The Alimond Show
Welcome to The Alimond Show --join us as we share our entrepreneurial guests' stories, uncover their secrets to success, and explore the unique paths they've taken to build thriving businesses in our community.
In each episode, our host, Aliyah Dastour, sits down with a diverse group of local business owners, from the corner cafe to the boutique shop, from tech startups to family-run enterprises. We peel back the curtain to reveal the trials, triumphs, and transformational moments that have shaped their entrepreneurial journey.
Discover the passion, perseverance, and innovative thinking that fuels these businesses, as well as the challenges they've overcome along the way. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur seeking inspiration or simply a curious listener interested in the stories behind your favorite local spots, The Alimond Show has something for everyone.
Our guests share their experiences, insights, and valuable advice that can empower you to turn your own dreams into reality. We discuss topics like marketing strategies, customer relationships, community engagement, and much more, offering practical takeaways you can apply to your own business or career.
Join us every week as we celebrate the unsung heroes of our local business community and explore the vibrant tapestry of entrepreneurship in our area. Tune in to The Alimond Show and get ready to be inspired, informed, and motivated to support and nurture the businesses that make our community thrive.
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The Alimond Show
Nancy Pav - Marketing Mastery and Career Longevity in Real Estate
What if you could navigate the unpredictable world of real estate with the wisdom and wit of a seasoned professional? This episode features Nancy Pav, a veteran realtor with over 27 years of experience, as she recounts her fascinating journey from new construction to general brokerage. Nancy shares a hilarious and unforgettable story about an unexpected house showing, illustrating the unpredictable nature of the business and offering insights on how these varied experiences have honed her skills to better serve her clients.
Communication isn't just about talking; it's about truly connecting. We dive into the importance of reading non-verbal cues, ensuring clients fully understand every step of the transaction process. Personal stories, including a funny tale about the host's pets, add a relatable and charming touch to this crucial aspect of real estate. Nancy and I also explore the nuances of building trust and fostering clear, empathetic communication—skills that are vital not just in real estate, but in everyday life.
Staying relevant in a fast-paced industry like real estate requires flexibility, continuous learning, and effective marketing strategies. Nancy shares her tips on career longevity, the benefits of avoiding rush hour traffic, and the importance of finding a trustworthy realtor. We also touch on the need for a robust marketing strategy that balances social media presence with word-of-mouth referrals, showcasing your personality to potential clients. Wrapping up, we offer a heartfelt message inspired by a Snoopy and Charlie Brown cartoon, reminding everyone to live each day to its fullest and find joy in the little moments.
My name is Nancy Path. I am a realtor with Century 21 Redwood Realty and I help people make good decisions when they're buying and selling real estate.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and now I know that you have correct me if I'm wrong 27 years of experience right?
Speaker 1:Yes, well, actually more than 27, but 27 as a realtor. Yes, gotcha.
Speaker 2:Okay, and then experience overall.
Speaker 1:Probably closer to 30. I worked in new construction when I first got into the real estate industry. I did new construction for a couple of years and then transitioned over to general brokerage in 1997.
Speaker 2:Okay, perfect, and can you give me a little bit of a background of yourself? I know you kind of just sit there, but how it led you into the real estate industry and like what your journey has been like.
Speaker 1:So my dad was self-employed and so I grew up with someone self-employed my entire life and one. They decided to sell their house in New York. For some reason. I just became really interested in real estate. So that was while I was in college. I finished college, I lived, I came down to Virginia in 1989 and not long, and then I moved to Ashburn in 1992.
Speaker 1:And this and got into. I was a sales assistant at a builder and the woman who was doing it. I watched her and I was like well, I can do that, right and so so which is what everybody says when they get into real estate well, I can do that. So I decided to um sell. So I switched over, I sold, I got my, I did have my license before um. I switched to general brokerage but um, then I. So I sold new construction and then after that I did a sort of a hybrid. I actually worked Long and Foster had an auction department in the 90s and I worked there and I was the on-site person who explained the auction process to potential buyers and I did that for a few years and then I switched over to general brokerage.
Speaker 2:Okay, Wow, that's quite a little journey there. Like that all led you and like yes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what I like about it is I um, when I work with buyers that are looking at new construction I've been on that side, I know how auctions work, so I have, um, I have different, uh, different aspects to my career that help clients with their journeys.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I'm sure they can appreciate that and have a lot of trust in you because I mean you know it inside out, you know it from different angles, so it just helps overall with the process right. Yeah, what has been some of your most memorable moments that you've had in your 27 years of being a realtor? I know I'm sure you have many stories, but is there one maybe that stands out, or two?
Speaker 1:So I will tell you my favorite story because it's pretty funny. Please do All right. So my daughter, when my daughter bought her first house, it was during the bad time in the market. It was 2008 or nine. Around that time there were a lot of short sales, there were a lot of foreclosures. So she wanted to look at this townhouse in Leesburg and it was the very first house that I am showing my daughter and, um, we walk up to the door and there was a man. Um, well, the, the, the TV was really loud and very loud.
Speaker 1:So I, so I always ring the doorbell before I enter any house, just to make sure that you know there's no surprises. There always are, or they're not always are, but there are on occasion, surprises and and so I ring the doorbell, the person doesn't answer. I opened the lock box, I opened the door and there was a man lying on the couch and the TV's blaring and we don't know if he's alive or dead or what's going on. And I turned to look at my daughter and her eyes were huge, she was petrified and I just started laughing. I'm like the very first house I show my daughter and there's potentially a dead man on the couch.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God so we didn't go.
Speaker 1:Look at that house.
Speaker 2:I don't believe you we didn't go.
Speaker 1:Look at that house.
Speaker 2:Who was he? Did you find out? If he was, no, I don't think he was.
Speaker 1:He was probably passed out or asleep or something, who knows. But it was really comical because I'm like the very first house, my show, my child and there's, you know, and it's one of the what was one of the worst, you know, not the worst experiences, but it was not a good experience and you're not about. It was very memorable, so I I you know that was. That was 10, 12 years ago and I still remember it. It makes me laugh how odd.
Speaker 2:I'm just wondering now, like the fact that you never found out who that was. That was just very creepy.
Speaker 1:Well, he was probably an owner or a tenant. Okay, yeah, I mean, it was an occupied home. Yes, so it wasn't. You know, there are people in houses. Sometimes we find people in. Well, we don't find them, but we hear the shower running. So sometimes there are people in houses, which is why you ring the doorbell, just so nobody's. You know, we try to avoid those kinds of surprises. That's good advice, yeah, but, but that was just too funny. So it was just, we never ended up going into that house. She, she passed on it.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, thank you for sharing that. That is funny and crazy and scary.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah, it can be a little scary, but yeah, we didn't go in.
Speaker 2:Okay, and can you give me a little bit of your experience of what it's been like being a real estate agent and just how you've been able to help the community out and people in their search and quest to either buying, selling homes? So I, in 2007,.
Speaker 1:I got my broker's license and the 2007 I got my broker's license and the reason I got my broker's license you start off with a salesperson's license and then, if you want to get more education, you can become a broker, and I did that because I wanted to teach real estate.
Speaker 1:So I also am licensed to teach pre-licensing for anyone who's interested in getting into the business, and what I've come to the conclusion is that that knowledge and the way I explain things and I use stories a lot to explain concepts or anecdotes to explain situations to clients, or anecdotes to explain situations to clients and so I think the fact that I teach real estate as well as sell it helps the clients understand the problem. My goal is to make sure that they understand the transaction from start to finish and that if there's a question, they ask it. They can ask any question. They can ask questions multiple times, because I might tell you something at the very beginning and you're going to forget. I mean, it just happens to all of us. So if they have questions, I want them to feel comfortable to be able to that I can answer them and that they feel confident and comfortable with every decision that they make throughout that, throughout that process.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is really good actually, because I know a lot of people feel maybe intimidated. They're like mm-hmm, yes, but they don't. They feel maybe a little bit like maybe I should know this stuff. I'm embarrassed to ask right and the right that they can give them that confidence to ask you I feel reassured and like they can trust.
Speaker 1:You is amazing, right the other thing, too is is looking at their faces. I can tell when someone's confused.
Speaker 1:I when I sat when I tell right now, I'm just kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding when I, when I would teach, I I'd look at the students in the class and and you could tell the ones that didn't understand. So you go back, you go back and you and you help them understand. Um, and I can tell that with clients as well. I had. I had one uh couple that we were in a house and the husband's like, yeah, you know, this house is great and the wife's face said no, not a chance.
Speaker 1:And, and so I said your wife doesn't like the house and he's like what I go? She doesn't like, and he goes do you like the house? She's like no. And so if you pay attention, a lot of people are very expressive, right? They? They, their expressions are you can tell when they're happy, when they're mad, when they're you know when something smells right, like that, you can just, you can just tell. So so a lot of times I look at body language too, to see if, if I say something and the body language says they don't understand, I'll go back over it. Sometimes I don't even wait for them to say they don't understand, because I can usually tell, holy moly, not all the time, but I can usually tell when someone's not understanding or doesn't like something.
Speaker 2:Yeah, do you have any like what is it psychology background or anything? No, or did you read any books? Because that's very like self-aware of you to be like, okay, this person is not comfortable right now, right.
Speaker 1:No, no, I think it's just having done it for so long. I think if you just watch people, you can get a feel for their, especially when it's the whole. I mean, I'm not sure I could do it in other situations, but I can definitely do it with real estate. I can tell you know, when we're out looking at houses that someone likes it, doesn't like it. You know they also. People will also share, like they're placing furniture. You know, if you're not placing your furniture in a house, you probably don't care for it. Yeah, right if you can't see yourself there, but usually they're usually people's. You probably don't care for it. Right, if you can't see yourself there, um, but usually there, usually people most people don't have good poker faces.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would be bad at that too, because I, I you know, when I'm not happy, yeah, yeah, um, it's very, it's very uncommon. It's not often that I'm unhappy or that I'm mad, but if but you usually can see it on my face first. Okay, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:For those of you listening Okay. There, you go, I'm just kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. All jokes, all good fun. And now tell me a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 1:What do you like to do? So I am an animal lover Same yeah. So I have a dog and two cats, so I enjoy walking my dog. I'm also in some outside organizations. I am a member of the Rotary Club. It's the Dallas Broadlands, dallas South Rotary Club. I feel like I've heard of them before. Possibly there's a lot of people, a lot of people, a lot of people in the county are involved in Rotary, so I do that.
Speaker 2:What's the other one that you're part of?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I don't know, I mean I like. I mean I like book clubs. I haven't been in a book club in a while but, I do. I love reading, so I I like to read.
Speaker 2:If anyone out there has a book club or anything and would like Nancy to join.
Speaker 1:There you go. Hit her up, there you go.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, okay Reading Rotary Club.
Speaker 1:Walking, my dog Walking yeah Perfect, enjoying nature. I love. A lot of times I'll take my dog for a walk and while we're out walking, I'll take pictures of whatever strikes my fancy Sunrise, sunset, you know that type of thing.
Speaker 2:I do the same thing too. Yeah, okay, twin.
Speaker 1:Just something, anything that's pretty you know, yes, you know, looking at it from a different angle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I have to ask since you have two cats, do they get along with the dog? And I'm a cat person, by the way, I love cats.
Speaker 1:So one of the cats loves the dog.
Speaker 2:One yeah.
Speaker 1:And the other cat. I think likes the dog, but the dog chases after her, oh no. So at night when we're in bed, the cat the dog lies at the foot of the bed and the cat that cat will jump on the bed and sleep with us. So I think she likes the dog, but the dog is just a pain in the ass.
Speaker 2:And I feel like that dog knows, like that's the one that like gets in the way with me, so I got to definitely go for that one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you're right. Yeah, yeah, all right, thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 2:All right, thanks for sharing that. Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Speaker 1:Real estate's a great business and you can be as busy as you want to be or not as busy as you want to be. I don't see myself retiring anytime soon, and I think you know. I think I was talking to someone recently and I said to him do you want to retire? And he said no, and then you're not ready. I think you know when you're ready to retire, um, I, I, I don't see myself retiring. I mean, the great thing about real estate is we really don't drive in rush hour Typically. Um, we do work weekends, but you can. You can take whatever time off you want to, generally speaking, but not driving in rush hour is just a huge stress reliever.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, you know, yeah, I know Especially around these parts yeah, exactly, so no, I don't see myself retiring any time soon.
Speaker 2:I see myself retiring like tomorrow. No, I'm just kidding, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. No, if my boss hears this, I am joking Like please come on.
Speaker 1:You better be buying some lottery tickets.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, let me after this I'm going to. Yeah, I try to buy some here and there, but I never win. The most I've ever won is like $20. But that's okay, that's all right, $20 is $20. I spent $2, so, hey, yeah, there you go there. What advice would you like to give to any of our listeners who are thinking of maybe buying or selling their home that you would like to offer, maybe just like one of the first steps in doing so? Do this like just any advice?
Speaker 1:So I would say that you really well. First of all, you need to find a realtor that you trust, that you're compatible with, that you like and that gives you advice For buyers. Talking realtors know lenders in the area who do good job, who do a good job, and I think that you want to talk to a lender that the agent knows, so that because they know those people will get the job done for you. You could go online, you could do that kind of thing, but they don't have any accountability, whereas a loan officer that an agent knows my loan officers know that if they screw up, I'm not giving them any more business. I tell them that upfront and that's good for the client, right? Because they have an incentive to continue to do a good job.
Speaker 1:So, and then, at least six months for a buyer, at least six months in advance, you should be talking to an agent because you're going to need to figure out your credit situation. If there's any hiccups on the credit, you can get that fixed in that time. And so and planning, so, planning is really huge. So you want to start that journey well enough in advance so that you know how much money you need. You know if there are credit issues, you can resolve them. That type of thing For a seller, I would say.
Speaker 1:You know, sometimes sellers don't have that kind of luxury of six months, but if you're thinking that you're going to move six months out, it's definitely worth having a realtor come out and look at your house and give you advice on how to get it ready to sell, absolutely, because you don't want to say, well, I want to put my house in the market next week, and then an agent comes in and tells you you need to declutter. Right, you don't have enough time. So give yourself the time to do the things you need to do to get the most money for your house, right? Um, if possible. It's not always possible, but if, if you have the time, if you have the time, then you should. You should use it for your advantage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. Um, what have been some of the challenges that you've had, um, being a realtor agent, like, is it staying up to date? Maybe, with all the things I know, it's like I would be overwhelmed to be honest because, like it's always, ever changing. It's kind of like a doctor too, like things are always changing in the medical field. Is that stressful at times, or does that come easy to?
Speaker 1:you. So no, that that doesn't. That doesn't stress me out, because I am a learner like that. Learning is my thing, right, learning new things. I'm constantly watching videos, I'm watching speakers, I'm learning new tips. You do have to constantly be on top of things, and I tell people, especially sellers. I tell them, if I did things the same way I did 27 years ago, I would be out of business. When I first started selling real estate, the MLS that we had took a picture of the front of the house. Okay, that's how. One picture.
Speaker 2:One picture, that's it.
Speaker 1:Now I have a professional photographer. I do videos. Some houses get drone videos. Nice, if I didn't do that, I wouldn't be in business anymore. So if you're not continually learning and growing and trying to be better, then you're going to be left behind. So learning is new things are not a problem for me. It's. It's part of what we have to do in in our business.
Speaker 2:I love that outlook and that take and that would apply with like anything in life, right, Sometimes I get a little intimidated and scared, but I love the way you just broke it down. Like you will get left behind because what you don't? Do, somebody else can learn and share with others, so I think that's great advice. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like my car story, that I was telling you beforehand where I went to get a rental car and couldn't figure out how to start it Right, and you laugh and then you learn how to start it, and now I learn to learn something new Start that button car and it doesn't happen again, or maybe another two times, but then you get it right. Yes, exactly Exactly. You have to. You have to learn how to do new things constantly.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Constantly, yeah, yeah, and then, um, when you first started out, what is a big difference? Now I know, like you take a picture for the MLS and now we have a whole bunch of things. What are some other things that you feel that have changed for the worse or for the better?
Speaker 1:I think most of the changes have been for the better. A lot of the changes have been convenience kind of changes, so, for example, when I first started, we had contracts that had three pages, like, you would have a page, and then there would be photocopies underneath. Photocopies, yeah, and now or duplicates, I guess, is the better word right, and now you have to. Now, everything is done electronically. We have people docusign documents. They don't need to be in the same room as me when they sign their documents.
Speaker 1:The negative about that, though, is that we've gotten away from explaining the contracts to buyers and sellers, but we've just had a NAR, had a lawsuit, and I think we're going back to having to explain to people how things work, which is, I think, a good thing. I was going to say, but that's a good thing. That is a good thing, yeah, but you can still have them DocuSign documents. But and I had I just had a client buy a house, and they were in Thailand when they bought the house. Wow, and they and we we looked at the house together through FaceTime. Perfect.
Speaker 1:They never saw the house till the day they did their final walkthrough Whoa. So I was their eyes, their ears, their nose, right, everything for them and that's great. And they signed the contract electronically. Now they came home for closing, but they signed the contract electronically. We looked at the house through I've done that a couple times where people aren't local and they're buying houses. So those are huge. You know, those are huge advances to make people's lives a little bit easier, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 2:And now talk to me a little bit about marketing. Are you an avid, like online person pushing yourself out there? Are you more of word of mouth or do you like to mix?
Speaker 1:both. So I think you have to mix both. I think it's definitely there's a trainer out. I think it's definitely, um, there's a trainer out there that says it's a three-legged. Marketing is a three-legged stool and you can't do just one leg of the stool, otherwise you'll fall over, right? So a lot of my business comes from repeat and referral. Uh, people, um, and I do love social media. Um, I was um an early adopter of of blogging. Um, you know, I've been on Facebook since I could be on Facebook. Um, and I do. I've done reels, I've done videos, I've done the. I started out with my reels. I started out, um, with my dog and my cat.
Speaker 2:That's the perfect way to do it.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, and, and they were great Um, they were great subjects.
Speaker 2:I will have to check this out after, cause I want to see what your cat and your dog looks like and I want to see your reels, like I love every time, like I'm on the like, all I'm on to, uh, instagram and people are like that was weird and it's like usually me, just like liking and commenting right, I just, I just love it and I love seeing people's like personalities outside of like, yes, this tape round table conversation, it's cute
Speaker 2:and I get to see like people be like silly or just sharing stuff that right you wouldn't normally see, like back then I feel like it's stuff you would not have known and you kind of connect with them. You're like, hey, she's, hey, she's more serious on this matter. I totally want to work with her.
Speaker 1:You know, right, right, right, yeah, and I'm definitely sarcastic in my personal life, but generally all business in my professional life. I love that you know. Yes, I focus on what is important and what needs to get done?
Speaker 2:Yes, and so. Is there anything maybe that I have not touched on that maybe you would like our listeners to know about? Since I have you here, I want help anyone really in the northern Virginia area.
Speaker 1:So I've gone as far south as Fredericksburg and I've gone as far west as Stephen City, but my primary area is Loudoun County and western Fairfax. But if someone is looking to buy a home, whether it's or sell a home, whether it's in anywhere else in Virginia or anywhere in the in the country, I can help them. I can help them connect with a very good realtor and that's always helpful and I can stay a part of it as much as they want me to Right. So if they have questions, I can't I'm not licensed in any other state but I do. You know I do have connections that I can talk to and and work through and help them get their job done.
Speaker 2:Perfect Love that, thank you. So that's right. If you're looking for anybody, or maybe Nancy can help you connect with somebody reach out to her Right, all right. My final question yes, if you could leave our listeners with a message anything maybe that's been on your mind or in your heart can be in relation to your industry or just life in general what would that message be? Hmm, or maybe even a mantra that you so?
Speaker 1:so I saw something recently and it was about life and death. And it was about life and death and it said oh, it was actually a cartoon, it was Snoopy and Charlie Brown. And Charlie Brown says you only live once. And Snoopy said no, you only die once.
Speaker 2:You live every day.
Speaker 1:So live every day and enjoy every day as much as you can. Some days are better than others, but if you at least appreciate one thing a day, life is a little bit more fun. Or laugh right. Laugh at the fact that you can't start a car. Laugh at yourself, right. Yes, you know that's key.
Speaker 2:I love that. Thank you so much for being on the podcast and for sharing your stories with us. The man laying on the couch that was crazy, but anyway, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:It was a little crazy yeah, sure thanks for having me, absolutely.