something I haven't seen.
Speaker 2:Although I will say, you know, there's rarely something I haven't seen, but there are times that you're like gosh, and I think the way that we handle it as agents and how we convey the information to our clients is very important to you know, keep them not getting, you know, excited or upset or stressed, and really managing you know the way that your clients feel that at the end of the day, they've had a good transaction, they respect you as professional and they want to come back to you and refer you. So I think I've learned, you know I don't get upset. You know this is what it is, this is what we can do to handle it, and I think we're the driving force in a lot that happens between other agents and with your clients. So I think that that was something that, luckily, I learned pretty early on and it's definitely contributed to our success.
Speaker 1:I think critical, that we have to be the calm in the storm. Yes, absolutely. And you think about a high percentage of transactions as a buyer or seller in two real estate agents. And you think about communication. And you think about what can happen when I'm a listing agent and I talk to my seller and then I take what my seller tells me, based on how I interpreted what they told me, and then I tell Robin and Robin goes and tells the buyer the number of times over my career, robin, where I've said to myself I have a feeling the agents might be in the way right and not intentionally, but one of the two or both of the two aren't the calm in the storm.
Speaker 1:And it's to your point, buyers and sellers will follow our lead. And so if there's a moment in time that feels pressure, anxious, we have to hit the pause button. We've got to settle it down. And then, to your point, we got to gather the information and share many more facts than opinions. And I think you know, over my almost 40 years that's probably the thing I've seen the most is we have to be cautious. As real estate professionals, we want to be emotionally and intellectually invested in the transaction, but we've also got to separate those two things. So really a great, great point. I'm going to final question. So you talked earlier, robin, about Jack Voss, and again he is making his way up the podcast. Any other mentors in your career that have really impacted you that you can think of, and it's less about who it is and it's more about what you learn from them? Is there anybody else other than Jack? You were very complimentary.
Speaker 2:You know, I think Courtney does a wonderful job, our current managing broker. She's very accessible, she does a very good job. I will say early on, um, I, the manager that worked for um, one of our stores, was a very nice lady. Her name was Maxine, she was actually from Wilson, north Carolina, and, um, you know she, I worked a lot with her in my family business and she was a wonderful mentor, a wonderful person, learned a lot from her, um, and I will say, when I first got in the business, you know I really took the opportunity.
Speaker 2:There were a lot of ladies in my office at the time and you know everybody has something to offer which you know, honestly, back then there was no GPS, it was a map book and the print was tiny. I would read the street names and I was willing to help them and they were willing to help me. So I think for a new agent, there's always something you have to offer. And so I always spent a lot of time asking a lot of questions and, you know, really would watch the top agents and because at that time, you know, I did want to be, we did want to be the number one agent in the company, you know, not just in the office.
Speaker 2:We really wanted to be the best that we could be in the business and so watching those agents and asking questions, because really most people are willing to help you. They absolutely will. They're happy to give advice, they're happy to help you. You know, I would say honestly, a lot of mentors, a lot of great people worked for you know, william E Wood at the time when I joined the company and I've been with the company the entire 34 years. So I started with William E Wood and then Howard Hanna bought the company 10 years ago. You know I've been here the entire time. There's a lot of fantastic people within the company and a lot of resources that anybody's willing to help you.
Speaker 1:It's interesting lot of resources that anybody's willing to help you. It's interesting Once a month, rob and I do a kickoff for new agents that we hire and one of the takeaways I say is be a sponge. And then I share with them that one of the great things about our company is, yes, being family owned is great, but what's even greater is our culture is one of abundance and not scarcity, and high performers will share. And I tell our new people all the time be a sponge, ask questions. Hey, let me go, can I sit in an open house with you? And it's amazing that I know that if a brand new agent was in your office and they ask you a question, you would take the time to answer it, and that is prevalent throughout our company. And so, whether you're year one or year three, be a sponge man. Ask a lot of questions, lean in.
Speaker 1:I went back to my notes. Number one show up. Number two be prepared, proactive, anticipate change and be resilient and adaptable. And lean in on the great resources that are all over our company. I think that's a beautiful thing. So with that, we're going to tie a bow around Robin Debono's reality podcast. Robin, thank you so much for joining us. I can assure you that there are way more than three nuggets that are coming everybody's way. So I always want to thank our listeners, because without them, there's not this. So we appreciate that, but I really appreciate you taking time. So, robin, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Have a great day, you too. Bye-bye, thank you.
